A B-? Well, maybe a B+...

Weather conditions looked perfect for this morning's race- fine, chilly. I woke around 7, and was glad of the sleep in. Usually I hate late race starts (I really am a born triathlete), but after wasting too much time reading and mucking around last night, and a few nights in a row of frequent waking, I liked it today!

I had porridge with dates and brown sugar and a cup of coffee, and read a little and checked out some blogs before getting ready. Decided I'd probably be warm, despite the antarctic chill, so wore a new singlet and a thin poly with my snazzy new tights (which I am completely in love with- thank you my wonderful honey!!) This was definitely the right plan - in the end I lined up and raced in the singlet, and didn't once regret it.

P dropped me at the station, and I jogged up to the start. I soon realised that the chilly sunniness was hiding a deceptively strong wind. Crazy strong! (a little stronger than the wind that stopped my plane landing on Friday!) I arrived at the event at about 8:45 (I think?), and soon managed to find my sister (and squeeze behind her in the bag check queue- sorry gods of queueing karma). Went to the bathroom (again...) and then headed outside. I realised I was quite far back, so pushed up to what I thought was a reasonable place (it was- it took me 25 seconds to cross, which should be right for someone finishing near me in a medium sized race. But of course I'd underestimated the sheer IDIOCY of racers. I don't know how many times I've seen posts like this, but if you are going to WALK or PLOD or SHUFFLE the first k of a race then you start at the BACK! It's not rocket science, just common courtesy. And I think race organisers should be more emphatic bout this- even if it's "only" a 10k, there should be some staggering, even if it's just corraling the walkers to the back (they did this in my last half, which was great, even though not 100% effective).

The first k was a little slow, at 4:50 (about right really, given the stupid start, but it's a short k- I always hit it way ahead of pace and freak out, so was expecting a bit faster). I really should have had a decent warm up- definitely getting more reliant on the warm up now that I'm getting more experienced, as I just couldn't make my legs move for the next wee while. Was shocked and appalled to hit 2k in 10:07, but then hit 2.2 in 10:27, so something was screwy there- I did not run 200m in 20s! (the 2k was ours, the 2.2 was the marathoners' 40k mark). From that point on I picked up a bit, and although I was struggling, I started to hit each k marker at under 8:00/pace target time (just that every marker was +0.2, so I hit 4.2 in a little under 20, I think- maybe it was 19:40). I started catching up to and passing some of my "marks", and my legs gradually settled in (I'm jumping ahead, but it wasn't untik 7kish that I actually felt like I was really running!)

I was still under 20mins when I saw the top women returning- I was surprised to see how slowly they were moving and was pretty confused. They didn't look like they should be so far ahead of me- but hey, who am I to judge on appearances? Then I saw a local elite coming up behind them, and realised that there was no way they were in the lead. We figure they probably started with the half, 15 minutes before us! It was heartening to see some seriously fast people ahead of me, and although there were LOTS of ladies (and I knew I'd get a somber look for C who was counting for me and who knew I had top-20 aspirations...), most of them looked like they belonged there. The tail wind swept me around the turn around (23:37!), and before I knew it I'd sailed past the girl I'd had my eye on for the last 10 minutes or so. And the one who'd snuck past us both a little earlier.

Then I ran straight, smack bang into an impenetrable forcefield! I bitch about the wind a lot, but this was something else. My earbuds came out, my eyes watered and my peripheral vision was screwed (fortunately none of the people I was looking out for passed me during that time- I had no waves in me). In hindsight I pushed a bit too hard- I was tireder just after that bit than I was at the end of the race! I saw my sister, who was looking great and gave her a big wave, then a bit later saw C and J. C made exactly the face I'd expected- she'd counted THIRTY FIVE ladies ahead of me!!

