Shout, shout, let it all out...

Time for a musical opening to this blog post. Here's some live Tears for Fears.

I'm a wee bit shouty today. I'm stressed about my PT exam next Tuesday, angry about the food poisoning which has stopped me training for the past three days, and downright grumpy about changes to the local loop of the train system which mean I won't be able to get to work on time on Fridays to open the gym once the timetable kicks in on May 8. GRRRRRRRR!!!!

I still have really bad intermittent stomach cramps and I'm all bloated and paunchy and feel like crap. I've hardly eaten since Saturday - yesterday I graduated to a bowl of noodles but it's pretty much just been chicken or pumpkin soup and rolls/bread for the past couple of days. I'm off my food - so we all know that means something's not right. Hannibal has been a little more grumpy than usual too. 

Fingers crossed I can get back in the pool tomorrow because I'm over this. I don't like sitting still. I'm not good at it, and I can't handle it. I may try and get on the MT later and do some bike, or maybe out on the road for a ride, but it all hinges on my guts. They're on the rampage and out for revenge, so I'll see how I feel. At least I don't want to sleep all day - which is great because I have a squillion things to do. 

I've just handed in one of the two remaining theory assessments for my PT qualification. I hope to finish the second today, then I can focus on flying through the practical next Tuesday morning. I still don't have a crash test smarty, so it looks like I'll be practising on someone I've never met before. Talk about a disadvantage (no clue what I'm in for) and advantage (on the spot analysis and programming) all at once! I have a backup plan Z, but she may not be able to help so hence why she's a plan Z. 

I just have to get through the next seven days. I will pass that practicum and finish my course next Tuesday. I will feel better and I will be back to training tomorrow. Right now, it's back to that assessment!

Talking on the big white telephone

I've spent over half of this weekend as sick as dog. Saturday after work my boss and I went to the fish shop near her house and I bought some Aussie snapper. It wasn't from my usual fish shop and I was a bit suspicious but bought it anyway because I desperately wanted my weekly fish supper and didn't want to wait another six days to get my NZ snapper from my reliable guy at Queen Vic Market.  

BIG mistake - I kept waking up overnight Saturday with the room spinning violently and then filling a bucket next to my bed...'nuff said there. I was cold, tired, weak, spewy and wanted to die. I had to sleep sitting bolt upright in bed, because if I lay down the room started to spin violently again. I tried taking on some water but it came back. By the time the alarm went off yesterday, I had stomach cramps, dehydration, a headache and wanted to die - but I hadn't spewed for a while!

I managed to get some tablets down to fix everything by about 6.30am yesterday, then some electrolytes, then went back to bed. I got a ride to work which was great, and spent the day not moving a lot. I managed to keep down a plain yogurt and a piece of toast, then moved on to more water and finally a weak single shot latte with plenty of milk in it, then another plain yogurt.  I still felt like death when I got home around 4pm so I went back to bed with a bottle of gatorade. I woke up in time for The Biggest Loser, had a cup of chicken noodle soup and another plain piece of toast, and went to bed early.

I woke up this morning still feeling yuck. I'm pretty weak and still have stomach cramps, but feel better than yesterday. The sorry part is that I missed my big ride yesterday and will miss my swim session today. I just can't do it, I have no energy and having had a chat to my coach, we should treat these as rest days and do low intensity stuff tomorrow as tolerated - hopefully I can do my long bike then, which is two hours at a steady pace without intervals and suchlike!

Oh yeah, and to top off the misery, the plumbers are back, uninvited, to muck around with installing bits for new individual water meters. So the house has been ringing with the sounds of power tools and hammers for two hours, and I have no water. Awesome.

As you can see, I don't do being sick. I hate it. It hates me.

On the plus side, after weighing myself yesterday morning at work, I'm down another 300g. So, I've now lost 11.2kg, with just 12.3kg to go. In 550g I'll be halfway to goal, yay! I'm getting excited and smaller - in fact, it must be nearly time to pull out the bag of size 14 clothes and try some stuff on. SO exciting!

Okay - time to get back to handing in that second-to-last theory assignment. I've got some Excel templating to do, so have fun and I'll catch you all later.

The Life of Riley

I'm in love with my new life, which includes triathlon and exercise and training and a great job and living what the life of Riley near a really nice beach. It's all sunshine and lemon drops around here. Well, mostly.

Okay, so my income has dropped by 66% (meh) and I can't always just jump on a bus/train/tram and go to some random location for the hell of it whenever I want like I used to on weekends, but that's not what is important now. Actually, I could - I just have to take my bike with me (but only on trains) and ride home. I've obtained a library book with some good looking rides in it, so I'll have to start investigating them on Tuesdays.

