Its Noosa Biatches!

Words cannot contain how excited I am to go on this holiday (or more so the "not working part"). I wrote about this last year(here and here) and how there is an obvious buzz in the (triathlon) air about this event and the days leading up to it. 

Some people have started on their journey up to QLD this morning whilst others will land on Thursday (including myself and Sally). We are staying in the same apartments as last year but not too sure about the room type. In 2011, the apartment was average, last year, the apartment was 100 times better. We had booked for the same rooms but I am not 100% certain if they got that right. We will see on Thursday.

For some reason, I am more relaxed about the whole week compared to last year. I haven't even started packing yet and have no idea what I am going to bring. Bike was serviced on the weekend and have my packing foams ready for the bike to be packed tonight. I think it took me about 1 hour to pack it last year. All I do is take my wheels off and protect the hell out of the frame and groupsets. I am not bringing my race wheels or my wanker helmet up.

Sally and I are doing something different this year - I will be supporting Sally for the Undies Run down Hastings Street on Friday to raise money (and awareness) for Movember (Sally's). If you would like to donate to Sally's page - see this link. We will be posting photos of this to prove that it happened.

There is a training program for long course athletes using Noosa as a lead in race for Shepparton and Canberra. I am not going to be doing much of the training runs so I will do the following:

Thursday pm - Swim (instead of Run)

Friday am  - Long Ride, pm - Undies Run (short and light), Expo and Register, Swim (3:50pm), Race briefing (4:45 - 6pm).

Saturday am - Team Photo, Ride the run course, Team Breakfast, pm - Coaches meeting, check bike in.

Sunday am - RACE DAY pm - nap, party

Monday am - WITSUP Brunch, Beach...

Tuesday am - Long Ride, Beach...

Wednesday am - Recovery Swim, fly home (cry)...

I don't think I will be posting much between now and Thursday of next week. I think my weekly reflection posts will also be delayed (or combined with the next week).

4 Days until Noosa Olympic

18 Days until Shepparton 70.3

95 Days until Challenge Melb

144 Days until Ironman Melbourne

(Too many) Drink Bottles

Something from my side project - 100 things we love about triathlon. Today's entry - Water Bottles.  

http://100thingstriathlon.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/93-too-many-water-bottles/





Weekly Reflection 21/10 - 27/10

It pretty much occurred to be last week that I am so close to race season and only have a couple of weeks left until my first half Ironman race for 2013-2014. Even though I have done two official half Ironman races and a full during 2012-2013, the distances (1.9km/90km/21.1km) and having to go through the pain of racing 6 hours still scares me. Also memories from my first Shepparton - from the lead legs, side stitch for 60km on the bike through to toilet stops and not being able to swallow during the run has not put my mindset in a good place for it. But all that anxiety aside, I am still looking forward to the event and being amongst the supportive community of Shepparton Tri Club.

Look how ridiculously happy I am to finish...

As I have mentioned before, I am not as fit as I was last year and I have been more injury prone over the last few months - I put this down to the decreased in frequency and load during this year's winter months. I have also cancelled my gym membership so I am also not doing the actual Pilates classes anymore either (just home sessions).

Juggling house inspections has not been the best either, but I have managed by moving my training times to suit and not train with the main squad. So on Saturday, I did an hour of water running, an open water swim session at Elwood followed by 2 hours of house inspections. Pushed my long ride to a Sunday when I don't have plans.

In summary, I have done 4 swim sessions (1 with the squad on Monday, 1 open water on Saturday), 3 rides and 1 (water) running. I saw the physio about my knees and he advised that I have internal bleeding (and inflammation) behind the knee caps from the half marathon and not having recovered from it (with ice baths), the inflammation has stayed around. My muscles around my quads and hamstrings were noticeably tight and after he massaged them out, the pain around my knees had subsided. It's really amazing what they know and how they can sort things out. Since then, I have stayed off the running (on hard surfaces) and just stayed with water running.  I will do the 10km run as part of the Olympic distance race but will try to manage it as quick as I can so I am able to push out a half marathon at Shepparton 2 weeks after.

