Weekly Reflection 23/09 - 29/09

Wow....what a week it was. In summary, I did 3 x swims (2 with squad), a double Tuesday (morning run, pm, windtrainer, first since Feb 2013), sadly I didn't complete a whole week in training. Due to my little dog having a dental operation, I didn't do the am ride nor did I do the pm run session on the Thursday. Instead, I cleaned the house, did some washing, cooking and just getting my life back together.

The week was also filled with coaches' commitments too. I already spoke about the up-skill session we had on the Sunday but we were also involved in the Gatorade Tri season launch on Monday night at MSAC. We were there from about 6pm through to 9pm helping set up, general queries and then packing up. This is also the longest running week leading up to Melbourne Marathon weekend for most so many people in the squad are getting pretty fatigued yet kicking big goals. I finally got my bib number in the mail too for my half marathon.

Due to the Grand Final on Saturday, I decided on Friday that I was going to swap my long ride and long run days around (do long run on Sat). When I woke up on Sat morning, my nose was blocked and my throat was really sore, for a moment there, I thought I was coming down with a cold but after a few more hours of sleep, it went away (was a bad moment of hay fever which occurred overnight).

Overall, I had only completed one run session, two rides and 3 swims and one body balance session.  

Highlight of my week was that the Hawks did win the GF. The low light of my weekend would be that I fell up the stairs (we had seats in the nose bleed section) and so both of my knees are now bruised and sore. It also did not help my ride on Sunday - more of this below.

Favourite (and least favourite) session of the week: There was one session of the week which was my best and my worst. I did my long ride on Sunday instead of Saturday (due to the Grand Final). I decided that I was going to ride down towards the Peninsula instead of the city. The Canadian rode with me so I was slightly less hesitant about heading down that way. We rode down Beach Rd from the house until Station St and then Nepean Hwy all through (passed the Freeway) and came out to Point Nepean Rd. I thought then that I was going to head back home from Safety Beach but instead, we rode towards Arthur's Seat. We knew there was a pretty strong Northerly as it took us only 90min or so to ride 50km.

Now I have never done Arthur's Seat before. From what people have told me, it is a steep (but short) climb. I haven't done many hills around Victoria (and one in NSW). I have done Benwerrin several times, Dandenongs and Kinglake. I have to say wholeheartedly that Arthur's Seat was probably the most hardest climb I have done. Mind you, I haven't done many other hills along the Coast such as Skeene's creek or Wild Dog rd. I was told the Arthur's Seat climb is about 4-5km long but the gradient is greater, especially along the sharp turns. It wasn't long before I was in the granny gear on the small chain ring. I found my speed along the 5km/h-8km/hr and I was surprised I was still on the bike at some points of the climb. I found the left hand turns of the climb the hardest as they were sharp turns so I had to stand up off my seat to get through those.

My mind did wonder off a bit. I started to think about how I was going to come down the descent and that got my stressed out a bit more. I haven't had a chance to download my data but I know it took a while to get up there. Once I got up the top, I was stuffed. Took the obligatory photo of the bike in front of the seat and the we discussed where to ride next.

Due to my fear of descents and Arthur's seat was a steep one, we decided to ride the back way along Arthur's Seat rd. It was a route I had never done before and would be beneficial for me to get familiar to the back roads of the Peninsula. We did get swooped on several times by magpies along the back, I had one clip my ear and then a stab on the helmet with the beak. We turned left onto White Hill rd which was a fast ride (I reached a speed of 60km/hr +) until I realised I was going too fast along a pretty busy road and so I applied on the brakes. The road ended along Nepean Hwy again and it was the same route back. Instead of riding all the way home, we decided that we would stop for lunch (it was about 2:30pm by then) along one of the cafes on Main Street in Mornington.

After a good feed, we headed back towards Frankston along the Esplanade (more rolling hills) and came back onto Nepean Hwy along Beleura Hill Rd. By then my legs were aching to stop. The inflammation in my knees (from the fall up the stairs at the MCG) were more prominent at this stage and I was starting to get tired.

