Triathlon: Upping the Game

I find myself examining all the factors involved, due to my insistence in continuing to have fun in my sport. It is hard for me to be as sensible as some folk think I should be. This is because all they see is the crumbling exterior that is my seventy seven and a half year old body. What some people miss entirely is the absolute reality that in my head, in so many ways I am just a youngster. As a rough guideline I would say that I sit somewhere between an unruly teenager and at the very outside a mischievous thirty something.

So also must I mention that I still do this lark for fun and it may surprise a few to know that I am not actually very competitive. I know I should be but there you go, I’m not.

After taking a fairly easy time in the dark days of winter; that I do find depressing, my faithful rock of a coach, is trying to up my game without me noticing too much. During the dark miserable days I have kept my swimming fully up to the mark and the same goes for the running. I am not going out on my bike in the rain for anybody. Ain’t gonna happen.

Steve had been keeping the turbo sessions light but now they are getting longer and more sweaty. Yesterday was a good hard session and both of us thought that we might notice how much harder we had worked during that session, once we got out on our run today. Of course between those two sessions you have to throw in the club swim session last night where I also worked hard. Steve settled us into a session that possibly all three of the women in our lane could see was closely related to the little local swim-run that we have all entered. It is just a sprint for us, a nice little wake up call event.

One of the other two ladies in question are; first, and lane leader, because she is fastest, a long standing training group friend who also runs with us on Sunday. The third female in the lane is a new recruit friend who will be doing her first swim run in the Frostbite on March 5^th.

We did:

Warm up 10 mins

1 x 400 mtrs

4 x   50

2 x 200

2 x 100

2 x 200

4 x   50

1 x 400

Total 2200

Lane 1 was similar.

1 x 400

4 x   50

2 x 200

2 x 200

1 x 400

2 x 200

4 x   50

1 x 400

Total 2600

On the exceedingly muddy run this morning, the three of us all did the 10km route slightly faster than last week by about thirty seconds, even though it was very heavy going and yes, the legs did feel the harder turbo; no aches or pains anywhere but just heavier feeling legs.

Good wild life spotting today; Kites and Buzzards everywhere, the little Robin from near the parking corner, came with us for the first mile hopping from tree to tree singing happily, I had promised him some food last week but I forgot to put it in the car. There were a pretty family of little deer who also followed our route about thirty metres to our right through the wood. A Woodpecker was heard but not spotted though he might well have been.

Tea and cake was taken at Swanbourne Lake Lodge tea room now it has reopened.

There is always an argument about whose turn it is to pay. Birgit has a double espresso and also green tea which seems a little contrary to me; I had a pot of Assam for a change and slice of Strudel. Steve joined me with the Strudel and also had two cappuccinos.

 

Which brings me back to the opening of this blog today. My friend remarked that I was completely transparent in many ways. I am fairly sure that she was not insulting me and I openly admit that she is right. Mission accomplished then. I have no secret agenda, I am painfully honest, open and often quite juvenile. Guilty as charged.