"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.

Powered by Marmite sammies

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

3 Weeks til IMNZ!!

So I managed to pull myself out of my post 70.3 depression and get on with life and with Ironman NZ training.
After my horrific swim I decided to seek a new opinion on my swimming so contacted Andy Mackay from Boost Coaching to see if he could help me.  It actually took him about 7 months to contact me as I originally asked for his help in May but used his junk email address and he didn't discover my email until the beginning of the year - I had just assumed that he thought I was a lost cause and couldn't help me.
So he watched me swimming from all angles and we identified some problems - some I knew were there and didn't know how to fix and some which I didn't know about.
So I now have a few things to work on and my little brain gets a bit overworked as I swimming along trying to think about my head position, my kick, where my hand is leaving the water, where my hand is entering the water and how far have I swum.
Brain overload.
But hopefully something will work in the next few weeks and I can pull out a semi-decent swim in Taupo.

We went down to Taupo to train on the course last weekend and to get a preview of the pain and suffering we are going to experience in a couple of weeks.  In the previous years we have had a three day training weekend to spread out the pain and suffering but this time we decided to do it all on the same day.  Fun.
The swim was nice, the lake was calm and not too cold.  Hopefully the same conditions on race day.
The bike was a 120km solo effort where I spread myself all over the course loosing a bottle, the lid off my tubes and tools bottle and then subsequently my tyre levers.  Take home message = tie everything down.
The run was supposed to be 24km but was shortened to 21km due to not having any aid stations or support and not wanting to die of dehydration and/or heat exhaustion.
When then popped over to Kinloch to watch the Elites race in the Oceania Cup.  Just watching them made my legs even more sore.
Overall the day went pretty well and was a good rehabilitation for my confidence muscle which was quite badly injured at the 70.3.

Now just need to get a couple more long bikes and long runs in and hopefully I shall be ready to roll on March the 2nd.

The job situation is quite grim at the moment (anyone out there want to give me a job? I think I would make a great PA...) so I am taking a few days down in Cambridge with Coach Poo to get in some decent training and hopefully get the chance to ride the IMNZ course again (because it is so fun).

Adios!

Auckland to Coromandel bike ride and Auckland 70.3

I had planned to keep up to date and do a little blog about our super fun bike trip from Auckland to Coromandel but time got away on me like it does.

So the week before the Auckland 70.3 was pretty normal in terms of training from Monday to Saturday and then we had a monster ride planned for Sunday.  It seems to be all the rage to cycle from Auckland to Coromandel and then catch the ferry back, so like little lemmings we too had to do it.
It was actually instigated by the Lawson's who then piked on us a week before having been away for the last few weeks away from their road/TT bikes.
So the 3 Amigos plus one headed off with gay abandon on Sunday morning.  There is not much to report on really, it was about 180km and 6 hours to get to Coromandel town where we gorged ourselves on pizza, garlic bread and chips before creeping back to the ferry which was full of like minded tri-geeks.
My phone ran out of battery so no fun photos I'm afraid.
The ride itself isn't too hard just a bit unfortunate that we were faced with a headwind from the 120km mark onwards, having a tailwind along this section would really have made such a difference.  There are pretty gnarly hills in the last 25km or so and the oppressive heat (my Garmin got up to 35 degrees - HOT!) didn't help us to feel so fresh.  Lucky I had Jared and Kezzle to hide behind into the wind (our plus one was last seen at this stage when we left Thames but he made it in the end) otherwise it would have been a pretty slow slog.

The leggies were a little bit wasted heading into race week so I just did a couple of easy pootles on the bike and running.  I had run the viaduct section of the course and along Tamaki Drive the week before for a total of 14km which is the longest I had done since Taupo Half and I wasn't quite 100% but figured if I kept it pretty easy in the weekend then I should be ok.  The last thing I wanted to do was stir up my little hip/groin issue and disrupt my IMNZ plans.

AUCKLAND 70.3 RACE REPORT

This was a pretty exciting race for us Aucklander's being in our hometown and as it was the Asia-Pacific Champs people were making a big deal out of it.  It was also exciting because we got to bike over the Harbour Bridge and swim in the Viaduct which are things that we are not normally allowed to do.  And it was even more exciting because I would finally get to see how fast Taddy really was.  I felt I was pretty prepared for this race (maybe a bit lacking in the running department) and thought that maybe a Kona spot could be within my grasp.
How disillusioned was I.