I was still making ok time- can't remember when I hit each marker but I knew I was still sub-8:00 pace, and thought I was looking towards a high 47s/low 48s finish. I felt pretty strong, and I was passing a lot more than I was being passed. From 1k to go I ran alongside two speedy women and we took turns edging in front (one of them beat me to the end (just), but my time was a fraction quicker ;-)). My playlist was just perfect- I skipped the third to last song, and when Don't Stop Me Now played, I really was having a ball, and this time I WAS like a rocket ship! We ran up into the stadium (Final Countdown started..) and I was chuffed to see that the course had changed, and the mind-f*ck last 100m had gone, so all I had to do was round the corner and start my finishing sprint. My watch read 46:xx, and I knew I was cutting it fine to finish sub-48. As I neared the end, I saw 47:41, and I kicked into my real sprint, edging out the old dude next to me.

I didn't quite make it. The final sprint took 30s, and I crossed in 48:11 by me, 48:12 by them. Ah well- a 1-minute PR is ok, given my sketchy training, the awful start and the awful wind (I'm sure those two things are worth at least 15s each!!) I didn't quite make my place goals either- had hoped for top 10 F18-34 and top 20 o/all female, and was 13/235(ish) F18-34 (runners) and 22/460(ish) o/all women. So, I beat 95% of people. Not bad :-)

I watched finishers and chatted to mates for aaages. I'd forgotten how much fun this race is, and I love my buds on the Welly-town running scene. My sister came in a little over an hour and I screamed for her to sprint. Well- it's clear that that girl takes after her big sis (or, rather, we both take after our Dad). When I said sprint, she really did- I was chasing her on the other side of the spectators, and she beat me in (she did have a head start, and didn't have spectators to deal with, but WOW!). Talking to her later, I found out she'd really motored up the wee *hill* and had passed everyone in sight. Just like me :-)

Waited around for A who came 9th overall and 6th in her AG in the full, in a smashing time of 3:43. GO A!! We went out for brunch, then I met C (oh crap, I have two Cs now.. )for a quick swim, before dawdling up the hill to write this race report, do laundry and watch Gilmore Girls. I'm feeling a bit more like the old me. I think I might like racing after all :-)

Oh- and guess what else? I counted back to figure out when to start my Akl Marathon sub-4 training plan, and it's LAST week. So will ease into it this week, and start for real next week- yay! But I'll have to base the paces around a 48 10k- that sounds hard!

4:04 and I am stoked!

Well, I finished!!! Don't I look chuffed in this pic??!

And NOTHING went wrong (well, apart from running 10 secs per mile slower than I had planned, but I'm putting that down to inexperience and the fact that this is the hardest course in NZ and I'm absolutely not letting it faze me)

And I can't wait to sign up for number 2 (October '07).. where I will smash 4:00!

And I'm coming back next year when the course will be IAAF certified, and you know what?? I am going to BQ!**

We drove up to Rotorua on Friday- the car loaded with bagels and bottle after bottle of water. It was a relaxed drive, and we were running a little late when we arrived. The expo had run out of pretty much everything in my size, though I did find a nice new pair of shorts. We drove around the course as it was getting dark. The hills didn't look too bad, but some went on for quite a while!

After we finished our pasta dinner, I started to get nervous. About the rain, about the course, about hitting the wall, about everything. I don't know what was so stressful-either I'd finish, or I wouldn't! Slept fitfully and lay awake from 3:42 to 6:00 listening to the cars driving past and the rain beating down. I tried to take comfort on the rain- the more it rains now, the less it rains tomorrow, right????

Ate two half bagels (one plain with PB, one cinnamon raisin with jam) at about 6, then sat reading my book and collecting myself while C napped, and the boys slept. At 7 I had my coffee and got ready. I got dressed, prepared three baggies to carry on the course- food, MP3 and emergency supplies- and packed my bag for after the race (my biggest mistake of the day). P stuck Phiten patches all over my legs, I forced down a banana (retching slightly at every bite!) and filled a bottle of water to take to the start.

