Sophie Hicks Lloyd

Week 10 - ARRRRGH ONLY 4 TO GO!

After a very civilised break over Christmas we were back in the pool, on the track and on the bike last week. I managed to keep up the training schedule over the break which helped and that seems to have held me in good stead. I'm feeling very pumped about the goal event now. And I'd want to be pumped because it's just under 4 weeks away. AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH! It's going to be fine.

Since I updated you last, I've had some good breakthroughs in my cycling with my longest and fastest ride to date being clocked up last week. I also managed to improve my swimming time over 750m. I have no idea if my running time is any better, regular readers will know it's my weaker link but I feel like it's getting better slowly.

Last night in the pool we did a 750m time trial and the best thing about it was that swimming has become really enjoyable for me. I can now swim at least 750m non stop without much trouble. This was something I couldn't imagine doing at the beginning.

This Saturday coming we head down to Kurnell which is a beach south of Sydney where the actual event will take place. It's great because we get to do a trial run and get a feel for the place we'll be competing at. I have no idea what to expect, (I'm hearing ugly rumours about hills in the run leg) but as always I have to remind myself to stay positive and just take it head on.

Stay tuned!

Week 6 - The Claytons week of tri training

Week 6 for me was the week of tri training you have when you're not really having tri training. I was struck down with the dreaded gastro you see. Not a good match for running, swimming and cycling so I missed the Tuesday pool session and the Wednesday track session. By Friday I was eating again and by Saturday I was there at Centennial Park at 6am ready to take on the almighty brick session.

It was transition week. I knew nothing about triathlon transitions so I needed to be there. We did a warm up lap of the park on the bike followed by 3 faster laps and then went into the first transition. This involved learning where to dismount, how to get your bike to your towel/transition area and then embarking on a super speedy change involving swaping from bike shoes to running shoes and helmet to cap. The first run was hard. My few days on the loo had left me with not much in the tank but with the help of some very funny and very encouraging team mates, I got there. It was just a cheeky 1.6km run. Back to the bike and on for another 3 laps. Faster this time. Back to transition, a little faster this time and onto my feet for the second of the 1.6km runs. This time easier. I had more to give and I felt faster. Back to transition, a final 3 lap bike sprint and back to the transition area to collapse on the cool damp grass in a tired but elated heap. DONE. Heaving, sweaty, red bodies everywhere. This, just by the by, is possibly the best feeling of my week. The brick is over, the pain is subsiding and I have the beautiful swim at Clovelly to look forward to. It's ALLLLLL good. If you ever need me to take on the world and win for you, come to me straight after the Saturday morning brick session. I'll smash it for you.

This week my gorgeous Mum was there to drive me and my bike to Clovelly. No riding down and back up that enormous hill. YESSSSSS. So off we went. When I got to Clovelly, I learnt that we'd be taking on the headland swim. So we were going to be swimming from Clovelly beach to Gordon's Bay, the next beach around. This made many of us feel more than a little anxious but thankfully it was a heavenly Sydney Summer's day and I was on a high after the brick so I was ready to dive in and bash out the swim.

And what a swim it was. It was about 800m I think and it was challenging. The crystal clear waters of Clovelly gradually gave way to the darker, more mysterious waters of the ocean. The real ocean. The gentle ebb and flow of the bay rolled into large rollicking waves. Harmless and friendly waves but big nonetheless. At this point I realised that I had never swum this far out before from a beach. Sure I'd snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef but never had I swum out past the breakers and just kept going. One couldn't help but wonder what was down there. It didn't bear thinking about I told myself. Head down, focus on good strong strokes and think about the pull. Strong arms through the water. About half way I noticed some funny little jellyfish floating beneath me. "Hah. What funny little things they are", I thought to myself. First just a few, then more and soon they were absolutely everywhere. Gliding past a thigh, blobbing past your ankle, swooping across your hand. It was icky and confronting. I couldn't avoid them. I had some momentum and they were being swept every which way into my path. I stopped briefly and looked ahead. There were about 20 people in front of me at various stages of the swim. I looked behind me. There were about 5 behind me. I decided that if all 20 in front were still swimming, these breast-implant like jellyfish must be harmless. The swim must go on I decided. I wouldn't freak out I decided. Onwards I went. Strong arms through the water, stroke, breath, stroke, breath, stroke, breath, crocodile eyes in front sighting the path forward, breath, stroke, breath, stroke.

