Big Jo training 16 August - 28 August

SWIM

Swimming, swimming, swimming.
Well I did miss one swim because of a bit of an annoying cough/sniffles, but lucky I missed that day because apparently the pool was only 25 degrees brrrrrrrrrrr!
Without getting too excited I think that the swim block in Aussie has made me a bit faster - OMG! My go-to pace seems to be about 5sec quicker so I am doing my best to make the most of it and not slack off.
I have even started doing a few exercises to up my shoulder strength, including push ups (lady push ups of course), I can do 2x10!!!!

BIKE

Not quite the 518kms of Aussie but getting out in the cold was quite an achievement in itself.  Got back on the Poo Power Program but TapTaps hub battery went dead and couldn't be changed for a few days which made doing any efforts a bit pointless.
I suddenly had an epiphany the other day that my aero bars are far too long.  RooRoo looks like it has antlers and there is about 7cm from where my little hand rests to the shifter.  So I convinced the Managers of Muppetry that the bars need to be chopped.  So after a bit of chopping and filing the cables were ready to go back in which is where the problem started.  The front derailleur cable was getting stuck which turned out to be due to the guide tube inside the frame having a spack attack.  I thought RooRoo's time might be up but luckily Andrew at Hot Cycles (who is the man) found a way to get in and get things working.  Phew.
My short little bars are awesome though and I feel like a real cyclist without antlers.

Oh my, what short bars you have RooRoo - all the better to be aero with my dear...

RUN

I thought my running was going quite well until I did a pretty average 5km O'Hagan's race and then an even more average Cambridge Half Marathon.  I am not even going to say what my half time because it is so bad.  But it did include a brief splatter on the ground when my ankle just decided to roll over nothing and I face-planted on the road - nothing that I'm not used to anyway.

Not that impressive but more impressive than nothing

I have done my last long run for The Legend so will head out for a bit of a course reccie this weekend which will give me a good idea of how painful it is going to be... 

Mancave action at the Cambridge Triathlon Institute

Aussie Kona Camp Report

So the point of our little soiree to the Sunshine Coast of Australia was to give Jess (aka The Hammer) some company while she trains for her third time in Kona.
It was mostly swim/bike focus since the running around where we were staying wasn't great.

SWIM
8 x swims
24km

Pool's a bit crowded today

Our swimming hole was a quaint little 50m outdoor pool which we had to ourselves most days.  It was lovely and warm - between 27 and 28 degrees - something GI could learn from, and nice and clean.
We did 3km sets every day after riding so wasn't anything too strenuous but good to be doing it regularly.  As we got towards the end of the week and my little arms and legs were starting to feel quite weary I would think to myself I'd start swimming and see how I went, but I always made the full 3km - its amazing what you can do what you think you can't do any more.  If you get my drift.

BIKE
Time: 19hrs15
Distance: 518km

We rode a lot. 2.5-4hrs everyday bar one no-bike day and one easy 60min ride.  The Hammer took us all over the hills from Caloundra up to places called Maleny, Montville, Landsborough and Bald Knob.  That's right, Bald Knob.  The Australian's have some funny place names.
It is pretty hilly once you get away from the coast, although we did a ride up to Noosa which was flat until we got to Coolum and then it was big chainring, little chainring, big chainring, etc, every minute or so.  Lucky RooRoo was in good working order.
Some of the towns we rode through we pretty old and looked a bit like time had forgotten them but very nice at the same time.
Our last ride was pretty epic - The Hammer mapped out a ride for us which involved some unknown territory.  Based on the terrain around that area we thought it would be a bit undulating but nothing worse than what we had already encountered.  We started off well and found the roads we were to take, things were going well until we hit the 'Gravel Road' sign followed by a wiggly 6.5km sign.  We didn't have much option other than turning around and aborting our loop so on we pressed.  And a wiggly 6.km it was. In fact it was pretty much all downhill and slightly terrifying - not much fun on a TT bike.  I tried to remember that going faster downhill on gravel is safer than going at snails pace but it was very scary.

Starting the descent into the unknown

We saw a couple of kangaroos at the end of the gravel section which was exciting and there were a few rustles in the bushes as we rode past which were a bit ominous.
So finally back onto the tarseal and I began to wonder about the 6.5km of downhill we had ridden knowing that our final destination was up in the mountains and what was the profile of the rest of the ride would be like.  This question was answered pretty quickly with a 2.5km climb sign, it started off as a gradual climb - nothing too difficult.  Then it got steeper and steeper and every corner I got to thinking I must be at the top it just carried on and continued to go up.  I have NEVER been so close to getting off my bike and walking in my life, in fact, one of the members of our group who will remain nameless, actually did get off and walk for a section.  The last section was the worst, my handle bars were creaking so much with the force I was pulling on them that I thought they were going to snap.  The hill maxed out at 21% gradient - eek!  It was very, very steep.
That ride ended with a trip to the Montville Bakery which we felt was very well earned.

