And the countdown begins

With 30 days to go till Yeppoon it is time to start the official countdown. I did it with Port 70.3 and so the trend shall continue for Yeppoon. Thirty days out from Port I was almost having a conniption. I think 30 days out I got a sinus infection that almost made me feel like my head was going to implode. But, 30 days out from Yeppoon and there is no sinus infection in sight - knock on wood. Thirty days out I was questioning my ability to get through the race at Port - but 30 days out from Yeppoon I am not - even though I have had a few hiccups along the way.

It is quite exciting feeling the change within me. Having never been an overly confident individual in my abilities, more so I tend to underestimate and down play what I am capable of, I feel really excited about heading to Yeppoon. It is almost as though I am relaxed. There is no stress, no drama, just a knowing that this race is going to be fun. I am really looking forward to the warmer weather too. The cold is driving me nuts.

And talk about cold. Wednesday was absolutely atrocious. I think Penrith recorded it's coldest day in like 20 something years. It didn't hit much above 8 degrees celsius the whole day. I was meant to do an outdoor ride but being school holidays and all it made it impossible. My youngest stayed home with me whilst my twins headed off to play mini golf with their buddies. On the return home from dropping them off - Kyle and I hired some DVD's and a PS3 game and some lunch. I then set to doing an indoor trainer ride.

And then "Hey Presto" I wasn't cold anymore. If anything I was dripping in sweat in no time at all. Loved it. i felt nice and strong too. But nothing beat how I felt yesterday in the pool. I did my 500m TT in 7:12. My aim is to get closer to the 7min mark and to hold that pace in an open water setting too. God know's I am not the best open water swimmer. Oh well, just another thing to focus on and to get better at. That's the great thing about this sport - there is always something to improve on - with 3 sports rolled into one it's inevitable.

I have also continued to stay quite focused on my diet and have managed to put weight back on - which is good. I had continued to lose weight after Port and felt probably not as good physically so I feel much better now that I am at my ideal weight. Another good thing about focusing on your diet is that you get to experiment with your meals and get adventurous.

What delicious healthy meals have you come up with this week?

Could it.

Get any colder? I hope not, however I fear this may not be the case. With still half of July and all of August to go I am dreading how much colder it could possibly get. Bike riding and running in this kind of weather is really hard work, not just on the mind but on the body. My nose goes a beautiful shade of cherry red as do my cheeks and even with thermal gloves on my fingers could still snap off, but then there is always that fine line of how much to wear because obviously as you start to work harder you heat up. I am gradually learning this fine art.

Monday night at windtrainer with Eliza was quite cold. Lucky it didn't take long to heat up and before we knew it we were stripping off. I love looking at the steam rise up off everyone during the winter months - looks really cool. My set was 3 x 8mins at race pace with a 3min easy spin and then at the end of the set I had to do a nice easy 3 lap run off the bike. Legs felt good, not heavy at all. My hammy didn't even bother me at all which I am so thankful for - mind you I have been behaving so why would it.

Then yesterday I did my first run in over a week. And of all days to choose to go out for a run - I had to choose the coldest day ever. Even inside the home with the A/C on I was still freezing. Oh well, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger or atleast thats what I keep trying to tell myself. As I stepped outside I knew we were in the sub zero temps. My car and every blade of grass was covered in frost. I had immediate goosebumps - so much so I resembled a plucked chook - hilarious. I quickly started my car and set off to get the hose to wash off some of the frost. Well, when no water came out I thought "oh there must be frost in the hose, I will just give it a bend to try to loosen the ice crystals in there". Hmmmmm, that didn't work. I ended up with the nozzel in my hand and about 15cms of hose. The damn thing snapped in half - with the cleanest cut possible.

I haven't laughed that hard in ages. It was the funniest thing ever. Anyway needless to say I could now not use the hose to defrost the windscreen. Heading in to meet Susan at the CC the temperature gauge did not get much better. And as Susan and I set off to run face first into the rising sun we were trying to absorb every little bit of warmth we could get. I haven't felt that cold in ages but within 30mins of running I was toasty warm. The same couldn't be said for poor Susan's fingers. They were a lovely shade of "Beetroot". At the end of the run we were both nice and warm and had completed 10.4km in an hour. I was very happy indeed as I had absolutely no pain whatsoever in my hamstring. Not even a little twinge. WooHoo.

I think I should be good to continue my training as per normal now till Yeppoon. Not long to go.

I have found my way.

