What's in a Number......

Another week down.....more ticks in the boxes.....and another week closer! Vital statistics for the week are 19.3km of swimming, 65km of running and 190km of cycling. Much lower on the cycle volume this week with the main focus being the run, second focus the swim!

This week I've felt a little flat during my training sessions - the main culprit being the body clock! I had a shorter turn around from nights to day shifts this week which on paper looked manageable but in reality was anything but! I seemed unable to shake the night shift programme out of my body which resulted in lots of late starts to the day and late night runs and windtrainer sessions! My unsocial training hours meant that I missed every group training session I'd planned to do so every one of the 16 sessions on my training programme were solo! Usually I don't mind doing the majority on my own and often actually prefer it but even by my own training loner standards it was pretty harsh!

Thankfully someone somewhere was looking out for me towards the end of the week and this weekend I got offered the opportunity to swap off my night shift onto a day shift........I think I can count on one hand the number of times that has been offered to me in my 10 year nursing career so naturally I jumped at the chance - anything that meant I could jump start my body clock back onto 'normal' time! This week I start my usual day to night shift ratio so hopefully there shouldn't be a repeat of the twilight training hours!!

So this week it was back to see my nutritionist, Alison Rainbow, to get the verdict on how the mass building was going and what my fat percentage was doing! It has been a strange couple of weeks adjusting to seeing an extra 2kgs appear on the scales and viewing this as a 'good gain' and one that will hopefully enhance my performance. To some people that must seem an odd concept and by now I'm use to the sideways stares I get as I'm writing down my calories in my food journal or working out what I've got to 'spend' calories wise on an afternoon snack! Why would people not stare.....after all within society weight loss is primarily about achieving a number whether that be a number on the scales or a certain dress size - so to all intents and purposes to the outsider looking in I look pretty skinny but the reality is that for me it's not about that - its not about achieving a 'look' - it isn't about looking in the mirror and liking what I see.....its about achieving the best possible ratio between muscle and fat for optimal performance.....I have to try and put myself as an athlete first and my female brain second.....which is often easier said than done! So as I sat in Alison's office I was trying to push the female brain out of the window and embrace the athletic one......it was all good news.....my fat percentage was down to 10% and I had gained 3% in muscular mass.....roughly translated I had managed to lose fat whilst building some muscle.....and so although the 2kgs had not sat particularly well on my female brain over the last 3 weeks what it really comes down to is what's in a number.......at the end of the day a number is after all just a number.............

Race Report - Run Auckland Western Springs

Event -Run Auckland Race 5, Western Springs
Date - Saturday 20 June 2010
Distance -10km
Run Time - 41:00 minutes
Age Group (30-39) - 3rd
Overall Position - 9th

Well it was time to pull on the running shoes and again have a crack at getting out of my comfort zone and into the world of 'LLB' - Leg Lung Burn! I had pushed out a pretty decent week in terms of volume so the prospect of lining up for 10km in the pain cave on Sunday morning I have to be honest did not particularly thrill me - perhaps because it was paired with the knowledge that once it was over I would then have to knock out a 70 minute swim, 60 minute wind trainer, a gym session and a night shift!

The night before was spent pondering on what to wear - now lets be honest this is often more taxing than writing a race plan - the weather forecast was for rain and wind but the temperature was not going to be too low - just to further complicate the decision making process! This therefore resulted in me packing a bag that contained more clothing options that was actually probably necessary and that never even got opened!

I arrived at the start early as I needed to register - I got a primo park that meant I was a stones through away from the start line so I could take shelter from the rain in my car until the start of the race briefing - only 10 minutes of getting cold and wet! I hate running with too many layers on so I decided to brave the elements and hop out of my car in a singlet and then strategically place myself between some beefy men on the start line to keep myself warm :)

The race briefing was brief and we got underway on time - the first part of the course was a small loop across Western Springs Park which was waterlogged and muddy! Good times! Most of us ran rather gingerly across the grass until we the hit pavement and then it was all on! Big surge up the hill and into the LLB zone! As the pace settled I hung onto the back of 3 men that were cat and mousing with each other along the course. I named them 'Ernie' - an older guy who later told me he raced marathons on coke and purple jet planes, 'Mr Compression Socks' a tall young guy who was attempting to shake off Ernie's advances and 'Crazy Legs' a man who must have been no more than 5foot 2" tall but who had the most amazing leg speed I have ever seen in my life! So there was our little pack hanging onto each other trying to push each other along the course - my legs were not terribly happy but I was managing to hold my own!

