Did you order the recovery week sir??

Not I sir, I did not, but jesus, I have earnt it I reckon! Its been a tough last 3 weeks, but very very enjoyable! For those of you who read my weekly blogs will know each week is pretty full on in regards to the training, and you will know I love it. Tonight, I am sitting here, typing this out, with my legs feeling a tad heavy, but otherwise I am 100%! Rollo has a recovery week planned for me this one coming, which does not mean its 'light' its just slightly less intense I think, certainly less hours than the last few weeks, which I guess is a good thing. the body needs to be given the opportunity to heal and recover, and this is why good coaches such as Rollo build these in regularly. The only issue I have with recovery weeks is I think I might get a bit twitchy, feeling like I am not doing enough, or missing out or something along those lines....completing a recovery week can be just as challanging mentally as a heavy week in my opinion! last week I ran in the Pub to Pub if you remember, Vlad came 2nd, I came 21st which I am well chuft with. I also managed to get my photo in the Manly Daily newspaper, which is above (autograph requests can be emailed okay)

So, this week, ended in a really good weekend. yesterday I got the conditional go ahead from Rollo to run the Trotters 10km time trial, followed by 40mins after. I was keen for this as I have not done an official 10km TT since January, so my PB is 42mins. I have run sub 40mins in a few of my recent races, but thats not official, so was happy to not belt myself but run it hard. Well, I finished it in 39.31 so I am now officially in the sub 40min club for 10km....HURRAH!!
Today, I competed in the Central Coast Triathlon Club Monthly duathlon. Never done one of these before, but I gave it a crack, finished in 4th and was very happy with my bike leg....actually felt that I was holding my own out there today (still got lots to do though), but its good to see the results of the hard work. Once again, Rollo has my training spot on!
well done to Andrew Collins, and Jason Freney on their half marathon times today, Andrew did a huge PB (1.51) which is very deserving, and shows the training he is getting under Rollo is working, he is reaping the benefits to!

For this past week, in summery :

swim - 8.5km (3hours)
Ride - 110km (4.5hours)
Run - 4.5hours (aprox 50kms)

So 12 hours all up, which sounds quite low, but alot of it was quite intense, with interval training, brick sessions and 2 races.......time to focus on the next race of mine, which is the Blackmores Hlaf marathon. This was my first Half marathon ever, which I ran with Miles and Deven last year, and I ran it sick as a dog, and finished it in 2hours flat, so will be looking to beat that time at least ;-)

Beers all round please!

Today, I have had more beers in one setting than I have had for the past 6months. How many, well, I am typing this whilst consuming....waiti for it.......6th! 6 beers! 18 months ago, I would have probably had by this time on a Sunday night....12, maybe a few more, maybe one or 2 less depending on how long dinner took to cook......some will still think 6 beers is heaps, for me not really, and i have had them over the last 4 hours...and..they are thoroughly deserved after the week i have had with my training. I also ran in the annual 'Pub to Pub' run today on Sydneys Northern Beaches. I ran it last year for the first time, and I think it was finished in 66mins....today.....52 or 53...not sure yet as official time has yet to be given. Let me tell you, it hurt! Its 13km, with an 800m odd beach run to start, and then quite undulating, with 2 really nasty hills, so its pretty tough. It was made tougher by the fact I rode 100km yesterday as well....so, to be honest, I think I could knock a couple of mins off that time with fresh legs, but I am chuft with my time! Michelle and Courtney were at the end to see me through which is always special! Gives you something to look forward to. Vlad the animal came 2nd out fo 3500, and his time was around the 45min mark....fast huh! well done Vlad!

