How is it ALREADY February…

So I had started typing a “welcome to 2017” post and it looks like I ran out of steam and never finished it. Shockingly that was abandoned over a month ago and now here we are charging through February. Suppose I should get to the Christmas holiday chore list…….

Getting in quick before the end of the year…(lots of photos)

I thought I would just post up a quick snapshot of the last couple of weeks from my instagram account (@im.in.progress).

I set this up at the start of the year and posted my first random picture in February…then until September I had “only” posted 19 pictures. I then decided that rather than flood my private FB page with heaps of riveting (to me…not so much to you) training and tri related happiness I would dedicate my insta feed to it. Since October I have posted 52 posts…..(only a couple making it to FB...you’re welcome ;P) Apologies to anyone reading this that follows me already...

I have really been enjoying my training lately and even with the festive break managed to keep some momentum going...win!

Anyway, below is a snapshot over the last few weeks in the lead up to the end of the year. I hope that you have had a restful and joyous Christmas period and I wish you all the very best for the year ahead!

Thanks as always for reading…and I look forward to sharing the journey to Florida with you more in the year ahead! 

The Power of Accountability

So I’ve had a post bouncing around in my head for a couple of weeks now and this one will probably touch on some of the points. The post I have been mulling is a bit of a heavy topic and I haven’t yet found my personal way to vocalize/write on it…you never know…it might be a future post or it might remain one forever in my draft page….ohhh the mystery.

The mixed bag of being undertrained for a race…

Ahh the joys of the post race glow…DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and tiredness…

 

For tiredness....coffee.....

As I sit here typing on day 3 post race I am happy to report that I no longer involuntarily whimper when attempting to stand up and I can now much more easily slip in and out of my car…phew! Once again, symptoms of being undertrained for the run.

Breaking the cardinal rule – trying something new in race week…

So in truth I am still trying to get my eating on point…it is proving to be more of a mission that I had originally planned. I suppose it helps that I have been eating like a training Ironman since I completed my first one A YEAR AGO! Seriously, this coming Monday has some pretty big expectations placed upon it.

Monday December 5^th.

·         11 Months until IMFL (Ironman Florida – now you know).

·         Official start of the Bike Base Build (BBB….just made that one up…took ages)

·         Starting to reform my good/better eating habits…out with the bad and in with the good (silent sobbing)

·         Motivation and focus return to point…

Why December 5^th…well this weekend (December 4^th) I am in the inaugural Ironman Western Australia 70.3 in Busselton.

Starting to start...

So the early alarms are still proving to be a bit of a bug bear with me at the moment…the good news is that the weather is improving and we are getting lighter and warmer in the mornings so my list of excuses are becoming very short in supply.

Kind of sums up my eating too a little...

 In theory I should be able to build a decent enough habit over the summer/tri season that winter should be a doddle with regards to getting up (sorry…even I was laughing as I was typing that dribble!).

I'm all about that bass, 'Bout that bass...

Thanks Megan Trainor for the catchy title. Not exactly the most butch song for my first embedded video link...

One thing I am quickly remembering with the (attempted) return to regular training is the early alarm settings. It is a real struggle to drag my carcass out of bed most some mornings. On a side note, I probably should invest in a more quiet coffee maker as I am sure that the novelty of the machines warm-up routine at 4:30 will wear pretty thin pretty fast with my wife (especially as it means the boys wake up and crash any chance of extra sleep for her!). Who knew that the grinding process of a few measly beans could rival a rock concert…

So....I'm back and have a whole new plan...

Well looking back it has certainly been some time since I last updated the blog…4 months to be specific. I have still been reading other blogs and motivation has been on a rollercoaster ride but the ability/desire to string a few words of my own together has ebbed and flowed…while I am certain that my family would disagree, I am not actually one for saying/typing something for the sake of it…honest! That said I now actually have something exciting to say….

Where is the love…

Well I have not really been feeling the blog love of late…ok I’ll admit it been patchy for a while.

I have found it a little difficult to find and keep my family, working, writing, training mojo of late. It is interesting, in a geeky nerdy way, the impact of a disrupted routine. I find some focus, cling to it passionately for a few days/week maybe and then loose it and hit the skids for a couple of days before finding a new “passion”….

Again....and again....AND again....

4 weeks….seriously!! So where have I been and where has time gone….I would have to say that is a pretty valid question.

  So by way of a quick recap…

The "joy" of ON THIS DAY courtesy of Facebook…

So I typed (and deleted) a “feeling sorry for myself” post. It is actually the first time in 4 years that I have deleted a post. I have to assume it is because I am in a bit of a funk with regards to this hamstring of mine!

Yeah, so I am potentially in a bit of denial…but I am not yet ready to face the prospect that it is not better.

Best laid plans…

So my return to running got off to a flying start, I made it all of a week before I got injured and had to record my first DNS of the running season!

Yup! Pretty much...

 After a pretty good week kicking off the running season I was feeling pumped to be heading to Park Run on Saturday morning. It was cold and damp and I had been out the night before so would have happily rolled over and stayed in bed that morning.

What’s with all the running….

So the tri season for me has ended after the successful conclusion of Busso at the start of the month. And with the end of the Tri season begins the Running season…dun dun daaaaaaa….

  

LOVE The Awkward Yeti

So here we go on a wild “rock and roll” adventure of run training over the next 4 months culminating in my first attempt at the Perth City to Surf Marathon in August.

And that’s a wrap for another season…

Yesterday (May 1^st) marked the final major event of the WA triathlon season and with it the start of the off season.

And that is how today has gone....

How did I mark the momentous date in the diary….by participating in my second Busselton 70.3 event.

It’s ok, don’t be alarmed, I’m just trying to rekindle the motivation…

My last post was as I entered the “off season” LAST YEAR (June 8^th)! Yikes…excuses, damn right I have excuses but that’s not what this is all about.

Yup...I'm back....

As the title suggests, I feel a little lost and at sea with my motivation at the moment and my random ramblings is one way I am hoping to fire up the fitness desires again and get back on the wagon (again).

So what has happened since last I typed…here’s an abridged version…

The land between two training schedules

So when last we left off Busso was in the bag and I was looking towards the next events, still riding the euphoric wave of the post-race high!

And yes - I am still doing marathons... Game of Thrones Marathons..

I now find myself stuck between two schedules and it is a cold, dusty and desolate place. After the constant of training for Busso 70.3 to then move effectively into nothingness for a while is pretty miserable. Intensity has dropped right off and the requirement for willpower is at its highest levels ever (especially when your bed is as clingy as mine). I will be lying if I didn’t say it was a bit demoralising.

Busso 70.3 Race Report

Well that’s it…the first one is in the books as they say! What a great event and what a fun weekend!!

So pretty.....

By way of a spoiler….I AM A (half) IRONMAN J

Getting to the pointy end

Nearly a month since the last update. It really is amazing how time seems to blur when you are caught up in a routine of home, work and training. So this plans to be a whistle stop recap, highs and lows, got to keep this a balanced view.

So when we last left off our lovable hero was nursing a strained soleus muscle and a bruised ego from his first DNF…

My first DNF (aka KVT recap)

This should be my week 10 training recap but as I mentioned in my last post due to injury I completed ZERO training sessions last week…thankfully it was a recovery week before we enter the final training phase before the 70.3 but still it was hard not to do any training. I know that I could still ride and swim but as it turned out most of my physio sessions coincided with those and as such the week was a write off.

70.3 Training – Week 9

Technically TECHNICALLY, we have not yet finished week 10 so I am not THAT overdue with my update…

So what has happened over the course of week 9 of training…