1km Open Water Swim

I signed up to do the 1km open water swim as part of my work (NDY) participation in the Corporate Games for 2011. I have only participated once before in corporate games and that was when I just joined NDY but participated as part of GHD's dragon boat race.

So why the 1km Open Water Swim?

• I dont do team sports - never have and never will - This is why I am doing Triathlons (as an individual) as I dont like letting people down and the race is my race and no one elses.
• I have improved my swimming
• I just did 1500m as part of an Olympic Distance race (no wetsuit)
• Its a small field

So Melbourne's weather has not been great recently. Its been raining and raining and raining....It started to rain on Friday and some were hoping for enough rain that the event will be cancelled.

A small part of me was hoping it would be cancelled....but at the end (or early morning) - I decided to bite the bullet and drive all the way into South Melbourne where the event was and just get through it.

I think there were 7 females 30-39 who signed up but only 5 registered. The relay team went off first (4 x 250m). Then it was the individual race which was 4 x 250m loops - gets dizzy and I always (and did) lose count.

It was quiet choppy and the waves were severly high but it was not as choppy as Sandringham on a bad day. I did the race but came out with a time of about 27min or so....

I did not do that well in swimming in the right direction and kept getting swept away from the bouys and so I think I did a 1500m race rather than 1000m....nothing new to me!! It seems to always be the case - I will need to gauge the currents better and swim with sighting more often.

I was feeling ok during the swim but I was one of the last people coming out of the water (the males went off first so that made a difference in the pace perception). I thought I came 5th but ended up coming 4th so I earned 5 points for the company.

I think my technique was ok during the swim but I do need to increase my speed in the water and swim at T4 more...I think my pace is still set at T2....

Things to learn:

• Sight sight and sight
• Swim faster (increase my swim fitness)
• I have signed up to do Ryan's technique classes (in Jan) so hopefully that I am able to attend as much as I can as I am away from 20th - 30th Jan.

Overall - pretty pleased with myself for doing this 1km swim. I am keeping active and doing something which not many people would even contemplate doing.

90km MS Gong Ride

The Gong Ride
The ride went off at a shaky start. First both Aaron and I forgot our numbers where we rode to the end of his street so therefore, we had to quickly ride back and got the bibs. The ride to Sydney park proven to be tricky as the roads were not smooth and the cars were not that friendly (Sydney). Even at 5:45am, the cars were everywhere, maybe driving their bikes to the starting point.

We tried to start as a group as much as we could but there were approx 10,000 cyclist on the roads for this event, there was no way that we could keep together riding on the bike lanes and having so many traffic lights on the way. The ride out of Sydney was tricky. There were some nice hills and due to the mud, it was hard to cleat back into the peddle.

I lost the group after a while but that didn't bother me. I didn't stop at the first 2 stops and just rode through. Through the national park was amazing. It got pretty cool at this point and my heart rate went down as we were descending. Some of the areas were really steep and I dont have enough confidence (and bike handling) to go down these hills fast without applying on the brakes (for safety).

After one of the large hills, I stopped at one of the drink stops to take a photo of the scenery. The views were amazing!

There were a few accidents on the way into Wollongong which halted the ride for a while at some of the intersections. I lost the group even further in front as there were more descents which I was not comfortable about going down.

My entire trip took about 4:20 this included the meeting point in the morning as well as the scenic stop and the traffic stops. There were some areas where I just got tired and was not peddling at a very high speed or cadence.

Overall, the weather was wonderfiul but my lack of training showed. Will I do this event again next year? I would have to say no. It was great to experience it once but next year, I will set my sights on other events. It costs too much to do this event if you include flights (and accomodation if required) - my flights cost me about $450. Its an expensive 90km ride! Glad that I have done this event and now I have an NDY cycling jersey which I can wear (its actually an awesome one).

Noosa Olympic Distance 2011 - A Race Report

Thursday 27th Oct
I arrived in Noosa on Thursday 27th Oct - my day started super early as I had to be dropped off at the airport at about 5:30 to allow for check-in of an oversized baggage (my bike) for my 7am flight. I had about 2kg overweight and took some out into my backpack which meant that I only had to pay for 1kg over the weight limit $15 and not $30 for 2kg - I need as much money as I can spend at the Expo (this little lady has priorities!)