As for the rest of the week, it was pretty full on again. Its been hard yakka from Monday onwards with no let up. It was challanging more mentally than physically to be honest.....its really hard to get out there, push yourself and foillow the program when you are tired, but I did it...
Tuesday I ran 20.3km in 82mins.......that was well on track for a Half marathon PB.....and Thursday was 4 x Bobbin Head Hill repeats with Vlad which were probably the highlights of the week in terms of training. I actually enjoyed those sessions. I rode into work from Gosford yesterday, and toiled from near Hornsby...think I might have got my nutrition wrong or something because there was not much in the legs. Still, the mental battle was tougher, I kept thinking, maybe I should just get the train in for the last part...but, then the famous arse kicking saying helped me along - "HTFU"!! No way could I really accept cutting the session short....so just kept going and eventually got there. Still, I did 90km in just over 3 hours....which is pretty good going for someone who struggled the last half of the ride. For those of you who know what route...you will understand how tough those hills are...

To summerise this week then :
Swim - 9.5kms (3.5hours)
Ride - 7.5hours (TT session + 150km)
Run - 4hours (55km)
Total - 15hours

I had a couple of brick sesssions there this week as well, so the training above was focused on strengthening, whcih is great.

So, here we go, another tough week coming up, I think its sligjhtly lighter than this past week, but in no means easier. Looking forward to kicking it off with a 2.7km swim tomorrow morning, and ending it with my first club duathlon (run / ride / run). I will be riding to the race from Rollo's, which i think is probably 40km odd, or more...will let you know next week, but it will be a hoot! Wish me luck!

Perfect Example much rest

Righto, well, tonight I am stuffed! I have had a few tough training days this week...and, basically no rest from the City to Surf either! Got up at the usual 4.50am on the monday and off the pool to do 5 x 500m sets....wTF! that was it for the Monday, but I had ride and run on Tuesday, long run Wednesday, including a decent swim pyramid and the the Bobbin Head hill repeats thursday, Friday the core set was a 2km race pace effort (26mins), Saturday I was up at 3.45am and on my way to work, then met up with a bunch of guys I met through Vlad and ran 2hours (They did 30kms, I did about 24km), and then, just to end off a pretty decent 7 days, I did 110km on the bike today...with plenty of hills to deal with...jesus, I am stuffed typing this!!!!
I must admit, it was tough getting up early this morning, I only got to bed at midnight because Michelle took me to the theatre to watch "The Producers" (great act BTW). But, once I got going, froze my arse off down Mooney Mooney hill, and then boiled that same frozen arse back up the hill because today was almost 10degrees above the normal average for this time of year.....just to make the ride more challanging, never mind the hills, lunatic motorbike riders (man those biys fly up the old pacific highway), and trying to make sure my nutrition was right, because I was really stuffed on the way back. Thank god for GU's because I am not sure if I would have coped up broooklyn bridge on the way back without one...I was pretty tired (no doubt the 2 hour run the day before had an impact)

So, onto better and more interesting news. Vlad opened his new 2XU Performance Store in Sydney yeasterday. OI popped in on the way home after work to say hi, and things seem to be going well. what a thing it must be, to come up with the idea, and then, 6months later its a reality! The shop looked awesome, and I was glad to have been a small part of the journey...probably hindering more than helping. Jo (Vlads wife) and him have really done so well, and I hope that they succeed in this, they really deserve it. Their product is excellent, and as a user, I can honestly say that the 2XU compression gear hands down beats any other product out there. Thats the point of this blog though, Vlad is the perfect example of having this goal, this chap has set goals in Iron Man and now his career and achieved them both. He has not let any obsticles get in the way, and that is an exmaple to follow....set the goal, make sure they are a stretch but (importantly) achievable.

So, onto this week, and the program is heavier than last weeks, so no rest for the wicked! It looks tough, but I love the way that Rollo deisgns it with specific goals in terms of strenght, endurance and race prep (dont know what happens with that yet). I cant talk highly enough of the programs that come through, and anyone who has specific goals with this sport (triathlon) and is new to it, you would be wise to engage in a coach, they really help!! (thanks Rollo).

So, to summerise this week :

Swim - 8.5km (aprox 3hours)
Run - 55km (5hours)
Cycle - 7hours (155km + TT session)

So, a grand total of 15hours of training this week, and I can assure you, after this mornings ride, I was feeling that volume. But, as Rollo says and knows, I have pulled up okay, aqnd even tonight I am ready for the next...pretty much recovered and ready to go! The magic of having a coach dish out the programs is the only way to go!

