Contact Tri Series: Rotorua

UPDATE: The official results have been edited, and in actual fact my time was 3:21:21, NOT 3:26:21, so it was a 3 minute PB after all. A few edits marked throughout

After finishing the race, I sat on the bank in the sun, and talked to Phil who was in a grump. He was slower overall than last year, his swim was abysmal (he thought) and he just couldn't push it on the run. He was not a happy camper. In fact- for a change I had a taste of what it's like to be the partner of the brat, rather than being the brat myself!

I sat him down and lectured him:

"I know you're grumpy and it's disappointing, but that's what racing is about. Sometimes it sucks. Last year, the swim was short, maybe 1300m max. This year, it was at least 1500m, if not more, and you haven't been swimming! You beat your bike time, and not only that, felt miles better on the bike than last year. You may not have been able to push hard on the run, but you ran nearly the same time,even though you're still sick. And you know full well you can run. And you can run off the bike. You just didn't today, and that's OK. In fact, I'd take the success on the bike, all while feeling better than last year, and take that as one in the bank for the Half."

Then I got home, found out I was not, as I had thought, 5-10 minutes faster than last year. In fact, I may have been 2 minutes slower. And I had my own stampy, bratty tantrum, while Phil was off getting pizza, and I grumbled on facebook, and on the blog.

But now, I'm ready to listen to my own advice, and the advice of my coach and virtual training buddy, who know better than me, and be proud instead of bratty and stampy.

So, here we go: Contact Tri Series 2008 & 2009- A comparative race report

Swim
Last year: forgot to put goggles on, short course, deserted bike racks, out of the water in 25:53, and out of T1 in 28:12 (I think.. the official results are by memory)

This year: started well, felt strong. The Great Contact Lens Experiment of 2009 has been a grand success, so I didn't have the sighting problems I've often had in the past, and I was able to stick with a group much more effectively. Reached the turn around buoy in 14:40, I think, and was out of the water in 29:13. Not the best of times, even for a 1500m course, but could be worse. The run up to T1 was long, and I fumbled around a bit getting myself sorted for the tough bike, but I was in and out in a little over 2 minutes. Apparently I took over 7 minutes, which I find VERY hard to believe (it felt like 3, and Garmin says I was on the bike just over half an hour from the start), but who am I to argue?

Bike:

Last year: The five lap course was more painful every time, and by the end I wanted to top myself, and then go postal on everyone else. I was riding the carbonless wonder, and had three chain rings, so was shifting all over the place to deal with the easy climbs, steep climbs, long climbs, power-sections and technical descents. My average lap time was about 22:00- arrived in T2, to a full, full, bike rack, at 1:49:xx, and was out on the run at 1:51:04.

This year: My splits were pretty consistent (20:30; 20:37; 20:37, 20:50 and 21:19, which includes entering T2), though my button pressing wasn't quite on the nose, and the first lap (with an elevated post-swim heart rate) felt much harder than the last. My average cadence was between 85 and 87 for each lap, and my AHR sat in the 160s, with my max (apart from lap 1) in the low 170s. My compact cranks were an absolute godsend, and I remembered to stay in my big chain ring as much as I could. Having decent componentry also meant I didn't have to anticipate the claims, and shift in advance, as I did last year! I passed far more women than last year, wasn't passed by Phil, and I never once felt like stopping (apart from briefly toyed with skipping the last lap (kidding!)

Run:

Last year: Apart from seeing Phil at the beginning, the run was very, very lonely indeed, and I felt like I was coming last. Peoplew ere packing up the drink stations. I held an OK pace, and I think my finish time was 1:05:54, for what I think is just slightly over 11km. During the second lap, I chased down a lady in purple, and crossed the finish line with her. My average pace according to the Garmin was about 5:48/k overall, but the official number is more like 6:00/k (ugh)

This year: The run felt far less lonely, even though I didn't see Phil. I held a good pace down from transition into the beach, and then focussed on keeping my average Garmin pace below 5:30/k for the first loop, and succeeded until about 3/4 of the way through. A couple of NZ-team-kit clad ladies passed me, and I kept them in sight for as long as I could, and also picked off one lady in purple during the first loop. First loop time was 30:30, and Garmin says my average pace was 5:37/k. AHR in the 160s, so lower than usual.

The sun came up during the second loop, so I walked the beach drink station the second time, and took a bit to get going, which took my lap pace to over 6:11/k. The second loop was all about passing, and watching that average pace go down, which was most satisfying. After passing a couple of dudes (yes, dudes!) I created an imaginary opponent (I wasn't creative to name her, so she just stayed "Imaginary Opponent") who lurked at every corner, beckoning on. At a couple of points, she morphed into a Real Opponent, but the real opponents were all on their first loops, passing them lacked any real sense of satisfaction, so I relied on Garmin, and the Imaginary Opponent to get me through. I hoped to finish by 1pm (which was the time I finished last year, but we started later), but came out of the woods a couple of minutes later, ran across the beach, leapt the ditch, and crossed the finish line at 1:02pm. My second lap pace was 5:48 by the Garmin, but my official run time was 1:04:40 1:04:04, which is 5:52/k 5:49/k, not the 5:42/k my Garmin said it was. Silly Garmin.

Reflection:

On reflection, I can see that I am in better half-IM shape than last year. I had a much more successful bike ride, shaved nearly around a minute nearly two minutes off the run (every bit counts!), and the main culprit for the disappointing time was the longer swim and transition. Also, last year my training was all about hill repeats, so I had strong hill legs, but lacked endurance, which means my training was better suited to this course than to the Half. Last year, we discovered that a person's time for 5 x the Okareka circuit was roughly equivalent to their time on the Rotorua course, particularly if that person faded spectacularly after the turnaround. This year, since I plan NOT to fade, I am confident that my bike time could come down from 3:26 to somewhere in the realm of 3:10 to 3:15. I also think I could hold the Garmin pace from the run today over the full course, but to avoid being crazy ambitious, I'm going to confidently say I could average 6:00/ks, giving me a 2:06 half, compared to last year's 2:13.

Lastly, I need to learn to leave myself out on the course in a tri. I have left my whole self out there in three half marathons this year. Sure- my triathlon AHR should be lower, but I'm not convinced I'm pushing hard enough.

Bullfrogs

Thought I'd had a good race today, but official times are up and it's the same cr*ppy time as last year. Going to go tidy up, mope, and eat pizza with Phil and come back when I'm not in a stupid grump.

Bullfrogs.

The week that was:

Since last weekend's night run:

Swim:

Open water swim season is upon us, and the wetsuit has had a workout this week.

I did the 1k swim at the Takapuna Beach Series on Tuesday night. Official time was 18:26, including the run up the beach, but I'm pretty sure they subtracted 30 seconds somewhere- oh well, not complaining!

Then did the swim leg in the Karapiro Half Ironman for Team Buckeye. Finish time was in the realm of 39 minutes, which isn't particularly awe inspiring, though trying to keep a straight line for 2 straight ks in a wide river/lake was a bit tough. Arms have been stuffed all week, so suspect wetsuit swimming will take some getting used to! Luckily, there are few more opportunities to work on my open water racing skillz prior to the big one. Full details and pics on Mike's blog.

Bike:

No big adventures, just a few 1:30 - 2:00 rides around Aucks, with a lot of time on the North West bike path. A 2:00 ride is definitely feeling short now, which I suppose is the goal, and I'm also starting to be able to decide whether I want to attack hills, or just cruise, rather than puffing away just to survive.

Run:

My run is starting to come together. The new Mizunos are great, and feel much better than my big, heavy, clomping Brooks Adrenalines. My pace for any given HR level seems to be better (I'm not going to look fot data to back that up- I'm sure it'll disappoint!) Mostly it's been an hour here and there, and mostly on rolling hills around Herne Bay and Cambridge.

This week is a decent one, and we'll be ending it with the Contact Triathlon in 'Vegas. I'll be on tired(ish) legs, but still hoping to do some serious damage to last year's time!

Xterra trail series, race 4 (starlight event) : a race report in haiku

running in the dark
all 'round a mountain bike park
with husband in tow

some steep hills, too:
up to twenty five percent
hell on my poor calves




pizza at the end
running with my bestest friend
fantastic event!

Helping me get perspective...

...is my dear bloggie-friend Pip, whose latest post explains her recent absence from blogland.

Pip- enjoy recovery. And once you're back on your feet, how about joining me in Wanaka in 2011?

My non-whiny race report is on its way. Sloooowly.

For now, some not-so-hot photos of me finishing (and even VIDEOS. Can you spot me?).. and some much hotter photos of Phil sprinting off the Bald Guy in Black (and "winning", although subsequent stalking shows that the Bald Guy in Black was actually faster).

Enjoy!

Not too bad...but not too good either

1:51:01
AHR 174

I gave it a good, solid go, and I'm really glad I finally got to race healthy, do my best, and have some fun.

It's just a pity that on a day with perfect conditions, of PBs being crushed and expectations exceeded left, right and centre, my best wasn't what I hoped it could be. Nothing like it.

Here's a pretty picture of cumulative pace.

Umm...

...it seems that whenever you plan to be slammed at work, and refocus your priorities so the goal is survival, work ends up being "not too bad, considering..."