Apart from the 3 gels I had prior to the ride up Arthur's Seat (at this stage, it was a gel every 35min/300Cal), I didn't have anything after than for about 90min prior to lunch. Having lunch in the middle of my ride really screwed me over for my nutrition training. I did have potato rosti, eggs, spinach and avocado in as part of my lunch and an orange juice but I had no idea what energy equivalence I would get out of it compared to my gels at every 35min/300Cal. I ignored my alarms after lunch and just kept riding and observed how I went.

The stupid headwind on the way back to Mentone didn't help either. Luckily I had an opportunity to draft off the back of the Canadian for most of it (until he wanted to do the extra loop in Mount Eliza) and I then rode by myself from Mt Eliza to the BP in Frankston. I do remember seeing my Garmin and I had done 90km at that point, only half way through an Ironman ride. I thought to myself considering how over it I was at that point of the day, I would have stopped the race as I didn't want to go through Arthur's seat again.

Another reason why I don't eat anything but gels on my rides is the toilet stops. I had to visit the loo at Frankston and bought a Gatorade as I felt I was feeling tired.

Nothing much happened on the way back to the house from BP in Frankston, I was fatigued and I just kept turning my legs over. Instead of riding along Beach Rd home, we decided to take Railway/Como Parade through Parkdale which also took me home via the suburbs at super slow speed (I was on the small chain ring at this stage just turning my legs over - just to get home).

When we got home, I was tired, hungry and admitedly, very moody. That ride destroyed me. I was asked if I would do that ride everyday instead of work, I had to think hard about it....would it get easier everyday? I definitely said yes to the only for a week scenario.  

Advice of the week: I don't think I will ever do a meal as part of my training nutrition again. Not only did it confuse the bejesus out of me for the rest of the 40km ride home and I had to do a toilet stop (luckily we had Frankston BP). I understand other cyclists who do this as a recreational thing but for me (at this stage), out on the bike is training for an event. I need to practice my nutrition and hydration. I have also changed my Garmin alerts to 35min as well as 300Cal and they have come pretty much at the same time which is good. I have done this on purpose as sometimes my heart rate monitor plays funny - either reads that my heart rate is at 220bpm or I am burning around 200Cal/hr.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: I am looking forward to taking my TT bike out on the road this weekend. I am hoping that my time on the TT position during the windtrainer sessions are beneficial for my long rides.

We have as part of our program, runs off the bike after every long ride which I will need to work on especially for my first triathlon event in about 4 weeks time. At the moment, they are only 3km runs but it is a good start.

Not a triathlon related photo - this is from the Grand Final



Timing and Mindset

It is no surprise that my training over the last few months is significantly less compared to what I was doing last year when I was training for my first half (and full) Ironman triathlon events.

I was going to start to be more diligent and increase the number of sessions (keeping in mind the quality too) of training in Sept. This was haltered due to work commitments (my manager being away and me having to step in for much of the role) and recovery week in the middle of the month.

So for the week starting 23rd Sept, I decided that I must attempt to do more than one session a day and increase my runs and rides to 3 sessions a week (rather than just the two per discipline). I have no issues waking up early as I do this 5 days a week already with swimming, long rides (50% of the time) and runs. The reason for only doing one session a day during the week was that I would be so fatigued from the morning sessions that I wasn't able to dedicate the afternoon sessions at 100%. 

So yesterday was my first double session Tuesday since February of this year a few weeks prior to Melb Ironman. So yesterday was a run session at Albert Park. We did the usual warm up of about 3km, then it was 2km, 2 x 1km, 2x 1km increasing in pace as we go along. I didn't end up doing the 2 x 500 and 4 x 250 (marathoners did) as advised by the coaches as this was my first Tuesday am session. A gentle cool down later, I ended up doing a good 11km. My legs were still sore from the Sunday 18km (at an out of comfort zone pace) and I didn't end up soaking in the cold bay due to time restrictions with coaches up-skill session. I would say that it was a good session but I know that I do need to push harder and get use to the uncomfortableness of training again. As funny as it sounds, I am always afraid of stepping outside of my pain threshold as I have a fear of injuries and being an absolute dick in training - why run a fast T4 pace in the warm up when you have 8km+ left to do for the rest of the session?

