Kicking back.

Yesterday was my designated day off from training and it was such a welcome change of pace. On Saturday after heading back from Kiama I went for another swim session with Top Notch Performance and Health which put my swim total for the week at 10.2km. The last time I had done that sort of distance, I was a child in the senior swim squad. I am pleased though as my body seems to be responding nicely.

The swim session was 3.1km long with the main set consisting of a 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m with roughly a 2 minute break inbetween. Doesn't sound to tough only that we did it as a handicap race and yep, you guessed it I started last. My job was to try and catch them all before they finished the distance.

The 500m saw me starting with a 75m deficit and I managed to get two of the other swimmers but just couldn't quite get the other. In the 400m and 300m I had a 50m deficit and caught them all. Kind of fun really - It reminded me of the games we used to play as children at the pools during training. In the 200m I had a 30m deficit and got them all but it was a tough challenge. The fastest guy saw me coming at the 150m turn and decided to start up his legs and I battled him all the way to the end - and just pipped him at the post. He was cramping bad though so he opted out of the last 100m and went to go stretch with Erin who was also cramping bad. I hate cramping.

So it was up to me and one other. With a 25m deficit I knew it was going to be tough and I just needed to stay focused on keeping my legs moving at a good momentum and staying strong through the shoulders. At the 40m mark I finally reached him and it was time to slam it home. DONE. A tough but fun set was accomplished. I thought I would be more tired but I seem to be recovering really well inbetween. I have my breath back within 20 secs of each set and am good to go. Feels like the old days.

Yesterday being a rest day I did just that apart from go pick up the new clubs uniform. I would have just loved to purchase it all but my poor husband will disown me if I spend anymore money. So, I ordered the Tri jersey and nicks and arm warmers. What do you think?

Yes I am a total dag. I absolutely love my uniform. I love the material, how it fits, the design, you name it. But most of all I love the colours. It totally matches with Aaliyah. She is gun metal grey, red, black and white. Seems like I was meant to be a part of this club. We also got a group photo so when I get a copy I will post a photo of all my friends from the club on here.

So today is Monday, and with that I start Week 2. Wish me luck.

Oh boy, that's all I can say.

Well, today was the day. A memorable day. An epic day for many reasons.

1. I met a bunch of great people
2. I conquered some of the biggest hills that I have ever seen
3. I realised my strength/weakness as a fairly new cyclist
4. I need to give myself more credit
5. I clocked my fastest downhill speed to date
6. I want to retire here

Upon arriving at the local Fire Station here at Kiama at 0815hrs, 15 mins early as usual I was half contemplating turning around and going home. Not because I was worried about meeting up with everyone but simply because I wasn't sure if I was really ready to do this. You see the FireStation is situated at the top of that hill that I showed you the picture of and I knew deep down that this hill was going to be the one I would have to tackle. But soon after I arrived, another cyclist turned up and it was too late to back out. And not too long after that the rest turned up.

They are all the nicest group of people you could ever meet. They really took me under their wing and made sure I was well looked after. I was even happy to hang on the back of the line but they told me to hang up with the group so as to make sure I wouldn't get left behind.

Pretty soon we made our way onto the Motorway and we were riding along the coast weaving in and out of the local 'burbs'. The sights were just divine.
I was never short of someone to talk to along the way. They would keep dropping back to have a chat and ask how I was going, how I found out about the group, where I was from. They were so welcoming and made me feel like I had been truly accepted into their community.
As the ride continued I found myself venturing further into the hillside. This is truly the most majestic landscape ever. I almost didn't feel like I was in Australia anymore, more like I was in Ireland or some other pristine countryside. It was just hills, hills and more green hills with loads of cows everywhere. Jerseys, Murray Greys, Belted Galloways, Freesians - you name it, the hills had it. Even the air changed aroma - from a cool salty sea breeze to the beautiful aroma's you would either love or hate from the countryside.

At the beginning of the ride I had decided that I would not do the massive hills but as the ride continued and we reached the roundabout that would decide whether you went the less hillier route or the scary hill route I chose to ride with the pack and see what I was made of. I was scared that I would not make it and make a total fool of myself, but there is no other way to find out then to just do it. So with that said I was faced with the first mammoth task. The next lot of photo's were taken from the car. I asked my husband if we could drive the route so I could take photo's to show you because there was no way I could take photos and struggle up these hills.