I flew into Sydney first before the 2nd leg of the plane ride into Noosa. When I arrived, we got into Henry's shuttle to go into Hasting St. I was staying with Sally and Nola and Tim at Ocean Breeze Resort which was next to Saks where the main TA crew were staying. Ocean Breeze was an interesting place to stay - the decor was very old and the general amenities were old. The floor was also dirty with sand which I found annoying and swept a bit before the rest of the group arrived. I unpacked my bike (which only took a couple minutes. When the rest of the group arrived, we unpacked and went downstairs to Cafe Le Monde for lunch. They had an alright menu for lunch but nothing beats their breakfast.

At 4pm, we had a run session long the run course so I did about 7km within the hour or so at a good (but not too hard, not race) pace. We then went to the Life Saving Club for dinner and I ordered the lamb salad which was soooooo good I ordered it again on Monday night.

Friday 28th Oct
Friday morning was a ride session along the bike course. The Garmin hill was not as hard as I thought and I could ride up that hill very comfortably...then started to rain (bad) which resulted in a pretty hard-core training session.  After the ride, we ventured off to the Expo where we registered and I bought a few things:
- CompressSports Calf and Quad guards
- CO2 cannisters (as you are not able to fly with cannisters)
- Endura Gels (I didn't bring my grape ones)
- Noosa 2011 Singlet

We had a general browse around the expo which was awesome and I had my eye on a few things to get the next day if I wanted to. There was a swim session in the afternoon which we did about 1km of the 1500m course. There were sea lice in the lagoon which stung a bit when we were in the water. The course was very calm and flat and Ollie showed us where to swim and what to look out for. I was comfortable about the swim as it was flat.

We had a group dinner that evening which I had bolagnaise (pasta - carb loading). After dinner, we ventured off to get ice cream - I ordered maple macadamia which was delish!

Saturday 29th Oct
We had a mini training day as this was the day before the race. We did a small 10km ride along the run course, a small 3km run along the course followed by a quick swim in the lagoon up to the other side (about 200m). We had a brief session about transition;  what time to rack bikes (in the pm) and what to do for the day such as keeping hydrated and staying out of the sun. I went back to the Expo and bought a few more things
- Eyeline swimwear
- Newton Running Shoes

At about 3pm, we took our bikes into transition to set up. I was on the 30-34 rack, they dont have allocations nor do they split males and females. It was all bunched up. Luckily, there were some spaces towards the end of the rack and I put my bike in its position, noticed the trees and signs around me for my spot and let some of the air out of the tyres - this is needed as the tyres get hot overnight and some explode in the morning.

We had a massage from one of Nola's friend's daughter the day prior to race day which was a good way to relax ourselves before the big day. After the massage, we packed what we needed for race day. For the next year, we need to arrange for the massages to happen on the Friday.

No Wet Suit for the swim as the water temp was 24.1 degrees (YES!)

Sunday 30th Oct - Race Day!

I had mixed emotions about the race. It would be the longest distance I have ever done and to think that I have to start the race off with a 1.5km swim, a ride in the middle and end it with a 10km run. Reflecting back a few years ago, I would have to had some really descent training (in those days they would have been intense) and may have completed the 10km over 1:10 without a swim and a ride prior to it. 

My swim start wave was 7:33 - Female 30-34 surname L-Z so I was in the same wave as Kerri, Briana and Rowdy - Purple Caps. The other girls in my age group were Lisa D, Jayne (who now lives in Syd), Lee and Berit - Bright Green Caps who had surnames of A-Z but in the wave prior to mine.

The start of the swim was not too bad. I was off to the right and started the swim off comfortably. I swam around the bouys and around the island well and it was at the T-intersection where we have to turn right (instead of left which we did in training) for about 200m and do a U-turn. The swim up and around was fine - it was only the last leg of the swim where things fell apart. The lifesavers were directing us towards the middle of the lagoon (where as Ollie told us the best swim was around the right edge) and so that confused me but we then had to make a slight right to go around the next bouy so I was pretty confused. The last swim into the shore was difficult and this is where I feel the most improvement can be made in 2012.

In transition, I took off my cap and goggles and put on my cycling shoes and belt. I ran out with my bike and off I went on my bike leg. The ride itself was good except we could feel a headwind all the way. I was also one of the last people out of the water so I was playing catch-up to the people with J labelled on their calves. Garmin hill was not an issue and I even passed several people. Next year, I know that I can get up that mountain much faster. The ride after the mountain climb was quite uneventful. I tried as much as I can to not be demonitvated by riding with good tempo and trying to keep momentum whilst down on the aerobars.

