So I was up at 5am this morning… well, actually that is 5:20am as I pressed the snooze button twice – to head to a Personal Training session.

I am currently in the process of attaining my Personal Trainers certification and this is the first practical stage… which is basically observation. Watching a qualified PT do their thing.

So basically for my last couple of mentoring sessions I have been in a PT class being trained (they have been making me work hard – not much observing, lots of participating!)

This morning was at long reef out on the point. What a magic morning… even though I was running up hills, doing countless pushups, situps, squats, planks, half squats, squats up the stairs. This is after I rode the 10km to the training site.

Next session with with a one on one client. So I basically did the same activities they were doing… except harder and more of them.

I managed to sneak in another 30km of riding to and from sessions before the morning was out.

On the weekend I spent both days learning how to drive the IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat). 2 days of running boats up and down the beach, jumping in and out and pulling people into the boat. This was a massive work out. (we also pulled a few people out of the water who got caught in one of the nasty rips)

I think this has just become my new favourite cycle route. 70km of magic scenery! Well, OK maybe their is a few KM of fairly ordinary main roads along the way… But for the most part, the ride from Manly to Akuna Bay is just gorgeous.

Following the coast line for as long as possible winding North from Manly until you get to Mccarrs Creek rd. Then it is a nice undulating ride up to West Head rd. This is a gorgeous section of rd which slowly changes from bay side suburbia into tree lined road as it winds deeper into the national park.

Descending down into Akuna Bay is a 4km or so down hill dream run… except for a few nasty little bumps which will jolt you quite quickly back into reality if you are spending too much time watching the scenery and not enough time focusing on the road. 😉

Stopped in Akuna Bay to refill the water bottles as it was a stinking hot day… and a quick coffee (thanks Ravi)

The west side of Akuna Bay is a fairly solid climb out of the valley. My good mate Ravi is still getting his cycling legs sorted out (he has only been on the bike for 3 weeks… yet he is pulling out 70km rides!! that is awesome!) so it was a nice easy ride back to the top. We passed a couple of guys who were jogging up this hill… then they passed us. These guys were machines just powering up the hill at a solid 8km an hour. Hats off to them.

Then back to Manly for second breakfast… bacon, eggs, beans, cheese and a strong coffee! Oh Yeah!!

Well… the lazy weekend is over so back into it!

Jumped out of bed this morning (well, it was actual more like reluctantly rolled out of bed. There wasn’t much jumping going on) and nearly fell flat on my face. I could barely walk… and not due to a massive night on the town!

I discovered, if you go for a 9km soft sand run… the ability to walk the next day is not guaranteed! My ankles were really, really sore. Hardly surprising when you actually thing about the amount of torture they go through running on soft sand.

None the less it was good run. I was originally going to do another 3km on the hard sand to finish up. But I was toasted… so I spent a good 20mins stretching out my legs and lower back on the grass down by the beach just watching the surf and other joggers, cyclists and walkers going every which way. Nice peaceful way to finish off.

Surprisingly… ?!?! 😉 My legs were a little heavy on the bike this morning on the ride into work…

Off topic… there is this old guy who I have passed twice now climbing out of Pirrawi Rd… then I pass him again on the Harbour Bridge. So, he either knows how to bend space time continum and teleport… or he knows a significantly quicker route than me! Not that I am complaining as I will be looking for a longer way to ride to work next week.

But still… I did have to do a double take the first time I passed him, for the second time!

With my new wheel from Favourite Cycles on my bike (I must admit here… they are not sponsoring me. They just give me exceptional service so I’ll give them a wrap)…

Sorry… new wheel on bike, Oh yeah. I love the new wheel. It feels like a new bike. Slightly better quality than the original wheel and you can tell the difference. (Its a Shimano RS30 – though I will show my ignorance and say this doesn’t mean to much to me)

Went out for a 64km ride with my mate Ravi up to Akuna bay and back again first thing on Sunday morning and the whole ride felt really good. The new wheel felt a lot more comfortable on the road and my body seemed to get through it OK as well.

I was starting get a little concerned I wasn’t doing enough distance training and to date, all of it had been in blocks of 17km to and from work. There is still a long way to go, but feeling a lot more confident about the task at hand and the training I am doing it having a positive impact.