Reasons...

Why do we do what we do? What are your reasons to get out of bed at 4:30am on a chilly Melbourne morning, to drive 30km (home in Mentone to Northcote) to swim and then drive another 50min to work afterwards? What are your reasons to leave home at 5:30am on a Saturday to drive 65km from home for a hilly 70km ride in the freezing cold? Believe me, these feats are not big nor are they admirable as they are only the tip of the triathlon iceberg.

You see, I am yet to ride my bike for over 4 hours, I am yet to run for more than 2.5 hours and more than 22km, I am yet to swim more than 4km in a single swim session, I am yet to do all this before the ungodly hour of 5am and I am yet to fit in 15+ hours of training in a week. I know that as part of my half ironman training for Shepparton (and beyond), it will be something to look forward to and believe it or not, I am actually excited about it.

The Build Weeks of triathlon training are noticeable. The sessions are getting more intense and longer. The rides have moved away from Beach Rd (thank God for that!) We have started to incorporate paddles into the swim sessions to build up strength and our run sessions have gotten longer and with more intensity. This increase in load has resulted in the body being more sore and taken a longer period to recover - noticeably on a Monday morning. I might also add, the introduction of a more stringent Strength and Core work into my training, I couldactually feel my shoulders, back, pecs, lats, stomach being activated more often than ever before.

Just last Saturday, we rode the Wildwood Loop as part of the long endurance ride session. We always do this ride a week before we head off to Lorne Camp (over Queens Bday weekend) The first time I rode this loop in 2010, I hopped off my bike when we were riding up any slight inclines (that's how unfit I was 3 years ago). Mind you, I also had no idea how to use my bike then and for the life of me, I was probably still in the large chain ring and may not have used my gears properly to enable me to ride any slight molehills. In 2011, I rode the loop twice but hesitated when we had to ride the 2nd loop as I was exhausted (and most likely had bonked).

Over the last weekend, the loop felt shorter and there was no hesitation as I rode the loop the 2nd time around. Mind you, I fell behind the front pack but was only about 1 min behind them the whole way through. I rode up the hills well (could definitely have been better) but I was confident enough throughout. Weather wise, it could have been worse (Wildwood is known to also be very windy) but it was freezing. At 4 degrees, my face was frozen and it did hurt to breathe. During the 2nd loop, the number of trucks and cars on the roads increased which meant that at some points where cars passed each other, we were forced off the roads. With my sh!t luck, this happened on the steepest hill climb on the weekend so I had to push the bike up the hill after I was knocked off the road onto the barrier as I gave way to 2 trucks passing each other.

On Sunday, I joined the North group with Coach Greg again for the long endurance runs. This week, we met at Fairfield Boathouse instead of Northcote YMCA so we didn't have to waste time in driving the car back to Fairfield to soak our legs. I actually loved the Sunday run session with Greg as we ran through the trail paths of Fairfield and Studley Park. Greg made us do drills and reminded us on how we should be holding our posture during long runs when our bodies are fatigued. We ran 14km plus strength and core work within 2 hours and I loved every minute of it. We ended the session off with a soak in the freezing river just below Fairfield Boathouse. Icing the legs after a run reduces swelling and also aids in recovery. I know this method works wonders based on my personal experiences. The water temperature was so cold that you felt the following sensation when you are waist high in freezing water:
1) Bones and joints hurts upon contact with water - this went on for about 2 minutes
2) Body goes numb from the coldness - for the next 5-8 minutes or so.
3) Body starts to ache from the coldness - this was a sign that it was time to leave (10min in the water was plenty enough). Ideally, we should be moving our legs constantly through the cold water but we had to make do. I know that for Lorne, we will be doing this after every ride and run session to help in recovery.

An ordinary person would read this entry and think why the hell would anyone put themselves through this much torture over a weekend when most relax or party hard after a week of (paid) work...well as of today, there are 167 days left until Shepparton 70.3. Just over 15 weeks and I will be racing my first halfironman - 1.9km swim, 90km ride followed with a half marathon and all within 7 hours.