Here goes...again!

Bally8

Thursday 5th Jan
Have a very special visitor* staying for a few days so I have been concentrating on spending as much time with her as possible. Thought I wouldnt have time to do any exercise today but I managed to sneak a 40 minute treadmill run in. 4.22 miles varing the speed from 6mph to 7 mph. Felt great.



*My daughter has been living in Cork since the summer and is home for the first time in nearly 5 months:D:D:D

Bally8

Jeez I just spent ages writing u what I've been doing in the last week since I updated and then I got logged out and it was gone:mad:

So now this is the short and sweet version -

Saturday 6th Jan - Stroke work swim session with the club. I had a 30 minute one-on-one with the coach. He has demoted me to widths as he thinks my kick is just awful. The worst he as ever seen really- says its working as an anti-propellent to my arms:o So now I have to do different drills at the wall- back to beginner stuff:o:o, floating to get my heels up to where they should be, kicking at the wall and most exciting- standing at the wall and moving my leg back and forward for a bit:). I dont mind at all as I really want to sort my swimming out, so if its back to basics for now that's what I'll do. Not good for my standings in the SBR challenge though!

4.72 mile forest trail walk/run with hubby and horse-dog. Love it up there, so glad we discovered it.

Sunday 7th Jan - 27.35 km cycle to Ballycomon, via Nenagh- managed to stay on bike the whole time- yippie! Cycled up Port hill at the end - its a New Years resolution, I want to do it once a week as its a killer hill and feels great to get to the top.
3.22 mile run on treadmill after, slight niggle in my right shin. 15 minutes stretching after- another resolution, I really have to make sure to incoperate much more in my training.

Monday 9th Jan - 33 minute run on treadmill - 3.42 miles, still niggly pains in my right leg.

Tuesday 10th Jan - Club turbo session. A tough 60 minute session. Lots of sprints and then some big gear work. 4 laps of the track after.

Wednesday 11th Jan - Swim at work. I usually have to spend most of this time supervising and hanging around with the girls but today I managed to squeeze in 20 lengths.
4.8 mile run on treadmill after work. I really cant wait for the evenings to get bright so I can get back out on the road to run.

Thursday 12th January - 1 hr 15 minute club turbo session. Wow was I sweaty. 2 laps of track after.

Friday 13th January - Rest day- I'm exhausted!How do you people work full time? First week of my new working life down- 2 jobs and training is tough to manage.

Bally8

Saturday 14th Jan - Club cycle. I havent been on one of these in weeks- I was avoiding them cos I'm still so scared of falling off the bike! But I knew I had to get back out there so off I went. There were a few new people and I was happy to see that once I got over the terror of cycling through a busy Nenagh town I was finding it easy to stay on the pace. It was an easy enough cycle and I made it back to my car without incident - 25.35 miles in 1:38 ish.

I felt really fresh and it was only 11am so I decided 'what the heck' and took off again on my own. I followed the 20k cycle route for the North Tipp Sprint. As this is now going to be my first race it was great to cyle the route to get an idea of what will lie ahead of me on the day. It is an 10k out and then turn back route. Going out was tough, there are a few drags but coming back to Nenagh was brilliant, so fast! Took me 31 minutes to get to the turnaround in Toomevara and 20 minutes to get back to the start. 51 minutes in total for the 20k. I think I will have no problem improving that and hope to get closer to 45 minutes on race day:D

After lunch I went for my first road run this year. I've been doing all my runs on the treadmill recently so knew it was important to get back out on the road and see how my injured foot is doing. Delighted to report all felt great. I didnt want to push it so ended up doing 3.8 miles in 38 minutes exactly. Much much nicer than the treadmll.

25 minutes of my stretches after.

