Monday 28 January 2008

Crazy fools...

I've only got a couple of minutes tonight, which I've managed to steal in between marking a couple of 5,000 word essays at close to midnight... Whatever happened to prioritising sleep?

This weekend was another belter, we went down to Leamington for a surprise birthday bash for our mate Sam on Saturday night then stayed over and checked out Tough Guy this morning. As H said, it's probably the only event we've ever watched when we've been truly relieved not to be doing it... even with my obsessive personality and drive to go faster, in this case once is definitely enough!!

Training wise I've had yet another great week (with time not on my side it'll be a day or two before the week nine training diary is up) and got some great runs, some even greater swims and seven hours on the turbo in... not to mention a couple of weights sessions with AKJ. Looking at last years training diary I'm really surprised at how far ahead I am and how much more volume (both time and distance) I'm doing compared to Jan '07... training hard is easy though, it's training hard for six consecutive months that's difficult. At the moment though I feel great, I'm super motivated and am getting stronger all the time... hopefully I can keep pushing right through, to peak on July the 6th ;)

I really am gonna have to dash, a few people emailed me this week - sorry I've not got back to you, I promise a haven't slipped back in to my old ways ;) Tomorrow looks crazy busy and starts for me in a touch over five hours but Tuesday looks good to sort out my inbox.

Happy Birthday to Sam, well done to all who took on Tough Guy today.

Tom

p.s. todays picture was taken by Sam at Tough Guy and reminded me, along with the Saturday night dinner of a great quote from the film Young Guns...

"Ain't nothin more important than pals." - William H Bonney (aka Billy the Kid)

Sunday 27 January 2008

Mud, sweat and tears...

Today we went to a race that I can honestly say I was GLAD to be watching - Tough Guy. We went to support our loony friends as they waded though mud and slurry, hauled themselves over cargo nets, jumped off planks, slid down hills and crawled though tunnels... and yes I know I've done it but not the WINTER one! I was cold enough doing the Summer one but the Winter one (and today was actually a mild day) is something else so well done to AKJ (see above picture giving it 'Leeds, Leeds, Leeds), Flaps, Sarge, Tony, Dean and Chris Brown, you're all MAD but hey... you're all TOUGH GUYS!!!

The fun of watching today took my mind of my stupid tendon which reared it's ugly head the morning after last weekends race. I think I spoke too soon after last weeks post. I finished the race thinking I had just got away with it as it was a little tender. Unfortunately I woke up on Monday morning and it was a very sore tendon :( so I whisked myself straight off to see Liz the physio. Liz as always was brilliant. It could be linked to my weak core rotation sending me a bit wonky through the hips thus affecting my stride so on Wednesday I have a session with Liz in the gym to see if I can work on this. Liz also spoke to a foot surgeon who said he thought he could help me if I went to see him.

I haven't missed a training session this week I've just swapped my running sessions for turbo sessions. I have now officially bonded with our garage, the spiders in it, the tumble dryer fluff, and the back of the garage door. If I don't ride like Lance Armstrong come the dawning of the triathlon season then I'll eat my hat (or my tendon.) Swimming is still going really well. Tom & are doing great varied sessions in which I'm getting a tiny bit faster all of the time. Even if I don't swim faster in Germany then I'm sure I'll be swimming more efficiently and so will have a bit more to give on the bike and the run so I'm really pleased with how things in the pool are going. No running at all this week. Back to smaller runs tomorrow or Tuesday, but a visit to the foot doctor has given me new hope. I'm going to see a podiatrist to see if orthotics will help take the pressure of the tendon while I run and allow it to heal. Thankfully the doctor said that stopping running wouldn't help it (he's my kind of Doctor!) I'm going to have another ultrasound to see if there have been any changes since my last one in November and possibly have a steroid injection. No more finger crossing -it clearly doesn't work- just a more conservative effort to assist it's healing and one in which the foot surgeon seemed positive about.

Enough about the stupid tendon though. Training is going very well and I'm looking forward to a season of great racing, the tendon thing is a small glitch sent from above to make me work harder on my bike!

