Child-like excitement has set in.

Only a couple of days of training to go before attempting the first organised events in my new life. The Gold Coast 1/2 Marathon is on Sunday week while this Sunday it's the 50k Brisbane to the Bay Cycle Ride.

It will be my second go at the B2B - it's a good-fun, short and sharp, rolling-hill course so I'm EXCITED.

I haven't done much bike riding lately. Most of my training recently has been focused on running, for a number of reasons. One, I changed my running style to avoid injury. I changed from heal strike to pad strike and this took some time to learn. Two, as I've detailed previously, my running fitness was low and I had to learn to 'run long' - again, this took some time. My constant recent travel has taken me away from my bike so often my only option has been to run. Lastly, I got a new bike (Thanks Aaron - I'll tell you all the story later) and its taken a while to get it set up correctly.

Anyway all this means I expected to do the ride with a low level of bike fitness. This was a good plan until I started getting really nervous earlier today. What if I cant finish? What if I undermine my own confidence regarding my fitness with only one week to the 1/2 marathon? What if..what if... what if...

End result is I decided to get off my bum and do the fast training ride I had scheduled for yesterday. I chose a flat-ish, fast circuit along the waterfront near where I live and set out to see what happens.

I did just under 40kms, quite fast and finished with plenty left in me. A few short rest periods, a lot of long fast sections, and a few 'cruisings'. At the end, a little sore in the feet (new shoes /pedals will take a while to settle into) and my legs were un-comfortably tired - it has been a few hard days for my legs so not suprising! I do tend to expect a lot from them. Overall I felt strong and quite fresh.

I achieved an average of +25kph despite a) a brisk headwind 2) tired legs and 3)the fact I'm still learning the new bike/ new gear changer/ different brakes.

I'm very very pleased. I now expect to do even better on Sunday when hopefully I'm more rested, there's less breeze and there's people around for me to draft.

Come to think of it, I'm more than pleased - I'm PUMPED! Yes, I know- Despite today's ride only being a short 40kms there were still periods when I had to slow down and rest but that's OK, no need to worry - once I start focusing on bike training I'm sure my results will improve dramatically. For now I think I'll just enjoy the good parts of today, especially....

Along the waterfront in a flat, short, protected (ie no wind) area, on a fast new bike, in the aero position on my tri bars, I very quickly got up to 47kph - thanks to my legs and my lungs. Awesome!!!!!!! Starting to scare myself. I think my fitness might be starting to exceed my riding ability haha :-)

Anyway, I guess all this means I'm as ready as I'm going to be. So now its time to test myself in some organised events.

What will happen? I dont know, but let's find out.

I'm so EXCITED!!!!. I'm like a kid again. An excited child.

Great for me, but for anyone who knows me..... Spare a thought for Shirl. Poor thing. :-)

More later, journey on.....
James




Word count - unknown

Just do it!

Great workout tonight. I was scheduled to complete a fast bike ride but it was raining heavily and I got back from Carindale late so I changed my plan and went to the gym instead.

The spin bike was busy which was kind of good because it meant I could hit my favourite - the treadmill. Cranked it up to a fast walk 8.2kph with a 3 degree incline and went hard for 60 minutes.

What a feeling. I remember, just a few months ago, when I couldn't do more than 7.2kph on a flat treadmill for 40 minutes max. In just a short time I've been able to make HUGE improvements.

So when it comes to thinking about the 1/2 Marathon, there's no point in sweating over whether I am ready or not. I just need to enjoy the fact I have improved a lot over the last few months, I should trust my training and all the hours I've put in, and then I should just enjoy the event and the challenge.

As Shirl (and some-one else) says - "Just do it!"

More later, journey on.....
James



Word Count - unknown

13 days to go...

Just under two weeks to go to my first half-marathon. I'm in heavy training, working hard, I'm having a blast and I dont really know what I'm doing. What a combination.

I'm trying to 'peak' this week and then 'taper' next week. All sounded straight forward when I read it in the textbooks but now that I'm doing it I really dont know if I'm doing it right. I guess I'll find out in two weeks.

This 'experiential learning' is why I call this um, er, whatever it is, a 'journey' - I really dont know what will happen, and what it will mean. I make plans based on what I've read, I give it a go on a day-by-day/ event-by-event basis, I find out what happens and then I learn. Just like any other journey.

And I've got to say - I'm loving it. I enjoy the planning and the goal setting, I enjoy the activities, and I enjoy the way the leanings pop in to my mind, the way I learn by doing and by reflecting. Experiential learning at its best!

The lessons are ahead of me. For now, its about getting as much training in as possible before slowing down to ensure my legs are fresh for the challenge.

More later, journey on....
James

Which way to go?

After a good week of hard and honest daily training and a long 10 hour drive on country roads in the last two days, I felt tired and fuzzy on Saturday morning. But I was scheduled to complete a trial, self-directed pretend '1/2 marathon' in preperation of the Gold Coast event in three weeks...... so I had no choice - I hit the road.

I finished in 2hrs 40mins which is longer than my target time, and dissappointedly I struggled to run very far (I ened up fast walking most of the way), my legs were heavy, my lungs crappy, and my mind soft. It was a hard 160 minutes.

And very dissappointing. I had hoped to be much stronger at this stage of my preperation. I assumed I would be a 'runner' by now, that I would be a well trained, awesome-type distance athlete.

So I've been down on myself - sad and dissappointed mainly, although also concerned I'm making a fool of myself.

I guess all I can do is put my head down, work hard and see what happens.

Not happy though.

More later, journey on.....

James

Only 26 Days to go and still plenty to do.

On Sunday the 4th of July I am running my first half marathon. I've been working towards this since before Christmas and now its almost here. My first real endurance event! I'm excited about it and also nervous. I know I wont be fit enough to run the whole way but I'm much fitter than ever before so I will be happy enough if I complete the whole 21kms within the required 3 hours.

And I'll be absolutely thrilled if I can complete it in 2.5 hours (150 minutes.) Wish me luck.....and stay tuned.

I still have four weeks/weekend to finish my training. I want to 'peak' at the right time so I'm training twice a day most days and running/ fast walking 10kms nearly every day. When not running, I'm working on my fitness by cross-training on the road bike, the stationary bike, rower and stepper or by putting in some short, sharp weight sessions.

And just to make it harder for myself, the weekend before the race, again on a Sunday morning, I've entered the 'Brisbane to the Bay' 50km bike ride. Its a hilly and fast course so it'll not only be a good training session,it will also show me where my bike riding, and my overall aerobic fitness, is at.

And in the week between the bike ride and the 1/2 marathon I'm travelling through Far West Queensland staying in a diffent town every night and spending long days driving and working. This will present challenges for me in terms of diet and rest. I've planned it as a 'taper' week of minimal running so it should be OK. Actually, it'll also be my first ever 'taper' so I'm looking forward to learning how it's done. I am nervous about it though. Self coaching is hard.

It'll be a busy, and challenging month, I'll let you know how it goes.

More later,journey on......

James




Word Count - unknown