marathon in the making

So I’ve tested out my legs twice now in a marathon and so far I’ve been pretty stoked with my results. Running has always been my jam, way back when in year 3 I was oh so excited to be asked to represent our school in the year 4 category in cross country, and even more so when I placed 7^th. I would have loved to see my splits for that.

 living the dream in year 3... that ain't no lululemon top.

Now it’s time for me to ditch the 7hrs of exercise, yep that’s right the only marathons I have raced have been at the tail end of an Ironman, and see what I can do in 42.2kms. With Melbourne Ironman being my first marathon, I had only ever ran 36km in training and managed to whip out a 3:27hr and in Hawaii after an epic 7hrs on the bike alone I ran a 3:47hr.

No surprises here, I’m setting myself a challenge. I want to bring this soul marathon in under 3hrs, and because what you say you create, my goal time is 2:55hr. I’ve literally just done the math for the first time and that’s looking like 4:14min/km, haha love it! I’ve totally got my work set out for me.

I’ve picked the Traralgon marathon on the 21^st of June as my mission. Keeping it country and humble. I’ve heard it’s a decent course and not too busy, and I like the sound of that. I’m 3 weeks into a 16 week program and already, just from consistency and a gradual build, I can feel my body regaining that fitness and the speed I had a fair few months back. Just as if you were building up from 0-5km, it is in small increments that you see the improvement and benefits; one giant quantum leap would only leave you in a lot of pain and hating it completely. I’ve learnt to be patient and trust in the process.

Whilst I do love running I feel, that on it's own 4-5 times a week, it’s too much impact on the body. So even though triathlon isn’t in the forefront of my mind I'm enjoying the fact that I am cross training, mixing it up with a ride and a swim once or 2 a week; keeping it nicely balanced.

Alrighty, so 2:55hr is it … wow, baby steps (a lot of them) consistency and keeping it fun is what’s going to get me there.

Hello Wall!

I met the wall these last 2 months. I knew it was inevitable in the lead up to Ironman, and I had an inclining that it would show it's face sometime around this time of the year.

It's safe to say that I have had on on the most full on last 2 months. Not trying to be a hero (but sort of) here is the break down of what these weeks have consisted of:

I have ventured up to Noosa and competed in the Olympic distance, road tripped to Shepparton and finished my first Half Ironman,

Morgs at the Kinglake start line

a week later covered 115km in the Kinglake ride then backing that up with a Sprint distance tri in Mordialloc,

The Trispecify Seals! At the Moordialloc sprint tri

did the cheeky colour run, then rounded it off by hitting a PB in the Susans half marathon finishing 4th overall in 1:28mins.

Alex, Myself and Mish dressed in pink, 'Doing it for the Ladies'

Running into the finish to place 4th overall

That however is just the list of event I have competed let alone the training that has surrounded that. The following weekend after the Susans half marathon I backed it up with a double 15 +/- run. For those who know the area the run loops up Olivers hill, down to Daveys bay, up canadian bay road pass Toorak collage, up Humphries road then down sweet water creek, than repaeted it in reverse, overall 27kms. This was done on the Saturday, only to be backed up on the Sunday with a 4hr ride followed by a 45min run!

I'm buggered just thinking about all I have covered. For the most part I have bounced back, the body not suffering too much. However, the mind has been a completely different story. Not getting adequate sleep, and not focusing on the right nutrition, at this level of training really started to take a toll. A mental toll. It was on this weekend of training that I began to question what the hell I was doing, what was it all for, why am I doing this, I can't do it. Not only did this effect my training, it effect all aspects of my life. Work became hard, I lost interest in maintaining my blog (obviously!) I just wasn't functioning well at all.

Fast forwarding. It's January, fresh year, fresh start ... only 11 weeks till Ironman! and 100% of my training left to do. This last week I have focused on my nutrition. My boyfriend Morgan is also training for Ironman this year. After his experience last year, which left him in hospital with gastritis, he now sees a nutritionist and has curbed his lifestyle and training around being Vegan.

