19 February 2007
13:11:53 o'clock GMT
Ironman V's Ironwoman
Ironman or Ironwoman? Talk about a steep learning curve :) I have been doing lots of research and trying to cram all these new facts and figures and tips and hints into my head, although the one thing that always seems to stand out is that all of this information is geared towards men. What about us chicks? The books that I am reading, the magazine articles, all of them written by men for men. Women do ironman as well!! I do admit it is a male dominated sport, and there is definitely a gap in the market for women specific training without having to go all out and get a coach who tailors everything to your specific needs. It is the same problem I have with tri gear. I can't wear a general tri suit as clothing manufacturers have it in their heads that if you are a 10-12 (which I am), you have A or B cup breasts, so they offer this tiny little piece of material in the bodice and call it 'built in support'. It is sooooo difficult to get anything that fits well, I am a 32E and have to wear a sports bra and another layer to ensure I get adequate support which means that I end up being wet on top for the entire race, which is fine if it didn't chafe and leave ugly welts around my body. No amount of vaseline seems to help and I am unwilling to compromise on support. I like my breasts where they are and intend on keeping them there rather than around my ankles! That's my rant over for today :)So the last week....I hit 12 hours training. So pleased with myself. I was pretty tired, but I needed to do that mentally just to get it in my head that I can do it and also have a life. I want to ramp it up over the next 6 weeks to around 18 but do plan on doing 3 hard weeks and then 1 easy week. At the moment I am having Saturdays off as I really love just being able to stay in bed, read a book, wander off to a coffee shop to read the paper and just have a nice relaxing day. I know I am going to have to change that when I start doing 1 hour swim, 4 hour cycle and 1 hour run each day for 4 days running (current plan is to do that over easter). My parents are coming to visit in April/May so that is also going to be a challenge as we are away for 3 weeks with only the odd night here and there in London which is where I will have to focus on the bike.Yesterday I went out for 3.5 hours and covered 100km's. Happy with that result as the last time I covered thatdistance was when I was solo touring around Italy. For those of you who don't know, I was made redundant from my job a few years ago so packed a few things in some panniers, put my bike in a box and hit Milan airport. What resulted was 3 months of the most fantastic cycling all over Italy with lots of adventures. I covered 3000km's in that 3 months, and when I hit the road in between stopovers I would always do anywhere between 80-120km a day. I went out to France last summer to do the same thing but unfortunately BA baggage handlers ran over my beloved Claud (my touring bike) and crushed him, bending the frame beyond repair. I am still fighting with them for compensation.So biked yesterday, came home and went for a run to get used to that jelly feeling you get in your legs. My aim is to run the entire marathon at the end of the bike, so I figure I better get used to that feeling sooner rather than later :)
Have also found these fantastic podcasts. http://www.ironmantalk.com/Podcast.html 2 kiwi guys talking about ironman, they have both done ironman, 1 of them is a pro coach and the other is turning pro this year. Very entertaining podcasts.
Have a great dayCaro xx