Iron Jack

This is getting a bit back to front, with my race report for the Taupo Half Ironman done before the Tinman I did last weekend - but this is the most recent and of course, the most significant! I thought I’d get the race report done now, and try and write about how I’m feeling about it all later. Suffice to say, words nearly can’t describe how proud I am of my achievement - nor how sore I am today. I am proud and delighted with yesterday’s effort, and very very grateful for all my supporters everywhere - friends, family, colleagues, Facebook and Twitter friends - you have all played such an invaluable role in getting me to the finish line. Thank you. And now, the really hard work begins - the NZ Ironman is just 12 weeks away!

So, to the race report (its a bit long):

Set alarm for 4:15am in the end. Up and eating by 4:30am, was worried about getting my tummy sorted and getting the car packed and away on my own! Also had a sudden panic about whether I’d be able to get into the road by the Police Station. Just drove around cones. Sorted! Was in transition by 5:05am – very early but knew that I would have everything sorted in loads of time.

All went well. Laid everything out in order. Food packs with each set of gear. Pumped tyres to just over 100. Didn’t think it was going to be a stinking hot day but didn’t want to take any chances!

Left all my Leppin at transition! Realised I needed one for just before swim so had to go back. Pleased I had loads of time.

Found a Police colleague from Palmerston North by the Police Station so had a good, distracting chat while I got my wetsuit on. It was good!

Went into water and listened to briefing in water – didn’t put my head under just yet though – was a bit cold! After briefing, got into it, did some swimming. Was really happy with the way the wetsuit was feeling on my arms. Swam out to race start.

Start seemed to take a long time to come, I got quite cold. Was just waiting and waiting! Cracked up at the national anthem – didn’t quite feel like standing at attention to sing! Was happy with position.

Race started, started watch and got underway. Not too much like a washing machine, managed to hang onto loads of people’s feet! Realised very very quickly that there were lots of people at my level in the swim – or slower – was a nice feeling. Passed lots of people. Was feeling incredibly comfortable. Arms working well, breathing going well. Absolutely loving the swim. Got to the first buoy in no time, still feeling really comfortable, never needed to stop to breaststroke for a breather. Am really really happy with the swim. Room for improvement time-wise, but very happy.

Got out of water and started slow jogging along the carpet – and felt good! I passed people! Wasn’t a difficult run at all. Unzipped wetsuit along carpet, but didn’t pull out arms until going up the steps. I was ahead of time.

Got out of wetsuit, pulled up my change towel and very easily got out of my bikini bottoms and into cycle pants – didn’t take as long as I thought it would – I had been a bit worried because I hadn’t practised it! Even got the chafing cream on okay! Got my top on, shoved a peanut butter sandwich in my mouth while I carried on getting ready. Sort of dried feet, pulled on socks and shoes, sunglasses (put lens’ in my back pocket in case my contacts played up), put on my helmet. Put on my race number. Left. Walked out – rolled my ankle in a hole just before the bike mount! Grrr! Hoped that wouldn’t come back to bite me later!

First quarter of bike: Wow, feel GREAT on the bike. Very comfortable. Pants feel good. Was a bit worried about Napier-Taupo Highway. And it was absolutely fine – didn’t even need to stand to get up it! Couldn’t believe it! The slight uphill to the ETA seemed to take absolutely forever! Only a few people passed me at this point. Got onto ETA, slugged back some drink. Nice smooth road – loved it! Something metal pinged off my bike – WTF was that? Slight panic while I tried to make sure it wasn’t a wheel pin or something! Realised it was my CO2 canister which had flicked out of the rear bottle holder. Talk about a fright!

The rest of this first quarter went superbly well and exactly to plan. I ripped down the hills and was rocking on the flats. Way ahead of time. I was stoked. Had a Leppin in the first quarter. New Cyclezone cycle jersey is just awesome – first time I haven’t been constantly tugging a jersey down!

Second quarter also went superbly well – seemed to take forever to get to Reporoa – but it always does on this bit. Average of 27 – absolutely stoked. On the aero bars or drops most of the way. Fuelled and hydrated along the way. Still way ahead of time. Got to Reporoa (first time I’d seen Mike since Friday!) in under 1h45. Very very happy. Got off and went to the toilet. Bottom already very sore in the new spot.

A few people passed me, but I just kept thinking – I beat you in the swim! Started eating jet planes. I was very happy with this leg, and knew that I could push it over 90km – which admittedly, I don’t do in training.

