A Different Kind of Ironman.....

It has almost been 2 weeks since I took my place on the start line of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii yet in many ways it feels like it could have only just been yesterday!

I have spent the last 2 weeks running over the last few months in mind, trying to figure out if the decisions I made were the right ones but as a good friend said I can't change the past - I can only move forward with the future. So whether or not my decision to continue training for Kona and lining up for it were the right ones I can't change it but I can learn from it - and so the single most important lesson learned was - you can't beat physiology - fact!

The last week has therefore been filled up with lots of waiting as I attempted to find the answer to fixing my physiology. It would be fair to say that for the majority of my time out on the marathon course in Kona one thought kept popping into my head - I never ever want to put myself through this again - In my mind I was hanging up my swim cap, selling everything Ironman related and going into retirement! However as the dust settled and I began to gain a little more perspective I pondered the statement 'you are only as good as your last race' and with that came the thought - was that the result I would want to go out on - I know that I can do better than that. So as I sat chatting to my Haematologist on Monday I quantified that statement - I never want to do an Ironman again with a haemoglobin of 80 - fact number 2!

And so together with my Haematologist we formed a 'race plan' for a different kind of Ironman - a Haemoglobin Man! The goal is a Haemoglobin count of 145 in a finish time of 8 weeks! Achieving that means I need to suppress my immune system for the 8 week period with some high powered drugs. At the moment my immune system is attacking my red cells because it is a little confused - my immune system seems to think my red blood cells are dangerous and so it is breaking them down - the only way to kick it out of it's confusion is to try and knock my immune system out! So at the end of the 8 weeks of super drugs my immune system should be back to being its friendly old self and my little red cells will be plentiful! Hard to imagine what I will feel like with a haemoglobin count of 145!!!

Training wise I'm on a bit of an enforced break for a week or two while the dosing of the super drugs are worked out based on how I respond to them! After that I can train when I want for how long I want when I feel that I want to!!! So that should make for an interesting few weeks!! Quite a few people have come up with some ideas for me to focus on training wise during that time - mostly technique stuff and gym work (groan) so we shall see what the next few weeks brings!

I made the decision mid week to pull out of the Tauranga Half Ironman which is an event I absolutely love! However knowing myself I felt that having an event looming just a week after finishing my 'Haemoglobin Man' would probably result in me trying to train more than I'm able to during the 'Haemoglobin Man' which would most likely affect my overall finish time! Having just failed to come anything close to the finish time I wanted in Kona I decided a repeat performance in my Haemoglobin Man or the Tauranga half Ironman would not be cool! So my focus this season is going to be Ironman New Zealand and getting the result I want on the finish line......Roar!

Once again as I have slowly filtered out the news of my Haemoglobin Man to my family and friends I've had so many warm fuzzies sent my way by phone, text and email that it has at times been pretty overwhelming! So 'Big Up Thanks' to all those people - you know who you are - for continuing to support and believe in me and instill the notion that if anyone can - I can!

Ironman World Championships 2010 - Race Report

Here is my Ironman World Championship 2010 Race Report........

Event - Ironman World Champs 2010

Distance - Swim 3.8km, Cycle 180km, Run 42.2km

Time - 11 hours 26 minutes (ouch!)

Well it has been quite a few years since I have been out on an Ironman course for more than 11 hours and I think it would be fair to say that out of the 7 Ironman races I have lined up for this day hurt like no other had ever before. Getting to the start line had been a bit of a mission during race week after my haemoglobin returned a result of 103 which meant that I didn't meet the 110 limit set by my haemotologist to race. I was reviewed by the race medical director early in the week and got the seal of approval to start which having spent the last 8 weeks frantically trying grow some haemoglobin was good news - I at least wanted the opportunity to give it a crack.

I was pretty nervous and I think that had shown during the race week preparations - I knew that my body could not cope with the effort of a half Ironman with a haemoglobin of 90 following the big DNF at the Capricorn Half Ironman and subsequent diagnosis of weird type of anaemia that munched up my red blood cells - so I was unsure what 103 would mean for an Ironman and I hoped that it would be enough to achieve what I wanted to.

Over the last few weeks I had found that some days I woke up and felt near human and then other days I felt nauseous and sluggish - generally the near human days resulted in a good days training and the latter generally meant a not so good day - so when I opened my eyes to a big wave of nausea on race morning I was a little apprehensive. I told myself it was just nerves and set about my usual race morning routines and made my way down to the start line.

This year I had decided to be a little bolder in the swim and get closer up the front and have a crack at swimming in the mosh pit. The cannon fired and off I went surrounded by an army of people kicking and punching - I kept my head low to avoid any full face hits and managed to catch onto the tail end of a group - the pace was hot and by the time we were approaching the turn I knew I was in trouble so as the group began to make the turn around the boat I swam straight ahead to grab onto a life surfies board which I promptly vomited over - poor guy didn't sign up for that I'm sure! I turned my back to the sea of swimmers hurtling around the boat and focused on trying to stay calm - my body had developed this irritating mechanism of vomiting whenever the intensity I was working at was too hard for it cope with so I knew that I needed to take it down a fair few notches and find a pace that it could cope with.

I rested for around 10 minutes and the surf lifesaver had called over a couple of other boardies during this time who were all giving me some serious encouragement to keep on going so I turned around to face the oncoming swimmers and waited for a pack with a decent number in that I could get on the back of. By now my watch was flashing 40 minutes at me so I knew that I would be lucky to make it out of the water in a decent time but to be honest all I wanted to do was make it out in one piece. Finally I managed to hop on the back of a pack and cruised the second half of the swim back to shore - the effort was really easy and by the time I hit the exit steps I felt as though I had done enough to recover myself enough to get on with the bike.

Once through the maze of transition I was out on my bike and could start to get some fluids and fuel in - I made short work of the dog leg around time and before I knew it I was out on the Queen K and into the winds. I steadily worked my way up the field balancing the effort and intensity around how I felt physically. The climb up to the Hawi turnaround was pretty gusty and once at the top of the climb I was beginning to feel a little cooked and my body began to resort to the afore mentioned coping strategy! Thankfully I was now taking on the descent which meant that I could cruise down the hills at a pretty decent speed without much effort - most of the effort was spent trying to stabilise my bike in the wind rather than on the pace.

Once back on the Queen K highway and inside the last 60km of the bike I focused on trying to keep down as much fluid as possible and staying as cool as possible which meant a pick up of at least 2 water bottles at each aid station - one to consume and one to throw over my head. There was tailwind for the last 15-20km so again I could keep the effort down for a decent speed. I hit transition in a total race time of 7 hours which I was pretty happy with considering I had crossed the intensity line a fair few times over the day so far - I figured with a decent run split the race was still salvageable and I knew from my experience at Ironman New Zealand this year that a decent run split can make all the difference.

I seemed to find my running legs pretty quickly which was quite surprising - Elaine and Mags my Kona support crew were about 1.5km into the run course and I gave them a wave and a smile to let them know I was doing OK - I felt good - hungry but good. Next check in was with swim coach Ally B about 750 metres later - she asked if I was feeling OK and I gave her the Big Island hang loose sign to tell her I was. I then began to make my way up Alii Drive and probably 2km after giving the hang loose sign I was beginning to feel really rather weird!!

I took in an energy gel which my body quickly ejected, attempted some fluids which elicited a similar response and then my vision began to get a little blurry. Thankfully I was approaching an aid station so once again I pulled off to the side to try and work out what I needed to do to get through the next 36km of the marathon - the reality was I had no idea. In training I had managed to resurrect myself with full sugar coke so I asked a volunteer for some coke, emptied out my fuel belt bottle of electrolyte and replaced them with the coke. I had begun to get the shakes and was finding it hard to catch my breath so I walked out of the aid station and tried to build the pace into a jog. After what seemed like forever my legs were moving in a slow running pace and although I wasn't managing to keep much of the coke down I felt like I was getting something in. I could only watch the fast feet of runners passing me by - I couldn't match the pace nor did I have the energy to try.

Running back into town I was beginning to get a little emotional - I still had 28kms to go and was barely running - as I turned the corner out of Alii Drive I spotted Ally B and the kiwi team manager Janette - suddenly tears were streaming down my face and it took every bit of strength not to sit down next to them and call it a day. Ally B told me I looked awesome and although I knew she was just being kind - I'm sure as a snivelling wreck I looked anything but - I told myself to keep it together. I thought back to the moment I stopped my bike in the Capricorn Half Ironman and called it a day - that initial few seconds of relief that the agony was over before the hours and days of feeling like a complete failure set in - I was not about to go through that again so however long it took my body to get through this day is was making it to the finish line. Just before hitting the Queen K I saw Elaine and Mags on the sidelines - I slowed my pace to a walk and told Elaine that I was in trouble but that I was finishing no matter how long it took - we had a quick hug and then I began to build the pace again to a slow run.

