My riding is getting better.

I can run.

I am finally allowed to run. I have been itching like a race horse stuck in its holding pen to get out and just run. Not because running is like my most favourite sport in the world, but simply because it is the one leg of this Triathlon that I need to work on the most. And I havent been because of the shin splints. Granted - I am glad I rested them because now they feel totally fantastic. Gone is the stabbimg pain right in the front of the shin, gone is the burning pain everytime I placed my foot down. There is nothing. ALRIGHT.

At the beginning of last week I had been allowed to do really fast walking. Some think that my pace is quite fast, and I guess it is. My parents blessed me with long legs. Even I noticed that if I got any faster I would have to up it to a very slow jog. And so because my shins felt good after the fast walk, I was then allowed to do a bit of running at bootcamp class. Nothing to complain of as an after ill effect there either. Could it be that things were just feeling good, finally ? Of course!!

So this week was the tester. And what a week to start running. Bootcamp was back to its good old form. Gruelling. Yay. I know, sounds mental but I love it. My best friend had always said to me before I started getting fit - if she feels the burn then she knows its working. I always said back then "if it hurts then something is wrong". This was only true for some part of it. If my back hurt then I just had to find something else to do, on the other hand if it was muscular then I just had to grin and bare it. Nowadays, I looooove the burn. The burn is my friend.

Anyway, back to the running. This week was definately going to test whether or not things would hold up. In total we did about 2.1km. I started off feeling hesistant and then I felt great, but with that greatness I held myself back and did about 500m of those at a fast tempo walk inbetween some runnning. I am happy to report that I woke up in the morning feeling great. Nothing was sore at all. I feel great.

My leechy Saturday bushwalk

The day began like any other day. Well, not really - it was cloudy, rainy and miserable. But this was to be the day for our Prep Walk 1 nonetheless. Preparation for the 6 Foot Track is crucial as I have heard it will be a gruelling 45km trek, completed in about 12 hours. I cant wait really, I am up for another challenge.

So anyway, as we were driving up to the starting point the rain got heavier and heavier and the fog became as thick as pea soup. Just what I needed. The first bushwalk I went on had seen me twist my left ankle which to this day I have still not recovered fully from. It still swells in the heat and aches if I have done alot of walking on it. Funny enough though, when we finally arrived at our destination the fog had cleared and the rain slowed to what now was just a sprinkle.

There were 7 of us women and Barry. All I can say is I don't think Barry quite knew what he was getting himself into. We all started this walk with such excitement and a bit of a nervous twinge in our bellies. The sound of our voices I am sure resonated through the silent air of the mountains. We had all come somewhat prepared with our backpacks full of food, fluid and change of clothing. What we had not prepared for was what lay ahead in the dark wet gully some many metres below us.

So we began the descent down some many hundreds of stairs - some metal and manmade, others just chipped out of stone and some stairs carved into the soil held in place by timber retaining walls. The air already quite humid up high, became thick and clearly visible the lower we went. The canopy got higher and higher and showered us with rain every so often. It truly was a spectacular sight.

That was until the leeches started. Where in god's name were they all coming from. Some were little and barely visible others were long and skinny just waiting to fatten up on some poor innocent bystanders blood - Barry's Bootcamp girls looked like they were going to be on the menu for this trek. I have never in my life been so grossed out. If you stood still and stared at the ground they were like little zombie soldiers honing in on your scent from every direction. I was lucky. I only had about 8 try to get into my shoes an socks, others further down the back of the line were being swarmed left ,right and centre. The squeels from us all echoed through the valley. We tried warning other hikers but they looked at us as if thinking "novices". Oh well, we tried but it was too much.

Our trek got cut short as a result and now we had to climb back up and out. Oh boy, talk about lactic acid build up in my quads and calves. They were on fire. But the sheer thought of those blood thirsty creatures at the bottom spurred us on up that mountain in no time at all. When we finally reached open air and the top we began the search for more little friends right inside our shoes. I had none but others had them hidden in their socks and one lady Meg, had a critter feasting on her lower ankle. It was peeled off with a knife and feel off in a glutonous heap on the floor. GROSS.

Anyway the remainder of the walk although uphill was on flattened terrain. Perfect. I loved it. But my calves and quads are still paying the price and this is day 3. I have been stretching to alleviate the tightness and it seems to be working. Bring on Prep Walk 2. Can't wait.

The goal that almost was.

I shouldn't be disappointed in myself, afterall up till last Thursday I have pretty much reached every goal I had set myself to date. Maybe thats why it hurts so bad when you don't get there. Kinda like a little kid who always gets their own way until a parent puts an end to their ways and the child screams endlessly. Ok, so I didn't cry but I felt very flat emotionally.

