PB

Yesterday morning I decided that my 10K PB has stood for too long so decided to have a crack at it. Got up a 6:30 in the morning thanks to no more day light savings it felt like 7:30 and the sun was well up into the sky. Set buddy to run 10K in 80 minutes (my PB is 76) so I new I had to flog by a lot but I wanted to take the first 4K easy and didn’t want to get behind. So took of and by the 4K mark I was fully awake and feeling strong in the legs so started to pick up the pace had a few little problems along the way just have a look at the splits and I think you can tell where the hills were (I wasn’t running around the Bay). Pushed really hard at the end cause I had a chance of getting under 70 Minutes but was just to buggered and just scrapped in the other side with a 70:39. So was very happy with that as it’s almost 6 minutes (5:58 to be exact) of my previous PB so yes very happy.

It’s getting down to the business end of things here to as its 20 weeks till C2s and 26 weeks till my Half Marathon so it’s time to step up and start lifting the weekly mileage.

Splits
7:30
7:29
7:29
7:29
6:11
7:46
6:36
7:26
6:44
5:56

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:55
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 10
Week: 10
Month: 28
Year to Date: 113
Life to Date: 498

All Good

Pebbles and I braved the dark this morning and headed out at 4:30 down the M2 from Lane Cove Road up to Sunny Holt Road and Back. Things were going great and I was maintaining a better pace today until we got to Sunny Holt Road then I had a flat tire. Luckily I had my spare Tube with me this time and managed to swap it out in less than 5 minutes. Unfortunately I failed to check the tire before putting the spare in 100 meters down the road and I had another flat and I had run out of spare tubes. Luckily Pebbles had a patch it on her so we managed to patch up the tube get it back in the tire and of we went. We had wasted a bit of time so we tried to pick up the pace a bit here ( well pebbles picked up the pace and I tried to keep up) but not meant to be and then low and behold Pebbles got a flat tire. So she waved me by as I tried to get ahead of her as she was going to change the tube and then catch up to me. Only got 5 minutes down the road and she had caught up. So the 50K which took 2 hours and 10 minutes to ride actually took 2 hours and 47 minutes to ride. Luckily we left early.


1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:55
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 4
Week: 4
Month: 18
Year to Date: 103
Life to Date: 488

TRI

Wow what an experience this by far is the hardest thing I have ever done so far with my new sporting life. Was very hard on me mentally yesterday with the rain but I just couldn’t stop smiling the whole way around.

Pre Race
My day started at 3:30 in the morning as I we had to leave the house by 4 to make it up to Newcastle. I jumped out of bed as I just couldn’t wait for the day to start had my Yogurt and Nutri-Grain for breakfast and then we were of. The excitement laster all the way to the edge of Newcastle until I realised that the rain I thought would go away in fact was not going to go anywhere. Started to worry here as I had no idea how my equipment would handle the rain as I had tested my clothes in the wet but only in 30oC heat so they dried pretty quick so wasn’t sure what would happen if they were constantly wet. Decided to put that behind me and just see what happens. So I picked up my registration pack and then dropped my bike if in the transition area. Then walked down to the beach to check out the swim leg and the route we had to take back to the transition as it was about 250 meters. Then I had my race briefing and then we were all headed down to the beach. Let me tell you I was a little scared by this stage once I got down to the beach and had the Swimming Cap on I realised that there was no escape I was really going to do this the nerves were amazing I was really scared but then I just focused on everything I had done in the last 9 weeks everything I had achieved and got myself into my racing mindset.

The Tri

Well how many things can go wrong on the day lets count. Firstly I had my Swimming cap on and my goggle’s on my head waiting to go into the water then with 10 seconds to go the guy called out goggle’s on I was alive at this stage with so many emotions everything was running through my head. This time last year I couldn’t even run 100 meters and here I was ready to go for a whole Tri what was I thinking. Then the lights went out. As I put my goggle’s on they were fogged up to the max so I could see anything I lifted them of my face and was trying to clean them as I didn’t want to pull them all the way off as they took to long to get on in the right position. I could hear the starter counting down so I was in a real hurry to get them cleared then bang off we go and as I raced into the water ready to attack the Tri I made my first mistake unfortunately I got a little excited and dived a little to early and came up with a mouthful of sand luckily nothing was hurt except my pride so I ran a little deeper into the water and we where off. Now we had to swim out and back twice and I had a little trouble on the direction I was going so I probably swam 600 to 700 meters instead of 500 but still I got out of the water in 14:30 which was 30 seconds in front of my goal so things where going well. Just jogged easily back to T1 so I could catch my breath as I had sallowed a little too much sea water. Changed my shirt and put my shoes on but because of the rain everything was wet so I was unable to dry myself properly and my stupid race number wasn’t staying on my shirt they really did give us the worst safety pins I have seen so far in any race. So it just kind of had it half sticking on as I took of on the bike.

