Catchphrase...say what you see!

Hi all

I'm not really sure where to start with this blog, which is weird as it's the one that I've always wanted to write....I did it...I am on Outlaw...little ole me did an iron distance triathlon! People like me don't do things like that!

The day started with breakfast at 4:15 am in the B and B where I was staying with a few friends and Ewan who was also competing. We were very quiet, partly not to wake everybody else up and partly with nerves I think......we sat forcing a piece of toast down...Ewan, who doesn't usually swear looked up and whispered " what the f*** are we doing" and I said "I don't know"! It all felt surreal and I think that's your minds way of keeping you that little bit detached from the nerves and the day that is to come.

Off we trotted with our better and long suffering halfs at 5am over the road to transition which was a hive of activity...I shed a few tears when I said goodbye to John at the transition entrance...knowing the day was about to begin..this was it..it had taken so long but had come around so quickly too.....I was on the start line of an Ironman, yes me!

I could write for hours about the race itself but I will spare you the boring detail. In a nutshell the swim start was recorded by Amanda and looked iconic with the sun rising over the lake at the 6 am start time...from the inside of it, it was a different story...rather busy and a bit like a water based boxing match with 1200 people! I got out of the water in good time.

T1 was really odd, so busy but relaxed at the same time. I wanted to make sure I'd got everything and checked and doubled checked everything and off I went out on the bike. I rode keeping my heart rate
at a certain level and just spun my legs. The highlight of the bike was seeing all my friends at Car Colson and the banners that Ewan's girlfriend had made....a shed a little tear whilst thinking "I am doing an ironman" and " it's going rather well"! 6 hours and 54 mins and 112 miles later I was back at the lake, glad to be out of the wind and to give my lady bits a change of position!

I got changed into a fresh top in T2 and just took my time again, making sure to get loads of us cream on it was glaring down on us all and I knew there was a real risk of dehydration and heat stroke. I decided to do regular walks to get lots of fluids on board...I didn't want to risk stopping at this point..the first 10 mile lap was tough and there was a few people that had lost it and were ko'd at the side of the path. I had amazing support from my family and friends which really came into its own on the run course as I saw them several times....and heard them many more! I was told they were the noisiest bunch and were interviewed by the tele lady...it's on channel 4 in a couple of weeks. The lake that you had to do 4 trips round got longer every time!

On the start of my very last lap of the lake I started to get a lump in my throat...I was doing an ironman.....I was going to do an ironman...I was going to finish an ironman! As I entered the finishing funnel...which is one of THE best places on earth at that moment in time, slight panic set in...where were my family and friends...I couldn't see them...have they gone home and left me! There they were all lining the funnel....I always knew that whatever the time I didn't care but that I would thank every single one of the individually, for giving me the most amazing support and not just on the day but through the months of training. I was soooo chuffed when I realised I crossed the line to the tune Eat Sleep Train Repeat...how true that was!

So......I did it in 13 hours and 37 minutes which I was well made up with.....

******warning here comes to Jerry Springer/ Jeremy Kyle like closing summary......

People will sometimes hear my shout at races " I want to be like you when I grow up" which I've become well known for. It is of course a way of me saying how much admiration and awe I have for what people are doing, are capable of and genuinely wanting to be able to do my self..

I want to be able to

Ride my bike like Sarah J
Run a marathon like Kerrie
Be as flexible and strong as Charlotte
Run back to back marathons in amazing times like Lou, Helen and Amanda
Run back to back marathons on opposite sides of the world like Andy F
Be as organised and spell as well as Julie
Take 3 hrs off my Bullock Smithy time and plan a holiday for 40 people like Steve ( I told a little white lie about the holiday planning bit)
Run up and down the moors like Caity and Zoe
Make fancy dress costumes like Nige
Be as amazing and thoughtful as my John

....When I grow up

 The are so many qualities, skills and talents in all my friends and family that I've not listed but that I admire on a daily basis.......

