BTS Swim set

This morning was the BTS Ironman swim set.

Tim took the session and it was a really good solid session.  I really enjoyed it.

It was 28 x 100's as follows:

1 x 100m freestyle on the 2mins
1 x 25m scull, 25m free, 25m scull, 25m free on the 2mins 30secs
1 x 100m freestyle on the 2mins
1 x 25m one arm drill, 25m free, 25m one arm drill, 25m free,on the 2mins 30secs

Repeat 7 times.

Tim got us to change the one arm drill to fingertip drill 2/3rds the way through.

I felt comfortable in the water and I felt as though I could go faster if I had to at any time.  All in all I am happy enough with how my swimming is coming along.  No, I'm not going to do a fast time at Ironman NZ, however I am pretty sure that I will come out feeling nice and comfortable and that's my main objective at this point in time.

The dreaded TT bike!

Today's session was a crit session;

30mins easy warmup
30mins HARD time trial
30mins easy cool down.

Now, Craig picked up his sexy Ridley Dean TT bike last Friday, so this was to be it's debut.  Craig was rearing to go and I was wondering if it was going to make a huge difference to his speed.

Well, the question was answered!  We started the TT and I was in front waiting to be passed by either Craig or Richard, however it took half a lap or so for Craig to come around me and I immediately pounced on his rear wheel.  I was working HARD to stay on to him.  There were a few moments through the corners where I moved off his wheel and I could feel the extra resistance, so I sunk back behind his wheel again.  I managed to stay like this for a couple of laps before I started to get a bit cocky and I moved out from behind his wheel to see if I could overtake on the straight.  This was not a good move!  There was a headwind and it was as if I had let a wrapper out of the car window - I just flew backwards!  I took it up a notch to try and get back onto his wheel, but after half a lap of trying I had to throw up the white flag and settle into something that would get me through 30 minutes without passing out!

I settled into a good rhythm of hard cycling when Rich overtook me as though I was standing still, so I put in another gut busting effort and managed to get onto his back wheel.  Once again, my heart was thumping!  I even managed to get in front of Richard a couple of times for some very brief moments before he regained the lead.  I think this ensured that we both worked hard! 

After the 30minutes I had cycled 18.28km's.  36.5kms/hour is not too shabby for me!  This is slightly quicker than the last time I did a 30min TT and thankfully Craig's was about 2kms/hour quicker than his last time trial so it shows that I had reason to be bursting my lungs trying to stick with him and it also demonstrates the advantages of a TT bike!  I can understand the benefits, however I am not ready for a TT bike when I don't even really like getting down on my aero bars.

Craig is in love...  I'm not sure I am still number one!

Trent's Monday swim session

It was a good solid session.  Boiling hot - 38 degrees!!!

We did a warmup of around 500mtrs doing 150swim 3 x 50m any stroke and then we were into the main set:

1km time trial which I did in 18mins 28secs.  This was in the Valley pool as a 50m pool

This was followed by some drills and a warmdown.

All up around 2km or just shy of it.

I was quite happy with the TT, I don't know if I have done a 1km TT previously, but I felt comfortable the whole way.  I probably could have gone a bit harder at the start as I felt as though I finished it stronger so this is a good sign of my swim fitness.  I was swimming it long and strong and I think this is the key for me.

90min hilly run - phew

After a 15min warmup I tackled our hilly Kenmore loop.  To say I was fatigued from the ride 5.5hour ride yesterday was a major understatement!  I was shagged...  There is a bit that is a bit of a slope and it normally doesn't bother me but I found it really tough and then when I got to the steeper bit I shuffled up there at snails pace doing everything within my willpower to not walk.  It was not pretty.

However, I did manage to get around twice and I didn't walk except for 3 steps when I had a stitch which wouldn't budge. 

It was one of those sessions where I was definitely going through the motions to get it completed.

It's nice to have gotten through and toughed out a session like that on very fatigued legs. 

