The high's and low's of the triathlon world

So, my result at Ironman is public knowledge now, I was eliminated at the end of the swim, it was very disappointing at that moment considering all the work that had been put into getting to the start line.

There was a silver line to that cloud however, the following weekend I raced in the Triathlon Nationals in Wellington. I won the para tri section of the race and finished in a qualifying time for the World Championships this year in Budapest.

The month of march brought me huge high's and lows, an amazing mix of emotion that i will remember for a long time.

less than 3 days till race day

Well the big moment has arrived... We leave for Taupo tonight via Waikanae and arrive in Taupo Thursday lunchtime.
Today I have a bike shoot with the 60 mins camera people and a last swim then we will be picked up late in the afternoon going up to Waikanae.

There are so many people who have got me to this point, so many people to thank:

Firstly thank you to my sponsors:
The Waxbar, Nelson
Feline Farmstay Cattery

And to the important people, without which my campaign would not have happened

Grant Campbell, Michelle Laurenson, coaching / mentoring, media management, and so much more
Kirsten Landers from WCC Pools for getting me started on my swimming journey and providing me with constant encouragment
Linda, Rose and Chris from Swim Shop for helping me with all my swimming needs and again providing the encouragement I needed
Shane, Mario, and the rest of the crew at Penny Farthing Cycles Wellington for providing wonderful mentoring, services and coaching

only 15 days to the big day

Well there are only 15 days, that's right, just under two weeks till race day. My race plan has me in Martinborough for a training week from the 22nd till the 26th, then I'll be in Wellington till the Wednesday of race week when I'll go to Waikanae and leave for Taupo early Thursday morning.

last build up tri of the season

I did my last build up tri at Scorching Bay on the 14th, i had a good swim, i finished in 53 mins, my bike was solid despite roadworks and other things slowing me down i finished in 1hr 25 mins, my run was very solid and comfortable, I finished in 53 mins. My total time for the tri was 3hrs 11 mins

The campaign gathers momentum

This campaign I have engaged in, to complete the NZ Ironman has been a personal process of self discovery and sporting discovery combined. I have been amazed as I have moved through this process at the positivity that I have attracted as I have been so positive about the whole process myself but also recently I have been astonished at the interest in my campaign by the media.

I have now been approached by 60 minutes who want to follow me to Ironman weekend and film on the day of the race. I still can't get my head quite round what this all means. I will just be following the process and letting it happen.

In addition there has been great support from local newspapers, the Wellingtonian, City Life News and right from the start of the campaign: Wellington City pools, The Swim Shop,

January events round up

January is a month of hard training for me and competition.

I've just completed my 2nd Scorching try and the Sovereign Ocean Swim,

The 2nd Scorching Tri was on Wellington Anniversary Weekend, the 25th of January. It was an event of ups and down's for me. I had a good swim time wise but had problems with navagation, an issue I have yet to full solve. My bike was slow, 10 mins slower than it should have been, no excuses. My run was great, I ran a 50 min 10k without my new orthotics (faster than ironman pace). Over all I had mixed feelings about the race. The next tri is on the 14th of February, I'm looking to right the problems identified in the last tri in that race.

The Sovereign Ocean Swim on the 29th was a challenging swim in Wellington harbour of 2.8km, the sea was choppy, I felt I swam strongly but my navigation issues discovered at the tri, caused me to slow down through course correction and I ran over the time limit for the swim.
At the end of the swim I was feeling strong and swimming strongly, after the swim I completed a 10km run as per my schedule for that day.

Overall I was somewhat disappointed not to complete a swim that I had complete earlier in the week, but now it is behind me, and I move on to the tri on the 14th.

The Big Month of January

For me the month of January 2010 is crucial in the build up to NZ Ironman 2010, it is the month when I do my big miles in the pool / open water, on the bike and on the run.

This month is critical to the race plan and so far things have gone according to plan... here's how things have shaped up so far.

I decided to spend Week 1 in Waikanae with my swim coach Grant Campbell and Manager Michelle Laurenson, thanks guys for putting up with me !!!

Over the week I swam 25km and rode 150km. I completely reworked my swim kick technique so now I am swimming faster and more efficiently than before.

At the end of January I have a race, a Scorching Tri on the 25th, this will be a good tester to see whether all the training has paid off and i'm in good shape heading into February. In addition to that I have the Sovereign Ocean Swim on the 30th.
All good events leading up to race day, March 6th.