Where'd that come from?

How is it you can go from feeling so good one minute, to totally BLAH the next back to okay in a 20 min turnaround? Seems my body wanted to give me a wake up call and let me know who was in control.

Saturday was a pretty regular day - woke up - didn't do much at all apart from the usual house stuff and then headed off to the pools in the afternoon for my swim session. I felt fine through the warm up and 900m worth of drills - nothing, not an inckling of what was about to happen. The only thing I was feeling were tight shoulders however I even went so far as to let Chris the coach know how good I was feeling and how I had run a total of 23km for the week and felt good.

As we headed into our main set of 6 x 300m (done as 50m, 100m 150m in 40, 1:20, 2:00 respectively) I knew something was amiss. I just wasn't able to get my breath effectively in the first 300. I put it down to that initial need for added oxygen when you increase your workout. But as the next one started I really, really felt myself gasping for air. No matter how hard I tried to get a decent breath I just couldn't. It was as if I had a belt being tightened on every inhaled breath.

It got to the point where I could literally hear air moving loudly through the air passages. I signalled to Chris and he asked if I was alright - all I could do was signal for my puffer. Man, can he run like the wind. I made my way out of the pool to meet him half way and quickly took my inhaler. It has been ages - I mean years since something has happened like that to me. It's really a frightening experience and has just made me realise that I need to never, ever forget my puffer EVER. One of my friends mentioned about having it with me (onboard) when I do my open water swims. Definately makes sense - which more than likely have to put it in a zip lock sandwich bag to keep it dry.

After some rest on the side of the pool I took off again but at a much slower pace - just trying to relax the airways. It's something I was always taught to do from a young age. My coach back then would make me do kick when I was having a minor attack - just so I could focus on my breathing. He would walk beside me until it settled and then I was expected to just get back into it once it was done. So I guess that mentality stuck - keep moving.

After squad was done - I was left sort of feeling a bit flat but other than that the lungs felt good - like nothing had happened. But I did realise that maybe I needed to go back on a preventer like in my younger days. The fact that I am pushing myself harder and harder everytime indicates to me that the possibility of my exercise induced asthma reering it's ugly head again is extremely high. So that's where I am off to today apart from a swim and run of course.

Yesterday, I started the Sunday off with a really nice 60km ride with 2 friends. This ride was interspersed with some tempo stuff but all in all it was quite a nice and enjoyable ride. The weather was perfect - really still apart from the loud laughs and chatter of 3 women out for a ride at 0630am. Thank goodness where we ride is fairly rural so the houses are positioned quite a ways back from the road, otherwise we would have heard some colourful language.

After getting home we decided to pop the Christmas tree up. A little late this year but better late than never. Mum decided to bring her presents over as we will be spending Christmas Day together this year - last year I think we did Christmas Eve together.

What are you guys planning on doing for Chrissy?

I'm back - now for some photos.

I have been searching through the Hills Tri Club website for the last week awaiting these photos and they are here. I really like my cycling shots but my running ones always seem to accentuate how little I actually raise my legs off the floor.

Talk about popping veins on my neck.

Nearly done.

Critique away.

Even the guy behind me seems to be questioning my running style.

I am trying to get better at improving my style but I guess some things take longer than others. I think I also need to relax my arms - I look like I am going into battle.

Yesterday when I went for my bike ride I came across a very unfamiliar sound, the river that runs near home which has usually been still and dry was now full of running water thanks to all the rain we have had over the last week or so.

There's just something about the sound of running water that I find really relaxing. I stood at this bridge for a while and just took in everything - the sounds, the smells, the beautiful view - I am sure the motorists driving by where wondering what this woman was contemplating, all alone staring out over a precipice. I have driven this road many a time and never really stopped to take in all of what it has to offer, and now that I have I will be stopping more often.

When I got home from the ride I quickly stopped by the local newsagent hoping that one of my friends from the Tri Club had made it into the local Penrith Press. His story is truly one of remarkable strength - not just physically but mentally as well. Here, have a read:

100km later and Luke's still smiling - priceless.

And for more news within our local circle my friend Andrew aka Macca scored himself some first positions in the Clarence St Cyclery Cup 2010.

• 1st Open Men's Combined Scratch Race (Div 3/4)
• 1st Clarence St Cyclery Cup Wheel Race Repechage 1.