My 4.4km goal in the pool came to an ubrupt end at 3km. Who told my calves that it was acceptable to start cramping - NOT ME. Initially it started in my left foot, but that ended after 1 lap. Boy, talk about painful. It starts in the arch of my foot and then all of a sudden my toes decide to separate in different directions without consulting the body they are attched to first. If I was onland all would be good, but being in water, makes the potential for going under all that more probable. I guess thats why someone invented lane ropes...lol, to hang onto while your cramping.

The next lap sent my left leg and calf into the most excruciating cramp (apart from labour) I think I have ever felt. My calf, foot and hamstring felt like it had been compressed from all angles and it didn't matter if I grabbed at my foot and tried to flex my foot back, this cramp was hanging on for dear life. All the people in my next lane stopped to see if I was okay, I guess because this was the first time I had actually stopped swimming. Normally I am pushing on to get it all done.

As I scrambled to get back to the side of the pool to get out, it gripped me like a vice again, and again as I exited the water and again as I tried to sit down. This continued on for atleast 10 minutes and then as quickly as it came it left. My calf felt battered and bruised. My hamstring felt like I had atleast half of my bodies blood stored in it. That was it for me - I was done for the evening. I was soooooooooooooo annoyed.

What had I learnt? In my search for understanding what makes my body tick so I can get the best out of it, I realised that swimming should be the only thing I should do on that day. Why, well I had walked 7km that morning - it was hot and humid and I had sweated heaps. I tried to replace the fluids but I had fatigued my legs in the process. I have also learnt that during swimming your feet are always pointed, something that we as adults are not used to doing. We always have our feet flexed for walking. As a child I did 6yrs of ballet and never once experienced cramps in my feet or calves, something which my brothers always did. Therefore I am now incorporating my ballet stretches into my regime. Hopefully this will help.

Also apart from taking my supplements which should help for my cramps I am now going to drink an electrolyte drink a couple hours before getting in the water to see if this helps. I will also try to have a massage atleast once a month from now on. I need to treat my body like a temple and nurture it like I used to. I will keep you posted with my progress. Fingers crossed

What a blast !

I attended my first bike riding development group. I learnt so much. We started off by just learning how to manouvre corners - basically the leg on the outside of the corner should be down while the inner leg is held up, this helps your stability around the corner. I also need to relax my arms and try not to lock my elbows. A little easier said than done. My elbows automatically hyper-extend so it takes a little more concentration than those that just have normal locking elbows.

I also learnt to focus ahead versus just meters from my front tyre. Makes sense really - The possibility for collisions is far higher when you are looking at the ground just ahead of you. This came in handy when we did our next exercise in sitting just behind someone. I do believe they call this "drafting" in a race. The instructor wanted me to get quite close but I am not confident with this yet, so I held myself about 2 ruler lengths away and tried to follow right behind but just as I thought I had it mastered I would get the wobbles and my straight line looked like it had been drawn by someone in kindy. I tried.

Next we had a guest speaker on what saddles are appropriate for bike riding. Come to find out my seat is too soft and not appropriate, so the next day I went to my local bike shop and put a seat on layby. This one has the slit down the middle so hopefully my nether regions will be much more content when I get the saddle paid off and fitted. Everyone was having problems with their bum, oh not me - I just have to be different :)

The last component was bunch riding. Lucky there was only 4 of us in our beginners group. I dont mind riding close by someones side. Felt comfortable. What I was not comfortable with was letting go of one hand and placing it behind my back. Whilst my right hand was holding on all was good, I could ride in a straight line. Left handed riding is something I definately need to work on. I got the death wobbles straight away. It was like watching a little child learn to ride. Nevermind. Practise makes perfect, or so I keep trying to tell myself.

Quote.

"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible".

Arthur C. Clarke

Ouchee.

Ok, so I have the comfy pants, great, so why does everything down south still hurt? Is it the seat or the newness of my body to the riding? Whatever it is I wish it would hurry up and stop hurting. My friend Susan and I get off the bikes wishing our lower half belonged to someone else.

I am yet to figure out how people ride for more than 25km without getting off their bikes feeling red raw. I try riding for little more to the right then for a little bit more to the left, some of it positioned more forward, the rest sitting more on my tail. Whichever way it all still hurts. What am I doing wrong? Maybe downstairs just needs to toughen up.

Every bump in the road after the 15km mark makes me see stars. I have even resorted to lifting my bum out of the saddle over the smallest of bumps to give my derriere a reprieve. There has to be something missing. Maybe my next purchase will be one of those seats with the middle bit missing. Maybe thats the missing link (no pun intended).

I have also started training in trying to get off the bike and start running without looking like I have done a doody in my pants. Not sure if I will ever look like a graceful swan in this transition, I find it very difficult. My brain sends the necessary signals down the right pathways to my legs but somehow it gets scrambled and my legs move in the necessary fashion to propel me forward but they feel so disjointed. Truly an odd sensation. I just need to keep on practising the transition and doings small runs/fast walks straight after getting off the bike.