Iron Jack

After arriving in Auckland this afternoon, I had my training plans disrupted by a little thing called high tide!

My original plan was to park at the Takapuna Swimming Pool, run around the lake, and then head into the pool for a 2km swim. However, I just couldn’t face running around the lake today. It’s nearly six kilometres, which didn’t faze me, but I now have to agree with my sister - it’s a bit boring. So instead I plotted a five kilometre course from the swimming pool, along Takapuna Beach and back again, and then another short block back to the pool.

My bag was packed, the route was printed out and in my running jacket pocket. And I had a good trip up from Rotorua.  I even packed my own lunch which I ate at the Pukekohe service station on the way.

I hit the Harbour Bridge and had a sudden realisation - I had completely forgotten to check the high tide. Takapuna Beach is pretty much un-runnable in a high tide - unless you want to run in ankle-high soft sand. I gave my mum a quick call.

“Mum, are you online at the moment?”

“Yup, what do you need?” This was, after all, the second or third call to Mum on my trip up to check different things on the net.

“Tide details for Takapuna Beach please?”

Five minutes later. “Uh, right now,” she says.

Bugger.

So instead of veering off the motorway I carried on up to my parents place at Red Beach - stunning spot, overlooking the coastline. Plan B was running at Stanmore Bay, further down the road, followed by a swim at the local aquatic centre.

“I might come with you,” says Dad.

“Okay. I need to warn you that I can’t talk when I’m running and I go really slow.”

“That’s okay, sounds like a good pace to me.”

I should note at this point that I don’t think I’ve ever willingly gone for a run with my Dad. He used to run a lot when we were kids. But the only run I might have ever gone on with him would have involved me being dragged kicking and screaming along the way. So, a first all round.

And I think I could safely say that it was the hardest run I’ve done so far. It was indeed lovely to be running along the beach, the water was flat and stunning, and the view out to the Hauraki Gulf was just gorgeous. But I wasn’t really focusing on that. I was more focusing on simply moving one foot in front of the other to get down the end of the beach and back again. I was so sure that running on a reasonably flat beach would be easier than the forest. Wrong!

We were running on a slight angle - first one side on our way down the beach, and then the other. Even though it evened up, it was still very uncomfortable. My digestive system also obviously objected to sitting in the car for three hours and then hitting the beach. So all in all, not my best run.

But a great run with my Dad. I think he would probably be faster than me, but in his cruise pace we jogged along together nicely.  So that was a definite highlight.

Four kilometres and 33 minutes later we reached the car. I bailed on the swim. But it didn’t matter. To use a Gordon Ramsey phrase, a good hard run…done.

It’s been a really long week.

Master one (nearly 18 months) is a completely different child from our first, much less independent and much more demanding. He is also currently suffering from a combination of a cold, teething and general grumpiness. His tantrums are quite spectacular and truely a sight to behold! I should note at this point that he is also incredibly cute, which makes it difficult to stay mad at him for very long.

What this is all adding up to is that we haven’t had a decent night’s sleep for weeks. And we only had a brief respite of about 10 days before that, following about two months of unsettled nights. It’s just like having a newborn in the house again - certainly I feel as sleep deprived as back then - but it’s just much louder!

After spending many a night over the past week wondering how I’m going to be able to find the energy to train for Ironman, I’ve simply come to the conclusion that it’s simply all part of the challenge. One of the core objectives of the Ironjack project was to prove that an ordinary, everyday, working mother of two could take on Ironman and achieve it. And that’s still exactly what I’m going to do…right after I’ve had a little nap!

I’ve just had an amazing run in the forest - and I really mean run. Probably for the first time ever I truely ran. Not jogged. Not cruised. Really, truely ran.

I really pushed it today and it felt completely different. My knees were coming up higher and my stride was longer. And I didn’t feel like I was doing the Charleston and kicking out to the side so much - hopefully an improvement thanks to Lawrence!

It was hard going, but it was actually more enjoyable. I could feel myself working harder - I even generated a wind whistle past my ears. Today I felt a little less like a pretender and a little more like Sam Warriner. And, even more importantly, I knocked two minutes off my time around that course. Stoked!

I feel as if I have reached a bit of a mental turning point. More and more, every time I train, I can visualise myself getting through Ironman and getting across the finish line. Again, I have absolutely no doubt that I have a long, hard road ahead, but once you get your mind switched on and can visualise a successful outcome, it becomes so much easier.

