Gasp! Results of the 10k!

take a seat kids. take the closest thing resembling a seat, grab it, and allow your backside to make contact, to prevent all manner of inevitable shock based collapsing.

this morning i (with a couple of mates) ran 10k in London’s Battersea Park Self Transcendence Race (that’s not shocking part, btw, keep reading). it was a club run, so everyone looked like hardcore runner types - pretty intimidating. here’s a pic of me looking a bit too excited as we wait for the race to start.
to give you an idea of what i was looking to expect from this race - my last waddle through (i mean run) of a 10k saw a finish time of 1hr 2mins.

here’s us discussing our lacking pre-race plan (not sure why Jenni’s looking so disgruntled, or why my hand is looking quite so dodgy...)
now - as you know, i’ve been putting in the hard yards. it’s been a tiring, frustrating process for a non-runner, who really, essentially, doesn’t enjoy running. BUT i’m a stubborn competitive fool, who loves a challenge. so i’ve been working at turning around the waddle - into a shuffle. big step peoples.

and the results from this mornings race are in > are you ready? have i built this up enough? so much to the point you’re skipping this sentence??

well kids > i crossed the line at 56 mins!!


read that time and read it again, then shout for joy a little, and pump your fists into the air if nobody is watching (check this twice) > because that is officially *not* a waddling pace. i have progressed, like a kid getting rid of his mp3 player... to a shuffle!

here’s a pic of a small stumpy legged dog which i *definitely* overtook!


and here’s me running in a blur, which surely indicates more shuffle, less waddle.



i really honestly can barely believe i’ve managed to knock off around 5 minutes from my 10k time; it’s mammoth! it’s so mammoth, i had to eat a *whole* banana post race.


(slightly tedious side note: i say i’ve beat my pb by ‘around’ five mins because i can’t remember how many secs i had on my 1hr 2min time - but have a feeling it was about 1hr 2min 50 secs - and this mornings efforts were officially 56mins 55sec. that’s ALMOST 57 mins but i’m hanging onto those five secs, because screw you five seconds, if you think i’m going to round up and loose a whole minute sounding pace!)

so what is my number one top tip for Non-Runners Who Want To Run Faster Than Almost Stationary Objects?

- hill runs! they hurt, yes, but they get you outside of your stride/pace comfort zone. thanks to training partner, paul the PT (who runs at speeds reserved for small fighter planes) - i've ran outside my comfort zone, and the results are in; it works.

the bottom line is; you’re not going to run faster by running miles + miles at the same pace.

as always, let’s have a look at what i got up to this week;

monday > 20 min speed run on treadmill
tuesday > 30 min run outside
wednes > 30 km cycle, 5 km run
thurs > rest
friday > rest
sat > 10k race
sun > easy run

although i’m officially on holidays this week, i’ve put together a pretty comprehensive training plan which focuses on hilly runs and cycles. my 10k companions yesterday saw our car packed and did question who goes on a seaside holiday with a floor bike pump. i noticed a slight eye roll from an understanding (but equally non-sporty) husband!

this week, as well as eating ice-cream, i’m also going to concentrate on a few technical things which i need to get sorted; changing inner tube quickly, taking on/off rear wheel, using c02 cartridge, bike cornering, sighting in ocean, getting out of wetsuit, running after swim.

can’t believe it’s two weeks to go! seems totally unreal. will post again later this week some of my time projections + get some good old fashioned goals in place.

until then, it’s time for another ice-cream/afternoon snooze combo!

Bike, Meet Swim

here's my bike saying hello to the Royal Albert Docks (ie. the swim section of the London Tri!) long story, let's get to that, but first:

it's been a bit of a haphazard week. firstly let's recognise there's only THREE weeks to go until my first ever Olympic distance tri. shall we count those weeks again? one, two, three. ie. i may as well be doing it tomorrow it's so bloody soon!

what have i done this week? it's a good question, thankfully, with an answer:

monday: rest day
tuesday: spin class
weds: 50 km cycle (to + from work)
thurs: rest day
friday: 1km swim, spin class, 7km run (back to back!)
sat: short running hill session
sunday: 40 km cycle

there's a few issues with my progress, which i'm noting in point form to save your eyeballs (they need saving, really)

- my cycling training sessions typically aren't at race speed > so when i actually go hard + fast in training i find i can't sustain this for very long. BAD news.

- i'm officially rejecting gels, they suck. i tried them during my friday training sess and when it came to run i was hearing very dodgy things from my tummy and then got a bad stitch. am going to try out the bike shots and/or bar - and failing that will just use nuun in my water.

- my run, despite the stitch, went *really* well and i'm definately running faster! can't wait for the 10k next week to hopefully see the numbers go down. think i'll sub 1 hour now yippeeeeeee!

- went down to the Royal Albert Docks for a look see at the swim route and rode part of the cycle route. swim looks totally do-able, feeling good about that! cycle is much more undulating than i had expected, so harder work (but it's my strength!?) great location tho, can't wait to see it filled with tri folks + their friends/fam.

here is me wearing my ugly cycling sunnies during my rekky (how do you spell that?)


ok onto next week - the 10k run! my plan of attack is to spend the following week run focussed, and then switch to a big cycle focus the week after (which incidentally is my week of holidays, thanks husband for understanding there'll be more lacking morning time with me!) - then the last week will be resting + eating stuff (yes please!)

