30 days ... but who's counting?

30 days left till the Blackwood Marathon. And you know what?

I'm not ready!

Nope, not at all.

Not one little bit.

Not only have I not paddled in water ONCE, but I don't even have the gear arranged.

I don't know if I can swim, I haven't even tested my shoulder in the water.

My bike computer just proved to me that I am even SLOWER than I thought - it's measuring 20 metres short in every kilometre!

I don't have a strapper organised. I don't have ANYTHING organised!

I went through that fatigue early, and now I am trying to play catch up in the lead up to the race, rather than being able to taper and take it easy.

This is NOT going to plan. 

I am going into meltdown!

I am completely at a loss....

Long Weekend, In Short

It was a great long weekend!

Good weather, wonderful people, great horse, beautiful trails.

Pretty much couldn't have dreamed it better!

Day 1 - Mat drove me down there, set me up, and drove home, and I went off on a 7km ride. I decided to cut it short because TK had started out wild and crazy, but our lessons had paid off, and he had gotten mellow and happy by the time we had the choice to come in or carry on, and I wanted to reward him for doing so well!

Day 2 - 24km and an "Amazing Race" with fun little games. Loads of fun. Carman and I rode together and we did pretty well on the challenges. I managed to rope a peg after two tries and had never thrown a lariat/lasso ever before! We also got the most questions right about the cowboys in the trees :) Sometimes it pays to go slow!

Day 3 - Headed out for 11km with Kelly, but TKs feet were WAY too sore, and there was way too much gravel on this track. It wasn't fair to him, so I rode him for a very short while in the arena until he was loosened up. He got to eat lots and lots as I packed up and waited for Mat to come back and get me.

We headed home, I showered (no showers for three days!) and slept like the dead!

I met some incredibly cool people on the weekend:

Claire on Thorn, Sally on Tolkien, Kelly on Pip (who was the lady who rode in with me at the Mayanup endurance ride), and Carman with Dee (who is a former Katanning resident). And countless nameless others who were just awesome!

More stories and hopefully pictures to come.

10/10 weekend!

Defining Fitness

I was thinking about "being fit" today. I do fitness assessments on new to fitness people all the time, and often I am told "I just want to get fit." So, I ask them how they'll know when they're fit. And most people don't know. They haven't really defined it. And I realise that it's a lofty task to define fitness if you're not aiming at something specific.

Reflecting back, there are a number of times in my life when I would define myself as having been fit. And you can kind of trace my fitness (and fatness) through a few stages of life. And each level of fitness was acquired in different ways, through the use of different training techniques, intensities, and sports. Sometimes I was aiming at something, and sometimes I wasn't.

5-17 years old
I was fit as a child. Remember way back when when we had to do phys ed at school (remember phys ed!?) and I swam. Mom made sure all her kids could swim, and I loved swimming. I wasn't so much a sporty person, but I was always up for the challenge, particularly when it was a fit test, and when there were badges to win. I could do all the sports, even if I didn't enjoy them, I never felt "can't" until probably after grade 9. Then those who were good got MUCH MUCH better, and team sports became a REAL thorn in my side. I didn't like it and I couldn't do it. I also danced until boys became more interesting, and then really fell off the wagon in grade 11: no more compulsory phys ed! I did have a job as a swimming teacher and lifeguard, so was still in shape, but that was the start of a downhill spiral that so many teenagers go through. Activity levels decline dramatically in the teens and I was certainly no exception to that rule.

So I think we could define my childhood fitness as being able to participate fully in life. I'd say this is what 99% of my clients are after.

18-25 years old
Then I got FAT in University - all I did was study, work, and eat Zoodles and Pizza Hut. I got fatter after uni when I started to work full time and was married to a man who felt that watching TV was an activity. Getting him to go for a walk was like ... well, name something hard. And trying to do something independently led to all sorts of other problems I'd care not to divulge here.

By the time I was 25 and getting a divorce I was soft and fat and sad. My ex's parting comment to me was "... and your ass is fat."

25-30 years old
After the divorce I let anger drive me. I was mad at him and mad at me and I was COMPELLED to exercise, to take back something that I felt had been taken from me. I worked out like a fiend. (Remember the movie Double Jeopardy? The scene where Ashley Judd is running around the prison yard in the rain and a lady comments "That is just sheer hate driving that woman on".. anyway, I digress.)

I swam and trained for swimming 6 days a week. I swam a full day Saturday (yes, I would spend up to 6 hours in the water), half day Sunday (three to four hours) and after work pretty much every day. My weights training was very swim specific, and that was at least two nights a week, usually followed by a swim, as well as a fitness class thrown in there, too.