This hasn't been an ideal taper week, but it hasn't been the hell I anticipated either. I've left the office by 8-8:30 every night so far, and it looks like tonight will be similar. Far from the all-nighters I was fearing.

So, (apart from the knee I dinged mountain biking) there's no excuses this weekend!

"Not too bad, considering..."

I have unresolved issues with half marathons. After running a few in 2004-5, and kicking some serious heinie with a PR of 1:42, I sloooooowed. This year was to be the return of Kate the Speedy Half-Marathoner.

In August this year, I ran my first half marathon for ages. I was feeling great during the build up, until I spent the two weeks immediately preceding working late every night, did a cycle race I should have skipped, and predictably got slammed by a cold that knocked me down flat. My finish time of 1:54 was credible, but for me it was “not too bad, considering….”

In September, I ran my second half marathon for the year. It was a tough course, so I was hoping to equal or just beat my time from the August race. In the week leading up to the race, I got slammed with an unexpected increase in work, and a deadline I hadn’t seen coming (my job can be like that…) and- yup, you guessed it, raced sick. Finish time of 2:00:28 was a PW for me, but “not too bad, considering…”

On Sunday, my “A” half marathon is coming up. It’s my half-marathon PR course, and last time I ran it, I kicked out an easy 1:55 half, before kicking it to my marathon PR.

It’s not the be all and end all of my season (hello half ironman), but I’ve been looking forward to half-m redemption all year! And guess what? Due to reasons and deadlines beyond my control, it looks like I’ll be here late every night this week, including a loooong briefing session that won’t be started until after 6pm our time the night before the document is due. I’m living on immuno boosters, and doing what I can to take care of myself, but I know from experience that this is Not How You Taper.

I just want to go out there, and run and do my best. And if my best is slower than I’d hoped or involves starting too hard and crashing and burning, I’ll handle. But I don’t want another “not too bad, considering…”

Wetsuits wetsuits everywhere!

It's time to say so long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye to my dear Orca Evo.

The Orca Evo was my first wetsuit, and the first real "investment" in my triathlon career. It's seen me through 4 sprint tris, 2 (roughly) Olympic distances, a half ironman, two or three aquathlons and an Ocean Swim. But last year I realised that I was swimming 1k in 17:00 in the pool, and 19:00 in the open water, whether lake or sea. Which was surprising, considering I'm not a nervous swimmer, and I LOVE the open water. What was also surprising was that I could whip my dear Hubbie's behind in the pool, but he would crush me when we raced.

I don't think the Orca is fully to blame for this, but as reasonably floaty woman, with a strong kick, OK technique, but not much upper body strength, flexibility in the shoulders is essential to me. And my entry level Orca just couldn't provide that. Plus, it's three years old now, and stiff as all hell!

So after our run last Sunday we hit up Swim T3 in Mt Eden. I wasn't sure whether I could face the whole trying on ordeal, but decided to bite the bullet. The very helpful salesman (I don't know your name buddy, but props to you for awesome service) asked what we were after, expressed his sympathy with regard to racing in the Evo, then eyed me up, turned to the other salesperson there and said:

"[let's call her] Amy, do we have any of the Sonar's in a men's size 5?"

Wait? What? MEN'S? I know I'm broad shouldered, but....

[Actually, I was pretty impressed. It seemed as if he was considering what would work best for me, as well as keeping an eye out for a good bargain, rather than just shoving me into the most expensive mid range suit and waving me off...]

So, for the next HOUR, I tried on a few [men's] suits by Orca and Speedo. And of course, each subsequent suit was harder to put on than the last because I was getting warmer and tireder. And I was also going down a size, so I was getting redder and redder and stickier and glowier every time I came out of the fitting room to be manhandled again. But eventually, I had it down to two (ok, I only tried on four...), so I tried them on again for a direct comparison and walked away with a Speedo STR Pro in my hot little hands.

Yay!

...

.... until the next day, when Phil got an email from his old coach informing him that he had a sweet deal on some 2XU samples. And there was one in my (female) size. And boy, oh, boy, was the deal sweet. So I did what any impulsive triathlete does, and bought it.

And now I have three wetsuits.

How to tell you're riding in New Zealand in spring

Lots to say, no time to write an epic, so here's the copout version!





1: You get drenched every 20 minutes (...ok.. maybe that's just Auckland...)
2:... but the sun dries you out before the next soaking...
3:...so much so that you get sunburnt THROUGH THE HOLES IN YOUR GARMIN STRAP, and you end up with a hairtie tan-line on your wrist.

4: There are wee baby sheeps* and cows in all the paddocks...
5:...and a higher than average number of dead pukekos on the road.

6: There are headwinds...
7:...and cross winds...
8:...and winds from everywhich way all at the same time**...
9:...and when the winds stop swooping around your head, the magpies start.

and last but not least...

10: There's a sausage sizzle at your planned rest point (and they were perfect)

*For my facebook friends: On our way out, we were riding along and heard a poor wee bleating its little heart out. I made Phil stop and investigate, and we found it stuck in a ditch on the road side of a fence. We tried to rescue it for about 5 to 10 minutes, but it was a bit too far down the bank to get to it, so we reluctantly left. On the way back, the poor wee thing was still crying when I rode past (we were riding separately), which nearly broke my little heart in two. Fortunately, not much later I ran into a farmer and told him about it. And then a few minutes later Phil did the same thing...I think he might have thought we were crazy, but I couldn't bear the thought of the lamb crying for another few hours!

** I'm from Wellington, and I thought I knew wind. But I have never ridden in wind like this before! It wasn't quite as strong as Welly's gusts, but it was consistent, and it was EVERYWHERE. In Welly, you generally lose the worst of the wind when you're climbing, but on Sunday we were battling headwinds the whole way back. The not too awful climbs became some of the toughest, most soul destroying I've done, and on one descent (which I normally do at 40km/h+) I had to actually go down a gear so I could actually move my legs around!

***Here's some charts- cos we all love charts!

Field trip!

On Sunday, we went on a Field Trip!

I have been running occasionally with various girls from work, also training for the upcoming Auckland Half (or full) Marathon. It's been great to get motivated to get out after work, and I've gotten to know a few of the girls much better, which is great!

For those who don't know, the Auckland marathon and half marathon are on a point to point course, running from Devonport on the North Shore back into town (for the half), then out around the bays in the other direction and back into town (for the full). To do this, the runners have the privilege of running over the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which is pretty much only open to foot traffic once a year. This means that for non-North Shore dwelling Aucklanders, the first part of the course is a bit of a mystery.

So, I decided to organise a wee field trip out with some of the running group. And Phil, of course! I originally hoped to catch the ferry to Devonport (because I adore the ferry), run to Northcote, and catch the ferry back from Birkenhead, but of course the Birkenhead ferries are complete rubbish during the weekend, so that was out. Eventually, we just decided to go for the "two cars" plan.

There were 5 of us in total, and we met at Stafford Park at about 10am, then organised ourselves and drove out to Devonport. One of the girls is doing her first half, and she looked a big ill as the drive to Devonport went ON and ON. Especially since we were going the SHORT way....

I had marked up my North Shore Cycle map (thanks again Maxx, you rule!), and prepared cheat sheets for each different group, so I handed these out, garmined up, bathroom tripped, and we were off!

Now, this is where my plan started to go haywire. See, part of the reason for the field trip was to put R's mind at ease about the hills. Because the first time I did the race (in 2005), I found the hills, including The Bridge, utterly anticlimactic. Of course, I had been training with Wellington Scottish all season, had been climbing some SERIOUS hills, and was in tip-top, killer PB shape (did I mention I ran a 1:42 that time?? Oh yeah.. I guess I did. A hundred times or so...) And the second time? Oh yeah, I was running at marathon pace, so I wasn't going to notice anything but a major incline.





This time, although the hills weren't exactly on a par with Arthur's Half, they did require some effort. The thing about these hills is that none of them is hard on its, but the cumulative effect can be to tire your legs out a bit. Luckily, the downhills are pretty easy, so there's no pounding on your quads from those. I think R was a bit disheartened. Especially as the sun emerged with a vengeance. And especially since 10:30am runs are impossible to manage foodwise, so we'd all used up all of our breakfast oats! It was only a 70 minute run, but it felt much longer!

But she persevered, and we made it back to Stafford Park, feeling fabulous, and happy with our average pace of exactly 6:00 minute ks over the 12km. Once we get to that point on race day, we'll be so excited about The Bridge that we'll barely feel the next few ks, and then we'll be heading for the finish, and waving at the brave marathoners (like Andrew and Aaron) as they continue their journeys.

2(.5) weeks to go!

Running the length of New Zealand

I can't believe I missed this!

Bruce McComb of Cambridge has almost completed the North Island stint of running from Cape Reinga to Bluff. He left the Cape on Monday 31 August and is scheduled to run the last leg from Invercargill to Bluff on Wednesday 14 October, arriving at 12noon. McComb aged 68 says that he is doing it because it is there. He starts each day at 6am and runs about 25km and starts again at 3pm and runs another 25km. McComb hopes to hit Wellington, having completed 1082km, in time to catch the 6pm sailing of the Cook Strait ferry. McComb has put up a challenge and is interested to know if there has ever been a runner older than 68 who has run the length of New Zealand.

Time for Goals!

I have finally entered the Rotorua Half Ironman.

