Triathlete Number 245 reporting for duty!

Okay, so tomorrow is triathlon number 5.  I'm pretty excited, and the nerves are starting to settle down now.  I think doing five triathlons inside three months does that to you!

Swim coaching was awesome today, we didn't do sprints (awesome), instead Phoebe had me doing blocks of 100m, then 200m, then I did a 350m!  Woohoo!  I wanted to die afterwards, my arms were grumbling but my lungs were fine.  I didn't think I could swim that far nonstop but I can...probably going to pay for it in the drink at tri #5 tomorrow but MEH! 

I've been and registered, bought a giant steak for dinner, drunk more fluid than I probably needed and now I'm trying to stay off my feet.  Easier said than done, but lazing around watching a couple of movies should help.  

Bag is packed for the tri, bike is in the car, and now it's giant steak time!  

Catch you all tomorrow.

Lane swimming rules

On Wednesday night, I did my first evening lane swim at the local pool.  What a difference paying $2.70 for a bit of peace and quiet made to my training!  

There was no riff-raff, aqua joggers were non-existent, no slow people in the medium lane, in fact, no people in my lane at all!  I had a whole lane to myself, and although I know it sounds selfish, I like it that way.  I can swim at my own pace, in my own time, and not have to have ridiculously long enforced rest breaks between sets due to someone with a kickboard getting in the way.  I did my 600 metres and got out, smiling for a change.

The best part of the session was the spa afterwards.  Ten minutes of soaking tired muscles in a nice bubbly spa pool was blissful.  The changing rooms and showers were clean and empty, so overall it was probably the best pool session I have ever had. 

Of course, the fact that I had just passed my last practical assessment at Uni (being exercise instruction) probably assisted with the bliss and happiness.  It was nice to hear, “Congratulations, you’re done”, after a year of hard slog.  Hooray!  I now get a funky shirt with my Uni name on it and a nice drink bottle.  I guess that means I will have a uniform to wear when training clients, which is excellent! 

After hearing “Congratulations, you’re done” I was really fired up for my swim session.  I was also pretty fired up for sticking my bike on the new wind trainer, so I when I got home from work yesterday I tried to take off the front wheel.  FAIL! The springs for my front skewer were stuck in the wheel core, and would not budge.  I loaded the bike into the car and went down to my trusty bike shop for help.  Nick undid the skewer and gave the diagnosis as the springs being in round the wrong way. Ugh!  I thought it looked a little odd but was not quite sure why. 

Well, I do not know who has been playing with my bike for the past two months but I certainly have not taken off my wheel.  Nick stuck my wheel back on with the springs around the right way, pumped up my tires with an air compressor, checked my brakes and gears quickly and pronounced it fit for triathlon number 5.  I took the bike home, took the front wheel off and stuck her on the trainer. 

Aside from needing a stepladder to get on and off the bike while it is on the trainer, it is all good.  However, the stabiliser is too far forward so I need Allen keys to move it back to sit under the crankshaft.  Once adjusted, I will be pedalling off into the night on an Avanti Sprint wind trainer!

I have found and ordered a virtual rider DVD.  This one has you riding out to the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia.  I cannot wait for it to arrive, so I can chuck it on my laptop and get pedalling on my bike.  That will get me more saddle time, more cleat time and a healthy dose of (virtual) reality for my training. 

With triathlon number five coming this weekend, I want to go out and do it in less than 1 hr 12 minutes.  The swim is 300m so that should take under 12 minutes including an uphill crawl to transition and getting to my rack.  The bike is 8km so that should take about 20-25 minutes.  The run is 3km, which will take about 25 minutes.  With five minutes extra thrown in for transitions and getting off my bike, I am thinking around 1hr 10 minutes. 

I really would like a PR.  I should be able to achieve my desired timeframe, considering my swim has improved markedly in the last couple of weeks, the bike is shorter than normal and I am feeling good after two massages this week!  Bring it on!

Tri-ing again – Triathlon #4

I have just completed my fourth triathlon.  I am indeed a machine – and I like it!

Tri #4 was race three in the Panasonic series this season, and was at Maraetai Beach.  I went out to registration on Saturday afternoon after my swim coaching session.   I made sure I sighted the swim course and drove the bike course, but I could not see the run course.  I am glad now that I did not see it before the race; it was a pig of a trail run up and down hills on a shell track.  It was probably 55% uphill – yuck.

