Weekly rundown: 25/5

An OK week. Would have been good/solid if we hadn't so utterly stuffed our Sunday plans. Time to stop stewing on it and start running though!

M- Long swim (3500m). Great swim (despite the annoying breaches of swim-squad etiquette)

T- 45 minute run. Went up Franklin Rd, down Curran Street and back around the Marina. At least I think that's what I did...?

W- Planned rest, and photo school in the evening.

T- 60 minute Strength set on the trainer. The 8 minute standing intervals were my best yet!

F- Speedwork (swim). Workout was 2900m in total, with 1000 w/up, 3 x 100 sprint, 8 x 100 medley, and an 800m ladder to wind down. My 100s were OK- 1:35, 1:37, 1:35. I'd like to go faster, and think I should be able to- I didn't feel even remotely puffed.

S- 45k ride in Maraetai (where the Akl half IM course goes). Mostly ok, but a serious fade at the end when I ran out of water and enthusiasm.

S- We had my "free" day on Sunday so Phil could ride with me on Monday. We'd planned an awesome trail run and a walk, but ended up having to go to Manukau again, then we couldn't find the trails we wanted out around Woodhill. We ended up heading to Muriwai out for a run, but we weren't dressed well, and it was absolutely freezing. Phil was too cold, so I gave him my jumper and we headed back.

M-A lovely ride to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Just up to Titirangi, as I only had 90 mins planned, and Phil's recovering and just getting back into things. I felt really good on the hills- I'm still slow, but I'm getting better. The first bit of the descent wasn't particularly comfortable- bumpy, freezing cold, and couldn't see a thing with the sun in my eyes- but the rest of the way back was awwwwesome.

By the way, this coming weekend (Sunday?) I'm going to be riding the Rotovegas half course while Phil's learning to MTB. Any takers?

Swim squad: tips (pet peeves)

Squad swimming is much better than normal pool swimming. You all do the same workout, and you don’t get people doing breaststroke in the fast lane, or aggressive pass-ers in the slow lane.

But it’s not perfect, and as a somewhat competitive, easily annoyed person, I thought I’d share some tips, and see if anyone else has anything to add (who knows, I may be doing something heinously annoying without even realising)...

-If someone is faster than you, let them pass. You don’t need to stop for them, but keep left and don’t flail around too much. Make it easy for them.

Even if that someone’s usually slower than you, they might be a much stronger kicker, and it might annoy them having you change to BREASTSTROKE kick so they can’t pass, then turning around super fast so they’re stuck behind you doing your slow, flailing kick again. Hypothetically.

Oh- and they will be especially annoyed if after all this, you decide to cut off half a length so you can beat them back at the end of the set.

- Don’t race the warmup. No-one appreciates being rushed, and no-one’s impressed. It’s a warmup. Same goes for DPS/easy sets.

-If someone is consistently passing you in the first few lengths of each set, let them go first on the next set. Yes, they can pass you, but it’s easier on everyone if you just start in the right place. Not Rocket Science.

What are your pet peeves?

A weekly rundown

Monday: REST (planned, but switched from Weds, as I was shattered after our weekend in Welly)

Tuesday: Spinning (strength)... The 8 minute standing intervals are a b*tch. But I can feel them working (at least that's what I'm telling myself!); 20 minute run (easy)

Wednesday: 15 x 100 swim test. Hard but good. Between 1:45 and 1:50 for all reps- could have gone faster I think. Was relieved that it was 15 x 100 rather than 1500 TT, as I'd been out of the pool for awhile!

Thursday: A wee run round the bays after work. Nothing really to report. Pace was 6:08, which is OK for aerobic for me, I think.

Friday: Swimming- 1200m w/up followed by 52 x 25 sprints, including all the medley strokes (yup, that's 1300m. Of sprints. Oh boy) Sprints were fun. I kicked on the backstroke sprints, but was about equal with the other woman in my lane for the free. The hardest part was the underwater sprints which totally wasted my legs. I made it to the second flags on the first one, but never got much past halfway on the others.

Saturday: 1 hour bike with Phil, followed by 20 minute run-off round (and round, and round) Victoria Park. Ride was lovely, but no idea of speed. We felt fast enough! We did part of my wee St Heliers loop, but my directions were terrible ("I don't know, you just go the way that feels right!") so didn't do the whole lot. Felt much better on the wee hills than last time- standing intervals paying off?

Carless weekend, so we had quite a big wander around Ponsonby/K Rd before tea.

Sunday: Lovely (and exciting) walk over the 'arbour in the sun. Was quite tired out after the evening and morning's wandering. I ended up riding inside (for 2.5 hours, not the scheduled 3), first to avoid the traffic buildup due to the Bridge protest (blimmin cyclists always causing trouble for the poor old motorists....), but also because I was worried that Phil had no cellphone so would be unable to rescue me if I fell off/got a flat/whatever, and because I don't really like being away from the husband for 3 hours of our meagre time together. I watched "Across the Universe" (again) and tried to do something (eg standing, one leg, spin, low gear) for the duration of each song.

Woohoo!

Yesterday I was proud to be a temporary JAFA.

Today, I am ashamed.

It seems like every time I read the paper, I'm more aware that the country I love is not the country I try to believe it is.

I want to believe that Aotearoa New Zealand is about tolerance and support. About innovation. About standing up for what's right. About protecting the vulnerable.

But I'm starting to think I'm mad, and that this image is a product of my idealistic naivete. It seems that we're actually a bunch of judgmental, intolerant, selfish, brats, who whinge whinge WHINGE, and who don't care about much apart from preserving their own, individual, status quo.

I know, I know..

...The wedding's well been and gone... But I just got this photo from a friend of ours, and it made me so happy I had to share it.

Happy 3 and a bit months of marriage, Phillip!

Races! Races!

Paul has given me a few race options. Yay!

At this stage, I'm thinking about doing three events:

1- Contact Duathlon in Auckland on 28 June. Paul thinks this would be good to do, though I'm a little nervous about doing a sprint distance race and a lot scared of being last! Ah well- character building! And it's been AGES since I did a du, so it could be quite fun!

2- Okoroire Mid Winter Fun Ride (70k) on 26 July. Would be my first standalone cycling event, and looks fun.

3- Mizuno Half Marathon on August 2. Only a week after the ride, but Cambridge and Taupo are both easy to get to, I'll be riding easy(ish), and I'd really love to see where my half is at.

Any takers?

Sorry Paul & Art

..but I just can't pay $369.

Poos.

Monday mundanity

- Wellington was pretty awesome, though windy.

- Running around the bays after the sun came out on Sunday was fantastically invigorating, if rather depressing in places.

- Elements in Lyall Bay really is fantastic!

- Most random experience? Had to be the bodyguards complete with squiggly earpiece thingies in Floriditas. In FLORIDITAS?! Seriously.

- Simon and Garfunkel tickets are on sale (again) tomorrow. Wish me luck, cross fingers, etc etc!

-This weekend is an Auckland-only, no driving, weekend. Phew!

- Apparently if I can run 6:15ks when aerobic, I should actually be able to pull out a sub-4 marathon and 23:18 5k. Who knows if that's true, but it makes my steady runs a little more bearable.

- We're spending Christmas in Seoul with my baby sister and London with Phil's "Best Man" (and others). WOO!!!

Wellington

We're going to Wellington tomorrow! Only for 2 days- we arrive early Saturday morning and leave on Sunday evening. But, nonetheless- yay!

I have two runs scheduled- 90 on Saturday and 60 on Sunday (I'll probably do it the other way round). Right now I'm trying to come up with a wonderful plan that covers all my favourite running spots- though I don't think that'll be possible, especially since we won't have a car.

We're staying in Northland, so I'm thinking of a hilly suburban 60, taking in some of Tinakori hill, and a Round the Bays 90 (even though the forecast isn't promising me the perfect Wellington day I had in mind)

It's not only running that's hard to decide- where will we eat?! We're going to Elements with our photographer on Saturday morning (PS- planning our album- WOO!), and having dinner with friends on Saturday night. I'm thinking maybe Olive. I'd like to do lunch at Wholly Bagels if we can. Oooh, and a coffee at Mojo... Oh, I can't wait.

Have a great weekend all!

Type A-

I have a confession. I’m not really a type A. More like a Type B+/A- if I’m lucky.

I care quite a lot about the things I do, and I am a pretty big fan of achievement, whether it’s work, money, exercise, weight, grades or whatever. But I’m missing that drive that most real Type As have- I’m a bit slapdash, easily burnt out, kinda lazy and a king procrastinator. In fact, most of my success comes from natural ability, and is nothing to do with hard work.

I enjoy my job, and I get a kick out of working hard and doing it well. But I don’t want to put in the hard yards required to seriously advance in my field.