Yes, I probably over trained. I went from a size 14 (that's about a 16-18 in Aussie terms) down to a 2 in a very short time. (They don't even make size 2 in Australia! You have to go down to junior clothes to get that size.) Upon seeing my ex-husband less than 10 months later, he wondered if I had been eating, asked me to turn around so he could see my ass, and asked me to spend the night. I said no, felt oddly empowered and vindicated, and stopped working out so much. I went to a more sensible schedule and maintained a healthy eating and workout schedule.

I was uber-fit (at least in the water), but I don't think I appreciated any of it. I don't remember feeling strong. Exercise was a cathartic release, so I don't even think I enjoyed being *that fit*. I don't even think I noticed. I just *had* to.

I think people with a lot of stress in their life may do this, and it will come naturally to them (I know someone who rides his bike a lot so he doesn't have to think, for example.) I also suspect that the emotional stress I was under and my strong convictions against drugs and alcohol saved me from going down a terrible path. I'm not quite sure how to word the idea in my mind, but to me there is probably an element of 'positive addiction' there and wonder if we could get druggies and alcoholics exercising if we could turn their lives around?

Anyway, after that, I started to run with Running Room groups (how awesome are they!?) until I hurt my knee. And then I started  focusing again on swimming - but this time with the 'masters' program, just once a week. I also started doing weights training for body sculpting for the first time, with the thought I'd work towards a competition at some point.

I had a sensible, healthy diet, I was a healthy size, and just felt really healthy at that point. I wasn't as slim or as cardiovasculary fit as I had been previously, but I was enjoying myself more and appreciated the strength and shape of my body. I felt strong. I was probably a size 6-8 CDN, 8-10ish AUS.

I was working out for strength, tone, muscle definition and body fat reduction. I was living very specifically towards a single goal: of competing in body building/sculpting. It gave me focus and direction. Without this goal I would have probably stopped working out.

30-36 years old
But then I went to Australia on vacation and got vacation fat. Happy! Lazy! Enjoying! Relaxing! Fattening! :) I came all the way back up to a 14 (AUS) or 12 (CDN). It's was a pretty significant jump in just a year.

And then I got a job at the Leisure Centre, got a horse, started doing stuff... and then I became a fitness instructor! In the last five years there have been definite ups and downs to my fitness levels. I have never been able to get down below a size 12 (10 CDN) in the lower body. My legs are just too muscular now, and I have that annoying 'over-30s' layer of stubborn fat that I'm not working that hard at getting rid of. If I want anything to fit in the legs, the waist is just going to be loose, and that's all there is to it!

When I started training to instruct BoxFit there was a significant increase in my fitness levels, and definite decrease in my body fat percentage. The fitness gained from this class (Step plus Aeroboxing) was really transferable, and I was doing much better in cycling and my triathlon times were getting better, although my runs were still trouble due to that damn knee!

But I was exercising as a way of being involved with friends, as an instructor and leader, and because it was FUN! What great reasons to exercise!

The past year has seen a huge change in my fitness! I started training for the Blackwood Marathon and Mat and I took up rogaining. My endurance had gone through the roof!

My walking fitness is ridiculous - in no small part due to the improvement in my running fitness. I can honestly say that I feel that if I didn't need to sleep I would be perfectly capable of walking for 24 hours straight!

My ability to push on for long periods at a steady pace is unlike any previous fitness I have had! And I feel more comfortable with my body's size and shape than ever before. I'm actually not that worried that I have big legs. It would have bothered me a few years ago. But my legs are big because they are strong!!

I started training for something specific, and got a lot more than I bargained for! Endurance, strength and flexibility!


Anyway, I'm sure you didn't really need to know all that about me, and I really didn't define fitness at all, did I!? :)

I think the point there is that we all go through changes and have different needs at different times in our lives. Exercise has played a huge part in my life in a wide variety of ways, and it's always had a positive impact on my whole life experience!

Perhaps I am going to have to change what and how I ask about clients 'wanting to get fit.'

Going Away

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I am not dead. But my computer is complaining most of the time, so it has been hard to get anything posted up here.

I have a couple of blogs in draft form that may never see the light of day, but have been editing when time allows, and when the computer says it's okay to use Blogger today. Dumb computer!

I'm also organising myself to head to Manjimup for a three day horse back ride, so this is taking some time. It's very rough accommodation, so I have to have everything. Three days of food for horse and rider and all other contingencies planned for.

Will post again on Tuesday when I get back and let you know how the weekend went.

In the meantime, if you're in WA, have a great long weekend! :)

Ride Stretch Ride Run Climb

I must learn to write catchier titles...

Feeling rather chatty today, so this is long and rambling. Sorry! :)

Anyway, just because I'm tried and worried doesn't mean I've stopped working out. The intensity has gone back down, but I'll build it back up as I start to feel better.

Monday was the Body Balance launch, full version of release 50, and this has taken much of my attention over the last few days. This release, though, has been surprisingly easy to learn, and really is put together well. I am quite enjoying it!