I'd been putting off entering for months, as there was a very good chance that I would be mired in a huge case from October to December and unable to compete. Or even train. Or even keep my eyes open. But now I'm not, and I'm starting to feel my balance shift from LAWYER (and occasional triathlon doer) to Lawyer and recreational triathlete/gorilla.

I've got a jam packed event season leading up to the Half, and I'll hopefully continue the pattern when we get back from our European winter adventures in February.

Auckland Half Marathon, November 1:

A Goal: Sub 1:45
B Goal: Sub 1:50
C Goal: just make it to the start line healthy!?!

Last time I did the Auckland Half Marathon (on its own) I ran my all time PB of 1:42:35. One day, I hope to finally kick that time into oblivion, but I'm accepting now that it won't be this year.

I'd also like to see if I can maintain an AHR of 180+ for the half-m distance. My recent halves were in the high 170s, and I want to see what my "nail myself half-m effort" is in numerical terms!

Karapiro Half Ironman, November 14 (swim only):

A Goal: Sub 35
B Goal: Sub 38
C Goal: Work hard and come out knowing I've nailed myself!

I'm hopeless at open water racing, as anyone who read this blog last year may recall. Put me in a pool, and I can bust out a k in 17:00. Get me in a race, and I'm struggling to keep a 2:00/100 pace despite the wetsuits and the drafting and everything! That has got to change. It's not just an open water thing either- I'm pretty comfortable, and can hold my own in the company of swimmers who kick my butt in races.

Contact Tri-Series: Rotorua (November 22)

A Goal: Sub 3:15
B Goal: PB (sub 3:24)
C Goal: Don't come last in AG, like last year!

I loved/hated this race last year, and it was a great prep-race/test race for Rotorua. In fact, the bike leg was a pretty accurate prediction of 2nd-half-of-race pace for me, Phil, the Saint and Sub6 (the masochist who did the brutal bike leg in his own time)! Sub 3:15 would be a nearly-10 minute improvement on last year (I will really need to find an easier course to get myself a respectable Olympic Distance time!)

I'll leave sharing my A-race goals until I've completed all of these. 73 days out, I think I'm in much better shape than last year, but I have a long, long way to go yet.

A wet and wow weekend!

Wow! 6 1/2 hours of training this weekend. 70 miles travelled. 3500 calories burnt.

May be common place for some, but I can't think of the last time I did that much "proper" training (there was my epic weekend of mountain biking a couple of months ago, but the MTBing doesn't count).

On Saturday we tackled the Waitaks again.



We rode up to Titirangi, as usual, then split up for Scenic Drive. I don't believe in training PBs, but it's been driving me crazy that no matter the conditions, no matter how strong and fantastic I feel, I ALWAYS get to Parkinson's lookout in 1:28:xx. So a training PB of 1:26:47 while unimpressive was most satisfactory!

The loop takes about 3:20, so instead of coming back into town and killing time on Treacherous Tamaki, we explored Swanson instead. We had vague plans of riding up Carters, doing the summit again, and then heading back, but we never made it to Carters. Thank god- Carters is a bitch of a climb (the biggie from Arthurs Half), and the trip to the summit is the climb from about the 15 mile mark to the 18 mile mark on the graph above! No ta.

I felt pretty good on the way home, and Phil's average and normalised power were higher than last time, so I suspect I did better too.

After chilling and wandering for a few hours, we set out for workout number 2, a 1 hour run. I've been struggling with my tummy on our weekend runs recently. I think the Auckland weather has something to do with it- I cannot abide humidity! So, I'm pretty happy with 6ish minute ks at a truly aerobic AHR of 144.



This morning we headed out for a 1:30 run, including the usual 20 minute E2 effort. The plan was to run out around the bays for 25 minutes, do our intervals, then head into the Domain to see the ducklings.

Legs were knackered, and weather was abysmal (again).

Here you can see me starting slow, running fast for my 20 minutes, then slowing waaaaay down as we climbed Lovers' Walk, then the Garmin going mental as we ran back down along K Rd, dodged people in Edwardian costumes on Grafton Bridge and stopped at dozens of (well, several) street lights.



Not a bad run, all in all. Amazing how much easier it is to keep AHR in the aerobic happy-place when your legs are stuffed from 5 hours the previous day :)

Now, after an afternoon of coffee and Marian Keyes and a wee doze, it's time to get some DVDs, do some chores and get ready for the next training plan...

I was late to swimming today

But I went.

Swimming takes a lot more commitment than my other activities. It's on at set times on set days. I need to pack a whole bag of food and clothes and shower stuff the night before. I need to blowdry and straighten my hair in the changing room.

So, it can be a bit hard to get back into the swim of things (oh yes, I went there...) after a hiatus. After a few missed sessions, I feel like everyone will point and laugh, and like I will splutter away in the back. I forget how good it feels to plow through the water. How wonderful it is to stay afloat in a churning sea of kicking legs.

But now I remember. And going on Friday just got 100% easier.

Recovered

Yesterday's ride was awesome, and a relaxed run around St Mary's Bay and the Marina in the 7pm daylight was a delight.

Getting my dear Eric outside and up some hills was exactly what the doctor ordered!

I'm ready for another week, and as per the coach's instructions, I'll follow my fun, and follow my gut. And, to save my own sanity, I'll suck it up and actually go to swimming!

I'm not feeling very awesome at the moment.

My race performances have been disappointing (there are good reasons- but aren't there always?), and I'm not exactly kicking ass and taking names in training either. Today's E2 effort was downright pathetic!

The next few months are full of uncertainty, life-wise, for reasons I can't go into, and I suspect that's rubbing off a bit on the triathlon thing.

Preparing for a race that may never happen is a bit confusing- trying to decide whether to pull the plug or just keep on truckin', wondering whether to care. I'm trying to go with the flow, but- DUH- I'm so not a flow kinda gal, and living in a constant state of "temporary" is getting old fast!

Ugh

Time to go back to the nutritionist's plan.

Shades of grey

Is anyone else utterly totally over this dreary, grey, wetness?? It's sapping my will to live!

Well, not quite. But it's definitely affecting my mood and motivation. I'm dragging myself out of bed. Reeeallly draaaaggggggging myseeeeeeeeeeeeeeelf to work out, and cursing the cloak of wet fog for keeping me stuck on the hated trainer. Tuesday's 12k run thatwassupposedtobehalfanhourbutwasn't (*hiding from Paul*) was great fun, but the rest of this week's workouts have kinda been more like chores.

I'm also busy but not MAD BUSY at work, so I'm not making plans for evening fun, but I'm getting home early enough (between 7:30 and 9pm) that there's no excuse for my major underachievement in terms of housework, photo projects, superfun cooking and reading. Well, there is an excuse, but a crappy one- it's called "home internet"!

I think things will turn around soon- either the weather will pick up, or I'll adapt! Time for this gorilla to get a grip :)

I want another gadget!

No more swimnesia!

A legendary PW

I shouldn't have done it, but I did, and it was awesome- apart from the whole being sick thing. Finished in 2:00:20, which was bloody annoying (especially since the start line wasn't chipped, and I had to wait 30 seconds at a set of traffic lights), and a PW, but holy cripes, what a fantastic race! I was sicker at Taupo, I think, and ran that in 1:54, so shows that the Legend is a challenging course.

Phil crushed it, of course, running his first half- on a bloody hard course!- in 1:34:xx. Now- THAT'S legendary!

Ath-lite?

Following on from my previous post, it's time to come up with a new term that allows all us recreational endurance athletes to identify ourselves in under three words- and preferably under three syllables!

Now- I don't have any problem with anyone else who's kinda like me using the phrase "endurance athlete" to describe themselves. It's just I have a problem using it myself. It feels more than a little wanky. And if no-one else agrees with me, at least I know Britt and Rach do!

There's triathlete. But that also sounds a little like I think I'm Kieran Doe. Plus, I'd like to feel like I could identify with the plain old runners, cyclists and swimmers, the MTBers and the multisporters too.

So anyway- let's get to work. Leave a comment with your best suggestion, put the word out on your own blogs, and see what we come up with.

To get the ball rolling, here's my first, not-so-awesome suggestion: athlite.

The line

Figuring out where the line is between lazy and exhausted, off-colour and unwell, sniffly and flu-y, sore and injured, is one of the hardest damn things about being an endurance athlete!

There should be a separate number on the scale or the Garmin for these things!


(PS- Does anyone else hate calling themselves an athlete? I need a new term!)

Boo and bullfrogs

I have now had THREE, yes THREE, rest days in a row to try to recover from a not-too-bad-but-could-get-worse-unless-I-nip-it-in-the-bud-now cold in time for Saturday's legendary race!

What is it about me and half-marathons this year???

Three Volcanoes

Today Phil and I had a 2.5 hour bike ride on tap- a nice change from the four hour monsters we've had over the past few weeks. But of course we couldn't just get out and ride; no, we had to go and do something mad like riding up three of Auckland's volcanoes.

Volcano 1: Mt Eden
Mt Eden came more quickly than I was expecting. One minute we're rolling up College Hill (that's right suckahs- I just roll right up now!), the next we're making a ghastly sharp right turn and heading straight up. But once we got over the first few horrible meters, the rest of the climb was pretty easy! Or maybe I'm just hardcore!?!