I like not being fat, but I definitely don’t like being thin enough to forego chocolate, red wine, cheese and the odd cinnamon bun from Snickerdoodles in Oakura (seriously- that place is worth trekking to the ‘Naki for). I don’t think life would be any better if I looked hotter in a bikini, though I do think a little bit of discipline would be worth it if it helped me ride up Tarawera Road a leetle faster than 9km/h!

I like being organised, and I feel incredibly satisfied when I go to bed after a good meal, with the chores all done, lunches ready and “leftovers” in the freezer. But I don’t like it enough to sacrifice my Sunday evening Phil time, or my chillout Monday West Wing DVDs.

I like running and triathlon, and I LOVE getting to that place where I can knock off a 12-14 hour training week and feel awesome. I love races and time trials, and running up giant hills. I love it enough to wake up early every morning (ok, ok most mornings), and enough to dedicate a good chunk of weekend to my training. But I don’t quite love it enough to turn down invitations for it, or to squeeze 3 hour rides in before 9am on a Sunday.

This is OK now, I can just about keep on top of most things without flipping out too often. But what about one day in the not-near but not way distant future when we have kids? I’ll still need these little achievements, but I’m going to need to say goodbye to that chill-out time. I guess I should start practicing Type A now?

PS- I have a major sense of deja vu about this post, but I can't find an earlier version, so apologies if I'm repeating myself

Not so awesome

After starting my training with Paul with a real burst of energy and enthusiasm, I've been finding it hard to keep at it for the past couple of weeks. There was the thing with Eric, but a lot of it's just been that ordinary mixture of work deadlines, work drinks, family occasions, rain, darkness, tiredness, rain, chores and general interfering miscellany. My sleeping patterns have suddenly changed from "generally good" to "nightmares with twice-nightly wakeups" and that's thrown me more than I'd hoped it would.

The other obstacle is Phil's injury. He's been my number one training buddy for the past year, so training without him is a bit sad, especially now that weekends are our only time together.

This just feels like a blip, and I suspect that things will look up soon. After our weekend in Wellington this week, we're staying in roughly one place for awhile, which I think will help. Plus, I'll soon have Eric back, and Phil is getting back into the swing of cycling pretty steadily (knock wood).

Anyway- this week is all about spinning and swimming, and going to Wellington (woo!) and lots of running. Onwards ho!

Small things

What's been defining my week this week?

Not my poor bike lying alone in bike-intensive care.
Not an exciting career landmark.
Not the surprise visit from my husband last night (though that was by far and away the BEST thing this week)
Not envying all marathon racing blog buddies

Nope- it's my poor toes. On Monday, I wore fins that were too small for 800m of fartlek kick and 600m of backstroke drills. My poor toes were cut to shreds which makes walking, swimming, running and wearing work shoes incredibly, irritatingly painful. It's such a little thing, but it's made quite a difference.

New Plymouth this weekend. Yay!

Retraction

Well, after the little funeral yesterday (threw a piece of front fork into an overfill bin at Titirangi Beach- which, btw, is GORGEOUS), and the little death notice today, it seems that Eric will LIVE. Just needs new front fork and new saddle. Lucky I didn't have time to deliver a tearful eulogy!

RIP

Sad news in the Cornfield household. Yesterday at around 11am we made our way to Maraetai for a long ride in the sun. I needed to go to the bathroom, and our usuals in Mt Eden were closed for repairs, so we thought we'd pop into Westfield Broadway and grab some muesli bars while we were there.

We turned in to the carpark, heard a sickening c-RUNCH and both realised at the same time what had happened. The roofracks are ruined, Eric's seat was twisted about 90 degrees, and his poor left carbon fork broke in two.

RIP, Eric the Strada. We will miss you.

Kate, Phil, and Derek-the-Strada

Is it really only Wednesday?

Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Yes, and I really wish it was Thursday.

Thursday means a cruisy 40m run in the morning, a trip to the library and dinner with one of best friends who'll be up from Welly. More importantly, Thursday means "nearly Friday", which means swimming (yay) and Phil (double yay).

Wednesday on the other hand means working late, doing the housework I've been putting off since Monday, trying to create something fun with leftover 90-second rice, and going to bed without any new library books to enjoy.

Luckily, Wednesday also means tomorrow is Thursday, so we're getting there slowly...

When does it become rude?

Magazine (and internet) articles, diet books, and all manner of healthy eating guidelines offer a number of tips to make dining out easier, whether it's at someone else's house or a restaurant. Dressing to the side, nibble on the vegetable sticks, ask the chef to leave out the cheese, forego the wine, share a dessert. Lots of these ideas are great if you want to keep healthy without sacrificing a social life, but sometimes they involve stepping into social and commercial etiquette grey areas.

So, I've been wondering- when does keeping "healthy" become impolite? And, in a time where all the focus is on fighting the good ol' obesity epidemic, does "healthy" automatically provide a rudeness get out of jail free card?

This was prompted by a couple of things. The first was a fellow blogger doing a raw foods detox asking restaurants to create special salads for her. The other was hosting a brunch for friends on Saturday. I tried to keep it reasonably healthy as I knew one of our guests watches her weight very closely (for context, she's a size 6runner, not a size 26 type-2 diabetic), and made some "fancy Bircher", a platter of fruit and a batch of homemade brioche. Our guest brought her own lo-cal hot chocolate, and refused to even try the brioche, although luckily she ate some bircher. I felt a little slighted- first, because I had consciously tried to make healthy options (realising of course that brioche is hardly multigrain toast- but it's also hardly muffins or donuts), secondly, because her abstinence meant I felt like a big fat pig as I dug into my second warm brioche, and thirdly, because I felt as if as a host, I had let down my guests by failing to meet their needs (yes- me= oversensitive).


Now, I don't think our guest crossed the line into rude- it's just an example and she's certainly no worse than the bridesmaid who refused to eat anything but vege sticks at my hen's night. But where is the line, and when is it crossed? And does the line move depending on how overweight (or not) the guest/customer/whoever is?

Thoughts?

Christened!

After my last post, I started feeling sorry for my poor, nameless mountain bike. So I did a bit of thinking, and before I could even open google, there is was:

Maxwell (Max for short)

My MTB is manly, but not very rugged, just like a Maxwell. Plus (and this is the actual reason) he's a grey Avanti Hammer, I'm a Beatles Fan. Chocolate fish to the first to figure that one out.

So, welcome to the brood, Max.

Why I go mountain biking

This story starts on the road.

About 5 years ago, I bought a bike. He was an Avanti hybrid, cost me about $600 and his name was Mike. I hadn’t ridden since I was 8, I’d never used gears or handle-bar brakes, and I was pet.ri.fied of everything. Christy and I decided to train for a duathlon and a fun ride, so she and her road bike and me and Mike used to head out around the bays in the mornings. We usually went about 10k, which was enough on a hybrid! Once, Mike and I had a big adventure, going all the way around the bays and back. I packed lunch in my backpack, and must have thrown a drink bottle in too. To get from my house on Roxburgh Street to “The Bays” I walked Mike down the Hood Street steps, crossed at the pedestrian crossing, and headed out from there. I avoided traffic lights, and I rode back home along the (shared) footpath. I didn’t like to travel downhill any faster than about 18kph.

It wasn’t long before Mike got upgraded. A friend who was getting into tris had a new road bike, so I got her slightly more-roady hybrid for a while. Although she was a lot more confident on the bike, I was in good shape, so we could ride together happily. We’d head around the bays, with me following her through traffic, and we’d always do an out and back, avoiding Kilbirnie entirely. I was still using flat pedals and braking all the way down even the easiest of hills.

I got my first road bike (Christy’s) in 2006. That year, I started using clipless pedals and completed my first three triathlons. At the New Plymouth tri, I found out how fun it was to cruise downhill without braking (ok, without braking “much”). I was still terrified of stopping, and at all of races that year I had some form of slightly embarrassing dismount. In terms of training, I stuck to the Bays. Whenever I went somewhere else in Wellington I wound up regretting it. But Phil and I also did our first hundred k ride in the Naki, and I started to like the bike.

2007 was about the marathon. The bike stayed on the trainer, while Phil took his out for massive adventures in faraway places I couldn’t even imagine going. The Akas, Haywards and Blue Mountains all sounded like fun, but the motorway, traffic lights, downhills and lane changes put me right off.

In 2008, I upgraded twice. I gave Christy’s old bike to my sister and starting riding the road bike my friend had upgraded to in 2006. I finally got used to making my way around by myself, and managed a few adventures with Phil. I was still terrified of hills and traffic, but I got used to them, and started to feel my confidence improve. I upgraded my pedals, and my speedplays increased my confidence immeasurably. I rode down the steepest freaking hill in Wellington on an unplanned detour and while I cursed Phil and just about burst into tears over it, I made it, and all of a sudden the windy bits coming down from the prison didn’t seem so bad. I bought Eric late in 2009, broke him in quickly, and raced the Rotorua Half Ironman in December.