Now the plan was to go easy for the first lap to get into it and then pick up for the last two. Unfortunately due to the wet conditions and the fact my back breaks weren’t working properly I decided in the interest of safety to take it easy for the whole bike leg and then really push the run. Half way around the bike leg I noticed my Watch wasn’t working so no longer had any idea of how I was going. The bike leg was a lot harder than I thought it would be as it was described as a flat course when in fact there wasn’t really a flat edge on the course. Also my mountain bike might have the heart of a Felt but she doesn’t ride like one so I felt slow and unsure over the whole ride leg. Looking for a new bike today as I’ll never ride that bike again just not built for the road. So pulled back into T2 a little sore and feeling like there wasn’t much left in the tank as the final hills really took it out of me. T2 was a lot faster for me as all I had to do was jump of the bike and go.

Took of for the run and 2 minutes into it I new it was going to be a bad run my shorts were drenched and they were starting to chafe but dug deep and tried to push on but by the 2K mark things weren’t going well so had to pull up and just coast in didn’t see the point in ripping my legs apart to cut a few minutes of the run. I was in no danger of winning so pulled up and put it down as I learning experience.

Crossing the finish line was an amazing experience it just felt so good to finish I was on top of the moon it didn’t matter what the time was or what place I came I had finished I had been challenged and I came out on top. Really was something to remember was just awesome.


Official Results
Swim: 16:25
Bike: 47:12
Run: 25:14
Total: 88:51

Not sure how I feel about those cause I know I came out of the water in 14:30 I remember looking at my watch I would admit to a small error but not 2 minutes. The bike leg also seems a bit slow but then again it was bad conditions. The run I fully believe because I really was buggered by that stage and with the chafing I really wasn’t up to running a fast time.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and I look forward to next year so I can smash it in under an hour hopefully but for now the focus is C2S then the Half Marathon in September those are the goals for this year so thanks to all for there encouragement I really wouldn’t of got over the line if it wasn’t for everyone’s advise and support.

Catch up

Well the weekend so a lot slower than the last couple as my training is starting to slow down. Did my old boxing training on Sunday for something different and was amazed at how easy it was 20 minutes skipping use to kill me but got through it well easier than I use to then 20 minutes of shadow boxing. Was a great feeling at the end and almost felt like my old fit self. Road to and from work on Monday which took longer than I thought it should but did have a lot of gear on the back of the bike plus there are a lot of hills between Revesby and Burwood. Then came this morning, my last run before the Tri and I decided that my 5K PB has stood for long enough so headed out to the bay and just decided to go for it and see how I went. There was also a little bit of theory behind this. See in races I also hold back to much and I don’t push myself had enough so I needed to remind myself of how far I can actually push myself. So set up Buddy Jnr to run 5k in 33:35 (my current PB) and set of. I felt great out there today really strong in the legs and the breathing was working so I new that a PB was possible. I decided to run the first 3K without looking to see how Buddy was going which I normally do every 5 seconds. At the 3K post I looked down expecting to see Buddy way out in front as I hadn’t felt I had gone fast enough as I was still feeling fresh was very surprised to see I was in fact 358 meters in front. So put the petal to the metal and took of for the last 2K. Powered through and crossed the line at 29:55 it’s only 5 seconds but still averaged under 6min/K was very happy with the result now BRING ON THE TRI.

5:43
5:51
6:06
6:06
6:08

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:55
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 5
Week: 5
Month: 12
Year to Date: 97
Life to Date: 482

Every Time I see this it makes me laugh

“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man”

Well things have been going okay since Sunday. I decided against better judgement to go for a run on Monday afternoon just to see how the leg felt. After 2K I had to pull up as although it didn’t hurt it just didn’t feel right. So just walked home and decided to leave it for the day.