This hill went on for what seemed like forever. Just when I thought it was nearly finished we turned another corner and there was more. My legs were just trying to turn over and it was I must say very hard. I even had to stop at the halfway point just to regain my breath and take my inhaler. After a couple of minutes I was fine and managed to drag my sorry behind up the remainder of this hill. The upside to every hill that you climb is the downside and at one point my speedo clocked 60km/hr. I was flying and the others were flying so much faster. They are so much braver and stronger than me - I am in total awe of their strength and grit.

The next couple of hills probably weren't as bad in steepness value, but they just seemed to go on forever. The good thing was that everytime I got to the top there was someone there waiting for me. Not that I was ever left alone on any stretch of the ride. I always had someone riding behind me or to my side giving me words of encouragement.

The last hill had me seeing stars. One of them told me it was a 16% gradient hill. It was just insane - the next photos are snap shots along the way up taken in the car. Note the white car we were following even had to pull over for a rest.



When I finally made it to the top they were all congratulating me for having accomplished a really tough ride. I felt like I had just accomplished my 70.3. But the best was still to come - COFFEE.

After 2hrs 45mins and 63km of riding I finally got to stop and enjoy a wonderful long black at the Kiama Lighthouse Coffee Shop. My coffee has never ever tasted so good. It was also a good chance to chat with them all without feeling totally stuffed and short of breath.

I also got to do a little networking with one of the riders Denise who is the sole distributor of Chamois Butt'r. I will definately be testing this product out for my sore hinny.

I would like to send out a sincere thankyou to you all for your kind nature and welcoming hearts. I will definately be coming back and hooking up for more rides in the future. You guys rock.

Toughy.

I knew last night when I went to bed that the following morning would see me doing something I haven't done in a while in the pool. I was going to be looking straight down the barrel of a few hard, long sets, and as a sprinter - I knew I would struggle. But if this is what my 70.3 training session was saying I was going to have to do, then so be it. I was going to have to suck it up buttercup.

I woke up this morning and fuelled up adequately before making my way up to the Leisure Centre. And as I started on my 400m warmup I already found myself thinking of ways to cut my long sets short. The distance as a whole didn't have me worried but I know how much mental toughness is needed for long sets. So trying hard to ignore the negative thoughts I just focused on doing one set at a time.

• 400m Fr/s Warm up
• 6 x 50m Drills - 15sec rest
• 4 x 500m Fr/s - 100m hard then the rest aerobic
• 8 x 50m Fr/s - Odds hard, evens easy
• 400m Cooldown. I chose Br/s kick.
• Total - 3.5km

Now that I have done it, I have realised that I do not give myself any credit whatsoever. And although it was tough, I am tougher. I know that when I encounter this set next week, the only tough challenge I will now face will be to do it in a faster time. And by that I mean, doing it faster than an hour. This means shorter breaks inbetween sets and setting myself a slightly faster tempo.

After the swim my husband shouted me to an hour long massage. Need I say I almost fell fast asleep on numerous occasions. I know I keep saying that I need to do this more often, but I really do need to make this a fortnightly ritual. The muscles in my shoulders feel like they are made of concrete and at times I feel like my shoulders are up near my ears.

Tomorrow is group ride with the locals. Am I scared? Yes. I don't want to make a fool of myself.

Get a load of them hills.

As promised, here are some pictures of the hills in the area.

I am not sure if you can make out the top of the hill but it is right up there I promise. And this hill is probably not on my list of to do's while I am here. My fear would be that I would get half way up and then start rolling backwards in some uncontrollable fashion. But I did manage the next hill:

For which my gluteus maximus is still paying the price for. I was almost halfway up and the little bugger of a devil got on my shoulder and told me to stop, but I am lucky that I am very good at ignoring annoying things. The next photo is of the other side of this hill:

This photo really does not do it's steep decent any justice whatsoever but it's even slightly unnerving going down it in the car. the next photo is one I think I am climbing on Friday with the locals:
If you can focus your gaze right on the very last white car that hill continues for atleast another kilometre further down - and I will be expected to ride it. It will be a huge task but I am looking forward to the challenge.

This morning I continued with my 70.3 training and did another 4km run. It still feels hard and I think the more tired my body becomes the harder it will become. But I am also hoping that my body will somehow become accustomed to the increase in workload and do me proud.

On a lighter note we all went fishing today and caught 4 fish, but they were too small and subsequently had to get thrown back in. But the kids were happy.

The look of concentration on Taillah's face is hilarious. She was so determined to catch one and she finally did - a Leather Jacket. I was happy just watching them and putting the bait on the hooks.

Tomorrow is another 3.5km swim session and a well deserved massage. Can't wait.

What a day!

I woke up this morning feeling quite sore in the shoulders from yesterday's swim and was thanking God today was a cycling day. And what a day I was blessed with for cycling - blue skies and not a single cloud over the ocean. The kids had been begging us to go to the beach so we decided to go and enjoy some rays before I headed off for a ride.