During the working day, my legs were starting to feel the effects of a run session without the recovery (of a cold soak) and so I had to apply some muscle pain relief ointment on it. It soothed the soreness a small tad but the smell was too overpowering.

In the afternoon, it was my favorite training session - Tuesday night windtrainer session at MSAC. I love it as we get to sweat sweat sweat! I am also notoriously lazy at my own windtrainer sessions so being amongst others is what I need to get through the 60-70-90 and soon to be 120min sessions. We have started to get into a few race pace sessions (e.g. 10min at race pace and position) which I love as I get to train the brain to be more disciplined. We have also started to incorporate the nutritional needs in these sessions too. I tend to do more "trial" gels and flavours in these sessions as it is in a safe enough environment (not out on the roads without a toilet in sight).

By the end of the day, I was cooked. That day consisted of waking up at 4:45am to start run session at 5:45am, worked 8 hours and then a pretty demanding session in the evening. I would have burnt over 1000Cal just from the training for the day. I am really feeling the effects this morning as I struggled to wake up for the am swim session. Fortunately, I will be able to make up for it this afternoon.

I don't know how this will impact on my race performance (starting double sessions now) but I guess I am heading in the right direction. 

I have 18 days left until my next official half marathon (13th Oct), 39 Days until Noosa Olympic, 53 days until Shepparton 70.3, 130 Days until Challenge and 179 days until Melbourne Ironman. I think mentally (and physically) I am ready for an increase in the training load. I will just have to monitor how I progress not only in the intensity I am able to give to each session but also how quickly I am able to recover and bounce into the next.   



Weekly Reflection 16/09 - 22/09

Favourite session of the week: My long run on Sunday was a session I enjoyed the most this week. I did a solo run as we had a coaches up-skill thing which started at 10am and I needed to get prepped up as we had some photos being taken too. Left the house at 7am and ran around the Mentone/Mordialloc and then towards Brighton. As I was running solo, I decided that I was going to push myself on this run outside of my comfortable zone as I needed to run at a faster pace in a few weeks time (when I run my half marathon as part of Melbourne Marathon festival).

I did a negative split and pushed myself harder on the way home and I ended up running 18km in about 1:45. I am still starting out pretty slowly as it takes a while for my body to warm up and also it rained on me for most of the way home. I like to think that that session for me was a win  as I am not the most disciplined person when I am running by myself and I did go beyond my comfort zone.

Least favourite session of the week: This is not really a session which I enjoyed the least but I regret that I didn't push myself harder in my swim TT on Wednesday 18th. I did manage a time below 20min (19:58) with tumble turns and all but I didn't feel that I went beyond my comfort zone.

Advice of the week: We had a team meeting on Saturday. It was a session with all athletes doing long course training to listen to the coaches about the current and next stage of training. We spoke about the differences between someone who has a race pre Christmas and someone who has Ironman Melb as their main A race with Geelong/Challenge Melb as their one lead-in race. Coach Ollie spoke about how athletes should be talking openly to coaches about their progress and provide as much feedback about how they are going as possible. This is the only way the (head) coaches are able to know what program people are to be training on.

We touched on the next phase on the bike where we will be riding on our TT bikes instead of strength work on the hills. I may spend some time on the TT doing some hills as this was something which I found to be lacking in last year's program, we will gauge and see.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This is really non-triathlon related but I am freaking (like.....really really) excited about going to the AFL Grand Final this Saturday - Hawthorn (my team) playing against a WA team Fremantle. The Friday night game between Hawks v Cats was a rippa! It was such a close game between these two rivals. My heart rate was so high that I had a spew during the last 15min of the game as we came back from 20pts down to be in the lead. I should have worn my heart rate monitor as I reckon it went through the roof!

The Grand Final game will start at 2pm on Saturday but I think we may be heading in early for the entertainment part too. I will most likely do an early training session (as I want to keep the consistency) and may ride out from my house early (say 5am) so I can be home by 9-10am.

On a training note, I am going to see how my body (and mind) will cope with a full week of training. It is the last week of September so I should start to incorporate double (run-ride) Tuesday and Thursdays and see how I go. 