I’m still not a confident cyclist. My speeds are abysmal. I still can’t get up a hill without going all out. I have to psych myself up to drink (hence the long ride Camelbak), and opening and eating a whole muesli bar on the go kept me celebrating for a good ten minutes. I certainly can’t “attack” on a steep hill. Before I ride with or without Phil we drive the course or discuss it at length, analysing every little “tricky” bit. I ask “so, when do I change lanes?” and sometimes (including last Sunday) I whimper “never mind I can’t do it, I’ll just call you and you can rescue me.” I still usually have a quiet moment of nerves before setting out.

But now I do it. When I’m going up a steep hill I remember how Tarawera Road felt on bonked dead legs. I don’t pike out because it’s raining and I don’t sit numbly on a trainer for two hours because I’m too scared to ride alone. Every ride I do is a small victory and I’m getting better and better.

So- mountain biking..

I suck at mountain biking. I spend at least the first half hour of every ride refusing to believe in my gut that a mountain bike can actually ride over roots. Even big ones. I grip the handle bars and grit my teeth, and I spend the whole time entirely focussed on the trail. I get passed by little kids and get frustrated when I can’t get started again. I panic at the top of (very wee) hills and walk down them, and sometimes can’t get the momentum to get up the other side. I brake even when it’s utterly counterproductive. I’m lucky if all I have is a flash of nerves instead of an all out pouty tantrum.

But it’s only been a few months since I won the bike (it doesn’t have a name yet, which means it probably never will), and by the end of every mountain biking excursion I feel like I’ve improved, just a tad. And with all of the small victories adding up, one day I may be as confident on the MTB as I am on the road, and on a further day still, I may actually be a bit good at either of them.

All my life I’ve been good at stuff and if I haven’t succeeded, I’ve given up. I go mountain biking to remind myself that I can do it. Whatever “it” is.

Easter in bullets

I keep starting posts and not being able to finish them, I’m boring myself so much.

So, bullets it is:
•Easter was great. I had six nights with Phil (SIX!) and four days of fantastic training.

•My cycling has improved about a thousand percent. I took on Auckland traffic and the Waitakeres BY MYSELF on Sunday and lived to tell the tail. And remember; this is coming from a girl who in SEPTEMBER was crying every time she hit an intersection or had to go downhill.

•My aerobic run speed is abysmally slow. But I am starting to learn what aerobic feels like, and I am feeling more and more comfortable at those slow speeds. Plus, keeping all my runs aerobic is making the longer runs a hang of a lot easier.

•I cannot stay aerobic when I’m riding on the road. Either I’m pushing because I’m trying to get through the next traffic light, or my heart is pounding because I’m still quite frankly petrified, or I’m slogging away uphill. I will need to get a lot fitter and stronger before I can get my bike up a hill keeping my HR where it should be. Lots of aerobic sessions on the trainer until then.

•We have our thank you cards and envelopes, have started filling them in, and will hopefully be sending them on Monday. Then I will have to say goodbye to the wedding, and start focussing on the future.

•Lastly- why are you all not commenting on Phil’s blog? Go! NOW.

Oh- one more thing. We're going to Xterra this weekend so Phil can do the swim as part of a team. Anyone going to be around?

Hotpotato as JAFA?

I am really enjoying my new plan. One of the awesome things about having a coach is that I don’t beat myself up for not doing MORE. If there’s a 40 minute run on tap, I do it, maybe do some core work, then go to work. Without a plan, I wonder if I should have done an hour. I decide I need an after-work session to round out the day, and beat myself up if I don’t do that one.

Another awesome thing is having to get on the bike. You all know me and my bike issues, but since starting with Paul I’ve done two at least somewhat hilly 2.5 hour rides (last weekend's was in the 'Naki), and am looking forward to 5 hours of riding this weekend. Since one of my key limiters last year was bike endurance (at 2.5 hours I was absolute toast, and had an hour to go), I’m stoked about this. Also, since Phil’s injured, I’m having to go out there and do them alone (though of course he’s wonderful about helping me plan Kate-friendly routes, meeting me on the course with Mizone Rapid, and even riding through the traffic with me to get me started).

I’m also enjoying my swim squad, even if I’ve gone from being at the faster end of the fast lane to the slower end of the slow lane (which includes blogging celebrity “Lardman”). There’s a point in almost every session when I decide I can get out at the next rest. Sometimes two or three. Since we are not scheduled to finish until 7:30, plenty of people sneak away early to get to work on time, so it wouldn’t really be piking, especially as my scheduled workouts are 60 minutes, and we often do up to 75. But I’m managing to tough it out, and of course I’m always glad I did.

Running is meh. Need to lose some weight. But I’m finding it easier to run to control my heart rate, and to keep an eye on my turnover at the same time. I’ve been step-counting for a couple of years now, but had lost focus on running technique, so it’s good to be engaged with that again. I’m looking forward to some exploring for my 75 minute run this weekend.

On the whole, I’m liking Auckland (while missing Phil, of course). Living near town and close to the sea means I can embrace the good while ignoring a fair bit of the bad. It’s hard to totally hate a city which is home to the Parnell Markets, Parnell Baths, excellent ethnic foodhalls, Circus Circus for brunch, stunning harbour views and the West Coast beaches. The people? Now that may be a different story..

Eric!

Eric and I had a good ride on Saturday. Over 2.5 hours in the saddle (in Xterra tri shorts, no less) and not much discomfort at all. Oh Eric, it's good to have you back.

Phil and I drove out to Maraetai (Half IM swim start and T1), where I started doing some of the Half-IM bike course (after the competitors had left). I met Phil briefly in Clevedon and had a drink, then stopped again in Kawakawa Bay (T2 and finish). There were still some competitors on the course when I continued past Kawakawa Bay. No-one on my side of the road, so I wasn't in the way, but enough that I got a lot of positive encouragement as I pushed away up the hills. I would have been coming last by a country mile!

The hills on the second half of the course felt pretty brutal, especially since it was hard to pick up much speed on the downhills. They weren't technical by Welly standards, but they were pretty twisty, and the roadworks meant I rode pretty cautiously (of course, the fact that I was not racing, and had not been on a bike since 30 January had something to do with it).

All in all did between 55 and 60k in between 2:30 and 2:35. Slow, but I'm happy with it. Hit the mini-bike-wall at about 1:45, so I've probably lost about 45 minutes of comfortable riding time since last year. Not too bad at all, really!

Eric went back to Cambridge with Phil for the week, but we will be reunited tonight, and exploring the 'Naki this weekend. It's a big riding weekend, followed by a big running week (and by "big", I really do mean comparatively big, not objectively big!)

Mike, you know you want to...

http://www.onlinepictureproof.com/duophotography/albums/weddings/18068/

Password is my name. Not "my name", but my name.

Phew (again!)

Today I’m starting my New Plan.  SO exciting!  The morning began with 1:30 of swimming at the Tepid Baths trimasters squad.  Holy crap!  I  haven’t done more than about 45 mins or about 2k since the half ironman, so 3 and a bit ks was rather a shock to the system.  But BOY it felt good.

 

I also had a good run along good ol’ Tamaki on Saturday morning before hurrying off for a weekend of activities (including finally seeing my husband on Sunday afternoon).  It was nice and cool until about 11am, when it started to turn to “absolutely effing roasting”, and I was happy to see a respectable pace on the clock for a change. 

 

Now it’s back to slow and steady with Coach Paul, but it’s nice to go into this real build phase feeling confident that I’ll be able to really nail this thing.

Phew!

I am struggling to get back into a routine, but I am getting there, slowly!  I have just joined a slightly scary squad at the Tepid Baths and will probably start tomorrow.  Eek!

 

I went for a run at about 6pm last night, before the heat of the day had subsided. It was a lovely run, up College Hill and down to Eden (?) point baths and some of the paths around there, but bloody hot, and 5k seemed to take an eternity (in fact, it took almost exactly 30 mins, which pretty much is an eternity for the old me). 

 

Things can only get better!

Home cooked meal- well, home assembled anyway

On Sunday as Phil and I trudged up to the takeaway in Ponsonby with our friends, I thought about how long it has been since I had a home-cooked meal. It had certainly been well over a month since I cooked or assembled anything myself, though in that time I ate at my friend's place three times, her parents' place once, my parents' place once and another friends' once.

The rest of the time, it's been eating out, missing tea, and microwave meals, and I can tell you I'm sick of it! So, last night when my current wonderful hosts were out, I headed to the supermarket to get the fixings for my first home-assembled meal in a long time (it was hot, it was late, I'd been drinking and they were home soon, so actual cooking was a bit much to ask), and then whipped up a very boring chicken and chickpea salad. I probably ended up spending nearly enough on ingredients to pay for two takeaway salads, but even something so simple made me feel a dozen times better.

I really can't wait to move into the apartment, and to start grocery shopping and acting like a grown up again.

For Mike...

