Pre-Pre-Season Activities

I wrote a bit about the Long Course Goal setting workshop Tri Alliance held on Tuesday of this week. There is one for Short Course Tri Alliance athletes next Monday night. I will attend this session as a coach as to gauge what the short course squad are working towards and be on the same page with the coaching group. I am sure that there will be questions and advice required from short course athletes for the next season so we need to provide them with the right answers.

Nothing really triathlon related has occurred within the last week or so. I did ride the bike into work on Wednesday (35km each way). I decided to ride with the THC group (Terry Hammond Cycles) as they were riding behind the Bikeforce guys. When the THC guys turned off on Hampton, I rode with the Bikeforce guys until they turned off on St Kilda Rd. Due to the traffic congestion and I was riding by myself, I decided that it was safer to ride on the bike paths from Elwood onwards to work.

Webb Bridge in Docklands - A place of many near misses

The ride on the bike paths that early in the morning is not too much of a hassle. I do want to point out how dangerous it is to ride through the Webb Bridge in the Docklands. It is a very short section of my commute but as the passage through the bridge is shared with DDA, cyclist (a small single lane in the middle for two way traffic) and pedestrians, I often have to get off my bike and walk the bike through as other bikes and flying down and pedestrians walking on the bike paths. No one seems to be using the DDA passage much but it is there to serve a purpose. Something needs to be done about this section of the bridge before someone gets hurt. A solution might be that a "take off" section of the bridge is required for cyclist so pedestrians and cyclist are not congested over a passage the size of a footpath? The near misses which occur along this bridge is not only due to the size of the passage but also the bend which do not allow users to know what is coming up ahead...

I could tell that my legs are still recovering from Ironman as they are still feeling heavy and loaded with lead. I decided to get a massage yesterday afternoon to loosen up my shoulders (currently compacted with hard knots) and the legs. Let me tell you, I was crying on the massage table! I haven't felt a massage being so uncomfortable for a very long time (even through the heavy training loads leading up to IM). He mentioned that there were a lot of fibrous build-ups throughout my legs which is causing that lead feeling and I should start stretching to loosen them up before I start my build again to prevent injuries. More stretching to be done this week and then book in another massage next week.

I also went and saw a physio about a niggling pressure I have been feeling on the arch of my foot for the last 2 weeks or so. It is not plantar faciatis but the tendon under the foot which is just over stretched from the marathon. The tightness of my calves is also a culprit for the niggle. Gotta do more stretches and maybe get into a lectric soda bath over the weekend to loosen things up.

So what have I got planned for this weekend? I will be joining the Liv/Giant Ladies ride which will be leaving from Cafe Racer at 7:30am with Tri Alliance. We will be riding to Mordi and back. I will see how I am feeling - I might ride all the way back to Cafe Racer and then home, this will depend on how fast/slow the ride will be. I have a (secret) appointment at 2pm so I will need to be back for that. You will find out about the secret appointment after the weekend.

Little Lucy and I will then head to Geelong to spend time with the family (they have come back from their holiday is Dubai and Malaysia). I might go to the local pool for a few laps and some water running to get the blood moving in the legs again.

I can really feel the weight (fat) piling on the waist area...looking forward to seeing it go away again when the training load picks up in May.