wildthing running

Sea change

2009-05-11T13:07:00.003+10:00

I have moved here for a while.

www.kbironman2010.blogspot.com

Consistency is the key

2009-03-22T20:33:00.003+11:00

Well last week was a perfect training week. I got in all my programmed sessions as well as 2 extra personal training sessions and an ocean swim. My total for the week was 8 sessions or about 12 hours of training.

Next week looks a bit like this:

Monday - rest
Tuesday - cycle and pt with Steve
Wednesday - swim
Thursday - run
Friday - WWoT and swim
Saturday - cycle
Sunday - Sri Chinmoy 4km Centennial Park

It's nice to be getting some consistency in my training.

My training week - a little late

2009-03-18T06:49:00.002+11:00

A little while ago someone asked me how much training I do. At the moment my load is a little light so this is what this week looks like. My next race is Club Champs in May (1/30/8 I think).

I also work full time and am studying part time!

Monday - swim (done)
Tuesday - recovery day (done)
Wednesday - swim squad
Thursday - pt with Steve and cycle
Friday - WWot interval session and pt with Roz
Saturday - run
Sunday - recovery

Accountability

2009-03-14T09:30:00.002+11:00

WWoT offer a new body program based on the CSIRO Total Wellbeing diet. So this week I coughed up a tidy some of cash and signed up.

It includes a pt session each week and daily contact with Wild Woman Roz. I have to weigh myself daily and sms the result to her or else. I know what you are thinking: daily weighing is bad. But hands up who does it anyway.

I am also outed in the WWoT weekly newsletter so all the Wild Women can follow my progress and with hold tasty treats when we are out on our walks.

The sound that you can probably hear right now is my stomach grumbling. How long until morning tea?

The book of excuses

2009-02-28T09:37:00.004+11:00

I dragged myself out of bed this morning to meet up with the beginners ride from Centennial Park (yes I am still a beginner - at least my speed is that of a beginner). I felt tired, lethargic and really just couldn't be bothered.

We rode down to La Perouse to do a time trial. I did one lap and then stopped. Then I did another lap and stopped again. Then I gave up and consulted the book of excuses.

My legs are tired.
Look at those Council men cleaning the toilets.
I have a headache.
The sun rise is pretty today.
I don't feel well.
The timewarp function on my bike computer is broken.
I just can't be bothered.
I should have stayed in bed.

The WWoT girls were starting their Coast Trek from La Perouse so I cheered them on their way. They are walking 50km or 100km today - and probably into tomorrow too.

Here we are out exploring North Head yesterday.

Husky Sprint triathlon and Zoot suit

2009-02-26T10:54:00.003+11:00

Last weekend I did the sprint distance (750/20/5) race at Huskisson. I was pumped before the race and ready to give it a good go. But once I got into the water I did my usual thing, started to panic, and as a result, ended up doing a pretty disappointing swim time.

I am not afraid of sharks and the depth of the water doesn't scare me. I don't mind the concept of swimming out to sea. I just don't understand why this keeps happening??

So rather than throw my hands up in the air and give up I came home and entered another race with an ocean swim. I entered the enticer race at Cronulla on 8th March which has a 400m ocean swim.

Husky had a pretty good expo with some nice bargains. In the past I have stated that I would never wear a one piece tri suit - so I bought one at Husky. I bought it a few sizes too small as a little extra weight loss incentive. It is pretty nice and cost me $80 instead of the RRP of $249.

Bargain.

This is what it looks like.

Because it's fun

2009-01-04T11:51:00.003+11:00

A little while ago, as I was laying on the physio's table getting "treated", I asked myself the question: why do I do this to myself?

I am not competitive. My PBs are lame. My place is usually last place. I suffer aches and pains and probably have should have shares in my physiotherapist's practice by now. I really do like my sleep and I wheeze like an old dog when I forget to take my ventolin.

I know I am a bit of a challenge junkie and I do like to set big goals but why can't I just resign myself to the fact that, when athletic talent was being handed out, I was standing in the line marked "university education"?

Anyway, at the moment I am walking each run session on my program - thanks to a dodgy left hip.

Today I decided to take the dog out for company and we headed over to Sydney Park. Pi was so happy to be out, smiling from poochie ear to poochie ear. She "suffered" pats from passers by, sniffed the bums of other dogs and peeed on the occasional bit of interesting smelling grass.

I felt good. The morning was lovely. The sun was shining and a cool breeze kept most of the flies away. Life is good I thought to myslef. I am eating well and loving my exercise. I have some exciting goals set for the year. I wake each day with a sense of anticipation about what the day may bring.

I am planning a return trip to Nepal next year so I can stand on the top of a proper mountain - this makes me very happy and I find myself daydreaming about the Himalayas throughout the day.

At work I am Station Manager - in charge of the station and approximately 30 staff. Rather than being overwhelmed by the challenge I am loving the responsibility. I am going back to university soon to continue the studies I started at the beginning of 2007 and then had to abandon due to illness.

I am moving through life with purpose. I don't feel the need to do what I do in order to please, or gain the approval, of others. I am doing the things that I do, not because I feel I should, but because I want to.

Because it's fun.

2009 is mine

2008-12-27T17:25:00.002+11:00

I've had a few things on my mind. A couple of goals that I have let slip and dreams forgotten.

I love the end of the old year and the beginning of a new year - it makes me excited and I find myslef dreaming about things I would like to achieve in the future.

Weight loss is always a weighty issue with me (pardon the pun). I went back to weight watchers a few weeks ago but Christmas has been troublesome and I decided to ditch any weight loss efforts until the New Year. But I all primed for the new year and ready to go as soon that that clock ticks over midnight on 1/1/09. I think I will drag my Mum and my buddy Paige along for the ride.

In 2009 I would like to do both Busso HIM (May) and revisit Gold Coast HIM (October). These are my 2 big goals for the year.

Over recent years I haven't travelled as much as I like and I still yearn to stand on top of a big peak. A friend of a friend works for Wild Women on Top so I am going to start getting out with them on walks and prepare for my next big goal - Island Peak, Nepal, April 2010. I have sent them an email so things are underway.

Stay tuned for more....

Cheri

2008-11-30T12:09:00.002+11:00

Well my next big race will be Huskisson Long Course (2km/80km/20km) on 22 February 2009. It is 12 weeks from today. The swim is in the big scary ocean and should be a challenge for my poor swimming skills. I have been a big low on enthusiasm with my training of late so I am posting here that, as of today, I am gettting my A into G.

I ran this morning around the Bay after really wanting to turn over and go back to sleep. It had to be an early start as I was due at work by 8am. So I dragged myself out of bed and was so glad that I did! It was a really beautiful morning - still and nice and cool.

My left hip has been giving me a little grief of late. It doesn't hurt when I run but starts to feel stiff after my run despite stretching. After a day or so this stiffness goes away until I run again. Any suggestions???

Gold Coast Half Ironman - part 1

2008-10-30T11:50:00.003+11:00

It's time to get my half ironman story down in blog form. It's a bit of a saga so I will tell it in installments.

Part 1 - The Road Trip

I left Sydney around lunchtime on Wednesday 1 October 2008. The plan was to drive the 90mins north to my parents house on the Central Coast where I would stay for the night.

The drive was one I had done many times and was uneventful. The CD stacker was full, Ruby was tied securely in the back and I was happy to be all packed up and finally on my way.

Mum & Dad

Mum feeding the birds

Rob had to stay in Sydney but was flying to Brisbane for "work" on Thursday and then joining me on the Gold Coast before flying home on Monday afternoon.

On Thursday I drove to Coffs Harbour via Forster to visit some friends. I stayed in a shoebox motel room - at least it was clean!

Friday I started early and made my way across the border into Queensland. I stopped at the big prawn at Ballina to buy a QLD map which was pretty exciting. I arrvived at our apartment at Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast at about 2pm, took a phone call from Rob to say he was at Helensvale train station, consulted my new map and went to pick him up.

I had arrived!

This time next week.....

2008-09-28T14:13:00.000+10:00

.....it will all be over.

kb

11 days to go

2008-09-23T12:46:00.003+10:00

I just checked the Gold Coast Half Ironman website and the swim starts have finally been posted. My wave is the 2nd last one to start. It starts at 618am and is just 2 minutes before the start of the teams.

I have mixed feelings about this. Firstly it is good to be the 2nd last group to start as I won't have to worry about heaps of people swimming over the top of me. Then I think it's bad because I will probably be last out of the water. A 2 min head start doesn't sound like very much to me.

Much of my swim anxiety disappeared last weekend when I bought a new wet suit. I have been struggling with my full suit and had given up trying to get a sleeveless one to fit my not ideal shape. On Sunday afternoon we went to Clovelley for a wet suit swim and to try on some new suits compliments of the guys from Zoot and Speedo.

I was determined to stick with my full suit and I did not want to try on a new suit. You know, that girly thing about trying stuff on when you know you are going to look horrible and it won't fit anyway so what's the point....

I finally got out of the water and I could see Rob talking to the wet suit guys and obviously sizing me up against the size chart - how to make a girl feel really self conscious!!!!!

They handed me a sleeveless Speedo suit and Rob convinced me I should give it a go - OK, but it's not going to fit so why bother but I will humour you anyway do you have to look at me while I struggle to get the tight bloody thing on!!!!

Right from the start it felt soft and light (this is not so bad), it went on easily (there's a plus) and it fitted (halleluja praise the lord call the vatican it's a miracle). I trotted off to get back into that 17 degree water and oh my goodness what a difference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in love with my new wet suit. I could move my arms and I felt free and able to swim without feeling like I was being squeezed by a boa constrictor. Is it wrong to smile under water?

I swam up and down a bit and threatened not to get out of the water unless they would let me keep it. SOLD. It even has pink writing on the front.

The sense of relief was palpable and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. No more grumpy wet suit girl.

kb

Ruby flies

2008-09-12T19:45:00.002+10:00

Oh what a difference carbon makes.

I took Ruby out to the M7 cycle way today and we spent 76km together. It was pleasantly warm and I got sunburnt - I now have sunglasses eyes and a cyclist arms and legs.

After a nutrition chat with AK I tested cycling today just on liquids and gels. All went to plan except I ran out of water at around the 55km mark. The Hammer Perpetuem is good (thanks Run Bare) and I scoffed 4 gels (3 x GU and 1 x endura which i didn't like too much).

Tomorrow Ruby gets race wheels and new tri bars. Excitement.

kb

Meet Ruby

2008-09-07T23:07:00.001+10:00

Thursday big ride and run

2008-09-06T20:48:00.004+10:00

I did promise a report after my big brick session on Thursday but I was too smashed to do anything but sleep.

So here it is.

TOTAL FOR THE 80KM RIDE
82.4KM IN 3:49
Avg HR: 133bpm
Avd spd: 21.6km/hr
Avg cad: 81

35km in 1:33:20
Avg HR: 134
Avg spd: 22.4km/hr
Avg cad: 75

45km in 2:04:19
Avg HR: 133
Avg spd: 22.8km/hr
Avg cad: 82

My nutrition on the bike was great. I worked on the 1gm of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per hour equation. This meant I had one bottle of concentrated Hammer electrolyte drink, 2 hammer gels and 2 of the high 5 energy bars that I like very much. Hammer is the product that is going to be used on the Gold Coast.

My dilema is that my bike frame is so small that I can only fit one bottle cage on my bike. On this ride I tested out my camelbak filled with 1.5L of water. I found this worked well. It was easy to drink all the time. So I have ordered a triathlon specific hydration pack from probikekit to use on the day. It looks like this.....

Once I had stowed my bike away in my car I was off for my 10km run. I took 2 hammer gels with me for the run. I was running around Homebush Bay and it was pretty hard to find water so I didn't have my first gel until the 7km mark - this was a big mistake and I really suffered over the last 2 km back to my car. My legs had no energy and I had to walk most of the last km.

Lesson learnt. Take gels early and often.

I am in for another big week and I am so keen to train. My swimming is going really well at the moment - I feel so strong.

The most exciting news for me today is that Rob surprised me tonight with a brand new bike.

Her name is Ruby.

But more of that later......

wt/kb

Big Day Thursday

2008-09-03T17:14:00.002+10:00

I am about to dash out the door to go to swim squad. Monday night's swim was aborted early after I got a sudden case of the dizzy/shakeys. I put this down to not enough food during the day - apple juice and some lollies fixed me up!

Tomorrow is a big day for me and my first real test of the hard work I have been putting in over the past months. I have a 80km ride on my program followed by a 10km run off my bike. I get a nice 35km warm up before I ride a 45km time trial around Homebush Bay. Once off my bike I have to run 10km at race pace too. Should be very interesting.