My hip flexor was sore before the long ride yesterday, then after climbing Nebo and Settlement Road and Samford it was quite sore.  After today's run it was bothering me a lot.

I attempted to do my 30min run in the afternoon, but once I found myself limping after only a couple of minutes it turned into a brisk walk instead.  So, it was a 30min walk and a good stretch instead of the run.  Disappointing, but I think it was the right decision.

The dreaded long ride

I am normally worked up about long rides, however this one was so much worse.  I think my main problem was that it was to be a 5 1/2 hour ride starting with a a ride up Mt Nebo!  It was getting to the point where I was seriously psyching myself out.

I don't excel at hills (a bit of an understatement!), so I was worried that I was going to blow myself up and not be able to complete the ride.  Also, I was worried about riding with Jacque and Faye (who ended up riding with the guys anyway) who are mountain goats reincarnated as human triathletes!  Also, as if I didn't have enough to worry about we were going to Strathpine friday night to organise bike fit ups and a minor fix on my bike, so I was worried about dinner and hydration and the time I was going to get to bed...  All this worry... breeds worry!

I was riding home from 4:30am to meet Jacque at The Gap Coffee Club just after 5am, so I was awake at 3:20am - 10mins before the alarm! I was very worked up and nervous as I got all of my bits and pieces organised, however I was out the door at 4:30am. 

I rode up the steep bit towards Mt Cootha and I met some cyclists coming down the front side and as they rode past me I said good morning to them and asked how they were going and one of them replied that he had done 1 Cootha lap and had 1 to go, so i said "nice", all the while thinking wow, that sounds great - here I am 30mins into a 5hr 30min ride! 

Met Jac on Waterworks Road and we headed up to Mt Nebo.  I made it very clear that I am riding it at my own pace and that's what I did.  I expected that Jacque would head up to Nebo and then come back down and meet me, however we ended up riding up the mountain together chatting.  Jacque let me ride at my own pace either behind me or beside me and we managed to catch up with each other and it was really lovely.  It was the first time that I have ridden up there and been in a position to talk (although at times it was a bit strained!).  Also, Nebo arrives really quickly when the ride is enjoyed with banter! 

We turned around at Nebo village and headed down the same direction, then over Settlement Road, out towards Samford where we refilled and then on to Dayboro and then we turned around for home.  The rest of the ride continued in the same relaxed fashion where we were able to talk and catch up.  It's amazing the topics you can cover in a sub 5 hour ride!

We ended up being back a bit earlier than what we had intended (I was timekeeper - I am a timekeeper failure!).  So we rode back down Samford Road to Jacque's place and then up to Waterworks Road to The Coffee Club at The Gap (Jac turned earlier and rode back home).  I arrived to the car that Craig had parked there at pretty much the exact time that Craig, Gerrad, Faye and Vanessa finished.  A quick (OK, shuffle) run off the bike for 10mins as I was out of fluids and the session was done. 

Oh, what a relief.  I spent the day sighing with relief... 

It's funny - the sessions that you dread sometimes end up being the most enjoyable.

Friday Coffee ride!

Ahhh, the coffee ride.  This is my sanity.

It was nice this morning with 6 of us taking in the sights of Brisbane at the best time of the day.

I rode from home with Muffy and then we all assembled at West End.  The guys and girls all left at the same time and the way it ended up the guys were at the back of our group.  We got every traffic light which is really frustrating.  Once onto Coronation drive I was expecting the guys to overtake us, but they waited until we got to St Lucia!  We re-assembled with the guys and Faye out front and the girls made up the second more leisurely chatty group - far more civilised!

It was a lovely ride.  Finished it off at Alberto's with a massive Iced Coffee and honey toast and then had the luxury of Craig dropping me in to work because he had driven in to do a run with Sarah instead of the ride.

Great start to the day!

Lunchtime run

I have registered for Goondiwindi's Hell of the West triathlon so I need to acclimatise to running in the heat.

