Friday 30 January 2009

I'm impatient

I'm feeling incredibly impatient at the moment.

  • to pay off the mortgage - sep/oct can't come soon enough

  • impatient to have a tentative go at investing - I've been doing at lot of reading on the topic but I'm the sort of person that learns best by doing and learning things as I need them.

  • for my race - so I can see if my swimming has progressed. At present I'm not sleeping well the night after a swim session- swimming has always been such an anchor for me I'm full of self-doubt. Yet I know I have worked so hard to relearn how to swim. In my mind I know this and I know that there is lots motre to do. I also know I have a plan but it requires patience

  • I want to be a swimming sensation - first out of the water - WE CAN ALL DREAM

  • to start training for next season when I plan to do more races - I know that this year was a stepping stone and I need to build up my volumes of training - as I see so many people do when they simply decide to ironman with hardly any fitness.

  • to buy a new wetsuit - which I can't for a few years if I am to make all my financial goals happen

  • the tomatoes aren't ripening fast enough - we are eating some but I want more

  • the peppers aren't ripening fast enough - we are eating some but I want more

  • no aubergines despite there being lots of flowers


PHEW!!!! That's it for now and it feels good and cheaper than therapy.

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Tuesday 27 January 2009

Weekly training 19Jan- 25Jan

I have been winding down my training because I am really feeling the almost 11months consistant without having any breaks for racing. I have my one race on the 8Feb my first olympic distance race since 1996. I was enjoying the decreasing miles in running and cycling and enjoying my new confidence in open water because of having had at least one open water swim for the 7 weeks and had 2 last week and because of my improved swimming which also has improved my navigation and breathing. In fact I might go so far as to say I am enjoying swimming in open water and enjoying swimming full stop.

The bad news is that I have picked up a running injury. I ran 10miles Tuesday and on Wednesday I was carrying out some ankle strengthening exercises, that have cured my persistant right ankle niggle, I somehow managed to hurt the left side of my lower left leg. I ran 9miles Thursday morning, started out feeling a niggle and thought I would just run it off. However I don't think I can run in the last weeks before my race. This is a nuisance but not a right off I know if I rest it I have done enough running to do the as I have in the past run really well off very little running. It is just a small dent in my mental preparedness. My only real doubt is that it might still be sore come race day. If this happens I won't enter (you can enter online upto 3 days before) save my money for a full season of races next season when my swimming will be even better and we will still have our 2 days away in Taupo (our accommodation is paid for).

Swim
total: 5600m
Bike
total: 64.78miles
I did 36miles on Middle road and found it really easy I was swooping down the downhills singing songs from Mama Mia, we bought it Emily for Christmas and she has been playing it none stop and it just got stuch in my had. But if you can't descend at dangerous speeds singing Abba hits when nobody else can hear when can you.
Run
total: 19miles

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Wednesday 21 January 2009

Competition winners

Emily and Cameron have been taking part in a summer holiday reading program at the local library. They entered a colouring competition - Cameron won the unders 5's category and Emily was second in the 5-7 category. There were 350 children taking part in the reading program called Superheroes read.

I an currently reading several books by Martin Hawes a New Zealand financial/investment expert- I am learning how to invest for income which I want to be doing by the end of the year. I am also reading The Snowball which is about the life of Warren Buffett one of America's richest men and one of if not the best investor on the planet.

Our mortgage will hopefully be paid off by October. I came to the conclusion that the bank is stealing our money because on top of interest we pay them, they start adding all sorts of penalties if you try and pay it off quickly.

I am also reading loads of graphic novels (they used to be called comics). Teresa and I are watching less and less tv, most of it just a load of boring crap.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.

Monday 19 January 2009

Garden update

Couldn't resist the other variety of Pepino.

When we went for the Pepino we came across a solitary blackberry. We didn't hesitate it brings back childhood memories of blackberrying with family. We thought we couldn't get them in New Zealand.


We have also been eating home grown courgettes(zuchinni), cucumber, tomatoes,lots of basil, mint, oregano,thyme, beans and lettuce,the first 2 blueberries, and peppers (we're trying to leave them alone to turn red)

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.

