Trucks are not cool

I had my first run in with a moving vehicle today.  Actually, a truck tried to run me off the road.  I'm okay - bruised, sore, bashed and really hurty, but okay.

I rode out to and then round the back of the airport today.  Just as I was turning round to head home, I got clipped by a truck who decided he needed the whole road and the kerb and white shoulder area.  Not cool.  To cut a long story short, I have a HUGE bruise coming up on my left glute, another coming up at the base of my left thumb, and two sets of xrays for my left wrist and left elbow with question marks on them.  I'm in a sling for the rest of this long weekend.  Not cool at all.

I rode home after being scraped off the road and back onto my bike.  Heck, it was only 12km and the adrenalin and endorphins were pumping so why the hell not?  I then hit the A&E for some xrays and a sling.  Joy oh joy - and with instructions to not swim or bike until the pain subsided or about seven days (whichever was sooner).  So, looks like I'm on enforced rest for a week. 

We'll see how long that lasts!

I love cleats!

Tonight I headed down to my bike shop to get fitted with shoes, pedals, cleats and a proper bike fit. I've been dreading getting this done for weeks, not because of the price, but the whole "I'm scared of cleats and I'll fall off and break another bone" thing. It came time to have a bowl of harden up, and get into it!

I was fitted with Specialized Sport Rd shoes in beautiful black.  I'd originally wanted tri shoes (one velcro strap instead of three or four) but they don't come in "short foot" size (I'm an 8, which by normal standards in this country is on the big side). So, I have road shoes instead.  It's okay - the velcro still fastens fairly quickly, although it takes a bit longer to get the shoes off, so my bike to run transitions will be a wee tad slower. I think I can cope with an extra 15 seconds at this stage!

Next up were "real" pedals. I was struggling with trying to choose between Shimano and Mavic. I really and truly liked the Shimanos, but to be honest I originally thought the Mavics looked like darth vader's helmet. It was after a second look that I realised that the Mavics were on sale (and were almost half the original price) and thought "screw it, take me to the dark side". Good choice, I like the science fiction look.

By this time, my bike was up on the Dialed in Motion trainer and it was time to saddle up and ride off into the sunset. Well, almost. I was stuck to my bike, which was stuck to the machine. A few minutes later, it was all go. My bike was set up for me and I was out the door and off home for a quick ride.

I got home, got the bike out of the car, got on and rode out to the kerbside...then promptly fell off into the road due to having no momentum and trying to clip in while stationary on a road bike.  What a clown...I got up, got back on and rode off down the street. I figured I'd do about 5km but 17km later I was home and well happy with my updated bike setup. Nice work, Nick the bike man!

More later, I'm pretty tired yet exhilarated at the same time, so best I go to bed! I'll leave you with a photo of my cleats:

I kicked some butt!

My second tri is done and dusted! I finished in a very respectable time - in fact, 1 hour 14 mins 36 seconds. I beat my own expecations in terms of time, as I figured it would take between 1 hour 15 mins and 1 hr 30 mins, but was hoping for the lower number. Even with a very relaxed swim to bike transition, I came in under, yay!

Of course, had I run between the water and transition I could have saved a few seconds. If I hadn't stopped to wash the sand off my feet, dry myself a bit and have a big gulp of drink, I could have saved a few more seconds. Meh, whatever...I'd rather be relaxed in transition than stressing out like everyone else!

The swim wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I started out breast stroke, just to warm up a bit. I then moved into freestyle and backstroke, before finishing waterpolo. I was constantly slammed into doing freestyle, despite getting out of the way, and was really quite disgusted with the attitudes of those who slammed into me - not one apology, and one woman swam right over the top of me and nearly drowned me (and she wasn't a small lady either)! So very rude - what happened to good manners? 

It was a loooooong way from the water to transition. I didn't want to sprint, from having the foresight to drive the bike course before the race due to arriving early, I knew that I'd be better off saving my legs for the short nasty hill and long grindy hill on the bike. Good plan, as it turned out - I watched many ladies struggle up the short nasty hill while I dug in and ground it out. Many were getting off their bikes and pushing them up the short nasty hill. 

