Had a decent week this week. Didn’t get everything I had planned done, due to crappy weather on Monday and a hangover on Thursday, but still managed to get some decent cycling in over the weekend. 30-odd km around Centennial Park on Friday was followed by Saturday’s long ride (see map above), then the TT on Sunday.

The long ride is going well, though I thought the route I had planned would be over 70km. Hopefully I can get a 100km+ ride in by the end of the month and can also get some hilly rides in. I might head down to visit John in Canberra later in the month and ride the Canberra HIM bike course which is a hilly 90km.

Totals

R 1:05:55 - C 5:08:18 - W 1:00:00

Weight: -1.2kg

It’s been a pretty good week this week. I got back into exercise properly after a couple of useless weeks and managed to do almost all the sessions I wanted to. I missed one weights session and one run, but made the rest. This morning’s ride went well too; to La Perouse, then ‘round the back of the airport (to avoid the airport tunnel), then down to Brighton-le-sands and on to Sans Souci, before turning for home. 64km all up and I felt pretty good at the finish.

I refuelled with danish pastries and biscuits, which Jacqui thought was a waste of all the exercise, but, as I pointed out, if you can’t eat some junk food after having burnt 2100kcal before breakfast, when can you?

Totals

R 40:52 - C 6:05:19 - W 1:00:00

Weight: down 1.2kg

A bit to catch up on here. Yesterday morning saw me hit the gym for another weights session and a short warm-up run, then last night it was off to the local park for another short run. I felt pretty good and ran a consistent pace (4:46, 5:04, 5:06, 5:07), only bumping up against my HR limit once so I was happy with that. It’s hard to know whether I’m adapting to the regular running, or whether it’s just being relatively fresh at the start of the week.

Today’s swim session went pretty well too. I felt great for the second half of the session, so I put on my paddles and managed to get down to 1:17 on the last 100 without too much effort.

400 FS
2 * 8 * 50 FS as {
    2 on 60,
    2 on 55,
    2 on 50,
    2 on 45 }
8 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:27)
8 * 100 FS on 1:45 (1:25 → 1:17)
200 Pull
Total: 3000m

I’m off to Centennial Park to attempt my first long run this evening. It’s only 7km, but I reckon it’s more interesting to do 2 laps of Centennial Park versus the 9 laps of my local park I’d need to complete the same distance.

S: 3000m – B: 28km – R: 4.9km – W: 1 session

I didn’t get back from Melbourne until Monday lunchtime, so I missed out on some sessions there. Made it to the gym yesterday morning for the usual 1.6km warm up run followed by a heavy weight session and am feeling it a bit today.

Ty & Andrew are coming up from Canberra today, and myself and Tom are taking them out to Wasavie since Tom is always raving about it. That means I’ll miss my cycle home and also my run, so I had to make up for it last night. I decided to run for 5km last night, instead of the planned 3.2km and it went OK. I had the usual 145bpm HR limit on the watch, but I started off too fast as my splits show. Still, at this stage in the game time isn’t even remotely important – distance is, so the slow build-up continues.

Lap 1: 4:46.6
Lap 2: 5:01.1
Lap 3: 5:14.8 
Lap 4: 5:24.8 
Lap 5: 5:28.5 *
Lap 6: 5:30.2 *
 = exceeded MaxHR limit of 145bpm & had to slow down
Each lap is 840m

R: 6.6km – W: 1 session

Yesterday morning saw me up bright and early and straight into the gym for my only weights session of the week. I finished my weights program before going to NZ, but I’ve decided to do just one session per week for maintenance, so that I don’t lose the gains I made while doing the full program. It’s only one set of between 6 to 10 reps of heavy weights. If I get to 10 reps, then I have to increase the weight and build the reps back up to 10. It means the session is very quick, usually only taking 20mins or so, excluding the 1.6km warm-up run.

In the evening I managed my first outdoor run in a while. I did three runs on the hotel treadmill last week while in Canberra, as I knew I’d have to run outside this week and figured that the treadmill would be a good warm-up. Easier on the knees too. I ran five laps, which is about 4.2km, taking it nice and easy with an average HR around 145. I’m going for the slow and steady option for the moment, running each 840m lap around 5:05, instead of 4:40 last year, hoping it will be easier on my legs until the weight comes down!

S: 2500m – B: 15km – R: 5.8km – W: 1 session

I’m down in Canberra this week and work is pretty busy, so I haven’t been posting much. Nonetheless, the exercise regime has continued as follows:

Monday: 3km run.

Tuesday AM: 1.6km run, Weights + 1km swim.

Tuesday PM: 3.4km run

Thursday AM: 2km swim

My achilles are a bit sore after the running, but I took yesterday off so I’ll be ready to get another run in when I get back to the hotel this evening.

S: 3000m – R: 8km – W: 1 session

Cycled home from work last night and really noticed the fact that I hadn’t been on the bike in a couple of weeks. Decided not to do any laps of the park until I get a couple of weeks under my belt. No point killing myself in the first week and then fading in the second week. As it was I was tired by 10pm anyway.