This is the first time I get to really test out my nutrition plan too.

Early to bed tonight for a 5:30am start.

I will report back here tomorrow night.

kb

35 days to go

2008-08-31T18:31:00.002+10:00

Well the countdown to Gold Coast Half Ironman has really begun now. I received my next 4 week block today which finishes with the start of my taper.

My poor body has been holding together pretty well although I have a little calf niggle that I am keeping an eye on. Otherwise all is good.

In the next week I have 4 runs, 2 cycles (including one of 80km that finishes with a 10km run off the bike) and 3 swims. My sessions are now at, or just under, race pace to get me ready for the big day.

wt

New triathlon shoes

2008-08-27T15:24:00.001+10:00

Today I bought these babies. Cool aren't they.

Camp Eden week

2008-08-23T18:24:00.003+10:00

I am actually going to Camp Eden for a week - a weekend just didn't seem enough. And I am going on my own.

I have had a disrupted week of training after Bankstown Hidden Half last Sunday. I think I over did it a bit and I pulled up pretty sore - not injured - just in a whole world of achey tiredness. I tried to go for my programmed run on Tuesday and ran only 50m before I pulled the pin, went for a little walk, stretched and then went home.

I am feeling much better now. Next week is a rest week and I have a massage booked which should put my poor legs back in good working order.

I scored an overtime shift for tomorrow night which, being a Sunday, is worth mega bucks. So I am going to invest in a sleeveless wet suit next week. My logic is that it is going to be warm at the gold coast and I might get too hot in a full wet suit. Also I am still finding my wet suit very restrictive and I hope that the sleeveless one will give me more room for movement.

Go Troopy in the Olympic Marathon tomorrow morning and go Christos in the Mudgee Marathon.

wt

Holiday

2008-08-19T08:01:00.001+10:00

Sadly my cycling trip to Cambodia and Vietnam was cancelled due to lack of numbers.

So I am going here instead.

Hello Mr Whale

2008-08-18T11:08:00.002+10:00

Needing to get some time in my wet suit before October we decided to head down to Clovelley for a wet suit swim on Saturday afternoon. Along for the dip was Aunty K.

The water was freezing, frezing, freezing but surprisingly nice once you got used to it. It was also very choppy as you can see from this photo.

As we were leaving we noticed a crowd of people gathered on the other side of the parking lot who were staring into the bay. We pulled over hoping they were looking at whales - and they were. We think there were 2 and they were very close. Very exciting.

Yesterday was my 3rd race in 3 weeks - Sri Chinmoy 12km, City to Surf and Bankstown Half Marathon. The half yesterday was a pleasing race on very tired legs. No speedy effort - actually my slowest ever at 2:59:52 by my watch. One day I will get to run on fresh legs!

It was a perfect day for running. 4 degrees at the start and warming nicely as the morning progressed. Rob, Aunty K, Dazza K and our tri club buddy Christos rode out from Concord to give me a cheer. Thanks guys.

Holy thunder storm batman

2008-08-07T14:49:00.004+10:00

I am up early to run before night shift and a massive thunder storm is rolling across Sydney. So here I am instead, inside with my pjs still on, updating my blog instead.

My race-fest continues with Sri Chinmoy HM at Dolls Point and Sri Chinmoy 12km at Prospect Creek done and dusted as well as a CR 5km challenge in there somewhere. I am proud to say that I recorded the slowest times in all events. I figure that by being a slow runner I certainly get good value for my race dollar.

This Sunday I am doing the City to Surf and then the following weekend I am fronting up for Bankstown Hidden Half.

All this racing has meant that my pre race nerves are now a thing of the past. Rather than spending the night before a race tossing and turning, I now turn up thinking "ho hum, just another training run". It's all good.

I always like to spice up my blog with some photos so here are some of my favouite recent pics.

This is me and my friend Lisa (Kingo) at our tri club presentation night.

Me on the right for anyone who hasn't met me!

This is my sex kitten friend Tarn - also at our tri club presentation night

Me running Sri Chinmoy 12km at Prospect Creek last weekend

The very gorgeous Slowmo running in his sandals at Sri Shinmoy 24km last weekend at Prospect Creek.

The goils - Plod Bod and the very trim and hot, Fred/Sonia. Sri Chinmoy 24km Prospect Creek.

2008 overseas holiday

2008-07-25T13:30:00.002+10:00

A few people have been asking about the destination of my holiday for this year.

Originally I wanted to go back to Nepal but finances, timing and lack of preparation have meant that this trip will be on hold for 12 months.

So I thought to myself: what would I like to do after my first Half Ironman triathlon.......?

A 2 week cycling trip in Cambodia and Vietnam was the answer of course.

wt

PS For those who have been wondering - the girls in my new banner are my gorgeous nieces.

Sri Chinmoy Half Marathon Dolls Point - just a training run!

2008-07-14T19:49:00.003+10:00

Entering and running a half marathon as a training run is still making me smile. I didn't realise how much I have been doing until Rob reminded me that I have run 3 races in 3 weeks - Woodford to Glenbrook 25km, Striders 10km and then Sri Chinmoy 21.1km. No wonder I feel tired - but very happy.

Until 3 weeks ago I had only ever run 3 half marathons in my running life and that was one a year!

I was hoping to go under 2:40 at Sri Chinmoy and set my Garmin to pace me for that time. I felt absolutely fantastic for the first 16km or so but then died badly over the last 5km. My 1km splits tell the story pretty well:

7:29
7:33
8:02
7:44
8:00
7:43
8:00
8:07
8:37
7:41
7:37
7:45
8:08
7:46
8:13
8:02
8:49
9:12
9:49
8:24
8:43
0:37

The fact that I felt so good is encouraging. All I need to do now is work on the last 5km.

The organisation was great and there were even pancakes for me when I finished. I was last by a long way coming home in 2:54 even. No injuries to report which is fantastic.

The only problem is severe chaffing under my right arm. It is so bad that it was almost bleeding and hurt like hell when I got in the shower. I wont be able to run until it heals and I had to miss swimming tonight.

Anyway I will be cycling tomorrow and then going back to sweaty yoga afterwards.

wt

A big day

2008-07-09T16:29:00.003+10:00

I slept in a bit today and so was a bit late getting out of the house for my training.

Also, due to my late start, the sessions that were to be over by lunch time ended up taking up the middle chunk of the day.

First was a 2.2km swim at Sydney Olympic Park.

Second was a 3 hour bike ride. For this I headed out to the M7 cycle path. I ended up doing 50km in 2:30. It was an uneventful ride apart from managing to squirt citrus flavoured gel all over my face and hand - eating gels while cycling can be tricky! I pulled the pin because I was starting to get pretty cold with the wind blowing off that snow on the Blue Mountains.

However, it was a satisfying cycle. I felt strong on the hills and coped with the blustery wind conditions.

I am home now, showered and in my pyjamas and enjoying a nice cup of tea. A short nana nap is starting to look like a very good idea.

wt

10km run, sweaty yoga, lunch and new shoes

2008-07-08T18:51:00.003+10:00

This pretty much sums up my day.

Half Ironman training has stepped up a notch so first on the agenda today was a little 10km run. I did this around the Bay plus a few extra bits and felt pretty cruisy the whole way.

Then I quickly dashed home for a speedy shower before heading off to Bikram yoga at Rozelle. I have always liked the idea of going to yoga but getting to classes when I work shifts can get a bit tricky. Many places want you to commit to a 6 or 8 week course and this I cannot do.

So I found this place on the recommendation of a friend. They offer plenty of classes and all are ok for beginners. The catch with Bikram yoga is that the room is heated to 38 degrees. Boy did I sweat. The idea of the heat is that it makes you more bendy and helps flush the toxins from your body. Plenty of drinking water and a thick towel are necessities.

I did ok. I am reasonably flexible but my fat bits got in the way. And I wasn't too fond of looking at myself in the big mirror. But I will go back and have another go. As a beginner they give you a 10 day pass for $17. Good value I think.

I didn't have time for another shower so a quick change and a spray of deoderant had to do before I dashed off to Balmain to meet my little triathlon buddy Nemo for lunch. Some food and much chit chat later I dropped Nemo back home and drove to Running Science to buy some new shoes.

And here they are. Hot off the press, this seasons new Asics Gel-Nimbus. They look fast in the shop. Hopefully they will be fast on my feet.

More races

2008-07-04T08:46:00.003+10:00

The events keep rolling on for me and I am loving it.

Tomorrow I am doing striders 10km at Homebush and secretly I hope to go under 70 mins. My legs have finally started feeling normal after w2g last weekend but I have done nothing through the week except for a few swims. So lets see what happens on the day.

I am going to wear my garmin and set the virtual partner to pace me for a sub 70 min race.

Rob is still out of action post hernia op but he did go for a little lap of the bay last night and reports he felt really good. He has an appointment with his surgeon next week and hopefully will get the official go ahead to get back into his training. So it looks like I will lose my support crew.

I have entered the Sri Chinmoy race for next weekend and will be doing the half marathon. The fact that I am now running half marathons as training sessions is really making me smile. There was a time when I would do one or two of these events in a year and they would be my target races now they are just milestones on the way to my half ironman triathlon.

93 days to go (or just over 13 weeks) and my training is starting to get really serious. I recently went through a patch where my I was struggling for motivation but I am back on track now and starting to get excited - and a bit scared too.

The time is just flying by and it won't be long before I am standing on the starting line at the Gold Coast.

Cheers

wt

Woodford to Glenbrook 29 June 2008

2008-06-30T13:43:00.005+10:00

Balance Tri Club racers at the start. Me, winky, shot'is and sascha

Winky finishing. Nice form Winky

Shot'is finishing. Hey, where is Winky?

Superstar Vania finishing.

Apparently this is a photo of me approaching the finish.

I am so done.

Yay the finish.

Whose idea was it that I enetered this race? This is what I was thinking for most of the 25 very tough km I ran yesterday in the Woodford to Glenbrook Classic.

I knew the first half was hilly and the second half was downhill - but those hills!!!!! Rocky, uneven and very steep. The sign labelling one corner as "suicide corner" made me laugh. How I remained upright for the whole race was a bit of a miracle.

I felt pretty good once the downhill started. The ground had evened out a bit and I kept thinking to myself that all I needed to do was to lift my feet and let gravity to the rest.

Then came the last 5km. I was totally spent. My quads had started to seize and I could barely manage a shuffle. Every part of my body hurt. I cried as I approached the last grassy slope to the finish and cried again when I crossed the finish line and Helmet was there to greet me. He was so happy and proud. I had never been so exhausted.

This was my longest race ever and I had finished. It took me just over 4 hours and again I was the last runner home - but someone has to be last and I do it so when. One RFS volunteer commented that I had a biger smile on my face than some of the runners he had seen that day.

Today my quads are pretty sore - but nothing else hurts that shouldn't after 25km.

We had a great night last night celebrating Helmet's 40th birthday at our local pub. It's only a small pub and we pretty much packed out the bistro with tri club mates, family and friends. Red wine makes an excellent local anasthetic.

Next Saturday I am running Striders 10km at Homebush Bay. I am hoping to go under 70mins.

Thankfully this week is a rest week on the tri training front and I have a massage booked for tomorrow.

wt

100 days to go & thanks Frank

2008-06-27T21:14:00.003+10:00

Well here I am at work on a Friday night. Not much is happening at the moment so I am updating my blog.

The station is a mess at the moment as we are getting the renovations that have been promised for the 9 years I have been here at Summer Hill. We are getting a new kitchen. Some walls have been knocked down and we are getting a new tv are with more than one lounge, a new dining area and a new computer/work.study area.

It is very exciting.

My Polar watch has the facility to display a count down to an event. At the beginning of the year I set it to count down to Gold Coast Half Ironman in October. Today my watch says I have 100 days to go until my big race.

My training has been a bit sporadic of late. My motivation has been a bit low. Is it the colder weather? Or am I just being slack? I suspect slackness is the culprit.

This morning I was supposed to go for a 60 min run and I just couldn't get going. By 10am I was still in my pjs sitting in front of my computer feeling sorry for myself. I popped into the CR chatroom and SA Frank was there. I mentioned how I was having a little pity party and his words of gentle but firm encouragement got me up and going. I pulled on my stinky running gear (one of my excuses was that my running gear was in the laundry) and left the house. The end result was that I had a great run and did the full 60 mins around the Bay.

