Swim – 5.6k (2 x sessions)
Bike – 262k (3 x road sessions )
Run – 47.7k (1 x interval run, 2 x long/aerobic runs )
Total – 14:28 hours
Monday – Bike – easy RTR
Think I did this one whilst I was asleep ! Made sure I got up early to get a decent start from work being Week 1 of IM Focus thingy !! Nothing exciting today....legs felt good, and more daylight so things are getting better on that front... tho’ probably just means I’ll start earlier !!
dist – 52.3k
time – 1:43
avg speed – 30.3km/h
avg hr – 137
max hr – n/a (reading over 228 !)
Exceptionally tired tonight for some reason...can’t work out why – hadn’t really done too much in the last 24 hours so will keep an eye of how I’m feeling. In bed early to try and get 8 hours sleep – might be what I need
Tuesday – AM Swim + PM Interval Run
AM – Swim
Stuffed up the session this morning – wondered why I was all done by 6.23am ! Was supposed to do 3.3k but must’ve missed a 400 in there somewhere...doing lots of 200 pulls and a bit of sighting 50’s.......oh well, still happy that was nearly an hour. Sussing out with Bridie’s swim coach if she can come down on a Tuesday morning whilst I’m there, maybe in a few weeks...not that I’ve told Bridester any of this yet – that will impress her having to get up at 5am !! ha ha !!
dist – 2.9k – I think ......lost count somewhere?
time – 0:53
PM – Interval Run
Well, a run to sorta remember and take something from.......
Got the foot pod on to see if I could hit some pace targets...planned 6 x 500m (5k pace) with 500m recovery.
On downloading the data looks like calibration is pretty spot on (checked against mapmyrun) and the laps showed I was on average 4.10 pace for the efforts. That was until the last two..... the cottage cheese and sustagen I had for afternoon tea wasn’t liking sitting still in my guts !! ...........all I can say was I was too scared to take my headphones off and hear what the hell was going on in my belly !! ...not good.. Had to stop a few times and reset, was ok moving at a slower pace but could feel my guts getting bigger and bigger by bloating the further I went
Decided to push on and still try and get the last 17’ paced effort but in the end it only resulted in me slowing down and only just hanging onto some half decent form...could be good IM training if all goes pear shaped by the time the run comes on the day, as I’m sure there’ll be some nutrition issues along the way
One for the memory banks....don’t eat cottage cheese before a run, eat at least 2 hours before session.....but, when things start going south – try and keep focused and do the best in a bad situation...
dist – 10.7k
time – 1:03
avg hr – 135
max hr – 162
Wednesday – Bike PM
First early day finish at work for a training session since 2006 ! Felt just like yesterday......or the day before......or like any of the other sessions that seem to be mingling into one lately !
Headed off at 2.30pm to the Narrows to turn around and head straight back down to freeway south for a total of 2.5 hours all up. Got an annoying noise coming from my right shoe (have flipped over to my new Shimano TR-50’s that have only been worn about 4 times)....stopped a few times but all I could work out was it’s a cleat noise thing and is not rhythmic – ie. seems to be at different positions...tried squirting water on it and everything but no luck...oh well would just have to get used to a nice click every pedal stroke for the next 2 hours !
Well, eventful ride as far as a boring trip down a 35k plus 2 lane bike path can go......had a guy suck my wheel pretty much from Leach Hwy who, no matter how many times I pulled up and let him go past and get some distance to aero ride solo, he managed to ‘not’ put enough effort in and I’d end up over taking him again. This went on for about 3 more times and I got shitty and sat up right when he got onto my wheel.......think he got the message and fookd off ahead, not before I caught him again but then he turned off. Can’t work out guys like that – no way I’d latch onto a complete stranger’s wheel out of courtesy........and, he looked like a handy rider too with massive quads so he obviously knew what he was doing......(fooking hate wheel suckers)
Turned at Mundijong after a hour solid from the Raff’s and then got 10 mins back up the road and things started to get to a struggle....the middle of my neck was starting to play up and couldn’t quite get comfortable. Started to think that Saturdays planned 4 hour freeway ride is going to be a bloody basket case at this rate. Legs felt fine and only a couple of undulations where I felt fatigued, so apart from the neck thing felt pretty good. Might get Phabbie to add a spacer back into the head set – it’s a little aggressive at the moment and may not be ideal for a 6 hour IM ride
Anyway back to my story – another couple of kays up the road and a motorbike is coming the other way with two aboriginal kids with no helmets on it...great I think, what the hell is going to happen here...as it goes they just flew past and said nothing. Another 10 mins and I’m heading up to a guy walking in the same direction, with another rider coming the other way....the guy’s wearing a big coat and literally swinging what I thought was a baseball bat, but on closer inspection on passing looked like a piece of wood with insulation tape wrapped around it !! ...maybe he’s got it for self defence perhaps but was glad to roll by him with no incident..............so, as usual the Freeway Path has thrown up some interesting sights as it did last time I ventured down there.......love to hate this section of Perth’s ‘safer’ riding areas...will see what Saturday morning brings !!
