Obligatory End of Year Blog...........

So This Is Christmas.....

 

and after a, shall we say, 'interesting' catch up with family members on both mine and Gazza's side, I am left singing John Lennon's song and reflecting on an extremely jam-packed roller coaster of a year.

And what have you done.....

In short:

• Left my job of 16 years and took 4 months off to heal
• Cheered for Gazza at Ironman
• Said goodbye to a friend forever and one for now
• Started a new job
• Gave up 'V' drinks
• Ate too much trifle
• Laughed til I cried
• Lost a shit load of weight
• Stuck to the Program
• Took time out in Fiji
• Made a heap of new friends
• Saw my kid go off to war and return safely

Sparky, My Kid and Me at the airport.
That's relief on my face!

Another year over.....

I didn't get as much competing done as I would have liked and fell short of my goal of entering an event each month of the year. But upon reflection, it would have deterred from the goal of Ironman training AND it would have hit the hip pocket hard. It's so costly putting two people into events. It has been a year since Coach and I have been officially working together and in that short time I have made some significant gains. Swimming is so much stronger, comfortable and I exit the water feeling strong. Bike, Well, that has been huge. Hitting the hills of the National Park with the Crew has added a whole new gear for me on the bike and with the weight loss also I can really feel some positive gains. Run.... well we are still working on that one. I would call it my weakest sport of the three for sure but I don't ever really get enough time to build up my run fitness before the itb flares up. However, we (Coach and I) continue to work on, strengthen, change and strategize ways of getting me around the itb issue. Latest effort is a trip to the Podiatrist (awesome guy) who has given me some new orthotics. So I am breaking them in and taking the opportunity to ease back into the running. With 4 months left to go it's going to be close. But if the experts continue to remain optimistic than who am I to doubt them. I just gotta keep chipping away at it and stay positive.

And a new one just begun.....

So I am another year older, 47 puts me smack bang in the middle of my age group. But looking forward to hopefully being competitive in my class. I am looking forward to lots of fun and hard work with the Crew and Coach and focusing on the run now that we have a run squad organised. Already feeling some good gains there too. Coach has given me a couple of pointers already on my form. Perhaps he is being polite at this stage with just a couple of adjustments but at least he didn't have to pull me up and do a complete re-build on the form. I'm looking forward to the long miles ahead on the bike with the girls of the Crew. What a great bunch. I feel really comfortable and it certainly takes the sting out of the legs when you can have a laugh during the ride.

The ? here though is whether to sign up for Ironman Melbourne in March 2014. Talking with Coach the other day while getting treatment on that pesky itb he asked me what the future was going to look like. Never one for looking too far ahead; I could only see myself doing much of the same as now as training is now a lifestyle for us. Sure I have goals and dreams outside of Ironman, but who knows how long I have to play, so I will keep going while the body, heart and mind are still keen. Coach seemed to think I should keep doing Ironman. Wow, was that a boost to hear him say that. The thought of having his guidance and continuing the gains I have made so far was morale boosting to say the least. And hell, what else am I going to spend my money on?

 

With the base miles behind us, the program proper starts soon. Hold on team, the roller coaster just gained speed.