May 2007

May - Went to Rome and Florence with Mum and Dad, again only got in 1 decent run where I ended up in some dodgy part of Rome which was an experience! What a way to keep the pace up running for your life!! Did my 2nd race of the year, another Thames Turbo sprint and slowed down! I wasn't too worried because I was faster on the bike and stayed the same on the run. Finished in 1:22:24.
2 things happened in May, I got together with my boyfriend Sam and I hired a coach.
I came back from holidays and had a complete panic and started to doubt that I could do this. I know that my training wasn't up to scratch in that I was doing too much quantity and not enough quality. I decided to get a coach...enter Rich.

April 2007

April - Worked really hard on my bike because Mum and Dad were coming over from Australia at the end of the month and we would be doing some travelling which means nutrition goes out the window, booze consumption goes up and limited access to my bike and to swimming. Did my first sprint race, Thames Turbo - 426m swim (heated pool), 21km bike (flat course) and 5km run (flat and in a park). My transitions were slow and I hate to say it but I didn't enjoy it that much! Finished in 1:20:55
Had a wicked time in Turkey and went to see the Anzac memorial service which was amazing, really moving. We walked everywhere! I didn't get to do any running.

March 2007

March - Increased my training and got in 2 really solid weekends where I was doing 6 hours each day across a Friday, Saturday and again on the Sunday. I was taking it easy but would do 60 min swim, 4 hour bike and then a 60 - 90min run. I was so tired by the Sunday afternoon but it really helped to build my endurance.

Hard Work - 25 February 2007

Hard Work
Hello! Hope everyone has had a great weekend. So so for me, I wanted to get more work in but today hasn't been easy. Yesterday was great, had my first session with my new swim coach, Kirk. I am going to see him once a week for the next 2 months, I really need to get faster and more efficient to get out of that water in a decent time. Even in 1 lesson he got me on the right track and I felt faster.
I also did my longest run that I have done for a while. I hit Hyde Park, Green Park and a couple of laps of St James Park, then back and another lap of Kensington Gardens. Nice easy pace for 2 hours 15 mins, kept my heart rate in the high 140's. I have regularly been doing 2 hour runs but want to get up closer to 2 hours 30 and then onto 3 hours with in the next 6 weeks. I am finding it difficult to find the time to fit it in, but find that if I can get up early and do the run it doesn't eat into my weekend. Also did a weights session so went to bed really early last night. Let alone finding the time to train, I am sleeping loads. I have struggled for the last 2.5 years with having to get more sleep anyway so it is compounding at the moment. I used to survive on 5-6 hours a night, now I need 8-10, sometimes 12.
I had viral meningitis October 2004 and following on from that I had post viral chronic fatigue. I went from running marathons, I even did a 54 mile (85km) race, to at one point that I physically couldn't walk 50 metres without having to sit down and rest. My doctor told me on 17 March 2005 that I would never run again and that I had to learn to live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That was devastating news for me and me being me, I refused to believe her.
The first time I tried to run again was in April 2005 and I ran for 20 minutes. I ended up in bed for 6 days because I had physically wiped myself out. I didn't try again for another 6 weeks and I only had to spend 4 days in bed to recover so I knew it was only a matter of time before I could do it. :)
I persisted and I ran the Rome marathon on the 1 year anniversary of being told I would never run again. I crossed the line in 3.50 and had taken it really easy as I had injured my knee. I had trained, and was fit enough for a sub 3.30, but was stopping for 5 mins every 30 mins to walk and give my knee a rest. It was such an emotional race for me and one I will never forget. My Mum was brilliant and called me a few times to make sure I was OK, plus I had 5 friends out there who were dashing around the course to cheer me on inlcluding my brilliant flatmate Corinna who is doing her first marathon in April.
Unfortunately everything comes at a price and I ended up in bed for a week following the Rome race, but it didn't stop me running the London marathon 3 weeks after that. Predictably, I didn't have a great race as I wasn't able to train between Rome and London as I was still quite ill. I shouldn't have done the London race, but I refuse to back down. I managed another 3.50 but didn't have fun like I normally do in a marathon. I was in a lot of pain, was physically exhausted and vomited quite a lot during the race so I kept losing any nutrition and fluids I was taking on board. I finished and thats all that I needed to do, but it wasn't a happy day :(
So, the next challenge is IronmanUK. I found it very interesting listening to a sports psychologist a few weeks ago talking about positive affirmation and belief in yourself that you can complete ironman. I was sitting there thinking, wow, I am a step ahead because I already do that. I know I am mentally strong and if I put in the training, eat enough, get enough sleep I will do a time I can be proud of. Lesson for the day...hard work is the key. Have a great week! C x
PS have included one of my favourite Tough Guy pictures :)

Iron-Head Racing 20 February 2007

20 February 2007
13:02:30 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
Iron-Head Racing
This is the link to the Tri club I have joined, Iron-Head Racing. Seem like a good bunch, all really into tri, what more could you ask for :) They also have a great forum on there to hook up with other triathletes for training.
http://www.ironheadracing.co.uk/

Roll up! Roll up! 20 February 2007

12:43:31 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
Roll up! Roll up!
Rollers! What an experience! The rollers are a fab workout, but difficult to get used to. I say that after I took a chunk out of my elbow when I fell into the wardrobe trying to master them this morning. I only managed 30 quality minutes on them as I spent the other 30 trying to stay upright!
Rollers are basically 3 rollers on a frame that you put the back when in between the 2 that are closest together and the front wheel sits on the top of the 3rd one. I preferred these to a turbo trainer as you have to work on your balance as well which is preferable to me. See the picture and you will know what I mean :)
Getting a little concerned that most of the people I meet who have done Ironman UK, or know about triathlon, make that face where they draw breath in between their teeth. The look of horror on my face usually prompts a 'oh, but I'm sure you will be fine...'
Really enjoying the Ironman Talk podcasts, I am still catching up but they do this great top 5 tips which is very useful. Also makes a nice change to listening to music when walking or training.
The swim coach I contacted is now in touch and we are having our first session on Saturday which I am looking forward to. I know I could be moving through the water a lot more efficiently so I hope he can help sort that out :)
Smile on! C x

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