Third quarter of the bike: Suck. Absolutely suck. The headwind was worse than any I have trained in, and I have trained in some bad wind. Constant head wind, right from the turn around. The goal was to maintain 22 to the bottom of the hills, but just couldn’t – could barely keep it above 12. It was just awful. I nearly got blown off my bike on one corner, and was going backwards in some places. It was just suck. I just hadn’t planned a contingency around wind – or that sort of wind. Had a peanut butter sandwich at some point. Also started on the protein bar. Replaced water at the aid station.

Fourth quarter of bike: Couldn’t wait to get to the hills! Who would have thought I would say that! And they were absolutely fine. I got out of the saddle for them, mainly to rest my bum. Actually enjoyed them! Had hoped they would give me a reprieve from the wind but sadly they didn’t. Focused on eating jet planes and protein bar and taking on fluid. Sped down the hills to get into town, but didn’t get as fast as I’d hoped due to the wind factor.

Completely gutted with the time. I’d done 3h55 on a bad bottom day previously and had been hoping for 3h45. Disappointed and a bit worried about how much the wind had taken out of my legs for the run. Ended up with an overall average speed of 22.5. Gutted.

Stuffed another sandwich down my mouth. Pulled out my change towel and managed to get out of bib shorts and into tri shorts pretty easy. Took off cycletop and put on fuel belt (which rocks by the way!) Was a bit worried about using it when I hadn’t trialled it in training but it was just awesome. Fluffed around a bit trying to decide what fuel to take. My tummy doesn’t like running very much so I was a bit worried about how that would go. In the end took a sandwich and another bag of jetplanes and protein bar squares and a Leppin. Can’t remember whether I jogged out of transition or not!

First quarter of run: Ouch. Left knee started hurting straight off the bike. Something I need to get sorted! I hurt absolutely everywhere! I absolutely didn’t think I could do it. Mike told me I could! Even though I was gutted about the wind on the bike, I was thankful for the conditions on the run because it wasn’t too hot – I actually felt cold at some points! Couldn’t go any faster than 130 heart rate – legs just dead. Focused on keeping moving, steady pace, taking on water. Walked hill up to turnaround.

Second quarter of run: Actually managed to get heart rate up into 140 for most of the rest of the run so was reasonably happy with that. Focused on taking on fluid. Realised I had only brought one Leppin with me which was a bit of a concern. At the first fuel stop they told me they had run out, but managed to grab a couple of extra gels on the way back. Still hurting but still moving which gave me a big boost! Had a Leppin at some point on the way back into town – and immediately my tummy starting getting upset. First time the whole day. I definitely need to fuel up on the bike because my system doesn’t like it on the run. With superb timing, my friend Nina appeared out of nowhere and gave me some Gastrosoothe – five minutes later problem gone. Fantastic and awesome learning for next time! Went to the toilet at the harbour. Walked the hill up to the transition area.

Third quarter of run: Mike was waiting opposite KFC on the lakefront with our friend Ben. I had run out of water by this stage so he ran off to get more. I was worried the fuel stations would run out by the time I got there – I already knew that the bike had set me back and my run was much slower than anticipated so I was worried about being allowed to finish. I also knew I wasn’t going to go under eight hours which was disappointing, but not a deal breaker. Just kept going. Mike and Ben then jumpfrogged the rest of the bike course, waiting for me every few kilometres and helping me keep going. They were awesome. Still running at this point! Couldn’t quite believe it! Very focused on taking on fluid because I knew I wasn’t going to try and eat anything else. Had Balance electrolytes at the aid station – fortunately that didn’t muck me up too much. Decided to walk the hills and run in between.

Fourth quarter of run: Man this was tough. Still running though which I just found unbelievable! Mike and Ben still there the whole way. Kept focusing on what Kathy had said – work out how to get through right now – what will get me through the next 100metres, 500 metres. Starting counting rubbish bins, flags and power poles!! More fluid at every stop. Walking up the hills. People in front of me had walked the whole of the second lap so was trying to catch them. Just got there and they started running! And then finally got to the boat harbour and on the last stretch. Walked up the hill and then ran around the corner and into the finish! Although I hurt everywhere, I still felt very okay about everything!

I was so stoked to finish. Everyone was so supportive and happy. I was so happy. And very proud. I hadn’t thought the Half Ironman would be the achievement it was, mainly because I knew it wasn’t the main goal, but I am so pleased to have done it. It was a huge achievement. If it hadn’t been for that wind on the return lap of the bike, my race plan would have gone nearly perfectly to plan. Everything else did, and in the end, the run wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be either.

