Taupombledon 2008

With the sporting world left in limbo in 2007 when there was no Fulhimbledon, the sequel - Taupobledon - had been highly anticipated. As some of the best athletes from Auckland and Wellington descended on the Huka Village Resort, questions were being asked whether the relocation of this big tournament to the other side of the world could be a success. After two days of tennis at a level you would expect, and drinking you won't believe - the answer was a resounding YES!

As we all trickled in on the Friday evening, much concern was for the imminent arrival of the Owen-Burns pairing. Not because we wanted to see what shape these perennial finalists were in, but because they were bringing up the keg of Emerson's Bookbinder in their car. And considering their recent diversions through Wanganui, such concern was warranted (an escort through Bulls was in fact considered). It wasn't long before we had all arrived and headed off to bed early to prepare for the next day's tennis - yeah right....

No, as all good tennis pros will tell you, the best preparation for a big tournament is to stay up the night before drinking. And so we duly obliged. The keg was going down a treat. The tap system James had brought up was giving a great pour, the only issue was the lack of appropriate glass ware - but what's wrong with a mug of beer anyway? Some tried to get in some sneaky practice on the swing-ball, while others tried to help Jimmy see how many shapes we could put his bed into. The decision to cook up some bacon sarnies are 1am in the morning was also an inspired decision, and must surely help to explain the quality of tennis the next day. Foggy memories tell us we finally drifted off to bed at around 3am, with Taupombledon off to a great start.

When Saturday morning dawned, the skies were brilliantly clear. Much unlike our heads, which were under some heavy clouds. James tried to clear his with an early 8am pint of Bookbinder. And while you have to admire his devotion to the cause, hindsight told us it didn't help him with the following day's proceedings - on and off the court. After an athletes breakfast - bacon and eggs - everybody headed back to their quarters to get changed to head over to the courts.

Everybody looked slick in their whites (or near whites), the Federer-effect unmistakable, with the trouser look very popular - JT having even donned the blazer (reminiscent of his tweed wearing days). Once the keg was set up and the can of balls cracked open, it wasn't long before TournieMaster Tom had us out on the court playing. And it was tough going out there. Rallies were long and the sun was hot, and this required frequent draughts of beer and punch by boys and girls alike. Both pools were competitive and favourites were steadily trying to edge their way to the finals. Of course, JT won the award for being the most animated - though disappointingly didn't throw his racket....this time.

When the final did come around, it ended up pitting previous winners - Sam & Anna vs Mike & Iris. And even at the end of the day nothing could part these two couples, with the final needing to go to a tie-breaker after it was 2-2 after service games. What followed was a seesaw of fortunes and some great tennis from the girls. But eventually Mike & Iris triumphed and became the first 2-times winners of the much coveted giant tennis ball-cum-trophy.

With the tennis over for another year, the boys also got to engage in that traditional - but forehead numbing - game of tennis-football-header with the trophy. But with the lights starting to be turned down on a beautiful Taupo day, we all headed back to carry on the celebrations. The keg - which I wondered whether we would get through - failed early on the evening and with the evening coming to an end around 3am again, we were left to drinking some pretty watered down punch. And while it is questionable whether tennis was the winner on the day, our livers were most definitely the losers. Between the 18 of us, its calculated we got through a Grand Slam winning:
+ keg of Bookbinder
+ additional 6-dozen beer
+ 25 bottles of wine
+ 2 bottles of Pimms
+ 1 bottle of vodka

But despite some understandable grogginess on that Sunday morning, consensus was that the Taupombledon format was a resounding success. Thoughts were already turning to the next year, where the tournament will do doubt get even bigger with some notable pairings missing this year. After a cleansing walk around Huka Falls, the North/South divide split once again, with those heading south making an unfortunate stop at a dodgy Taihape cafe. Dodgy tummies aside, I'm sure everyone had a great weekend.

More pics from the weekend are here.

Rotorua-to-Taupo Anna Flyer

After plenty of badgering from me, and a lot of training from Anna, the big day finally arrived when Anna (and I) was competing in the 100K Flyer from Rotorua to Taupo. She has been putting in lots of training, and despite plenty of nerves and stress on her part, I knew she was ready.

We were staying down in Taupo, so that meant we had to drive up for the 10am race start in Rotorua. Despite some worrying forecasts earlier in the week, the day had dawned near perfect conditions - high cloud and hardly a breath of wind. We headed towards the rear of the 2000+ riders and slowly moved up through the waves of starters. We were finally off and Anna started off nice and strong. However, the cruel twist to the 100K Flyer is that it begins with a long steady climb out of Rotorua for the first 10km or so. Anna was finding this pretty tough (she always finds the first part of her rides tough, and the long delay between breakfast and actually starting the race probably didn't help either), but I knew once we had gotten through this climb it would be relatively easy. And the reward was a good long descent down the other side of the hill, and passing lots of riders that had gone past us up the hill.

The next 70km of the ride is then relatively flat, covering the rolling countryside of the Waikato. Anna really hit her straps and we were often averaging 30kph and having small groups drafting behind us. This was a very pleasant part of the ride and Anna was surprised about how quickly it went by. The only disturbing part was the amount of carnage on the road - I've never ridden past so many people being attended to on the side of the road or had so many Ambulances whiz by. It must have been at least four times that we rode past a rider or riders with strapping on cuts or arms in slings.

Fortunately there were no problem around us and it was pretty soon that Anna just had the last climb up into Taupo before the finish. She was pretty tired by now - which I would now say was probably partly because of dehydration, as I found out at the end she still had plenty of water left - but I reminded her that it was just this last climb. It isn't that hard of a climb, but after 90km it seems that it is (I should know, I had to do it twice in the Ironman), and me racing up it a couple of times to take photos probably didn't help. After a few 'false summits' and many "how much further Papa Smurf", we finally turned down into the last couple of (downhill) kms to the finish.

Speeding down the hill - picking up a few places, though I think more importantly to Anna, getting to the finish line so she could get off that bike seat - we finally reached the finish line in the time 3.46:17. That's an average speed of 26.5kph, which is much faster than Anna's usual average speed on her long training rides. So thoughts of being tired were quickly dispelled by feelings of achievement, and I was very proud of little Anna.

Rangitoto Swim

With hopefully some Ironman fitness left in me, I decided to enter in the Rangitoto to St Helliers 4.6km swim, which was on the Sunday after getting back from our week up north. I'd only been for a couple of swims since the Ironman, but I've wanted to do this swim and I thought now would probably be as good as any time.

The swim starts on Rangitoto Island, so it starts with a ferry ride across in the morning. I was surprised to see a very large contingent of swimmers at the ferry terminal when I was dropped off, I don't think so many speedos have been seen walking around the Viaduct before. It was nearly 500 swimmers in all. This, in fact, was going to be my first trip out to Rangitoto - Anna and I have just never managed to organised to get ourselves there yet. Not that I spent much time on the island. Time to lube up, get into the wetsuit (though some do it without - crazy) and jump into the water. After some mixed weather forecasts during the week, the day turned out sunny but with a bit of wind and swell (but more on that later).

