Flying moths and Week 19 done

Is it a bad thing that moths flew out of my swimming bag this week?  After considerable time off, the festive season blurring passed and being away last week in the southern states of Oz.  (A beautiful place where the humidity left the air and you could breathe again.)  I came back rested and ready to get cracking into 19 weeks left until the race.

trying to get off butt :)

After the initial get your butt out of bed and go to swimming session; first cab off the rank.  Fingers at the ready, I unzipped my swimming bag to check all was well.  It was well, alright, and I had additional friends to help me train.  A family of moths.  Let's just call them the Addams family.  I'm happy to report they have been since relocated and swim bag is free of moths.  Woot woo. :)

Saturday is our brick session day.  Now, if you are anything like me when I first started, I wondered what the hell was a brick session.  Did people throw bricks at one another, as strength training?  Did we each get a brick and carry under water like the chick in Blue Crush?  My mind did wonder as you can see.  In short, it means putting it all together (swim/bike/run or swim/bike bike/run etc) and practising those transitions and getting the jelly legs from bike to run (or in my case grandma shuffle) in motion.  Practice makes perfect, so I've been told. 

 

Never smile at crocodile...

My bike and I still haven't done road time yet so, instead of hitting road, did an extra swim session in the nets.  (It's Far North QLD, this time of year nets are in ocean to keep stingers away and I guess the crocs.)  And we would have got a lot of extra swimming in, until, coach thought she saw something surface and go back down in the net.  Hmmmm, let's just say after that we waiting until additional swimmers came down and did a couple of laps; they were all good so we went in after that.  That's how we roll in north! 

Despite the additional friends gathering, by Sunday I think I felt every muscle in my body.  Hello training.  It can only get better right.  Ha ha ha ha....

Train hard (or try your best, which is me)

Keep smiling

Shell xo :)

So it begins....Week 20

How can you not clear your mind looking at this....sunset Port Stephens NSW

The presses where running hot with training programmes spitting out from printers all over the world this week, or burning up the digital screen whatever shakes your boat.  20 Weeks until race day of Cairns 70.3 Ironman.  Am I worried, nawwwwwwwwwwwwwwh.  Am I concerned, nawwwwwwwwwwwh.  Has my brain left my head in a fit of shite scaredom, you bet ya. 

Strength training...Sydney

After having nearly 12 months off from, let's just say, exercise in general.  Well my mid life crisis body is really not at the point it was last year.  The base fitness I had, has left the building so to speak and let's just say an extra bloomin curve crept in there from emotional eating.  What me, emotional eat, never!

Climbing Tomaree Headland....Port Stephens

Anyways, it is time for the can of harden up to begin and start training.  

 So I did in my own way, and did the next best thing, ran away to Sydney town.  Now I know what you are thinking where is my commitment.  Trust me, I was committed to dancing with old friends, strength training through the Rocks watering holes, climbing mountains from my youth, walking the beaches and getting my mind in training mode.

Nothing like building up to it I say, I'm sure week 19 will be nothing like this week, back in Cairns so making the most of it.

Strength training is important, so is hydration. :)

Keep smiling

Shell xo :)

Opps I did it again.

So, the 70.3 Cairns Ironman and I has some unfinished business.  To say; to actually get to the start line this year will be a feat in itself.  But again my finger quivered over the final registration page on the Ironman rego page and hit enter for 2015, did I mention, AGAIN?

Yep, I know you'd think that mid-life crisis of doing the Point to Pinnacle (P2P) would have got all this out of the system.  But, alas, it has not.  Mind you it may have, for the P2P, I look at a wee hill now and I'm still scarred......

Now the training begins, got the all clear from physio to "go hard" with training.  It has all begun again.  I'm really hoping that I get past 14th February 2015 this year, and anything after that should be a bonus.

Woot woo :)

Here is to fun 20 weeks of training.   Oh man, did I just say fun....nuts, nuts is what I meant.

Safe training

Shell xo :)

Point to Pinnacle 2014 Race Report

View from the top....  Finish of P2P

You know when you think; ‘this is going to be a great idea’, and that thought passes through your frontal lobe of grey matter.  There probably should be a safety switch there that says ‘hell no’, especially when you are going through a mid-life crisis.

Mt Wellington in the clouds at start...

After 8 months on the side line through my failed actions of Supergirl on tennis court, causing a wee damage to my ankle.  I needed a goal to aim for and thought wouldn’t it be awesome to do Point to Pinnacle, Half Marathon from Casino to summit of Mt Wellington, in Hobart, Tasmania.  It has been on the radar for a while, and being in November asked hubby could we do this for my birthday.  Thinking not in a million years my hubby would agree to do a half marathon, never mind it’s all up hill.

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather because he said ‘why not’.  Oh no, I think he could sense my ongoing frustration of being injured, soooo long and not doing anything.  When rego opened there was no turning back. 