Swim was sensational.

First part of bike was fantastic.

Second part of the bike sucked.

And the run just had to be done.

Taupo Half Ironman…DONE!

I have often compared Ironman training and childbirth - usually when I’m slogging my way up some hill in Waikite Valley. Most of the time I’m swearing black and blue that childbirth is easier!

And today I can confirm that some of the aftermath and recovery from a big bike ride are exactly the same!

Today I finally rode the Taupo Half Ironman route. The Taupo Half Ironman is now less than two weeks away. I’m completely petrified. But that’s another story.

Another 5:30am start saw me breakfasted and collecting today’s riding buddy, Deborah, just after 6am. Rather than drive all the way to Taupo, we parked at Reporoa and road the route in reverse, down Broadlands Rd to Taupo and back again. This is also the full Ironman route - albeitthe full route takes in two laps. I had tried to ride this route once before with Mike - it didn’t end well!

So it was with some trepidation that I set off this morning. First and biggest mistake today - trialling some new chafing cream. I’m out of Bodyglide, but have also found some other cream that is doing the job even better. I’d run out, they don’t sell it at my bike shop and so I tried a new one - highly recommended by my bike shop and many others. And our club legend Jamie (who rode the Extreme Enduro 8x laps of Lake Taupo non-stop last week!!) swears by it.

But it didn’t work for me. We’d only done an hour and my bottom was absolutely burning. I was really worried I was going to open up my wound it was so sore.

I managed to put it to the back of my mind into Taupo - got off the bike for a toilet stop and actually felt pretty comfortable and more than capable of riding the 45km back. We set off again - this time to tackle the Napier-Taupo Highway hill. This hill keeps me awake at night. When I first left Auckland to take up my first journalism job at age 21, I flatted just off the Highway - and I recalled many a late night stumbling up or down the hill or my way to or from the pub. Today, I got up it no problem. It wasn’t a speedy climb, but it was fine, and nowhere near as bad as some of the hills we’ve been climbing in the Waikite Valley! So that was a big mental achievement.

Next were a series of quite quick downhills, managed to catch up a lot of speed and increase my average. Very happy. And then, with about 20km to go, all on the flat, my bottom really let me down. Every pedal stroke was an absolute burn. It was agony. I literally crawled my way home.

On the plus side, I did it, quicker than I thought - even with crawling the last 20km. My average speed was better than ever before. I know I can ride up the Napier-Taupo Highway hill and I have ridden the Taupo Half Ironman route. On the down side, a sore bum is just the pits and can ruin the ride - and your speed.

So lesson learnt, stick to the chafing cream I know and love!

Which brings me to childbirth.

When I came home from hospital with Oli nearly six years ago, my sister-n-law presented me with a tupperware container containing a pad which had been frozen in a tea tree oil and water solution. Just the trick for sore, tender bottoms apparently.

And it was! Absolutely bliss, numbs the area and the tea tree oil helps take care of any bacteria that might be hanging around.

So here I am, back to the beginning. And I can confirm, that an old wives tale for soothing sore tender bits after childbirth is just the best thing ever for a numb, sore bumb after a long bike ride! Thanks Sarah!

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!

Yesterday was one of the highlights in my journey towards 2011 NZ Ironman.

Yesterday marked many firsts:

• first ride on the road for weeks
• first cycle event
• first ride in my sexy new Specialized silver and pink shoes, with new cleats and pedals
• first ride on my “new” bike - freshly made over with new handlebars, seat and pefectly fitted for me
• first time I lost my chain out riding - situation successfully retrieved and back on the bike within five minutes
• first time I got overtaken by a whoooooshing peloton

The short report is that the ride went exceptionally well - the bike rocked - and I mean rocked! I know I’m saying that a lot at the moment, but it just encompasses the situation perfectly! I wanted to do 40km in under two hours. My dream time was 1h45 - I got 1h50. I didn’t fall off. I managed to get out of pedals okay. I fixed my chain. I really rode the hills. I passed loads of people. And I finished. It was awesome.

So here’s the detail!

It was a beautiful day. And I mean stunning. Four other very cool triathlon chicks met at our house at 8:30am to get the cars loaded and underway. I kissed the family good-bye and we were off.

And within 10 minutes we were in pea-soup fog and the temperature had dropped to 2 degrees. Bugger.