Halfway through the first bike lap, I started feeling hungry and a bit short on energy as I'd only had half my usual breakfast after feeling a bit seedy from the nerves at 4.30am on race day I'm proud to say I managed to scarf down a gel while on the bike, without stopping. I kept knocking back the grape mizone and just ground out the hills. I averaged 14kph on the hills, 22kph on the flat and 26 kph on the downhills so not a bad effort!

At the end of the second lap, I arrived back at transition. My feet were complaining (I still don't have proper pedals, shoes and cleats), so I took the rest break. I was then "helped" off the bike, which was a nice gesture but cost me time as I'm used to doing that myself and suddenly had some guy volunteer in my face trying to wrestle me off my bike! I didn't need the help, I just needed a kerb to lever myself off the bike. I racked up, removed my helmet, grabbed my run cap and water bottle, and set off at a nice fast walk pace.

I made it to the first run turnaround, and started to jog. I even passed a couple of people, and was feeling pretty pleased with myself until I saw the hill we had to climb! The first crack at the hill was awful, I could feel my calves on the verge of cramping so I backed off the pace a bit and just kept on plugging. 

At the top of the hill was a short flat spell before a downhill stretch. The downhill was seriously welcome, and I started to jog again. At the bottom of the hill for the second lap, I think the gel kicked in. I plugged away, got up the hill in less time than the first lap, scorched down the hill and around the corner, and headed for the finish line. Hooray for my first negative split!

I walked across the road, and when I found the grass 200m from the finish line, I broke into a trot. When I was just about to hit the line, the trot turned to a sprint. Job done!

This Tri was much better than the previous one. No silly newbie mistakes, no running with my helmet on, and lots of laughs at the start. Why the laughs? Well, an hour out, we were on the beach chililng out. Next thing we know an old couple come down for a swim. And why is this funny, you ask? Well, the old guy was wearing a pair of hot pink ladies bikini bottoms, the kind that tie up at the side. Ewwwww!!!

I woke up yesterday with a sore shoulder and sore ball of my left foot. They are less irritating today, but I'm over it - I wanted to go to the gym yesterday and again today but think I'm better off resting my foot and shoulder today and tomorrow. 

I'll hit the pool on Wednesday and the bike on Thursday night when I get my bike kit. Besides, I have uni today, tomorrow and Wednesday so it's not like I'll be bored.

So, roll on Thursday when I finally get shoes, pedals, cleats, aero bars and a proper bike fit!

T-26 hours and counting

It's now about 26 hours (give or take a few minutes) until my next tri, and I'm pretty excited.  Yes, I am a little bit nervous too, but nowhere near as bad as prior to my first ever tri six weeks ago.  I was so freaked out on race morning that I wanted to puke, and almost missed the start of the swim (see my entry on December 13 for more gory details!).

Registration in 10 hours or so, looking forward to seeing the event shirt :-)

A huge decision.

Okay, I've made a HUGE decision.  I will not be doing the full distance at the Auckland Half Ironman this year. I will be doing the short course. Why, I hear you ask? Okay, it's pretty straightforward. Here goes:

The recent car repairs ate all my money, and as such I am still without a wetsuit, cycle shoes, cleats and pedals. I'll need about 8 weeks to get really used to and comfortable with these necessities, and I can't get them until at least next week - giving me less than six weeks including my pre-race taper, to get used to them. Aerobars I could probably cope without, but not shoes, cleats and pedals. And then there's the bike fit to set me up with them. Money, money, money!

I am also without a triathlon coach, as the money I wanted to put towards hiring one was imbibed by the damn car. My trainer is great, but he doesn't have the depth of experience in triathlon that I need for support. Hopefully I can get a coach a bit further down the track.

The random shifts at random hours for my work placement messed with my plans for training hard out over Christmas. I had planned on training in the morning then going off to work in the gym - but this didn't happen as I had a bunch of 5.30am and 6am starts. I did my best, despite being dog tired, but the progressions just weren't there.