Kirsty was on stage with me for the launch, thank goodness, because I had no idea about hips, twists and forward folds. Really need to work hard on getting those ones nailed ... and I only have Wednesday morning left to fit in the training. Actually, hips and twists won't be too hard, but forward folds does something funky to my hips and I must be doing something wrong, because Balance has never hurt before! Ouch! So that one is proving to be more of a challenge.

We had 10 beautiful and brilliant people to the Balance class, and it was a riot! We had so much fun, and really taught a great class! And I got nearly three workouts in, because I practised Monday morning, then Monday afternoon with Kirsty and then we did the class that evening. Awesome day!

I do like co-teaching, it's fun to bounce of people and get the class involved, and to have someone showing the extra options when you really want the back row to see it and see it and DO IT! I do worry about some of my back row people who try too hard to work the high options. I also have those in class who will mimic me so precisely that hand signals get mirrored back to me, so you can imagine that when I change between a high and low option, so do they. So what option should they really be working at?! Anyway, I digress...

I also rode my horse Monday morning. It was a short, slow, quiet walk. Just a reminder to him that sometimes when we go out, we're not in a rush. We took almost an hour to do about 3 or 4 kilometres. It was nice. The weather was great, it's so spring now! Loving the change!

Just a little thing I was noticing about TK: he's like one of those kids that always has a bandaid on something. He constantly has nicks, cuts, scrapes, bruises... he's currently got a grass seed or splinter in his lip and ratty looking hooves, a good chunk of skin missing from a hip (courtesy of his mate Nero) and a new cut on his coronary band (that's where the hair of the leg meets the top of the hoof). None of these things are serious at this point, but I just had to shake my head at him today thinking "You are going to be a very high maintenance animal, aren't you?" I'll need to wrap him in cotton wool to protect him from himself! :)

Only had two people to gym circuit this Tuesday morning, so didn't get any workout in there. Did some more office type stuff instead.

After work today I went for a bike ride. I did my standard hills, 22ish kilometres, and was curious about my average out and back. So on the way out I did the distance in 31:30 and an average of 22.6, and then came back in 30:29 with the same average! Very interesting, because there is significantly more uphill climb on the way back. In those 7km before the highway, I have only three short downhills, and was working at a low average... around 16-18 with the many long slow climbs. But then the last few k's down the highway are ripper. It's mainly downhill back into town and I was working at about 30+ so was able to make it up. On the way out, I am running a more consistent 20ish speed, and never max'd out over 38, but was able to get up to 50 on the way back. I guess this proves that it all comes out in the wash: that's just how fast I am!

So, I have been browsing a few sites and came across a few interesting posts. This one from ACE Fitness looks like so much fun and I'm trying to figure out if there are any buildings in Katanning with stairs I could run. Most buildings are single storey, and if they have stairs, it's just a few up to the front door. I think the Town Hall is the only building I can think of that has a full second storey that I might be able to get access to, but it's only open for special events, so I don't know if they'd be too pleased with me wanting to go in a do a stair run. But if you have stairs, check out this awesome workout!

When did I become a person who would think that stair running is fun? :) hahaha

Well, I'll head off and make a little egg noodle and beef mix up something or other with the leftovers in my fridge for dinner.

Hope you've had a great start to your week!

Self-Doubt or Realistic Appraisal?

So, the last few days I've been really struggling with how well I am actually going to be able to do the Blackwood.

If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that every few weeks or so I have a mini-meltdown, worry about being able to do it all, and then get back up and go out and train some more.

This doesn't feel the same. I feel genuinely concerned about my ability to complete the training and finish the whole Blackwood this year.

Several weeks ago I established that I was less than halfway there with more than half the disciplines. See my post here. Now let's re-evaluate. I have two concerns: preparedness and fatigue.

Discipline Preparedness:

1. Run 12km - yes I can do this, and should be able to maintain/improve the distance and time over the next few weeks. Confidence 100%
2. Paddle 8.5km - I don't know, I still haven't done this on water! Confidence: 50% (I can probably make it, it'll probably just hurt like hell! Or I might get wet!) 
3. Swim 1km - I still haven't had a swim since March! I know that was sort of part of the plan, but it's a bit nerve racking, and it's based on best-case-scenario: that they will open the pool early this year, and there is absolutely no guarantee of that. Confidence: 25% (I don't' think a 1km swim is very realistic with no training)
4. Horse 16km - I am sure we can make the distance. What I am not confident about is my ability to ride a potential lunatic horse. Confidence: 75% (just a bit of fear taking the top off this one)
5. Bike 20km - yes I can do this. It will be hard, I will be slow, but I can do it. I will probably not be satisfied with it, but am sure I can complete it. Confidence: 90% (It's going to be so tough, I am just not sure if I'll still be pedalling across the finish line!)

So I am better than half way there with more than half the disciplines. Though the water ones are a real problem in this bald prairie with no water to speak of.

