Catch up time

I've been a bad blogger.

It's been over 70 days since the CCC and I haven't posted a thing.

Most of you will know from my Facebook page that I DNFed. I was withdrawn from the course at the Triente checkpoint, 72ks into the race.

I'm sure I'll write a post at some point about the CCC. But the short version is, it was brutal. The hardest thing I've ever attempted. I underestimated just how much up and down there was in the damn thing, even after studying the course and elevation profile. You just can't fathom hills that go for hours until you're there and doing it.

We travelled home from Europe not long after After that I took some time to recover and lick my wounds.

Then it was maintenance and rebuild time.

I started running again after a few weeks, just short runs. New shoes, new orthotics, and

I have already set  some new goals, the first one being to run 150ks this November for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation Virtual Run.

I’m 43% of the way through November and as of this morning I’ve covered 51ks, or 33% of the goal. I’m a tracking a little behind but I’m confident.

I’ve also entered the Strava challenge to run 10ks in one run in November. I’ve achieved this (but not publicly). So I have at least another 10k run to tick off.

This is all building to running 21ks by the end of the year, so I can build into my 2017 goal ultras. I'll join the December Strava

More on that later.

Until then, I think I can say, I am back.

My running carrot

I just finished reading The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running by English journalist Adharanand Finn.

He travels to Japan and visits a monastery where monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days in search of spiritual enlightenment; and trains with university and corporate teams who compete in the lucrative and prestigious ekiden - a long distance run covered by a team rather than an individual.

He surmises that the team environment of the ekiden encourages competitors to beyond what they could as an individual, and vows to test this theory. But...

A journey song for TNF100

For someone who never trains with an iPod, music can be pretty important to me when I race.

I wrote a previous blog post about songs that remind me of Ironman. In fact I used to pick a theme song almost habitually when I started building my training up for an event. For my very first Ironman it was Opportunity by Pete Murray. I got through my long day at Ironman Western Australia with the defiance of The Pretender by The Foo Fighters.

These days, I pick a theme song only when it feels right. I've reinstated the tradition for The North Face 100.

Runner's high / runner's low

What, never heard of a runner's low?

I've had one for about the last month. And I had even a few acute attacks on this morning run.

Nobody ever talks about the runner's low but I'm pretty sure it's a thing.

A three-week-late update

Over a month ago I promised you an update in a week's time about making sure I limited eat week to just three weeks.

My inability to keep this promise doesn't bode well but I can report some progress on the eating and training front. 

You may also be curious to find out whether I earned a purple cycling jersey, or running shirt, or indeed, both.

The 130k quest for a purple Strava cycling jersey

Probably the less I say about this the better. The day was long, it was hot, and not surprisingly, I was not prepared for 130ks on the bike. 

For simplicity I chose to ride in familiar territory, with loops around Brighton, Sandgate and Scarborough, Boondall Wetlands, and the criterium track at Albert Bishop Park. 

It was boring as hell but I stuck to my goal and got a good day of endurance training in.

The 21.1k quest for a purple Strava running shirt

This is a much happier story. I did most of this run along Kedron Brook. About 8ks in I was greeted by the cycle escort for the walkers in the Weekend to end Women's cancer.

Hundreds of women, many in pink for breast cancer or purple for ovarian cancer, who were just over 5ks into their 30k walk, backing up from the same distance on the day before.



I had their company for maybe 5-6 ks and it gave me a lift for the middle portion of the run.

I was worried that the 8 or so remaining ks would feel flat and hard but it didn't; it felt good. And that felt good in turn.

The support crew were superheroes.

Eat three weeks? 

I can't hand on heart say that I've been perfect but all in all I've been much better with my diet and somewhat consistent with training. 

When I say 'somewhat consistent' I mean I've run 2-3 times a week and either cycled or a session on the wind trainer a couple of times a week. I have not ridden to work once a week like I said I would but have run to and from work a couple of times. (Not every week like I said I would.)

I've always known that I train better when I have a goal and I am the first to admit that I'm a little lost right now. Not for much longer though. As of last Wednesday I'm a confirmed entrant in The North Face 100.

It's weird though - the prospect of entering, and actually getting in, took a bit of wind out of my sails last week. I know, you would think it would put the fear of God into me and I'd be training the house down.

Well it has put the fear of God into me, but I have felt paralysed by the enormity of it all.

There is a lot to do. Sort out my mandatory equipment (and learn how to use some of it!), work seriously on my core strength, and mst importantly, develop my training program.

As these start falling into the place, my fear will drive me rather than hold me back.

Why not both?

This is possibly the silliest motivation story you'll ever read.

It involves Strava, one of my favourite TV ads ever, and my love of purple.

Lost and Found: Noosa Sports Fest weekend

Last Saturday I swam the Noosa Blue 3.8k ocean swim and got lost.

On Sunday I found my training mojo through an unexpected source.

I know, a whole weekend in one post. I'll try to keep it brief. Stay with me.

King or Joker?

Tomorrow I'm doing the Kings of the Coast open water swim.

