I have been enjoying not training for Ironman this year. It is summer and I am enjoying the weather (when it decides to play nice - typical Melbourne) and all that it brings. As the sun is out, I am enjoying spending time on the beach, riding my bike after work or enjoying the markets.
On the 7th Feb, I joined the Liv Ladies ride. We started at Cafe Racer at 7am and rode down to Mordy as a group. We had a few riders who didn't enjoy a bunch of ladies riding past and so tried to overtake to only be overtaken again once they slowed down after turning off the gas.
Annoyance and a couple of swear words aside, I enjoyed this ride as I don't really get too much opportunity to ride in groups outside of Tri Alliance. More often than not, there is often too much testosterone in the group and we generally don't stay riding as a group as a result. We rarely work as a group which is why I escaped that routine within 2014 - why start the ride as a group, when I end up riding by myself anyway.
On the ride back, we did rolling turns. Hard to do when other cyclist don't want to accept what we are doing, nor do they appreciate the space we needed. There are rolling turns, and there are rolling turns. It doesn't help it when others don't practise it enough to understand the pace and how it may vary throughout the circle. We ended up back at Racer and I bought my first cronut in Aus - delicious chocolate one.
I then raced back to Elwood as I was coaching the try-the-tri group and it was their introduction session. After talking for about an hour or so, we went into the calm water of Elwood Beach. All of them swam to the first pole and back which is quite significant.
That afternoon, I drove down to Geelong to spend a night at my parent's place so I can support the Geelong 70.3 race on Sunday.
One of the girls from Tri Alliance raced as a pro for the first time (we only found out on FB on Saturday) so it made the weekend more exciting. I then realised that it was the first time in 5 years that I haven't raced at Geelong - having done 2 Olympic distances and 2 long course races since 2011.
The Geelong70.3 day itself was perfect for racing - very calm and a cool 23 degrees C. The course has slightly changed from last year which meant that the run was slightly hillier. Everyone had a great day.
Personally, comparing (half iron-distances) Shepparton v Melbourne v Geelong - Melbourne would be the fastest course as there are minimal twists and turns for both the run and rides. For the bike, both Shepparton and Geelong have a few obstacle turns before it gets onto the main roads. I would classify the run at Shepparton to be the most enjoyable - scenic and due to the laps - it is spectator friendly. With regards to the swim - Shepparton would be the easiest although not as buoyant as Melbourne or Geelong due to the location. If PB times is your main goal, then race Challenge Melbourne for that particular satisfaction. Otherwise, I would rate Shepparton as a must-do race over Melbourne and Geelong for its community support and course.
I went for a light swim on Monday evening (8th) - around 1km with pull buoy and then a evening ride on Tuesday (9th), around 45km. Apart from that, I have done no running due to sciatic pain but I rode the bike down to Elwood on Thursday night for coaching and rode home. Just this morning, I drove down to Frankston with all the IM-Melbourners and swam 1.5km around 33min in perfect conditions. I spent the rest of the day visiting friends and did some housework.
Next on the triathlon cards is the Corporate Tri on the 1st March. Testing out a running group on Tuesday 17th and seeing how they can help break the training routine.
Things I am obsessed with at the moment:
- "Swap Boxes" on YouTube - I don't know why but I can watch them for hours. The concept is that people buy a box of stuff for the other and then they film them opening up the boxes. Kinda like Christmas morning. There are also plenty of scams out there and those are a cracker to watch too.
- Threads and Pedals - I have bought from them for years - earrings, necklaces, gifts for others..
- White watches - I have about 3.
- Wayfearer glasses - I went on Ebay and just bought about 3 pairs of sunnies in different colours - all around $3-5 each. Cheap but they do the job.
- KOMBUCHA! I have been drinking this stuff for about 10 months now. The next step is to brew my own. I have been googling and you-tube-ing this process lately and will invest in a few things over the next week so I can brew my own kombucha - buying the SCOBY on ebay.
- Vic Market night markets - I make an effort to try something I haven't tasted/experienced before.
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