If I were able to remove my competitive nature and say I am going to take as much time as I need to complete each leg, then, yes, I will be able to complete the full Blackwood Marathon. But I am so not a person who will just go and dotter along for the day. I want to know that I've done everything to my absolute best, which is why the confidence is low, even on items I know I can complete.

Fatigue and Tapering:

Then there is the fact that there are only 40 days to go! Just over a month, and I will need to start tapering soon.

The problem I am facing here (and this is where this lack of confidence is really coming from) is that my body is demanding in no uncertain terms that it wants to taper NOW! I am tired all the time and sleeping like I haven't slept in years! I don't know if this has anything to do with the medical problems my doctor and I are investigating - but my doctor says that my gal bladder shouldn't be affecting my energy levels, just my digestive issues, and these seem to be resolving themselves right now...

So maybe the fatigue is just that I have tried to do too much, that I have actually reached my genetic ceiling? I actually doubt that. I think I have more in the tank, I just don't know how to get it out!

This being tired makes me feel like I might destroy myself on the Blackwood; that I won't be able to continue training in these last weeks prior to the race, and therefore not be able to complete on the day.

My basic logic has been to listen to my body - sleep when I need to, eat when I'm hungry, and train only as much as absolutely necessary to maintain my levels. However, often I have been doing less than necessary, eating more than I need and sleeping ... well that just seems like something I could do all day and all night!

What are your thoughts? Is this just another case of self-doubt winning over reason? Any suggestions for improving my energy, and still training hard while trying to allow sufficient recovery? How do I squeeze more out of my tank?

Really looking forward to your input! :)

Squeezing it all In

Wednesday was a pretty good day. I didn't do a lot of big distances or anything, but I still managed to ride my horse, ride my bike, paddle and do Body Odyssey! The only bad thing: I didn't get a nap squeezed in like I had hoped!

I called Helen and asked if she wanted to do a quick Police Pools ride with me in the morning, but she was already doing the Carmetticup Loop, which I am in no shape to do, especially not at her speeds, but I could meet her and Nic on Trimmer Road as they finish up. Even though they already had 45km behind them, much of it into the wind, they were still faster than me! So even though I did alright, and comparatively I did quite well compared to my solo runs, it was still frustrating to feel so very slow!

I fear that's my biggest failing with cycling. Frustration! As much as I might improve, I am always finding myself frustrated with my inability to get past certain things. I can't seem to get my cadence up, I can't get up those hills as well, I can't bring my overall average up to where I wish it were. Of course, the only way to actually accomplish that would be to ride more, but I don't because I seem to experience frustration in greater abundance than success, which isn't very motivating! :)

Anyway, prior to that I did a short bareback session with TK working on our brakes. I did much better with Chris helping to keep me doing it right, but it was good to get on him and have just a short play. If nothing else, that contact helps reinforce the bond between horse and rider and by being a short session, neither of us got frustrated. We practiced, we finished, everyone went home happy. It wasn't perfect, but it was progress.

I also paddled for the few minutes I had between the horse ride and bike ride. Glad I did it, I could really feel the muscles reminding me that I haven't used them in awhile and they needed the training. Hope to get on the water this Sunday. We'll see if things go a bit better than last weekend!

And then finally, at 6:00pm, Kirsty, Amanda and I taught Body Odyssey as our new release launch format! Oh my goodness it was SO MUCH FUN! We did 4 Body Pump tracks, 5 Body Attack tracks, and 4 Body Balance tracks, with a cooldown & stretch. We had 23 people in class, we had Lorna Jane clothing for sale down the back, and it looked like a party! It was so exciting! Since nothing can be perfect, I started the Ab track with the Hips music! hahaha OOPS!

All-in-all, it was a busy and productive day! I was really happy with the training I squeezed in, particularly with the other commitments I had during the day.

I went home and was in bed by 9:30!

Today was less interesting. Just work and Attack today. We were busy at work, lots of meetings, setting up, tearing down, changing over. And we had an afternoon tea. This means my Seniors Gym class has snacks after class. Snacks, when produced by marvellous cooks with decades of experience means I eat way more than I need to. Body Attack burns off about 400 calories in the hour. I would need to do about five classes to burn off what I ate today! Oh heavens! Shall we call it carbo-loading to justify? :) hehe

To Bed to Bed Sleepy Head!

So, Sunday was a total bust, as mentioned, except in the field of cooking and baking. I made vegetarian sausage rolls, lasagne and three loaves of bread. I didn't exercise. I was tired, and bummed out by the weather and Mat had to take off to Perth, so plans crushed. However, the house did get a nice once-over, which is always needed, so that made me feel good.