Weekly training 12Jan-18 Jan

Took another easy week missed one of session of each. It was more of a mental break - I had a couple of strong ales Fullers London Pride (vegan friendly)and chips Friday night and planned to miss Saturday's run.
Swim
total: 4400m

I confirmed a suspicion in the pool this week - I swim 7x100m with just the ankle band after swimming 5x300m with ankle band and holding balls. My suspicion was that I was swimming them in 1min 30 sec. And I was I am swimming them in 1.25 and 1.30 on 2 minutes with the ankle band all technique I'M BLOWN AWAY!! It is the sort of improvement I have been working very hard for, I couldn't do that before with such little effort . I need to keep at and build on this and hopefully keep improving and maybe I'll achieve my goal of turning my biggest weakness into my strength.

Bike
total: 56.87miles
One turbo session and 41miles to Waimarama beach and back. This included some climbs that I was nervous about. As it happens they didn't trouble me at all.
Run
total:2x10= 20miles
I have been feeling very good and can feel the improvement.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.

Monday 12 January 2009

Weekly traing 6Jan-11Jan

Easier week - missed on bike and one run. Saturday I was tripped up by a plant whilst out running and cut my hand as I fell quite heavily but still did my run. I was cutting a corner and just caught the plant , which was quite long (approx 1metre) and was low to the ground sticking out almost horizontal, I expected the plant to bend, it didn't and down I went.

The same day whilst swimming in the pond I was almost run down by an outrigger canoe. The local club were practising for a big competition and I accidently wandered into their path. The pond is used by many different sports although usually not at the same time and we share quite happily.

Swim
total: 6600m
Bike
total: 56.82miles
Run
total: 20miles

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Garden update

I'm getting impatient at the moment, everything is going really well but not ready to eat. The contents of the garden is peppers(capsicums), aubergine(eggplant), tomatoes, courgettes, cucumber, rock melon, snap peas and lots of beans. The tomatoes are the most advanced but they take absolutely ages to ripen especially when I want to eat them with my home grown garlic and basil. We are growing lettuce and herbs also. These are on the side deck in trays because lettuce grows poorly in our free draining soil so they get special treatment and lots of water ant I pick leaves when needed. Peppers are also almost ready to eat but the aubergines take forever and I have never grown these before and never grown peppers in any quantity.

Tomatoes along fence covered in bird netting.
Courgette, cucumbers, peppers and the very slow growing rock melons.

Looking down on Courgette
Pepper(capsicum)
Aubergine plants and more pepper plants in background
Also the time of year to buy wood for winter - 3cords just delivered. Needs putting away
Beans and peas
Apple tree laden with fruit. Had to put in a stake to support the weight of the fruit.
Close up of tomatoes. I have experimented restricting its growth in an effort to speed up ripening. Doesn't work. Now I'm kicking myself for losing some tomatoes. Ripen damn you, ripen.
More tomatoes grown in buckets. Another sort of experiment. The buckets hold in the water and I wanted compare these to those in the free draining soil. The tallest thing in the middle is not a tomato plant it is Emily's Sunflower she started growing in class.
Boysenberry vine is being trained to grow along the fence above the tomatoes. It grows to 7metres so this was the perfect place and it is under birdnetting. Alas no fruit.



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Monday 5 January 2009

Weekly training 29Dec- 4Jan

My biggest training week for years since 1996(excluding my ridiculous attempt to return immediately to doing Ironman in 2004 - because I was a complete mess then). I feel I could keep training but because all my training has slowed a bit and longer warmups, I 'm having an easy week this week.
Swim
total:5900m open water was approx 1700m again more hard starts and then keeping going for longer. Hard work.

Bike
total:72.47milesDid the ride on Raukawa Rd up what I think is Torres Hill and back for 41miles. The last time I did this ride I was wanting to do 38miles but my computer was playing up so I discovered I did nearer 40 that day . It was about 4 weeks ago and it left me wiped out the next week which sparked me into starting up recovery/easy weeks every fourth week.
The roads are very quiet (virtually no cars)but the surface is very rough in parts which slows you down. It was a very good considering the open water swim Saturday the day before and we repeated the kayaking.
Run
total:30miles 3x10 starting to vary the runs more gradually adding more hills.

Tomorrow photo update of veg garden. Can you stand the excitement???

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.