But right now, today and for a few days at least....I want to be like me....when I grow up

X

Garden centres and gin and tonics

Well there's just over a week to go....my heart rate has just risen 50 beats whilst just typing that fact....it feels so close after all the months of training and kind of surreal that in a weeks time I will be actually doing an iron distance triathlon...not just any iron distance triathlon but Outlaw, Britains race of the year for the last three years. I'm not in as greater shape as I would have liked to have been, the last few weeks have been tough due to a variety of family health issues and a bereavement which has rightly meant that training has taken a back seat but also that I've not been looking after other aspects of my plan, like nutrition, hydration etc. But, I've been fortunate to have had a good long block of injury free training and I'm confident my endurance is there, this next week will be about eating clean, hydrating well and getting my mind strong for the day. It won't help to be thinking about the little bits I've missed and I'm greatful that I'm fit enough to get to the start line and sending best wishes to a couple of friends how have broken bones in the last couple of weeks and unable to race as planned....I would be a nightmare if that happened to me! I'm already avoiding kerbs whilst going about my daily business and driving everywhere at 10 miles an hour to keep myself injury free at this stage!

So, this journey has always been an experiment, to see what changes during the training, to see what if anything I learnt about myself and the things that matter to me. The whole process has definitely reaffirmed some of my values and beliefs especially... That we all can do anything we want to...if we train for it. I genuinely believe that the thing that stops us doing things is our minds...our bodies are amazing things and can be prepared and organised to take on most physical challenges...if our minds believe we can do it....so I'd like to pass that on to you all....if you want to, you genuinely can... So just do it....don't sit there wishing you could, because you can! I hope I will be following lots of you training or preparing for your amazing thing, whatever that is in the future, ironman, marathon, parachute jump, trip around the world alone...whatever yours is, make a plan start working towards it and just do it.

There are two other things that I've come to value so much more during my training and I've chosen two charities to support that link to these:

My Sight

I've been to so many places and seen so many wonderful things during my training that I never would have done, like ride up mountains in Cyprus, the most amazing sunrises in valley near my house and
some days I've felt like I've been on the set of a Disney movie whilst out on my morning runs and
rides as I've been surrounded by rabbits, birds, squirrels and even on two occasions wild deer. These things that I've seen and the places I've been have given me so much pleasure I can't imagine what it
would be like to not be able to see them and how devastating it must be to not have your sight. I've
chosen to support a local support group called Glossop VIP which is for people with visual impairments, to help them access social opportunities, reduce isolation and improve confidence. They have also developed a resource for people who have newly acquired visual impairments. I have a good old fashioned sponsoring form for this group and if anybody does wish to donate they can send me a message and I will put you on the form and then chase you for the money at a later date.

Time

"Is merely a fourth dimension that some people choose to measure in an artibtary way" is what I always say to myself whenever I wasn't that pleased with a race result or was late for something!

During the training I have come to recognise and value the importance of time so much more...mainly as I've felt like I've not had nearly enough of it. I've had lots of times where I've had to make difficult decisions about how to use the time I have had and too frequently felt like me and those around me have had to make sacrifices to fit in the training....... Until this last couple of weeks I felt like I'd not
really spent much quality time with John since February...oops!

I've also chosen to support The Karen Green Foundation who are a small charity that provide caravan accomodation for people and their families who are coping with illness. The caravan gives them that opportunity to enjoy some time together, whatever time they have. It's really import at to me to
understand that serious illness doesn't just damage physical and emotional recourses but it actually
causes real financial hardship for some families and some time away, a holiday, time to enjoy each other, say the things that need to be said and have the space to say them, can be out of reach for some families. The Karen Green Foundation helps with that, here's the address of my just giving page if you'd like to donate

www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Leah



So 6 am next Sunday morning my day will begin, 2.4 mile swim in the weed ridden duck poo
smelling water of Holme Pier Point lake....sounds awful doesn't it...but the truth be known whatever
the smell, whatever the weather, I won't want to be anywhere else next Sunday...



It's sure to be a great day..if you fancy watching, cheering me on or just having a sneaky peek as it might be in your plan for your future then come along. The parking at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham is free, there are free buses out to the bike course and back to the run which goes around the lake and the Trent, bring your picnics, chairs and children and give them free reign to shout and scream for hours on end!