Monday morning, despite plans to do a horse ride and a cycle as well, I only ran. I was tired and finding it hard to get started. I knew if I got going I'd be fine, but was struggling to get off the blocks. Finally, after 10:00am I finally did an outdoor 13km hill run in 1 hour 19 minutes, and was REALLY pleased with that time. It was all hills and seemed much more uphill on the way back than the way out. I was just over 38 minutes to the turn around, so only took 41 minutes to come back. That's pretty good considering that when you turn around you've got 1.5km of hill to get up, and also that I was wearing out and my last kilometre took nearly 10 minutes! I had slowed down a lot! Did I mention it was mostly uphill? :)

I worked that afternoon and felt thick and groggy most of the day, and taught Balance that night, where I did a sneak-peak at some of the new tracks that I will be teaching at the launch on Wednesday, and then home to bed.

I was SO SO TIRED all day. And can honestly say that I have been really really tired lately. Like sleepy tired, not sore or worn out tired. I may have even mentioned this complaint in passing recently. I put it down to not feeling well (I might have something going on with my gal bladder) and to training while not 100%.

So, this morning at Circuit I spoke to Mia, who is a kick butt runner. She is fast, efficient, and super fit. She recently did a half-marathon in 1 hour 44 minutes, and held back so her husband could keep up! That's an average of 12.12kph over 21km! Oh yeah, that's fit! Anyway, I asked her if when she started running if she felt tired and sleepy. And she said, "Oh yeah! Even when I started upping my distances to run the half-marathon, I had to make sure I took a nap after a run. You feel kinda crappy when you wake up, but you feel so much better the next day!"

Oh what a relief! I thought I was losing my mind, that I wasn't tough enough that I was doing something wrong! Well, yes, I guess I was! I was denying my body the extra rest it needed after doing endurance exercise and should have not been resisting my desire to sleep. She recommends a 30 minute nap the day of your big exercise.

After Circuit Kirsty and I did some Attack and Balance training for the launch. That was heaps of fun. Man, I felt uncoordinated, but Kirst was able to see the foot strike I was missing in the warm up combo and we nailed that muther! Awesome! Only took 15 or so tries! hehe I did not too bad in Balance. It's great to be able to discuss some cueing options with another instructor. "That seemed to work well, but what about..." it's so nice to be able to bounce ideas off one another! I think we'll have a great launch!

So, after that training, I had lunch and then taught my Seniors Gym class. Really, I don't teach anything, I just visit and supervise. They're all really capable and have been doing the class for so long, I feel like I'm more of a token element. But it's a nice class!

After work I came home and had a nap! When the cat woke me up, like the efficient alarm clock that he is, I did feel a little groggy and 'ugh, really do I have to?' but now, a few hours later, I feel so much better! Oh my goodness, I am such a dork! It's okay, I can take it, you can tell me!

Seriously, why did I think I needed to stay awake when I felt sleepy? I go to bed early, sleep in late, I'm obviously tired! So, why, when I could fit it in, haven't I listened to my body!? Oh dear, when will I learn?

Tomorrow will be a great day, and I will include a horse ride and a bike ride and a nap!

Riding Lesson on Friday

In light of our runaway at the endurance ride, and after struggling with keeping him under control during my mini-marathon, I had a riding lesson on Friday to focus on installing brakes on TK.

It was a great lesson. Chris is a great instructor who really helps me understand what I am meant to be feeling. So rather than saying "move your right hand like this" she will ask "are you feeling the weight of an apple in your hand?" or "does it feel like he is lifting you up?" and so on.

Our lesson really got me focused on my body position when I am asking for a slow down or stop. I have plenty of long-standing bad habits and have had plenty of advice to help me out, and have survived this long. But I knew I wasn't doing things right, or I would have felt safer and more in control on our last few rides.

TK isn't just slow at the walk and trot when we're training, he's also slow to respond to gait changes, so it takes several strides to increase pace and decrease pace. This is probably not the fault of the horse, but of the rider (me), who has always had light and easy horses up to this point, so I ride rather carelessly. I haven't ever needed to think about my body position because I was always 'good enough' and had a natural seat - but good enough isn't really cutting it here. I need to feel much safer and in control to confidently get through the Blackwood.

I really felt my body awareness improve and really started to feel TK respond to the body before responding to the reins by the end of just one hour! The best thing that Chris did was take hold of the reins to imitate having the horse pull on me (as when TK did the runaway) and by being in the right body position, this pull actually drops the rider (me!!) deeper into the seat and makes me more stable! So even if we're running away, I won't be bouncing around in the saddle feeling as if I might pop off and hit the ground at any moment.

Talk about a light bulb moment!

It was great! When I struggled a little with a few stops - it can take me quite a few tries to integrate fine motor control movements - Chris did the reins thing again, and with just pressing my knees down and back, squeezing my inner thighs, initiating a pelvic tilt and bracing through my core, I actually pulled her forward, without even adding any extra pull through my arms! Awesome!

