The force is with me.

That is the Panthers Tri Club force is with me. Today I went out for my first ever morning ride on a real road for 56km. It has to have been one of the highlights of my shortlived cycling career.

As usual my excitement is too much to control and I arrived super early. However, arriving early also gave me the opportunity to get myself together and breathe - I didn't want to look like a total bundle of newbie frenetic energy. There were a few members from the Tri Club - Drew, Cloe, Kate who arrived not long after and they called me over just to have a chat. And then Kylie, Matthew, his brother and another couple arrived. They asked if I wanted to join them, however they all looked way too fast for me and the last thing I would want is to hold them back. I was also looking forward to my ride with my new riding buddy Maureen.

Maureen is a fantastic lady and a great person to learn from. We spoke pretty much the whole entire 56km distance about life, family, children, sports, anything and everything was up for discussion. I learnt heaps about my gears and what I should be riding in when going up an incline and what I should be in going down the hill. I learnt where to position myself when going into a roundabout which was one of my major concerns. This may sound minor to some, but for me it was a huge reason as to why I was holding back from getting out there.

So now that I was out there riding, it wasn't as hard as I had made it out to be in my head. The traffic although constant, and I was fully aware of every car and truck that was passing me, I was not bothered by them. They did not scare me the way I thought they would. I could not believe I had not done this earlier. But, good things come to those who wait.

On my journey I was introduced to some other people like Ted, Rommel and Jen. They are such lovely people and I got to spend some time with each of them. They took a genuine interest in me and my first experience out on the road. I also passed Drew again on his journey back and Shane who was heading out for his morning ride. So many familiar faces and they were all happy to see me out and about.

With about 10km left Maureen and I stopped for a well deserved coffee break and once again I felt like part of the cycling world. There were other cyclists all enjoying their Sunday morning ride and cuppa too and it's amazing how nobody is short of a hello. So, with our belly full of caffeine we headed off for the final stretch home. What a glorious morning I had had and I really did not want it to end. I had no idea of the distance but am happy to report that after checking with google maps I rode another 56km stretch. And, to tell you the truth I felt so good I could have ridden for atleast another hour. Oh well, next weekend is set to be another road ride with more distance attached to it. Can't wait.

Foo Fighters - The Pretender

This is my interval training song in spin class. Love it.

I didn't flatline.

Yesterday was just such a great day, I would have to rank it right up there. I finished it off with meeting up with Eoin and Jaydub who are not only fellow blogger friends but also Daily Mile friends. It was almost a surreal experience and they are just the loveliest guys. Eoin loaned me his book called "Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot" by John L. Parker, Jr.
See, I didn't spell the word "complete" wrong. This book speaks about how to get the best out of your training by using your HR as a guide. I will be reading it from cover to cover to help me get the best out of my running when it begins in earnest. Anyway when I went to bed last night I was the happiest girl in the universe. Nothing, and I mean nothing could wipe the grin from my face and happiness I had inside.

So I woke up this morning ready to tackle the world in my spin class and use my HR monitor to see what my body was doing. And to my surprise my ticker coped really well during my hard class.

• During intervals I maxed at 138bpm
• During hills I maxed at 146bpm
• During the mountain climb I maxed at 157 for 2secs and then recovered to the early 140's
• During active recovery I was a happy 118-late 120's.

And I also woke up with a resting heart rate of 54bpm. Looks like my body is holding up to the rigors of spin class. I am happy with the results. So no sooner did I finish class I rushed back home to quickly shower, cause I stunk big time and headed to physio.

I saw Steve the boss this time and oh boy did I get a working over on my lower back. Hurt like nothing else I have ever felt but in saying that now that I am sitting here typing, my back feels remarkably loose and the nerve pain has settled. So no core work over the weekend, but I can cycle and swim. Great news cause now I get to test out the wetsuit in the water versus on land.
Do I look the part?

Speechless....that's what I am.

Today was a day that will forever stay etched in my mind for as long as I will live. I am sitting here trying to find the words to describe how I feel and simply cannot to give that it the justice it deserves. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would encounter such generosity and I have been totally taken back and still to this moment have a knot in my throat.

