I Was SO Wrong

It's been one week since LPT (Thanks for this picture Jamie - LOVE it). I Beat myself up over my effort for probably 2days too many. Experiencing yet another huge low coming down from a great race weekend and event, if that wasn't enough for me to get my noggin round on Sunday afternoon last week I contacted coach and asked what next?I gave him my account of the race. And then said right so up everything yes? He replied back NO. Firstly my race...The run is a sprint, if you have more in you then you have to go. I have to push. Reading that just made me madder and confirmed what I already knew. I wasn't running 42k's, I was running 12. Anyway. That's done, dusted and forgotten.

Next came the instructions...SWIM.

What I read before me on the email blew my mind. Distances that I have not swam before were there before me in black and white. Everything else...cut down to Olympic distance for the month.

So on Monday I thought right lets swim. Nah it wasn't going to happen. I did swim but my mind was still not in control of my body. The other boss (the one who signs the cheques) said I have seen your swim. If you want to go to Kona you have 10minutes to save there. But I am sure Brett didn't mean go and swim 5k TODAY! Ok OK point taken.

Tuesday morning before flying home I went in the sea and swam 30minutes. The intention was 60mins. But the sea lice got the better of me. I could not take it anymore. The itching has almost stopped now but my combination of white chest and bright red spots ain't pretty.

Wednesday morning I elected to do the long swim rather than the brick bike/run. Being so long in the water is difficult to squeeze in in the afternoon. I swam, did my 5k and froze. I did it but it was not pleasant. It will get easier I told myself. I need a wetsuit, I also told myself.

Email to coach. Can I reshuffle a couple of days. I am cold. Need a wettie. Moan, Moan Moan.

Haven't you got a decent size pool around there somewhere he says. Well there is. Bukit Utama 50m pool. So that was the venue for Friday swim. Let me know the temp he says.

Met Disco, he joined. And we started a little later as it was a holiday. Well what do you know. The pool was bearable :) RESULT! Reported back and was then instructed to use that for 3 of the big swims.

Saturday. Rode alone to KLIA downtown a little bit longer than Olympic Distance but what the hey. The afternoon swim session I wanted to start at 3pm when it was very hot but the method in my madness is the pool is clear at that time of day. It was like waiting to be sentenced, waiting for 3pm to roll round. I was very sleepy and wanted so much to stay put lounging on the sofa but somehow I put my trisuit on (sun protection) and found myself in the lift going to the 30m pool at home. Damn it was hot.

For the first time I weighed myself before my swim. I always do it before a ride or run but this is the first time I have done it before swimming. I lost 1kg during the swim! We kid ourselves that swimming is cooling and not as tough on the body. That is absolute Horse Poop. My arms want to fall off. I am even more hungry now than before and the weight is almost falling off! When you have finished a HARD swim...I find half an hour or so later I will be sweating and very thirsty. This is a delayed reaction from the effort you have just put in. So don't ignore it. Refuel and DRINK.

OK..upstairs, quick shower, drink and a gel and off for my interval run. Shouldn't be so bad I thought...even though I had swam over 3 x the distance I normally do on a Saturday afternoon. So once again...I am beginning to understand WHY I am on OD training for the run and bike. This swimming lark takes it out of you BIG time. And the words...'that is how you over train' were what I heard when I questioned about why we are not upping everything else.

SO, perhaps the biggest change to my week happened today. It's not that the training is Topsy turvy..it is just new and I now understand that this is how it is going to be. We are just building it up but this I believe will be the new regime. (HA-I may be wrong though)

Sunday runs at Bukit Aman...hurt but are enjoyable. As I have blogged before...it is great to see everyone out on the road. I asked the power that be if I could do a 2hour run (instead of 90min) (because I am worrying about it), followed straight away by my long swim so I can have the rest of the day at leisure. I asked If this was silly.

Reply: SILLY yes. regarding the two hours and swimming after the run.

Swim first then eat a snack then run.

So that is what I did...the good thing? I did not have to get up until 6:45am. In the pool at 7:30am it was just perfect as there was no rain. It hurt - but it should I have just swam long 3 days back to back...but I feel I have finally got my head around this and even though I am going slow towards the end the form is staying intact...that's good right??

So swim done...upstairs shower and snack of flapjack, banana and drink. Runners? check. Shades? check. Money? check. Gels? check. Out the door I went at a little after 9:30am.

I had just started and saw Peter Chan...well, well it seems there are more than one silly person electing to run so late in the morning :) Had a quick chat and then on my way.

I enjoyed my run. I had already dialed in to run alone had I been in Bukit Aman. Just something I felt I wanted to do this weekend. As it is...I think my Bukit Aman days are now numbered until this whole IM thing is done. I have a sneaky suspicion I am being built up to do the long swim followed by a 3hour run in the near future. Doing that in the heat is gonna be tough but if today was anything to go by it is nothing I cannot handle. Stopped briefly for a gel and bottle of water at 30mins and 60mins and had a good pace of maybe sub5min K's. That's it now until tomorrow morning when I will get wet again and then turbo later in the day.

The head is finally clearing and telling the body to just do it now. It is in a good place. I only hope my arms will last. Running after a long swim the swinging arm movement needs to be kept to a minimum..too painful otherwise. Same with the cadence. Short fast turn over...legs and arms.

10minutes doesn't seem like much to save in the great scheme of things. And I know I shall never be a fish in the water. But I have vowed to do what it takes and do as I am told. I am telling myself to have faith and patience. Trying not to worry about the run and bike training when every one else is riding PD and running long is not easy to handle, which is probably why it is a good thing for the moment at least to go it alone.

Finally...what do I think about when swimming so long and running with no one to chat to? Pretty simple. FOOD. In the swim it was which gels to take with me on the run and what snack can I have before running. On the run I was deciding which very late breakfast I would indulge in. Huge pile of scrambled eggs wholegrain toast and diced ham OR Pile of muesli fruits protein yogurt and whole grain toast. FYI: the eggs won...I will have the fruit later:)