I do find it hard to get all the pieces of finesse riding figured out in a short time. Because there are so many little thing happening at once, and you're thinking of what the horse is doing, what you're doing with everything from how your head is settled on your neck, down to what your pinkie finger is doing, it can be a real challenge to get all the pieces to come together.

By the end of the lesson I had a horse that was attentive to me, and not to the kid hooning in the her car, or to the guy exercising his horse on the track, or the kids and dogs running around either. Instead, TK was going nicely on the bit most of the time, was responding to requests to increase and decrease the pace of his trot through changes in my body position and stopping in under two strides. And often (if I had my reins even) he was stopping square, which impressed the pants off Chris!

As it turns out, TK can be very light and sensitive once I have his full attention. This comes through when I am focused and attentive to what I am doing and asking of him. The more thoughtful I was of what I was doing, the more clear my messages were to him. As a result, he was really able to respond appropriately and I was so very impressed with him! It seems so logical and 'duh obvious' but there you go! The lesson here is for me to be attentive and focused as I ride.

Now, this bracing thing might not be the exact answer we're looking for in a runaway situation. However, if he's responsive enough to my body, he may (no, he WILL) start responding to my body position before my hands and therefore will not have the hands to brace against. But we did discuss other strategies for dealing with him going back to racehorse mode. These include bracing the body as described above and either pulsing the reins so he has nothing to hold against, or bracing one rein and drawing him into a circle with the other if possible, or weaving him so he can't hold his stride, and, if necessary, riding the gallop out.

I have a big three day ride coming up in Manjimup in two weeks time. There will be 50 horses, and lots going on. It's paid for, I'm going. There will be lots of people on their pleasure horses who may not appreciate a freaking out ex-racehorse, so I hope to get two more lessons in with Chris before the ride to really have this control and focus honed in both of us.

I am hoping to use TK as an 'all-rounder' after the Blackwood. So rather than having just one job, I want to be able to just give anything a go! A little dressage, jumping, reining, cutting, trail rides, and drill team. So I also hope to become a better rider. I think I might invest in this book/DVD on Pilates for the Dressage Rider, especially if it is going to help with muscle awareness and control. I feel like a pretty body-aware person, but I think every little bit can help!

Of Best Laid Plans

So, we had a plan. A good plan! It even got better and better as the week progressed!

Plan A: On Sunday, borrow Carl's double kayak, drive 2 hours to Jay's Bridge, paddle up and down the Blackwood River for awhile. Picnic, and drive home.

It eventually morphed into Plan B: leaving directly after work on Saturday and driving 3 hours to Bunbury and visiting my cousin overnight and borrowing his two kayaks and paddling up and down the Collie River for awhile on Sunday. Returning home either Sunday night or early Monday morning.

But Saturday night, when I got back from work, I was done! Wrecked! Exhausted! But I can sleep in the car (I always do), but unfortunately, Mat was also feeling rather destroyed. So, we decided to sleep on it, and get up and head to Bunbury Sunday morning. However, through the night we had very high winds and very heavy rains. And they carried on through the morning. We could wait and see if the weather would fine up and then revert to Plan A again, if we could still borrow Carl's kayak. But it just didn't seem worthwhile driving all the way to Bunbury with this weather all across the south-west.

But then Mat got a call from the guy in Perth who has a welder for sale that Mat's interested in, and the guy is available after 11am today and so there goes the ute (truck) and Mat for the whole day.

Things definitely change!

So Plan C (or D, or E??) is to paddle in the lounge room, practice Balance routine, do laundry, make a lasagne, and relax a little! Relaxing is going to be high on the list! It's been an interesting week... more about that later.

Massive Treadmill Run

I just did so many PBs where to begin?

I ran on the treadmill, did 5km in under 30 minutes, then 10km in under 60, then went on to 12 in 71:24 (PB 12k) and then kept going to 13k in 77:42, and finally slowed down to cool down to 14km in 85 minutes on the dot!

I was so excited about it, I am writing this with the sweat still dripping! I haven't stretched yet even! I will probably need to go stretch!

But way to go me! Furthest distance run yet, longest time wise also and PB 12k!

YAY!

Mini-Marathon

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to this point! But I did it, I organised and completed a mini-marathon!

I set up my gear so that I could have TK ready to go and hop from rower to horse. Here's how my place looked:

Rowing machine and horse gear near back door

My "kayak" in the lounge room

Bike, helmet, shoes, fluro safety vest at back door.

I went for my run, 5km loop in 29:56. Nothing interesting to report.

The transition from run to kayak wasn't all that impressive. Drink, stretch hamstrings, take off shoes, sit down and start paddling. However, it did still take almost 1.5 minutes. I have decided that I definitely want to take my running shoes off and go into something like a water shoe. Something I can move my toes in.

I paddled for 30:15 and found three things:

1) I wanted a towel to wipe my hands. The wet sweaty palms from running made getting a good grip on the paddle difficult and I kept wiping on my already moist clothing. Hand towel added to gear list!