And then there's the running. As an asthmatic, being quite overweight (let's be realistic here), and without a running background, I had to start from scratch. I've improved 400% on what I was able to do six weeks ago, but it's still not enough. Yes, I could walk the whole 21.1km run, but can I do that on top of a very slow 2km swim and an average-pace 90km bike - and finish within the allocated time? Most likely not.  

I live in Auckland, and the humidity here is gruesome at best. I'm having enough trouble doing intervals in Auckland's wonderful 90%-plus humidity. Five minutes and I'm sucking on asthma inhalers like there's no tomorrow - but they just don't help.  As an asthmatic, as soon as I can't breathe I reach for my puffers. I feel like there's an elephant in my chest, and there's nothing I can do to make it go away. Not cool. My asthma is very well controlled but as my doctor pointed out, my asthma isn't the problem, it's our stupid weather and no amount of symbicort or ventolin is going to get the weather sorted. End of story.  

My doc's advice is to move to a city with moderate humidity year round if I really want to get serious about this sport and not worry about the elephant in my chest. Yes, I am aware that Hawaii will be hundreds of times worse in terms of humidity, heat and the like, but let me worry about that when I qualify in several years, okay? BTW: in preparation for Hawaii, I intend to do the Singapore Ironman 70.3 and the Honolulu event multiple times. But by that stage in my triathlon career, I'll be an awesome runner and probably living in either Aussie or Singapore anyway!

I only get 8.5 hours to complete the whole event, and if I punctured or had other technical issues, I'd be screwed. The last thing I want to do is give it everything I've got but finish after the cutoff time and get a DNF ("did not finish"). That would kill me. I would probably give up triathlon for good if that happened. It would be soul destroying, demotivating and terribly frustrating.

Lastly, after having a chat with Ash at uni today, we also agreed that over-training now for the sake of finishing and being stubborn is more than likely going to result in my picking up an injury. I really don't need an injury right now. With my luck, I'll tear something in one of my knees, and I'm just not in the mood for surgery this year. My LCL in my right knee is still screaming after the gym on Friday, run on Saturday and then run on Monday. I hope it calms down by Saturday!

So, the sensible option is to do the short course at the same event. It's still at the Auckland Half Ironman, but I'll be doing a 1km swim, 30km cycle and a 7km run instead. It is still a big challenge for me, considering that prior to November last year I hadn't been lap swimming in a pool for many years. I also hadn't been riding much and as for running, well, ha!  

I'll do many more short distance triathlons this season. At least with the 3/9/3 and 1/10/2 distances I don't need much of a taper, just a couple of days pre-event to rest and then I will unleash my fury on the tri course.

I need more experience, and I will continue to train throughout the year. I will lose this excess weight, gain more fitness and muscle, and then go kick some ass at the Half Ironman distance. I will do a Half Ironman, it just may not be this year. Geelong, Australia in 2011 is looking good though!

I ain't no princess!

From the archives, here's a photo of me back in around 1983, swimming at Piha Beach in Auckland. 

With trusty green kickboard in hand, I spent hours cruising the lagoon behind Lion Rock and it was awesome.  I don't remember rips or holes or jellies (stingers for all you Aussies).  

We had family friends with a bach (a beach house for those not from NZ) at Piha, so we would go stay there some weekends.  In those days, it was quite a drive out to Piha - now it's like 40 mins from the CBD.  Each trip was like a holiday - the bach was right across the road from the beach and I swam several times a day, every day.  Those were the days - no cares about wetsuits and swim times, it was just me, the water and my kickboard.  Gold!

I also found these next two bike photos in the archives - me with my trusty trike circa 1981, and my awesome home built bike, circa 1984.  I loved the "bitser" home built bike almost as much as I loved my strawberry shoes.  

I really should photoshop out this ugly hat. 

And how cute are these shoes?

I was meant to get up and go swimming this morning.  I packed all my stuff last night, got all organised and had forgotten about the boiler replacement at the local pool this week.  There's not enough time to go to the other pool I frequent before work in the morning, so it looks like I'll be trying yet another new pool tonight after uni.  Mint!

