Sounds like some kind of weird worm doesn’t it? Yuck. Fear not, no creepy crawlies here. In case you hadn’t worked it out I now only have 12 days until Ironman. Wait. TWELVE DAYS. *deep breath*

I actually feel OK. Fairly calm. I’m looking forward to the big day (honestly I have no chest pain thinking about it… ahem).

The last 10 days have been fairly brutal. 18 mile runs, hours on the bike and that doesn’t even begin to touch on my horror Sunday. What happened on horror Sunday Cat? THIS happened. Sunday just gone was meant to be my grand finale. 160km on the bike followed by a two hour run. I was ready for it. I’d eaten all my carbs on Saturday night, I’d got an early night, my bike was stocked with nutrition and water bottles. I set off at 7:30am to ride through Central London to meet my coach in Putney at 8:30am. We “warmed up” (this guy has done 10 Ironman(s) – most of them sub 11 hours) – I tried to ignore the fact we were doing 90mph through Richmond Park and we set off for Windsor. Amazing route! Cute little towns, trees, countryside. Lovely. We get to Windsor to refill our water bottles and I can feel my left glute/hip tightening up. This is what happens when you train for 3-4 hours a day. Your body turns to glass and can break at any moment. We set off towards Magna Carta (something to do with laws or something? Meh) and the pain is getting gradually stronger. Fast forward (literally) to 110km and I now can’t move my left leg without searing pain through my hip.

….I had to pull the rest of the session. Taxi home. Major pet lip. Not happy. HOWEVER – sometimes our bodies need a break. I got home and iced my bum. Yes really. I literally sat on an ice pack. Two hours of sports massage later and it feels fine! I have physio later today and once I get the all clear we have 4 more days of big training and then full tapering starts on Sunday. Tapering is essentially decreasing the volume and intensity of training prior to any major race/event. I will be drinking 4-5L of water and electrolytes a day, carb loading, going to bed at 7pm to wake up at 4:30am (preparing my body for the sleeping requirements the night before the race) and generally resting.

Twelve days to go. It still seems surreal. I feel ready though. Just as well eh?

One thing I have noticed recently has been my up and down attitude towards food. I seem to have a very short attention span. Big meals of the same ingredients aren’t keeping me happy. I get bored halfway through and ditch it for something else. I seem to be craving yoghurt and fruit. I am going to turn into a doughnut peach (flat peaches – get involved, they are awesome).

Someone said to me recently “I guess your blog has taken a bit of a back seat recently?”. I guess so yes. It is funny how different I feel actually. I no longer have any desire to be around people that do not positively impact upon my life. I used to be a bit of a pushover to be honest – bet some of you are pretty surprised by that, yeah you all thought I was tough as nails didn’t you!? Quite needy. Insecure even. I don’t really feel that way anymore? It is strange how you see people for who they really are when you take a step back and look at the situation as it really is. Not improving my life? I won’t be responding to your messages…

Anyway – I’m rambling a right load of bollocks now. Apologies for that.

How was everyone’s bank holiday weekends? Drunken? Exciting? Fun? I watched 14 episodes of The Good Wife. I know. I need to calm down eh? Whatever. I’m happy!

A lot of people have asked me how I will feel after the Ironman. What will I do? Will I still train? Won’t I feel a bit lost? Honestly….? Yes I probably will but I am looking forward to the next “chapter” (laaaaaaaaaaame). My mum says she can’t wait for it to be over. I don’t blame her. My parent’s have been UNREAL. Financially, emotionally, motivationally (not a word – don’t care). I am blown away by their support.

Apparently I am supposed to rest for at least a month afterwards. Even up to two months. I highly doubt that will be happening.

HOWEVER – what I have decided upon… is I am going to step this blog up a bit. Since I will be back in the realm of the normal life I will be back to the gym, back to normal training and back to a social life. Let’s see how that goes. Pffft.

Oh by the way – I start a new job on the 21st September. I will be the PA to the CEO of the Food and Drink Federation. Very exciting times. Considering my love of the food and drink industry/market I think we can safely assume I will enjoy my new role.

So – twelve days. 12 days. 10 plus 2 days. Less than two weeks. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 days…..

It’s going to be FINE

C xxx