Last Week I was asked to answer the following question in my blog “what motivates me to keep going?” After being so pumped last week to answer this, I have found it a little more difficult this week to think about it. In week 1 I touched on the fact that I am doing this event BECAUSE I CAN, something that really touched me deeply to want to be healthy was my mother’s illness, she suffered from COPD for many years. When the doctors finally sent her to the Alfred Hospital to be assessed for a lung transplant, she was so unwell and unfit that she could not pass the first test before getting on the transplant list, she needed to do a 6 minute walk test, it didn’t have to be fast and she didn’t need to go a certain distance, she just needed to walk for 6 minutes, she couldn’t, her health had deteriorated so badly. I tried to help her from there, I was able to get a treadmill in the house, one that she could easily get on while still connected to her oxygen, but she was still unable to progress, she just had too many health problems at this stage, and there was no way she could get the lung transplant without a base level of fitness, as she would not survive the recovery. This was a cruel lesson in the importance of looking after your health for me. This week has been 3 years since her passing. So, my mother’s health problems played a major role in me wanting to be healthy, and I started my journey 6 years ago as a result.
Less than 12 months into my journey, my father was diagnosed with cancer, and given 3 months to live, he was 65 and had just retired. Most of my childhood memories of my father were of him going to work at 6 am in the morning and not coming home till after 6 at night, he was dedicated to his work and had finally found joy in his retirement, had moved up north to a caravan park by the water and was absolutely loving life, until he received the bad news. So within only a few months of retirement and moving away, he was back home in Shepparton to be near family and treatment, all to no avail. My father’s death taught me to not wait to do the things you love, live your best life now. I find that when I am racing, I quite often draw on strength from their battles, telling myself that I am only enduring a few hours of discomfort, they both endured so much more. So, as you can see, my parents inspired me to start my health journey, and to endure, but I am inspired by so many others now also. I find myself surrounded by people who are out there living their best life. I am inspired by every one of them. Some may be on a different path to me, but they are challenging themselves, setting goals and enjoying their lives now. Their goals might be their first 21km run, a trail run in the mountains, mountain biking, or a weekend away riding with their girlfriends. Whatever their goals, they are doing it NOW. Jason is also a huge inspiration to me, I wish I had the physical ability that he does, I know I have the desire! I also love listening to podcasts or audio books while I am running. There are some crazy people out there who have done some amazing things, alot of which are not for me, but they make me feel like anything IS possible. I try to surround myself with positivity, and while sometimes everyone gets a little down, or is in need of inspiration, or is even searching for a motivator to help with an insecurity, I find strength in the people around me and the audiobooks I listen to. And I try to smile often, you know, it’s contagious, there is nothing better than being greeted by someone who is smiling, it can instantly change another person’s demeanour.
Week 8
Monday was another open water swim with the tri club. 3km in the Vic Lake.
Tuesday, I had a 1:20 run planned at the botanical gardens, for some hill repeats, after 6.5km I could start to feel some tightness in my groin, so cut my run short. Last week’s run training has taken a toll.
Wednesday was a 5km swim in the pool, while I would have much rather have completed this swim in the Lake, in my wetsuit, I did as was planned. After all, training isn’t meant to be easy. Breakfast has never tasted so good after that swim! (yes, I had sourdough!) That night I continued with the indoor bike session and did another Threshold build set. Thursday, I had another run on my plan, my groin felt fine, so I headed off for my run. 6km into the run I could start to feel the tightness and new I wouldn’t be doing a long run. Friday morning was a 3km swim, and I finally had some acupuncture treatment for my groin strain, a not so Happy Valentines day! The run training still the likely culprit for the soreness, with my back and hips the most likely cause due to the hills. Saturday was another long ride, thankfully the air was clear this week, we rode to Violet Town with a loop of the Hills and home again. Sunday is normally my run day, but I also know that I need rest to recover from the strain. So, I rode to Dookie and completed a loop of the hill circuit there before riding home. My legs are feeling much stronger on the bike, I just need to be able to get some consistent running happening. I was planning on racing at IM 70.3 Geelong next Sunday, but I am not sure if that is going to be achievable at this stage, will see how the run goes later in the week. Fingers crossed.
Swim – 11.4 km
Bike – 288 km
Run – 14 km
Strength/Core sessions – 1
Training Hours – 15:20 Hours
Lesson Learned: 2 steps forward, one step back, is still a net gain.
My Journey To UltraMan 