Let me defend my lack of will to swim in a stone cold indoor pool by pointing out that I'm no princess.  I love to go camping, have no problems with mud or bike grease, change my own flat tyres and know way more about cars, computers and gadgets than is deemed cool for a girl.  I grew up with several brothers, helping my dad fix cars, climbing trees, building things with Lego, and riding my bike.

To this day, I really don't care about makeup and fashion and manicures.  Sure, I wear lip gloss, love maxi dresses, get a pedicure occasionally and my hair coloured (to hide my greys, ha ha!) - but since conventional fashion isn't geared to anyone over a size 10 and I spend all my spare time swimming, biking, running, weight training, sleeping and eating, why would I bother with fashion?  I'd rather spend the money on my bike!

More later, have to get ready for work :-)

Swimming, sunburn and shuttles

Friday was meant to be a rest day, but I felt a bit guilty about not having been to the gym for a few days so I went in and semi-thrashed myself.  I have found that doing my dumbbell squats first means my legs and arms don't want to kill me halfway through my workout, and my form is much better.  Thanks for the tip, Dan!

Yesterday I had my first swim at Parnell Baths. For those of you overseas, it's a 60-metre outdoor saltwater pool, not far from Auckland City.  I think it's the only one of it's kind in NZ, which is pretty cool.  It's also deep water, 2.6m at one end and over 3m at the other.  

To swim here successfully, you need to be able to swim 60 metres nonstop, be comfortable in salt water and be able to cope with not being able to touch the bottom.  These criteria assist greatly avoiding the provocation of pool rage from the other people in your lane.  Of course, picking the correct lane for your own swim speed is helpful too.  I was lucky - we had four slow people in my lane, but the lady in the other slow lane next to me had to put up with some muppet with new flippers swimming down the middle of the line at warp speed.  

Swimming outdoors at 9.30am usually doesn't invoke some kind of panic around slathering youself with sunscreen.  Unfortunately, it should.  The hole in the ozone layer above the Parnell Baths seemed to have rapidly expanded yesterday, and I now have lovely tan lines from my new-ish togs.  These tan lines are complemented by swim cap and goggle lines, which are now on top of my sunglass and bike helmet lines.  Can I have an "O for Awesome"?.  

I did my 1km and survived happily.  Swimming in salt water gives you a buoyancy I've never experienced before.  I had "wave action" from the speedy people in the fast lanes, didn't need my pull buoy at all (although the extra speed it gives me is cool) and I got jostled by some clown who couldn't quite figure out why a lane rope was separating him from the occupants in the next lane (i.e. us).  I tried to admire the guys in their fancy wetsuits but was quietly jealous instead.  Mental note to self, get a bloody wetsuit!

I got talking to a lady in the spa afterwards, who was wearing an orange Activa swim cap (from the She Triwoman series).  She's also doing Narrow Neck next week, so we've planned to meet at the after match function and swap notes.  Those caps are indeed badges of honour - you get one in your race pack, and aside from being useful on race day and later to keep your hair out of your face, you can spot one and start a conversation with fellow triathletes at the pool or beach later on.   

After my swim it was off to get a new battery for the car alarm remote.  It conveniently went flat after I got the car open on leaving the pool, but then the immobiliser kicked in and shut off the engine.  Fortunately I had the pin to override it in my phone, so I was able to get going to the nearest electronics shop. I'd have been happier spending the money on a race number belt, but had no choice!  There's nothing quite like having to "hack" your car engine; I felt like I was in grand theft auto.

I spoke to my trainer late afternoon and we decided to go for a run at 6pm.  Seriously, who the heck has a hot date with a 400 metre running track on a Saturday night? Oh yeah, that would be me.  What actually transpired was me running 200 metre intervals and my trainer sitting on his jacksy barking out instructions.  Just when I thought the torture was over, I had to run shuttles.  Remember those from PE or Gym class?  Grrrr!  Apparently it was to prove the point that I can run.  So, I proved my point that I hate running by saying that I hate running.  