The gun went off and the start was the usual mess - some bugger even kicked more goggles off! But I eventually found myself some room and settled into the swim. Though for all the wanting to get away from the pack - once you do there are always those thoughts about "why is no one around me". The only company I did seem to have was some crazy lady who seemed to be intent on swimming 6km from the way she was criss-crossing in front of me.

The first half of the swim was pretty good, except for the fact it felt like I was going no where. When you are sighting your destination from 4 kilometres away, it takes a while for it to look like it is getting any closer. The second half of the swim was much tougher. I was definitely starting to tire and my stroke with my left arm was only just getting out of the water. But worst of all, the swell really started to pick up, so much so that sighting became worthless as every time I looked up all I good see was waves. Apart from making it really hard to keep your rhythm, the swell had an even worse affect, it started to make me feel sea sick! This was most uncomfortable (I don't even get sea sick on a boat), and now really how you want to be feeling when you still have 1-2km of swimming ahead of you. I had to stop a few times to right the stomach and make sure I wasn't swimming out into the Pacific!

I soldiered on, but more than a few times I wondered what the hell I was doing out there. It was much relief to finally get within St Helliers Bay, with the finish now not too far away, but also with the seas much calmer. I finally managed to make my way up on the beach after 1:23.16 of swimming, in 97th place. Rich, you'd be happy to know one thing crossed my mind as I ran up that beach - "nutter"!

North by Northwest

That was the direction we headed on the morning of Easter Saturday with Rae & Tom and Duncan & Leanne to spend the week up in the Bay of Islands. We had a place in the sleepy town of Russell - New Zealand's first capital, albeit for only a year. And what a brilliant relaxing week it was.

Duncan and Leanne were only up for the weekend, but with it being Easter weekend, sleepy Russell was pretty much in a coma. Nevertheless, we made our own fun, Duncan's birthday was cause for some champagne, and the boys trumped the girls in every game we played.

On the Easter Monday we thought we would head over for lunch at Kerikeri and a look around. Now, you would think that if you owned a cafe, a long weekend Monday would be a pretty good day to be open. You would think.... But no, Kerikeri was as dead as the Dodo, and we ended up doing four laps of the place before we found somewhere for lunch - only to be charged an additional 15% surcharge (thank you General Secretary Clark and her comrades). In fact, we were a bit miffed about all the fuss that is made of Kerikeri, there didn't seem much to it to us.

On the Wednesday, we decided to make the journey up to the tip on the country - Cape Reinga. Note for anyone else thinking of making the trip - it is a bloody long way! With a short stop in Kaitaia (you wouldn't want it to be a long one), it took us nearly four hours to drive all the way up. We kept ourselves amused, however, but trying to guess the name of Craig & Suz's new baby boy - I still can't believe it wasn't Larry!

And though you would think there be good scenery along the way - there isn't. Even though you travel up a thin strip of land, the road someway bisects it perfectly so that you have little glimpse of sea until you make it to the Cape. All you do see is farmland, upon farmland, upon farmland. And noticeably very green farmland - no drought up here.

But the long journey was well worth it - Cape Reinga is a pretty special place. The coastline is a dramatic place, not least the meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. To opposing swells meet dramatically just off the cape, looking somewhat akin to a river rapid. Cape Reinga also plays an important part in Maori mythology - where the dead are meant to leap off on their way to the afterlife. It certainly could have engaged in some good marketing on the day we were there, as octogenarians were being dropped off by the bus load.

The return journey in the afternoon was much more enjoyable. First we stopped off down 90 Mile Beach for a picnic lunch. Heading back down along the eastern coastline, we drove up to the very picturesque Matai Bay for a swim in its horseshoe-shaped bay. This was followed up by stopping at the fabled fish and chips at Mangonui (including some sneaky oysters) - which were superb. When we finally got back to Russell, it was nearly a 12-hour round trip, a long day, but a good one.

That ended up being enough for us, as we decided to spend the last two days just hanging around Russell. There was a good swell out, and Tom and I made the most of it. Our days had settled into a comfortable rhythm of....sleep in, brunch and beer, a read of newspaper, a body surf, a couple of pints at the local pub (which were only £3.50 - $3.50!!), then dinner and a few more drinks.

It was with some reluctance that we packed up on Saturday morning, it was so relaxing just hanging out in Russell - where the fish and chip shop and the pizzeria are closed by 7pm every night. It is certainly the pick of the towns around the Bay of Islands, cut off from the mainland by a 10 minute ferry ride, it's not as tacky as Pahia or dull as Kerikeri. Even though we were only away for a week, it felt like it had been a month. You know you've had a good holiday when you are planning how to return the very next weekend.

You can see some holiday pics here.

1st Class Debut: SJ Gellatly

Earlier in the week Mike gave me a heads up that his younger bro, Steve, would be making his first class debut for Wellington against Auckland at Eden Park. Steve had already made his one-day debut for Wellington back in January, but first class cricket (four day cricket here in NZ) is a much greater achievement, if not recognised by most of the cricket heathens in New Zealand.

And that was certainly the same as I turned up at the pleasant Eden Park #2 ground to find that we were doubling the number of spectators - pretty dire when you consider this is the highest level of provincial cricket in NZ and also involved an international test cricketer (James Anderson, who Auckland had controversially acquired from the touring English team to play in the game).

It was the morning of Day 3 in the game and Wellington were around 200-2 after dismissing Auckland for 297 in the first innings. Steve was next in and chatting to him on the balcony showed him to be more than just a little bit nervous. So we left him to his nervous fidgeting and stretches and retired to the stands and waiting for him to make it out on to the middle. Of course, the batsman out there weren't playing ball and carried on from the day before to post a 250-run partnership and keep poor Steve waiting for well over a day for his chance out in the middle.

But it finally came, when some guy "Gal-lat-ly" was announced to the crease. Neverthess we surrounded the ground with the cacophony of our applause (well, my old man and I) as he made his way out there. It wasn't the best of starts, surviving a tough chance he gave to the wicket keeper when getting an edge to good ball from the spinner. But after that he looked nothing but solid, even dispatching James Anderson for a boundary or 2. His biggest threats was the new partner who joined him, also making his debut and doing his best to run Steve out. "Crook" was his name, and his calling was pretty crook, and ironically he eventually did run himself out.

Unfortunately, with Steve progressing nicely on 18 not out, I had to leave for the day to drop the old man at the airport. Murphy's Law prevailed of course, as it must have been about then that Steve lifted it a gear, and when Wellington declared their innings later that afternoon he was still not out on 67. A pretty awesome effort on your debut.

Expecting to be able to catch him later the next day, before I could even get down to Eden Park I found that Auckland had collapsed in their second innings and Wellington won by an innings and 95 runs. But Steve has been selected again and will playing against Otago down in Dunedin from Friday. So hopefully he goes as well again.

Good stuff Steve, obviously facing a young Possenniskie from his full length (well, as much as the back fence would allow) in the back yard paid off.

