The week has been busy with work but I managed some training. After the easy week accept for last weekend where the wind on the long ride and the rain on Sunday's ride did exhaust me somewhat.I skipped monday mornings swim session and it was raining on Monday evening so I could not do my long run . Tuesday truend out to be a bit of a wet day as well so I didn't ride although I later learned from some of the guys cycling that it wasn't raining in Nedlands and they only caught a shower at the end of the session on the way back into the city.Well I decided to stay in bed on Tuesday but i did run for 1.5 hrs in the evening ....not quite the programme. I ran round the bridges and again it was a windy day with dark storm clouds and a bit of a drizzle along the way.It was just cold and miserable but I managed a steady pace and felt strong at the end. The legs ached a bit but not too bad.
Wednesday I did do my interval workout again in the rain and then went for the swim session.That was a little tiring but I could not make the swim session in the morning and so had to do the evening session and run before hand.
On thursday , I sat on my windtrainer for 1.5 hrs with a 5 x 10m session at threshold and watched Kona 2008 and ironman UK on DVD.
Finally on friday I had an easy 45 min run and swim in the evening and felt pretty good at the end of the week.
Having said that there is a compulsion to train eventhough I know I need a long break .I have trained since January 2008 with 3 ironman races after 2007 and 2 half ironman races and countless shorter triathlon races with 2 months of no training .After Austria , I continued a routine not disimilar to my programme accept when I was ill and injured which ironically came on just before the Painathon and the City to Surf Marathon .But I can't seem to stop.
Ready for the hard weekend of riding to Lancelin and back with the North Coasters.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
BALANCE
BALANCE
My training has been a little chaotic with the wet weather .But as everyone in Perth knows we can’t complain as we need the rain to fill up the dams . There isn’t much else that is important to life .The Monday was a washout as I didn’t go swimming in the morning and I was going to run but it was a gloomy wet evening and I had the North Coast Tri Club Committee meeting at 7pm .I have passed the point of feeling too guilty about missing sessions. As Ross said there are some core sessions and there are the ones that are just fillers. Its quite a contrarian view to many who believe in quality sessions all the time.
Tuesdays ride
I did manage my bike ride on Tuesday morning. It was cold but dry and a solid hour of hard riding .I was in a small group of 3 so I had my fair share of turns in the front especially as the girls were tired after the first lap. We did not end up too far behind the main group. The guys who were racing in the worlds only did two hard laps of 10km each. I managed 55 km with 30km of hard laps and the average for the whole ride was 30.4 kph ,meant that the 3 laps were atleast at 34kph The best part of the morning is coffee at Tiger lily’s with a muffin. Life can become very satisfying and simple after a hard bike ride.
I did try to run in the evening and managed a 1 hour session in the wet and cold weather. running from the Bayswater Gym , there was just no one around .It was miserable but as I am often reminded I have to be prepared for all conditions in the race.
swim sessions
On Wednesday and Friday I did rock up for swimming ,I am the slowest swimmer in the slowest lane so it is a little depressing especially after the number of sessions I have done I have improved so little. That is the frustrating part about swimming .I just can’t seem to have the power in my stroke others have and when I do speed up I am exhausted from the effort. Most swimmers are just so streamlined in their position and movement. We did a 1500 meter set and I clocked 31.52 if I counted the laps right .On friday it was a lot easier session with a 200 meter warm up , 200 m medley and 300 m PB , then 3 x 200m easy , firm and fast then 200m easy followed by 8 x 50m sessions and then a cooldown with a 25 m kick 50m free x 4.
I forgot my running shoes on wednesday so I ran on thursday instead and got wet again .Ran only for 40 minutes with Tim as it was just too wet on the footpaths.I skipped the morning ride as it was just too windy and I was tired.
Saturday was just another very windy day .I did a 120km ride with just water and 2 fruit bars and a mars bar .the wind was everywhere for the whole ride but it did not rain for the first 2.5 hrs.I rode down reid Hwy and nearly came to grief as there was a white metal pole on the bike track and i thought it was a plastic sheet i could go over but my tire just slid across the bar and fortunately i did not fall.
