The last week all went pretty well, until I got a killer of a migraine on Thursday afternoon, which took me out of action all of Friday as well. So lost a couple of swims, and 2 short runs - but got all the key sessions in which is the most important thing.

My long run was on Thursday morning, and it was well timed - the weather was a stunner. Clear blue skies, no wind to speak of and temperature not too warm, but not cold - perfect!

To make the most of the glorious weather, I decided to do a North Shore run which took me alongside Takapuna, Narrowneck, Cheltenham and Devonport beaches - all which were sparkling and beautiful. It made up for the crap weather we have had.

Sunday bunch ride was also great - no wind - YAY!! Great morning, a little brisk at the start, but it warmed up as the morning went on.

This week coming up is back to an easy week, but in saying that, I still have 1:30 run to do today, and have been told we have a run time trial of 6km to do on Saturday - eeks!

That's about all for this week - nothing much else to report - yet ....

Another week down - they do sure fly by. Had a pretty good week overall, so can't complain.

I am so over the Winter weather - the wind and rain in Auckland this Winter has been awful. However, today it is a stunner - clear blue sky and no wind - just wish it would stay around a bit more as it really makes you want to go out and enjoy it.

Well, my body feels a lot better than it did after the Taupo Half Marathon. On the day, my hamstrings were very sore and causing me grief, especially my right one. After the run and several times on the drive back to Auckland, I stretched them to try and relieve some of the pain. When I got home, I ran a lovely hot bath and put in some D'Lux Bath Recovery that my massage therapist put me onto, and it was lovely to have a soak. I then followed this by more stretching.

So, Monday morning I was not prepared for my quads to be on fire and totally cease up! My hamstrings were great (amazingly) but now my quads were very unhappy and painful. It took about 5 minutes to be able to straighten my legs when I tried to get out of bed, so I could walk to the bathroom - just as well I wasn't too desperate to get there.

After doing regular stretching during Monday, I had a massage booked for Tuesday afternoon. My regular massage therapist is away, so tried a new one. And it was just what I needed. My quads were still painful to touch, but nowhere near as delicate as Monday, so it was great to get them massaged - I must say I do like the pain of deep massages.

So, attention this week has been on swimming, and I have had a pretty good week (for me). I feel that I am getting somewhere with this frustrating sport. Longest session to date: 3.3km, so slowly getting the distance up. Then I had a lesson with my swim coach, and she introduced me to paddles.

Tip: put your goggles on before putting your paddles on.

So after a few lengths of total uncoordination as they felt weird and had minds of their own - I started to get the hang of them. I have always had fairly good upper body strength, due to my earlier years I spent in the gym and pilates, so am looking forward to using these to develop my technique and strength.

The long ride on Sunday was aborted again this week, due to the wicked weather that went through Sunday morning. Why is it that Sundays seem to attract a storm in Auckland? So got on the trainer again.

The next 3 weeks are going to be hard. They are building up to a very big week - I feel tired reading the programme. Thanks Tony! Let's hope the body and mind are willing.

Well, yesterday was the Taupo Half Marathon. Unfortunately I had an awful run so trying to forget about it quickly!

It was great to meet Kathy on Friday night (one of the chosen 5) and hear how she is going. I have just read her blog - and like she mentions, it is as if we know each other, due to our blogs and Alpe d'Huez's sponsorship. Well done Kathy on your PB.

After having weeks of really great runs, and being on course to run around 2 hours, about 8 km into the run, my old problem with my right leg emerged, and caused me grief. So from there it was a limp/hobble home as best I could. Never mind ... will just have to work harder and ensure this doesn't happen again.

Thanks to Wendy from Catelli's Motel for cheering for me - and my friends in Auckland for their txts.

Easy week was great, but somehow I had crap training sessions. I hear that that can happen, although I wasn't expecting it. My runs seemed to be a chore, swimming awful, and cycling seemed a struggle - and they were all easy, short sessions! Maybe the body just needed time to regain strength again.

Well, this week has started off OK although nothing too strenguous, as I have the Taupo Half Marathon on Sunday. Have 3 swims, 3 cycles and 2 runs, plus the half marathon - all low intensity, so should have plenty of energy on Sunday. I'm not sure what the weather forecast is, but as a 'soft' Aucklander, it is bound to be very cold - just hope it is not really windy making it even colder. I think I will pack every thermal I own just in case!