I'm currently working about 24 hours a week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This leaves Tuesday and Thursday as my weekend, although I have most of Monday, Wednesday and Friday to do things to - i.e. training sessions! Saturday is a bit of a write-off as I start work at 12, but for the next couple of weeks it's 8am while I fill in for our food coach. Sunday is a weird one because I work 9-2. I have to leave home at 7.30am and don't get back home until about 4pm, which kills off most of the day. It's the end of daylight savings this weekend and I won't be able to ride after work on a Sunday anymore.

I think I need to ask my coach to move my long ride to Tuesday or Thursday, leaving Sunday as a day for something else. Things will also have to be re-jigged when I start full-time PT, as clients may want mornings as well as nights. I'm hoping some will want Sundays, as a few members have asked about Sunday PT recently. I need to make sure I can train clients, earn more money so I can pay for all my Ironman gear and get all my training in. 

I can do split days at work, so PT early morning, nap, train, maybe nap again, PT in the evening and then go home. I think I'll still try and have two weekdays off, and I don't want too many early mornings but if that's the way it goes, then that's the way it goes. I can swim anytime, but prefer late morning or early afternoon because the pool is quieter then. I suspect late evening may be okay too, I just haven't had a chance to check that theory out! Being an afternoon/night person, mornings really don't work too well for me. I need to make sure I can get enough sleep and refuel adequately.

Other than this, I'm down to my last two theory assignments for my PT cert and have booked my prac. Monday morning is for Study. I will be spending Tuesday this week riding, washing, studying and running, then studying again. Wednesday morning will be more study then swimming then work. Thursday will be run, study, ride, study. Friday will be work and more swimming and running and napping and then some study. Saturday work and study and run, Sunday work and ride and study.

At least I have a plan. Let's see how the execution goes - I'm off to cook some Aussie snapper for tea.

The feline Iron-orphan

My focus for the next 12 months is on Ironman New Zealand 2012. It has to be - this will be by far the biggest and most challenging test of my life. It is going to take planning with military precision, dedication, inspiration, perspiration, information, motivation, a good helping of madness and the support of my coaches to pull this one off.

I'm luckier than most people who do Ironman, in that I won't have an Iron-widower (as non-competing husbands of female Ironmen are known) moping about the house. Nor are there any Iron-orphans to worry about (yep, kids of the Ironman) - unless you count my siamese cat.

Here's my Iron-orphan, Miss Sydney the cat:

 

She's half Lilac-Point Siamese and half Russian-Blue. But she's definitely more Siamese than anything else: highly strung, vocal, in-your-face, half-dog half-baby, loud and has a very distinct personality.

The Iron-orphan followed me on my run tonight. I did my shift at work, then had a nap, did a spin class, did my swim, and came home for another nap. I woke up later than I wanted and decided to go for my run. The cat is notorious for following me at least halfway down the street, and a few weeks ago we walked to the vet for her appointment, with her on her harness and leash. Being of the Siamese persuasion, she's very dog-like and although she could do with a trip through puppy obedience college, she's generally pretty good at listening to things like **** off, get out, get down, no, Fancy Feast, etc. 

So, tonight she surprised me by following me for nearly 1km. I turn around and she's still following me, albeit 200m behind at least.  I can hear her yowl and it's driving me nuts so we run back home. I lock her in the house and continue my run. I can faintly hear jingling bells as I'm running towards the beach but decide I'm going mad and keep running. I stop at Coles on the way home to grab a couple of things and head for home. I get to the end of my street and here's madam Iron-orphan, sitting on a fence post, waiting for me. 

I shake my head in mock horror and we walk home. I discover she's figured out how to open the bathroom window (which only opens about three inches anyway because there's pipes and a carport obstructing it) and climbed out. Now that's clever.

She growls when people come to the door, she has to sleep between me and the door at all times, she stalks people from the window and right now she's playing with my shoelace. She wakes me up at all hours wanting to go outside, then as soon as I get back to sleep she's banging on the screen door, wanting to come back in. Yes, it's annoying. She gets called every name under the sun for that and guess what? She's always waiting for me when I get home and is always glad to see me. 

My poor Iron-orphan will be spending a bit of time in the cat hotel this year and next year, but it will be worth it. So will all the nights when tired mummy, grumpy mummy, sick mummy, exhausted mummy, busy mummy or sore mummy pushes her away because she's treating me like a jungle gym (and she weighs 4.8kg, so she's not light!). I don't feel quite so guilty because she's a cat, not a child, and I can stick her in a cat hotel if I have to.

So, fur child, thanks for the support. It's nice to have someone waiting for me when I get home from my run/ride/swim/training session/work/etc - even if you do think you're a dog, never have dinner ready, don't help around the house, and I had to duct tape that window shut!

Warning: Mind Games: Ass-holes ahead

Earlier today I had a great candid chat with my head coach. It went something along the lines of: there will be all kinds of nay-sayers, doubters, haters, players, wayne kerrs, envious clowns and ass-holes around, getting all up in your face about your Ironman journey from here on in, banging on about how you'll never do it (or just giving you the "You? An Ironman? Get Real fatty!" looks), so be ready for it - and "we've got your back no matter what".