I then rode down west coast hwy to freemantle and then onto Mt Henry and down the freeway to Anketell Road and back through the city.
After 2.5 hrs my legs were really sore which i suspect was from the lack of nutrition but i managed to get back.Averaged 27.2kph but it was quite windy and it did rain a bit.
Felt OK and eventhough tomorrow is a rest day I have decided to ride and run as I feel good.
I know I haven't got the balance right but I think part of the challenge is to make mistakes and learn.Started reading " The Runners Guide To The Meaning Of Life " by Amby Burfoot .
My son has started on his list of christmas presents to ask from Santa and he has already compiled 70 items.I think I need to start my list which will be much shorter...
My training has been a little chaotic with the wet weather .But as everyone in Perth knows we can’t complain as we need the rain to fill up the dams . There isn’t much else that is important to life .The Monday was a washout as I didn’t go swimming in the morning and I was going to run but it was a gloomy wet evening and I had the North Coast Tri Club Committee meeting at 7pm .I have passed the point of feeling too guilty about missing sessions. As Ross said there are some core sessions and there are the ones that are just fillers. Its quite a contrarian view to many who believe in quality sessions all the time.
Tuesdays ride
I did manage my bike ride on Tuesday morning. It was cold but dry and a solid hour of hard riding .I was in a small group of 3 so I had my fair share of turns in the front especially as the girls were tired after the first lap. We did not end up too far behind the main group. The guys who were racing in the worlds only did two hard laps of 10km each. I managed 55 km with 30km of hard laps and the average for the whole ride was 30.4 kph ,meant that the 3 laps were atleast at 34kph The best part of the morning is coffee at Tiger lily’s with a muffin. Life can become very satisfying and simple after a hard bike ride.
I did try to run in the evening and managed a 1 hour session in the wet and cold weather. running from the Bayswater Gym , there was just no one around .It was miserable but as I am often reminded I have to be prepared for all conditions in the race.
swim sessions
On Wednesday and Friday I did rock up for swimming ,I am the slowest swimmer in the slowest lane so it is a little depressing especially after the number of sessions I have done I have improved so little. That is the frustrating part about swimming .I just can’t seem to have the power in my stroke others have and when I do speed up I am exhausted from the effort. Most swimmers are just so streamlined in their position and movement. We did a 1500 meter set and I clocked 31.52 if I counted the laps right .On friday it was a lot easier session with a 200 meter warm up , 200 m medley and 300 m PB , then 3 x 200m easy , firm and fast then 200m easy followed by 8 x 50m sessions and then a cooldown with a 25 m kick 50m free x 4.
I forgot my running shoes on wednesday so I ran on thursday instead and got wet again .Ran only for 40 minutes with Tim as it was just too wet on the footpaths.I skipped the morning ride as it was just too windy and I was tired.
Saturday was just another very windy day .I did a 120km ride with just water and 2 fruit bars and a mars bar .the wind was everywhere for the whole ride but it did not rain for the first 2.5 hrs.I rode down reid Hwy and nearly came to grief as there was a white metal pole on the bike track and i thought it was a plastic sheet i could go over but my tire just slid across the bar and fortunately i did not fall.
I then rode down west coast hwy to freemantle and then onto Mt Henry and down the freeway to Anketell Road and back through the city.
After 2.5 hrs my legs were really sore which i suspect was from the lack of nutrition but i managed to get back.Averaged 27.2kph but it was quite windy and it did rain a bit.
Felt OK and eventhough tomorrow is a rest day I have decided to ride and run as I feel good.
I know I haven't got the balance right but I think part of the challenge is to make mistakes and learn.Started reading " The Runners Guide To The Meaning Of Life " by Amby Burfoot .
My son has started on his list of christmas presents to ask from Santa and he has already compiled 70 items.I think I need to start my list which will be much shorter...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The first week of the " Programme"
I started back fully on training this week with swimming on monday ,wednesday and friday morning.It was particularly cold on friday morning and everyone is back and there are some new faces from north coast tri club training at the pool.