We arrived at Okoroire to find a glum, dull, bitterly freezing day. We ripped through registration and then the big dilemma about what to wear. Full jacket? Vest? How many layers of thermals? The sun was starting to peak through the clouds and, given how stunning it was in Rotorua, I opted for a thermal layer (top and bottom) and my hi-vis vest. I loaded everything into my back pockets (and I do mean everything - I think I was carrying more than I manage to fit into my handbag!) and we headed for the start line.

There were two distances - 40km and 70km. I had opted for the shorter distance for a number of different reasons. Due to sickness, major discomfort on the bike - and basically a major lack of confidence - I hadn’t been on the road for weeks. Even though I felt pretty good about my new bike setup and my new seat, I didn’t want to get stuck out in the wops with a sore bum and no way to get home. I knew if that happened, I could probably kiss the bike - and Ironman - good-bye.

So the primary objectives of riding yesterday were to try out the new setup and new gear, ride in a cycle event with 1000 other riders - and basically just try and get some confidence back.

Mission well and truely accomplished.

I started towards the back of the 40km riders, but very very quickly made up dozens of places. I felt great. The bike felt amazing. I was kicking it up the hills. It was a gorgeous day, we were in a gorgeous rural area and life was just pretty darn good!

Everything was going pretty well until I hit the next hill. I changed from the big gear ring to the small - and completely lost traction. I looked down to find the chain hanging under the bike. Bugger. This situation has always played on my mind. I’ve always wondered if I could get out of my pedal without falling over. I wasn’t concerned about putting the chain back on - but I was very worried about getting off the bike!

As it turns out, no problem! Five minutes later and I was scooting down the hill in order to turn around and head back up again.

I did find it hard going out on the highway - really rough, large chip which was really rough on the hands. But otherwise, the ride went really, really well. I was in and out of the saddle up the hills. Passing people on the flats. I got down on the aerobars for a while - and even down on the drops - now that’s a breakthrough! (Of course, thanks to the new bike setup I can actually reach them which is a bonus!) No sore back. No sore shoulders. No sore neck. And by far most importantly, NO SORE BUM!!

Before I knew it I was half way. Before I knew it I had just five kms to go. I looked at my clock. I didn’t think I could quite make 1h45, but I knew I wouldn’t be far off. I put my head down and went for it.

1h50 across the line.

And I loved it. The confidence is back and I can’t wait to get back out there again. Breakthrough.

PS: The cool triathlon chicks also had really good rides with some fantastic times. Congrats!

PPS: Outstanding line from a Kiwi Twitter triathlon friend last night which made me laugh out loud: It doesn’t Matamata, everything will be Okoroire! Thanks @Toni_Knowles and her grandfather Jack Murphy - this part of the Waikato will never be the same!

I have a brand new bike.

Well, practically a brand new bike and it certainly feels like a brand new bike to me.

I have…new seat…new handlebars…new stem thing…new RED handlebar tape…and a new setup, done by video analysis to ensure its the perfect setup for me. This is all to go with my incredibly cool and sexy new silver and pink Specialised shoes.

In short, the mighty red and black Specialised bike rocks. And its all thanks to the awesome team at Cyclezone in Rotorua, who literally haven’t rested until the bike was sorted.

It started with me visiting the shop to get new cleats and pedals. My old ones had just about worn through, so on Coach’s instructions, it was off to the shop to get new ones. In the course of getting the new cleats and pedals, a lengthy discussion ensued about how much I hate the bike, how uncomfortable and sore I get, how numb my feet get, about how my bottom gets sore and gives up well before my legs do. I just thought these were all things that, as an amateur cyclist, I just had to live with.

Well, it turns out you don’t. To be fair, it was probably the first time I had really voiced my concerns about the bike and how fed up I was with the bike. I think I knew that I was reaching a real crunch point. I couldn’t stand to spend any more than two hours on it - yet I knew that for the Ironman I would need to spend around seven hours on the bike and complete a 180km bike course. The thought of that scared the living daylights out of me.

So perhaps it was desperation, but I’m really glad we had that conversation!

The Cyclezone team have now been tweaking things for a few weeks - literally a bit here and a bit there. It started with the shoes - my old ones were way too flat - so they got sold on Trade Me and the sexy silvers ones started gracing my wind trainer. Then we trialled a new seat. After an agonising spin session sitting on my nerves we figured that wasn’t the one for me! Then this week I booked in for a lengthy video analysis session to tackle as much as could without getting a whole new bike.