Well, actually, I don't hate running.  It's just that I have this mental block thing from not being able to run for so many years due to my stupid knees.  I'll get there, it's just going to take a while.  For years I thought I couldn't do squats, and now I'm doing them.  So, the same will happen with running - it won't happen overnight, but it will happen, wah wah wah!

Today I was meant to head out on my bike for 30km, but after the gym on Friday and running last night, my quads and glutes just weren't in the mood to cooperate despite compression tights, stretching and good recovery eating.  I decided it was time for a recovery walk around the shops instead.  Perfecto, found a pair of cute sandals on sale and that was my first non-triathlon purchase in weeks!

So, my schedule for this next week is as follows:

Monday - swim and run

Tuesday - gym and bike

Wednesday - swim and run

Thursday - gym and bike

Friday - sit on butt, register for the tri on Saturday and pack my transition bags.

Saturday - Narrow Neck Triathlon

Sunday - long bike

That's all folks.  Have a great Monday!

Yes, I do (mostly) know what I'm doing...

One thing that frustrates me is people thinking I am totally clueless.  

Okay, so on many fronts I am indeed clueless (translating guy speak, watching yacht racing on TV, anything involving electrickery), but when it comes to triathlons I do have a clue.  It may not be a huge elaborate clue, but I know a thing or two, or three or four.  Or, at least enough to get by, and "fake it 'till I make it".  Heck, nobody walks out of Uni knowing everything about everything.  It's just not possible.

Similarly, you don't become a seasoned and experienced triathlete just by entering a tri and paying the entry fee. You have to get off your butt and go do it. 

Completing one half ironman or a fitness qualification doesn't make you an expert either.  Sure, you have miles under your belt and a lot of valuable knowledge and experience, but how do you truly master something?  By repeating it, making adjustments and improvements as you learn and grow.  And you need to learn in order to grow.  Sorry, but that's just the way it is!

I have read everything I have been able to get my hands on around triathlons, tri training, transitions, endurance, nutrition, equipment, technique, etc.  I'm absorbing it all like a sponge, and having completed one baby tri, I learnt a few things that day too.  It's called lifelong learning for a reason, and I'm nowhere near done yet.  I'll keep reading, I'll keep doing tri's, and I'll keep learning.  I will never close my mind to new ideas or the opinions of others - but just because someone has an opinion doesn't mean I need to take that opinion as gospel. 

A Buddhist teacher once told me to "question everything; accept nothing at face value".   I've always been a "why" person.  Not getting the facts or information or whole picture really wiggs me.  I need to know why I'm doing something, not just be told to go do it.  And people who answer questions with a question really wigg me too.  Stop being so bloody lazy and answer the damn question I asked you, would ya?

Just because I've only done one baby tri and haven't been a PT for years and years and years, doesn't mean I don't know anything.  I know when my body needs rest.  I know when my body needs carbs.  I know that training in the same disciplines every day is not a smart thing to do.  I know the difference between progressive overload vs. plain old overtraining.  I know that increasing my training load by 200% a week instead of 5-10% is not smart.  I don't want to get to my Half Ironman event day and completely blow up, receiving a DNF (did not finish) next to my name instead of a real time.  

I WILL FINISH.  It may not be pretty, it may not be fast, but I WILL FINISH.

As I said two days ago, I want to complete, not compete.  Hell, I may never be able to compete - my right knee may be too far gone, I may be too fat, and too old, and too "*insert insult here*".  Whatever, man.  I am what I am, and what I am is determined.  If someone tells me I can't do something, I'll go and do it just to watch them eat their words (and possibly suggest they have some cake to go with it, when I have a Marie Antoinette moment). 

All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me.

Smashing the distractions

I freely admit that I have been very distracted of late.  With the car blowing up, work placement, holidays, and a personal distraction in the mix, it's been a mentally exhausting few weeks.  However, these four gremlins are now all off the table, hooray!  I get my car back tomorrow, my work placement is done, the holidays are behind me and the personal distraction is going nowhere fast so has been duly canned.  It's back to reality with a loud thud.  