Tuesday I road to work its 30K there and back so not to bad a ride and quite enjoyable (except for the bus that failed to indicate and cut across 3 lanes of traffic to try and run me over). Felt slow on the bike with the bags on the back but still covered the 15K both ways in less than 50 minutes. The leg felt good on the bike and I could ride with no problems so going to try another slow run this afternoon and see how it goes. Got swim training tomorrow morning which should prove no problems so hopefully I’ll be back on track by the weekend for my last long ride.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 2
Week: 2
Month: 7
Year to Date: 92
Life to Date: 477

“Sing us a song tonight”

Well had an interesting weekend but not much training happened which was a bit of a shame. Did 5K on Saturday with Jill which flew by in 33:37 YES 2 seconds of my PB but hey was still a good run and nice to be out there with some company. Forgot Last Friday morning had a really good swim and managed 500 meters in 12:25 which is a great time for me and actually felt good in the water for the first time so was really pumped for the Tri then came Sunday. Had some friends over and I was sratching around in the garage and I cut my leg on the lawn mower not to deep but it is across my shin and my leg has some pretty serious bruising so hopefully everything will come good by the 18th.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 5
Week: 0
Month: 5
Year to Date: 90
Life to Date: 475

“Well, were all in the mood for a melody”

Went for my long ride yesterday morning and what a great ride free of any problems was really lovely riding along the M5 in the early hours of the morning.

Left the house at 4:30am and head of down the M5 with the intent of turning around at Brooks Rd at Ingleburn all up it the ride should be a bit over 40K. Was a nice morning and the rain held of which made it a magical morning. On these long rides I leave the Ipod at home deciding it’s probably best for safety reasons which gives one a good long time to contemplate certain aspects of your life. Had a good long think about certain things yesterday morning which is always good one of the things I really love about running is that you really get some good time to yourself to just work things out. Anyway reached Brooks Rd and made the turn for home got maybe 300m from where I got my flat and I found my bag that I had lost the week before it was trashed but managed to save my $10.00 everything else was trashed but still happy days. The rest of the ride flew by as I hit a big down hill section so I just pumped my legs and travelled along at 1:30min/k pace for about 10K before I hit the toll gates.

Finished doing exactly 40K in 1:40:27 so looking to better that on Sunday morning.

“And you’ve got us feelin alright”

Well had an interesting weekend was all about running for a change. Went running with my new running buddy Jill on Saturday and Sunday and fun was had by all. Saturday was our normal weekly run which was just around my house we did 4.75K in 32 minutes (Jill has a faster pace per K than me so I have been using our runs as my speed sessions). Then on Sunday My Wife, Jill and I went out to lunch and then afterwards it was decided and we would go to the bay and try another run. Ended doing 4.25K in 27 minutes so was a little faster but by this stage her right calf was a little sore so we walked the rest of the way around and then had a good long stretch before the drive home.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 4.25
Week: 4.25
Month: 46.66
Year to Date: 85
Life to Date: 470

A Calamity of Errors

Well as the heading says this morning was unbelievable can still not believe it have never had so many things go wrong.

I got up at 4:15 to go for my 60K bike ride and really all I wanted to do was go straight back to bed (a feeling I really should have listened to). Anyway was out the door by 4:30 and on my way. The plan was to ride up the M5 to Ingleburn and back from the street directory it looked about 30K one way so hoping that was the case. Well it wasn’t but the next exit was til Campbelltown so turned around anyway and headed for home at the 21K mark. Well 22.57K into the ride I rode over a huge nail and bang went my tire. Pulled over to the side of the road and reached under my seat for my Spare Tube and tools and the bag that was there in the morning when I left the house was no longer there. Was very upset by this stage was roughly 20K from home no spare tube no tool kit No Money (it was in the bag under the seat as well. Luckily the bag was jam packed so I had my phone on a pouch on my arm so called my father (it was about 5:50 by this stage as I had walked a bit down the highway looking for an emergency phone before I realised I had mine on my arm). Told Dad basically where I was but would call him back to confirm once I got of the M5 Thank God it was only another K to the next exit. When I got of the M5 tried to call my Dad only to find my phone was busted and just showed a pure white screen so luckily there was a Caltex Service Station just down the road got there but was no pay phone asked the Girl behind the counter if there was one near by but she let me use her phone to call Dad to tell him exactly where I was (Thanx Christine if you ever read this really did say my day). Then Dad finally arrived and we got the bike in the car and was heading for home through peak hour traffic on the M5 but her at least it was moving (crawling) got home and as we where taking the bike out of the car I realised that my water bottles had leaked all over mums car so don’t think she is going to be to happy.

