Excitement

This weekend starting as of Friday, will be an action packed weekend. Why, well this Friday is my birthday and I am turning 37. I used to be concerned about what it was going to be like venturing close to the 40's but now I realise I am exactly where I want to be in my life. I am fit, happy, content at last and look forward to embracing this new year in my life with much excitement and fervour.

I am also excited because on Saturday-Kurtis, my twin son is going to take part in his first Enticer Triathlon.

I will be taking part in the event with him so we can both enjoy this awesome day. It is going to be an early start - Race starts at 7am SHARP, so not sure how this teenager will cope opening his eyes at about 5. This will definitely be a tester. I look forward to seeing his expression as he tackles his first Triathlon and the wonderful sense of accomplishment he gets as he see's that he is capable of tackling anything that comes his way - not just during the race but during his life.

Then on Sunday I tackle the TriShave Women's Sprint Triathlon. I am excited and nervous all rolled into one. I have a goal that I wish to achieve in this race, and that is to knock off 2 mins. The last Sprint Tri I did with TriShave I did 1hr 18min. I think I can do this but you just never want to get your hopes up. I am feeling much more confident in my cycling and my running ability but still never want to "count my chicken's before they hatch".

So with my recovery week underway, I look forward to resting up as much as I can so I can give it my all this Sunday. What do you guys have planned for the weekend?

Just keep climbing.

I knew when I woke up this morning that I was going to be in for a long hard bike ride. However, not knowing this new course I was definitely oblivious to the enormity of what lay ahead. You can always try to imagine and try to prepare yourself but it is never the same as actually doing it.

I was really lucky to be able to start my ride a little later today - 0640hrs, because our mornings are so dark at the moment. So it was nice to not have to rush around like a lunatic at 0430 to get myself prepared. So I plodded along nicely, ate breakfast, took my Neways Vitamins, spent time on the computer and finally headed out about 6:30am to meet them all at the top of my road.

It was quite a brisk morning, you can definitely feel that Autumn has made it's appearance. Although with that being said I still only put on a singlet underneath my cycling jersey and used my arm warmers because I knew it wouldn't be too long before I would get nice and toasty warm.

I headed out with Cloe, Drew, Kylie, Aaron (my Nepean Triathlon buddy) and Johnsy. No sooner had we set off, actually not far from the bend of the photo above, we came across a young Kangaroo bounding along on our right. I think he must have gotten spooked cause he came hopping right across the road in front of our path - so we all naturally slowed down. As I continued to look at him he was trying to find a way to get over a fence and then decided to bound right back across the road again. Only this time he bounced right between us all and got collected by a Mercedes Benz just meters from us.

All I could hear was a horrible thud and then the sound of chasis being ripped apart. We quickly stopped as did the driver and I made my way back to the poor Roo to make sure it was definitely dead - can't handle the thought of a poor innocent creature suffering. It was dead, not a single glimmer in it's eyes thank goodness. The driver was visibly shaken but ok, however her vehicle although not severely damaged, was still damaged and could cost a bit to fix. After we all got over the shock of what had just happened we finally got back on the road.

We finally made our way to meet Aaron and it was time to get the show on the road. The 6 of us were in for an awesome ride. One I will NEVER forget. I remember saying to Kylie that I was extremely nervous and was aiming to just not walk any of this ride. But somewhere deep down inside I knew that if I needed to then that was what I was going to have to do. I did it on the Cobbitty Ride and I now don't walk it anymore, so it would be okay if it happened on this ride too.

As we made our way up to Razorback I could feel myself starting to tense up. I was scared but also anxious to get it over and done with. So when the climb finally started I was kind of glad in a way. But as it started to get steeper i found myself needing to zig zag across the road (very small narrow road) I might add to make it to the top. I know this is not safe nor ideal but I was checking for traffic and did this as safely as I could to be able to make it up. I know next time this won't be necessary. All my team mates make this look so easy - can't wait till I can do the same.