I rode on Tueday morning with the girls as I was quite sore from Sundays marathon but took my turn at the front for the 45 mins and continued cycling whilst everyone ran for 15 mins. Rob had a bit of a mishap ,he fell off his bike but not sure of the details .Fortunately he wasn't injured and didn't seem to collide with anyone.It was a little wet on the road.
On wednesday evening and Friday I ran for 45 mins and an 1.10 respectively so I feel I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.It was an easy run pace and tim ran with me on wednesday and iw as anble to have a conversation all the way thru.
saturday was supposed to be a 120km ride but with the wind and rain i sat on the windtrainer for 3 hours doing Coach troys tough love spinerval with lots of standing on the bike and climbing .that hurt alot . Dropped taking any energy drink , limited now to just water and some lollies for carbohydrates and felt a little faint at the end .I ran for ten minutes off the bike and felt ok.
sunday was a rest day and I just relaxed .I was tempted to do something but decided against it as I think I need to rest as much as possible.
Weight still the primary issue for this preparation.Will be signing up for Busso this week as the numbers are rising.
I rode on Tueday morning with the girls as I was quite sore from Sundays marathon but took my turn at the front for the 45 mins and continued cycling whilst everyone ran for 15 mins. Rob had a bit of a mishap ,he fell off his bike but not sure of the details .Fortunately he wasn't injured and didn't seem to collide with anyone.It was a little wet on the road.
On wednesday evening and Friday I ran for 45 mins and an 1.10 respectively so I feel I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.It was an easy run pace and tim ran with me on wednesday and iw as anble to have a conversation all the way thru.
saturday was supposed to be a 120km ride but with the wind and rain i sat on the windtrainer for 3 hours doing Coach troys tough love spinerval with lots of standing on the bike and climbing .that hurt alot . Dropped taking any energy drink , limited now to just water and some lollies for carbohydrates and felt a little faint at the end .I ran for ten minutes off the bike and felt ok.
sunday was a rest day and I just relaxed .I was tempted to do something but decided against it as I think I need to rest as much as possible.
Weight still the primary issue for this preparation.Will be signing up for Busso this week as the numbers are rising.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Road Runner Final Episode ...
This video cartoon clip was forwarded to me by my coach .
I immediately wondered , a little embarrassed but truthfully , what did this all mean.
Was there:
a ) some hidden meaning behind this important clip I was suppose to decipher like the little grasshopper in Kung Fu ( showing my age as well) before I could unlock the true wisdom of triathlon enlightenment.
From wikepedia:
Enlightenment broadly means wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception. However, the English word covers two concepts which can be quite distinct: religious or spiritual enlightenment and secular or intellectual enlightenment. This can cause confusion, since those who claim intellectual enlightenment often reject spiritual concepts altogether.
In religious use, enlightenment is most closely associated with South and East Asian religious experience, being used to translate words such as (in Buddhism) nirvana, bodhi or satori, or (in Hinduism) moksha. The concept also has parallels in the Abrahamic religions (in the Kabbalah tradition in Judaism, in Christian mysticism or Gnosticism, and in the Sufi fitra tradition of Islam).
In secular use, the concept refers mainly to the European intellectual movement known as the Age of Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason referring to philosophical developments related to scientific rationality in the 17th and 18th centuries.
b) it was just a funny video clip.
Well I enjoyed the clip coach but I couldn't help focussing on what it meant in the wider or for me narrower context of my world of triathlon. There had to be a meaning in there somewhere , a lesson to be learnt .Maybe if you keep chasing something and when you finally get it all purpose in life is lost so don't ever catch what you are chasing...it should be the unobtainable. That made a whole lot of sense...NOT .
Have a mission and like the Wile E. Coyote ...devote all your energy towards it.Then when you have accomplished what you set out ...turn to God.
Didn't make any sense.
In the end I am just going to ask him on Monday morning at swim training.But I sense the answer was b .
Lighten up .Life doesn't revolve around your passion be it chasing road runners or triathlon mecca.
There I go again reading more into a cartoon then just enjoying a video cartoon from my coach .
Thanks Coach The video clip was lots funnier than the program.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)