We turned the corner around the headland and Gordon's Bay was ahead. The sand was in sight. We swum towards the rocks. That feeling of elation washed over me again. I was nearly there. I had done it. Yet again I had done something I'd never done before. I was beginning to find this feeling addictive. Now I see why all those freaks do lots of exercise. It starts to feel so damn good. Yikes. Surely I am not becoming one of them I thought? Maybe I am.

A glorious walk back around the headland basking in sunshine and the knowledge we had completed the challenge.

I recall thinking to myself about 1/3 of the way into that swim, "I can't believe these coaches are making us do this. It's too much for us. It's too soon. We're not ready for this yet. It's really quite irresponsible," I concluded grumpily as I swum. But as I walked around that headland I realised that it wasn't really. Our coaches just know how to push us. And the more they do that, the more we respond. This my friends must be progress. And I have to say, I am liking the progress.

Week 5 - A week of challenges

So this week was all about meeting big challenges. We kicked off the week with our swim time trial. I was expecting the distance to be about 300m? Maybe 500? Nope. This is challenge week and we were to swim 750m against the clock. BOOM. No faffing around with us. No sireee. But as we do, we managed to do it. Every one of us. Not particularly quickly in my case, I think my time was 17.21 but it's a starting point and then when we check in for another time trial towards the end, hopefully I can shave a minute off. We'll see.

Next up, track. But I didn't go. Nope, with a restructure at work announced that day, instead I chose to go to the pub. End of year fatigue has set in and motivation is waning to be sure. I felt bad, I really did. To make up for this, I didn't go to our work Christmas party on the Friday night. I had training on Saturday and I didn't want to miss another. So instead I ate steak with my boys and got an early night. Yay me.

Saturday morning. 6.30am Centennial Park. Another time trial. This time on the bike. 20kms (5 laps of the park) doesn't sound like much right? Wrong. To me it was a killer. I went out hard which is against the rules for time trials but who cares. I had the legs so I went for it. In the end I did it in 41.12 or something like that. According to my coach it was pretty good so I felt very happy with that. Then off the bike and into my running shoes...

Ouch. As previously mentioned, this is what I find the hardest. It was like my quads had gone from big strong muscles pulling me through the ride to solid inflexible hunks of cement weighing me down in the run. I had to walk about 500m of the 2.5km run. This was a low point.

After the run, back on the bike and down to the swim session. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh that beautiful cold Clovelly water never dissappoints. So good. So refreshing. So magical. Today it was a 4 rep repeat of a 100m swim, 100m run. Then it was practising swimming out to a buoy rounding it and back to the beach - twice. Sounds simple enough I know but the surf was like a washing machine. Even diving in was scary! But the thing that really pushed me was knowing that my 3 boys were on the beach supporting me. They were cheering me on, screaming out "GO MUMMY!" and I even managed to stop for a quick cuddle and kiss in the middle of it all. Why wouldn't you? Just knowing they were there made me want to do my best. And they were proud of me which made it all so worthwhile.

Another week done and dusted. More skills learnt, a stronger swim leg, a fast ride. It's coming together.

S xxx

Week 4 - Things are looking up

Well after a somewhat "challenging" week 3, things could only get better. OK that's probably an exaggeration but suffice to say, after the saturday session in week 3, I was deeply questioning why on earth I had signed up for this ongoing torture I mean traithlon training. Anyway, I learnt my lesson about needing to eat before the Saturday session and it really paid off! I was able to run for 30 minutes after a solid hour on the bike. Brilliant! And then, with a piece of team mate Adina's amazing Power Slice (I will get the recipe and share - its SO good) between the run and the swim, I actually had ENERGY! Who knew? This whole nutrition thing really is true!