Just when I thought the climb couldn't get any steeper - I was faced with something I could only describe as Mt Everest. This thing was like nothing I had ever seen before - it was like running into a brick wall face first. How was I expected to get up this? Well, like everything else I have done - steadily and with alot of inner strength and courage. And when it got so painful that I felt like I needed to stop, I kept thinking about everything I had been through and how I had never given up before, so why start now.

When I was finally making it to the top of Razorback I remember saying to Drew who came down to meet me "I did it, I made it, cant believe it, I did it". I know they were all so proud of me as I made it to the top.

The second massive hill was scarier still. Like Matthew Flinders I think but longer. It just kept going and going and I am sure I saw 5km/hr on my speedometer for most of it. Would have been faster to get off and walk but NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY. I was not going to let this beat me. So as I painfully inched my way to the top I just kept repeating to myself "I can do this, I can do this" with every revolution of my pedals. Once again Drew dropped back to see if I was ok, so nice to have friends who have your back.

So when that hill was all said and done I was glad to see everyone's smiling faces at the top cheering me on again. The remainder of the ride was just nice sets of rolling hills - nice painful rolling hills. The kind that make your quads scream for mercy. The kind that make you work for every bit of it. But I didn't care - I had just ridden the notorious RAZORBACK and BARKERS LODGE. I'm the man!!!!! Well Woman but you know what I mean.

WE ROCK!!!!

So check out my ride from today, them there hills were hard.

"Only as high as I reach, can I grow,

only as far as I seek can I go,

only as deep as I look can I see,

only as much as I dream can I be"

Karen Ravn.

Awesome day.

What a day, what a day, what a day!!! Not sure if there is anything that can compare to how I felt yesterday since I have started training. I know I say this everytime I have a great training day but seriously, yesterday was tops.

My run yesterday was simply the best. After riding around the Regatta Centre 12 times, yep 12, I was surprised at how great I felt on my legs. I met my best friend Susan and she and I did my 8 x 1km repeats. The plan said to do them on 5:30 and leave on 5:45 but I did a naughty yesterday (and yes my coach is aware). I wanted to see if I could push each 1km effort and replicate each by having a longer break inbetween. I know this is not the ideal way as you want to be more consistent in your approach but I really just wanted to go harder than I ever have on each. And it was good that I had my best friend - who is a runner - to push me all the way on each. Susan has such a great ability to be dead on her pacing skills.

Anyway, I can't really explain how great I felt coming off the bike - it has never ever felt that good. Normally I struggle so bad and want to cut my legs off - but not yesterday. Yesterday - I was on fire. Even Susan was surprised at how far I had come. The last time we ran together was close to 8mths ago, just before I got injured. She was and is so proud of me. This means alot.

So here are my splits for each 1km. I gave myself about 90 secs rest between each of an toilet stop between the 4th and 5th kilometre. I also made Number 5 a recovery one:

• 4:55
• 4:38
• 4:54
• 5:03
• 5:16
• 4:47
• 4:49
• 5:02

I really couldn't be happier. This meant that for my total of 8km if I can maintain that pacing more consistently then I can do it in 38mins and average a 4:45min/km pace. How cool is that???

Anyways, after all of that excitement I had to go to our business partners daughters wedding. I don't often get dressed, heck I think it may even only be twice a year. So wearing a dress and heels is quite foreign. But Stephen loved my outfit and kept commenting on how pretty I looked - I felt so special - tired but special. And I scored a massive bargain on this dress from CUE.

The heels I could do without even though they were gorgeous.

Needless to say the trip home was spent shoeless and I fell asleep. Totally knackered. Poor Stephen had to tackle the 90min drive wifeless.

Anyway, today was another great session in the pool. I felt powerful and really consistent. Here's the session:

• 400m Fr/s warm up
• 300m - 25m scull, 25m Fr/s
• 300m - 25 sharkfin, 25 Free, 25 fingertip drag, 25 Free
• 300m - 50m focus on catch with board, 100 Fr/s (x2)
• 10 x 200m Fr/s - meant for all to be on 3:15 and leave on 3:30. I did them all on 3:00 except for one which was on 3:02
• 100m cool down.