The Queen K highway was hot and humid - I hadn't eaten an energy gel for well over 90 minutes so I decided to try get one into me before hitting the solar panel lined energy lab because I knew if it was hot on the highway it was going to be even hotter in there. I was managing to hold onto most of my coke so figured my body might not notice me sneaking in an energy gel but I was wrong. So I hit the 6km stretch through the energy lab with the fuel tank empty and by the time I had got 2kms in I was beginning to weave all over the road and other runners were beginning to start asking me if I was OK - I made the decision to slow my pace even more to a walk until I was out of the energy lab - I have never walked during any event before so it was pretty soul destroying to have to resort to it but on reflection it was probably the best decision I made all day. At a walking pace I was able to get a gel in and drink both coke and electrolyte so by the time I got out of the energy lab I had managed to fuel up a little for run home.

As I began to build myself back to something that resembled a run I kept thinking of the finish line - I had been out on the marathon course for over 4 hours which felt like an eternity - running is usually what I love about an Ironman event and where I feel most at home but today i was fighting for every km and I felt like an alien in unfamiliar territory. I decided it was important to still have some kind of a goal to keep me moving so I told myself I had to try get to the finish line in under 11hours 30minutes which given the pace I was going I felt would be achievable.

Once back in town I was on track and the crowds were going mental - to them it didn't matter what time I was running down the finishers chute in - they were just happy and excited that I had made it - and so was I!! I crossed in 11 hours 26 minutes and I don't think I will be forgetting any one of those hours or minutes for quite some time.

As I came over the line I was quickly bundled into medical - I was dehydrated but also having a bit of trouble catching my breath. They pulled off some blood to test my haemoglobin and it came back at 80 which put everyone into a spin for about 30 minutes - I figured that was probably why I was struggling to slow my breathing down! I got given a couple of litres of intravenous fluid and started to feel a bit more perky. Eventually I was allowed out of the tent and into the care of Elaine and Mags who fed me full sugar coke and salted chippies along the walk back to the condo!

So BIG UP Thank You's go to Elaine & Mags for being my Kona support crew, my lovely swim coach Ally Boggs who has spent the last 3 weeks looking after me and keeping me positive, Neil Stafford who with his awesome company Direct Organics have kept me in a plentiful supply of fruit and veges for the last 3 months, Julia and Andy Flaherty for sponsoring me my swim skin - even if I did vomit on it..... My nutritionist Alison Rainbow, Physio Dene Coleman and last but by no means least Tri Coach Tony for his efforts to get the best out of me and my training programme on not very many haemoglobin cells!

Big Thanks to all of YOU sat reading this for the support and encouragement you have given me, particularly over the last 8 weeks, without you guys I wouldn't even have made it to the start line!

So now I have 5 days to relax with Mags and Elaine in Honolulu before returning home and catching up with my Haemotologist to figure out the best way of growing back my haemoglobin!

In Limbo........

Week 26 of my build up has flown by and it has felt a bit like being in limbo! I'm now just a week out from race day so the training volume has been down a little but some of the sessions have still had a decent snap in them! At times I have to admit to feeling a little cheated by my programme - you know that race day is close so things will be easing off but then you get a big kick in the pants from a hard interval session and you begin to wonder if the taper will ever come! Finally I feel like it has arrived.....a complete day off training today which has been a bit of a novelty and the perfect excuse to get out of town and escape the hype of downtown!

Stats for the week placed me out swimming 14kms, cycling 250kms and running 40kms! There are now countless athletes out on the course - Alii Drive is packed with cyclists and runners - the Queen K is heaving with bike bling and some very very serious age group athletes! Friendliness factor is now close to zero - no smiling or waving from the majority - just a cursory glance as they check you out to see if you look like you have got what it takes! Belinda and I have started to play a game called 'your age group' - if someone is looking smoking hot in training we try to beat the other in assigning them to their age group - today on our drive out to the beach it was getting pretty exhausting - every second sentence was 'your age group'.....lots of girls looking smoking hot!

I've made it out to the Ironman buoy twice more since my first visit! I haven't seen any dolphins this year so it was awesome to finally get to see them on Saturday morning! Le Ann and I were taking a little rest at the 3km mark when a kayaker shouted 'dolphins'....there was a large pod right underneath us and then some riding out on the surface doing a few tricks! It was only when my fingers and toes started to go numb and the shivering started that I realised how long we had been watching them for! Consequently the last 1km back into the pier was a little bit slow!

This week I've really had to firm up my race plan and think tactically. I'm still not 100% sure on what my race outfit is going to be! Slight trauma this week discovering that my swimskin is now not race legal thanks to some recent changes made to the rules! The swim here in Kona is non wetsuit because the water temp is too high but it is legal to wear a swimskin over your race gear. The swimskins now have to contain no rubberised material so Blue Seventy and TYR seem to be the only companies that have managed to get something out that complies with the new rulings in time. Consequently the skins have a price to match $250-350 US dollars (ouch) and they are in short supply.......hard to justify spending so much money on something that you will wear for one race only. I have a few options open to me - I could just swim in togs or buy a super tight tri suit without pockets to chuck on top of my tri gear - swim coach Ally B has a speedo fast skin which is lycra and legal so I'm trialling that tomorrow in the pool to see if it fits snuggley enough over my tri gear to get the desired effect - or I could try and get my hands on either brand of swim skin available at the expo.......second ouch!

Race week is going to busy with our Team meeting, Parade of Nations, Race Brief, Gear check in etc so I will keep you all a bit more up to date with my movements as race day begins to descend..... 6 sleeps and counting!!

Remembering How To Hurt!

Well lots of things have happened this week so I think this is going to be a bit of a long one so make sure you are sitting comfortably before reading any further!! As usual I will start with the stats for week 25 of the build up.....15.8km spent swimming, 465km cycling and 65km running.......all on the beautiful Big Island! Race day is now just under 2 weeks away so week 25 was the last of the big weeks - from here on in it is about absorbing the training and beginning the wind down to race day.

So I had a bit of a eureka moment on Wednesday whilst out cycling on the course! Perhaps of all the disciplines of swimming, cycling and running my anaemia has seemed to have impacted the cycling side of things the most. I have struggled to get in the cycling pain cave and stay there.....prior to the big DNF at the Capricorn Half Ironman a few flags that I missed to things not perhaps being quite right were a couple of average time trial results where I had managed to start off at a hard effort but had not been able to maintain it.....usually I can get the sofa out in the pain cave and lay on it for as long as required.....you learn that the pain will not kill you....although at the time you often question whether on this occasion it might........you do get through it.....but during those time trials I could only sit on the sofa for a fraction of the time and at the Capricorn Half Ironman I don't think I really even managed to get on the sofa!

Needless to say it has been a while since I have visited the cycling pain cave for any sustained length of time. I have had a few sessions over the last couple of weeks that have invited me to visit the cave......bike rides with some hard 20 minute efforts (using my powertap) thrown in. For the previous 2 weeks I have managed only a single effort during these sessions and had to pull the pin on that effort prematurely thanks to my body responding with a power chuck! Nice! I have always had a plan B for those rides which involved lowering the power of the effort and riding it more steady but it has been frustrating to have to settle for Plan B particularly so close to race day. This has therefore meant that poor Coach Tony has had to field several emails from a disgruntled me - fed up with the fact my haemoglobin is still in my boots and that my body keeps responding to any sort of hard effort on the bike with a puke!

However on Wednesday as I tucked into Plan A I was surprised to find that I was in the pain cave.....I was on the sofa......and wait for it.....there was no vomiting! Hooray! 1 down 3 to go......I felt sure that effort 1 may well have been a fluke but I knocked out the other 3 efforts and didn't feel to shabby on it! Well until the next day but that besides the point! So during those efforts I was learning how to hurt on the bike again.........remembering what it feels like to lay on that sofa and stay there. Now having found my cave again it is naturally tempting to see if on another training day I can remember where it is - to see if I can perhaps sit on the sofa for a bit longer or hurt a bit more - which is why having a coach is super crucial to keep you grounded and focused on the goal - which is ultimately the race! Spending time out here ahead of the race is an amazing opportunity to get to grips with the course and the conditions but it does come with a few sneaky pitfalls that could bite you on race day....the biggest of those is getting a little over excited in training - going too hard - trying to race the race in training instead of on race day. And so at the start of the week I received a gentle reminder from my coach not to leave my best effort out on the course in training.......and so I will need to wait to see if I can relocate my cave until race day.... and that is all dependent on whether my red blood cells are happy enough to let me hang out on the sofa in my cave for several hours or if they are having a day where the only sofa they are happy to sit on is the one in my condo!

