No rest for the Snotty....

Thursday morning I had an 'uh oh' moment as I lay curled up in bed slowly waking up to greet the day. Big Gazza is a kind of spring in to your day, wake up chatting and ready to play kind of guy. Where I am more your ease on in, kind of rub the eyes don't talk to me til I'm fully awake with a coffee in my hand kind of girl. Yep, we are a match made in heaven. So as he was chatting about the day and what I would like for dinner??? Hell Champ we haven't even made it to breakfast yet, but yeah turkey steaks sound fine grrrrrr. I was doing my best impersonation of a dead ant....with a sore throat. ohhhh nooooo swallow......yep still sore back there. Crap!

So, Thursday afternoon and we are standing in the water, wetties on and ready to hit out into huge surf (in the harbour) geeeez. Well, to coin one of the sayings from the Crew, Get your balls out! and that was what it was going to take to make it through this set today. Coach's orders, 4 times round the boats non stop. I figure that was maybe about 1500m. We had a solid hit out into waves and punched through peaks, taking air swings and then rolling down into troughs as we sighted for buoys and avoided swinging boats at anchor. We kept a watchful eye out for the surf boat crews who stay to our right, but you can never assume they can see you so always a good safety tip to know where they are. I worked hard through the 4 reps and came in with the rest of the Crew feeling like I had given it a good shot. Again the mind had floated off a bit. I need to work on not drifting off. Need to stay in the moment and keep the intensity on. I find I can slip into an easy rhythm that I can do all day but not good on race day. We finished the set with some shorter intense reps out and around a boat that was just off shore and then a couple of easy ones to finish and it was home time. I was shattered. I drove home barely able to keep my eyes open.



Wollongong Harbour on a calm sea


Friday morning was a groundhog moment. Yeah turkey steaks sound great and that sore throat is still there but now I have a sticky sweat happening and I have a massage booked for 7am. Bugger. I lay on the table with a tissue catching the run off. Gross but true. I got home, showered, popped more cold and flu drugs and went to work. A loooooong day! Got home and went to bed. Thankfully it was rest day.

So this morning, being Saturday, is long ride day. I woke up, no Big Gazza. He was in the gym with Roberto pounding out a 3 hr wind trainer set. The rain was pelting down and the wind was up. Too miserable for riding on the roads, so it was on. He had left me to sleep thinking I was too sick to train. I rubbed my eyes, swilled a coffee, pulled on the nix and pinned the hair in a messy ponytail, put my dressing gown back on and made my way out to my bike. The boys were surprised to see me and even more surprised as I climbed aboard the Little Cervelo, dressing gown still on and started peddling. I warmed up enough to lose the dressing gown and 3hrs of snotty, hot, sticky wind trainer and 91kms later and I was done.

I could not have bared the thought of seeing the boys do the session without me and the guilt of not having got it done, even though I was legitimately sick. I kept thinking of some advice I had heard...if you're sick above the neck train on. If you're sick below the neck, rest. So in the end it was done. And with the rain still pelting down I have no guilt about sitting on the lounge resting for the day. Get it done Sammi! Got it done Coach!

The Gathering

Finally snotty is packed and feeling like crapolla crawled into the passenger seat and promptly went back to sleep. Woke up, yawned, read a little, then slept some more. Got woken up by Gazza saying we had arrived at what feels now like our second home. Port Macquarie.



On the otherside of that hill the fear has stilled.

We headed for our accommodation. Smack bang in the middle of the action. Great at the time, walking to transition, restaurants etc not so good at 4am when the volunteers were setting up road barriers and the race director was warming up the P.A. I woke up, opened one eye and guaged how I was feeling. No excuses, I'm well enough to play.

Bike check done I headed for the rendezvous point and there is Coach with the Crew. All chatting excitedly, doing last minute checks and admiring the latest matching earrings and nail decorations in team racing stripes. Yep, we are a deadly serious team! not. I love the relaxed air and camaraderie of the Crew. There are no over inflated egos here. And if there were I think their balloon would be popped pretty quickly. A few last wise words from the big guy (not racing this time due to illness) and we headed for the start. A short walk and then we found ourselves standing on the edge of the water ready to enter. Very little time for a warm up swim today. We are funnelled in and I lose sight of the girls.