I did pass several people and it was great when we turned around. Instead of going down Garmin hill, it was a hilly descent and I got up to 50km/h on the bike (had my brakes applied). The ride into the town also taught me a few lessons for next year. I took my feet out of the shoes WAY too early (we are talking about 6km too early) which meant that I couldn't ride effectively and I was also spinning my legs way too early too.

In T2, I was feeling exhausted, I put on my shoes and had a little 2sec rest before heading out on the run. The heat was starting to build up quick and the 10km run on the course was starting to hurt. I ran past a few people on the course but had many strong runners run past me (happens every race). I must learn to train my body to run through the pain of heavy legs and to breathe better. Luckily the residents in the neighbourhood had their hoses out and were cooling us off. I did stop a few times as my (left) glute was killing me. I must make an appointment to see Lakeside as I think it is a Sciatic nerve issue as my left hammy is also tight and my right shoulder is tight.

The last 1km of the run was pretty amazing. I had Roofi (one of the guys from TA) cheering me on to run faster (and I did) which made a massive difference in my time. The run past the TA group was also amazing as it gave me so much motivation and encouragement. I finished my first Olympix Triathlon in 3 hours and 5 min.

I want to do this race again in 2012 and achieve a goal of < 3 hours. I already know where I can improve and I will try my hardest in the next 12 months to achieve this.

After the race, we got some food in our stomachs and went to Reef hotel for an afterparty celebrations of the race. There were presentations at 4pm where Sarah (Rocket) Grove got 3rd place for 25-29F and Ryan Bourke for 2nd place for 25-29M. They are both very fast.

The night was ok. I had a bowl of pasta for dinner and a few drinks but I was so tired. We ended up heading to get some icecream before heading to bed.

Monday 31st Oct
This was a non-eventful day. We had massages booked in the afternoon but spent most of the day just lying around. I went to the beach. Had a few meals here and there...

We had dinner at Paddy, Lisa, Pam and Sam's apartment in Ocean Breeze for the evening. The discussions got a bit heated about TA officials so we had to change the topic to our future goals.

Tuesday 1st Nov
This is Melbourne Cup day. We first had breakfast down at Aromas (Sally & I) and then we got back to the apartment to get ready for Cup Day. We paid $50 for a ticket at Ricocos but it was not worth it at all. The food was average and the drinks were so expensive. The music was crap and the people were old and fake. It was not suited for a young crowd at all. I would have preferred to be at the lifesaving club and be able to go to the beach.

Wednesday 2nd Nov
This was the last day in Noosa so we went for a swim at the beach before packing up. I lost my favorite pair of goggles in the waves and was sad :( as they fitted so well. My flight was at 12:45 so we got a Henry's Shuttle at about 10:45am. I was on the same flight as Kerri, Dave and Damien.

OVERALL
My first Olympic distance triathlon was completed in 3:05 and I know the areas which I need to improve on:

Swim
- I will need to be a more efficient swimmer and next year will be a different story as I would know where to swim.
- Strength and Core Work needs to be included into my schedule - THIS MUST IMPROVE

Ride
- Learn to mount bike with shoes on - I can't hop on the bike due to the length of my legs so I need to learn how to ride with my feet on the bike and put shoes on whilst riding.

Run
- Learn to run off the bike more - need to do regular Thursday night sessions and run off the bike after long rides on Sundays. Even if it is only for 20min or so.

THE Kinglake Ride

Today was the Kinglake Ride which starts at Whittlesea - Arthurs Creek - St Andrews - Kinglake - Glenburn - Flowerdale - Humvale back to Whittlesea. This is a 120km route and this year was its 4th year.

Melbourne weather is unpredictable, unreliable and can sometimes be an absolute bitch! Today, Melbourne weather was a bitch on PMS who just got its heart broken.

The drive up to Whittlesea was interesting as there were road blocks so the trip was extended by about 15min or so. By the time I got into Whittlesea, I got a parking spot right in front of the starting line which was very handy. I got all my bags and bike ready and went to the TA Taj to get ready.