I have nine weeks and two days until my big event, so it's back to a single point of focus: my half ironman.  I met with my skills coach Ash at uni today, to go over uni stuff as well as my training (which is uni stuff too!).  Ash advised me to work backwards from the event date, get a wetsuit ASAP, work in three week blocks (moderate week, hard week, light week) and not smash myself too much.  

My trainer wrote me a program earlier this week but it's too much too soon; and too hard, too fast.  Ash and I had a chat about it and feel that three main training phases now form the game plan; being endurance, strength endurance and then strength.  I need to be careful not to injure myself in the strength phase, but after that I can do some speed work if I have the time and really feel I need it. 

My focus for the half ironman has to be on finishing inside the alotted time, not on blitzing the field. Completion, not competition.  Pacing, not racing.  A million other cheesy lines which will become mantras over the coming weeks.  Just get me over the line inside 8.5 hours with a smile on my face at the finish line and I'll be stoked!  That's all I want.

So, tomorrow I get my car back.  Now I can go places with it (and the rest of my gear) like to my next tri on Jan 23.  I didn't really want to be riding all the way to town, ferrying to Devonport, riding to the tri, doing the tri and then going back home via ferry and my bike.  It's like 60km extra on top of a tri.  I don't think so!  I can also go join the semi-local masters cycling club and ride with them on weekends, do rides a bit further away for a change of scenery, and the like.  And, I can go to Taupo to watch my friend Sean do Ironman.  Awesome!

I swam today, and was meant to run tonight but it was after 7pm when I got home and I was starving.  I was stuck in meetings all day, then went straight to uni so hadn't eaten since noon.  Not a good plan for me, I was a cranky cow by the time I walked in the door tonight.  I'll either run tomorrow morning first thing, or drop the session in favour of walking home from work on Friday night (about 22km).  We'll see!

Anyway, must head for bed as I'm exhausted and have a potentially very early start again tomorrow.

Ciao.

I *heart* my bike shop

I went out for my two-hour ride this morning, and 200 metres into it I decided I can't wait anymore - I had to do something about the awful saddle on my bike! It' a Selle Italia Trans Am, the stock standard issue that came with the bike.  But it's no good if you're a) a woman, and b) a triathlete. It's not built for long hours in the saddle, especially if you're a girl. With my next tri just two weeks away, it was time for swift action in the saddle department.

I changed my course and headed for the bike shop. I took my bike in and saw Gavin, who whacked a lovely white chrono tri saddle on in under three minutes. It's awesome. It has a nice long padded nose (perfect for when I get my aeros in three weeks), plenty of padding around the glutes, and oh so comfy. I went from home to the bike shop, then out to the international terminal at the aiport, via the domestic terminal. I stopped for a couple of minutes to wolf down a gel and a quick slug of drink, enjoy the smell of jet fuel and soak up the sights you miss when you're driving, and rode back home.  

What a great ride! I'd been terrified of riding over there along Puhinui Road, which is a 100kph zone. I've done it once before but was pretty freaked out the whole way over there with buses, trucks and cars whizzing past at close range and ended up coming back on the airbus with my bike. Today, it was a totally different story. I think I'm getting used to traffic at last, but riding over first thing on a Saturday morning is great because there's next to no traffic.  The only real hazard today was a dead possom on the bridge over Pukaki Creek, right in the middle of the bike lane.  Stupid possom, not a tree in sight and it decided to run up a highway...epic fail!  

So, with my two-hour ride dispensed with today, I refueled and went to the pool for a 1km swim.  My legs were great but by the 800m mark my arms were over it.  Amazing how my arms are more stiff than my legs and how does that work exactly? I wasn't pedalling with my arms, so it must be time for the short stem to go back on and to get some aero bars. Three more weeks and I can pimp my bike.  Bring it on, I can hardly wait.  

who puked in the pool?