I haven't entered even though it's been on my program for months - I even nominated it as one of my goals for this year.

So why am I fronting up for a late entry rather than being preentered and prepared like normal? Good question.

Some unexpected (but well received) motivation

It's pouring rain here in Brisbane this morning.

I slept in this morning because of it.

It was gloomy. I didn't want to train in the rain (not even swimming - I'm such a bloody sook).

Post Ironman blues and pick me ups

It's been around a month since Challenge Roth, during which time I cycled up a few cols while on holidays, then came home and sat around watching the Olympics.

I had jetlag (maybe) and the post-Ironman blues (probably).

No-one tells you about the post-Ironman blues before you get them. Well, actually, I'm lucky. My good friend Andy did tell me. But that's a whole other story, the short version is, if you ever do an iron-distance race (or a marathon, ultra marathon, or some other race that you dedicate your life to for the better part of a year), make sure you've got something to look forward to afterwards, because it can be quite a come down.

Countdown to Challenge Roth: Days 76 - 72

For followers of the Athletic Powerhouse on Facebook or Twitter - I'm sorry I've neglected my pledge to post a photo a day this week.

Since I've come out and admitted to suffering from man flu, I thought I'd seek some more sympathy by fabricating my photo a day for this week...

Come on. Humour me. It's not all bad, I promise.

September Salvation: fail or forgivable?

First weekend of October and I'm sure you've been dying to know how much fitter, leaner and stronger I am after my month of salvation.

Well, I dare say I am somewhat fitter. Maybe I'm a little stronger. The scales don't lie, and according to them I've lost a couple of kilos. But at the end of the day, I only exercised 20 out of the 30 days in September.

As a simple fraction, I could say 2 out of 3 ain't bad, but let's be honest, twenty is closer to the failing score of 14, than it is to the perfect score of thirty.

September Salvation

Motivation comes from the strangest places at times.

I should be motivated by some of the events I've got on the horizon. I've committed to running with Speedy Reidy's team in the Worldwide Festival of Racing on October 9, and I really want to ride the 200k offering (rather than settling for the 110k version) of the Frank Papp Memorial Audax ride on 12 November.

Both of these events are personally meaningful to me, so I'm surprised that I've found my spark to get back into training from something that seems so much more frivolous. A friend posted on Facebook that she was going to exercise every day this month and completely on a whim I commented that I would too.

And then it was done: I committed myself to September Salvation.

It takes three weeks right... Pt2

So, I guess I have to report back on how my training regime fared since my last post, which was full of bravado and promises.

Did that bravado last the festive season? Yep, great. First week back at work? Not so good.

I don't know why. Most of my requirements for motivation were there:

Race locked in? Check
Healthy respect (or even fear) for the race in question? Check
Weather nice and warm? Check

But during the week, I just couldn't get anything going. At the end of each day when I drove home from work, I gazed enviously at the runners I saw going about their business. Yet it didn't cross my mind to lace on the shoes when I got home. Yes, I'm a habitual morning trainer... but even so!

Today though, I snapped out of it.

I'd had a few things to attend to and spent the day thinking about these rather than my training program. When KKB got home from his crazy long ride, I'd just gotten through my to do list. Although I knew I wouldn't have enough time to catch up on the long run I'd expected to get in that day, I decided that it was time to blow out some cobwebs.

I left behind my watch and my Garmin and just ran.

It felt good.

It left me reinvigorated and ready to go.

Need inspiration? That's what friends are for.

I've just read my friend Megsy's account of her latest achievement - she raced the Kokoda Track, completing the trek in around 36 hours, non-stop.

Yes, she "raced" the Kokoda Track. As if walking it over 10 days isn't enough (which she does regularly as a tour leader) this time, she took the opportunity to race it.

When she first entered the Race, she was told she was the only woman ever to do so. She's since told me that three Australian women entered the Race this year, and that local PNG women have also previously raced the Track. While official results haven't been released as yet, only 14 people finished from the 34 that entered to walk the same direction as her (the other two women raced the opposite direction).

By her own account, she had "a couple of hairy moments... and many inspirational ones". I have to say that your "hairy moments" make my efforts during Ironman seem positively lame in comparison. And as for inspiration, well, how much better does it get?

I don't bandy the term "legend" around too much, but Megsy, you are a legend. Thanks for the inspiration.

Just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you don't have to train!

I am training for my third Ironman race, Western Australian Ironman in December this year. Well, maybe "training for" is a bit of a stretch... let's just say I've entered - I am the first to admit that I've been fairly lax about my training and the time for excuses is over! There are only 98 days to go until I have another chance at The Perfect Ironman...

I have been blaming the extra cold winter, flu season, and for the last week, I've even been able to blame RAIN of all things! But in the last couple of days I've come to realise that there's a part of me that thinks nothing can stop me in an Ironman race! Of course that's not true. If I do the work, then yes, nothing can stop me... so now's the time to buckle down and start doing the work.

If my past experiences at Ironman are anything to go by, it will be more than worth it in the end.