I am learning so much from him and I'm now experimenting with what works best for me. Gosh there is so much information, theories, facts, faux fact, floating around out there when it come to nutrition, it's confusing. So my approach is to be mindful with my food, considering I am asking so much of my body it's only right that moving forward I think twice about what it is that my body really needs. To date, I really haven't respected this fact and the last month of hitting the wall is a result of that.

A beautiful still morning as we set off for 6hrs on the bike.

Training is seriously moving to another level. This last weekend saw me riding for 6hrs, the longest I have ever been in the saddle, and I felt great. Seriously, I got a good sleep, ate a big dinner before hand and had a hearty breakfast of quinoa, quinoa flakes, rice milk, berries, banana, honey heated up in a saucepan. It's delish and set me up perfectly for the day. Out on the ride I took bananas, dates, and clif bars and drank water and hydraltye. We rode 4 hours through the Danadenongs which was magical, the hill climbs were tough however the S- Works Amria handled them perfectly with a 27 ring on the back (I had no idea but I have a few extra gears that a few other people which made is easier for me to spin).

The real challenge was when we got back to Berwick and headed out to Tooradin in the strongest head wind I think I have fought. Perfect experience if last years Ironman is any indication of what we may face.

So yep I've hit the wall, jumped over it and have come back stronger. I'm so sure another wall is not too far away however I'm now mindful of that along with a few other things, so I just may be better prepared :)






 

I gave it a Tri at Noosa



view from our apartment on picture point cres, 
noosa...dreamy



I had a ball up at Noosa! Like all good things, it came to an end all too soon. I loved energy up there, it was incredible. To compete in a race that draws the likes of champions, Emma Moffatt claimed womens elite 1st place, it wasn't too hard to get caught up in the 'Tri' fever that filled the balmy air. So many fit bodies, so much lycra and so much fun. And for an event of such a grand scale, close to 8,000 people over the weekends festivities, it was run so well.

Unlike Geelong I was nervous in the lead up to this first race of the season. Setting higher standards for myself and with it being the first race I've competing in since moving up age group, 25-29, my goal was to finish in the top 20. My first goal however was to successful make it to Noosa with bike box and all arriving in one piece at the other end, I wasn't nervy at all! 

all packed up and ready to roll

Due to the scale of this event, the day before the race, transition is open to drop your bike off. Coach Clinton gave the best tip of positioning your bike close to an end. This ensured in the sea of bikes and in a slight haze of coming out of the swim come race day, you wont lose your bike (trust me I've lost my bike before in transition, it happen so easily if you don't pay attention as to where you drop it, and you look/feel like such a fool!) I got poll position, on far end from the swim entrance, yet right next to the run exit; there I set my bike up in row 46.

Transition before engulfed with bikes

prime position

PRE RACE PREP - In preparation the Trispecify team got together the day before to trial both the swim course and the bike course. Unlike any previous swim I have done, this was a non wetsuit swim (this occurs when the water temp is 24 degrees+) It was also a canal swim meaning we started treading water between two buoys not nerve racking at all! To make matters worse a sea snake was lerking around the morning of the race delaying the elite start, thank god I was oblivious to this. I felt great in our practice swim, I focused on controlling my breathing and taking long, full strokes. The current is tidal in the canal which meant it was hard to predict what it would be doing on Sunday morning; the tip of the day was to sit in the middle with the current and hug the far side against it. 



the swim saw us past some of Noosa most luxury real estate!



It was awesome to head out on the bike course as well. This not only got us familiar with the feel of the road, it also took us up the infamous, hill climb. This stage of the race is timed separately, within the ride component, to time the quickest ascent and therefor the King of the Hill. Coach Clinton got the 7th fast time up the hill overall on raceday! So impressive. I so glad we covered this in our trial ride, not knowing what was ahead on race day may have seen me conservatively hitting it. With the acquired knowledge I felt much more confident that I would be able to hit the hill hard knowing what was to come. Another great time from Clinton was to push out of the top of the hill onto the flat, this is were alot of people sit back and take it easy after the climb. So to power out is a great advantage. Let finish the ride course saying this climb was nothing compared to Arthurs Seat!