Today was a good day for that - 30 degrees with not much humidity.  I ran the 7km loop from Central Station down Ann Street to the river, towards the Botanical Gardens, over the Goodwill Bridge, over the Storey Bridge and then finish at Riverside Centre for a stretch.

I felt good, I ran in the shade where I could find it as I don't need any additional sun and I felt good.  I was sweating and it was hot, but I was comfortable.  I carried a drink bottle and sipped water when I needed it.  I finished feeling stronger than I started and I felt as though I could have kept running.  In saying that I am starting to overthink how long a marathon is and as I was finishing my run I did some mental calculations and divided a marathon into the 7km loop I did and it didn't come out very well!  When I finished my run I said to myself  "I would have to do that ANOTHER 5 times!!"  7kms is not insubstantial, so 42.2kms is a really, really long way.

I think to get over my fear of this distance I am going to think the word "now".  What do I need to do now?  Enjoy the moment now!  Only worry about now!  I am trying to treat my training like that too.  I haven't been thinking too far ahead on what is in store and I find that it really helps because if I looked at the whole programme I would down tools and get into my sloth position on the couch never to see the outside world again.

Mostly, however I am feeling fitter and stronger (and more tired of course!).  I am still an Athena, but my body shape is changing.  I see glimpses of muscles poking through that weren't there before.

I am also being very careful to not demoralise myself by running and riding with people that are going to completely annihaliate me - I just don't need that!  I feel as though I will get through the distance; no - I don't think it is going to be a great time (I certainly won't be qualifiying for Kona!) however I certainly hope that I am not the last one through that Mike calls out before the end of the night. I am quietly confident that if I trudge through at my own pace I will get there in the end, with hopefully a little time up my sleeve.

What more could I ask for.

Thursday BTS squad swim

This morning was a great session even though I struggled to get out of bed.  I made the mistake of setting the alarm 20mins earlier than when I really needed to get up so I reset it went back to sleep and then got re-woken up!  I should never do this! 

However, once I was at the pool I had just about recovered!  The set was taken by Tim O and we did the following:

4 x
200m free 20secs rest
300m pull 30secs rest
200m pull/paddles (I skipped the paddles) 20 secs rest

200m cool down choice

3kms all up.

I felt ok in the water and was hanging on to Faye and Penny in the free, but as soon as we put on pull buoys I was spat out the back.  I compensated by not taking the breaks, although I did get lapped a few times by them.  I would catch them up again when they stopped for a break and then I would continue on trying to chase them down and avoid being lapped the next time!

It made for a nice solid set and I was careful to keep it aerobic rather than chase too hard.

Drove home from the Valley pool and had time for coffee and breakfast with Craig before heading in to work - all very civilised.

Crit Session

Today was another TT effort.

30min waarmup
20min HARD TT effort
30min cool down

Craig and I arrived at Nundah Crit track at 5:30 and the track was buzzing with cyclists - it is certainly different cycling there on a Wednesday than it is to cycling there on a Monday!

Sarah and Alicia were just setting up so we rolled around for 10minutes with them warming up before Faye got there from riding in and we continued chatting and catching up - very civilised.  When time was called to do the TT Craig took off and I jumped on him - I wasn't going to let his back wheel out of my sight!

So, we ended up doing the TT together; there were times where I was off his wheel and into the wind, there were times where I was in front of him, but mostly I was just clinging on to his back wheel.  Craig had 30mins to do and I only had 20mins.  I couldn't have held that pace for the 30mins.

Ended up cycling 12.5kms which doesn't sound that far, but the average was 37.5kms/hr, so that is great going seeing as it was 35kms/hour on the last TT (but that was over 30mins not 20mins).  There was bugger all wind which made things easier and of course there was Craig's back wheel!

More importantly - Sarah, Craig and I had a good catch up over coffee which was the highlight!

Trent's Monday swim session

I was very motivated to attend Trent's swim session as this means that I can have a guilt free Tuesday off!