Ponsonby Cafe Files: Jafa

OK, so the Ponsonby Cafe Files didn't get off to a great start - well, it depends which way you look at it - with three visits to the superb Richmond Road Cafe in a row. However, on Saturday morning we drag ourselves somewhere else - Jafa Cafe. For Stu, and others persnickety about suburbs, Jafa isn't strictly in Ponsonby and is more West Lynn. However, it's still a short distance from our place and attracts the "Ponsonby-set".

Not only is the fare of Jafa Cafe of some repute, it is also infamous for being involved in a dispute over the 'Jafa' name, which will see them have to change it. So it was about time we went to see what all the fuss was about and trundle of there on Saturday morning with the old man and Jimmy in tow. First stop, the coffee. As at Richmond Rd Cafe, Allpress are the beans on brew, and once again is very good - a nice reward for an Ironman who tried to stay away from the coffee in the last throws of training. The menu wasn't the most varied, but Anna was able to indulge herself (and bore me) with her usual choice of Eggs Benedict, while I threw together some assortments from the grill, with Black Pudding again a feature. The organic eggs were quite delicious, and this Black Pudding was again nice and spicy and included chopped bacon for something different.

Overall, Jafa Cafe was pretty good, the only negative mark that the service was a little slow (though maybe we were all just very hungry). If Anna can avoid the clutches of Richmond Rd Cafe next weekend, hopefully we will have another new entry.

IronSam 2008

Pictures are up here.
And if you want to see some pictures of me caught unawares and not looking so sprightly, put my bib #408 in here to see the official photos.
You can also watch me finish here (click the "watch me finish" link and I am about a minute in).
If you have sky, TV coverage is going to be on these dates. And if you have a video recorder (as antiquated a concept as this is), I would love a copy.

Most of you know I did it now, and that I didn't manage to break 12 hours, I broke 11 hours instead!! I still find it hard to believe and it has put a surreal spin on the whole thing for me.

Friday night was full of nerves, but not about what would be required the next day, but more about the impending weather that was due to arrive. It was hard to believe at the time, as it was a beautiful night with a clear star-filled sky. The IronSam Support Crew also started to trickle in, first the family, then Stu and Steve from their climb up to the Ruapahu crater, and Tom and Rae a short time later. And after another meal of very simple pasta for me, I got to watch them munch down on what looked like tasty pizza and beer as I sipped from a water bottle. Some distraction was provided by wondering when Brad & Sharon would arrive. Earlier in the evening they informed us that they had taken the long way to Taupo - through Wanganui...they missed the right turn at Bulls - amateur mistake! They finally arrived at around 10pm and we sat up a little while longer before they all decided they were tired and went to bed - hey guys, I'm the one doing Ironman here! Finally went to bed at 11pm and in fact had a pretty good night's sleep...for me.

The alarm went off at 4.55am and quickly got up to have a peak outside. Much to my relief, there was no sign of either wind or rain. With heightened spirits, I had my quick breakfast of toast and headed down to the T1 at around 6am. I knew most other triathletes would have probably got there at least half-an-hour earlier than me - and it was pretty busy when I arrived - but I still remember the Tauranga Half Ironman in 2004 where I got there so early that I was practically the only one there and just had too much time on my hands. First stop was to get myself numbered (they write it on your arm and calf) and then pump up my tyres (always wise to deflate them the night before, as sometimes they pop if it is warm - which it was). Fortunately I also had Anna there to remind of the things I was forgetting in the heat of the moment. I also hadn't quite gotten rid of all of last night's dinner, so had to line up at the ever popular portaloos. Was a bit of a queue and it did take a while, but I believe this ended up being a good thing as I had little time to think about what was ahead of me.

With the wetsuit on, I eventually wandered down to the swim start and got into the water with about 10 minutes until the start. Plenty of time for a quick warm up and every triathlete's friend, the pre-race pee (that water around the start line can't be too good). With nearly 1200 people sitting in the water, it is a weird feeling waiting for the starting gun, especially with the effect of the dawn sky rising.

The gun goes off and you could just hear the crowd start cheering before you get into your work. The start was the usual ruck and maul, though I seemed to be getting off OK. I had positioned myself to the right-hand side, which was surprisingly quite roomy. Surprisingly, because the swim course is a dog-leg right, which was perfect for me with my swimming 'fade'. In fact, I hugged the buoys along the whole course and I don't think I would have swam one meter more than I had to. The water was nice and smooth and I found myself in lots of clean water, with just a few brushes with fellow competitors. In what seemed strange to me, there were lots of people around me kicking quite strongly from the start. A bit of a mystery to me, why kick all through the swim when you will want your legs for next 12-or-so hours of the day.

With the water so clear there were plenty of things to keep yourself amused with. I gave the thumbs up to some scuba-guy below us at the start and spotted plenty of golf balls and what looked like an old engine. At the turn around I was feeling good and really calm. Though this was disturbed somewhat when someone decided to perform a bit of kung fu to my head. It was quite a blow and for a second I was a little dazed. My biggest fear though was that the seal on my goggles had been broken, but thankfully it appeared not. I got back in my groove again for the homeward leg, and had the feeling I was going pretty well. With what must have been 500 metres to go, and still feeling really good, I actually decided to pick the pace up and kicked my way to the finish (to get blood flowing back to the legs for the bike). With one last wave to weird scuba-guy, I headed into the shore for the next stage.

Pulling myself out of the water I got quite the shock. I knew I had swum quite well - a really felt like I was gliding through the water - but I wasn't expecting to see 1:01 on the clock! And I wasn't the only one shocked, as I had to yell out to Anna that I was there - as she wasn't expecting me then either. Then came the tough 400m run to T1. Not only is that very long, but it also takes you up a set of stairs - you would think that the standard distances of an Ironman would be enough!

After the nearly 4 minutes it took to get to T1, someone handed me my transition bag and I headed in to get changed. Surrounded by 'helpers', it appeared that none were free to help me. So I had to try to get my wetsuit off myself. Struggling for a couple of minutes to do this, I ruefully looked at the guy across from me as a helper ripped his off in about 2 seconds. As others around me took off out of the transition tent as soon as their wetsuit was off (they had tri-suits on underneath), I took my time changing into my fresh bike pants, and with the weather forecast in mind, putting on my waterproof overshoes (and what a good decision that was). And with so much time on my hands already, I decided the make a comfort stop at the portaloos before jumping on the bike. In all, I took 12 minutes in transition, which is a pretty long time when the average is less than 8 minutes.

On to the bike and quickly down on the aero bars, I was surprised by how many people were took a while to get going and I passed in the first couple of kilometres. You quickly hit the hill out of Taupo on the ride, but I felt comfortable spinning up it. That was until my chain came off. It didn't take me long to put it back on, but it did leave me worried that it could be a problem over the rest of the ride - a worry that didn't eventuate.