So thanks again Frank.

wt

Magical mystery tour with a touch of saddness

2008-06-23T09:29:00.007+10:00

For a month or so I have been thinking that it would be fun to ride to my parent's place at Kariong on the Central Coast via the Old Pacific Hwy. I figured this would be about 60km and nice for a Sunday ride. The only foreseeable problem would be the large hole in the road at Somersby - the site of that awful accident which killed an entire family in June 2007.

I thought I had figured a way around the subsidence and was pretty confident I could make it all the way to Kariong. Helmet is still out of action after his hernia operation so he was my mobile support crew. I took my camera to record my journey.

It's cold early in the morning. 7am start at North Turramurra.

A brief stop at Pie in the Sky - a popular rest stop for pedal cyclists and motorcyclists. The pies are yummy too but no pie for me today.

Another stop at Road Warriors Cafe - a popular stop for bikies. Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Harley Davidson and Specialised.

Entering uncharted territory. I am now on the closed section of road heading towards Somersby. The ride down to Mooney Mooney Creek was deserted smooth with sweeping downhill bends - heaps of fun for a speed demon like me!

The subsidence - looking from the west to the east. There was supposed to be a way to get around this by road but we couldn't find it. The sign at the start of the closed off section said there was access for local traffic via Myoora Rd which was my planned route - but not so!

At this point I was ready to jump in the truck, turn back and drive to my parents place. But Helmet had other ideas! Where there is a will.......

A closer shot of the big hole.

On closer inspection we found a rought track down the side of the subsidence. Rob decided to carry my bike across for me while I made my way gingerly down the rough track in my bike shoes.

At the bottom. Now a trickling little creek where there once was a raging torrent.

We made it across. The view back to the west.

Having made it across this hole I cycled another 500m down the road to find a second subsidence of equal size. This one I was able to use local roads to circumvent.

It was a bit of an adventure but I couldn't help but feel sad for the family that lost their lives here. Both holes are huge and at the bottom of hills - they really had no chance in awful weather. Anyone that suggest otherwise should go and have a look at the subsidences for themselves.

Another race tomorrow

2008-06-14T16:26:00.002+10:00

My racing frenzy continues tomorrow with the first of Hills Triathlon Club duathlon series. This is a 3.2km run followed by a 19.2km bike ride and then another 3.2km run. It is something new for me and I am looking forward to it except if this cold weather continues - it is positively nippy outside that the moment.

It's my Mum's 65th birthday today so I took her to the Patchwork and Quilting show in at Darling Harbour. What a madhouse! All those Nanas can get pretty pushy when it comes to craft and cups of tea. It was fun and I bought some lovely hand dyed fabric for a wedding present quilt that I am about to start. My friends are getting married in January so I am allowing myself (I hope) plenty of time to get it done in time for the big day. I have chosen a pattern that is pretty adventurous and big - it is queen bed sized - and I will be embarking on machine piecing for the first time.

Next weekend I don't have a race on my schedule so I am going to attempt riding to my Momma & Poppa Bear's place on the Central Coast again. I tried this a few weeks ago but never got of the ground due to rainy weather. The tricky part is negotiating a way around the big hole in the Old Pacific Hwy at Somersby - the one that that poor family drove into. With Poppa Bear's assistance I think I have it figured out so I am keen to head out again and give it another try next weekend.

wt

I know it's been a while

2008-06-08T15:54:00.005+10:00

It's been a while since I've logged on here but things have been busy.

Training is going really well and I have been in an event entering, and racing, flurry.

I ran the SMH half marathon a few weeks ago in a worst ever time of about 2:50 - I can't be bothered looking up the exact time. But it will go down as probably my most satifsying race ever. I just plodded around the course expecting to have to walk some of the distance but ended up running the whole way.

That night, after a few celebratory lemonades, I entered Gold Coast Half Ironman triathlon. Then I entered Woodford to Glenbrook, the first Hills Tri Club duathlon, the City to Surf and put both June and July Striders 10km races in my diary firmly in pen.

I have been back at work now for about 5 weeks. After having 10 weeks off it is comforting I suppose to find that absolutely nothing has changed.

All the while I have been browsing around for a holiday destination post HIM. At this stage I have my eye on a little trip to Nepal and India in October but more about that later.

Cheers

wt

Mega Anzac weekend

2008-04-28T11:24:00.003+10:00

What a huge weekend I've just had!

Friday was 3.1km in the pool followed by a 50km ride. After the ride we thought it would be unAstralian to not go to the pub for a beer - 5 hours later we went home!

Saturday was an 8km run.

Sunday was 85km ride followed by a run off the bike. The ride was North Turramurra shops, Galstone Gorge, Berowra Waters, Pie in the Sky, Brooklyn Bridge and back via Bobbin Head Road. FOUR BIG HILLS and my quads feel every one of them today.

After the ride we raced home to put some final touches on the house before about 20 of our tri club ironmen and friends came over for a few post ironman drinks. It was a great evening - lots of race chatter, future plans and training strategies were discussed.

Sadly my life a s a professional athlete comes to an end this week when I go back to work on Wednesday. Such is life.

Cheerio

wt

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-23T12:43:00.003+10:00

My paternal grandparent's wedding. Roy and Isabel "Rose" Ardill.

Wordless Wednesday again

2008-04-16T13:28:00.003+10:00

I'll try and get some words together before next week!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-09T11:33:00.004+10:00

I saw this concept on another blog and liked it. So seeing that today is Wednesday.....

Helmet & Ice before the swim, Ironman, Port Macquarie, 6 April 2008

The final countdown

2008-03-31T10:31:00.002+11:00

Well there's only 6 more sleeps to go until Ironman. I am in cheering tapering so I have to look after my hands (for clapping) and not raise my voice (for cheering) for the rest of the week.

Rob is looking lean and fit, fit, fit. I have secret goal for him but I am not telling and will post next week as to how close I got to his final result. All I can guarantee now is that there will be tears. I just can't wait to see him cross that finish line!!!!!

We have 10 Balance Tri Club members racing so it will be a very busy cheering day.

My week has been a little lean on the run side again. My long Sunday ride takes it out of my poor legs and I usually need until Wednesday for them to recover fully. Hopefully this will improve as I get stronger.

Easter Monday was a very pleasant wet suit swim at Shelly Beach with our tri club followed by a BBQ breakfast. It was an onimous start with rain on the way to Manly and a big clap of thunder as we were about to hop in the water.

I cycled on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and swam on Wednesday evening and Friday morning.

I missed my long run on Thursday evening as I had patchwork with Mum so I ran on Friday evening. I was pretty happy with 13km although it was pretty slow - but I guess that is what the "S" stands for in LSD!

For some reason my enthusiasm was AWOL on Saturday morning. After piking from the CR 5km challenge in deference for a brick session at Centennial Park our session leader was sick and I ended up bumming around the Park for a uninspired 25km before pulling the pin.

Sunday was a jaunt north again with an 86km ride from North Turramurra to Mt White and return via Bobbin Head Rd. Yes, I love those hills! Well, that's what I keep trying to tell myself!

I took about 6 mins off my previous time on this same course so I am getting faster even though it doesn't feel like it sometimes.

I backed up this morning with a run set of 1km intervals (4 in total plus 1km warm up and 1km cool down). Tonight is swim squad. Goodness!

I am taking my bike to Port and will cycle a lap of the course on Friday just to see what this Ironman business is all about. And I'm planning on doing the 5km fun run at Port on Saturday morning so I can have some fun too.

I can't wait.

wt

100.6

2008-03-25T09:24:00.004+11:00

This is how many km I rode on my bike on Sunday!

Yes, my first ever 100km ride and it was very hilly too.

I was curious as to what the ride would look like so I wore my Garmin. This isn't the whole ride but I gives you a fair idea of how hard it was. I was very excited at logging my first ever 100km ride.

So my total for the week was 3 swims, 3 rides and somehow I managed only 1 run (not sure what happened there) - but it was a long run of 11.5km.

On the weight loss front I have lost almost 4kg - I don't know how this week will pan out after a little Easter egg indulgence over the weekend.

Have a great week everyone.

Cheri

Professional athlete

2008-03-17T10:00:00.003+11:00

Rob has suggested, seeing that I have 6 weeks off work with nothing planned, that I should find myself a project. He suggested I should sand and paint our timber windows - I would rather chew my own toenails! Aunty suggested that I could dismantle my bike and reassemble it every day - sorry Aunty, very handy, but not my idea of fun. Knowing my luck I would finish with a few bits left over!

So, based on Ewen's comment on my blog, I am going to make my project "me"! So now when asked what I am doing for 6 weeks, I answer that I am a professional athlete, and I will be training, eating and sleeping - but with some other fun stuff thrown in.

Now for a training update

Friday

AM swim
I swam 1.9km because I could. This felt very comfortable. I didn't time it (sorry B+) but just swam and swam and swam. I love feeling happy in the water. I swam 1.9km because it is HIM distance. Rob and the others were swimming 3.8km for Ironman training (Ewen - yes I am a spectator at IM)

Saturday
AM cycle
In Centennial Park with the tri club girls group followed by a 10km run off the bike.

Sunday
AM cycle
North Turramurra shops to Pie in the Sky via Hornsby - then down to Brooklyn Bridge and up to Mount White. We turned around at Mt White and returned to North Turramurra via Bobbin Head. All up 3 big climbs and 85.7km. We saw Uncle Dave again on the way up to Mt White who slowed down for a little chat before continuing on on his 190km ride!

PM Swim

A nice dip at Clovelley - sans wet suit. I swam a few laps and just generally had a nice cool down.

Cheri

LSL

2008-03-13T10:58:00.003+11:00

A last minute decision has seen me now with 6 weeks long service leave - oh joy!

I am not going anywhere or have anything special planned to do - I just need some time for me. I am planning on training, reading, sewing, swimming, cooking, seeing a movie or two and generally having a pretty relaxing time.

Ironman at Port Macquarie is probably the biggest thing I have on my radar.

My legs were pretty smashed after my big ride last Sunday.

Monday

AM run with Rob

PM swim

Tuesday

AM cycle

PM was supposed to be a run but I decided to rest my poor legs.

Wednesday

PM swim

Thursday

AM cycle

PM I can't run tonight as I have sewing with my Mum

Tomorrow will be another swim I think.

The weekend is going to be a biggie with another hilly ride planned for Sunday.

This is one of my favourite pictures from Husky Long Course Triathlon Championships in February. I raced the 5km fun run and I think finished in 33 mins.

Cheri

Quads of steel

2008-03-09T17:41:00.002+11:00

Sorry it's been a while. I swing between wanting to share my training and wanting to keep my endeavours to myself. Today I am sharing.

An early start with our tri club ironmen this morning as they headed out for yet another training ride and I tagged along (with my buddies Vania and Penny). We hold no chance of keeping up so we happily look after ourselves and do a shortened version of their big ride.

Today was 65km of killer hills starting at North Turramurra shops and taking in Pie in the Sky, Brooklyn Bridge and Bobbin Head Rd. Ouch. This was my first time down to Brooklyn and then back up that God awful hill (sorry God) - which really wasn't that God awful after all - just long.

There was a rare but pleasant sighting of Uncle Dave at Brooklyn Bridge who stopped for a quick "hello" before cycling off into the mist.

Feeling pretty chuffed with myself next week I am going to extend my ride further and take in Mt White. This should be around 85km.

Cheri

Tired

2008-01-22T20:07:00.000+11:00

It's been a big week and I am pretty tired but pretty happy too.

Monday 14th January

80 min indoor bike session

Tuesday 15th January

AM 4 hour ride - 75km. My longest ride ever. Everything hurt afterwards.

PM 50 mins walk

Wednesday 16th January

Almost 3 hours indoors on the trainer. I tried to watch a movie but the plot was too complicated and my brain wasn't working too well - although I think anything more complicated than the Wiggles might have been a big ask after my long ride the day before. Long sessions on the trainer are tough.

Thursday 17th January

AM 90 min swim

PM 45 min run/walk

Friday 18th January

Rest

Saturday 19th January

60 mins spin indoors on the trainer before work

Sunday 20th January

60 min run/walk around home before work

It hasn't all been hard work. Our tri club had a BBQ on Saturday night which was heaps of fun. They are a great group and even welcome ring ins from other clubs.

On the weight loss front I lost another 0.7kg this week - bringing my total thus far to 2.1kg. Yay me again!

Cheri

Getting into the swing of things

2008-01-15T16:39:00.000+11:00

On holidays in December I decided that it might be fun to go canyoning. And it was heaps of fun. Despite being December the temperature in Katoomba was about 10 degrees when we set out. The water was pretty cold but the wetsuits we were given worked well. And who can be cold when you are laughing and having a great time.