The ride started out with Sally, Kerri, Margaret and I but quickly (due to the amount of ppl on the roads), that we lost each other pretty quickly until Arthurs Creek. At this point, due to the coldness, I had a bad headache from the coldness and this headache stayed with me the whole time on the ride - not pleasant! I decided to ride through St Andrews where I saw heaps of ppl taking their first break as it was the break before the big Kinglake climb. I didnt want to waste my time there so I kept riding.

The Kinglake climb was good - much much better than the first time I rode up the climb and my legs were feeling ok. I kept the cadence high (70+). I didnt know where the girls were at Kinglake but heard Margs call out my name at the intersection. We didn't stop for long as it was too cold and the rain/hail also started to kick in. The ride after Kinglake was painful. It started to pour and it was also a descent which meant that we had hail hit our faces and it was a cold cold way down. Once we did 60km, Margs and I decided to stop - toilet, water etc. At this point, we were both shivering and had to warm up in the caravan. Once our core temps were good, we started again. The next 60km - 80km was pretty boring, there were not many ppl on the roads (lots of ppl turned at Kinglake to do the 70km route) and many ppl would have called it quits due to the freezing temperatures and some would have just finished.

We decided to stop at 85km as it was too cold to eat on the bike. We had our water filled again and off we went. After this stop, it was through Flowerdale so there was another climb to do. I felt weak and my stomach started to get bloated and this would only mean one thing - too much fructose, maltodextrin and my stomach was filled with gas and I needed to go to the toilet bad. My ride through Flowerdale was uncomfortable and I thanked the skies that was one more toilet stop and so I went (to the toilet). After the toilet stop was the ride through Humevale before Whittlesea - this stretch of the road is a descent and not cyclist friendly. I applied on the brakes many times and also tried to balance myself as I was getting blown left, right and everywhere in between. After the ride through Humevale which was the most nervous part of the ride, the head wind appeared again down to Whittlesea. At this point, I was so close to the end, I just got on the drops and just rode it like a time trial!

I overtook several cyclist and had a car "horned" me (so annoyed - I wasnt even on the main road and there is a cycling event on you d*ckhead!) When I rode into Whittlesea I was so releaved. I think I rode it so slowly as I wanted to take in what I had just completed - a long 100km+ ride with hail, rain, rain, wind, rain, some sunshine....such an amazing achievement! The finishline was amazing too. I pumped my fists in the air and hope to get some great photos.

I got out of my wet knicks into my trackies and drove home - so tired that I felt my eyes closing several times on the way home.

Such an amazing achievement, no words could describe what I was going through during the ride and what an amazing event! I actually cant wait for next year!
Genovese Kinglake Ride by evalin1980 at Garmin Connect - Details

Kinglake - See you in 2012

Bikes and Hills

My shoulder/back muscles were pulled from Friday morning swim session so all through the day, I was trying to fix it sitting at my desk. I decided to go for the Asian massage places in Southland but that didnt work. I found it so hard to sleep on Saturday night and I was kept awake until about 3am. I was so tired when my alarm went off at 5:15 and was 99% about sleep-in and not going for the training ride...at about 5:50am I changed my mind. In my head I kept thinking - How am I suppose to be a good triathlete if I dont do these training rides? I have Kinglake ride in 3 weeks - how am I suppose to do these rides well? What would the Coach think if I told him I wanted to sleep in?

I haven't ridden my bike since JC's funeral, I have sacrificed so much to get this bike, I need to ride it! Because I had everything packed and ready to go (only needed to pour water into my drink bottles), I got out of my bed, put on my cycling clothes and went out the door with my bottles and cycling bag and drove to Diamond Creek. I wasn't 100% if the ride left at 7:15 or 7:30 so I wanted to get there by 7am with enough time for a toilet stop. All I can say is THANK GOD maccas, it was right next to the train station!

I was there with plenty of time to get ready and the group left for the ride from Diamond Creek - Hurtsbridge - St Andrews - Kinglake - Pleasent Creek - Humevale - Whittlesea - Arthurs Creek - Diamond Creek.

Sunday Kinglake Training by evalin1980 at Garmin Connect - Details

The ride was life changing - I was up the front behind Clare and Paddy but as soon as we hit Kinglake, my body broke down. The fog made the ride so hard for my breathing that I was coughing all the way up the first part of the ride. I was getting dizzy from the lack of air too. I was coughing so much at one point that I had a small spew along the way. After passing the foggy part of Kinglake climb and to where it was clearer, I got my breathing back and I could get a rhythm back onto my pedal stroke. The other thing which made my ride hard was my legs were still sore from Thursday night runs. My muscle soreness is really an issue as it takes several days for it to subside. I know I should do several things - ice, foam roller, walk etc but I just didn't have time after the run as I had to get up early the next day for the swim!

