Xmas Kiwi Style

Well it's that time again whan all those in the Northern Hemisphere suffer through a cold snowy Xmas Day whilst us down under have BBQ's & head to the beach.





Hope you all have a great Xmas with your loving families & we'll do it all again in the coming New Year.

I still have 1 sprint Tri to do on the 28th. Should be fun.

Tinman / Taupo Half Ironman Report ( A little late )

Yes I've been a bit slack / lazy / busy lately & haven't got around to writing a Race Report on Tinman.

Well here is what I remember...

After weeks of crap weather the Sunday morning dawned fine & little wind. Yeehah.

The swim.
This went really well & although most people say it was short I was happy with 21:26 & 89th out of the water. Up into T1 & I just took my time & made sure I was ready for the ride & remembering I just needed to finish. 2:58 later & I was off on the bike.

The bike.
As one would have expected this leg went very well. My biggest challenge here was not to push to hard & kill my poor legs for the run. I had a good ride & finished with a time of 1:10:26. Fairly happy with that time & I felt like I hadn't destroyed my legs. A leisurely T2 2:40, & I was ready for the run ( hopefully a run )

The run.
Now as we all know this was going to be a challenge. I haven't run since Mid August & had no idea if I could get round 10km without walking. All I can say is the theory of lots of cycling will help the running is what I hoped for. I felt good going down the 1st km so hoped it was going to stay that way. By the time I hit the base track of Mount Maunganui I was starting to feel a bit sore but it was there that I overtook a local bike shop owner which gave me a boost & from there on I was not going to let pass me so that stopped me from even thinking about walking any part of the run. Yes the base track hurt but I was enjoying the beautiful weather & scenery which certainly made it more enjoyable. Off the base track & down the last km to the finish there was nothing left & you didn't see any sprint finish coming from my poor legs. I was very happy with a time of 50:47 for the run.

Overall time of 2:28:17. I was stoked to go sub 2:30 & very happy just to get round in one piece.

Was good to be a part of the Triathlon Tauranga Team which once again won the Club Challenge.

Now this race was out of the way I had a week to try & get some very sore legs up & ready for the 90km bike leg of the Pearl Izumi Taupo Half Ironman. I was doing this race with my wife. She was to do the swim & run legs. The race was to have some added spice as we were having a race of the families with another couple from Tauranga.

Having never done or even been to watch the Taupo 1/2 this was to be a new experiebce for the both of us.

Now race morning dawned grey & overcast & a wind blowing already. The atmosphere was great but without all the hype of Tauranga. The swim start was great & Kathy got bashed up a little but exited with a 35:59. Now it was my turn to crank out a quick 90km on the bike. Heading past the Motor Race course the wind was fair honking & it was also raining. Had a great leg out to Reporoa. The ride back towards Taupo, I decided it was time to work a little harder & catch some people up ahead of me. By the time we were about 15km to go & starting the climb I was feeling real strong & started to drop / catch people regularly. Up & over the top I put the hammer down & fair smoked on into transition with a time of 2:45:46 which I was very happy with. ( all I need now is a TT bike & hopefully go a little faster ).

Passed the transponder to Kathy & let her do the rest. Yes we did beat our friends by about 4 mins so that was something to be pleased about. Nothing like a little rivalry to keep the fire burning.

Now that those 3 weeks are over it's time just to chill for a while & let the legs have a wee rest. No I'm not saying I'll do nothing, just smaller shorter rides & start doing a little bit of running.

So the plan for the rest of the year is to go watch the Rotorua 1/2 Ironman this weekend & be a supporter for my blogger friends. Then chill for Xmas with the family, do Surfbreaker @ the Mount on the 28th, then chill some more for New Years.

For everyone racing this weekend go hard do your best.

Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge

Well some many months ago I thought I might do the 320km Enduro race.

My reasoning behind this was to start training for Ironman Western Australia & to make the 180km ride feel short. I then put this idea to one side as I thought I didn't really have enough time to train for it. That was till a good friend I worked with in Auckland talked me back into doing it & as we all know that was the beginning of some BIG training rides.