Hell, I've had all these people in my face giving me their two cents worth and dumb looks for the past two years. My response is usually something along the lines of:

1. "here's 50 cents, go call someone who gives a damn"
2. "Whatever"
3. "why don't YOU get off YOUR ass and complete a triathlon, then come back and talk to me?"
4. "I already have a head coach, main coach, NLP practitioner, massage therapist, acupuncturist, physio, bike mechanic, swim coach, running coach, triathlon stores, supplement supplier, protein supplier, podiatrist, doctor, pharmacist, personal trainer and nutritionist, but thanks for the ideas (then I refer them to numbers 1, 2 and 3 above if they've really gotten all up in my face)"
5. "If I wanted to play mind games, I'd go see Eddy McGuire / my ex-boyfriend / the bitches who bullied me in high school / etc"
6. "Yes, I eat carbs. Guess what? They are converted to glycogen and used as a primary source of fuel by my muscles and help power my enormous brain. NOW GET LOST!"
7. "Hello Doubting Thomas - have you made another Jesus-like comeback from the dead?"

Basically, my line of thinking is as follows: If you don't like me, that's your problem, not mine. If you don't want to support me, that's just dandy. If you don't think I can finish Ironman, that's awesome - I'll happily prove you wrong in 346 days. But please bugger off and go tell someone who gives a damn, because I've got 346 days of training to go and I don't have time to listen to your crap!

I've always been a "If you double-cross me, I'll never speak to you again" person. I have no problem telling people to get lost. I don't need an entourage - never have, never will. Basically, I'm going to ignore anyone and everyone who tries to question my ability to do IMNZ. If you're not supporting me, you're against me - and you'll be de-friended / ex-communicated / etc. I know who my true friends and supporters are, and I have no time for doubters or haters. At the end of the day, the most important opinion in this equation is my own (followed by my coaches). 

I know I CAN do it. And that's all that matters. 

Pain is temporary, glory is forever...

Today I'm tired, sore and snuffly. I had a bit of a sore throat yesterday but it's gone today. I feel like I slept inside a vice last night, and want a nap. Things hurt that I didn't even know existed, and Hannibal is being a right little so and so. I'm stressed about my Uni practical that I've booked for the 5th of April and worried that I'll fail it. I'm worried that I won't have enough time to get all the theory stuff done and marked competent beforehand, and that I'll screw up the prac and have to repeat it.

Okay, mini spazz attack over.

In 347 days I'll be doing my first Ironman. That is something to spazz about, not semi-unfounded fears of failure. It will be the longest, hardest and most challenging day of my life so far. It's going to hurt, it's going to be tough and it's going to be a bloody long day. But it will so be worth it. I know I WILL finish within the specified 17-hours available, and I will finish with time to spare. I may not be fast, but I will finish, no matter what.

Everything I do now is all about IMNZ - never mind having a life, that's out the window. I now have to focus on what is ahead, with unfaltering effort and unwavering dedication. It's now all about sleeping, eating, training, recovering, racing, Jedi mind training and minimising distractions. No more parties, frivolity or too much fun. Spare time will be spent recovering or training. Spare money will be gone on nutrition, training, gear or races.  The only person who'll see me in the buff for the next year will be my sports masseuse, and that's only because of ongoing attempts to work the constant knots out of my muscles. 

I speak with my coach more than anyone else now, including my own dad. Time off is when I go to work or I'm asleep. I'm becoming stupid faster and more often from carb depletion, and falling asleep on the couch is my latest party trick. A ragey night out for me now is having dinner at Nandos, and the walk of shame is when I have to stop running and start walking because I'm out of breath or my legs have decided to kill me. I now get drunk on milk, high on caffeine gels and bombed on hot chocolates. I get excited about naps and cups of tea!

All this is temporary pain, unless of course I decide to do another Ironman after NZ next year. And, I probably will. I'd love to do Australia, Busso, Malaysia and of course Hawaii. I'd also love to do the Singapore 70.3 race. At least after the first one I'll have that under my belt, and the experience and race background that goes with it will be priceless. The glory from that first race will indeed last forever - no one ever forgets their first race, let alone their first Ironman!

This is what I'm living by - Not one day that you are here on this earth has been promised to you. So make the most of everyday as if it was your last, and every breath as if it was the same ~ Blindspott.

Bring the power.

Post-race stupidity syndrome (PRSS) is alive and well

PRSS set in on Tuesday last week, the day after my race. It hung around for days, and last night I went to bed at 9pm because I was tired and bored and over it! Actually I think PRSS should have hungry, tired and sore added to it - last week is a bit of a blur, because I was tired, stupid, hungry and sore. 