“The bike’s actually too big for you,” says Bryce, owner of Cyclezone.

“Really?” That’s the first time anyone had said that!

A quick measure agreed with Bryce’s view and then the video analysis triple confirmed it.

That’s when the real work started - I’m sure all the pieces of the old handlebars on the floor just made it look worse than what it was! A shorter bike stem and new handlebars reduced the length of the bike by about 4cm - or at least I think that’s what they said! We trialled a new seat and raised the height significantly.

I jumped on again to check the angles. It felt like a completely different bike. I still can’t quite get over the difference it made. It was immediately obvious how far I had been stretching - no wonder I ended up with a sore back, sore shoulders and a headache. And the seat was immediately different as well.

Now that it’s sorted, I can’t believe I had been riding with it like that for so long. I was actually looking forward to getting on it to go for a ride - now that’s a breakthrough!

The real test will be the next big ride - Okoroire this weekend. Watch this space!

Me and the author of my "new" ride - Bryce from Cyclezone!

I knew we were in for a challenge when I walked into spin class to find tonight’s title - The Devil Rides On! - written on the whiteboard at the front of the class.

I love our RATs spin classes. Taken by Coach, they are always hard work, but extremely satisfying. Between 40 and 50 people rock up each week - in the bitter cold. When I left tonight it was 4 degrees!

And the music rocks! Tonight’s spin class was proudly brought to you by Led Zeppelin and ACDC! I was in my element. Mike has always given me a massive amount of grief for my passion for hard rock - the louder the better - but nothing beats hard rock for making you work harder.

A basic five minute warm up was quickly followed by a five minute fast spin. Then we were straight into 10 sprint sessions - one minute sprints in a very hard gear, followed by 30 seconds recovery. By the time we got to the last few sprints my legs were screaming! But that was not even half the fun that was in store for us! Those intense sprints were followed by a set that started with one minute on (still in a hard gear), one minute off, two minutes on, one minute off etc up to five minutes and then back down again.

To say that it was hard work would be an understatement! But it was just fantastic.

My head seems to be in a much better zone for cycling and I was determined to have a solid workout today. I did.

And I need to, as my dear friend Stu reminded me this week…262 days to go!

Thanks Stu.

I will try and constrain my use of superlatives, however, the Bayfair Triathlon at Mt Maunganui yesterday was absolutely sensational! I could also say fantastic, brilliant, rocking, outstanding and bloody awesome! Loved it, absolutely loved it, from start to finish.

We arrived at the Mt about 7:30am after leaving Rotorua bright and early at 6:30am. I’d been craning my neck the whole way waiting for that first glimpse of Mt Maunganui on the Tauranga Direct Road. The Tauranga Half Ironman in January at the height of summer had been windy and brutally cold. I was hoping that wasn’t the swim I was about to be in for.

When we crossed the harbour it looked like absolute glass. Sweet.

We arrived in the race area, found a park and made our way to transition. Bugger. Not so glass-like after all. In fact, quite lumpy, breezy and building.

Transition was busy, and cramped. I found a spot to squeeze into and set up. I’m definitely not one to muck around in transition - why prolong the suspense? Once you’ve double checked everything its just best to get out!

We found Mike’s swimmer, listened to the briefing, and then it was time to get into the wetsuit and head down the beach.

I was determined to have a bit more of a swim before the start in this race. I’d done a fun quadrathon with work on Friday and, even though it was just a short 300m swim, I’d really struggled to get comfortable in my suit. This time I decided I’d get those things sorted well before the gun went off.

The water was absolutely freezing! Much colder than the Blue Lake on Friday. Nothing for it but to get swimming, and then get lined up at the start line. To start with I made my way to the back lines, as I usually do. Then I suddenly decided that I’d had enough practice and it was time to start lining up at the front. I made my way into a spot and got ready to go. The gun went and I was off. All the open water swim practice really did pay off and my beat my way out of the flurry to find my own space.

The swim went as expected really. Not great, not bad. A highlight was being able to sprint out of the water and through transition, and another highlight was finishing about halfway through the field on the swim. A definite progression. And the good news just continued really.

Really quick transition and out onto the bike. On the way over to Tauranga I’d decided that a small goal for this event was to spend a lot of time on the aero bars. I’m not completely comfortable on them yet, but I knew it would pay off on this flat course. I’ve also trained on this course a few times now so I felt like I knew it. And it was time. As soon as I got onto the main road I went down onto the aero bars…and I just stayed there!

