Iron Jack

I’m moving a bit gingerly today - and no that is not a pun about the colour of my hair!

Yesterday, a group of us (including Coach Kathy) headed out for a big bike ride aimed at simulating the Taupo Half Ironman and Ironman course. We had originally intended to ride the actual course, however, this was stymied by some major roadworks just by Broadlands School!

So instead, I headed off early from Ngongotaha to meet the Tauranga group on the Old Te Aroha Rd, just outside Matamata. The forecast was for fine, warm weather, however it was misty, drizzly and cold when I joined the group. Once the tyres were pumped and the fuel loaded, we were off.

The initial route was a bit hilly, but then we were on long undulating flats - very similar to the Taupo course. It was a great chance to practice a number of aspects. I spent a lot of time on the aerobars - Jamie’s words ringing in my ears about trying to spend as much time as possible on the aerobars, including for hill climbs. It was great practice and I came away with a lot more confidence on them. I was also trying out my new riding glasses - with prescription lens’ inside - and some new Specialized riding gloves - sorry Clay, not sold on them yet!

It was also a fantastic opportunity to keep testing my nutrition for these big sessions. I was fully equipped with:

• 5 Leppins (only used two in the end)
• 10 jet planes (gummy lollies)
• 2 peanut butter sandwiches (only had one)
• 1 banana
• 1 bottle of water
• 1 bottle of Replace (which was Replaced - every pun intended - at Te Aroha)
• 1 Ballance protein bar - chocolate berry - yum!

When I first started eating on the bike I found it really hard, but now have a lot more confidence and am much more practised at remembering to stuff the food in. I actually found I was quite full at the end of the ride, and after a recovery protein drink, I didn’t actually need anything else for a few hours. I certainly had the energy I needed to get through the ride.

My war wound also held up okay. It was a bit niggly at times, but largely survived.

So, back to the ride. It was a long way on very long flats and in very misty conditions. We didn’t ride as a bunch ride, but more so that everyone got the quality training session they needed to do. Once again I was tail end Charlie, but tried not to let that get to me and instead focused on maintaining the average speed I needed to.

I did quite well heading out to Te Aroha (a gorgeous little town that I never thought would arrive!) and went just a bit further than there to get my time and kms up. I turned around and headed back for Te Aroha and to refuel my bottles.

Then the really hard yards started. It did feel like it was quicker heading back then going out, but I had underestimated how much extra distance I had gone and ended up riding for longer than I thought I would be. Then I hit the hills which signified the last 10km stretch before the cars. I never thought I would be so glad to see hills as I was then - the flats had really taken it out of me. I managed the hills pretty well, right up until the last killer - I rode the whole way up, but I did suffer from a combination of feeling like I was going to fall off and fainting!

Fortunately, I managed to survive and finally made it back to the car. It was a hugely challenging - but incredibly satisfying - ride, with a great group of people. Thanks everyone.

And the stats…93km in 4h20.

Yes, with just six months to go until NZ Ironman 2011, I have made an incredibly big and gut-wrenching decision which is to change coach. This is a massive decision that has not been taken lightly.

Lawrence is a sensational coach. He coaches a number of very fit and fast people and they are doing exceptionally well under his leadership and guidance.

But I wasn’t.

In short, I am a mum, a wife and an employee and those things all come first and always will. I have a sensational boss who has agreed to let me work four days a week until after Ironman so that I can accommodate all those things even better in my life, particularly training. That extra day a week has made a massive difference and I think I’ll always be grateful to him for his support. But, at the end of the day, if our toddler has been rushed to hospital with suspected pneumonia - I’m not going to be training.

I hadn’t been seeing much improvement for a while, which was proving incredibly frustrating for us both, and I was losing my motivation. Something had to change.

Around this same time I read an amazing book called Inspired Novice to Ironman Finisher. Its about five people who did Ironman in 2008. When I read the first chapter about Tauranga woman Kathy Miller, I felt like I was reading a book about my life. Her experience, thoughts and challenges were so similar to mine it was almost spooky! I got to the end and I knew that if she could do it, I could do it too. She’s so passionate about triathlon and helping other people achieve their goals, that she’s had a career change and is now a Tri NZ certified coach.

As very fortunate luck would have it, one of my training friends, Alison, had her number. I met her for coffee in Tauranga and immediately claimed back some of my inspiration and motivation. It took several more weeks to make the final decision - simply because it was such a big decision to make. But at the end of the day, I’m the one who has to swim, bike and run across the finish line, so the training had to be right.

Its now been seven weeks - can’t believe its been that long - and training is going incredibly well. I’ve had a wee hiccup with my war wound on my bottom (see previous posts!), but I’ve seen major improvements in all areas - swim, run and most importantly, the bike. Full credit to Lawrence, some of that improvement is due to him and the time he  invested in me this year. But a big chunk has been about my head and getting it sorted with Kathy’s help and support. And almost most importantly (for me) is that her philosophy is about having fun!