The ride out to Reporoa heads north, and this was right into the strong wind that was picking up. Fortunately, the ride out to Reporoa is also slightly downhill, so this slightly countered the battle into the win. In this first leg of the ride, there were lots of riders bunched together as different riding abilities were sorted out. This made for a lot of nervous moments as the draft-busters rode up and down the course on their motorcycles. You are not meant to be within 5 metres of another rider, unless you are passing, and then you have 15 seconds to complete your pass. I had no interest in drafting, I wanted to do this Ironman on my own steam, but I was concerned that a passing manoeuvre would be mis-construed as drafting - whereby you get a 4 minute stand-down penalty, but more worryingly, get disqualified if pulled over twice. I needn't have anything to fear, but I remember tensing up every time I heard a motorcycle come up from behind.

Finally the bikes started to strew themselves along the course and the bike settled into an individual battle. There was some relief when close to the first turnaround I heard a "go Sammy" as I past a group of spectators on a side road - returning I confirmed it was Al from work and it was great to get some support at the far end of the course. Returning from Reporoa was great with that strong wind behind me now. I was working to my nutrition plan, was staying down in my aero bars and I felt good. I was even overtaking a few fellow competitors on their flash machines - I definitely felt like the poor kid in class with my old Giant, I was one of the few riders without a tri-specific bike and without disc-wheels.

Unfortunately, the good times were about to come to an end. Climbing back up the hill before returning into Taupo, the rain finally arrived. 10 minutes earlier I was really starting to sweat in the heat, but now I was soaked through by the heavy rain. Before leaving Taupo for the last return leg I picked up my Special Needs bag, filled with a couple of vegemite sandwiches I was really looking forward to - that savoury is delicious amongst all the sweetness. But that was the only fond memory of that second leg out to Reporoa.

With that rain and the wind getting stronger, it was a long slog out to the turnaround. For little while I even felt cold, and the quads were starting to get pretty sore. I also wasn't helped by my bike computer giving up the ghost once again, so from the 107km mark I no longer knew how fast I was going (I was averaging 31.5kph up to then), or more importantly for me, what my cadence was. This made it difficult to pace myself, which was pretty important on this second leg. It was quite easy to find yourself drifting off, only realising it when someone passed you. This led to some bizarre overtaking-retaking manoeuvres. Someone you had passed 30km previously would suddenly rip past you, or vice versa. My focus was to just get out to Reporoa again so that I could get that wind behind me again - even though there would still be around 45km left to ride, it felt like it would be the end of it.

It was a pretty lonely return to Taupo, coming up on few riders and heading back into the rain from which we had a short relief from up around Reporoa. Arriving at the last climb, I decided to take it a bit easier to save the legs for the run. I could see that I was going to do a pretty good time for the bike and I still had a 42km run in front of me.

Arriving into Taupo and T2, I was as much as 45 minutes ahead of where I thought I would be, and jumping off the bike I was surprised how solid my legs felt. T2 went quite smoothly, this time a helper was there to help me get out of my bike gears and into my running stuff. I took just a little over 4 minutes to get through transition, which isn't much more than the average, though the Pros rip through it in about 1 minute.

Heading out of T2, Brad yelled out to me and waved the small bottles of Jagermeister he had for me at the finish - but for now I had to make do with more energy drink. The run started with a cruel bridge over the road, which with the rain meant you had to be quite careful with when going down. After the relative solitary of the bike course, it was a real buzz to head out on the run with so many spectators lining the run course along the Taupo lakefront. And even though the run is the definitely the hardest leg of the Ironman, it is also the most memorable with all the crowds and cheers.

It was probably this buzz that led me to start very quickly on the run. Before I knew it, I had ran the first 5kms in 25 minutes, a pace I knew I couldn't keep up so I started to pull things back again. But I also began to realise that if I could keep up a decent pace, not only would I break that 12 hour barrier, that going under 11 hours would be very possible. This helped to keep me well occupied on the run, as every kilometre marker I recalculate my splits and what I had to do to go under that 11 hours.

The only thing that was really giving me concern was the state of my feet. Despite my overshoes keeping most of the rain off during the ride, my feet didn't take long to get wet in the run and it felt like the bottom of my foot was being severely rubbed. It wasn't until after the race and I took my shoes off that I found that the sole of my shoe and twisted to the side and it was that which was causing the discomfort! I also started to feel a bit of chaff coming on and realised that I had completely forgotten to apply some vaseline at T2. I asked for some running past one of the aid stations, but the old biddies with the vaseline were half asleep. I didn't want to stop to wait, so I just let it go. The chaffing seemed to subside a little after that, so I didn't bother with it again.

Taking my second and last pit stop of the day around the 10km mark, I turned around for the first time to head back into Taupo. I decided at this point to start on the flat coke. I had planned to only go for it on the second half of the marathon, but I could feel myself flagging a little and didn't want to leave it too late. It certainly turned out to be a good call, as heading back into Taupo was also heading back into that wind, and also climbing the nasty hill around the airport.

Heading back into Taupo also meant heading back into all the supporters. And it seems timely to mention my own group of supporters - Anna, Mum, Dad & my sisters, Brad & Sharon, Rae & Tom, and Stu & Steve who had returned from climbing Ngauruhoe that morning. I'm not going to be a complete sop and say I couldn't have done it without them. However, with all seriousness I don't think I would have gone under 11 hours without all their cheers and encouragement. They did a great job of going up and down the course to meet me at different places and often gave me a spur when I needed it. Though seeing them sitting back with wine or beers on the first leg was a bit rough!!

My only real tough point on the marathon came at about kilometre 27. I started to feel a bit odd and flushed. I think it might have just been a bit of a sugar and caffeine rush from the flat coke, as I seemed to come right again after a while. And by then I just had to make the turnaround for the last time and head back into the wind and the rain for the final 10km to the finish line. I kept focusing on my kilometre splits and what I needed to do to go under 11 hours. I was starting to feel pretty weary, but getting all the cheers kept me going through to the end. Getting closer, I even enjoyed a bit of joking banter with the crowd and made a point of thanking the volunteers that had stood out in the rain all day. I also noticed many of the athletes still heading out on their first lap of the run and thought about how late they would be going into the night.

Finally, reaching the finishing chute, I already knew I had a sub-11 hour time in the bag, so I just wanted to enjoy the finish. Some guy in my own age group sprinted past me, but I let him go as I wanted to cross the finish line by myself. I don't remember it at the time, but in the finishing video you can hear Mike Reilly ('the voice of Ironman') calling out "Sam...you are an Ironman".

Crossing the line, the support people are quickly there with a finishers towel to wrap around you, asking you if you feel alright. I felt OK, but still the old lady walked me over to get my finishers medal and into the marquee. Inside I grabbed myself a cup of chicken soup and sat down to wait for a massage. Now that I had stopped the legs were pretty shaky and the joints were tired from all the effort of the day. After the massage I had a quick bite to eat before heading out to my support crew who had been waiting for me outside.

We then headed back for a few celebratory drinks (including that Jagermeister) and a BBQ - all from the comfort of a chair for me. As it got darker outside and the wind stronger, it was difficult not to think that there were still people out there running - the last finisher was at 12.45am (unfortunately for them, outside the official cut-off at midnight).

