Big Jo Training May 13 - May 26

SWIM

I am pleased to report that my tempo timer and I are now friends, quite inseparable actually.  I think I may suffer from separation anxiety if I swim without it which slightly concerning,
Now that I have found the right tempo for the easy stuff we are getting along well.  I especially like it for the harder stuff like 100's because it means I pace myself better.  I think I was starting with a really high stroke count and then blowing up after 50m whereas now I feel like I am going easier holding the higher tempo at the start but then am able to hold it for the last 50m.
Swimming has been pretty boring recently since it is most people's off-seasons so they are putting all these boring (and impossible - why would I ever need to do breaststroke kick on my back?!!) drills in and nothing really meaty like what we do over summer.

BIKE

We quickly discovered that being inner-city apartment dwellers makes you very lazy on the bike.  Commuting is a pretty big part of my training if nothing but as motivation to get out the door and actually get to work but staying in the city cut out a huge part of my commute out.  And not to mention how dirty the Serottica got from not staying at home where the Sunday cleaning sessions usually take place.
However the last two weeks have been pretty snotty and coughly (?) in our household so maybe it was a blessing in disguise to not have to ride in the cold and wet too much.
We had a very dramatic Saturday ride last week with our friend JT riding headfirst into a metal and stone bollard on the old Mangere Bridge snapping his bike int half and knocking himself out for 5 minutes.  As the resident health professional of the group (jointly shared with Dr Dildo the dentist - don't expect him to put someone's tooth back in if it gets knocked out though...) I did the best I could but was pretty thankful when a paramedic rode past and took over.  Luckily JT came around but was pretty spaced out and ended up with 7 fractures in his face and a few broken ribs and a concussion.  Never good to see a buddy on the ground and especially in that state, and probably a timely reminder that I should do a refresher first aid course.

Snap goes the Willier

RUN

Managed to get back on the running wagon then had to jump off due to sickness but am now back on.  We are doing the Mount Half Marathon next weekend will be severely underdone but it will be good for training.  I did a couple of long runs of 14km and 16km plus the 23km volcano run so at least I have done a bit.  If I can go somewhere around the 95min mark I will be pretty happy

Man with an umbrella on his head

Edward Fishslice hands and Steff the sausage

Big Jo Training April 29 - May 12

SWIM

The latest trend at swimming at the moment are these Tempo Timers things which you stick in your cap and they beep in time to your swimming, or what is actually supposed to happen is that they beep and you swim in time to them.  Haydn has set some ridiculously slow warm up tempos where we are only take 22 strokes per minute - not so good for weaklings like me where the longer I try and glide for the lower my elbow drops down.  I think they are quite good for keeping my stroke count up for sprint/VO2 sets but jury is still out for the easy stuff.  I think I will be forced to purchase one of these soon so I'll keep you posted.
My little muppet swimskin is currently being sewn together in the Blue Seventy factory so will be with me sometime next month - exciting!

BIKE

Not much has been happening on the bike in the last two weeks due to an annoying cough and me being sensible (or being a wuss?) and not training through it.  So I missed the Sunday ride the week before and didn't do much last week.  We are currently being inner-city apartment dwellers which reduces my commuting time by quite a bit but is quite nice on those rainy afternoons where I only have a 3 minute bike from the ferry as opposed to 30 minutes.
I said goodbye to a good friend last week - RooRoo and I parted company and it now has a new owner and lives in Whakatane.  It was sad to see it go but the extra cash paying off my credit card made it a bit easier.  I was a bit disturbed that they put it on a bike rack on the back of the car (RooRoo's first time on a bike rack...) and then it absolutely pissed down with rain about five minutes later which made me feel sorry for RooRoo getting all wet.

Stocking up for winter.  Spot the odd one out...

RooRoo I will miss you but I do love MONEY

Commuting on a nice day nom nom nom

Anyway Taddy is getting ready for it's new paint job within the next couple of weeks so standby for some mini bike porn.