Gun time and it's time to rock 'n roll. Hit out hard, found a set of feet to jump on to and rode the wave. Tried to jump across to the next set of feet when I could. Came out of the water feeling good. Could I have gone harder. Yep, but the run is always the unknown and so somewhere I always hold back. 4th in my age group. Let's hit the bike.

Out on the road ready to mount. And here he is larger than life screaming my name. No megaphone required. Roaring for the crowd to hear my name. I mounted and Coach's energy propelled me into the 1st lap with gusto.

Not far down the road and Kel passed me. I started to go with her and caught myself. 'Ride your own race' I thought and put my head down so that I could let her go. Over the hills and out on to the straights, I dug in hard. Our T.T sessions over the last weeks really paid off as it felt familiar and the legs remembered what to do and got to work.

And there it was! Matthew Flinders Drive hill. My nemesis. My dread, my pain, my fear, looming ahead of me as I rounded the corner. So many times I have dismounted and pushed my bike up this hill. I kept reminding myself that this was a chance to give it a go so that by Ironman I would not have the fear in my head. Visualising before the race for me came down to, 'will I make it up the hill or not?' Will I fall off in front of the crowds that always line the hill encouraging those who take on the hill and roaring approval as they crest it and for others, like me who opt for the safer and less humiliating push version, the crowd matches equally with words of encouragement and enthusiasm.

But for me, fear comes from several dark places.... Fear of failure, fear of being singled out in a crowd, fear of letting my team and Coach down, fear of embarrassing myself. Combine all those fears to one spill on a hill and you have the sum of all my fears. It must be put to rest! I hit the bottom of the hill and didn't focus on a run up, but rather, moving smoothly into the 'granny gear' and finding the 'dig deep' button. I started to work, a pinch, a moment of doubt, a reassuring 'you can do it' from the crowd. 'Ease your grip on the bars' from a single knowing deep voice from the crowd and obeying the voice I focused on legs rather than my hands.

I spun up the hill. Twice! Yep the second lap was a ground hog moment.

Out on the run and ok, here we go! This time I spotted Roberto just ahead of me. Part of me wanted to keep him in my sights and I wanted to run with my training buddy (the easier option). But again the little voice in my head said whoa! I knew I couldn't match Kel's speed and the same applied here. I had to run my own race and besides, my itb was giving off warning shots. Damn it! there it was again. ok, now I'm worried. 2kms in and it is telling me it's not happy through a painful nagging. Pop a panadol and focus on the form.

And round the next corner is Coach on his bike. GO SAMMI! watch the form, run tall, don't get caught up in the mental games, dig deep! GO SAMMI!!!!!!! Yep Coach, I got it. BUT, in a moment of lost focus I made a fatal rookie mistake. Yep, I poured water over myself and wet shoes plus orthodics = blister. A blister as big as a 50c piece on the arch of my left foot. Nice! Now it's 12kms to run. I stop and grab some Vaseline and try to run without limping. It's smarting bad. I pass Coach and I think he saw the look. 'Keep tall Sammi' he yells and I focus on form and watching the dolphins in the cool river we are running alongside to distract me from the pain at each step.

ok, ouch! Time to pick a box. I start visualising. ok, the box is small enough to hold a blister in. Tight, red, small, now put the pain in it and put a lid on it. Clamp it down tight. Pick something to clamp it down with. ok, found it. That big guy up in front of me running smoothly. He looks like he could be heavy enough to keep the lid down until the end. I watch his legs striding and I fall into a hypnotic rhythm behind him and we run to the finish line.

I lose sight of the big guy and the lid flies off. But it's ok, the race is done and ice cream heals everything including blisters......for now anyway.

High 5s from Coach. Catch up with the Crew and all are home safe and sound and still smiling. What an amazing day. Sadly though Gazza and Baby Bear had to pull out. But The Onion Man and Roberto are home and happy.

Shower, lunch and climb aboard, it's a 5 hour ride home. Gazza at the wheel, medal swinging from the rear view mirror and I am one very happy Sammi.

Top 10~! P.R in all 3 disciplines. Goal achieved.  