A great time, that is, until I took a tumble and sprained my ankle. Initially I was convinced it was broken but a closer inspection proved otherwise. It is healing - but frustratingly slowly. I can run if I am careful while swimming and cycling are fine - although unclipping hurts a bit.

So thanks to my mishap I did bugger all over Xmas. I am now into Gold Coast HIM training and feeling the effects of my Xmas inactivity. As the good coach says "consistency" is the key - so I keep getting out there knowing that it will get easier as I get fitter and lighter.

This week:

Monday

AM 2.5km swim

PM Bay run/walk (7km)

Tuesday

Bike 53.7km in 2:40

Wednesday

Bike session on trainer

Thursday

Bay run/walk (5.5km)

Friday

2.6km swim

Saturday

Bike 44.3km in 2:11

Sunday

Rest

I lost 1.4kg this week which I am pretty happy about.

38 weeks to go.

Cheerio

A whole new year

2008-01-06T08:58:00.000+11:00

I love a new year and I have big plans for this one.

Gold Coast Half Ironman Triathlon in October 20kg lighter is the biggie - 39 weeks to go.

I am very excited and very focused on my goal.

Happy new year everyone.

Cheri

Nepean Triathlon - the worlds slowest triathlete rides again

2007-11-20T07:45:00.000+11:00

Rob and I at the finish

I really don't know where to begin - I had such a great day with heaps of great experiences!

So I will begin at the beginning where all good tales start.

After floundering around a fair bit with training throughout the first part of the year Aunty K gave me a nudge and put me in touch with her coach James Sweeney (B+). So for the first time in a while I started training with structure and purpose. Despite a few hiccups along the way this has worked really well for me and my swimming has gone from struggling in the pool to seeing me doing 3km+ sessions on a regular basis. I am also running again after an 18 month lay off with an achilles injury and now anything under 60km on the bike is not really worth getting out of bed for!

Over recent months I had been training specifically with Nepean Triathlon as my goal. When I woke up on Sunday morning I was a bundle of nerves. Pre race calmness has never been one of my strengths. Rob packed me some toast for the trip out to Penrith but he might as well have given me dog poo - I couldn't eat it and felt very sick. I tried to chill out by listening to some music that I find motivational but nothing was working. I even said to Rob that, given the chance, I would turn around and go home in a heart beat.

Once at the Regatta Centre we met up with Sue and Bruce at the carpark and Vania and Nick at the loos. We saw Aunty K and Dazza a few times but kept losing them in the crowd. We all registered and set up in transition. I tried to eat some dried fruit and almost vomited. Oh dear. With the girls for company we started walking up to the swim start and this took my mind off my nerves for a while beacuse they were nervous too.

With the water temperature at 25.5 degrees a non wet suit swim was declared. Many competitors were unhappy about this but I really didn't mind. The only thing was that I had put heaps of effort into getting used to the damn thing over that last few weeks. I would have liked to try it in the race but it wasn't to be on this occasion.

My last training swim in this water was a disaster so I was pretty scared about being able to swim the distance away from the safety of a nice 25m indoor pool. A large crowd had assembled on the bank to see us off and I spotted Mick, a trainer from my Crossfit training group, among them. He had said he might come out but I never thought he would make it. It's a big ask to drive all the way out from Cronulla at such an unfriendly hour and I was thrilled to see him there just to support me.

The gun went off almost immediately and I wasn't quite ready but off I went anyway. I do everything pretty slowly and I knew I would probably be last out of the water - all the girls went off in the same wave with the next group of men 12 minutes behind us. I didn't see mum and dad before the race but as I began swimming I saw them walking along the bank beside me with Mick keeping them company. I took it very easy, working on relaxing with every stroke as planned. I swam the whole distance only stopping once at one of the pontoons - I stopped, not because I needed a rest, but because I wanted to say hello to mum, dad and Mick.

Me closest

I was so excited when I planted my feet on the mat at the end of the swim. I had done it - I couldn't believe it - I had swam 1km. Yay, yay. My legs felt like jelly but I trotted off into transition to get my bike.

The bike leg was fun and went pretty much as planned. There was lots of the support out on the course as I saw heaps of Cool Runners and Balance tri club mates who called out support. My legs felt pretty wobbly to start with but I soon got into the swing of things and before I knew it I was back into transition for the run.

It was about here that my lack of food started to be a bit of a problem. I had the best part of a Gu in transition and intended on taking another with me out onto the run but I managed to leave it behind in transition. The first 5km lap was tough. My fitness felt just fine but my legs were refusing to come to the party. On the second lap Allison joined me on the course to keep me company. I felt pretty silly whinging about how tired I felt to someone who had run 160km last weekend but she listened to me whinge and gently encouraged me along. At this point I was so hungry that I started to feel sick again. My stomach hurt and my back was starting to hurt too. But shuffle on I did!

I was so pleased to approach the grandstand with only a few 100m to go. Allison peeled off to let me finish and I picked up the pace a little. As I rounded the corner to run up to the finish I could see all my tri club buddies waiting for me. As I got close they formed a guard of honour for me to run through. As embarrassed as I was, I loved them for the gesture.

I wasn't last out on the course but I finished last on the day. I don't really mind - someone has to be last - it might as well be me. I have so much room for improvement that I can't wait to have another go next year.

There were lots of hugs from my proud parents and my proud husband. I got my race t shirt and put it on straight away over my sweaty tri gear. I threatened never to take it off!!!!

Rob in transition. My favourite photo of the day. Thanks Sue

Extra special stuff

Superstar Vania and Aunty K who were super proud and believed that I could do it.

Mum and Dad for driving down from the Central Coast to watch me race. They are my biggest fans and I love them for it!

Allison who kept me company over the last 5 km.

My triathlon club, Balance, who comepeted on the day and then cheered me home. You guys are the best.

The very gorgeous Mick who came to watch me race. I am still blown away that you came to watch - thankyou, thankyou! If anyone wants to work hard and get great results the CrossFit Effects guys are the ones to see.

B+ the world's greatest triathlon coach.

The Cool Running cheer squad who were vocal and great as always.

And my husband finishing his first triathlon with style.

The organisation was great and I had a blast - I didn't shut up all the way home and even a few beers after the race failed to slow me down. I am still on a high and am so excited about what's to come.

Swim 35:13

Bike 1:16:40 (my bike computer ride time was 1:12:50 which means I spent about 4 mins in transition)

Run 1:27:42

Total 3:19:35

See you all at the next event.

Transmission resumes

2007-11-06T08:34:00.000+11:00

It's been a bit busy here at Wildthing Central so sadly my blog has suffered a little.

Training has been intense and a bit all consuming at the moment - but there is only 11 days to go until Nepean Triathlon!

Monday 5th November
AM 2 hour bike. I rode around Centennial Park in windy, squally conditions. Not the most pleasant ride but done. I rode with my ipod which made it a bit easier. Before you all remind me of the perils of cycling with an ipod I must say that this is something I normally don't do. I was the only cyclist in Centennial Park and I was very vigilant - when I wasn't singing. I did get some funny looks from walkers/joggers - singing isn't one of my many talents!

PM 90 min swim - 3km total.

Tuesday 6th November
6am Crossfit session. Amongst other nasties today we did something called "the ladder". This was 10 kettle bell squats, run 100m, 9 KB squats, run 100m, 8 KB squats, run 100m etc etc etc down to 1 KB squat. ouch.

A bit later I am going to do a run before showering and then meeting my counsin K for some Melbourne Cup drinkies at Drummoyne Sailing Club.

Cheri

Ironman swim

2007-10-21T16:01:00.000+10:00

Today
I have never swam a kilometer continuously. Until today that is - and today I did 3.

400m warmup with fins - this I needed, my shoulders loved it.
1000m fs
1000m fs with fins and paddles
1000m fs
400m cool down with fins

Total 3.8km - hence my ironman swim.

The swim was a huge boost for my pre Nepean Triathlon swim nerves. I now know that I can swim the distance and that it will probably take me 30 mins or so.

Now I have what what we like to refer to at home as "monkey arms".

Yesterday
8am
CrossFit session at Queen's Park. We did lots of kettlebell stuff again - probably why my shoulders are a bit sore today!

10am
My 30 minute program run became 45 mins when the route I chose around Centennial Park took a little longer than expected.

I must plan my nutrition better when I am going to be out for a few hours. I just about pushed a man of his bike to steal his apple when I was on my way back to my car :-)

It's been a big weekend and I am feeling pretty smashed at the moment - but nicely so! I have had an afternoon sleep and am ready to get some stuff done around the house this afternoon.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Cheri

PS It was pretty lonely and boring in Struggetown so I checked out!

Struggletown

2007-10-16T08:34:00.000+10:00

Population 1 - me!

Yesterday morning, facing 4 beautiful days off work, I was looking forward to some consistent training. Then my morning run became an afternoon run, then my afternoon run became a sleep and, before I knew it, I had moved on into Struggletown.

This morning the trend continued - my crossfit session became a sleep-in and my M7 bike ride became a Bay run. Now, as I sit here in my pyjamas, my Bay run is looking in jeopardy.

Now the wind has picked up and it is nasty and hot outside.

I feel blah. Do I fight it or just spend a few days in Struggletown?

wt

Big training day/s

2007-10-09T08:36:00.000+10:00

Tuesday 9 October
Crossfit effects, 6am, Queens Park

Warm up

21-15-9
pull ups (I do girly modified ones but you get the idea)
kettle bell swings (8kg)
russian twists
run 250m between each set

15-12-9
cleans (8kg kettle bell)
walking lunges
dead lifts (2 x 8kg kettle bells)

Abs, stretch and home.

The Bay

7km run

Ryde Aquatic Centre

90 min swim

Wednesday 10th October

11am Steve

Warm up

Bench press starting at 20kg and building up to 40kg

Then 3 x 10 pull ups (40kg assisted)

Then 3 rounds for time of:

15 pushups

30 walking lunges with o'head bar

15 wall balls (5kg medicine ball)

Then just for fun:

30 x 5kg medicine ball cleans for time = 2:45 (roughly)

I am supposed to be doing a bike session on the trainer this afternoon but I am smashed and the house could do with a good clean. So, let's see.....

Wetty swim at Clovelly

2007-10-07T17:14:00.000+10:00

We met a few buddies down at Clovelly this afternoon for another wet suit swim. I felt a bit more at home than last week but still I am not a wet suit fan. I have been told they get comfy after a "while" - how long is a while????

Clovelly is such a great spot for a swim. I saw a big blue groper swimming around with a whole bunch of little fish - next time I'm going to take my snorkle.

Feeling poorly

2007-10-07T08:02:00.001+10:00

Friday 5 October
No swim as I have managed to get the runny nose/sore throat thing that is going around.

Saturday 6 October
Crossfit effects inaugural training session at Queens Park. Despite feeling less than 100% this was a great morning. All up 2 hours of mixed instruction and training. The best part was discovering that I am stronger than my marathon running husband - priceless.

Here is a group photo

Sunday 7 October

I was going to do the Striders Star today (10km option) but decided to give it a miss as I still feel pretty average.

Athough I am still going for another wetty swim this afternoon at Clovelley with some pals.

26 hour day?

2007-10-04T21:24:00.000+10:00

Working 0700 - 1900 shifts is a real bitch. Unless I eat as soon as I get home and then go straight to bed and/or get up at a time starting with 4, squeezing in a training session each day is tough - but fortunately not impossible. Who needs sleep anyway! Thank goodness for take away. And did you know that I am working on inventing a 26 hour day?

Wednesday 3 October
Pump class after work. Finish work at 7pm, arrive at the gym by 730pm, finish class at 830pm, home 845pm, dinner 9pm, icecream 930pm and bed 10pm. The house is again in a state of semi chaos.

Thursday 4 October
Straight to the Bay after work for a quick run. I love running in the dark and it was a beautiful night. All up 7km in about 50 mins - 1 toilet break, 2 bubbler breaks and NO walk breaks. I was trotting along at a nice little pace just loving running all over again.

I'm not sure what I will be up to tomorrow but I do need to go for a swim. The weekend is busy all over again - Crossfiteffects inaugural training session Saturday morning followed by some family stuff in the afternoon.

Sunday will be a bike and/or run with another wet suit swim at Clovelley.

Cheerio

wt

Well it seemed like a good idea at the time

2007-10-02T17:23:00.000+10:00

My week post 9km Bridge Run was a bit of a disaster hence no blogging. I overindulged in all the very worst food and did sporadic exercise. I don't know what happened but I do know I just went a bit nuts.

Anyway I am back on board with a vengence.