On the swim front two exciting things happened this week! First of all my swim coach, Ali Boggs, arrived here on Thursday. Ali, an Ironwoman herself who has done battle with this course a couple of years ago, coaches both swimming and triathlon. Quite a few of her coached swim athletes like me are racing but more importantly one of her coached triathletes Pam is also racing! So thanks to Pam's athletic prowess and Ali's passion for both this event and the Big Island we get our swim coach and therefore some lessons out on the course in the ocean! Nice one! So I had my first Kona swim lesson on Friday and it felt good to have Ali around me again! She completely understands the effect my anaemia is having on my performance and she is what I would describe as a positive realist.......she knows that it simply is not a case of mind over matter or the power of positive thought that is going to grow me enough haemoglobin in time for race day......she will not base how she thinks I'm going to perform on race day on a single snap shot of what she sees in a 30 minute lesson.....rather she plants a little bit of confidence to lift my spirits with a simple statement such as 'you swam well today' - a statement that I can agree with and hold onto when the not so good swim days rock around!

The second exciting event on the swim front was a voyage out to the 2km buoy on the Ironman swim course! Now you may wonder why that is a particularly exciting event but if you saw the layout of the course you would understand......the first 1km has 3 white markers that you can head for to get you out to the 1km buoy and then there is nothing.......just lots of swirly water stretching out ahead of you! Now last year I had a few failed attempts at swimming in the vague direction of where I thought the 2km buoy was but never made it! It almost became like a hunt for the holy grail and at times I began to question if the buoy actually existed! So this year my strategy up until Saturday had been a little different! If I had a longer ocean swim to do I would swim out to the 1km marker - back into shore - and the out again - I was not going to fall victim to the hunt for the 2km buoy again......although naturally I was harbouring a secret desire to make it out there!!

And so on Saturday I had a longer ocean swim to chew through and the plan was to hit the 1km marker return to the pier and then head out again......the wind was up which meant the surf was up so when I reached the 1km marker I decided to have a quick breather before returning to the pier. At the previous marker I had picked up another Sugar Daddy.....I'm not sure why I seem to be attracting so many swim Sugar Daddies at the moment....nice enough Ozzie guy with some rather snazzy print swim trunks that made him easy to follow as we cut through the swells. So as we caught our breath and I began to bid farewell he asked why I wasn't swimming the course.......hmmmmm.....tempting offer from the Sugar Daddy! By a complete stroke of luck a kayaker overheard our conversation and offered to guide us out to the buoy and then even more luck....an awesome local swimmer Le Ann who was also at the buoy decided to join our expedition! So we were a party of 3 with a private Kayaker! Brilliant!

The swells were starting to get up so our Kayaker guided us further out from the shoreline where the swell wasn't quite so rough but the current was pretty strong to swim against! Now it quickly became apparent that I was the weakest link in the group but nobody seemed to mind that I was the tail end Charlie! Finally after some pretty tough swimming the 2km buoy was ahead and I could see Le Ann and Ozzie Sugar Daddy waiting for me! Hooray! So we all had a rest and a chat with our kayaker before taking on the return leg back to shore! We lost our Kayak guide pretty quickly into the return journey.....he picked up some other swimmers looking for the buoy and guided them out.....there is however more things to sight on the way back so I wasn't too concerned and of course I still had the snazzy print of Sugar Daddies togs to follow! The last portion of the swim was more like body surfing as the wind had got up even more (if that was possible) and the swell was pretty impressive! I was super relieved when my feet hit the sandy shore of the pier and it was reassuring to hear that Le Ann thought it was a little wild out there! So now I know that buoy does exist it would be good to get out there and find it again......with my new found swim buddies!

The run side of things have been good this week and I have ticked off a decent amount volume wise and got some quality runs in off the bike in the sun! I had a slightly unfortunate incident this evening when I went out to finish the last session of the week which was a run with some steady efforts thrown in (are you sensing a theme....). Anyhow I was originally going to head up to the Queen K but then at the last minute decided to keep it a little more local and run away from town on Alii Drive! After my longish bike earlier my legs were feeling a little bit worse for wear and Ali B had offered to sit on a deck chair and cheer me on as I ran past doing my efforts but I decided I was probably going to look a little special as it was and therefore declined the offer. I packed up my fuel belt bottle with some electrolyte.....I was feeling a bit dehydrated from the bike and although a little cooler in the evenings the humidity was still high and I knew I would get thirsty pretty quickly. I ran out to the point I usually start my interval session which is marked by a funky sign in the shape of a surf board....it has a couple of rocks around it which make a perfect little place to hide a drink bottle.....so I stashed my bottle and set about tucking into the first effort......an out and back that would see me finish at the surf board for a quick drink before starting effort number 2! I gave it a good nudge and sure enough towards the end of the effort I was thinking about how lovely my drink was going to taste......only to find when I got to my surfboard sign that it was gone :( I did a quick reckie to see if I could find it but came to the conclusion that it was gone for good and that the next 45 minutes were going to be thirsty work......and naturally I was wishing Ally B was sat in her deck chair guarding my drink bottles! Must find a new stash spot next week!!

In other run news I have given up on the new trainers.....I just can't get my feet use to the new inners Brookes have designed.....my foot arches are so sore if I run for over an hour so I'm back in my old ones and then I think it will time for a change of brand!!! Yikes!

More and more triathletes have descended this week which means that there is more human traffic out on the course and a fair bit of 'Tri Bling' around town! I cracked a smile today when cycling out on the Queen K - there are signs with the words 'Caution Athletes in Training' and I couldn't resist a quick piccie pitstop! Roughly translated I think that means 'Caution.....crazy individuals likely to be a little delirious in this area as they attempt to adjust to our climate and terrain......try not to run them over'.

That is probably enough rambles for one entry..........

Monster Cycle Week!

I am now just 3 weeks out from race day and have just finished my first week of training in the heat of the Big Island sun! The sunburn stripes from the first few days out here are beginning to fade and the heat seems moderately more bearable out training although I'm far from fully acclimatised just yet - by the middle of next week I should be getting there! I have been downing iced slushies and freezing most of my drinks for training although they are usually defrosted in around 30 minutes once out in the heat! I had a small moment of weakness at 3am this morning and blasted myself with the air con unit for an hour in my room but other than that I have been air con free!

So this week has been a cycling monster......507km spent out on my bike....thank goodness for decent cycle shorts, 14km swimming which is a little down on the usual volume probably because the majority has been in the sea and 60km running my way along Alii Drive and the Queen K highway.

It feels good to actually be out here and training on the course and in the conditions! I struck a bit of bad luck with the day I cycled the full Ironman course as it was pretty wild and windy which made for a slow pace. For the other cycles I've done the wind has been less brutal so I'm now itching to get out and have another crack at the full course...hopefully minus the angry winds...although that makes for good training if your brain can handle the slow pace....it may well be that wild on race day and at least I will have a tough ride in the winds under my belt if it is!! My bike is booked in for a new chain fitting tomorrow as my current one is all saggy.....I think the kms this week on it has pretty much sealed it's fate with the bin! I think having a new chain will make things a bit easier out on the hills and particularly on the big climb up to Hawi!

Swimming back in the lovely clear ocean waters out here has been lush and it's hard not to get distracted by the brightly coloured fishes! I seem to have a habit of swimming back into shore and ending up on the wrong side of the roped area for swimmers i.e amongst the boats....I'm not sure what is magnetising me to the no go area so perhaps a little more attention to detail and sighting of large objects such as boats might be good!!

My running seems to be the least affected by the change in temperature and the one thing that I am holding both pace and form on consistently. I have been using frozen fuel belt bottles as a cooling system as well as the shower block at the swim start.....this does tend to attract a few curious looks running into the shower fully clothed and I must remember to remove my ipod next time!!!

Blood wise I am still waiting to grow some more haemoglobin! My last results showed that I'm up to 100.....only 20 more to go! I seem to have some really good days of training and then a couple of average days which tend to frustrate me more than anything else! Patience has never really been my strong point but I'm slowly learning that on the average days it is about doing the best I can and making the most out of the sessions. Getting frustrated simply wastes energy as does trying to explain or make sense of why one day I feel like a rock star and the next day I feel trapped in the body of a 90 year old! Some days my body is applying the handbrake for self preservation and there is no way to release it - on the outside I might look fine but on the inside there is some funny stuff happening and no amount of mind over matter or harden up pills can overcome. So ultimately I need to learn to roll with it, be more patient and then relish the mornings I wake up feeling like a rock star and I'm sure eventually the rock star days will out number the Nana days!