As we were nearing the end of lap 1 (of 2) I ran past a fellow Ironman athlete 'Mad Dog' who was on the sidelines supporting his wife. As I ran past he shouted 'take the handbrake off Laura' - this took me a few seconds to process but not nearly as many seconds to shoot Ernie, Mr Compression Socks and Crazy Legs a look that would convey to them that my handbrake was well and truly off and that there would be no second lap heroics from my corner!

However this did get me wondering......was my handbrake on......and if so what was keeping it on! I guess it is fair to say that we all have a handbrake, not just a race handbrake but a life handbrake, we all have moments where we tell ourselves that we are trying as hard as we can but deep down we know that we aren't - the handbrake is on for whatever reason and we can't take it off. When racing you sometimes don't know if the handbrake is on until you get to the finish line - it's on the finish line that you have to contend with all those thoughts like 'am I happy with that ' 'could I have gone faster' and so on.

So as we set off on the second lap I pondered what might be keeping my hand break on! Was it a physical thing - were my legs so tired from the weeks training that they were applying the handbrake for self preservation?? Was it a mental thing - was I over thinking the rest of the day, the other training sessions, the night shift to come or was it an emotional thing - was the result today not that important in the grand scheme of things - was I merely here to have a hard run, tick the box and go through the process - in that case did the process trump the result??

As we entered the last 2km I came to the conclusion that on some level the handbrake must be on - I wasn't giving it absolute death - don't get me wrong I wasn't cruising....on the contrary I was running hard - Ernie, Mr Compression Socks and Crazy Legs were giving me a run for my money the reality was however that today I wasn't out there to record my fastest ever 10km result, to win the race or to qualify for a prestigious event - I was simply there to go through the motions......saving the handbrake release for a race where the result for me really counted!

As we moved into the last kilometre the dynamics of the pack began to change - Fast Legs was at the front of the bunch and Mr Compression Socks was attempting to take the lead - with every surge Mr Compression Socks made Crazy Legs took off upping the anti for 5 seconds as if trying to convey to the group that the pack win was going to be his. Ernie began tutting alongside me telling me to keep the pace even - he kept repeating that we would catch the plonkers up if we kept it even and he was right - with every surge came a lag and we headed into the finishers chute even stevens! To my complete surprise as we rounded the corner into the finishers chute Ernie burst into at an almighty sprint pipping the lot of us to the post and then promptly collapsed in a fit of the giggles clearly pleased with his win over the group!

All up I crossed the finish line in 41 minutes flat - a 4:06 minute kilometre pace - this wasn't the 4:00 minute pace I needed for a 40 minute finish but all things considered I can safely say that I was happy I gave what I could on the day.......handbrake or not!

Looking out for my 5 a day!

So week 11 in the build up has been and gone - another steady week of training where the necessary boxes have been ticked and the kilometres marked off! All up I've knocked out 230km on the bike, 16km in the pool and around 55km in my running shoes. I wasn't really sure how this week would pan out after the tonsils came out but I have seemed to get through it and come out in one piece!

I'm still hitting the gym hard in a quest to build some muscle! As yet I haven't seen any great incredible hulk transformation - the scales are showing that I am several kilograms heavier but rather disappointingly this hasn't translated into the emergence of a ripped body and super hero stylee strength! It is still early days though I guess :-) I'm finding that I am a little off the pace run wise as I adjust to the slightly heavier proportions but with time comes adaptation so it's a case of sitting tight and being patient!

I managed to catch up with my Kona buddy Belinda this week for some 'planning' over breakfast! We both so far seem to have tracked the same physical and emotional roller coaster since getting back into training post Ironman so it's been nice to be able to talk honestly to someone who on any given day will have felt the same things that you have! This week we were both a box of fluff's and I came away from breakfast feeling hyped up and ready to do battle with the winter weather for a few more weeks! It's not long now until I escape the winter weather for a week in Queensland for the Capricorn half and then only a matter of weeks after that before we both set off to the Big Island for a month of pre race training.