We lost C and F (her boy) at the start, but found some of P's colleagues who were looking at similar times to me. I was the only newbie though! It was good to chat with them while P was away and meeting their husbands properly meant I had bonus support on the course (one of them even got a cool video of me going past). One last loo stop, and we went off to line up. I decided at the last possible second to run without my poly- the first of my many good decisions! It wasn't that cold, and I really didn't need the extra bulk.

I lined up around the 4h sign. It was great to turn around just before the start to see P again, for a couple of last goodbyes. I gave him a quick kiss, told him to cheer for C from me, then we counted down, the gun went off and we were off.

The *biggest* marathon in NZ had 1400 entrants (running), so it only took me 1:xx to get over the line. Less than 500m in, I found a friend of ours, K, and we decided to hang together as much as we could. We were 30s over our goal pace at 3k, and we decided to try to maintain the gap, rather than to make up time. Mostly we succeeded- some ks were a bit fast, and some markers were off (like there's no WAY we did ks 18 and 19 in under 10 minutes total), but we ended up hitting halfway in 2:00 exactly! At about 9 or 10k, the rain picked up a bit- it was pretty hard, but we were used to being wet by this time! At 14k, we saw the lake for the first time (the race is round the lake, but the roads are pretty silly in Rotorua and very few front onto the lake) and the sun came up. It was actually warmish, and since my shoes had been soaked for nearly an hour anyway, I wasn't that excited about the sun!

I realised just past halfway that I was unlikely to break 4. I felt pretty good, and we were still chatting away, but it was starting to get a little harder (we'd done some reasonable climbs, but the hills were far from over), and I didn't quite feel I had another 2:00 half in me. K was fading too- it was at about 24k that she suggested I push on. I told her there was no way I was feeling strong enough to pick up the pace, especially with 18k to go!

The road was closed for a big part of the middle of the race (from sometime around 16? to about 24/25 k), so it was great to reach 25 and see people again. I saw C's partner F and the guys I'd met pre-race, and knew I would finally be seeing P soon. I was so excited to be passing him strong!

Soon after we saw P, I knew it was time to step up. I reached for my secret weapon, the magic music box. I had asked P and the rest of my family to nominate songs for me to run to. The best idea I have ever had!! It meant my family was with me, and I was able to think of how much they all mean to me as their songs came on. The songs didn't help me pick up the pace or distract me from the pain, but they invigorated me and inspired me. I lost K soon after that- I had a bit more juice in me (hardly surprising- I'm not sure if she ingested any calories during the race, and I managed to eat 150-odd calories off granola bar as well as some sport beans!!) It got hard at about 28k. I kept running, but the soles of my feet hurt, and my transponder felt like it was cutting off circulation in my ankle. I started walking the drink stations, as I knew I hadn't taken enough liquid- not by a mile, I later realised (TMI, but I didn't "go" until nearly two hours after my finish).

Between 28 and 38 I counted ks- and it took forever for each marker to come around (even though my pace for the second half was still under 9:30/mile, and was only 10s/k slower than my first half). Instead of passing everyone, I started getting passed, though I kept passing too. At 35k I saw P again. The photo he has of me shows that I was still definitely "running"- not shuffling like I thought. It also shows just how happy I was to see him.




I was listening to Annie's Song, by John Denver, which means a lot to both of us. I sent him on to the finish line and dug in for the hard part. There's not a lot to say. I put one foot in front of the other and thought about how impossible the last 5k were going to be. The task ahead seemed insurmountable, even that far into it!

At 38k, 4:00, 4:01, 4:02 and 4:03 were a distant memory, but I set myself a new mini goal of doing the last 4.2k in 24 minutes, to finish around 4:04. 38-39 was horrible, but at 39 it felt possible again- 4k is nearly 5k, but 3 is just over 2! My power song played, and although I did NOT feel like a rocket ship on my way to Mars, there was by that stage, no stopping me! I couldn't lift my pace, but I maintained it. I got some high-5s from neighbourhood kids, and I beamed and waved at spectators. I was nowhere near as emotional as I expected- here I was finishing my first MARATHON, having run all but 2 water stations, and I felt nothing! Me- the girl who gets choked up on training runs!!