Back to work by 5.15pm, showered and off to pick up Bridie from swimming. Felt good after and neck seemed to settle, and legs feeling ok
dist – 78k
time – 2:27
avg speed – 32.3km/h
avg hr – 135
max hr – n/a
Thursday – Aerobic Run & Swim
AM – Run
Out by 5.15am, down to the bowling club at Melville. Back at pace and finished strong – tried to negative split the effort and managed by 1 minute !!
dist – 13k
time – 1:00
avg hr – 145
max hr – 154
PM – Swim
Not too bad for lane space this arvo – only 2 others in the fast lane who were pretty much matching my laps for speed, only had to wait a couple extra seconds so got some good sets in. Pretty impressed with 100’s now as well as 200’s – 400’s...you’re not my favourite anymore, sorry
300 WU
-100 free, 100 pull, 2 x 50 (25 hard, 25 easy)
6 x 100 hard
6 x 100 (50 hard, 50 easy)
6 x 100 (25 sprint, 75 easy)
6 x 100(25 easy, 50 hard, 25 easy)
20-30 sec RI
2700 total
dist – 2.7k
time – 0:57
The 100’s ranged from 1.37 at the start to 1.43 at the end – pretty consistent throughout which was happy about. Saw Bob Edwards from North Coast in the next lane and was chatting about our training, he’s just had a knee op and is limited on his running. Hopefully he’ll be able to get some kays in before the big day
Home by 7.00pm and last ever Entourage :O( ......finished a bit flat and rushed if you ask me... but hey, was good while it lasted...was certainly a hi-light of my TV viewing over the last year or so playing catch up on all the past seasons. Hopefully there’ll be a Ari spin off series, certainly left in the balance that way..
Friday – Rest Day
Had the worst night sleep – must’ve sweated buckets and hardly got any decent deep sleep.... woke with a bit of a sore throat so will try and dose up on some extra vitamin c throughout the day
Shell’s birthday today but got swim pick up as Bridester on the 50’s challenge week at squads so swimming every night this week and one last big session tomoro morning
Saturday – Bike – Long
First of the long bike rides planned over the next few weeks. Had to get this one locked in and make sure I actually got out onto the road and not woos out because of the weather.
Dropped Bridie at swimming at 5.45am (last of her Challenge week sessions – they had a epic 5k session planned) met PJ at the Raffles with Rick Bond and we headed freewaysouth and see what was in store for 2 hours out and 2 hours back ! PJ had already done 30 mins prior and Rick was only coming for an hour
Met the Lil’ Fooker along the way (Andy Fagan) and rode with him for a bit, was good to catch up as hadn’t seen him for ages. He left at Baldivis and me and PJ carried on into the unknown ! (well for me anyways !!)
Great ride chatting alongside each other and saw a few other TT peeps out there doing the same. Think we had a tail wind as we are struggling to get heart rates up and maintained a avg 32.8 with no effort for a fair chunk of the time. Got just short of Pinjarra Rd, turned and straight back into a head wind – chuckled to each other about how pathetic we’d been on the way down, got the heads down in aero position and dug in for the long haul back
PJ’s coach had planned some good efforts which we followed spot on for each and both pretty chuffed with our our results. 4 x 20 min 2-3k above race pace with 10 min rest, then a 20 min big gear effort and 40 min half ironman pace effort - heading back right into the wind was tough but not un-comfortable. Think we actually snagged a top day for the weather as could imagine some of the path sections would get quite exposed and difficult. Neck was ok, no dramas and my shoe noise has disappeared after I tightened the cleat and sprayed the pedal with some lube. Was supposed to take some Voltaren tablets just in case my neck played up but when I got home Shell pointed out I had got them out of the packet but forgotten to take them as they were still sitting on the bench !! So maybe it was a placebo effect !
