Taupo Half Ironman

Friday afternoon had finally rolled around & it was time to gap it from work & head down to Taupo for registration.

For this race you have to have your bike racked before 7pm on Friday night which does make Saturday morning just that little bit more less stressful. Going to bed Friday night & the wind was fair howling, so I expected it to blow again on Saturday. How hard would be the question ??

Race morning.

Up at 4am for the morning feed & a quick look outside showed some wind & overcast conditions. Went about all the normal things you do on race morning & for once this year I actually felt a little nervous. Hardest thing was waking the kids up & getting them moving.

Down at transition prepared all my gear & made my way down to the start area with not much time to spare. This year the organisers moved the transition area up to Tongariro Domain ( like IMNZ ), which would mean the long 600m run to T1.


Swim.

We had the National Anthem sung then it was time for the action to start. Swimming in a lake has to be the best thing ever & when the gun went we were off. Had a reasonably good swim down to the turn-around buoy which was 860m down, then out 70m to the 2nd buoy. Here I really managed to find some space & rhythm & had a good swim back up to the turn marker & up to the beach stopping the clock at 37:58. Happy with this.

T1.



Yes there is a 600m run along a flat road followed by some steep stairs which take you up to the transition area. Once again I struggled to get the wetsuit off. This time it was just sucked onto me & just didn't want to come off. Never mind I just did what I had to do, got my gear on & headed for the bike exit knowing by this stage that we were going to in for a long bike ride as the wind was already picking up & it's only just gone 7am. This transition was a bit long & slow but oh well. Time 6:41.

Bike.

This year the bike course changed as well. I thought the changes would make the bike more enjoyable & it certainly was. If these changes work then don't be surprised to see them used at IMNZ.

We headed out to the Napier - Taupo Rd & climbed that up to the new East Taupo Arterial Rd then over to Broadlands Rd & straight out to Reperoa. The wind by this stage was starting to get up & blew us down the 1st 15 km's or so. Was having a good slingshot ride here with an other competitor & we were humming along. Down onto the flat section & the wind was a left to right crosswind but nothing to bad. By this stage I had decided to let the other person go & just settle into my race pace. Nutrition was going good & I was feeling great. Now I had a few mates / training buddies in this race also & I knew a couple of them were ahead of me in the swim, so it was as we got closer to the turn-around that I started looking to see were they were. Finally spotted 1 of them & we gave a wave to each other. ( Now I wasn't out there just to beat him but it does give you something to aim for ). Now as we turned it became very apparent that the wind had got up & was going to make the return 45km's quite difficult.It was the last 30km's which were the hardest as we slogged straight into it & the speed came right down.

Now the course also had a small change to it as you now went down a side road for 600m. It was whilst down this road I saw my mate & I had caught up heaps. I thought to myself just keep doing what your doing & you should get him by the end of the bike. That is what I hoped but that all changed as I was about 10km's from the end by rear tyre went down costing me 10 mins. Never mind just change it & get going.
Offical time 3:02:31, bike computer time 2:52:21.

T2.

Quick run with the bike round transition then into it to find your bike slot. Fairly quick here & off running in pursuit of me mate. Time 2:45

Run.

Firstly I had to stop for a nature call costing me another minute or so. ( This might come back to haunt me ). Settled into a good pace & started on the run nutrition. The run course also changed this year but nothing major & nothing that I hadn't ever run before in Taupo. With it being a 2 lap course there was plenty of time to see people you know & give them encouragement. After the 1st lap I had taken heps out of my good mate. LOL . I had now changed my game plan slightly. My whole approach for the day & especially the run was to finish feeling like I had more to give & wanted to keep running. Now I still wanted to finish like that but I had a burning desire to catch him. So on the 2nd lap a bit more intensity came into my running & I picked up the pace but kept my form strong. I really enjoyed it as I went on the hunt. Unfortunately I never got him & as I entered the finsh chute he was just crossing the line.

Never mind that wasn't what I set out to do today but it sure would have felf good to run him down. Unfinished business at IM. Stopped the clock for a run split of 1:53:27 & overall time of 5:43:22.