Nom nom nom

RUN
Time: 3hrs55
Distance: 45.3km

We did one long run in the Noosa National Park which was actually quite hard.  It was either soft sand or knobbly rocks underfoot and I rolled my ankles so many times I lost count.  I did an extra hour by myself and once I was a bit tired I rolled my ankles so much it was ridiculous.  I had to stick to the main tracks because I was worried I would roll an ankle so bad that if I went on an empty track no-one would find me and I would get eaten by snakes and crocodiles.  Luckily it didn't come to that but my right ankle was a bit sore for the next day or so.
The other runs were around Caloundra and were nice and warm.

Nice view from lunch post-run. A surf club without a fish burger on the menu?! Unheard of!

Midget bikes were the norm on this trip

BMW and MINI represent

So we are home and are VERY cold!! We are experiencing a 'once in a lifetime polar blast' as the people on the news keep telling us.  It even snowed in Auckland for about 30 seconds which is just crazy.

Big Jo training 25 July - 31 July

SWIM

Had a catch up with Coach Haydn about my swimming this week and now have a few different things to work on.  Unfortunately I am about to become one of these people that I like to make fun of who use all kinds of paraphernalia all at once like fins and paddles.  I have already had to become a person who uses a watch instead of the clock but only because the GI has such crappy clocks in such dumb places that I can't actually see them when I am in the pool even with contacts in.  But if it makes me a faster swimmer I'll do it.
Only did 2 swims this week due to a reshuffling of sessions because of the race in the weekend and I ended up having to cut my swim in favour of my long run.

BIKE

Took it quite easy early on in the week in preparation for the big race in the weekend.  For the newcomers to my blog - me and 5 of my cycling buddies did the Solo Race of Six Friends which is a style of racing known as a Gentlemen's Race for those people who know what that is.  Bascially you have 6 people in a team and a course which is revealed about 15mins before you start, you are given directions and it is unmarshalled but with a few check points along the way.  It is handicapped and teams leave at 2-3min intervals.

A frosty start

 I was the token female in our team to get us more of a handicap. 

What are you doing Neilio?

Roy's Rebels looking sharp thanks to BMW sponsorship

 I was a bit concerned about this race with my current bike fitness but a last minute change in team mates took the pressure off a bit.  We got off to a good start, passing about 3 teams in the first half hour and getting through the gravel sections unscathed.  I was quite worried about the gravel but it turned out to be ok, pretty hard packed in most places and some very large ruts, they told us about 10% would be gravel but I think it was a bit more than that, some of these sections went on forever.

Gravely gravel

Uphill gravel

J-rad checking that Joanna Razzell is still on

I got a lucky break with a couple of punctures in our group on one of the big downhill gravel sections which meant I was able to cruise down at my own pace while they fixed the punctures which I think saved my legs quite a bit.
We regrouped after the punctures and started making some good time but unfortunately had a major stuff up in the navigation department and ended up 8kms out in the wrong direction with no option but to turn around and head back.  We had been team time trialling it with Uncle Roy on the front averaging between 35-40km and it was very sad to have to head back from where we came. I think it definately broke our spirits a bit.

Check in point

 

First check in point - still riding with gay abandon

Stuck behind Neilio in the gravel

J-Rad and Neilio

The Serottica in action

Uncle Roy the stalwart

Once we were back on course (with an extra 16km in our legs) we got to the nastiest hill of the day which maxed out at 18% gradient.  To add insult to injury the last 50m, which was the steepest part, was gravel - ever try to ride up an 18% hill on gravel?! There were a lot of causalities and I believe that more than one person in the race had to get off and walk.  I think one of our teammates was pretty close to this by the looks of the photos and one unnamed member of our team managed to get a bit of tow from our supporters car...

Some major suffering going on

Whats going on at the bottom of the hill?!

Happy little pace line

We then took another wrong turn which could have been very bad for us but luckily our supporters were onto it and managed to wave us back.  Tempers were getting a bit frayed at this point but we got back to the finish the shortest way possible and ended up with about 12km more than anyone else.
Despite our problems it was a great event and had a certain spirit to it which no other race I have ever done has had.  We were very lucky with the weather for this time of year, I think that the vibe in the team could have been a bit different if we had kept taking wrong turns in the pouring rain...

Sums up the spirit of the race

Hopefully Amy Taylor and Mike Little don't mind me stealing a couple of their photos...


RUN

A bit under 50km for the week with a long run of 25km, it has been a very long time since I have run that far in one go!  I even had to take a Gu with me.  I had to do this run before work mid-week which is definitely not a usual time for me to run, especially that far as well.  But it generally went ok, not quite as quick as the week before but still a decent pace.  I won't do my next long run until next week at our Aussie training camp so it will be slightly more exotic than my usual route. 
Leggies have been holding up ok, one calf and one shin have been a bit niggly and sadly my massage lady is in France (how rude!) but I have been managing ok.  I will be very glad to see her when she gets back.