Favourite session of the week: My long ride on Sunday was just the best! I made a conscious decision on Saturday night to ride later in the day on Sunday (have a sleep in) and ride solo. Left the house at 10am and made my way down to Mordialloc. I then rode towards Port Melbourne, back down to Mordialloc, up to Port Melbourne again and then home (in essence, Port Melb - Mordi x 2 laps). I wanted to do this to get use to the laps we often to in triathlons - this is pretty much what we do for Shepparton, Challenge, Geelong and Melbourne - all 2 laps.

I pushed myself pretty much 80% of the time to mimic what the intensity would be like in a race. Mind you, there was only a small breeze so the conditions were also perfect. I loved that ride as I had a sense of achievement.

The Ride to Conquer Cancer also happened that weekend. They rode from Albert Park down to Hastings on Saturday and rode back on Sunday. So whenever I was riding back to Port Melbourne from Mordi, I gave words of encouragement. They all had their names on the bikes too which meant that I was able to call out their names as I rode past - "Great Job <insert name>", with a thumbs up! On my first ride back, I had a few of the more eager cyclist ride behind me, they said thanks when they turned off St Kilda St.

On my second lap, there were still cyclists out on the road. They didn't look like they were going great but good on them for being out on the road. I don't know if any of these cyclists were being hassled on the weekend. There is something about seeing the Ride to Conquer Cancer on the jerseys to put things into perspective for those angry motorists out there.

Least favourite session of the week: I did my own swim session on Wednesday afternoon. I usually don't do my swim sessions at MSAC by myself. Based on the past, the lanes are always busy (being a central city pool) and lanes are often booked out for squads. I didn't head to GESAC and I had a feeling they would close the outdoor pool due to the storms.

So I started my swim session in the outdoor pool and swam for about 45min. I had gotten through most of my set and had a 500m pb/paddles and a 800m cool down to go when we were asked to go to the indoor pool due to the water polo comps. There were only 3 lanes opened in the indoor lane for general public - there were about 15 people in the lane and it was chaos as everyone was doing their own sets.

Now if I am ever doing anything slower or faster than the lane speed, I would always move - if I am doing speed sets with fins, I would go to the fast lane, if I am doing a cool down (with breaststroke), I would move to the slow lane. Personally, I think it is common courtesy to do this. My 500m pb/paddles became about 400m as I had to turn around early at the ends behind slower swimmers but made sure that I am not slowing anyone down behind me either. That was all I could do and I didn't end up doing my cool down as the pool had gotten too busy and the fast lane was just as crowded.

Why was it my least favorite session - it wasn't because others were doing their own set. They have as much of a right to be there as I did. It wasn't because people were not swimming in their appropriate lanes in accordance to their speeds either. It was my attitude during that last few hundred meters. I was annoyed and I got frustrated at something which I could not control. I didn't end up doing my cool down because I let my annoyance get the better of me.

What to do now? I need find a 50m indoor pool in the burbs as my Plan B. If there is a storm and often they close outdoor pools (if lightning is present), I am able to still do my sets in a sheltered/indoor pool which is not MSAC.   

Advice of the week: I don't know if I still need to test out different nutrition strategies or not. For the bike, I know that I am not a bars person, I don't like to eat solids on the bike. Some people eat jellies and I might try this some time to see if there is any benefits (Clif Shotz). Also testing out the liquid nutrition too - not gels and water but your nutrition in liquid form. So for a race, I would be carrying 2 bottles of liquid food instead of gels, salt solution and water. I think I will test this out the week after Noosa (or even the ride post Noosa) and see how I go.

There is no way I will be carrying liquid nutrition on the run so I will stick to what works for me - Gu gels (as they are not too runny and I can swallow incrementally).

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: It's NOOSA BABY! Yes, this week, I am off to Noosa for a week! I will be competing in my 3rd Noosa (Olympic) distance triathlon. Not aiming to get a PB of any kind this time around - I am just out there to train and have fun.