 

coach proudly wearing, riding and breathing the trispecify blue!

RACE DAY - It was a 4:30am wake up! Amazingly my body clock was up before my alarm. Firstly thing, double check that I had everything I had packed the night before; runners, visor, cleats, helmet, race belt with bib attached, towel, gels, water bottles, I think that's it. As soon as I walk out the door I knew I had forgotten something, bike pump! Slightly important as we let our tyres down the previous day when you drop the bikes off in transition to ensure they don't expand in the heat and pop!

My age group wave was the last of the individuals to head off, not starting until 9am. Even with such a late start I had to get down early to set up all my kit next to my bike before transition closes at 6am, ready for the elites who started at 6:15am. So with thousands of weary yet excited athletes, I headed to transition. Along with all your kit you also need to ensure you have your age group coloured swim cap, timing chip and number tattoos (on your body). Once in transition I pumped up my tires, lay out all my kit next to my bike and check it several times of course! I borrowed electrical tape from the guys beside me to tape my energy gels to the frame of my bike for easy taking whilst out on the ride. Oh gosh, we heard several POPS! of tyres, and with only minutes until transistion closes, everyone in the exit line cringed with each explosion. "Thank god that wasn't me" we were all thinking.

With 3 hours to kill before my started I headed back to Deb's apartment with Judith, Ben, Rob and Smithy to relax, try to at least, and watch a moive. I set my family up with the Subaru tracker so they could follow my every stage, we swapped nutrition straegies and attempeted not to freak one another out! 

kit all ready to go

the subaru tracker was awesome for my family and friends
to watch my performance from afar  

transition was chockers, so much $$$$$ sitting in there

it was a mass exit as transition closed on race day

Not wanting to be late to the start, I heading down with half an hour to go. This time flies! The river bank was buzzing and the river it self was alive with a myrid of coloured caps, with wave after wave setting off to the sound of an air horn. Before I knew it I was treading water, chating to the girls beside me, wishing them luck, then hooooot!

Head down and go. I started up the front but before we made it to the 100m bouy, the lead group was streaking ahead. I built up a strong ryhthm from the get go and paced my breathing every third stroke. My focus was to keep good form, long straight stokes, pushing back all the way and popping my head up regulary to sight the next bouy so I didn't swim off course. It didn't take me long to catch the back of the waves that set out before us. With each passing, I gain more confidence and strength. I did have to keep reminding myself I was in a race each time I uncounsiously backed off to "reserve my energy!" It's the best feeling having the swim exit insight, this is the time were you get your head in the space ready to get into transition quick smart and get on the bike. Your legs feel a bit like jelly when you get out of the water to run, yet not wearing a wetsuit made the world of difference.

exiting the swim, getting my focus on...

Running to transtion I just kept repeating "row 46, row 46...". Loving the fact that I had my bike in a prime position, I wasted not time finding it, putting my helmet on, followed by my cleats, downing a gel and running with my bike to the exit. I haven't yet mastered the running into the mount so it's a quick stop whilst I just on, click in my cleats and up out of the saddle pushing hard to get a quick take off. I knew from my training that having my Specialized S-Works Amira was going to dramatically improve my ride. From the get go it worked with me the whole way, the take of was powerful, the handing was seamless and the ride was so smooth. 

