It’s been a month since I’ve posted, I have no excuses other than I just haven’t felt the desire to sit down and write. This doesn’t reflect that things have gone bad, nor that I’ve lost motivation, actually its more to do with the fact that I have been training hard (and even working hard), meaning energy levels for anything else has been minimal. This post is not much either, more of an “ooh I have an hour before lunch, what can I do” effort rather than a thought out and earth shattering piece of journalism, not that any of my posts have been that, but this one definitely sits towards the bottom of the pile.

Last time I wrote was just as I headed out for my regular “once a year” training trip to the northern island of Hokkaido. Seems a lifetime away now, but I can say I absolutely loved it, to the point I extended my stay twice, and ended up staying there for over two weeks! The ability to just get out and ride without worry of traffic or getting lost (I have no sense of direction, so having few roads and a big arse mountain on show at all times as point of reference, really helps), along with the abundance of green and scarcity of population, it really is my perfect training heaven. This time was a little different in that I actually met with some local triathletes who live up there, and we ended up doing several rides together, as well as swims in both the lake (wonderful) and the river (jeez that was COLD!) and also a couple of mini triathlons. I definitely “rediscovered” the joy of training with others, and the fact we all have the same goal (IM Cozumel), meant it was all the more relevant. Hats off to Jeff, Lena and Ernesto for the encouragement and open friendship, very much appreciated.

Since coming back to Tokyo it has been a bit of a struggle to motivate myself to the same level, I really don’t like training in the city, I miss the open water, the open roads and the open skies. However I persuaded myself to swim in the pool, ride on the bike trainer and run around the tower blocks enough to stay on target, my weight has continued to drop and my injures have been kept at bay. With large amounts of touching wood and praying to the gods, I can honestly say that it actually feels like I maybe, perhaps, possibly on target to actually maybe, perhaps, possibly complete this upcoming race, something that I have not felt for a long long time. It’s great to have that little bit of confidence coming back into my psyche, and even if my running is still 1-2min per km slower than pre injury,  and my lack of bike and swim prowess highly visible (especially when I train with others), the progress is there and its coming together – can I hear an AMEN on that one!

So before I say anything more to jinx my progress, I will sign off. Below are some bare-bones of what I’ve done the last few weeks, just to keep me honest.

Stats for week beginning 23rd August,  13 weeks to go

Weight : NA

Bike – All outdoors. Approx. 9hours total. Long ride 105km

Run – Total 50km. Long Run 16km

Swim- 1 pool, 1 lake. Total 2hrs Longest swim 3km

Strength and condition – 1 x 60 minutes

Stats for week beginning 30^th August,  12 weeks to go

Weight : NA

Bike – All outdoors. Approx. 8.5hours total. Long ride 142km

Run – Total 63km. Long Run 20km

Swim – 1 river (just, was too cold to stay in!), 1 lake. Total 1hrs

Strength and condition – 1 x 60 minutes

Stats for week beginning 6th September,  11 weeks to go

Weight : 80.8kg

Bike – Total 4.5 hrs on indoor trainer. Longest ride 1:30hrs

Run – Total 40km. Long Run 22km

Swim – Total 1:15hrs pool. Longest swim 2.1km

Strength and condition – 2 x 60 minutes

Stats for week beginning 13th September,  10weeks to go

Weight : 79.7kg

Bike – Total 6.45 hrs on indoor trainer. Longest ride 4:15hrs

Run – Total 53km. Long Run 24km

Swim – Total 2:10hrs. Longest swim 3.1km

Strength and condition – 2 x 60 minutes