Next week looks like another meaty week - the last of the big ones before it starts to ease off a little! Now it's time for an ice slushy before bed :)

Big Day Big Winds!

Well I decided that today deserved it's own blog entry because it was a bit of a monster! I pushed out a 5.4km swim, cycled the Ironman course (180km) and then had a 15 minute run off the bike to finish the day! Statistics for the day.......Zero Sugar Daddies, 4 Drafters - 4 Dropped, 10.5 litres of fluid consumed, 3800 calories eaten, 700 grams lost and 2 x Mary Poppins moments!

So the day started bright and early with a 6am swim start in the local swimming pool which is 25 yards - that pretty much gave me a serious brain strain yesterday trying to figure out how many lengths I needed to do to make my swim sets in metres! Today I was onto it....more minutes than I would care to admit to spent last night calculating yards, metres and send off times meant I was ready to rock my sets out in the correct 'currency' minus the brain injury! I managed to get through the entire 5.4km set in my own swim lane and also added a few more zebra tan marks to my back!

Once out of the pool it was back to the Condo for a quick porridge fix before taking on the bike course! First 45km was an absolute dream - the winds were on my side and I made good time to the first pit stop where I could re-fill my drink bottles......I had decided today would be a bit of an experiment to see how much fluid I could take in during my ride....last year on race day I lost 5kgs during the race so this year I really wanted to nail my fluids which would mean 3 scheduled stops out on the course to get the fluids in.....you can only carry so much!

Once out of my pit stop I began to feel the force of the Island winds and they seemed pretty angry! For the next 90km I got well and truly battered! Crushing side winds that blew me out of the shoulder and over the centre line and a couple of gusts that I swear left me airborne with both wheels of the ground at the same time! These winds are like nothing I've ever experienced and they are incredibly hard to read.....just because you hit a wall of wind one way does not guarantee a tail wind on the other. I knew the best strategy was probably to keep the momentum going and keep pedalling - easier said than done!

When I reached the tiny township of Hawi which marks the turnaround I tucked into my emergency snack pack and hit the local cafe for water! I was asked if I was a space cadet on entering the cafe by the owner - I quickly realised this was because I still had my aero helmet on although to be honest after dualling with the winds I felt a little low on energy and my face probably gave the impression that the lights were on but no-one was really home! Once back on my bike I sensed that the winds were going to be equally fierce until I got back to my first pit stop and they didn't disappoint! Scary factor was now well and truly in the red zone as I was now cycling next to the coastline - instead of a centre line to blow across the prospect was now a cliff! Thankfully I managed to avoid plunging into the sea and it wasn't too long before I was back at my first pit stop and inside the last 45kms - condo bound!

I felt strong on the final leg so knew that I had got my fluids and nutrition pretty much spot on - perhaps helped along by the large muffin I had bought at the cafe in Hawi! Well every space cadet needs a secret weapon! By the time I hit the condo I was feeling pretty pleased with the days events - I can't remember the last time I had a cycle that was so challenging - both technically and physically! A quick run along Alii Drive and then it was time to stuff my face! Perfect end to a tough day!

Here Comes the Sun!

Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii! Finally reached my race destination of Kailua-Kona at the weekend after a pretty hectic week! Training statistics for week 23 of the World Championship build up put me out running for 78kms, cycling for 281kms and swimming for 15.4kms! So plenty of running and a bit lower on the cycle volume this week!

So big news is that before leaving the country I invested in a new pair of runners! Brooks have totally changed the inside sleeve of the shoe so my usual model Glycerin not only feel alien like because they are new but also the inside feels totally weird! So weird in fact that I took them back into Shoe Science to double check they had given me the right thing! So at the moment I'm trying to break them in on the short runs and then swapping out the inner sleeve from my old shoes to the new ones for the longer stuff - unfortunately that makes my new shoes smell like my old ones!!

Leaving New Zealand was the usual state of total chaos as I battled a with a relatively solid training week, a Haematologist (blood doctor) that wanted me to delay my flight to Hawaii and the challenge of trying to keep within the constraints of a 46kg luggage limit! I seemed to win the first 2 battles but lose out on the third!! I managed to tick all the boxes on the training programme - strike one Laura - managed to convince the Haematologist just to get on and do the tests he felt I needed before leaving the country - strike two Laura - but didn't manage to convince the lady at the Air New Zealand check in that really my two bike boxes only weighed 23kgs on my scales at home and not the 26kgs they were weighing in at on hers - $75 later both bike boxes with all contents on the plane - could be a won or lose situation depending on how you look at it! Thankfully they didn't weigh the 15kgs of hand luggage!

I flew out on Saturday NZ time but arrived late Friday evening US time - so had an 8 day training week - very handy! So Saturday US time was spent flying across to the Big Island and getting set up! Usual stuff like sorting out a hire car, getting the supermarket shop done, visiting the bike shop for a few essentials, unpacking 52kgs of gear and assembling my bike! Lola (my bike) had travelled remarkably well and by Saturday night I was looking forward to taking her out for a spin on the Queen K!

My first proper training day in the Kona sun was an ocean swim, 4 hour ride and then a 20 minute run off the bike. I managed to pick up a Sugar Daddy at the start of my swim - a local guy who spotted me getting into the water asked how far I was going and then said "I'll join you". I wasn't really sure how to take that.....I wanted to go for an easy pootle and now I had a Sugar Daddy for company! Turns out he came in very handy! He was local so knew all the navigational landmarks to get us to the buoys and he slowed his swim stroke down to my speed so I could keep pace at his side! So despite my initial reservations at a potential impostor it was a nice easy swim! Once back on dry land I said a quick goodbye and thank you and I was off to start my bike! The winds out on the Queen K were not too brutal and the heat was strong to start but then a band of rain came through which cooled me down nicely for the last hour! The run off the bike was just enough of a taste test of the afternoon humidity and heat so all up a good day at the office!

That night I phoned my GP for the results of the tests my haematologist did! So my iron levels and haemoglobin aren't improving because the type of anaemia I have isn't responsive to iron therapy!! All those pin pricks in my bum for nothing!! So I'm now arranging for the injections I need to make their way to Hawaii either next week with my swim coach or in race week with Elaine and then I should be good to go! In the meantime there are some oral drugs I can take that I can source here which should put me on for a week or two! Finally feels good to have some answers!

Right better get on and start week 24!!! 4 weeks to go until race day :)

Camp Solo!

Well week 22 has been and gone! Big tick in the box - 5 weeks out from race day and towards the end of this week I feel like I have found my mojo! Hooray! Vital statistics for the week hit 16km in the pool, 345km on my bike and 60km out pounding the pavements......still in my old shoes!!

This week featured a bit of a training camp style 3 days towards the end of it - essentially 3 solid days of training. Usually before Ironman New Zealand our tri squad goes down to Taupo and pushes out between 3 and 5 days of big solid training. The camp is gruelling physically and emotionally but the plus side is the feeling of everyone being in it together as you do battle with each day, fight off the odd demon and tick off the sessions! So this week of training fell at the same time point as the Taupo camp relative to race day - no big surprise therefore that it featured 3 rather meaty days at the end of it! Unfortunately this camp was going to be a solo affair! I tried to persuade a few fellow tri dorks to participate in my 'camp' but there were no takers for any of the days!

Thursday kicked off with a long swim followed by a long run, Friday was a Half Ironman simulation and Saturday I had a swim, a very long bike ride and a short run afterwards! On Saturday morning I was a little excited that I would have some company for the first time on my camp - I was going to head to triathlon squad and do the swim with the group before taking off on my long bike ride. Unfortunately the company didn't quite work out as I had hoped.....I ended up in a swim lane on my own and when someone did hop in my lane to join me they only stayed for 300 metres and then moved back down to their original lane! Probably the most amusing moment came when we had a set of 25 metres to practice drafting and sprinting in a group - at the end of my set fellow squaddie Glen shouted over from the next lane 'hows the drafting practice going' - that sort of summed it up really :) At the end of the swim I had one last attempt to try and recruit someone to the rest of the days activities but there were no takers!

Despite being a solo camp by the end of it I felt the same sense of shattered accomplishment and was mighty impressed that I had the energy to get through it! As I looked back through the weeks programme I had a small smile at the coaches notes for Sunday.....12 hour day shift = rest day! Compression skins on under scrubs for the day - Check!

Coming Down From Altitude!

