Endurance Sports

This week I decided to leave the GPS at home, take off my watch, and just run. With all that freedom to just enjoy myself, I think I fell in love with running all over again.

I ran a 10 mile race last weekend. The results were not what I hoped, but what disappointed me most was how I handled the race mentally. Now I'm trying to focus on positive thinking.

This week I ran the longest run that I will do before the Ironman. It went really well, but I'm still wondering how I'm going to manage 42km in just five short weeks.

No injuries to report this week, thank goodness. However I did face some mental battles this week and my biggest struggle has been getting outside my own head.

This week of training was a lesson in stubbornness. The only thing keeping me going is tons of food, naps, and the thought that there's only a few weeks of hard training left before the taper starts.

This week's lesson: listen to your body. If you feel pain, take a few days off and give your body the rest and recovery it needs. Chances are, you'll come back stronger for it and be grateful you did.

I only have eight weeks of training left until Ironman Melbourne. My training sessions are getting longer and harder, and I'm starting to feel a sense of impending doom as the event approaches.

I got great times on my 5K and hill run this week. Unfortunately I also experienced some of worst lower back pain in my life. Forecast for the coming week: lots of heat, ice, stretching and yoga!

The New Year got off to a rough start -the whole family got sick - but we're recovering and I'm getting back into training. I'm also excited about my resolutions for this year!

This week was a recovery week. I also got my VO2 max tested, which was an intense but cool experience. The results were great and gave me a nice confidence boost for the Ironman race in 8 weeks.

This week I focused on my short-term goals and I think it really paid off. These baby steps will go a long way in preparing me for my bigger, long-term goals like the Great Wall of China marathon.