I’m excited to be training every day. I’m devestated when I’m not. I’m working hard and I’m seeing the results. I think we have the mix right and its working. Just as well…only 142 days to go!

Mike and I were lucky enough to receive a free entry to the 12km City to Surf run two weeks ago - thanks to our good friend Alison King, and the awesome team at Events Promotions.

My training programme included it as a training run only - my long run for the week - however, due to the little incident with my bottom (see previous blog post!) my buildup was far from ideal and it turned out to be the only session I did for the next week! I actually wasn’t sure if my wound would hold up as it was only three days after being under the knife - as it were. After a bit of extra padding and chafing cream, I decided to head for the start line after all.

Fortunately my folks had been down for the weekend, so Dad left for Auckland with the five year old, and Mum came to Tauranga with us with the toddler. So nice to have a babysitter and supporter on hand - and Mum is the kind of supporter you want around - she’s awesome with the camera, and makes sure she gets to as many vantage points as possible along the way. And Toby loves her so that’s a bonus.

So, childless we numbered up and got ready to go.

Along with about 2000 other people!

Really well organised event. Event Promotions have taken over the event this year, changed the start line, changed the course and changed the finish line. They are a very professional outfit, super organised and everything is thought of. Lots of volunteers and marshalls and most importantly…toilets! And Char from RATs works for them too so they must be awesome!

I wasn’t quite sure how the run was going to go - I’d only done close to that distance twice before - and that was without a 2cm wound on my bottom! The weather was gorgeous though, I had great music on my MP3, fuel and drink tucked in my back pockets, it had all the signs of a good day.

And it was. Great course, loved running over the Tauranga Harbour Bridge. Lots of people of all shapes and sizes and speeds. It was a good test of downing my electrolytes and Leppin on the run. I felt I was a bit slow at the half way point so tried to pick it up for the second half - which wasn’t very sensible because it was the harder half going around the base of Mt Maunganui! But I still made some headway. I was slower than I expected, but it was a challenging course.

I came around the last stretch of the Mt and was looking forward to a sprint finish down the road to the finish line. And that’s where things came a bit unstuck! The last 300 metres was along the sand! What the…? It was hell. My legs were already hammered from the hills around the Mt and now I had a sand run as well? Nuts. It seemed to take forever and I know it wasn’t pretty! But I got there in the end. Shade over 1h30 - 10 minutes slower than I’d hoped for, but Mike went 10 minutes slower than he should have as well and that seemed to be consistent across the board.

Thanks Ali and Event Promotions - it was a fabulous event and we’ll be back next year!

I make no apologies for the fact that this is a blog post for the girls - mainly, although I suppose it may have some relevance for boys as well - but predominately aimed at the girls and its about the stuff that apparently we don’t talk about!

I’ve just had 10 days off the bike and out of the pool thanks to a nasty saddle sore on my knicker line which turned a bit septic and into a nasty abcess. I’ve been ignoring it for probably about three months. I’ve been on two lots of antibiotics with limited success. So eventually, after three jabs of anaesthetic, the real source of the problem revealed itself, was drained and now I have a 2cm scar which has finally healed enough that I can get back into it.

But…it should never have happened. And there are steps we girls can take to try and ensure it doesn’t happen.

Step 1 - make sure you get fitted for the right bike shorts - yes this is my pet push at the moment but having the right bike shorts is so incredibly important I feel like I can’t say it enough!

Step 2 - make sure you get some great chafing cream, Body Glide is awesome and I highly recommend it!

The next steps are full credit to our RATs President Kat - Ironwoman, triathlete, scientist, German-Kiwi - and thank goodness, more than happy to share advice and information about sticky subjects like bottoms! And in short, her advice is about killing the bacteria on your clothes and body before they have a chance to multiply. It looks like my problems started with a small patch of chafing, which then became infected and the rest is history.

So, some words of wisdom from Dr Kat:

Step 3 - Never wear bike shorts more than once - we’re pretty sure it’s only boys who do that but worth reinforcing!

Step 4 - After a ride - take your shorts off asap and get into some baggy pants if you’re not able to shower right away - preferably, shower straight away!

Step 5 - Don’t do brick sessions in your bike pants, put running pants on

Step 6 - Wash your bike pants as soon as possible - don’t leave them on the pile for several days as bacteria just multiply. You can soak them in bleach briefly - but only for a few minutes and wash them separately from other clothes.

Step 7 - Hang them up in the sun (if it ever shines), inside out with padding shining nicely into the sun

Step 8 - Clean your crotch/infection area with dettol in the after-ride shower

Step 9 - The good old wetsuit is another spot where bacteria do well in - so in summer…make sure you always rinse the wetsuit inside and you could also clean the crotch area with dettol (don’t use bleach as it will wreck the neoprene)

Step 10 - Waxing only for the bikini line - shaving is just heaven for infections!

I’m a convert - I don’t want another round and I certainly can’t afford to spend any more time off the bike! I got the big tick from Dr Alice this morning so will attempt a one hour ride and then a run this afternoon, followed up by a slightly longer ride on Wednesday and a very long ride on Sunday!