I had someone from the TA group with me the whole time I rode up Kinglake so it was good knowing that I wasn't alone. Then when we got to the Bakery (top of Kinglake), the group was nearly off to the next part of the ride. I rested for about 5min, had a gel (didnt have time for a toilet break) and off to Humevale we go. The ride after Kinglake was amazing! Long straight downhill (with a small up hill only) and going to Humevale was also an adventure. The road had a speed limit of 100km/h so there were some areas where it was scary to ride and the conditions of the road on the left of the white line was in no condition to ride on! Some cars were a bit angry but seriously....you get to live another day. When we got into Whittlesea, I finally had a chance to go to the toilet - I really needed it and felt like I lost about 2kg. 

The ride from Whittlesea to Arthurs Creek was amazing - I got down on my drops and it took no time to reach Arthurs Creek Road. Athurs Creek road has been dedicated to Cadel Evans (as his mum lives there) so there were paint messages on the roads as well as along the fences of the properties. There was a small hill along the road and that's where I dropped my chain and had to get off the bike to fix it. At this point, everyone passed me and I was the last one of the group. Once I got my chain back on, I was adamant on not being last so I rode past as many people as I could. 

When we got back onto Main Road, the stress of riding along a main road was high. It was close to midday so there were many cars on the road that were not bike friendly. 

After the ride I drove to work to take a shower to get ready for Ausbike. The Ausbike Expo was not as good as last year - not as many stands and not all the major brands were there. Last year Ollie was at the Altitude stand too so I think the price for an expo stand was high and not many ppl thought it was a good investment considering that ppl cant buy straight off the shelf and will research and buy their bikes online. 

RIP John Cornish

Plans changed over the weekend. One of our Tri Alliance family (and ex coach) John Cornish was killed whilst cycling on Friday evening. He was travelling along Beach road and was trying to pass a parked car and a van hit him whilst trying to change lanes. He died on location.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8276341/cyclist-killed-by-van-in-brighton

The triathlon and cycling community are mourning. The coached ride on Saturday was cancelled. I am not sure if anyone was out at the 8am run session today either.
After breakfast, I walked into Turning Point Cycles and spoke to Dan and Kylie (they are the owners) about JC. There is no way of stopping cyclist being killed on the roads - you can't change driver's annoyance towards cyclist. Yes there are cyclist out there to give cyclist a bad name - they run red lights, they weave through traffic and cause damage to property but there are a lot of drivers out there who don't consider cyclists a humans and just have so much anger and hatred towards them. How many cyclist do we need to lose before these drivers need to realise that cyclists share the roads. This is truly a lesson that all drivers and cyclists need to learn.

Yesterday, we met at ELSC at 4pm for a small wake and to hear from the police about what happened. When Ollie spoke about JC, it brought tears to my eyes. He had lost a true friend and a valuable staff member. We then went to St Kilda for drinks in remembrance of JC and just hanging out "with the family" without being in training.

Valuable lessons to be learnt by all - we need to be better people.

Lorne Camp 2011

Over the weekend from Friday 10th June until Monday 13th June was the annual Tri Alliance Lorne Training Camp. I attended this training camp last year and the fitness and abilities have improved so much and it was so evident when I rode over the weekend!

I had a few injuries from my hamstrings and a bad cold so I didn't do that much running but my training weekend was still spectacular!!!

Friday
I took a day off work and started to drive down to Lorne at about 12pm. The traffic getting on to the West Gate bridge was the only traffic we had. I arrived down at Lorne at about 2:40pm and I checked into the motel after I dropped Ella (a girl from camp that followed me down to Lorne as she didnt know how to get down there). The motel room was nice and comfortable and well worth paying the $40 extra to stay away from the life saving club.

The first session was a light run - I did about 8km flat run as my hamstrings were still sore from last week's ride so I just ran along the beach. The run was great and I felt really comfortable as I found my rhythm and running mojo. It started to rain which made the run more awesome as I felt like I was such an athlete!