Bit lazy / busy

I've just done 2 races in the last 2 weekends & haven't done a race report on on either. So I'll give you a quick run down on the Tinman Sprint race & if I have enough time I'll carry on to the Taupo Half Ironman.

The Tinman sprint race was purely just for me to get a race under the belt before the half & to do things at race pace !!

The morning dawned awesome & so the rest of the day would be.

I was quite relaxed & heading out for the swim start I was still in good spirits. Had an alright swim through the slower standard distance competitors. Had a slow as T1 as I spoke to a couple of people & struggled with the wetsuit legs.

Out onto the bike I had fun & put in a 34:11 for the bike split. Had good fun here overtaking people in both races. The race wheels certainly helped.

Onto the run & felt strong & ready to run. Made good time round the Mount base track & powered up them hills.

Overall I had a good race & enjoyed just getting out there for a quick fire race then finishing, getting a feed & watching the top guys battle it out for the gun in the Standard distance race.

All things pointed towards a strong race at Taupo.

The other thing I promised ages ago was a shot of the bike & I finally did that. These were taken before buying the Sram 60 wheelset, so I'll take others & maybe get around to posting them.




Outa time so will do Taupo 1/2 another day.

Simple Awesome

Yep that sums up the round Taupo Cycle Challenge for me. I had a ball !!!

As most of you would know I approached this race as along training Time trial ride. I had placed myself in group 7 which had an estimated time of 6:10-7:00 hours. My theory was that these people don't really ride in bunches.

So lets set the scene.

I awake early as I always do but this morning is like no other morning of a race. I don't have the nerves & my group has a start time of around 9am, so I've got heaps of time. Eventually we make our way into Taupo & down to the start-line area. Catch up with a few mates then I even headed out for a quick warm-up. Made my way upto the start-line, then it was my turn to go.

I got straight into my work & by the time we turned off the main highway I had dropped all the guys I started with. Feeling good !! For the next 60km I just flew past everyone with a couple of people trying to catch a ride. Around the Waihaha hills I was being kept company with a number of team riders. They would go up the hills stronger & I would pull away on the downhill & flats. This was making me work harder on the uphills which was good for me.

Thru 80km's & over Kuratau hills & everything was still going great. Down the steep descent flat out & down onto the flat it soon became apparent that there was quite a stiff breeze blowing & when we turned the corner at Turangi it would become a headwind. DAMN

By this stage in the race the day was getting very hot & I was going to need to get some more water, but I was reluctant to stop at any of the support stations as there were so many people at them, so I made the decision to stop in the forecourt of the Shell petrol station in Turangi & fill my bottle. A quick stop & I was off again.

Now this headwind was certainly slowing things down a little. I slogged on into it & was still feeling great. A reached the 120km mark in just a touch over 4 hours so I was very happy with that. Around this time a bunch had caught me up from behind & I then made the decision just to jump on in & rest up for a little while. I soon made my way back to the front & started to pull the bunch towards Hatepe Hill. By this stage in the race I was still loving every minute of it even if my legs were starting to tire. At the base of Hatepe I bid farewell to the bunch I was in knowing darn well most of them would fly up here & I wouldn't.

Aftera good slog up the hill we were off & there were still 3 of us from the bunch & I was off on a mission to catch some of the others & get things rolling again. From the top of the hill to the finish is only 20 odd km's so it was time for the hammer to go down & leave nothing in the tank. Had an awesome ride to the finish & I just sat at the front of the bunch sharing ( not evenly shared ) the lead with one other guy whilst the rest of them just hung on. I even was thanked by a 13 year old girl for doing so much work.

Down the finish chute & stopped the clock at 5:15:08.

Well pleased with that effort. Was looking for anything less than 5:30.

Things I learnt:

It's hard to eat & drink when leading the bunch.

When you don't eat & drink you feel like crap when you get off the bike.

Two cans of Coke & some shade do wonders for you after a long HOT race.