Last note, I said I finished the City to Surf in 54.40, I was wrong, the official time was 54.39...dont deprive me of my 1second! So, a confirmed 15min PB for me, and I think that outs me in the preferred athlete start for next year...what ever that means!

So, until next week, have a good one!

City to Surf - 'Tick'!!

firstly I apologise for missing last weeks blog, something I thought I would not do...pretty fully on week before, with loads of training and work, so come sunday night, I never got a chance, and then I figured I would wait until today to update!

Well, this week was a 'light' week on the training front. The usual 3 swim sessions n Mon, wed and Friday, I had a great session with Vlad on Tuesday morning. The animal was doing 6km efforts at around the 3.30 per km pace which is incredible. I was joiing him for a kilometer here and there. He rain in the end 24odd km, this all before work. I probably ended up with about 17km with some sprints in between. Having not had them in my program for months, its kind of a nice change to be able to do them. They hurt like hell though!
Thursday I did some bobbin head hill repeats with Vlad again. I gave him some serious words of encouragement on the 1st one up, after which I did not see him on any of the others, so glad to have been of help! Seriously though, the guy is strong on the hills on that bike....I think though, I am coming along nicely. Its really tough I must say though, getting up at 3.45am, getting down to Turramurra, and on the bike for just after 5am. Its pretty freezing here still, and going down that bloody hill is really cold :-(. Vlad would vouch for my winging all the way down!
On that note, we did a Calga Time Trial the weekend before. Its a 43km ride, I surprised myself with the time I did (1.19, avg 33km). I was expecting to be much slower than that, so it was good to know that the progam Rollo sets for me is working.

So, onto one of my short term goals, which was the City to Surf today. A few blogs back, you might remember I set a goal of 56mins as my target. I was not 100% confident I would achieve that because of the hilly course, however, I knew I would not be far off. Anyway, I finished it in (according to my watch, so not official time yet, but it will be close) 54.40!! I also went through the 10km mark in 39.10 which is another PB) Considering I did it in 69mins last year, its pretty good improvement, and even better that I got under the 55min mark! WOOHOO! One very big tick for me I must say, not because it means anything else other than I was able to push through pain, up that hill, and really keep the pace pretty consistant all the way.....once again, shows the program is working for me, and shows I have good guys around me keeping me going!
Vlads 2XU shop opens next week, so after the race i helped him hand out flyers to all the finishers. There were so many people, it was awesome! I also wore 2XU gear, and it was pretty comfortable stuff! I hope the shop does really well, because Jo and him deserve it, and they are selling a bloody good product and its in line with something they are passionate about! (anyone in Sydney reading this, get down to Paddington next saturday to support them!) Vlad the crazy animal finished in 45odd mins....how good is that! Considering the guy who won it finished in 41mins, shows you how fast Vlad goes! Well done vlad!!


So, another week down, another PB down, another goal achieved, and I am really enjoying all the training and hard work. Really, its down to the support I have around me from the training Grant (Rollo) gives me to the boys who I train with (Vlad, Jase, Eddie, Al, Andrew, Skinny Wiggle) to name a few.

So just to keep in line with my summery, this week :

Swim - 8km (3 hours)
Run - 40km (4 hours)
Cycle - Aprox 4hours (Turbo trainer sessions and Bobbin Head hill reps)

Still 11 odd hours in total, and this was a light week! In saying that the intensity (apart from Tuesday and Thursday and Today) were much lighter. Remember, I have a pretty hectic life at work, long hours, and pretty much on the go from the time I get there, plus wanting to be there for my family, and it does not leave much time for anything else let alone training for an Iron Man.

Ahh..lastly, I am offically now in the Port Macquaire Half Iron Man in November. I paid for my place this past week, so no turning back now! Friggin fantastic!! Its not that long away either, 80 odd days to the longest race in my life! Bring it on!

well done to all the guys from Smart Salary for having a crack today as well.