I had hoped to do the bike in 45 minutes. I reached the first turnaround point in just over 10 minutes. Fantastic! You should have seen the smile on my face, I was grinning from ear to ear. I knew if I could do that time in a strong wind I’d be looking at sub-45 minutes. I even managed to wave to Mike as we went by in the other direction.

I stayed strong on the bike on the next three legs and clocked the bike in just over 42 minutes. Stoked!

Heading into transition I had a small panic that I might have killed my legs on the ride and wouldn’t have anything left on the run. I’d done a trial run at the Mt two weeks ago and while I’d done a decent time, it was a hard reminder that its a challenging run. Heading out of the transition I had absolutely no idea how much I had left.

My second wee goal for this race was to wear my heart rate monitor so that I could pace myself on the run. I knew where I’d been sitting on the trial run, so used that as a benchmark. It took me a little while to get comfortable in the run. I knew I’d come out well on the swim, and that I had passed quite a few people on the ride, however, I knew that I would lose that on the run - I’m still a plodder.

The run went pretty well really. In fact I did the same time as I did on my trial run (44min), and that was adding a swim and a bike into the mix!

My third wee goal for this race was to finish under two hours. I’d gone well over two hours at Kinloch and I wanted to beat that. I was feeling so comfortable on the run that I actually had time and space in my head to start working out how far I had to go and what time I needed to be off the mountain in order to reach my goal. Unfortunately my stop watch hadn’t started for the swim so I had no idea how long that had taken. But I did know how long the bike was. By my calculation, I had to be off the Mt by 1h22 (bike/run combo).

When I hit the road off the Mt at 1h16 the grin came back. I knew I’d do under two hours. The challenge now would be to see how far under I could go.

I knew I had about 1km to go. By monitoring my heart rate, I knew how much I had left in me. I picked up the pace. By the time I hit the straight I was starting to speed up significantly, another few hundred metres and I was at my max. It felt absolutely fantastic to sprint the last 500m through the finish line.

1h49. Unbelievable!!

I knocked 21 minutes off my Kinloch time. Obviously a completely different course, but a sensational result even so. Absolutely stoked.

PS: Mike had a great ride and run as well. The James Triathlon train is underway.

Fortunately I did have a spare tyre with me - two actually. Unfortunately what I didn’t have was a pump. Also what I didn’t have was the knowledge and ability to actually change the tyre. It wasn’t all bad though, it was a last minute decision to actually take the saddle bag with me, along with its two spare tyres, so it could certainly have been a lot worse!

I was also very very lucky to be riding with the other two amigos - plus an extra amigo. Between the three of them they had the knowledge and ability to change the tyre, while I kept watch for cars and took photos on my phone!

Text to coach with photo.

Text back from coach:

“Three of you to change a tyre. One to hold the wheel, one to hold the pump and one to ring for instructions?”

However, as I pointed out to him, at least we were out there. And indeed we were. My flat tyre aside, we had a fantastic ride. The first one on the road for Mary Ann and I since our last events. Our route last weekend was largely dictated by the upcoming 100km Flyer cycle race between Rotorua and Taupo. That’s not an event that I am lining up for, however, Nina and Mary Ann are, so wanted to check out some of the course.

We drove out to Waiotapu and left the cars at the Pub. We headed down State Highway Five as fast as our pedals would take us. It turns out people drive very fast down that highway - including very large trucks - so we were pleased to finally get off the main road and head to Reporoa. Located literally halfway between Rotorua and Taupo, Reporoa is also the bike turnaround point for the Ironman - I have a feeling this is an area I’m going to get to know very well!

The 100km Flyer also includes a wider loop around the Reporoa countryside before taking the more direct route into Taupo. We headed off along this loop for an extremely pleasant ride. Very quiet (apart from our talking and laughing), lots of lush green paddocks, cows to talk to, trees and the odd farmhouse. It was largely flat, with a few little hills and we managed to boot along at a fairly decent clip. Until I got my flat tyre.

We had only just kicked off again after a short nutrition stop. I’ve never had a flat tyre before and was expecting a thump thump thump like on a car. But it was just really bumpy. I couldn’t work out if it was flat, or if it was just a really stoney road!

“Does my tyre look flat to you?” I asked Mary Ann.

“Yes!” she said, screeching to a halt and calling the others back.

