Dianna Henry

So we did the stair running on Tuesday. Was tough, but satisfying. Unfortunately it rendered us useless for the next 4 days! Feeling stiff as a board and struggling to walk, my exercise was limited to riding to and from uni and to and from town on a couple of occasions. So a little word of advice - SLOW & STEADY does it when getting back into exercise!!

Saturday morning, James and I did a leisurely riverloop. It was James' first ride in 8 weeks so we just took it fairly easy.

Sunday morning, 6 or us (Krissy, Nick, Pip, Tara, James and I) drove down towards Mt Tamboring. About 15 or so km from the base of the mountain we parked the cars and set off. The approach to the mountain was lovely - undulating hills, fresh smells and past lots of interesting scenery and farms. The actual ascent is a winding 7.5km. I'm not sure what percentage gradient it is but I don't think it was as steep as the back side of Coot-tha. At the top we stopped for brekky. Our first choice of cafe was closed and so we had to try out another place. Interesting. But it filled that gap. Tara, Nick and Krissy headed back down the mountain and James, Pip and I rode up to the Galleries Walk to check it out and locate a cafe for next time. We toyed with the idea of doing some more riding, but then decided that we needed to get back to Brisbane. The descent was quite a lot of fun! A very bumpy and messy road in most parts though so you really had to hold on tight to the handle bars. I probably used the brakes a bit more than was necessary but figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Next time I'll go a bit faster. The ride back to teh car was ok at first but then I felt stuffed and really struggled for the last 5k. Oh well - apparently if I keep training I'll get fitter...

 The last few weeks, Krissy, Pip and I have been trying to exercise semi-regularly together. We've been a bit disorganised though and so this week we decided on a regular training timetable. Yesterday we did stair running over at Kangaroo Point Cliffs. I rode my pink bike over and I think I ended up doing 3 singles and 5 doubles (every second step). Felt rather crook after all that. The other 2 did a few extra reps. Then I rode over to Garage and had a coffee with James and Andrea. 

I've also tried a couple of little runs lately with my adjusted orthotics. So far so good - no pain in the shins or ankles. But I am still getting that referred uncomfortableness on the otside of my feet. I'll see how it goes after a few more runs. 

Last week I did my first 100 in a day bike ride. I met Taylor at Gaythorne and then we continued on to Samford, Cashmere, and then back through Enogerra then Kelvin Grove Road into the city which brought us up to 70k. We popped into MB cycles to check out the pretty things (pink Catlike helmets and pink tyres!) and then did a modified riverloop. I really enjoyed it!! Took us about 5hours all up with the stop. 

 Went for a wee little run to test out my leg/ankle. Pretty good. Stopped at half way to do some stretches. Felt a bit of a niggle in the right leg - suspect the orthotic needs to be adjusted in some way. Am seeing the podiatrist on Friday. Was good to be out running again and I wanted to run faster but have learnt my lesson now! Slow and steady...baby steps...

Saturday the 4th saw me racing crit race number 2 of my illustrious career! The previous week had been rained out so I was chomping at the bit for another go. This time I managed to convince Krissy Kedwell to join me - so we had 4 women in C grade! There were no women in D grade and only a handful in A and B Grades so they decided to start us together. This led to a very different experience as compared with my first race. Immediately, the pace was a lot quicker and a lot more hussling. The previous week, we had arranged ourselves nicely in a line and quietly rotated through - each having a go at the front for half a lap or so at quite a maintainable pace. Well this race really showed me how unfit I was. After riding out to the course in the blustery weather I was really not ready to start sprinting so early on. I was dropped after a few laps but another lady helped me get back to the group. After a few more laps 3 of us C graders dropped back together - thank god!! Krissy managed to hang on to the faster girls. The 3 of us pretty much worked together in attempt to reduce the effects of the strong, bitterly cold gusts that hit us at every turn. One of the younger girls kept breaking away and so we repeatedly had to chase her down - man was I stuffed!! I was fairly happy when the commissaire held up the card with the big "3" on it. This time I just stayed with the other two and didn't attempt the heroics of the previous race! Coming around the final bend I put my head down and went for it. I had quite a good little sprint and held off the other 2. To spectators it may have looked like I have won but Krissy had finished well before me. Congrats to Krissy for a) having the guts to have a go, b) keeping up with the faster grades and c) winning C-grade in her first race! I understand that Krissy had quite a different first race experience to mine and it made me a little angry when she told me about the behaviour of some of the girls she was racing with. C'mon girls - aren't we all trying to get more women racing? It is possible to be competitive with out being nasty.

So in other news... Krissy, Pip and I have been on a few rides toether now. I must say, it is rather exciting for me! It's taken us a couple of rides to get our communication worked out but we were pretty good on our last ride. I just hope it doesn't rain too much over the next few weeks so that we can get some consistency happening.