Before I sign off I want to wish my Ironman mate Spaniel a very happy birthday. Tom & I had a great night sharing his surprise party in Warwick on Saturday night and it was lovely to meet Amanda his girlfriend ;)

Here's to another good week of training, night night.
H. x

P.s Our 28 day trial cutting out all food with any refined sugar in has been really easy... until Sam's birthday cake (chocolate birthday cake may I add) was sitting in front of our very eyes just waiting to be eaten. Of course we didn't have any but that was hard, especially chocolate cake. Still it's no good setting yourself a 28 day target and caving in on day 6!!! Actually apart from Sam's birthday cake I haven't craved sugary food and I do tend to snaffle around after meals looking for something sweet to eat so maybe there's something in this crazyness!?

Good habits result in resisting temptation. (Anon)

Sunday 20 January 2008

Speedy Monkeys...

This weekend has been a brilliant combination of all of my favourite things... On Friday our good friends and fantastic triathletes Ozzer (Ian) and EK (Emma-Kate) came over for the weekend. We had a ride out to Ilkey on Saturday for a Betty's Fat Rascal (or a Fat Harry if you're from Leamington Spa) then we stopped off at Ben & Lies' so they could meet the new man in my life - the incredibly well behaved and handsome Charlie Lack, a whole ten days old now. Then we dined out for a carb loading dinner on Sat eve before going to the Leeds & Bradford Triathlon club awards night where we got to see what everyone looks like in real clothes and not lycra or rubber!! It was a great night and nice to have a catch up with people. I played a horrendous game of pool with Donna Edmondson-Booker (very good duathlete and runner) however it was good to see that she was just as bad at Pool than I was and we had to cheat in the end to actually get the game finished. Then the awards ceremony started. Both Tom & I had been nominated. Tom for male athlete of the year and me for female athlete of the year. This year wasn't to be mine and it went very deservedly to Sara Riley who competed in the World Champs in Hamburg in 2007, something I'm really looking forward to doing myself this year in Vancouver. However, my wonderful other half did pick up male triathlete of the year and I would like to congratulate him for such a great acheivement, he always puts his heart and soul into his training and there's still yet more to come in 2008 so well done Tom, you're a star.

Well, that took us to a later than hoped for evening prior to the first half-marathon of the year, the Brass Monkey held in York on a very flat and fast course. Tom (stato) Williams has been crunching numbers and working out what he should be capable of and how he's going to implement it since January 1st. I, however have had to take a different approach to it. I wasn't really looking forward to it. I'm still only running twice a week due to 'the' ankle injury and those sessions haven't been speed sessions but I've been able to build my mileage up to 12 miles without pain or aggravation so I knew the distance wouldn't be a problem. My riding has been consistent and I've done some good interval sessions on the bike and in the pool so my endurance and general fitness are in good nick. It was a case of 'suck it and see'. Our mates Ozzer and EK were also running as were a load of Virgin Active Road Runners (our running club) and Daz and Ben G. Such a mixed bag of times but wow what speedy monkeys they turned out to be, pb's flying around willy nilly at the end. I didn't pb but I was really pleased with my run. 1.32.47 and I felt strong, just felt the lack of speed in the legs and couldn't quite get them to turn over as fast as my heart and head wanted them to. It bodes well though, to be running well enough to only be a minute off my pb on only two runs a week with no speed sessions, I'll take that thank you very much. Tom, Daz, Ben G and Ozzer all pb'd which is fantastic (although Tom's was a bit of a double-edged sword missing sub 1.20 by 2 seconds... ouch.) Loads of the Virgin runners ran exceptionally well- some first timers and some super speedy pb's - so well done to you all, great start to the year.

Great runs all round topped off with a Sunday pub lunch and ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Catching up with good friends, racing hard and basking in post race glory...wonderful. Now I'm knackered and ready for a very early night. A recovery day tomorrow, 5km technique session in the pool in the morning and an easy turbo session in the evening. We're also going to try and alter our diet (Dean Karnazes style.) Basically we're going to try and cut out all food with any added sugar in it for a month and see if it helps our diet. Dean Karnazes is an ultra-endurance runner who has done this and it has helped keep his blood sugar more consistent, no spikes. Something both Tom & I would like to stop happening in our diet, so watch this space. I'll probably be crawling the walls in search of anything remotely sweet for the first couple of weeks.

Well done again to all who ran today, it was a tough one.

H. x

Brass Monkey Race Report...

Normally on the day of a race my blog entry consists almost entirely of the race report but what an amazing weekend!


