Sunday 27 August 2017

Good news, bad news, time to build my run

Good news

COLD hill ride
The good news is: I'M BACK TO MYSELF!!! I felt seriously lousy until Wednesday. I got out of the pool after 900m on Tuesday - I was swimming 1.43 for a "hard" 100m, when I have been swimming under 1.25. I had a good chat with Xavier, my coach on Wednesday and we made a bit of a plan to keep me ticking over, without causing any extra fatigue. The main thing was to remove any intensity from my training. (See bad news). I was feeling a bit better throughout Wednesday, although I struggled to teach my practical class in the afternoon, and just couldn't stay warm. But Thursday I woke up and instantly knew I felt better, refreshed from sleep and raring to go. I held myself back in my swim, but the energy was there, and times were good. I managed a good run the same day, and absolutely nailed my Friday 4x1km swim, despite really holding back.
My main goal for the entire week was to get through the weekend without hurting myself. My hill ride on Saturday didn't feel amazing, and my top end power wasn't there, but I certainly had plenty of energy. I needed it - it got ridiculously cold up there! 

Run home from the market

I ran twice on Saturday instead of the XC race. 30min off the bike, then 30min home from the market. I was looking on the bright side of not racing - I got to buy nice food and enjoy shopping at the market, in place of the race. 
Sunday went well too - more on that in the last section.
I'd love to know what was wrong for those 5 days. It may have been some kind of virus, especially given my inability to regulate my body temperature. Or it could have just been the culmination of overdoing things with the trip home from Cebu, travelling, working all the overtime and still trying to train. Regardless, I seem to be past it now, but just to be careful I'm seeing a sports doctor on Tuesday to get bloods done in case there was anything amiss. 

Bad news

Obviously I was sad to miss my last XC race of the season, but I made peace with that pretty easily.
I'm not going to go into much detail, but twice this week I had really bad news from people I care deeply about. The first, on Wednesday absolutely floored me, mainly I think because I was still feeling bad myself. It's so hard to be strong emotionally when you're struggling with illness or fatigue. The second lot of news, on Friday was even worse, but I was feeling much better, and I've been able to deal with it (as best I can). This is where mediation comes to the fore again. All the thoughts going around my head, all the "what ifs?" All the emotions. Mediation just brings me back to the present and helps me focus on what needs to be done now. I cannot recommend it enough. It's definitely changed my life for the better.

Time to build my run

So just leaving the present aside for a minute, now I'm feeling better I have been able to just (a little bit) look forward to the coming weeks. As I mentioned previously, we front loaded the prep with more juke volume, slightly less run focus. But despite the extra weight I'm carrying into this race, I don't want to feel like I've neglected the run. Today was a 2h15 long run, which was made INFINITELY easier because I hooked up with some friends at the Tan running track (3.8k loop) and we ran one way while other friends were doing a marathon (that's 11laps 😳) the other. I was so, so grateful to have some company, and the time flew. 
With the double run yesterday, that's 35km in 24hrs, and Xavier has given me an 1 hour run tomorrow morning, so I'm excited that those 3 days will give my run a good boost going into the final 6 weeks. I will chat to Xavier about how he wants to build up my run fitness, but more importantly strength for that back half of the marathon in Kona. Much as I LOVE hard efforts, they take me a long time to recover from. So I suspect there will be plenty of hills on my running horizon in the coming weeks. And no matter if it's riding or running, boy do I love hills! (Maybe it's the Welsh part of me!) 

7 weeks to go

Week totals








Sunday 20 August 2017

I got nuthin


KEEP IT REAL. That's my most used mantra. If you're going to engage in social media, I think the only way you can preserve the 'real you' is to dispense with the sugar coating and show the bad as well as the good. So this week's blog won't be all trophies, PBs and monster weeks. Far from it.
My lovely students
I kind of ground to a halt this week. I bounced out of bed Monday morning at 4.45am, did my 90min ride with the Trifitness crew, cooked breakfast, drove up the Hume to Dookie (250km) and got started on what was a great week of work with a great group of final year vet students.
I nailed every training session (except 2 slightly shortened rides) in the week, and even fitted in a bonus swim on my way back from a full day visiting an incredible 2000 cow dairy.
My indoor set up at Dookie college. Hooray for Netflix!