Tumbly Turns

I mentioned after my last swim time trial that I was going to work on my tumble turns so that I could improve on my swim time (read - faster speed and increase efficiency). So for the last 6 or so weeks, I taught myself how to do tumble turns - by watching youtube videos and practising them when I was swimming by myself (without the squad).

I think I have the tumble turn thing at 80%. I am getting more comfortable when I approach the wall but I think I do need to speed it up a bit rather than holding back. I am doing my somersaults comfortably, enough that I my feet are landing against the wall however I have been told that I tuck myself in too much (must correct that soon) and I really have no idea what I am doing with my arms really...

I know from looking at the youtube clips that you are suppose to leave them by your side and they stay at that position the entire way through so I am slowly getting the hang of it and slowly learning to approach the turn better.

I don't think I really pushed myself hard enough in the swim this morning as I wasn't feeling out of breath or my arms and back were not aching much but happy to say that I did do tumble turns at each end and I am happy to report that I have taken 30sec off my previous time trial and I did manage to just sneak in under 20min for a 1km swim with a time of 19:58 (fastest being 19:56). 

Source

That was the last scheduled time trial for Tri Alliance for the season. We may do more but they will be the unofficial ones. The swim coach suggested that we could do them with fins one day and see what difference it makes as people often push harder. I know that I took nearly 4min off my swim time with fins on for a 1km.

Weekly Reflection 09/09 - 15/09

Favourite session of the week: I haven't done a run session at the Tan with the City group in many months. I thought I would join them for a change as it takes me only 30min to get home instead of 50min (from Essendon).

The warm up was an anti-clockwise loop of the Tan from the trough to the bottom of Anderson St. I was comfortable in my run albeit slightly faster than my comfortable pace. I was still able to talk but only short sentences. The main set was 2 x 2km, 2 x 1km, 2 x 500m and 2 x 250m.

I ran with a small group of people from the squad and found myself being quiet comfortable running at their pace. I lifted my knees high for the hills and I didn't feel too tired or sore. The session was great as I was never left behind trying to keep up with the group and I pushed beyond my comfort zone.

The second session which I enjoyed was my long ride on Saturday (by myself). I had planned on riding out at the Dandenongs but due to the extra sleep I needed, I decided to just ride Beach Rd late the morning as the Dandenongs gets quiet busy with cars later in the day. I left the house at about 10:30am and decided to just ride South instead of heading to Port Melbourne first. The ride down towards Frankston was not too bad. I did have a string of bad luck as I had to stop at each one of the traffic lights as they all turned red before Seaford. I was pretty much just out on the roads all by myself and had only 2 people pass me before Frankston. The ride down Main St was busy with people and I had to come to a complete stop maybe 10 times due to pedestrian crossings and roundabouts. I realised that I hadn't ridden down this far since early March of this year. Oliver's Hill seemed steeper than usual, the time it took to reach BP at Safety Beach seemed shorter.

I did get attacked by magpies when I turned around to head back home. My head was knocked 3 times by the same bird. At first I thought it was some douche who threw a rock at my head but I quickly realised the douche was a magpie and the thumping sound was its beak at my helmet.

I really enjoyed those two session as I actually felt like I was training and didn't feel sluggish or unfit. I had some level of confidence being out there running and riding.

Least favourite session of the week: My long run on Sunday wasn't the best. There were no coached sessions so we had to complete our training by ourselves. I had 19km on the program and decided that I would just run from my house towards the city and see how far 10km would take me. Turns out 10km was around Brighton (in front of Milanos). The run towards the city was good. I ran on the right hand side so I could see the oncoming traffic of cyclists and cars. After about 15km, I started to fatigue out. Maybe this came about from my ride the day before, maybe it was all mental as I was running without the squad.

Something was up with my heart rate monitor as it was registering that I my heart rate was 230+ and I was only burning about 300Cal/hour. I didn't notice the timing and didn't consume my nutrition at the right times. The first at 35min (right time) and the 2nd at the 1:20 mark (way too late). I tried as hard as I could to push out the last 5km but it was mentally and physically tough.  I was glad I got out the door for my run though.