RUN

Not much running happened during the week of the relentless coughing but I did do a fun 23km (!) run last weekend which was a fundraiser for my friend Amy who is doing the Badwater Ultramarathon in July.  It was basically a self guided run of the volcanoes of Auckland with a few different distances.  I had planned to do a couple of longer runs building up to it but only managed an hour so ended up increasing my long run milegae by about 100% - none of this 10% crap.... Jared Razzle and I ran with our friends Claire and Two Piece and the km's flew by as we tootled along and chatted.  We went up four volcanoes but was maybe supposed to do six, it was supposed to be 21km so by the time we went up the fourth we had all had enough.  There was an aid station up the top of One Tree Hill with coke and Em's cookie bites and other delicious treats which were all very well recieved.  Not sure I would have made the last 5km without that stop to be honest.

Helpers helping themselves

It was a great way to spend the morning and kick off our long run training.  And an awesome way to fundraise, way better than doing a gay movie night or something.
Leggies actually held up pretty well aside from a few DOMS which crept up the next day so all ready to get serious about running...

Murfy and her new friend Simon the apartment cat

Getting Back on the Wagon

That's right, I am getting back on the wagon in terms of blogging and training.
Coach Poo has given me a bike program to start with so I now have a purpose to my biking.  I am managing my running and have got a good routine going during the week, the weekends are a bit flakey but it is coming together.
I am running a couple of times a week from work and so far have three different sets of trails to run on just a few hundred metres from work which is really quite amazing.  I have just been running out and back since I don't know my way around and most of the trails seem to be point to point but it is way better than running on the road though.  The going is pretty slow (I am a TERRIBLE off road runner) and I must admit that I do get a bit disheartened when my Garmin auto-pauses when I am running up and down hills/stairs...  I am even considering buying some off road shoes since my beautiful ASICS 2000's are getting a bit of a hammering and I would hate for them to get dirty.
I am in the process of getting the Tadpolemator ready to get a makeover and get a new paint job which is quite exciting.  I am not a huge fan of the paint scheme and still feel a bit weird about my bike so a new paint job will do the trick and a good time to do it which I am not riding it.  
Exciting race plans on the horizon - hello Samoa Half Ironman!  I know I made a proclamation awhile back about sticking to age group but I am a sucker for the perks associated with racing Pro... So I am making up the numbers in the Pro field, it doesn't look like it will be a very big field so hopefully I won't disgrace myself too much.  It is about 8 weeks before Kona and is a non-wetsuit swim so will be an ideal build up.  Jared Razzle will be joining me on the start of the Pro field as well as our shadow Kezzle who it seems can't do anything without us (even getting dressed - key evidence of this was his back to front tri top at the ITU AG Worlds last year...).  Still working on my swim skin situation, it is a bit difficult when you are the size of a replica human being to get things to fit sometimes.

I have just been through my camera phone and have no photos to add - opps! Sorry Nick! Better get snapping for the next installment...

Post Ironman Laziness

It's ok people (person?) - I am still alive.

My time since Ironman has been filled with Easter eggs and other bad food, a bit of wine, a new job, a little bit of training and an Olympic distance race.

Here is a pictorial report of the aftermath of Ironman:

Tramp Stamp

                                      

Tramp Stamp race belt chaffing combo

Nasty transponder lines

Pfefferminz.  All gone

Extra special hot chocs

 In terms of training I have basically just been pissing around for a month.  The two weeks post Ironman contained not much at all and the following weeks have contained a bit more but just whatever I have felt like, it has been quite liberating.
I decided a while ago I would quite like to do the age group race following the Auckland ITU race but thought I would pull up after IMNZ.  Since I didn't have any injuries post Ironman (yay!) I thought I would give it a crack just for fun.  I had only been for a handful of runs and figured I should at least do a 10km run the weekend before which seemed to go ok so the deal was sealed.
The race was actually pretty fun - the swim was a bit confusing but the bike was awesome riding through the city (if a little bit technical for a muppet like me...) and the run was good and the correct distance for once.  I rode my Zipps front and back so no power which didn't seem to have any adverse effects except for the momentary panic when I started riding and no power was showing on my Garmin - then I remembered no Powertap - whew.  I will be riding naked at Kona (without power...) so it was good to get a bit of practice in.

No photos of me racing as I was flying solo but this was before the race start

In other news I now have a proper job - wooo! I have regular work hours and get a salary!  Now I feel like a real person.  Only problem is the location but I have slunk my way around it and I am commuting by bike and ferry most days - way better than sitting in a car.  I am going to opposite way to the other commuters so usually have the ferry to myself which is a bit weird but good when I want to close my eyes and have a little nap.