In swim coaching this week, we worked on backstroke drills, which was interesting and loosened up my shoulders.  Next week it is sprints again, although I voiced my concerns on this as I have a 300m swim the next day.  I do not want to blow out my arms the day before a bigger tri!  I am starting to think I need to join a swim squad, but could do with more endurance before I do that. Turns out my head is too far back and my feet need to come up a little more when I am doing backstroke, but my hips and knees are in the right position – probably because that is where all my body fat is stored, and fat floats!  My freestyle technique is awesome now, so I just need to work on endurance then speed.

I also got a pedicure, had a good dinner and an early night.  I didn’t sleep well as I kept waking up and my flatmate woke me up when he came home drunk at 4.30am, but I had enough sleep to make up for the wakeups.  I also had a very early night on Friday and slept pretty well then too.  I ate well all weekend, drank plenty of fluids and got lots of rest.

I got up, had breakfast (cereal, milk, yogurt, toast and vegemite) and put my pre-packed transition bag in the car.  I’ve learnt that one bag is more than enough when you have no support crew, and in fact probably even when you do.  In that one small green supermarket eco bag, I had my special needs bag for after the race, my race gear and my change of clothes for afterwards.  Sorted – or so I thought.  I forgot to pack my recovery formula, and lip balm.  Mental note to self – stick a spare lip balm in my saddle bag!

I drove out to Maraetai and arrived excessively early.  I scored a premium parking spot right next to transition and sat around to chillout out by watching the sea and listening to my iPod.  I bought a latte pre-race (will not be doing that again, see later in the day for why), and sat on the beach to drink it. Then I racked up in transition, lay my gear out and took a few photos.  Before I knew it, race briefing had started and it was time to get out of transition and hit the water. 

The water was okay until waist-depth.  After a minute or so, I was used to the temperature so I paddled around a bit for a warm up.  Good move – this paid off well at Takapuna despite my bad back, and it paid off again today.  My suggestion is to get into the water close to the start time, so when you do have to enter (regadless of a wave start on the beach or a water start) your body is not trying to recover from the shock of the cold wetness and warm you up at the same time as trying to swim. 

A few minutes later, we were off.  I ended up about three metres from the start line of the swim, thanks to a huge bunch of slow people who got in the middle and at the front, slowing the rest of us down.  I actually passed someone on the swim despite having a left arch foot cramp, while swimming the whole way with my face in the water and non-stop.  I am such a legend!  Of course, that person got up in the water and took off into transition before I did, but I wanted to save my legs for the bike and run, so I stayed swimming and kicking until my fingertips hit the sand before getting up. 

My swim spilt was 2:17, not bad at all!  I have been doing 2:30 or so in the pool lately, and that was with streamlining and an exact 100m distance instead of the 103m I ended up with today.  I was happy with my swim today, and for the first time ever in a triathlon!  I took my time walking the very short distance into transition, and proceeded to plod around trying to find my bike.  The racks were a little weird in their setup and I did not have my normal transition towel as I had used it at swim coaching the day before – so I borrowed one off my flatmate.  FAIL! 

I finally found my bike, rinsed the sand off my feet, put on my socks, bike shoes, run top, helmet, gloves, and sunnies – then gulped down a caffeine gel before I realised that I had done a Sam Warriner and nearly took off with my race number belt still on my handlebars and almost caught in my wheel.  I stopped, told myself off, and put it on properly before turning it around and jogging up the chute to the bike exit.  My heart rate was still a little high, despite a rather lengthy transition, so I took it easy on the first 1km of the bike to warm up my legs. 

The bike was not too bad, overall.  I am sure that it was not 10km though; I feel it was more and I am quite sure of this.  I drove the bike course the day before and did not hit the trip meter in my car until 400m past the bike exit, and it was still more than 5km to Duders Beach (the turnaround for my event).  Ah well, Cest la vie! 

There were a few very narrow parts to the ride, with big 4WD vehicles towing big boats that got a bit close at some parts.  It was a winding and undulating ride at times, but it was okay.  I was dead last by a country mile on the way out to Duders, but managed to pass a few people on the return to Maraetai.  That felt good (it always does), despite my knowledge that they would probably pass me on the run.