By far the most exciting day of the week was Thursday when I arrived home after a 12 hour day shift to find a HUGE organic fruit and vege box sitting on my doorstep - please see attached picture and be suitably impressed - yes that is all for me!!! Now I knew this delivery was coming but I had no idea that it would be packed full of so much goodness! I shouldn't really have been surprised though - after all it came from the kindness and generosity of one Mr Neil Stafford - fellow O'Hagan squad buddy and owner of direct organics http://www.directorganics.co.nz/ - who has taken it upon himself to look out for my 5 a day in the build up to Kona! It's no secret that as big events have drawn near and the costs have started to mount that I have often relied on several hefty serves a day of Uncle Toby's oats mixed with protein powder for perhaps a few too many days to get me through to pay day! Such generosity is therefore not only humbling but also incredibly reassuring.......because I now know that when those days rock around again when I'm forced to go hard on the oats and protein powder combo I will now have a HUGE organic fruit and vege box to plough through too! Hooray! So BIG UP THANKS to Neil and Organics Direct!

It's fair to say that the last week has been full of many more warm fuzzy moments after my AMP scholarship went live on the internet and the voting started! Suddenly what I'm doing, what I'm aiming for, my goals and aspirations are 'out there' being forwarded into the inbox of friends, family, work colleagues and complete strangers! This can only be a positive thing - once you get past the 'oh my word!' stage - because suddenly not only is my goal written down in black and white but it is now a shared goal, it's public and it's out there! It isn't the easiest thing in the world to put your hand up and say 'this where I want to be but I'm totally broke' - you have to swallow your pride a little, start getting honest and force yourself to face those uncomfortable little places head on that we might often just prefer to ignore or hope will disappear. Since putting myself out there publicly I've had emails of support from both friends and strangers, I've walked down corridors at work and had people stop to tell me they've voted and been met at training sessions with rounds of people saying they've voted and passed on my voting link - so in the end, whether or not I get the scholarship from AMP, I feel that just going through the process of formalising my goals, outlining them and highlighting the struggle has been more valuable than I could ever have imagined!

Next week it's big run week time! Hooray! I'm starting the week on a night shift so I will have to be super disciplined and focused on the scheduling to get it all in!

I NEED YOUR VOTE!

Hi Everyone!

The People's Choice Award for the AMP Scholarship has gone live! Please register your vote and support 'my thing' of making it as a professional Ironman!

http://www.doyourthing.co.nz/2010-00659/laura-clare-whelan

Thanks Heaps!
L xx

Hello Easy Week - Bye Bye Tonsils!

So my easy week started like any other - catching up on the sleep following the BIG week I had just pushed out! Training volume was going to be low - just 12 hours - and the majority of sessions were either to be easy or very easy effort! Music to my ears!! But it would seem that the mystical powers that be had other plans for my easy week!!

It is not news to many of you that I usually get tonsillitis 9 days out from any big race and that I generally spend my taper week frantically trying to get rid of it with antibiotics, herbal potions and ice blocks (the latter not clinically proven to be an effective treatment for tonsillitis I might add)!! Over the last 9 months I have had 8 super sized doses of tonsillitis that have put me in front of my GP to get the usual prescription for industrial sized antibiotics! It was on a visit in January just before the Tauranga Half Ironman that my GP decided enough was enough and it was time to have the pesky things removed! So after an appointment with an ENT surgeon it was deemed that I did meet the criteria for having them taken out (yay me!) and I got a date through for mid August! Not perfect timing with Kona in early October but better than the risk of goodness knows how many more antibiotic munching episodes between now and then! I did sign up for the cancellation list i.e someone who is planned for surgery cancels and they call you to fill the slot, but never in a million years did I think I would be 'so lucky' as to get the call!!

So on Tuesday afternoon I got 'the call' to say could I do this week! Minor meltdown as I have a small (actually make that large) fear of anaesthetics (probably something to do with working in intensive care) but the timing even I had to reluctantly admit couldn't have been better and you only get one shot at the cancellation list so it seemed silly not to take it! So I endured a 12 hour night shift being teased by my work colleagues about having a tonsillectomy - which obviously included absolutely everything that could possibly go wrong with it and to add to the torture I wasn't allowed to eat after 4am as I was having my tonsils out that morning! Imagine trying to get through the last 3 hours of a night shift without any munchies!!! I rest my case!