Leaving on Thursday 31st, race on the 3rd and then leaving on the 6th Nov. I am in need of some sun and sea. I better start packing my stuff in a pile! Will be packing the bike on Wednesday afternoon. Dale (the Cannondale) is being serviced as we speak.

Noosa 2012

 

Weekly Reflection 14/10 - 20/10

Post (one of my worst) half marathon weekend ever, my body took a little while longer than usual to recover. I put this down to the lack of recovery after the event due to social commitments. I was on my feet all day and never got a chance to ice the legs nor elevate them.

I forced myself to head to the Monday morning swim session as I needed to brief the newbies at 5:50am. I did plenty of kicking so I don't know if that made things worse. My legs were still sluggish on Tuesday and I didn't put in 100% for my windtrainer session.

I did do Ride to Work on Wednesday - 120min to work and 80min home due to winds and the riding routes (bike paths v road). Thursday was a bit of a non-event. We never got to do a swim session as the storms made the bay unbearable and I ended up doing my own swim session on the Friday evening too.

Saturday, I started my early morning rides (4am start) as I wanted to be finished before I spent hours doing house inspections. I did my long run at Geelong (ran from Waurn Ponds to Kardinia Park and back) as I spent time with the family (its just mum and dad for the moment).

Overall - I did 2 x good pool swims, 1 x open water, 3.5 x ride sessions (counted commute ride to work as 2 sessions (35km each) and the half is for my lame windtrainer) and 1 x lame run session. I haven't done double sessions and slightly panicking that I have my first race in 2 weeks and a Ironman 70.3 in 4. No way am I as fit and ready as I was last year.   

Favourite session of the week: I really enjoyed my commute to and from work on Wednesday 16th as part of Ride to Work day. I didn't really consider this as a training session much, rather a ride on a bike for the enjoyment of it.

Riding into work, I always hesitate with the amount of car traffic on the roads. I left the house at 6:00am knowing that it will probably take is about 2 hours to get in especially with the headwind. To add to this, my legs were still sore from the run. I did get a few magpie swoops but nothing life threatening.

My ride to work route

I am more confident about my ride home. I tend to ride on the roads more as the route that I take often has parked cars and the moving cars are required to travel in another lane, leaving the left lane free for cyclists. We also had a tailwind home which made the ride more enjoyable.

Least favourite session of the week: The Tuesday windtrainer sessions are generally one of my favorites but this week it was just a bleeeeeeeergh session. My legs were still stupidly stiff and sore and just turning them over at T2 was just not what it needed. I stopped after about 30min and went home and got my other bike ready for Ride to Work the next day.

Advice of the week: I am really not good at Active Recovery. My recovery is spent sleeping more often that doing a light session. As my training workouts are generally not as intense/fast as the majority of the squad (I am more of a shuffler than a runner), any further reduction in intensity is pretty much a stand still. I do enjoy sleep and would love another day in the week dedicated for sleeping.

I must be more diligent in active recovery especially doing it in the house or around my own neighbourhood. More often than not, I just don't train when I have a "self scheduled" session.  

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This weekend will be my last long ride (run off bike) and long run before I head off to Noosa. With coaching on Thursday evening, I am hoping to do something (by myself) on Thursday morning as per program.  



Going beyond comfort zone

From my side project.

http://100thingstriathlon.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/95-beyond-the-comfort-zone/


My Side Project - 100 things to love about triathlon

I have started a side project - it is a not-so-serious look into the sport of triathlon.

Its called 100 Things to Love about Triathlon. I am hoping to update these at least once a week.  

Hope you enjoy reading these updates.

x Ev

The one that hurt....A Race Report (21.1km)

So yesterday, I ran my 3rd half marathon event for 2013. I originally signed up for the full marathon in May of this year but downgraded in July when I faced reality that as much as I wanted to do a marathon and call myself a marathoner, the reality is that I am injury prone and a marathon 3 weeks from Noosa and 5 weeks from Shepparton 70.3 was not a smart move.