The swim was wave starts which I am not a fan of, so the 18-34's started 25 minutes after the Elite men who went first.
I honestly thought I swam well.  I had feet to swim on most of the time and I seemed to go straight.  There was a bit of chop in one section but conditions on the whole were good.
I wasn't timing it but had my sexy green Garmin on, I checked the time as I got out and assuming we started on time I figured I had swum about 32 minutes.  Yeah, I rock.  I was a bit alarmed by one of my friends who came out of the water just behind me and she usually swims quite a bit slower but thought maybe she'd had a good swim.
Turns out I swam a sloth-like 36 minutes.  For 1.9km. Holy crap.  I think there was some tidal activity which affected the weaker swimmers like me but I was still beaten out by people who have never beaten me out so tide or no tide - I sucked.

Oblivious to my sloth-like swim

The bike didn't get off to a good start with my Em's Bar (my main source of nutrition) dropping out of my pocket and me having to turn around to get it and then losing my second bottle about 30 seconds later, which I picked up on the way back when I saw it on the side of the road only to lose it again about 10 minutes later.

Taddy in action

Once I got into it all was good, I was passing a lot of F35+ people but no F30's.  The Harbour Bridge was fun, the weather turned a bit icky which made the tight corners coming back through the viaduct very scary and I think I lost quite a bit of time here especially since we had to do it three times.
There was quite a headwind coming back along Tamaki Drive and I had no-one to hide behind so just grinded away and stuck to my power.  Everyone was complaining about the huge bunches - they should have ridden with me, there were no bunches where I was which was a bit of a relief since I was worried that if I got another drafting penalty I may disowned the triathlon community.  A three strikes and your out type of scenario.

I had hoped to ride about 2.35 but came in to T2 with a bit over 2.43, hmmmm.

Off for a trot

Since I was so far down and there was no way I would even be close to a Kona spot I was happy just to chug away at an easyish pace.  After the run the week before I figured if I could hold 4.45 per km then I shouldn't put any undue stress onto my leg.  The first couple of km's were a bit quicker but once I settled into my 4.40-4.45 pace I was all good.

Remembering to smile to produce positive feelings are per "The Triathlete's Guides to Mental Training"

I had a couple of leisurely toilet stops and stopped twice to attend to an ouchie on my foot and then rest of the time pootled along smiling at people who cheered for me and giving people high 5's.  At the end of the 22.4km run  I had averaged 4.45 and the groin didn't seem any worse off.  For a flat run course it wasn't particularly easy with lots of twists and turns in the first 4km which we did another 3 times for the two lap course.  And the bricks in the viaducts were pretty slippery in the wet so I ran very easy around the corners.

Davo where is my vasoline?! And who is this creepy man stalking me from behind?

It seems that Coach Poo has disowned me so I am still unsure if I paced myself badly in the bike or if I did what I was supposed to, or has everyone else gotten faster - not so likely.  But I feel that this was a major let down for me especially since I really thought I would bike well.  The swim is always pretty hit and miss with me but I am taking some extra steps before IMNZ to try and figure out if there is anyway I can go faster.

It was a pretty disappointing performance in general, not because of the Kona spot but more because I felt like I let myself down and my little team who supports me, and now I have no confidence coming into Ironman New Zealand.  I pride myself on being a bit of a hardarse and trying not to take too much to heart but I will admit that a few tears were shed on Sunday afternoon.  Nothing like the feeling of being a washed up has-been (or never was) to get you down.

So now that the sore legs have healed and the dust is starting to settle again on my aero helmet I am trying to forget about it and focus on what is coming up.  Ironman New Zealand is what matters now, and not for a Kona spot but to prove to myself that I can put it all together.
The groin issue has flared up slightly since the weekend but I can still run so now need to keep it under control and get used to some long runs.
And I need to learn how to swim.

Big Jo Training Dec 31 - Jan 6

SWIM

A bit of a mixture of pool swimming and sea swimming this week while squad is on a break for the holidays. I was reminded how good it is to turn up to squad and just be told what to do - no negotiating or arguing about what to do (usually), 3km of fluffing around feels like an eternity.

BIKE

I was quite surprised when Training Peaks added up my hours of biking for the week to be over 13 hours!! Although I followed my normal program which usually gives me around 11 hours since I wasn't working some of the rides were a bit longer and the Sunday ride has started to ramp up a bit as well.
I have noticed a bit of a difference riding Taddy compared with RooRoo, it does seem to be faster and I am able to hang in a bit easier where I would usually struggle.  I think my power has gone up a bit as well which could account for it feeling a bit easier too.

Taddy was too fast for these boys up the Waitaks in the poo weather the week before

The weather has been pretty fab for riding bar one day last week when I learnt that doing standing sprint starts in the rain are not much fun and my power was probably lower than when I take off at the traffic lights.
I have gotten a bit technical and signed up for Strava, not that I really know what I'm doing with it.  I originally signed up just so I could see what it was all about and then saw some people that I know on it and since I love stalking so much I realized that it was right up my alley.  I would hate to give away all my training secrets so am not uploading all of my rides but do enjoy spying on other people.  I put my Sunday ride on there and basically became the Queen of the whole Waitaks - of course it helps when there are only about 10 girls using it as well...