Back to the keyboard of Blog World. Oh how I have missed thee. I promised myself way back over a year ago that I would never go more than a few days without posting and have the last two posts failed miserably at that. Not sure why I have neglected to get on here other than the thought has crossed my mind but I have just not had the right words to come up with to make a post that was worthy of publishing. But I guess to those who read my blog - you probably enjoy reading my antics and get quite a giggle out of some of the stories I tell - or better still I hope I connect with you on some level that makes you realise that if a housewife from the west can give it a go, then so can you.

This last week has been all about "mothering my hammy" and taking itsy steps to ensure that it behaves - and it has. There is no pain, some slight tightness but overrall, the old girl is behaving. I am stretching diligently and icing post activity and if yesterday's bike ride is anything to go by - I think I am GOOD TO GO.

Wednesday I went for my first test ride to see how the hammy would pull up. Paul and I did laps around near the Coffee Club at a nice easy pace and although my hammy didn't hurt, my back did. Damn back - it always tells me when I haven't done any exercise. but Paul stuck by me making sure I was okay and he sheltered me from the horrific winds which came howling down the roads in every direction imaginable. Paul is such a great friend, and not sure if I mentioned it before but Paul and I used to swim squads together at Guildford Aquatic Centre. It is such a small world. But so glad I have re-united with him and his beautiful family.

Then on Thursday evening I did more Core and Strengthening Class with SPARTA PT. I love coming to this class - not only is it heaps of fun but I get to spend it with some great people. Thanks for making the classes so much fun Jen.

I have had 2 really good swim sessions - both of which I have felt so strong in. The first was with Sarah on Thursday - we did some longer sets and we both came out quite happy from the session. I was happy to see that I was able to maintain a nice form throughout and hold my pacing really well. It's amazing how your body know's just what to do - especially when it finds a sport that it feels so comfortable in. Sure things hurt but it's a different sort of hurt - it's not one that makes you want to stop but rather that pain empowers you to keep pushing because you know you are getting better, fitter. The same cannot be said for my running. I am sure I was meant to grow gills - being in the water feels like being home.

The second one was with James at Nepean Aquatic Centre (NAC). If you haven't had a chance to get to this pool - then I suggest you make it a "To Do". It is a really beautiful swimming pool and the water is so clear you can see from one end of the pool to the other. I love it. This was our set:

• 3 x 200m - 50 Fr/s, 50 Bk/s, 50 kick, 50 Fr/s
• 4 x 100m Fr/s descending time on 2:00
• 8 x 50m Fr/s with pullbouy at ankle on 60secs
• Then 3 sets of the following:
• 200m Fr/s firm on 4:00 - I managed to do - 2:55, 2:50, 2:45
• 4 x 50m Fr/s with paddles on 60 secs
• 4 x 100m Fr/s - 25m sprint/ 75m easy
• Then:
• 8 x 25m kick with 10secs rest
• 100m easy cooldown

I felt amazing on Saturday in the water. My strokes were really long and controlled, I love feeling like that - brings back memories of my childhood when I was a really good swimmer. Makes me still feel like I can tackle almost anything.

Then after finishing the swim - the gang was at it again for a ride. I was unable to do the efforts so I sat back with Macca (who I hadn't seen for ages) as Sarah did her efforts from the program with Louise, Nikki and Andrew. Sarah is on fire with her program. Yeppoon is going to be an amazing day for her. But towards the end of the ride I decided to have a little go and hang onto them to test out the hammy and it behaved. Thank goodness. It is not allowed to misbehave - not after all the "molly coddling" I have been lavishing on it.

Then yesterday I did another amazing ride - only this time I felt on fire. Wow, I felt so very strong and ended up riding for just under 2.5hrs hours. And now that I have passed the hammy test - I am back in full swing with the training. I can now join Sarah on the remaining long rides so we can both make it to Yeppoon feeling strong and confident. Thanks guys for sheltering me from that horrendous headwind on the M4. If I hadn't of been able to slip stream behind you my feeling of STRENGTH could very well have been replaced with feelings of BLAH.

So bring on the remaining 35 days till Yeppoon. I'm excited. I am off for another PT session with Jodie today. No running but more strength and core work. The more core strength I get the better. I am surrounded by great people who all want to see me stay healthy and fit. Thanks everyone so much.

What a weekend.

Of fun, laughter, hard work and a little drama.

Saturday morning apart from being one of the hardest swim sessions I have ever done since doing swim squads as a child, it was quite possibly the most fulfilling too. I remember walking in - my usual 15mins early and looking at James as we were standing at the side of the pool and saying "So, what's on the agenda for this morning". To which he quite casually replied " 3 x 1500's". To say that I now have a bruise under my chin because my jaw hit the floor that hard is no word of a lie. Oh ok, well the bruise is, however the look of "What the" quickly followed by "Your kidding right" is no word of a lie. James simply smiled and said "Off you go. 3 x 100's warm up". I was quite possibly staring down the barrel of my first major "fail" in the water. I was scared. But I was here now, and it would look silly and gutless if I said I couldn't do it. So I dove in and got started on the warm up.