Well last week marked the start of the serious stuff and a crossroad in my training - I had a choice to make - head down or lay down. I opted for the head down approach - roll through the weeks training and start the search for my mojo.

Vital statistics for the week therefore came out as 16km in the pool, 266km on the bike and 60km of running. The majority of sessions this week were at steady state to try and limit the stress on my body - I had a crack at a couple of high intensity sessions and made it through - they weren't particularly pretty and although I didn't quite find my mojo this week I know it is out there somewhere!

Towards the end of the week I realised that my running shoes were not going to make it to Kona - I have tried a few patch up strategies but I think I have to accept they are well and truly gone burgers! The growing holes along the side have begun to let the rain drops in and at the end of my run on Saturday the insides were more wet than the outside!! I always end up dragging out the life of my running shoes beyond what is reasonable which I know is far from sensible given the fact my feet tend to have a habit of acquiring stress fractures! I just hate the feel of new trainers on my feet, the process of breaking them in and the fact that they don't feel like your own for a few weeks! But if I start now by the time Kona rocks around we will have knocked out a fair few kilometres together!

I had to squeeze in a few tests amongst the training to try and discover the route cause of my anaemia! I think every lab in Auckland probably has some piece of me sat under their microscope at the moment and as the week progressed I decided that to work in a lab you have to be a special sort of person!! So far the results aren't in but my GP made the decision to start some Iron supplements in the interim and then hopefully when some results come back we will have a clearer action plan - most likely an Iron infusion or a series of high dose intramuscular injections. I leave New Zealand in just under two weeks and won't have access to blood tests whilst I'm in Kona so if I can leave knowing that the iron levels are on the up that would be a good place to be.

I've been met with a few interesting vibes and thoughts this week! Some people have assumed that Kona is now not going to be a happening thing or that it isn't going to be the race I'm hoping for - already writing me off 6 weeks out from race day. That has been a little surprising - I guess I'm the sort of person who will back my team regardless of whether they win or lose or have a good day or not so good day - so it has caught me a little off guard! Others have asked if I thought the anaemia was enough to make me DNF a race - perhaps that is more a lack of understanding about the relationship between iron and haemoglobin more than anything else! I think the fact my GP was surprised I was even managing to get out of bed brought it home to me just how close a call I had had!

Put simply iron is needed to grow haemoglobin and haemoglobin is the part of your blood that carries oxygen to where it is needed. My haemoglobin in April was 140 so well above the 120 lower end limit. Since April my haemoglobin has dropped to 90 so by just over a third. I have therefore been limited physiologically to 65% functionality - it doesn't matter how hard I try to go - my body can only deliver 65% of the oxygen it is use to getting to where it is needed. So my poor little muscles have been struggling a little in recent weeks and I have been feeling pretty trashed. However here is the plus side - you always have to look for one - if you have been following my blog for the last 6-8 weeks you will have seen that I have pushed out some big weeks already and now in retrospect I've done that and built up a good fitness base over a period of time where I've been getting increasingly oxygen deprived. So you could look at this a little bit like altitude training where athletes train where there is little oxygen available to them - the goal of altitude training is to encourage the athlete to produce more haemoglobin so they are more oxygen efficient when they come down from altitude - so applying this to me - I've spent somewhere in the region of 6-8 weeks 'at altitude' and now as I start to munch my way through the Iron supplements so I can grow more haemoglobin it's a bit like me coming down from altitude :) It takes roughly 2 weeks of Iron therapy before your levels begin to increase and then around another week for the body to back this up with haemoglobin production - So when I do finally start to grow some more haemoglobin I should notice a pretty big difference in how I feel whilst I'm training........more oxygen = better performance!

So just to clear up a few random speculations - Kona is still very much a happening thing - my goals for the race have not changed - and I plan to go as bloody hard and as fast as I can on race day with my new and improved blood levels! Wahoooooo!!! Bring it on!!

Just need to go out and find my next pair of running shoes to do it in first :)

DNF - First time for everything.......

Well it has taken a long time for me to feel able to sit down and blog about my first ever DNF (Did Not Finish) at the Capricorn Half Ironman last weekend. For those of you that know me those 3 letters do not sit well with me - and in 5 years of racing triathlon I have never ever posted a DNF result - first time for everything I guess.

Probably the most disturbing element of those three letters for me was the fact that I have lined up for several races pretty broken at the start and always finished. Last year at Kona I got a stress fracture in my foot during race week but I still ran every one of those kilometres out on the marathon course with a foot three times the size of the other! This year at the Tauranga Half Ironman in January I was still recovering my foot from the stress fracture and had rooted my hip in the weeks before the race - yet I still lined up and finished the run - depsite not running more than 15 minutes out on the road in 3 months. Perhaps therefore when I pulled the plug on my race whilst still out on the bike course I'm not sure who was more shocked - me or my support crew - after all I had put more than enough hours in during the build up and I was really hoping for a pretty spectacular result!

On reflection and with the results of a few blood tests it is no surprise that I didn't finish - perhaps it is a small miracle I made it to the start line - but it is fair to say posting a DNF knocked my confidence well and truly to ground zero levels!

Race week had been busy and I felt tired but put this down to the various flights and travelling I had done to get to the race city and venue. However I woke up on race morning not really feeling quite in the zone but figured by the time I got to transition the adrenaline would be flowing and I would be pumped up ready to rock! In transition I went through the usual motions of setting up my bike gear and getting my transition area set out in the order I like. I was still feeling quite flat so I went across to the side of transition to talk to Hannah who has missed only one of my races in 5 years! I quietly confided in her that I really didn't feel good, that I felt really tired and couldn't get the energy levels up - completely unphased she gave me some reassurance and told me to go kick some ass! With that I joined the parade of wetsuit clad athletes on the 2km walk down the beach to the race start.

The race start was waved so I had spent a fair amount of time waiting for my wave but finally we were called to line up. My swimming has been steadily improving so during my build up I had been looking forward to the swim to see what sort of a result I could get - the hooter started and the group surged foward down the beach into the water. I was a little unnerved that even on the run down to the water I seemed to get left behind but brushed it off as being a little rusty in a wetsuit! The current was meant to be behind us but today is was flowing across us and making it hard work to swim in - I could feel myself dropping off the pace and as another wetsuit zipped past me I tried to hang on to their feet but inevitably got dropped - I couldn't seemed to get it right and panic started to set in. Finally the last turning buoy appeared and I was thankful that the swim would soon be over. As I exited the water I was pretty horrified by my time and to make matters worse I felt completely trashed! I hit transiton and resisted the urge just to lay down next to my bike and go to sleep rather than get on it and ride it!

The cycle was a 5 lap course so I desperately tried to gain some lost ground on the first few laps. Usually I come out of the water with quite a bit of work to do on the bike and run so this race was no different. I mulled over the swim in my head trying to figure out what might have gone wrong but the reality was I needed to try and push it out of my head and get on with the task in hand. I guess the problem was that I didn't seem to be able to muster up a race pace and as the laps went by I began to slow down. At the start of the 4th lap I got a case of the vomits - this isn't too unusual for me - normally I just need to swap to racing on only gels when this happens - so I made the switch and hoped for an improvement - it never came. As I neared the end of the 4th lap the vomiting continued - my average speed had dropped by 7km/hr and I felt completely exhausted - I caught a glimpse of my support crew Hannah and Michelle - pulled up on the side of the road next to them and pulled the plug on my day. It probably took Hannah about 2 minutes to register that I was telling her my day was ending on the side of the road and not at the finish line.

Over the next few days I was truly overwhelmed by the support of my family and friends. I recieved countless phone calls, texts, messages and emails all full of warm fuzzies and inspiring words. However that didn't stop the mounting torture inside my head as I tried to figure out what went so horribly wrong - with Kona looming I felt I needed to figure it out and fast. My swim coach Ali Boggs was convinced I had some sort of virus or that I was harbouring something - but I didn't feel sick - just exhausted. I had a debrief with Tri coach Tony and we attempted to dissect my head, my feelings, my training load and strategy - I was encouraged to try and step back from the DNF and look at the bigger picture.

So when looking at the bigger picture I decided a trip to my GP might be worthwhile. I had considered a GP visit a couple of times over the last few months because I felt tired and was struggling at times with the sets that required explosive strength and speed. I had shyed away from going before because it felt a bit lame to go and say I feel really tired all the time - at the end of the day it is my choice to lead the lifestyle I do - I choose to train the hours I do and work 12 hour shifts - plus feeling tired and fatigued is part and parcel of training for an Ironman - I guess I had normalised the level of tiredness over the last few months. The three letters DNF had however given me the confidence to go and as I sat in my GP's office rambling and blubbing about the events of the weekend and the last couple of months he began to write a form for a barrage of blood tests - I did breathe a sigh of relief that at least he was taking me seriously, perhaps the tears helped, and that he wasn't going to send me away and tell me to train less. I have in the past suffered from a major vitamin B12 deficiency which results in anaemia so his main concern was that it has resurfaced.

