Life After Tweed
Tweed was over and what a goal to accomplish. But as you will hear me say often. Whats next?
Well as I'd already set my goals for the year, Drew had set an annual training plan for me so direction was easy t
o find, Gold Coast Airport Marathon was my next "A Race". This felt like a long way off being that it was in July but now is when we start training for it.
Lots of long, slow, low heart rate runs. It sounds boring, but these runs really let you clear your head, I was always at peace while doing these runs and would feel amazing for the next 24 hours.
In all honesty felt like I was able to go further but I thought I was losing my speed. I was was wrong. My first parkrun after Tweed I set a new PB by over 90 seconds, I was down to 23:45. A week later I set the benchmark again of 23:00 (of course still with the stroller)
I was getting very used to running longer distances with Sapphire in the stroller. Most weeks I was putting in 10-20 km solo or with South Bank and then doing similar on the weekend with her in the stroller. It actually made running long distance easier. I was able to store my water, gatorade and a can of coke for after the run, in a cooler in the tray under the stroller. With my gels, Mobiles etc. in the pocket at the back. Most of the time she was asleep but if she woke then the iPad with youtube became fantastic entertainment.
In April I had one more race left in the season. The Gold Coast, Luke Harrop Memorial sprint distance triathlon. A group of us made a weekend of it and stayed down in Kingscliff for the weekend. Venturing to southport on the Saturday to watch the elite athletes who were vying for a spot in their respective countries Rio Olympics team. This was a real eye opener and I say if you ever have the chance go and watch the finish line of one of these events. I could not believe how many of the elite males would fall over literally metres after finishing their race, using every ounce of energy available.
Race day came, this event was very different to any others I had done before. Being run by Ironman there was a lot more money spent on the setup etc. I felt great, it was a very quick bike course with one rise that Southbank had set its tent up on. There was no way you would let yourself look like you were struggling when getting cheered for going over this. The run had the same problem one uncomfortable rise that you had to attack each lap. It was amazing to see someone able to do these in a wheelchair, and hey if he can do it I should stop complaining. A high five from every person you saw that you knew, whether they were racing or supporting and the race was over.
I considered this as my second triathlon season over. What a season it was.
Races Completed
*Greater Springfield Duathlon
*Morton Bay Tri
*Robina Tri (DNF)
*Bribie Tri x2
*Raby Bay Tri x2
*Tweed Enduro
*Luke Harrop Triathlon