As usual, I got injured prior to this event. The injury was not from over training or anything normal like that, it was due to a fall up steep set of steps at the Melbourne Cricket Groun (MCG) during the AFL Grand Final. I twisted the ankle which I always roll and it is also my dominant foot too.

I laid off real running for about 2.5 weeks prior to this event and stuck with water running and still kept with my swim and cycling training.

The days leading up to this event hasn't been the most ideal. This year, I have not concentrated too much on triathlon training as I felt that I let my work slipped off to the degree. Putting more energy into my work profile as a sustainability consultant, I was a finalist into the National Association of Women in Construction awards for Environmental Sustainability. The awards night was on Friday and this meant that I was not able to get a good night sleep, sufficient hydration and not enough carbo loading. 

On the Saturday, I woke up around 9am and did an hour ride on the TT bike. A 45min ride into the headwind travelling 15km and a 20min ride back to the house with the tailwind. I then got ready to run a few errands before I headed into Ausbike.

Saturday night, I tried to eat clean but ended up going to an italian restaurant in Abbotsford (a suburb famous for Vietnamese food) in hopes of a pasta meal. I ended up eating pizza (at 9pm, service was not the fastest).

I stayed in Abbotsford on Sat night (2km from the MCG) as I didn't want to deal with the closed roads and I knew that a ride to the start would be good as a warm up. The ride into the MCG was good and we go there in no time with plenty of bike parking available. I wasn't sure how to mentally prepare for this run on Saturday night. I guess mentally, I had prepared that this was just a long run day.



I dropped off my bag (containing my warm post running clothing and phone) and walked to the start line. I saw one of the guys from the squad there and we just started together.

I stood around the 2:20 pacer as it was so crowded that it was not possible to move up. I have never started this late before and I figured that if I stuck with my strategy that I would aim to pass these pacers.

When the gun went off at around 8:04am, it was just a matter of running past people. I figured that I am just going to run my pace and see how I went. Within the first 2km, I ran past the 2:15 and 2:10 pacers.

I felt good and I tried to push myself as much as I could. I think from this experience, I know that I need to start further at the front (closer to the 1:55 pacers) as I found the pace of the runners around me a bit slow and I found myself pacing with them (not on purpose) and not beneficial for my time.

The run up St Kilda Rd was good and I found my rhythm. I enjoyed the run along this side of the course and knew that I would be seeing familiar faces as the Tri Alliance guys were manning the drink station in Lakeside Drive. Their drink station was packed and I only recognised a few friendly faces. I didn't stop as I carried my own hydration with me.

The run around the lake was good and I really did get into a good pace of about 5:15. Maybe this was my downfall as I used up too much of my energy too quickly.

So from about 13km mark (when we headed back along St Kilda Rd), my legs started to hurt bad! I have never had this sensation before and to make matters worse, something was happening to my feet. It was hard to explain this - it felt like someone stuck electrodes along my feet and sent electric shocks on my feet and my soles and toes were clenched. This on and off sensation went on for about 5km, only on my left foot.

I had to stop and walk a few metres for this sensation and also my right knee started to hurt. It was a soreness which I felt during the run of my Ironman but I wasn't sure if it would go away.

The left turn down the Arts Centre and then through the tunnel was tiring and I was running out of steam whilst in a world of pain. A few people were throwing up on the side of the road which I found to be very scarey.

The run through the park was a relief and I knew that I was about 3km from the finish line. I hate the bridge before the run into the MCG and this year was no different. Mentally, I was defeated and I just didn't even try to run up the bridge. I was too sore to mentally motivate my sorry ass any faster.

The run along the last straight section of the road was uneventful. Previous years, I would always recognise familiar faces but this year, I guess because the Tri Alliance guys were helping out throughout the event - from drink stations, lead and tail runners, marshalling that no was was waiting around. It was also raining too so I guess many were over it.

The run in the MCG felt like the longest it has ever been compared to my previous years. I had no energy to push any faster and I was just so glad that it was nearly over. I did put my arms in the air at the finish line - thanking the heavens that I am done.