Advice of the week: Experiment with nutrition in the off season. I am trying out different brands of gels and isotonic drinks at the moment to gauge which ones I like and which ones I won't touch. I figured, it is still the off-season and I should see how other products work now. I have been using Torq gels during my rides and I am in favour of the "black cherry yoghurt" and "strawberry yoghurt" flavours, not too much "forest fruits".

I am a big fan of variety in flavours now so I won't be using the flasks this season (I don't think).

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: Recovery week is back! I do have several work commitments which will see me missing out on several training sessions including windtrainer on Tuesday and my Thursday night run session. I am hoping to "make up" for these sessions by doing Tuesday morning run and Thursday morning ride. We also have the last swim time trial on Wednesday which I am looking forward to do. I am going to try and incorporate as many tumble turns as I can as I have been practicing them during my swim training. 

Yo-yo-yoghurt!

I mentioned in my previous posts about how much I am enjoying cooking/baking foods over the last few months (pretty much post Ironman Melbourne 2013). This is a post about home-made yoghurt (or yogurt) and how easy it is to make your own.

So when I was young, my mum went through a phase of making yoghurt. Just a side note, I have a feeling I have the obsession traits from her. As we lived in Port Moresby (in Papua New Guinea), the microwave or pantry was the perfect temperature and humidity to cultivate bacteria and make natural yoghurt. I don't think my mum has made home made yogurt in years but she still makes her own soy milk which is very different from the store bought stuff....anyways back to the topic.

Since the nutritionist came to my work to talk about probiotics a few months ago, I have been increasing the amount of natural yoghurts in my diet*. I have stopped buying fruit yoghurts (even the Chobani) ones as they are often flavoured with fruit jams which means that their probiotic levels are not as high as the bad bacteria feeds on sugars.  So I researched into yoghurt making - there appears to be two main methods. The first is growing your bacteria from existing yoghurts and the second is to introduce them via a probiotic source (i.e. powder in capsules that you swallow).

I have only used (cow's) milk in my recent yoghurt making experiments as I like my yoghurts quite thick and I also add milk powders to increase the milk content of my products. I have also bought a "yoghurt maker" so the temperature of my yoghurts are controlled but you can use other methods depending on your room temperature controls - some people just cover their yoghurt with a blanket or a heat pad, others can store their yoghurts in a small esky. I bought mine from Aldi for $15 (no joke!) and it comes with 7 glass jar servings.

So this is what I have been doing:

In a jug, I pour in ONE litre of UHT milk - If you want to use fresh milk, you have to heat treat it first, this means bringing your milk to near boiling point and bringing the temperature down to approx 100F or 40C. I like to take that process away and since I can buy UHT milk, this was easier. I then add 1 cup of milk powder (I like my yoghurts thick and full fat) to the milk and dissolve the milk powder in the milk.

So the first time I made yoghurt, I added a small tub of existing natural yoghurt (I used my Chobani) to the milk solution. The second time, I added 3 capsules of probiotics to the mixture instead. For both attempts, the yoghurts turned out great. I guess if you wanted to reduce the fat content of the yoghurts you can use skim milk and skim milk powder.

Once everything is stirred through, I pour the mixture into the 7 jars and then I turn on the machine for 8 hours. I then turn off the machine and let the yoghurts sit there for a further 2 hours before I put the jars into the fridge.

7 jars in my yoghurt maker (I have taken the photo without the lids on each jar).
You need to place the lids on each jar for the yoghurt making process.

I really never have to buy yoghurt ever again as I am able to use my (made) yoghurt as my existing yoghurt to the mix too.

In the near future, I will try to make yoghurts with almond and coconut milk. I know that they will not be as thick as my milk yoghurt. Will report how it goes.  

*I am not on a diet, I am using the term "diet" as "what I am eating". 

Weekly Reflection 02/09 - 08/09

Before I go into my weekly entries, a bit of background to my training week. I couldn't stick with my usual routine as I had a family dinner (brother's bday and belated Fathers Day) so Tuesday was my non-training day. I only had one cycling session and it was the Saturday (more on this below), 3 swim sessions (2 with squad) and 2 runs (one half-arsed one before my coaching session).

I have also been home-cooking a few new food "things" - including home made yoghurt (2 ways). Amazing how easy it is and how much money I have saved so far. Currently obsessed with probiotics and eating foods which promote healthy bacteria. The other is some energy bars packed with seeds, bananas and dates.