LBT awards...
Having been fairly 'silent' members in 2006 H and I took a much more active role in LBT in 2007, getting stuck in to the team relays, the Pool Triangle, Ilkley tri and the odd cross country race. They are a fantastic group of people and led by the uber-energetic Frank Riley have really helped H and I take our triathlon to the next level and in a short space of time we've made some great friends and found some brilliant training partners! We were both really honoured to be nominated for male and female athletes of the year... the inspirational Sara Riley took the ladies award following some truly brilliant performances including competing in the world championships in Hamburg.. and... I was lucky enough to win 'Male Athlete of the Year'!!! :) I don't really know what to say other than the fact that at 26 I was an overweight, over-drinking lazy student who struggled to get out of bed before midday... it just goes to show what you can achieve with hard work and desire.

Brass Monkey race report...
The Brass Monkey is without doubt one of the best races in England. For less than fifteen quid you get a super fast course at a great time of year, with brilliant marshals, a great venue and as of this year the best post-race goody bag I've ever had! Consequently it sells out within a day of entries opening in September and from the minute my cheque is cashed four months before the start, I'm jumping up and down with excitement at the thought of setting a new pb ;) This year I was trying to break 80 minutes for the first time which at an average of 6 minutes and 6 seconds per mile meant I'd have to push from the gun. With a strong headwind for the first seven miles it was time to tuck in behind other runners and going through five miles in 30:26 I was four seconds up and feeling great. I think the mile six marker was a little out but nonetheless finally turning out of the wind at mile 7 I found myself 25 seconds down and in need of a decent negative split... with every mile I was edging closer to my goal and running shoulder to shoulder with my mate Matt we pushed on, going through 8-12 in 6:02, 6:03, 5:59, 6:02 and 6:03 respectively... this put me only six seconds behind with 1.1 miles to get it back and as Matt was looking strong I knew if I could stay with him I'd do it... around this point though he pushed on and I just couldn't find the speed, a 13th mile of 6:06 meant with 0.1 of a mile to go I was still six seconds down... pushing for the line I could see the clock ticking... 1:19:50... 1:19:51... 1:19:52... 1:19:59... 1:20:00... 1:20:01... 1:20:02... DONE! I instantly felt a mixture of excitment at a great pb but dissappointent at missing out on my goal by less than ten metres!! As I'm always telling people though, if you do something better than you have EVER done it before you really have to celebrate... 30 seconds and a Yorkie bar later there was a serious smile on my face ;)

Reflecting on the race a few hours later I can't help feeling that at some point in the final ten minutes I subconciously 'settled' for a 'pb and less pain' over 'breaking 80 minutes and more pain'?? Maybe, maybe not... I felt like I was truly giving it my all... and I really am super pleased with such a great time... but in Germany on July the 6th I certainly can't afford to settle for a massive pb when a single second could mean the difference between qualifying for Kona or not... in two weeks time I'm racing in the Dewsbury 10k and will have one goal and one goal only... to absolutely postively squeeze every single second out of my performance and settle for nothing less than everything... watch this space ;)

There were a bucket load of great performances today, especially taking into account the very strong wind... H ran a brilliant 1:32 off minimal run training, EK again came close to breaking 90 minutes (your time will come... soon!), Ozzer ran a storming pb of 1:21 to move significantly toward his sub-3 goal in this year's London marathon, Daz ran a huge pb with 1:26, TB ran a storming 1:19 and change to again flirt with 1:18, Alan from Run Club came over the line in a pb of 1:28 with clearly nothing left (an example for us all), Ben G flew round ten minutes quicker than expected in 1:30 and probably most impressively of all Virgin Active Road Runners newest member and London marathon club place winner Ben Woodhouse finished his first ever half marathon in 1:21 and a bit... only 25 minutes quicker than my first effort!!!! Apologies if I've missed you out but it was all pretty hectic and by this time I was starting to freeze so headed back the car for some much needed warmth... WELL DONE TO EVERYONE WHO RAN TODAY ;)

Finally to today's picture... it's from the 2007 summer Tough Guy (www.toughguy.co.uk) and taken by our very own Sam Allen... this coming Sunday AKJ and Flaps will be braving the gruelling challenge that is the winter version (I also did it in 2007.. nearly killed me... never again) along with Chris B from VARR... I'll be there cheering them on and suggest that if you've got nothing planned that day you come and check it out, it really is quite a spectacle. GOOD LUCK LADS ;)

See you in a week,

T ;)

p.s. just noticed that today's result was my tenth pb in ten races (if you include my course pb at the Great North Run).