View at the start of my ferry ride

That's all for now!

Mandatory black and white pussy cat photo

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" - Ironman NZ Race Report

In keeping with my IMNZ tradition I have borrowed the words of Winston Churchill (not to be confused with WinstonDog Stafford) as the title for my race report.

Three days ago I finished my fourth IMNZ which was my sixth Ironman/iron distance finish out of seven starts.
Anyone who has read my Auckland 70.3 race report would have noticed that I was pretty down on myself.  Confidence levels were pretty low and I was a bit apprehensive about how IMNZ would go.  I had a great race there in 2009 but have struggled to have a good Ironman since then and was starting to think that that result was a bit of a fluke.  After a brief stint in the pro ranks where I realized that I was nowhere even close to being good enough to race there I switched back down to age group for this years race hoping to qualify for Kona to go back and finish my race from 2009 which was ended 9km from the finish with a fractured tibia.  After the 70.3 went so badly for no apparent reason I tried to forget about Kona and just focused on having a good race.
Anyway this is how it went.

SWIM
We were pretty organised this year and got to the swim start in plenty of time as Davo was racing Pro and leaving 15 minutes ahead of us.  We wetsuited up and Jared and I watched the Pros start before doing a little warm up.  I started a bit to the left and 2nd row back and hoped not to get trampled on when the gun went off.  I was pretty nervous before the start and my stomach had clammed up partway through my breakfast but as soon as I stepped into the water my nerves settled - I guess by that stage there was no going back so no need to be nervous anymore.
The gun went off and it was surprisingly roomie where I was, I got a couple of smacks and a bit of touching here and there but overall not too bad.

Nice morning for a swim with 1400 other people

Not much to say about the swim, I just swam... I was a bit tired by the turn around so hoped that meant that I was swimming hard and wasn't just feeling bad.  There were feet to swim on most of the way, a couple of times I found myself alone but it didn't take long to bump into someone (literally...).
As I got closer to the finish the big question was my time... As usual I felt like I had swum ok but how I feel isn't often an accurate reflection of my time.  I had thought I would swim between 65-70 minutes with my best swim time being just under 65 in 2009.  I swam as close to the shore as I could, stood up and waded up to the red carpet before I looked up.  I saw the clock and felt like I was in a dream - 1.03:xx HOLY CRAP!!!!!!! I was so happy.  The timing mat must have been a bit further up because my official time was 1.04:19 which is still a PB anyway.  It was such a relief to have swum well, there is nothing worse than getting off to a bad start and I knew that whatever happened in the rest of the day that I'd had a good swim.
I saw Team Lawson just after I saw my time and had a bit of a crazy person moment throwing my arms up in the air yelling "I swam 1:03!!!!" I think they could tell I was pretty happy.

Happy camper

I jogged the 400m up to T1 passing lots of people along the way who were running at snail's pace.
T1 went by pretty smoothly, I had decided to wear a super light cycle top to A) prevent sunburn and B) carry my nutrition in the pockets, so I had loaded the pockets up beforehand so there was no pissing around.

BIKE

The last 2 times I have done IMNZ I have ridden 5.39 so this time I wanted to ride faster and with a supposedly faster bike and wheels this should have been easy...  The weather was absolutely perfect - blue skies and little to no wind.  The first 10-15km I got passed by a lot of men which was fine and I passed a few girls which was great.  I then settled in and made an effort to watch my power.  A couple of times I found myself in little groups but they never seemed to last that long, either they would drop me or I would drop them.  The draft zone had been extended to 10m so I was super paranoid about being too close and getting a penalty.  I don't think the bunches were as big as previous years, there were a couple of big bunches in front of me and a few behind but I don't think they stayed together the whole way.  A couple of times I found myself on my own - cue 'On my own' from Les Mis, a nice song but quite annoying if they are the only words that you know.
I came back through town and hit the 90km mark in 2hrs42 and of course had to count my chickens and estimated a 5hr24 ride if I maintained that pace - holy schnitzel!

