The weekend that was

The weather on the weekend was average at best, Saturday morning I got in a yoga class and then headed to the Mornington Peninsula for a birthday BBQ on Saturday night. I headed down a touch early so I could take in some of the two bays trail - I'd run part of it at the start of the year for the Two Bays 28km trail run and I've been keen to revisit. I started from Greens Bush. It was gorgeously serene. I saw one other person on the trail and heard plenty of bird life around me. I ended up jogging on the flats and walking the rest. It's well signposted and somewhat protected from the rain that was falling. Thankfully it was too cold for snakes.

Sat; yoga: 1 hr | Simply flow. Lots of back bends and hip opening today.
Hiking: 1:05 | 7km

Sun; ride: 1:34:20 | 39.3km | 25km/hr. A strong headwind heading out. Very unusual, but makes the way home super fast and fun! I didn't worry about HR, I just wanted to see what I could do.

Mon; swim: 54:00 | 2200m | 2.27m/100m. Lots of drills and a bit of distance. Cramming my two scheduled swims into one.

Off the shelf: 50 Marathons in 50 Days

Have you read this?

This is up there with Born to Run another great running story. 50 marathons in 50 days by ultra marathon man Dean Karnazes is filled with tips about running. Some we've all heard before - the right shoes are important. To some I'd forgotten about - over-training signs; including lack of motivation, and new suggestions like run as far as you can in a day - pack a back pack and a credit card and go. The last one plays on me constantly... and I read the book last year.

Run: 39:36 | 6.3km | 6.16m/km
I had to throw in some speed in the form of intervals to my training. Glad I did, because I wildly underperformed. I really struggled to hold any kind of pace. Doesn't bode well for aim of 5.50m/km in my first triathlon. At least I know where I'm at and the work I need to do.

Time on my side

I like you night shift I do, but I love me some rest days!

Tues; ride: 1:39:25 | 39.6km | 23.8km/hr.
What a day! Blue skies, no wind, shall I say that again, NO WIND!!!  I headed out with Mum and got to catch up on all her recent holiday news. We stopped for coffee of course. Had I not needed to leave for work by midday I honestly think I would have spent all day on the bike. It was beautiful. My HR average was 143. I didn't exactly stick in Z2, but I did manage some Z4 efforts.

Wed; run: 39:04 | 5km | 7.48m/km.
It was toasty, even at 6:45pm when I started the run. I'd procrastinated all afternoon. My dinner plans were canceled and I had no excuses left. Hard to keep the HR down at 140, but an easy run otherwise.

Thurs; ride/run: 1:16:37 | 28.7km | 22.4km/hr ride followed by 25:28 | 4.2km | 6.45m/km run.
Brick session. It was only meant to be a 15min run at 150 bpm or Z3. But I wanted a bit of time to unleash. To let myself run free, so the rest of the run was done as the race will be done with my HR sky high. Felt good to be working.

October Snapshot

A teeny InstaSnap of October.

November rolled in while I was on night shift - the days and nights all tumble into one I tell you.
Very glad this one is done, I lost steam towards the end and the desire to train faded as the week wore on. Thankfully my eating stayed on track.

Today a recovery day from the shift work, a time to restock the fridge, do some housework and get to yoga. Very much looking forward to getting back into swimming, cycling and running.

Yoga; Simply flow 1 hour.
I'm hoping to get to a power flow class later in the week. You know, when I've had more than fours hours sleep.

Monthly totals; October 2013

Swim: 2:00 | 4900m

Bike: 7:35:28 | 181.9km

Run: 7:19:27 | 64.54km

Bike Trainer: 1:55

Massage: 3:00

Walking: 1:10

Yoga: 10:00 

 

Weight: 60.3 kg. -1kg.  Significantly fewer hours than last month and still down a kilo. I'm not complaining. I ran the Melbourne Half Marathon that I wasn't well prepared for, thought I'd done myself an ITB injury. Thankfully a week of not running saw it relatively unscathed and back to training. Next on the agenda an 85km ride along with the continued triathlon training. Bring on the warmer weather please!

Upcoming events

 

Why all the training in all the sports?
I signed up for the Gatorade Triathlon series. The last time I did the series was 06/07. I'm still trying to work out if much has changed in regards to training. If you know it has, give me the heads up!?

As an opening I've also signed up for the Bass Coast Cycle Challenge the weekend before the first tri. 85kms in the legs the week before a first race, genius! More so I'm looking forward to spinning the legs with my Mum who's also riding and a mini escape from the city.

Tues; Bike trainer: 50 min.
All zone 2

Wed; run: 8kms time unknown. All zone 2

In the swim

I'll be honest, swimming is not my fave. There was a time I liked it, but I'm pretty sure that was more to do with my hot instructor than anything else. I try not to think of it as the necessary evil, because it does have its advantages. When it's howling with wind and pouring with rain, swimming indoors becomes the favorable option. It's also a little easier on the body and can aid in recovery. I have access (through work) to a pool that is under-utilised, and free! There is never the need to share a lane and as a result I no longer suffer from "lane rage".

The key to sessions is having a plan. I used to not and ended up swimming many a 1500m+ straight. It has its benefits but not every session. I write out my program and stick it to my water bottle. Then I have less thinking to do at the pool. Less thinking when the blood is elsewhere works for me.

The key to getting there in reasonable time is a dedicated pool bag. With my pull buoy (that doubles as a kick board),  goggles (I swear by Aqua Sphere), moisturizers (the chlorine is drying) deodorant (and stinky) and hair dryer. Not forgetting underwear works a treat if I wear my bathers to the pool too. I have spent far too much of my time looking for errant goggles. Now they live in the bag. The bag lives in the cupboard a cursory check to make sure I've got enough shampoo and I'm off.

Swimming presses my hungry button. I usually pack a few dates (nature's Gu) or a peeled orange that I can tuck into once I'm done.

Sun; brick session ride/run: Bike 1:23:16 | 31.6km | 22.7km/hr
Run 15:04 | 2.18km | 6.54m/km
Bike was all Zone 2, low heart rate. I could have pushed it a little more and still been within the zone. I got to practise a transition dismount. There's some work to do. The run was Zone 3. My heart rate just wanted to climb and climb and climb off the bike. Rein it in. Rein it in.

Mon; swim: 2000m | 48:00 | 2.24m/100m
The first session in a while where I've actually put the work in when it said 'effort'.

Mon; yoga: 1hr. Simply flow.
The danger of doing this prior to night shift means all I want to do when I get home is snooze.