Week 21 & 22

Sharing the Road

These past 2 weeks of training have been very light as I tried to recover from a sore left knee and just general fatigue and tiredness. Rather than just recounting my sessions that I did do , the past weekend gone by ,  usually filled with activity and following friends and triathletes online at the Ironman World championships took a very steep dive emotionally with the news of another death of a cyclist , a triathlete and someone I knew in the triathlon community.

I did not know Brynt personally but I knew Katey his girlfriend and had seen him on many occasions at triathlons , at the cafe and with Katey riding in the hills on my rides earlier in the year before Ironman Melbourne and right at the beginning when Exceed (even before Exceed was a Tri Club) we would meet up at Tiger Lils Cafe and Katey and Brynt would be having breakfast there . It hits home how vulnerable we are on the road. I use the same route , less so now , when heading to the hills and so do all my friends and club mates ,  and I am sure many other cyclist ride the same roads on their way to Kalamunda and the Hills . I felt tired on Saturday and opted to not ride and take my dog to the beach. On Sunday I did the ATTA time trial as 2000 triathletes were racing in Kona and as I checked my Facebook page , news of Brynt's death was being posted.  

The rest of the Sunday just felt numb . I didn't really feel like following the World Championships and everything else felt less important . Whilst I can't pretend to express or know the pain his family and loved ones are going through , it was closer to home than the stories I read of cyclist or motorist killed each week on our road. I blogged about the senseless deaths of cyclist last year ( Cycling: the beauty and the tragedy 17 May 2013) and the need for at least some laws to ensure motorist give cyclist the space to avoid tragedy .We always come off second best . Any law won't prevent all deaths and particularly the stupidity of people driving and breaking the current laws be it texting ,using their mobile phones or drink driving . But I believe in more protection because lives are being lost through senseless and dangerous driving . Education is certainly a factor and the aggression of some motorist vs cyclist needs to be stopped by both sides . I have seen motorist and cyclist acting badly . I am a car user and I am conscious of cyclist because I have and I am in their shoes. I wish as the blogger Kristy Muir in her piece Clip into Our Shoes ( http://theperformanceproject.com.au/clip-into-our-shoes/ ) expressed it , we only want to share the road and we all want to get home safely .

 In other parts of the world it isn't a tough ask. This past week here in Perth , One family , a Partner , a Community can't say that for one of its own .

Week 20

Guardian of the Galaxy - Spirit in the sky

An easy week  beginning of September 22 as I skipped a number of session this week just from fatigue and work.

Monday

A run of 8km easy at Lunchtime.

Tuesday

Ran again at Lunchtime an easy 7km and then did a wind trainer session with the suffer fest DVD for 1.15 doing 40kms .

Wednesday

I ran in the evening a round Kings park but did not do intervals just kept the pace up just above threshold. Ran 10kms

Thursday
 Missed the bike session and just did my Cross fit session .It was a hard work out.There was an interesting piece on building atheletism with such workouts ( Why You Need to Be Doing Burpees from the Outside Magazine ) Anything with burpees in it is hard. I was quite sore the next day .I managed a run at lunch with an easy 7km run as well and a short 4km run with Molly before Cross fit.

Friday

An easy run of  8 km and then a swim in the evening .I had an easy 500m swim and another 500m then 800 with PB and then 700 without  and 500 to finish .Total 3km.

Saturday

Saturday's Cross fit session

I decided to skip riding.The weather was foul and just had a rest .Did attend the cross fit session.

Sunday

Rest Day ...weather wasn't the best so just caught up with Trevor and Les for coffee.

Week 19

After wind trainer session

The time is rolling by quickly. I have had two lighter weeks partly just out of circumstances and feel .

The week beginning 8 September was week 19 since I started preparation at least for Busselton be it at a very informal and relaxed pace. Little swimming and a bit more bike and running but nothing like the hours from past programmes as the blog will attest. This is a very uch minimalist approach to training for my sanity , health and probably well being and longevity in the sport. grinding out miles and hours may help but probably in the long run it will lead to injury and for me just turning away from the sport.

Monday
 as expected an easy run at Lunch time of 8 km . Kept the HR to under threshold and ran at about 6min -6.15 pace.Not fast but I wasn't struggling either.