Well I'm pleased to now write a Race report of the big Day / Night/ Morning.

It all started Friday morning in Tauranga by dropping the kids to school, grocery shopping then heading down to Taupo about 11:00am. Made ourselves at home in the rented house then went off to register. That done it was a quick stop in the Orca shop & back home for an afternoon nap. Got a couple of hours in then woke up & chatted with the rest of the people I was staying with. Got back to bed about 9pm then slept till midnight.

Saturday 28th November.

Awoke at midnight & ate some spag on toast, got changed then got on my bike & headed down to the start line to find my friend & support crew. The organisers had done the roll call by 1:15am & just waiting for a few late ones & we would be off at 1:30am for the 320km Enduro race.

Now after the initial excitement & racing on up the hill out of Taupo we settled down & a group of about 12 formed. We rode like this for about 20km then ended up dropping a few & picking up a few, finally ending up with a bunch of 8. We had 3 support vehicles with us & we were making some great progress. Having never ridin on the road at night this was all very exciting & I was really enjoying the thrill of going down hills at 50+km/hr in the darkness. The bunch worked really together & we chatted throughout the night. By early light we were down the south end of the lake & climbing Kuratau Hill. We just rode steady & made sure we all made it to the top together & formed back up on the Tokaanu Flats. We lost 1 rider here to a mechanical but the rest got into single file & started to crank it up along the shores of Lake Taupo.

We got to the bottom of hatepe Hill altogether but going up I opened a 200m gap ( unintentionally ) which enabled me to stop for a nature break. We charged on into Taupo & into the Caltex station to sign in. I quickly got changed out of my warmer long pants / top & into other cycling kit & after about 8 mins was ready to get back out on the road all stocked up with food & perpetum. A big thanks here to my wife & her 2 friends Jodi & Yvette. A quick photo with my mate Dave who unfortunately due to a family situation could only do the 1st lap with me.

I headed out & 2 others were coming out also so we rode back out together & joined up with the mad rush of the 160km starters. The bunches coming through were the 4:30 seeded riders so a little to fast for us. After about 3 km's of riding with 1 of the others I said bye & headed of alone to try & hang with some of the bunches coming through. This I did manage & so long as I was looking after the heartrate I sat in the bunches I got a free ride. Yes the smallest hill would throw me out the back but I would just keep trucking & the next bunch was never far away. I did end up in a bunch which of about 600-800 people which was amazing. I had great fun & I was encouraged by alot of people along the way. Finally got back round to Kuratau again & got left behind by most people. Once again down onto the Tokaanu Flats & got myself into a bunch which would stay together for the next 40 odd km till reaching Hatepe Hill.

Now this probably had to be my worst fear of the entire race. Could I get back up it a 2ND time. Very much to my surprise I not only rode it quite easy the 2nd time but I smoked heaps of 1 lappers & with the crowds yelling support for me near the top I got to the top with ease. Now time to get to Taupo & that finish line.

I did promise to ring the wife just so she could get to the line in time to see me as she had been out training so I jumped off at 5 Mile Bay & had a nature stop & madea the phone call. Quickly back on the bike & up the slight rise to the Airport. I once again surprised myself by overtaking people, so once on the flat I put the hammer down & 3 others came with me. I now had a goal of finishing with a ride time of less than 11 hrs. We were flying along & knew I was going to make it barring a mechanical so coming into the last few 100m I sat up & made sure no-one was around to steal my moment of glory when I crossed the finish line. Yes I made it in under 11hrs ride time & an offical time of 11:10:48 with which I was stoked.

Now I have been told I don't look excited in some photos we have, but I think I'm just reflecting on what I had just done & a little tired.

Now the goal of making training for 180km for Ironman have been achieved I think. I now look at 90km as a small ride which you can go out hard for.

See you all at Tinman. I'll be the one who can't run.