Of course the second lap was slower and a bit of a headwind picked up on the way back.  I hit a bit of a wall at the 150km mark, all of a sudden it got very, very hard and I sat up and wondered how I was going to make it back.  Luckily my brain still worked ok so I thought back to my extensive reading of "The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training".  They said things would get difficult and now they had, so now I had to troubleshoot to get myself out of it - this all sounds really geeky but having some kind of thought process happening actually helped.  So I figured I would get some Coke at the next aid station and remained positive that I would get through this low point, and guess what? I did! 10km later I was feeling way better and was feeling rather smug with myself for toughing it out.
The last 20km took quite a while and I think I still had about 10km to go when I saw my projected time of 5hrs24 go by...  I finally rolled in to T2 with a bike time of 5hrs37 - a whole 2 minutes faster than my previous best...

RUN

I was under strict instructions to run the first couple of kms very very easy and then settle into 4.50ish pace.  I ran what I thought was slower than what I could ever run and still did 4.37 for the first km, opps.  It took a couple of km's to settle down and then I was running pretty comfortably a bit under 5mins/km.  One of the girls in my AG (all of which I had extensively google stalked) came out of T2 just behind me and then passed me after about 1km (which I let her do, "The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training" has taught me to be patient) but ran into the first toilet and I never saw her again.  I mean I'm sure the toilet didn't open up and swallow her but she never ran back past me.
So I just tootled along and tried not to run too fast.  As rude as it sounds I tried to ignore the spectators as I realized I needed to focus on what I was doing and constantly smiling/waving/talking to spectators isn't a good way to focus.  And when your name is written on your race number and everyone is yelling your name it is hard to separate friends from random people so best just to ignore everyone.

Tiny running fists of fury

It had gotten pretty hot by this stage but heaps of people had hoses out and the aid stations had ice so overheating wasn't really a problem.
Some of my physio friends had hired a house at the back end of the course so it was good seeing them (and their hose) where there weren't many spectators.

Top supporters

I made a couple of toilet stops which were pretty quick and just basically kept moving.  I started walking the aid stations on the second lap more out of necessity to get enough fluid and electrolytes in and also because of the way that the aid stations were laid out it became a walking bus as everyone was walking through them.
I started to get an intermittent  flicking sensation in both calves after about 23km which I think was an early sign of cramp.  I did my little troubleshooting exercise and started taking more electrolytes at the aid station which seemed to keep it under control.

My fans

The last 12km was tough, my quads had seized up and starting to run after each aid station was tough.  I was pretty good at keeping on though and never walked more than beyond the final rubbish bin for each aid station.  I crossed paths with Jared at about 31km where he had about 5km to go, he said Davo was not much in front of me (remember he started 15mins ahead...) and a couple of km's later he appeared in the distance.  We have often joked about what would happen if I caught either of them in a race and we came into the finish together - would we run down holding hands or would they sprint me for it? I ran up to him and said "I have dreamt of this moment", he didn't appear to be surprized to see me and given the last time we crossed paths he was walking I guess he knew it was coming.  I thought maybe he was waiting for me but it seemed my 5min10 pace was too much so I ran away from him.
I was loosely keeping tabs on the other girls in my AG and I thought I was either in 3rd or 4th place since I had passed a couple on the 2nd lap of the run (one being my new American friend Amanda who was having a rough time in the run) but I had no idea where I was overall in the girls race.
I finally crossed the finish line in 10hrs30 - 7 minutes off my best time from 2009 and 4th in my AG, 12th female and 6th AG'er.  I was pretty happy.

Tongue sticking out = happiness

Jared had a great race until about 24km where it started to get a bit hurty and he was on and off the walking bus but still managed to to pull out 9hrs45 and 2nd in his AG, and the fact that I passed Davo says it all about his race.

Smoked

I think the biggest success for me was beating back the negative thoughts in my head and being able to embrace the pain not give in to it.

The next big question was would I qualify for Kona? I knew there would be 2 or maybe 3 spots in my AG and (due to my extensive google stalking) one of the girls ahead of me had already qualified which meant it would roll down to 3rd at least.  Turns out there were only 2 automatic qualifiers so I had a bit of a nervous wait and went to the roll down ceremony.  It was my first roll down experience and was quite exciting.  My AG was up pretty quick and as soon as Mike Reilly said there were two spots in this age group, and neither one was taken I knew I was in.  I was very giddy and excited but not quite as much as the girl next to me who was shaking so much that she couldn't even fill the form in.
Special thanks to J-Rad and his titanium Mastercard which saved me from sitting up there and having to shift money around with my online banking app which would have been embarrassing   Jared had already taken his spot earlier in the day so the card had taken a bit of a hammering.

