Bring on the bike....

So its now time to say goodbye to the running phase of my training and welcome the cycling phase... I need to re-acquaint myself with the trusty old GT (my bike for those of you that don't know) and start cycling 4 times a week. This is going to be a real shock to the system as I have been riding just once or twice a week for the last few months!

So this week I have rides planned for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and you wouldn't believe it but the Dom Post forecast is:

Tues: Cloudy, showers this evening as southerly strengthens.
Thurs: Afternoon southerly change with showers.
Sat: Afternoon southerly change with Rain.

So I guess that its time to get used to riding in the cold and rain! Its been so long. Hmm I may have to use it as an excuse to buy new cycling gear!

All that aside I am really looking forward to the next phase of my training, my weeks will look like this over the coming weeks:

M: AM swim, Lunch/PM run
T: AM swim squad, PM cycle
W: PM long run
T: AM swim squad, PM cycle
F: Lunch run
S: AM Swim/Bike, PM run
S: AM long ride (up to 6 hours), PM yoga

Jason's training has also shifteed up a gear, he is now swimming 7 times a week up to a total of 35km. This week he has:

M: AM 3km swim
T: AM swim squad 4km
W: PM 2km swim
T: AM swim squad 3km
F: AM 3km swim
S: AM 4.5km Swim
S: AM long continuous swim: 2 hours

So we really have to work hard to schedule our week so that all 20 training sessions can be done (and so that we can get to the training sessions with just 1 car), we also need to work hard to keep our house semi tidy, make sure the groceries get bought and ensure that we get to spend some time together. The great news is our scheduled light weeks fall at the same time for this round of training- from17 - 23 September. Jason still has 6 swims and I still have 10 sessions that week but we should have a little more time :-)

Anyway that's all for now. Please all pray to the weather gods for a fine spring :-)

Spring is here...

Jason and I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Sunday afternoon and we went for a walk out at Makara Beach. There were lots of cuddly white lambs to look at but it meant that we couldn't walk all the way to the gun enplacements!

So like the ex farm girl that I am I needed to take a photo of some of the lambs! CUTE aye! Plus I thought that my Dad would like the photo!

It was a pretty awesome day out there, really warm and only a little wind. It was so nice getting out and about! There were heaps of other people out there too, it was great to see! A great way to end the week!

Wedding Anniversary!!!

YAY- for those of you that don't know, today is our THIRD year wedding anniversary!!!!

Here are some photos to remind you of that awesome day in Noosa!!!!

Ohhhh the memories...

Wellington 10km champs

The Wellington 10km Champs were held on the weekend just been with another gustry north westerly wind whipping round the course (5 * 2km laps).

I started the race but didn't finish, it just wasn't my day. I had been home from work for most of Thursday and all of Friday before the race with a cold and just didn't have the physical energy or the mental focus to finish the race. Its a shame but there will be other races. So after a roaring first half of the running season, the second half really petered out for me with the injury and then being sick.

There will be some photos of the race that I will post once they become available.

Swim Squad Challenge

The same night as the bays relay we competed in the auuual Kilbirnie vs Huia swim squad challenge.

There were 5 events:

1. 50m relay
2. 100m medley relay
3. 400m enduro race
4. 150m secret drill race
5. Aqua run

I entered all but the aqua run and Jason entered all events (and had to swim numerous times in some of the relays as we did not have as many swimmers as the huia team).

Kilbirnie (for the first time ever) won the challenge, taking out 3 of the 5 events. The photo above (courtesy of Kendal Morgan-Marshall and Jay Marshall) shows us with the brand new trophy (in memory of Fiona Saunders-Francis who passed away the week before the challenge).

Jason is he dodgy guy loitering in the background with his towel over his head!!!

Bays relay

So after a few weeks off (and some complaints from my regular readers) I am back. Its nice to know that people actually read my updates and look forward to them each week!

Hmmm where to begin...

Bays Relay

Two weeks ago we ran the Bays Relay (in 140kph northwesterly gusty winds!!!). Our team (in order of running- Alice, Natalie, me, Aubrey and Tina) did really well. The official results are a bit messed up so my times are estimates only... anyway, after lap one we were in second spot to the Wellington Harriers Team (WHAC)- but there wasn't much in it (maybe 10 seconds at the most).