Congrats Macca.

I was meant to go and watch this race but I had my Sprint Tri on at the same time. I have never been to the Velodrome before and I am more than 100% sure I would love it. The insane speed these cyclists get up to has my jaw dropping to the floor. My question though is How do you stop? There's no brakes - my fear would be coming to an abrupt stop by means of a collision - which I know has happened more times than not. And if I was to have a go at the Velodrome I would need the St Johns Ambulance there to pull me out of a mass of mangled bike metal. I take my hat off to you Macca.

My see if we can sort out having a go at it - would be fun.

Issues, Issues, Issues.

Firstly, I would like to say I have not been purposefully ignoring everyone's blogs. I have a legitimate reason for my absence - something is wrong with my laptop again. I cannot comment on quite a few of your blogs due to the pop up window which normally allows me to comment coming up empty. It's not on everyone's so please don't feel I have been ignoring you purposefully. I took it to the computer guy today as well as my other computer and he said he would have to have them both for a few days - so not wanting to be without a computer I left him one and kept my laptop and will now just put up with it till the other comes back. I am also unable to post photos through blogger for the same reason - this I find quite annoying considering I had a piece I wanted to discuss about a friend of mine who is a great cyclist. This will have to wait as some other photos I have.

With the weather being as crazy as it has been over the last week it's been a matter of trying to fit in things when there has been a break in the weather, and this morning was no different. It even almost looked as though the clouds might clear but I think Mother Nature was pulling our leg. I took off at 0815 and after a nice hours ride and 25km later, and although no rain, the clouds were ever so menacing and there was even some deep foreboding rumbles.

This afternoon I took off for my third run for the week and I must say it is feeling easier - not by much but I can feel a slight difference in the level of energy I am expending - even when its as hot as hell and the humidity level is beyond anything I can tolerate. This whole week I have been wanting it to stop raining but this afternoon all I was wishing for was a downpour to help cool me off. And to make matters slightly worse I had a headwind and a crosswind for most of it. - however that said I did it in 41:57 which makes it a 5:30min/km pace. One thing I am pleased to say is that after those 3 runs I have clocked 23km of running this week. Not bad I think considering there was a time there where I though that maybe I would never be able to run again.

Another thing I have noticed since increasing my workload is how much more I am sweating and how much more I stink. Driving me nuts - I posed this question on Daily Mile and a friend of mine Allison sourced this amazing article. Totally explains everything. Kind of embarrassed to own up about it but I really thought there was something wrong with me. She said it's really quite common amongst bodybuilders, marathon runners, long distance athletes. I really learnt alot - like I should be eating more carbs so my body can use this as it's fuel source.

Have a read and tell me what you think.

What has happened to Summer

Summer is supposed to be here today, but it seems we have had the wettest introduction to Summer since the 1940's. Just what I need really when all I want is to get out and ride my bike in the sun. Spring was absolutely glorious and now, all there is everywhere you look is grey clouds filled with rain. Really I shouldn't complain as being on tank water, the more it rains the less water we have to buy. It's just that it interferes so badly with everything and the one thing I find challenging is the indoor trainer. But if it has to be done, it has to be done.

So that's exactly what I did yesterday. 90 minutes worth of indoor trainer and some interval training thrown in and I was done. Lucky the one thing that is good about the trainer is that you get to watch something interesting on TV. The 38kms didn't feel too bad at all. I still got a decent workout and was dripping sweat by the time I finished - not too shabby at all I might say.

With more rain forecasted for the remainder of the week I knew it would be a fingers crossed moment for track yesterday evening. Obviously swimming is never affected as you can pick and choose whether you want to go indoors or not - which is what I did. Yesterdays swim set was tough but I am glad I got it done. It really opened my eyes as how fit I am and how much more I have got to give - there's still alot more in this little engine.

• 300m Warm up
• 12 x 25m sprints leaving on 45 secs. I did them all on 15secs
• 6 x 100ms - first 25m hard then rest easy. All done around 1:20.
• 1km time trial 15:05
• 2 mins rest
• 500m time trial 7:27
• 1 min rest
• 500m time trial 7:23
• 300m cool down.

The only difference doing this set next week will that be it might be a bit slower as this yesterday I swam short course. More tumbleturns indicates more rest but also more pushoffs, so next weeks times I think will be slightly more accurate.