So for once my triathlon story has a happy ending.  I have had more exciting news today which is yet to be confirmed but it seems that my life is starting to come together, yay!

Thanks must go out to all of my friends and family who came down to Taupo to support me, Jared, Team Lawson and the Cambridge Bowden's (especially Coach Poo for getting me to the start in one piece and improving my bike time - 2 minutes is still 2 minutes...) and all the other spectators who spurred me on and made me smile when I was deep in the hurtbox.
A little bit of recovery is on the cards now and then Kona training WOOO!!

Happy Ironman week!

Now that race week is upon us and Ironman is starting to occupy my every thought, I have dusted off the words of Hurricane Bob to share with you all and hopefully inspire and bring a smile to all the stressed out Ironmen out there.

So strap on your goggles, clip into those pedal and stride it out - here is Bob's 140.6 reasons to do an Ironman.

»001. Makes everything else seem so SHORT.
»002. The 3 week taper before the race.
»003. The 4 week recovery after the race.
»004. I've done one, so now I have to do it faster the next time.
»005. As much Pizza as you can eat.
»006. So that when the car runs out of gas, I can still get away from the Police under my own power.
»007. Beats watching the new Survivor, Big Brother, or anything else on TV.
»008. For all the times you heard someone say "I'd do one of those ... I just can't swim."
»009. The Finishing Oval at Lake Placid
»010. Steve King's accent at Ironman Canada
»011. Mike Reilly's hoarse voice still bringing people home at 11:30pm
»012. The Massage Tent - anywhere.
»013. St. Lynda is waiting for me at the finish.
»014. So is my mom...
»015. ...and so are Lynda's parents.
»016. Chalk on the road.
»017. Easy rides and runs the week before.
»018. Finishing your last workout and smiling because you know "I'm SO ready."
»019. For everyone who as ever asked you "Why?"
»020. For the teachers in school who told you you'd amount to nothing.
»021. To silence the one voice inside your head that still believes that bunk.
»022. You want to test the endurance limits of the music collection in your head.
»023. The "Bier Mile" at IM-Europe
»024. Spectators looking up your name and cheering as you plod past at sunset.
»025. Where else can someone ripping off your clothes in public be considered a benefit of a big race? (Wetsuit Strip)
»026. Miles in the Run
»027. Want to see the world and eat the food in each country, guilt free.
»028. So you can answer "One." When people ask "How many days does that take?"
»029. To wave at the scuba divers.
»030. To backstroke at the TV helicopter.
»031. Cards in your special needs bags.
»032. Cards in your T1 and T2 bags.
»033. CHICKEN SOUP!
»034. CHICKEN SOUP AGAIN! (Yes - it's worth 2 by itself)
»035. The Adirondacks of Lake Placid.
»036. The view from Richter Pass.
»037. Alii' Drive
»038. Main Street Penticton.
»039. Driving the bike course in a caravan of friends.
»040. Valet Parking and Catering ... all day long.
»041. You might get on TV
»042. I want to laugh at the former cool (now fat) kids at my 20th High School Reunion.
»043. The Marines at the race formerly known as Ironman California
»044. Takes as long as having a baby, nearly as satisfying, only without the morning sickness and the 21 years of bills that follow.
»045. Flying with a bike case makes business trips seem EASY.
»046. Sharing a smile with people wearing the finishers T-shirt the next day.
»047. Knowing that as you step in the water on race day - YOU MADE IT THIS FAR! Now just get home.
»048. How many people can say they did anything for 12,13, 14, 15, 16...hours?
»049. The "Hot Corner" at IM-USA
»050. The wristband that somehow becomes your favorite fashion accessory.
»051. So that when you tell your grandchildren stories about what you did when you were young...yours will be true.
»052. Main Street Lake Placid
»053. High fives from people you don't know.
»054. The Sponge as a fashion statement
»055. Coke and Chicken soup - the ultimate power cocktail
»056. Knowing that after the gun goes off, you don't have to worry anymore.
»057. First Place and Last Place get the same amount of cheers.
»058. Walking to the start with Heather, Lothar, Thomas, Jurgen...
»059. Getting lapped by Heather, Lothar, Thomas, Jurgen...
»060. Getting lapped again on the run by Heather, Lothar, Thomas, Jurgen...
»061. Making the turn for home.