Anyone else just would have had a flat fixed in 5 minutes and on there way but oh not me of cause not.

All in All it’s just Brick Training in the Wall.

Had my Brick training last night and still struggle a little bit when doing this so glad I am that I was advised that I would need heaps of training before the race. Was busting to get out on the bike this week as I had a new pair of riding glasses to test out (surprising how much of a boost you get when you have new gear to test). Was a little scary cause when I got back the glasses where covered in all sorts of sh1t which probably use to get straight into my eyes so glad I got them. Ended up doing 15K in 47:31 not my fastest time but it was very windy last night so going to use that as an excuse. Then straight into my 2K run (still al I can manage after a 15K ride) managed to crawl around the 2K loop around my house in 15:25 which is my long run pace so not to slow but still slower than I would like on race day but then again all I am looking for is to finish just need to keep reminding myself. Well I have swimming tonight and then my long ride tomorrow morning (60K) so going to sleep well tomorrow night.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 2
Week: 2
Month: 37.16
Year to Date: 75.5
Life to Date: 460.5

Blogging On

Friday

Had my speed session today and it was my first in a long time and my heart really wasn’t in it so didn’t go very well but it was a start and looking forward to the one next week even more really need to focus on getting a little speed.
Saturday

Went for a run with one of my wife’s dancing friends (we will call her Jill) as she is trying to tone up a little. Jill is not the fittest person I have ever meet but damn she can run FAST. Which is good in a way for me, I decided to just run for 2 minutes then walk for 2 minutes so as to not wear Jill out. All was going well and I was managing to keep up in the two minutes we were running unfortunately due to the speed session the day before my legs were a little dead but I managed to finish nice and strong in the end. By the tenth rep Jill was a little tired but still very fast.

Sunday

Was up really early for my Long ride this morning but after the last two days my legs had really had enough and my riding buddy had gone for a really long ride the day before so we decided to just do two trips around the Bay (including the extra doggy bit plus the big hill so Two loops worked out to be 20K which we finished in 59:59 just inside the 3min/k pace.

All in all it was a big week last week but it’s going to be bigger this week before I start to wind down for the upcoming Tri. Still only worried about the swim leg hope I can get enough training in before the 18th March I know I can swim the distance just hope it wont take 2 hours to get there.

Bad Blogger

I have been a Bad Blogger this week so will have to update

Tuesday

Went for a swim in the morning and managed 500 meters in 14:30 which is a bit slow but here’s hoping I can get a little faster before the Tri. In the afternoon I went for a bike ride as my legs where still a little funny from Sundays run so decided to go for an easy 10K.

Wednesday and Thursday

Will have to report that training just went out the window as had some others things to deal with was a little annoying but am determined to finish strong for the week.

Friday

Went for what I thought would be about a 40K bike ride this morning but it ended up only being 22K (hard to judge the distances in the street directory). So am back to the drawing board for a good long ride around my house. I need a nice long loop because I find it really difficult to ride past my house and keep going.

Tonight I will hopefully be going for a 5K run (speed work) if I can motivate myself to get out the door. Shouldn’t be too hard as my legs are back to normal now (after last Sunday). I want to crack the 5min/Km barrier again tonight as it has been a while since I did it last and am hoping I didn’t in fact dream it last time.

“And as we wind on down the road”

Well had one of the best training runs so far on Sunday I went to the Bay yesterday afternoon and was planning on running for as long a possible as I have been neglecting my running a little of late and I wanted to attempt two laps of the Bay for quite some time so yesterday was the day I was going to achieve this. 14K is 4K longer than I have ever run and also haven’t run more than 5-6K in a long time. So headed out nice and easy was aiming for a time of 1:52 which works out to be 8min/km which is my normal long run pace. After about the first 1 I was 150 meters in front of Buddy Jnr (virtual training on my Garmin) and was travelling to fast so pulled back a little bit and ran the next couple at the correct 8 minute pace but then it started to pick it up again so the 7th and 8th K were a lot faster than they where suppose to but was feeling on top of the world it was at this stage that I felt I could go forever and was contemplating going for one more lap but by the end of the 13th K that stupid thought had left my mind. Finished up doing 14K in 1:46:54 which was 5 minutes under my target time so was ecstatic with the result and still managed to sprint the last 50 meters or so but I was well and truly done by the end. Still amazingly enough the last K was my fastest will never understand that.

