Week TWO - 14th to 20th December

Run:
Tuesday PM - 12km Woodford Dam
Wednesday PM - ~6km of running out of 10km (struggled in heat with sore throat and tired legs)
Saturday PM - 2 x 2.5km in Club Triathlon
Sunday PM - 10km run with BMMC for Inaugural Christmas Party Handicap

Total Run: 33km (considerably reduced due to absence of long run and forced ban from Thursdays BMMC run)

Ride:
Wednesday AM - 160km Bells Line, 5:41hr, avg speed 28.2km/h
Friday AM - 35km Hawkesbury Rd Out and Back with The Animal, ~1:15hr
Sat AM - 125km Cobbitty Loop with The Animal, 4:30hr (flat tyre start of hills back of Cobbitty)
Sat PM - 2 x 10km in Club Triathlon

Total Ride: 340km

Swim:
Wednesday Arvo - 4km straight, Glenbrook Pool, 1:05hr
Sat PM - 2 x <250m in Club Triathlon

Total Swim: not worth adding up!

Week Two was a far less successful week than week one. It did not start well after not being able to get to sleep Sunday Night until 3am, due to 1 too many 'Mother' Energy Drinks on Sunday's long ride. A planned morning run up to the pool for some laps before running back was terminated due to lack of sleep. That day began to show signs of a viral upper respiratory tract infection, with nasal and sinus congestion and a mild sore throat. Skipped the Tuesday AM BMMC run for the same reason, and started dosing up on a wicked cocktail of garlic, horseradish, vit C, Co-Enzyme Q10, pseudoephedrine, paracetamol, Endura's Over Training Formula (5 different types of Ginseng), and some antibiotics.
So my week didn't really start till Tuesday PM with a run around Hazelbrook - Woodford with Donk, She-Donk and Mister G. Felt OK given the amount of drugs in my system and the virus taking up residence in my upper respiratory tract. Donk and I took a detour up a hill to discover a great section of single track and fire trail that winds up and back to where we began our run. This meant we took another detour to get back over to the Woodford side and join She-Donk and Mister G. It did bump the KMs up a little and through in a good hilly variation.
Off the back of this PM run, I got up at 5am and headed out on the bike as soon as it was light enough, and headed down and across to Richmond, up along the Bells Line of Rd Loop and back down the HWY. Going solo this time was different, I think I pushed harder on the flat at the start but then dropped the pace off between the top of Bellbird and Mt Tomah. Forced to grab some water from the Heavy Vehicle Checking Station at Bell, after 2 out of the 3 bottles I started with were ejected from my bottle holder within the first 15km of the ride. Managed to make the Optimiser and part of the Gatorade get me through to Bell, but really needed just plain water. Spirits lifted considerably as I crossed the Darling Causeway, as the remaining 60km is a relative cruise after the first 100km. Felt strong enough to push through without stopping at Blackheath and made it back home 20 minutes quicker than previously. Avg speed if anything slightly slower, indicating the extra time on the Saturday before was taken with toilet stops and 5-10mins at Blackheath.
Had to get a swim in (2 weeks between swims), so I headed to Glenbrook before planning to meet up with Berriman at the NP for an easy run. Felt really fresh in the water, so I just kept swimming and got 4km done. Not a quick pace but a solid effort at comfortable pace, with plenty to think about for Port Macquarie 2010 making the laps tick over fairly mindlessly.
About 20 mins waiting at the Glenbrook Gates for Artup to get off the phone, and my weariness was slowly catching up with me. Feeling pretty average by the time we headed out, by the time we got to the top of the causeway on the other side I was seriously doubting my ability to stay with the Bens. They also shared my doubt, and unlike me were comfortable putting voice to their concerns. Of which I was grateful. I let them go and dropped back for a walk, jogging in sections before getting a steady flow going back down to the causeway. I waited for about 5-10 minutes, not being sure how long they would be, but then headed up to get some water. I was at the shops buying 2L of chocolate milk before the boys returned to the cars, only to find a car similar to mine parked in a similar position. I was touched by their concern for my wellbeing, but humbled by their apparent doubts I could make it back to the car.
The group collectively imposed a one run ban on me, meaning I would miss out on the Thursday AM usual run. That night I slept poorly, some bad chills on a horribly hot night. The fever was good to shift the virus, and a day of rest on thursday mean I could return to exercise Friday AM with a ride in preparation for what was shaping up to be a big weekend.
Saturday AM ride was uncomfortable, as my lower back has been protesting on the longer rides, especially the ones that include some hills. The back is getting stiffer earlier in the rides now, indicating that a little conditioning to the extra KMs is going to be needed. Perhaps some improvement in technique will also help this, along with some quality stretching and strengthening exercises for the lower back and gluts.
No rest again post-long ride, but more running around organising work christmas party and getting ready for the Club Tri that afternoon. Felt a little fatigued and a little rushed as I got the bike into transition, only to find no more racks left, so a pacth of grass would have to do. As it turned out, best position for the transition. The club tri for December is split up into two shorter triathlons back-to-back. That is, about 250m swim, 10km ride, 2.5km run, 150m swim, 10km ride, 2.5km run to finish. I don't normally like this format as it doesn't play to my strength of having longer swims and rides. However, under the circumstances post long ride that mornining, I was grateful for the shorter distances broken up with a terribly slow 150m swim with arms and legs that just don't want to move. All said and done, was rather happy with myself for the effort during the race, managed to pick up a number of people on the bike after coming out of the swim somewhat back from where I would ordinarily. Screamed on the bike, feeling fresh and fast. Dropped 2 places (one of which being taken by my arch-nemesis and pharmacist colleague, Brendan Smith) on the run, but then picked up some more on the second bike. Dropped one more on the last run, but managed to hold on to about 9th position I suspect. All this in budgy smugglers (stay tuned for some incriminating photos courtesy of the WXS).
Sunday was a relaxed affair, sleeping in and then spending a good 4 hours peeling potatoes, chopping potatoes, boiling potatoes, baking potatoes, mixing potatoes; followed by 30 minutes of eating potatoes. Greatly assisted by Mr Donges and SWMBO in the kitchen, to produce some smashing salads and potato bake, in preparation for the BMMC Christmas Party that was taking place that evening. The handicap run around Sun Valley was under way by 4pm, in a somewhat disorganised fashion, with the girls leading out the boys for a leisurely stroll. I think the honours went to Sleep Train, followed closely by Mr Donges, then The Welsh Exchange Student, The Physio, Myself, Craig and Jeff making it to the top of the hill not long after. The girls maintained a steady pace, finishing not long after the boys.
The Christmas BBQ went well, plenty of food, good conversation, 2 presents exchanged hands, plenty of laughs. Thankyou to everyone who came, it was a great finale to 2009; and by the sounds of everyone's plans a last minute opportunity to relax before some heavy training commences in 2010. Looking forward to seeing the potential realised by every single person in their prospective pursuits. From Ironman to 6 Foot Track and every other ultra marathon in between, their are going to be some good quality results for the BMMC in 2010. Bring it on!