Lock in Melbourne

I am so glad I picked a series of races for the remainder of this year. It makes it easy for me to focus and get excited about the next race and gear my training accordingly. Following the Sydney half, in the 3 weeks, I will have recovered, built endurance and now will tune and prep. When I went from marathon to marathon, the gaps between races were much bigger so a week to week plan was really hard to maintain and stay motivated with (I guess that's why most people I know lock into a set program for 12 to 18 weeks and follow it with great dedication). Racing Melbourne Half this weekend is my best chance for my fastest over this distance. The conditions won't be as hot as the later races and the course is reasonable flat without sharp turns. I have put a lot of pressure on myself to run this well and I am taking it seriously.

The preparation last week was to build the K's (endurance) and over 6 runs I totalled 85. The speed work on Tuesday left me sore for a day and my Wednesday run was a little ugly (just felt sluggish for 18k). On Saturday I crashed, had a 2 hour sleep during the day (sleep that is, not just a light nap).

This morning's 1k reps were awesome ... 3:32, 3:48, 3:35, 3:46 ... I wouldn't have done these without my training partner. I tried doing these sorts of efforts on my own before and it hasn't happened.

I am also toying with the idea of doing an Ironman, after my GC marathon in July next year. I have considered doing tri's in the past and the swimming and cycling has turned me off (although I keep coiming back to wanting to give it a go). I also felt that I didn't have the time ... but my attitude has changed recently with repsect to time and the swimming/cycling. It isn't just to have a new goal ... it is something new to do ... and it will help build my upper body which is mostly a vain pursuit. I'm going to need to train with others or at least someone else. Not sure who this will be or how it will work ... It is a lot of training and time together, or so I believe.