We forgot to take photos at the top- d'oh! But the views are quite spectactular, and worth the (anticlimactic) climb!

The way down was Not So Fun. White knuckled braking (I actually had to hold my front brake in my drops because holding from the hoods was not getting the brakes in enough), cattle stops (one that was too wide to even attempt) and trying to re-start on a steep steep steep decline! I was relieved to get to the bottom, and I don't think we'll be bothering with that one again!

My "vanquishing Mt Eden without even breathing hard" (poetic license....) pride took a blow when we turned left up Landscape Ride on the way to One Tree Hill. It was one of the steepest roads I've ever climbed! Seriously- my cadence wasn't working, so I can't use that as a reference, but my speed was somewhere in the 8-9kph zone. i.e. the "Tarawera Rd after the rest of the Rotorua Half IM with screaming knees, hammies, quads, glutes and calves" zone!!

Volcano 2: One Tree Hill

Wow. What a RIDE! Live in Auckland? Got a bike? GO THERE NOW. Your legs may never forgive you, but your sense of achievement makes it all worth while.

I hadn't been to OTH (is that what the cool kids call it? they do now!) for years and the wee lambies gambolling around the road on the sunny day made me smile. The wall alongside the road, and the people milling around all over the place made me feel like I was riding in le Tour. Just, you know, slower. And more puffed. The climb starts out innocently enough, but when you get to the "top" there's an extra wee loop to the summit (and actually, an extra wee-wee loop on within that). Approaching the first just-one-wee extra loop is like riding your bike straight into a brick wall. But instead of smashing head on, leaning back on your back wheel and riding up it. Sorry if I'm being all pansy-assed about it, but THAT HILL IS INSANEO STEEP. Luckily, it eases off a little towards the end, so you finish full of pride and enthusiasm. And also, able to talk in sentences, which helps. Though to be fair, the sentences I was going for were pretty short. Such as "WOAH" and "holy freaking mother of all that is holy". Phil was pretty impressed by my climbing skillz- he was struggling enough that he didn't think I would make it. Well, I showed that doubter who's boss!

Speaking off that doubter, here he is. In all his "I'm an awesome climber and barely broke a sweat. Actually, I climbed that in my mega big chain ring" glory.



Again, down was not so fun. But there was something about the vibrancy of the people people everywhere that made clutching at the brakes and travelling at 12 kph seem like an OK thing to be doing.

Things got a bit muddled after One Tree Hill. We took a wrong turn and we realised we didn't have any sunscreen on. So we spent a bit of time trying to get back on track, and another bit of time riding round in circles in Onehunga trying to find sunscreen. Fun (Not).

To get to volcano 3, we headed from Onehunga to the shared path that goes around the Manukau harbour. It was OK, but not a patch on the Northwestern motorway path.

Volcano 3: Mt Wellington

The lead up to the Mt Wellington climb was probably the highlight- lovely leafy suburban streets, after a good few minutes of riding through industrial areas and waiting at stop lights with no bike sensors. The rest? Not so great.

The start of the climb itself was bloody steep. I seriously doubted whether I could do it, but decided to be awesome instead- cos I am- and just freakin nail myself until I reached the top. Unfortunately, a giant big cattle stop halfway up the steepest bit put an end to that awesomeness. And it was rather difficult trying to get started again on the insane-o incline. But eventually, I remembered that I could still be awesome instead, so I executed a stellar hill start and made my way to the summit. Except, unlike the other hills, at Mt Wellington you cannot ride to the summit, so we stood at the carpark, and snapped a few shots.



What with Rangitoto looking so gorgeous and the sun shining so brightly, we decided to detour home via Glendowie, not just St Heliers. Unfortunately SOMEONE who shall remain nameless decided he didn't trust my navigation skillz (maybe fair enough, I had sorta kinda gotten a little lost trying to find Glendowie on Friday...) and took us there the yucky way instead of the gorgeous roller coaster route I'd envisioned. Luckily, he then missed our turn, which meant we took the roller coaster in anyway, and then explored a new way back to the bays, where we got Movenpick. Well, he got Movenpick and I got a distubring coloured slushie from Starmart.

Then we rode really really fast around the bays in our aero bars until we got home.

THE END.

So, I guess I should blog, huh?

Not a lot to say, really.

I am busy busy busy at work, and just barely managing to make it through each week and still feel in control of my life (it's so much easier with a house elf/husband). But just barely = managing, so we're still ALL GOOD!

Basically, "just managing" means getting home between 9 and 10, getting stuff together for another set of yummy, healthy, balanced dinners and lunches, working for an hour or so (I have a LOT of articles to read), sleeping, and repeating. This is going to be life as I know it until Christmas, so I need to make healthy habits NOW.

Training is fine. Basically, although I am frustrated by not being faster and thinner, I know that I am looking more athletic, that I am riding so much stronger, running with much better form, and swimming very comfortably and consistently.

Our four hour ride in the Waitaks on Saturday was stunning, I never faded and climbed strong the whole way, and my legs were just fine for an afternoon walk and for Sunday's 1:30 trail run. They are not so fine now after an hour and a half of panting up hill and clambering down over rocks and roots and logs! We have become complete offroad pansies! But two lots of yoga and a leg loosening fairly-swift-but-still-aerobic 10.5k run yesterday evening are helping with that!

Self flagellation

I don't know why I akways want to punish myself by reading through my archives.

It's not that I cringe at the writing (it's not anything special, but it's no better now!) or at my gormless naivete.

Nope, it's quite the opposite. Back in the day, I freakin' rocked. I was ten lbs lighter (and still thought I was fat). My easy pace was a 9:00/mile, and I was busting out 7:00s in my speedwork sessions. I had blog buds galore, and sometimes got 20+ comments on my posts.

How have I been doing this for so long, and improved so little? Is it all that ten lbs?

Early rising WIN

Another complete (work)week of early ups in the bag. I definitely think getting up EVERY day helps, so I'm going to keep getting up to do yoga/start work early/do housework on my rest days.

This week was a little harder, as I don't think I was home before around 9pm all week, so it's been home, make dinner, eat, make breakfast and lunch, pack bag if necessary, clean a little, work a little, read a little, sleep and up at 5:15.

This was so much easier when I had a house-elf (husband!), but I got through it by:

- eating a lot of corn fritters (batter in the fridge, cook for 2 minutes, scoff down)
- staying only barely on top of housework
- drinking plenty of lovely coffee

We're doing a 4 hour ride in the Waitaks tomorrow, then a 1.5 hour offroad run and a short swim (partly so I can learn to dive- eek!) on Sunday. Weather is supposed to be OK (touch wood), so should be awesome!

LEGEN (wait for it, and I hope you're not lactose intolerant because the second half of the word is...)

DARY!

It's no secret that Phil and I are complete freakin masochists when it comes to hills. So it should come as no surprise, that instead of a nice, safe, redemption half-marathon, we're going to be doing this.

Oh yes, it is going to be LEGENDary.

PS: See below for my weekly recap, which sat in drafts for a couple of days before being posted.

A recap

Well, I am well and truly recovered from my illness, and then some.

Last week was a clean sweep, with early starts every day (including a 5:45 wake up on Saturday, and a 7am stroll through Ponsonby on Sunday), and 11 hours 30 of training (plus 45 minutes of yoga).

I managed to fit this into a week in which the work, and the non-work work stuff, started ramping up, and into a weekend jam-packed with sister and FBIL fun. Somehow, everything managed to fit together, and fall into place. A relaxing weekend the previous weekend and lots of planning helped!

I feel amazing.

Here's what the week looked like:

Monday:
3200 technique swim, including 12 x 50 "eggbeater" sprints. Ow!
5k run after work

(bircher for breakfast, leftover blackbean quinoa salad for lunch, and white bean and sausage stew for dinner)

Tuesday:
A muggy 55 minute pre-work run

(porridge for breakfast, carrot salad wrap for lunch, leftover stew for dinner)

Wednesday:
3400m swim, including a "1200m" time trial that wasn't so awesome (1250 in 21:59)

(muesli and yoghurt for breakfast, catered lunch at work, more leftover stew for dinner- lucky I like it!)

Thursday:
60 minute strength workout- outside, to practice standing on the way up College Hill

(porridge for breakfast, sushi [my lunch treat for the week] for lunch, and a rather pathetic grilled cheese tortilla for dinner)

Friday:
Yoga

(no comment on the food side of things!)

Saturday:
Up at 5:45 for a 1:30 run with Phil around Herne Bay

(we went to Circus Circus for breakfast, had chicken rolls picnic style for lunch and Mexicali Fresh for dinner- YU-U-UM!)

Sunday:
Four hour ride through Papakura, Clevedon, Kawakawa Bay- a real toughie, with wind, rain and hills galore.

(french toast with berries, bananas, pears and yoghurt for breakfast, a PB bagel on the bike for "lunch" and a big eff-off plate of delicious mac'n'cheese for dinner)

Wild Wet Wellington Wind

For those of you who have ever wondered why I whined so much about wind in Wellington, check out the images accompanying this story!

Of course, the story is well worth the read. Bernie Portenski is a complete freakin' legend!

Of monstrous hills (and dead arms) (a sort of random, mid week, incomplete, wrap-up)

Where we left off, our heroine (that's me!) and her trusty steed, Eric the Strada, had vanquished two imaginary, virtual hills on the trainer. But there was more to be done...!