After next Sunday my weekends will be spent sipping Gin and Tonic's and visiting Garden centres......
 xx

The white room

Two weeks ago I completed the Outlaw half triathlon as part of my training for the main event. This was an ideal opportunity to practice with all my planned race gear etc and I saw it as a learning event rather than a race.

As you can see from the picture above the weather was great all weekend, which was handy as we camped next to the venue.....all was going wonderfully...me and John got our tent up without a crossed word. We always joke that the only time we ever fall out is when we put our tent up!  Whilst driving down to Nottingham the evening before I was looking at some of the supporters signs that people use at ironman events....one said" if your relationship is still working you're not training hard enough!" That's reference to the amount of time and pre-occupation with equipment and training you find yourselves having during ironman training.....I'm very lucky to have good strong relationships with my nearest and dearest. I did sit them all down in January and explain what it all involves....they told me to go for it....maybe they just looking forward to having what they wanted on TV for 6 months!

Registration for the event came, I queued up patiently with my BFT card, minus picture.......arrrrgh!!!! Passport, I've forgotten my passport with my picture on for ID....Tri's are very strict with ID, my head was ticking " right I will blag it with this woman, she'll take my card and let me in the gig"....... Would she hell! I had to get a passport photo for my BTF card...in the next 30 mins in order to make the race briefing! Off we ran into the car and raced to the next town.....John dropped me off on the Main Street....I started running around like Anika Rice on red bull trying to find a photo booth....into boots...no sorry.....I felt like JR Hartley for a while....the kind lady in the post office directed me to the photo shop round the corner...in I dashed ( imagine the count down clock in the background now)....do you do passport photos? Bingo! They did......they promptly ushered me into their studio....there I was expecting a booth, with a stool and a curtain....no in I walk to a full on photographic studio, all white, with them big lights and umbrella things. "Just sit there" the photographer said and began snapping away....I think I was hysterical now as I was getting really childish urges  to "work it" like they do on Americas next top model and pull my best pouts! I resisted and re-focused on the race.....I paced around like a first time father in the maternity wing, waiting for the safe delivery of my keys to the race.....I sneaked into the race briefing about 10 mins
late....and breathe.....

The race was good, I learnt several thing that I am going to change for the main event....mainly not to get my race number emblazoned in my sun tan on both arms for the following several weeks!

The next 3 weeks are big ones....really big ones...highest training volume yet.....I'm starting to crave lying in bed until...ooo...8am at a weekend!

Thanks to all of you who have said very kind things about my recent training and race... X

Oooooo getting nervous

A trip to joderall bank on the bike

Well I've entered Peak training phase with a little over 9 weeks to go. The mileage on the bike has been increasing and I've found myself doing some interesting routes in some interesting weather! One particular day ending up in Prestbury on five different occasions.....I wasn't lost..just a little confused...my left and right has never been my strong point.


My plan for the next few weeks is to really bang the miles up and focus on practicing fuelling during my long rides. A couple of weeks ago I felt very sick for the last hour of so of a ride, then when I reviewed my Garmin ( no garmingeddon that day!) when I got home I'd burnt 4,800 calories and had a banana! I got some cake down me and within 1/2 hr I had a spring in my step again! Thinking and planning about what to eat, when to eat it and how to keep energy up is hopefully going to help avoid and gastric problems on the day........or the dreaded bonk! ( non- cycling or tri reader please google that in relation to endurance events but remember to have your parental controls on!).  Basically, I'm preparing to have one long picnic along the way to the finish line.....it's why I like endurance events so much......is just not the same without the feed stations on the 5k's I do.

Ive taken Paddy (my bike) on a few breaks away and trips out during the training plan...I took him to just near Meadowhell (a shopping centre in Sheffield) to have a full bike fit with my new tri bars.....I learnt a lot about bikes that day....and I had all my angles measured...and apparently that's good for something important.....and I had a new stem...and that's important for something too....and my seat moved and that's dead good for something....so all in all it was very useful.....for something....I think the lad said something about power, hip flexors and running.....

I'm starting to feel the benefits of the strength training I've been doing, I can see how dangling about in one of those TRX trainer things is helping and it's not just for the personal amusement of my trainer....although I do look a sight!