For the record, my final times were:

Total = 10:54.27 (297th - of 1200; age group 62nd - of 180)
Swim = 1:01.37 (313rd; 62nd)
T1 = 11.21
Bike = 5:46.03 (341st; 73rd)
T2 = 4.13
Run = 3:51.12 (249th; 50th)

So bizarrely, my bike ended up being my comparatively weakest leg, and the run my strongest. When I probably would have said that it would have been the other way around before the race. Would never have thought I could run a sub-4 hour marathon at the end of an Ironman, so that was a real surprise. Despite the conditions being pretty tough, I think they probably also helped a little on the run, keepng you cool and reducing the importance of hydration.

My whole performance has put a bit of a surreal spin around it all. Going into it, it was meant to be all about the achievement. But as I just blew out all my expectations, that whole sense of achievement is a bit muddled. I'm still a bit stunned about it all. The question I get asked now is whether I will do it all again. We will just have to wait and see on that one. It was such a good event, and running the marathon with all that support such an amazing experience, I would love to feel that again. But my expectations would be completely different and there would be a whole new pressure on the day and in training. Whether I compete again or not, I will definitely be back again to enjoy the atmosphere of the day, even if it is just from the sidelines.

And how has the body recovered? It was certainly beaten up on the day. The muscles and joints were very sore and the legs were very stiff for the next few days. It even required a bit of walking backwards when I encountered a downhill or some stairs. The chaffing was very bad, all over the place - nipples, hips, and the unmentionables. But I don't think I was alone watching other competitors entering the water at the De Brett hot pools the next day. And my poor toes, one of them has gone all purple and resembles something that comes out door of an abattoir.

But it was all most definitely worth it.

Ironman Eve

It's the day before and I have just checked in my bike and my transition bags. Nervous times, as if you get this wrong, I might have to head out on the run in my cycling shoes or half naked. But after triple checking everything, I should be right.

It is a beautiful day down here today. Unfortunately, it is not predicted to hold out. At the briefing this morning they told us that some drizzle is expected tomorrow morning, turning to rain in the afternoon, and possibly heavy in the evening. Local farmers are over the moon, visiting triathletes not so much. Why oh why couldn't it be today?!?

Nevertheless, the show must go on. Actually, my biggest concern is that ankle has flared up a little in the last 24 hours. Not too bad, but just feels a bit tender and swollen. I am sure it will be OK, but you can't help dwell on these things as you just wait around.

This morning I went for an easy 15min swim out on the lake. I'm looking forward to the swim now, after some trepidation with my lack of sea swims lately. But the lakes is beautifully clear, which will make a difference, and not having to put up with 'sea water mouth' is so much better. After that went on a 30min bike and a 15min run just to remind the body what it will be doing tomorrow. Nothing left to do now but have an early dinner and hopefully get some sleep tonight.

It's an early start tomorrow, with the alarm set for 4.45am. Will try to get down to the transition area around 5.30am, giving myself plenty of time to get ready and for any "oh shit, I left such-and-such behind"! And then it will be time to get in the water for a short warm up swim before lining up and waiting for the gun....

Thanks for all the messages, I'll try to do my best for you all tomorrow. I look forward to updating you all next week on my IronSam experience.

Week minus 0: The Final Countdown

Not much can be done now, just make sure I have everything packed tonight, and hope that the weather will be OK. But it doesn't look too good on that front at the moment! The forecast is:


Rain developing, heavy falls possible. Northerlies strengthening.

On the plus side, if it is northerlies it shouldn't be cold and if they are strengthening during the day that could help on the return legs of the bike.

This week I went for a couple of short swims (1km) at the start of the week and a nice dip in the hot tub afterwards. On Tuesday I took the bike in for a pre-race tune-up, though when I went to pick it up after work they didn't have it ready, someone mistakenly had it in for a Wednesday pick up - which meant I had to run home. And on that run home I was looking to cross the road and missed a hose laid across the footpath. I came right down on that hose and rolled my ankle. It was very painful at first and you can just imagine the thoughts going through my head. I limped across the road and tenderly tried to walk it off. And can certainly thank my resilient body, as I was running again in very short order. Phew!!

Went for an easy 1hr spin on the bike tonight before packing the car (there's a lot of stuff!) - no, not the mini, I have got a work car - and all that is left to do is drive down tomorrow morning and get prepared for Saturday. Am I nervous? At the moment, I don't think so - and that's got me a little nervous! Plenty of "what ifs" are running through my head though. The weather of course, but also things like "what if my nutrition plan goes wrong", "what if I get a puncture", "what if I go of course on the swim and find myself at Turangi" - really helpful stuff! And I keep on imaging (well, I hope I do) lots of little niggles in my joints and muscles. Of course, there isn't much I can do about any of that stuff, I just have to trust my training.

Thanks for all your well-wishes, and look forward to writing up the race report when I get back next week. Though, a warning for you all, the photos might be ugly!

Week minus 1: Tapering

The tapering finally arrived. It is quite a weird feeling. After much higher training hours over previous weeks, despite knowing that the tapering is good for me, it is hard not to feel like I'm being lazy. The week consisted of a couple of 2km swims, a 45km ride, a short interval run and an easy 90min run (where it was quite hard to keep a slow pace - the running has definitely come along nicely). And at the end of the week there was a little treat, a 45min sports massage.

For the final weekend, I had planned a combo session on Saturday morning, including a 60min sea swim and then just a 2hr ride on the Sunday. But the weather gods were definitely against me. Saturday was an absolutely right off as a tropical depression battered the top of the North Island. While thankful that this weather didn't hit next weekend (or one of the big training weekends), it has also crept in bad 'what if' thoughts about the weather for the big day. This is certainly not the sort of weather map you want to be looking at a week before the Ironman!

So on Saturday morning, for the first time I pulled out the indoor trainer for the bike and did 45kms in the garage. It was only for 75min (as opposed to 2hrs), but it is pretty tough on the indoor training as you are constantly pedaling without the momentum you get from a normal ride. Plus, without any wind, it gets pretty hot and sweaty. I then had a lazy Saturday and just watched the last ODI between the Black Caps and England on the TV (thumbs up for free-to-air Prime - who needs Sky).

Sunday I was hopeful for some improvement in the weather so that I could get out for my sea swim. Waking up in the morning, it was certainly calmer and wasn't raining, but driving out along the eastern bays, it still looked pretty choppy out there. And though the water was less than appealing, I didn't want to head into the pool and decided to brave it. It started off OK - despite having to dodge a fair bit of seaweed - but the longer I was out there, the bigger the swell got and I was rolling around quite a bit amongst the white caps. Move than once I thought Rich was right - "nutter"! I managed 50 minutes in the end, but after all that I wasn't going to be jumping on the bike - especially with the road looking really greasy, it just wasn't worth the risk of crashing coming around a tight corner. So it was back to the garage for another sweaty 60min ride on the indoor trainer.