Lap two: Natalie got a huge lead from Carline during lap 2, I think someone said it was over a minute which pleased me as I was running third against Vicki Humphries (someone who runs much quicker than me.

Lap three: My lap started about 200m before pass of Branda and finished at scorching bay, the toughest spots with the wind were the very top of the hill (anyone who cycles knows how you can be pushed backwards here) and the Seatoun foreshore. I managed to hold on and not get passed by the faster runner during this leg but our lead was reduced to 25 ish seconds (approx.).

Lap four: this was a tight lap- the WHAC runner passed Aubrey with about 100m to go in the stage. How exciting to have such a close race!

Lap five: Tina passed the WHAC runner early on and never looked back! So all in all a very good win!

Nothing to talk about....

Sorry.... no update from me from the weekend. Hopefully something to report on next Monday.

Update

Hi all... I am now back in the full swing of things training wise, aiming for the Wellington 10km Championships on Saturday 18 August. My ankle is still strapped but I can run ok, I can't kick very well while swimming yet though so doing a lot of swimming with a pull buoy which can be tiring at times but I know will help with my swimming strength.

Jason saw the nutritionist last week and she said that he will probably need to put 2 - 3kg of weight on for the swim, he has till February to do this but I have started making him dessert twice a week now (lucky for some aye). His swimming is going well but he has a slight strain in his intercostal muscle, the intercostal muscles are several groups of muscles that run between the ribs, and help form and move the chest wall. He has a little trouble with breathing while swimming. It is minor though so no visits to the physio for him at this stage.

I am aiming for a sub 40 min 10km at the Wgtn champs so am just sharpening up my running, I don't know what my form is like with the injury and subsequent disruption to training but fingers crossed for that. As part of the build up there is the bays relay in wellington this weekend. The relay is a 5-lap road relay around the coast (starting at Island Bay), finishing at the Zephyrometer on Cobham Dr by Kilbirnie Park. Lap distances are 4.8k, 4.6k, 4.8k, 3.9k and 4.0k. All laps are flat, except lap 3 which has a small up and down through the Pass of Branda. Road relays are always a lot of fun, as we all follow the relay in cars. It is a great way to start the road-racing season, and the short distances will allow you to tune up your speed. I am racing in the Scottish A team and running lap 3 (yip... the one with the hill). This suits me and is the lap I would have chosen for myself as well. Looking forward to it as I really like relay events!! This will be a good indicator of my form for the 10km the following weekend as well.

We also have the Huia vs Kilbirnie swim squad challenge on Saturday night which will be fun! I am not swimming and will be timekeeping for Ali (coach) as I can't really kick very well so wouldn't contribute much to swimmign races!

Thats all for now....

Not much going on....

So there's not much to update from the past week... I spent most of the week getting over the Captain Cooks race! It was a toughie and I had a severe amount of muscle pain (in my left calf and right glute... all compensating for the sore ankle during the run).

I can run now but can not kick while swimming which is a pain! Still going to the physio and I still have an ugly FAT ankle!!! But the good thing is I can definitely notice the improvement.

On the weekend Jason and I bought a nice new duvet inner and cover, new sheets, a new jug and a heater. Now that it is getting warmer we really don't need the fire on all the time. A heater for a half hour or so is sufficient. We have moved away from white duvet covers to a nice mushroom colour one, similar in tone to the walls in our bedroom! Hmmm rievting blog today I know... is anyone still reading?

OH MY GOODNESS... Jason (who used to weigh over 100kg) weighed in at 79.7kg on Monday! How scary is that!! I am going to have to substitute some full fat products back in to his diet I think. He is seeing the nutritionist on Friday and I feel that she may ask him to put some body fat on. I think he is way too lean to do the amount of swimming as he is! That is pretty much the big news of the week!

So the week ahead for us... Jason's swimming is going up in volume from 15 km per week to 23 km per week and I am trying to quickly regain my running fitness after the injury, this is for the Wellington 10km Champs in 3 weeks time.