I came out of the swim 23, (obviously I don't know this on the day) but I got a good indication that I had a bit of work to do with each 'H' tattoo I passed. Side note: for every age group you get a letter, this is tattoo you place on the back of your calf, this allows you to see who you are up against when you're out on the road. I had a great ride out to the hill climb, I passed several 'H' girls, ensured I have a bit to drink and kept pushing. I caught up to a 'H' Tri Alliance girl, we bunny hopped for a while passing one another. I like to check out what gear they are riding in and what cadence they have, and try to match/beat it :) 'Nice riding" I said her after a while, we where practically in sync. It wasn't untill the hill climb that I lost her. Up the hill I kept a low gear, with a high cadence and gave it my all. Only to keep passing my 'H' girl. 'This is going really well, keep pushing' I kept telling my self. Powering out of the hill I was feeling strong, 27km to go, 'I can do this.' I only came across one other girl that I rode with for a while before I lost her, other than that I just kept making ground. 

on the drops coming into the final stage of the ride

The crowd lines the streets coming back into transition. The energy is amazing and the buzz of the cheering gives you such a boost of energy. Again it was time to get my head in the space of a quick transition and a 10km run! by now it was close to 31 degrees, nothing like the conditions we've had back at home. 'This is going to tough, keep a quick pace, it's only 10kms' yep lost of self talk happens during a race :) I had a smooth dismount and a long run in my cleats to my transition spot. Next goal is to dismount with my shoe off, running in cleats is no fun at all! Rack my bike, take of my helmet and shoes. On goes my race belt, visor and by not wearing sock I lined the rim of my runner with vasiline and slide my feet in. And away I go! Your legs feel like jelly out of the swim, off the bike it feels a little more like lead! Quick, small steps took me out of transition and down the run shoot. The crowd must be 5 bodies deep, amazing! I headed out with a water bottle, I made the mistake of only taking 1 drink bottle of Powerade. This was too sweet for me on the ride and left my even more thirsty. 

doing it tough in the heat

I couldn't keep a steady pace on the run, keeping it hovering around 4:15mins to 4:30mins per km. My body felt heavy and I used every aid station to take on more water. My goal we to match my 41min run from Geelong. I knew from the half way mark that I wasn't going to make it however that didn't dishearten me. The sprinklers and the people with hoses made the run fun and I encouraged those who looked like they needed it. I gave it my all in the last 2km's, it's such a strange feeling at the end, your body is buggered, and at the same time you just want to fly to the finish line! Running across the line you hear your name called out, and it's over! I bent over to catch my breath, then headed to the showers that lined the exit of the course. Such a great way to end it!!

Over all I took of 3mins from my pervious 

olympic distance time and came in 9th 

out of 150 girl in my age group. 

Making the top 10! Amazing.

The Witsup girls and the panel

Rubbing shoulder with some of our best;
L-R Emma Jackson, Liz Blatchford, Moi,
Emma Snowsil, Charlotte McShane

To finish up what was such a fun, successful weekend away, I attended the WITSUP (Women in triathlon) partnered with Specialized brunch. It was an amazing opportunity to meet some of Australia's finest female triathletes, ask them questions and hear them speak in a panel environment. 

I don't know if you could pick it, but I love racing. I love putting all the hard work from training to use, to strive to better your time and to challenge yourself physically and mentally. After this race I really would love to keep at olympic distance races however I've set myself a goal of Ironman, so form now, until March at least, it's going to be longer and slower. My first taste of this is next weekend at Shepparton when I set out to conquer my first half Ironman! I look forward to sharing that experience with you. Until then dream big and take action. It's all in the action.

Maddy xx

 

Grande Sundae

Life's been big for the past two weeks. The fun kind of big. The kind of big you know you have chosen, yet at the same time it sets you up for a challenge; take it all in your stride. And just like a cherry sets off a sundae, we had the 'Big Brick' session on Sunday to finish off the last two grande weeks.

