The Day Before Christmas

The Day Before Christmas

The weather forecast showed that tomorrow was going to be a brilliant day and one that we didn’t want to waste riding around here. 

Kevin and Andy met here and then we set off to the top of the Rimutakas.  Kevin set a cracking pace to the top where he turned around.  Andy and I continued down the other side into the Wairarapa, through Caterton, then turned right onto Summerset Road (where the hot air balloon disaster happened).

Me Chasing Andy

When Andy and I do long rides, we have this great system of taking 5 min turns on the front.  It worked very well along the flat Wairarapa straights.  We called a truce on Summerset Road but once we got to the bottom of Admirals Hill Andy put his hill climbing legs on and took off. 

Andy climbing like Andy Shleck

I’m not sure if we made it to the top but time was ticking on so we turned around and got back into our 5 min efforts to Martinborough.  The temperature was reaching new highs, we refilled our bottles at Featherston and set off to attack the Rimutakas again.  Andy made an early move and gapped me.  Thankfully he slowed down.  In hindsight, I think he suckered me into catching him.  Unfortunately I got caught up in the moment and carried on to gap Andy.  With sweat pouring off my head, I carried on to the top as if we were just starting out.  On the way down my head started feeling like a boiled egg.  I knew I had blown a gasket! 

We continued on with a little run to the dam and back.  My legs felt fine but my head continued to cook and even a swim in the river didn’t cool me down.

The news would later report that it was the hottest Christmas in 40 years!

The hottest Christmas in 40 years and Andy and I were riding over the Rimutakas in the heat of the day after 5hrs of riding.  If that doesn’t help us for Ironman, nothing will!

Best Run In Wellington

12 weeks since my operation,  8 weeks of training, 22 weeks until the New Zealand Ironman and another good week of base training.

This week was an easy week for running. The opertation seems to have been a huge success but for some unknown reason, I'm getting a burning sensation in my right achilles tendon+.  The physio thinks it's due to weak muscles and will come right, I'm certainly hoping so.

Key training for this week:
Saturday
Run from YMCA (Kiwi Ranch) at the bottom of the Rimutakas into the Tararuas to the first hutt (Smiths Creek).  It is my all time favourite run, beautiful forest, nice terrain and in the summer the river is great to take a dip in.

Sunday - Vets Wairarapa Cycle Challenge
Despite waking up to heavy rain and coming close to turning off my alarm and going back to sleep, I got up and got ready.  The weather improved and I stuck to my plan to bike over the Rimutakas.  As I cruised into Featherston I was amazed to see so many cyclists warming up.  I'm not sure how many people entered but it certainly looked like a fantastic turnout.

Once again, I started near the back thinking I would be able to work my way to the front.  WRONG!!!!!
The pace was insane from the start, too many cyclists going backwards causing too many gaps to bridge. The only silver lining was that there were some great riders in my bunch.  We worked well together and managed to limit the amount of time lost to the front bunch.  The ride home was a little tough due to a strong head wind going UP the Rimutakas.

A big thank you to the Vets (Wellington Veterans Cycling Club) for putting on another great event.

Run on Saturday

Ride on Sunday