I was able to successfully take the wheel off the tyre and get the spare out of the saddle back - but that was where my expertise ended. Nina whipped out her super duper wheely device aimed at getting the tyre off in a flash. Unfortunately, there was nothing flash about my tyre. I don’t know how long it had been since it was changed, however, the inner tube was completely stuck to the inside of my tyre! With a great deal of grimacing and grumping, the tyre was finally off. In went the new tube, slight pump and then finished off with an air canister. Nina has all the toys - Mary Ann and I were very jealous and I suspect a visit to Kiwi Bikes is on the way!

We eventually got back on the bikes and headed back onto a much shorter ride down State Highway Five towards the cars. A final hill to finish off and our ride was complete.

Great scenery, great ride, great company and lots of laughs.

Jenny (left), Mrs P (Mary Ann on bike) and Nina changing tyre!

My race preparation for the first official triathlon of the 2009/2010 season wasn’t ideal.

I drove out to the Blue Lake with Mum and Oli to register and collect our race packs. The only downside to living in semi-rural Ngongotaha (which we love) is that we are now on the absolutely other side of town from the Blue Lake – and on the opposite side of Lake Rotorua! On a good day it’s at least a 25 minute drive – which, when everything else is only five minutes away, it’s a bit of a pain. I know, all you city folk, we’re lucky!

Anyway, we rocked up on a bit of a timeframe. It was Mum’s birthday – a bit of a milestone for her – and we were due out to dinner. The boys were both fractious and we needed to hurry. We collected Alison on the way, who had brought her wetsuit with her for dipping. I hadn’t. I had read on the race instructions that all the wetsuits would be dipped before racing to prevent the spread of a noxious weed, didymo, to our beautiful North Island lakes. However, I completely missed the bit where it said that you couldn’t collect your race pack until your wetsuit had been dipped.

Bugger.

No amount of begging and cajoling the DOC warriors would convince them to let me through. They informed me I could just dip it and then collect my race pack in the morning.

There was absolutely no way I wanted to do that. I have enough problems with my stomach on a normal day, let alone with pre-race nerves, so I didn’t want to add to that pressure.

We drove all the way back to Ngongotaha, I got dressed into my party clothes, and then Dad and I drove all the way back to the Blue Lake again. And then back halfway to home to go out to dinner.

Dinner over, it was home to prep the race bags, get the number onto my race belt and spend two hours looking for my tri pants. Then off for a semi-early night.

Alarm went off early, and Mum and I managed to get out the door early. And arrived at the Blue Lake to find ourselves the only people there. We had taken the concept of “being prepared” to a whole new level.

Actually we needed to be. In my infinite wisdom, I had told the folk at TriNZ that Mum and I were doing this triathlon together for her big birthday – they thought it was a great story and lined us up for interviews for TriTV which screens on TV One later in the season, and also Sky Sport. We were followed by cameras for most of the event – a hilarious feeling, we felt like real sports stars.

At least it distracted us from the fact it was pouring with rain and the lake was bitterly cold.

Finally the pre-briefing was done and we suited up and headed for the start. After testing the water I had thought it was slightly cooler than two weeks before. Wrong! It was freezing. Really took my breath away and made it very difficult to swim. I felt like I barely made it to the other end and the whole way, all I could think about was finally getting out!

I eventually rounded the buoy and headed for the beach, knowing it had been an average time to say the least. The cold really took its toll and it was a long walk up the hill from the beach to transition. I only broke into a run once I could see my bike!

Really quick transition into my cycle shoes, out the gate and off. I felt great on the bike. It was pretty warm. I had decided to just wear my Reebok singlet with my tri pants and it worked really well under my wetsuit. Really comfortable and dried quickly.

The route out to the turnaround point went pretty well, hills included. I was actually enjoying the ride and went absolutely whizzing down the hills, passing lots of people. I made a good turn and started for the return leg. And promptly lost my drink bottle. Bugger. I’ve been having quite a few problems getting dehydrated lately and this wasn’t a good start!

The hills back up felt much longer and harder than they had previously. I eventually got there though and headed back to transition. By this time most of the RATs club had arrived at the Blue Lake to help marshall for the next event. Everyone was cheering for me – it was absolutely awesome. Mike was also there with both the boys, and Dad yelling from the sidelines:

“Come on knickers!” Well no event would be completely without that from my Dad so it was all good.

I’d also been keeping an eye on Mum and she was doing really well.