You see I started out the day like any other day. Got the family ready for school and work, tried to work through a bit of stretching to get the old back feeling somewhat human, got my gear together and headed down to the pools. I worked through a 2350m session which went as follows:

• 400m Fr/s warm up
• 8 x 100m Fr/s did them between 1:15 and 1:20 with a 30sec rest inbetween
• 300m alternate kick/pull with fins
• 2 x 200m Fr/s with pullbouy
• 300m Br/s glide
• 10 x 25m Fr/s sprints
• 100m cooldown

During my swim I met up with the Pathers Tri Club president as he was testing out a wetsuit and I asked him if he knew of anyone who could loan me one because I wanted to do the first club meet back but the water would be freezing. He said he would ask his wife if she could loan her spare one. How nice is that, it never ceases to amaze me how forthcoming people are in the world of sports.

Anyway after finishing the swim session I went to go to Panther Cycles to pay off my helmet and ask about wetsuits and if they could get one in so I could possibly put one on layby. My poor husband Stephen, never knows what I will do when I walk in there. I try very hard to behave but my passion for my sport is a little too consuming at times. So, anyway's - Dave was willing for me to try his wetsuit and loan it for the Triathlon but Macca also gave me a new one to try on to see if it would fit. I go the low down on how to get it on but after bouncy around the change room and almost falling on my backside numerous times - I am thinking I need a Master's Degree in "wetsuit navigation".

I was all hot and bothered and was ever so vigilant in not putting my nails through the material. Hard work, but once it was on, it fit nice and snuggly everywhere, but I was now knowing how sharks could mistake humans for seals. I was feeling like an elephant seal in the suit, it shows off all the areas we woman would much rather hide. Nevermind, if that's what it is supposed to look like then that was what I was going to put on layby. Taking it all off was just as funny as trying to put it on. This will definately take practice.

So as I walked out I was now about to be made speechless. I was told I could take it home and practice training with my wetsuit whilst continuing to pay it off. My jaw almost instantly hit the floor and I got that knot in my throat. How does one repay that kind of trust and generosity. I wanted to give them all a hug, but not sure if some 36yr old lady going "all emotional" in the bike shop is good for business. So all I could do was say THANKYOU a million times over. You guys rock. Never did I think I would find such a great group of guys whom I not only call friends but I feel like in a way they are my family. You all hold a special place in my heart and for all your kindness I am eternally greatful.

So now, I was not only walking out of the shop with my new awesome helmet, I now had my very first wetsuit. What do you think?

I am now well on my way to being a fully fledged Triathlete. I can now compete in the Club comp at the end of September and not come out feeling like a popsicle. I can now feel like a real part of this wonderful community who has embraced me with open arms. I have been blessed.

Panther Cycles,
you guys rock.

Bite me.

Yesterday was a really nice day. The sun was shining, there was a bit of a cool breeze and I had my mum's company. She wanted to join me on whatever it was I was planning on doing for the day, so off we went for a walk around the block. Mind you, my block is 8km long. Before we took off I kindly asked if this distance was okay and mum was like "of course, so long as we spend time together".

So off we set and it was the most fun I have had in ages. Mum and I get along like a house on fire and we are pretty much always laughing, apart from the occasional mother/daughter spack, but all in all we are best buds. The 1hr 20min walk went by pretty quickly and as usual mum didn't complain not once - not even as we tackled some hills which I thought would flair up the arthritis in her knees. She managed to make it to the top, take a breather and then keep going strong.

I didn't feel the walk at all and was just using yesterday as a relax day. However as we got to the 7km mark I could feel my back and hip start to play silly buggers again. So, no sooner did I get home - I took a shower and did my stretches and felt ok. That was until this morning.

As I rolled out of bed and tried putting pressure on my left leg my back went into spasm. It gripped me for atleast the first 10 or so steps and then settled to a tolerable pinch just above the iliiac crest which is the usual spot. After sitting at the computer and checking my emails and trying to get back up, it did the same thing - spasmed for about 10 steps and then settled again.