However 7am soon rocked around - I handed over my patient - swapped a pair of scrubs for a theatre gown and before I had time to recount the horror stories of the night I was being wheeled into theatre and put into a drug induced sleep! It was all over within 40 minutes and by just after lunch I was back at home being force fed ice blocks and smoothies (and perhaps the odd scoop or two of ice cream!!).

I had managed to squash most of my sessions for the week in before the tonsils came out so I didn't feel too guilty laying on the couch for a couple of days to recuperate! I rather ambitiously rocked up to interval run training 3 days after my tonsils came out - hit a big wall of that was stupid around 25 minutes in and then proceeded to become reacquainted with the sofa again for another day!! I have only missed one 60 minute bike session for the week so all in all pretty happy with the effort!

I have managed to get stuck back into the gym this week! Oh yes me and the heavy round things have been working hard......I'm turning into the incredible hulk!!!

Next week it's back into the big yards so hopefully I will have recovered enough to get stuck back into things! I'm sure the odd ice block or two will help to ease me gently back in!! I've got the Western Springs Run Auckland 10km race next Sunday so fingers crossed I will be fired up ready for that!

Until next time .................................

Well what a week! It started on a couple of night shifts which I knew would make the week challenging as I tried to squeeze the sessions in around the sleep and post night shift haze which is like wandering around with jet lag for a day or so once the night shifts have ended as you try to get your body clock back on daytime hours!

This week was a big cycle week and I managed to clock up 12 hours of cycling and travel 390km! I had a 40km time trial at the weekend which was done as part of the Saturday Tri Squad training - it always feels better to be surrounded by other people doing the same thing - a bit of camaraderie to get you through 40km when you are trying to go as fast as you possibly can! The time trial was done on a stationary trainer so it is all about pushing out the fastest time you can over the 40km distance! At the moment I'm trying to improve my cadence (how fast my legs turn the pedals over) - I prefer to turn my legs over at a slow rate using a big gear however this takes a lot out of your legs which is not ideal in a race situation when I have to get off my bike and start running! Turning the legs over faster on the bike is therefore more efficient but is a hard skill to master - or so it seems! So my goal for the 40km time trial was to turn my legs over at a minimum rate of 90 revolutions per minute - typically I usually average 80-83! I started out averaging 95 per minute for the first 20km and then as time wore on I found it increasingly difficult to maintain the rate and by the end I had dropped to an average of 88-89! I managed to resist the temptation to revert to old habits but around the 30km mark it was very very appealing! The final result was 40km in 57 minutes 43 seconds so I was happy with the time and pleased that I had successfully managed to turn my legs over at a faster rate than normal!

On the swimming front I hit a target of 16km in the pool which I was particularly pleased about as I often have an aversion to going swimming when working nights! I'm not quite sure what the reason is behind that but I managed to bargain with myself and get through the swims this week! I'm still struggling with finding good form for the speed work - generally the sign that all is not well on the faster swim sets is almost losing my nose to a lane rope!! This seems to be happening a little more frequently at the moment so I sent an SOS email to Ally Boggs at The Swim Clinic to see if she can sort that out - I sort of like my nose too much to lose it to a lane rope :-)

The run volume has been a little lower this week - only 6 hours total - and that was to make way for the cycling and swimming! My foot feels really good again so I am itching for my next big run week so I can get out on some off road tracks! Looks like I have to wait another week for that as next week is an easy week! When my programme came through and I spotted another easy week just 3 weeks after the last I wondered if I would really need one again so soon.......the answer is a BIG YES! This week I've clocked up 25 hours which squeezed around a big week at work has left me feeling a bit toasted! Next week will be perfect to recover with some easy sessions and to also catch up on the household chores!!

Good news on the nutrition front - I went back to see Alison Rainbow for my first check up after starting back on the nutrition mission and I have managed to drop a few percent in the fat column! Hooray! So now it is project muscle mass which means more frequent trips to the gym - I'm told by Alison that lifting those round heavy things helps to grow muscles! I'm also starting on an 8 week course of Creatine next week which is a powder that increases the water in the muscle so they get bigger! As they get bigger you get stronger and can lift heavier weights so then when you come off it and the water goes away you should theoretically be stronger!! Watch this space!! It does mean that the extra water in the muscle will make me heavier - about 2-3 kilograms so once I've got my female brain around that concept it will be all systems go!!

So there is a snippet of my week in a nutshell! I'm looking forward to the easy week and reacquainting myself with the gym and the round heavy things!!