AND you'll be pleased to know i've worn my helmet on both cycles, although it's hidden from the pic above (i wore it, but lets not be photographed in it peoples)

Confessions of a bad tri-er

these items have become a staple in my life, and it's time peoples, to share.


the lone running sock
*these little beauties cost £8, and despite their brilliance I just can't fathom spending £8 on socks again, so they're the only running socks I have. as a result, they get washed a LOT and have little tuffs all over them. but I love them. a bit too much. three words summarise these socks: not one blister.*



the laces
*these were my first tri-related investment. I love the random hot pink. I love that I haven't ruined the back of my sneakers for the first time in my life. these laces need to infiltrate the real world, they're just too exciting to be constrained to the tri world*


the running/biking shoe
*back during the half mara training days my old sneakers (which were incidentally new) would give me blister after blister, then i went to the running shop and walked out with these. they're like a second skin, i've never had a problem! so now they're sitting high on the window saying hello to my street. hello street.*


the old sunnies
*these are my regular everyday sunnies, and i used to wear them when running and because of their oversized nature; i did look very prattish. so in invested in...*


ugly sport sunnies
*now i'm much more legit in these babies. they're hideous! but do the job*


ok but i'm diverting a little, because the title of this post is 'bad tri-er.' from checking out other blogs, tweets and forums i'm realising i've developed a list of bad habits which i keep to myself. but i'm feeling a little AA this morning so it's time to purge + share. here's how i keep top of the game;

things that make me a bad tri-er

- i don’t wear a helmet (races exempt)
- i wear slightly inappropriate swimwear because the racing swimmers look ugly
- i don’t have clip-ins
- i don’t eat anything extra when training, or eat post workout
- i listen to my ipod when i cycle (and sing)
- i never race myself, and constantly compare myself to others
- i don’t use a heart rate monitor and still use mapmyrun to work out distances
- i get overtaken when i run. a lot. so far the list has included: small children, dogs with stumpy legs, fighting ducks and really unfit people who are clearly going for one of their first ever runs.


before i run off and cower, ready for onslaught, let me share my week's training efforts!

monday> 3.5km run, 30min swim
tuesday> 30min run
wednesday> 20min hilly run drills, 2km swim
thursday> 40min cycle
friday> rest day
saturday> 6.8km run, about 2km swim (coached tri-train swim wetstuit session)
sunday> not sure what i'll do today!

really happy with this weeks running efforts, looking to continue running focus into next week. 10km race is two weeks out, would kill for a PB! well, not really killll, but you know what I mean.

5 weeeeeeeks

i love sundays. i get to sit down for ten minutes and write my weekly training report, which includes listing all that i've done that week. yes, i'm that much of a geek. so before i wet myself with excitement, here she goes:

monday> 30min swim drills, 40min spin class
tuesday> 20km cycle, 8 km run, 15km cycle
wednesday> 50 min open water swim training
thursday> 30min swim drills
friday> rest
saturday> 50min spin class, 30min swim
sunday> 40km cycle

as you can see, two long cycles this week, and not a whole lot of running. i was planning on running my 'around-the-hood' circuit but my brick on tuesday absolutely rubbished my legs right up until friday night. sooooo sore!

so the plan for the next week is to focus on the running again. i've got three weeks until my 10km run at Battersea, and would love to use this as a benchmark to see what time i'll get for the run leg. still crossing fingers for under an hour, but to be honest, i'm just not sure i'll ever make it!

in other news i finally got rid of those nasty old mountain bike pedals and have some lovely new fandangle ones, now fitted with strapless toe clips (pic above). my long ride this morning was JOY as finally i am able to use the whole circular motion instead of just pressing down - brilliant! this combined with cycling on the empty roads (i left the house at 5.30am!) was really so very lovely, and it's times like that which make all the training worth it - because i do really enjoy it.

five weeks until the London Tri. good training week!

first open water swim!

As an Australian kid, i spent a bit of time in creeks, rivers, dams and lakes. Any body of water larger than a puddle was fair game to me, and my mum loves telling me stories of her turning her back, and me darting to the nearest lick of water for a swim attempt. As a result, i started swimming at 18 months old. Mum clearly wasn't taking any risks.

For the London Triathlon in August i need to swim in the Thames. It's not something i've been looking forward to, at all. Like i've said, whales have *died* in these waters. And while i've had my fair share of swimming in random water bodies as a kid, it doesn't compare to swimming competitively - so last night i went to my first training open water session.

The session was held in central London's Hyde Park, in a lake called the Serpentine. It was run by these clever kids, http://www.swimfortri.com/



I arrived just in time, with husband in tow for moral support/hot drink provider, and pulled on my wetsuit, slowly and painfully. The changing room was filled of groans and grunts, it was a very dodgy sounding affair.