Ah yes, the run.  Oh heck…it was awful.  I got back to transition, racked up, took off my helmet, forgot my run cap, took off my bike shoes, put on my trusty Asics and took off, dropping my ventolin on the way out of transition.  I got past the boat club and saw a big uphill path, and was not happy.  A few young girls were perched on a pillar, yahooing at everyone who ran past.  I told them that they would have to yahoo loud for me when I came back down the hill, as I would be feeling a bit grim.  They agreed, and off I went up the hill. 

Well, at least that first uphill part was paved with concrete and good intentions, but so is the road to hell and a few hundred metres past the end of the concrete I started to feel like I had found the road to hell!  With the exception of probably 500m of the 2km run (the 250m either side of the turnaround), the rest of it was a nasty undulating shell covered trail run…yuck!  

I was really P’d off with this, I was thinking I could blow out 55 minutes but after a couple of minutes battling with the trail run, it became obvious that idea of a sub 55-minute tri effort was shot to hell.  My left outer ankle started to whine, and I was still recovering from tearing up the last 1km of the bike.  I had to slow down to a fast walk for most of it, running up the hills to try to loosen up my ankle. 

I got back to the top of the hill where the girls were waiting at the bottom, yahooing their little heads off for me.  That was awesome, I knew at that point there was only about 350m to go, and despite having come close to stopping on a park bench along that shelly trail, I was going to finish.

I passed the boat club and started to run hard.  There were two people behind me and I did not care one iota that they probably were not in my age group, I just did not want them to pass me. 

I ran around the last bend past the trees and sponsor marquees and across the finish line in 1hr 02mins and a bunch of seconds.  Job done! 

It was time for recovery food and it was off to the Hammer Nutrition tent for a pack of Recoverite.  Man, that stuff is nice!  I gulped that down followed by a banana, a choccie milk and a primo extreme.  I was starting to feel a little more human, so I went to see the girls at the Bodyneed physio tent for a massage. 

I was talking to the nice woman with the AccuIce stand and waiting for a free massage therapist when I spotten Ruben Wiki.  I raced back to the car to get my camera – I just had to get a photo with him, he is a total legend and such a nice person that it would have been rude not to do so.  Therefore, I did.  

We had a great chat about triathlons (it was his first and my fourth); training, PT work, and how awesome his mate was for doing his second ever tri and smashing 12 minutes off his time (wow!).  As an aside, I went out with his best mate from high school for a couple of years, and although that relationship was a total disaster, it was a good lesson to learn.  Those boys had David Tua in their crew at Otahuhu College as well, so hardly anyone messed with them at school.  LOL.

The massage was exactly what I physically needed, but it sure hurt like hell!  I had to plaster a smile on my dial through clenched teeth as the massage tent was out in the open and people were watching.  I think I would rather have another hour and a half worth of tattoo than a calf massage straight after a race, but it really is a good thing to do (actually, so is the tatt but more on that later).  I had no soreness and virtually no stiffness the next day. 

I changed out of my tri suit, put on my compression socks and my jacket, grabbed another latte and walked around for a bit.  I caught up with a mate, and we chatted while waiting for another mate to finish.  Mate number two had vicious quad cramps on the bike that did not let up into the run, so he had a crappy day.  There is a big lesson to learn from these cramps, which is to eat properly before your race (and that includes the day before), drink plenty of fluids and if you are going for more than 1-1.5 hrs, make sure you consume something during the event in addition to fluids, or you will end up as my mate did!

Homeward bound at last around 11am, I stopped off at the fruit shop near Whitford to get some apples, and then the gym to get a bit of coaching on some advanced exercises that I had to instruct my skills coach at Uni to do for my final practical assessment.  This was very helpful – the instructor is an awesome person and one I can trust to show me correct form and technique. 

After the exercise coaching session, it was post-race pizza time, probably the thing I look forward to most after crossing the finish line at a tri.  It is my one bit of major indulgence, so by the end of the season I will have finished seven triathlons and seven pizzas, ha!

I was a little too wired from caffeine gels to nap early in the afternoon, so I lazed around in bed and watched movies and Contact Tri TV instead.  About 6pm, I finally crashed out and got an hour’s nap in before starting to feel hungry again.  I had of course had my protein shake around 4pm, but I needed carbs and plenty of them.  I had a bowl of pasta, another hot shower and hit the pillow again around 8.30pm.  I love how exercise totally tuckers you out; I had a great night’s sleep and woke feeling very little stiffness. 

