Weekly Update - 23.08.10 - 29.08.10

SWIM

Squad x 2
Non-squad x 1

11.6km

A couple of good sessions this week. Monday's long swim had 7x200m descending and for once I was actually able to descend properly with my last one being the fastest. Although the clock is really quite difficult to see (especially without contacts) but I think most of my times were accurate... Friday was another good set of 16x100's at a brisk pace.

BIKE

Time: 14hrs24
Distance: 349km

This was a good week which ended on very cold and shivery note with the last hour of my Sunday ride being in torrential rain and hail. The first 4 hours were good, the sun even came out and it got quite hot. Then it got a bit cloudy and the rain started, which didn't stop. I had appropriate winter gear on but after about 25mins of rain I was freezing but still about half an hour from home. I got to the point of uncontrollable shivering and somehow manged to get the front door unlocked but couldn't get the key out my hands were so cold. I got into the shower with half my clothes on because it was too hard to get them off, then it took about 10mins in the hot shower followed by sitting in front of the heater with a blanky and hot soup to warm up. Not pleasant. Lucky my wing-man was with me to give me a push up the last hill when my legs stopped working and to keep me entertained while I was too cold to even talk.
Now I'm REALLY looking forward to getting to the US and into some hot weather.

The pitfalls of commuting by bike in winter. At least I have somewhere to dry my clothes

RUN

Time: 4hrs41
Distance: 5~8km

Did my last long run of 2hours this week which went well. Wore my new shoes but am still having issues with chaffing so think I am going to have to succumb to socks - eek! Went for a trial sock run on Sunday and it wasn't so bad. At least it will save my feet a bit for the 70.3 race I am potentially doing the week after WI

Weekly Update - 16.08.10 - 22.08.10

SWIM

Squad x 2
Non-squad x 1

~12km

Did my long swim on Monday with no probs (except not being allowed spa time afterwards...). I'm beginning to prepare myself for the very real possibility that Wisconsin may be non-wetsuit (maybe just for Pro's) and since it will be after 1st Sept my Blue Seventy Muppet PZ3 won't be legal. I can't really afford to buy anything new at the moment and there is a good chance that a B70 textile PZ3 won't be made in time so I tested out a brand new Orca 226 trisuit that I had at home to wear over my race kit. It seemed to be ok, didn't feeling like it was dragging or anything and I was able to do a set of 15 x 100m leaving on 1.30 (with paddles...) which is pretty good for me. But hopefully the water temperature will drop between now and Sept the 12 so I can wear my trusty Helix Muppet-suit. I need all the protection I can get between me and the SNAKES which swim in Lake Monona. Thats right there are snakes in the lake and the biggest reported one is between 4 and 5 feet...

BIKE

Time: 15hrs49
Distance: 387km

Nothing too exciting this week, did 5.5hrs on Sunday but only about the same distance as my 5.25hr ride the week before due to some nasty wind and rain. I got some new LG tri shoes a few weeks ago and managed to get my A into G to actually change my cleat over and use them. They are a bit of a weird fit - really roomy in the toes but quite tight over the midfoot but with a few orthotic adjustments I think I have got them right. And they look so white and pretty...

RUN

Time: 4hrs51
Distance: ~60km

About the same time and distance as last week, my Saturday run was a wee bit longer but I ran a bit less on the track so it evened out. I got some new shoes this week, I have always wanted to try Brooks Adrenaline because most people who use them rave about them but they never went small enough. So I was very excited to discover they now do a junior version which is available in NZ. So I got me a pair of them and wore them for my Sunday run. They felt pretty good, they should be more stable than my adidas Supernova Sequence which is what I need. They need a bit of wearing in and rubbed off a patch of skin on a bony part of my midfoot but I have a bit of time to get used to them.

Ouchies and I don't have kankles its a bad camera angle...


Bad weather threatening to derail my track session

Lots of rain as I huddle under the clubhouse

Weekly Update - 09.08.10 - 15.08.10

SWIM

Squad x 3

Started my long swim Monday campaign this week and despite not being allowed to have a spa afterwards it was reasonably successful. Knocked out 5km doing a little bit extra before squad and then stayed on for the 7am squads warm up with the main set being 3x800m. We did some 100s on Friday this time leaving on 1.45 which was a bit better because it didn't take so long.
Had a sad moment this week when my beloved goggles started to fail me. The strap has disintegrated and ripped so many times but I have prolonged their life and kept tying them up but this week they broke in about 4 more places and I have run out of strap to tie them and still be able to get them over my head. The actual goggles are all good so if I could find another strap for them I would be pretty happy. No-one here really stocks these goggles though so I don't like my chances. I think I did my first ironman in these goggles and have at times bought new ones but always return to my old favourites so hopefully I can restore them for Wisconsin.


BIKE

Time: 13hrs37
Distance: 346km
Boyfriends: 1

Had a bit of time on the dreaded WT this week due to some poo weather. I actually managed to produced some pretty good power for 5, 10 and 20mins which is good, it wasn't much fun though.
Knocked out a 5hr15/143km Sunday ride without getting wet which was good. Have resumed my marmite sandwich nutrition plan (mostly just a good excuse to have white bread in the house...) and its nice to have something different to eat on the bike. So I will be sure to pack my marmite when I go to the US.