Considering I had a 6am start, I've had a pretty good day. Well, aside from shaving 400 metres off my swim today.  But I had good reason, I promise. Funny story? I was joking with one of my colleagues in the gym today about not swimming straight after my protein shake in case I puked in the pool. I was going to swim at the gym but there were too many clowns in the pool.  I drove up to the local pool, thinking I'd be sweet as for some lane swimming. But, I got to the pool to find the indoor one closed because...you guessed it...someone had puked in the pool. Gold!!! 

I decided to harden up and swim in the 50 metre outdoor one instead - and it wasn't at all cold. I got a calf cramp halfway down the lane at 600 metres and copped a face full of water.  Not fun! 

I was pretty wrecked today.  I've had several late nights trying to finish typing up something special for someone, plus early starts, not eating properly, blah blah blah.  Next week it's back to the grind and back to the tried and tested routine.  Bring on the routine, not sure about the grind!  I've been falling asleep at the laptop typing this, so I'll be off to read some more of the crazy marathon book before crashing out and sleeping in until 7am.

I went down to Cycle City this afternoon on my way to the pool to get an idea of what I'm up for to pimp my bike.  First cab off the rank after the car is paid for, will be a new saddle and tri shoes for my bike with cleats and pedals. Oh, I can't wait! 


My ride last night was murder, riding in trainers has never been cool and riding with rubber tongs holding your shoe on the pedal is a disaster.  It probably takes five times longer to flick the pedal around to get the rubber tong over my shoe than it would to clip into a real pedal :-)  I feel like a right dork trying to flick my pedal while powering away at intersections.  My feet go numb and then tingly at about the 8km mark and it's VERY uncool!

My protein supply arrived today, thank goodness.  I can't cope with anything other than my Sexy Strawberry protein, everything else tastes like pulped cardboard.  Even Musashi can't top my strawberry "milkshakes".  If you want to know what I'm on about, check out Eat Me protein.  I hate running out as then I have to use my emergency stash of protein which is like concrete dust, and will be setting up a standing order so I never run out again!

I've made scones to say thanks to the team at the work placement gym for having me for the last two weeks. I might even have one with a scrape of jam tomorrow, unless my trainer has something to say about that!  Refined carbs and sugar and etc...nag nag nag!

Ciao

Annaliese

Car is sorted, now back to training...

That part for the car is in good nick and is being installed tomorrow.  I get the car back next week (coincides with payday, ha ha), in plenty of time for my next tri.  Now I can drive it down to Taupo to support Sean at Ironman in March as well.  Wicked!  No more worrying about trying to flick it, or buying something else, or how I'm going to transport my bike and gear around to my triathlons.  Awesome!!!

After this fantastic news, my day just got better.  I did a lot more hands-on stuff at work placement and started to feel like part of the furniture, instead of just a plastic sofa cover.  I even managed to prise myself off the couch after dinner and went for a very short ride (6.66 miles, ha ha) - it would have been further but it was starting to get dark and I'd left my bike lights at home, darn it.  I love MapMyRide, MapMyRun and MapMyTri.  Awesome sites for figuring out the distance of your runs, rides and the like.  

Tomorrow it's off to the pool for a 1km swim.  I am scheduled to run tomorrow night, but with a 6am start at the gym let's see how much energy I have and how awake I am at 2pm when we finish.  I've finished the typing work I had to do for a friend so no more late nights slaving over a hot laptop for a while (aside from updating this blog and doing stuff for uni, obviously).  

I've been reading a book by Dean Karnazes (the super endurance guy) called "50 Marathons - 50 Days".  This guy did indeed run 50 Marathons in 50 Days.  He went through five pairs of shoes, 18 pairs of socks and three lost toenails (gross) in the process, not to mention running 2092km in 50 days.  What a legend.  I grabbed it in a book sale for $2 months ago and have finally got around to reading it.  I'm up to marathon number 9, so will review the book properly when I finish it and let you know what I think.

Bed calling - have a great day tomorrow all!

Light at the end of the tunnel

Good news and good news to start the week off.  Nice!