Absolutely love how I am feeling at the moment. Hope you are all having a great weekend, and if you are not there yet, hope it turns out to be an awesome one.

I need.......

Stillness of the mind. Every so often I require my brain to just STOP. To have peace, serenity - a moment of just NOTHING. Free from guilt and the everyday movement of life. Do you ever need that?

Yesterday's funeral for my Uncle Jose highlighted how fragile and precious our life is. That if we don't just stop to inhale - exhale, grab tight to what is happening in the present moment, then without any real warning - it can all be gone. It makes you embrace those who are near and dear and take in every detail of who they are ( every movement, expression, gesture) and lock it away for safe keeping. I came away from yesterday feeling an overwhelming sense of how I seem to be rushing through things, without really just STOPPING for all the small things that we can at times find insignificant.

"Live every act fully, as if it were your last"

Buddha

I was kind of flat for the remainder of the day - just didn't have my usual ZING and still don't one day later. Not sure what that's about. I'm not tired just emotionally drained. The real me will pop up shortly - takes a fair bit to hold me down.

So last night PTC had a Bike Maintenance night for everyone. There were about 20 of us and we learnt so much from the guys at Panther Cycles.

• How to wash the bike
• What to degrease the bike chain and other parts with the proper solutions.
• How to change a flat
• How to take wheels off and put them on correctly
• and many other things.

Thanks guys I learnt a whole heap.

And then after this was all said and done I got to enjoy a really nice coffee and some supper with those who attended. It was a great afternoon/evening.

As previously stated I am still quite flat this morning. This melancholy is unnerving. Have to get my head back in the game for tomorrow as I have a 2.5hr ride with 8 x 1min efforts off the bike and then a wedding to go to. BUSY BUSY BUSY.

What was I saying about needing some STILLNESS?

EPICNESS

"To describe something that is so amazing that no other word is able to describe its awesomeness"

(as per Urban Dictionary)

I didn't even know that there was such a word until I Googled it, but this is the only way that I can describe the last 2 days. After a very hectic weekend that was super charged with emotions it has been nice to have a few days of normality. Exercise definitely helps clear my mind of thoughts that can be at times a little overwhelming.

I think I said on my last post that I was not sure how my Windtrainer session was going to pan out - well let me just tell you, I think at last I totally nailed it. I was finally in a zone that felt comfortable. Not sure if it was the previous day's sadness or what, but something within me had changed. I was so focused and my form did not slip once.

Eliza even mentioned after staring at me for a bit that I looked like I was cruising. So I got into an even harder gear and still felt fine. I don't know what got into me, I just finally felt like I had hit another level. It just felt right and I just allowed myself to go with it. I managed to finish strong too, putting it in the biggest gear I could and just hammering it for the last 2mins of each set. Which by the way went as follows:

• 10mins, 15mins, 20mins at race pace
• 15mins, 5mins at above race pace.

There was no run off the bike last night, but you know - even if there was I think I would have been okay. I think something has changed - things just feel right. I feel better than I ever have and I am finally happy in my own skin - in every sense of the word.

When I finally got to bed thought's of the next day's long run where in my thought's, invading every deep little corner of my mind. I wasn't scared about it, more like excited and wanting to see just what it is I had within me to give this my all.

So when I finally woke the next morning it was game on. But not before the usual made rush of a school morning:

Or before slowing down to take in some of mother nature on this glorious Autumn morning.

There is something about Autumn that I really love and connect with. Apart from the fact that I am an Autumn/March baby I just love the briskness of the morning, the dew that settles on everything, the fact that the days are still warm yet not overbearingly hot and that the night's are getting cooler which makes for better sleep.

So needless to say when I headed out for my run I was in my element. I don't know what it is about the first 3-5km, but they always seem to feel quite hard. It's the same deal for the first 20km on the bike for me. It just takes me quite a while to warm up but once that has happened I can keep going for ages.

