It’s amazing how having an event looming in the distance can motivate you to set some training and fitness goals.   Now that I’ve done two Olympic distance triathlons, I’m starting to develop a plan for Noosa – and nutting out a time I’d like to achieve (and how I’m going to get there).

That said, I’ve never been one for numbers, except as a rough guide to the direction I’m travelling in.   Even in a triathlon, there are variables like tides, current, wind, terrain, temperature which affect the outcome of the race, so in terms of time, I’ve picked out ranges for swim, bike and run  - based on what times I’ve done previously – both at Noosa and in my last triathlons.   I’m really rather excited to see if I can nail them.

Many athletes are fastidious about recording their times, heart rates, speeds etc – and I’m trying to get into the habit of this so I can actually chart my improvements, but a lot of the time, I’m asking myself whether what I’m doing is getting harder or easier and adjust from there.   If I’m feeling good, I know I’m usually doing well and if I’m struggling, then I assess what else I’ve been doing, or whether perhaps a breakthrough workout is around the corner.   I’ve had enough experience with my own running to know when I’m running well and what pace I can target over a certain distance.     My goal is to run bang on 5 minute ks or slightly under for the 10km running leg of the Noosa tri.   I am going to participate in the Wynnum Twilight Run again this year, which is a few weeks before the triathlon so this will give me some idea of where I’m at.

With the cycling side of things, I’m being guided by Coach Merv.   Rather than worrying about my performance and where I “think” I should be (yup, I have a tendency to overthink sometimes), my focus is doing exactly what Merv asks  of me.  Giving over control of my training to someone else felt a bit strange but now I’ve come to really enjoy being coached – not only am I learning, but those rides are a luxury “me” time. Over the next few months,   I will be participating in some road races and criteriums and having my first crack at an individual time trial.   The ITT has always appealed to me as some of our time trial training sessions have been my most memorable – in that I don’t think I have ever pushed myself that hard.

With the swimming, I’m roping a good mate into Lane One with me down the track and trying out some of the swimming coaching times.  I’ve even started to get to know the pool staff, who wink at me and say, “you’re UQ Alumni, aren’t you?”  They obviously can see I loved going to UQ

All these small things make me forget about the cold pool water and help me to get in and just do it.

To sum up, it’s really  nice to have a bit of direction, but not be so nitpicky about it that it loses its fun factor.

I’ve also been teaching quite a few classes and looking forward to launching Shockwave next month with John.   We’re still trying to work out whether we are going to give each other rowing gladiator style names but it is going to be fun and yes, it’s going to be INTENSE

On the more relaxing side of things, I’ve been enjoying a few dog walks in the afternoons.   Usually over winter, I go straight after lunch and Lucy and I kick around a football or I play “fetch” with her.  Or, I simply sit, enjoy the fresh air and let her run around and sniff everything.    I love how every walk I give her is the best in the world to her and I love it when she’s ready for dinner and will do all of her party tricks like  shaking hands, dropping and rolling over so that meal time will come even faster!  Plus we give her a new nickname every week.  I’ve just started calling her “Corn Chip Ears” – have a look at the pic I took an hour or so ago and guess why!

What’s on your training agenda for the next few months – are you a recorder or do you go with the flow like me?

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