Home-made energy bar

Homemade yoghurt (with a drizzle of honey)

 

Favourite session of the week: My Saturday long ride reminded me of the days when I was out on the road by myself. Just me and my bike. I had a pre-election dinner on Friday which meant that I didn't get to bed until 11pm. Being awake since 4:30am that morning, I was in no state to be doing my Saturday morning ride early so I opted for a later ride instead. I use to do (later) rides this time last year. I only do a later ride when we are made to ride Beach Rd as I wanted to avoid riding in big groups and amongst the craziness that is Beach Rd.  

Beach Rd is a congested mess of crazy egos and aggressive tempers from 7am - 11am. Too many group rides happen at that time and everyone thinks they are entitled to their space. To avoid the stress, I had a great sleep in and started my ride at about 11am. At this time, the sunshine was abundant and the number of cyclists still riding on the roads were few and sparse. I rode towards Port Melbourne first and then turned around and headed towards Frankston. 

Nothing too exciting happened on the roads except that I rode with intention and made sure that I fed myself at the right times. When I reached Frankston, the heavens opened and it started to rain so my ride from Frankston back to Mordialloc was as much of a TT as I could. I still stopped at lights and obeyed all road rules. 

This was my favourite session as I was really positive about being out there by myself and being able to still ride with intention was all I wanted out of that morning. 100km completed (mostly) in the sunshine.   

Least favourite session of the week: My Thursday night run was not the best. As I was coaching, I needed to do my own run session before helping out Emma-Lise with the sprint/olympic run group. The first few km was ok, I did start to feel slightly sluggish. After running the first lap, I started to warm up so I went to the car to drop off my long sleeve. I then ran the tan again but going the other direction (clockwise). As I was running by myself, I didn't really have the diligence to stick with the program, all I was doing was just running. I had done nearly 9km before the group's session and did a further 6km running back and forth whilst coaching.

I didn't really enjoy this session as I felt that I was training with no other intentions but just to run before I was coaching. I wasn't disciplined enough to push myself and walked several times around the tan track. Will assess how my week pans out to see if I am doing the Essendon run session or stick with the Tan.
Advice of the week: Healthy guts = Everything working well. Ever since I attended a presentation about probiotics a few months ago, I have been eating food high in probiotics. So far so good, my gut issues are subsided dramatically, my skin is much clearer (less swelling and rashes around the eyes and neck) and most importantly, I haven't had a big cold since I started this regime. You can take a daily probiotic if you want but probiotics occur naturally in so many foods we (can) eat. These include (not limited to):

• Plain yoghurt (not commercial yoghurts which contain no healthy bacteria)
• Sour kraut
• Kimchee
• Miso
• Preserved vegetables

The nutritionist also advised us to stay away from the commercially made fermented milk drinks which are sold in supermarkets are they are filled with sugar which the bad gut bacteria feeds on. The other note which I picked up on was the use of anti-bacterial products. There is so much emphasis on products which are anti-bacterial, this is especially for cleaning products - not just for the home but also your body. The point which struck a cord with me was that these products not only kill the bacteria which are considered as bad germs, it also kills the good bacteria we need. These companies are selling their products but using fear as marketing tool and what is happening is that people are getting sicker and using more of these products because their guts are sick with bad bacteria which feed on processed and sugary foods we have in our diets. Without going into too much into this entry, I have stopped using products which are anti-bacterial and have changed my mindset about cleanliness.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This weekend is camp weekend and as I am not attending the camp due to budgeting for Noosa and 2014 Canada, I will try to develop a program for myself and hope to have my own training peak around Melbourne. I haven't really sat down to assess/plan my weekend training schedule just yet but it will consist of a long endurance swim, a long ride and a run off the bike (post ride).

I am also going to try a cycling group (this is a social ride) which happens on a Thursday mornings. I won't say too much about it just in case something happens and I end up not being able to attend. Watch this space! 

The Running Dance

It's not a joke when I say I can't run. I mean, I do it as part of a triathlon (thank goodness it's the last leg of the race), I also do some run events in the off-season but I am yet to find that I love running so much that I just run nirvana state.