Sunday 15th January
27.84km cycle with Mr.Bally8. Again scared of falling but I think Im getting a bit more confident and managed to stay upright or the whole cycle again:D. Finished the cycle with that big Portroe Hill climb. Felt easier this week, maybe it was because I was more focused on getting past the crowd of people outside the community hall than the hell which was the hill! My neighbours think I'm crazy enough already- I'm the blow in from Shannon who spent months running around the roads and now I'm out cycling torture hill!

littlebug

well done on the run Bally8. You're flying with the cycling. Making me want to get my own bike out now

RacoonQueen

Good training A, was going to say to you to get out in morning weekday traffic in the city and cycle behind someone who is slower than you and clipping in and unclipping won't be a bother to you. It's either that or ripping your foot out of the shoe.

I'm woeful with cleats, anywhere I cycle to includes a commute out in traffic before I can get a free run and you're constantly unclipping.

I ran into railings yesterday, told you, complete clutz. Never cycle near me if we do the same race. :pac:

Micilin Muc

That's some good cycling on Saturday, 20km in 51 minutes after a 40km club cycle!

Bally8

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Never cycle near me if we do the same race. :pac:

Ha ha that would be hilarious, we would go down in a heap, knock half the field out :D

claralara

Great stuff again this weekend missus

Bally8

Mon 16th Jan
Treadmill run after work- 3.24 miles in 30 minutes. Added in some intervals. Managed to run at 8.5 mph twice for 30 seconds. That's the fastest I've ever ran on the treadmill so was chuffed at that. 10 minutes stretching after.

Tuesday 17th Jan
Group turbo session. My christmas present arrived today- a replacement turbo for the one Mr.bally8 broke. So finally I dont have to borrow a club turbo anymore. Great session- I felt strong and didnt have to fake it at any stage:D. I sweat more than I ever had before but while a few people around me said they were dying I was actually fine. Sessions like this are rare but soooo good, that feeling where you feel on top of the world.
2 quick laps of the track after - its great to see they are doing up the toilets and stuff at the Nenagh track. It's great to have a facility like this in Nenagh, its a pity that its so basic and was going into such disrepair.


Wednesday 18th Jan
Swim at work. I didnt get much of a chance to do my own thing today. The girls were very chatty as was the lifeguard so we spent a lot of time floating round. But every now and then I told them to go practice their kick and while they were doing that I got into my own lane and practiced keeping my kick high in the water for a few lengths. 250m total

I had planned to run for 30 minutes tonight but I'm exhausted. Spent 3 hours driving today (will have to do this every Wednesday from now on) and I still have a load of stuff to do for work before I have an early night tonight. I feel sick with guilt for missing the run. I have issues!!!

Nules10

Bally8 wrote: »

Mon 16th Jan
I feel sick with guilt for missing the run. I have issues!!!

:D Yes you do
Great sessions you are doing at the moment bally8

shazkea

Bally8 wrote: »

I had planned to run for 30 minutes tonight but I'm exhausted. Spent 3 hours driving today (will have to do this every Wednesday from now on) and I still have a load of stuff to do for work before I have an early night tonight. I feel sick with guilt for missing the run and not being able to log it in the SBR Challenge table. I have issues!!!

FYP

Dory Dory

I totally understand the sick with guilt and having issues thing. Ugh! Why do we torture ourselves so? No worries, though - you are doing super! I think you're hitting your stride!

Bally8

So even though the guilt of missing a run on Wednesday was huge, I managed to go all day yesterday without doing any training at all. I had the worst day at work - ended up walking out at 11 and spent the afternoon in tears trying to decide if I was going to put myself through another day in the place or would I have the nerve (or possibly be foolish enough) to leave for good. Because of all that I was totally drained and headachey when it came to turbo class time so I gave it a miss.

Woke up this morning feeling much better - decision made I'm leaving the new job and going back to working 2.5 days a week in my old job in Shannon. I know I'm letting people down but I just couldnt cope with the abuse I was getting there.

Anyway finally some training to log - I went on a 27.25 km cycle with Mr.Bally8. I did it on my hybrd, I think I deserve double milage in the SBR challenge for that- so much harder than on the racer. A short run after of 2.56 miles. Nice easy brick session.

I havent really swam this year so far. Its ridiculous as its the area I most have to work on. Im going to try fix that from tomorrow on.