What did I learn from triathlon number four?  Here is the good, the bad and the ugly.

What went well?

• The swim, as I did the whole thing without stopping and with my face in the water and without resorting to backstroke.
• Most of the bike, although it got a little hinky in some places
• Nutrition
• Double-checking the alarm clock was set correctly
• Driving the bike course the day before (although it’s always different in a car to being on the bike)
• Having only one bag of stuff, this included post-race food and clothing.
• Scoring a fantastic parking spot
• Getting a massage afterwards
• Pre-race nerves settled down well before I got to the water, which was great.  I was actually pretty Zen’d out this time.
• Having my photo taken with Ruben Wiki. That made my day!
• Swim coaching the day before, it loosened up my arms.

  

What did not go so well?

• The run - jeepers creepers, that was a sh*tty run course! 
• The foot cramp in the swim – although it was minor and just enough to annoy me mildly, I must warm up my feet before I swim in future
• Forgetting the lip balm
• Running without a cap and dropping my ventolin in transition
• Taking an eternity to put on my bike gloves - I think they are too small.
• Getting off the bike and needing help to do so...again!

  

How can I make the next one better?

• Wear my gym gloves on the bike, as they are much easier to get on and off
• Buy new bike gloves, which I will need for winter anyway, but I think a nice pair of 2XU bike gloves would be great.
• Pack a lip balm in my saddle bag
• Wear my run cap – I have a nice 2XU one now so I have solved that problem.  I could even put it on under my helmet, providing it does not look stupid.  It would keep the sun out of my eyes better than the silly visor on my helmet does. 
• Dismounting the bike after a hard ride - I need more practice and I am still slightly scared of my cleats. Funny how I have no issues getting off the bike in my driveway, but that is probably because there are no people screaming at me to do so, hurry up, and get out of the way.  I still have this thing where I want a kerb to help me dismount when I am away from home.  I need to get over this quickly!
• More time on my bike.  I got my wind trainer last week, and need to stick my bike on it and ride.  I need to get a virtual cycling DVD to use to alleviate boredom on the trainer as I do not really want to watch movies while on the trainer (but I could create little games like climbing a pretend hill every time Tony the Yugoslav says his trademark word in The Wog Boy).  It could also help me past that truck episode from several weeks ago. 
• Only take a caffeine gel about an hour before the event, and not during it.  A normal one during it will be fine, so I can nap earlier in the afternoon.  I am not doing events that necessitate constant gel consumption, so a normal one just before the bike will kick in on the run and give me the boost I need to finish.

Onward and upward!

Ironman New Zealand 2010 - Iron Love Part II

I rolled out of bed about 8.30am on Sunday and after packing, checking out, leaving the hostel and dumping my backpack at the hire lockers at the Taupo Superloo (of all places!), I hit Fine Fettle for breakfast.  Best Latte in Taupo – and the buckwheat pancakes with blueberries and yogurt were heavenly.  Their pancakes were in fact so wonderful that I stopped at the bulk food store just down the road and grabbed a pack of Orgran apple and cinnamon buckwheat pancake mix to take home. 

I walked around a bit more, waiting for midday so that I could attend Jon Ackland’s first-timer Ironman presentation.  I found an awesome Balance Nutrition protein shaker at Rebel Sport, which has a little metal spring shaped like a ball in it, that acts as the mixer (for the record, it mixes perfectly).  I went and grabbed a quick bite to eat, then went back to the Great Lake theatre for the presentation. 

I watched in awe as the Kona qualifiers collected their T-shirt, Lei and congratulations from the qualification desk.  One day that could be me!  I want to do Kona by my 40^th birthday, which is just on seven years away – so there is plenty of time to achieve that goal.  I have to admit I was a teeny bit jealous, but that was soon replaced with the common sense knowledge that I have to actually do an Ironman first…walk before you can run, qualify before you can Kona, etc. 