But first, step back to Wednesday 19 August, 6am, at the tepid baths. Half a dozen silicon-capped and goggled swimmers crowd the slow lane, then take off one by one for 3000 metres with not one, not two, but 24 lengths of butterfly! Our heroine gulps and gasps and splutters but eventually makes her way through most of the set, and sinks into the spa before showering and getting for work (with a stop for a trim flat white along the way, of course).

By the next morning, she can barely lift her arms above her head, and struggles into her sports bra before climbing on her stationary steed, kicking ass and taking names.

And so on Friday, our heroine arrives bleary-eyed at the tepid baths for a Friday, speedwork session, with heavy arms and legs, and an overwhelming feeling of wellbeing. Her shaky quads protest every push off, and resist every kick set. Her dead arms are crying out by the time she completes her sixteenth length of the dreaded fly. On Friday night, she sits with her handsome prince, reflects on a week well done, and looks forward to a weekend adventure.

[OK, so this is getting old, even for me...]

Bike-fit Paul (who we both kinda worship a little.. ) had told us about a rad route in the Hunuas when we went to get Eric set up the previous weekend. When he told us about the hill that "goes up for a bit, then levels off, then goes up to about 20 percent for just a bit, levels off again and then goes up and up and up" we sat agape, and both mentally started calculating whether we'd be up for the challenge (ok, that was just me...) and salivating at the thought of the hill of doom (...yeah, and that one was just Phil.. I was more hyperventilating than salivating!)

As luck would have it, we found ourselves visiting Bike Fit Paul again last weekend (as well as being the proud father of a new powertap, Derek-the-Strada has also had a proper new tri-fit, and scored himself some sweet pedals), so we decided to start in Manurewa and explore. We hadn't exactly planned our route well, and we couldn't find a map that went much further than Alfriston, so we just kinda went with it. We didn't take the best route to start- it was basically along a bumpy, busy, narrow road, with one of those non-existent verges that basically drops you off a cliff if you follow the white line. At least in central Auckland, if it's busy and fast, there's usually enough room for all. Once there stops being quite enough room, the traffic's usually slow. Here it was crowded and horrid and the cars would all have been travelling in the 70s or 80s I guess (we now know a better way for next time, but I'm geographically challenged, so maybe should leave it for the husband to fill in the details! If this link works, you should go "out" the way we came "back"- much much nicer)

A wee way along, Phil spotted a road up a hill to our left. "AWESOME ROAD" he called back to me. I couldn't see a road. At first. Then I saw a dim stripe, spiralling its way up a hill. From the bottom of the hill looking up, it looked pretty dang near vertical to me. "Hell no!" I called back. I shoulda known he wouldn't listen.

We turned right a bit further along, up Creightons Road. It was a reasonably gentle climb, with a short but sharp wee climb a wee way along. I got to the top of that one puffing, and saw that there was another not far up. Sigh! I was busting for the loo, I'd barely been drinking because of the busy road, and although I wasn't in a typical Kate-grump, I was reasonably short on conversational skills. We stopped at the Papakura Water Treatment Centre (something like that) to re-group and do some munching.

Phil: So, shall we keep going up?
Kate: huff huff uh huh....??

Pause.

Kate: Holy mother of.... that's that HILL you were looking at before! ARGH!

But I did it. I used my babiest gear, and my cadence at one point dropped below 45, but I did it. My HR was through the roof, my quads were screaming, I was swearing, and I almost gave up every time there was even the slightest respite. But I did it. It did level off for a tiny bit before the last push to the top, where Phil was waiting proudly for me- and I confess that if it hadn't eased off there I may have given up- but I didn't, and I did it!

The view at the top was amazing- we could even see the sky tower!

(no, you can't make the sky tower out in this shot, but you can kinda see how steep the hill is.. )

We decided not to turn left at the next nasty hill (Jones Rd), but soon reached a dead end, so sucked it up and went back. I started well- I was going strong and Phil was the one swearing and cursing. "Honey- you're going to need to stand up!" "No I don't! this is fine!" Then, maybe 15 metres from the top dumbass realised he'd been in his big gear. Sadly, I was too knackered by this point to fall over laughing!

Now that I've described the hills in excruciating detail, I'll wrap up fast:

The rest of the ride was good fun. I was buzzing on the feeling of riding up the two steep hills, and enjoying exploring and checking out the scenery. I'm also enjoying actually sticking with Phil on the downhills, even though it's mostly cos he's a pansy now :) The Hunua gorge was just brilliant riding, although quite a few hoons of various varieties seemed to think so too, so we were pretty careful. I felt strong almost the whole way, and thoroughly enjoyed riding through the Manurewa subdivisions at the end. The best long ride I've had in a long time, and I can't wait to go out there again this Sunday (though we're skipping Creighton this time, since I've got four hours on tap!)

Triathlon tips follow up

"Dear Facebook friend,

[random small talk]

Anyway, have wracked my mind for some tips and tricks. The main thing about triathlon is organisation, so they’re mostly about that side of things.

Here are a few:

•Check out the race site before hand if possible, and figure out where you enter and exit transition, and where you finish!
•Bring an emergency kit, with sunscreen, plasters, loo paper etc- you never know what might happen, and sometimes you find yourself with something someone else needs
•Get a “tri-box” or bag to pull all your gear and food in (my “tri-box” is a generic hot pink plastic box with a lid, and came from the Warehouse (or similar) for about $11.99);
•Put something bright in transition so you can find your way there (a towel is good, or a brightly coloured tri-box)
•Have a towel and some water in transition for getting sand off your feet
•Bring some spare shoes or jandals, so you can leave your running shoes in transition and not have to go barefoot!
•Try to rack your bike near something identifiable and stationary if you have the option
•Keep some food or drink in transition- the race could well take between 2:30 to 3:30, which is ages!
•Look at how the cool kids rack their bikes and copy them (usually you hang the bike from the saddle, pointing out)
•Grease the openings of your running shoes with Vaseline, gets them on much faster when your feet are wet from the swim! (talc in the shoes also helps)

In terms of the race itself, my main advice is to chill out. It’s easy to get excited in the swim, which as you’ve probably realised from doing the swim leg is not such a good idea, and then come into T1 all hot and bothered. That makes you fumble, so you leave on the bike with too much adrenaline and stress. Better to swim carefully and avoid the chaos, keep relaxed in T1 (even if it takes twice as long, that’s still only about 1 minute on top of your time…) and then head out and nail the bike.

Good luck and have fun!

Kate"

(PS: Mike and Aaron- it's a non wetsuit swim (so no wetsuit advice), and she's actually a sort of experienced race-doer (who knows not to try anything new), just not a triathlete. That's why your tips aren't in there- they are, however, both awesome, even though I do always find the cap and goggle thing a little too much to think about when I'm dashing out of the water, and I try new stuff all the time cos I'm into living dangerous!)

Top tips?

I have tales of dead arms and monstrous hills to come, but first help me out. A facebook friend has asked for tri-tips. She can do all three, and has done team tri events before (swim leg once, bike the other time). She's not looking to break records, just to have fun and get it done. I wrote a huge mega reply, but facebook ate it.

So before I write it all out again, give me your best tips, do's and don'ts and sneaky tricks!

Exercise and weight loss

Rachel's post is, as usual, excellent.

Woo!

Something is paying off!

This morning I had a strength ride on the trainer for the first time in AGES (due to racing, travelling, being sick, recovering...). My buckeye peeps know all about these rides, cos every time I do one I b*tch about the standing intervals.

Today, the ghastly interval was increased again, to 10 minutes. And guess what? I absolutely crushed them! I got bored, but never felt weak or gammy, and my legs and pedal stroke stayed strong. I did have a quick sit part way through the second because sweat was dripping into my eyes and mouth. Ew. Looks like the mandatory-in-Auckland hill training is working!

Anyway, I really need to work on my standing-climbing skillz on the road, so I'm going to make Phil help me practice this weekend.

Feeling like a triathlete again!

Last week, I swam, biked and ran for the first time in a month or so.

The volume wasn't high (finished with 8:17 in the bank), and the intensity was loooow, but it was great to get up early, train consistently and to feel like a triathlete again!

So, here's a rundown:

M 55min swim @ squad (first swim in yonks!) Not bad, not good
T 15k run after work (Mission Bay and back). Wonderful, until my tummy let me down 2k from home.
W Rest
T 55min ride before work. Delightful (see below)
F 1:25 @ squad. 3k, including many many 50s. Not quite where I'd like to be on the short stuff, but felt like myself in the water again.
S Hungover. Managed to get myself out of the house at 4pm for my 60min run 'round the burbs. Went fast down Old Mill Rd, and then realised I was running at about the speed a (female) pro-triathlete runs a 10k in a tri.... Sad.
S 2:30 ride around the bays, then explored back through various suburbs (broadly I think I went Remuera, Cornwall Park, Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, Pt Chev, home...) Not the most pleasant ride, with lots of traffic and hills. Really took it out of me, which I suppose shouldn't really surprise me, as it's my longest ride in awhile, apart from Okoroire.

Also, a question: should I do the Sri Chimoy half on Sept 13th or The Legend on the 19th? Am worried that doing a hard half won't help me feel redeemed after Taupo, but on the other hand, have been keen on doing the legend (even if it's only the half) since it started!