Bally8

Sat 21st January
Burrr it was cold out there today and windy! Club cycle this morning. 33.27 miles in 2:15. I found the pace very easy and never had to work hard except when battling with the wind. There are a lot of new people and while its great to have a bigger group cycling, I feel I'm ready to push for faster and longer rides now. Still I have to look at the rest of the week- I dont want to kill myself on a Saturday morning and have nothing left for my swimming and running I suppose.

Took me a good hour to heat back up to a normal temperature after the cycle. Then back to Nenagh pool for stroke work with the club. Did a few different drills to help my arms in the front crawl. He is trying to get me to try bilaterial breathing and I did a lot of different drills trying that out. I really like it, I hope I can get it right as I felt much more comfortable taking a breath every 3 strokes instead of every 2.
950 m in total.


Rest day tomorrow as I'm in Cork for the day. But I think its probably best as I have great plans for a big week of training next week. Looking forward to it:)

racheljev

Great training missis, you're flying in every discipline! Hope the work situation is sorted out for you asap, no reason why you should have to put up with that sort of crap.

Bally8

racheljev wrote: »

Great training missis, you're flying in every discipline! Hope the work situation is sorted out for you asap, no reason why you should have to put up with that sort of crap.

Thanks rachel, the problem with my job is that I am expected to put up the all the crap they throw at me. I'm just at a point in my life where I have the luxury* I suppose of being able to say NO im not putting up with it any more.


On a more positive note - I have way more time for training again :-)



*Husband who works overtime at every available opportunity!

Dory Dory

+1 on your training! Woo hoo!

Bally8

Mon 23rd Jan - Back to circuit training for the first time since mid-December. My sister wanted to try it out so I ditched my run and went along with her instead. An hour and a half of good honest pain. Wow it was tough - loved it. My sister not so much- she wont be back:P

Tuesday 24th Jan - 1 hour turbo class with the club. Very tough session, everyone looked wrecked by the end. Even though I've been to a lot of turbo sessions now I'm still not up with all the lingo of how to describe what we were doing. Alls I know is that this one was a doozie:D 2 laps of the track afterwards just to get used to running off the bike.

Wednesday 25th Jan - Swim session at work. The girls were getting a lesson so I spent most of the time talking to the instructor then hopped in and joined in with their kick work. He got us to do the dolphin kick which was totally new to me. Felt very weird, I was laughing as I was flopping along but he says I was getting the hang of it by the end. Managed a few lenghts fc when the girls got out. 300m total

After work we managed to get a nice hilly walk in with the dog. It was lashing. MrBally8 and I were totally soaked by the end. His training program for the adventure race says to walk hilly routes before running them so that's what we are trying to do at the moment.

Quick change then out to the garage for an hour. 5.85 miles on the treadmill:D:D that's the longest I've ran since I got injured in July. Thrilled!! Did 5 minutes boxing after that and then a lot of my stretching exercises.

Going to try get up for my 6.30 swim with the club tomorrow:eek:

claralara

Bally8 wrote: »

Going to try get up for my 6.30 swim with the club tomorrow:eek:

If you agree to that, then I'll throw the end Of my Wednesday glass of red wine down the sink, set my alarm for 5.30, not press snooze and do 6 miles before work in the morning...deal?!

I've been hmmming and haw'ing (sp?!) all night about what to do....

Bally8

claralara wrote: »

If you agree to that, then I'll throw the end Of my Wednesday glass of red wine down the sink, set my alarm for 5.30, not press snooze and do 6 miles before work in the morning...deal?!

I've been hmmming and haw'ing (sp?!) all night about what to do....

Well claralara what did you do? I'm sorry I only saw your post now. Amazingly enough I got up for the swim!! Alarm off at 5.55 in the pool in Nenagh at 6.30. My first time swimming in the lane with the club. There are 3 lanes and I went in with the slow lane. There were 7 of us in it and it was nuts. Very scary stuff. I was swimming for my life most of the time. We did different sets of stroke - front crawl, back stroke and side stroke to warm up then lots of front crawl. I had to stop a lot but am very happy to say I was doing 2 lenghts and sometimes even 4 before I had to take breaks. 1150 m total.