Mike- this is a lolcat. They are unfunny pictures that have achieved absurd levels of popularity in interweb land. NOW do you get it?

I love this as much as pen fail...

 

Getting there...

 

There’s been a lot of walking uphill. 

A couple of 6-8k runs at OK, if not quite respectable, paces. 

Swim workouts in almost respectable times (44 minutes for a 2k workout with lots of rest, all my 400s sneaking under 8 minutes). 

Gym sessions here and there.   

 

But I move to Auckland this Friday, and into our new apartment in two weeks.  I’m talking to my new coach and starting my new programme soon. 

 

Plus- I now know how to email blog.  So, I’ll really truly be Back and bringing it soon! 

Bye bye ponytail

Of course, it looks a whole lot sillier after this morning's run and swim...
(I am working, and then swimming with another friend this afternoon, so it's not worth doing it!)

A good run

As I've mentioned to some of you in comments/on facebook/etc, I am a big, chocolate-guzzling, overworked, about to shift cities, husband-missing blob at the moment.

But tonight I had a good run, after a good couple of swims (Sunday and Tuesday) and a good gym session this morning, and I am starting to feel more like me. Also, today is Ash Wednesday and there will henceforth be no chocolate until Easter Sunday.

A sneak peek...

http://adrianduophotography.blogspot.com/2009/02/kate-and-phills-wellington-coast.html

Be back soon...

Dear Blog

I'm so sorry I neglected you, but did you really have to seek attention by pretending to be a spam blog and getting removed by blogger? You gave me quite a shock.

I'm glad you're back up and running, and I promise to be a better blogger in future. And to back you up too!

Love,

Kate

MRS Hotpotato!

Need for speed..

On 23 December I ran my first 5k in aaages, in pretty damn perfect conditions. I'm disappointed with my time- 23:19- so I'm going to spend the next few weeks doing a specific 5k run plan (I'll do some swimming, cycling and weight training on the top), with the goal of taking 2 minutes off over the next year.

My speedy boy ran 18:15, for a PB of 1:43, and he hasn't even been running!

Phil's Rotorua Half race report (also long...) (photos should be viewed from the bottom up)

While Kate and I have gotten fairly used to early (often 5 am) starts for morning workouts, I thought a 4 am (after a night of fairly little sleep) start might be a little harder. However, once the alarm went, I woke up fairly easily, and didn’t feel the need to lie around in bed (I presume this is a pre-race anticipation). I had a good breakfast, finished getting my stuff together, packed the car, and headed off to the race.

We got to transition at about 5:20, and found a nice empty spot to set up (there is no shortage of transition space for this race). Went and lined up for the toilet (while there were no lines in the adjacent women's toilet, which was novel), then ran back up to transition and got my wetsuit on. After heading down to the lake, someone asked me if I was in a team - when I said no, they said I should get in the water because the men were starting in about a minute! Turns out it is an in water start (I had no idea), so I wished Kate luck and headed into the water. I placed myself about halfway in the field - I think this was about right. I passed a few men, I got passed by a few men, but I certainly didn’t have a pack of people coming over the top of me.

I got into a reasonably good rhythm on the first leg (900 metres) and managed to draft off different people for a fair amount of it. Although the buoy was a long way away, and you had to rely on the people in front of you (and the people in front of them) I took a fairly direct route, and wouldn't have wandered off course too much. At the first buoy I was feeling relaxed, and my suit wasn't feeling as restrictive as it some times can (on the right in particular - is that normal?). On the way back, sighting was a bit harder, but I still think I took a reasonably good route. I lost some of my drafting buddies, although comfortably picked up my effort, and found some people to follow some of the time. The last 200 was good - it just felt great to know that I was nearly at the end of a 2 km swim! I didn’t nail myself, but did increase the tempo slightly. I saw a lot of people getting up and walking early, but I swam for as long as I could - and when out of the water, I ran to transition, and passed quite a few people. I'm not sure how long the swim took (I think 35/36ish) because my race time includes transition (39.37) - I'm happy with this, because my fasted 1 km in the pool is about 18:30! The normal transition stuff was quick (my wetsuit removal has been very fast recently), but I had to put compression socks on, so transition took a little longer than it might have otherwise.

My heartrate was elevated when I started the first climb on the bike, but it settled fairly quickly, and I steadily passed quite a few people heading up the first climb. I then pushed it on the first downhill, then passed quite a few people again heading down Tarawera. The way out was great, with a nice tailwind. I passed a lot of people, but I don’t think I paced myself very well. I started fading a bit towards the end of the first half, although I did the 45 k in 1:15. The way back was much harder - 2 killer climbs, head winds and rough roads. I got passed by a few people, but more than that I lost touch with quite a few people I'd been 'riding' with (I'd see them again on the run, however…) The Hell's Gate climb was very hard, and although I made up time on a few people, just couldn’t push as hard as normal. The road back into Rotorua was the least fun part of the race - rough and with a headwind. I was just not able to push as hard as I would have liked, even though my heartrate was fairly low. I did a lot of structured training, which I think gave me real gains, but I only did one ride over 90 km, and I wonder whether I just didn’t quite have the bike endurance I needed. The long climb up Tarawera was fun. Slow. But fun. I passed a lot of people and felt good (although once I got to the top, could not push hard on the down hills). I pushed a bit on the last downhill, but then basically rolled into transition. Total bike time 2:54:56 (so second half a lot slower). This includes T2, which was about a minute (quick, given the distances I had to travel to get into and out of transition. Got my running shoes and headband on, grabbed the 2 gels I had waiting, and off I went.

The start of the run was off-road, and after 5 or so minutes, with a few short, sharp, climbs. I was feeling good, and, again, passed a few people. I was not pushing too hard, but got into a good rhythm. After about 4 km or so, I started feeling fairly average. I was getting sharpish stitch type feeling, but a bit higher up, and I needed to take a pee. I eventually stopped heading up to the gun club for a quick bathroom break, and immediately felt a bit better. I kept running through the stitch, and it eventually went away. Once I got to the Tarawera lookout turnaround I was feeling good. I had a couple of people to hunt down, and started picking up the pace. I passed one guy (from Wellington, don’t really know him, but have seen him at lots of races) who I'd had a bit of a back and forward with on the bike (he was one of the people I lost touch with thought) about a km or so later - he commented that I was looking strong, which was nice. I then started hunting down my other target, and I was picking up the pace. Once I got to the downhill I pushed the pace even more, and managed to pass my target just on the start of the single track. I kept pushing the pace, knowing the finish was nearing (although the sharp climbs were hard - the bike meant my butt and hammies were sore!). I then pushed it and kept passing people all the way to the finish. 1:43:47 - really happy (given my first half marathon!), and I think I could have pushed harder. The finish line was a comedy of errors - I heard people sprinting after me, so I started bolting (and easily out-ran them), but I turned too early, and hard to jump the fence to get to the finishing chute - but I had to go back 15 or so metres, because the timing mat was at the start of the chute, not the end (the finish line photos are a funny sequence, although unfortunately there's no picture of my bounding over the fence... Most people got 1 photo, I got 5)! So glad my calves played nice - I really do think the compressions socks helped (and they matched the white sunnies and headband well…)

Total time, 5:18:31. Absolutely stoked with this. I enjoyed the race immensely. The course (apart from a few bits on the bike) is absolutely stunning, and a real challenge. I'll be back next year, and I'll be going sub 5. I'm still not sure that Olympic distance isn’t a better distance for me - but either way this is a great race for me to keep doing.

A few points:

I think I can go faster in the swim - not only because I'll have been swimming for more than a year, but because I can push harder than I am.

I think I needed some longer rides - I was lacking cycle endurance, and although I don’t think this hampered my running that much, I did flag on the bike.

I was again surprised at how good my running was given I haven't been able to finish a half marathon, and injuries also meant my longest training runs were about 1:15 long. With a good (and hopefully injury free!) running season behind me I think I'll be flying.

Having a coach was invaluable. While not everything I did was perfect, it was great not to have to worry about the planning, and to have a real variety to my workouts, and to have them structured to take account of injuries, strengths and weaknesses. And Gene rocked.

Nutrition was ok - I think I maybe took a bit too much in on the bike, but I'm not sure. During the run I had a headache - I thought it was my sunglasses pressing into my temples, but it wasn't. I wonder whether I didn’t drink enough to take in enough electrolytes - particularly given it got to 25 degrees on the run. Coke is magic - absolutely magic. The gels I took on the run didn’t upset me, but I'm not sure whether my tummy/stitch issues early in the run were a consequence of anything I ate on the bike.

Splash and dash pic

Cliff notes (SEE BELOW FOR RACE REPORT)

Swim: 39ish?
Bike: 3:24
Run: 2:13

Total: 6:26 (not great, but not bad for a bloody hard course)

Feeling: Good, neither stoked nor disappointed.