Jon had his old training diaries for sale so after helping the girls from Performance Lab setup their EFTPOS machine I grabbed a copy.  They are as rare as hen’s teeth now, so I was not letting that gift horse get away.  I then realised I had no paper to take notes, so I shot over to Whitcoulls and bought a notebook with “anything is possible” on the cover.  For the uninitiated, that is the Ironman slogan, so it was very fitting for the occasion.  I also did not have a pen, so it was off to the Merchandise store for an Ironman NZ Pen. 

Jon’s presentation was fantastic.  I learnt many useful tips that I can apply in any triathlon, not just Ironman.  Many were also Ironman-specific, so they are now in my notebook to refer back to in 2011 while I am training for Ironman NZ 2012 (LOL).  Jon talked about legs, lungs and head.  I prefer “legs, lungs and lobes (as in brain lobes)”.  Ironman mostly about your legs, then about your lungs – but the most important factor is your mental game.  If you do not have your head right, you are going to fail. 

I think the “lobes” aspect applies to everything, not just to Ironman.  Your heart may be in it, but if your head is not, it will go pear-shaped.  If you know your legs will carry you the 226km, truly believe it, and can keep believing it the whole way, you are okay.  However, your brain needs to tell you constantly during those 226km that you CAN finish.  If you think you are in trouble, you are in trouble.  Crikey.

Jon also said that if you were sitting in the audience, you were going to do an Ironman.  Yep, busted.  I so want to do an Ironman.  I love triathlon as a sport, I love two of the three sports as individual sports (yes, if you guessed that I don’t love running as much as the other two then you would be correct!), I love the gear and the anticipation and the fun and the excitement and the feeling of finishing.  It is fantastic to be able to cross the finish line with a smile on your face, regardless of how long it took you to get there.  

The very act of finishing with an endorphin-induced smile is what drives me.  If I can do that at Taupo in 2012, that would be worth it.

Ironman New Zealand 2010 - Iron Love Part 1

I am back from Irontown NZ and had the most amazing weekend EVER. 

Okay, I will be completely honest here – there was one negative – so let us get that out of the way first.  My experience of Taupo was of it being a very expensive town eating-out wise.  Normally I can find at least a dozen places to eat at on a budget, but I was pushed to find four.  I am starting to hate travelling in-season. 

I also found avoiding my uncommon food intolerances and anaphylactic allergy virtually impossible in 96% of the cafes and restaurants.  I had huge problems finding stuff that I could eat.  I was not prepared to pay $30 for a main that was half deep-fried anyway, but everything was laden with onions and garlic (my intolerances) or smothered in raw tomatoes (my anaphylactic allergy).  Between the roast shop, Bodyfuel, Fine Fettle and the place that does the rotisserie chicken opposite Caltex, I covered off most of my nutritional needs.

Dozens of restaurants and cafes serving yet more deep-fried food complemented the evil quadrangle of BK, Maccas, KFC and Pizza Hut.  Seriously, not everyone wants to eat chips (fries) with every meal or have to call Greenpeace to come mop up the oil slick in their stomach after eating out. 

Yes, I was staying in a hostel with a kitchen.  However, I was on holiday.  Who wants to cook when they are on holiday?  Not me, that is for sure!  In hindsight, I should have.  I hate the lack of control stemming from placing my life in the hands (literally, with my tomato allergy) of strangers charged with preparing my meals. 

I could have been more organised and brought food down with me (more junk to carry, and carting said junk around town when you do not have a car there is a pain in so many places). 

Anyway, with that rant aside, the weekend was awesome!  After a six-hour bus trip with a half hour stop in Rotorua for a very quick and small lunch, I arrived in Taupo early Friday afternoon and dumped my bags before heading to Ironman central at the Domain.  I restrained myself at the expo, buying only a pair of Pearl Izumi socks and a Pearl Izumi race top.  I attempted to find some real lunch (FAIL), took some photos, found Pak N Save, bought a few bottles of water (plus milk, apples and yogurt) and headed back to the hostel. 

About 7pm, I was hungry again, so headed out to the rotisserie chicken place for dinner.  I had another walk around the shops, bought a pair of neoprene toe covers for my bike shoes from the temporary SwimT3 shop, and then headed back to the hostel for an early night.  I got back, took some photos of the sunset, got ready for bed and was about to turn off the light when a gigantic moth flew in the room.  Fifteen minutes later, the Chinese woman in my dorm and I had finally “encouraged” it to bug-ger off.  I went out like a light.