I read somewhere that you might be motivated more to do something if you have bought something new - I totally agree with this. I am obsessed with Funkita swimwear and have bought several pairs this year. I love their bright colours and they fit great. I have both the bikini (two piece), the diamond back as well as the single strap back. I have more pairs of swimwear than days of the week to wear then, I don't care, I like to have choices.

With running, I do get a bit excited when I have a new pair of shoes. I don't really get excited about running when I have a new piece of clothing (such as a pair of tights or singlet). I am still gauging the right pair of shoes. I guess this journey will never end as (i) we need so many pairs per year due to mileage and wear and tear (ii) your body adapts (or rejects) certain technology in shoes. All last year, I wore my Nike Free 4.0 and 5.0. I love them as I could feel the ground and they seem to work well with my hypermobile joints. I have been trying out Brooks Pure(Flow) both the v1 and v2 and now I am seeing how the Mizuno Evo ones fair. I know for sure that I am not going back to my Asics. I have noticed that with the more minimalist shoes, I am landing more on my forefoot and working more at landing pushing off the ground compared to the more supportive range. I am rotating my shoes throughout the week and hopefully by the end of the year, I would have gauged the pair of shoes I am going to wear again during the next Ironman in March.

With running, I am finding that I do need a good warm up. I have to make sure that I pace myself and not get too caught up in the pace of the group. During the Sunday run group at Fairfield, their warm up pace hovers around 5min/km and that is way too fast for this little duck. A comfortable warm up for me is around 5:30-6min/km. During a main set, I do get waves of this feels really great and comfortable, however it quickly changes to boy oh boy this does not feel great. I have started to do runs by myself and as part of a group. Once I get my butt out the door, I try my best to do a quality set. When I am running with the group, that push is helped by peer pressure.

I know that running is a vital part in triathlon and being "run-fit" is crucial. I am cautious about injuries (hypermobile = injury prone) and so I am trying to build strength in my legs whilst increasing the distance. I am aware (and appreciate) that my running has improved exponentially since I started running in 2008 and I know that I need to have patience and run consistently to get to the runhappy state.

Green Smoothie

In order to reduce my body fat % and to try and get a better balance between nutritional food as compared to training food, I have been changing a few things in my "diet". I have stopped drinking Up n Gos, reduced my reliance on grain-rich carbohydrates (for energy), spent less on packaged foods and increased the amount of vegetables and green food intake.

I have started on my green smoothie as part of my quick/easy/healthy meal replacement when I am in a rush or when I need to take in some food before I drive home after training. So far, I have discovered that I need to plan well ahead and may need to bring a few appliances into work to prepare ahead of time. I don't follow a set recipe however I do have guidelines. I don't remember where I got this from, most likely a post on social media:

1) Green Vegetable - I have been using either kale or spinach (or sometimes both) as my green base. Adding a teaspoon of vital greens into this smoothie does not make it green, it an added bonus but I don't count eating a teaspoon of vital greens as enough vegetables/greens as sufficient daily intake.

2) Fruit - I choose either half a (large) banana or an apple, pear (skin on for both), peaches etc - I limit this to one serving as I will have my next serving of fruit during the day. I always remember that this is a predominantly a vege smoothie and not a fruit smoothie.

3) Yogurt - plain - about 2-3 tablespoons. I am currently obsessed with Chobani. If I don't have Chobani, I will always have whole milk yoghurts and never low fat.

4) Coconut water or plain tap water - I sometimes will use milk but only if I will be consuming it straight away. I am yet to try other forms of liquids such as tea or non-dairy milks such as almond or soy. I am not a fan of many non-dairy milks out there as they have vegetable oils in them.

5) Supplements such as protein powder, vital greens, spices such as cinammon or nutmeg etc etc

If I need to thicken the smoothie, I will sometimes add chia seeds. I find that the smoothie also thickens over time with added chia (as they absorb loads of liquid) when I don't drink it straight away.

I generally don't add anymore sweeteners as I do enjoy the taste and sweetness from the greens and fruits already. If I am making this ahead of time for my post-workout meal-drink then I keep it in a thermos bottle. If I make it for breakfast, then I pour it into a reusable tumbler (with a straw) and drink it on the way to work.

