Saturday, October 30, 2010

238 Days to Go

Day in the Lakes Half Ironman is pending. When I said I was thinking of doing it, Mel corrected me, that I just said it like it was going to happen. She had a point.

Whether I am ready for it or not, 6 months from now, there's nothing I can do to stop myself from entering this Monday morning.

I fell off my bike on my arse today. A reminder of how slippery a metal bridge covering is to wet, 100psi tyres. Only my pride is dented so it's game-on.

I have been riding lovely and carrying heavy bags all week. Probably great for my strength. At least I hope that's why I felt so knackered today and only stayed in the pool long enough to avoid being sick on Friday.

This week I managed to:
  • swim 28 lengths in 25 minutes on Friday.
  • Today I rode 60 km in nearly 3 hours.
  • On Wednesday I ran 12 miles in 2hours 10 minutes.

In 238 days time I want to:

  • swim the equivalent of 64 lengths in 38 minutes in very cold water
  • Ride 56 miles (90 km) in 3hours 40 minutes including the Kirkstone Pass.
  • Run 13 miles (22 km) in 2 hours 20 minutes up some monster fells
All together now.

I don't want to miss out on endurance training so when I travel to Manchester for work three days in a week the kit has to come with me - swimming, towels, running shoes.

The thought of starting the day in the lakes Triathlon and not finishing fills me with dread. I'm trying not to worry about finding the time and dedication to do the training. It has to happen, that's simply it. At least at the moment my motivation is sky high but the dark nights are coming, hours of knocking out miles. An ongoing enthusiasm for long runs. Early mornings going to the pool. Cold open-water swims. A fluctuating workload. All these things could screw me up but my intention not to let them is high. That's me that - all good intentions.

This year I'm going to try not to let illness worry me too much. I can be an unbearable princess about catching colds. This time my aim is to be so strong that I can get through it without too much disruption. Not so precious. Not so fragile.

When I'm not actually physically training, it's the exciting challenge of keeping up with the laundry and the most important yet boring aspects of training - eating and (enjoyably) sleeping - one more hour of that tonight. Whee hee!

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