Tom's training diary... weeks' 6, 7 & 8!

When I was in Whistler time was at a bit of a premium and with the average day consisting of 5am alarm, 6am swim, 7.30am breakfast, boarding from 8:30 to 4:00 then treadmill session from 5:30 to 6:30, dinner out at 7:30 and bed at 9:30 I didn't find the time to post my training diary. Anyway, I'm making up for it now so here's weeks 6, 7 and 8 all in one go!

Overall...

I'm really really pleased with how everything is going and feel that I am well ahead of this point last year. I'm swimming and running better than I ever have and with a little bit of bike focus over the next four week training block I should hit the 20 week to go point in the shape of my life. My only real concern at the moment is that I need to build all the way to July the 6th without blowing myself up in the process. The training stakes will be raised consistently week after week and with 24 to go I'll need to step up to the mark. I've also just noticed that I've pb'd my last ten races so must be doing something right!!

Swim...
With little focus on swimming over these three weeks I've managed to maintain quality and reasonable volume. I felt great swimming in Whistler every morning and this week's 15 50s were done faster than ever, averaging 38 seconds. The tumble turns have taken a back seat and seeing as H is now tumbling for entire 5k sets I need to get my arse in gear! I'm still working on the 'power-on' technique which should give me some much needed speed once sorted. After 8 weeks my average weekly swim volume is somewhat down on my target of 15k although I won't be too concerned about that until the final 20 week push.

Bike...
My cycling has had to take somewhat of a back seat over the last three weeks. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to ride in Whistler and would also have to hold back in week 8 leading up to the Brass Monkey I hit it hard in week 6, riding four times for a total of 175 miles. The next four weeks will have a significant bike focus so check back here soon ;)

Run...
The main focus this year is to build my run speed with the aim of going 3:25 in the Ironman marathon on July the 6th. Last year I very much adopted a maintenance schedule for this discipline and sacrificed run sessions for getting on the bike. It's now time to step up my game and I was therefore looking to go sub-80 for the first time over half marathon and sub 2:55 in the London marathon. Today was my chance to achieve the former and finishing in 80 minutes and two seconds I was pleased with the pb if a little annoyed to not dip under. With the last four weeks including five days at my mums, Christmas and ten days in Whistler it's great to be in the best run shape of my life. My Tuesday tempo runs are going very well and I'm starting to feel comfortable at 16kph. I could do with a little more speed but with only so many hours in a day and a target Ironman pace of 'only' 12.4kph it'll have to wait.

Week 6...



Week 7...


Week 8...

Sunday 13 January 2008

Back in blighty....


How quick times flies?? It seems like no more than a heart beat ago I was flying down the wonderful slopes of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains in Canada and suddenly here I am back in the office in front of my laptop, penning my Sunday blog entry. I've never really got the blues when returning from foreign trips as I tend to have some great adventure to look forward to and having spent the week away from H it feels even better to be back in Leeds. However, nine days of quality time with just my Dad and I hanging out in one of the best ski resorts in the world does tend to make time go by somewhat quicker than I would like.

Where do I start? For those of you who like to ski or snow board and haven't yet travelled outside of Europe you absolutely positively must make this wonderful Canadian resort your next winter destination. I'm not the most experienced of winter athletes but I've probably visited 10-15 different European venues and Whistler is aproximately on thousand times better than all of them... put together! In short we had over four feet of snow during the week and the sun decided to come out to play on the final day... need I say more? Probably not, but I will...

We stayed at the Pinnacle Hotel but booked through Expedia because it was cheaper than going direct. Although it was one of the cheaper options it had a fantastic location in the middle of town, an outdoor jacuzzi and pool, a treadmill and the staff were great. You'll see from my photo's however (newly added to the album) that they were a bit ambitious with the pillow allocation and there wasn't much room to dry stuff. Swappin the jacuzzi in our room for a drying space would have made it pretty much perfect!

The actual resort was stunning with seemingly endless empty pistes winding their way down through the beautiful Canadian countryside. Although the lift passes were expensive they were were worth every single penny once you realised how unbelievably helpful the staff were and how ridiculously long the runs were... the famous 'Peak to Creek' is over five miles long with a mile of vertical decent!!