Totally weird to be comimg out of the pool when its still dark outside. Not sure if I will ever really become an early morning person.

claralara

I dumped the end of the vino, I set the alarm for 5:35, I didn't press snooze…and that's where it ended…Instead of snooze I pressed the 'die alarm, die' button and reset it for 6.35. I was just knackered and knew I had a long stinky day in work ahead of me. Plus I was really good the last 2 mornings so I didn’t feel too guilty. I did however bring my gear into work with me and, subject to my having 40 minutes free between work and PT, I will run.

Well done you though. You never know, you may become a morning person… I love getting out in the morning and ticking it off my list at my control, and not having to hang around to see if I'm going to get my lunch hour free, or out of work on time!

It's not a bad idea for motivation though...

Bally8

Thursday 26th Jan pm - Club turbo session. This was my favourite one yet. It was all sprint work and recovery, no big gear stuff. I've never had a turbo session like this before - loved it! Sweat was flowing off me but I felt strong throughout. Much prefer light gear spinning then big gear grind.

My hubby bought me a turbo wheel today - he is the best:)

jcsmum

Just catching up on your log....some great posts there. Well done on the early morning swim. It is great to get that exercise done and dusted before the rest of the world has even woken up.
And good for you on the job front. Right decision....life's too short, plus any situation which gives you more time for running is all good!!

Bally8

jcsmum wrote: »

And good for you on the job front. Right decision....life's too short, plus any situation which gives you more time for running is all good!!

Thanks jcsmum, I'm glad to say I'm taking advantage of all my spare time by running etc instead of doing annoying stuff like cleaning my house:D

Bally8

Friday 27th Jan
Very enjoyable day today. I took the dog up to Coum to run the forest trail with me as he is too much to handle on lead on the country roads around the house now. 4.57miles of tough hilly trail. So beautiful up there, the views of Lough Derg are amazing. That run was better for the spirit then any meditation could be- all alone except for the horse/dog in a forest on a bright crisp day - heaven:). I walked the first mile then ran on and off for a total of 2.25 miles running. Very happy with that as even though it was tougher conditions then I'm used to I managed to run at 10:13 mile average pace. Found the downhill bits jarring on my legs- I'm aching here now as I type this.

Went to the pool after lunch for some body positioning practice. Did 6 lengths fc then 5 mins of drills that the coach gave me- a bit embarrassing really but necessary- floating holding on to the wall with my legs out behind me, standing and kicking one leg back and forwards then the other and finally holding the wall and kicking to get my legs high up like the should be. The 6 lengths and the same again x 3. Finished off with a couple extra lenghts to bring the total up to 25.

Had planned a 3 mile treadmill run this evening but my legs are sore and achy so I decided to leave it. I've done a lot this week so dont want to push my luck.

Dory Dory

Your trail run sounds awesome! I love running the trails - it's such an adventure. And keep up the good work with your swimming! Great log you got going here!

insinkerator

Great work on the swimming Bally8! I'll be getting lessons from you next .

Pulling well away from me in the SBR too! :mad:

Bally8

insinkerator wrote: »

Great work on the swimming Bally8! I'll be getting lessons from you next .

Pulling well away from me in the SBR too! :mad:

It's your log that gives me inspiration for the swimming! Welcome back by the way:)

Bally8

I've been on the forum every day since I last posted but I'm so interested in reading what everyone else is doing that I always forget to update my own log.

So since last Friday...
Saturday 28th Jan - Tri club group cycle of 58.87kms in 2:25. Very very cold morning but a lovely new route. Nice group of people going, I love having the chance to chat to different people throughout the cycle makes the kms fly by. Nenagh - Moneygall - Borrisoleigh - Nenagh.

Sunday 29th Jan - 45 min walk with the horse followed by a 60 min run on the treadmill as I had left if too late to run on the road. 6.3 miles Im delighted with that as its the furthest I've ran since last July. 5 minutes constant boxing after then 18 minutes of stretching.

Monday 30th Jan - rest day, was just too tired to do anything.

