life has rolled on by over the last 12 months which thinking back over it i can't believe how quickly time has passed since we left the blue mountains. i still receive the facebook updates for weekly run invitations from my bmmc mates and leading up to north face i watched with envy as roads made way for the trails and the runs got longer...
watching IM port macquarie live so that i could track all of my friends back home - ben b, gareth, tim and others, new friends up here like mark and my brother-in-law ken.
speaking of ken's unbelievable finish at the ironman considering that it was his first and was highlighted by his complete lack of training leading up to the event has totally blown me away. also considering that he has settled and works in port macquarie and that his wife has taken a position in brisbane just prior to xmas meant that his weekends were spent picking his wife up from newcastle airport on a friday night and driving back to port before turning around and doing the reverse on a sunday. often he was up here and we spent time eating, playing in the park and exploring markets rather than training. every conversation we had about the IM just confirmed that there was no way he was going to do it and i agreed that considering he hadn't swum, completed more than a casual ride here and there and often complained about his knees affecting his ability to run more than 20 kilometres at a stretch... well i think you'd agree that he was nuts for even considering the IM.
well as most of my endurance mates would understand hanging around a race venue leads you to perhaps do the irrational - i'm pretty sure that watching the IM in 2011 lead me to sign up for it in 2012. considering that ken lives in port and had signed up the year before to do the race he rang me to let me know that he registered so that he could at least do the swim, perhaps the bike but no way was he considering on doing the run he assured me on the phone call to me while he was standing outside waiting for the race brief to start. my advice was just to go out and enjoy the experience. well enjoy it he most certainly did!!!
his dedication to finish has become my motivation to do another...
so after making the decision to sign up for another ironman and being disappointed that i didn't bother keeping a record of my training as i progressed from being just a runner to being capable of finishing the IM i thought this time around i'll try and keep a record of the sessions and log my fitness as it improves.
my swim and cycling ability left a lot of room for improvement while my run was good. so after i get a couple of running races out of the way over the next few weeks i'll start to focus on those other two disciplines.
time to start filling up on all the good things in life including swim, bike and running...
random stats:
weight: about 6-7kg above race weight (previous not optimal)
resting heart rate: 37-40bpm
diet: mostly good but laced with tasty high calorie snacks
current fitness: room for improvement
feeling: MELLOW thanks to the JIM BEAM
training:
sun: 13.5km steady run (0:57, avg pace 4:14/km)
i ran 1km repeats (3:25-3:35/km) the day before so planned on going out for an easy run but ended up running through the first 10km in 39:48 then rolled through the last 3.5km at a cruisy 5:00/km pace. great night for running in the dark with the concrete path through the park illuminated by the moon with only the wallabies and a few cane toads for company. good times!
mon: 11.4km easy run (0:51, 4:31/km)
discovered a new loop around home and will definitely use this for other runs.
tue: am) ride to work 42km/1h30 + lunch) 13km easy run (1:00)
ran without the garmin so that i would keep it easy. right heel/achilles feeling a little tender. better keep an eye on that.
note: signed up for a running study and for the next 12 months will be running in these... (thankfully my hair grew back after IM)
can't say that i'm impressed with these shoes and i'm currently thinking they are more gimmick than useful design but will give them a chance.
wed: run workout - 1x2k, 1x1k, 7x30sec on/30sec off
went out without anything planned and ran an easy warmup out to the story bridge waiting for the garmin to get it's satellite fix (about 10mins). gradually worked into it and ran 2km (3:47, 3:37) and 1km (3:39) before throwing in some 30sec 200m runs to get the legs turning over.
thu: double run day 10km (lunch) / 11km (victoria point to home - 6:30pm)
easy run with work colleague at lunch and then home off the bus. easy to rest the legs up after a few hard days on the feet.
fri: 10.7km steady run (:46, 4:20/km pace) w/ 5km threshold in 18:37 + 4x200m fast
late night run. easy 3km out to the park and then ran progressively faster loops of the park (~900m) - 3:50/3:45/3:45/3:44/3:38/km pace.
sat: rest day
after my first week back of faster running decided that a rest day would help consolidate my fitness.
random photos.
great bushwalking only a few kms from home - kids love water!!!
future home of my weekly long run