I know it's early but I am starting to get some ebbie geebies about the day already......I'm hoping that I will follow my usual style before a big event which is to feel nervous quite far out but by the time that day comes I've had a word with myself,  engaged my mental strength and feel ready to enjoy whatever comes my way.

Oh....almost forgot....I'm now on the no alcohol and superfood stage.........pass me the mocktails!

Powered by cake!

Finally out of the garage.....

Leading the way... It's not that cold... Honest!

I'm finally out of the garage..yey! It's felt like a long lonely winter and I'm so glad to see spring. Please forgive me fellow triathletes as I've committed the sin of "going off plan" I've been so desperate for the social side of training and to try and get a bit of speed into my legs that's I've been doing some of the local running races...it's been fab. I've loved getting out with other people, not being too bothered about my performance and using them as training runs but also finding new routes....some of which have been within a mile or two of home.  What I've noticed is that I'm not tired at the end (they have only been 4-6 miles) and that it takes me an age to get going at the start....a sign of good endurance but zilch speed maybe?

11 weeks out nerves are starting to creep in...doubts about my ability to get round on the day...I'm reminding myself that the process is as interesting as the outcome. I've lost things, like contact with my training group and definitely speed in my legs! But also gained many things, seen things, been places and done things that I never thought possible....I plan to stick to the plan now...almost anyway...and just enjoy the rest of the journey...I'm already planning what I will be doing with all my free time come August.....

In other news....I'm giving up alcohol until after the event.....after my next training weekend with mates that is... No need to be hasty now ;-)

Herod Farm Fell Race

You'll notice that I've added some photos this time..... It's taken me a while to understand how to do that..... It was one of my none training goals for the Easter weekend.... Small things eh! My next goal will be for it not to take an hour to get them to appear and to be able to move them so they fit with the text.

Ups and downs.....

It's been a while since my last post, I think it's because I've not been on the turbo much recently....that's normally where I do my best writing! I have to pay attention* whilst out riding on the road, so can't let my mind wander the same.

The last few weeks have been full of ups and downs, both on the bike and generally how strong I've felt. I had a weeks warm weather raining in Cyprus (ooo get me, I sound like an athlete!) and during this week I went places...... Mainly climbs on the bike...that I would never have experienced if not on this training journey. Climbing high in the hills with amazing views and visiting little hidden away villages and coffee shops.....doing things that people like me don't do! Getting lost and stumbling across a full on Cypriot domestic...Jeremy Kyle style was a particular highlight. Coming down the hills.......was interesting....6 mile ups means 6 miles down! My confidence on the bike is finally improving although I have turned into Jeremy Clarkson and hate caravans after I was within a whisker of being taken out by one earlier today.

The down times have been few and far between but last weekend was tough...feeling sad I wasn't experiencing the anxiety and worry of a marathon taper and then the joy of crossing the line in a new pb and being hardly able to walk due to the soreness in my legs from doing loads of squats trying to improve my strength....I ran  Lyme parkrun looking like I had some sort of neurological condition!

Training is at 12hrs a week at the moment, 3 runs, 3 bikes, 3swims, 1 brick session 1 gym/strength session. My legs are feeling heavy quite a bit!

*attention is a code word for talking non stop about who's run what times, won what races, stopping to take pictures of baby animals and looking for shops that sell chocolate

The base is built..... Let's build...

Hello all

I hope you're all well and enjoying the dry sunny weather that been around the last few days. I've now completed ten weeks of base training. 10 weeks of long slow, boring, dull, low heart rate training. 10 weeks of feeling I'm getting slower, going backwards with my fitness, with my times and feeling sluggish. However I do feel like there's been a bit of a breakthrough this last two weeks, my run times have come down slightly at the same heart rate, I've generally felt a bit less like a shot putter and more like an endurance athlete.... In the loosest terms that is! I had a good day out at Grindleford Gallop yesterday, expecting myself to struggle  but despite having a little excursion off piste and doing some extra distance I managed to come in quicker than I expected and most pleasingly felt stronger as the 21 miles progressed. I think what happened to me last Wednesday helped me enjoy this run more.......