Tuesday 31st Jan - Turbo class, a tough one as usual. Very enjoyable. I really wanted to stay at home and veg but couldn't cope with the thoughts of two days off in a row.

Bally8

January Summary:
Swim: 4825 m
Cycle: 427.9 kms
Running: 76.94 kms

Feb Aims:
Swim: 6000m
Cycle: 500 kms
Running: 100 kms

Bally8

Wed 1st Feb:
Last swim lesson at work. Got to try the butterfly stroke- disaster!! but fun. 280 m approx. 3.4 mile treadmill run in 30 mins after work.

Thursday 2nd Feb: Managed to get up at 5.55am, defrost my car and make it in time for the 6.30 am club swim session!!!! By 7.10 I wished I hadn't:( Had a clash of heads 3 lenghts in while doing the backstroke. It was a full force smash and I got quite a shock as I didnt realise I had strayed off course. Not sure if it was all my fault- I think the other guy had strayed off too but in the heat of the moment I was all apologies. By the end of the next length I knew I was in trouble. I had a pain across my shoulder and neck and couldnt rotate to take a breath without pain. I struggled on trying to do everything that was asked of us but had to stop after every two lengths to try massage my neck and give myself a break from the pain. Then my swimsuit got stuck on the steps for getting out of the pool as I swam past them so I ended up being dragged backwards and getting a big hole in my togs:(.

One of the guys saw I was in trouble and spent a bit of time examining me and said that I probably over rotated trying to take a breath and that caused the crick in my neck. I wasnt sure if I should swim on or get out so I battled on for a few more lengths. Managed 850m but had to stop early as I was in a lot of pain. Went home feeling very sorry for myself. The pain was getting worse as the morning progressed. It was so bad at times it brought tears to my eyes. Took some pain meds and rested for a few hours. By 4 pm I was feeling recovered enough to walk the dog. Had to cut the walk short though as it hurt evertime he yanked the lead. Missed out on my turbo class as I thought it better to let myself recover for one night instead of going, making things worse and missing more time then necessary.

Bally8

And finally today...
Neck felt much better today so I was straight into my training gear when I came in from work this evening. Set up my bike for my first ever turbo session at home and went out to the garage for a run. I decided to have an indoor duathlon using the distances I will be doing in next weeks Dromineer Duathlon. Started the stopwatch, did 3.15 miles on the treadmill in 28:25, quick run into the sitting room, off with runners on with bike shoes, quick drink of water,turned tv on then started my cycle section (def can improve that transition time:D). 18kms on the turbo - got to use my new cateye cycle computer which I put on the bike yesterday. Found it tough doing the turbo on my own, it seemed to take ages for the kms to build up. Took me 46:09 to do the 18.06k. Then runners back on, turned tv off, let dog out and ran to garage, back on treadmill for the 2 k final run. Managed that in 11:15. Total duathlon time: 1:28:44.

Continued running for anothe few minutes to cool down.

Total running 4.78 miles in 43:25.

So its not earth shattering times by any stretch but its my first ever TT so now I have something to measure my progress against. I can see myself doing this every few weeks.

Niggles around my right knee again. Starting to concern me a little. Its not pain and it wont stop me training but I feel I cant put full power into cycling or running becasue of it. Hopefully its nothing.

Bally8

Saturday 4th Feb
Epic group cycle today where all that could go wrong did. We had punctures, falls and pee emergencies, struggled with the cold and then the rain but finally made it home after 3hrs 15 minutes with 2 hrs 45 minutes of actual cycling between all the unscheduled stops. Great fun really, I could get used to the little picnics while waiting for people to change flats:D. 66.31kms total. Got home to find I had a rear tyre puncture for my trouble. That was 4 of us out of I think 12 people:eek:.

Spent an hour cleaning all the muck off the bike then changed the flat. That's over 4 hours dedicated to cycling today- what has happened my life????

Shoulder too sore for stroke work in pool this afternoon so Im going to get some other arm exercise in tonight- shoveling a chinese into me:D

Dory Dory

You are doing super with your training, backstroke head-on collision aside. :eek: I totally know what you mean about trying to read everyone's logs.....I can't keep up! But totally enjoying your zest and stories.

