highs, lows and perspective

What an amazing week. In terms of training volume, it equalled my biggest week of training to date.

First - the highs: There were several highs to the week, both on the training front, and at Uni. I am half way through my PhD (looking at dairy cow health and welfare) at the vet school, and this week I submitted my first ethics application for the experiment that I will be trying to complete either side of my time in Hawaii!! Ethics applications are (quite understandably) very complicated and you have to get your wording absolutely spot on, or you are not likely to get the go - ahead. So the first part of the week was pretty stressful, but really rewarding when I managed to submit the application on time.
Training- wise, after an easy start to the week, I managed to finish a really tough velodrome seesion on wednesday (3 x 10km efforts - NOT my favourite type of set, but a great one to nut out) The other MAJOR high of the week was my 180km ride on saturday, which I did in 6hrs 11min, exactly the same time as I RACED in S. Africa in 2009. Pete rode 150km of it, sitting behind me for the final 50km, while I pushed (as much as my legs would allow). Awesome confidence builder.

The end of my 180.1km ride

The lows: Well, the velodrome session was a low, that turned into a high (as these sessions often are). They drain you emotionally, and the next night at the Tan running track, I was SO nervous. I had some 500s to do, then one hard lap of the Tan (3.8km). I would swim 3.8km without skipping a beat, so WHY would I be so nervous of running it? Well I guess it's because running's my "thing". I knew my legs were dead from wednesday, and I just didn't want it to feel bad. I was so nervous, I didn't even want to run the damn thing!! Well lo and behold, as is often the case, I ran far faster than I expected!! (15.51). I was in tears as I spoke to Sean afterwards, and he pointed out that these sessions, where you really have to dig deep even to do the session are the ones that count when you are really hurting on race day. It's so true, and just underlines the mental aspect of the sport yet again. Which brings me onto
Perspective: We spend a lot of time in our own heads with this sport. (And when studying). There is constant internal debate and conversation. There has to be, you need to ask "How do I feel? Am I fatigued? Can I push harder?" and at Uni - "How shall I approach this experiment? What's the best way to analyse this data?" etc etc. It can and does make you pretty self - centered at times, and it's easy to only see the little world you live in as important.
Then, in the space of 2 weeks, one cyclist (John Cornish) is killed and a felow Melbourne Tri Club member and friend (Dan Norman) has his pelvis broken and hip dislocated.
Pete and I rode on the John Cornish memorial ride on Friday. It was a lovely tribute. We then went to visit Dan in hospital. Friday changed the whole weekend for me. I had been looking forward to the long ride on saturday, but was apprehensive about how it might go, what the weather might do and stupid things like that. After Friday I thought "Hey! Who cares? If I ride slow, I ride slow, If I get wet and cold, so what? I get to go and do this, it's what I love, and I'll just go with the flow".
It's great to be ambitious, driven, and unrelenting, but a big dose of perspective thrown in just balances the whole show.
Stay safe everyone
9 weeks to go - weeks totals
Hours = 23
Swim -= 14.1km
Bike = 306km
Run = 66.7km