In the end, this forced lay-off will probably do me even more good, so I am not too worried about it all. This week's 'training' is all very light, just gentle reminders to the body of what it will be doing on Saturday. A couple of 1km swims, a short run, a short ride, a tune-up for the bike and a much needed haircut. Nutritionally, there is a focus on protein at the start of the week to help muscle repair and then on carbohydrates later in the week for some carbo loading. As well as heaps of water and heavily salting my meals to help hydration.

We drive down to Taupo on Thursday morning to register. Friday morning there is a compulsory briefing and hopefully some information about how the transitions and support stations will work. And then I will go for a 500m swim in the lake (and work out what the 'sighters' for the buoys are), a 30min bike and a 10min jog. All that will be left to do then is to have an early dinner (so that nature can take its course before the race the next morning) and a quiet night. Hopefully I'll sleep OK, though the night before isn't as important as getting sleep the two nights or so before that. And I will always be able to console myself if I sleep poorly by looking at all other competitors on the start line who would have also had a sleepless night.

Start time is 7am, so it will be an early start for me, probably before 5am to have some breakfast and getting down to the start line so I have plenty of time to get myself organised - though there isn't much to do as the bike and everything for the transitions has to be dropped off the night before. I have race number 408, and you can follow how I am going on race day at http://www.ironmanlive.com/. So, the big question is - what are my expectations?

At the moment, my stretch goal is to go under 12 hours. I've got a history of achieving my stretch goals, but considering my preparation my pick is that I probably wont be able to do it this time, but we will see.

• For the swim, I am thinking my goal time would be 1hr10mins, though I am thinking I am more likely to be around 1hr15min - depending of course I much distance I add to the 3.8km with my wayward swimming.
• I certainly wont be rushing through T1, especially as some machiavellian organiser has put in a 400m run from the lake to the transition tents. I'll be making sure I dry myself well so that I don't get too cold at the start of the ride (something I am quite worried about) and getting comfortable in my bike gears. There are helpers in the transition tents for all this - they even put sun cream on for you. So I'll be happy to take 10 minutes or so in there.
• My goal time for the bike is 6hrs, so an average speed of 30kph. This will depend on what the climbs are like and how strong any wind is. But I also have to be careful that I don't push too hard that it hurts me later. So I would be happy if the bike time extends out to 6hr15min, but in the right conditions I do think a sub-6hr ride is possible for me.
• T2 will be pretty slow for me as well, as I'll be having a full change of clothing, again making sure I am comfortable before I head out. So this might take me anywhere between 5-10 minutes.
• Then comes the run, and this is the big unknown. My running feels good, so in the back of my mind I think there is a potential to run a sub-4hr marathon. However, this could just as easily by 5hrs+. If I want to make my sub-12hrs goal, then I will probably have to do it in around 4hr15min, so we will just have to see. I will try to focus on keeping on running and enjoying it - if that is possible.

Whatever that final time, I will be happy that I have completed it and I'll be looking forward to having a few beers with everyone who is come to Taupo to support me - all from the comfort of a chair!

I'll post another update on Wednesday before heading down, and if I can piggy-back off someones wireless I'll let you know how I'm feeling the night before. Until then, my fingers will be well and truly crossed following the weather forecasts during the week.

P.S. Just got back from an easy 45min evening run under a calm blue sky and alongside a harbour as flat as a pancake - grrrrrrrrrr!

Week minus 2: Faster

The body has been showing the effects of wear and tear this week from all the training. I started the week feeling very average indeed, with a lot of fatigue and headaches later in the day. I had a brief coldsore at the base of my nose, I've got ulcers in my tongue, and my middle toes have developed funny little blisters on the end of them. So the week didn't start well as I took an unscheduled day off on Monday and dropped my short run training session. However, things got better through the week.

Coming down from the peak distances of the previous couple of weeks, I decided that the training sessions would be at a higher intensity to really test where my fitness is at. On Wednesday night I charged out on my short ride and maintained an average speed of 31kph over the 37km ride (which includes a couple of climbs). And on Thursday night, I also spat out a 1hr39min Half Marathon, and did so quite comfortably with plenty of running left in the legs at the end.

Saturday was a funny day weather wise. The afternoon was predictions of thunder storms and hail, which wasn't so pleasing as I was being forced to train later in the day because of the timing of the tides - either that or go for a sea swim at 4am! In fact, I nearly threw in the sea swim altogether. Parking up at Kohimarama Bay (my usual spot), the sea was looking particularly angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli. But I decided I had to toughen up and just get out there. And it was pretty choppy and I got thrown about a bit, but I was pretty happy I still managed 40 minutes out there. I then followed this up with a 1hr30min bike and then a 75min run, all of which was without the presense of any that forecast weather.

Sunday was my last big ride, 5 hours out and around my normal Clevedon/Maraetai loop. It didn't start all that well, with a puncture about an hour in. On reflection, it was probably good to have a practice of changing a tube (though fingers crossed that I won't be needing it come March 1st), though the resulting dirty fingers don't make feeding myself an appetising proposition for the rest of the ride. Apart from that it was a really good ride, and I managed an average speed of 29kph over the 145km - not bad for riding by yourself and with a few climbs. In fact, I was looking at maintaining 30kph until the Whitford hills got the better of me. And holding the aero position is a lot more comfortable than it was a few weeks ago. Though I was reminded what a bunch of idiots this country is full of, when someone threw a bottle (plastic) at me when they drove past - they missed, which was just as well as I was travelling at 45kph at the time and I wouldn't have wanted to come off. Arriving home, I put on the running shoes and headed out for a 30 minute run - I wasn't setting any records, but it didn't feel absolutely horrible either. Actually, it was when I stopped that I didn't feel so good - the legs were very wobbly. So that seems to be the learn for the big day - don't stop running!

So now the taper is here - yay! Been looking forward to this for a while. Still keep the same number of training sessions, but of a much reduced length - e.g. for long ride next weekend is only 2 hours. My body will certainly appreciate the recovery, here's hoping it will be in good knick in less than two weeks time.

PJ Harvey

On Wednesday night Anna and I went with Stu and Fritha to the PJ Harvey concert that was up here in Auckland. Now, PJ Harvey you say? Well, Stu & Fritha were coming up to go and I was did know her more grungy music from the 90s and I thought it would be something different to go to. And well pleased we did.

PJ Harvey is a very experimental artist and during the concert you couldn't help but to be struck by how talented she is - moving from a variety of different instruments and a variety of different genres. The songs on the piano from her latest album - White Chalk - were particularly enchanting.

Both of us were very happy we went to see her. It might not the music I will typically listen to on my iPod (though will be more now), but if I am going to pay to see someone live, I would prefer to see real musical genius rather than an under-performed over-produced sound I can get straight from an album.

The review from the NZ Herald

Week minus 3: Tiring

A very frustrating end to the week!

It all started very well. I extended my long swim to 4km this week and I felt good in all my shorter training sessions. Come Thursday morning, I decided that I would go for a 3hr30min long run. The run itself went well enough, though it was pretty hard and I was pretty knackered afterwards - just as well I didn't have anything planned for the next couple of days.