Splits

7:08
7:51
7:53
8:09
8:00
8:04
6:58
6:55
7:50
7:23
7:43
7:55
8:07
6:52
1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 14
Week: 14
Month: 28.16
Year to Date: 66.5
Life to Date: 451.5

“Our shadows taller than our souls”

Wow well what I never would of thought possible 7 months ago happened this morning not only did I rise at 4:30 this morning (with only 4.5 hours sleep) but then drove to Ryde and then went for a 50K bike ride. Was really awesome meet up with Pebbles from Cr and we went up the M2 for 25K then turned around and came back whole trip took 2:07:50 which is pretty damn fast (well for me anyway). Was really nice going along the M2 at 5 in the morning good view along the bike lane and wasn’t to busy on the M2 when we turned around a Sunny Holt Road to head back to Ryde it got a little busier but still not to bad and we had a dedicated Bike lane so wasn’t to worried. Pebbles got a flat about half way back so that slowed us down a little, so only managed to make work at 7:45 just enough time for a shower and then run upstairs. So all in all it was a good ride but when I got back realised that I’ll have to do it all again next week and that’s a little scary.

“There walks a lady we all know”

Well the ankle is finally feeling good again went for a 3K easy run last night as I didn’t have time for a ride and ended up doing it in 20:37 which is a good time for me. Going to attempt a new 5K PB again next week hopefully everything will go smoothly this time. Really believe that I can get under 30 minutes for the 5K will just have to see how I go.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 3
Week: 8
Month: 9.66
Year to Date: 48
Life to Date: 433

“Who shines white light and wants to show”

Well first run after the fall last night and it didn’t go to plan, wanted to do a nice easy 5K and after about 1K I could feel my ankle starting to strain a little. It didn’t hurt but it just didn’t feel right so moved onto the grass but still only managed another 0.5K so just decided it was best to stop completely and give it a couple more days before I try again.

Went for a swim this morning and did 400m in 9:17 exactly the same as last time but was a real eye opener as it was really hard and don’t think I could of made the whole 500m swim leg of the Tri which is only 40 days away so will really need to focus on swimming for the next couple of weeks as I am confident in the other events.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 1.5
Week: 1.5
Month: 3.16
Year to Date: 41.50
Life to Date: 426.5

“How everything still turns to gold”

Well Fridays run didn’t go according to plain firstly my wife who was suppose to join me for a run once again decided that sleep was more important and refused to get out of bed (mind you this is at 5:30 in the afternoon). So decided to run over to my parent’s house and as I wanted to attempt a new PB for 5K I had been pumping myself up all day telling myself over and over that I CAN do this. So set Buddy Junior to run 5K in 30 minutes and took of after my warm up. 1.66K into the run everything went wrong I was going really well I was going strong was 52 meters in front of Buddy and then came the pot hole. Down I went and man did it hurt at the time I thought I had done ligiment damage to my right ankle but upon later investigation in turned out to just be a slight sprain so decided to stay of it for a couple of days and not exercise. Easier said than done because by 5pm on Saturday I was busting to get out for a run but my Wife talked me out of it saying it’s better to be careful. So have been very bored the last couple of days but am pumped for with afternoon as I am going for a easy 5K jog just to test the leg out and see how it goes hopefully all is well and then it’s back into the training.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 25:28
5K PB: 33:35 (STILL)
7K PB: 48:54
10K PB: 76:37

Last Run: 1.66
Week: 1.66
Month: 1.66
Year to Date: 40.00
Life to Date: 425

"And if you listen very hard"

Decided to go for a bike ride last night rather than a run as it's a little easier on the legs and mine haven't been feeling that great over the last couple of days. Road to my parents house only to find they weren't at home so missed out on my rest stop and had to turn around and go home. ended up doing 13K in 42.10 average of 3:14min/Km which is pretty good considering the hills I had to climb. All in all it's been a funny week where I exercised everyday but have failed everyday to do what was actually on my program so will really need to get into it next week as there is only 44 days to go.

"The tune will come to you at last"

Please see below the latest edition to my familiy I would like everyone to say a big hello to "Buddy Junior". We went for a first run together last night and I can say that it really is love at first run. What an absolute pleasure it was to be out there with a new running partner. Really enjoyed last nights run and am looking forward to this weekend more than ever.