2) My calves got really tight and flexing my toes helped make this more bearable, thus the desire to have shoes on that will allow me to move my feet

3) My right forearm got quite sore a few times, so not sure if I need to do more strengthening here or if technique is the problem.

Next step for this discipline: actually doing it on water!!

It took me 18 minutes to do the next change over. I was feeling quite good so only ate half a light museli bar, saving the other half for before the bike ride. I also washed my hands and I think this will make me feel more comfortable if I can do this on the day of the race. My hands really felt gross. I drank quite a bit of water, put on my bike shorts, caught and dressed the horse. 

My view from the rowing machine.

I could watch TK quite well from this spot, and I could see that being saddled and locked in the round yard started out fine for him, but his tension level built up as the minutes ticked over.

I rowed for my swim. I went 1km in 14 minutes on the dot, and then zipped out to do my ride on TK. 

This transition is quite challenging. My heart rate was racing, I was wobbly all over. I had a drink and tried to settle, but I was really coming at this with a lot of energy. I put on my pants and boots, and dashed out to put the reins on TKs bridle and tighten the girth one more notch. 

TK knew something was up. He was harder to get to stand to mount, and he went out in a very vigorous trot. He had a lot of energy and had a lot of fight for me today! We cantered and several times he gave me every indication that he was not going to stop, and I felt that if I had pulled on him we would have been positively flying. Transitions down from canter to trot took ages and they weren't pretty. But I remained calm, didn't pull (mostly) and worked on soft pulsing and even alternating see-sawing actions with lots of calm  "...aand woaah..."   statements. I gave him HUGE rubs when he'd come back to the trot or walk eventually. 

About halfway round the big outside track I decided that canter to trot transitions were not progressing well, and we would be galloping, and I was aware that I hadn't established the brakes in TK well enough to feel confident with bringing him back down to a canter or trot out of a gallop. I needed to take a step back, so worked just trot to walk transitions. This went a lot better, but transitions were still slow slow slow. I need to really work on dropping into my seat and stop riding when I am asking for a stop. I so frequently ask for a stop by rising out of the saddle and pushing me weight into my heels. This is the opposite of what I should be doing, as rising out of the saddle is a jockeys way of saying "time to go!" We rode for only 20 minutes, with one stop to re-tighten the girth, and we still came back VERY sweaty!

Hey, where's my rub down?

Honestly, TK stared blankly after me when I pulled the saddle off and let him go, and dragged all that gear back into the house. When I came back out with the bike he was still looking at me. But then headed off to scratch and roll.

In total, I spent 30 minutes with the horse, 20 of them riding.

The transition between horse and bike wasn't bad, fairly brief, but didn't get a time on it, approximately 2 minutes. Pull off boots, pants, change helmets, put on shoes and vest. Note to self: helmet should go on last, because you might have to pull something on over your head at a race.

Hopped on the bike and starting heading up the highway. Originally, I had thought 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back, but the head wind was quite strong and I wasn't making great progress on the hills, so I decided to try for 20 out and 10 back. I did alright, though did find a few of the new hills particularly challenging (I normally turn onto Trimmer, but just kept going down the highway today). I slowed to as little as 12kph, and managed to work up just over 30kph on one of the downhills. 20 minutes out I turned around ... and it was right at the bottom of a hill, so I had to climb back up from a dead stop. I didn't make it back in in only 10 minutes, it took me 16, but I did managed to get up to 48kph up on my big ring and screaming down one of the hills towards town. The tail wind certainly helped, but really, the main difference between out and back was mental! This will be an important thing for me to work on - the mental part of the ride! Although it was indeed physically challenging - I was labouring and breathing hard and my legs were really working hard - I think that because I believed it was going to be a difficult ride, it turned itself into a very difficult ride.

My bike ride was a total of 13.87km, 36:27 minutes, 22.7 ave.

Things to note for the bike:

1) I will need another water bottle holder

2) I also need a better water bottle! (Or two) The only one I have left is a flip top, and hard to manage one handed, on a bike, with the flip top lid blocking a portion of my vision while riding. VERY BAD! Where the heck are all my simple squirt top water bottles? You get enough free ones... where did they all go!?

Things weren't pretty after this mini-marathon. My house was quite littered with gear.

And then there was me! It's funny, I don't feel any fitter!

A shower and a meal afterwards made all the difference! I feel pretty good.

The most sore thing on me: my neck, upper back and shoulders! Until my shoulder heals I can't do a lot of moves that would be strengthening for my upper body. No pushups, lat raises, rear delt raises, etc. So I am going to have to come up with a few other upper body and shoulder strengthening exercises to help build resilience in these muscles, because they are really uncomfortable right now!

Anyway, in total I did this mini event in 2 hours 41 minutes and change.

It was challenging but doable. 

