Monday, September 21
Last Friday was about four weeks out from race day so I hit what we call a "big day". This consisted of a 2am alarm call. I was on the bike at 3am to cycle for 180km which was done in under five hours.
I then jumped straight into the car and headed to the Fit Republik Gym to swim 4.1km in around an hour. It was then straight on to the treadmill for 1.5 hours. All done before 11.30am, and my body’s response to the test was good. It felt strong and coped with the demands well.
Ideally, the swim and run would be done outdoors, but with the weather in Dubai we are restricted. Hence, we have to compromise a little, and work around the weather and conditions.
I had a big decision to make this week and that was to shave, wax or veet (hair removal cream)! I am usually pretty slack at keeping on top of this boring task as it just takes up extra time.
With race day drawing closer I thought I’d best do something about my blonde gorilla legs. There are a few reasons why I do like hairless legs. If you come crashing off, it saves the pain of pulling hair out of the wound and massages are much better as the hair doesn't get pulled.
I am sure it doesn't make us any faster, but it makes me feel I go faster. And, it makes your legs look more ripped! I chose to veet – that was until I used up one tube on my upper legs. The other half was decided for me and the razor came out. Maybe I’ll save waxing for another time!
I thought all was good until I went bounding into the pool to realise that the cream must have gotten too close to my continuous saddle sores, and mixed with the chlorine made for a shocking/painful experience … a little word with myself (man up!) and I smashed out the swim set!
My social life saw me head out to the local bar for a glass of bubbles this week (soda water). Luckily it was to meet some more guys and girls from TriDubai, the main local Tri Club. It's great when you make your exit at 8.30pm and no one looks at you strange as they all know the score and are in the same boat.