My MP3 player had misplaced faith in me, and played The Final Countdown just before 41. It was playing when I hit 4:00! If it had played any earlier, I'd have had to skip it, but I reminded myself "this is a freakin marathon, Kate- the last 1.5 K IS the final countdown!" I picked up a bit, and passed a few people in the last k. We were in the park now, enjoying the home stretch. The finish line looked close, and I knew it was only 350m past the Princes Arch. I wondered if I could break 4:04, but realised that while the START gate was 100m away, the finish was a fair bit further! But I pushed it, and ran to the line with P running behind the crowd alongside me.




I collected my finisher's shirt and relaxed for awhile with P's colleague, who had done a PB of 3:56. We waited in the back for K and P's other colleague to come in (K did 4:14 and V did 4:17), then headed out front to wait for C. She was injured and came in at 5:44, so we watched for an hour before we gave up. I saw my blog buddy Mike come in without realising!! We also saw the Mask finish. Unfortunately, I missed seeing the dude who did the WHOLE THING IN CROCS because he finished in something like 3:20!! IN CROCS!!!!

I think it's time to leave this post now- it's rambly enough as it is. There's a really cool summary of my results here, just enter 461. Some (seriously unflattering- my hips are like chipmunk cheeks,stuffed with food and music- it's not all my pudge!) pics are here.

I'll be back soonish, with a "lessons learned" report, and some aftermath, and pics. But, in short- I don't hurt too badly at all (I hurt LOTS, but I was expecting worse- maybe the Phiten patches worked?!), my worst injury is the rubbing and bruising from the transponder band and overall, I'd say I came out well!!

Thanks everyone for your good luck wishes and your support over the past few months. This blog has meant SO much to me! I was going to name names, but you actually all ROCK!

**it's my day today- let a girl dream...

It's all official now

Event Entered:	Lion Foundation Rotorua Marathon, 5km & 10km Fun Runs
Category Entered:	Marathon Run
Event Date:	28 Apr 2007

Eye on the prize

This week has gone downhill since Monday's fanTAStic run.

Tuesday I was travelling for work, so took a rest day. My meeting finished early and I had great ideas of wandering round town or switching to an early flight. Unfortunately, my feet, my high heels and my boss had other plans, and I ended up going to a late meeting and getting home at about 9:30pm.

Our 800s on Wednesday were a disaster- my goal pace was 3:38 (for a 7:15 pace), but using the Macmillan pace calculator, I was planning to aim for 3:24-3:33, and my splits were 3:36, 3:45 (headwind, but still!), 3:38 and 3:31. OK, it's not so bad, but I wasn't feeling it. I felt slow, uncomfortable. I was irritable, I snapped at P. Also, 4 * 800 is not a workout! I got home feeling fat, tired and grouchy.

I looked forward to going to Masters on Wednesday night, especially as I missed Sunday and will not be able to go this Sunday. I don't want to lose the habit already! However, I had work to catch up on, and new stuff coming from the day before, and I didn't finish work til 10. This is sometimes the norm, and I get used to it- but MAN it was a shock to the system to this new, balanced lifestyle, Kate!

To top it all off, P unexpectedly had to go away for TWO nights! I didn't even get to say goodbye properly :-(

So I missed another workout. Yuck. I had a swim with C planned this morning, but I slept in and was late. I grumbled away to myself "stupid work. stupid pool. stupid kate." It was much better when I got to the pool, but I wasn't really feeling it, and was relieved to get out and get coffee after about 1500m! Can you say SLACKER!?!