Giant monkeys: Rotorua Half Ironman Race Report

At 6:34 on Saturday morning, I was treading water in Lake Tikitapu, waiting for the sound of the starting whistle. Six hours and twenty six minutes later, I finished my first half-ironman.

There were no fanfares, no tears, and no butterflies of pride and emotion dancing inside me. But there were new bloggy friends (and the Saint, who lived up to his name by delivering a bag of melted nutrition I'd thrown at him -so I wouldn't have bulging hips in my finishing pictures- to my helmet) and cold Heinekens (I went back for seconds). And there was a shiny finishers medal, a fiance bursting with enthusiasm over his own finish and full of pride at mine, a superb support crew, and a cool clear lake to chill out in, beer in hand.

...And then there were another two and a half days of bloody brilliant weekend!

I'm not sure yet how much I have to say about this race. I trained, I raced, I finished, I'm pleased enough with my performance, and I'm ready to look to the future. But once I get typing, we'll see how much I can really prattle on...

Friday:

After a hellish week at work, we headed to Rotorua on Thursday evening. We left a little later than intended, and arrived around 11, only to find that our late check in hadn't been recorded, and we had to wake the nice lady from the campground up to let us in. D'oh! The upside of the lateish night was that we had a fantastic sleep- I didn't wake up until 7:30 on Friday morning (unheard of) and managed to get back to sleep until 9:30 (more unheard of). We headed out to Rotorua in search of Nuun and Gu Roctane (Phil), coffee (me) and breakfast food (mmm... blueberries, strawberries and yoghurt... Oh my!) and discovered that the Rotorua Pak n Save is the best ever. After a late breakfast at the table outside what later became Kathy and Paul's log cabin, we headed out to the lake for a quick s/b/r brick (water: lovely, bike: lovely, run: lovely), then headed out to drive the course, which didn't seem too scary. The scariest part was not so much the hills, but the Mob convoy hanging around the turn-off!

We went back to the cabin to chill and de-hairify ourselves before heading back to the lake to meet the other bloggers. I thought I recognised Mike's wife, Jo, then looked out to the lake to see his kids, and then spotted Mike himself. Then Phil realised Kathy and Paul had driven in right beside us, making the meetup much more straight forward. It was nice to meet everyone, although we didn't have much time. Next time let's do dinner guys! (we actually did end up eating with Kathy and Paul in the camp kitchen, which was great)

Pre-race:

A typically rough pre-race night's sleep. Ialways lie awake stressing about not being able to sleep, and trying to figure out what's worrying me. Logically, finishing slowly doesn't scare me. Been there, done that. Neither does a DNF- if it happens, it's going to be for a reason, and that reason's unlikely to be something I could or should have predicted or prevented. But lying in our log cabin listening to my fiance breathing and my future-brother-in-law shifting in the bottom bunk he's sharing with my sister, I'm nervous and right on edge.

Woke up at 4:00am (plenty early for me- Mike, you're mad!), ate bircher muesli, drank coffee, and made several trips over to the loos, before piling into the car and heading on our merry way. We arrived a little later than anticipated, couldn't see our teammates, so just picked an emptyish spot and started setting up (turns out we were only about a rack away from the team). We were both a bit snippy, and I'm really glad we had J and D with us to calm us down and work as packhorses- getting from the car to transition in one trip was a pleasant change!

Swim:

An "in the water" start, which was cool but a bit disconcerting. I was worried about seeing the buoy in the distance (900m away!!), and couldn't hear very well through my swim cap. Finally the whistle went and we were off. I had a nice rhythm and felt like I was keeping a good line, and was somewhat surprised to see 16:33 when I got to the 900m turn, as I felt like I was going better. Then it got worse- I struggled to figure out where the 1800m buoy was, and sort of drifted towards it, reaching it in 33:33 or so (I think). The last 200m went on forever, and I think it took me a good 5 minutes. WTF????? I don't know WHY I can't translate my pool gains to race situations. Training or racing in the pool, I can beat P convincingly (except over 25m sprints, when we're about equal). Training in open water it's less convincing, but I still take the lead. Racing in open water? The b*stard beats me!

Bike:

I felt good up Tarawera Rd. I eased into a good rhythm, and Eric was great to climb with. I passed people on the way up, and was sad to see our friend Shanon on the side of the road with his bike in bits. The passing ended when we hit the downhill, and although I wasn't riding conservatively, people blew past me like I was riding my brakes. It didn't help that there were TONS of cars on the course- it might be worth restricting traffic until the last athletes are off Tarawera Road. Kept feeling good (and passing) along the flats out of town, and felt great when I reached the SH30 turnoff. The course is great along here, and I have one piece of advice for Pip. BUY AEROBARS. With it's two big mother climbs and tough run, Rotorua can look like a climber's course, but it's definitely a power course. I just couldn't keep up with bigger dudes with aerobars on the descents and the flats, and any time I made up on the hills was lost quickly. My average speed stayed around 30kph, and I reached the turnaround in 1:33 or so, with an average HR of 166.

I kept up a decent pace after the turnaround, at first, but I soon drifted into alien territory. First my butt hurt, then my legs. I found myself getting out of the saddle to stretch more and more frequently, and I cursed myself for not building more cycle endurance. I struggled up Hell's Gate, and hoped that it would get better. It didn't- nasty wind and awful road. I tried to remember to HTFU (written on my hand under my cycling glove), but I couldn't. I'm not so much annoyed by my slow speed (it turns out Phil, Paul, Mike and I ALL rode the second half in times roughly equivalent to our times on the much harder contact course), but with the fact that I faded, and completely lost *it*. No more passing men and 20-something chicks. Nope- now I was being passed by women 30 years my senior who must outweigh me by 20kg.

Tarawera was hard. My knees screamed, but at least I was passing people again. Only to be passed again on the way down, as I pedalled into the headwind, struggling to get over 20kph. GRR! The ride down seemed much longer than I imagined, and I watched 3:15 and 3:20 come and go. Finally, 3:24 later I was turning into T2, cursing myself. J and D told me that P was about 40 minutes ahead of me, which was something of a relief- I knew he was riding well, and that the second half must have been harder for everyone than I gave it credit for...

Run:

I was looking forward to running, as I knew that unless something was very wrong, I'd be passing people. I took off at what felt like a good clip, but my pace slowed in the bush (especially up the big climb, which just went on and on), and when I finally emerged and hit the 4k marker I was stunned to see over 26 minutes. My garmin had me around 10min/mile pace, so I decided to focus on keeping the garmin pace down under 10 and not to worry about much else. I was feeling ok, apart from VERY sore legs, and I wasn't capable of moving fast enough to blow the rest of the run, so I just kept pushing on and trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Because the course has lots of bits of out and back, there was a chance to seem some people again. Phil was already too far on for me to see him, but I saw Shanon blasting along on his way back and gave him a quick cheer. Then I noticed Mike hobbling along on the other side of the road. His dodgy calf had "gone", and he was on his way back. I gave him a quick wave, but he seemed OK so I went on my merry way. The gun club out and back was great- I saw that my arch rival (she doesn't know it…) was a decent way ahead, but not impossibly far, and I saw the guy who organises our local races not far in front of me, and knew I could catch him. By the time I got to 9k (in about 51 minutes), my pace was well under 6 minute ks (yes, I just drift between miles and ks as it suits me) and I was feeling good. The view at the lookout was lovely, and I wished I could stop for a proper look.

There was a big climb between the lookout and the gun club on the way back. It hurt. I was leapfrogging with a nice lady named Claire who seemed to be running at about my pace (I ended up losing her on the second loop).

I decided to grab a coke and a water at the gun club station on the way back. The coke was too fizzy and I gave up. Water was great, and I was happy with my decision to pause/walk the aid stations. I usually caught back up with my "friends" afterwards, and it was worth it to stay hydrated (I had a camelbak on the bike, but didn't want to run with it, especially given the several aid stations). I also decided I should eat around here somewhere. I had no idea what to expect in a half-IM- would I want "marathon food" or ironman food? I had a bag of pretzels, some mini snickers and some gummis in my pocket, but everything was melty and gross, and the lollies were revolting. Next time I'm definitely bringing some jelly bellys!

Cruising past the gun club and back to the lake the first time was strange. It was great to have more people around me but disconcerting to know that most of them were on their way to finishing! Also, it's a little depressing looking at the 19k marker when you're at 14k. Despite that, it was great coming past the finish, seeing Phil (who just looked SO happy), Paul, J and D and knowing I only had one loop left. The second loop of the lake was pretty lonely- déjà vu!- but eventually I found some people to catch up to. The lads manning the gun club drink station were very efficient, and took our drink orders as we climbed the stairs to nowhere. Tried to pick it up on the way back, and had fun passing some of the people who still had a loop to go, but couldn't really get the pace below about 9:30s. As I rounded the last corner and ran back along the lake, I saw Kathy and my arch-rival-who-doesn't-know-it. I knew I had enough in the tank to catch the rival, but I slowed down quickly to say hi to Kathy, throw lollies at Paul (I didn't want chipmunk hips in my finish shots again!) and give my supporters a wave, and by the time we got to the finish chute, I realised I didn't have the heart to wreck someone else's picture with an ambush attack, all for a measly 3 seconds. Some killer instinct…

I went straight for the Heinekens when I finished- I'd been holding out since about 10ks- and then walked stiffly down to the lake with my man and my supporters.