RUNNIES

My running legs are coming back to me slowly, I got up to 8km as my longest run for the week and a couple of shorter ones plus a couple of pool runs.  Hopefully I can get up to an hour next week which will give me a bit more confidence leading into the 70.3.
It is a bit of a dilemma next weekend because there are 30 Kona spots on offer plus the 40 spots at IMNZ.  I know a lot of people think it is silly to be fixated on Kona but it get within 10km of the finish and have to pull out is rather heartbreaking so I really want to go back and finish.  I assume there will only be one spot for my AG in Auckland and I should be near the top of the AG and I know for a fact at least 2 people who are likely to beat me wouldn't take a Kona spot.
So, do I give at my all and hopefully get a spot so I can relax at IMNZ but also potentially set myself back in the hip/groin department? Then if I don't qualify but I have gone too hard and can't run for another 3 weeks I am screwed for IMNZ where there are 2 Kona spots.  Or do I stay comfortable at the 70.3 and not worry about my competition and try and get a spot at IMNZ? But that means a lot of pressure at IMNZ and I will be gutted if I miss out on both.
There is a chance that the person who takes the spot at the 70.3 is also doing IMNZ which would mean a roll down anyway.  There will also be a few Aussies coming for the 70.3 who are not on my radar and could be speed machines as well.
Decisions, decisions...

Exciting news of the week is the J-Rad has committed to IMNZ despite his broken-ness so we will have lots of fun and not so fun training hours ahead of us with Kezzle-Anne - AKA The Three Amigos - hola!

And more VERY exciting news is the arrival of my new Oakley Enduring sunnies which have been made extinct but I managed to find a pair on eBay.  I had got some Half Jackets to replace my ones which where thieved from my car but we never really bonded and in a moment of weakness I splashed out and got these. Now I feel like I am home again.

White Oakleys have magical powers despite what the Lawsons say.  And check out my sexy new Garmin FR10 in the reflection, it is green like a frog, or a cucumber.

Enjoying a civilized dinner outside at our new table with our chairs and BBQ  which were all free - yeah!!

Rotorua Half, Tadpolemonator and yuck Christmas weather

So the aftermath of Taupo Half was not so great with a my little groin issue hanging around and preventing me from running plus a very nasty ouchie on the front of my ankle from me being a muppet and not doing my shoe up properly.

Ouchies

 I was down to do the bike section for the Rotorua Half with my friend Megan from swimming which was quite exciting as I have never been a team biker before and got to wear my skinsuit which I had never had an occasion to wear.  I had a good ride despite my new Garmin 500 (on it's first outing) being on autolap and taking a lap every 8.05km (5 miles) and annoying the hell out of me.  It was fun riding with gay abandon and not having to worry about running.

Looking a bit ghost like but aero at the same time

Rotorua turned out a great day and the Lawson's backed up their 3rd race in 3 weeks with the Hammer coming 3rd and the Poodle taking a more relaxed approach and taking the dog for a run for the last part.

Who's this clown running his dog on the course?! Oh wait that's Nick

A very exciting thing happened the week after Rotorua - my new bike parts arrived!! Woo hoo!! I had to reorder from somewhere else because the original order went missing in the post which is why it took so long.  It then took a couple of nights (and lots of grumbling) to build.

Genius at work...

But then I got to use it for my Saturday ride - weeeeee!  It feels pretty good and seems to be better at cornering and 180 degree turns which is an area of mine which certainly needs some help.  It came with a pair of Zipp 404's but the whole TapTap issue means that if I use the rear 404 (once I get a Campag freehub body for it) I won't have power, BUT I will be able to use my rear wheel cover which I couldn't use with RooRoo so will be able to have a 404 front and disc on the back.  Finally I have a grown up bike and grown up wheels!! I know it is by no means the latest and greatest but don't think there is much difference between a 2009/2010 P3C to a 2012 P3C, and there is no way in hell I can afford a 2012 P3C.  It is hard for someone of my size to get a decent bike which actually fits properly and this bike should be faster than RooRoo.

ello Taddy

I have named it the Tadpolemonator - Taddy for short.  Tadpole for my new name courtesy of Nick the Poodle, and Lemonator out of respect to it's previous owner Tracy Lemon.
Let's see if Taddy can now get us to Kona....

The weather around NZ over Christmas has been pretty schizer but I have managed a bit of riding and sea swims.  Running is starting again slowly but am looking to supplement it with pool running (boooooo) so I don't lose too much fitness.

Nice summer weather in Coromandel...

Devonport to Takapuna swim crew and their kayaker.  The seemingly calm conditions lulling them into a false sense of security...

Made it! Not so calm now