"People told me it wasn't possible but until somebody could prove it was impossible I knew it was still possible"
So it is January 17 and have racked up 24 sessions for the year thus far. At this point I am definitely the fitness i have ever been but there is a long way to go for 2010, 2011 and beyond. At the moment I haven't defined the impossible and the main focus is to find out what is possible through focusing on the process, getting the work done and enjoy the the experience.
Of the 24 sessions all but one (The Cadbury Half Marathon) have been on my own. Missing the group dynamic to some degree but getting the work done on your own is rewarding and gives you something to draw on come race day when it is all about looking inward.
Some of the sessions have been great, some have been bad others have just been sessions. However on the whole it is progressing well and feeling good about the weeks ahead. In the end the most encouraging factor has been consistency, pretty much at the moment the thought of missing a session or even rearranging the week doesn't come to mind. Instead its just get out of the door and get 'er done. Pretty much the mantra is can think about rearranging or skipping a session once you have done it - as this makes the decision easy.
Training in Tasmania is a lot better than I expected. There is a lot of riding and so far pretty much every motorist has given me about 6 feet of space when passing. The terrain is up and down with not a lot of flat so every ride has involved a fair bit of climbing and descending. In fact most of my rides and runs finish with a 3km climb at about 5% or so gradient.
Swimming is going well also, it is about a 25 minute drive to the Hobart and the pools, however being summer I have had my own lane for about 80% of my sessions. I am also learning to push myself on my own a bit better and are starting to get a feel for what is going right and wrong in the water. Overall times are improving and this past week managed to do 50x50m @ 1 minute which was a big mental step. although not fast things are definitely trending in the correct direction.
Riding is going well, as mentioned above every thing is up and down here but noticing are starting to be able to lay done effort quite well. It is hard to get a solid benchmark due to the fact everything is rolling but when put the power down it seems to be there. Will likely see over the next couple of weeks exactly were the riding is at.
Running is interesting, PR's at Cadbury half marathon by 2 minutes with a 1:17:39 so looks like is going well. Having some good runs and some so so runs but think that is due to overall fatigue. May also be due to the fact it is hilly as heck around here. Will she how the legs are during the Geelong 70.3 and obviously want to crush the run so we will see what happens. Experimenting with different ways of running fast on runs from stride length and turnover and fast arms. Hopefully this will help troubleshoot when starting to slow down come race day.
A few more days in Tasmania awaits and are hoping to have a few more good sessions, especially those in the pool. It is then of to Adelaide to visit some friends and watch some of the Tour Down Under. Good times await along with just nailing each session day by day, as things progress it is then about defining what is possible and doing the work to make it happen.
Photo below is from a ride this past weekend which included a climb up to the top of Mount Wellington.
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