Trish Final Training Diary (the last month)

Week Thirteen

Wednesday 15th October 2008
Dragon Boating
Well tonight is my final training session before the big event. I was faced with the option of dinner & drinks with my work team and I chose to attend the dragon boat session with Pacific Dragons. I was a little worried about how hard it was going to be based on the session I attended last week. But to be honest it wasn’t too bad at all. Still very hard, but I’ve learnt some good techniques that will help us all in Fiji. Plus my bum bones don’t hurt anymore from sitting on the hard seats YAH!!

Tuesday 14th October 2008
Swim – Balmoral Beach
Well this was not what I was expecting. I became obsessed with doing another swim in the ocean before going to Fiji, however today it rained and it didn’t occur to me that the beach would be all murky and full of debris. Well it was. I didn’t swim for long at all. But at least it was another chance to get used to swimming in the ocean.

Monday 13th October 2008
Rec Footy – Rozelle – Run to Drummoyne
Tonight was the first game of my summer sport – Recreational Football. It’s a summer version of AFL. It’s only a short game with 2 halves each only 20mins. Since this didn’t really satisfy the desire to train for Fiji, I then ran from the field to Drummoyne. About 4kms.

Week Twelve

Sunday 12th October 2008
Bike – 27km Gladesville – City – Lane Cove – Gladesville
We’ve dubbed it the bridges ride. From home to the city and back in a big circle. Starting with Gladesville bridge, we crossed 7 bridges in total. At time, on the uphill sections I found it hard, but in general it was a great ride. I felt good after.

Sunday 12th October 2008
Swim – Balmoral Beach
Finally, my first ocean swim. I have been desperate to get into the ocean before Fiji, as I had a fear that I might freak out, having only learnt to swim in a pool.
Today cured all these fears. I did freak out a little at first. The water was freezing until you got started. Apparently Dave had trouble keeping up with me, so I think I did alright. I felt fantastic after. Having completed 2 events in one day, today was a good indication of how Fiji will feel. I think I’m ready.

Saturday 11th October 2008
Rest
Today became my rest day. After talking up trying to complete a triathlon today, I discovered that I really need a break.

Friday 10th October 2008
Run – 4km Work – Mrs Macquarie’s Chair – work
Feeling fit, I decided I really needed to do a run today. What better use of my lunch hour. It’s a great run in the Botanic Gardens. I used to do this at lunch time regularly, so it was nice to get back out again.

Friday 10th October 2008
Swim – Drummoyne Swimming Centre
Why not fit in 2 events in one day, plus work….Well that proved to be difficult especially since I didn’t really eat a very good lunch for so much exercise. On my own in the pool, I was really lacking energy, although I only wanted to do a short swim, I felt lucky to have completed 1km.

Thursday 9th October 2008
Run – City – Drummoyne
Having completed this run in the past, I knew it would be good training. It’s approximately 6kms, so a good distance since Fiji is 5kms. I walked a few small sections and arrived in Drummoyne after 35mins. All in all, it felt good. I think the run sections should be ok.

Wednesday 8th October 2008
Dragon Boating
With our novice course with Pacific Dragons they offered us 2 additional training sessions with them. I was one of the silly one’s that took up the offer. This was the hardest paddling I have done so far. You wouldn’t believe how long 10mins is when you have to paddle all on one side to the timing of a crew who have been paddling for years. The session went for around 1-1.5hrs and I was really buggered after and my bum bones were very tender.

Tuesday 7th October 2008
Swimming – Drummoyne Swimming Centre
Tonight I swam 2km!! I’m so excited that I could swim that far. I had been hoping to be able to achieve this distance, just in case the length’s in Fiji are longer than what they say. With daylight savings, it seems that everyone has decided to go swimming. The pool still has double lap lanes though, so turning without touching the wall is still easy. Also allows for people to over take.

Monday 6th October 2008
Rest
Today was the day I was planning to do everything I could. Dave and I headed over to a friends place for a ride and only made it about 5 blocks from their house when our friend got hit by a car and taken to hospital. He is ok, but it was a real eye opener for Dave and I. The car didn’t see Craig and entered a round about and hit him head on. We’ve decided to make sure we are more cautious and always turn our lights on, even in the daytime.

Week Eleven

Tuesday 30th September 2008
Run – Canberra
Away for work again, I decided to go for a run this time, after discovering that the pool in Canberra was not very nice to swim in.
After an early morning flight and a full day of working on my feet, I was still determined to go for a run. Unaware of how far I ran, I think maybe around the 3-4km mark. My knees were really sore after. I’m concerned that this is going to happen in Fiji.

Monday 29th September 2008
Swim – Drummoyne Swimming Centre
The usual swim. On my own again tonight. Always seems to be harder. I’m still pushed for time, but managed to get my 1.7km in. Given that I will be swimming with around 70 other people in Fiji, I think I should be fine. Would still really like to get into the ocean, however we checked the water temperature and at 17 degree’s, we decided it’s not warm enough yet.

Week Ten

Saturday 27th September 2008
Ride – Swim – Outrig – Ride
For the true Fiji training….today I rode from home to Drummoyne, and then around the bay to the Leichhardt pool with Lee. We swam 1.7km in the pool (I managed to obtain a slight sun burn at 9am in the morning). Then we rode to Lilyfield markets for a quick bite then on to Glebe high school for our final Outrigging Novice Course session. Today we learnt how to capsize the canoe and then flip it back over and bail all the water out. Not an easy task, but good to know in case it happens in Fiji. Then of cause, we rode all the way home again. Thank goodness for the AFL Grand final, as I just veged out in front of the TV for the rest of the day.

Tuesday 23rd September 2008
Swimming – Drummoyne Swimming Centre
My swimming is now becoming routine. Although I’m not really getting any faster from what I can tell, I’m getting very comfortable with 1.7km. I seem to take a few laps to warm up and often think that my arms are a little sore, but within 5-10 laps, this goes away and I just continue to swim until I reach my target.

Monday 22nd September 2008
Swimming – Drummoyne Swimming Centre
Even after a big weekend of training, I’m still keen to complete my swimming sessions every week. As this is possibly still my weakest event for Fiji, I don’t want to let myself fall behind in training. Another 1.7km tonight.