Tuesday 2nd October
Steve is back from his week in Fiji so I was back in gym mode today. What seemed like a good idea at the time was to squeeze in an hour on the treadmill before his session. Very bad idea!

I felt ok at the time but while driving home I pretty much felt like I was going to projectile vomit - not good when I had to do a quick shower and change and meet a buddy for lunch in less than 30 mins. Once home some watered down juice helped me feel human again and I made it to lunch feeling much better.

If any of you are into some heavy duty training then this might be for you. The work outs are great and are pretty much what I do in my sessions with Steve at the gym. Probably not such a good advert after I have just said how close I was to vomiting after a Steve session. I was close to vomiting because I foolishly doubled up on my sessions - my fault not Steve's.

Here is a photo of Rob nearing the finish at last Sunday's Sydney Half Marathon. Thanks JD.

Me on Sunday

2007-09-25T19:14:00.000+10:00

Running across the Harbour Bridge - thanks for the photo Springer

I wish I could run like my mum...

2007-09-24T15:06:00.001+10:00

..but at least she lets me wear her Bridge Run medal.

Saturday 22 September
An early 6am start for a ride from Centennial Park to Kurnell and return (70km). We are getting together a nice little intermediate girls group with myself, Strider Allison, Superstar Vania and new girl Penny fronting up for the ride.

Conditions got pretty windy and ugly but thankfully it meant we had a nice tail wind for the return journey.

I felt really strong and finally seemed to be seeing some results from all my hard work over recent months.

Once back at Centennial Park we all went for a quick run off the bike. I did a little 3km loop around the park and felt pretty good.

Sunday 23 September
Now, most of you will know that the last 18 months has been pretty tough for me injury wise. Achilles injuries are notoriously slow to heal and mine was certainly no exception. There were many times when I thought I may never run again :-(

So even to make it to the start of the 9km Bridge Run yesterday was nothing short of a major miracle. After queing for 30mins for a last minute nervous wee I got to the start right at the back of the group - thank goodness for the invention of the timing chip! I stood there amongst thousands of runners feeling mighty proud and happy with myself. I even got a little emotional - it has been a long road to recovery in more ways than one.

So, my goal for the day was just to finish without damaging my achilles. A few weeks ago I had covered 10km off the bike so I knew I could do the distance - but this was a run 4 mins then walk 1 minute 10km which took me 90 mins.

So my absolute outside goal was to finish 9km in under 90 mins. My more realistic goal was 80 mins allowing for walk breaks when I needed them. I had run 3km off the bike yesterday without having to stop to walk so I decided to run the 1st 3km and then see what happened. I ran through the 1st kilometer in 8 mins, as well as the 2nd and the 3rd. At this point I thought "what the hell" I think I'll just keep running. By the 5th kilometer, still just under 8min/km pace, I started to get pretty excited thinking that 72mins might even be achievable. I even entertained the thought of a sub 70 mins - but just for a moment, lets not get too excited just yet.

Running down Macquarie street I managed to miss the 8km marker and was surprised to find myself running, all of a sudden, onto the Opera House forecourt and towards the finish line. I glanced at my watch which read 67** as I stood up nice and tall and picked up the pace. Members of our tri club, who had all run the half, cheered me home - except my husband who had chosen that moment to go to the toilet!

I had run the whole way and smashed my goal to finish under 70mins. Official results put my time at 68:08.

Rob ran 92 mins flat for the half off not a lot of run training - but off heaps of cycling and swimming. He was pretty pleased and not far off his PB of 88 mins.

A special mention to our tri club half marathon runners, Kezza, Winky and Shot's, who all posted PBs. Also to my athlete buddies Superstar Vania, who ran a nice solid half and didn't eat 10 gels on the way, and to Strider Allison who blew her previous marathon PB out of the water and then ran home - that girl is a machine.

All, in all, a pretty fantastic weekend.

wt

I love training

2007-09-21T07:13:00.000+10:00

Monday 17th September
Pump class before work

Tuesday 18th September
Spin class before work

Wednesday 19th September
Rest day

Thursday 20th September
Steve is away again so I trained today with my nuggety substitute trainer Duncan. Duncan is training for a natural body building competition which is on in a few weeks and he has lots of muscles!

We did a mini triathlon session which was made up of:

1km row

a series of 30 second standing and sitting intervals on a spin bike

1km run

All of this x3.

It was a good session and I was sweating buckets. My legs felt nice and fesh and I ran well on the treadmill.

Today I am going for a swim.

The weekend is shaping up to be another exercise fest - bike and run tomorrow, 9km bridge run on Sunday with a swim Sunday afternoon.

I like adding a picture to my blog to liven it up. Here is a photo of some of our tri club buddies at a recent training weekend at Soldier's Point. Amongst this lot are several multiple ironman finishers and a pro triathlete - can you tell which is which????

More later dudes!

wt

The World's Slowest Triathlete

2007-09-16T14:48:00.000+10:00

Not quite as catchy a title as The World's Fastest Indian but if they were making my movie I'd be the star.

Thursday 13th September
Evening run with our tri club at The Bay - just a tick under 5km for me but feeling good and running with the girls (only because they slowed down to keep me company though).

Friday 14th September
Morning session with Steve followed by a swim.

Steve
Warm up including 1km on the treadmill and 3 minutes on the rower.
Then 3 rounds of:
21 body weight squats
Bench press x 15 (35kg)
15 body weight squats
Shoulder press x 15 (17.5kg)
9 body weight squats
Pull ups x 15 (40kg assisted)

The swim was about 2km I think and a mixture of distances.

Saturday 15th September
This was to be my big wetsuit swim day but the water in the lake at Penrith was apparently too cold - and I thought triathletes were hardcore - so no swim for me :-(

Instead it was a 40km TT followed by a 10km run off the bike.

I thought I was pushing it reasonably hard until the Coach came alongside me at about lap 3. Obvioulsy I wasn't working hard enough "here's 50c to call the Salvo's who care", said James. So up went the cadence and with it went my heart rate which seemed to make him happy in a sadistic kind of way!

This is how I felt afterwards:

Just don't tell him I only ran 5km off the bike instead of 10km - have a great holiday James!

Sunday 16th September
Rob convinced me last night that I needed to ride with the big boys again today even though I pointed to my program which read "bike ride - 2hrs easy". The only concession he would grant me was that we could start at FF Rockdale so we could then go for a swim after our ride.

All up it was a 50km ride in just over 2 hours. This included a TT out to Kurnell which Rob says was probably the fastest 8km I have ever rode - must be the new tri bars.

The swim was not on my program so my plan was to take it easy and practice tumble turns. After a few dodgy tumble turn attempts, including one in which I turned too late and head butted the end of the pool, I decided that just touching and turning was fine.

All up 1km in the pool was a nice way to finish the morning.

Ground hog day and back to work tomorrow. I am going to have to shuffle my sessions around a little this week due to some work commitments but it looks like another busy week - yay!

Cheerio

wildthing

How cool are these?

2007-09-13T09:16:00.000+10:00

Wet suit last week, tri bars this week. I also left the bike shop with new pedals and shoes. Now I just need to get out and give these puppies a test run!

Anyway, now for a training update.

Sunday 9th September

Back to work and a well earned rest day (I even managed to squeeze in an afternoon nap at work).

Monday 10th September

6am Pump class at the gym before work.

Tuesday 11th September

55 min run followed by 90 mins in the pool.

Wednesday 12th September

Between night shifts and another rest day.

I'm finished work now for the next 4 days and am into hard training mode again. If the weather is warm enough hopefully I will get to test out my wetsuit at the Regatta Centre on Saturday.

Right now I'm going to take a leaf out of our pooch's schedule and get some of this...

wildthing

As soon as I'm done here....

2007-09-08T15:13:00.000+10:00

....I'm having a nap!

Friday 7th September
60 minutes with Steve at the gym.
Warmup
3 rounds for time of:

500m row

30m walking lunge with 8kg bar held above my head

15 pull ups

Finished in just over 30 minutes.

Then 90 mins in the pool. I just did endless laps with my fins on. Probably about 2km worth.

Then home for lunch followed by a quick 60min bike ride around Homebush Bay. The ride was supposed to be longer but it was a bit too cold and rainy and I figured I had done enough for the day!

Saturday 8th September

Today, according to my program, was supposed to be a bike, run, bike, run, bike, run session at Penrith. But an email yesterday afternoon from the coach changed all that.

So instead I did 64km on my bike in the most dismal conditions - rain, cold, mud - followed by a 10km run/walk off the bike.

This is the longest distance I have travelled on my feet in ages and my achilles held up well. Shame I can't say the same for the rest of my poor, tired, achey body. Nothing that a good solid nap won't fix :-)

A special mention for this little fellow got me through the last part of the ride after I bit his head off because he was looking at me funny. I did look pretty strange though all covered in mud. He was probably wondering if I was caramel on the inside too :-)

Back to work tomorrow for a rest.

Run, swim, wetsuit

2007-09-06T15:37:00.000+10:00

Yesterday
45 minute run/walk at The Bay - achilles good!

Today
2.8km swim (yes, you read that right!!!!), 2.8km in the pool. That is 112 laps!!!!!! Today, for the first time, I felt like a swimmer. The laps came easily and I felt great.

Today's most exciting news is that I bought myself one of these
I felt a big like a big black sausage with it on - I hope sharks don't like sausages.

Rest day

2007-09-04T16:23:00.000+10:00

As I am between my night shifts today is a rest day. I'm enjoying it as the next four training days are going to be huge!

This is a photo of our tri club at the recent Bay Run.

Cheerio, wt

Spinning today

2007-09-03T11:44:00.000+10:00

Today's 45 min spin class turned into 55 mins when the brand new instructor, taking his first class, got a little over enthused - he did have nice legs though so I really didn't mind. I had the regular instructor beside me who took to challenging me to go faster frequently thoughout the class. Not being one to shirk a challenge I rode like a mad woman.

The legs felt pretty good after yesterday's long ride.

55 mins with average HR149bpm.

wt

Sunday ride

2007-09-02T21:11:00.001+10:00

60km on the bike today. We rode from Burwood to Cronulla and back. I am totally smashed now and not long ago woke up from a big late afternoon sleep.

My legs feel ok now but I am sure tomorrow will be interesting!

wt

The last day of winter

2007-08-31T16:02:00.000+10:00

Not that a Sydney winter is really cold but there is something about the first few warm days of Spring that are pretty special.

Monday saw the start of my second 6 week tri training block. I can't believe how quickly the first 6 weeks went by in a blur of exhaustion and endless training. But I made it and I think that maybe I am starting to get used to the intensity of this type of taining. I have learnt it takes planning and organisation if I want to eat and have clean clothes to wear :-)

For a few weeks it seemed as though I would inevitably arrive at training missing something - ventolin (bad but I soldiered on), heart rate monitor (now I carry a spare in the glovebox of my car), water (there is a 7 eleven on every corner) or cycling gloves (I went without them). No matter what the temptation of just going to bed may be I now always pack my bag the night before and double check it in the morning before I walk out the door.

This week I have had to swap my sessions around a bit to fit in with some other stuff I had to do - 2 years worth of tax for example. The good news is that my nice fat tax return means I can buy a wet suit, tri bars for my bike as well as maybe a few other goodies for my bike.

Yay,

wt

LG

2007-08-19T14:21:00.000+10:00

Yep, life's pretty good at the moment. So good infact that blogging has been a tad neglected. So this post is dedicated to a buddy who told me she is sick of reading about my birthday.

Training has been going at full throttle. Frantic to the point where some weeks all seem to do is train, work, eat, and sleep (and ,as James said, "fair dinkem girl, you'll get enough sleep when you're dead").

There has not much time for anything else so apologies to emails I have not replied to and calls I have not returned. I do care but there are only so many hours in a day friends.

This weekend has been a biggie. A total of 7 1/2 hours of training in 2 days. A bike, run, bike, run, bike, run session yesterday followed by the tastiest (make it snappy) hamburger in Penrith. Although a cardboard sandwich would have been pretty tasty we were so hungry.

Today I was up at 4am for a 90 min swim session at Emu Plains followed by a 90 min strength and conditioning session at Penrith's YMCA. I was back on home territory tucking into my 3rd breakfast at Leichhardt by 11am.

Our gym is running a 12 week fat loss challenge which I have entered. There is nothing like a little competition to keep the enthusiasm chugging along and I am going to do my darndest (sp?) to win.

C2S Rob - smiling in his Striders singlet (photo by JD thanks)

On the home front Rob ran the City to Surf in a PB of 65:50 and was pretty chuffed. The house is still standing despite being in an almost constant state of organised chaos. The dog is getting fed. So all is right in the world.