Jumped out of bed early this morning and hopped on the bus into the gym. After a quick 1.6km warm-up run I hit the weights. Having completed my weights program before heading off to NZ, I’m now doing what’s called a Strength Maintenance program. It’s basically the same exercises as the regular session, with heavy weights, but instead of doing 4 sets of 6 reps, I’m only doing one. Once I can manage 10 reps I’ll up the weight and drop back to 6. I’ll only be doing one session per week, as the general idea is not really to gain strength, but rather not to lose any gains already made. It’s almost like a regular taper, where you can cut out 80% of the work as long as you maintain the intensity.

S: 2000m – B: 15km – R: 1.6km – W: 1 session

I’ve just had my first weekend snowboarding this season and it was great fun. Myself, Tom and Dave went down to Perisher for two days. Saturday was crystal clear skies and decent snow. Pretty hard packed with a bit of cover over the top. I managed to fall twice within 5 minutes of putting the board on, but after that it was all good and I was getting some nice fast carves in.

Dave’s a skiing novice, having only done one week in St. Anton last year, so we cruised around the easy slopes for most of the weekend, with Tom giving him tips and correcting mistakes. He made pretty rapid progress, such that we were coming down Interceptor by Sunday afternoon. He also signed up for a private lesson with Franz The Austrian yesterday which went really well, so he’ll be flying by the time we get abck down there on Friday.

This time I’ll take my new camera out and get some action shots. I decided to leave it in the hotel last weekend until I got my technique dialled in. No point falling over on the new camera all the time!

Oh yeah, got up this morning and got a weight session in too.

W: 1 session

Rode home from work last night and did two laps of the park. I forgot to go swimming yesterday lunchtime though; I only remembered at 12.30 by which time it was too late. I could have run over and got 40mins in maybe, but decided to wait until Wednesday instead.

There was a rest day in the Tour so I got to bed at a reasonable hour, but still struggled getting out of bed this morning. Yesterday morning was also bloody freezing, so I decided it was time to take out the windproof fleece bike top today and it worked a treat. I was nice and toasty while whizzing down the hill on Old South Head Road on the way to the ferry.

I got a good weights session in just now. It’s good to see progress being made, and little increments over last week show that I’m getting a bit stronger. Only two weeks to go and then I can relax a bit, enjoy the snowboarding season and then get stuck into aerobic exercise after that. I’m cycling home this evening too, though won’t be doing any laps of the park today.

B: 37.6km – R: 2.5km – W: 1 session

The final part of the weights program, the heavy lifting bit, started this week. I wasn’t able to go to the gym on Monday, so I started on Wednesday instead, and went again today. I’m really noticing the difference now, as my muscles are sore all the time now, especially my quads. Only a couple more weeks to go and I’m done though, so I cam put up with it until then. I’ve also done two 2.5km runs as warm-ups before the weights, but I missed out on the Monday swim session.

I’ve started commuting by bike again as it’s just less hassle than public transport, especially since I’m getting up a bit later due to staying up late to watch the Tour de France live on SBS. I cycle down to Rose Bay and get the ferry in in the morning’s as I’m too tired to deal with climbing the hill up to Bondi Junction. In the evening I cycle all the way home, with a few optional laps around Centennial Park depending on how I feel and how dark it is. I think I’ll just go straight home today ;-)

B: 56.4km – R: 5km – W: 2 sessions

Rode in and out of work on Wednesday, including a few laps of the park. This time I was on my own, rather than riding at the back of a bunch and it required a bit more effort for a bit less speed. Did a weights session yesterday which went pretty well, and preceded it with a 2.5km warm-up run. This afternoon it was time for a swim which didn’t go too well. I just felt really sluggish and couldn’t get any feel for the water and just got quite tired quite quickly. It’s probably a combination of not being in the water for the previous three weeks, going to the Friday session instead of Monday (fresh after the weekend) and being a bit stiff after weights yesterday.

100 BC/ 200 FS/ 100 BC
3 * 200 FS on 2:50 (2:45)
4 * 50 FS on 60 (45)
3 * 50 FS on 55 (45)
3 * 50 FS on 50 (45)
400 FS on 6:00 (5:55)
300 Swim Down
Total: 2200m

S: 2200m – B: 45.2km – R: 2.5km – W: 2 sessions

Got back into the gym yesterday for a weights session. Only one month to go until I’m finished the program too. I’m down to two sets of nine reps with reasonably heavy weights. Next week it jumps to four sets of nine and that’s when it’s going to start to hurt.

Rode home last night and did a couple of laps of Centennial Park in the dark. Just as I arrived the regular bunch was passing by, so I tagged on the back, figuring it would be a bit safer with 40-odd riders than going it solo in the pitch black. I had my HR monitor on so it will be interesting to compare speed & HR in the bunch against me riding around on my own.

B: 22.6km – W: 1 session

Did a second 30min stint on the indoor trainer when I got home on Wednesday night. Same drill as last time: 10min warmup, some one legged drills and finish off with another 10mins cycling. Had another gym session first thing yesterday morning and felt surprisingly good. Normally I’m a bit sluggish in the morning.