I guest many of us would liken it it 'busy'. Work, training (the staple two) followed by extra work commitments, meetings, events, yoga classes, work dinners, catching up with girlfriends; well over due yet so great :) supporting sisters launch art exhibitions, hanging upside down at anti-gravity yoga oh and nanna's birthday! We all have stuff to do. And in my case it's all fun stuff. The key then is not to get 'busy' with it all. Sounds good in theory and this is what I tell myself. Do I always have this mind set? Nope, to be honest it doesn't happen all the time, but I can practice and with that I am getting better :)

love a good family dinner out, never a dull moment!
happy birthday nanna xx

Side note: You've seriously got to give anti-gravity yoga a shot! Elle and I headed down to the gorgeous Silver Leaf Yoga School in Merricks to check it out. Neither of us had tried it and before we knew it, Robin had us hanging up side down like little Buddha's, cannon balling through the air and turning inside out into the 'Vampire'. We did loose it complete half way through, trying to suppress our laughter. The sight of grown ups flailing about got the better of us!! 

this is what I've called the little up side down Buddha's.
 picture from www.beyondfitness.com.au

Now as I mentioned earlier, like a cherry atop of a sundae, the Brick session set off the last few weeks with a sting. A Brick session is the closest thing we do in our training that get us in a race environment. Lots of people have asked me if we do the whole race in training, before the race? and the answer is no. Before Ironman, I would have never put all 3 distances of each leg together in the one session! Hence why the brick is such a good measure of how your mind and body will perform on the day. Other than the odd run-off-the-bike effort, it's the only time when we as a crew work our butts on and off the bike into a run. This is were being with an awesome group of people makes it so much more... I'm going to use the word enjoyable! And there is proof in the pudding, since I started training with Clinton, Trispecify, we have been upgrading spaces each Brick session we do to accommodate the growing numbers. This time we took over the Osbourne Primary School hall and from a rough head count I think 40 of us crazy people filled the space then spilling out onto the foot paths!

I do love these sessions. Not only does it give you the chance to test the out body over 4 hours of physical activity. You really get a chance to work on keeping your mind focused, clear and driven over that long period of time. In saying this I was knackered after work on Saturday, and come Sunday morning I really want feeling 100%, unsure if I ate something the night before that didn't agree with me? However with Noosa literally just around the corner, and Shepparton just over the hill, this wasn't an opportunity to sit back and go along for the easy ride.

Our session was broken down in to 3 x sets of Cycle/Run, consecutively. Broken down even further it looks like this: 
45mins - Stationary Cycle with varying efforts, heavy gears, out of the saddle, grinding, and fast paced. 
30mins - Run race pace for 15mins/easy for 15mins, we also had a set of a stinger 1km race pace drills in the middle set!

Thoughts on the drive to training; so I've got my bike,
wind trainer, clip in shoes, runners, 2 x drink bottles,
need to stop to get powerade, got my watch,
heart rate monitor is on, food, towel... hmmm I think that's it!

For this you need energy. On Sunday's set I consumed:
2 x bottle of water
2 x bottle of Powerade
2 x clif chocolate gels
2 x clif bars ( choc chip, white chocolate)
1 x banana
I found that this was just enough for me, I didn't get a stitch, cramp or fade through out the whole set. It's funny chatting to a few of the guys afterwards how every body is so different in terms of what I requires to be correctly fuels. It's all a game of trial and error.

Overall I finished the brick feeling like I had put in my best. The ride component is always hard; keeping focus and effort up on the wind trainer isn't my strong point. My trick when I felt like I was starting to day dream was to zone in on Ben's pedals in front of me and keep pace. By our first run it had already started to heat up outside, good prep for the weather we'll be racing in up at Noosa! I felt strong, running out just under the 4min/kms for the first few kilometers and then held 4-4.10min/kms for the 15mins before running back easy. It's so good to build this quick take off off the bike, I can remember the first training session combining the ride/run last year, and I could barely shuffle, my feet felt like lead!

Gosh the last ride set was a killer, 3 hours in and my legs were now felt like lead! Knowing that we still had a 30min run to finish didn't help much at all either. However it's not to hard to keep pushing though when you see those around you giving it their all and encouraging each other on when it gets tough. When I think I have reach my max, I do keep surprising myself. The last run I took off quick again, not holding the 4.10min/kms like the first run. Yet after 3.5hrs I was happy averaging 4.30min/kms for our last effort. 

rebels in the back row. Keeping the boys in line!