Hungry - my goodness, all I wanted was carbs, carbs and more carbs. I was probably tired because I needed and wanted carbs, and stupid because I'd used all my carbs and wasn't quite replacing them fast enough for my brain to keep up! I actually went a bit over the weekly allowance on the food side, because I didn't do quite as much training as the week before (it was a recovery week). I was hungry - not bored - hungry, and craving carbs. So, I fed myself plenty of carbs. I can no longer do post-race pizza thanks to Hannibal the gallstone, so it was post-race beef in oyster sauce on rice. I need to find something else to have post-race, because that wasn't exciting, it was just nutrition!

The good news though is that I've finally busted the 10kg barrier - in fact, I've lost 10.9kg since I started this nutrition plan back in early December. I still don't quite fit that new tri suit I got for Christmas but it won't be long. It just appears I'll be doing the duathlon season in it instead!  I'm now using the scales at work, as they are more accurate than my home ones and I can weigh in at the same time each week. 

Tired - I couldn't get enough sleep last week. It was nuts. I slept in and missed OW swim squad on Saturday morning. I had fallen asleep on the couch on Friday night and woke up at 2am. I figured I should probably go to bed and woke up at 8am! Mental note to self - sort out alarms!

Stupid - forgetting people's names, mixing up clients, forgetting how to do basic tasks...seriously, I'm going to have to watch it after Yeppoon, Shep and NZ. At least with NZ I'll be on a package tour so I won't have to think much, and all the major decisions are before the race!

Sore - DOMS set in on Wednesday. I was still feeling like I'd gone three rounds with Mike Tyson right up until yesterday. I'm a bit snuffly and gunked up today, but hopefully it's just hayfever or something like it. I am not sick, it's just probably all that sea water coming out!

I've decided this morning that work is a break from training. It's a nice practical awesome distraction between seemingly endless hours of training.  This week I've got about 12 hours to bash out, and the weather forecast is looking uncooperative with rain on the horizon. Oh joy - I'll be back to running in Asics to keep my Nike trainers dry for work. Work plus uni right now equals a fulltime job, so once I've got uni out of the way I can work more, train more and keep learning more!

As far as Uni goes, I just need to finish two more major theory assessments then do my practical assessment on the 5th or 7th of April and I'm all done - I'll finally be an Australian qualified Personal Trainer! I have already killed off the 20 hours of work experience, so no dramas there. Lucky I work in a gym, although apparently I can do some outdoors stuff also. OMG - so close! I can start training people before I go up to Sydney! Woohoo!

Right, better go do some study, have some lunch, bash out that 1700m in the pool and go to work!

Pulling the pin for the big picture

Okay - big news. I've had to pull the pin on the ITU race in Sydney in April! Entries for IMNZ 2012 opened about a month before I expected them to, and I couldn't pay for NZ and the expenses for Sydney - so one had to go. Given that I've been dreaming about IMNZ for three years and have so many friends who have finished and raved about it, and that Sydney was a "nice to do but not essential" race, it was a no-brainer.

Basically, I had three weeks to come up with about $1100 to pay for the race-related expenses for Sydney (food, accommodation, transfers, transport, new pedals and cleats, major bike service, cat hotel for the fur child, etc etc etc). It just wasn't possible, unless I wanted to give up my NZ dream. I chose correctly - entries for IMNZ 2012 sold out in 36 hours, and I was one of the first people to snap one up when they opened early Tuesday morning.  95% sold at 4pm NZ time on the 16th - and all gone late last night!

I lost half the entry fee for Sydney when I withdrew, but even getting 50% back is fine. I had to pay a little extra to change my flights to the following weekend so I can attend the Health & Fitness Expo in Sydney but given that it's work-related education, I can claim that trip as a tax deduction. I'm going up to Sydney straight after work on the Saturday night, and fly back Monday evening. That way I can still work Saturday, go to the expo Sunday, hopefully catch up with some friends and family Sunday night, and do some training on the Monday. I'm staying in a hostel, so my accommodation is cheap and it's centrally located so I can walk everywhere.

I'm bashing through my assessments today in between training sessions because I need this Cert IV completed. I have to come up with funds for a new bike and my expenses for Yeppoon by early June, and for NZ travel and accommodation fairly soon too.  I'll be doing crazy PT hours for quite some time, but it's a means to an end - and besides, I can sell my current bike at some point which will help! Maybe I could rent out my bike box as well?

So, that's the news. It's now all about IMNZ 2012, with Yeppoon and Shep being my C and B races. I'll do a few club ones over the next season and loads of training between now and then. I may even drag my NLP books out and re-do the worksheets!

Ciao.

Annaliese, you are (going to be) an IRONMAN!

It's official - I'm confirmed as a starter in Ironman New Zealand 2012 on Saturday 03/03/2012.

I'll see you at the finish line sometime around 10:50pm on 03/03/2012, Mike Reilly. You'd better be ready to call my name out!

Race day report - proudly brought to you by HTFU!

Hmmm...where to start?

Yesterday was an interesting race. It was my first race in Aussie (and I didn't see any jellies by the way), my first race of the season (yes, I'm a late starter this year) and my first sprint distance race. My time wasn't great, but who gives a toss, I finished. Am I proud of myself? Hell yes!

