Faster and Stronger.

This weekend, if everything falls into plan, I will be running again at Princes Park and see if I have made any improvements since April. The Sandy Point event is only 6 weekends away and I need to (1) Get my body over the line over 21km distance and (2) Do it within 2 hours.

Having done the most gruesome event of my life at Run Forrest, I am confident enough that my legs can move over 21km but the harder thing I need to accomplish is to do it fast, and not fall flat (both energy and on my face).  So this weekend, instead of doing the Salomon Trail run at Plenty Gorge or the Trail+ Run at You Yangs, I will be running 10km fast and trying to beat my previous time of 59min. I am going to push beyond my 10km comfort zone.

In terms of strength work, things are looking up. My barbell squats are at 60kg (@6 reps), split squats at 45kg, single arm row at 14kg, front planks at 1:45, side planks at 1:30 and feeling much stronger when I am riding and running (comparatively to last year) and can see a decrease in my weight of 0.5kg/week over the last 3 weeks.

Look at those quads!

 This blog is not a brag about how fast or strong I am currently (not as the title is suggesting) but more of a reflection on what I am doing to get there. I will always be below the 50% (more often than not around 75%) placing in my age group/category, this is something which is known fact. There is nothing I can change about it as I have to work for a living and triathlon/events don't define who I am.

I want to be a better me and these are just some things I am doing to help me get there:

• Strength work - I have been very consistent with this since I started 11 weeks ago. 
• Keeping a training diary which I share only with my partner and my mentor/advisor (I don't have a coach). 
• I am training on a week-on, week-off plan. This works for me and enables me to put my energy into training knowing that I have a lighter week ahead. The plan of 2 build weeks followed by 1 week recovery which I was training on for the last 5 years worked for a year or so but more often than not lead to inconsistent training sessions as a result of being exhausted.
• As part of my "checking in" process, I reflect on the previous week and am honest about what I did and didn't do and put in place, the plan for the week ahead. 
• Signing up for events throughout the year to make my rides and runs accountable. 
• Signing up for events out of my comfort zone such as Dirty Gran Fondo, Dirty Duathlons, trail runs in the hills,
• I am flexible in my training. I don't get caught up and dwell at not being able to do sessions due to work commitments or not feeling 100%. I am putting myself ahead of training.

Due to the horrific weather we have been having in Melbourne lately, I had a "break" in training routine.  Instead of the usual hilly long ride on Saturday became a back to back spin/rpm sessions at GESAC and a treadmill run instead of my planned 20km. The reason for this post - I needed to reflect on how much I have done within the last 3 months and looking positively ahead.

The 3 peaks event opens next Monday. The thought of the event does scare me - putting myself on the saddle for 13 hours....almost double my longest time on a bike in March 2013. It will be a huge challenge but something which I am attempting happily.