Cheerio

wt

Happy birthday to me.....

2007-07-17T20:48:00.000+10:00

Yep, today is my birthday - 39 years young. I got my present from Rob last night so I could use it today - a nice new Polar cycle computer for Sea Biscuit.

I had to work today and, apart from one very dead guy, the day wasn't too bad. Thankfully I didn't have to go to that awful accident in Alexandria where that little girl was killed :-(

Tonight Rob came home with Thai take away and a bottle of Chardy - I am really just a simple girl! He also got me some sticky rice for dessert which I looove.

On the training front I am into day 2 of my triathlon specific program which will hopefully see me finish Nepean Triathlon in November. Just for Professor......

Monday 16th July
Strength and Conditioning - lunges, pushups etc on the lounge room floor with the dog shut outside in the cold.

Tuesday 17th July
Bike session on my trainer. Fifty-two minutes of grinding intervals at low cadence (lucky I have a birthday bike computer). The freezing cold house started to feel not to bad by the time I finished!

So far so good!

Cheers

wt

Yay

2007-07-15T21:33:00.000+10:00

I just got my program from B+ and I am very excited. It starts tomorrow.

Stay tuned.....

wt

Gym and a swim

2007-07-13T13:31:00.000+10:00

Another of my weekly sessions at the gym with Steve today went a bit like this....

50 squats (30kg)
50 bench press (30kg)
30 chin ups (assisted 40kg)
30 wall balls (5kg ball)
25 pushups (body weight)
25 walking lunges each leg (body weight)

The idea was to rest as often as I needed but for as little time as possible.

Then I did a Tabata 1000m on the rower. This is intervals of 20 seconds hard rowing followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated until I got to 1000m.

Then I was home for a little rest and some lunch before meeting Lulu at Cook and Phillip Pool for a leisurely swim. I did a nice slow 1km followed by a little soak in the hydopool. I wanted to play in the wave pool but they turned the wave machine thingy off - next time.

Then we had a cup of jasmine tea and a nice chat before heading off home.

Very pleasant but I am feeling pretty weary now that I am home.

wt

Steve and then James

2007-07-04T10:50:00.000+10:00

Wow - I didn't realise how long it had been since I last blogged.

I haven't been doing much mostly due to sickness, bad weather and a good dose of slackness.

But I am back into things with a vengance.

Yesterday morning I went to the gym for a weights session with Steve. I am really happy with my progress and am now bench pressing 40kg with relative ease - I remember a time not that long ago when 25kg was tough. We did a heavy session on squats, bench presses and "cleans".

This was followed by one of Steve's famous "heart starters" - 5 rounds of 7 dips, 10 x 17kg shoulder presses and then 100m on the rower. All as fast as I could.

My shoulders were pretty shattered at the end but I felt great.

Maybe not such a good idea as I had a swim session to do in the evening - oops.

My gorgeous buddy AK as kindly put me in touch with her triathlon coach so now he is my coach too. He has referred to me as an athlete which I find very funny and I think he has way more confidence in my ability than I do but I suppose that that is his job.

He wanted to see me swim so last night I drove out to Emu Plains (yes, Emu Plains!) for a 90 min swim session. I felt a bit intimidated as I had an idea that a lot of the people I would be training with were training for Bussellton Ironman. But what I lack in ability I make up for in bravery so off I went.

These sessions only started this week so thankfully there were only 5 people, but this also meant that I was going to have a hard time hiding. I was by far the slowest swimmer there but I did complete all the drills and sets that he gave us to do (except for the last one but it was time to go home).

My swimming of late has ben pretty hit and miss and I find it hard to get motivated swimming laps on my own. So when we were told to swim 400m, and it would be timed, I was prety sure I couldn't do it. Everyone else took off and I just stood there and said to James "I can't swim 400m :-(".

He said "off you go and lets see what you can do". So I did. And I swam 400m in 12:55. Yay me!!!!!! I still had 100m to go when everyone else was finished but I can't tell you how happy I was - swimming 400m in only a little longer than it took me to swim 250m at the triathlons I did last January. There is loads of room for improvement.

I get my program hopefully this week to start from next Monday. Thanks so much Karin!

wt

You don't wanna see what I'm coughing up....

2007-06-19T14:40:00.000+10:00

I know how much Ewen loves details so I thought I'd give my post a nice "image conjuring" title today. It's a sure fire sign you're getting better when that barking cough finally starts to "loosen up" - yew!

Despite still feeling like crap I decided not to be a princess and cancel my weekly gym appointment with Mr Commando. These sessions are always tough and apparently today was to be a high energy day - too bad I didn't have any! Out came the pencil eraser and away went my planned session. Instead we did some "light" weights instead.

Bench presses, overhead squats, back squats, shoulder presses and then some crunches. Light weights - schmight weights - even when I am sick I still manage to move some serious iron :-) I might be small but I can lift heavy things.

The best part of the day was getting to touch Steve's freshly shaved legs - mind panic here as I hope I have not given him a link to my blog and he reads this and realises I am not a complex and charming person but instead am a shamelessly shallow girl who loves boy muscles in combination with tattoos. Oh dear.....

My Mum is a regular reader of my blog (she says it helps her keep up with what I am doing) and she asked me this morning about the weight loss I eluded to on Sunday. Yes, Monday was official weigh in day and I did lose 0.4kg. This puts me at 72.9kg on my way to my goal weight of 54kg. I have lost 2.1kg so far and my first goal is to get under 70kg. It's slow progress but I have to be patient - sadly not normally one of my many virtues.

Hopefully I will be a bit more betterer tomorrow :-) and might even head out for a little run/walk in the afternoon. Then I'm back at work on Thurday.

Cheerio

wt

Crook

2007-06-17T17:33:00.000+10:00

I am always bragging about how I never get sick - especially impressive given all the sick people that I see every day at work.

Well, my bragging rights are officially gone, as I have spent the last few days laid seriously low with the dreaded snotty, achy, coughy sickness. I even had to take a few nights of work! Drugs are definitely my friends and I have found new joy in the tasty goodness of orange juice .

So it has been another week of sporadic exercise ending with a few days of self pity - yes I am a hopeless sick person and proud of it. The upside is that I weighed myself this morning and, even though official weigh in day is tomorrow, I think there may be a little less of me in the morning. It's probably due to nasal based dehydration judging by the amount of tissues I have gone through this weekend.

Tonight I feel good enough to go out for dinner with a few buddies at Nood, Balmain. They do a mean tom yum goong which should do wonders for my cold - just what the doctor ordered!

wildthing

Happy Birthday Mumma Bear xxxxxxx

Wildthing Central

2007-06-11T13:07:00.000+10:00

What a mixed up week it has been!

What with the Sydney weather and my scabby knee exercise went a bit out the window fo rme this past week. Work was a bit haywire with the weather and I was happy to have the long weekend off to spend some "normal" time with my husband - working shifts often does not allow such indulgences!

Despite my knee showing signs of a minor infection (redness, heat and white stuff) my swim coach (Mermaid) assured me it was ok to do my last of 3 (2 hour) stroke correction classes on Saturday afternoon. So I covered my wound with a waterproof dressing and jumped on into the pool. I was glad that I did - the course was great except for the bit where they video you swimming and then point out where you can improve. There is nothing like the sight of yourself in your swimmers to make you want to stick to that diet - yikes!

Yesterday I did big fat nothing. I tell you Sunday seems to stretch forever when you don't spend half the day going for a bike ride and following it up with breakfast. I actually slept in until about 10am - usually unheard of in our household.

Today we met fellow triathletes for a spin around Akuna Bay. Rob and Nick did 2 laps (55km) while myself, Superstar Vania and Strider Allison did 1 lap (40km). Us girls got in a little extra tyre changing practice when Vania got a flat. Several weeks ago Allison got a flat and it took 4 inexperienced girls only 80 mins to change it. Today we blew away our PB and managed to have Vania back on her way in about 20 mins - still plenty of room for improvement but you can't rush these things. We were so happy with our performance that there were a few high 5's when we were done.

Tonight Rob and I are going to Run Club. I'm not sure what's on the agenda but it will be great to be out running for my second time in 2 weeks - gently, gently on that achilles though.

Now for some progress on my goals....

I am looking at doing the 9km Bridge Run in September so I have downloaded Pat Carroll's beginner training program from off the Sydney Marathon Festival website. It nicely mixes up running and walking so should be good for my achilles. It's a 14 week program which I should start on Monday 18th June.

I have also emailed the dudes at Bondifit re a training program for the Nepean Triathlon (1km/30km/10km) in November - so let's see what they come up with!

Other than that all goes well at Wildthing Central. Training, working, eating and lots of sleeping and relaxing.

Cheerio

wt

And I ran.....

2007-06-05T21:20:00.000+10:00

Well more like shuffled but it felt soooo good!

Run Club last night was a variety of intervals (500m, 1km, 1.5km and 2km) over a 1km course that kind of doubled back on itself. While this is hard to explain it made it easy for me to shorten each interval according to my whim.

The longest I ran was 1km and I probably did a total of about 3km for the session. My achilles warmed up well on the grassy track with no problems at all. At the worst it felt a bit tight occassionally but overall I was very happy. I stretched more when I got home and did my achilles exercises and I am pain free today. Well my achilles is pain free but my knee hurts like mad. It is all scabby and gooey and ugly.

Despite my knee I did a spin class at the gym which went well after my knee loosened up. Tomorrow is a rest day and I have decided to try another run on Thursday morning. Sea Biscuit (my trusty bike) is in the bike shop for a few minor repairs after my weekend stack and should be fine for some more biking action on the weekend. Hopefully I will be able to stay upright :-)

wt

Green for go

2007-06-04T16:41:00.000+10:00

As bummed as I am about stacking my bike again yesterday I take heart in the fact that it is nowhere near as bad as Kanangra's stack of a few days ago. It's can be a tough world out there on the bike when you have to deal with aggressive drivers and weekend warriors. While in retrospect I could have avoided my stack the wobbly kid on the bike should have been better supervised by his parents. Ce la vie!

Because my knee doesn't like bending at the moment my favourite squats were off the gym menu and today we focused on my poor arms!

After a warm up I did....

3 x 10 bench presses at 20kg, 30kg & 37.5kg

Followed by as many bench presses I could manage at 40kg (I think I got to 7)

3 x 10 shoulder presses at 20kg, 20kg and 22.5kg

3 x pull ups to failure (I hate that word!)
I think I did 17, 9, 6.

Then we did this ugly circuit x 3.....

Maximum dips
Maximum pushups (on my toes)
Isometric hold for as long as I could stay up before collapsing in a heap on the floor
Oblique crunches x 10 each side

The most exciting new is that tonight I am going for a run. Yep RUNNING! I am going to Run Club for what will be my first run in about 6 months - yipee. I am very excited. I'm not expecting too much and gently will be the name of the game. My physio gave me the green light last Friday and I was intending to go for a little run/walk yesterday afternoon but a little incident on my bike put a halt to my plans.

I will report on how it went later.

wt

OUCH

2007-06-03T16:48:00.001+10:00

This was today's effort on my bike. This photo actually makes it look not to bad!

I can claim that it wasn't my fault (and it truely wasn't) but with my accident prone biking history I don't think anyone would believe me.

I've bin thinkin'......

2007-05-25T13:01:00.000+10:00

......about what I would like to achieve this year and next year (fitness related of course).

Now that my achilles seems to finally be on the road to recovery I am starting to think about some goals.

My first one will be to run the 9km Bridge Run in September. My physio certainly thinks that this is an achievable goal.

Then I would like to do the Nepean Triathlon in November (1km/30km/10km).

I'd like to train with Can Too starting in November to swim the 1km Cole Classic at Manly in February 2008.

If all goes peachy Warwick might be on the agenda for May 2008 - I love the sound of this event.

And then the biggie.....

Canberra Half Ironman December 2008.

Well, it's nice to dream.

Hmmmmm.......

wt

Spinning around

2007-05-18T11:56:00.000+10:00

Not much is happening at the moment. I love the rain and am planning on relaxing and doing a little sewing this afternoon in front of the tele.

I went to a spin class this morning at my gym. The rain kept a lot of people away and there were only 7 girlies in the class - a nice change compared to the usual turn out.

Yesterday I met Tiger Angel at the pool for a gentle swim and a chat. It's been way too long since we caught up and what was going to be a swim turned into a water walk - you can't talk while swimming! Eventually we even gave that up and went to the coffee shop. It was great to catch up.