If that lot isn't enough to get you flying across the pond the restaurants are just something else. We ate out every single night and with plenty of great sea food on offer it was easy to keep it healthy... my two favourites were... Quattro and Ric's.

The bottom line... it's totally blown me away and I cannot wait to go back in the summer when H is racing in the Olympic Distance world champs. I imagine the trail running and mountain biking will be pretty special!

Training wise? I have actually done this and last week's training diaries but it's quite fiddly to upload them on to blogger and as I only landed a couple of hours ago it'll be another day or so before their back up to speed. I did manage some good training totals despite the lack of a bike, carding around 40 miles of running (including my longest ever on a treadmill at 14 miles) and 15 kilometres of swimming (in a great 25 metre pool which at 6am was quiet enough to have my own lane every morning). The average day went something like... 5.30am alarm, 6-7 swim, 7-8 breakfast, 8-4 snowboarding, 5-6 running, 7-8.30 dinner and 9 o'clock bed... then repeat x5. Even more impressive however was the fact that dad joined me for all the pool sessions (I didn't think he knew there were two five o'clocks per day) and then skipped in the evenings while I ran!

All in all I've managed to combine two of the few things in life that really matter... having fun and spending quality time with my old man... whilst at the same time training for an Ironman and keeping healthy ;)

This time next week I'll be reporting on the first real goal of 2008, going sub 80 minutes at the Brass Monkey Half Marathon in York. I'm never really sure how I'll perform of 13.1 miles as the increase in speed can catch my little legs unawares but with pbs in my last three runs (Dublin marathon, Great North & the Chevin Chase) I'm pretty confident that with a mile or so to go it'll be up for grabs... and then it's all about the hurt ;)

Fingers crossed,

T ;)

Tom... you've been usurped!

As you know Tom's been living it up in Whistler snowboarding with his pa and I've truly missed him a lot. However, on Wednesday the arrival of a 7lb 1oz baby boy called Charlie stole my heart (sorry Tom.) Ben and Lies are now the very proud parents of the tiniest, calmest most beautiful and wrinkliest baby. It's been lovely to finally meet the 'bump' that we've spent the last 9mths wondering what he (or she) was going to look like and now we know… he looks just perfect. Lies has been (and is) amazing, what a shock to your body. Ironman training is a doddle compared to the joys of labour so when I'm hurting and I've got a few more miles to go in Germany, I'll remember the gory and painful stories that were relayed to me after Charlie was born and it won't seem so bad! Ben's already looking the happiest (and tired-est) I've ever seen him and together he and Lies are going to be great parents and I hope I can be all they wanted in a Godmother.

So how's this weeks training gone without the boy Williams? Actually, it's gone well and I've enjoyed it. I've tried to capture some of his mental strength, especially after he did his long run (14 miles) on a treadmill facing a wall in his apartment gym. On Tuesday I did a tempo session on the treadmill and bailed, mentally it broke me in half. I just had one of those days, my legs were okay, my heart-rate wasn't ridiculous but my head was gone and so two minutes into the last ten mins I let it beat me. It was a bit of a disappointment to be honest because I'm not even running the same speeds for this session that I started on last year. I guess the fact that I'm only running twice a week could be part of it. With the Brass Monkey half marathon looming (a week today in fact) I'm just going to use it as my long run and not get disappointed by the time that I do it in. Anyway after Tuesday and letting the treadmill break me Tom did his long run on practically the other side of the world. Things like this really help me because when the going gets tough I use my stubborn (and competitive) side to try to find the little bit more that I need! I find my 'well if you can do it, so can I' attitude. I had another great swim session doing 10 x 300's off 5mins without alternating each one by drafting Tom. The first time I've done them all off 5mins on my own which really pleased me. The weather hasn't been on my side to get out on the bike this week so it's been a week of turboing in the garage and more than anything it's the mental challenge of staring at the back of the garage door for 3hrs than the actual physical pain of the session. Fingers crossed the weather's better next week.

Tom's back this afternoon (I'm being very efficient and writing my post early) and I'm really looking forward to hearing all about his adventures with his Dad. So many people are impressed by the fact that he's gone away on a snowboarding trip with his dad and they're right to be. Brian (Tom's pa) is actually a better skier than Tom is a snowboarder. Tom loves being able to spend so much time doing something they both really enjoy together, it sounds like they've had a fantastic time.