Bally8

Sunday 5th Feb
3.5 mile run in 34:52...wait for it...outside...on the road!!! Not on the treadmill:D. I was going to be away all day and had planned today as a rest day but when I woke up I realised I had some time for a run if I just went for it so got up, dressed and was about to head out to the treadmill when I thought- 'what am I doing- its bright outside, I can run on the road' and that's what I did:). Ran 1km easy, 1km at 10k pace. Very happy to see I was able to maintain a faster pace then this time last year. Delighted to have gotten the run in before I headed away for the day and not used it as an excuse to do nothing.

Bally8

Monday 6th Feb
Swim after work this evening. I was in a lane with 2 others and as usual just felt useless and in the way for most of the session. Totally not feeling the love for swimming at the moment. I'll plod on though and hope to see some improvements over time. Today was just one of those days when I felt like I'm getting worse not better. 875m total, did a variety of strokes, front crawl, breast stroke and some kick only work and back stroke with arms out over my head. My shoulder was still aching so not sure if I was doing more damage than good.


I'm starting to re-think my goals for this year. Maybe I'm better off avoiding races which involve swimming. I could do a few duathlons and the adventure races but maybe I will leave the triathlons until next year and give myself more time to get better at swimming. Registration for the North Tipp Sprint opened today, I'll give myself a while to decide what to do.

insinkerator

Don't bail now Bally8! You're probably not thinking straight because of your sore shoulder. Give it two weeks and you'll be zooming around like a fish again

Bally8

insinkerator wrote: »

Don't bail now Bally8! You're probably not thinking straight because of your sore shoulder. Give it two weeks and you'll be zooming around like a fish again

Thanks insink, I went to club turbo tonight and was more of less told to HTFU and get over it:D:D. So that's what I did. I realise my swimming is crap but hey as long as I can manage to do the 30 lengths in the 30 minutes I'll be fine. I was never doing this to challenge for medals:).

Turbo class was good, I felt good and strong on the bike tonight and enjoyed pushing the pace. Did 3 laps of the track off the bike instead of a cool down in prep for Saturday's duathlon.

insinkerator

That's the spirit!

Bally8 wrote: »

I was never doing this to challenge for medals:).

At least not till next year

Bally8

Wed 8th Feb - Planned rest day. However as I drove home from work I realised I had about 45 minutes of daylight in which I could run. Was really tempted but when I got in the doggie gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes begging me to take him for a walk so all notions of a run were scrapped in favour of being dragged down the road after monster dog who hadn't been walked in 4 days. I'm finding it hard to take rest days even though if someone else at my level said they trained 7 days a week I would tell them they need a day off to recover. Glad I was forced to take my own advice.

Thurs 9th Feb - What a difference 3 days make! After the gloom of Monday's swim I wasn't looking forward to this mornings 6.30 am club swim. I needn't have worried though, I really enjoyed it. I was sh1te as usual but for the first time I didnt compare myself to others. I just had the attitude that I would do as much as I could and that would be enough. It really helped me be more positive about the whole thing. I followed the set as much as possible but pulled out to the side after every 2 lengths. So in the end I would say I did about 45 lengths less than the others in my lane. 1150m total. Excitement about this new venture into triathlon restored

After breakfast Mr.Bally8, Tyson and I headed up to the forest to have a trail run. It was a bit weird to be in a cloud as we ran along. Couldnt see 15 metres ahead of us. Its a very tough run, we started off walking for the first mile then plodded for a while then walked again. MrBally8 has done something to his back so he was struggling from the beginning. After a while it got too much for him so we walked back to the car. 4.12 miles with 1.24 miles running.

I should be at turbo class right now but decided to put family first tonight and stay in.