You must eat & drink in Ironman or you will not finish the run.

and finally that if you just push yourself you'd be amazed what you can do.

All in all I had a great day & that event certainly is well run. The prizegiving was emotional when 1 of the husbands of the ladies that were killed cycling got up on stage & made a speech. He stood there to a standing ovation & huge round of applause.

The weekend was rounded of with a lovely swim in the lake on Sunday morning.

I have now just put my race wheels on all ready for Tinman this weekend. That's another race report coming up next week.

Train Safe.

The excitement's building

Now some fellow bloggers Kate, Phil & Graham all kicked their official Tri season off a couple of weekends ago, which has left me feeling very excited about my up coming events & already counting down the days. Yep days not weeks !!!

Now with only 6 more days till Round Taupo my training has gone great guns & culminated last weekend with a hilly 150km ride down to Rotorua & back home via Te Puke. The ride itself was a mixed bag with it raining at 6am when we left, then clearing up & blowing a nice tailwind for 50kms, then becoming a very stiff 40km/hr headwind from Te Puke home. All character building...so they tell ya. This weekend just gone was another good brick session on Saturday & an easy 2 1/2hrs in the saddle on Sunday. Yippee !!!!!

So then the excitement will turn to the Taupo Half Ironman..

The course for this years race has changed a little for the bike & run legs which will make things easier on the bike I think & the run pretty much the same. The talk is that if the bike leg changes work then IM New Zealand will make the changes also.

So in 3 weeks time I will be able to sit back & enjoy a full rest week which I think the body is in need of.I'm not tired of training just in need of some sleep, infact I've really been enjoying the training over the last couple of months & are very happy with where my running has got to. Having never been a great runner it's pleasing to now feel injury free & running upto 2hr 15mins & covering 26kms. Cycling has just got easier as I've got myself sorted on the TT bike & swimming just stays the same.

So the next few weeks looks like this :

27th Nov Round Taupo Cycle Challenge 160km bike ride, 5th Dec Tinman Sprint Distance Tri, & 11th Dec Taupo Half Ironman. Heres hoping the weather is good for each weekend & I have some FUN.

Train safe & I'll give you a race report when I tick off the 1st event.

Warmer weather.

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Although winter this year wasn't all that cold, it sure is great to have Daylight Savings started & Summer knocking on the door.

A couple of weekends ago here in New Zealand it was a public holiday which in this household means only one thing, & that's to go swim in the ocean. It was great & the water wasn't to cold. A group of about 15 of us got in so it was fun.

So with summer just about here that also means the TRI Season.

Yep we have an Olympic & Sprint distance race here in the Mount in just 31 days. I'm doing the Sprint this year as the following week is the Taupo 1/2 IM which is far more important to me, so the sprint is more like a solid brick session at race pace.

Also with the season beckoning I have recently bought some race wheels to complement the bike. A nice new shiny pair of SRAM 60's, with a new pair of Vittoria CX Tech tyres to follow.



Now for the training side of things.

Have had a good solid October & the body is still feeling strong & injury free. I've had some great rides & probably nothing better than the 144km I knocked off in 5 hrs. This was done on a mainly flat road but so is the Ironman course.

So here are the boring stats for last month.

Bike 886km / 33hr

Run 145km / 12:45hr

Swim 22.8 / 8:15hr

I have a couple of big brick sessions coming up over the next few weekends so looking forward to those. Just can't wait to get out there & do a race.

8 weeks till Round Taupo.

Yep that's all.

This year I haven't done as much cycling leading up to the event, but I am only going round once this year & it's all just part of the bigger picture, not the 1 race I was aiming for. In saying that I am feeling quietly confident about the race.

My plan for the Contact Round Taupo Cycle Challenge is to start with the 7 hr group near the back & just TT all the way round ( apart from the hills ). Starting with the 7 hr group should hopefully give me a free road without all the bunches & I'll just get to ride my own race. Knock this off & that will be part 2 of the Cameron Brown award done.

