Believe.

Patience.

A constant challenge I face is not comparing myself to others. I'll admit though, some days are harder than others. And today is one of those days. I feel like I work hard, but today all I can think about is:

• When will I swim 100's on the 2:00?
• When will I stay with the pack on a long ride?
• When will I run a sub-25min 5km?

Time will tell. But right now, all I can do is keep going. Consistency is the key. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day. I just needed reminding.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Today was one of those days. A long ride off the back of a 16km run (and my first in over a year), was never going to be easy.. and the heat plus the headwind back from Frankston made sure of that! But that's what training it all about. You can't pick the conditions on race day and long predominately solo rides are perfect mental toughness training. I was happy with my nutrition plan, but more on that later, and I actually enjoyed myself out there today. Don't get me wrong, it was tough, but at the same time, very rewarding.  For future reference, I did feel a little uncomfortable at the 75km mark, but it was my first long ride on my new bike, so it's only upwards from here.

With lots of races of late, it's been nice to have a full weekend of training. 16km run, 30km ride and 1.2km open water event yesterday, 90km on the bike today. Happy to bank all of that!

My big news!

If you know me, you'll know I've been happy taking my time in short course, getting fitter, faster & stronger before making the progression to long course. Suddenly, however, I've realised that in a little over 18 months, I'll be 30. Don't get me wrong, I love birthdays and I'm more than fine with getting a little older, but I thought it was the perfect time to refocus and set some goals for the future. And I'm sure you all know how organised we need to be with our race schedule, with entries often opening and selling out 12 months prior to the event.  

So, the time has come. I, Stephanie Jane Lowe, will be crossing to the dark side. 70.3 here I come! It's not until August 2013, but I like I said, I'm still happy in short course and I'm hoping that the 18 months I have on my side will give me enough time to for a sub-6 HIM. Game one!

Gatorade Race 5 - Elwood

The lead up
I had a fantastic race week which finished with the perfect pre-race session and I was like a kid at Christmas time waiting for the first hit out on my new bike. I knew Race 3 at Brighton would be pretty tough to top, but I was excited to see what would unfold.

Race Day
A home-ground advantage and perfect conditions - I could not have asked for a better morning. I was redlining the whole way, but I came out of the water in 11mins, felt super quick and comfortable on the bike and even managed to beat my Brighton run time (by 10s - it still counts!). 5.05min/km - so unbelievably close!

Results 
Official time - 1:18:00 = another PB!
Splits - 12:23  1:32  37:05  1:32  25:27

What I learned
- Redlining feels so good, at the finish line!
- There's no greater satisfaction than passing men on their 5K bikes during the bike leg :)
- I'm more competitive than I realised! The best thing about this part of the season is that you know the girls who finish near you and therefore who to mow down the bike & not let catch you on the run! 
- It is possible to get identical transition times :) I lost my place briefly coming off the bike leg, (I was thinking category 6, not row 9), so next time hopefully I can crack 1:18 with a sharper T2.

Happy to be nearly done!

I have 2 more chances this year with Portarlington and St Kilda to cap off the series. I may have to wait until next season, but I will run 5min/km pace this year!! 

On a side note, I never thought I'd be one of "those people" who finish a race & go out for more. But I am. I took the new bike out for a spin after brekky and I couldn't be happier!

Race Week - Saturday!

Perfect swim conditions!

What a morning! A good course recon is perfect to settle any race nerves and even though Elwood is "home-ground" for us,  I couldn't resist as Tri Alliance pre-race sessions are always so much fun!

I had an awesome short & sharp hit out on the new bike, some (much needed!) transition practice into a 2km run, followed by a short swim.

The legs are feeling great! My new bike is just so smooth & fast I know that it will help not only my bike time, but also the way the legs feel coming off into the run. I ran <5.10min/km pace today and easy. Fingers crossed I can hold it for 5km! Now all that's left is a little carb-loading with the TA boys and an early night. Game on :)

Race Week - Friday!

My new love!

A yoga class to start my day & I was straight to LSDsports to pick up my new bike! I decided on a Trek Lexa SLX, which is a women's specific bike. Basically it has a shorter head stem and a good frame fit. As I haven't ridden a TT bike or used aerobars before, I obviously don't want to start too aggressive and the H3 frame is perfect for that. The components are 105s, which is significantly better than what I have been riding, so I'm sure I'll feel the benefits straight away.  Not to mention that my Avanti weighed about 10 kilos, so I should be flying up the "hills" on Beach Road now.

A big thank you to Cam from LSD for the Retul and TLC. I'm looking forward to a decent test-ride in the morning and most importantly, a PB on Sunday!!

Race Week - Thursday!

Yesterday I also added in a 6km run and the legs were a little tight in different places and quite heavy after my massage the day before. I'm happy that I got in early and know I'll come good for race day.  It did make my decision on today's training easy though - a perfect chance to rest the legs. A sleep in, a little Pilates and foam roller release this morning and a nice yoga class to finish the day and I'm feeling good. Time for another early night. I get my new bike tomorrow so it's a great week all round!