Transition into running shoes and off. The 3km run leg was up for 1.5km and then down. Its quite a challenging run as I know from experience. I couldn’t wait for the turnaround, and then I couldn’t wait to get back.

I had quite a strong finish, but got passed at the last minute which was gutting!

The highlight, however, was a big hug from World Champion Triathlete Sam Warriner at the finish line. Absolutely awesome. I’d also caught up with her earlier in the day. That will have to be the topic for the next blog post because this is already the size of a novel.

I grabbed a jacket and headed back to meet Mum. She wasn’t that far behind and had run the whole way. She had an awesome event and loved every minute.

So overall, a good first hit for the season, but I felt like it was really hard work – much harder than the short one I’d done with Lawrence just a few weeks ago. I felt like I hadn’t improved much over the year at all.

Until the next day. Mum charted our results against the one we did in January, and there were some definite improvements! Then I asked her to chart it against all my results from earlier in the year and it turns out I knocked two minutes off my previous best time – and on a much harder course. So eventually I was stoked!

So, results from the 3:9:3 – 300m swim, 9km run (except it was 10!) and 3km run:

Swim including T1:     10:38

Bike including T2:       29.43

Run including T3:        22:30

Total:               1:02:51

First race of the season…done!

After a week without training, and still with a fairly decent dose of a head cold, I was absolutely determined to get out for my week’s “long ride”. With just under two months to go until the Half Ironman, I am really conscious that I need to get some serious miles under my belt – or under my tyres as it were.

So even though I was still feeling very much under the weather, I had arranged to meet my friend Mary-Ann halfway into town. I set the alarm for 6:30am. Incidentally – who sets their alarm for 6:30am on a weekend? Clearly I am completely mad.

I was up before the alarm went off anyway – the alarm clock that is Toby went off well before 6:30am!

Usual story. I fuelled my body, suited up, took some deep breaths and headed out the door.

Halfway up the road I realised my tyres were seriously flat. I berated myself yet again. I always try to be so prepared, but I always miss something. I couldn’t turn back though – we had arranged to each leave at 7:30am and meet somewhere in the middle.

I had a reasonable ride into town – considering I couldn’t really breathe and had tyres that were flat as a pancake!

I eventually spotted another flash of fluro yellow heading down the road towards me. After flipping a u-turn on the main road, the usual discussion about where to go ensued. We decided to go for a very leisurely ride around the lake – me because I was struggling with my cold, and Mary-Ann because it had been a few weeks since she’d been out on the road. But first we headed back to Mary-Ann’s house so I could pump up my tyres.

First lesson of the day. It turns out, that if you don’t unscrew the end on the valve, you don’t pump any air into your tyres. At all. No wonder they keep going flat, despite me spending lots of time “pumping” them up.

We headed back out again. I was finding it quite a hard ride I have to say.

Mary-Ann is much faster than me, but we had agreed that she should just go on ahead and I would get there eventually. She was doing me a huge favour by keeping me company – and in turn I was doing her a favour by actually getting her off the wind trainer and onto the road! A great arrangement and a great team!

I finally caught her up after she had stopped to wait for me by the Tauranga Direct Road.

“I’m doing it really hard today,” I panted.

“You do realise you’re in your big chain ring don’t you,” she asked in return.

Unbelievable. I felt like such a winner (said with complete sarcasm and meaning a complete dick!) Second lesson of the day.

Fortunately I was out riding with the woman who has fallen off her wind trainer twice at our spin sessions, and put a hole in her wetsuit immediately after our coach told her to cut her nails! Third and fourth lessons of the day to keep in mind!

We’re both of the firm view that this whole thing has to be fun – if it’s not, it’s not worth doing. Yes we’re both very serious about it, but by god we’re going to have a good laugh as well.

Once I’d stopped splitting my sides we carried on.

With a strong head and cross wind, it was a long ride around the lake. But good.

We went our separate ways at Fairy Springs Road and I rode the rest of the way home.

In a continuation of the comedy of errors that was our ride, both of us had forgotten to re-start our bike computers after one of our stops, so neither of us had any idea exactly how far we had ridden – or for how long.

When I got home I headed straight for the computer to map the route. Nearly 65km. Fantastic! My longest ride yet and my longest time on the bike. It gave me a fantastic confidence boost and I finally feel like I will be able to do the ride section of the Half Ironman. I’m nearly there and I now know I can do it.

A great ride. A fantastic riding companion. All good.