But my energy levels in training were lower than last week. My swims were really slow, given my effort level. As I said last week, my swimming is often the first indication of fatigue, but not something I stress about too much if the drop is just in swimming. But my efforts on Wednesday on the bike were also off. I was on the indoor trainer (all 3 rides in Dookie had to be indoors due to torrential rain and gale force wind), and my power meter wasn't working, but I couldn't get my heart rate up even to what I held for 90km in Cebu during the efforts, and that is a clear sign of fatigue in me. Still, I didn't panic. I was still running well, and felt good in myself, so I stuck to the schedule. My evening swim on Friday night, straight off a 3.5hr drive actually went really well, so I was pretty confident I'd be ok for all the big weekend sessions (culminating in a cross country race Sunday afternoon).
We'd looked at the forecast and there was some seriously bad weather due on Saturday. Pete suggested maybe swapping the ride to Sunday and running Saturday, but I was keen to stick to the planned sessions. I did want some company, so I intended to join the MTC group on their ride along Beach Rd and beyond. 
The alarm went off, and I pressed snooze about 4 times. I was exhausted. Pete was already up and came in saying "if we leave in the next hour, we'll be soaked the minute we go out". I looked at the radar, and suggested we drive to Frankston, ride 4.5hrs from there (which would mean more hills, less flat), run off the bike there and then head to JVW's swim session at 3pm from Frankston. Sorted.
Well not quite. If I'm honest, I felt terrible as soon as I got up. my legs were really heavy, and i dragged myself into the car. We got to Frankston about 10am, and saw a load of our mates heading back the other way, including Kristy Hallett, who I am thrilled will be also racing her 3rd Kona with me in 8 weeks. Massive kudos for that ride KK.
We sat in the car for 90 mins at Frankston foreshore while it poured with rain. I cried. I was just spent, and couldn't imagine getting on the bike. Did I mention it was our 17th wedding anniversary? Instead of a champagne brunch together, we were sitting in Frankston, looking out at the rain while I cried. Ridiculous.
And that was where all the mental battery began. I was silently bullying myself into training, when everything in my body was saying "no".
"I'm just mentally weak"
"I'll never achieve my goals at Kona"
"I'm looking for excuses"
"I'm going to lose fitness"
"I'll keep gaining weight"
Remember - I have ignored my body before, and listened to those voices instead. It has not led to a very favourable outcome.
So I started to negotiate:
"How about I do a massive swim day? A 3-4km set of 500s, then JVW's drill session?"
I even suggested this to Pete - he thought it sounded like a good plan. But I literally couldn't imagine getting in the pool.
"Ok, I'll just do a 30min jog" (by now the sun was out, and Frankston looked as nice as Frankston can look".
Debated that one for.......about 30min.
Cried again.
This was when it dawned on me.
I am SO MOTIVATED. I WORK HARD FOR MY GOALS (too hard in the past). THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG!!!!!
And it is not fair on Pete to spend our anniversary with him trying to nurse me through feeling like shit.
Image may contain: 1 person
My Grandfather, Frank Sewell (BEM)
So I suggested something that I know he loves, I and I knew would take my mind off my disaster of a day. The cinema.
We went to see Dunkirk. My Grandfather, Frank Sewell was on the destroyer ships that were rescuing those soldiers, and he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his role in that.
Gives you some perspective. Those men weren't pushing themselves to exhaustion for their career, or sporting accolades. They were just surviving. And what I do, what I am training for is incredibly important to me (and to others who "get" what Hawaii is all about), but really in the scheme of things, in 10 years, am I going to turn around and say "hey, that Saturday I missed has really changed the course of my life!" No way.
So I drew a line under the day, went to have a beautiful dinner with Pete, and had a great night's sleep, ready to hit my Sunday with gusto.
NO WAY JOSE
Woke up (to an alarm) after nearly 10 hours sleep, and as soon as I got out of bed, I knew I felt no better. Absolutely dead legs, achy back, sore knees. Wow. Back to bed. Repeat. Until about 11.30am. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus. And, despite the perspective I'd had yesterday, I still questioned why I didn't want to go for my run. Tears ensued again. Pete suggested we just press reset this weekend and start again tomorrow. I just couldn't deal with that. NO TRAINING, when I had about 9.5hrs planned? That's CRAZY! Especially when I'm not ill! Or am I?
That's when the second guessing began. Questions like:
Am I ill? - Well the way I work, unless I'm being wheeled into an ambulance, no I'm never ill. But seriously, I suppose my sinuses have felt a little inflamed, and I have been a little head achy, but that's it.
Is it lack of sleep? - possibly, but you'd think last night would have sorted that out.
Is it the big week at Dookie? - maybe a contributing factor, but I trained really well last weekend, off an less-than-ideal week
Is it my diet? Am I eating enough? Am I eating too much?  - I haven't eaten crap while I was away (I took a lot of my own foods) but I've probably eaten more carbs than usual. I'm sure I'm eating enough. I'm not losing weight, so maybe I'm eating too much. But how would that make me feel shit?
Do I just not cope well with Ironman training? - OMG. Seriously? After 9 Ironmans? 
Honestly, the list goes on. I even thought "maybe I'm not cut out to race Kona again"
And really, there are no answers to any of those questions, so it's better I just stop asking.