Over and out for today, I promise that I will have some more interesting news next week.... I hope!

Captain Cooks Landing Run

So I ended up racing the Captain Cooks Landing Run on the weekend with a heavily strapped ankle and no running the whole week before the race.

The run itself was awesome and really challenging. It starts with a 14 min climb (really muddy, clay surface). This is followed by a long steady downhill. The gradient down this hill is really similar so it is quite jarring on the body. After this downhill we headed straight back uphill again (this climb was longer than the first climb). Again we were treated to a really long downhill, then a flat/undulating track into Furneax lodge (and approx. half way). At Furneax there was lollies and extra water (if needed) and cones to show us the way. I mustn't of been concentrating here as I wnet the wrong way twice and lost some time which was a bummer. The second half of the run is undulating around the coast line to Camp Bay.

The run was good, I really enjoyed it. I was good for the first hour and 40 minutes but after that I went downhill a bit (and the last 10 - 15 minutes were a pure grovel for me. Doing virtually nothing for a week and then trying for a 27km tough run really took it out of me to be honest, my ankle only started to hurt in the last 20 minutes which was good though.

I led the race for the first 22km, Robyn Holland (swim squad member and Scottish buddy) passed me with 5km to go (she came 1st), Elenore Robertson (triathlete from New Plymouth) passed me with 2 km to go (2nd overall) and Aubrey Begley (Scottish runner) caught me with 500m to go. For me the last 500m was the toughest downhill of the lot as there was so much mud so I didn't even try to race Aubrey here as she is so good on the down hill and I really didn't want to risk it, plus I was pretty tired at this stage.

The top ten times were:

Robyn: 2.25.42
Eleanor: 2.28.25
Aubrey: 2.29.25
Me: 2.30.11
5th: 2.35.07
6th: 2.38.39
7th: 2.42.58
8th: 2.46:00
9th: 2.47.38
10th 2.48.28

I finished the run and went to the water immediately to soak my ankle in the cold (very cold!!) water. After this we were treated to really nice warm showers for a $2 donation at Punga Cove resort! This shower was heaven.

Post race injury assessment:
My ankle only started to hurt with about 20 minutes to go and there was no additional swelling and/or bruising which was a good sign. I did, however, get a few blisters where there were creases in the taping! I also have three new black toenails from the constant downhill pounding, two blood blisters and same very sore/tight glutes, quads and hamstrings. To be honest I don't think I have ever been this sore after a race before.

After my shower I picked up my post race lunch pack which was devoured in about 5 mins flat (homemade meusli bar, muffin and yummy bread roll). We got to lounge around in the sun at Punga Cove for a while (I was in board shorts and a singelt- how cool is that).

We then caught the ferry back to Furneax and had our post race meal and the prizegiving. The meal was REALLY good... we had:
Bread rolls and butter
Baked potato
Roast mixed vegies (pumpkin, carrots, onion and kumara)
Steamed vegies (broc/ cauli etc)
Pork on a spit
Roast beef
BBQ chicken
Lots of condiments

Then: Sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and cream

This was perhaps the best post race meal I have ever had as part of a race entry fee. Awesome stuff! Which is why I had to list the entire meal hehehe.

The post race beverages included numerous glasses of wine and the post race activities included organising a sweepstake for the rugby game (managed to talk to everyone in the bar), watching the rugby, and going for a swim at 10pm in the Marlborough Sounds (this swim was punctuated by numerous squeals from the girls as it was very chilly).

On Sunday we caught the water taxi back to picton, straight onto the ferry back to Wellington. We were treated to a 7m swell and as we entered the Cook Straight we were warned that we were going to experience some "undesirable conditions". I didn't get sick though thank goodness!

So all in all it was a good weekend but to be honest I would have loved to have run the race at full fitness and strength! But as my coach said before the race "There is a risk of course with running but sometimes those who never venture never gain. Sometimes a real champion is someone who can overcome these obstacles and achieve what they set out to do, and this may not necessarily mean winning or racing to your potential".

SO I didn't win (or race to my potential) but I did try as hard as I could given the circumstances, complete the race, come 4th against some very good competition and had a great weekend.