My IM Tumbler (a gift from Kona)

Weekly Reflection - 26/08 - 01/09

Favourite session of the week: I was feeling a bit dizzy and sick on Thursday evening so I decided then that I was not going to be heading to the swim session on Friday morning. As I also had a long day in the office, I decided to push the swim session to the Saturday after the ride instead (not something I would often do or recommend). It was a program based on endurance and because I was in a public pool, I didn't want to disturb the other swimmers with my varying speeds (of the program) so I decided to do the following:
Warm Up - 200m free @ T2 - I get pretty impatient and do a pretty short warm up but the rest of my set was not at high speeds/intensity.

Main Set - 8 x 500m (at T3-4) doing the following:
1) Pull Bouy & Band
2) PB, Band & Paddles
3) PB & Band
4) Drills (T2) with Fins- single arms, catch ups, finger tip drags, 8-3-8s.
5) Fins T4-5
6) Fins & Paddles
7) PB, Band & Paddles
8) PB & Band

That was probably the longest swim set I have ever done but I loved it so much. It was a sunny (Spring) day and it was just bliss being in the outdoor pool doing laps at my pace. I think the work I have been doing with my pb, band and paddles have really helped me improve my my high elbows (both in and out of the water).

Don't know if I could count this as a training session but I rode into work on Thursday morning - was a gorgeous morning and the ride was fantastic (didn't ride home as the heavens opened up). Didn't ride on Beach Rd itself (I use the bike paths). Until my new CX bike comes into Australia, I will be riding my old road bike (Squeaky).
Least favourite session of the week: I have mentioned it before, I detest riding on Beach Rd and avoid riding with large groups as much as possible. As it was recovery week, the program was an endurance ride rather than strength work amongst the hills. The group started at 6:50am and I decided to start my session early and ride from my house approx 20km away. Riding from the house early in the morning was bliss (remembering back in the day when I would venture from the house at 4am). No large aggressive groups riding towards the city, hardly any cars, hardly any traffic lights. It was just me, the soothing sounds of my (Wilier) bike.

Due to the large number of people in our group, it was hard to stay as one due to the amount of traffic (both cars and bikes). It was quickly split and I settled in the back pack. We rode all the way to Frankston BP where the turn around point was. By then I had done about 75km and this was exactly where I would turn around to reach my 100km for the morning. Reasons why I disliked the session:

• Someone threw tacks on the road which caused about a third of our group to get flats. I thought something was up when I saw heaps of cyclist on the side of the road changing their tubes. I don't think people (who throw tacks) realise the dangers of their actions - you don't only cause flats, you also cause accidents. I had a tack in my tyres but kept riding as I was about 10km from home.
• There are some people who ride in groups who don't hold their line properly and swerve (majorly). They don't concentrate on the roads, keep looking around and if they were riding in a close group, they would have surely taken someone out.   
• It was a nice day so many people who probably haven't ridden their bikes in months were out on Beach Rd - too many people who don't know common courtesy (as a road user).

All that aside, it was still a training session and good to have it in the training bank.

Advice of the week: As last week was recovery week, we were advised to get massages booked in. Massages are a vital part in triathlon and recovery. It helps to loosen up tight muscles and prepares you better for your following sessions. For me personally, I had my shoulders and back done as they were tight from swimming and cycling (especially being in TT position). If I had the finances for it - I would book in for a massage on a weekly basis! For now, once every 3-4 weeks is all I can afford.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: I thought I would try my first full week of training (including double session Tuesday and Thursday) but no....I have a family dinner on Tuesday night and I am getting my car serviced on Thursday. I will do the programmed run session on Tuesday AM and will do a run from Richmond to work on Thursday AM (5km). Coaching on Thursday evening so I won't be doing my own program. I bought a new pair of running shoes - Mizunos so I am looking forward to trying them out during these run sessions. I am not using them for my long runs yet as they are very minimalist. I am going to only use them for short < 10km runs and if I am finding them troublesome, then will be just wearing them for non-running/training purposes.  

 My New Shoes - http://mizuno.com.au/