Hundreds of centipedes were out in full force all over the path............ they tend to screw with your eyes a bit as you are not sure you’re looking at moving cracks in the concrete but then realise they are moving things so you then realise you are not hallucinating !! I tend to only notice these little creatures when I’m switching to going long (...as far as I can tell) so I reckon they must peak the same as us triathletes !! Reckon I squished a few but all’s fair in love and war..
Couple of other hi-lights, saw the same kids on the motorbike on the way back and also the wheel sucker too coming the other way.....small world !! Back at work for 11am and worked til 3pm feeling tired but not overly shattered
dist – 132.2k
time – 4:15
avg speed – 31.4km/h
avg hr – 136
max hr – 161
Popped into shops on way home and grabbed some Mexican hats for the kids for the race come December (Aiden just loved his !! ha ha !!)
Quick 20 minute nap and Thai take away for dinner. Bridie smashed her swim session this morning, the champions of the challenge (who attended each night and did all cycles) are being notified on Tuesday, think she did about 22k of swimming for the week and no complaining......top job kiddo, very proud !!
Sunday – Long Run
With a 2 hour run planned and Shelley having to attend netball presentation breakfast at 8.30am this one was going to call for a military timing precision. I woke at 5am to wind, rain and apparently hail (according to Ellie....mmm..) so some quick figures in my head and a check on Weatherzone which said rain was easing later in the morning I decided to get back into bed and run later.
Got out of bed at 8am after a good sleep in, Shell had just left with Bridie so breakie with Aiden and Ellie I decided we could go to the Arena for a quick swim before catching the netball awards later. (saw up on the Arena Swim Club board that Bridie and 2 other boys were the Inters Challenge Champions !!.... well sorted !!) All done by 11.30 and was home and gear on ready to run at 12. Drove down to Burns Beach for a change of scenery and that coastal path is always good for undulating efforts....parked car, got out got all my lucky gonks on (ipod, fuel belt, glasses, compress tights blah blah) and realised the bloody path was shut for road works !! ahhh...remember reading something in the local paper about that !! doh. Back in the car and decided to try my luck down in Iluka and see if open there....all ok and open, so started from one of the car parks. (hope I’d remember which one on the way back !! ha ha !)
I can honestly say I have never ran in such windy conditions, a few times I actually had to side step back onto the path after being blown enough to mis-step... !! Pretty exposed along the start of the run as the Burns Coastal path hugs pretty close to the dunes and limestone cliffs. Punched along and got a rhythm going finally and was confident of getting a decent 2 hour effort done and dusted. Only saw a few other people out obviously because of the conditions, usually it’s a mobbed Sunday walkers paradise !! Got wet a couple of times as some small showers passed thru (could actually see them come across the ocean !) was lucky I decided to use some band aids for the old nipples so laughed in mother nature’s face that she could throw anything at me !!
Got to Hillarys then past for another 8 minutes to turn just before the first Sorrento hill started, lapped the watch and got focused to keep pace going til the end. There are 100m markers along most of the part I ran that someone has kindly spray painted starting at the Hillarys car park. These were great to lap the watch on each kilometre and was averaging about 4.50-5.00 min kays which was pretty happy with. Got tougher about 1.30 done but pushed thru and managed to finish with a 1 min negative split (this may have been wind assisted on the way back) Gpt nutrition spot on with 3 gels and some jelly beans with gatorade
Plenty more black centipedes squirming along the red path all doing their thing, but mainly they looked like they were heading east ...as opposed to Saturdays ride where they all looked lost going every which way !!
dist – 24k
time – 1:59
avg hr – 141
max hr – 155
Home by 3pm and veg’d out, watched a couple of movies with skins on and legs up. Laughed out loud with Shell’s watching Muppets Take Manhattan. You name it – I ate it...lucky the cat was on the move cos’ I probably would’ve had a nibble if he stayed still......
another Sunday, another weekend and another week .....gone in a flash !
Cheers
Paul
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