After the run, I grabbed a few bottles of powerade (sculled a whole bottle down like no tomorrow) and then went to fetch my bag. The ride back home to Abbotsford was also as much of an adventure - it started to rain like a monsoon. I couldn't see where I was riding and I only had a hoodie to keep me warm.

No soak in the bay or ice bath as I had a personal commitement to a friend so my (lack of) recover has resulted in sore legs. I haven't felt this sore for a long long time.

I went for a swim and did the set this morning - kicking and all and I don't know if that has made things better or worse. Going to make sure that I do active recovery during the week. I don't feel that I have any niggles, just sore muscles.

Are there lessons from this event? Hell yes. What are they and will they be the solution? I don't know.

• Even though I stuck to my nutrition plan - had a gel every 35min, I still felt sore and tired. It may be due to lack of training rather than any nutritional failures 
• I need to get to the start line early and start at the right position. Use the others around me to pace. 
• Mentally, I need to be more discipline and learn to motivate myself when I am not feeling right.
• No doubts about it, my lack of running training resulted in a not-so-ideal race. 

I am hoping to get back into running training by Thursday night. Fingers crossed that my muscle soreness subside so I can do Ride to Work on Wednesday.   

Weekly Reflection 07/10 - 13/07

I can't believe how the weeks are just flying by and in a few weeks, I will be doing my first triathlon for the season. The week in training was not up to scratch. I stayed off running until my half marathon as part of the Melb Marathon festival. The pain during the 13km mark onwards reflected my lack in training along the running side of things. It hurt like a bitch and I didn't have a good race at all. Race Report will most likely be the next post I do later on today (during my lunch break).

Open water swimming was back on the calendar but the weather hasn't caught up with the summer program as yet :)

Took the TT bike out on the road for the first time since IM Melbourne and it did feel a bit funny being so tall on the bike when I am not in aero position.



My earrings (made out of tubes) and keyring



Went to Ausbike (Bike-related Expo) on Saturday and bought a few things.

• Earrings and a keyring from Tread and Pedals (they recycle bike parts into usable and wearable things)
• 2 Castelli jerseys (one long winter one and one thin summer one)
• 3 Spinerval DVDs ($10 each) and two books on Ironman and Nutrition ($15 for 2).
• Some more Aussie Butt Cream and sachets (I love the sachets for re-applying during long rides especially after you have a toilet stop).

I am going to re-assess my goals for the 2013-2014 race season as the training over the winter months hasn't been what I had "imagined" it to be especially being so infant in long course racing as well as coming off the big Ironman race in March. I thought I would be a better triathlete but I don't think this will be the case. More on this in another post.

Favourite session of the week: It was my ride on my TT Bike (Dale, the Cannondale) which was my favorite both on the windtrainer (Tues night) and on the road (Sat morning). I had an awards night on the Friday (no, we didn't win) and so I wasn't planning on a 4am ride when I only got home at 11pm. Also having the half marathon to do on the Sunday, I just wanted to test out the TT on the road rather than putting myself through a 120km.

Bento box beneath saddle.

It was a ride into the headwind from Mentone through to Elwood where I stopped to say hello to the short course guys training. It was a 45min ride there (15km) but it was a quick 20min ride back clocking a speed of 45km/hr with the tail wind. Good that it was only a 30km ride. Really miss just riding for the joy of being on the bike.

The bento box below the seat method seems to be working well (so far) so I guess time will tell (practice at Noosa).

Least favourite session of the week: This shouldn't be my least favorite session as I have never considered events to be something which I didn't enjoy but for the first time ever, the half marathon I ran on Sunday 13th was...

I don't know if it was my lack of real running, having pizza the night before (as the Italian place we went to didn't serve pasta....what the hell?!), lack of interval training prior to injury, lack of "putting feet up" the day before the race, lack of mental discipline....or whatever, I just didn't enjoy that half marathon at all....more about the event in my race report.