Tonight I can't work out, as I am doing 14 hilly miles starting at 4:45 tomorrow, and don't want to do those on tired legs. Also I have chores galore to catch up on.

But sometime during all this, I remembered that I have to keep my eye on the prize. Although in the triathlon world, I am a big slackbum, in the real, normal people world* I am someone with a tendency to overdo things. The prize at the moment is not building swimming endurance or improving my speed in the pool. It's not losing 10lb (though my goodness I need to lose some of that!) or looking good in jeans. It's not totalling up my workouts and seeing a number over 10, or even a number over 7. No- it's a marathon. My marathon. So who cares if I missed some workouts? I didn't miss my key runs, and I'm going to be well-rested for my big run tomorrow. Who cares if I've put on a bit of pudge? It'll go, but I know the best thing for me is to keep away from counting calories until after April 28- even if that is 10 weeks away! So although I still feel fat and slow and lazy, I have some perspective. Phew.

I got an email from C the other day saying "I'm so dreading my long run this weekend. I feel so much better and so much less nervous about them when I run with you." Hmm. How bad do I feel? I have 99% decided to run Rotorua for me, but this makes me feel awful. We have only run long together twice, and she decided to do the race before I did (waaay before), but still.

Anyway- I can't wait for my run tomorrow. I have 2:15 to do my 14miles, but the route is quite hilly, so I could be cutting it quite fine!

*I saw a survey today where 56% of city dwellers in NZ claimed to workout 5 times or more a week! Uh.. Yeah right!! I know maybe ONE person outside the running/tri/cycling community who comes close. Maybe if walking 20 minutes to work counts, but still...

Week 11 to go

11 weeks seems like such a short amount of time. Counting in weeks is something we athletes do to make our goals seem closer. A 20 week training programme- well, that's manageable. 20 weeks? Nothing. A 5 month training programme for a single event? Nearly half a year? 150-odd days? For some reason all of those sound much bigger. So, weeks it is.

11 weeks seems soon. But with some perspective, I realise that running my first marathon in 11 weeks is not THAT scary. I started my 18-week programme just over a month at week 15-to-go. This makes me about 1/3 of the way through, and that's nothing! My first official long run in this programme seems a world away, and 11 weeks ago- well, that was New Years and it was seriously aaages ago.

Key runs for this week were a bit of a mess. My first run was key run #2- 1 w/up and 7 tempo (8:15-8:30). I decided to run this with my friend A- my thinking being that my tempo would be her comfortable/easyish and that it would be a good way to spend some time together. Unfortunately, A didn't feel like running fast, at ALL, so instead of me puffing along beside her, I was pretty much pulling, and we did 8.75 mi (I think) in about 1:18, for about an 8:54 pace. Not bad, for not too much effort, but not exactly "tempo" either. Oh well- there's more to training for my first marathon than hitting my FIRST pace targets and I'm not going to forget that!

Key run #1 was Thursday morning. I debated sleeping in when the alarm went off- we'd had a late night the night before (Valentines) after getting home late, walking 3 miles to the zoo, walking around the zoo, walking 3 miles back and eating burgers at 9:30pm. I saw my first baby joey in a kangaroo's pouch, as well as some other adorable baby animals! Aww. Anyway, something inside realised that although I had good excuses for being tired, I wasn't, and reminded me how much better I'd feel if I got up. It was a short run today- 5 x 2 mins fast/2 mins slow. I'm not sure how fast I was- not very! I think I covered just under 4km in 20 minutes of workout time- some of which was steep uphill, but the rest of which was flat. But when I got near to home, I didn't want to stop at all. I'd been out for about 40 minutes, including w/up and cool, but that just wasn't cutting it! Unfortunately, I was running late and P was flying out for work, so I needed to scoot up that hill. But it was great to feel that tingle of addiction again! I think part of this can be attributed to skiving off with P's walkman in the morning instead of my ipod. Although it's a bit more cumbersome (though we're talking walkman MP3, not walkman 80s styles here), his tunes are way funner than mine, and also, not the same old tuns I always have. Although the walkman is a creature of the new millenium, the tunes are pure 80s (and some older). Way fun! Highlights were Take on Me during a fast interval, plenty of Michael Jackson, and cruising up the hill during my cool down to Elton John, David Bowie and a current favourite cheesy 80s song, Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't it be good." Sah-weet. I have got to sort my own tunes out!

