Week 12 Celebrate.

Busselton Ironman ...where it all began

Beyond the half way mark. I am now at the pointy end of training.There are I suspect a  few big weeks then it will be time to taper and then race.

Kona Bound

The week was marked by only one important piece of news .I finally got my Legacy spot to Kona . It arrived just pass midnight as I slept and I read the email as I was getting ready to run to work on Wednesday and complete a 16km training run.

It simply said:

Aloha JOHN COOKE!                                                                                                         

We wanted to formally congratulate you on being selected as a 2016 IRONMAN Legacy Program athlete! As a 2016 Legacy winner, you are cordially invited to compete at the 2016 IRONMAN World Championship in beautiful Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i on October 8, 2016. We admire you for your dedication to not only IRONMAN but to the sport of triathlon, and we cannot wait to support you as you work to cross the finish line on Ali`i Drive at the IRONMAN World Championship.
You are not officially registered until you complete the online registration process. You will receive your official invitation and registration instructions on Friday, April 1, 2016. Please keep a lookout for the email in your inbox. As a reminder, you will be required to pay the entry fee of $890.00 USD (total price including Hawai`i GE Tax 4.167%) plus online processing fees at the time of registration.
If you have any questions regarding the information above, please feel free to contact legacy@ironman.com.
Once again, congratulations on all your hard work, and we look forward to seeing you in Kona!
With aloha,

IRONMAN `Ohana

But it has been a 10 year journey getting there and lots of races , training hours , some tears and laughter and knocks along the way . Not the smartest or quickest way to get a slot  but  the only way for me. After Ultra trail Australia 2016 I start my preparation for Ironman Kona with a change in the Blog Banner ....but it will always be the iwantakonaspot.blogspot web address for me.

Monday: A little stiff from the weekend runs and a really sore neck and shoulders from the Saturday Cross fit session even though it was a seven minute workout  only . I ran 10kms , 7 kms on the tread mill and the rest on the footpath. I also did a recovery ride on the wind trainer for 30 minutes.

Tuesday:An easy run of 8kms at lunch time.In the evening rode to cross fit but did not actually do a work out and then rode home . 90 minutes of spinning the legs for 35kms.

Wednesday:

Wednesday: The hard work out with 90 minutes of which 50 minutes were approximately 12 minute blocks going at 5 minute pace with 4 minutes recovery between . I ran the 12 minute blocks at between 4.41 and 5.07 pace . Completely done after the run but happy with the progress and 16.4kms . Did a recovery ride on the wind trainer for 30 minutes as well in the evening.

Thursday: Another easy run day with 7kms and did do 15 minutes of cross fit .Friday: An easy run which I did at Lunchtime running 7.5kms and then in the evening I ran with Molly for 3 kms .

Saturday :

I was planning on riding and then running but got up late...I needed the sleep and just went for a run along the coast by myself.I started with a 20 min warm up and then for 50 minutes maintained a pace between 5.41 and 5.55 minutes per km and then did a 10 min recovery to the end. Ran 12.61 kms in 78 mins. Felt pretty good and did not really have to push too hard.The heart rate remained in the 130s and crept up to 140-145 at points on the short climbs.

In the afternoon , I did the Cross fit scaled 16.4 WOD and it was hard . I managed to get 3 of the 4 exercises done in the 13 min cut off. Still was hard going on the arms and legs . I paced myself and didn't get too stuffed.

16.4 WOD

View from the Southern Ledge on the run

The Kalgoorlie Pipeline at the Mundaring Weir Hotel

Michelle and Al at the Camel farm after a slight detour

     Sunday morning's run from the Camel Farm to Mundaring Weir Hotel

Sunday: We started off at about 6.30am .It was nice and cool and the trails were firmer with the rain the day before and puddles of water . This time just a short 3 minute warm up walk and then we were off . I managed to get a fairly quick pace to get the legs warm and we headed on the same trail as last week . Michelle followed and we got to Mundaring Weir Road fairly quick ,just about the hour and then ran up the weir and I got as far as the hotel before Turning back at about 1.10 hr . Then it was the run back to the Camel Farm. At the Southern Ledge where we had stopped to take pictures on the run out , I seemed to have lost Michelle and ran back to find Al coming up . I went back to look for her as Al continued.Fortunately she rang me and seemed to have got round us and was in the front somewhere but she found Al and they continued on. I then turned back to head for the Camel farm . I did take a turn into the Kalamunda MTB Circuit but knew I had made the wrong turn and went back onto the Bibbulman Track meeting up with everyone else . Safely got back to the Camel Farm in just under 2.20 hr with 19.61kms and about 550 metres of elevation.

 Total training for the week  : 12.5 hrs

Monday         10.0 km 70 mins

Tuesday         7.98 km 53 mins

Wednesday 16.43 km  97 mins

Thursday       7.10 km  53 mins

Friday         10.44 km  76 mins

Saturday     12.42 km   78 mins

Sunday       19.61 km 140 mins

                  83.98 km  9.5hrs

Cycling : 2hr 30mins

Cross fit : 30 mins