Tomorrow I am back at work a day early so I can have Sunday off to watch the SMH half marathon. Maybe I will go for a swim before work -not decided yet. I've been finding it really hard to wake up in the mornings at the moment and am blaming my medication. Fortunately, under the supervision of my doctor, this is being cut down again. So it shouldn't be too much longer before it will be gone completely :-)

wt

Muscle Monday

2007-05-15T08:55:00.000+10:00

Greetings all

Yesterday I had another of my famous weights sessions at the gym.

This is what I did.....

Warm up (pushups, lunges and chin ups)

Then, with a 20kg olympic bar:

10 cleans
10 bench presses
10 dead lifts

9 cleans
9 bench presses
9 dead lifts

8 cleans
8 bench presses
8 dead lifts

7 cleans
7 bench presses
7 dead lifts

6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 of each. Ouch!

Then just for some more fun....

3 rounds of:

15 crunches
5 push ups
30s isometric hold.

Dripping sweat I was finished - yay!

I saw the sports doc last Friday and am booked in for an xray and MRI in just under 2 weeks. In the meantime I am continuing with my eccentric exercises morning and night.

There is not much else to report. Rob is doing the SMH half marathon this weekend and I have organised the day off work so I can go and cheer. Work is frantic and very tiring at the moment. But the good news if that we actually saved one last week. An old fellow had a cardiac arrest on the golf course. One shock and he had a pulse and he was breathing on his own when we got him to hospital but still unconscious and very ill. Two nights later we got to visit him in ICU and shake his hand :-) I like a happy ending.

Wildthing

Weights wednesday

2007-05-09T12:50:00.000+10:00

Back in the gym today for another big weights session.

After a warmup it went a bit like this:

Squats - 5 reps at each weight with heaviest weight 52.5kg
Bench press - 5 reps at each weight with heaviest weight 42.5kg
Soulder press - 5 reps at each weight with heaviest weight 25kg

And then.....
21 squats (no weight - how easy are they without 52kg on my shoulders!!!!!!!)
21 pushups (on my toes)
21 knee lifts (roman chair)

And then 15 of each...

And then 9 of each.

Finished!

Tomorrow will be a morning spin class. On Friday I am seeing a sports doctor about my achilles. My physio thinks I might have a tear and wants me to get an MRI. It makes me wonder though why we don't get diagnostic tests done before heading to the physio - it makes sense to get a diagnosis before treatment but it always seems to be done the other way around????

A few weeks ago we had a nice dinner out with AK and Daz and were happily chatting about Aunty's next adventure - Poor Man's Comrades. Rob has mentioned in the recent past how much he would love to do Comrades and I think he saw this as an oportunity too good to miss. So now he is secretly planning to do the 96km run. I, of course, will be performing the demanding roll of chief support crew, calf massager and sock changer.

Thanks Aunty for turning my husband into an ultra monster :-)

Wildthing

Ironwoman....but not what you think!

2007-04-30T12:13:00.000+10:00

I've been spending some serious time in the gym over the last few months pumping some serious iron. I always had enjoyed weights but they had gone by the wayside in preference for other endeavours. There's nothing like a dodgy achilles to make you look for endorphin inducing alternatives. A comment from my dietician that I would make an excellent weight lifter prompted me to return to one of my forgotten loves.

So now for today's session...

Warm up:
2 rounds of-
Pushups x 10(on my toes of course)
Squats x 10
Shoulder pull down thingies x 10

Main set:
Squats x 5 @ 50kg
Bench press x 5 @ 42.5kg
Shoulder press x 5 @ 22.5kg

Of the main set we do 5 rounds of each set building up to the maximum weight lifted which I have listed above. I am super impressed with myself :-) I love, love, love big heavy weights.

After all this I did a killer 4 minutes on the rower that we call Tabata 20/10. This is 20 seconds flat out followed by a 10 second rest. This I do 8 times and total the calories burnt on each round. Last week my total was 31 calories - this week it was 32! It's really hard work but mercifully a short burst to finish of my gym session for the day.

Tonight is swim squad with Diana at Enmore Pool - hopefully my arms will be up to it!

Cheerio from me.

Wildthing

Catch up

2007-04-05T14:40:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone. I'm sorry it has ben so long since I last blogged but things have been pretty busy since 6 foot track. I am actually supposed to be working on a university assignment so what better time than now to update my blog. This means I can save rearranging my closet and cleaning out the cupboards for later procrastination!

So here is a wildthing update in dot point.

Yes I'm back at uni. I'm doing a Graduate Certificate in Paramedic Intensive Care through Charles Sturt University by distance education. This means I can study from the safety of my loungeroom - no nasty lectures to attend :-) This semester I am studying paediatric emergencies.
We went to Port Maquaries last weekend to watch Ironman. Amazing weekend. I like Mango's comment about Aunty: "when I grow up I want to be just like her!". Our Balance Tri club members Koppo and Ice also raced with both crossing the finish line together for their 8th finish.
Next weekend we are travelling to Canberra for Rob to run the 50km option in the Canberra Marathon. As usual I think he hasn't trained enough. But I am sure that (as usual) he will do just fine.
I have been a bit slack of late - lacking motivation when it comes to training. But I am working on getting back into it.
My achilles is still misbehaving.
Yesterday I had my eyes corrected by laser surgery - today I can see without glasses!

That's probably enough for today. I'd better get back to that assignment.

Six foot track

2007-03-11T20:44:00.000+11:00

Us as the start

Rob coming down the stairs

An uncharacteristic display of delight from the cool man

Rob, as usual, was relaxed going into the race and said he would be happy with anything under 6 hours. Always conservative he finished in 5:31:36 and to say he was thrilled is the understatement of the decade. He finished smiling and, while others were hobbling around afterwards, he pulled up just fine with only minimal soreness today - showoff!

On the bus on that way back to Katoomba he begins talking about Canberra and how he thinks he would like to have a shot at the 50km. Also he mentions a sub 5 hour 6 foot track might be on the agenda for 2008 - I think I have created a monster :-)

Wildthing

Busy, busy, busy.....

2007-02-16T17:08:00.000+11:00

Even though I am officially on holidays this week has been a biggie for me.

One weights session
Two spin classes
One pilates class
Three swims
One visit to the dietician
One visit to the physio
One visit to my psychiatrist
One patchwork class
One tri club committee meeting
Lunch with a buddy
Dinner with friends tonight
Tri club BBQ tomorrow night
An afternoon tea for my neice on Sunday afternoon and dinner with friends on Sunday night.
And a vist to Mum and Dad's on the Central Coast to drop off the pooch.

Not to mention my weekend training and packing for our litle camping trip - phew!

But everything goes well and, while I am busy, I am really enjoying myself.

I won't be around for the next 10 days - so take care everyone.

And remember next week to look out for my friend on the biggest loser.

wildthing

Links

2007-02-13T17:58:00.000+11:00

I've always been a bit impressed by my fellow bloggers who add links to their posts. I think I have figured out how to do it so, while this post is an update on my training, it is also a practice post using links.

Monday 12th February
Double whammy day today with weights at the gym in the morning followed by squad at Enmore Pool in the afternoon.

After a warm up in the gym I did 4 rounds of the following:

20 wall balls

20 lunges

12 towell pull ups

Then I bench pressed 3 sets of 12 x 30kgs.

Then some crunches and some chit chat and home for a quick shower before heading out for a nice lunch with my friend Siobhan whom I haven't seen for ages.

Squad in the evening was always going to be interesting seeing that, after my gym session, I couldn't lift my arms above my head!

It was only my second session at squad training last night but it is amazing what you can do when pushed a little. Despite Diana's scary reputation she is actually very encouraging and you know that when she compliments you that you have actually deserved it. Last night she told me I was a fast learner and I felt pretty pleased with myself. I might not be fast but I try to do what she asks and pay attention to her instructions - I always was one of those painful kids at school.

We did all sorts of crazy drills including swimming 10 strokes and the doing a tumble turn (minus the turn bit so really just tumbles) in the middle of the pool and then repeating this until we got to the other end of the pool. Very funny especially when some people came up facing the wrong way (not me though - I am the queen of tumble turns).

We also did kick board races and even an individual medley - gosh butterfly is hard - even with fins.

Tuesday 13th February (today)

I went to weight watchers this morning for my weekly weigh in and managed to lose another 0.3kg - very pleased. Anything with a minus in front of it is tops in my books. I have been off the grog now for 9 days.

This afternoon I toddled off to the gym for a spin class. It was pretty tough as my quads were really sore after yesterdays weights session. I took it relatively easy just wanting to stretch my legs a bit but I still sweated buckets - not very ladylike!

I hope all these links work. I've had lots of fun. It's amazing what you can find on google.

wildthing

So very "Lance"

2007-02-11T17:46:00.000+11:00

Yesterday morning we met fellow superstars Vania and Nick at St Ives for a bike ride. A few weeks ago we ventured out with them to Akuna Bay and did one lap. Yesterday we decided to be a bit "Lance" and do the tough little hilly course twice - after doing one lap we turned around and did the same course in reverse. My legs were smashed and you get an idea why when you look at what my trusty Garmin produced. Once at home I crashed and slept for close to 4 hours.

Total of 55.75km in 3 hours and 16 minutes (cycling time). My maximum was a 58 massive km/hr and my average was 17km/hr.

This morning some of our tri club were racing at Kurnell so I got up early to drive down and cheer while Rob, not wanting to miss his long run, decided to run down. This is a great series of tris that I hope to be able to race next year.

So today was a rest for me. I have a lamb roast in the oven and the cricket is on - a perfect Sunday afternoon.

Wildthing

PS No grog now for 7 days and going strong.

The last king of scotland

2007-02-08T13:46:00.000+11:00

Continuing with my New Year's resolution to see a movie a week today I went to see The Last King of Scotland. It was a gripping film about the relationship between a Scottish doctor and Uganda's Idi Amin.

Forest Whitaker played Amin and was brilliant. He is nominated for a best actor oscar for this performance and I think he should win. The film is a bit graphic in places but not as bad as The Blood Diamond which I saw last week.

On the exercise front I managed to roll over and turn off my alarm this morning rather than get up and go for a cycle with the chicks around centennial park. Very naughty and I do feel a bit guilty. My mistake was in not getting organised before I went to bed. Usually I get all my gear ready and put my bike in my car the night before. But last night I got caught up watching Cold Case and Medium and figured I would do it in the morning.......famous last words! Anyway, the extra sleep in was nice.

Tomorrow I will swim at Homebush before work. Saturday morning Rob and I have planned to do 2 laps of our hilly Akuna Bay course with Mr & Mrs Nihao. However Ms Nihao is feeling poorly so I am not sure if they will be joining us.

Today is my 4th days sans grog! So far so good but some tough times are to come when we head south on holidays to visit some friends. I will have to strengthen my resolve!!

Cheers

wildthing

Go to the top of the class

2007-02-07T20:23:00.000+11:00

Today was stroke correction class and I have officially moved up from the intermediate class to the advanced class starting next week. I did the intermediate class today for the last time and then swam another 500m with my pull buoy. The good thing is that there is only one other person in the advanced class so I should get some nice individual attention.

Here is a photo of me in swimming action from the women's triathlon last Sunday. Thanks Gnome :-)

I was going to back up with a Pump class this afternoon but I am so sore from my killer weights session yesterday that I thought a rest might be more appropriate. I have been doing Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) style workouts at the gym and they are fantastic - very, very hard and very intense but I love them. Yesterday was as many rounds in 20 minutes that I could do of: 250m row, 12 x squat/uprights rows (15kg) and 12 x pull ups. I managed 5 rounds in 21 minutes. Then I did some ab work and then swam in the gym pool for another 45 mins.

Tomorrow is chicks cycle day at Centennial Park then I am back to work for one shift on Friday before I go on holidays for 4 weeks. Gee life is tough!

Wildthing

Start the Day Women's Triathlon 4 Feb 2007

2007-02-06T17:19:00.000+11:00

This was my second triathlon - only a month after my first and the same distance (250m/10km/2.5km) and at the same venue. I was pretty excited as my swim had improved a lot over the month and I was confident I could improve on my previous time significantly.

Mum and Dad had driven down from the Central Coast to stay with us on Saturday night so they could come out and watch me race on Sunday - I love having them come and watch me especially when Mum gets teary - they, along with GPS, are my biggest fans! Big hugs.

GPS decided to ride out so not to miss his session for the day. He was up super early and just leaving as we were getting out of bed. With a civilised 8am start to my event I got a few extra zzzzzz. I left home just before Mum and Dad with Sea Biscuit (my bike) firmly secured in the back of our 4WD.