In fact Saturday would be my first morning that I didn't wake up to the alarm for quite some time - it is a bit depressing sometimes when you are getting up earlier in the weekend than you do during the week! But typically, despite there being no alarm, I didn't sleep much past 7am. On all of Saturday I felt pretty lethargic- and I now question the wisdom of that long Thursday run. Later in the afternoon, I even joined Anna on an 'easy' ride. I could hardly get my legs moving though and I could have just about gone to sleep on the bike.

So I was hoping that these two days of rest would put me in good stead for the ocean swim on Sunday morning. But I never got to test this out....

Getting up early Sunday morning and getting myself ready, to weather was looking a little dodgy. Driving down to the start at St Helliers, I was quickly told that it had been cancelled. And it was pretty understandable why. Some wild weather was about - light rain and some really strong winds. So out went my plans for my big training day - and by the looks of it, I wasn't the only one. There were a few hardy souls who we're still heading out into the water, but the idea of chugging back sea water for an hour wasn't doing much for me. So reluctantly, I had to go to Plan B - though it was very tempting to just go back to bed, there is nothing like having your training plans go awry - very frustrating!

So I headed down to the pool and did my 3.5km there - not the same as the test run the open water swim would have done for me, but I still wanted to do my pseudo 'Half Ironman' hit out. I timed my swim for one of the few times, and I am little surprised how slow my swimming still appears to be. I did the 3.5km in 1hr6min, which probably isn't too bad, but I definitely seem to be a slower swimmer than I was when I first left NZ. I'm not sure whether it is a technique problem or just my stroke rate? Not much I can do about it now, but in retrospect I could have focused a bit more on technique in my training.

Getting back home, the weather was still pretty wild and the prospect of getting on the bike wasn't very appealing. But I knew I had to, so I saddled up and headed out. The wind was pretty crazy, and head-on it was difficult to just keep the speedo above 20kph. It ended up taking 3hr20min to complete the 90km, which is a little slow, but with the wind the way it was, I can't reflect on that too much.

Typically, with what would have been perfect running conditions, no sooner had I headed out to pound the pavement did the weather calm down, the skies open up and it was hot and sunny. Nevertheless, I actually felt very good during the whole run and it was the most encouraging aspect of the whole day. I ended up completing the half marathon distance (21.1km) is 1hr50min, which I am very happy about. I ran at a pace I felt comfortable and easily could have kept going. I can't see myself running a sub-4hr marathon in the Ironman - but I'm feeling a lot better about what will be toughest part of the race. On the run I also trialed out eating potato crisps and pretzels, as these will be available at the aid stations and are suppose to be good for getting your salt levels up (to avoid dehydration). I certainly got some weird looks running along the road popping chippies in the mouth or with a pretzel stick hanging out my mouth like a cigar. But they seemed to go down OK, so that is another tick for the preparations.

What didn't go so well was the trying out of the all important night-before dinner. I have been wanting to try something else other than the usual pasta - as it can often make you feel a bit stuffed the night before. I found a recipe for a Rice Pilau with spinach, spring onions and herbs and thought it could be a good replacement. But it turns out that it didn't work at all. I was very bloated all day and was getting plenty of turbo blasts from the 'back engine'. So back to the drawing board on that one, and I might have to revert to the tried-and-true pasta dish.

So only one more week of full-on training before the two week taper - and man am I looking forward to that! I'm definitely suffering a little from training fatigue at the moment, and tiredness is my ever present companion. So if I can just get through this week - which won't be as tough as the previous two - I can then start looking forward to the big day.

The Ponsonby Cafe Files: Richmond Rd Cafe

With the prospect of "Pub Watch" reviews short in supply back in NZ, I'm starting a new series on the superb cafes around Ponsonby - all within walking distance of our place.
The first entry suitable goes to the Metro 2007 Best Cafe winner, Richmond Rd Cafe. From their October edition:

"Cafe is a study in contemporary urban chic, with sharply modernist décor, attentive service, lots of magazines (all of them glossy), a big balcony and a leafy, picture-window outlook. The food and coffee are superb. With close-packed tables and all that über-cool."

And it certainly lived up to its reputation, being one of the best cafe brunches we have ever had. The flat whites were strong and delicious and it too some restraint to order another straight after the last gulp. Anna ordered the bianci di spagna beans, with chorizo on sour dough, and I the breakfast grill, which came with no less than 2 poached eggs on toast, 2 rashers of bacon, 5 mushrooms, 6 tomatoes, a kumara rosti and 2 large pieces of the most delicious black pudding I've tasted (Jabs - this was up there with the black pudding at Gleneagles). In fact, all the servings we saw come out were nice and large, something that can be of a rare quality at many cafes.

It was so good, it is going to be difficult to continue this series as we will want go back there each time!

Waitangi Day at the Hockey

Leaving the 7s to the debauchery and the T20 to the farce that was Eden Park, I decided to do my bit for minority sport in NZ and went along to the Men's Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament that is on this week on the North Shore. The 'Black Sticks' are competing with five other teams for the last spot at the Beijing Olympics.

On a scorching day, Rate & Tom joined me in the stands as we cheered on NZ against Argentina, the two top ranked teams in tournament, and at that stage the only two unbeaten teams. Unfortunately our patronage was not enough as the Argentineans were worthy victors 3-1. NZ are still likely to play them again in the final on Sunday, but they will have a lot of work to do if they are to get the better of the 7th-ranked team in the world (NZ are 10th).

We stayed on to watch the Ireland play USA afterwards, and though the quality wasn't the same, there were plenty of goals to see. All one-sided though, as the Paddy's trounced the Yanks 8-0.

Was an enjoyable (and different) way to spend the afternoon, the hockey is fast and surprisingly physical. Though I didn't see anyone employing the one-handed hit and sprint used so effectively by myself in my one season of 6-a-side hockey a few years ago - strange that. Men's hockey also seems notable for being somewhat popular with an array of rather attractive young ladies, so even more reason to go in the future. Of course, I just go for the sport....

Week minus 4: Encouraging

Another big week of training and I feel pretty good at the end of it. Though I had another episode which nearly saw me not here at all. It was at the end of my Wednesday ride, where I was doing my good citizen bit and waiting for a green light, which when eventually got, I was nearly taken out by some stupid blond bimbo who must have gone through the red light from about 20 metres back. I was just lucky that I heard the swerve of the tyres and was able to kick the breaks and twist my wheel, without that the only Ironman I might have been doing might have been that bolting my body back together.

Fortunately I survived and was able to head out the next morning for my long run - which I have now stretched out to 3 hours. Probably felt the best I have yet on these long runs, and even included a couple of hills into the run for good measure. My dilemma now is whether to extend the long run...longer. I have read advise that you don't need to run more than 3 hours in training, as the benefits for your fitness probably isn't worth the strain you put on your body. However, when I trained for the Edinburgh Marathon I included a 3hr 30min training run and I am tempted to do the same now. I've got a shorter long run planned for this week, so I've got a week or so to think about that one.