What a way to start the day!

I can’t think of a more perfect start to the day:

• coffee and peanut butter toast in bed at 5:15am
• cycling around the marina, Herne Bay and Grey Lynn for an hour;
• bircher and a small glass of apple juice;
• a text from my Mum saying she’ll be in town tonight;
• walking to work with tunes and a trim flat white.

Well, I guess all of the above + husband, and + sun would be slightly more perfect, but I can’t be greedy!

Hey Mike!

I promised pictures of the Akl du. Here's one from trinz (I feel famous- I never make it into pictures unless they take one of everyone):



We are working on the demented arms thing...

Eric goes aero, and more bike playtime fun!

We had SUCH a fun ride today. The perfect way to get slowly back into it (apart from Okoroire, I haven't ridden Eric outside since before Wellington- and the only other bike I've ridden is an old hybrid!)

We started out with a wee warm up around the tank farm and marina, and I tested my new aero bars along Westhaven Drive. I quite like them, but they were much more comfy on the trainer at my fit yesterday than they were on the road, and the steering will take some getting used to.

Then we headed up College Hill. Phil was doing strength work today, so he was motoring on up in gears I can't even use on the flat, and leaving me well in his dust, but I felt pretty good on the climb, and I think part of that can be attributed to the higher seat. We rode down Richmond, which wasn't quite as fun as it was in the dark, but still made for pretty good riding. From Richmond, we rode along the back of Western Springs, not really planning anything, until Phil spotted another cyclist and we decided to follow him. We trundled merrily along behind them, then I realised where we were going. Dark blue cyclist got into his drops as we approached the "take this corner at 25" sign...

"Phil! I've just realised where we are. Hold on and I'll see you on the other side!"

We were heading down Old Mill Rd (I think...), which runs along past the zoo, and is one of the steepest, straightest, awesomest streets I have ever seen. Even mapmyride's hideously inaccurate escalation profile says it's over 20% at some points. It feels something like riding down the side of a building!

I took a deep breath, gritted my teeth and made the turn. My grip tightened, knuckles whitened, and my stomach dropped. It felt like sitting at the top of the Tower of Terror, waiting for the earth to drop out beneath me at any moment. I'd love to say that I hardened up and let go of the brakes, but, well, I kept a good hold on them, letting go occasionally and chickening out until I was safely near the bottom! Phil got to 76 kph, I think. It's definitely more fun descending when there are two lanes, the roads are good quality, and there are no switchbacks! (sorry Wellington, but somedays I don't miss you at all).

We followed dark blue man along Great North Road, and back up. Phil had a chat to him, compared speeds, and I convinced Phil to let me go down the hill again, so we repeated the wee circuit, before heading along Meola (normally great fun, but today was busy and windy, so not so much), out to Pt Chev and then back home via Westmere.

A good ride, with plenty of headwind and climbing to keep us honest, and some fantastic descending to make things fun. Riding in Auckland is badly underrated!

No more pig jokes, please

I'm still sick.

I had yesterday off work, and it was probably the sickest sick day I've had for awhile. I had to leave the house when we had a fire drill at 8am, but I could barely handle the trip to New World (100-odd metres away) and back. Then I alternated napping and reading for the rest of the day, until I got so bored I wanted to throw myself out the window and crawled to bed again at 7:45pm.

I'm back in today, and I think I'm on the mend, although walking up Victoria St dang near exhausted me. No working out for me for the time being, which means basically I'm feeling like a failure lawyer and failure endurance athlete too. Oh, and living on spaghetti on toast and frujus means I'm also definitely feeling like a healthy eating failure.

Hopefully I will be myself again soon! Eric wants to ride, and I miss the pool!

Do as I say, not as I do

This is a post I started writing last week, then stopped and replaced it with "Pre-race musings":

"After doing my best to take it easy on Monday and Tuesday, I worked until 12:36am on Wednesday. I slept in, and didn't turn up until 9:30 on Thursday morning, after a quick wee spin on the bike, but by Thursday afternoon I realised that the dodgy tummy I've had for a couple of days had been joined by a wee sniffle and a slightly swollen gland on the left hand side of my neck. My predictable, good old friend, "Kate's pathetic cold."

I get this cold when I get rundown, and I generally don't get sick much at all otherwise (I've had 9 sick days in the past 5 years at this job- though I suppose if you added up all of the days I've worked when I shouldn't have been it'd paint a slightly less healthy picture). It runs basically the same course every time- not many outwards symptoms, but always includes the dodgy tummy and generally at some point will involve me lying down on the bed and feeing utterly pathetic, with a wee bit of a fever, congested sinuses and glands out to "here".

I'm not sure whether I should race, but I want to..."

I stopped at the last sentence when I realised I was being an idiot and that anyone who ever listens to my advice would tell me to listen to my intuition, not my ego.

My pre-race run on Saturday was OK. I made it out of the house, anyway, and huffed and puffed my way through 3 slow kms before running hard for 2:30 at 4:15 pace. Phil and I meandered to Taupo with a car full of tissues, first defence and vitamin c. The dodgy tummy got worse on Saturday night, and the cold wasn't any better on Sunday morning.

"But colds are always worse in the morning" said I. "I think I should race"

So, race I did. The first half went perfectly according to plan (55:15), and I felt pretty good, although I was blowing my nose every 5 minutes, and I could feel that my breath wasn't quite getting through my congested chest. I scoffed at the people going harder than me- the ones puffing and panting to get past in the first 5 or so ks, and when I got to the turn around I turned on the ipod and got ready to drop the hammer and nail out a negative split.

Or not....

The first part of the second half is offroad. My speed went from safely within the 5:10-5:20 zone to 5:25-5:30. My breathing got worse, and as I twiddled with my Garmin, I saw that my heart rate was peeking into the 180s, although my pace had slowed. The people passing me were now people I'd seen earlier, not just speedsters coming from behind, and it was harder than it should have been to keep on their tails.

My last "lap" (about 6k) was at 5:39 pace. My nose had dried up and was feeling sore, overblowed, and blocked. My chest was tight and I was getting passed on hills. ME! My legs were still OK, I just couldn't make them move. I kept expecting A (who'd started after me) to be the next to pass me.

I saw Phil just before 19k and managed a weak smile. From then on, it was just the typical half-marathon chant of "ten minutes to go...ten minutes to go."

Crossed the finish line at 1:54:30ish (almost exactly the same time as my first ever half in 2004 [UPDATE: It was 1:54:28, which is exactly one second off my PW of 1:54:29!]), with an average HR of 178 (basically 175ish for first half and 180ish for second half, but my splits are much more random).

Now- because I'm supposed to be positive:
- my legs felt strong until about 19k, when the quads started to protest a little. This is great for me in a half-m (usually I'm willing my legs to keep moving from about 16k.. thanks to cycling and Paul for the leg strength)!
- I did run a 1:54 (which sounds horrid to me, but isn't ACTUALLY a bad pace (5:23/k) with a nasty cold
- I did a good job of "being awesome instead". When Phil saw me, I was reasonably upright and my turnover was good. I was doing my cerebal palsy arms, but I ALWAYS do those. I felt the difference instantly when I remembered to pull myself up, focus on my abs, and breathe well
- half marathons are the best. I shouldn't have let myself forget how much I love them- even though this was a bomb, I can't wait for the next one.
- the Taupo half is a great race! Great course, with the rolling hills and mixed terrain. Brilliantly run, with well organised road closures/partial closures and a very effective wave start. I will definitely be back!

Some pre-race musing

Once again, my build up to this race hasn't been great. The after-midnight work days on Sunday and Thursday really hit hard after the last couple of weeks and, to be honest, I feel a bit blah right now. I've also missed two swims this week, and 40 minutes of riding which makes me sad!

I'm still going to race on Sunday, and I'm going to stick to the plan I set out earlier (first half in 55, blat the second). Keeping a 5:00ish pace was fine during my last E2 effort, and my legs are feeling pretty good, so I think this is doable. If not, there's always Auckland!

Great Lake Relay: Team Blog?

I've been thinking for awhile that we've built up a solid quorum of Kiwi running/triathlon bloggers, and it's about time we followed the example set by our North American brethren and had a big ol' meet up.

I dream of one day having a mega training camp, WIBA styles (and seriously, we have got to do something faboo to welcome Steve and Pharmie if they come), but in the meantime....

...is anyone keen to be part of Team Blog at the 2010 Great Lake Relay? Taupo's central enough that even the Wellingtonians can make it for the weekend, and it's a good fun event (I've done it twice). AND you can run extra and/or bring your bike if you're doing something silly like training for Ironman!

Just putting it out there.

I vow

I, Hot Potato Kate,
do hereby promise,
from this day forward,
to bite my tongue,
and stop commenting "slow down- I'm right, you know",
and I vow,
to stop telling you off
in your heads
when you run.

Unless you REALLY need to hear it ;)

More thoughts about riding

Thanks everyone for your comments and tips yesterday. Like most triathletes, eating on the bike is tricky for me. So from now on, I'm going to start making sure I follow the same pre-ride plan for every long ride. Porridge, then a banana if we leave too long after breakfast, then sports drink and a little smackerel every 10-20 minutes on the bike. It may mean I take on too many calories, so I'll have to watch the post-ride binges (!), but I think it's worth doing some experimentation.