Bally8

Friday 10th Feb
Gosh what a frustrating day this is turning out to be. Nothing has gone to plan. Still I managed to fit in a 20k cycle to see if my new tube was ok since I hadnt used that wheel since I had the flat last Saturday. Glad to report its ok so I'm all set to go for tomorrow's duathlon. Had planned to run off the bike but had a visitor waiting for me when I got home so couldnt. Then I finally got to run but had to stop early as had a phone call to day a delivery guy would be at the house in a few minutes. Managed 2.43 miles in 23 minutes. Had planned to swim at 3 but only got round to having my lunch then so that's a wash out too. I've also been mucking up the SBR challenge table. Argh, what else can go wrong??

I'm going off to walk the dog now after which the baking will begin for the race tomorrow

Bally8

Saturday 11th Feb - Dromineer Duathlon 1
Whooop whooop if only you could bottle this feeling . Participated in my first ever duathlon this morning. It was really really hard, I think I came second last but wow I loved it!

I was sick with nerves heading down, really scared. But I just had to HTFU and get on with it. Slowest went first so I volunteered to head off with two other girls. We were quickly passed by 2 other quick girls. The first mile was very tough, straight away a big long hill. I knew we are going fast but was shocked to see my garmin say 8:12 for the first mile. :eek: This is my fastest mile in any run ever since I've been keeping records 4 years ago!!! In fact every mile in both runs today was faster than my quickest mile of 8:49 I set last summer. This is why Im so thrilled. My speed and fitness has to have improved grately since I got injured. I'm very excited now about what the rest of the year will hold for me.

Maybe I will finally blast that sub60 10k:).

Anyway back to the race. I found the run very tough but pushed on. 5.06kms in 26:35. Transition was a total mess. I can definitely do better here. I spent some time trying to decide wether to put on my sunglasses or just leave them. I put them on, they fogged up, I took them off, changed my mind, put them on, changed my shoes, took a drink, took off my sunglasses and then walked with the bike for a bit when I should have just jumped on and raced off. lesson learned.

The cycle was a bit of a disappointment. I think I'm strong on the bike but didnt manage to catch many people. I only passed about 4 people and 2 of those passed me again later on. I had expected to reel some people in but it didnt happen. (note to self- more speed work to be done on the bike). I also clipped out coming up to the two roundabouts as I'm still scared of falling and stopped totally at the second one even when people after me kept going and passed me out:o. Bike section 18.41kms in 41:24.

T2 was much quicker -43 seconds.

It was mentally tough going out for the second run when nearly everyone else was finished. Physically it was a total biach!! I have never felt anything like it, my legs, my arse they were broken. I wasnt even sure I was running and I still had that hill to face again. I wanted to stop. I wanted to walk but I told myself it was only 2k, I could do it. And I did- quicker again than any mile in any race before today. 2.12kms in 11:07.

Total time 1:22:10. Great day, loved it. Cant wait for the next one.

Nules10

Well done bally8, you must be over the moon. I am so impressed. Great run for the 5k. Again well done. Glass of wine tonight for you

Dory Dory

Congratulations! You totally embody the spirit we all should train and race with. Well done.

racheljev

Well done A, delighted for you!

insinkerator

Excellent stuff Bally8!

Did your cakes go down a treat afterwards?

Bally8

Thanks guys, I'm still in shock about my run time, just never believed I had it in me

Sunday 12th Feb
Body sore and tired today so I ditched the idea of a run and swim and just went to the pool instead. I had timed a 750 m swim a few weeks back and it took me an embarrassing 38 minutes as I had to take lengthy breaks after each length. I decided to do it again today to see if a month of regular swimming had made any difference. Delighted to say it has . The 30 lengths took me 28;58. Still incredibly slow but its a 9 minute improvement for me, and now at least I know I can do the 30 lengths in less then the dreaded 30 minute cut off time:). Looking forward to working on my stamina and stroke over the next month. Maybe next time I time myself I will be able to do 3 or 4 lengths without having to take a break, or maybe the breaks will be shorter.

850m total.

Bally8

insinkerator wrote: »

Did your cakes go down a treat afterwards?

They sure did

shazkea

You're in flying form at mo A, great stuff

donothoponpop

Happy Valentines Day, hot chick from Tri forum!

**mmmwwah!**