Two Weeks Out And Feeling Like SH#*

Four Weeks Out was a new high for me. I was able to get in 8 1/2 hours of running.

Monday - I ran up the Akas for 18km, 2km passed Staglands and back. It's a beautiful run and one I hope to do more often. While training for an ultra marathon, Andy ran to the top of the Akas so the challenge has been set for me to give it a go.

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday - Vets 24km TT, good to have a blow out, interestingly my time was slower than last week when I was on my training bike. I wonder if my setup has something to do with it?

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Andy and I did two laps of Lake Wairarapa in race gear, thankfully the wind stayed to a head and tail wind. I'm struggling to nail my nutrition, on paper Perpeptum should work for me but it doesn't or I need to figure how to get a few more calories in. 

Sunday - My favourite run is up the dam and down Cannon Point Zig Zag. Today was all about building confidence so I did it 4 times!!!!

Interestingly, last year I didn't run the month before Ironman, the thought was it would allow my calves to decompress. Anyway, my last big run in January 2011 was 3 laps of the dam in 3hrs and during 2011's race I was able to run for 3 hrs.

Three Weeks Out was all about rest.

I thought having a week off would be good, turns out, completely stopping isn't a great idea. Thursday morning as I was rolling out of bed my back locked up. I suspect it was due to tight hamstrings. In hindsight, I should have been stretching all week.

Two Weeks Out and I'm still resting, will give the Vets TT another go and play the rest of the week by ear.

Too FUNNY!!!!!

The Cycling one



The Triathlete one

Dealing With Demons

Going into Ironman, I know I have a few demons to deal with.

Swim:

I start too hard and end up hyperventilating causing me to slow down to regain my composure. 

Goal - to start slow and ease into it.

Training - I am training to be stronger for the 2nd half of the swim.

Bike:

Again, going too hard early and smashing my quads. 

Goal - To keep my watts low and steady.

Training -  Last Wednesday I attempted the Pahiatua Loop (over the Rimutakas, up to Pahiatua, over the pass, down the coast to Waikanae and back over the Akatarawas.  Due to a broken spoke and a tyre blowing out, I only got as far as Waikanae.  I learnt that I can easily hold 225 watts for 8hrs or 240kms and my nutrition is on the right track.

Run:

Running!  After years of having to walk home due to my calves locking up, it's hard to train for something that has been physically impossible for 3 years.  I thought after my operation I would somehow be this amazing runner.  Someone forgot to tell me that I’d still need to put in A LOT of hours teaching the dormant muscles to work and getting my legs used to running again. 

Goal - To be able to run more than 30kms (that's how far I ran last year)
Training - Before I had compartment syndrome my favourite run was to Staglands and back.  I’ve always thought that once I could achieve this again, then I'd be well on the road to recovery.

 About two weeks ago I knocked the bugger off! 

I started slow and made it to Staglands.  It was easy to run 16km one way.  Once I stopped for a snack I realised just how tired my legs were and I still had to run out!  Despite having the Ironman shuffle, I managed to run the whole way out - and have a week off running.

Same Ride, One Year On.

A few years back Matt and I biked over the Akatarawa's and for some reason we decided to climb up the other side 6 times.  There's no rhyme or reason for 6 times, it's just a challenging number
physically and mentally.  Last year Andy and I did it and sadly I blew my lights on the 6^th climb.  Andy had prior commitments and I didn’t see any point in him hanging around so he left.  I sat at the top for an easy 30 minutes, eating and drinking everything I had.  Once I got my second wind I coasted down to Staglands where I bought a coke and a scone.  Sitting in the sun, I waited for my third wind and then crawled out of the Akatarawa's.

Going into this ride the thought of last year was fresh on my mind and my goal was not to blow.

	2011		2012
	Time	Watts	Time	Watts
Hill repeat 1	24.37	268	24.10	272
Hill repeat 2	24.23	271	23.04	285
Hill repeat 3	23.30	279	21.55	298
Hill repeat 4	23.08	286	22.15	301
Hill repeat 5	23.23	281	21.41	305
Hill repeat 6	28.11	228	23.18	281

Looking at my times, it certainly helped being able to chase Andy.

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!

Taupo Half Ironman Race Report – LUCK

I’ve always believed that luck swings in roundabouts and this weekend was no exception.

On our way up to Taupo, Danielle’s car overheated.  This meant we were stuck on the side of the road for nearly an hour waiting for the AA man while the mercury rose.  Luckily, we were just out of Bulls and a bottle of Stop Leak in the radiator did the trick.

I had trained in mild weather so I was a little nervous about the predicted warm weather for the race.  On race day, I woke to overcast drizzle and couldn’t believe my luck! 

