4 on 2 off :o)

Hi, not too much to report since last week. Coach Mark Watson has me on a 4 days hard, 2 days easy at the moment to allow me to get a little more intensity into each week. I really feel its working for me and it showed this weekend as I recovered well from the Cam Brown camp and backed it up with another good block.

I celebrated Waitangi day by doing a big training day with Dirk (Bockel), we swam the IM course ensuring to pass by the "hole in one" golf pontoon prior to opening hours! Dirk is a fantastic swimmer and was probably in cruise mode with me fighting to hold his feet on the return leg! Great race day simulation for me though as finding feet and holding them is crucial for a fast swim. The ride round the lake was awesome, very little wind and the temp pushing 30 again. Dirk had an hour effort to do on the flats from Turangi so I sat on his wheel trying to keep my HR down. I managed this nicely and the time went by very quickly. The only negative is the constant fear of traffic, we were single file all day but still had Cars and Trucks especially coming very close. These guys wouldnt pass farm stock or pedestrians as close, but they get off on giving us a fright and checking us out in their rear view mirrors to see our reaction once past. Unfortunatley we live in a community with such an aggresive culture and we are bascially powerless. Just look at the recent court case stemming from the dangerous driving incident at the K2 Cycle Race. Even when someone directly causes and accident and almost death they are not prosecuted. The guys who are here from overseas are truly shocked by it and will be telling their friends and fellow athletes not to come to NZ unless they want to risk life and limb on the road. Thats a real shame for our sport and the wider community as they bring in a heap of positivity and financial benefits. Anyway, we got around in 4 hrs 40 which is not a bad time considering we were not pushing things until Turangi. A good sign of my fitness and new found tolerance of miles was being able to play with Alex when I arrived home and hold a decent conversation with Mands!
Saturday was another big day, 5km in the pool followed by a 90min run and then a 2hr ride in the avo. Sunday was a 130km ride with 90km on the course at race pace. This was tough with some reasonable winds on the course. My timing was pretty good doing the 90km in 2.25 which equates to a 4hr50 IM bike. With training wheels on and no aero helmet I was happy with the effort. My heart rate was very rarely over 140 so signs are good for a fast ride this year. When I got home it was scorching hot, I had a 45 min run to do with some high intensity stuff. I was pretty dehydrated by the end of it and needed a cold shower to regain my composure! Poor Mum and Dad were in town and had to deal with post session grumpiness until I had polished off Manda's Quiche and Pasta lunch! Today was the last day of the 4 day block. I had a 2.5 hr run to do which I decided to do before work to avoid the heat. I left at 6.30 and did 2hrs off road followed by 35mins on the streets through town. It was another good run on the back of a fairly solid block of training so I was stoked to finish it off well. I had a 90 spin with a group of Euro/American athletes in the avo and felt ready for more! Pilate's this evening was tough through with my quads stinging from the miles.
2 easy days now, both with some easy sessions but a good time to refocus and get ready for the next block.
Congrats to Mum and Dad who competed as a team at the Kinloch tri on Sunday. Mum swam, good mate and local IM legend Richard "Dark-Horse" Stringfellow did the bike and Dad ran. They had a ball and all enjoyed their respective races. The team name was way of the mark ("old and Stringy") as they ended up winning the mixed team race!

Thats all from me, all is well, time for bed:)

Dunc

PS. just heard I'm on the cover of the Multisport Mag this month! Very cool, also I'm no.6 for IMNZ, good motivation to finish higher than that to have a faster number next year!