The alarm screamed at 5am and I got up, showered and dressed before scoffing down my protein shake.  I sat on the deck and admired the serenity…so much serenity.  I started walking down to the swim start and came across Stuart, Sean and Belinda at Bodyfuel.  Awesome!  Given that my Windows Phone was in hospital with all my contacts on it, I had no way of getting hold of the boys and was happy to find them on Tongariro Street.  Sean was remarkably composed and aside from a few flying dragons which I renamed dragonflies, was happy, smiling, joking and serene.  Yes, more serenity.  I would have been puking or freaking (and possibly both at the same time) by that point, so I was seriously in awe.  What a legend!

Sean suited up and we walked down to the swim start.   We left him and walked over to the fence to watch the pros starting the swim.  The starting cannons sure were loud, as was the sound of wetsuited arms powering through the remarkably calm water.  In what seemed like three minutes instead of fifteen, it was Sean’s turn.  Well, apart from my least favourite part of the swim start – the countdown beforehand that has previously made me freaked instead of focussed.  I hate it, and I am always like “just shut up until the *insert name of starting device* goes off!” 

The cannon blew us away again, and watching these remarkable people setting off for an epic journey of 226km was really quite overwhelming.  We watched for a while, and then walked over to T1 to sit on the mount line.  About 20 minutes later, Kieran Doe flew out of transition and took off on his bike.  My favourite Kiwi triathlete Terrenzo Bozzone was in hot pursuit, but sadly he earned a penalty for mounting his bike before the line.  I tried to figure out whom the penalty would have devastated more; Terrenzo, the two elderly Italian women down the chute, or me!

I could not believe I was about two feet from Kieran, Terrenzo, Jo Lawn, Kate Bevilaqua, Gina Crawford, Cameron Brown, Meshy Holt and James Bowstead.  It was just so cool, especially for someone like me who is still relatively new to triathlon and still has her training wheels on.  

Sean came through in about 1hr 10. He had a great swim, and I later learned his swim time was 1hr 1min and a few seconds. Fantastic work! Here is Sean heading off on his bike:

After Sean left on his bike, we had breakfast back at Bodyfuel, and then I headed off for a walk around the shops.  I broke my backpack at T1 and had to find a suitable replacement.  I went to every bag-selling store in Taupo before finding one that is just awesome and has the capacity of a TARDIS.  I stopped in at the Warehouse and spent my voucher (I love market research payments in the form of vouchers), buying a new pair of cooldry gym pants, a cooldry top and some cooldry socks.  I went back to the hostel, changed over my bags and set back out to see if I could find Sean returning from lap one of the 180km bike.

Just down the road from my hostel was part of the bike route.  I sat on a hay bale and waited.  About 15 minutes later, Sean came flying past.  Hooray!  I did not get a photo of him at that point but I did get to yahoo at him.  Big smiles all round!  Some annoyingly loud American chick was yelling “looking good, looking good” at EVERY SINGLE PERSON who rode past.  Let me tell you, I am all for supporting the triathletes but seriously, could you get some new material!  LOL!

I was starting to get thirsty so headed off for a coffee.  I was wandering around trying to decide which café’s coffee to try next when I ran into Geoff from work and his wife Sarah.  Surprise!  We had a quick chat then I headed off for my caffeine.  As those of you who know me can attest, I need my daily fix.  It is my one remaining vice after giving up booze, junk, refined carbs and chocolate for this triathlon madness.  As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out!

After the coffee, I headed off for yet another walk around town.   I had about an hour to kill before Sean came back on lap two of the bike.  Whitcoulls had a nice selection of triathlon books, so I stopped in for a read.  It was pretty close to 2pm by now, so I hit the lakefront and found a nice spot on the roadside just up from T2.  I got to watch Kieran, Terrenzo, Jo, Gina, Kate, Cameron, Lucy with the togs, the Canada guy, a couple of Irish guys, a couple of Italian guys and the Brazil guy running past a couple of times. 