I did my long run with C today. I was down for 13 miles at 9:24 pace and it was pretty clear that that wasn't going to happen, so I was able to go with the flow and enjoy our slower pace- nice doing a long run with an average HR of 152! (actually, I really wasnt in the mood for speed- I think I averaged only a little under 10min/mi for the 4 miles I did before meeting C). We had a good chat, ran a nice loop. Including the 4 miles (haha- just typed "hours" for "miles" there) that I did by myself, my run was about 15miles, run in about 2:33 (10:12/mile). That's the longest I've spent on my feet for awhile! After the run, we met the boys and enjoyed shakes and scones. Yum!

I know that pace is fundamental to doing FIRST right, and that I shouldn't be taking off-pace weeks like this too often. However, I have very carefully set aside some key long runs to do to the letter, including a "fast" 13 miler, and my 20-miler. My 20 miler is over Easter, so both my long run buds are away. I'll have P pulling me along for the last 10ks though. It's scary how much I can't wait for these big runs! It's still a whole 3 weeks before I even get to run 16!

I'm in two minds about whether to run the marathon with C. I know it would be a nice thing to do, but how much do I sacrifice me for her? I know I would enjoy some of it, but I also know that I don't want to be running for 5 hours if I don't have to, and that I although I can be patient during a half or a long run, I don't know how patient and supportive I'll be feeling at mile 22! I think it's awesome that Jess has done so many races with her friends, but I am honestly torn. I want to know what I can do. Then again, a slow marathon would leave the Harbour Capital Marathon in late June wide-open for a killer PB! But running the full there would remove the possibility of doing a fast, new-Kate pb (or maybe even old Kate pb) half! Dilemmas. So, vote:

a) Run with C. Do 26.2 in June
b) Run alone, do 13,1 in June
c) Run with C, do 13.1 in June (and 26.2 in October)

Is 2 months between marathons long enough to run a decent time at the second? Will I get that "2nd marathon 20-minute PB" if there's only 2 months between?

In other news, my cycling technique has absolutely improved- P noticed it in Martinborough, and I absolutely felt it during my easy spin during Desperate Housewives on Monday (that show is going downhill fast, but for now it makes for a good weekly trainer date). Cadence is lifting, I can do one leg drills sort of well, I can stand for ages on the trainer, and stand and drink a little on the road. Yay! I am going to keep this weekly ride up so I don't have to start from scratch when I start base training for my half IM (race undecided). I've also discovered that Masters has wrecked me for individual training- my god it's boring! I went for a swim on Weds am and the pool was so packed I couldn't do a structured workout. I got SO bored. Unbelievably bored. I ended up moving down a lane and doing some slower drills, including some work on my IM.

Time to step up...

I am officially in the land of marathon training now. With 15 weeks to go, I am not planning to break any land speed records, but if the difference between my first and second semi-official long runs is anything to go by, I will be able to go the distance Last week's 9-miles killed me, and although Friday's 10-miler (which ended up close to 11) was still pretty slow (over 10min/m.. not sure by how much), my average HR was 148, and I felt almost GOOD. If I am not feeling confident, the plan is to run it with my friend C. I think we'd enjoy sharing our first marathon, and it'll give me a taster, and take some of the pressure off.

So, here's my planned next two weeks of training. I'm taking my 10k pace as 5min/k (8min/m). I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I was running 6:50 pace fairly easily on the track last year, and my tri runs have mostly been around the 8min/m mark. I'm also starting with a PMP of 9:09. Ambitious, yes. But we'll see. If I miss pace on the next two long runs, I will change my "goal" to 4:30.