Aftermath:

I kept pushing my expected time out during the race, and so I found the 6:26 quite disappointing. I'm also quite disappointed with each of the three disciplines- even the run. But looking back at the race, my training and the race-predictor, I'm reminded that I did what I set out to do.

I conquered my bike issues- maybe this wasn't the best ride ever, but given that in September I was too scared to ride change lanes, turn right, climb hills or let go of my brakes, an average speed of 26.something kph is nothing to be sneezed at.

I lost 10 lbs (exactly), and I look better than I did when I ran the Rotorua marathon last year, and smoking hot in the long white dress!

I said I'd be STOKED with sub 6:30, and I finished in sub 6:30. So I should be stoked. So I will be.

I also think I've found my distance, and I think I can get a LOT better. I have improved my pool swimming considerably over the last year, taking a good 2 mins off my 1k time trials, and 10-15 seconds off my 100s. So, I just need to translate those gains into open water. I have improved my cycling immeasurably, and with Eric and some aerobars, it's only going to get better. My running's stayed solid enough- I always pass people on the run- but I need to get back to where I was in 2005 (1:42 half pb, and a 22:04 5k…) So, we're looking for some coaches who can help us do it.... in the Akl/Waikato/BoP area, as we're moving, in Feb/March!

The countdown is well and truly on!

As P and I sat eating Pasta Masta (new takeaway, disappointing) in the sun at Kilbirnie park after an early evening recovery run, I realised that one week from now we'll be sitting in our log cabin, eating our pre-race pasta, and stressing about the next day. Then it'll be early to bed, early up and over to the lake to rack our bikes in the Bloggers at Rotorua 08 team pozzy.

As Kathy's mentioned tonight as well, our Buckeye outdoors team has been fantastic! It's been a great support network, a huge motivation (I'm sure I've done at LEAST an extra 10% knowing I have someone to report to...) and since I can access it at work, it's instant blogging and a wonderful time-waster ;)

I'm looking forward to meeting those I haven't already met next weekend, seeing everyone out on the course (and meeting Mike's famous race gear in person ;)) and enjoying hot pools, bubbly and Heinekens with the team after the RACE!

The past week has been lots of fun, as we enjoy the shorter more intense workouts (Sunday's hot intervals off the bike, Monday's 10 x 100 in the pool, Wednesday's early morning hill reps and blustery aquathon...) After so many months of trudging up hills in Xterra races, and struggling up Mt Vic on the carbonless beast, it was amazing to go fast again! (and frightening to see how fast that boy of mine can run!!!!)

I'm feeling fitter too (duh!) I had a fantastic recovery run this evening, and was pleased to be running VERY easy 5:35/ks on the flat. Most gratifying though, I think, is that I'm recovering well, looking forward to (almost) every session and not getting too burnt out. I think this is due to a few things: a reasonably manageable workload, the variety of workouts, and basing my training around P's workout plans. His experience with Gene has definitely convinced me to get a coach next time round!

I put some figures into this and it spat out 6:24. I tweaked it a little and got 6:02, and I don't think I can tweak it enough to make it go sub-6 (also, there's no way I'll be out of the water in 33 minutes, or round the run course in 1:52)! I'd be stoked with somewhere between 6:10 and 6:30, and I truly will be happy to finish!

Tomorrow we're sea swimming with friends, and I'm testing Eric's compact cranks with a wee climb up Prison Hill (PS- have I told you how much I love Eric's wheels? No? I love Eric). On Sunday we're doing the Xmas Scorcher sprint distance race, and I'll practice using Garmin and Camelbak (eww) in race conditions. I don't know what taper week will bring, but I hope I can get through the week unscathed as the pre-Xmas rush has well and truly started, and I don't want a repeat of my Auckland marathon taper!

Meet Eric....

Eric The Strada:



..who will be joining me in Rotorua provided my compact crankset arrives next week.*

(And not to be confused with Eric Estrada.




....Although they're both smooooooth)

*Not quite the same bike- to get ultegra, I had to get blue instead of zippy lime green.

Some progress...

At the Red Rocks Xterra, late September. The picture that made me contact my nutritionist.



8.6lb down (on average)



At the Contact Race, late November.

Contact Cup Rotorua: Race report

Another epic post. For this one, I recommend chocolate biscuits and coffee. Clearly by the time I get to the half-IM I'm going to need to break it down….

Pre- prelude- tiki tour, pasta and geeking out:

P had been up North since Thursday evening, but I flew up to Rotorua on Saturday afternoon. I was shocked when I got out of the car and felt winds as strong as those I'd left in Welly. That wasn't part of the deal! We stayed with P's friend Chris and his partner, and took a brief tiki-tour of the course before heading home to get ourselves sorted out for registration and a bike-course recon mission. I'd met Chris before but hadn't realised he was a bit of a cyclist/du/triathlete as well- it as great to have his feedback on bits of Tarawera Rd and the Okareka loop. Lucky bugger can pop over to Blue Lake on his bike for an after-work swim. Having said that, the dairy around the corner has an agg-rob every month, so I'm not sure how far my jealousy really goes…

After buying some post-race, we headed back out to the lake to register, pop into the water and do a loop of the course (which by this time had reached epic propostions in my overactive imagination). Kathy's Saint told us we were mad for adding more torture to the weekend, but I wanted to be sure I could do it. We arrived at the venue about 20 minutes before registration opened, and, as we unloaded our beasts (which probably weight more than they're worth!), P amused himself by mentally calculating the value of the U19s bikes. I amused myself thinking rude and judgmental thoughts about the U19s parents.

We headed out onto the loop. As usual, P waited for me to start, so I was ahead of him. Unusually, he didn't overtake me in the first twenty seconds. Then about halfway up Tarawera Rd (from the lake) he yelled out at me to slow down- turns out that in my desperate bid for survival on the hills, I was nailing the thing, and poor old sensible P was spinning away behind me wondering what on earth I was doing (I'll return to this theme later). The loop was gorgeous, but hard. And the descents were a real treat to a bitter Wellingtonian. The Rotorua definition of "pretty windy" is basically the Wellington definition of "lovely big corners and no need to brake!" The chip wasn't too bad either (last year it was fresh, which contributed to the slower bike times). Tarawera Rd was easier than expected, but the climb out of Okareka was much harder. I was prepared for it to go on and on, but I wasn't quite prepared for how difficult the first bit would be- it looked gradual enough, but the speeds I was doing were more like "a bit steep, but not too hideous."

We decided not to bother swimming, and went to registration instead. Definitely disappointed with the schwag. Although I no longer wish to support Orca for personal reasons, I love my tri-top from my first Contact race, and I'm quite disappointed that 2XU didn't come to the party (perhaps because the announcer couldn't stop saying "two ex-ell"). Also- a latex swim cap? And no treats?! Not even a shoe clinic voucher (although to be fair, I'm always happy to get a copy of Multisport in a race pack). Pretty sad for $80, Contact!

Gelato in town (P's lemon mascarpone was amazing), then we headed back to Chris and Nicki's for showers, piles of pasta, glasses of sav, and games of buzz. I had a sudden thought about transition times, given the three quite different races, and luckily I checked the race info, and discovered that transition closed at 6:50am. Just over 3 hours before our race. Goodbye sleep in and leisurely breakfast!

Prelude- how to arrive 3 hours early and still be running late:

We set our alarm for 5, and got up to try to quietly make porridge. I lost my hair-tie, didn't have any spare, and spent about 15 minutes unpacking and repacking my bag, shaking everything out, then scrunching it all back up again, but to no avail. So after forcing down porridge, getting ourselves together in typically disorganised fashion, we headed out to find somewhere that would sell hair bobbles at 6:00am. Fortunately Countdown was open, but they seemed to be out of hairties! Just as I was about to go for a packet of rubber bands, I noticed the one pack of hairties they had left- lime green, proper bobbles (probably that's a word for the weetbix kids out there) with wee plastic dolls on them. Charming. And so practical for 3 hours of movement and shifting headgear.

Got to the course, and bustled down to transition only to find it empty. It seems most people know that "Transition closes at 6:50am. Limited access afterwards" is code for "pop in whenever and rack your bike- there'll be heaps of time." D'oh! And we didn't even get an early riser's advantage- transition spots were organised by race number. So we had three hours to kill, and nothing much to do but wander, read in the car and swim in the lake. And before we knew it, we'd done it. And that was without any reading in the car, or any warming up. Just trips between the car and transition (lets see how many things we can forget …), watching the U19s race (a smooth T1 is clearly something that comes with age/experience…), trying to find Kathy and Paul among the other spectators (Kathy found us minutes before our race started), catching up with friends from Welly and beyond, and generally killing time in the way that only seems to be possible at events.