It all began with the 750m swim from hell - a 2-3ft swell didn't help me but I wasn't scared of the deep water. It was the swell that literally and figuratively knocked me about. I have never swum in a swell like that before, and I was reduced to swimming 30 strokes then having a rest. I swallowed plenty of sea water, got it up my nose, and breathed some in. Not so good! My asthma went beserk, I was wheezing like mad and really tired. I can now see how people drown - I was in no danger of doing so, but without the fitness and training, the wetsuit, and the lifesaver on her rescue board following me the whole way, it could have been very different.

So, finally exiting the water at around 34 minutes after the race start (shocking, I know, but you try swimming in that!), it was off to the bike. Most people were over the 15 minute mark on the swim, with the majority closer to 20 minutes - and these are people who are used to swimming in the bay and have done this distance in a race in that water on a regular basis!

I made a snap decision not to use my bike shoes and ride in my runners instead. I was so freaking tired after the swim that I was in no frame of mind to spend the better part of 20km worrying about falling off the bike. At about the 16km mark I had to stop for about 30 seconds of rest - I was still wheezy and felt like my chest was on fire. I had left my puffers behind because I haven't had to use ventolin in months and have never needed it in a race before. Next time, I'm leaving my bento on my bike and making sure I've got a ventolin in my bike bag.

The bike itself was okay. I was over 29km/h in places and down to 16km/h in others. There was a nasty headwind and crosswind for most of the race, so I sped up where I could. Apparently I took over an hour for the bike, which I'm not convinced about. This does include transition, so it is entirely possible. I had a gel before the race started, another on the bike and a pack of gel blasts at the start of the run. I think this is why my legs were still going (and going strong) on the run.

The run - ah yes, the run. Well, "run" might be more accurate. It was a slow jog for some of it, with the rest a fast walk. I finished the 5km in 46:04, which is more than two minutes faster than my 5km time from November (when I had fresh legs, no seawater in my lungs and hadn't just done 2/3 of a sprint tri). I was bloody pleased with this - and I felt like I could happily keep going. I did a sprint tri and managed a PB on the run? WTF? Who me? Oh hell yes!

Once the gel kicked in just before the 1km run turn, I was off. By 3km I was nearly flying, which for me is good. My legs were moving faster than my torso, which was quite funny. I was mentally fresher after the gel and the gel blasts kicked in, before this I think my carbs were running out - unsurprising considering I'd already been going two hours and I didn't get a lot of brekkie down at 5am. I just can't stomach food that early anymore.  I had a coffee and an up and go, and even that was a struggle.  Stupid gallstone - it will not control me anymore!

Triathlon is indeed a solo sport, as I spent most of the bike by myself and the whole run on my own too. By the time I crossed the already packed up finish line around 2:32:00, everyone had packed up and shipped out. I got back to the clubrooms and found out that I had been awarded what I'd like to call the "little Aussie battler" prize - a voucher for one of my favourite tri stores in Melbourne, because I didn't quit. I finished the whole shebang, and didn't give up. I happily accepted my prize, consumed my post-race treats (banana, choccie milk, cheese & crackers) had a massage, bought a giant coffee and went home to have elevenses (two Lindt milk balls and the giant latte).

So, I'm a little tired, a little sore, a little weary, and HUGELY proud of myself for finishing. Slow? Definitely. Fat? Dropping by the week. FAST? Getting there!

race day eve

Tomorrow morning it's race day - time for me to complete my first sprint distance race. The distance doesn't bother me. The rain doesn't really bother me (although it would be nice if it stopped!). The fact that it's going to hurt doesn't bother me (HTFU, princess!). The only thing that does bother me is my stupid cleats. I hate mine and they need to go. However, having had a chat with my coach this arvo, we're going to sort that before Yeppoon (and hopefully Sydney, $$$ pending) with new cleats and pedals. 

So, after the race I have a large choccie milk and mango flavoured coconut water to look forward to. I'm then going to get the biggest latte I can and enjoy it. I'm going to try and get to a movie as well, but that depends on how tired and sore I am! I may just come home and nap, then study, then nap some more.

Anyway, the race checklist is completed, fluids consumed, dinner eaten, race bag packed, bike ready, nutrition sorted, drink bottles filled, post-race treats organised...11 hours to go! I've packed my camera so hopefully somebody can take some photos!

For now, it's time to head bed-ward, so catch you all tomorrow after the race.

Tsunami and the blue triangle

Yesterday the earth decided to fight back yet again. Japan was rocked by an 8.9 mag quake and then Tsunami - which put most of the pacific on alert, except for Australia. In Melbourne we had nothing to worry about, but NZ was issuing warnings left, right and centre. Hawaii was hit by waves of a couple of metres, with Maui and Hilo bearing the brunt. I've got friends in Nagoya and Haneda, both near Tokyo - I think they're fine, I'm sure I would have heard otherwise, and besides they are some 300km + from the epicentre.

