Comparisons

Last big session before race day today. A pretty solid brick session with 40km or so on the bike and then 18km off it. All done in the spirit of being race practise. With that in mind the bike was in full race mode, fast wheels on etc. The run was done at a solid pace as well, although you can't really compare the speeds you run down in Perth to the speeds you run in Malaysia, but heart rate wise it was on par.

The session went very well. I had a similar session just before Subic Bay, but really while the content of the sessions was the same, they couldn't have been more different in terms of my mental approach. Before Subic Bay I came into the session off a bad week of running and really my only goal with the session was to survive it. I rode the bike leg very conservatively and then took the run quite cautiously. At the end of that session I was very pleasantly surprised just how well it had gone.

This time around I came into the session off the back of a good week of training. Running has been feeling better and the bike is going strong and I so I really attacked the session. If anything I probably attacked the bike a bit too much and that might have bitten me a little on the run. The run went well, but it wasn't as comfortable as last time around. Being a bit more aggressive I suspect I started the run out too hard in the first few kms and that came back to haunt me. Not in a big way, but it just made the last 5km or so a little uncomfortable.I mentioned yesterday that one of my goals with the session was good pacing, and I don't think I got that right. Still whilst the run didn't feel as comfortable as last time, the reward was that it was a decent amount quicker. Combined with the significantly quicker ride and I am happy to call the session a win.

It is not just today's session that is the same as what I did before Subic Bay, the whole week of training has been the same. That means I can compare directly between the two. Doing so and I have to say I am travelling a lot better at the moment than I was before Subic Bay. I was quite happy with my day out at Subic Bay, so hopefully the way I am feeling now is a good omen. Very different races obviously, but you can only do what you can do, and I feel at the moment that I have been doing enough.

Whilst the session went well, I did have one very strange moment early on in the run. Firstly my Garmin 920XT hadn't buzzed to mark my first km in the usual spot and then when it finally did, it told me that my pace was much slower than I expected. At first I was worried that I was simply running very slow, but I realised quickly that it had measured the first km too long. Looking at the analysis of the first km, I am not really sure what it was doing, since the course it measured didn't seem to bear much resemblance to the route I had run. I suspect in the end I had simply started running before the watch had fixed the positions of the satellites. I think that would explain it. Once I stopped and reset the watch it was all fine again. Very weird way to start the run though.

Other than training, the other job of this weekend has really just been getting ready to race. As I said before, the ride was done with the bike in race mode. I have had a haircut and I have spent a bit of time today shaving down (I like doing it in several hits, since it is a bit mind numbing doing it in one hit). Just all those little tasks that need to get done and take up time. Pretty close to being ready now though.

I also gave the Caffe Latte Perpetuem from Hammer nutrition a go today. I am planning on using it up in Putra Jaya so I just wanted to see what it was like before I raced on it. Very nice I have to say. One of the better tasting nutritions I have had (assuming you like coffee that is). A nice change from the usual, lemonish or orangish flavours. I actually enjoyed drinking it rather than drank it because I knew I needed to.

So now with that session done training is done for the day. My son and I are having a boy's day at home while my wife and daughter are out at a concert (wife playing, daughter watching). So that has been a fun way to spend the day. We have been busy doing manly things like vacuuming, loading the dishwasher and putting away clothes. Oh and watching the Aussies thump the Kiwis in the first innings of the One Day Cricket World Cup. Speaking of which, the Aussies should be coming out to bat any moment now (no it isn't an accident that I am writing this in the break between innings), so we should probably get back. These games don't watch themselves after all.