Time to sign off, I've got a new boy on the block to go and see. Welcome to the world Charlie, I know you won't be short of love and sometimes that's all someone needs.

H. x


Monday 7 January 2008

It's snowtime...

I'm currently hanging out with my old man in the Canadian village of Whistler and as you can see from the photo we're not short of snow :) This is the first time that I've snow-boarded in North America and it really does beat all the European resorts I've been to hands down. There are miles and miles of perfectly groomed pistes winding though amazing mountain scenery with hardly any crowds... the resort itself is crewed by amazingly helpful staff, the restaurants are great and our apartment complex has a heated outdoor jacuzzi and a treadmill, what more could you ask for?

On the training front time is pretty limited (I'll get the latest diary up in the next few days) but with a great 25m pool opening at 6am every day and only a two minute drive from where we're staying I'm hoping to get 15k in over the next five mornings... this morning I was there for 6 and managed a quick 10x300s before breakfast and the slopes ;) Obviously there'll be no bike action this week but with a treadmill on the ground floor of our apartment block I've thrown in a steady 8 mile run yesterday and today and will start chucking in some interval and tempo sessions as the week progresses. Overall if I can get 15k of swimming and 40 miles of running in to a week where we're on the first lift up the mountain every day then I'll be pretty pleased with myself.

Finally, in two ways this trip is really reminding me about what matters in life... spending quality time with my Dad is not something I do enough and I'm really enjoying just hanging out with him in such an amazing place, it's great that we've found something that we can enjoy together... at the same time, it's been a while since H and I have been apart and as independant as I am it just doesn't seem right that I'm not sharing this experience with her.

Anyway, I'm off to bed (just as most of you will be getting out of yours) as the alarm will be going off in eight hours and I've got 120 lengths to do before breakfast ;)

Speak soon,

T ;)

Sunday 6 January 2008

Rarely one without the other....


Very strange, very very strange. Firstly to be writing this in time to get to bed early (usually it's a mad dash and a later than planned Sunday evening) but secondly because I'm on my own (the reason why I can get to bed as planned!) Tom's currently snowboarding with his pa in Vancouver, in fact right now it's midday for him and while I prepare for bed no doubt he's preparing for an afternoon on the slopes. Our posts are going to be separated by the time difference so Tom's won't appear for a few hours.


I wasn't sure how I'd be on my own it's been so long since we spent any time apart and it's really peculiar being in different time zones. Luckily I'm good in my own company and have great friends around me. I sat with Lies after dropping Tom off at the airport on Friday hoping that she would give birth there and then. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that and babies have a tendency to do what they want when they want, this one being no different! And this afternoon I sat with good friend Jackie in Starbucks chatting away for a solid 3hrs, marvellous, a perfect Sunday.

This weekend was the start of getting used to being in the saddle for a good few hours and it was great to do. On Saturday I went out and did 80miles into the very hilly Dales, I loved it. The weather was crap, really windy on the way out and I had the joy of rain in heavy bursts on and off throughout the ride. It was great to be out again though after all of the hours I've spent in the garage on the turbo so as long as there wasn't a drop of ice or snow I didn't care I was out and I was staying out. Today I did a 60 mile ride and the sun was out, the sky was blue and the scenery was fantastic. Having my foot injury is helping me maintain my planned efforts to focus on the bike this season. I'm only running twice a week at the moment and don't expect great achievements in any of the running races early season, but as long as I can hold this injury off then I don't need to worry about that. For me, as Lance (Armstrong) would say... It's all about the bike! And as long as the weather stays in the positive numbers then I'll be out there riding and riding and riding.

Only another few weeks to go and then I'll be in the 20 week zone and it'll be game on and full steam ahead, race season will be starting and it'll be time for the dog to see the rabbit. After a chat with coach Yelling this afternoon he reminded me that the next couple of weeks are about getting strong so that my body can cope with the intensity of the gruelling Ironman schedule. I've had my share of Winter sneezes now so I'm planning an illness and injury free rest of year.

Right now I'm going to make a hot chocolate and get to bed ready for my 5am start for the usual 5km mixed technique and speed session in the pool.

So goodnight to all in England and good afternoon to the other half of me in Vancouver. Being fine on my own is one thing but being without the other half of you is another so I'm excited about next Sunday when I get to feel complete. X

Until then you'll only see half of me.

H. x