Did I mention that Tuesday is my rest day!  Yippee!!!

I had to be on the 11:52 train to make it in time.  11:30 - Changed into swim gear.  11:35 - organised towel, cap, goggles, toiletries.  11:45 left to catch train.  Forgot wallet - raced back to grab wallet.  11:48 left to catch train.  11:52 - got to platform 4 to watch the doors shut in front of me on the train heading to the valley.  :-(   How does this happen!  I was so organised (or so I thought).  It was about this time that I realised that I was wearing one black shoe and one brown shoe!  Aaaargh!!!!  I wonder if anyone will notice?  All of a sudden I am very self conscious.

I was feeling a bit of a sugar low, had 7 minutes for the next train, so I went up to McDonalds to get a juice.  I don't frequent Macca's very often.  Being vegetarian meanst that the options are not great and the smell is hideous.  On their menu board they have a 250ml juice, so I requested that.  Well, that caused some confusion - has noone ever ordered a juice at McDonald's before?  I couldn't see a drink fridge so I couldn't even point to what I wanted, I could only point to the board.  Eventually the guy behind the counter asked another guy and I got a Nudie juice - cool!  Strawberry, Apple and a few other bits and pieces.  I checked the use by date and it was all good and it tasted beautiful!  Really hit the spot and I had some energy for the session ahead.

I apologised to Trent - I ended up being about 10mins late.  They were still doing the warmup which was 100's consisting of 75free, 25 choice so I jumped in and joined them.  I chose breaststroke of course!

The following set was 200m: 25m sculling, 25m free.

Main set: 7 x 200m on 4:10 with pull buoy.

Cool down was 200m 25m one arm drill, 25m swim.

So, it was a good solid session.  I felt like I was swimming OK.  Trent wanted to see us do the 200's with a consistent time which he said means that we need to put in an extra 10% effort on the second 100.  Trent told me to turn my arms over a bit quicker in the last 100m so I worked on that.  Not quite sure I achieved it but I will work on it in the future.

20 x Power Intervals!

Wind trainer session with Faye.  It is certainly nice to have company, particularly on a wind trainer.

The session was a 20min warmup, 20 x power intervals - 1min HARD resistance 40-50 cadence, 1min EASY, followed by a 15min moderate run, 10min cool down on the bike.

After our warmup we were into it - the intervals are good - 1min is tough, but achievable.  I found that about halfway through I was able to make the resitance a notch harder, and then a few more intervals I was able to make it another notch harder.  I am pleased that I am making it harder rather than having to lessen off the resistance because I can't hold the cadence!  So, I guess that indicates that I am gaining strength.  Maybe after warming up??  The resistance is at about 90% and I am in the hardest gear so I am pretty pleased with that.

Next Monday will be Cootha as I really think that it is so beneficial physically and mentally.

The run felt good - I concentrated on keeping my cadence high and I was running quite comfortably.  It was moderate but OK.

Our cool down was nice, we pedalled around and had a nice chat whilst watching the news on the TV.  The satisfaction of having done a good solid session is a great feeling. 

Sunday Long ride

Today was a 3 hour ride.  Ordinarily this would seem like a long ride to me, however after doing rides of over 5 hours has changed my perspective!

I was looking forward to doing an easy 3 hour ride.  We met at Newmarket and there were 7 of us that headed out to Petrie, Scarborough, Redcliffe, Sandgate and home again.

It was a nice ride and I was in my big chaing ring for many of the hills that I remember struggling up only a couple of short years ago.  So, that was rewarding.

The pace was on as Faye and Sophie hit the front and powered away.  I hung on to the back of them fairly comfortably, but once I was on the front for any length of time keeping pace with Faye was just plain hard work!  So, I was happy to tuck away and sit behind.

We did just under 90km's so it was a good solid pace.  There were heaps of cyclists out and about, there seemed to be more cyclists than cars.