RUN

Time: 4hrs 50
Distance: ~59km

A couple of good runs this week, made my return to track and managed to hit out a few good 800s and 400s. The track is quite soft and really seems to nail my calves but I had a massage at the end of the week which sorted them out. Long run was 2hrs16 at pootle-pace in the rain. Our paths that we run on have been a bit muddy and under water so my shoes have been taking a hammering. Think it may be time for new shoes.

My poor shoes

Weekly Update - 02.08.10 - 08.08.10

SWIM

Squad x3

~11km

Tried not to do anything too strenuous this week at swimming, leggies were a bit sore on Monday so had a good spa session... We decided to a Friday squad for a change which was a main set of 30x100's. At the Teps when we would do a set like this my lane would be leaving on 1.35 which would start to get a bit difficult for me after 10 or so, at our new squad we were leaving on 1.55!!!! It was so luxurious!! It was good in that I was able to hold a faster pace for each 100m but then I was getting so much rest that I wasn't really being pushed. I guess leaving on a shorter interval is more of a threshold set so not sure what we would call this.

BIKE

Time: ~12hrs15
Distance: ~300km

Only really pootled to work and back during the week (except for Thursday when I did a bit extra but TapTap's hub battery died so I don't know how long or how far).
My long Sunday ride was a bit of a mess with a nasty squally storm which hit after about 2.5hrs of riding in the sun. I got pretty wet and absolutely freezing and ended up riding home to get warm and dry and did the last 1hr on the WT to make up 5hrs. Not really ideal but at least I got it all done, so lets hope we get fine weather for the next 4 Sundays.


Crazy fog during the day out of my window at work. Not so good for riding home in the dark.

RUN

Time: 3hrso4
Distance: ~38km

I didn't run until the Friday after Taupo half to give my leggies a bit of a rest and then when I did do my 20min run my calves tightened up pretty badly. The next day was my 2hrs+ run and by then end of it my calves were so tight I couldn't walk down the stairs. My calves never used to be a problem, its only been since I had my stress fracture that this has happened. They had eased up by Sunday but still weren't great running off the bike.
I also had to run in the rain/mud/puddles on Saturday resulting in some very nasty rubbed off skin on my foot. The dangers of running without socks I guess. I must remember to vas up next time...

Ouch.

Weekly Update - 26.07.10 - 01.08.10

SWIM

Squad x 2
Non-squad x 1

~10km

Good week of swimming this week despite the lack of changing rooms. Did a couple of nasty 100m and 200m TT's as well as a max heart rate set. I've never taken my HR with swimming before and thought it would be higher, it was around 155-160pbm for a set of 100's and 66's. The biggest challenge was trying to times my 15sec HR by 4 to get it for a minute, not so easy to do after swimming hard and having more blood in my arms and legs than in my brain.

BIKE

Time: 10hrs52
Distance: 262km

A bit light on the riding this week with no long ride due to the Taupo half marathon on Sunday. Ended up riding halfway around the airport with the Mechanics Bays bunch on Saturday which was fast and furious at times. Ended up having to run a few red lights to keep up which isn't ideal but managed to stay upright which is good news. Riding with a big bunch like that makes me see some of the reasons why cars hate cyclists...

RUN

Time: 3hrs45
Distance: ~50km

Finished up the week with the Taupo Half Marathon which is a race I hadn't done before but goes on part of the IMNZ course. I did a 3x1mile track session on Wednesday and tried to lock in 4min/km pace because that is what I wanted to run in the weekend to give me an overall time of under 85mins.
The course is pretty much flat out and back but a slightly different way on the way back going over a few fields and a lake side track so it was always going to be slightly slower on the return leg.
I started out running with my friend LTH who I thought would do a good time and there was no km markers until 5km so I trusted her to pace me well. We went through the first 5km in 19min30 which was way faster than I expected but it seemed comfortable so I figured I'd just roll with it. I was in 2nd place at the turn around and got through the 1st 10km in 39.48 which is a 10km PB - HA! Once I had turned around I realized why the first half was so easy - now I was faced with a solid headwind for the whole return trip. The off-road section didn't help, there was quite a narrow track but it was certainly a lot harder to run on than the road plus being close to the lake and more exposed to the wind. Ended up slipping into 4th place by 15km and just plodded home to finish in 88.42 which was a bit far off what I was hoping.
I was about 4.5mins slower on the way back which I thought was pretty bad but after an analysis of the results it seems 4.5mins was the average slow down rate, although it would have been a bit less for the top half of the field so I was a bit slower compared to the people I was running with. So a bit disappointing but not too much of a biggie. I wondered if I had gone out too hard but don't think I would have gone much faster on the way back even if I had have gone a bit easier on the way out.
There were mixed results for the rest of the team. J-Rad showed that it could be a fast course and did a PB; Davo, Nick and Two Piece didn't have the runs they were hoping for, Two Piece however showed the best pacing with only about 1min30 difference between her first and second lap, and Jess had a good run coming off some sickness.


Having a bit of a mid-race chat? Maybe Davo is telling J-Rad he is about to blow up after 5km


Everyone else is running but I am leaping/prancing


Feeling a bit over the headwind which is causing some wayward hair action


So next week will be somewhat of a rest week (whats that?!) during the week then back into the long stuff for the weekend and for the next 4 weeks after that leading up to IMMOO.