Then all of a sudden, we were struggling into wetsuits, discarding baggage, and lining up for our briefing, without having been in the water at all. Oops. We managed about 5 minutes after briefing- long enough to discover that the water was lovely and the bottom was rocky and then pop out, in time to squeeze the excess water from our suits, and await the starting gun.

Swim- a comedy of errors:

The boys were off, and I tried to decide where to start. I was in place, and ready to go when the airhorn went off behind me, and we rushed in. I started swimming as soon as I could, to get my feet off the rocks, and felt the cool, clear lake water rush over my cap, onto my face and into my eyes.

Into my eyes?

Wait- that's not what's supposed to happen. Oops. Goggles down!

Oh no! Pushing your goggles down while you're UNDER WATER doesn't help. Bugger! Right, stand up on the rocks. Goggles empty. Goggles down. Time to swim.

Hmm- where'd everyone go????

After the goggle debacle, it took awhile to sort my breathing and get into a rhythm. Checked my time at the first buoy and was a bit disappointed to see 4:40 (I think it was around 250m). Turned the buoy, and swallowed a whole lotta lakewater, and headed to the next one. I seem to have trouble navigating the straight edge of a triangle swim- wherever I headed, I didn't feel quite on course, and I couldn't find a safe pair of feet to hang with. Made it to the next buoy at 7:35, and realised that the triangle was not equilateral. Then I headed back in. I knew I was aiming for a sight buoy, and that we’d run around a cone on the beach, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where to go, so I blundered along in the general direction of the beach, until I got blown out of the way by the lead men on lap 2, and thrown completely off track. Bugger again. I kept on my merry way, pausing to search for the ellusive buoy and cone. A couple of times my pauses turned into actual stops. On the second or third one of these, I saw it. The Big Giant Yellow Buoy on the beach- strangely enough right in the direction that people seemed to be swimming in. I headed into the beach, not wanting to check my watch at the turnaround. Feet on rocks, running gammy, round the buoy and back in. Time was 12:12, for what was supposed to be 750m, but I was feeling marooned at the back of the pack and convinced that the swim was short again, so a super split was no consolation.

Lap 2 was less eventful, but not much fun. I couldn't find a good person to draft off, and couldn't find anyone to attack, so it just made in around at my own wee pace. They must have moved the beach on the way back, because that ruddy yellow buoy just never got any closer. My watch read 25:53 on the way out of the water, but that was little consolation given the deserted bike racks!

Bike- up and down and up again… and again… and again...:
T1 - no comment. Wetsuit off. Lap splits on watch. Glasses on. Helmet on. Race belt on. Socks on, shoes on, and we're off. Oh- bugger. Again! Buttons on my waterproof watch are different to the buttons on my garmin. "Lap" on the Garmin is "stop" on the swimming watch. OK- no time to deal with this- I'll use the bike computer for the bike, then reset the watch in T2 and start the run fresh, and just guesstimate total time.

The bike was great- most of the time. If you have to get passed, and then lapped, it might as well be by the best in the business. I've described bits of the loop a few times now, so I won't go into detail. Basically, my mind went like this:

Lap 1: Right we're up the hill. Not bad. Probably won’t be much fun the 5th time round. Oops, brake for the silly right turn. Where is everyone? Am I dead last? There were some bikes- but maybe they were leftovers from the 3-9-3? Cadence is good! Nice! Speed- well, not to worry. There's always the downhill. WHEEEEE! Holy crap- that guy blew past me like… like.. something really fast! Why can't I go 70km/h downhill? Better get into a low gear so I don't get caught out on that uphill. Where is the climb? Hmm- probably should have been pushing a slightly higher gear along there. Ah- here's the climb. And a line of people as far as the eye can see. And it gets nasty steep just up that corner. And there's some fast men zipping up it. Right- lets look at distance, not speed. Only 1k to go on the first loop. And only 4 more to go! Dooooooown we go again.

Lap 2: Hm. This was easier the first time. Why can't I push up hills like P does? Ah, there's the speedies again. No girls yet though. Hmm- this little extra bonus uphill will be boring by the 5th time round. OK- time to capitalise on the downhill. COME ON! Just go over 50 for one measly second! Oops- this corner's always just a tad sharper than expected. Hang on- better drink. Ick. Oh- there's everyone climbing the hill again! Let's see if I can pass anyone. I can?! Woo! Am I at the top yet? Passed again. No wait- you have your name on your bum. You can pass.

Lap 3: Average speed. No- don’t want to see that. How about distance then? This sucks. I suck. Bike sucks. Two and a half more laps. Only half way. What? How is she passing me? Can I get her back? Naw. Damn downhills. Wow- Brett's passed me already- legend! I wonder where P is?

Hey- no fair filming me from the lead motorbike while I puff away behind the leaders! Leave me alone!

Lap 4: Oh, hi honey. Yes, I'm delighted that you're zipping past me between laps. Simply delighted (actually, in all seriousness, I was glad it took P til the 4th lap to lap me, it was lovely to see him and I was happy that he seemed happy, and was riding his own race). Oh look! A girl for me to chase. Hm. She's not going so fast up these hills. I can do it. I CAN DO IT! I DID IT! Oh.. barely 200m down the hill, and there she goes. Ah well, I'll catch her on the next hill (I did. But she beat me overall) Hang about- how I do I get back to transition. Fuck it- I knew I should have listened to the briefing! Oh- oops, DRINKING. I need to do more of that.

Lap 5: Last time. Boy- I need to change down earlier each time! Lucky this is it. Boy, that headwind picks up each lap- bloody speedsters got out before the weather started to turn. Last time! I'll catch her- I really will. Right- lets nail it along here. What do you mean, NO?? Oh come on- did you have to tell the angry dude in the SUV there were only a handful of us left right in front of me? Oh- and thanks, I KNOW I'm nearly there, I'm sure I'm NOT looking strong, and just because a lot of others have gone before doesn't mean I'm some charity case in need of your pity eyes!

DONE! Boy- lots of bikes here. And all these people finishing. Maybe I'll just do one lap?

Nutrition: 1/2- 3/4 bag sports beans; about 250ml SIS drink (BAD Kate)

And because Mike needs proof, here's me coming through between laps- possibly laps 3 and 4?



Run- all alone in the big bad woods:
I hadn't realised how much it sucks to be at the back of the pack. Especially as a woman- no-one feels anywhere near as sorry for last man as they do for last overall. People pack up, and marshalls leave as you run past. People meander around the beach, forgetting that some poor suckers still have another lap to go.

When they cheer, it has a slightly patronising edge. No "woohoo!! looking goood!" for us at the rear- it's "keep it up! you're nearly there! you can do it!"

Well, DUH. I've just come off a course that's nearly half uphill, and I'm running 5:45 minute ks. I know I can frikkin do it! Just because I'm last out of the superstars doesn't mean I'm a charity case. And if I were- I'd still prefer an honest "WOOO!" to this crap.

This sounds awfully bitter, but I actually had a fantastic time in the run. It's just a gorgeous course! I am perfectly fine with my pace (5:48/k overall) given the hills, the beachy bits and the fact that I was pretty much alone with no-one feasible to chase. I saw P, and he didn't quite streak off in the distance (he was pretty quick, but he stayed within eye shot for at least a couple of minutes). I felt good, my pace felt steady and I thought I might be able to come in under an hour (I was wrong...) Although I struggled to kick it up a notch, I felt like I could hold the pace for a long time (another 10k?), and every k I ran I felt a bit better. On the second loop, I chased a lady down. I didn't quite beat her, but I gained a lot of ground, and she thanked me for keeping her honest.

Finally, it was out of the woods and along the beach (ick) to the finish line and to P (who had a fantastic race, and beat me on the swim, which is one for the books!). I was happy to see that I'd come in under 3:25, which sounds pretty abysmally slow, but it's a bloody hard course, and a quick google shows that those who finished around me are all capable of sub-3 standard distances, mid 1:40s half-marathons (etc etc)...

Run nutrition: one yucky gel, water at all drink stations

To come:
- recovery
- why I need to be slapped
- some lessons

Excited!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, and to the few remaining weeks of training before the race. While I'm not quite where I want to be, I'm starting to feel like it's all falling into place- from Monday's time trial and Tuesday's hill reps to Wednesdays tempo run (averaging just over 5 min ks, which is faster than I've been for awhile) and Thursday's good, solid climbs (Mt Crawford, and back home the steep way). Plus, I've been focussed on my food for the last few weeks and I'm down 7.5lb. Maybe not where I thought I'd be, but I'm starting to feel more like ME again.