After my race breakfast it was time to head down to the transition area. After a thorough inspection of my gear I was in the water by 6.15am, certainly the earliest I had ever been ready for a race!

With a lingering chest cold I was nervous about the swim, the combination of cold water and intensity were sure to cause trouble.  400 metres into the swim and at my limit, a rouge wave caused me to swallow some water and start coughing … game over.  The coughing got worse and I struggled to continue swimming. I pulled to the side as swimmers were ploughing over me, put my hand in the air for assistance and waited.  A lifesaver paddled over and I held on to catch my breath.  This happened four times.  You can imagine how relieved I was to be out of the water and into T1. 

I knew Andy and Luke were in front, but the question was, by how much? The ride out was into a head wind, as I slowly made my way through the field I was jealous of those riding in bunches. I finally caught Andy who was tuck neatly in a great bunch!!! On the way back I was able to get into a group of three and we caught the large group Luke was in just before Heart Break Hill. Unfortunately for me, with all my attention on making up lost time, I hadn’t noticed that the increase in temperature.

As usual I took my time in T2, stretched my hamstrings and set off for the run.  Luke was a few hundred metres in front and I thought I’d be able to reel him in, but I just couldn’t close the gap.  The last few kilometres were a struggle; the heat was really proving to be a factor.

Upon finishing, I had the chills and didn’t think much of it.  Not long after we got back to the motel I had ONGOING stomach issues.  We thought that I was suffering from heat exhaustion and that with replacement fluids it would pass.

A trip to A & E on Sunday afternoon proved to be a very long but worthwhile experience. During the week I still couldn’t hold down food and on Thursday a doctor from the hospital called to ask if I was feeling better.  He wasn’t surprised that I wasn’t because I had food poisoning - Campylobacter.   That afternoon I saw my GP to get a strong dose of antibiotics which lead me back to full strength just in time to enjoy the Christmas celebrations.

A Taste Of Adventure Racing And It Was Delicious!!!!

Greg and I don’t get many chances to race together so when an adventure race in Otaki was advertised, we jumped at the opportunity.  The first thing we discovered about adventure racing is that you need a lot of things, equipment and a fantastic support crew.  We enlisted Danielle and her parents who did a fantastic job!

Map given to competitors

Race briefing and registration, which involved a very thorough equipment check was held Friday evening. The organisation was superb to get over 60 teams checked so quickly.  At the briefing we were told where the race would start and that’s all we knew.

Lemans start

Saturday morning, we arrived just in time to receive our map and supporters pack.  We quickly assembled our bikes and headed off down to the river for a Lemans start.  I really like these types of races, lots of people in board shorts, sneakers and borrowed gear, all there just to give it a go.

At the back again

We thought we got off to a good start but judging by the number of people we passed in the early stages of the MTB we obliviously didn’t.  The mountain bike course was on a private farm, one big loop to the top of the ridge, along then down.  We soon discovered unless you are absolutely sure where you are going, which we weren’t, it doesn’t pay to be near the front.  As we reached the highest point a few teams were standing there trying to figure out which way to go.  After a few minutes of discussion, people headed off in all directions; luckily we went the right way.  It only took a quick glance back to realise all the effort we put in to pass people on the way up was lost with a solid line of riders following.  The ride finished with a neat down hill and time trial up the gorge road to T1.

Running along the river

The second stage was the run.  We started off running along the river to two different check points, then headed straight up the face of a hill/mountain to the top of the ridge. 

We happened to be at the right place at the right time as we were able to take advantage of following some other groups as they bush bashed their way up. Once at the top, it was a leisurely run along the ridge on a DOC track then down to T2.

Perfect shot Greg!

Danielle and her parents had all our gear laid out so it was a quick transition and off to the second challenge - gumboot throwing into our tubes before we started our tubing adventure.  Greg was spot on, I missed.  For every person that missed, the team had to sit in the penalty box for three minutes.  Bad luck if you were a 4 person team and all missed.



In the penalty box





The tubing was the highlight for me, we were neck and neck with three other teams as we 

This is the way to race!!!

entered the river.  Most people were happy to straight line it across the river bed but I chose to stay on my tube and enjoy the ride.  At the end of each set of major rapids were life guards in case anything went wrong.  They were surprised so many people were walking.  It soon became apparent, big tube = fast in the water but hard to carry across the rocks and a smallish tube = slower in the water but easier to carry across the rocks.

Possible short cut

Greg was able to dig deep and we came off the river in front of the other teams we started the tubing with to finish in 5:13hrs.  Overall it was a fantastic event and a great way to spend a Saturday.