I arrived at the Regatta Centre at about 7am, unhitched Sea Biscuit, and headed over to registration. I had to walk from one side of the river to the other and could see the transition area as I made my way over the bridge. I couldn't help but smile like an idiot - here I was doing what I have dreamed about for so long. I am a triathlete :-) :-) :-)

I collected my stuff from registration, checked my bike into the transition area and set up all my gear. Usually I am nervous before an event but this time I was jumpy all over with excitement - I couldn't wait to get started. Race briefing was at 730am and then we got started in waves from 8am. There is nothing like the feeling of bobbing around in the water waiting for the start gun to go off.

The swim was great. You have to remember here that I only learnt to swim about 12 months ago and just being able to swim more than 100m makes me all smiley. I was slow but swam the whole distance only having to stop a few times to check that I was still on course. My swim was 9:58 and I beat about 4 girls out of the water from my wave instead of being last out of the water as I was in January. I was also out of the water before the first girls from the last wave caught me (this I knew because Gnome yelled it excitedly at me as I exited the water).

I didn't feel as good on the bike as last time and was only able to keep my speed at around 28km/h. This was reflected in my time (27:11) which was 2 minutes slower than January.

As you may know I was under strict instructions from my physio NOT to run the run leg but my achilles felt pretty good when I jogged from the swim finish to the transition area so I decided that I might give then run a go and see how I felt. GPS took a photo of me starting the run yelling "this photo is for your physio". I yelled back that I promised to stop if I got even the slightest niggle. No niggles at all and I finished the 2.5km run in 16:27. No speed records broken but a happy total of 53:39 for the day - almost a minute quicker than January.

I had hoped to take a bit more time off my first event PB but my slower cycle put paid to a smashed PB. Not to worry - it was an improvement and a great little test for my achilles.

I saw the physio today but decided he didn't need to know about my run on Sunday :-)

So now I have no next event planned. My aim is to get my achilles in tip top shape for the end of the year. I want to get myself in tip top shape too which means more swimming, cycling and loads of weights sessions. This week I lost 1.1kg which has given me a huge morale boost - maybe all this effort is finally starting to pay off.

As of yesterday I have also sworn off alcohol for 4 weeks - yikes!

Teetotaller wildthing

Diana ze Russian swim instructor

2007-02-05T21:37:00.000+11:00

I turned up at Enmore Pool tonight for my first squad session. I was a bit nervous and even more so when the girl who took my money told me that the instructor's name was Diana and she is Russian and sometimes she can be abrupt but she really is very nice. Hmmmm.....

Diana was taking a kiddies class so I sat and watched for a while clutching my swim bag in case I decided to beat a hasty retreat! She had a whistle and a stop watch - both which she used a lot. She smiled at the kiddies a few times, and they didn't seem too scared so I decided to stay.

It turned out that Diana was very good. She definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and even taught me how to swim butterfly in less than 10 minutes - pretty impressive huh, but Susie O'Neill I aint!

She does like her stop watch and used it to check our heart rates on numerous occasions. She said my heart was strong but said I must have "sumtink wrong wit my lunks" because I just seemed to keep running out of puff. I told her that I have had exercise induced asthma for the last few years and she seemed satisfied that we could improve my "lunks" with practice.

All in all a great session. I will definitely be back next week.

wt

PS. Women's tri report tomorrow I promise.

Visualise whirled peas

2007-01-31T12:57:00.000+11:00

This was on a bumper sticker that I saw the other day. I thought it was pretty funny but have to admit it took me a few seconds to figure out. For those of you who are a bit slow here is a clue: this is what most miss world entrants would like to see.

Today I returned to Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre for my stroke correction classes. Last year when I re-enrolled in I put my name down for intermediate class again but, with my improvements over the summer, I could easily move up to advanced! I have to do a little swim test then it is off to the top of the class for me.

I was going to go for a cycle with the Cheeky Monkey dudes this morning but couldn't drag myself out of bed at 445am on my last day off. I will make up for my tardiness tomorrow and cycle with the Bondifit girls group instead.

Then I will be back in the pool on Friday for a last minute spin before my next big triathlon event on Sunday.

I went to see The Blood Diamond yesterday at the movies and thought it was great. Action packed and predictably sad at the end. Leo Di Caprio, who I usually don't like, was pretty good and did a half reasonable south african accent.

wt

Goals and other stuff

2007-01-29T13:56:00.000+11:00

I think I'm ready to make a return to blogging now that Christmas is over and a new year has begun. In the break I have been busy training and just enjoying a little time out.

So what have we been up to?

GPS is training for his first 6 foot track marathon and has finally joined Striders.

We have both joined a little tri club and are spending lots of time cycling.

I have completed my first triathlon and am doing my second one this weekend.

My achilles problem is still there but I have found a new physio and am hopeful that this year will see me return to running.

I have started a post grad course at uni.

What I would like to achieve this year?

Weight loss is still a biggie for me and I am making some progress. This year I hope to get back down to my fighting weight.

My dream goal would be to compete in a half ironman triathlon towards the end of the year. Realistically I know that this goal is probably one that I will have to leave for 2008, but hey, it's nice to dream!

My more realistic goal is to do the Nepean tri later in the year - but it just depend on how my achilles goes over the year.

I am under no pressure and am pretty much just happy to be swimming and cycling and killing myself in the gym.

More recently....

It was our 16th wedding anniversary last Friday (yes, Australia Day) and we spent it doing a nasty hilly cycle from St Ives to Akuna Bay and return - very romantic :-)

GPS Rob and I spent a lovely afternoon at the Kaehne home yesterday with some excellent company, good food and maybe a little too much bubbly stuff.

Today I did a weights session at the gym and then spent another hour in the gym pool. All up 2 hours and pretty pleased.

My swimming continues to improve and it give me loads of pleasure - I just love being in the pool. My stroke correction classes start up again this week at Homebush and I have found a little squad at a local 33m pool that are not too hard core and are happy to have me come along.

So that is pretty much it. Life is good.

wt

Lance laugh

2007-01-15T09:09:00.001+11:00

I like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Inx3878jU

Riding with the big boys

2007-01-14T13:19:00.000+11:00

Recently I have been cycling on Sunday mornings with our tri club's novice group. This starts from Burwood and is mostly held in Homebush Bay where it is relatively nice and safe. The big boys group starts earlier and rides much longer and faster.

Today there was no novice group so I decided to be brave and join the big boys who were cycling down to Kurnell to watch the triathlon and then cycling back.

I was a bit scaredy this morning but they promised me they weren't going to ride too hard. We had just started when I looked across at Rob and noticed that he wasn't wearing his helmet. What a wombat? He had to go back and get it and put in some serious speed but didn't catch us until we were just past Captain Cook Bridge.

35km to Kurnell and 35km return to make a total of 70km - my longest ride ever!

There were some great performances in the triathlon from both from our little club and other friends. Tri club member Nemo came first in her age group and young Ben finished his first triathlon. Superstars Vania and Nick lived up to their status.

Home now, the cricket is on and toast and vegemite never tasted so good.

wt

I love swimming

2007-01-13T14:09:00.000+11:00

It's funny how things can just suddenly fall into place. Last week I could hardly string together 200m freestyle in the pool and had to breast stroke some of the swim leg in my first triathlon.

This week I can just swim and swim and swim and swim......

This morning I took Rob to Leichhardt pool to show off my swimming prowess. The result was 1.4km. I am soooooo clever. I even practiced a few tumble turns so I don't have to stop and turn at the end of each lap. They still need some work before I can properly integrate them into my laps - but it won't be long.

My achilles is still troubling me and I am seeing a new physio at the NSWIS at Homebush. His advice is to stop running until I can run pain free. In the meantime strengthening is the go for me - calf raises galore. Sadly this means that the Women's triathlon in February is in doubt :-(

Wildthing

Nepean Summer Sprint Enticer Triathlon - Sun 7th January 2007

2007-01-10T08:02:00.000+11:00

Here are a few pics from my first triathlon last Sunday. I did the short "Enticer" distance - 250m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run and had a ball.

Officially I finished in 54:23 - 1 second in front of the girl who came last :-)

My official splits were:

Swim - 10:22
Bike - 25:05
Run - 18:56

I have heaps of room for improvement.

Time out

2006-12-12T20:22:00.000+11:00

I'm doing it a bit tough at the moment so am going to take some time out for a while.

I hope you all have a peaceful Christmas.

Wildthing

Cycle

2006-12-08T06:55:00.000+11:00

Yesterday morning I went to my usual Bondifit girls cycle session in Centennial Park. I suffered right from the start finding it hard to even keep up on the warm up - thanks to my Tuesday weights session with Steve my legs were on fire.

Frustration got the better of me at one point and there were almost tears - well, it is a girls session :-)

Coach Chris suggested that I start doing the last 30km of my long rides at a harder pace - I didn't have the heart to tell him that my long rides are 30km.

wt

Totally smashed - but I love it !

2006-12-05T13:25:00.000+11:00

I was up at some crazy hour this morning so I could get into the city for my appointment with Easy Tiger at 7am - yes, you heard it right, 7am. My achilles is coming along nicely and I am planning on doing some more running this Friday on TA's advice.

My "smashing" today was at the hands of Steve. My sessions with Steve are always weights sessions and boy do I love them. Before I block out today's pain I am going to commit it to my blog for anyone who is interested in the true definition of pain (I am sure TA will love it :-) )

Warm up
10 pushups (on my toes)
10 squats
10 lat pull downs

All this x 3

Then foolishly I mentioned that I had heard about cross fit work outs.......
21 squats and should press (in one movement with a bar)
21 chest presses (with 20kg bar)
21 lunges on each leg (thankfully with no bar due to my achilles)
21 crunches

Repeated x 3 but 2nd set 15 reps of each, and then 3rd set 9 reps of each.

All in under 13 minutes - yes, he timed it.

Just when I thought the pain was over....
15 dead rows with upright row (one movement with a bloody heavy bar!)
15 assisted dips on the big chin up/dip machine
60 seconds "bridge"

Repeated x 3

By the time I got to the 3rd "bridge" my shoulders felt like jelly. I got to 30 seconds and was almost in tears with some serious negative thoughts going through my head. But hell hath no fury like a little wildthing with fierce determination - and I did it!

Then there was going to be some more ab work but I managed to distract Steve by starting up a conversation about Lance Armstrong (very sneaky) - and then our time was up.

Then just to be a true glutton for punishment I got changed and did some laps in the pool. I also spent some time practicing my tumble turns. I was the only person in the pool until some guy turned up and started swimming very nice laps with tumble turns too! I just happened to notice that he had a Snap Ironman Triathlon bag sitting next to his towel - show off :-)

Now I need food but I am not sure how I am going to be able to lift my sandwich to my mouth!!!

Thanks CJ for the diversion

2006-12-04T14:40:00.001+11:00

You are a Brainy Girl!

Whether you're an official student or a casual learner, you enjoy hitting the books.
You know a little bit about everything, and you're always dying to know more.
For a guy to win your heart, he's got to share some of your intellectual interests.
A awesome book collection of his own doesn't hurt either!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Monday, Monday

2006-12-04T12:33:00.000+11:00

Sadly I had to work Friday and Saturday nights so didn't get to watch my husband record his best ever half marathon time on the Central Coast. To say he was over the moon with a sub 90 min (88:50)run would be a massive understatement. He drove up on Saturday evening and stayed with my parents at Kariong. Mum looked after him with a baked dinner with apple pie and custard for dessert- which, he says, is the reason why he ran so well.

I did a mini triathlon PT session with Sue on Saturday. Some boxing, some cycling and some running - just to get my head around transitions and how I have to organise my gear.

Yesterday I had a rest day. Rob and I went to the launch of Cycleworld's new triathlon club (Balance) in the afternoon. They are a great bunch of guys and super keen so hopefully we will be spending some more time with then over the upcoming months.

Today I was supposed to have a weights session with Steve but we had to change the session to tomorrow so I did a spin class instead. I haven't done one of these for a few months and I had forgotten how tough they are - or myabe my cycling is just getting better. I was going to do a few kilometers on the treadmill after the class but it only took about 10 minutes for me to remember how much I detest treadmills and I happily hit the stop button, stretched and went home.

So tommorrow is weights with Steve followed by a swim in the gym pool.

Wednesday is my last stroke correction class for this term.

Thursday is my Bondifit girls cycle group at Centennial Park and I am not too sure yet what I will get up to on Friday - maybe another swim.

Swimming will be my focus for the next month as I have my first triathlon rapidly approaching - Panthers Super Sprint on 7 January :-) How exciting!

Wildthing