BUT, I need to emphasise that I have bonked on the bike (hmm! sounds interesting...) even when I eat and drink relatively "well." It happened in a ride over the Haywards with Phil, Dave and Andrea. It happened in Rotorua, during the half-m, and it happened again in Rotorua when I rode the course last month. Also, although I maybe didn't have enough, I had almost exactly what Phil had for breakfast, pre-ride, and during the ride, although he had a bit more to drink during. So, that leads me to believe that there may be something more to it.

Coach Paul has made the very good point before that this will come with fitness and time. I've got some experience, but I'm still relatively new at this. Clearly, my blood sugar on the bike is something to watch out for and work on. I also have to accept that bike endurance is, for me, a whole different ballgame to run endurance. I need to consider my pacing, my nutrition, and my overall approach from scratch, and not simply to assume that because I can run a decent marathon (they haven't been that fast, but my splits were all reasonably even, and I've never had a real blowout), I can jump on the bike for the same length of time and do the same thing.

The other thing is, of course, work, eating well and rest. I had a terrible diet while I was in Wellington, barely slept, and worked late every night. Eventually, that's gotta catch up. And-oh! deja vu, it did, halfway through the Auckland marathon in 2007.... As Mike pointed out, I can't take a week off before every event, and, sadly, my timetable isn't predictable enough to plan in advance, but I CAN try to focus on eating as well as I can and resting as well as I can in the lead up to smaller events, like the ones I'm doing at the moment, and I can hedge my bets by taking a little extra leave before and after big events... Or, you know, I could just pull a "Phil" and start working civilised hours!

Anyway, that's all my thoughts for now. Thanks for the reminder to be positive. Don't worry- I generally am, and I know there are some good things to take away from Sunday, but every so often it all gets to be too much, and, well, that's what the blog's for...

Okoroire fun ride report

I am shagged (figuratively). Totally and utterly knackered.

This morning Phil and I (and Tri Saint) did the 7-km Okoroire fun ride, just out of Tirau. The course was absolutely gorgeous, though I might be somewhat blinded by the stunning weather the Waikato put on for us today!

The ride started out well- once we got through some of the crowds at the start. We passed a bunch of people, sat at the back of a somewhat poorly organised paceline for a bit, and struggled over the roadworks. As per Coach Paul's instructions, I nailed myself up the only real climb in the ride (there were LOTS of wee rollers out there though), at roughly half-way, then settled behind Phil to let the wind blow us home.

Then things went pear shaped. I hit the wall with a big bang, and all of a sudden went from happy-Kate-enjoying-the-sun and the awesomeness of riding, to Kate-zilla. I slowed down, I snapped, I yelled, I swore, and I sulked. Oh yeah- I cried too. I had no energy left, my legs were killing me, my tummy was rumbling, and I just wanted to curl up in the ditch and sleep. I death-marched it to the end, with a 15-min positive split, then snubbed the Saint, weaved my way to the car, steadied myself and crashed into the front seat.

I have lots of faboo excuses for this. I've had an exhausting and training-impaired week at work. My HR on my long-ish run was consistently 5 beats higher than it felt like it should be (I controlled it OK, it was just higher than usual at any given RPE), suggesting a bit of tiredness and/or dehydration. We didn't plan well or bring enough food- I should know by now that I really struggle with blood sugar on the bike. I decided to be awesome instead of carrying the lame-o hydration bladder. I pushed it too hard at first, and revelled too much in being able to smash people up the rollers.

But the problem is, this was Rotorua all over again. Same 1st half pace (ish); roughly the same 2nd half pace. Same wall, same sulking. So, I really do need to find a way to fix this. Because seriously- I should not find riding a bike for 2.5-3 hours harder than I find running for that long! And I should not keep being crushed on the bike by people who are eating my dust on the run- or else I'll never, ever, ever get off the bike at the kind of place I should be.

AWWWWWESOME!

It takes a LOT for me to post over a wedding picture, especially one from a magazine... (hint hint).. but this is so cool I must share it:


We are thrilled to announce the launch of the ORCA Karapiro Half Ironman which will be run on the 14th November 2009.

There are a number of fantastic and unique features about this event that will appeal to competitors of all abilities including -

1. Swim leg down the course for the World Rowing Championships, AWESOME! Umm- HELLS YEAH!!!!!!

2. Bike leg around Maungatautari, NZ’s largest inland native wildlife reserve( www.maungatrust.org ) that is a 3400 hectare forested extinct volcano situated beside Lake Karapiro. And the bike leg finishes in the main street of Cambridge! WOW. I can just imagine rolling into Cambridge at the end!

3. Run leg over 4 laps in the township of Cambridge, 4 x up the main street that will be closed to traffic, lots of spectators, loads of atmosphere, lots of cafes and bars for the spectators to blob out in and great for post race recovery sessions!

4. Lots of event categories – winners trophies in 5 year age groups for men and women, individuals and open teams – mixed, male and female!

Phillip and I are thinking team entry... Who's with us??

We're famous!

(from the current Bride & Groom Magazine...)

*Thanks to Team Pink for graciously sharing the bike image!

FML*

I went for a run this evening before a late teleconference. I was a bit cold, but couldn't be bothered changing properly, so I put my jeans and a jumper on, but otherwise stayed in my running gear.

My boss (who is 50-something, gruff and something of a legend in certain circles) arrived at the end of the call, and stayed in my office for about half an hour, while we tidied up some things (yes, yes- it's 11pm now...).

He just left, and I turned around and noticed that my backpack was open on the floor with my clothes, INCLUDING MY PADDED T-SHIRT BRA, hanging out.

I'm glad it's home time now!

*If you don't know, look it up.

Slow running resources

Since I'm still on my slow-running preaching, annoying the crap out of everybody, kick, I thought I'd provide some links:

First- watch the Lazy Marathon Runner experiment with Maffetone here.

Mark Allen says it here (I particularly like that his "mile" paces are worryingly like my "km" paces ;))

Dr Maffetone himself

..and I'll re-post the Jack Daniels vdot calculator again.

In slow running news, I borrowed the husband's HRM for my run this evening, to make sure I haven't been kidding myself. I did about 4k in 24 minutes, with an average HR of 145. I'm a bit tired after a big work week, so I expected a little creep-up, and I think this suggests I'm about right. Looking forward to continuing this experiment throughout the week. Not that I'm a geek or anything!

Cautiously optimistic

Gratuitous picture of Wellington on a good day- this is from Phil's PHONE, and is one of the clearest shots of the Kaikouras I've ever seen. It is just MINT out there today! (it's seriously so gorgeous I don't MIND being at work, because I can gaze out over the flat harbour and look at the snowy Rimutakas in the distance!)

.. Anyway- onto the substance.

Last night, well- very early this morning, to be precise, I was dictating a note for my boss using the phrase "cautiously optimistic" and it's stuck in my mind.

This week has been all about the run- partly because I have a half marathon in two weeks, and partly because it's the only thing I can manage, working 12-15 hour days! I had a very chilly 30 minute run in Southgate on Monday morning, then a very satisfying aerobic intervals session around the good old bays on Tuesday evening. I'm really liking these runs- they're fun, but not hard, and being able to run "easy" and respectable paces is very gratifying! Tuesdays's was particularly fun, as I got to round the workout out with 4 minutes at TH pace (I ran about 7:33, which I guess is about right).

On Thursday, I did an old favourite loop- Thorndon Quay, Tinakori Rd, Glenmore, and down through Kelburn. It was a slow run, but still very satisfying- partly cos it's a damn fine route, and partly because I am getting better and better at running "easy" up hills. Glenmore's not steep, but it's long, and it basically gets steeper and steeper as you go. By the end, I was still running nice and steadily, and barely noticed the final wee climb.

Today's run was what left me feeling "cautiously optimistic." It was a 90 minute LSD, with a 20 minute "End 2" interval (upper end of aerobic) thrown in. Phil and I started with some rolling hills, basically along a ridge in Southgate, then headed down to Island Bay. I was feeling like absolute arse on toast when we got to the park, so wasn't expecting much from the 20 minute interval. I think I was working at the right level- I was still pretty much keeping up a conversation, just not easily, and watching my average pace gradually pick up over the length of the interval. I finished it with an average pace of 5:11/k, which I'm pretty pleased with! The fact that I held a faster pace for my 20 minute interval than I've been holding for my 4/6/8 minute intervals in my weekday sessions has made me feel very good about my running- it's really coming along again. So, I'm cautiously optimistic about the Taupo Half. I'll obviously raise this with Paul, but I'm thinking I'll try to start out at about a 5:10- 5:20 pace, hold that for the first half, and then pick it up for the way back. I'm confident in my ability to go under 1:50, and while I'd love to run 1:45, I think my ultimate goal will be for a good solid negative split.

Awesome eating

As y'all know, I like to compartmentalise, no matter how much I pretend I don't! So, I've started another wee blog to talk about food- check it out if you're interested!

Weekend training with my man

I tell you what- it's great having my weekend training partner back!

This past weekend was a goodie. We ventured out in the rain and mud for a short but good "day's" mountain biking at Woodhill (see Phil's blog for a more informative report) on Saturday. I took awhile to get going, as usual, but I'm finding that I'm getting into it more quickly as well as getting further each time- it's two steps forward, one step back rather than vice versa, and the forward steps seem to be getting longer, as the backward steps get shorter. In the end it was heaps of fun, and I managed to do a few clever-er than usual things too!