I can't remember the last time we actually just sat around and played in the sand and enjoyed quality time as a family. It felt so nice to just sit back and let my feet soak up the yumminess of the cool ocean water.

Stephen and the kids played beach volleyball and it was fun watching the kids, who are now almost as tall as their father try to beat him. I really am blessed to have such a great family.
After spending a great morning at the beach we headed back to the apartment and Kurtis and I headed out for a bike ride to tackle some of these hills that engulf the surrounding regions.

After tackling about 6kms worth of decent hills Kurt decided to head back home and I ventured out on my own to see how I could tackle the hills behind the units we were staying at. These hills are unlike anything I have ever seen, suffice to say that if you are driving them in your car, taking it down to your second gear is what is needed to get up and over them. I wish I had of taken a photo of them to show you today but I am heading out for a bunch ride on Friday with some of the locals and will aim to take loads of pics for you then.

I will be aiming for a 70km ride with them and hopefully they will show this newcomer some mercy on the trip.

And so it begins.

Week one of my 70.3 has coincided with my holidays with the family. We haven't had a holiday for close to 2 yrs and the last one we had was an absolute shamozzle. So to say that we were in dire need of a holiday is a bit of an understatement. We decided to head to the coast and soak up the rays but as we were packing up the car the rain started and did not let up till yesterday.

It didn't stop us though from sneaking out inbetween downpours to visit the coast and see some of the sights.

The whole time we were out and about I couldn't help thinking about what I would do if the rain did not let up. I knew that there was a leisure centre, so the swim was covered and possibly the run but how was I possibly going to tolerate a 2hr ride in a gym. Oh, well I was just going to have to make do. And I thought if this guy could tolerate the elements then so could I.

So this morning, Monday 4th October, 2010 was Day 1 of my 70.3 training. Today was going to be the start of my quest in conquering my first ever 70.3. And I couldn't wait. So I headed to the pools and did my first session.

• 300m Fr/s Warm up
• 6 x 50m Drills 15 secs rest
• 8 x 50m Hard on 1 min
• 4 x 100m Tempo on 1:40
• 2 x 200m Easy on 3:30
• 1 x 200m which was meant to be 400m but started cramping.
• 2 x 200m Easy with pullbouy on 3:30
• 4 x 100m Tempo on 1:40
• 8 x 50m Fins (25m easy, 25m hard)
• 200m cooldown.

I felt strong in the water and it was good to just get in a decent swim. With my first session under my belt I got home, had a quick shower and we headed off to Minumurra Falls. An absolutely gorgeous spot and if I had the chance to retire in this location I would.




After a short but gruesome 2.6km undulating walk to the falls and back we headed home and I toddled off for my 4km run. It is such a nice change to run by the coast. I could feel the ocean spray on my skin and I love it. Not sure was was saltier - the spray or my sweat. My husband and son were watching me go for my run and said that I am running much better and I am definately alot faster than I was some 10 months ago when I first started.

I would say today was an extremely eventful first day of training. Tomorrow is a 2hr bike ride and I have no idea of where I should be riding around here. It's always a bit scary figuring out where to ride. I am sure the lady whom we rented the apartment of said there is a bike track around here but I am yet to find it. The hills around here are just absolutely spectacular, so steep in fact that you have to drive up some of them only in first gear.

May just have to do some research before I take off on my ride.

I conquered the hills. Yes, HILLS.

I kept hearing around the Tri Club circle about this route that has an exuberant number of decent hills and even though the thought of it was enough to make my blood run cold, something inside of me wanted to be part of that elusive group of individuals. I too wanted to say that I had ridden those hills and survived. I too wanted to fly the badge of bravery and feel that I can hang with the big boys.

So today I decided to do just that with a friend who has ridden it before. There are two areas with hills and even though I wanted to do both I knew it wise to tackle only one of those today otherwise it could have turned my ride into a century ride full of hills - not sure if I wanted to push myself to that distance just yet.

This route that we chose although not totally hectic with traffic can at times leave you a few inches away from some very big trucks. This is the closest I would ever like to be but am glad to say that they don't scare me like they used to.

The one thing I struggle with when doing hills is that although I don't find it hard in getting out of the saddle to climb, it's the length of time I can do it for. I seem to find it a bit easier to climb the hills sitting down. But over a long period it does fatigue my legs and my back starts to ache like crazy. So this is something I definately need to work on.

I'm getting there. I feel like I am getting stronger and more determined to succeed. I like this feeling.