I don't want to "taper", but don't want to waste my legs either, so I didn't run on Thursday evening. I've been a bit under the weather and snuffly in the mornings so I slept in a little and did Flexible Warrior yoga at home this morning. I had a few drinks to celebrate my amazing boss this evening, and now I'm home watching Gilmore Girls and baking nutritionist-approved banana bread, and looking forward to jumping on a plane, seeing my boy again, scoping out the course, meeting some new peeps, and going for a good hard training session.

Of course, as the half approaches, I'm thinking ahead. We've been planning to do the Ocean Swim in Wellington the weekend before the BIG DAY, and thinking about doing Tauranga too. I'm planning to do a "test" 5k in February sometime, and deciding then whether I have a shot at 3:50 at Rotorua. After that focus on endurance, I'm planning a good, fast 1/2 m in Wellington (or somewhere else....depending on a whole lotta other stuff), then starting the half-iron training again for Tauranga. Or maybe the South Island Half which looks speedy and above all is CHEAP! (obviously well ahead of myself- don't worry, I don't take myself too seriously!)

Anyhoo, we're getting to the home stretch now... I'll be back with a torture report next week, and counting down to the big un!

Ups and downs

I've had a couple of good days after Sunday's race. I'm really pleased with my recovery. After a recovery run on Monday morning I did a solid 1k time trial in the pool after work (17:35- which isn't actually as fast as last time, BUT this time I know it was 1k not 950m, and I was nowhere near as stuffed).

This morning was back to hill repeats up Mt Vic. I was feeling grumpy after last week's session, as I didn't improve at all, and P improved heaps AGAIN (to be fair I was incredibly congested and spent the rest of the day snuffling and feeling pathetic...) My man agreed to stick with me for one rep so I could push myself a little better, and I was happy to come under 9 mins for the first time, and even happier when I took a minute off my descent time!

After the hill reps (I really do need to work on attacking the hills- my second rep I just couldn't get my HR up again), we went down Alexandra Rd which I haven't done since my stupid wee crash two years ago! The ride down wasn't great fun- bumpy as heck, but I got to the bottom and round the awful corner at the bottom a lot more happily than last time (I'm having trouble linking to the post, but it was October 2006...) That's a demon conquered anyway!

I've also rather rashly signed up for the Contact Energy Event this weekend. It will be entirely a recon race (its in the same area as the half)- or else I won't be able to handle the very real possibility of being DFL! I had a looksie at the times from last year, and the TOP female bike times for the 40k ride are in the mid 1:20s (incl T2) and the top male time was 1:10. The course is 5 loops of an 8k circuit, which includes a sharp 1k climb with up to about a 14% grade. All up, there's 150ish metres of ascent per loop. EEK!

What the f**K do you think you're playing at....???

Signing up for a HALF ironman! In ONE MONTH???

This thought entered my head, as I took off on loop one of the 3-loop (7.5k) run, ran smack bang into a gust of wind, and promptly got passed by a muscly backed lady in red.

"What the hell are you doing thinking you can run a half marathon off a NINETY k bike???"

But, I'll start at the beginning....

Today was our first tri of the season. My longest tri do by 250m, 10k and 2.5k) and P's first ever. Possibly the only "practice race" I'll do before December 13. It was windy yesterday, and the wind was forecast to stay strong. I was more philosophical about this than I usually would be- despite my nervy post last night and stressed sounding buckeye and facebook posts (poor old Mike must have been well fed up), I recognised that the conditions would help me treat the race as a good, solid, practice, rather than a major event. Plus, I rode yesterday, so I knew I could stay on the bike- I'd just be slow!

We were up earlyish, but pissed around a bit, and by the time we got to Scorching Bay we were in a bit of a hurry. Luckily, the race start was delayed, so we had time to pop into the water, go to the loo and check out the flow for transition.

Swim: 1k
The men started the swim two minutes before the women. It was a 2 lap course, and the water was quite deep. I started off strong, and feeling good, but soon lost track of the fast ladies, and started to wonder how far back I was. The water wasn't that choppy, but I found navigation very difficult- on minute I was heading well to the left of the buoy, the next minute I was face to face with bright orange and churning water. The worst bit was the distance between the first two buoys- it looked like we should be making a right angle turn, but it was actually quite diagonal. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried, I ended up further off course. I was concerned when I rounded the buoy closest to the shore at 11:25, as I figured it should be about 500m , but I was passing women and slow men, so I just pressed on. The second loop wasn't much better than the first, and my mood certainly didn't help- I had high hopes for this swim, after a solid training season and hugely improved times at all distances in the pool. By the time I reached the shore (possibly it was when I got to transition-I can't remember when I changed laps!) my watch read 23:39, for the slowest 1k I've swum in a very, VERY long time.

I made my way up to T1 and was surprised to see P there. It was great to see him, as it gave me a bit more confidence. Of course, I'd rather he'd had the swim of his life and had dashed with the leaders out on the bike, but it was nice to see him (and nice to see a fair few bikes still racked). T1 wasn't too bad, I don't think I have my exact split, but it could have been worse!

Bike: 30k
We had a magnificent tailwind for the "out" part of the bike. In hindsight, I should have nailed it a bit more- after all, it was free speed. But zooming around corners at 35+ kph seemed good enough for me, and I was concerned about blowing up on the big hill, or in the headwinds. I was shocked to see the male leaders at Lyall Bay- blimey!! I was glad we'd practiced the hill, as I knew it would be best for me to change into my baby chain ring as soon as I could, as although the hill starts off gentle, it gets steep quickly, and just keeps getting steeper for 2k. Fun!!

Rather than being depressing, I found watching the people ahead of me speeding down invigorating. First, because they all looked like the sort of hardcore people who SHOULD be beating me, and secondly because I knew that after ten or so minutes of climbing (yup- my speed up that hill got down to 9-10 kph!), I'd be flying down too, and on the way home. I was glad to see P zoom past (it was great to see so much of him in the race), and just kept slowly moving up. My goal for the next couple of weeks is to start attacking the hills a bit more- right now, I'm really just surviving them!

The way down the hill was a bit of a let down. First, the chicky in front of me stopped on the turn around. I think she might have messed it up, but it seemed at the time like she was just having a break. On the tight turnaround. Made the turn, and headed off down the hill, only to have to BRAKE on the best bit of road in the course, for a dickhead in a 4wheel drive. After the nice bit of smooth, fast descent, it gets bumpy (the carbonless wonder does not like bumpy!) and windy, and generally less fun, and I got passed. Twice. Bullfrogs!

The way home was not so fun- apart from being the way home, which was good! And, for ONCE, having a tail wind alongside the airport. For once I made good use of free speed, and pushed up to 45k for ahwile. Fun! But then the headwinds hit again, and the sidewinds started sending me all over the place. Luckily, we also met the short and medium course folks at this point- it was nice to pass a few people for a change. I tried to keep a good high cadence, so as not to fry my legs, but I think I could/should have pushed harder- my competitive instincts just aren't up to much on the bike.

Total ride time: 1:12:15 (incl T2), which is slooooow, but I'll take it.

Run 7.5k

I was a bit disoriented in T2, and decided I probably hadn't had enough water. Nevermind, I'll grab some at the drink station at the turnaround, I didn't see the water there until the last lap, so I was pretty dehydrated during the whole run. Unfortunately Headed along the path by the beach, my legs seemed pretty stiff, but could have been worse. I decided I was going to stay ahead of Grey Girl, and also hoped to catch up to a woman I recognised from running a tri events. We turned the corner, smack bang into the wind, and I started cursing myself. After a terrible swim and a slow bike, I was going to be caned on the run. I couldn't fathom riding 60k more and then doing a half-IM.

I saw P partway into the first lap, and gave him a smile. He wasn't that far ahead- but he was a whole lap in front of me! Ah well. He wasn't running hard, so ended up waiting at the next turnaround for me, so we ran his last lap together, which was lovely.

My legs felt better with every 1.25k segment, and I was OK with a 27ish minute 5k split. My aim was to finish the run in about 40 minutes, so I set off to push the last 2.5k hard. I didn't quite succeed- although my leg turnover picked up, I don't think the rest of my quite caught up, and I finished in 40:28. I'm actually quite pleased with 5:20ks off the bike.

All in all, today was good. I was reminded how hard triathlon is, and why I enjoy it. When my legs turned themselves on at 5 or so ks in, I remembered that I'm training for a half- not a fast olympic distance. And I know I can keep it up on the bike- I just have to commit! I'd love to make it up to Rotorua for another practice run next week, but not sure I can manage it. And maybe another round of hill reps would be better for me!

Number One

Number one for the season is tomorrow. 1k swim, 30k bike (including a 2k bitch of a hill, and 7.5k run). Exposed, coastal course. Forecast for strong winds.

Well- it'll be an adventure, anyway!

So glad we have people like this policing our streets...

"Cyclist pushed into truck"

For fuck's sake!