Once I had found my rhythm my legs just kept turning over, at quite a nice and relaxed pace too I might add. I had to make sure that it stayed within a nice Zone 2 to hold out for the full 1hr 40mins. Everything was just right - the music I was listening to, weather conditions, physically I felt prepared it was just a matter of weather my mind would allow it all to come into play. And it did.

17km's.

Yep, you saw it right here. This girl just ran the furthest she ever has in her whole life. I am running for my life and loving it. You know it's so strange, when I first started this whole 70.3 training, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I was ever going to accomplish something like this. If anything I thought the one leg of this all to be my undoing was going to be the run. But look at me now. I actually enjoy the run, the challenge of staying on my legs for longer and longer and seeing just what I am capable of.

And I am capable of this.

If not much more. I love it and look forward to each new twist on my journey with "bated breath".

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out"
Robert Collier

Warning - another long post on the way.

I don't even know where to start. The last 2 days have been well, what can I say - EPIC. Some of it has been totally amazing and fulfilling whilst other bits were anything but that. They were sad and heartbreaking and at other times down right scary. But I guess going through these things are supposed to make you a stronger person, and I guess that's right, just sometimes it feels like you wish it wasn't happening at all. I shall try to explain.

Saturday was by far one of the most exciting yet totally exhausting days ever in the training front. I joined forces with the boys and although scared and not sure how I would cope, I think I did as well as I could. Kind of fun keeping up with the boys - it was good to see just how far I could push myself. I managed to stay nice and strong the whole way through the ride even when we hit the notorious Greendale rolling hills.

Yes there were times when I got tired and dropped off slightly but I managed to reel myself in tightly to the pack and even got a go at hitting it hard at the front for a little bit. Now that was fun. Kind of an indescribable feeling. I felt strong. It kind of gave me the same feelings of when I used to do swim training in the old days and I used to train in the same lane as my brothers and the faster lot. I may not have always been able to keep up but boy it was fun trying.

So after finishing 71kms in in 2hrs 27mins it was time to now run 6 x 1km efforts off the bike. This was painful, my legs felt like they had been dipped in lead and I was having trouble coming in on the required 5:30. I was just scrapping in at 5:40. Needless to say when it was done, I made my way straight to the boat ramp, took my sneakers off and sat in the water. I was getting the strangest looks, but I didn't care. I was just enjoying the coolness of the water and trying not to get in the way of those people trying get their boats in and out of the water. I was also contemplating the fact that I now had to back all of this up with a swim.

Swim, although refreshing was probably the hardest session I have had to date. I was tired, my legs were cramping - so much so I had to do half of the main set using a pullbouy, and I was hungry. The main set was 6 x 400's trying to come in on the same time everytime - I did them all on 6:30. Alot slower than my usual pace but usually I haven't done everything else and I come to the pools refreshed. So 3500m later and I was done - 81km for the day and I was happy with my performance. Then that afternoon I went to visit my Uncle in hospital who is going through quite a rough trot with his health. He looked ok, just terribly bored and wanting to go home but he has to stay in till he has a few tests which will be performed this week. Keeping fingers, toes and legs crossed for a favourable outcome.

Then this morning it was game on again. Only this time with the girls.

I was lucky yesterday morning I got to have a sleep in and catch up with the girls at 0620hrs. But when the phone rang at a couple minutes past our meeting time and I was told we had the first flat for the morning I don't think any of us had any idea of what the remainder of our ride was going to be like.

So DRAMA No 1 was followed in quick succession by DRAMA No 2 and as the tyre was being re-inflated it decided to explode and go off like a gunshot in the night. We all squealed, jumped and then laughed as girls do and crossed our fingers ever so tightly when the second tyre was being re-inflated. Job done.

DRAMA No 3 was my turn. It's quite an odd sensation riding on a flat - it's like your sitting on a bag of Jelly - not that I would know what that feels like but I could only imagine that it would be the same. Only to add insult to injury it now started raining.