This weeks training:
Monday: rest day...... I usually sneak a core or spin session in here but had a meeting at Glossop Tri club, my triathlon club. We've only been going almost a year now and it's a great club/ community
with really high quality coaching.... I would recommend anybody and everybody to join a club.... It
will be the single most effective action you can ever take to improve your performance.

Tuesday: 2500m swim set am 1 hour run pm

Wednesday: Brick Session. 45 mins bike then 15 min run from the bike. All my training has been based on my heart rate. I'd charged my heart rate monitor watch as normal, put it on my wrist and trotted off to the garage as normal at 6am...... Noooooo o o o o o o o! It wouldn't turn on Noooooooooo! It was garmingeddon...... How will I survive! How can I do a session without checking my heart rate every 30 secs!

Thursday: 2500m swim set am  track session at Stockport Harriers pm....... With no watch! I took it
but again it wouldn't turn... But two of the coaches did resuscitation  on it in the club tuck shop and by the time if finished my session it was back with us! I've been helping a friend with her marathon training and pacing but she enjoyed the distraction of timing each of the 25 laps of the track we did! Oooo almost forgot I did an hours strength training too.

Friday: unplanned rest day and a bit of Carbing up. I'd planned a bit of an easier week due to the run on Saturday and in preparation for me over cooking the miles on the bike next week in the sun of Cyprus


Saturday: Grindleford Gallop 21 miles off road run, great fun and even better cake..... Restricted myself to 1.5 pieces on route.......remember my current key goal of improving my nutrition  ;-) The sequel to Garmedgeddon.....Garmedgeddon two! Yep, the blumming thing wouldn't turn on again but I think that running with no idea of pace or distance travelled really helped my enjoyment of what is one of my favourite races. Anyway...time is merely a fourth dimension that some people choose to measure in an arbitrary way....that's one of those things I say to myself when I'm having "having a word"!

Sunday: Easy bike ride in the glorious sunshine and watching loads of people get shiny new pb's at Trafford 10k.

So a bit of an easier week in preparation for Grindleford and in anticipation of  next week with lots of sunny bike miles in Cyprus. The bases training is finished and now I start the "build" phase....the swim sets go up to 3000 metres and I'm allowed to add in some little bits of faster paced running and cycling into the ever increasing distances....I'm excited and apprehensive in equal measure about this as I've found the base phase a bit dull but I know this next few weeks will be  better but that it will be tough and I will probably be sick at some point.....Good times :-)

Having a word with myself......

I highly recommend having a word with yourself now and then, it's a strategy I use when I'm anxious about something, preparing for something new, cross about something or most often when I'm going " on one" I think the youth call it and need to draw a line under something.The ironman training journey is a big project that I figured from time to time requires me to have a big word with myself....in fact, eight weeks into the training I arranged a whole meeting with myself....

8 Week Review Meeting

Present: Me

Minutes: Me

Agenda:

1. Progress report
2. Achievements and successes 
3. Challenges
4. What I've learnt so far 
5. Future Actions
6. Date and Time of next meeting

Progress Report 

If this was a school report it would probably read " Sarah try's hard but lacks natural athletic ability and she should consider taking needlework as an option subject rather than PE!" I have been largely sticking to the plan and have felt appropriate levels of guilt when Ive missed the odd session but I have found coming into the plan following an injury and then having to stick to the low heart rate training zones has resulted in me feeling slow, sluggish and lacking sharpness....however in two weeks time in will be entering the build phase of my training and I'm allowed to add in several one minute burst of fast running and cycling whoop whoop! My legs have been feeling heavy and tired at the start of my runs( usually the runs come after a cycle session) and this results in me worrying that I'm never going to be strong enough the get through the event....and then I remember I've still got 5 months of training to get me ready. 

Achievements and successes 

Running: at Christmas I wasn't running at all really and now this week I've completed my first 30+ week, very slowly. Today I ran to work and recalled when training for my first marathon I felt such a sense of achievement when I ran to Hyde ( only because of how far it was not that I wanted to go to Hyde...there's not much there...) and I also, whilst running into work in Stockport wondered at what point did it become "normal" to be running such distances without even thinking about it.

