Should I start the two a day today?

Of course. I wanted to take advantage of the yummy weather I was blessed with today. So I headed down to the pools and just did a nice easy 1400m swim. Can't exactly say why my swim was so short other than a coffee and my best friend were beckoning, and I thought that seeing as this is my last week before I start my training in earnest I would be allowed to make it easy. So I just did a few 100's, some kick with fins and some Bk/s mixed in for variety.

As I was getting changed I realised how much of a patchwork quilt my body looked like with all its tan lines. I have the cycling/tri short marks on my legs, a nice white belly, the swimmers "O" on my back and singlet marks on my shoulder. Not a glamorous look at all. So I was thinking in the name of beauty I had to get myself a cossie that I could wear for training as well as at the beach and hope that it would blend some of the lines.

I also decided to get myself a new pair of goggles as my last pair although totally awesome are probably a bit too dark for open water swimming. So I got myself the AquaSphere Kaiman. They have tinted lens but nothing like my Vorgee Missile.

I also received in the mail today upon my return from my swim my compression socks. Talk about impeccable service from EziSports. I put in my order and in less than 24hours it is at my doorstep. So I thought I would try my 3km run with them and see how the legs pulled up. They are so super comfy. Not too tight and not too loose. They are thick enough to assist in compression but light enough so you don't overheat. And my one concern was that they might slide down as I ran, but they stayed put.
I also wanted to see if it helped with my ankle swelling, and I am pleased to announce that my ankles came back from the 3km run this afternoon nice and slender, not an ounce of swelling was noticed. I did get some strange looks as I was out running. Not sure if it's because they liked my new socks or because I looked like a 70's basketball player. I like to think it's because I looked like a professional runner. A girl can dream.

BRING IT ON.

I received an email yesterday evening from my coach. This new email held the contents of the beginning of my new program to get me to the 70.3 next year in May. Am I excited? For sure. I actually cannot wait. Never in my wildest dreams some 18mths ago would I have ever contemplated being excited about a long arduous journey like the one I am about to embark on. But there is something reassuring and calming about having a program set in concrete to follow. I know that step by step, day by day, week by week and month by month I will inch my way closer to the my goal.

My new training works on a monthly basis with slow increments being made in the running department. By the end of October I will have made my way to running 5km which will coincide with my first ever Sprint Tri. Another goal I am looking to conquer. This months training program goes something like this:

• Monday: Swim/Run
• Tuesday: Bike ride
• Wednesday: Run
• Thursday: Swim
• Friday: Spin/Run
• Saturday: Ride/Swim
• Sunday: Off

Kind of looking forward to the 2 a day sessions as it will definately improve stamina. Must get really cracking on my vitamin supplementation and not forget any of them or run out, as it always takes me a week or so to get some more.

Today I had some more physio and I am pleased to say that my paraspinals have a little more movement in them. And why shouldn't they when I am getting a really good workout once a week. I haven't felt that horrible nerve pinch in a while so even though the pain at physio can at times be unbearable I will continue to endure it because the benefits are unreal. My back feels great.

Things are looking up so BRING IT ON.

Feeling good.

After Saturday's Triathlon and the euphoria that went with it subsiding, I decided to keep my word in going for the long bike ride on Sunday morning with the Panther's girls. I am happy to report that I rode a new distance - 64km to be exact. Not a great deal more but after Saturday's effort my legs were just about toast. Once again I confronted the motorway and on the way back I even headed back to my car on my own. I felt confident enough to be able to manouevre myself around a roundabout and when I got back to the car I was even tempted to ride straight past it and head home. And if my legs felt fresh I would have gone straight home and gotten Stephen to take me back to pick up the car. But I piked out and drove home instead.

Yesterday was a much needed rest day and I am really considering buying some compression gear for my lower legs. They felt so tight and full of fluid that I think my circulatory system needs some help in shunting it back. My ankles were/are also quite swollen and tight which seems to coincide with the warmer weather. I had much the same thing happen last year around Christmas when my ankles became cankles. Not a pretty sight at all.

But this has not put me off still getting out and keeping up with my training. I did another 3km run this afternoon and felt surprisingly fresh in the legs. I tried to pay attention to my form as I noticed in my photos that I am a real heal striker. It is not so bad when I feel good but as the run continues it just progressively gets worse. Have a look:














Atleast I am still smiling. It could be worse I guess.

Light up the Lakes Triathlon.