Monday- AM: Key run #1: 10 w/up, 12 x 400m, 90s RI, 10 cool down (gym to Frank Kitts, 6 x 2:00 efforts out, 6 back)
PM: long swim 3000m

Tuesday- AM: weights
PM: sea swim

Weds- AM: Key run #2: easy to Frank Kitts, 4m tempo (5:15/km), easy back
PM: bike workout (spin/trainer/outside)

Thurs- AM weights

Fri- AM: Key Run #3: 11mi, 9:55min/mi

Sat- sea swim (4 x fountain = 2800m), recovery/technique bike ride

Sun- rest

Week 16

Mon- Scorching tri (tri run = key run #2)

Tuesday- AM: weights
PM: Sea swim

Weds: AM key run #1 10-20 w/up, 6 x 800 (4:00m), 90 RI (t/mill)

Thurs: AM: yoga
PM: sea swim

Fri: REST

Sat: 2.8k sea swim (race)

Sun: Key run #3 12mi, av 10:10 min/m

Comments?

One more thing. I hereby promise to stop looking to the past and comparing myself to my old training buds or my former self. From now on, I measure my success by comparing my results to my FIRST guides, and by comparing my progress to the first official runs. It doesn't matter that less than a year ago I ran my first 20 miler over 1 min/m faster than I ran my 10-miler on Friday, or that my first half marathon took less time. Everyone who reads me knows I was fast once, and it's time for me to move on. Hi, I'm Kate and I'm slow.

A break from reminiscing..

..to discuss all that training yada yada.

Today I began my Official Marathon Training. I spent the morning thinking about a training plan (I had done some thinking already but hadn't quite decided) and eventually decided on FIRST. On tap for today was a 9-miler, so I planned out a cool new route (which I accidentally navigated away from before I saved it), squeezed into my new Skins, added an ipod and headed out.

The route I planned was probably a bit hard for a first official "long" run. It took in some quite exposed places on a VERY windy day, and included a pretty steep uphill that's over a mile long. I was feeling pretty average and my HR showed it- my average was 162!! AND I only just made it home within 1:30 (10min/m average). I'm feeling a tad concerned about an April 28 marathon, but I've reminded myself that the point on training is to get BETTER so I'm hardly going to be ready now. Also, getting used to the "finishing is success" mindset- tough considering that my marathon training originally started when an unofficial BQ was a potentially achievable goal!

Later this afternoon I went for a very good 2000m swim. I evenly split my first 2 sets of 500m (10:30) and negatively split the last set of easy/medium/hard 50s (the first two were 1:03/58/55 and the last was 59/57/53!) I beat my old PB 25m time (hit 22 for the first time ever) and for the first time felt that I was keeping reasonably good form during speedwork. YAY

I am planning to swim every workout day (6 per week) for the next week, until I start back at work, as the Capital Classic is in exactly 3 weeks! Some of these will be sea swims, probably either 750 or 1500m, so they won't be particularly taxing, so I will be adding some strength work, running and maybe cycling too. I still have a sprint tri this month and possibly an Oly in Feb, so need to keep up with the biking. Plus, it's a great way to spend fabulous quality time with P (we are finally riding together well!) It is also hopefully a good way to get rid of the SIX extra pounds of FAT that have crept (ok, not so much "crept") on over the holiday/vacation period. That and a massive reduction in sugar and deep fried food. Repeat after me: "Chocolate is not a breakfast food." Overall I want to lose 10 lb, and have a racing weight of 129. Obviously, if I manage to put some muscle on, I will be comfortable with a higher weight (low 130s) but I definitely have a LOT of fat I need to lose (so don't look too closely at those bikini pics.. PLEASE.. except for the ones where my arms look nice and defined. Look at those.)