What happens in the past cannot be changed. Look forward with the knowledge you have gained

I went, I ran, I was conquered. The marathon is done, I blew up and all I can say is I need to strengthen up mentally and get a move on. So with that in mind I have moved back into triathlon and away from a single sport...ah the good old days

The day after, I went out for a 7.5km run with a mate who was up from Melbourne. I'd forgotten the dates and he brought his running gear along. Rather than cancelling, I said what the heck, you came all this way so lets go. It hurt like hell for the first 5 minutes, but it was great after that. The legs knew what to do, the body held up well and the surprise of the run was the mind. It's amazing what you can accomplish with just a run... No stop watch to worry about pace, no heart rate monitor beeping at you, telling you you're running outside of the prescribed zone, just a run. Nothing more, nothing less. We chatted about work, life and how good it was to finish off a tough day with a good run. It felt afterwards like a big weight had been lifted and it was fun. That's why we do these things because we enjoy it(besides an excuse to have the odd serve of chips and gravy or the odd beer) .

Friday was also my first return to group training, with the regular crowd for a river loop ride. Alarm went off at 4am and I was out the door by 4.20 to meet the gang at the west end for 5.30. It was also the maiden voyage of my new road bike and it was new territory for both of us. I made it to the west end and it didn't hurt too bad. The ride went pretty well until about 20-25 minutes into the group ride when after my first pull at the front, I peeled off and the group took off. Legs shattered, there was nothing I could do to hold on. Like a bad spaghetti western, they road off in the distance, never to be seen again......that is until the coffee shop. Not bothered about it, I hopped from pack to pack enjoying the river loop and all its splendor. The river with its boats, all the bikes, it was great to be out there. A sit down for a cup of coffee and toast, it was good to catch up with everyone. Once I got to work though, it was a tough day as the body was willing but was hurting pretty good.

Today I was out with the old squad again. What started out as two quickly morphed into 5 and it was great. The group of 5 were all part of the gang that did IMA back in 2009. Rotating through was done, and everyone managed to bring their helmets, eh Craig? The legs held up and the bike seems to be working fairly well. The engine was only puffing smoke on the uphills so an improvement from Friday. A nice 55km ride and you guessed it, finished off with coffee. Plans were made for next weekends ride which will be good, I need to spend time in the saddle.

This week, I'll be back in the pool and back in the saddle. Apparently it's only something like 7 or 8 weeks till Gold Coast Half Ironman where I'd better be ready based on some of the smack talk during the ride ;-)

So onwards I go, building upon what I've recently done. A solid run base now under my feet, time to keep it going but also finding those cycling legs and swimmers shoulders. See you out there this week folks and keep looking forward, you can't dwell on the past.

Rich