Tuesday

I ran again in the afternoon just 7km and then in the evening did a session on the spin bike for 1.10 - a sufferfest dvd trying to keep my heart rate above threshold.I did take the breaks offered but by and large kept the heart rate going .Rode 40km

Wednesday

I ran an interval session and did 10km with 5 x 1km and 2 x 500m at below 5 minute pace. In the evening I swam by myself finishing a steady 2.5km with a 500m warm up and then 700,600 , 500 and cool down 200m .

Thursday

Rode in the morning at Kings Park doing a high cadence session for about 30 minutes and then managed just 4 climbs on lovekin before I had to head back to the city for work. In the evening it was a hard cross fit session .

Friday

Got a short easy run in of 7km and then decided to skip the swim.

Saturday

Had a hard 2.5 hr wind trainer session with the sufferfest DVDs . 85 kms of sweating as it was warm . went through 3 T shirts and was pretty tired after the session. cross fit in the evening was  just that little tougher with the legs tired.

Saturday's WOD

Sunday
I was supposed to be swimming but the weather was not ideal so I ran earlier , an easy 7km along the coast and fortunately we skipped the swim as the rain came as we were having coffee at Daisies in Cottesloe.

Total
Swim: 1hr or 2.5km
Bike: 5.5 hrs or 150km
Run: 4 hrs or 40km
cross fit : 2hrs
Total: 12 hrs

10 lessons from My Dog

In life as in Triathlon/Endurance sports, there is a journey of discovery and many lessons to learn and mistakes to make along the way.The often used cliche.

Having a Dog at this point in my life has changed if not skewered the way I see life and  my training , sport and fitness. Even an animal such as a Dog , non communicative , for many a lesser being then humans , can teach us valuable lessons .Lessons they don't set out to teach , but are instinctive in their nature.

These are:

Loyalty and Love Unconditionally

First and foremost Loyalty to the group they are with , her family. They do not know mistrust and hate , but are loyal in their time and  their instinctive ability to know when to be there and to just be themselves to comfort and care. They love unconditionally and repay the warmth of home and family tenfold.

Sleep
Try to have as much rest and sleep as possible .It is good for the body and it is good for the soul . Watching Molly sleep , her lungs inhaling and exhaling air and her diaphragm moving in rhythm is relaxing in itself and it is vital to getting the best out of ourselves.

Food
She loves food and is not a purveyor of all that is good for her. But in retrievers with a very high incidence of cancer in the breed , the lesson is sometimes we have to set the standards of what is healthy and good for her . Being firm and strong is hard and having the discipline to carry through on maintaining a healthy and balance diet is important. It is caring and taking responsibility

Play
We must all have time to relax and play .Downtime and just not having a plan or a goal or doing something is constructive. the world is complicated ,busy and technology filled to the point where every second is driven with absorbing information or doing several tasks on the go. Whilst as wonderful and efficient as it is compared to 20 years ago , just not doing anything probably helps the grey cells recharge. Molly does lots of this and dogs never lose their innocence if owners allow them to be themselves.

Exercise/ stretch/ smell the Roses

Retrievers were born to run , and chase and swim and retrieve .They aim to please but also they love it . She seeks out puddles to sit on them,  she drives towards the waters edge dying to jump in , she chases seagulls on the beach and swims across rivers. She stretches when she gets up and shakes her body and wiggles on her back . She sniffs and picks scents on her walks. She lives life to the full . If only I did more of the stretching and smelling the Roses .

Don't fight
She retreats and is friendly to all other animals . Gets along with all dogs and avoids the ones who growl. Her disposition is to avoid a fight.

Forgive

Dogs forgive. Or maybe they don't harbor anger or ill feeling at all. If only we could cut away the cancer or hate and anger each day from minds and live in the moment and day and move on.
 

Compassion/Empathy

If there was one great attribute it is  Compassion and Empathy .They know when you are sad and unwell and when you are happy . They are alive and tuned to every sound, smell and vibe.

Trust your instincts

We probably  lose ours by the time we are five. Dogs never do.They leap at it as only dogs know how
without fear .They trust their instincts and gallop full on . If only we could live as they do . 

Things don't matter
Dogs don't care about material things .They want your company , your attention and devotion. that is all that matters , being and living in the present and enjoying the moment.