»062. Because MolybdenumMan doesn't trip off the tongue in quite the same way
»063. If Judy Molnar can, dammit, so can you.
»064. You might get to run with Alexandra Paul!
»065. High fiving Daryl Haley, and going backwards 5 feet.
»066. Sunset over Skaha Lake on the run.
»067. If Randy Caddell can do it with just his arms, you can certainly do it with your legs.
»068. Easier than Eco-Challenge.
»069. Got rejected from the astronaut corps.
»070. Got rejected by the Marines.
»071. Crashed out of the Blue Angels.
»072. Makes US Navy SEAL training seem like a good idea.
»073. You enjoy the smell of chlorine in the morning.
»074. You've had enough with your current social life.
»075. For the love of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream!
»076. Your friends are watching on the web.
»077. You need to prove to your mom that even if you get on the bike right after you swim...you won't catch a cold.
»078. Helicopters over Kailua Bay.
»079. Roadies think you're nuts.
»080. Masters swimmers think you're nuts.
»081. Your running club KNOWS you're nuts.
»082. So that you can master the left-handed bottle grab (IMAus, IM-NZ).
»083. Morning swims
»084. 3 hour breakfasts after the morning swims
»085. The Underpants Run
»086. Laughing at people in the Underpants Run.
»087. The Hog's Breath Cafe Breakfast Special at IMC
»088. Glowsticks
»089. Cowman A-Moo-HA!
»090. Because Winston Churchill said I can't ever give up.
»091. The 12-step program to make me stop hasn't been invented yet.
»092. Any National Anthem, before the start, anywhere.
»093. Knowing that when you wake up at 4:00am, the next time you go to bed you will be VERY different person.
»094. 6 miles, 10 minutes - straight down to Keene.
»095. Yellow Lake done - 12 miles downhill to go.
»096. Because you've always wanted to see how many CD's and towels it would take to ride the whole IMC course on the CompuTrainer
»097. Makes your next marathon just a nice morning run.
»098. To make your Boss jealous because YOU have a life that doesn't involve the office.
»099. Because the longer you're out there, the less per hour it really costs!
»100. Being there is way better than watching on Pay-Per-View
»101. Finding yourself in the middle of your doubts ... finding a new meaning of being scared.
»102. Finding out that you're far stronger than those doubts a few miles later.
»103. Falling in step on the run and making a friend to the end, without having to say a word.
»104. A fried breakfast the day after.
»105. Watching people headed home while you're headed out, thinking "I'll be there soon ..." and they cheer for you.
»106. Understanding why that is as your cheering for people headed out when you're finally headed home.
»107. That feeling of ice cubes in your hat on a hot run never getting too cold.
»108. Telling folks with flat tires "It's a long day - hang in there!" and seeing them breathe and smile for a moment.
»109. Hearing people cheer you up while your changing a damn flat tire.
»110. Rolling into T2 knowing that no matter what - you can't have a flat sneaker from here on in.
»111. Having someone catch you, and hold you up when you can't do it anymore.
»112. Miles in the Bike.
»113. The IV's feel SO good the next day.
»114. To see if it really feels as good to do as it does to dream.
»115. To see if it really feels as good the second time.
»116. And a third...
»117. And a fourth...
»118. To try and finish in daylight.
»119. To try and finish before midnight.
»120. To try and NOT get stung by that (#*@! bee this time.
»121. Your kids already think you're a hero - prove them right.
»122. Your wife doesn't...but you might prove it to her, too.
»123. An M-Dot Tattoo would look swanky on your ankle.
»124. 5000 Volunteers - all for you.
»125. Hearing them say "You're almost there!" all day long.
»126. Being nearly almost there - for real.
»127. CHICKEN SOUP! (It's been awhile)
»128. Quiet hugs before the start.
»129. Kissing her goodbye, and promising "I'll be back later..."
»130. The first time you think "Holy crap - I'm doing an Ironman!"
»131. Beating back the voices that say "Holy crap - you can't do an Ironman!"
»132. Mile 26.
»133. That moment when you KNOW you're going to make it for the first time all day.
»134. Entering the oval.
»135. Running down Lakeshore Drive.
»136. Running down Alli Drive.
»137. The Finish Line
»138. The first step after you cross the line and think "Oh, My....God....!"
»139. The Medal
»139.6 Because they said I can't
»140.6 Because I say I can.