Later that same evening I got a phone call from my GP and his first words were there is something wrong with you! I can't describe the feeling of complete relief as he rambled off the first lot of blood results that had come in. My ferratin (iron stores) were only 3 and they should be >40 and my haemoglobin was 90 and should be >120. I am quite profoundly anaemic and must have been now for some time - the next question is why and as yet my B12 level hasn't come back but given my history it seems this is probably the main culprit. I think this explains the vast amount of hours I have been sleeping both night and day, the feeling of complete exhaustion most days and the fact I have struggled with the speed work in my training - I haven't been able to get sufficient oxygen to my muscles for the fast stuff. The great news is that is is fixable - we are waiting for all the results to come back but most likely I will need a couple of super sized injections of vitamin B12 and a whacking dose of iron!

So perhaps in some ways the DNF was what I needed in order to look at the bigger picture and admit to myself that I haven't been feeling 100% for some time now. As disappointing as it was to line up for a race and not finish it has meant that I have identified a much a bigger problem that can be corrected before the race that really matters - Ironman World Championships! My GP is convinced that if I had continued to train at the level I am then I wouldn't have made the finish line at World Champs and realistically probably not the start line so I guess the moral of the story is that every cloud really does have a silver lining!

Race Week Taper!

And so taper week has finally arrived and I'm now 6 days into it with race day looming tomorrow! Race week in a different country or city is always full of challenges - you need to figure out where you can go to do the easy training sessions before race day, suss out the race venue and hunt out replacements for the things you have inevitably forgotten to pack!!

I arrived into Brisbane on Sunday night which is about 600km away from Yeppoon where the race is being held! I was staying with friends Hannah and Michelle in Brisbane for a few days before flying out to Rockhamptom - 45km away from the race venue! I figured Brisbane would be a good opportunity to start acclimatising to the heat and it would prove easier to suss out swimming pools etc with a bit of local knowledge on my side! Hannah had found me an awesome 50m outdoor pool to swim in which was only a 15 minute bus ride away from their place so it was nice to get a swim in outdoors with the sun on my back although I do have to admit to it being a little chilly :) Running was easy to navigate around the city and I'd decided to save my cycles up for when I arrived in Rockhampton so that I only had to assemble my bike once before race day!

My bike box had taken a complete hammering on the flight across the Tasman - it had holes punched into the sides and resembled a triangle shape as opposed to the rectangular form I had farewelled it in at Auckland airport! Thankfully my bike was still in one piece and I hadn't lost any vital items out of the holes in the side - I had horrible visions of having to race naked or run in bare feet! By complete luck Hannah lives opposite a bike shop so I was able to beg a new box for the next plane trip!

Weather wise Brisbane did nothing for the heat acclimatisation plan! Monday was around 20 degrees which was lovely but then a freak weather front ripped through Queensland and with it brought cold fronts and torrential rain - temperatures were down to 10 degrees and in the remaining 2 days I spent there Brisbane recorded the largest rain fall for August in 120 years! Much to my complete surprise as well as the lack of sunshine I woke up on Monday morning with a sore throat! Obviously non too impressed by this having gone through the process of having my tonsils taken out a couple of months ago to get rid of this very problem - race week lurgy! However it was no where near as bad as the full blown tonsillitis I am usually plagued with and responded to the concoction of Berroca, ice blocks and a pharmacy load of vitamins - by Wednesday it was gone - and so I had to concede that indeed having the tonsils out was worth it after all!

Thursday afternoon I arrived in Rockhampton - 23 degrees, blue skies and sunshine! I quickly assembled my bike and hit the road for a 90 minute spin! Now it's always tricky knowing just where exactly to cycle in a strange place and I figured the best strategy would be to cycle out towards the race venue - I received a few toots along the way - it was a dual carriageway with a fair few trucks but it didn't seem too treacherous at the time! On my return however I learnt that I had just tootled out along the notorious Queensland Bruce Highway which perhaps may explain the odd toot from people!! I opted for slightly different cycle routes for the other days!! My bike has taken the two plane trips well - the gears needed a little bit of tweeking and my headset is a bit stuffed and grunty but all in all the bike looks pretty mean for race day!

Hannah and Michelle arrived into Rockie yesterday and we pootled up to the race venue which is set in a massive hotel resort! We did all have complete accommodation envy as the place is super lush but also the prices are very lush and after all this is triathlon on a shoe string! Our accommodation is about a 1/4 of the price and although we have hired a car and have to commute 45 minutes on race morning it still works out at half the price....we just had to keep reminding ourselves of that!! The girls have got their bikinis packed ready for cheerleading from the poolside tomorrow and there is even talk of a well timed slide down the water chute as I pass over the resort bridge on the run course!

The course itself is a little hard to judge! The swim is in the sea but yesterday when I did a little test swim the current was in a good position for the course and it wasn't too choppy at all! I was a little shocked to discover that on exiting the sea you have to run up a vertical sand dune and then up some stairs and along a stretch of path to get to transition but a few practice runs up the sand dune and I think I have mastered the art of running up it!!! I did a couple of laps out on the cycle course yesterday - it is pretty darn windy out there and I'm not sure if it's the tail end of the weather front lingering around or if its usually that windy! Rumours are that the winds are pretty wicked so I will be putting all that high cadence work to good use!! I haven't really been able to suss out the run course - it's 3 laps all through the resort grounds and through some bush trails - I'm looking forward to the run though and hopefully the heat won't get to me too much!

So I'm pretty much good to go! Just got to go register and listen to the race brief before tucking into a cheeky pizza and having an early night!

In the Zone!

So this week the wind down began and the training was cut back with the Capricorn half Ironman looming! Vital statistics for week number 18 are 12km in the pool, 200km on the bike and 45km of pavement pounding action! For me the focus this week was to hit the hard sessions hard and then to use the easy sessions to recover as much as possible, particularly after the big bike week last week!

I always find this week (2 weeks away from race day) the best week to start engaging the mind in the racing zone! I find the buzz of race week tends to sap me a little of energy and by the time I've gone through all the race week processes and final preparations race day can arrive and feel somewhat of a shock to the system! So I like to use this week to firm up the race plan and to use the harder sessions as little race simulations to start to get myself in the zone! The relative calm and order of this week was however a little disrupted as I needed to start going through some of the race week preparations early so that I would get on the plane to Australia at the end of the week with everything that I needed to race! So perhaps I can place blame on this disruption to my usual zoning for a rather tremendous Faux Paus on my part that almost saw me grounded in Auckland!

As I was dismantling my bike into its box the night before I was due to fly out to Brisbane it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't sorted out my electronic visa! No problemo I thought - usually you just hop on line and submit an electronic travel authority which is instantly loaded into your passport and you finalise the visa on entry into Australia. Unfortunately I learnt that night that the system had changed 12 months ago and you were now required to apply for the whole thing online which takes a minimum of 2 working days! Heart stopping moment combined with nuclear style meltdown and flashes of me appearing on the TV programme Border Patrol being deported from Australia!! Quick phone call to Air New Zealand to see what the rules of my fare were and whether I could delay my departure for a couple of days - short answer was yes but it would cost the same as re-booking a new return ticket. Dilemma. As it was the weekend I couldn't speak to anyone in Australian immigration so I figured that I would sleep on it although I can't really say that I got much sleep - the image of being deported was very striking in the early hours of the morning!

So morning rocked around and my gut instinct was just to get on the flight and try to talk my way in - if I had to get on a flight back to New Zealand and wait for the visa to process online then I hadn't lost anything - if I delayed my flight it would cost the same as having to return the same day I arrived. I carefully placed a few select phone calls to those a little older and wiser than myself to see if they agreed with my decision - 2 out of 3 said go for it so it was full steam ahead! My good friend Zoe arrived to take me to the airport and found me in my usual state of chaos with the extra bonus of me not having a visa thrown in there!! Several cans of diet coke resus later and I was at the airport with the parting words from Zoe just to call her if I arrived back in the country later that night!! Gulp!!

As I took my place in line to check in for my flight I was totally oblivious to the fact that without an active visa in my passport to enter Australia I wouldn't actually be allowed to leave New Zealand and get on the plane! I quickly became aware of that little rule when the counter lady calmly told me that I didn't have an approved visa to travel and that I would not be able to travel until it was approved - second near cardiac arrest - I had not anticipated having to start the blagging process so soon yet suddenly sentences like computer system error were falling out of my mouth! I was quickly directed to customer service desk and after the longest 30 minutes of my life where I swear my heart only threw off a single beat each minute I finally had a visa!