Cycling:my confidence has improved massively, one week I cycled to Stockport and was a nervous wreck when I got there because of a couple of near misses with motorists, I was very grateful to Paul and Dee ( who do amazing work for Stockport CP society) for the cup of tea and the chat that day.....my heart rate wasn't sticking in the zone then! Now I'm much faster as descending and if a **** of a motorist cuts me up they know about it! I've weirdly enjoyed the turbos in the garage in the dark and the wet, and the chats with the neighbours I have whilst the garage door is open and I'm pedalling away

Swimming: I've swum longer than I've ever swum before just in my routine training sessions....the swim sets in this plan are demons! The swim sets seem to go quicker at glossop tri club than when I'm on my own. 

What I've learnt so far

•  That I need to be organised
• That I need an infinite amount of sports gear or a housekeeper
• Friends and training groups are fundamental to my enjoyment of training 
• I don't like base training and doing no speed work 
• I need to get stronger physically
• That it doesn't help to compare myself to people who are training for different things 
• It doesn't help to compare myself to people that are training for iron distance events.. I'm unique.. 
• I'm very good at putting positive spin on things( see above point)
• If it all goes pear shaped I will be able to have a go at shot put with my emerging cyclist quads 

Future Actions

Ive read Steve Peter's book ( sports psychologist to many of team GB cyclists). It's called The Chimp Paradox and whilst some of it is a bit too  cosmic for me there is some really useful stuff in there about getting goals. He talks about how for every key goal you have to build towards it  with smaller fundamental goals, I visualise these as stones building a wall up to where you'd like to get. In particular  he talks about having only 2/3 areas that you are trying to make breakthroughs or progress in at any one time. The rest of your goals should just to be maintain your current level. 

So..I'm going to start and do some real strength work, this hasn't been formally written on my plan..... So if it's not on the plan I don't  do it. I will probably leave the shot put alone for now and settle for some basic gym work!

My second focus will be nutrition, I am going to stop eating out on all the training I'm doing! It's often called the forth discipline of triathlon. 

My third area where I'm looking for a breakthrough is in my endurance, I will be building the miles in the bike and run......looking forward to the light mornings and evenings to help with this.

Date and time of next meeting:

TBC

Anything you can do I can shoe better :-)

Those of you who have been following my posts from the beginning will recall that training for the ironman is an experiment for me....to see what happens, to see what I learn about myself, my capabilities and where it leads me. Since I last posted Ive done some serious learning! 

I wonder at what point my life changed from living from day to day, to planning two, maybe three years in advance. I've never been somebody who planned far ahead but since fitness came into my life I've started to realise that the are so many events that I want to have a crack at, so many things I'd like to try, so many things I need to experience, that I need to pace myself and not try to do them all in one year. I've found myself starting to plan for my 2016 goals already. 

In the last couple of weeks I've learnt about the importance of short term planning too, I've missed a couple of sessions and suffered the guilt that most of us feel when we've not stuck to "our plan" for our training sessions, I've done a bit of thinking about why this has been. Routine and organisation seem to be the key, just knowing which session I'm doing on what day and not getting into any debate about if or when I'm doing it means that it will happen. Now, organisation is key to make the session happen, at the minute I feel like my car is a walking fitness wardrobe, with various different PE kits, in different bags, swimming, running and cycling stuff, for before work ,for after work etc. I arrived late to a track session at harriers last week, dashed in to the changing rooms with my running PE kit, got changed to discover I only had one trainer! I ran half a mile to my car in one work shoe and one trainer.....the other trainer was in the boot of my car...phew....I only got a few funny looks!the run session was on.

This next snippet of my training life links to the challenge of organisation and last times post about my increasing laundry..... I went for an easy run one evening last week, I started by running down the hill from my house, nice and easy, heart rate in the low zone was the plan. A couple of minutes in I checked and my heart rate was almost 200, way too high, I felt ok, but this wasn't right, I wasn't working hard, I was going down hill, but this wasn't right....panic set in.....should I stop? Should I call an ambulance? Do I need to check my life insurance? How will my family cope without me? Is this it? I reached my hand to my chest as thats what they do in the movies when their number is up.....I  was going, leaving this mortal coil, on a damp Wednesday February evening on Tinsle bridge.....I touched my heart rate monitor and realised that I was not wearing my usual underwear.....I was wearing....an underwired bra! The wires were obviously sending my heart rate monitor wild. That night I learnt about the importance of being organised with my laundry....or to invest in more sports bras!