10 days until IMNZ...

SWIMMING

I have diligently been working on my new way of swimming starting with my kick and head/breathing position.  Hopefully I no longer look like a tadpole searching for food on the top of the water followed by a duck looking for food underneath me.
Can't say I have noticed that I am swimming faster but hopefully I am swimming better which will mean faster over a long period.  I did the Kohi swim last week and while my times there are usually slow I was maybe a bit faster compared with the people I usually exit the water with.

Nothing to do with swimming but a photo of a happy doggy.  She did run laps around the pool while I was swimming so maybe that's why she needed a nap

BIKING

Last week was a huge week on the bike of 15 hours BOOM! This was due to a little trip down to Taupo to ride what was supposed to be the full bike course.  I started out with gay abandon (as I do) but quickly felt that the leggies did not feel so good.  I pressed on hoping they would feel ok and while my power was ok I just felt really wasted and after about an hour my back started to hurt from being on my bike which never really happens.  I got to the end of the first lap 14 minutes slower than in our Pain and Suffering Camp the week before and feeling exhausted and dejected.  Sadly Davo had already been and gone so I swapped my bottles and headed out again.  After about 10 minutes I came to the realization that I just couldn't do it anymore, all I wanted to do was lie down on the side of the road preferably in the fetal position.  I think I was having a physical and mental meltdown.
I made it up to the racecourse where I knew there were some nice grassy bits to lie on and saw Davo circling around the intersection.  Turns out he wasn't having the funnest time either so after a brief discussion we decided that one lap was enough.
Weak.
Pretty disappointed in myself for giving in to my mental demons, yes I was feeling like crap but once the little voice said "it's ok, stop and have a lie down"  then I was gone mentally.  I know that physically I could have done the second lap but it would have taken a long time and I would have hated it and being so close to Ironman I don't want to thrash myself when I am not feeling good BUT I shouldn't be so weak in the head.
Time to revisit "The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training" before next weekend I think.
I am not so concerned that I felt so bad riding - it was a bit close to the long ride from the previous weekend and on the recovery day in between was a not so recovery-ish ride trailing behind a former world record holder/Olympic champion who didn't stop talking and hopefully couldn't hear me puffing.
We did a 6 hour ride the weekend just been and I felt much better despite sitting on my bike for 6 hours which I hopefully won't be doing next weekend.

Taddy meeting it's identical twin

We had a nasty accident on our group ride on Saturday where there was a bit of confusion about going or stopping for an orange light resulting in Darreene stopping and Adrian smashing into the back of him at about 40km/hr.  There was a lot of blood and a front tooth in the middle of the road which I dutifully picked up and washed off and Dildo the dentist shoved it back in.  I feel so much closer to Darreene now knowing that I have handled his tooth.

The fallen Ninja.  I then got accusing of snapping photos like an Asian tourist

Two weeks before Ironman seems to be a bit of a witching hour for triathletes so it was a lucky escape for Jared and I and we will not be riding with the group this weekend.

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RUNNING

Running is going well yay!! My little groin issue seems to have gone and I have managed to progress my long runs nicely.  I was very resourceful during last week's long run when I started to develop a blister on the side of my heel.  I had just had a Gu so I tried to put the empty Gu packet down the side of my shoe which worked for about a minute and had then moved down into the shoe leaving a sticky trail of choc-mint goodness as it went.  I was just coming up to the Kohi yacht club so thought I would see if there was a first aid kit where I could grab a couple of bandaids.  There was some housewifey exercise class going on upstairs so I let myself in and had a look though the kitchen to see what I could find.  Not sure that I was supposed to be in there but runners in general are pretty harmless (just a bit weird) so thought I would get away with it.  Couldn't find any bandaids but did manage to find a latex glove which I anchored under my orthotic and then pulled up to stop the rubbing on the side of the shoe.
Look out MacGyver.
Ran the remaining 14km with minimal issues apart from looking like I had some condoms stashed in my shoe.  But I was running so fast no-one would have seen anyway ;)

You never know when you might need a condom. so I keep them in my shoe

Looks a bit bleak but was actaully a nice run along the Waikato River trail

How's that weather looking Taupo