So with that done we set off again and Sarah and I started singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" as you do. It was a total crack up - haven't laughed that hard in ages and we would get to a certain point in the song forget the words then do the usual "nana na na na" when you don't know it and then pick up further down the lyrics. Classic.

DRAMA No 4 was by far the worst. And if you ask Sarah and I what we slipped on I don't think we could tell you. I was at the front with Kylie and Sarah who was directly behind me was next to Cloe. I looked over my shoulder to give the all clear to cross over and before I knew it I had the death wobbles - I managed to stay upright and intact but poor Sarah who noticed that I was about to fall started to slow down and in the process of doing so hit the same "whatever patch of stuff" and came down on her right side almost taking out Cloe too. This was not good - very scary. Injury tally - grazes to right hand, elbow, upper arm, whopping bruise to hip. The bike was okay - a few scratches to the gear levers but all in all it held up well.

So after a much needed re-grouping we all took off again only to be told by Kylie that we had our 4th flat for the day - literally within 30 secs of taking off. DRAMA No 5. by this stage we were all deliriously tired and just burst out laughing. I mean really what else are you going to do. In the process of changing the tyre we managed to misplace the end screw off of the skewer so we were then rummaging around in the grass on the side of the M4. Totally hilarious.

So anyway with that sorted we all decided to end up going home as we had had ENOUGH and we didn't want to play anymore. I decided to take a short cut home and as I did it bucketed down on me and I got another shard of glass stuck in my back wheel which caused a massive tear. That was it - I called Stephen and asked for him to come get his dear wife. I was spent - MENTALLY.

I thought that was it for my horribly eventful day but boy was I wrong. Mum called me about 3:30 in the afternoon and told me that a very dear friend of the family whom Mum has stayed in close contact with over the years, well pretty much since they all came to Australia over 40yrs ago, and whom I have only ever called Uncle was about to pass away. I had not seen him for many years but knew through Mum that he had been struggling with Cancer for quite a while. His hard fought battle sadly came to an end last night at 7:15pm and I felt privileged to have been able to spend his last hours with him and his family.

I cannot even begin to imagine the sadness and despair that my Aunt and cousins are feeling but only hope that time eases their pain. I know my Uncle is in a better place looking down on them and keeping them safe. His family was his life and now in his passing he will be forever their guardian angel. Love you Tio.

So needless to say I am glad that yesterday is over. I woke this morning to an image of myself in the mirror that was unrecognisable - eyes swollen like one of those googly eyed goldfish. I feel very flat emotionally and don't have any ZING. Not sure how windtrainer session will go this afternoon. I am not expecting anything great.

This weekend has also quite a harrowing experience for a few of our club members who have suffered falls and accidents. The recent rain I think has attributed to oily slippery roads. I am keeping you all in my thoughts and hoping that all your injuries heal up without too much delay so that you may resume training. Big hugs to you all.

So it is here I bid you all farewell. My fingers are tired from typing and I shall try to be more diligent with keeping up with everyone. My brain is fried.

Flat chat.

This last week has been so busy - only in a good way but busy nonetheless. There have been so many opportunities thrown my way that I have truly felt blessed. My parents have always said to me "things come into your life for a reason, whether they be good or bad - each and every thing presents you with a chance to learn and grow".

So when I had seen that "TriShave Australia" had liked one of my blog posts a few weeks ago I thought it only fitting and the right thing to do was to leave a message on their FB page thanking them. I never thought in my wildest dreams that the owner of the company would respond back. I mean for them to even find my blog in the first place and take the time to read it was such a surreal moment for me. I was truly honoured and felt privileged to have Larisa reading my blog.

Then a few weeks later we met up at Homebush Aquatic Centre early in the morning. It was to be a meeting I will never forget. Larisa is an absolutely remarkable and inspiring woman. From the moment we met I really feel like we connected - we were never short of a word or exchange of a story or two or three. Before we sat down to have a proper chat we both decided to squeeze in a workout - Larisa went for a run and I went for a swim. Couldn't pass up the opportunity of swimming in a pool where all the legends do their training. And the hope was that they would turn up.