It was a beautiful sunny day here today. The first in a week. And Pete was keen to run. So I said I would run to the park with him, just to see how I felt, and walk if I was no good. The first kilometre was 6.45. Felt like 5.45. Ok, definitely NQR (Not Quite Right). I ran for 40 min, and some of it felt ok. It certainly made me feel better, but I think it also solidified the fact that this weekend wasn't going to be a good weekend, and maybe I was better off listening to the body (for once) and cutting my losses.
I went to the community (free) meditation at Happy Melon tonight. It was amazing, as always, and one of the teachers discussed our thoughts and how we can deal with them. Ask 3 questions of a thought:
1. Is it true?
2. Is it useful?
3. Is it kind?
I probably could have done with that yesterday, but it certainly meant a lot to me to hear it today.
I actually discussed what had gone on this weekend after the meditation. I love that we have discussions in these classes, and someone asked me to share what it all meant for me. I was embarrassed to be talking to these 'normal' people about my crazy batshit hobby that leads me to train all weekend, and then mentally berate myself if I don't manage to get green all over my training peaks page. And yet, after the class, several people approached me and wished me luck for Hawaii, and genuinely seemed to admire what it was I was doing. I guess our 'normal' is what a lot of people would aspire to do, but haven't yet got the belief that they can.
Pete put it best when he reminded me that I haven't wrecked this prep because of 2 days, and I need to remember how consistent I have been in the past months, years, and even the last 10 years. I cannot begin to say how lucky I am to have that man beside me.
And so, I've pressed "reset". Let's start again tomorrow.

8 weeks to go

The week's stats (All of Sunday will end up red)






Sunday 13 August 2017

Back to reality - ouch!

Following last Sunday's race, I had a 90min ride, 20min run and 30min swim scheduled for Monday. I was amazed at how good I felt. A really strong sign that I'm tracking well for Kona, and something I need to remind myself of when I get anxious about what I can (or can't) do this week (see later).


Trying a bit of SUP post-race

I flew back from the Phillipines on Tuesday, landed 11.30am Wednesday, got home, repacked and drove the 250km up north to Dookie, where I was supervising final year vet students on their dairy selective. I am a bit paranoid about losing all the gains I've made on my swim, so I stopped off at Shepparton (35min from Dookie) and squeezed in a quick session. I was wrecked by the time I went to bed on Wednesday night (I only caught about 4hrs sleep on the flight Tuesday night) but at least I slept really well that night; something I don't always do in a strange bed.



At the top of Mt Major (200m climb) looking down at Dookie College
A couple of easy runs Thursday and Friday morning, and another swim after my drive back on Friday night, and I wondered how I would fare through my weekend sessions. 
I was pleasantly surprised! I started out feeling lousy on my 4hr hill ride, but started up the 1:20 (a 7km climb, yes it's 5% as the name suggests!) and soon I realised I was pushing 200W fairly comfortably. I had coffee then rode back with some of the Melbourne Tri club crew, and managed to hold on pretty well. My long hill run this morning wasn't quick, but I felt ok, given the week I've had, and that it is only 7 days post race. Our usual Sunday swim went ok too - we do all-out sprints for 10-16 strokes with loads of recovery in between, and I know if I'm really fatigued as the arms don't turn over as fast. Today was a good one.

