Attitude of Gratitude

Race number one of the season 13/14 has final come around. This weekend I'm heading up to the beautiful Noosa Heads to give the infamous Noosa Tri a red hot shot. This is an Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim/ 40km cycle/10km run) Wow, it's been a serious gap in between races. The last race I competed in was the Olympic distance triathlon down in Geelong in February earlier this year. That was my first race of that distance. In the lead up to that race I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into and due to that I was completely relaxed, right up until the start siren at the waters edge. I surprised myself out there that day feeling really strong in all legs of the race. We had good weather conditions that day and I came in finishing first in my age category 20-24. 

up on the podium at Geelong in February 

time to better this weekend.

Having turned a quarter of a century in July I have now moved up an age group, 25-29. That, along with the high calibre of athletes that this festival attracts, has definitely helped the butterflies brewing over the last few weeks. I have had my doubting thoughts, 'have I improved all that much from all this training?', 'especially with such a big lead up will I remember what to do?', ' Will I stand a chance against the girls in this age group?' Unlike the blissful naivety I went into Geelong with, this time round I am alot more aware of what I'm getting myself into. 

I know I am stronger now with 5 months of solid training behind me. I don't however have any indication of how I will go on the weekend. My goal is to better my times in all of the legs. If I can do that in hotter conditions, no matter where I place, I'll be happy :) I'm also going into the race being open to uncertainty. The weather, transition malfunction and I don't even want to mention a flat tire (if that happens I'm totally buggered, so cross your fingers) are all elements on the day that are unpridictable. So no matter what, I'm going to be stoked with myself for just getting to that start line. Whatever happens from then on is a bonus. And let me tell you, I'll be working my lill' butt off to make that bouns count!

As crazy as I am, I joined 30 other crazy peeps in an open bay swim on Monday just gone. I wanted to make sure I remembered, and more importantly find out if still felt comfortable in the open water. Oh it was freezing! When I first put my head in the water it felt like I had an ice cream headache, without the added benefit of the ice cream! Once I got going however, I felt the best I have in an open swim covering close to 2kms from the Frankston boat ramp to the pier and back.

bring the team home in Port mac, Oct 2012,
running a half marathon in the heat of the midday sun.

loved the energy and vibe of this event last year,
starting with a team is a great way to get involved!

                                               

So much for spring, we haven't had a chance at all to train in warmer conditions, so I'm thinking it's going to be a shock to the system when I head up north. Sunday, race day, is going to be a top of 31 degrees, and as they do, they have save the best to last! My heat setting off last at 8:58am. That leaves us running as the day really starts to heat up. I have had experience of running in the heat of the day up in Port Macquire Half Ironman as apart of a team last year. Hydration in the two day prior is what's going to make all the difference.

the s-work has saved my butt! literally,
can't wait to see what we can do on Sunday

my spring riding attire

I had my last training ride today, an easy 2 hours. I'm so grateful  that I have had the opportunity to training on my S-works Amira, I have notice such a difference in my riding. I'm so much more efficient on take offs, hills and race pace efforts. I can really thank the bike to my increased confidence on the bike. This has been and still is an area of big improvement for myself so I'm excited to see what this specialized edition can do on Sunday. I don't have tri bars for this race. I have had any practice with them and I've been told that Noosa is a quick, and slightly intricate ride so I don't feel at a disadvantage because of this. Tri bar help you become my aero dynamic on the bike because you lean over the bike. This also allows for more power in your legs. I'll be looking to add these to my bike for Shepparton Half Ironman in 3 weeks time.

I can't wait for the weekend to put all this hard work to use, and to kick back Sunday night after the race ;). There is always such a great energy in the air at these race festivals and with over 25 crew members from the MPTC up there it'll feel like home away from home! For that I'm am also grateful; being surrounded by such a positive, motivated bunch makes it all the more fun!

bring on the sweet sweet sunshine

Now it's time to get packing!

Wish me luck,
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 ;) 

Feeling Specialized

The lovely Specialized ladies: Laura Wilson and Emily Smith

I'm still pinching myself! Yesterday I became the proud owner of an amazing bike. For the next 4 months I will be gracing the road on 001/200 Specialized Edition, S-Works Amira, SL4. Um frieneme with the bike...what, me say that?...haha never! We're totally best friends now ;)

This is an incredibly generous offer from Laura Wilson and the team from Specialized and I can't wait to get on the gorgeous machine.

Coming from a second hand Trek 1000, thanks Ildiko, I’m really going from one end of the spectrum to the extreme other. Don't get me wrong the Trek monster and I have had a great time over the last 12 months. I have gone from being a complete newbie on the road, to a competent rider, having only ever fallen over twice from a stationary position. (Classy I know!) I've built up my confidence on the road, along with a growing stamina for the longer hauls, with greater hauls ahead!

Handmade, this is the first female specific road bike created from the ground up. Could is be any sexier! 

Coming into the phase of longer rides, I'm actually jumping out of my skin to be on a bike of this calibre. The sheer weightlessness of it blew me away, not mentioning the floral print on the back frame. Irrelevant to some, crucial to me!

Adam doing a few final tweaks.

I’m looking forward to discovering the brilliance of this bike as the weeks go by. Adam, I’m going to call him the Specialized bike GURU, sat me down for a crash course of what creates and in particular, defines a bike like this apart of the rest. I commend him for successfully conveying extremely in-depth, technical and meticulous information, in other words total gibberish, to a complete bike nuff!  For all those tech heads out there, here are all the juice facts!

Now that I comprehend what I’m riding and the engineering behind it, I can already feel my appreciation for the ride component move to another level. I’m excited to share my learnings with you as I go :)

So let the fun begin! Tomorrow the coach has got the Trispecify Crew hitting the road for a 4-hour session. Perfect timing. Can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning… right?! We are setting out for a 3-hour ride, followed by an hour run. This will be the longest ride/run set I would have done to date.

I’m interested to see how the body transitions into the run from a long ride.  I’m sure having my new wheels (Rovals, for those playing) to take me along for the ride, will make all the difference!

Maddy xx