I am going to make this happen.

And then, to top it all off, Live’s Lightning Crashes came on my MP3 player as I was stretching by the car. The perfect end to a great run!

The time has come to face up to reality. If I’m going to be serious about my Ironman quest - and if I want to stay injury-free along the way, I’m going to have to drop some serious weight. Soon.

To be fair - and to Lee-Anne’s credit - this is something she has been trying to get me to focus on for around nine months. It would appear I’m a slow learner on this front - or rather, I have my childrens’ selective hearing when it comes to cutting down on food, or the foods I love.

I have always battled with my weight. My father’s nickname for me is Rolly - he truely means it as a term of motivational endearment so I’m not actually offended. Actually, either Rolly or Knickers - either one gets used on any sporting occasion, most recently at the Takapuna Triathlon where he positioned himself on a key corner and yelled “Come on knickers” everytime I came around - all six times! But again, I’m not offended - in fact I’m thrilled he’s there and getting into it - it’s a unique motivational tool for me!

But I digress. Back to the weight issue.

I have always been on the larger rounder side. As outlined elsewhere on this site, I’ve been pretty inactive for most of my life, although I excel at fine wine and good food. I have made the effort and lost weight previously - leading up to our wedding for example. But it’s always gone straight back on - I couldn’t fit into my jeans on the last day of our honeymoon - it had only been two weeks for goodness sake!

I’ve used every excuse in the book to avoid tackling my weight issue - pregnancies, IBS, work, stress - mainly the old adage, “it’s just not the right time”. Well the time has come and the time is now. Watch this space.

PS: Special thanks to Lee-Anne (for persevering!) and @donna_de and @brennanannie on Twitter for their advice on this topic!

I’ve been very spoilt this week. On Wednesday I took the day off from working in Auckland to ride ferries, trains and buses with Master Four.

Although I always knew he was turning five this year, it rudely and abruptly struck me about a month ago that he would be heading off to school in just four months time! Once I’d recovered from the shock, I realised that a lot of the things I’d taken foregranted until now would come to an end - mainly the fact that I can currently pull him out of daycare whenever I want to go biking, or riding the gondolas or to McDonalds because I want an excuse to get a burger!

I also had the horrible realisation that my baby is growing up and is very quickly becoming a big little boy.

So I’ve made the conscious decision to make the most of the four months I have left with him at daycare and before I start getting into trouble for making him a truant everytime I want to go and do something fun!

Our action plan started in the pouring rain last Friday when the two of us went up to Hamilton to go to Mystery Creek Fieldays. Unfortunately the incessant rain and knee-high mud limited our participation in some of the tractor action, but he still got to get up close and personal with every kind of farm animal imagineable. Which reminds me - does anyone know what sound an alpaca makes??!

The next phase in the plan took place on Sunday when the  two of us packed up my car and headed up to Auckland (after my 50km bike ride - have I mentioned my 50km bike ride??!). I was due in a full day of meetings on Monday while Master 4 had quality time with his Granma, but Tuesday was going to be dedicated to us. I got through the few hours work I needed to do as quickly as I could, and then we got out the door.

First step, ferry from Devonport to Auckland. Second step, heading for Britomart to get on a train. Such excitement - for Master 4 too. We got off at Ellerslie and had some lunch, and then back on again to head back into the city. Next we got on the free red bus which did a bit of a tiki tour around Auckland before dropping us at the Sky Tower. The tallest building in Auckland - and some of Australasia too I think - it’s apparently a must-see tourist attraction, but one I had always seemed to miss. We spent more than an hour at the top checking out different landmarks, spotting ferries and buses, and trying to work out which house was his Uncles on North Head.

Eventually we headed down and back onto the free bus and ferry, before heading for home.

I still get such a kick from the enjoyment he gets from something as simple as a ferry or train ride - activities I’ve been taking foregranted for years. But seen through his eyes, its a whole new adventure.

I should have been working, but I got more out of Tuesday than I would have out of the most lucrative contract. It was a very special day, with my very special big little boy.

This blog post was meant to read “I can’t believe it, but I can still walk after yesterday’s 50km ride; and if fact, I feel so good I’ve just done my 2km swim”. And if I’d had time to write it this morning that is what it would have said. But I didn’t have time, and now the blog entry reads quite differently.

