Big old weekend

With only 3 weeks until D-Day, this was to be the last big hit out weekend before I start to back off with the taper..

Despite a dodgy weather forecast, the weekend started early on Saturday morning with what was supposed to be a 5am departure....but due to some wheels changes and fueling issues, we didn't actually leave Queenscliff until 5.30am.

Under threatening skies (not that we could see them in the pitch black) we made our way up the beaches yet again for what was to be 3 x loops of the usual circuit. Tim and I were both on the TT bikes (albeit sans carbon), keen to get as much aero time as possible.

Lap 1 went by fairly uneventfully, and after a quick stop to adjust the saddle we were onto lap 2.

By this time the weather had closed in and it was teeming it down which made conditions pretty tough going.

With a brief toilet stop at Church Point we continued on through the pouring rain, diverting past a fallen tree at Church Point (which hadn't falled on lap 1), and onto lap 3.

By this time the rain had stopped thank goodness which made things a lot easier for the final loop.

Eventually, including the customary extra loop around the Mall to get to the km's in, we made it back to Queenscliff with 150km on the clock in a touch under 6 hours.

For some reason my cadence monitor didn't really work, which was annoying. Still, I managed to maintain a low HR again...only 106! Which is very low.

With the boys aiming for 30km off the bike, I took Mike and Andrew's advice and decided on a shorter run just to get the legs used to running off the bike.

With that in mind, I ran with the boys until Fairlight pool, turning and retracing my steps back to QLSC for 8.7km in 45 mins. Ave pace of 5.10's and ave HR of 120.

All in all a pretty perfect session to start the weekend with.

The big plus point for me was how I felt on the bike and running off the bike. I felt good in the aero position and my legs felt strong on the run. Nutritionally things went well too with the PPT, gels and bars all going down well. All very encouraging...let's see how those same legs feel after 30km on Sunday morning!

Onto Sunday morning and I eventually headed out the door just before 7am for my long solo run. Again, not liking change, I ran 2 laps of the normal circuit, starting with a loop through the lagoon.

Apart from the evil headwind that greeted me on the beachfront, my legs didn't feel too bad, apart from a nagging pain behind my knee that restricted my stride length for the first 8km or so. A tight hamstring I suspect.

Once the pain had disappeared things got a lot easier as I made my way around through Burnt Creek and around the Mall. Things got even better once I chowed down a gel after an hour and I completed the first lap feeling strong and relaxed, managing to keep the HR down to below 140 which was the aim.

Lap 2 started well also and with a gel intake every 30 mins I was able to maintain a fairly decent pace. For some reason my HR seemd to spike while I was passing through Burnt Creek for the second time...and it never really settled after than - no idea why, maybe it was the rank orange and banana gel effect.

With 20 minutes left, and knowing that two full laps would in fact take me over 30km, I contemplated cutting the run short and missing the Mall for the second time. But I was still feeling good, so decided to cop the extra couple of km and make use of the fact that my legs weren't totally ruined.

Eventually I made my way along Pittwater Road, finishing at the QLSC for 32.5km all up in 2.53.

Despite an annoying blister on my little toe which appeared from nowhere post run, this session was just what I needed. I felt good the whole way, managed to maintain a decent pace (ended up averaging 5.19's) and kept my HR relatively low (ave 136). I'll be more than happy with that come race day (and the conditions which were pretty much perfect..cool and ry).