So with track cancelled I thought maybe it would be a night of rest - but that was not to be. I got an email from my coach stating that it would be good should the rain hold out to do a 40minute run with 6 x 1min intervals at race pace with a 2min recovery jog inbetween. So, that's what I did. This is hard work. 7.6km, 41 mins, and a few stomach cramps later I was done. I even did it in the rain - how's that for commitment. Intervals in the pool and on a bike I can deal with but running intervals are hard, hard, hard. Especially because when I do the recovery run all I want to do is walk I am that out of breath. I didn't walk apart from at the 5km mark when my lower abdo cramps got the better of me and I then succumbed to the walk gods for maybe 50m's, but no sooner did they relent I was off running again.

Then last night in my infinate wisdom I decided to do something that would challenge me. A couple of posts back I stated how I have a fear of the open water - well yesterday I signed up for the Sydney Morning Herald "Cole Classic". Yep, I have signed up for the Open Water 2km swim in my age category. I must be totally bonkers or totally driven to not let these open water swim monsters beat me. A slightly scary thought but I figured there will be thousands of other swimmers so chances of me being picked out as a tasty morsel is fairly remote. I also have my own fundraising page http://www.everydayhero.com.au/barbara_hughes_2, I will be raising money for NETS (Newborn Emergency Transport Service). Whatever spare cash you have would be greatly appreciated as this team of nurses, doctors and specialists are true gems.

Stay tuned for a special blog post on one of my friends this afternoon.

Results from Hills Sprint Tri.

• 12th out of 31 women
• 4th in my age group
• 750m swim - 13:13
• 20km cycle - 43:07
• 5km run - 27:44
• Total time: 1:24:04

I'm a happy little vegemite.

Feelin' fine.

I am now onto Month 3 of my training programme for Port Macquarie 70.3 and feel so good. I never thought I would get back to the point of where I was prior to all my injuries and still feel like I have so much to more to give. Granted it's been a slow journey, however that being said - I can now safely see the path straight through to the finishing chute.

Yesterdays run really opened my eyes in more ways than one. I realised that running based on minutes versus kilometres is much easier for me. Something about counting down the kilometres plays real mind games with me. I also realised that I really like running in the rain - something about it is really cleansing (yes I shower in the usual way). My mind and body felt so refreshed and the usual thought's which clutter my mind (pain, fatigue, pain) seemed to not even be a blip on the radar. I also realised that's whilst I enjoy company during my swim's and rides, during my run's I quite enjoy the solitude. It gives me an opportunity to really stay connected with my body and analyse how I feel during every step of the way.

I have also realised that I never ever give myself enough credit about what it is I can accomplish. I always have this self doubt in every aspect of my life - not sure where this has eminated from but it is always something I have struggled with. Even with all the good things that have been happening I still think that something will happen to make it all come to an end. So because I know this is probably my most weakest attribute - when I feel it starting to raise it's ugly head I get down to the basics and pull out my trusty little book and find words or phrases that nourish my mind and enrich the soul. I found this one this morning:

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't,
you're probably right"
Henry Ford.

So I looked at yesterday's run and said to myself outloud this morning - You can do anything. You can run, you just ran 7.8km in 45mins and it felt cruisey. You can be whoever it is you set your mind to be. You can be a good runner - all you have to do is have faith in yourself and the rest will fall into place.

A chink in my armour.

First things first. We have a winner. Yep, you heard it right here. And the winner was chosen the old fashioned way. The kids and I thought if it worked for those people all those years ago before electronics became the way of the world, then why should choosing my winner be any different. So we wrote all the names down and their corresponding number of entries, then cut them all up and scrunched them all up and shook it all about.

It was then time to pick the lucky winner. Taillah stood upon a chair and I had to reach up nice and high. No photos were taken of Taillah and I as we looked totally deplorable - hair everywhere, not a pretty sight.

We could become hand models.

And the winner is - drum roll please........................................................................................................

DAWN from Puzzle Pieces.
Congratulations.

Will send you an email so you can send me your details. Fingers crossed you get it there before Chrissy - I hope you enjoy it all. Doing this giveaway was heaps of fun and will have to hold another one post Christmas as this will give me time to think of some new stuff to giveaway.