I found the blue triangle on my run on Thursday. It's on the pavement on the run course for my club races. I was nearing the end of the run and saw it on the ground, ran around it, then ran past it thinking, "yay, I've found the blue triangle". The significance of said blue triangle is unknown but I think when I reach it on Monday morning it will be time to run if I have been walking. It's near(ish) the finish line, so it would be a good time to start upping the pace again in preparation for finishing my race.

I've had another look at the course maps and it doesn't look too bad. It's all flat, and my biggest worry is once again my stupid cleats and pedals. I need to go ride on a field and test unclipping with standard brakes before the race. I have a 40 min ride to do tomorrow morning before work, so I guess I'll be up and at 'em around 6.30am. My train to work is at 7.40am and in between I have to shower and eat. I may drop my saddle slightly, I may not. I'll see how cleats and shoes and pedals feel tomorrow but basically I just need to HTFU and get on with racing.

I picked up my bike this arvo from the shop, where they removed the interrupter brakes and re-cabled and re-jigged and re-wound everything. They've moved my bike computer, which I wasn't very happy about but can live with. I've now got some snazzy front and back lights for it, because I couldn't find mine yesterday when I needed them, and I bought some porno patches for repairs on the go. I will not use THAT "P" word, so let's just say you stick them to the tube when it runs out of air under less than ideal circumstances!

On the subject of porno patches, here's a description:"A lab test revealed that if you give these kinky self-adhesive patches to girls they'll fix their bike *<"P" word>* quick smart and ride away with a bike as sexy on the inside as the outside, and that if you give them to boys they'll stick them on their nipples. Nuff said."

After collecting my bike, I rode over to Jewel station to get the train home.  I had thought about riding home but the traffic was feral and it was 29 degrees so gave that up as a bad job. I managed to survive riding on Alexander Parade, Nicholson Street, Brunswick Street and Sydney Road. I think the fact that I was riding in trainers and not in bike shoes probably helped a bit, as I didn't feel like I was going to fall off every time I slowed down. It was about 5km of riding, because I went the long way round (fail) and had never rode in that part of town before (let alone been in that part of town full stop). But it was fun, and I might do it again - after my race on Monday that is. It's cotton wool from now until race day.

I missed swim training this morning through lack of transport (couldn't get a flexicar anywhere in Melbourne, and my bike was in the shop), so I had to swim this afternoon. It was awful - hot, I had stacks of gear with me and the sun was scorching. I had to go on an emergency sunscreen mission and just wasn't in the mood - I was tired, sore, and over it. But I got it done.

I am pretty nervous about Monday's race. It's my first race in Aussie, my first race at my club, my first sprint distance race EVER and a good indicator for how I'll go in Sydney in four week's time. And, my coach will be there. I think that is making more nervous than anything else. The support will be good, seeing as I'm on my own here, but sometimes you just want to be left alone. I'll probably come last, but I don't give a sh*t, I just want to finish and it's half of my Sydney distance and roughly a quarter of Yeppoon (so about an eighth of NZ next March). Crikey.

I will be fine, I'm just stressing. At least driving to the race is not an issue - it's just down the road and I don't have a car, so I can leave just on 6am. That way I can register, get my wettie on, do a swim warm up and setup transition with plenty of time for briefings etc. 

Right, off for diet lemon cheesecake, more water, more electrolytes and some Hell's Kitchen on Foxtel. 

Ciao.

Tibialis Annoyingus - and brakes, interrupted.

I'm going to change this blog around a little and post a bit more about my actual training now. I think it'll be particularly useful for me when I look back. And it's all about me anyway!  So, key variables will be rated on a score out of 7, where 1 is awesome, and 7 is crap.

My training week so far:

Monday - Swim, 1600m. Sleep 1/7, fatigue 2/7, stress 3/7, soreness 2/7, gallstone 1/7

Tuesday - Bike, 70 mins intervals. Sleep 2, fatigue 2, stress 3, soreness 2, gallstone 1

Wednesday - Swim, 1700m. Sleep 2, fatigue 2, stress 6, soreness 2. gallstone 2

Thursday - Run and ride (MT). Sleep 4, fatigue 3, stress 4, soreness 5, gallstone 3

My left Tib Ant is playing up and I'm not happy. It started in the pool yesterday, on the lateral side of my leg just past my tibial screws. It kept going all through work last night and was still bitching at me when I got into bed. This morning it's a bit 50/50. I have a run and ride to do today, and this is really annoying me. 

I'm hoping it's just nerves buzzing back after that lateral release with my knee recon in 2005 - sometimes I get beesting-like pains for days when a new area comes back online. With that recon, I had a lateral release, patella-femoral realignment, tibial tubercle transfer and some scraping of crap out from behind my left kneecap. The surgeon warned me that I may not get all the lateral sensation back in my knee, and that some parts may come back online years later. I still don't have full sensation and I doubt I ever will, but I have had three or four areas come back online. Hopefully this TA pain is one of them.