My half marathon medal

Advice of the week: I didn't get a chance to soak my legs after my half marathon as I had to go to my friend's daughter's 1st bday party and I am really struggling to walk. Major major DOMS at the moment. I haven't felt this way in ages...I am in more pain than after my Ironman (I soaked in ice bath after the Ironman).

When I did get the chance to do so at about 7pm (after party, after packing up, after heading to friends house for coffee, after driving home). The waves were really choppy and I could only soak my calves or up to my butt (nothing in between due to the waves). The rain also made the soak an uncomfortable one.

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: This is the first week of the Try-the-Tri program which my squad Tri Alliance has. I have been put down to help out with a few sessions so I am looking forward to meeting more newbies and teaching them about triathlon.

It is also Ride to Work day on Wednesday 16th. Hoping that a)The weather is awesome and b)My DOMS subside enough that I am able to ride properly. 

Summer and Nerves

So this week, we officially kicked off the summer training timetable. It was also recovery/taper week so the sessions were lighter.

Due to the busted ankle, I haven't done a run session at all. I did a water run on Monday night combined with swims with the pull buoy. The program had plenty of fins and that would have aggravated my ankle so I did my own session.

I worked from home on Wednesday so I did my own swim session up to a 2.6km (the program was 2.4km) with plenty of pull buoy work and 500m of fins. I pulled up ok but there was still noticeable pain when I twist the ankle outwards.

Thursday night, the weather was sh!t. It was suppose to be out Summer Training Launch with our squad sponsors there but it was cancelled due to the wet weather and people tapering for their big runs on the weekend. I was only planning on swimming last night. Luckily the swim was done before the run session.

It was the 2nd time I have swam with my new wettie and I think I will be changing to a XS as I am more comfortable with a tighter wettie, one which doesn't let too much water in. I found water coming into the wetsuit from the neckline and the arms. I will try the XS on Thursday night.

Last night, the water was not the clearest and the water was not flat (my kind of conditions). The water was cold and we did get frozen faces. Some athletes wore their thermal swimcaps. I personally don't as I don't like the choking feeling around the neck. For long course athletes, we did several pole-pole swims at Elwood. I really did enjoy the waves but my sighting was something to talk about, it wasn't the best. Maybe because I wore the the goggles which I had worn during Ironman Melbourne (and not touched since then). Will need to do some swapping soon.

Elwood - on a nice day

So this Sunday is the Melbourne Marathon festival. I have registered for the half marathon but I don't think it will be my best. I haven't done a proper run in 2.5 weeks and I am feeling more tired than usual. I will be there at the start line, I will be running with my nutrition on me (won't rely on course provisions) and I will be running to the best of my ability.

Weekly Reflection 30/09 - 06/10

The week in training hasn't been the hustle and bustle it was suppose to be. The big ride of Sunday 29th Sept killed me and I was dead to the world. I didn't end up swimming on Monday morning with the squad but swam by myself later in the afternoon. I finished the set but it wasn't completed with the love of swimming, rather it was just to get through the set. The ankle is still swollen and so I laid off running until my lame attempt on Thursday night. Windtrainer was good and loving getting back into race pace and in TT position.

Got some abdominal and back cramps on Wednesday morning so I stayed in bed with pain killers for most of the day. When the pain subsided, I had enough strength to head over to the car dealers for a test drive of my next car (fingers crossed) and then to pick up my new wettie for the 2013-2014 season. I decided to try out the Rocket Science Elite wettie. I grabbed a size S and tried it out on Saturday. I might have a go at the XS as I like my wetties tight and I hate collecting water whilst swimming.

I am back doing water running for my running side of things until this swollen ankle stops hurting when I walk. It's not the most interesting thing to do but it gets me through when others are running on the road like a normal human being. After my water running on Sunday, I headed over to Richmond to watch the duathlon. I had a few friends from the squad who were racing.

Mark S, Xavier F, Ryan B and Belinda G - Podium finishers at the Duathlon

It was the first race I have been to since the last Gatorade series in March and so it struck to me that I will be racing a triathlon in about 4 weeks! eeek!

