Jackie D - Week 18

Week 18 - starting Monday 15 January 2007

Scheduled hours 11hr 00 min
Actual hours 12hr 02 min

Third build week this week - again mostly the same as last week except for bike upped another 15mins (to 2:00) and run another 10mins (to 1:50).

Actual hours more than scheduled simply due to a longer masters swim and a longer gym session……oh and the long run but we’ll get to that later!

This week started off with children no school on Monday and then one of them home from school sick on Tuesday which pretty much tied me to the house. So I had to do some shuffling and swapping around of my schedule for the first half of the week and just did some indoor bike trainer stuff for those days. I am getting more confident that if I have to swap things around it isn’t the end of the world and I will still be able to complete this Ironman.

Some snow arrived towards the weekend and it just makes it SO pretty - doggy and I made the most of it along the canal towpath for some running.

I managed to get all my workouts in, and in a sensible manner!!! …and then we arrived at Sunday for the long run. Or, actually Saturday night when I looked at the weather forecast: 8 degrees F. Right so no-one runs at 7am in those temperatures do they? I sat by my computer expectantly waiting for some kind of email saying that we should abandon or even someone just to comment - but alas no! So, I set my alarm and went out as usual…and I couldn’t believe the number of people that turned up for this ridiculously cold run! In fact during the run I saw loads of people turning up to ski or snowshoe - winter is here!

Anyway, it was 7F according to my car thermometer - that is minus 14 Celsius in my European numbers - that is tuck yourself up with hot chocolate and a roaring fire temperatures. Still, I had dressed for it (thank you for all the layers of Christmas present clothing that I wore that morning!) and actually I wasn’t cold at all. Despite the fact that my Gatorade went slushy. Despite the fact that the air in my nostrils (OK the moisture in the air) was freezing as I inhaled. Despite the fact that frost formed on my eyelashes which felt really weird. In fact by the end I was looking very frosty altogether as the escaping sweat froze on my clothes.

Anyway I ran the first part of the loop with another Train-this athlete and then he forked off to finish his run (shorter time) and I was left on my own. The routes are basically 9.5miles and 13.1miles. Mary had Ok’d to do the longer route as she said adding extra time on this length of time was fine. So off I trundled on my own. Funny how even though I still think it is the same effort, when I am on my own my pace does slow down (now I have the technology to see!). My trail shoes started to annoy me. I think they were too loose but I hate having tight trainers on and the tops kept banging into the top of my foot. If someone had driven past after I had done my allotted 1hr 50mins and offered me a lift (OK so theoretically only someone I knew) then I would have accepted. But they didn’t and with hindsight I am glad they didn’t because now I can say that I HAVE COMPLETED A HALF MARATHON DISTANCE! It felt hard enough that I am completely gobsmacked that I will be doing DOUBLE that distance in 6 months time (yikes 6 months!) after a swim and a bike. It took me 2 hours, 6 minutes and 32 seconds and I was never so glad to see my car. That night I went to bed at 8pm and slept right through til 7am!

I haven’t really got my general nutrition under control. Oh I know how to eat healthily and I do eat healthily…..and then I eat some more - chocolate and anything sweet is my downfall. I think the only thing (apart from all this exercise) that is keeping me from being obese is the fact that I hate Hershey chocolate and so have to seek out the European kind. This week it was McVities Chocolate Hobnobs - I bought a packet and ate the whole lot in one sitting and they were yummy! I know to keep this kind of stuff out of the house but I had a weak moment and then they were home! Every day there is something! I must try and get this under control sometime soon.

26 WEEKS TO GO