It was boiling hot and I ended up drinking 3 bottles of electrolytes, 1 bottle of water and eating an anzac cookie.  I could have probably done with another drink bottle as I was quite thirsty when we finished and drank more than a drink bottle of water in a short time after the ride.

The best part was that we all had coffee and breakfast at Newmarket afterwards - there is nothing quite so rewarding as a great breakfast after a good ride!  Poached eggs on toast - yum!

I came home and jumped in the pool to cool down and then the temptation to float around the pool in the lilo overcame me.  Craig took a photo:

Nattie in the background working out how she can join me!

60min run

Well, the down side of having a sleep in and relaxing around the house in the morning is that I have to do an afternoon run.

When we swam at 10am this morning the heat was on.  I applied sunscreen but I am still burnt - it was really a burning sun and the temp was up.  It would have been in the 30's.  So, of course in the afternoon it was still hot...  So, I waited until 4:30pm and headed out then.

It was still warm, but not overly unpleasant, I took a bottle of water with a nuun tablet in it just to make sure I didn't dehydrate too much.  I ran through the Cubberla Creek reserve which Craig discovered a couple of weeks ago.  There is a whole heap of trails through there and it is really lovely.  There is a creek with stepping stones and it is really pretty.  So, discovering new trails certainly made the run a whole lot more pleasant. Also, it is relatively flat which is nice seeing as this was supposed to be an easy run.

I left the trails and ran to the end of the grass fields of Cubberla Creek reserve and then ran up to the Fig Tree Pocket state school and then ran straight back without going through the trails on the way home.  It ended up being just over an hour.

Got home and stretched and then jumped in the pool to waist high for a while to get the heat out of my legs.  I then applied some Zen linament and put my Skins on.  I am hoping that this will all amount to a great recovery as I have been getting a few little shin niggles and ankle niggles.

Swim set

I had a sleep in this morning - how civilised.  I managed to potter about the house and read the paper over a leisurely breakfast - it was lovely.

I had arranged to meet Faye at the pool at 10.  Our swim set was as follows:

12 x 50m 15secs rest (easy, medium, fast, all out)
12 x 50m as: 15m all out, 10m easy, 25m very, very easy
200m ALL OUT
12 x 50m as: 15m all out, 10m easy, 25m very, very easy
200m ALL OUT
2 x 400m with paddles/pb 40secs rest
200m cool down with paddles/pb

3.6km's all up.  This session was good.  We were at the Valley pool where it is currently split into 25mtrs and my 200m times were 3:19 and 3:24.

The good news  - the last time I did this TT at the Valley pool when it was split in two was December 3 and my best time was 3mins 34secs.  So, I am thrilled with this.  I'll take a 15sec improvement! 

My initial goal was to get them consistently under 3mins 30secs, so I won't reset my goal just yet, but I will reasses it the next time I swim the TT at Jindalee 50m pool and this will be a good way to see where I am at and maybe set a new goal!

Swimming

Today's swim set was 15 x 100m's easy with 15secs break - noice!!!

Alicia joined me from work - it was her first swim in a while so we both just cruised up and down the pool. 

I did 4 x 100m freestyle, 1 x 100m breastroke, 3 x 100m freestyle, 1 x 100m breaststroke, 3 x 100m freestyle, 1 x 100m breastroke, 2 x 100m freestyle and then 1 x 100m kick.

If you add this up it is actually 16 x 100m's, it was all really cruisy with a break after each 100m.  It was really enjoyable.

In the back of my mind I know that recovery week is not going to last forever and I have a nagging thought that I'm going to really struggle with the training workload that is about to come my way, but for now - I'm taking this.

Friday Coffee ride!

I was very much looking forward to this ride.

Seeing as it is recovery week and I didn't take my clothes in to work on the Thursday I decided to drive in to West End rather than ride in.  Also, given I have been a bit off the past few days I justified it in my own head!