Wk11: S: 2000m – B: 30km – W: 2 sessions

Things slowed down a bit last week on account of my foot, but I’m trying to get back into it this week. Monday was a public holiday, so I took that at face value and did no exercise. Yesterday saw me back in the gym. I’m down to 2 sets of 13 reps (from 30 intially) and the weights have increased enough that today’s the first time I’ve still felt a bit stiff the day after a gym session.

Although I’m definitely fitter than any stage in almost the last 10 years, I’m still finding it hard to get rid of the gut, so I’m going on a diet. Before you bust your arse laughing at the thought of me eating just lettuce & drinking water, it’s not one of those women’s-mag fad diets, it’s the CSIRO‘s Total Wellbeing Diet. Given that they’ve just won an award for discovering how pure carbon nanotubes can be spun into cloth-like yarns you can’t argue with the quality of their research!

Anyway, the basic outline is pretty sensible: lots of fruit, veg, and protein from lean meat, slightly less carbs than normal and everything chosen to provide a balanced amount of vitamins & minerals. Nothing revolutionary. So, there’s 7 weeks until the NZ ski trip starts, so let’s see if that’s enough time to make a difference.

Wk11: W: 1 session

Got my final weights session of the week in on Friday without issue. No more running this week as my calves got really sore after doing the two runs earlier in the week, presumably because there’s a couple of slight uphill bits, rather than the flats of my regular route.

Bought an Elite Fluid Trainer from Cheeky Monkey this afternoon so I can do indoor bike rides during the winter. Tried it out when I got home and it’s much quieter than I had expected, so there’s no chance of waking Jacqui up in the morning. I should be able to set it up in front of the TV and watch the morning news or something while I cycle away.

Wk9: S: 2700m – R: 7.2km – W: 3 sessions

Went to the gym yesterday morning and had no issues with my foot. However, after going for a run last night I noticed a bruise just above my heel. No idea what it’s from as I didn’t bang it off anything. Since it’s not sore to the touch I decided to ignore it and crawled out of bed at 6am for another run this morning. It was bloody cold, but my Icebreaker vest kept me nice and toasty.

I ran 3.2km last night and 4km this morning at a pretty comfortable pace. I measured an intermediate 2.6km at about 13:15, so that’s a 10km in approx 52mins. When I got home, however, there was a bit more bruising, so I’ll have to lay of the running for a while and let whatever the problem is heal. Pissed off.

Wk9: S: 2700m – R: 7.2km – W: 2 sessions

I was down in Canberra this week, so it was a bit of a rest week. Got two weights sessions in. Had hoped to get a third one in on Friday, but as Ed invited us around to his place to have a few beers and say bon voyage for his trip to Paris on Thursday night, and since I’d been up at 4.30am on Thursday morning to watch the excellent Liverpool victory in the Champions League, I wasn’t that keen on getting out of bed at 6.30am on Friday.

I went kayaking all day yesterday with Simon and Becs, so I was totally exhausted by last night. Went to bed early and got up for a bike ride this morning. Met up with a bunch of people from Transitions for quite a few laps of Centennial Park followed by a coffee and lots of triathlon discussion. I’m tired now, so it will probably be off to bed early tonight, ready for the gym in the morning.

Wk8: B: 61.4km – W: 2 sessions

The weather has played havoc with training this week. Pissing rain on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday resulted in a sever lack of cycling and running. However, I did manage to get two gym sessions in: one on Monday and another yesterday.

Wk7: W: 2 sessions

I got back on the bike yesterday after a bit of a layoff. I had prepared on Wednesday by buying a dayglo yellow sleveless vest so I’d stand out like a sore thumb in trafffic. It’s certainly bright! I had intended cycling in to work and doing a few laps in Centennial Park on the way, but by the time I had rounded up all my bike gear it was too late, so I just cycled down to the ferry.

Did a few laps around CP on the way home instead, with the intention of keeping my HR below 140, but I was going relatively quick at an average HR of 120 which I was quite suprised about, so I just stuck at that. Once home I got organised and went out for a run, but only got half-way through it before my leg started seizing up a bit. I should probably have stretched after getting off the bike. I’d also done a run the previous evening which was probably a factor as well.

Crawled out of bed this morning and went ot the gym. Wasn’t particularly keen, but by the time the bus got into town I’d woken up a bit more. Hopefully I can get a run in tonight, and one more tomorrow morning and then the week is over.

Wk6: S: 2900m – B: 33.6km – R: 8km – W: 3 sessions

I get back into the gym this morning. Didn’t feel like it at all, but once I got there and got the warm-up row out of the way it was alright. The acclimitisation period is over and it’s now down to gradual increases in weight and gradual reduction of reps. This four-week block looks like:

Low weights, just enough so there’s a bit of strain on the last rep of the second set.

Squats

Lat Pulldown

Knee Extension

Hamstring Curl

Bent-arm Pulldown

Bench Press

Core

Bicep Curl

Calf Raise

Seated Row

Dips (machine)

Tricep Extension

Wk1: 2 sets of 20 reps

Wk2: 1 set of 19, 1 set of 18

Wk3: 1 set of 17, 1 set of 16

Wk4: 2 sets of 15

Wk6: S: 2900m – W: 1 session