I woke up this morning to the best weather ever for the "Light up the lakes" Triathlon. Weather forecast was 27 degrees celsius with slight winds and some cloud cover. I could not have asked for anything better. I was excited and nervous but most of all just itching to head down to the lakes to get it started. But first thing was first! Anyone who knows me knows that my hair is probably as uncontrollable as a 2 yr old child who has just been denied a lolly pop at the candy store. It will not behave for anyone. So I headed to the hairdresser to get my hair braided into 2 cute little pigtails. I thought I looked neat, my kids thought I looked like a kid. I think it was because it was so tight I had an instant face lift - I wasn't complaining.

Once at the lakes I racked my bike in a fairly decent spot I thought, right on the end not too far from the bike exit and only a stones throw away from the run exit. I knew I could get to my bike without too much hassle. After that it was time to get suited up and head down to the water to get a bit of a warm up swim. I had to borrow a wetsuit as my new suit had still not arrived, but this suit was sleeveless and because the water was so cold - 19 degrees celsius I first had to dunk my arms into the water and get my face wet to acclimatise to the briskness of the water.
No sooner did I get my face wet I just dove straight in and tried to not let it affect my breathing. It was just so cold so I kept swimming to warm up. Before I knew it it was time for race briefing and then time to get back in the water and get ready to start. I was pumped, ready to just get this happening - my nerves were making me feel sick.
The starter set us on our way and I took off. Not quite sure what my speed was like but I did feel so much more tired. Not sure if the cold water and it's vasoconstrictive effects on the human body affected me but I got to the 200m mark and was pooped. I had no problem sighting but the tiredness I was feeling was little unnerving. Maybe the tightness of the wetsuit was another possible cause. I just couldn't get my breath properly either. Before I knew it I was turning at the buoy and heading for the ramp. Exiting the ramp was slightly difficult. Moss had covered a section of it so I couldn't actually stand. I had to grip and crawl up it.
However once on my feet I headed for T1 in a bit of a frazzle because I couldn't find my cord to unzip.


Once I found it I broke into a good stride and headed straight to where my bike was racked. Off came the wetsuit, on went the shoes and helmet and off I headed. Not a bad first attempt at trying to remove the wetsuit I thought.

The bike leg was great. I averaged about 30km/hr through the 10km ride. On one side it was slightly easier as I had a tailwind, however coming back saw a considerable decline in the speed, so I clicked into an easier gear and just tried to spin the legs. By the end they were hurting quite a bit.
T2 was alot easier and I think I dismounted my bike fairly well, atleast there was no wall for me to stack it into this time around. So off I headed for my hardest leg. The run! I was actually quite surprised how once I started running, my legs didn't feel too trashed at all. I was tired but not completely knackered.



So I headed off for my run and was just hoping to complete it without having to stop to walk for any length of it. What I didn't expect was to have PR'd in both my bike and run legs.

• Swim 250m - 4:06
• T1 - 30:12 secs
• Bike 10km - 19:33
• T2 - 18:81 secs
• Run 2.5km - 13:32

I have not gotten my official finishing time yet but I think just by looking quickly I have beaten my last time by about 3 minutes. When I get the official times I will post a comparison of the two. Should be interesting.

So now I can safely and proudly safe I am no longer a one time line crosser. I have just completed my second short Triathlon and loved every aspect of it. Can't wait for the next one.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Seeing as I had my son home sick yesterday I decided to keep my run close to home. Just 3km is what was on the books and even though my body protested I still managed to run it all bar 30 secs, which I dedicated to trying to walk out a stitch. And when walking didn't help I continued running but at a much slower pace until it finally decided to relent. There is nothing worse than a stitch, feels like your about to split in two.

When I got back I asked Kurt is he could time me in my transitions. It was right about that time you all would have wished you were a fly on the wall. I had said to Kurt "time me from the moment I get to the gear and stop timing when I click onto the bike". Cool, didn't seem hard the last time I practiced it, but this time I had new shoes and a new bike. Aliyah and I are still getting to know eachother, even though all of our rides to date have been absolutely awesome. But she was just about to teach me a lesson I would not forget.

All went well up till the moment I went to clip in, and without thinking as I pushed my right foot down to clip in I took off like a lightening bolt straight into the wall in front of me. I had forgotten one crucial key step in mounting a bike indoors or anywhere for that matter, keep your hand on the brakes. The momentum with which I took off with gave me absolutely no time to fumble for the gears and before I knew it the wall and I were getting better acquainted. But then it seemed the floor didn't want to miss out on the party so I soon greeted it with a tentative thump.

Of course I couldn't floor to the side that was unclipped - Noooooo, that would be asking too much. Never mind lesson was learnt. Practice drills on bike outside.