After the run we soaked our legs in the ocean. It was so cold that my whole body was numb so at the end before I headed out I dove into the water and swam around abit. The hot shower at the motel was also an advantage from staying at the dorms.
Saturday
I was placed in Group 2 which meant that we were riding to Apollo Bay and back which is about a 90km round trip. The ride there was good. I took gels every hour and I was riding strong. When we got to Apollo Bay, I only had a powerbar bar and that was it for the ride back. The ride back back was hard work and I didn't eat anything after that. It wasn't the greatest ride as I had a stabbing pain rushing from my knees up to my groin. I could not ride up the hills properly or standing up. My legs ached when I got off the bike. We then soaked our legs again in the sea and because we were late (slower of the people in Group 2), we missed the first part of the info session on running shoes - Saucony. They were talking about minimalist shoes. This is a style of running which I am going into. I need to adapt my running to a forefoot running style using the correct shoes.

I did another easy run as my hamstrings had not improved. It was a 6km or so run followed by another soak in the ocean. I then headed back to the motel to take a shower before heading out for dinner. I had seafood linguini for dinner and it was great! So good after a long day training.

Sunday
Group 2 were to do 90km Apollo Bay and back and another 2km up to Deans Marsh Rd to Benwerrin which is 427m above sea level. The ride to Apollo Bay was great. I got into Apollo Bay in less than 1:45. I had about 500m left to go to Apollo Bay when the faster of the Group 2 were heading back into Lorne which meant that I was not too far behind the fast group. On this second day I felt stronger on the bike and I went up the hills on the large chain ring and only dropped to the small chainring twice! I am not able to have a high cadence on the smaller chainring. As I was comfortable on the larger chainring, I just stayed on it.

Riding into Lorne, I was feeling great. I was not too tired and so I decided to take another gel and rode towards Deans Marsh Rd to go up Benwerrin. The ride up was interesting. It was a steep 11km or so climb with very little "breaks" in between. When I finally reached the top of the hill, I was ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!! I felt such a sense of accomplishment. It was a hard ride up and my mind was also getting bored of riding the same stroke over and over. In my mind I kept repeating to myself "Every Stroke Counts, Every Stroke Counts, Every Stroke Counts..." I turned my legs over counting to those beats in my head and kept positive.  I took a (proud) photo of the fact that I rode all the way up the hill which we were all so stressed out about the night before!

JC rode up after I took the photo and then Ollie drove past in Jarrads van. Apparently Ollie's rear gears derailed so he could no longer ride his bike anymore. They asked me if I wanted a lift down and I said "No, I want to ride down as I want to get over 100km on this ride" - I was so proud of the fact that I am about to ride over 100km and doing it on this weekend!

The descent down from the top was not that great - I am not confident coming down as I have a fear of falling off my bike. It took a while and I was so waiting for the end of the hill as I was getting too cold.
When I spoke to Sarah, we mentioned that only about 10 people did Benny's Hill which made me even more proud of my achievements. As I couldn't run, I just stayed in bed to rest before dinner.

For dinner, I had kangaroo which was ok. Went back to the lifesaving club to chill before bed. For Monday I decided to do the ride instead of the run (as I could not run anymore!)

We decided that we will roll out early and do 40km so we can get back in time to check out.

Monday
The recovery ride for Monday was just that - slow. It gave me a chance to take in the scenery rather than just thinking about training and getting from point A to point B.

It took us about 2 hours to ride 40km which was a recovery pace. We then just rushed around to clean up so that we could head back to the club. I rinsed out my bike before the start of the aquathon. Due to my cold, I didn't have to do the aquathon which was good cos I really didn't want to get into my wetsuit.

After the aquathon, it was a BBQ lunch and it was then home time. I remember staying back last year to help to clean up but it didn't look like many people stayed to help. I left about 12:30pm and got back to Melbourne at about 4pm. I decided to indulge myself and got a neck, shoulder, back and arms massage from Southland. The massage was great but my shoulders are still hard - nothing will solve this!

I am so happy that I went to this camp. I can see 12 months of training has really paid off and I have done more than what I did last year. My fitness has definitely improved and I am no longer "just surviving", I am actually feeling that I have advanced plenty.

For the next few days I just have to concentrate on my hamstrings and getting them stronger to be able to run. I have packed for windtrainer but it will depend on the workload and how I am feeling.

So proud of my weekend's achievements!

In total for Lorne:
Ride = 90km + 110km + 40km = 240km (higher than expected)
Run = 8km + 6km = 14km (low but with no regrets)