My muscles started disintegrating about mid-afternoon, along with my brain’s capacity to work. And now I feel every muscle in my legs, shoulders, arms and neck. I feel completely fatigued and am craving my rest and recovery day tomorrow.

The good news, however, is that after discussing it with Lee-Anne today, we both agreed that if I hadn’t been wearing my Reebok compression gear things could have been a whole lot worse! I followed Michael’s instructions on that front - compression gear during training, and a clean set on afterwards. I’ve no doubt things would have been worse.

I’m still stoked with the ride yesterday and can’t wait for the next one.

It’s good to know my body’s limits though - and to appreciate the necessity of the recovery day in order to get on with the next session.  And now, it’s time for bed!

Amazing weekend on the training front. Not only did I have a great run yesterday, but today I managed my longest ride ever - a total of 50.5 kilometres around Lake Rotorua! STOKED!

Today was meant to be my first participation in a bunch ride. RATs run a social bunch ride every Sunday, led by scientist number 1 - Andy Tuthill. The group meets in town at a local bike shop and then rides out to Okere Falls Store (best coffee in town) - a 20 kilometre ride, and then back to town via whatever route takes their fancy. Andy assured me that the ride is (a) definitely social, (b) at a pace of about 20-25km an hour and (c) they never leave anyone behind.

I had planned on going on this ride since talking to Andy at the duathlon last week. However, the weather has been appalling this week so I wasn’t making any commitments. After the thunderstorm of yesterday and heavy rain overnight, I wasn’t holding my breath. However, the day dawned bright and sunny so I literally jumped out of bed, got the boys breakfast and got myself organised.

I had originally intended, and planned with Mike, that he would either drop me into town and I would join the ride out to Okere Falls and then back home again; or, ride into town and then Mike would come and pick me up from Okere Falls. The morning was the usual chaos so I got myself out the door and decided to ride into town to meet the group, yelling out the door as I went that I’d see Mike at Okere Falls.

I knew I was cutting it fine, which was probably a good thing as I didn’t have time to think about the fact that it was the first time on this bike (on loan from Dr Alice!) and the first time in bike shoes with clips. Hmm. Out the gate and up the road - feeling quite good actually. I kept up the pace the whole way into town - absolutely paranoid that I was going to miss the group, having finally made the decision to join them!

I eventually made it to the bike shop to meet scientist number 2, Toby, my fellow RATs awards dinner party planner, Irene, and Phil. Andy made five and we headed out. I thought I was going pretty well and managed to keep up. I slowed down at different points, but otherwise pretty good ride on the way out. I knew we had a hefty hill to get up before we reached the coffee stop, but was ready to brace myself for it.

Toby got the first puncture (and the second actually!) so Irene and I headed on up the hill while the boys fixed the flat. We arrived at the Okere Falls Store just as the boys whizzed in averaging 40 km/hour. A hot chocolate and a phone call to Mike later, and it appeared I would be cycling home after all. I drive that way every time I go over to Mt Maunganui and I knew I was in for some hills - and I was dreading them!

The group were great - full of tips, advice and motivation, and they got me up and over those hills and the whole way home - even when I wanted to bail at Hamurana and go to Mel’s house!

The hills were hard, but I got there, and I’m absolutely thrilled. My counter stopped at a variety of different points, so once home I mapped out the route on www.mapmyrun.com - I thought I’d done around 42 kilometres - I just about fell off my chair when it added up to 50 kilometres!

It was only on the drive up to Auckland this evening that I realised that distance is over the Tinman cycle leg in December, and more than half the distance of the cycle leg of the half Ironman in January. For the first time, I began to feel like I might just be able to do this thing after all.

I had an amazing run today.

It was great because I ran 5.5km in just 44 minutes. It was great because it was so wet that I couldn’t use my MP3 player because the plugs wouldn’t stay in my ears and so it was one of the only times I’ve run without it. It was great because it was thundering and lightning and I loved being out in it. It was great because as I was running over the Waiteti Bridge the Targa Rally cars drove over it and absolutely drenched me - and I still had enough breath to laugh. It was great because I bonded with the dog. But mainly, it was just great and I spent the whole run thinking it was great.