And so I am now safely and legally in Australia in the warmth of the Brisbane sun where the weeks temperatures are predicted at 24-26 degrees! The Capricorn Coast is about 2-3 degrees warmer so tomorrow it will be time to get out in the sunshine and back in the racing zone that I momentarily stepped out of for 24 hours during the visa chaos!

It feels good to have some sunshine on my skin :)

A Solid Steady!

It is hard to believe that I am now through the other side of week 17 in the build up to Kona and less than two weeks away from the start line of the Capricorn Half Ironman! Time seems to have moved very quickly over the last couple of weeks!

So week 17 was a bit of a biggie - the last solid week before the training winds down a little going into the Capricorn! All up I swam 16km, cycled 370km and ran my way through 40km. The run volume was down a little after a big run week last week but what I lost in the run kms I made up for on the bike!

I revisited the 40km time trial this week which went better than it did 2 weeks ago! I had a few technical hitches at the start.....namely a flat tyre when I got my bike out of the car and then an exploding inner tube......and although I did almost verge on a complete sense of humour failure ultimately I figured it was better to get these things out of the way before the start rather than part way through!! I managed to pace the time trial better and shave a couple of minutes off my last attempt although I averaged the same power over all! My power comparative to this time last year is actually down by about 18 watts over this specific time trial distance so trying to figure out why that is has driven me a little nuts over the last week! I've been thinking about my weight, type of training and volume but nothing seems to jump out much! Perhaps my legs are generally just a little more tired!

The majority of the big bike kilometres were spent on the indoor cycle trainer! Not because the weather sucked but because I got taken out by a car at the end of the week - slightly hairy moment bouncing on the bonnet of a moving vehicle but miraculously other than a whack to the head and a sore neck I came off pretty lightly! I haven't been able to really turn my head completely to the left yet so I figured it would be safer to stick to the indoor trainer until I regained the ability to look both right and left!! I managed to set a new winter 2010 indoor cycle trainer record for myself......5 hours........which went surprisingly quickly with the radio playing in the background and a decent stack of fuel to go protein bars!

On the swim front I have been trying to push myself to hit faster send off times although I'm still lacking the umph towards the end of the bigger sets! I find swimming frustrating in that respect! I seem to spend so much time in the pool to gain just a couple of minutes in an Ironman swim whereas if I invested as much time in my cycling or running I think the relative improvements would be much greater! It will be good to get some ocean swimming in once I get over to the Capricorn race venue.....I'm just hoping that the wetsuit still fits :)

All up, depsite the bike crash, I was pretty pleased with the weeks training!

When Mind Cannot Conquer Matter!

And so week 15 of the build up began on the back of the half marathon and at first glance it seemed a little meaty! All up I swam 14km, cycled 284km and ran 55km.

The 'lowlight' of the week was a 40km bike timetrial that appeared on my programme scheduled for Wednesday. My strategy for the start of the week was to therefore munch my way through the easier sessions to try and recover the legs enough from the half marathon to come to the party and produce a decent timetrial result. By Tuesday however I was beginning to have a crisis of confidence - I'd set out on an easy run and my legs were cramping on the downhills and sluggish on the uphills. I put in a quick call to the coach and I was given the 'it's time to front up talk'.

Now I've never needed any encouragement to 'front up' for a timetrial at any other time so the mere fact I had picked up the phone was a little unusual in itself and unsettling. I had a niggling feeling that something was not right and that I didn't feel good but I ignored it - put it back in it's box and proceeded to spend the next 24 hours amping myself up! It's at times like these that you fill your head with quotes such as 'just do it' 'impossible is nothing' 'mind over matter' and so forth! You tell yourself that you are invincible, super human almost! Perhaps that should have been the first alarm bell to can the timetrial the second might have been the 2 hours I spent creating a playlist of 'go get em' music on my ipod or thirdly the fact I felt the need to fill up on as much carbohydrate as I could get my hands on prior to my timetrial date! Either way on reflection it would seem that I was frantically trying to align the stars when the stars just wanted to be wonky!

Now I'm not entirely sure what my thought process was around the start of the timetrial - for some reason I slammed my gear into one of the biggest I had and pushed the pedals over like a crazy thing - perhaps the 24 hours of motivational slogans took over, perhaps I did indeed believe I was superhuman - but it is fair to say by kilometre 7 I had fried my legs and my brain - from there on in it became purely a battle of survival to make it to the end. And so for the remainder of the 33km I battled those demons that surface from time to time, the ones that make you question your ability, your goals - the ones that make you lose sight of rational thought where suddenly mind cannot conquer matter......more the mind conquers you! I managed to just squeeze under the 60 minute mark but it was far from the several minutes I normally have spare to play with at the end! So the coach marked it down as an 'OK' result and I marked it down as a learning experience! I protested my case and to my surprise was given the opportunity to repeat the timetrial if I really felt like I could do better - now there's a challenge - don't we always think that we could do better!

So watch out week 17 - I'm coming at you minus the motivational quotes, carbs and playlist!!

Run Auckland 21km Race Report

Event - Run Auckland Series 21km
Date - Sunday 11th July 2010
Distance - 21km (Half marathon)
Run Time - 1:33:30
Age Group - 30-39
Age Group Position - 6th
Overall Position - 8th

This event was a couple of weeks ago and the final event in the Run Auckland Series and offered up a 6km, 10km and 21km option and I was relieved that the coach had pencilled me in for the 21km. As always the most important element was the weather and the outdoor air temperature on race morning was 2 degrees - a little brisk! Generally I have been impressed with this race series in terms of organisation - as a winter race series you can't predict the weather - there have been sunny starts, torrential rain starts and very very chilly starts - but the starts up to press have been well managed and we have got away on time - a crucial element if you want to have a good crack at a solid run!

Unfortunately for the last race of the series the organisation for some reason seemed to fall down and we were left waiting on the start line for 26 minutes which in 2 degree winter temperatures is not ideal - particularly when you have handed in your layers at the bag drop before lining up - hence half naked in 2 degrees - you get the picture! So as we huddled together for warmth we were fed updates that the delayed start was due to 'traffic safety management'. Now this would have been semi-believable if it hadn't been for the long line of people stood behind the 'updater' queuing for late entries! Now I have no problem with people leaving things to the last minute and rocking up on the morning of an event to enter but I do have a slight issue with people turning up 10 minutes before the start of race expecting to register and being allowed to do so by the event organisers. For those of us who have entered in advance, got to the start with enough time to complete our usual race morning routines and are ready to go at the advertised time a 26 minute delay is a little hard to swallow - I would have preferred to spend the extra 26 minutes in bed! The start time of a race dictates your preparation for that event - when you wake up, what time you eat, when you do your warm up, when you take that pre-race carbo caffeine shot or whatever you use and so on! Consequently as I waited on the start line for the starting hooter to go I concluded that I could have had 26 minutes longer in bed, I could have eaten my creamed rice 26 minutes later than I did, my warm up run could have been abandoned as I was feeling anything but warm at this point in time and the carbo caffeine loaded GU shot I had eaten was doing a great job of keeping me wired on the start line but would have little effect when it actually came to racing!

Finally 23 minutes after the planned start the updater announced a 3 minute countdown to the start........I really had to wonder why it was necessary for a 3 minute countdown and just as I was about to verbalise my thoughts to my fellow runners there were several murmurs of can't we just go now! But no - so we waited out the 3 minute count down - the hooter sounded - and finally several hundred pairs of numb feet were on their way!

I had decided to try and hold a solid first 10km and then hang on for the remaining 11km! The first 5-6km were pretty flat and fast which played well into the plan! I had lost sight of few other runners I was hoping to pace myself against but there were plenty of other people to keep pushing me along the route! I had seen 'Ernie' one of my previous pacers at an earlier race just before the start but the man who races on coke and jet planes was much to my disappointment nowhere in sight - I was sort of looking forward to the offer of a jet plane further down the track!

Once through the first 6km it was really down to business! This course is hilly and solid with long sharp climbs that just keep coming! I had begun to get a little confused as to how I was pacing as the 6km marker was just a few metres around the corner from the 5km marker! Likewise the 8km marker appeared a little too early in the piece - well either that or I was on fire! As you can imagine my confusion as to actually how far I had run was further tainted by the thought that traffic management had an extra 26 minutes to lay the course out yet the km markers appeared to have been haphazardly thrown out at random intervals - there was no further opportunity along the course to get confused however - the 8km marker was the last marker out on the half marathon course!

