2016 begins

The end of 2015 was reasonably relaxed. After the 70.3 I took a couple of weeks off work and had a holiday which was nice and one I will remember. Seeing as we are coming up to the longer training months I assume I will not have time for a holiday until after IM Port.

Christmas was much the same as last year. Work and train. It wasn't all that hot and there was a bit of rain around. I still got to do the training I had to. After talking to my coach it was decided that it would be good to do a couple of races before May. Looking at the schedule the best would be Husky and Wollongong. Both of these I have not done in a couple of years. Husky was actually my first long course race I ever competed in. I just posted that story here. So now they are locked in the training schedule is starting to fill up.

Training has been pretty good. Some tough days out on the road but thats to be expected. We have started doing a bit of speed work in the run sessions. That really hurts. Actually I think I pulled something in my groin during one of the runs so I have been trying to rest that when I get a chance. I have still been training but try to take it easy when the pain starts to set in. It has been fun having a ride buddy again. Adam and I have been able to meet up and do some of the longer weekend rides. It does make it easier to get started when you are meeting someone. As part of the long rides I had do the royal national park loop. Last time I was out that way bald hill kicked my butt. Well this time I started a little slower and just kept moving. I was happy that I made it without having to have a lay down at the top. We did stop at the top of the hill for a bathroom break and once again we were asked if we could be in some photos for tourists. Why anyone would want some sweaty old man in Lycra in their holiday photos I will never know. But so far its 100% of the time I am there on a bike I get asked.

Now for the sad news.. I decided that it was about time to get the bike serviced. It has been a while so I decided to have a full strip down and clean. Looks like most things came out well apart from the crank. That really annoyed me as it has already been replaced once. Unfortunately this time it was not a warranty job so I was left looking for a replacement. I was quoted way more than I wanted to really spend which did worry me. After some looking around I did find one on sale that was actually the same as what I had already and a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Only difference was the colouring in the lettering. Anyway that was put on today so it will be good to test it out on the weekend.

Some good news.. I received the following email last week.

Dear Stefan, Congratulations on becoming a 2016 IRONMAN Bronze All World Athlete! Your strong performance during the 2015 season positioned you in the top 10% of your age group earning you IRONMAN Bronze All World Athlete status. As an IRONMAN All World Athlete, you'll enjoy a host of benefits at many of your 2016 races, including priority access to athlete registration, as well as special recognition of your accomplishments on your race bib and swim cap, and in the race program.

I am kind of happy about that. I don't know if I will really get anything out of it but it is a bit of fun if nothing else. So looking ahead I am now about 5 weeks away from the Husky long course. The weeks ahead are looking tough. They include a 30km run, 150km ride, 3.8km swims. So my weekends are going to be tiring. But I guess that is to be expected.