First up was a timed 1500m Fr/s. I gulped and thought "oh boy, here we go - this is number one. He wasn't telling a fib at all". So as I set off I tried to just stay focused on form. Not speed or time but my form the whole way. Nice long, slow strokes trying to milk each stroke for what it was worth. I wanted each stroke to have purpose as I have noticed that when I get tired I short change my stroke and start getting very choppy. So whenever I felt myself getting tired and ineffective in the water I went through my own little checklist and corrected that which started to slip. My first 1500m I came in at 23:50. I was happy. Tired, but happy.

Then it was time to put our paddles on. 15 x 100's leaving on 1:45. Five with paddles, 5 without, 5 with paddles. By the time I hit the last 5 with the paddles on - believe me I was in sheer survival mode. I am not even sure my Fr/s looked like Fr/s anymore. I could feel the paddles starting to slip as I was obviously not using them correctly. Nevermind, number 2 was done and I was hoping that with just over 20mins left of the session the third 1500m was not going to happen. WRONG.

The last 1500m's was another timed effort. Oh holy mother of Mary. I was speechless - yep - Barbie was well and truly lost for words. This was news worthy. I had no energy and so when I was asked to set off again I did so expecting a massive flunk in my time. This last set really made me have to did deep. Not just physically but mentally. I was having to pull harder than I ever have and was starting to get very tired. When Kate drew closer to my feet I was happy to let her go past and I hung on for dear life. As I got to the end I looked up at James and he said 23:20. Oh yeah, even though I felt like I was going to die and my heart palps were coming thick and fast I still managed to swim 30 secs faster. WooHoo. With the cool down at the end I swam a whopping 4.9km that morning.

Then Sarah, myself and Louise Mackinley (4 time World Ironman Champion) before heading off for our bike ride sat down for a yummy and well deserved breakfast and delicious Greek coffee.

Sarah, myself and Louise.

Going out for a ride with them was so much fun. The chit chat never really stopped unless we were doing our efforts. And even still there was still a bit of laughter going on. Louise was giving us really good pointers and was telling us great stories - thankyou so much Louise. And thankyou Sarah for another great training ride. You are smokin' the training young lady. With 56km under our belt on the ride it was time to go home and have a rest before heading back out to do a trail run. The trail run was adventurous. There were lots of dogs to be seen but the one's that stopped Sarah and I dead in our tracks were off lead and one was very confrontational. Sarah and I grabbed a stick - I was ready to climb up a tree and Sarah was definitely the braver one shooshing it away in a very brave voice. I on the other hand refused to make eye contact and got ready with my fight or flight response to head up a tree in a split second. Very funny now when I look back.

Sunday was a great day apart from a sore hammie. I have a little tear which should heal but am having 2 days rest at the moment and have had my bars put up on my bike again to take the load off of my hammie - thanks Dave so much doing that for me so quickly. Your the best. The ride was great - I went with Joey, Kristy, Sarah and Louise and enjoyed another morning of laughter and stories. Sorry for some of the stories Joey. Rather girl focused so I hope we didn't scar you too much.

Then yesterday I was treated to some ART therapy. I was seen by Nick from Spectrum Health and had my body moved and rubbed and bent into positions I never thought possible. He was able to feel the small tear and and he worked on releasing all my wonderfully tight muscles in my glutes and hammies. Seems my back and core are still an issue even with all my training. Nevermind. It will come good. I am positive.

So looking forward to my nice easy ride tomorrow - thats if the winds let up. There has been some gail force warnings issued. So, how is everyone?

Haulin' Ass

That's me this week and it's really only the beginning. Not liking my chances at feeling strong for the remainder of the week or even into Week 3 I might add. However, as my friends keep telling me "No pain, no gain".

Monday morning I had my first Personal Training session with coach Jodie. The hope is that she will be able to critique and improve my form not only in my run but in other facets of my Triathlon techniques. However, the Monday just gone was all about going for a run and then finding some hills so she could show me the technique I need to use when doing hill repeats.

We initially warmed up with about a 3km warm up and then it was time to tackle some hill repeats. And believe me, 4 was more than enough. The hill was only about 200m in length but was quite steep and the aim was to keep the same speed and form for all of them. Good in theory. However, come the 4th one and there was absolutely nothing pretty about it. All of a sudden it was like system shutdown. Core off - check, strong arms off - check, legs barely lifting off ground - check, make it to the top and heave - check, Lactic acid threshold reached - check. Wow, talk about being totally knackered. Anyway, making back to the gym wasn't too bad - the legs recuperated and then it was time to do some core work. Thanks for a great hour Jodie - hope I wasn't too painful.