Next steps:

• I will focus on doing a few full-length block sections: 12km run and 1.5 hour paddle. Ride TK followed by hill ride.
• I will also organise to get out on the water and paddle this weekend!
• I would like to call Chris and talk to her about some suggestions for improving our 'stop' command.
• I should call Steve & Jan and speak to them about using their place as a launching pad for the day of the race.
• And I want to find out of Lauren will strap for me on the day of the race.
• I will work on upper body strengthening exercises, and think I should consider doing squats and lunges to build muscle strength for the bike ride.
• Oh, and it's already time again for the farrier to come out and make the boys feet look pretty! They are growing really fast now, I guess the feed is too good!

Time for a nanna nap, and if I'm feeling up to it, I'll learn the new Balance warm up before heading to work.

Have a great day!

My Big Plan

So, this morning I am going to try to do all 5 legs in sequence.

The basic plan is to do approx 30 minutes of each leg, with a short break, about 15-30 minutes, between the paddle and the swim.

Here's the basic plan:
- Run 5km loop
- Paddle in my lounge room for 30 minutes
- break 15-30 minutes to eat and drink a little, and change into bike shorts, saddle TK??
- Row on rowing machine to represent the swim *
- Put on track pants and riding boots for transition
- Ride TK around the track a few times, try to get a canter (or even a gallop??) out of him to get the heart rate up
- Strip off track pants and boots, put on running shoes
- Hop on bike and ride up highway 15 minutes and then back

* considerations:
Technically speaking, I should row and then hop directly onto a saddled horse and take off. Problem being that I am not entirely comfortable with the idea of saddling and bridling my horse and then coming inside to row, leaving him unattended for 15-30 minutes. Although he will most likely be perfectly fine, I'd hate for that to NOT be true.

Option: drag the rower out to the back door and watch him as I row.... that could work.

Also, I'll be hopping off him, stripping him down and not doing a proper cool-down with him, as I really want to see how this transition between horse and bike feels. TK will be fine without the proper cool-down, but it would be much better if I had a helper.

I better go set everything up. This will take a little bit of organising!

Let you know how it goes!

Running Shoes and Other Musings

I'm not sick. I was sick last week, and the week before, and before that even! And now I am feeling physically well, but completely exhausted, as if working on a sick belly the last several weeks has taken all the energy out of me. This week I was just tired! Wiped out! But today I was feeling good enough to get at things at a little lower intensity. I'm on the mend!

Had a nice slow ride on TK today. A new friend, Mel, and I rode together. TK was sluggish, but not sore. Personally, I think his laziness knows no bounds! But he's probably still recuperating from his runaway on the weekend. It's alright, Mel's mare wanted to take it easy too, and she looks like one who can be a bit high strung, so probably best to go steady the first few rides.

It was really time for new shoes. I was poking a toe out the top end of one of my existing one, and feeling stress on my calves, shins and ankles, and my feet ached for a long time after every run. I wear my shoes EVERYWHERE: to work, for all training, cross training, and whatever else, because I am usually just too lazy or too busy to change into a different pair of shoes. So I really wear them down to the ground.

I bought new shoes, and went for a quick 5km run on the treadmill to make sure they were going to be alright. They are a different brand and style than I've worn before. Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8's.

Old and New!
The old look way worse in real life!

But anyway, as nice as these new shoes are, I think I got totally ripped off by our little local sports shop! I saw the same shoes as I wanted to buy but simply could not justify (Asics Gel Blackhawk) on sale at Rebel sports AFTER I got home for $130 LESS than I almost paid! Uh HELLO!?!

And the shoes I did buy I saw advertised for $40 less (they are last years stock) and the new shoes from this year were advertised for only $20 more than I just paid for last years model. Now I suppose that's not as bad of a deal, but it still made me want to take my shoes back!

It also makes me wish I lived near a big city! Sheesh!

But basically, now that I know that pretty much any shoe in the Asics Gel range (Blackhawk, Nimbus, Kayano) or Brooks Adrenalines in size 8.5 fit and feel great, I will never buy from the shop here again. I will order online or shop for them on eBay.

I also intend to wear these shoes exclusively for training, at least until the Blackwood is over to keep them strong and supportive right through to the race.

Do you have a particular brand or style of running shoe you are loyal to? Do you have a shoe budget? Where do you get the best deals? And are you an everywhere wearer, or are your shoes task-specific?

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Just a quick note to say I'm not dead, just not accomplishing a lot. Not on the top of my game, been to the doctors, awaiting some blood results. Probably just run down and nothing seriously wrong, but taking this week easy.

TK's sore and only went for one short ride this week. He's been getting massage and has had one hand walk, and will take him out again tonight to see if he can get loosened up. If not, will call the chiropractor for him to get him crunched.

So, hopefully we'll both be feeling better soon and will be back into accomplishing some more of those personal bests!