  

2 Weeks to go..........

And with that thought you would think I was hot to trot. Training on fire ready for Port Macquarie 70.3. But no! It seems staying curled up in bed, in the dark, warm and dry has taken priority over dedication, consistency and focus on goals. Having said that though. When I did crawl out from under my rock this week I managed to perform quite well.

Getting a wind trainer session, a swim in during the week was good. But the weekend and the warm sun came out and so did Sammi. Friday was an absolute right off weather wise. Squalling winds and torrential rain made the weekend look less than promising. However, by 6pm we saw the back of the front that moved off shore and the roads start to dry.

Coach is away this week in New Zealand. He is mixing it up with the best of the best at a training camp for triathlete legends. He is physio to the stars and also gets to train with them and then pick the coach's brains at night. What a life! And yet he still has time for me. A text comes in just as I am about to crawl back under my rock. "All ready for the weekend Sammi?" I feel like texting back "Hells No!" But instead it is "OK Coach!" Let's get it done Sammi. Suck it up Princess and get up at 4.30am, pick up Roberto and Big Gazza and join the Crew for a big day out on the bike. Oh yeah and pack your race nutrition and your runners.

A cold start and at 20kms we are grappling with the steepest part of the day. A long hard climb up out of the Illawarra and the beginning of the plateau that forms the escarpment around the place I call home. At the very top of the climb we head left and onto the old highway. Once the main route between Sydney and Wollongong it has long since been superseded by the bypass and now only the locals and a bunch of brightly coloured lycra wearing maniacs claim it as their own.

We muster at the start of the road and the rules of engagement are explained. 3 x 10km out and backs. Hard and uphill out, fast and furious back. Re-muster at the end before a short break and do it again. And we are off. It is hard. The road is really coarse gravel glued together with a bit of concrete. The verge is even coarser but occasionally the base improves and there is a small smooth reprieve. I hit out at a moderate pace on the first out. Not sure what I am in for I err on the side of caution and hold a steady pace without pushing for fear of a blow up come round 3 or worse still heading home. There are still 7 hills to climb to get home.

Back...is an amazing downhill run in the aero bars with the wind at your back. Average pace 47kms per hour. Max speed 65.7 yoikes! 2nd and 3rd loops are given in to slowing the pace and allowing Coach's finance a free pull along as she was suffering a bit. But back again was a free for all and before long I found each time I dropped her easily and pretty soon she couldn't see me for dust. Very HAPPY!

An easy paced ride home, I took my turn at the front and beat into the ever present Southerly wind. Cruised over the 7 hills and finished the ride downing my last GU ready for a 20min run off. The jelly legs were there but I managed to run through it, and almost get taken out my a cyclist on the shared bike track. More my fault than his as I had my head down and had strayed onto his side of the track. His eyes (and mine) were as big as saucers as we each swerved to avoid a collision. Luckily Rob was there to grab me and haul me to one side. We coasted back tired, relieved and extremely happy with getting it done and finishing strong.

BUT WHY DO I NEED A SHOVE OUT FROM UNDER MY ROCK EACH TIME!!!!!! I would have thought by now it would be just ingrained, instinct, easy and effortless. Yeah I'm no fool. I know we all have days like that.

Sunday I met up with Roberto and his Missus. And with Gazza in tow we headed out for an easy 80min run. A nice seaside path with lots to look at and distract us from the pain. The legs BTW have been holding strong with no ITB issues at all. Awesome to hope that 2 weeks out from a race the legs have sorted themselves out. The run was easy with Gazza needing to be reminded that it is an 'easy' pace. I know when the Ethiopian runners go out for their easy runs they are almost walking and they chat and laugh the whole way. Easy means easy. Hard means hard! and there should be a demonstrable difference between the two. But Gazza gets in the groove, finds his pace and takes off. And just like Mister Squiggle I need to take him by the hand and ease him back down to Earth. Or scream EASE at him lol.

At one point during the run I found myself at the front of our foursome. We hit the one and only hill on the course and before I knew it I was powering up with little effort. Gaz is now telling me to ease the pace. I didn't think I would ever hear that. He said after he got puffed and checked the pace, here I was striking up the hill harder than ever. Could it be that I am finding my Groove.