Kurt came running over asking me if I was alright as I was not answering him. If I had of stopped laughing maybe I could of. I still am laughing everytime I think about it. The only injury out of this mishap was that my right back break is now making contact with the rim. Nevermind, will get that looked at soon enough. It's not making total contact, just slightly.

Tomorrow is my first Triathlon of the season. Wish me luck everyone. Only doing the Enticer again - trying to wean my legs back into it.

Parenting and training.

I always thought that juggling parenthood and work was hard, that was until I found out that juggling parenthood and training was harder still. When I was at work if one of my children were sick I would just call up work and the have the day off and not feel too bad about it. Sure I hated leaving my colleagues short staffed but I didn't have that intense guilt or heartache that missing training gives me.

When I miss a day training I am constantly thinking 'what a waste of a day" but then I feel guilty thinking that way too when one of my kids are sick. Sometimes I wish I could split myself in two when needed and have the "Stay at home Barbie" for just these sort of days when a child is sick and then send my alter ego "Triathlete Barbie" out on her merry way to galavant around the countryside.

I was hoping that yesterday I was going to get a 40km bike ride in but that wasn't the case as 10km into the ride the inevitable ring of the phone followed by "hello, this is the school nurse, your son is sick, he needs to go home" put an end to that. Poor guy, when I got to school he was just lying flat out on the bed and just looked so tired. It's amazing how even at almost 15yrs of age and my height, I still manage to see him as a little helpless thing when he is sick. So, I took Mr K to the docs and then home.

Looking back on the short ride I still managed to maintain a fairly good speed throughout. I averaged about 27kph and felt strong in the legs. And I practiced constant gear changing going around corners so I could pull out of the corner strongly. I have since realised it feels much like driving a car. And because I drive a manual I should have thought of this ages ago - duh!

So today will be designated as a 3km run but nice and close around home should my son need me and hopefully this time I will not have to tackle Miss Queen B and her entourage. I am also going to try and practice my transitioning. Should put a smile on my son's face for a while.

Spilling the beans.

Okay, so now that's it been made official and all, I guess I can open up and tell you all what has been transpiring over the course of the last 6 days. It all happened in a whirlwind fashion - like an unexpected romance that just knocks you off your feet. And it all started over a comment that I made on FaceBook. A comment, which I thought quite innocuous has now gotten me to where I am today. I am a firm believer in that if you just put it out there - whatever it may be - the universe will take care of the rest.

So, my comment on FB went something like this "Barbara, wonders why there is no AquaBiking here in Australia" followed by a clarification of "Barbara, wonders why there are no AquaBike events here in Australia" as I found out that there is AquaBiking only it's not a long course event but rather the big floaty bikes in the water - thanks Anita. This comment seemed to have gotten the interest of the Panther's Tri Club President and it was from that point on that things snowballed.

He too thought it would be a good idea to try and get some AquaBike events incorporated into the club races. This would not only benefit those who are injured but could help prolong the longevity of our Triathletes. Well, need I say I was so excited I ran around the house acting like a total shmuck and then broke out into the running man. But of course I needed to submit it to the committee and within minutes of receiving the president's interest I was on the club website
submitting an agenda item. Club meeting was on Monday night and I needed to make sure that this idea got given adequate time for discussion and I was going to attend.

The club president also stated that he really liked my blog, and wondered if he could link it within the club's website. Wow, that was just more than I could handle now. I was kind of in two minds about my blog going "local". Excited because now it meant I had friends from my club viewing my blog and hoped it would maybe show them how far I have come, but I was also a bit nervous about what their reactions would be and if they would think that maybe it was stupid. But I thought, what the heck, this was my life and if they thought it silly well they are welcomed to have their own opinion but I am proud of me. So I accepted the offer.

I was also offered in amongst all of this, a position as the club's 'Media & Public Relation's Director'. Can you believe it, this train had no brakes and was rolling full steam ahead. I mean okay, what does this position entail? Well, there was no better way than to find out by accepting, so I did. This was just too cool and offer to dismiss. And as my first port of call I now have my first article going into the local paper on Friday. Obviously it will be edited by the local journo, but essentially the info is mine with some added tweaking from the club president. I cannot believe it, my dream of writing in someway is going global in a local sort of way. I am also hoping that in the near future I will have written an article and it will go in a Triathlon Magazine.

So as of last night I am now officially Panthers Triathlon Clubs Media & Public Relations Director Extraordinaire. Am I excited, you bet. Am I nervous, yep. But what a journey this will be.