Anyone for tennis?

If you didn't see the tennis last night I am sure you will hear about it this morning.  Two gladiators slugging it out, 59 all in the final set and it's still not finished.  Every record smashed but there a couple of points I'd like to mention.  Nicolas Mahut (who was bouncing around like a spring lamb) served to stay in the match 54 times - what does that say about his mental toughness?  On the other hand John Isner couldn't move for his cramping legs yet boomed out his serve and some how held on when his body would be telling him to give up!  Despite all of that they still played some amazing tennis.  Great motivation for me and I am sure when I am digging into my reserves during training or in the ironman event I will replay those images in my head with the message "keep going".
It made my 12 km in 49 mins this morning seem extremely easy as my running legs are really coming on.  I am getting faster within the heart rate limits set by my coach.  Still have an issue with my toes but I will get this sorted.  Just keeping the legs going until the heavy duty training at the weekend.

Real heroes

Yesterday I received an email from a friend referring to my "heroic efforts" which was appreciated as 10 months of training isn't easy.  However the real heroes are people like my pal Baldie who is going through intensive chemo at the moment - just checked in today for his 3rd bout.  His pals have gone "Kojak" to raise money for the hospital which I think is a shining example but not one I am going to follow.  The local pub, whose profits have plummeted recently, are also collecting for him.  I know Baldie checks the blog daily so if you want to give him some encouragement then feel free to post a comment - "come on baldie" will do fine.
This afternoon he will be getting pampered and watching the tennis followed by the footie followed by the tennis then a massage - no more than he deserves.
Almost forgot, started at 5.30am with a 90 minute cycle which will prepare me for the weekends efforts and Baldies progress will keep me going!

How do you eat an elephant?

....in bite sized pieces!  So how do you swim more than double what you thought was impossible 12 months ago?  Apply the same method.  Today my swim was 2 x 300m to warm up, 6 x 50m working on the efficiency of the stroke (try not to look like someone drowning!), 2 x 800m timed which will give my coach a measure of my progress and 6 x 50m warm down.  It seems like a lot but once you get started you get into a rhythm which is so important. 
Back for my 2nd breakfast of the day, my 1st was porridge at 6am, of bacon, eggs, toast and chocolate fingers - that will replace a few calories!  Motivation is high after a session like that knowing I am one step closer to my goal and that I continue to receive support for Maggie's from family, friends colleagues, clients and even strangers - thank you, you know who you are.

Normal life returns - for a day

After two hard sessions, Sat & Sun, I get a day of rest.  Today was so beautiful I was tempted to have an open water swim in the birds toilet (see earlier blog) but as the day went on my legs felt weary so I skipped the swim and organised a BBQ instead.  Is this what normal life is like?  Mind you there was no ice cold beer while cooking which is what I am used to do while burning food. So Steve the coach understands how my body works and recovery time is very important.  Tomorrow I will be back in the pool trying to perfect my technique to make my 2.4 mile open water swim easier in 54 days and 9 hours time - not that I'm counting!

Mad dogs and Englishmen

Today was a brick session - bike immediately followed by run.  I deliberately chose to go out in the heat of the day in order to prepare for the climate in Copenhagen in August.  A steady 1hr 15 mins on the bike taking in a couple of reasonable hill climbs went well with my heart rate lower than yesterday when I was chasing the mountain goats!  Immediately off the bike, running shoes on and away for an hours run.  I'm glad I ran with a drink (non-alcoholic!) because you wouldn't survive without it.  Despite that and a sore toe I ran at a good pace which is encouraging however I will have to visit the physio and the podiatrist again as I wouldn't like to run a marathon with the discomfort in my toe.
My new training schedule came in from my coach today and as expected it involves a few 6 hour bike rides and a brick session with a 2 hour run.  This is the build up phase before we ease off in the few weeks leading up to the event - I suppose you can't swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run a marathon (26.2 miles) without putting in the ground work.

Riding with mountain goats

Today was my first day back at real training after my recovery week from the Bala middle distance triathlon.  Having had an easy week I did have to force myself out the door as the lure of a BBQ in the sunshine was tempting.  As you know most of my ironman training is done on my own because that is how it will be on August 15th in Copenhagen.  But today I went out with Stewart (ironman) and Jacques (mental cyclist) who are both in training for the Mont Ventoux in September - the equivalent of climbing Everest and something most sane people wouldn't attempt in a car.
So I spent 3 hrs 10 mins chasing them over 75 km.  When we reached the slightest incline, never mind hill, they pulled away and I then tried to catch them up on the downhill while they rested.  They could have left me for dead but encouraged me to "keep up".  Looking at the positive side it was a good exercise in mental strength which is so important when I will be competing for up to 15 hours - ride your own race and ignore the others.  I think I will be doing more cycling on my own as our goals and abilities are different although the banter is fun.

Emergency action!

This morning I was meant to be swimming in Loch Lomond but my swimming partner couldn't make it - things happen for a reason in life.  The great thing about triathlon is that it involves 3 disciplines so I decided to go running to loosen off the legs from the weekend.  It started well but as I was leaving town I felt a twinge in my stomach - uh oh, memories of my Holland trip came flooding back so using my experience I quickly gathered some docken leaves as a tsunami was approaching fast!
As I exited the town boundary I lept over the first hedge I could find into a farmers field and found myself up to my knees in muddy water.  No time to stop, tsunami over and two joggers go past giving me a strange look.  Obviously I didn't want to be seen by anyone due to my unsightly appearance (and fragrance) but had to cross town to get home before the commuters get up so the last 5km was done at a reasonable pace - the show must go on as they say.  As I said earlier, things happen for a reason, can you imagine if this had happened when I was in the middle of Loch Lomond in my wetsuit!  Legs felt great so back to some real training tomorrow.