There was a good number - I think there were 8 in the second group and we cruised around quite nicely.  We did have one altercation with Nicole having to explain to a German driver that in Australia we are actually allowed to drive on the roads!  Scary seeing as he had tried to swerve her off the road.  Anyway, he is now informed on the ways of cycling in Australia!  ;-)

Afterwards it was a castrophe - Alberto's was shut!  Ye Gods!!!  So, we headed up to the Garage and joined up with some people that we knew that ran with Pat Carroll Running Group and with Sarah, Megan and Alicia that did their run training, so it was good to catch up with everyone.

I felt good throughout this ride, I feel as though whatever has been bugging me for the last few days is finally going away.  I could breathe OK and I didn't feel as though I was running on empty.  Thank goodness!

Lunchtime run

Struggle street...

It was not overly hot, it was maybe high 20's with high humidity but those conditions weren't extreme.  I was well hydrated, but I really struggled to get my breath and seemed to be running as though I was an unfit person starting out.  I thought initially that maybe it was because I wasn't warmed up, but I really didn't get out of struggle street the whole run.  I ended up walking halfway through for 30secs to try and get my breath.  When this didn't seem to make any difference I just trudged on doing a shuffle and wondering if I was ever going to get out of first gear (no I didn't).

Not quite sure what is going on, but I know that I'm not myself and am really thankful that it is recovery week.  I am driving in to our Friday coffee ride instead of riding in and I will take it easy on the weekend.  Hopefully a couple of easy days and I will be back to feeling OK.  

I might even contemplate eating healthy....

Thursday squad swim

Brisbane Triathlon Squad (BTS) have been running an Ironman swim squad on a Thursday morning and it fits in perfectly with my schedule.

Because I have registered for Hell of the West triathlon I want to start doing some of my runs at lunchtime to get acclimatised to the heat, so I have swapped my run around with my swim.

The swim set was good - nice and long.  It consisted of:

300m warmup
10 x 100m on 2mins
straight in to 300m pull buoy
8 x 100m on 2:05
straight in to 300m pull buoy
300 cool down

I found the session quite solid.  I was getting about 10secs rest on the 100's however I was working pretty hard to get that. 

I struggled today with my breathing.  I haven't been feeling on top of my game the last few days.  I am kind of glad that it is recovery week.  I feel as though my heart seems to be beating faster than what it should when doing slow aerobic things.  My resting HR is 49 and this hasn't changed, so I am not too concerned, but I will try and dig up my HR monitor so that I can keep an eye on it.

Most importantly, it was Faye's birthday today so we all went to the coffee shop and celebrated with breakfast - it was good to hang out with the other IM guys and talk rubbish.

Wednesday - 60min easy spin

How nice is that!

I can't remember the last time I got on my bike and only rode for 60mins.  It was bliss, I slept in, leisurely hit the bikeway into town and then turned around.  It was so civilised.  I didn't take electrolytes, I even forgot my phone.  It felt great to not have to think about hydration, nutrition, water bottle and food logistics, blah, blah, blah!

I felt like I could re-use my clothes!  (I won't - of course!).

I love recovery week!

New Monday session

This morning session was power intervals.  Wind trainer session with a 20min warmup followed by 20 x 1min power intervals with a really hard gear pushing a cadence of 40-50 with a 1min rest (very easy) in between, followed by a 15min fast run off the bike and a 10min cool down.
I had the company of Faye which was wonderful, it certainly makes sessions go a whole lot faster when there is the distraction of good company.  We managed to chat through most of it, although I was on the treadmill while Faye was water running which put a stop to the banter!

The session was quite good; I didn't pull up as sore as doing Cootha, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't work as hard as doing Cootha reps either. 

This week is a recovery week which I didn't think I needed on the weekend, but now I'm not so sure.   It may be the combination of being back to work after having 4 days off may be the culprit or it may be the accumulation of the weekends 7hrs training.  Either way, I am going to enjoy 'recovery week'!