Tassie is one of the most beautiful pockets of Australia.  The Point to Pinnacle celebrated their 20th

All smiles at flattest part of course, the start line. :)

anniversary this year with 2,600 athletes taking part, the majority being locals, the 350 or so of us being ‘mainlanders’.  Ranging in all ages, shapes and sizes the Point to Pinnacle is all about people having a go and leading a healthier lifestyle and I think that is what drew me to it in the first place.  It is all about having a go.

You can rego to run or walk, and with the fitness level at below par and still ‘fixing’ the ankle we registered to walk.  All hale, you runners that course....amazing.(and walkers) :)

The night before was a dinner at the West Point Casino, our starting point for the following morning; special guest speaker was Mr John Maclean, who was the first paraplegic athlete to complete the mecca in Ironman, Kona, Hawaii, after 3 attempts.  Swam English Channel, and much, much more.  What a truly inspirational person.

Race day arrived and the walkers start out an hour before the runners.   A group warm up to get the muscles moving, Mt Wellington tried to appear, but it hadn’t quite woken up yet and was immersed in cloud.  Somewhere up there was the finish line.  The siren went off and only for us to discover we were leaving the only FLAT part of the course; the West Point Casino carpark, the rest is all uphill; isn’t that noice.

a bit of fun on side

Surrounded by people laughing and chatting in the first few km’s, the occasional costume floating by; beer wenches, Hawaiian grass skirts etc.  The temperature was perfect with just a wee chill in the air.  The road beneath our feet kept climbing up and the tip of Mt Wellington still in clouds.

By 10km, blisters had popped on both heals, we still were not on the pinnacle road to the summit, and did I mention the road was still climbing up.  After an hour of walking the first of the runners appeared, amazing, and go you good things.  All the walkers were giving them a cheer to keep them going.  Everyone was so encouraging it was like being with my teamies (Empowerfx) and they were 4,000km away.

At the 11km mark cramps had set in, oxygen was getting to be a minimal thing, and did I mention oh the road was still going UP.  But we were finally on the last stage of mountain road; only 10km’s to go whoopee.  My hubby looked back at me to say with his eyes are we having fun yet?  I’m a little delirious by this stage so I think my eyes rolling into the back of my head and Frankenstein walk probably answered that one. 

With 9km to go, each km is marked on the road, that’s still going UP by the way, and totally in struggleville by then, yet my mountain goat hubby kept on going and kept me going.  Even to the point of taking a leaf out of coaches book.  We passed the 9km mark on the road and he’d say ‘hey only 8km and a bit to go’.  Who was he kidding ha ha.

Bubbles of delirium at "the Springs"

6km and I’d passed struggleville right on by and hit wall number 99.  I looked down and to my amazement my curvy calf muscle had actually gone straight out sideways with cramp..well I’ll be.  It was pretty freaky, stretched it out and kept going only because of my beautiful hubby said we came 4000km we are going to finish by cut off.

Whilst taking a few wee mini breaks on the side, regaining much said oxygen intake, beautiful people encourage me to keep going, and doing a great job.  The summit was coming into view between the clouds and it all seemed a finish was possible.

just oxygen to lungs would have been good at this stage

The last drink station was at 17km mark, and you could really see the summit by then, woot woo.  I think my hubby literally dragged me the last few km’s and if I wasn’t so delirious with cramps, blisters and oxygen intake I’d probably really enjoy the amazing view, it is spectacular. (Good thing I'd seen and appreciated the beauty by car the day before.)   300m away from the finish line if I had of had any moisture left I’m sure tears of happiness would have fallen.

We crossed the finish line 4 ½ hours after we started…….a big fat hoolllly dooolllly. We made it.  And the beautiful beer wenches took a photo of us both, yes I was delirious but they were real I promise.  :)

hmmmmm

They don’t call it one of the world’s toughest half marathons for nothing.  It just happened to be my first, refer back to ‘safety switch’ comment at the beginning ha ha.  It is an amazing race, and that doesn’t happen without A LOT of behind the scenes organising, and it wouldn’t happen without the police, SES, St John’s Ambos and a host of volunteers, a BIG, BIG, BIG thank you to you all.  Plus the beautiful people of Tassie that encouraged us up the mountain.  I’ll definitely be back to Tassie; P2P maybe still a little shell shocked to say I’d do that again, but happy to be a supporter.  But dare say this mid-life crisis might go on for a while. :)  

Thanks Tassie, and now sometime later I’m beginning to smile and go yahoo ‘made it’ and a quote comes to mind from JohnMaclean’s support crew while he did Kona; the pain doesn’t last forever….keep moving.  (They obviously said that from comfort of support crew car :) )

Then again I think the quote of the day belongs to my gorgeous hubby who said after we finished and collected our medals, water and lollies, heading for the bus to take us to bottom again.

‘So Shell, next year for your birthday can we just walk 100m across the road to the pub, instead of 21km up hill.’ Yep I thinking that could be a plan.  :)

Here is the link to the P2P, why not give it a crack…..  :)

 Just keep giving it a go..

Shell xo :)

This one is my favourite signs from the day......  Thank you all Point to Pinnacle team :)