Done and dusted, that was the last big training effort before we head up to race Noose next weekend the 3rd Nov! This week is long slow efforts on the bike and run. Oh speaking of run I have to show off my new kicks! Brooks Glycerin 11. I have literally worn my old pair flat, naughty me had being running in them for around 2 years, I couldn't event tell you how many miles, however they never cause me any trouble so I'm sticking to what I know! And wow I know these guys suit me just fine!

you wont miss me in these!

Maddy Xx

Sparkle's back...

So I haven’t laid down a week plan here in a while. Each week, to date, has had a similar rhythm to it. At first it took me a while to see that there was some order to the chaos; working a non 9-5 job / training for an Iron'wo'man / being a normal social being. Now, however, I can quite simply map my week out. There is a nice balance where all areas of my life come together, not mentioning the super early starts, an arvo nap and early social departures tucked in here and there.

As I have noted in previous posts, I have found by planning your work and working your plan (the diary is your best friend), combined with keeping your eye on the 'big' goal that you're working towards, you are able to turn a daunting week of training and achievable task. 

I would be lying if I said I rarely speak of my training and journey towards Ironman. Somehow it turns up in every conversation whether I bring it up or not. The good old, 'so what have you been up to?' ' What's new's with you?' evidently leads to the ins and outs of firstly 'Why?!', my training routine, nutrition ect. To be honest I am really just taking it one step at a time, not dwelling on the huge mission of the day (March 23,2014 for those playing) and by no means claiming to be an expert. And trust me, I'm finding lots of Ironman 'experts' out there :) . I love hearing the advise, concerns and past experience of others, everybody has a story. I choose to listen to them, appreciate them for sharing it with me, and then keep faith in the path that I am taking and what my coach has in store for me. 

Gosh, if I was to take onboard all of the tips, judgement and concerning stories I would be stopped, dead in my tracks. Where is the fun in that?!

So the week that was: 

After two or so week of feeling heavy, tired and flat, at one stage there were nearly tears in the googles at swimming, it felt awesome to show up to each session, this last week, fresh and raring to go. Or as my coach  Clinton would say, I had my 'sparkle' back. And boy was I happy to have it back. When you aren't feeling 100% everything become an up hill battle. Good recovery, catching up with friends, improved nutrition and most importantly a positive, clear mindset when training, were the mix of elements that lead to this weeks sparkle. I know life isn't always bright and shiny, however you always have a choice to make it the best you can. Even if you have had a few draining weeks of work, training or life in general stay on the ride. Perseverance is the key, because before you know it your back sparkly and stronger than before!  

Red faced after the trail run, up, up, up Arthurs Seat!

Cooking is one of my favourite ways to chill out.
As I tell my mum, Messy =  Delicious!

And wasn't I right, this was a hit with the fam!

Quinoa, almond and ricotta 'meatballs' with zucchini pasta
Check out Belle Gibson's app,
@healing_belle, The Whole Pantry for this delicious recipe.

Sisters getting active. Well about to!

Couldn't resist a coconut water with
Terri after an awesome yin yoga session with
Aimee at Summer Healing Yoga 

Go on, surprise yourself.

I keep coming back to the whole notion of;  rarely does greatness manifest by doing what we feel. It's created by feeling what we feel, then taking action regardless.

If I acted by how I felt, not much would get done. I can confidently tell you that most mornings you would find me sleeping in, being too busy, tired, sore, flat to get off my butt. However, over this last year, I have trained myself to feel these things and get moving regardless. The most amazing thing I have found and have proven time and time again, is that, once I get going (whether it be training/starting a project/ writing this blog post) I become alive. The mind loves to set up these hurdles that want to keep us from starting anything great or small.

It's all about the magic in the action. I have learnt to believe in myself, trusting that taking action will send me leaps and bounds ahead of where/what I have ever thought possible.