Then Monday night it was back to the Windtrainer session with Eliza for some more strength work. It was much like last week only this time we had to do 3 x 9mins grinding big ring, hardest gear you can hold with a cadence of no more than 65 again. My legs were tired but not too bad, I was still able to talk and giggle through the class. We then cooled down with 3 laps of the oval. Sarah and I paced eachother quite well with the same tempo run and funny enough we wore almost the same clothes too.

Tuesday it was back out on the road for a run with hill repeats. This time my best friend Susan mentioned a stretch of road not far from the oval which has a good incline and is just over 300m in length. I was meant to do 8 but could only hit 6 - my left hip started to feel a bit dodgy and I had had it. In total with warm up and cool down plus hill repeats I ran 10.8km but by looking at my face you would have thought I ran 50km.

Yesterday was fairly ordinary. With totally trashed legs and a restless night's sleep - so much so I totally ripped the bed apart in my sleep, I had to do a 2hr ride with hill repeats. Not happening Jan. I had nothing and if it wasn't for my friends helping me along the way keeping me going - I would have liked to have gone home and back to bed. Thanks so much guys. I think I look a bit better this morning - atleast the luggage which had occupied the space underneath my eyes have disappeared a bit - leaving me only with a few handbags. The best bit about the ride was the coffee afterwards. Gees that hit the spot. I still managed to ride 44km in 1hr 40mins but it could have only been 10km if I had of had my way.

Well today is another day - and it is swim time and I am really looking forward to it. Lets see how this session goes.

Week 1 DONE

And what a way to finish the week. I was in two minds about this weekend. Mainly because it heralded the beginning of an 8 week program which was going to hurt AGAIN. And I don't mind the pain, but I hate the anticipation of what awaits me. I always imagine things to be a million times worse and really never give myself credit for what I am capable of achieving - even after all the things I HAVE done. Ya think I'd get it by now.

So with Saturday being the beginning of a long tough weekend, it was time to hit the pool at 5am. Yep, you read right - 5am. I was not feeling the love at 3:45am when my alarm went off - and whilst you may question the necessity for me to get up so early considering I only live 25mins away, I am a creature who likes to eat breakfast before a workout and as such need some time for it to digest. So, I have to grin and bare the early rise in order to feel slightly more functionable for a session.

So this was the swim set and not in it's correct order. I have enough trouble trying to work out what it is I have to do when I am being told let alone 45mins after the swim when I log it on Dailymile.

4 x 100's Free - Up breathing every 5, down breathing every 7

4 x 100's kick

4 x 100's Fly,Free

4 x 100's Free and Bk/s

2 x 200's Free on 3:30

400 easy Free

6 x 50's Bk/s, Br/s

4 x 100's Free with pullbouy at ankle

So I finished feeling relatively good but now needed to rush and get things prepared to go and watch the kids play their tennis comp - which might I add they are absolutely AMAZING. I am such a proud Mum. Well when they finished their comp and had to then do an hour's training session, I left them with Stephen and Mum and got on my bike and rode 52km's in 2hrs and made my way back home. It was a good time to start breaking in my new saddle, however I had forgotten how sore things can get in the nether region - so I spent a bit of time with my bum in the air. Anyway, I still got my sets done but with a bit of a grimace on the face. It will get better, it always takes time to break things in when they are new. This is my new baby.

Then by the time I got home all's I had time to do was shower, eat lunch, put my feet up for a bit and then off I went for a run with Susan. Oh boy this was tragically slow - but I was so tired. Nevermind it was only meant to be at a Zone 2 pace, and well I think it was borderline walk, but 6.7km got done and my Saturday was done. I ended up seeing some of the boys from the club Paul, Bob and Ryan and gees they make running look easy. So graceful and boundy they were.

When it was finally time to rest my weary head and body I don't even think I remember my head hitting the pillow. I was STUFFED, but knew I had one more day to go and I was really half way through the weekend. And I could do this.

Sunday morning I woke up at 5:30am - yep, you guessed it - 2hrs earlier to eat breakfast and get ready. I really love the peace and quiet and the chance to just gather thoughts and prepare for the day ahead. However as I headed out the door at 7am I was greeted with a FROSTY -2. It was so cold that the skin on my cheeks hurt. I drove to the Coffee Club and ordered my Long Black and waited for Sarah to turn and then had another as she had her Hot Chocolate as we waited for the fog to burn off. It's amazing though how many people were out and about exercising - some even in singlets.