This time I walked straight to the kitchen and took my dose of Ibuprofen and did some stretches. It eased enough for me to be able to go for my bike ride however I altered the route and just did a nice flat route instead of my hills. I was a bit disappointed but I figure any riding is better than no riding. So I did 18km only and it was nice easy riding, no breeze to speak of and just glorious sun - which felt nice on my back too.

After getting off, my back stiffened up again so I quickly drove home and jumped in the shower. It is still a bit tender but I have pretty much told my back to "BITE ME". I was not going to let it get in the way today. But physio is booked for Friday and am looking forward to some good old fashioned stretching.

Michael Paynter "Love The Fall" [Official Video]

I absolutely love this song and it's lyrics. Has obviously nothing to do with Tri's, but somehow the words really struck a chord with me (no pun intended).

Yep, I ran.

Yesterday was a great day for 3 reasons.

1. I did my first 2km run
2. I started my new diet from Rick Kattouf
3. I wore my HR monitor.

Okay, so first things first. Today was my welcome back to running day. Need I tell you how excited I was? Okay, you twisted my arm - I will tell. I could hardly contain myself. All I wanted to do was go like a bat out of hell and run like the wind - but you will all be proud, that's not what I did. The pace at which I started is the pace at which I finished, nice and slow with very small strides to match. Nothing about it resembled the stride and form I was teaching myself to keep before I got injured. It was all about just feeling every inch of this run and seeing if my body was ready to start making the progression forward. And I am happy to report that apart from the usual tightness that creeps around your calf muscles nothing hurt and to this very minute still doesn't.

My back, which was really tender in the morning - after the run felt all nice and loose and the sharp stitch that gets me in my lower back had abated. That's not to say it didn't return after I had cooled down but the intensity was far less. Now, some 24hrs post run my back is back to it's usual twingy self but I think I just have to ride it out and continue doing everything I am doing in terms of strength exercises. I was meant to go back today for more injections but can't afford this lot this time around. It'll be right.

So before starting my run I thought I would test out my new HR monitor. My resting HR before jumping out of bed was 59bpm but I had already been awake for some time before I remembered so not sure if it was truly accurate. By the time I hit the end of my 50m driveway my HR was already at 84bpm - I think it was the excitement that was making it do a little jig. Within a minute I of running I was somewhere near the 110bpm mark and remained around the 118-129bpm mark for the majority of the run. That was until I got to the last 200m and it was then my HR quickly shot up to 147bpm on the slow incline up to home. I didn't know what all of that meant until Eoin told me to jump on his blog to figure out my MHR and Recovery ceiling. So that's what I did:

• MHR: 187bpm
• Recovery Ceiling: 154bpm

So the good thing was I am well within my limits. I haven't tested my MHR threshold properly but this was a guesstimate till I gathered the courage to test it running up a hill or some other crazy way. I must admit though even though I was running at a fairly slow pace 6:07min/km I was totally spent lung wise. My lungs were feeling the pinch for much needed oxygen but I guess that's what happens when you have been out of running action for a while - the body forgets how to redistribute the vital air it is sucking in. Nevermind, I know the more I run the better it will get.

I also started my new meal plan through Training Peaks by Rick Kattouf. I really enjoyed the variety of Day 1's meal plan. The only glitch and it's not really a glitch is that I had to substitute certain foods as it is an American Meal plan. No biggey, the meal plans have a detailed description of what is in them, and just so I had an even better idea so when I go food shopping I looked up the ingredients on the internet and tried to find a suitable substitute.

I was really full after each meal and wasn't looking for anything else to top up the stores. I also had to drink a protein shake which I am generally not too keen on. However my husband found me one that I don't mind. Body Shape by Nutralife in a yummy Strawberry flavour.
It has similar constituents as MuscleMilk, maybe a few extra but in differing quantities. I really like the flavour but I have to have it in icey water. I don't like milk at all so this was the only way I could drink it. I think I am on a winner with this one.

Yesterday was a great day, and today is looking set to be another.