What It Takes

At the Royal Show on the Ferris Wheel




It has been a great training week with me missing one swim session and Thursday mornings cycle but these days I don't sweat the missed sessions so much and there is more to life than counting every session religiously.

The week began with a holiday in Perth so I had my run (map posted below) Slow and steady and comfortable .Tuesday was the usual hard ride and rode with Ross and the rest (without the fast guys like Lajos ) I managed to keep up and take my turn in the front till the end but after 3 laps or 30km I lost touch in the last 5 mins of the ride .We averaged over 34kph so by far my best result for a Tuesday ride . Wednesday was swimming and did approximately 2.4km and then in the evening did a 1.15 hr run with 6 x 5 min at threshold and that was hard .Thursday I took JJ to the Royal Show so I really just did nothing and was quite tired .Friday , I skipped the swim and ran at lunch time for an hour and managed to run round to South Perth and back through the Narrows bridge in just over 54 mins .It was a windy day .

My sat started a little late with a 6.45am start and I headed to Fremantle via West Coast Hwy and averaged 30.9kph till Applecross .It was undulating but otherwise good .Raced a few riders along the way which wasn't so smart as my heart rate did hit 150s a few times especially climbing the hills in Bicton and Point Walter .

Had a brief stop at Applecross as I ran into Tim and Pixie riding round the river.I then headed to Mt Henry and then down the freeway .I tried to keep it steady doing 20km at threshold x 3 and my heart rate was steady at 144-150 but the heartrate would drift down as the mind wandered. After each session I wasn't able to relax as I was still pushing hard and so the 3 sessions merged into one large session in the end . This was especially after I passed baldivis and turned around 89km from my start ,the wind was hard on the way down.On the way back it wasn't too bad but the wind did hit me head on on occasion .I managed to keep good time and was averaging just above 30.4 kph by Mt Henry . The ride back home was slower with the traffic and the stops and starts along the way.Got back happy with he ride and ran easy for 20 mins.It was a nice day after all the rain we had .So 2 great Saturday rides in a row.The run in the arvo was more a walk and run as JJ decided he wanted to go to the park so I jogged beside him but he had to have breaks on the way so turned out to be a walk and sprint session in parts.But my legs were feeling alittle tired and Iam not sure if the sprinting bits did me any good. Atleast he was happy and after the hour long bike ride he did fall asleep earlier than normal that evening.

Sunday was a rest day but I swam with the rest of the members at North Coast that turn up for the Sunday morning swim .It was a nice morning ,and not too cold.I was a little stiff and slow but after having to change the hood I was wearing for the swim I was way behind the rest who had taken off.There were a few stingers but otherwise pretty good conditions.It was a little swelly but fine. If there was one wish it would be to be a better swimmer.

I saw Paul Newsome on the Sat ride down the freeway and I may just have to go for the video analysis.Speaking to N today at the breakfast about kona and how hard it is to qualify reinforced the view that dreams don't come easy and it will probably get harder but it doesn't stop us from dreaming.

It reinforces the fact that it tales alot of hard work and time .There is the piece from Alan Couzens blog about just how much training for an endurance athlete to achieve the times they need :

Alan Couzens says in his blog:

So, I decided to write this piece as a bit of a ‘reality check’ for those athletes who do aspire to reach their full performance potential in the sport of triathlon. This is in no way suggesting that reaching the front of the pack or the top of your age group is the only worthwhile goal. As Molina says, “take a look around, the fountain of youth doesn’t come easy”. Staying in fantastic shape and having fun are worthy goals.

http://alancouzens.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-it-takes-part-ii.html

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and hard work”
- Colin Powell.


It can be discouraging or inspiring . It depends how you see it .Putting aside natural ability which I have none , it is possible with time to make some improvement .Whilst some consider me a little obsessive , I have everything in perspective . The primary purpose is to participate and it is a lifestyle choice with the emphasis on Life .The Kona dream is possibly the icing on the cake , if it happens .It is a moment in life it doesn't make or measure the person. As defined in the sport ...it is about Endurance.To last the race , to make it to the end ...to be there at the end. Similarly with life , will you make it to the end , achieving your full potential.