About 2.15 Sean came past on his bike, heading for T2.  I yahooed at him again, but don’t think he heard me.  I missed him on his first pass on the run (he had added a blue run top and that threw me) but snapped him on his way past out to Five Mile Bay on lap one.  Here’s the very blurry photo, I think it's quite art house:

I sat on the roadside for an hour or so and then had to eat.  I headed off and got a Subway and a banana, washed it down with a protein shake and topped it off with an apple and yogurt.  I decided it was getting pretty close to home time for the pros, so I walked over to the finish line.  On the way there, Cameron Brown ran past:

And so did Terrenzo

And Jo

I wanted a nap in the shade, in the hammock at the hostel, so I went back there for a while.  However, I was too wired to sleep, so I went back to the finish line and parked up in the grandstand.  It started to get cold about 5.30pm and after Sean ran past just after 7.45pm I headed back to the hostel to put on every piece of warm (or otherwise) clothing I had with me, and get some dinner.  I got back to the grandstand at 8.30pm and continued to freeze.  It just seemed to get more and more cold, the wind which had whipped up on the bike course made it even more cold and by 10pm I was desperate for a hot chocolate to keep my hands warm.  I stood in line for 20 minutes to get one and it was good…really good!

About ten minutes later, a nice young man named Alex sat next to me in the grandstand and asked me if I knew what was going on.  He had never seen an Ironman before and did not know what all the fuss was.  He was in Taupo visiting his whanau and had gone out for a walk because they were driving him nuts.  He heard the noise and the party at the finish line and decided to investigate. 

I spent the next half hour explaining the event, the distances, the rules, the preparation, the training involved, the time commitment, the fact that Ironman is a life-changing and all-consuming beast, and just how amazing the people were who were crossing the finish line.  Mike Reilly called a man home who was about 68 and was on Ironman 46.  The oldest competitor was 73 and he came through in a really great time (I think under 14 hours).  People who had lost 40kg, people with seven kids, lawyers, doctors, bankers, teachers…etc. 

There were people doing multiple laps of honour, high-fiving everyone in the crowd.  There were mums and dads being handed kids over the barriers and running down the chute with them.  There were old people, young people, big and small, tall and short, fast and slow, fit and really bloody fit, and everything in between.  Mike Reilly was whipping up the crowd into absolute frenzy and it was fantastic.  It was definitely the best party I have been to this year (actually, it was the only party I have been to this year!). 

Alex and I stayed in the grandstand until the last person crossed the line.  That amazing woman did it in 17 hours and just over 1 minute.  She did not get an official time, but she was still an Ironman.  I was in tears, and so was more than half the crowd.  She had being going since 7am, probably up since 4am, it was now after midnight, and she had completed Ironman NZ (I am tearing up just thinking about this again).  Alex went back to his family, but before he left he said I’ll see you on the finish line in 2012 and we’ll go have a drink to celebrate us both being “an Ironman”.  Wow. Talk about laying down a challenge!

With that in mind, I walked back to the hostel and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.  It was not a restful night though.  At 3.48am, a bunch of arrogant, annoying, drunk American boys having a fight rudely woke me and about 90% of those trying to sleep in Taupo.  I went downstairs, got in the middle of them, and in no uncertain terms told them to shut the hell up and go back to bed.  People were out on the balcony watching the fight, and they clapped and cheered when I told the yanks to shut up.  Go me, but it pays not to wake me up from a nice deep sleep unless you want an earful!

so excited!

Tomorrow I'm off to Ironmanville (Taupo) to watch Ironman NZ on Saturday.  I booked this trip like six weeks ago, which now seems like six months.  At 8am tomorrow I jump on a bus that will have me in Taupo (via half the north island) by 2pm.  6.45am and 7am Saturday will be awesome, but so will midnight when the last finishers cross the line.  I just can't wait!!!

My bag is packed - tri suit, goggles, swim cap, heart rate monitor, iPod run sleeve, trainers, running gear...and then there's normal clothes, warm clothes and hot weather clothes.  Yeah, I'm only in Ironmanville for like 48 hours but this is NZ and the weather here really is messed up.  It's about 19 degrees C in Auckland overnight at the moment, but is supposed to get down to 9 or 10 degrees C overnight in Taupo and I just don't do being cold.  By contrast, it will get to about 24 degrees C during the day, so I don't want to bake either!  I intend to do a bit of training while I'm there, hence why I've packed training gear.

In other news, I'm busy updating my iPod.  Six hours on a bus is going to require some good tunes, and thanks to Lance Armstrong, I have ZZ Top in my head.  To cut a long story short, I've just finished reading "Every Second Counts" again, and have had the "Pearl Necklace" song stuck in my head for three days now.  