Favourite session of the week: Friday morning endurance swim was my favourite. I love these sessions when I am swimming the long sets without having to get my heart rate up too high doing sprint work. I know I am suppose to do more sprint work but I really do love (just) swimming. We did:

Warm Up - 800m (yeah, loooong warm up)
Main Set - 3 x (4 x 100m @ T3-4, 400m @ T2-3) - consisting of 1st free, 2nd pb & paddles, 3rd Fins
Cool Down - 400 back

Lets just say a large coffee was needed after this swim session.

Oh! Before I forget, Friday was one of the best days for the week. Not only did I have a really good swim session, a great coffeee and breakfast (at my fave after swim haunts - Penny Farthing on High St Northcote) but I also won a Liv/Giant wallet off a competition on Facebook. We had to name 3 Liv/Giant 2014 models - I named Brava (CX), Envie (road) and Trinity (TT). Then a few girls just copied what I said (exactly) and some won wallets too. I don't think many would know what the Brava bike was :)

Least favourite session(s) of the week: I think I had more sessions I didn't enjoy more than I loved....
1) Monday pm swim - not only was I tired, I was just getting through the motions of the set without much intention or positivity.
2) Thursday pm run - 3km of pain and an even more swollen ankle now because of it.
3) Saturday windtrainer (instead of a long ride) - due to my ankle I wasn't confident at being out on the roads with the crazy winds. It was 1.5 hours of windtrainer watching Shawshank Redemption.  

Advice of the week: I am finding that any training session will always be a good one when there is  intention. Take the Monday swim session as an example - I didn't enjoy the session as I was just rolling through the motions of the set. I didn't have an aim, therefore I didn't feel like I achieved any goals of the session. Always ask myself - What do I want to get out of this session?

Thing I’m looking forward to next week: It is recovery again! It is also taper week for the Melbourne Marathon weekend. As I am not doing any real running, I will still do my run sessions but will do them in the pool (water running).

We will also start the summer training timetable this week. This means Thursday night combo session at Elwood - this means open water swims and a windtrainer session!

9 Days!

There is 9 more days until my last running event for 2013. This is the half marathon (21.1km) as part of the Melbourne Marathon. I don't know how I am feeling about this event. I initially wanted this to be one of my "A" running event - what does this mean? For me, a fast run does not come easily. I struggle to do a half marathon under 2 hours (120min) and this is a goal which I could just complete last year with a time of 1:58.

Training leading up to this event hasn't been ideal. I fell up the Level 4 MCG steps on Saturday during the AFL Grand Final which meant that my knees are still bruised and my right ankle (the weak one) is still sore. I had difficulty walking in the beginning of the week.

Last night, I tried some running (jogging) and it did not feel right. The first 1km was ok, then any unevenness of the ground aggravated the ankle whenever it went beyond any angles. I could only do a lap of the Tan before I decided to stop before I did any further damage. An oesteo friend had a quick look at the ankle and advised that the strain is localised and a good rest and ice should help it. Fingers crossed that it heals up in time for the event next weekend.

I have kept up with my training on the bike and in the pool which is good. There is a 3km run off the bike tomorrow and I will see how it goes before I dedicate myself to my 15km on Sunday. I might have to substitute the run for a water running session instead if running is not possible.

The event is on the 13th October and Ausbike (bike expo) is on the same weekend - I love Ausbike!

Something more triathlon-training-related...
The Tri Alliance summer training program starts next week. How quickly the winter training months went by. The difference between the summer training schedule compared to winter is minimal and would be similar to my last season:
My schedule will be:
Monday - am Swim
Tuesday - am Run, pm Windtrainer
Wednesday - am Swim (pool) or pm Swim (will incorporate some open water swims with JVW)
Thursday - am Run, pm, Combo (swim, windtrainer)
Friday - am Swim (pool) 

Saturday - long Ride (run off the bike for a few sessions)

Sunday - long Run

A few months leading to Ironman Melbourne, the training schedule will change slightly to incorporate some long run sessions from Frankston, similar to last year.

Half Marathon (Oct 2012)