I had a call from the mechanic today, to tell me that he's found a part for my car which is on a courier as I type.  He's going to check it in the morning to see if it's in good nick, and if it is, the repair bill for my car will halve.  Awesome!!!  I'm trying not to get too excited right now, just in case it all turns to shite again!

I've entered my second triathlon, the contact triwoman at Narrow Neck on 23 January, so it's 2.5 weeks away.  I'm hoping the car can be fixed by then as I need it to transport my bike and gear.  So, I'm having a trademe frenzy this afternoon, loading everything i can get my hands on so that I can get my car back on the road!  Nobody seems to want one of my kidneys, so that's out - but I will buy a big Wednesday and oz lotto ticket for this week, just in case.

My training is slightly off the boil.  I swam on Friday and again yesterday, but with the crazy work placement hours, public holidays and the mother of all hangovers on Sunday (including bloody sore feet from five hours of nonstop dancing the night before), it's all gone to hell in a handcart.  Good thing then that in the past when I've missed a few days of training, I've gone back stronger than ever.  

Fortunately, my local gym is back to normal hours from today so I'll be heading down for a big session later.  I was supposed to do a brick today but I'm too damn tired from my 5.30am start with only 4.5 hours sleep!!!  In my defence, I did a 1km swim yesterday instead of 750m as I got caught up in my hypoxic breathing drills.  And, I'm biking to work placement tomorrow and on Friday, and swimming Thursday and Saturday.  I'll run tonight, Thursday and Saturday.  I'll do a big bike on Sunday, and then Monday it's back to reality - work, uni, etc.

With the car off the road, I'll be walking to the train station and back to get to work.  No dramas there - but I'm now starting to think about riding to work and back three days a week. Might not be such a bad plan, and a good way to get an extra 120-200km per week on the bike (depending on 3 or 5 days a week).  It will save a fair whack in petrol, train fare and train-related drama too.

Right, it's time for a pre-training nap so until tomorrow, have a great one!

2010: my goals for the New Year

I've started New Year's day the same way for the past 15 years, by listening to "New Year's Day" by U2.  First song of the day, the first song I play each New Year's day.  Today was no exception - for those of you who don't know the lyrics, here you go:

All is quiet on New Year's Day.

A world in white gets underway.

I want to be with you, be with you night and day.

Nothing changes on New Year's Day.

On New Year's Day.

I... will be with you again.

I... will be with you again.

Under a blood-red sky

A crowd has gathered in black and white

Arms entwined, the chosen few

The newspaper says, says

Say it's true, it's true...

And we can break through

Though torn in two

We can be one.

I... I will begin again

I... I will begin again.

Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.

Oh, maybe the time is right.

Oh, maybe tonight.

I will be with you again.

I will be with you again.

And so we are told this is the golden age

And gold is the reason for the wars we wage

Though I want to be with you

Be with you night and day

Nothing changes

On New Year's Day

On New Year's Day

On New Year's Day

So, other than listening to this every New Year's day, what else will I be doing during 2010?

Completing the Contact Triwoman 3-9-3 event on Saturday 23 January 2010 at Narrow Neck.

Completing my fitness instructor qualification through NZIHF by 28 February 2010 (one month early).

Watching Ironman NZ at Taupo on 6 March 2010 and supporting my friend Sean who is competing again (dude, you rock. Seriously!).

Completing my first half ironman (the Auckland Half) on 20 March 2010.  I don't want to place, I just want to finish!

Attending FILEX in Sydney from 30 April to 2 May 2010.  Then travelling down to Melbourne for a few days.

Completing a certificate in sports training and development by 7 May 2010, through SIT.

Achieving 20% body fat by 30 June 2010.

One top secret but very life-changing goal at 1pm on 3 July 2010.  Shhhhh!!!  Can't tell you, so please don't ask on here!!  Email me and ask me that way instead!  

Watching Ironman Hawaii (and Lance Armstrong compete in it) on 9 October 2010, LIVE, in Kona, Hawaii!!! 

So, people, what will you be doing in 2010?