Friday, February 22, 2008

its been a long time...(ntr)

Well, its been a long time ( about 2 months ) since we wrote anything....why?? um...injury and lack of mojo perhaps?? are they related - yes.

Since the CR XMAS run, i was training hard for 6ft actually - the shortest and hardest session being hill reps up rooty hill in 99% humidity, and one magic run at quarry road was started at 5pm, and i finished it at dusk with a headlamp!

i was hitting quarry road for 2 laps for a few weeks in a row, when it then hit me back! I started the run with a slight sore right knee, and finished with a very sore left knee, around to my calf. This pain persisted with any running at all until about 3 weeks ago. Given i was playing catch up ( and breaking the "10% increase in exercise" rule ) when i got injured, I have given up on 6ft this year, but will target it next year instead. Bummer. Atleast this time i wont have virtually 4 months off running before the training commences!

That said, my first run since the knee injury was actually my first Tri - an enticer with Hills. It was so much fun. Rach and I did all together, and the kids had such a great time also. I loved that afternoon! I have signed up to do the tri in the police games on 17 March - 500 / 20 /5. (also doing cycling on same day 40km, and 8km run the week before) I am not worried about the ride or run ( and have no probs coming last! ) but still the swim is daunting! Rach and I have been training a little for the Club Champs, and i have been to the pool twice this week, where i can now swim ( slowly and poorly, and a mixture of breaststroke and freestyle ) 600 metres without stopping or pushing off the edges. It is so hard!

How is it one can run for hours, and feel OK, but swim for 5 mins and feel absolutely spent!!! I am sure it is doing my asthma a world of good ( theory says it should ) but i am yet to notice a reduction in ventolin usage....hmmm..

I know how serious (or not ) i intend to take tri's - they are the cross training to marathon goals. As such, i am reluctant to spend $$ on bike improvements, however i am very tempted to get cleats and shoes for my bike. Problem is the retail value of my bike ( which i think is great! ) will more then double with the addition of new pedals and shoes!!! C'mon ebay! drop me a bargain!!!

Great news ....Rach and I have a wedding date planned...Feb 14 2009! What can i say - a great day for such a great day. ( And we just confirmed that our very good friend will be conducting the ceremony for us too! yay!)

Finally, back to running, we did SMC last week. It was great to be back at our club ( thats what it feels like ) chatting and waving to old running friends and familiar faces ( Ray ( or BB!), Luis, Andre and Terry from PPR, Mike "the marathon marvel" to recall a few) . I really enjoyed it, and it was longest run ( 10km ) in about 6 weeks, so it was such a release of endorphins and relief to do it there, and feel good at the end. It was a great run! Thanks rach ( your gorgeous when you run! ), Thomo, Heather and Keg for a good morning out! This week, I went running with a workmate on Wednesday - he is a great cyclist, but struggles running, and i was glad i could help him achieve longer running spans between walks - i hope i can keep do some more with my group friends at work - they help me so much in the office!

Cheers to returning to fitness!!!

4 comments:

TA and the Gnome said...

Here's to returning fitness indeed!! Isn't it funny how we choose to ignore the 10% rule, but somehow our bodies refuse to... :-)

On the swimming front, try applying the same logic you do when running - if you're getting tired, slow down a bit. You won't sink (believe me!). At the end of each stroke (ie when your forward arm is right out in front of you) just hold it there for a moment and glide (and don't kick like fury!). You'll find that you'll be able to go much much longer and then you end up going faster (but that's later :-) ).

Enjoy the tris.

Gnome

Jen said...

So nice of you guys to choose my birthday to get married on ;-)

Good to have you back blogging again. Congrats on doing the tri. Remember how it felt when you started running - like running, the swimming will get easier. I think Gnome's comment is right - you need to learn to relax in the water & not kick & spin the arms too much. Those things just tire you out too much...

plu said...

I am sorry to hear the news about 6foot. Quarry Road did me in as well for my first 6foot. I did run but paid.

All the best.

Plu

Bennyr said...

OK, it's a bummer about Six Foot. Next year we'll both nail it, but do consider that it may be difficult to raise three kids, prepare for a wedding and do the requisite training for a six foot assault simultaneously.

But don't listen to me - I'm planning to have four kids by Six Foot 2009.

And that's a very romantic date guys. Good luck with organising a wedding - I hope the kids are as excited as the twins were about ours.

Cheers,
Ben