On Sunday, it was "long" run day. Last week I had an hour while Phil had 40, so we went out for 40 together and I plodded through the last 20 while Phil went home and stretched. This week, I woke up earlier than Phil and instead of pestering him out of bed, I thought "hey- I could do the FIRST 45 minutes alone and the second half with Phil." Genius.

It worked really well. I ran our Grey Lynn loop backwards and discovered that backwards kicks forwards' butt so hard that forwards runs screaming away- backwards means we climb College Hill and Richmond Rd, and go down through West End Park, and down the Cox's Bay steps. Much better! I did the first 4.34 miles in around 44 minutes, met Phil outside the apartment for a quick drink, and we headed out again. We did a bit of exploring, and our second loop was a little over 5 miles at 10:19/mile pace, which is slow, but I think about right for this run. I was impressed by how good I felt when we went past the 1:30 mark, as I haven't run "long" for a very long time! I'm not quite sure what to expect from my upcoming half marathon, but at least now I'm feeling confident that I can run the distance strong.

In Wellington for the next two weeks. It's going to be interesting from a training persepctive, but I'll do what I can. Also- it's bloody cold!

Cyclists' playground

I wanted to ride outside this morning, so I set my alarm for 5 and, after a fitful sleep (memo to self: do not read books about violent grisly murders before going to sleep alone) manged to pull myself out of bed at 5:08.

After nursing my coffee for slightly longer than necessary and enjoying a piece of homemade banana loaf (I get hangry if I ride without eating first, as Phil well knows), I dragged myself up, got my gear together and headed out.

Boy, was it ever worth it.

It was a cool, clear morning. But not too cold for my ordinary fingerless gloves. And definitely not cold enough for booties. So, in other words, perfect.

I decided to explore the Western central suburbs, so rode along Ponsonby Road and down Richmond. Richmond would be a great descent, if I could see, but this morning there were too many runners in the road, and too many corners I couldn't see properly to really let go.

I then found myself on Garnet Rd, so decided to head down Meola- just for fun. Coming back along Meola, past Motat, is always the funnest part of the Waitakeres ride- it's really easy to push a massive gear, and move along faster than the cars!

The Western-central burbs turned out to be perfect- like a playground for cyclists! The roads are wide and oh so veeery smooooooth (I'm from Wellington, ok? Wide and smooth are not in our vocabulary). Things are well-maintained; after all, rich(ish) people live there. They're well lit, and busy enough that they didn't feel deserted, but quiet enough that I didn't meet too many cars until I got back to the Marina. There's big, sweeping corners, fast fun descents, and wee grindy climbs that are just hard enough to make you work, but short enough that they're easily manageable. Well- easily manageable for me after 3 months of long standing intervals- they were pretty ghastly the first time!

I came back via Curran Street and around Westhaven. Curran St was pretty horrid- way too dark! I could barely see the marks on the speedbumps until I was just about on top of them, and it was hard to tell where the road stopped and the footpath started in places. But well worth it for the fun of swooping along Westhaven Drive in the morning- past the marina, with the light slowly rising, and over the speedbumps, which are that awesome kind that slow cars down but are roller coasters for bikes.

Got home just over an hour after I set out, though with stops and starts along the way ride time was around 50 minutes. But all in all, a nice morning's work, and getting home to a heater, a hot drink and a hearty breakfast made it a marvellous start to the day.

I've made no secret of my political leanings...

...but occasionally the PM and I find ourselves on the same page.

Doesn't that picture just make you want to ditch work and grab the bike?

Car v cyclist

I was surprised to see that more than a quarter of bike/car accidents are caused by the cyclist.

Obviously the fact that 73% are caused by motorists is far more significant, especially considering that inconvenience and maybe a dented door for a motorist probably means death or serious disability for the cyclist. But still- 27% is quite a few.

Please, be careful out there.

On slowing down

Slowing down. It's counter-intuitive. It's nigh on impossible for the ego of an amitious, competitive, type-A endurance athlete to handle. It's sometimes boring.

It WORKS.

I've believed in the philosophy for quite some time, but if you look back at my old blogposts and old training data, I said I was slowing down a lot more than I did. How many times did you hear me say "I kept my long run easy- you know, about 9:00/mile". Right- so "easy" is "marathon race pace"?? I was espousing aerobic training, but most of the time I was only doing it half-assed at best- meaning I got none of the benefits of slow training AND none of the benefits of fast training!

So, since I started with Paul, I've been trying to actually do it- to let go of my ego, and the fun of running fast and just do it right. It's been hard- especially as my HR strap's conked out (I'm waiting on the new Garmin one before I replace it), so now I have to trust myself not to pick up the pace and "pretend" it's easy. Especially when I sneak my GPS on and see how slow I really go.

But let's look at the evidence:

In December 2008, when I was in tip top, post A-race, plenty of speed-endurance work, shape, I ran a standalone 5k in 23:18. Then I had 2-3 months of patchy training, wedding planning, moving, working and weight-gaining. I started training again in around March, and from 1 April to 30 June I ran a total of 162 miles, at an average pace of 10:00/mile. My average run time was 40 minutes, so it's not like I've been running "long". I did one "speed"work session (supposed to be two, but the second turned into a goss session with Anna), which is probably more aptly described as relaxed fartlekking- 45 minutes of flat aerobic intervals, with the "fast" bits run at about 8:55 min miles.

Then, at my duathlon on Sunday, I ran a "5k" at 7:29 pace, roughly equivalent to... a 23:18. I ran without music, and, instead of kicking it to the finish line, I eased off at the end so I'd have a relaxed transition. Then I got on my bike and raced for another hour.

If this doesn't prove it, I don't know what will. But wait, there's more...

My husband ran an EIGHTEEN minute 5k last year (that's 3:39/k, or 5:51 a MILE). Right now he's injured and his easy runs are around 9:20-9:45/mile pace (up to 5:50ish ks), but even when he was fit, his easy, aerobic runs were generally around 8:00/mile pace, sometimes a little over or a little under.

And we're not done yet. Check out this quote from our coach's blog:

"What stood out the most was his belief that you should never push yourself too much whether by doing hard /anaerobic training or lots of mileage. Again he advised steady aerobic training as the key to long term success in endurance sport, every session should be 'quality' so you should always train well with good technique... and without pain or "Strain"... he actually told me to slow down, me who runs slower than many agegroupers out there?? "

Paul is a pro-triathlete, who ran a 3:02 marathon in IMNZ '09. Yet he trains slower than some age-groupers out there, and people are still telling him to slow down.

The last thing is blogging. I read so many running blogs, and unsurprisingly most of my favourite bloggers (apart from my team mates) are people who are a bit like me-25-35 year old women trying to go from breaking 4:00 in the marathon to getting that elusive BQ. Trying to or going sub-6 in the half. Getting the half-marathon time from the 1:50s to the 1:40s (or even, hope beyond hope, the 1:30s...girl can dream!). I read about people's training times, and I think "my god, chick's amazing. she's gonna whip my ass next time she races." But nine times out of ten, it doesn't happen. Most of the time, we're all training too fast, so of course our races are disappointing.

Now, this may all come back to bite me. I have a couple of half marathons coming up, and maybe I won't feel as "proven right" as I do right now. But I'm willing to keep believing.

PS- Phil and I did a quick check and found that this calculator is pretty consistent with our actual training and racing paces. Give it a go- it's interesting! And make sure you read Mr Daniels' advice about training at a higher Vdot value you haven't yet achieved!

PPS- Don't think for a second that I'm against hard training. Not at all. What I'm advocating is keeping easy runs EASY, and being honest with yourself about what "easy" really is. And not trying to PB your easy runs- that's just asking for trouble.

PPPS- Every coach is different. I'm not your coach, I'm no expert. Maybe the experts who read this will differ (if so dudes, please comment!) But if you're self-coaching, don't you think the "too easy" option sounds safer than the "too hard" option??

Making baking!

We had a very successful baking weekend. Well, I had a very successful baking weekend, which meant we had a very enjoyable eating weekend!

The first success was the "healthy" Sticky Date Puddings from Healthy Food Guide.



The recipe was pretty easy, and miraculously the mixture worked out perfectly for 12 muffins- just like it was supposed to (does anyone else find that quantities never quite seem to work out?). We had one each and froze the rest, and they were great heated up again on Saturday (ok.. and Sunday).

230 calories is more than I generally aim to eat for "dessert"- especially when you just have to add ice-cream - but these preciouses, served with a smidge of Tip Top's Gingerbread Ice-Cream were worth every calorie! I'll definitely consider making these for a dinner party or to take to a potluck.

The second success was a banana, date and walnut loaf. I love banana bread, but was actually googling for a good date loaf recipe when I stumbled across this one. Again, the recipe was mad-easy, and I whipped this up pretty quickly on Saturday before we took off for our quick brick. I spent most of the workout looking forward to my post-workout snack! It's high energy (by my calculation the entire loaf is around 2700 calories, though we've chopped it into lots of pieces), but very satisfying and very low fat- I much prefer having a slice of this in my lunchbox to having a boring old muesli bar!