Take Saturday just gone for instance. On my program from the coach I had a 5 hour ride. Let me just say that again... I had a 5 HOUR ride. That in a car my friend would take you to, I don't know... Bemm River! (Look it up, it's a gorgeous little costal town on a lake in East Gippsland :) ) This would be, by far, the longest effort on the bike to date. Something that I would never had thought possible 6 months ago!

So the alarm goes off at 5am. I want to fit a 5 hour ride in before one of my best friends, Elle's, birthday lunch at 12pm in Elwood. What a mission! And if anyone was around in Melbourne on Saturday, Gale was out in force! I set out just after 5:30am with 2 water bottles, 5 clif bars, Morg's gloves, 3 layers on top and my squeaky clean, freshly body geometry fitted bike. I can tell you that in the wind and the sideways sprinkle of rain...this is a moment of feeling what I feel and acting regardless.

I did it, 5 hours in the saddle. I rode from Aspendale to Rye return, 120km's and all done solo. I kept the ride easy yet at some points the head wind, cross wind, diagonal wind, rear wind, made it some what difficult. There was one point I was practically leaning hard to my left so I wasn't shoved out of the bike lane onto the rode. The bike handled beautifully and only with a report of a sore butt! the fit that Matt did at Total Rush was perfect.

Body fit at Total Rush - Entire body is measured and lined up.

Matt making such slight adjustments, making such a huge difference!

Video footage was captured of me riding from all difference angles.
So funny to see you're self riding up close! and how out of alignment my knees were at the beginning! 

I was so proud of myself that mentally, I stayed focus for the whole ride. I can't remember a time where I was completely frustrated, pissed off, or wanting to stop and get off as I have done on previous 'long' rides. Not letting myself get to worked up prior and keeping a goal of staying in the T2 (easy) zone, allowed me to keep perspective. What an achievement :) This gives me hope that I am going to stay sane come Ironman day, my goal for the 180km is 6-7hrs!

I'm aiming for greatness. I know everyone's not keen to become an Ironwoman,  however everybody has things in their lives that they want to strive for, where they want to see greatness. How can you feel what your feeling and act regardless? Try it out, you'll surprise yourself.

Maddy Xxx

Inundatedly christened!

It's safe to say the the new bike got inundatedly christened over the weekend. I woke to the sound of the pouring rain (yet again) and thought to myself, this is a fabulous day to take the new wheels for a spin. Haha yeah right. I did however think, 'I'm bloody glad Laura and Emily suggested I change the bald race tyres to the Roubaix Pro's', something with a bit of grip to keep my upright on the wet roads. The last thing I wanted to do Sunday morning was slid sideways off my new ride!

The crew met up at the Frankston pier car park, the commitment of this group of people I train with is remarkable. And yes it was still raining. It was my first chance to show off my new bike. It got a bit of attention I can tell you that much. A few of the guys were asking if it was a carbon frame, I was so proud I could answer and say, nope it's FACT frame; a Function, Advance, Composite (more than just carbon), Technology frame. This mouthful breaks down to; a combination of design, material selection and manufacturing that allows the Specialized team to consider the performance of the bike as a whole, rather than purely focusing on the weight of stiffness.

As we were gearing up for our 3 hour ride I had a thought, 'Oh gosh, I haven't event check if my clip-in shoes match the new pedals!' It was kind of too late now, thank god the guys at Total Rush new what they were doing! I saddled up; with my 2 drink bottles of gatorade 'isotonic lemon' is my favorite, 2 gels and 2 clif bars, clipped in (quickly making sure I could clip out) and mentally prepped my self for a 3 hour ride ( 92mins T2; an easy pace, turn around, 92mins T3; race pace)

The quick take off was the first notable change that I felt. Rather than having to push to get the bike moving, the ultra light frame worked with me, and straight up I knew I was in for an entirely different experience. Heading out, the T2 pace allowed the crew of 25+ to stick together as we wound our way from Frankston to Mornington. It's was when we up Balcome hill that the group began to split and my legs weren't fatiguing a quick as they did on the Trek monster. I kept to T2 the whole way to Rye eating at 45min intervals and ensuring I had drunk a whole bottle before turing around.