OH PLEASE LET IT BE SOOOOOO!

Perhaps reading a few books lately that have been so inspirational has had a positive effect on me as I felt for the first time like I was loving this crazy thing called running.

I would totally recommend anyone read:

1. Chrissie Wellington's - A Life Without Limits
2. Scot Jurek's - Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness
3. Chris McDougall's - Born to Run

Mixing it with the Big Guys

5.45am - I'm on the road in the car, Cervi is in the back. I am hurtling through the countryside; late. Pick up my training buddy Rob, and we scream down the highway heading for a huge day out. What's the go? Coach has put out the invite to join the AP.10 crew for a ride.

It's the biggest ride I have done to date. Not so much the distance, but the hills peeps...the hills! Couple of daunting Cat 3s and 4s. Roberto and I arrive and the gathering has started. People dressed in red, black and white kits are unpacking their bikes out of the back of their cars, or off the roof. We unload out steeds and load up the water bottles. I'm nervous as hell!

Why? Well, these guys are the Ducks Guts. The big guys. The Crew! And I'm just a lil ol lady with an idea she can give it a crack. We mount up and split into 2 groups, guys and girls. I have already given Rob the heads up that I needed a wing man and so Goose fell into formation beside me and enjoyed the view from the back of the pack.

The girls hit out pretty hard and as the day was cold and windy I immediately felt intimidated. Oh crap! I am just going to have to hang on here. The guys had disappeared within a couple of kms, their blinking tail lights fading into the distance. We got to about 10kms and the hills began. There are 7 hills to the Seacliff Bridge and then there is another short sharp climb before the Beast! uhh I was stressing. We singled up and I took a deep breath, steady my nerves and began the climb following the more experienced girls up the climb.

I took turns between seated spin and up on the pegs dancing like Contador (well maybe not quite as good as him). It is a long steep climb and having done it only once before I knew what I was in for and stuck it out. A huge unexpected surprise was overtaking 3 of the girls who were going so slow I would have fallen off my bike had I stayed behind them. Punching fist in the air moment when I reached the top, turned hard right another short pinch and rolled into the car park.

Evidence..........

Me and my wing man..Rob at the top of Bald Hill

We regrouped at the car park, took the photo as evidence and in the howling westerly wind we headed into the National Park. It was freezing team. Absolutely freezing. I put my long fingered gloves on in the car park thank goodness and so as we descended into the Natio with dropping temperatures I sat comfortably and content now in second wheel. Goose sitting behind me with another guy we met up with. At least now he wasn't the only dude on the ride.

Next hurdle was a 7km drag uphill to Garie. Once again we singled up and lightened the gear and started to spin. With Roberto in front and one other girl I sat comfortably working in 3rd wheel and soon left the rest of the girls and guy behind. By the time we reached the top of the climb the crew were out of sight behind us and the 3 of us sat waiting to regroup once again. Turn around time.

Heading home, my confidence continued to build. A long downhill ride before a last climb out of the park, and then it was a descend on the Beast! The westerly blasted at our faces but I hit the descent with gusto and loved the feeling of slamming down the hill with the cars struggling to keep up. At the bottom, I sat slowly turning the peddles over waiting for the crew to catch up and then we hit the westerly head on and punched into it for the next 20kms. Hard work, Roberto and I took turns off the front as the rest of the girls (and guy) sat drafting off us. I felt amazing! I was confident and getting stronger the further we went.    

We arrived back at Coach's house and he asked me how I went? Yeah ok.... How are the legs? Yeah good........

Rob and I headed home. Later that day I got a text from Coach. "OMG Sammi you killed it out there. Everyone has told me how well you rode. You need to have more faith in your abilities. Coming back next week?"

Hells Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Hills + Winds + Crew = Sammi gets Stronger......I'm in!

May 2012 to May 2013 - The 12 Months of Ironman



I'm In !!!!!

Ironman 2013

 

Me aka (Sammi, Mumma Bear)

Big Gazza

Baby Bear

The Onion Man

Roberto

Pete the Physio

Coach

Megzy

Ed

Jamie

Bobby

Hammells

 

It is going to be huge so strap yourselves in peeps!