I'm heading back to Dookie again tomorrow morning, and I've had lots of feelings of anxiety about how it will compromise my training/recovery. I had a week of taper, then the race in Cebu, then a recovery week, and next week I will probably only be able to get to the pool in Shepparton once (I usually swim Tues, Wed, Thur and Friday). I will drop into the pool again next Friday, but I guess I feel like I will have had 3 less-than-consistent weeks. And consistency is key. But work has to be done too, and I derive so much joy from seeing passionate students learning more about my area of vet science, that I know it will be worth it. And I need to remind myself of a) all the work I have done, and how fit I already am; b) that 9 weeks is still a long time, and I am better off DYING to get back to consistent big training weeks, than being over it; and c) On race day, it's not just what your body can do, but what your mind and mental strength bring to the table. And last week proved that, while I can still do work on that (we all can), I have nothing to be anxious about.

Tonight, we are going out to dinner to celebrate the launch of our new business, BOXSUPP (link below)
Link to BOXSUPP website
This is Pete's idea, but we will both be working on it together, something I am so excited about. The concept is brilliant - your daily vitamins and supplements are in one pack (instead of a cupboard full of containers) and you have a month's supply in your box. Our hope/ dream is that this business will be successful enough that it will make us more mobile, and we can choose where we live in the next few years. Not that we don't love Melbourne (especially on a sunny day like today!) but winters in Queensland certainly appeal :)


BOXSUPP - our future
9 weeks to go
This week's numbers - The bonus open water swims in Cebu bumped up the swim volume!!




Sunday 6 August 2017

Phillipines heaven and lessons I learned

This week's blog needs to be fairly short and sweet, as I have some champagne to drink tonight!

I got to race in a little bit of paradise today. I call it paradise, not because of the crystal clear waters (a diving Mecca), nor because of the spectacular Shangri La hotel, where the race is held. Not even because of the amazing WARMTH we escaped from Melbourne winter to enjoy. No, it is paradise because of the people. The Filipinos are some of the friendliest, helpful and accomodating people we have ever met, and this just absolutely made the race. Tens of thousands of screaming school kids lining the bike course was just a sight to behold, and made me smile for a large portion of the race.



I managed to win my age group, was 14th female overall and bagged a slot for the 70.3 WC in S. Africa next year. My time was nothing special, but that's lesson #1: you can't define your performance by times when you choose to race in tough conditions. Kona is the same- one year can be vastly different from another. My real definition of my performance there will have to be based on the question: Did I execute the race to the best of my ability, and give it everything I had? 






A few other lessons came up from the race

Swim: I always thought I could never really produce a good swim result unless I was drafting on feet. But today, I had no feet the whole way round, and still came away with a good result. There was a massive current, so all the times including the pros were slow, but to be around 4 min behind Pete, without being on feet was a big step forward. I think I could improve my sighting though, and be a bit more savvy about reading the current (I got tangled in ropes a few times!)

Bike: In the heat, it is so vital that you are on top of your hydration on the bike. I also find that as the time goes on in the hot conditions, I can't take in as much nutrition, so front-loading a bit seems to work. I think that having a regime of drinking to a set time is invaluable. I usually set an alarm on my bike computer for this - I didn't today, but I'll make sure I do for Kona. I also got through a LOT of salt today (half a tube of the BASE salt). That seemed to help a lot with the hydration status - I got none of the dizziness I often experience in the heat. I'll make sure I'm on top of that for Kona too.

Run: Wow, such a frustrating, yet eventually satisfying run. I set off at a pace my legs told me I was able to do; somewhere between 4.55 and 5.10 per km. But within the first 3km, my heart rate was creeping up, and I was really beginning to feel overwhelmed by the heat. I didn't even question pulling back (which mainly happened as I started walking through aid stations, taking my time to get ice on board and hydrate). I tried not to get despondent as I saw my splits getting slower. Really I had been hoping for somewhere around a 1.50 run, but I knew that if I tried to push, it might blow out completely. So in the end, I ran a 1.56, and my last 3kms were 5.27, 5.22 and 5.18. So muscularly, I felt there would have been more, if I hadn't been in damage limitation with the heat. I took a few lessons away from this for Kona
1. I need to manage my body temperature in the final stages of the bike.
2. The extra weight I am carrying may have contributed to me overheating BUT
3. Some of the extra weight I am carrying seems to be giving me good strength

The upshot is, I will try to go into Kona a little leaner, but I'm not going to chase the kind of weight I have raced at there before. I refuse to make myself miserable by restricting what I eat, and I think there are other measures I can implement to help me deal with the heat.

For now, I'm going to enjoy a few drinks, make sure I get another couple of open water swims in, and prepare myself to freeze when I head up to N. Victoria for work for the next couple of weeks

10 weeks to go