We separated into three groups; fitness, technique and new to open water technique. I went into the last group, but upon reflection really should have gone into the second. The instructors were good communicators, and knew their stuff, but the groups were so large it made personal advice pretty much impossible. They do offer one to one training, so if you want anything more than general advice, that would be the best option.

So, open water, how was it?

The lake itself was pretty gross; weeds, rubbish, algae, stuff that moved, stuff that should have moved. But luckily - there were also other triathletes in the water - and when swimming my focus wasn't on all that lurked beneath - but trying to stay out of harms way from all the legs and feet and elbows and hands thrashing all around. It encouraged my stroke to stay long and strong, to get away from the others and into the settled water. Luckily i was able to do this pretty comfortably, but this is all going to change on race day without a doubt!

It was all going pretty well, for 45 minutes or so - and then it all went wrong. Earlier that morning i'd woken up with a cramp in my arch. Really painful, and no doubt a result of my previous days mammoth brick session (and lack of sufficient recovery). I've always been prone to toe cramps in cold water, but as i was in the lake last night, overtaking my last swimmer to take the lead, i got a cramp in my left calf. A show stopping, calf-clutching, face squinting cramp. I hobbled over to the edge of the lake, pulled myself out, and it was all over.

So i've learnt i'm not invincible. I can't expect to go hard on bricks, just drink a bit of water afterwards, and not suffer the consequences. I've never liked the idea of refueling after training because it feels like i'm 'wasting' the efforts - but clearly there's a reason why every other person does this except for me. I'm wrong! (husband take note, i've said it!)

I'm not sure i'll go to another session, as the lake itself wasn't half as much as a problem i was anticipating. It was great experience swimming in the rough + tumble with others, and learning how to sight, and i might try another cold swim in the wetsuit to ascertain i won't have a repeat cramping experience.

Overall though, swimming in dirty water wasn't a terrible experience. There's too much else going on to think about it too much; sighting, legs, arms, technique, breathing. It wasn't even that bad during the moments i was literally swimming through weeds (god that sounds optimistic, but hey - the whale really did die, so optimism isn't really an option. it's a necessity).

6 weeks to go!

working from home this week has given me the grace of achieving one of last week's major goals; longer training sessions. i've been mixing it up, double dipping, and introduced a 6 day a week running circuit around my house. every week i'm going to increase the mileage until it's tri time. i've really enjoyed getting out onto this circuit everyday, and combined with the added longer sessions - this week has been an absolute pleasure!

so what's been happening this week?

monday > 3km run, 1.2km swim, 45 min spinning class
tuesday > 3km run
wed > 3km run, 1.2km swim, 10 min treadmill run, 1 hr pump class
thurs > 3km run, 45 min cycle
friday > 1.5km swim, 45 min cycle
sat > rest day
sunday > 3km run, 3 hr cycle (that's scheduled for tomorrow!)

i've *still* not gone out for any bike handling time, and my corners still remain a rather slow upright affair... am probably 10% better than last week, but with a long way to go. for my long cycle tomorrow i'm going to head out of london super early, which i'm hoping might give me more confidence with the lack of traffic... but it's all excuses really!!

in other news my swimming has been going brilliantly - loving to clock up the distance at the moment, and timed myself at 30 mins 8 seconds over 1.5kms. wasn't out of breath at the end of this, so much more room for speed!

thanks to the world of twitter, i've learnt about and booked into my first open water session at Hyde Park's Serpentine this coming week. will be the first time i wear my wetsuit in the water, swim in a murky lake, and have to sight! really looking forward to the challenge of all these things at once, will report post session.

so this week has been pretty brilliant all round, hopefully topped off by a successful fitness assessment next week (damn you calipers!) and not drowning in central London's murky waters.

7 weeks to go!

this week in training; what's been going on?

> monday: rest
> tuesday: 25 minute run speed intervals, gym routine
> wednesday: 1km swim
> thursday: rest
> friday: 25 minute hilly fast run outside + 1/2 km swim
> saturday: 30 minute cycle + 35 minute run outside
> sunday: rest

i'm feeling as though my training sessions aren't really long enough, and this is one of my aims to change for next week. the triathlon is going to be 3 hours, so i'm going to have to get used to working hard for a much longer period of time than my current workouts, which average 45 minutes.

i didn't get a chance to work on my cornering skills, but i did make a very lame attempt at changing my rear wheel - it took 45 minutes!! apparently punctures are very common on the london tri route - so this is something i've got to work on. i'd be soooooo disappointed to be out of the race because of a little puncture!

today at the bike shop i made some exciting little purchases; i collected new pedals, toe clips (non-strap types), cycling/running glasses AND a floor pump (to make sure i'm pumping my tyres enough). i'm a sucker for new stuff.

i've also just worked out my estimated bike time for the London Tri's 40km; and it's 1 hr 28 mins. That's using my time from the previous 23 km tri and some dividing and multiplying...

am feeling super flat about this because looking at last years results that time is pretty bad! looks like i need to hit about 1 hr 15 minutes to be competitive... erg.

ok so goals for the next week:

1. longer workouts!!
2. stop making excuses, start cornering!!