Love unconditionally and you will be rewarded 10fold.

Week 18

Coffee at Metrio after Saturday's ride

The weather has been steadily improving despite a few showers in the morning and I have not totally escaped getting wet. After the sore left knee stopped any serious training for a few days I was keen to get back

Monday

A good easy run at lunch time running 8km @ 6.30 pace and then in the evening swimming at Terry Tyzacks on my own. I did 3 x 1km at just under threshold to medium pace. First time I felt OK in the water but still slow .

Tuesday

Cycled in the evening and did a 1.45 session with high cadence riding around Nedlands and then just riding up and down Lovekin Drive in Kings park. Not too many people about finished in the dark .Rode about 45km with 6 repeats up Lovekin drive.

Wednesday

Ran at Lunchtime doing my intervals .A little slower with a sore knee but managed to do 5 x 1km @4.50 pace . ran about 10.0 km . In the evening swam again with a 500m warm up and then 700m ,500,400m, 300, 200 m swim and a 100m cool down for a total of 2.7km .


Thursday

I did not ride in the morning as planned but ran in the afternoon an easy 6km  and then got to cross fit a little late so ended up doing the last bit of the workout on my own. The pull ups are always the hardest for me.

Thursday's WOD

Friday

Molly and Sufferfest

I ran in the afternoon another easy 8km run @6 15 pace and in the evening rather than swimming did a wind-trainer session for 40km with a Sufferfest  video .It was a hard workout trying to keep my HR above threshold

It is always hard trying to keep the heart rate and legs at that level. Pretty much shattered at the end of the session.

Saturday

I managed to finally get out at 5.30am and rode to the Hills on my usual course

Saturday's Ride up in the hills via Mundaring . There weren't too many cyclist at the start but up in Mundaring there were a few riding the hills. I rode back via Metrios where I had a quick coffee with the Exceed crew and Ross before riding home .Dropped Jonathan off at Karate and then took Molly for a run.It was a short run of 3.5km as she seemed tired and did not want to run the 5km I had planned.

In the afternoon it was a good cross fit work out with 6 rounds of exercises lasting 8 minutes including a work out on the rower . 

Tired after Saturday's run off the bike

Sunday

I managed a really good nights sleep and rode from Deep water point to Wandi for the time trial.it was just enough of a distance to warm up the legs .the time trial was hard as the legs were pretty tired after the Saturday ride and cross fit. I was a little slower than my previous attempt as expected. managed a 33kph average and missed a turn on the first lap. The heart rate was struggling to get above 145 bpm so I knew I was tired and the legs were not firing.

ATTA TIME Trial Wandi 14 September 2014

Wandi ATTA Time Trial Start Line

After the time trial I rode back and had breakfast at Georges with the Boris crew . legs were tired . I was suppose to run in the afternoon but after various family commitments , time just ran out.

Total
Swim: 2 hrs or 5.7km
Bike: 240 km or 9h20m 
Run: 36 km or 3h50m
Cross fit: 2hrs
Total: 17h10m

Week 17 A little Sore

◄ Aug 2014	~ September 2014 ~					Oct 2014 ►
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	1 AM  SWIM PM RUN	2 AM BIKE !hr Threshold effort Zone 4 142 to 154 PM Cross Fit	3 AM SWIM PM RUN INTERVALS	4 AM BIKE Hill repeats PM Cross Fit	5 AM SWIM	6 AM LONG BIKE 4-.5 hr bike with 3 efforts @30m Run off bike 30minutes easy PM CROSS FIT
7 AM LONG RUN/MTB	8 AM  SWIM PM RUN	9 AM BIKE!hr Threshold effort Zone 4 142 to 154 PM Cross Fit	10 AM SWIM PM RUN INTERVALS	11 AM BIKE Hill Repeats PM Cross Fit	12 AM SWIM	13 AM LONG BIKE 4-.5 hr bike with 3 efforts @30m Run off bike 30minutes easy PM CROSS FIT
14 ATTA TIME TRIAL WANDI	15 AM  SWIM PM RUN	16 AM BIKE!hr Threshold effort Zone 4 142 to 154 PM Cross Fit	17 AM SWIM PM RUN INTERVALS	18 AM BIKE Hill repeats PM Cross Fit	19 AM SWIM	20 AM LONG BIKE 44.5 hr bike with 3 efforts @30m Run off bike 30minutes easy PM CROSS FIT
21 AM LONG RUN/MTB	22 AM  SWIM PM RUN	23 AM BIKE!hr Threshold effort Zone 4 142 to 154 PM Cross Fit	24 AM SWIM PM RUN INTERVALS	25 AM BIKE Hill repeats PM Cross Fit	26 AM SWIM	27 WTF ULTRA MARATHON (possibly)
28 AM Recovery	29 AM  SWIM PM RUN	30 AM BIKE!hr Threshold effort Zone 4 142 to 154 PM Cross Fit	Notes:

September Prog

The beginning of September and the start of stepping up the training a notch or two.

I still dislike the cold and wet conditions and try and avoid it for the sake of injuries and accidents.But the week did not go as planned.

Monday

An easy run of just 8km and pretty relaxed.Did not do anything else for the day.

Tuesday

I rode in the morning and there was no rain at least whilst I was out.It was a pretty lonely ride and did see the packs of riders about on Birwood. The HR was jumping a fair bit but did get the Heart rate above threshold for the hour .All up did ride about 50km .

In the afternoon got a massage at lunchtime from Adele Richards at Northbridge. Needed it but with very tight calf's and quads , it hurt a lot.

In the evening it was a cross fit workout with weights .


Wednesday

Again been skipping my swimming and  I do need to begin to be consistent and start swimming regularly.

I did my interval running at lunchtime.A hard session with 5 x 1km at threshold or higher.managed to keep at 4.45min/km pace for the 5 and then did 2 x 500m at about the same pace. Unfortunately at the last run I jarred my left leg as I slowed down ,unfortunately as I have torn the ligaments in the left leg a few times in my previous life as a hockey player it was an occupational risk when training .As I was slowing down I jarred the left knee. The leg was sore and just got worse but I did not think it would prevent any training.

Thursday

Picture of Mount Street : site of many a fitness session

I ran at  lunchtime doing a 7km easy run.In the evening I had a very short ride at Kings Park with  9 repeats of Mount Street .Legs hurt especially the knee.The heart rate jumped a fair bit and I was crawling up the hill. Saw only one other rider doing the repeats as everyone else rode home or were involved in Boot camp work outs .

Unfortunately the rest of the week was a non event with the knee swelling. I managed the cross fit on Saturday but decided not to run or bike  and just have a rest. I did manage to get to cross fit on Saturday.

A little disappointing I did not finish the week of training.

Bike:70km or 3 hrs
Run:   25km or 2.35
cross fit : 2 hrs
Total: 7.35

Week 16 Sort of Rest Week

Whilst it was not written into the programme , the last week in August did end up being a easy week.I managed a fair bit of running ,no swimming , a bike ride and 3 cross fit sessions. The lack of sleep and the heavy cross fit sessions and running had taken a toll on the legs and it was good to have slackened off towards the end of the week just to recover from some of the soreness and fatigue.

Monday

Pretty easy day with an 8km easy run .

Tuesday

Rainy Tuesday

I got up early and rode at Nedlands.The Exceed squad had a river loop so i rode on my own clocking 48km with just under an hour at above threshold pace. Finished the set and  got caught in the rain as i rode back to the city In the afternoon an easy 5km run .

In the evening it was cross fit with max weights .managed to dead lift 90kgs and stopped but probably could have gone a bit higher but chose to just focus on getting the technique right .

Wednesday

Did my intervals sessions with 6 x 1km @4.45pace and walked a minute and ran a minute between each 1 km run. Ran just under 10kms.

Thursday

It was raining so I skipped my bike session. I did do the cross fit session and run an easy 7km .
the Cross fit session had a km run at the beginning and end with 50 ring pulls, box steps holding a 10kg plate and 50 push ups.

Friday

An easy day with no swimming and a short easy run of 7km

Saturday

Saturdays Session

I did not ride today an opted to run 15km and then did cross fit in the afternoon.

Sunday

I was going to ride but felt pretty tired and so just had a rest day.

Bike:  48km or 1.40
run: 53km or 5.20
cross fit: 3 hrs

Total: 10 hrs