Nature's fury

I had an easy week of training last week. Well, easier week anyway. I still had over 13 hours of training but at lower intensity and with little to no hills on my rides and runs. That ended pretty quickly and Monday soon came and it was back into a full week of training.

It was a public holiday on Monday - WA Labour Day. I had 4.5 hours ride on the program, in the Perth Hills. I slept in that morning, and by the time I started my ride from UWA, it was nearly 8am. The sun was already out and the temperature was rising quickly. There was quite a bit of shade in the hills, so it wasn't that bad. I went through the climbs alright and stopped by IGA in Kalamunda to fill up, bought 2 litres of apple juice and topped up my bottles, while I sat down in the shade and finish the remaining litre!

As I got back to the city, my cycle computer showed over 40 degrees and I was running on empty. There was nothing left in my legs and I found myself spinning lightly. As I got back to UWA, I had 4 hours 10 minutes and 110km on the clock and decided to end my ride.

That's Mother Nature for you, sometimes you just have make a judgement call as to whether to keep fighting or give in. In the grand scheme of things, the 20 minutes that I missed probably won't have a significant impact on my overall training plan but would have probably adversely affected my health if I continued.

Mother Nature also showed it's fury at Lake Taupo for Ironman Zealand last weekend. There was severe gale and winds were blowing over 120kph. I'm sure many felt frustrated and disappointed when organizers decided to call off the event on Saturday, replacing it with a half Ironman on Sunday. But participants' safety and well being is paramount and should not be compromised. Well done to those who persevered with the revised race distance in still very tough conditions.