I am aiming to do around 2 hours. My previous half marathons were done with extreme back and sciatica pain - but have none of that now, so looking at possibly a minute or 2 better - but aim is to enjoy it and pace myself.

Will let you know how I get on next week. Happy training everyone.

The last week was 'hard' and left me exhausted - so much so that I skipped my Saturday group training as couldn't drag my body out of bed. Sleep seemed very important. Not wanting to have a few disastrous sessions to "do my head in", I opted to stay in bed and get some sleep.

Sunday bunch ride was cancelled due to awful weather - so went for a run instead. For some reason, I just couldn't face a long windtrainer session. I don't usually mind doing time on the windtrainer, as I am used to it - but last weekend I did for some reason. Never mind - had a great run instead!

So got about 95% of last week's schedule completed .... with this week being an easy week - YAY! Easy weeks are becoming an exciting thing to me (now that is getting sad, isn't it?).

Now, I do have to brag about a success I had last week. My long swim was the best yet. I had to do 3km, (the 2nd one to date) and wasn't really looking forward to it. But, I just seemed to get into a rhythm that has been lacking to date, and did it in 15 minutes less than my first 3km attempt. Now it wasn't fast, but for me I was rapt. It took me 1:15, so each km took 25 minutes. After weeks and weeks of doing no better than 30 minutes per km, I couldn't believe it. It was a great boost to my morale, as you know I am a beginner swimmer and am finding it a huge challenge. Trouble is, I have to keep this up now, or I'll get depressed!! You just can't win, can you.

Running still going well, and looking forward to the Taupo Half Marathon. No doubt it will be very cold, so will pack lots of thermals.

The Tour de France coverage is great - very inspiring. They make it look easy climbing up those mountains at great speed - just incredible. I can't believe the average time per stage for the mountain stages ... makes my average speed seem miserable!

A big thanks to The Port of Tauranga for supporting me in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman in January. So I am now committed to this Half Ironman as my first Half Ironman as an individual, as I have been in teams for the past 2 years. Oh boy .... The Port of Tauranga sponsors Shipping Company teams and it is great to see "OOCL" entering a team (with just a little encouragement from me...). Go Hamish, Peter and ?? Wendy maybe? Just because I have abandoned the post doesn't mean you can slacken off!!!

Righty-O,
Last week was a bit of a disaster due to getting a viral headache from hell which lasted from Friday to Wednesday, so lost a good 5 days and then took it slowly for the next couple of days.

But did manage to get 2 runs, 3 bikes and 1 swim in this week so not totally lost.

This week is a harder week with 3 swims, 5 bikes and 4 runs planned, along with pilates, stretches etc. The amount of hours this week will be approx. 4 hours of swimming, 4 hour long road ride, plus 5 hours on windtrainer, and around 4 hours running.

I feel quite refreshed after the forced rest, so looking forward to getting back to normal.

After the last blog, I went off to do my 3km swim session, and got there (just). I didn't do 1 metre more, as my arms were pretty tired. There is another one scheduled in this week, so hope that one goes better.

Today a few of us (8) started a new bunch ride with girls in mind, but boys are welcome, as long as they don't want to go at race pace, and are prepared to wait for the slower riders ... something that the boys are not well known for! It is good to find a bunch of like minded riders who want to get together and do a long ride on a weekly basis. Thanks Liz for being the leader.

Running seems to be improving ... since my spinal fusion my speed has decreased, and I suffer some nerve damage in my right leg. But the perseverence is paying off with the leg getting much stronger, and I am running probably better than I was in 2003. I have been trying to do plenty of hills and undulating runs, which is really paying off. Some routes which have brought me to walking at various points due to the hills, I am now running up and not stopping at all. Although still slow, this is a great joy to me, as I did not think I would see this amount of improvement in my right leg - it almost feels 'normal' now - which I am so excited about. This is also helping me in my cycling, as it is not tiring anywhere like it used to.

Next event is the Taupo Half Marathon .... hope it isn't too cold this year (5th August).

All these small victories are important to boost up one's spirit and belief in the achieving the goal in mind.

Oh yes, yesterday I did something very brave .... I submitted my entry for the NZ Ironman 2008 which has been accepted. The butterflies were swarming and flying in circles, I can tell you! But it is done, so one more step towards getting to the start line on 1st March.

I still don't really believe that I will be competing - it just seems too surreal. Isn't it something that really fast, fit athletes do? Well yes, I suppose so, but a lot of ordinary, everyday 'athletes' do it too - and SO AM I!