Working at race pace from 92mins, was going to be a challenge, new bike or not. We had a head wind and the rain was still falling thick and fast. I kept pace with Phill for quite some time. In passing a group of 3 guys, I think not only my flash wheels but me being a quick chick on a bike, put a rocket up their saddles. Not long after swiftly passing them, all of a sudden they had amped up their speed to be riding along side us. 'What are you training for?' they were asking. We lost them as we continued with our T3 effort. It was such a smooth ride, the bike didn't shake or vibrate, regardless of it not being an 'aero' road bike.

I was stoked that I still had fuel in the tank to power up the last few hills coming back into Frankston. With the ride over, the skies miraculously cleared as I transitioned into the run. Rookie error, I didn't bring dry sock so soggy feet for 14km's it was! I downed another gatorade and took another 2 gels, and set out towards Chelsea. It's a quick shuffle off the bike, legs are heavy and feet are tingly. Surprisingly I clocked 4:15min for my 1st kilometer and averaged 4:20min/per km for the 40mins of race pace on the run. I love the tee tree track along side the Nepean Hwy. It's soft under foot, and I love never really know where I am. To finish of the quick pace of the 40mins my mind was set on small milestones. Focusing on keeping pace for the next 5mins, thats achievable. And always reassessing the body. I was so ready when it hit 40:00 on my Garmin to take it easy for the next 20mins to bring it home.

All up we covered 85km on the bike and 13.5km on the run. Throw in a swim and we were just short of a half ironman! Not a bad effort for a Sunday morning!

drying off after it's first shower

killer tip! stuff your wet shoes with newspaper
and place in the sun/heater,
they'll be bone dry for the next day's use!

Catch up - Grape Run

This last week has just flown by and I need to fill you in!

pre race hustle and bustle 

So last weekend, Morgan and I ventured up to Healsville to run the 30km Yarra Valley grape run (we clocked in 31km). Coach Clinton wasn't too keen on this, as it really doesn't complement my training at the moment, so ' take it easy peasy' were my orders. These instructions were a blessing in disguise. Even though it was going to be the longest distance I have ever ran, by 10kms, I really didn't give it a thought until we got there.

team M & M before the run

I would be lying if I were to say I woke excited the morning of the run. I had worked until 10pm the night before, not getting to bed til 11:30pn with the alarm going off at 5am! I'm only human.

Once we got to Healsville Morgs and I went for a quick warm up jog, that was all I needed to get in the right frame of mind. There were roughly 400ppl out that morning running the 30kms. Amazing to see so many people out there challenging themselves :)

Morgs gave me the plan of taking an energy gel at the 8, 16 & 24 km mark and to run, roughly, 5mins kms. This set me up really well in terms of pacing myself and to also break up the run into manageable pieces.

The scenery was beautiful, green rolling hills, wineries and paddocks of roaming live stock. Hang on, did I mention the roll hills? Yes, beautiful to look at, yet they're not so attractive when you have you use all your woman power to get up them!

I have never run any long distance ‘fun runs’ with a partner. This was a whole new experience. It was great, because we were taking it easy Morgs and chatted most of the way and he kept reminding me of the ‘easy peasy’ I had been given. I am prone to getting a tad over excited and speeding up…a lot!

We got to the 11km mark and I felt like I could easily do another 11km. Then we reached the 19km, this mark was nestled amongst the rolling hills. I was feeling strong up the hills and still felt like I had another 10kms in me at this pace we had set.

afterward legs were feeling a tad heavy, yet the spirits were high

I was so happy to finish the 30kms along side Morgs in 2hrs and 33mins. And to top off what was a great morning, I ended up placing 3rd in my age group :)

the delish 'ginger ninja' from Veggie Bar

Now you always need to hydrate and nourish the body after a run of this distance. We couldn't go past Veggie Bar in Fitzroy. Sooo good, the nachos and the burrito hit the spot and I had the hydration covered with the delish ginger ninja cocktail ;)