Yesterday I had my first proper distance Sprint Triathlon. By proper I mean the swim distance was correct, not the abridged version of the TriShave Triathlon. And although the official times are yet to be posted I do have a rough idea of the overall time 1hr 22min. I am quite happy with this time because it was quite a challenging event due to Mother Nature.

The wind had picked up before we started the race and the lake which is normally pristine was now looking slightly choppy like the ocean. The good thing was, the wind was blowing in our favour for the swim. The guys took off at precisely 5pm and us girls took off at 5:02pm. Before too long I had started reeling the guys in. Normally not a bad thing but there were feet and bubbles everywhere in front of me. At times it was actually hard to know where to go and it was then the sighting came into play. This is something I definately need to practice as it made me very tired. I could feel my arms getting heavier and heavier with every stroke.

Where am I ?.

I knew when I took off that only one other lady had taken the lead and I was hoping as the swim continued that no other had crossed in front of me. I knew there was nothing I could do considering I really couldn't see too far in front so I just had to hope for the best. It wasn't until I exited the water and made my way into transition that the race organiser yelled over the mic "second female into transition" that I got excited and felt good about the swim.
Transition 1 went well I think apart from the fact I am still not confident about having my shoes clipped onto the bike so I spend a bit of time then having to clip in once I leave transition. Never mind, another area I need practice and confidence in. As I headed off onto the first lap of the bike I was greeted with a horrendous headwind. I literally had to go into the small ring and middle gears to spin through the 2.5km distance of headwinds. My speed on this side was never more than 25km/hr but the effort used to gain that speed was up near the 9/10. I was hoping that the other side would give me some reprieve - and it did. I clocked close to 40km/hr and it was absolute bliss on this side.
So four times over, headwind and tailwind and it was onto the run. I struggled abit in transition and could not get my sneakers on. My feet had obviously swollen quite a bit in the heat and I was struggling to get them in. With a couple of hard shoves and a few choice words to boot, I headed off hoping that I would not need to walk. My legs were once again nice and heavy and those first 2.5km were very painful. I remember saying to my coach who was doing the race and who so kindly held back to give me support about how heavy they felt. She said "not to worry, they will come good".

And they did but I then developed blisters on the arch of my foot. My legs by this stage felt great and I had this searing hot pain underfoot. I also had this lady behind me trying to mow me down. I could hear her heavy breathing closing in and everytime she got too close I increased my speed and pulled away from her. This cat and mouse game happened about 5 times until finally she relented and dropped off - my job was done.

Not looking too bad.

Now what do you think?
Flat footed and low to the ground. A typical Barbie run when I am tired. Thank goodness this was the last 150m before coming through the glorious inflatable finish line. Nothing looks better.
I was also greeted by my beautiful family.

Coach was really happy with my performance and I was happy with how I went too. Now the arduous task of waiting lays before me. Will post times as soon as I get them.

This morning Elissa and I headed off for a recovery ride post race and it felt really nice just to get out and spin those legs even though the weather was totally questionable - cold and drizzly. We rode to Cobbitty and sat down and had a wonderful coffee and a feed for morning tea - mind you it was only 7:30am. It was so nice to just ride without having a set speed or objective to complete. We did 44km in about 1hr and 47 mins and felt really good when we got home.

In the afternoon we headed off to the TopNotch Christmas Party. I have since determined that after attempting an ocean swim, that this little fishy much prefers the confines of her fish tank. Yes, I am scared of the open open water. It's not the waves or the current that intimidates me, it is the fear of the unknown. I hate not being able to see the bottom and my mind was playing tricks on me.

I didn't totally freak out like "arms flailing and screaming like a lunatic" but rather this dread encompassed my body and if it wasn't for my innate ability to not be able to drown myself, I could have quite easily sunk to the bottom as my body became very heavy with fear. I remember looking at Elissa and saying "I can't do this, I'm scared". To which she replied "of course you can, don't freak out or you will have an asthma attack". I asked if we could do some breastroke and Elissa stayed close by my side. I then gained a little bit of courage and swam Freestyle and then swum like the wind back into shore. I kept imagining this surprise attack of a Great White or Bull Shark - and it scared the living daylights out of me. I promised I would own up to the "chink in my armour" for Alison. Here it is. You are braver than me Al.

But let it be known, the next time I tackle an ocean swim - it will not beat me. I will conquer this fear.