Another little breakthrough came in the form of our track session. We had our first time trial. This is where we are timed running 3kms on the track and we use this as a base to see how far we've come when we do it again at the end of the training course. It's like a fitness version of a before and after. Love it. No records were broeken (by me anyway) but I can report that my first km was slower than the 2nd and the 2nd slower than the 3rd. i.e I got faster with each km. This is a good thing and it means i'm getting better at pacing myself and mastering the art of the "build". I am a big fan of the strong finish I am learning. Across all 3 disciplines, I'm never the person to bust out of the gates. I like to keep a lot in the tank, sometimes too much but hopefully I'll refine my skills in this department before race day.

And in the pool session I swam with the fast group (because I was wearing flippers) and after doing our drills I was thrilled to see that I was in fact capable of swimming for 15minutes non stop! Freestyle! No intermittant breaststroke or bursts of dog paddle. No nice breathers at the end of each lap. Freestyle the whole way for 15minutes straight. Bloody great it was!

The week ahead holds a swim and bike time trial which will be a first for me but I'm excited about them I have to say. Keen to see what the body can do.

S xx

Week 3 - A test of my mettle.

So week 3 came and went and all of a sudden the size and scale of this whole triathlon thing is dawning on me. So how did it all come to be? I cast my mind back to the night I was introduced to this crazy idea of doing the Kurnell triathlon. I was at track training for the Blackmores Half Marathon and one of my half marathon buddies planted the seed in my head. If I recall correctly, it was talked about in enthusiastic tones as a kind of beginners triathlon. Shorter distances purpose built for the baby triathlete. Well that sounds positively delightful I thought. I thought that my biggest issue was going to be finding a babysitting solution for the Saturday training sessions. Well, 3 weeks in I am beginning to see that just like the half marathon, this triathlon might just be a bit of a challenge too.

And please dear and kind supporters, don't see this as a whinge. I am really proud of myself for taking this on and I will not quit now! So what is it exactly that makes it hard.

Well the swim sessions are great, lots of drills in the pool, a good mixture of laps, technique and strengthening various parts of one's swimming. Yep the laps get a bit tough, I am working on improving my breathing, changing my kick and fixng the placement of my hands with my stroke. I strut away from the pool session feeling ridiculously virtuous for not being in the pub or on the sofa.

The track sessions are all too familiar to me after training for the half marathon back in September. A 800m jogging warm up, some sets of faster and slower running and some core exercises. All pretty good really. My chest often hurts as I try to increase my pace and sometimes I find myself willing away the final 20, 40 or 200m. But I walk away every Wednesday night longing for a chicken schnitzel and feeling absolutley fabulous about the world and my place in it.

But then there's the Saturday session. And these are the big ones. We start at 6.30am and finish at 10am. Yes there are some breaks in between discplines but it's still pretty full on. This week we tackled hills on our bikes and most of us are now wearing cleats so there's still a few stacks, a bit of skin left on the road and some awkward wobbles to be had. Then there were laps of the park, learning to ride in a bunch, learning calls to use to warm of hazards and such. All very interesting and even fun. But then we get off the bike after an hour or so and swap into our running shoes. And we go for a HALF HOUR RUN. Yep, suffice to say it killed me. My quads screamed out. I tried to ignore them and found myself contemplating ways of getting out of this hell. I thought about taking a wrong turn, feigning an injury or just stopping altogether. I wondered why i felt so bad. But I eneavoured to battle on. Eventually the agony came to and end. I could have hugged someone but it's only week 3 - too soon I thought. In retrospect there were several reasons why that run nearly killed* me. *This could be an exaggeration. Mum, no need to worry.

1. I forgot to eat breakfast. I know. I can't believe it either. If Dawn my half mara captain were reading this she'd say "SOPHIE WHAT????". Hi Dawn if you are!

2. I had a bit of a night out on the Thursday night. Yes it was over 24hours earlier but I should know better by now. I need to prepare for the week before a long session. That means hydrating ALL week and eating a good mix of carbs and vegetables and protein in the lead up. And of course I need to eat a good breakfast on the morning of a session like that and also pack a snack for after the brick (bike/run) session.