So as Sarah and I headed out we knew we were going to be in for a hard ride with hills and Dave from Panthers Cycle's had told me of an ideal location to head to - Bents Basin. Oh boy, as we headed out there I was already hurting - not just in the legs but in other parts and so there were a few pit stops along the way. Chamois Butt'r and I are best friends - that stuff is GOLD.

As Sarah and I were nearing the top of one of the hills at Greendale, we passed a lady running. We said HI and thought nothing more of it till we hit the top of the hill. Well we got off and thought this prime photo opportunity and then the lady comes bouncing past and say's "beautiful morning". I said "Wow, you made it up here fast" and she said "Not bad for a Grandmother of 4 and 60". Sarah and I looked at eachother as our chins hit the floor, and we were both speechless. We both could not believe it and let her know how in awe we were of her. She said her fair wells and bounced away and Sarah and I just shook our heads. I want to be like that when I am 60 - heck I'd be happy to be like that at 40.

We continued on our merry way and finally made it down to Bents Basin. The whole time I was heading down there I knew we would have to come back up and I was dreading it - my legs were already toast. So we made another stop, had a quick bite and then headed back.

Heading back wasn't as bad through Bent's Basin, it was more once we hit Chain o Ponds that I started getting quite fatigued again. Sarah was a total trooper doing all the hills in aero as instructed by Coach Jodie. After 70km and heading back to the Coffee Club we still had a 20min run off the bike to accomplish and with that done - WE had just done our first week of Yeppoon 70.3 training. I was so glad to be done. Sarah, you are a legend and one tough chickey babe. Yeppoon is going to be a breeze for you - I look forward to seeing you smash it to bits.

When I finally got home at 1:30'ish Stephen and the kids had a beautiful lunch waiting for me. I was so hungry - all I wanted to do was stop the Mr Whippy Icecream van down at the river on my way home and eat a Choc Top - but I didn't. I came home to a yummy BBQ with roasted vegies instead. I have the best family.

And so Week 2 begins.

And it has just started.

Well Week 1 of my new training program has started. The hope is that I will be up to par (or atleast where I was at Port) for Yeppoon which is in another 52 days. Doesn't leave myself and my coach Jodie much time. So, because of that we have started this program with all guns ablazing. And believe me I am feeling it. However, that being said - I am ticking all my boxes - SO FAR, and happy to be back out there.

Monday was my first double session. A nice easy run - 5km, and felt good to be ticking those legs over. Then Monday night was my usual windtrainer session. Gee's I missed everyone, but there were a few of the regulars missing. The session was a tough one - slow, grinding and painful with sets of 7mins with a cadence of no more than 65 with 5min recovery x3. But I really liked it. Was good to see that I was able to keep form.

Then Tuesday it was back to my Long Run Tuesday. Obviously not as long as what I was doing before Port, but needless to say I was happy to score my first 1hr run and 9.5km. I was able to share the morning with my best friend Susan, her sister Melanie and their Dad.

Then yesterday was a mixed bag of feelings (physically). I had to do a 2hr bike ride and although I started off feeling full of ZING - within 40 mins I was ZINGLESS. I just could not keep up with the group and made the decision to turn around and head back to do my hill repeats. My wish is to one day be as strong as those who I ride with on a Wednesday. Their strength leaves me gobsmacked - and they can speak while keeping that pace too. I was just hanging on for dear mercy. Nevermind. There is always next week.

The hill repeats were well what can I say? HARD. PAINFUL. Yet I was PROUD of me for not giving up. Jodie had asked I find a hill that was about 600m in length and to go do out of saddle hill repeats - 10 of them. So I decided to hit Mitchell's Pass - just the bottom section as it is steep enough for me. To say that I wasn't scared would have been a lie. I am totally hopeless when it comes to hill climbing - however I keep hearing that they will make me stronger - so I just had to do it. I wasn't able to do all of them out of the saddle - however about 80% was done that way and when my legs fatigued towards the end of each hill I sat and grinded my way to the top.

On one of my downhill recoveries I saw a familiar face - Brendan. Brendan was the gentleman from the club and owner of Blaxland Day & Night Pharmacy and the gentleman responsible for my gift voucher. It was so nice to see him and thank him face to face as I was unable to on Saturday night. Thankyou once again - it was much appreciated.

So after doing all my hill stuff I clocked up 11.8km - 5.9km worth of climbing. And this morning although my legs are sore they are by no means dead. So I am now off for my first proper swim. Wish me luck. I think this one is going to hurt - ALOT.