Bombs Away

Did a 4 hour brick session earlier today, biking 3 hours and a 1 hour run afterwards. It was so cold and windy out there but I just couldn't imagine doing the bike session indoors on the trainer.

Doing too much indoor bike sessions during the week, so I decided to siu and go outside with 5 layers of cycling gear. The weatherman wasn't wrong when he said 1c and with the wind chill factor it will feel like -5c. Luckily it got better later on.

Just after my turnaround at the 90 minute mark I could feel that I must have or are busy getting a flat. I stopped and the front tire was almost flat. Instead of changing tyres I decided to use a "bomb" to inflate it. It was just to cold to change the tire.

I rode about 15km and had to stop again to use another bomb. Why I didn't just change the tyre, I don't know. Got to the house without changing the tyre but used all of the three bombs I had in my bag.

This was my first ride on my TT bike in I don't know how long. Lately I have only used the road bike and the Mountain bike. Need to use it more often before my race in August for the muscles to get use to the TT position.

Picture at the top is what saved my on my run the other day. I always carry three things with me when I bike or run. Obviously my house keys (with my Gym tag attached), some money and my small pepper spray canaster.

Runners will know the feeling but as I ran minding my own business I suddenly got this funny feeling and semi cramp and knew this is it. Time to pay a little visit to the toilet and this can't wait another hour, it is now or never. Lucky me, my gym tag is attached to my house keys and I was about 2km from the gym. What was an endurance run became a sprint session.

Got to the gym just in time, funny look from the receptionist but job done and I could carry on with my run at endurance pace.

Coach made me do a different kind of brick session on Tuesday and when I looked at it first I didn't know it will be that hard. Maybe something you can try. Was a 2h30 brick session with a 1h30 bike and a hour run. It was done as follows:

Bike: 30 minutes at endurance pace, 30 minutes Time Trail pace, 30 minutes endurance pace

Run: 15minutes at marathon pace, 30 minutes at 10km race pace, 15 minutes at marathon pace

Is much harder than what it looks like on paper

Finally here is a pic of me at DJ's Golf day where I played for the 1st time again in 20 years with the Clubs I bought at a Pawn shop twenty years ago. Who needs a bag full of Clubs when you can play with 5 Clubs.

10 to 5150

The first week of Ten to get ready for the 5150 race on the 13th of August went pretty well. It is the 1st race in South Africa under the 5150 series banner and although the entry fee was ridiculous(but what do you expect from WTC) I decided to do it.

Some triathletes can race week in and week out and others aim for one big race during the season and train for that. I am one of those that choose one race and really put everything into it. My "A" race is only beginning of December (IM70.3 Phuket) and I will go insane if I just train for the rest of the year without aiming for something before the year end. I prefer IM distance racing but missing IM this year and with no other one soon in SA, I am going to give an Olympic distance race a go as my "B" race.

Olympic distance is a bit too fast for me but I'll give it a go and I think 10 weeks will be enough time to get ready.

On the home front we had a terrible week with the passing away of Niel on Wednesday morning. We will really miss him so much. The Memorial service is next week Tuesday. The rest of the week was really emotional as it was Kim's late mother's birthday on Thursday and the 5th anniversary of my Fathers death on Friday. Now that's a different kind of Hat-trick, having three days like that in a row.

The photo above is of the rainbow I took on the morning of Niel's death on my way to work. I took the picture at about 7am and he past away at 6:45. Coincidence??

The picture below is one DJ created while fooling around on the Ipad, just the motivation I need!

Training wise my 1st week of 10 towards 5150 was good. Coach gave me an easy week and we are slowly getting back into it.

Week's Training:
Monday: 30min easy run, 5.3km

Tuesday: Bike: 10x1min all out at 110+ rpm on 1min recovery. Surprised to be able to maintain close to 400 watts per interval with the lack of bike work lately. Managed a couple at 400+ but last two intervals a struggle and only getting to 368w & 358w

Wednesday: Run, 5x2min fartleks on 3 min recovery- could manage 3:36, 3:30, 3:35, 3:40, 3:49min/km, dropping of quite a bit at the end

Thursday: Swim: 2500m

Friday:rest day

Maybe Next Year

Late Friday morning we got a call to say that Niel (Kim's brother) is not doing well and he's been admitted to Hospital again. He's been diagnosed with Kidney cancer and his condition suddenly deteriorated.

We were about to leave for the Kremetart bicycle challenge some 400km's north but instead all our plans changed and we headed 100km south.

Kim said I must go on my own to the bike race and she will go to the Hospital but that just wasn't on.

Seeing him in a lot of pain is not nice. Luckily this morning he looked much better, still in a lot of pain but better.

To come back to the race, this is the third year I've entered the race without getting to the start line. One year I couldn't do it due to work and the next because I was sick. This year it was Family, maybe next year will be the year when I race the Kremetart.

The picture at the top was taken at the VW annual awards some two weeks ago.

My next race will be the South Africa 5150 series on the 13th of August, the first in a series of 5150 events in SA. This will give me some ten weeks to prepare and hopefully I can get to the start line without any hassles and in better shape that I'm currently in. Something to look forward to.

As I did a quick one hour run this morning before we headed to the hospital I just realized again. Running is the best medicine ever for body and soul, period!

Run: 1h00, 12.3km