3. I was running with people who just ran a marathon! I was looking to the front of the pack wondering how on earth these people could spring off the bike and whip around the park with such ease and then a buddy told me that some of these people are actually used to busting out a cheeky 42 kms just for fun...

Then after that pretty tough run, we get back to base, put our cycling shoes back on and ride to Clovelly. A fairly easy ride down to the beach, I always enjoy this. The wind in my hair, the joy that the run is over and the anticipation of diving under a nice cold wave. So we get to Clovelly and get into a solid session with beach runs in the soft sand followed by ocean swims and repeat. Yep, by this stage that anticipation has waned a little or maybe a lot, and my quads are definitely telling me something. But apart from feeling dizzy and light headed (it's ok, I swear I'm fine Mum) I actually kind of enjoyed it.

So this week for me it's all about learning from my mistakes. This week I will:

- Eat properly;

- Drink so much water each day that my wee runs clear;

- Run at my own pace and be ok with that;

- Try not to go out drinking;

Wish me luck!

S

Into the deep end...

Week 3 of the Sprint Triathlon training with CanToo. How am I feeling? Well, firstly I feel excited and relieved to be back in training. After the high of the half marathon I lolled about in 6 weeks of eating, drinking, watching tele and lazing about on a Saturday morning. And gee it was nice. But to be honest, I felt different. I wasn't quite as chirpy, little things got to me more than they should have and I had lost motivation. So to hit the track again on a Wednesday night, to feel the burn in my chest and the ache in my quads was a new but welcome sensation. But after the half marathon, the run was the least of my worries.

Learning to ride a bike with cleats has been uber challenging to say the least. Several stacks in very public places have really showed me I am not the boss of my bike right now, but about 24 hours after each stack, they do become really, really funny. Humiliating yes. Embarrassing. God yes. And really, who doesn't want to be seen taking down not only themselves but their husband and both their bikes on Anzac Parade one Friday morning in peak hour? What's not to love about that?!

And the swim. Is it just me or are shark attacks about 80% more frequent in Sydney (and WA and NSW north coast) than they used to be?? I know, I know, "experts say you're more likely to die by being savaged by your neighbour's labrador than being eaten by a shark," but there's nothing like a chilly, grey, murky yet choppy watered Clovelly beach, complete with weed a plenty and rocks beneath your feet to open the mind up to possible shark activity in Sydney's eastern suburbs. And its not just the sharks. Something I found particularly fetching about the whole ordeal was exiting the ocean with a beard of sand and grit on my thighs post swim. Mmmmmm hot. Why worry about that bikini line ladies? No need! I must have taken on about half a kilo of sand in my togs plus I ingested half my body weight of the Pacific Ocean's finest salt water as I went.

Still, it was fun. It really was. This is what brought me back after my first Can Too experience. The team is so fun, so supportive and so good at helping you accomplish stuff you never thought you could that you just keep coming back for more. Cop a foot to the head in the ocean swim? No worries! The kicker blubbers out a cheery "sorry!" amongst the chaos and the waves. Lose your relay team their winning lead? It's all good! They cheer you home like you're Cathy Freeman. And then add to that the fact that you're raising money for the clever people working away to find cancer cures and you're getting fitter, more confident in yourself and I believe happier as you go, what's not to bloody love about it???!

Keen to join? No? That's fine. But how about sponsoring me! I'll do all the running, riding, crashing, sand-collecting and swimming/spluttering for you. You just sit back, relax and enjoy my posts and I'll do the hard slog. All amounts accepted and in fact much appreciated.

Thanks

Soph xxx

Well you'll never believe what I'm doing...

I've signed up for a triathlon! After taking part in the CanToo training program for the Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon, I think I kind of got the bug. People warned me that this might happen, and to be honest I'm really glad the bug bit. I had been wondering how I would be keeping fit and sane going into my 40s and I think these challenging runs and triathlons might just be my thing.

So in November I start all over again and and for the next 14 weeks will train 4 times a week - EEEEK! - and then compete in a Sprint Triathlon in Feburary 2016.

I'm pumped I have to say!

Stay tuned to this blog if you wish to follow along at home.

Soph xxxx