Also in the pool yesterday, my left elbow decided to play silly buggers as well. The first 500m wasn't pretty, but then it settled down. I was wondering how it would cope with a volume increase, but up until yesterday it's been fine. Yesterday was 1700m in the pool, and the only thing that bugs me is the lateral side of my right hand which gets sore when I swim. It's been doing it for years, and I'm pretty sure it's related to years and years of typing and writing and computer work. It settles with rest and only does it when I swim, so there's probably some random biomechanical basis for it - I just haven't figured it out yet.

On a happier note, I passed another two assessments and will be handing in number six shortly. I'd like to get seven and eight done today as well, but we'll see how I go for time. If my Tib Ant has stopped playing silly buggers, I'll run around lunchtime, then come back for some nutrition and study. I'll do my ride this evening - it's a MT session which is great because it has been raining and I don't do riding in the rain unless it's in a race. I should sleep well after it, which would be nice because I've got a 6am start tomorrow morning. 

On the subject of riding, my bike has to have the interrupter brake levers removed and the brakes re-cabled because they are not race legal in Aussie. What a pain in the ass - so tomorrow it's off to see Luke the bike mechanic to get this sorted out. I can drop it off after work around 10am tomorrow and pick it up on Saturday either before or after work. Then I can ride Sunday morning without nice handy brakes and totally pack it when I have to stop - awesome! At least she'll be race legal on Monday, but I love my interrupters. I also have to get some self-stick patches for tyre-related emergencies (we don't use the "P" word around here, okay?).

In other news, entries for IMNZ 2012 open on Tuesday at 8am Aussie time. I'll be in like flynn for that one, it's going to sting to the tune of about a week and half's wages but I don't care. It has to be done, and the sooner I get my C4 finished, the sooner I can start earning some real money again (just to pay for my triathlon habit, it's not like I need fancy handbags and frocks now is it?).

So, my Tib Ant seems to have settled and I'm thinking that it might be time for some study and that run. If it flares again, I'll stop. But it needs to shut the hell up and let me train, because my race is on Monday!

Better go get these assignments in. 

Have fun y'all.

9.2kg gone and blue triangles on the horizon

Yesterday I weighed in and discovered I've lost 9.2kg since the beginning of December 2010. Rock on with my bad shrinking self! I was a bit bummed that with just 100g more I could have hit my 10% bodyweight loss goal, but I'll save that for next week. Another 800g and it's 10kg of lard gone. Hell yeah!

I had grilled snapper and pasta for lunch yesterday at around 12.30pm (when I should have been on the train), as I had to swim 1.6km before work yesterday afternoon and needed the carbs. The fact that I ate so close to my swim is a bit naughty, but it's only a small lunch and I needed it. I usually don't get to eat again until heck knows when - usually until I get home around 10pm, so I pack a few things in my training bag to keep me going post-swim and pre-work.  Sometimes I also grab a coffee before I catch the train to the pool, as I love my coffee and it's been proven that caffeine, protein and carbs before a workout are effective  - not just for helping you go harder for longer.

On the subject of nutrition, I picked up a health and fitness magazine over the weekend and was reading it on the train home from work yesterday. I was annoyed by an article in it which stated that if you get muscle cramps during exercise, you should take the following electrolytes: sodium, calcium and potassium. What's wrong with this? Well, the last time I checked, calcium is a mineral, not an electrolyte. EPIC FAIL!

What happened to proof reading, fact checking and sub-editing?

To the best of my knowledge calcium has little or no effect on muscle cramping, and I'm sure they have it confused with magnesium. I've never seen a sports drink, gel or endurance product with calcium added to it, and while I cannot profess to have tried them all, I have tried many in my quest to find ones with little or no fructose, due to my fructose malapsorption.  Giving people incorrect information is dangerous, negligent and downright unprofessional - I will be writing an email to the editor to have them publish a retraction or correction as this is really bad.

Now that I'm off my soapbox, I can't believe it's past 1pm on my day off. So far, I've done a bit of grocery shopping, got a coffee and date scone for breaky, done the laundry (two loads, groan...), been to the post office and had a psychic reading. A psychic reading you gasp? Yep. It's market day in the village and the pyschics are out. I was walking past and though heck, I've always wanted to do this and now's as good a time as any. 

Basically, she said I haven't quite shifted the dark cloud from a previous job (correct) where there was a man who made people so nervous their tummies got upset (at times, yes), my grandad apparently appeared and was telling her I wasn't riding my bike enough (totally correct, I am still anxious about road riding when I don't know my way around and I still don't like my cleats), and that a new blonde friend will come into my life soon who will be heaps of fun (we'll see).  