So I'm alive and kicking.....mainly kicking in my swim sessions that is :-)

Www. Not the World Wide Web.....

I've now competed four weeks of my ironman training plan....wow only 6 months to go...I've not posted for the last couple of weeks as partly because I didn't want to get into a regular expectation of posting weekly and mainly because I've not had much free time!

It's been a really interesting couple of weeks, I've been spending more time with Tony Blackburn in the garage but not with many other people! Sports people have often talked about how lonely the life of an endurance athlete can be and I've started to notice  this last couple of weeks. Coming into the plan I had been injured and not fit enough to run with my usual run group and I've been working hard to stick to the triathlon training plan and nobody in my usual local running or tri circles are following a similar plan....so it's been just me and the plan. I've enjoyed some time with myself but keeping banging out the base miles with a low heart rate has felt hard whilst reading everybody's else's posts about personal bests and what great fun they've been having on this run or that run.

I've had my Ted with me on the easy runs and one particular memory and the first W is wobbly legs, just me and Ted doing a run off the bike at 6 am round the resers where I live with the wobbly bike legs in the dark....there was one other person out with a dog...who I think may have thought I was on my home from a very good Tuesday night out on the ale!! For those that don't know Ted...he's every bodies favourite border terrier.

The next W is for washing....I seem to be a one woman laundry. With 9 sessions a week I'm going through some kit...keeping on top of keeping it all clean is a challenge, never mind trying to locate which bag it's in,have I got the swim bag in the boot or my cycling shoes in the office....whilst we're on about work that's been tough, busy and I've noticed how important it is to get my sessions done in the morning where possible as Ive been leaving late and not having much energy for the evening sessions after a full day at the coal face.

The final W is to my new nick name that I've allocated myself "Wincey" I've become more obsessed and better at forecasting than Wincey Willis the old TVAM weather girl....I watch that weather looking for the slightest bit of a gap in the rain and wind to get out on my bike.....I think I need some "coaching" from Micheal Fish as yesterday I ended up out in that horrendous storm..

Until next time

WWW.WobblyWashingWincey.com

Me and Tony Blackburn........

Well, I've done my first week of training, which included the longest swim set I've ever done....I needed to go home for a sleep after it..it included 2x8x50 m drills and 12x100m with 20 second recoveries. I mainly learnt that I can't count this week....I definitely need to find a system for keeping track of how many reps I've done.....suggestions will be very welcome. I once listened to an episode of the running podcast "Marathon Talk" where Emmerdale actor Tony Audenshaw came up with a novel system of counting hill reps by dividing the two sticks of a twix bar into 3 pieces and first moving them all to the top of the hill then eating them on each following rep...allowing him to count 12 hill reps.....it's  a bit warm in the pool for twix bars...but I like the idea of a treat after each rep...maybe mints...but they don't have the same appeal as chocolate!

New Years Eve brought Bramstones fell race and whilst setting out the route and moving to and from my marshalling spot and taking selfies in my wolf costume, confirmation that my foot injury was more than on the way to being recovered...yey! I've had some great treatments from friends at Global Therapies and #intelligentrecovery is something that I will be ensuring I devote sufficient time to over the next few months.... I'm writing this blog in bed at 19:33....starting as I mean to go on....

The stormy weather has meant that a few of my bike sessions have been on the turbo this week....I have managed to clear a large enough space in the garage for the turbo, which is next to the full size wicker replica of a Harley Davidson, we all have those  in our garages right?! New Year's Day was probably the toughest day in the garage......I was a little worse for wear...having spent the previous evening at Harvey Leonard's which is the local wine and beer tasting establishment.....I was and will stick to the plan...it was a fast spin session followed by a quick but short run. I am still in the process of arranging the downloads of my sufferfest videos so had to make do with radio two for company.....Tony Blackburn was on.....Tony Blackburn and hits that were never hits in England! The music wasn't too bad but the chatter was not to my liking....me,Tony Blackburn in a packed garage with a hangover.......but no pain no gain eh?