Saturday I had to go out for the combo training session early as the tides were against me. But that made for a beautiful swim at around 7am with the sea was near dead flat. Just a shorter combo session this week, with a 40min swim, 1hr 30min bike, and 45min run. But encouragingly, the whole session felt really comfortable and I could have easily kept going at the end of it.

Sunday was another long ride - this time I planned on riding the full 180kms. My second 6am wake up of the weekend and I was out on the bike before 7am. I was also using this ride to trial my eating plan for the Ironman. The bike is considered a "rolling buffet", where you try to get into your body as much carbohydrates as possible. Based upon my weight, that's suppose to be around 450 grams, which I have tried to fill with the following menu:

4 x bottles of carbo/hydration sports drink
2 x bottles of water (minimum)
3 x powerbar gels
2 x powerbars (resemble chewing cardboard - yum!)
2 x muesli bars
1 x banana
2 x vegemite sandwichs (which might sound strange, but the vegemite is a good source of sodium - for hydration - and the savoury flavour is great amongst all the sweetness)

It works out that I have to eat something every 30 minutes and it is quite a stomachful. A few times I didn't really feel like eating, but it will be important that I load up for the marathon that will follow. The drink is the difficult part to replicate in training, as I have to find somewhere to refill my bottles. I am now pretty well educated on the proportion of properties that have taps at the front of their houses (not enough), and when they do, the proportion that have hoses attached (too many).

Along with battling the "rolling buffet" bulging out of my pockets, I also had my first run-in with the weather. Incredibly, for the first time in all this training - and this harks all the way back to November - I was rained on. It was probably only for an hour, but it did make the point to me that I will need to be prepared if this eventuates at Taupo, as it won't be as warm as it is in Auckland. I also found out that my bike computer doesn't seem to like the rain any more, as it went a little haywire. At first, it shut off completely, though after five minutes or so the speed reading started again - though jumped around from time to time. More concerning was that my cadence reading (my pedal revolutions) didn't work for around an hour. The cadence reading is quite important to me as I use it to help me select the appropriate gearing (especially on hills) and to monitor the effort I am putting in. I was worried that my computer was broken completely, so it was with relief that speeding down a steep hill at a clip under 80kph must have either dried it out or jolted it back into work. But I'm going to get a new battery for it anyway, just in case.

Apart from all these distractions, I ended up completing my big ride - though I can't say comfortably, the body was again pretty sore at the end. But I racked up 185km, and when I got home I quickly popped on the running shoes for 15 minute jog. I was surprised that my legs coped with this reasonably well and, except for a nasty steep street, I again felt pretty good.

So onwards and upwards for the last 4 weeks of training. This week again has another test at the end of it - I am entered in a 3.5km ocean swim, which I am going to use as a quasi Half Ironman, by going for a 90km ride and a half marathon run straight after it. I'll let you know how it went next week.

Wellington Trip - Xmas, New Years, and Roger & Anna's Wedding

Just to let you know that I've added a new album to my Web Album for our trip down to Wellington last month. Beware though, there are some scary people in some of those pics.

Don

http://picasaweb.google.com/sampossenniskie/WgtnXmasNYsRogerAnnaSWedding

Tawharanui Regional Park

I already mentioned that Tawharanui and how we stopped off there on the way back from the weekend up at Mangawhai. Though we didn't have time to explore the park, the Anchor Bay beach there was brilliant and we will certainly be going back again, being not much more than an hour away. The waves were good, perfect for some body surfing - though there were plenty of surfers as well.

I'll just let the pictures tell the story on this one....

Week minus 5: Testing

A big training week this one, with over 18 hours of training. The result...I'm bloody knackered!!

All made harder over the past couple of weeks by the number of distractions that have been about. Along with Brad & Sharon being up this way, James & Petra (from South America travelling companion fame) also arrived on these shores and stayed with us for the week.

Of course the 'distractions' are always self-inflicted. With Stu also up on Wednesday, we showed James & Petra the best pub in New Zealand (aka Galbraiths), but the six pints I decided to consume that night would, I'm sure, be missing from most IM training schedules. Needless to say, Thursday morning I was not quite up to heading out for my long run and this had to be pushed back to the evening.

But considering all the distractions (which are welcome of course), I still managed to put in a good week. The length of all the long training sessions have gone up - with a 3.5km swim, a 6-hour bike, and a 2.45 run. I also did make some sacrifices. While everybody headed up to Mangawhai on Saturday morning, I stayed behind to head out for my S/B/R combo training session. This was a 1 hour swim, a 2.30 bike, and a 1 hour run. That is my longest sea swim ever, and if I thought staring down at a black line for an hour was boring, staring down at a green nothing is even more so - and after an hour, damn those goggles really start to hurt. And because of the lateness of the high tide this weekend, by the time I headed out on the run it was in the heat of the day - so was a pretty tough session, but a successful one.

With everybody having fun up north on Saturday night, I contented myself with eating half a lasagne before getting up early (6am) on Sunday morning and heading out for my 6-hour ride (the longest time I have ever been on a bike). Another beautiful day, though it took a while for the legs to loosen up after the tough session the day before. Even though I felt pretty good, towards the end of the ride the body starts feeling pretty sore. It isn't easy making myself drop back down on to the aerobars when my back and neck ache and I'm starting to get a headache from being in the aero position. But it is one of those things you have to do as it does save a considerable amount of energy and/or time. It is also pretty hard to maintain concentration, and after riding 165kms and only 10 minutes from home, I only just managed to avoid some idiot going through a red light (and the previous night's lasagne ending up in the back of my pants)!

Eventually making it home safely, I then drove the measly 110kms up to Mangawhai to join the others for a bit of R&R - though a tip if any of you do find yourself in training for an Ironman, camping is not very restful! Nevertheless, with having the next day off - both in terms of work and training, it was Auckland Anniversary - it was good to be able to have a few drinks and catch up with Brad & Sharon, and James & Petra, who I haven't been able to see as much as I would have liked to. On the way back down to Auckland the next day we also stopped off at an awesome beach at Tawharanui Regional Park for some great body surfing.

The training schedule is pretty much the same again this week, so no rest for the wicked. I keep getting asked if I am target - but, to be honest, I've got no idea. I'm probably (I am!) well behind most, but hopefully I will be getting to some sort of peak fitness in 5 weeks time without my body wont be feeling too tired. It's hard imagining running a marathon after being on the bike for six hours, it is all a bit of an unknown. But that is what the training is suppose to do, so I try to just focus on the week ahead.

The Bumblebee

Well, here it is, the new member of the Possenniskie family....
It handles really well, is great for finding parks others can't get into, and is really economical - we got from Wellington to Auckland on one tank.

We've had it for a few weeks now and Anna really loves it (I've been permitted to drive it a couple of times). It is small, but you'd be surprised what we have been able to fit in it. Even my bike is an inch perfect squeeze into the back with the seats down. And having a 5-foot 2-inch munchkin in the drivers seats helps to fit those long-legged of you in the back. And in desperate times, there is even room for another munchkin in the boot....