She also said something about a blue triangle, needing fresh yellow flowers in my apartment and my current job being a springboard to a higher level of employment (darn right!).  So, taking all this with a 10kg bag of salt, and having not said much to her until the end of the session, I'll consider what she said and keep an eye out for that new blonde friend, while I am riding my bike more on the road.

This afternoon it's off up the road to do a few errands, then back for some serious study. I have a number of assignments to get in this week and I need to focus. I've got a MT bike session to do as well, and I need to tidy the house, put away the washing and cook dinner. I think I need a house husband - or at least a maid. When I get full time PT hours, I am so getting a cleaner! I work around 22 hours a week, train around 10 hours a week and when you add in travel time, there's no time for anything else. Days off rapidly become days on with cleaning, washing, cooking, study, assignments, naps, training, eating, sleeping, more training, more naps and more errands!

Right, off to find that blue triangle. Ciao!

Hatch, match and dispatch

The past couple of weeks have seen the whole circle of life happening around me.  My friend had her first baby (albeit a few weeks early), another friend is getting married this afternoon, and at least 160+ people have lost their lives in the Christchurch earthquake. And I'm training, working and studying like fury. Hmph.

We all know how I feel about hatching and matching - hatching will never happen, and I'm not keen on matching either - well, at least not for several years.  I have too much to achieve as an individual first - Ironman races, world travel, building a house, etc. I like being un-matched - I can do what I want, when I want, wherever I want. I don't have time to find a match, let alone pair off. So, for now I'm happy walking the earth alone, like the hulk.

So, what has this got to do with training? PLENTY! Triathlon is a solo sport - perfect for someone like me who wants to do her own thing. Training is mostly done on my own too, because of my work hours and coaching program. I like solo training because just want to get on with stuff on my schedule, without having to try and coordinate with someone else. It's hard enough living with a Siamese cat (who thinks she's half baby, half dog), heck knows how I'd cope with an other half!

Today I've completed my run, and I'm going to swim in about an hour. At the moment I'm chillaxing at the gym having had a nap in the sleep pod and a nice run on the treadmill. I have 1.4km to bash out in the pool and it's rush hour at the gym - the lunchtimers have invaded and I can pretty much guarantee the pool is going to be chockers shortly. Like I said, I like training on my own, and that includes having my own lane in the pool. Sound kind of selfish? Well, yes and no. I don't want to share with people who don't know pool etiquette or can't swim to save themselves. It's annoying. Stay outta my way, peoples - I've got stuff to do!

So, today is a very long day - one of three in a row. I was up at 4am, at work at 6am, finished at 10am, did 20 mins on the spin bike at work, came to the gym, had a nap, had a run, now I'm blogging. Soon it's a swim, then some nutrition (aka lunch, which I believe normal people call meals at this time of the day), then off to pickup a Flexicar at 2pm so I can drive out to Eltham for my friend's wedding at 5pm. I have to stop for a wedding card because I've had no time to make one, and I might take some photos en route.

After the wedding I get to drive home to the opposite side of Melbourne. I have to have the car back by 7.30am tomorrow, and I start work at 8am with a PT client. I'm working until 4pm tomorrow, then get to do a 70 minute recovery walk. Sunday is a 9am start - followed by a long bike after work - so no sleeping in for me until Monday. I may have a nap when I get home tomorrow afternoon, before my walk. But we'll see how tired and cranky I am by then and make a decision based on how fast I'm flying on my broomstick and how many spells I've cast.

Monday I need to belt through some study, which I may start on Sunday or even tomorrow night, again dependent on how tired I am. I would really like to get as many of my assessments done as I can with a view to finishing the theory by the end of next week. I can then hopefully book in for the practical session ASAP - preferably the week after next. I'll try anything once!

Anyway, time to check out the pool situation - so have a great day folks.

Ciao.

366 days to go...

I've just realised that my first Ironman  is now only 366 days away! That's right, in 365 days' time I will be chillaxing with some lunch, on raceday eve.  OMG!

So, with that in mind, let's have some more scary numbers:

3 - days until Ironman NZ 2011. Nope, not racing or watching live this year.

12 - days until my first race/club race of the season, first race in Aussie, and first sprint distance race

39 - days until my race in Sydney - my first Olympic Distance race

59 - days until Ironman Australia at Port Mac (watching and supporting this year)

165 - days until my first half Ironman at Ironman 70.3 Yeppoon

366 - days until my first Ironman

HOLY COW, BATMAN!

I am still battling with my gallstone, but I know how to sort the pain out - lots of ab work. If I can't move from overdoing training my abs, I don't feel the gallstone pain. Well, at least I think it's gallstone pain. I'm just ignoring it for now - I don't have time to worry about it with the race in Sydney being under 6 weeks away and my first sprint distance being in less than two weeks.  And no more losec - it's got some nasty side effects and I refuse to suffer any longer. I don't care if I'm doing shots of mylanta all day, it beats feeling sick and tired all day long (and most of the night too).

More later, gotta go do my training!