So as I swam I couldn't help but peep my head up every now and then to see if I was sharing the pool with an Olympian. But after a nice easy 3km swim I thought it time to get out and catch up with Larisa for our coffee. It was so easy talking with Larisa - we spoke about everything - children, family, life, sport, Triathlon's, her company, goals, anything was up for discussion. It is so nice to meet someone with such passion for what she does and to share in their outlook on life. Her company is the sponsors the TriShave women's festival Triathlon's - my very first ever Triathlon. So it's quite ironic that I should be meeting her almost a year to the date of my first event and what will be my 3rd TriShave event in 2 weeks from now.

As we were chatting a gentleman passed us by and Larisa said "that's their coach, they must be here". I literally went all googly eyed like a high school girl. The last time I ever saw an Olympic swimmer in action was at the AIS many moons ago and I saw Alexander Popov. Now it's one thing to see them on television, but to actually see them in real life - is just something I find hard to put into words. But I will try.

As I gazed down I became totally breathless - Ian Thorpe and Geoff Huegill were poolside stretching. To be a swimmer and to see these guys in action was mesmerizing. I got choked up and felt privileged to be able to share, even if it was up in the grandstand in some of their training. Talk about flawless swimming - there was absolutely nothing I could even remotely critique them on. Not that I would because for me it was like being in the presence of royalty. For me as a mediocre swimmer, who they are and what they represent is everything you dreamed to be as a child growing up - mind you I am older than they are so was looking up to the "Mean Machine", but it's what they stand for. And now as an adult, seeing their come back is something so totally inspirational. I couldn't be prouder of the two of them for having the guts and drive to do what they are doing.

I had had the best morning - one that is etched in my brain with permanent marker FOREVER. Then yesterday I did another running PB. I am now well on my way to reaching my 21.1km distance. I ran 15.7km in 1hr 30mins and felt absolutely fantastic. I did a Forrest Gump and just kept running. Lucky Mum had said that it was okay to just keep running and see where the hour and a half took me and that she would pick me up. I felt so free, so alive not having to turnaround at a certain point. So I just kept running:

and finished with the best ever time on my Garmin:

The only way I knew to celebrate this wonderful occasion was to make the yummiest ever Pumpkin Scones thanks to a good friend Paul from PTC. His gorgeous little girls came to the pools last Saturday having prepared some yummy scones just for me. I am so lucky. Check them out, and they are easy peesy to make too.

Then in the mail I received the biggest surprise ever from Aimee at I Tri To Be Me. I got a Tri Cling and it is absolutely gorgeous. I have stuck it to my car window and just love it - thankyou.

Things have been really good on the Daily Mile front too. I am part of the Daily Mile team Blog group and my job along with others is to maintain and promote the Daily Mile blog as well as write articles, publish content to the site with the editor, continue the Daily Miler of the Week feature, find interesting ways to promote the blog and find guest bloggers. How cool. Everything I love to do. Can't wait to get started.

I have also been featured on EnduranceAthleteProject.com on FB as the Blog of the day. Thankyou Patrick - that means alot. Patrick and I have been friends on this great blogger world since I pretty much started blogging last year in January. Thanks for making me blog of the day - jump on over to his blog - The Road [A Multi-Sport Blog] and see what he is up to.

But with all great things comes a few sad things too. Christchurch, New Zealand has been hit with another massive earthquake. Lives will never be the same in this community. Lives have been lost and many are missing. I am lucky that my brother Luis is safe and that my friend Lisa from Daily Mile whom I met only recently is safe too. My other brother and family live on the North Island and are far from the earthquake zone. You are all in my prayers and continually in my thoughts.

Please keep my Uncle in your thoughts as he is going through a rough crisis with his health. I will be going to see him tomorrow and know he would feel blessed to know that you are all sending him get well vibes.

And if you have any left - just a smidge, send some my way as my sinuses are driving me nuts.

Phew, now that was a post and a half.