It's getting closer and closer....

Easier week and BT workout

The past week has been a recovery week as per my earlier post. It was great to go down to Wellington and meet all the staff from our Wellington office. The Sevens created a mad atmosphere, and in the truly amazing weather, you can’t beat Wellyboots on a good day. I stayed with my parents in Roseneath and had 5 star accommodation and food! Thanks Mum ;o) I got a waterfront and hills run in, and a swim at Freyburg. I love swimming there, as you can watch all the speedy Capital swimmers and pick up some tips on technique, and wonder in awe if you could ever swim like that….well I should have started years ago.

Saturday came and I woke up feeling groggy, so I had a lie-in. I had no nutrition so I headed over to Cyco to get some powerbars and a coffee….I can’t function without it, and had no milk in the fridge…I was reading that for your breakthrough or BT workouts, it’s ok to do them in the afternoon, when you’re more psyched up and have more energy. I am carp though when it comes to these “testing sessions”. I put pressure on myself to do well, even in training. So I normally burst into tears before any such training session, and I did today (not that anyone was around to see it!) The drawing near of Ironman is scary. I am really anxious that I won’t be able to get through it. I know I can do the distances, but I want to run well, running being my strength, so I know I have to ease back on the bike. I have time goals in the back of my mind, and these are getting pushed out further and further each week, as my confidence dwindles.

I headed to Parnell to do my swim for my half IM simulation as I wanted to make sure I did an accurate distance. When I open water swim I swim for 45 mins and have no clue as to how far I’ve been, and then I get anxious about sharks, drowning etc etc, and with no one watching it’s not a good idea! I decided to split my swim into manageable sections to count. I had to do 66 lengths to get to 4km so I split it into 12 (there and back) x 3 and stopped for literally 10 secs to swig some water in between- saltwater makes me feel sick as a dog, so it was necessary. My swim was nice and steady and I focussed on breathing and relaxing, focussing on the moment and not rushing to get onto my bike. It seemed to work. My time was 1hr 11 mins. I jumped out and scooted off to get changed into my bike gear, then back to my car to sort out the bike for my 100km ride. Not the ideal “simulation”, but as quick I was could handle.

I decided to do 2 x 50km laps around the city, following the 50km route. The reason fro this was that Ironman is two loops, and training your mind to repeat routes is good mental training, getting used to the boredom factor etc. The route is flat and undulating in parts, so similar to Ironman. I had a good 100km, with the wind only picking up later in the day, and completed the bike in 3hrs 34mins. I seemed to eat heaps- 2.5 powerbars and a banana. In total I ate three powerbars on Saturday and spent the rest of Sunday beating myself up over it that I had eaten too much…When in reality I probably had the right amount of carbs, it just horrifies me eating false food!

I then had a 2hr run. My goal is to complete each lap of IM in 2hrs or thereabouts, so a 2hr run off the bike would be about 20-22km. I headed up Tamaki Drive, Orakei Road, Greenlane to One Tree Hill and back via Mnt Eden and the Domain to Parnell. I had an Enervit cola gel half way (they are great, and taste like cola bottles, yum!) and heaps of water and replace it was so hot. My run felt great, but whether I can do another 20km on top of that, we shall have to see….

It was a relief to get through that session, and I felt much better than before, with renewed confidence that I CAN do it! I stopped at New World on my way home to get food (yes, a bad thing to do just after training, my eyes roamed the muffin cabinet, but I resisted temptation!). Recovery snack- blueberry, banana smoothie, recovery meal lasagne and salad (thanks Mum for the red cross parcel;o)), legs up the wall, stretch and Sevens final and off to bed.

Sunday was complete recovery, had to do some work in the office, then brunch with my sister in law, Kate at Meola Kitchen (it rocks!), a wee nap, picked Bede up from the airport, dinner, walk and Casino Royale (mmm Daniel Craig as James Bond….)

This week builds up again to my last longest run (3rs in the hills on Waitangi Day) and my last longest ride 180km on Saturday. I have Stroke n Stride on Tuesday and a couple of swims, bike/run sessions on top of that. I’m then going to do the 3.5km ocean swim from St Helier’s to Tamaki Yacht Club on Sunday, followed by a 1.5hr mod-hard ride and 75 min steady run. Then begins my gradual 2 week taper. As Kathy says I must TRUST THE TAPER. I am looking forward to the day, and I think I’ll peak at the right time, here’s hoping.