Shaken ... and a little stirred.

So, this week has seen a rather unexpected turn of events to say the least!

Jemima mimicking my post training pose

 Said Goodbye to Mum on Monday afternoon; wasn't as emotional a farewell as usual since we will catch up again in Sydney on the 18th of March - am heading there for the weekend- may as well since is only a 3 hour flight away as opposed to the 33 hours I have to travel to get back to Edinburgh! 
Managed to get all my training in successfully last week with some reduced working hours and good time management. I admire people who train for Ironmans and have to juggle young families, 40 hour work weeks and the rest- I just cannot conceive how they get enough sleep!

Tuesday morning I made it to swim squad but the pool was still at 50m (is usually set to 2 x 25 m pools on Tues, Wed+ Thurs) which meant we had about 10 of us with a much wider variety of speeds in the lane. I don't enjoy squad when it is like this as I am generally the slowest in the lane and have to keep skipping some of the intervals to stay in the same sets as my squad mates. However, I tell myself that it is good to push out of my comfort zone a bit and hope that I am swimming faster than normal just to hang on! I was a bit sluggish tho; my shoulders were tired from Monday's set so I was glad when the hour was up and I could get out. Headed back toward home and did the groceries en route as had had a couple of cancellations so wasnt starting work til later in the morning. Ugh I find grocery shopping a tedious chore but when a pocket of time becomes available it has to be used!

Anyway, in the midst of my last morning patient and suddenly the lights go off and the building starts shaking like crazy and drawers are opening, stuff is flying off the shelves and the work surfaces and I hear the hiss of pipes  and the rumbling noise of a shuddering roof combined with the banging and crashing of items falling off surfaces throughout the practice. Once the worst subsided we all went outside into the car park ; standing around like stunned mullets in a bit of disbelief. A few minutes later we could feel the rolling and rocking of the ground as sequences of aftershocks came.Went back inside to get my bag and couldnt even see the floor of my surgery! Shame I didnt take a photo to record it but didnt want to linger in the building for too long. We lost a few roof tiles but otherwise the structure of the practice seems to be ok. Took forever to get home; the building across from work by the large intersection had a collapsed roof and the traffic lights were out as well as silt and liquefaction pouring out from the gutters and craters appearing in the road.

Got home eternally grateful that the house was still standing and that Brett was there, also unharmed. We had some broken mugs and glasses; all the photo frames had fallen over as well as the shelves in the spare room. We still had power on thankfully but no water. Next panic was about Jemima but I stood in the garden and called out to her and lo she appeared from underneath a bush. Phew! I missed all the action in September when the first earthquake struck; the subsequent aftershocks never really bothered me but on Tuesday afternoon I spent feeling mildly traumatised and terrified at the slightest wobble.However, when we turned the TV on and saw the mass devastation in the town centre we felt exceedingly lucky.Needless to say, it was a bit of a sleepless night. Wednesday seemed a little surreal; thankfully internet connection was restored so was able to track down some people I hadn't heard from via Facebook. We had a few friends come round who were still without power to charge up cell phones and lap tops and it was a relief to talk to other people and hear their experiences.

What earthquake??!!

As for training,can still run and ride in various places (but no Long or Short bays for a while). Swimming- well, I am not sure where or when will the pools will reopen. Its a minor though in the great scheme of things and my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones in this disaster. Makes one have some appreciation for the things in life we take for granted. Kia Kaha

Coughs. Colds and Clan Gatherings

Alec,Mum and Christine staying upright in the wind

Mum arrived last Friday and is here until the 21st of February. I was in a bit of a panic about how I was going to fit in some good  training, work and quality Mummy time. My Uncle Alec and his wife, also called Christine, arrived late Thursday night and are here until Tuesday. They live in a small town called Foster which is about 2 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne, Victoria.  The picture above is of them standing by the summit road along the Port Hills; they are positioned by the top of the Bridle Path which is a steep track which rises from Lyttelton on the South side over to Heathcote Valley on the North side. The first settlers into Christchurch walked with all their belongings over this path to get to the flatter, fertile plains of Christchurch. No obesity epidemic in those days!!

Anyway, enough history. Woke the early hours of last Saturday morning with a scratchy sore throat and had trouble getting to sleep again. My body was feeling quite achey, but I had done a weights session in the gym the day before and with Ironman training there are always some latent muscle aches. I had also had a massage 2 days previous so was hoping and praying that it would pass.I attempted a ride on the Saturday morning but I was starting to feel worse and worse so decided to quit the workout early and knock things on the head. Sunday was our hottest day of the year - a sweltering 35 degrees so Mum and I went for a walk up round Cashmere hills for a couple of hours. Monday was back to work and my throat was still a bit sore and I was feeling pretty tired as it had been so hot on Sunday night that I hadnt had the greatest sleep.
Managed to train Tuesday and Wednesday, altho blew myself up on Tuesday night with some FTP intervals. Had 4 intervals of 15 mins with 4 mins recovery to do; first two were fine, third one I rode up Kennedy's Bush Road to enable me to hit the power target and the 4th... well I crawled home like a dog with no legs!! (Actually FELT like a dog with no legs by this point!)

Thursday I awoke to Brett having disappeared - he had moved into the lounge and was on the couch since i was snoring so bad (??!!moi??!!) - and the dull ache above my eyeballs and through my cheeks of full blown sinusitis.Ugh. So much for thinking I had gotten over my little cold; should have known better than that going back to pathology days at Uni...virus first then the bacteria flood in a few days later. (thats why your snot is clear at the start of a cold and green by the later stages. Interesting, huh?!)  Missed swimming but managed a wind trainer session in the afternoon. Had to leave home at 11.15pm to go to pick up Alec + Chris from the airport which wasn't ideal so Friday I felt even more crap and was certainly not up to excercise.

Attempted a flat ride on Saturday morning, tho my HR was quite high for my effort and similar while running this morning. Both resting and training HRs were higher but my run pace was way off. Brett had to wait 4 minutes for me at the top of Captain Thomas track - we are usually together or I can pip him a bit on the uphills. By then I had come to the conclusion that common sense should apply and there was no way I could struggle on for a 2 hours plus run round the Godley head circuit, let alone the thought of climbing up all the zig zags back over Whitewash head. Brett suggested that we turn back and that I needed to get over this cold and not to panic about a shortened workout (again).

Godley head and Boulder Bay.My favourite run :))

Its 11 weeks to IM St George , keep telling myself I have plenty of time and NOT to worry at this stage. Better to recover properly and ensure I get to the start line fresh and healthy. I have managed to  avoid  headcolds since November 2009  so I guess I am not doing too badly.I always have that nagging doubt of "Am I being lazy or a bit soft and should just train??My symptoms are above the neck after all ?".  This is one time where the HRM and the Power Meter are a useful tool - they tell you that you are not quite right!



View from Hilltop

On a brighter, less self-centred note, we took the rellies to Akaroa yesterday and they loved it. Have to admit it it is a stunning place. Last time I was there was a few months ago ( ah...back to me again!) and that was by bike with a few of the boys. I had a wheel out of true and a broken rear spoke with another about to break so I was terrified descending back down to Little River from Hilltop. It was one of those epic days where we had a horrendous norwesterly to contend with on the way home. The boys kindly said I could just sit at the back while they took turns at the front (phew....!).  Anyhow, yesterday's trip over made me have a yearning to ride there again and hopefully have my climbing legs with me this time as well as 20 intact rear spokes!

Wouldnt have a spoke problem on this baby!

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