Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Could it.

Get any colder? I hope not, however I fear this may not be the case. With still half of July and all of August to go I am dreading how much colder it could possibly get. Bike riding and running in this kind of weather is really hard work, not just on the mind but on the body. My nose goes a beautiful shade of cherry red as do my cheeks and even with thermal gloves on my fingers could still snap off, but then there is always that fine line of how much to wear because obviously as you start to work harder you heat up. I am gradually learning this fine art.

Monday night at windtrainer with Eliza was quite cold. Lucky it didn't take long to heat up and before we knew it we were stripping off. I love looking at the steam rise up off everyone during the winter months - looks really cool. My set was 3 x 8mins at race pace with a 3min easy spin and then at the end of the set I had to do a nice easy 3 lap run off the bike. Legs felt good, not heavy at all. My hammy didn't even bother me at all which I am so thankful for - mind you I have been behaving so why would it.

Then yesterday I did my first run in over a week. And of all days to choose to go out for a run - I had to choose the coldest day ever. Even inside the home with the A/C on I was still freezing. Oh well, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger or atleast thats what I keep trying to tell myself. As I stepped outside I knew we were in the sub zero temps. My car and every blade of grass was covered in frost. I had immediate goosebumps - so much so I resembled a plucked chook - hilarious. I quickly started my car and set off to get the hose to wash off some of the frost. Well, when no water came out I thought "oh there must be frost in the hose, I will just give it a bend to try to loosen the ice crystals in there". Hmmmmm, that didn't work. I ended up with the nozzel in my hand and about 15cms of hose. The damn thing snapped in half - with the cleanest cut possible.
I haven't laughed that hard in ages. It was the funniest thing ever. Anyway needless to say I could now not use the hose to defrost the windscreen. Heading in to meet Susan at the CC the temperature gauge did not get much better. And as Susan and I set off to run face first into the rising sun we were trying to absorb every little bit of warmth we could get. I haven't felt that cold in ages but within 30mins of running I was toasty warm. The same couldn't be said for poor Susan's fingers. They were a lovely shade of "Beetroot". At the end of the run we were both nice and warm and had completed 10.4km in an hour. I was very happy indeed as I had absolutely no pain whatsoever in my hamstring. Not even a little twinge. WooHoo.

I think I should be good to continue my training as per normal now till Yeppoon. Not long to go.

Your hard work will be rewarded.

"The path to a dream is paved with sacrifices and lined with determination. And though it has many stumbling blocks along the way, and may go in more than one direction, it is travelled by belief and courage and conquered with a willingness to face challenges and take chances" Barbara Cage