The last segment of the course involves running up North Head which offers up some really spectacular views over the Waitemata Harbour! The last 10km of the course is pretty scenic but North Head really is the highlight (quite literally). I've attached an aerial shot to the post for you to get a bit of an idea of the views you would get! Once at the top I knew I was homeward bound and although the legs began to fizzle out a little on some of the downhills there is something about knowing you are on the home straight that gives you that little burst of energy to get you to the finish line! The last km feeds you along the beach for some sand running before hitting the finish line which I crossed in 1 hour 33 minutes and 30 seconds! For a pretty solid course I was happy with that and even more happy when I regained the feeling in my feet an hour or so later at brunch :)

Off the Radar!

So it appears that I may have fallen off the blogging radar over the last couple of weeks! Life seemed to become a mish mosh of nursey shift work combined with swim-bike-run-eat-sleep! No different in nature from my usual life cycle but some weeks it seems to knock the wind out of you more than others! And so in a rare moment of calm in the whirlwind I will catch you up on the missing weeks :)


After my week of wrestling with the art of spinning came an easy-ish week! I say easy-ish as it featured a half marathon at the end of it and some pretty solid sessions in between! The most notable event in the week (aside from the half marathon) was my first Pilates class experience!Now I have been considering trying to fit a regular Pilates class into my training schedule for quite some time. It seems to be the buzz thing amongst many of my triathlete pals at the moment and like anything that takes the group by storm you often feel the need to be on the in! I have recently moved gyms to try and enhance my relationship with the heavy round things otherwise known as weights! As much as I loved my old gym it was a 40 minute drive away from home and getting there for a 'quick' work out would end up chewing more than 2 hours out of my day! I rarely have 2 hours free to 'spend' so I bit the bullet and joined a gym that is a 2 minute drive from my local swimming pool - theory of proximity being if I'm swimming at that pool 5 or 6 times a week then I really have no excuse not to back up my swim on some of those days with a quick weights session - so far the theory is working! Anyway I digress......on one of my early trips to the gym I noticed a regular Pilates class for members and so decided on the next easy week I would factor it into the training schedule and give it a crack!

So Wednesday evening rocked around and I opted to do a quick leg weights work out before the start of the class......mistake number one! I met the instructor Deb who pointed me in the direction of a mat and some weights - they seemed very small and light so I selected a heavier pair to ensure I got a decent work out.....mistake number 2! In my mind as I settled down onto my mat I thought that the next 45 minutes would feature some gentle mat work and some core exercises.......I quickly found out that my impression of Pilates being a 'relaxing' pastime was very wrong!!! Fifteen minutes in my legs were burning from a hideous amount of squat jumps, my arms were shaking from the continuous cycle of various push ups and weight holds and my core felt like jelly! I was a broken woman! Of course at any point I had the option to leave the class - I suspected I was going to pay for a good couple of days and with the half marathon looming I knew I should just get up and leave but there really is something to be said for the class environment! My ego would not let me leave the room - I didn't want to to be the person who didn't finish the class and so with every thought of leaving the class came a ridiculous burst of energy to push harder and jump higher! It was fair to say by the end of the class I was ready for my bed and that my muscles reminded me frequently over the next couple of days of what I had put them through!! Not yet ventured back to the torture chamber of the Pilates class but it's on my agenda.......somewhere :)

Over and Out!

The Art of Spinning!

So I am finally through the other side of the hardest week in my current 4 week block and into the easy week! At first glance on paper the week didn't look too bad but by Thursday I was more than happy to retract that statement!

There were certainly a few sessions in there that I had underestimated - namely Tuesday night interval bike class and my long swim which had a few descending efforts splitting up the longer sets.......mental note to self....never underestimate your ability to 'descend' your send off times during a 5km swim session! Towards the end it starts to become a little pathetic!!

The vital statistics for the week are 316km of cycling, 16.5km of swimming and 56km spent running! I had a rather 'bumpy' long run this week managing to catapult myself down 14 wooden stairs whilst out on the tracks of the Waitakere Ranges! Miraculously I 'bounced' down all 14 and landed in a massive mud slip - the only war wounds I had to show for my escapade were two small bruises and a scratch! I did however resemble a Mississippi mud pie for the remainder of the run and gave the residents of Titirangi something to stare at as I ran past the packed cafes with a face and body caked in mud!

On the cycling front I had a PT with coach Tony to review my bike handling skills and my cycling efficiency! It would appear that I am neither proficient nor efficient! Currently I am stuck in a mindset of pushing the biggest gear I can to achieve speed - irrespective of whether I'm faced with a flat or an uphill climb - I am well aware that this is not an energy efficient way to cycle and that my legs are often rather hammered by the time I'm dismounting my bike to run in a race situation but it has always been the more natural path for me to take! I am therefore attempting to cycle like a 'strength' athlete which from my build it is clear that in the long term this isn't going to cut the mustard!

My stronger system is my cardiovascular one so I need to start to make the transition away from smashing my legs to pieces and towards selecting an easier gear and turning my legs over faster drawing on my cardiovascular strength! Easier said than done! Consequently Friday morning was spent doing a few 'semi-torturous' exercises along the waterfront and up a few hills......I discovered a few 'new' gears on my bike that made different muscles hurt and my lungs work a little harder .......and Tony got the 'pleasure' of riding behind me and survived to tell the tale! At the end of the session I have to admit to feeling a little despondent - cycling with spinning legs made me feel like an alien had taken over riding my bike and it was a little overwhelming to think that this change was critical to upping my cycling performance! So a little reality check was required to shake off the feelings of despondency! I hopped onto the Ironman New Zealand website to look up my bike split from this year - cycling the course in my favoured big gears had produced the 11th fastest bike split of the day for females (pros inclusive) - first note to self - I don't totally suck at cycling - second note to self - if I can nail the spinning I can hopefully produce a faster bike split and run better off the bike - third note to self - it's time to suck it up, put my head down and work HARD on nailing art of spinning!

And so with that in mind it's time to hit the easy week, recover and recharge the batteries! The Capricorn Half Ironman is now just 6 weeks away and Kona just over 12! I've got the Run Auckland Series Half Marathon at the end of this week so it will be nice to line up for something a little more in my ball park for distance :)

What's in a Number......

Another week down.....more ticks in the boxes.....and another week closer! Vital statistics for the week are 19.3km of swimming, 65km of running and 190km of cycling. Much lower on the cycle volume this week with the main focus being the run, second focus the swim!

This week I've felt a little flat during my training sessions - the main culprit being the body clock! I had a shorter turn around from nights to day shifts this week which on paper looked manageable but in reality was anything but! I seemed unable to shake the night shift programme out of my body which resulted in lots of late starts to the day and late night runs and windtrainer sessions! My unsocial training hours meant that I missed every group training session I'd planned to do so every one of the 16 sessions on my training programme were solo! Usually I don't mind doing the majority on my own and often actually prefer it but even by my own training loner standards it was pretty harsh!

Thankfully someone somewhere was looking out for me towards the end of the week and this weekend I got offered the opportunity to swap off my night shift onto a day shift........I think I can count on one hand the number of times that has been offered to me in my 10 year nursing career so naturally I jumped at the chance - anything that meant I could jump start my body clock back onto 'normal' time! This week I start my usual day to night shift ratio so hopefully there shouldn't be a repeat of the twilight training hours!!

So this week it was back to see my nutritionist, Alison Rainbow, to get the verdict on how the mass building was going and what my fat percentage was doing! It has been a strange couple of weeks adjusting to seeing an extra 2kgs appear on the scales and viewing this as a 'good gain' and one that will hopefully enhance my performance. To some people that must seem an odd concept and by now I'm use to the sideways stares I get as I'm writing down my calories in my food journal or working out what I've got to 'spend' calories wise on an afternoon snack! Why would people not stare.....after all within society weight loss is primarily about achieving a number whether that be a number on the scales or a certain dress size - so to all intents and purposes to the outsider looking in I look pretty skinny but the reality is that for me it's not about that - its not about achieving a 'look' - it isn't about looking in the mirror and liking what I see.....its about achieving the best possible ratio between muscle and fat for optimal performance.....I have to try and put myself as an athlete first and my female brain second.....which is often easier said than done! So as I sat in Alison's office I was trying to push the female brain out of the window and embrace the athletic one......it was all good news.....my fat percentage was down to 10% and I had gained 3% in muscular mass.....roughly translated I had managed to lose fat whilst building some muscle.....and so although the 2kgs had not sat particularly well on my female brain over the last 3 weeks what it really comes down to is what's in a number.......at the end of the day a number is after all just a number.............