Must go finish prep for my trip - see you in Taupo!

Tri-ing to help Chile

I'm raising money for the Red Cross to assist those affected by the earthquake in Chile on 27/02/2009.

I'll do all the hard work; train for, and complete two triathlons dedicated to Chile, but I really need your help to make a difference to the people of Chile.

Please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button on my fundraiseonline page. It's simple, fast and totally secure. If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued. So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Click here to sponsor me and help the people of Chile recover.

Give Crowie back his bikes!

Some disgraceful specimens of human beings broke into Craig Alexander's house in Sydney on Sunday night and stole his bikes. Not cool!

In a statement, Craig said:

"I've invested a lot of time and effort in training for an upcoming overseas event in three weeks' time and the theft of my competition bikes is a major setback," the athlete said in a statement.

"I'd appeal to anybody who knows the current location of the bikes to contact police so they can be returned and I can resume my quest for world championship success."


Listen up you thieving baskets - give Crowie back his bikes!

I hope the full force of the karmic boomerang comes flying at the nasty pieces of work who did this.

Ironweek

I’m so excited because it’s Ironweek.  Yes, that’s right – it’s just 5 more sleeps until Ironman New Zealand.  Awesome!  I can’t wait until Friday to get on that bus and hit Taupo hard.  I’m going to run and walk and swim like mad.  I’m going to take about a million photos, and generally have an awesome time!

I will not be volunteering at Ironman New Zealand because the volunteer person still has not replied to my email of last week, asking what was going on.  I am sick of waiting (over 7 weeks and counting since I put in my application) and feel that the silence is a bit rude, so I have withdrawn my application.  The Ironman 70.3 Geelong people kept in regular contact and told me what I would be doing more than a week out. 

It is just days to go and the NZ people do not seem to be interested.  It would be courteous to at least reply and tell me I am superfluous (particularly after arranging all my travel to suit the whole of race day).  Oh well, it is their loss.  Gives me time to enjoy the event and pop up randomly on the course for Sean!    

Had a pretty good swim session this morning.  Did 500m in the pool, nothing too strenuous as I’ve got an epic gym session tonight.  Since I’m only doing a max of 300m swims in the four tris I have left this season, there’s not a lot of point doing huge distances right now.  It’s more about technique and quality rather than quantity at this point in time.

Tonight I'm meant to hit the gym for strength and core training, followed by interval runs.  I'm really tired today and keep wanting to go home and sleep instead.  Let's see how I feel when I get home though.

Tsunami on the loose

There was a gigantic earthquake in Chile last night, which generated a Tsunami.  We've been on Tsunami alert for about 16 hours now, and the fun is starting to wear off.  I wanted to ride this morning, but my long ride route takes me past very low lying coastal areas around the back of the airport and I figured it just wasn't worth the risk.  So, I stayed home, glued to twitter, facebook and the news sites.  Nothing scary yet, but apparently the danger's not over until 12 hours after the predicted first wave arrival time (or some junk like that).

Yesterday's swim coaching session went pretty well.  I didn't get the lesson all to myself as I was hoping, as there was a Chinese guy with me.  However, he can swim so it's all good.  I relish the competition, and I beat him in sprints.  Go me!  I'll miss next weeks class though, as I'm off to Taupo to watch Ironman New Zealand.  It's okay though, they are doing dives and tumble turns, neither of which will help me in open water.

I still haven't heard anything from the Ironman New Zealand organisers about my volunteer application so I guess I'll get to watch the whole thing and not be able to help anyone.  Fine and dandy - although it would be nice to have heard that my help isn't required.  I know they are busy and it's race week now, but come on, where's the courtesy email to say "nah"?

Tomorrow morning it's off to swim at 6am, tomorrow night it's back to the gym for strength and core training and interval runs.  Tuesday is all about the bike.  Wednesday is a 6am swim and interval runs.  Thursday is a 6am spin class and to the gym for strength and core training.  Friday I'm on a bus to Taupo (yay!)  for six hours (oh joy) then I'll swim and walk.  Saturday is Ironman, so it's my rest day.  Sunday I'll swim and walk before doing the intro to Ironman session, then spending 6 hours on a bus back home.  Big week.

Off to chillout for a couple of hours...catch you later.