 I went a lot faster than I normally do and it didn’t kill me. Which I think is a good sign. I must be getting fitter, I must be getting “run-stronger”. I also, following on from the frog impersonation in the pool last week, realised I was holding my elbows out like a chicken - no wonder I get sore shoulders running. I made an effort to pull them in (feeling like I was Cameron Brown in the process) and it actually made a difference. No more sore shoulders.

I’m now definitely looking forward to my running session with Lawrence on Friday - hopefully he can find a few more things to fix and then it will get even better. Now…just to fix the bike situation.

Went to a fantastic swim technique session with local coach Lawrence Oldershaw last night. (www.your-coach.co.nz)

Swimming has been a bit of a chore for me this year - when it should be my strength. After attending a RATs swim squad session earlier this year, it became apparent that the swim stroke I had been employing my whole life is now wrong! Apparently swim technique has changed a lot in the past 20 years - which is how long it’s been since I last swam competitively. I was “wind-milling” instead of “gliding” and so the re-learning process begun.

And it’s been a long hard road (or pool) I have to say. It’s really hard to re-learn something that I’ve been doing for so long that it feels as natural as walking. Once I finally got my stroke corrected, I’ve never felt as relaxed or as comfortable in the pool. Every length is usually a bit of a chore and I have to focus on every stroke to make sure I don’t go back to my windmilling ways.

So now that I have a few more laps under my belt (and am up to swimming 2km in each session) I decided it was time to get some more corrections on my stroke. Having obviously had it so wrong, I had very little confidence in my stroke - and I still felt appallingly slow.

I got the kids sorted for dinner, tried to reassure Mike that they would be fine and he wouldn’t have any problems (!!!) and headed out the door.

Great group of people at the swim session. Marcus - with a Taupo Ironman under his belt and one in Australia, he is dedicating this year to getting the technique right, rather than just doing it. Clarrie - doing his first Ironman at Taupo next year - so inspiring, I’ll be there to cheer him on. And a few others. A tight small group - all males apart from me!

We headed off for a few laps under Lawrence’s watchful eye - and the feedback to me was pretty good - in that apparently I wasn’t too bad. The first instruction and drill I received was to swim with my arms straight on the pull through underneath me - what?

“Just give it a try and all will become apparent,” says Lawrence.

Righto.

Completely different feeling - could actually feel my arm muscles doing some work - and was actually going a bit faster, as in keeping up with the boys.

A few laps and drills later and the video camera comes out. Oh happy days - because of course I am feeling my best in my togs! Anyway, a quick look at the video screen and it did all become apparent - I’m not windmilling anymore, but instead of the perfect stroke, my arms head out to the sides instead of straight through. I reminded myself of a frog sculling!

Back to the drills and already a good improvement. I have four drills to take away from the session and to implement in my swim sessions. All good. And so now Lawrence is going to deal with my running technique as well. I’ll be away and laughing in no time! Yeah right!

I just wanted to post some updates and developments on the Ironjack project and its objectives.

Firstly, and although she will be furious that she has been outed, my friend Kim has embraced the challenge of Ironjack and has signed up to do the Auckland Half Marathon in October. I am so proud of her - and over the moon that the Ironjack concept is doing exactly what it was meant to be doing - helping get people moving. Hopefully we’ll be able to include some of her experiences here too.

Secondly, I’ve had a number of amazing emails in the past couple of weeks from people here and around the world who have given me some invaluable advice and amazing support as I commence my quest. I don’t want to miss anyone out, but, a huge thanks to Katrin, Jamie, Jo, Sonia, Donna, Mel and Mel, Kim, Andy, Roger, Mum and Dad, Jane and Tony, Fi, Annika, Ingrid, Grant, Tupara and Donna, Sarah, Ben, Binga and Shels, Michael L, Tony H, Mark S, RATs, my Twitter tri team and many many more. Also a massive thank you to my ever-patient and accommodating husband, Mike, and of course, Lee-Anne, both without whom none of this would be happening!

My apol0gies if I have missed anyone out. Thank you to everyone who has jumped on board.

And finally, today I received an amazing and inspiring email from NZ triathlete and 2008 ITU World Cup Champion. Thank you so much Sam for taking the time to write to me, I really appreciate it.

I’ll leave this post with one of her favourite sayings which really struck home for me:  “never, ever give up” - I think I’ll use that as my mantra as my make my way through my training programme - and around the race course.