Bike training has been going well with a 122km ride last weekend & a 135km ride just done this weekend. I must admit climbing hills on the TT bike is certainly harder but I'm getting better & think my seatpost height might be just about right now which is helping.

Last month I managed 388km total & hope to build on that now daylight savings has started & can get out after work.

All the other training pretty much went to plan for the last couple of weeks & I have managed 125km of running, 178km windtrainer & 21km of swimming for September.

Now I haven't forgotten about the City to Surf fun run. Last Sunday turned on the best day we've had all spring & the run was great. Awesome atmosphere at the finish line area & I posted a 57:34. The run was definitely not 12km but we all ran the same race & I was happy with where I finished.







All in all a great September & bring on October, with warmer weather & longer hours of daylight. Will also get into the sea for my 1st swim over the weekend of 23-24 October.

Just ticking off the boxes.

Yep that's about it.

The last week was all good & got everything done. Saturday mornings bike ride was extremely hard going as the entire country was covered in a large storm which bought about very strong winds in the Bay of Plenty. I did manage my 4hr 20 min & clocked up 105km, but it sure wasn't easy.

The rest of the week was fairly normal training & clocked up 28km of running & 1hr 45 min on the windtrainer & 5kms swimming.

On a positive daylight savings kicks off this weekend so hopefully will get some more training in after work.

Have the City to Surf 12km run to do on Sunday so I'll let you know how that went next time I check in.

Bring on Summer

Now the last few weeks have just been wet, windy & wild. I'm over it & just want warm summer & daylight savings.

In saying that I have been able to get out on the bike the last 2 weekends & clock up over 100km each ride without getting very wet.

The new bike feels fast & easy to ride. I do struggle a bit on the hills but just means I've got to work harder. ( Yes I'll get round to the photo one day ).

Once again my running has been a little slack over the last couple of weeks with only totals of 26kms. I really need to build on this but the old leg has been abit sore recently. I think this has to do with the aero riding straining the butt. Starting to feel better now though, so hope to see the distance increase again over the next few weeks.

So in total I've only been putting in 10 - 12 hour weeks. Bit slack.

Not long now till the Tri season kicks off & the Taupo Half Ironman so these times will be increasing. I also have the small task of the Taupo Cycle Challenge 160km bike ride. My way of thinking for this years race is that I will start near the back with the 7 hour starters & just TT the race. That way I hope to miss all the big bunches of idiots that can't ride sensibly.

Just had the weekend away with work at the Jamis Day Night Thriller & it was a long couple of days so this week i'm going to have to be onto it or I'll just be lazy. Also busy week at work with a number containers to unload , so it's going to tough.

Onwards & upwards though. Plenty of things to look forward to on the training front with a Half IM camp, a trip to Broadlands Rd for a training ride & I'm going to compete in the City to Surf 12km fun run.

Train safe & hard.

A good solid week

Firstly I went back to the physio this week & he's real happy with the way my right leg has strengthened up with the exercises & now is happy for me to steadily up the running. Great news.

So once again there hasn't been much running this week ( only 15km ) but time to ramp it up a little. The swimming has got alot easier this week & with good numbers turning up to the squads this week we real have started to push each other.

Now unfortunately the weather was cr@p this morning & I still haven't got out on my bike. I did instead do a 2hr 12 min hard out ( AVHR 143, MXHR 164 ), windtrainer session in the garage with another IM in training. That help bring the total hours on the windtrainer to 3hr 40min this week.

So this week I would have to give myself a big tick in the box of doing all the programme & each session was constructive.

We have the last of the Tri Cub's winter Duathlon's tomorrow & hopefully the weather is good afterwards, as I hope to take the bike for a ride up & down the Toll Rd.

Tonight the All Blacks will hopefully win the Tri Nations & the Warriors beat Manly.

Time for the business to start

Yes I went to Taupo ( pronounced Toe paw ) & set about achieving my 1st goal of the my season, the Half Marathon.

As I had planned I came in with my worst 1/2 Mary time of 1:54:22. My PB is 1:39:13 & back in 2008 I ran 1:41:43, so you can see I had a goal of pacing myself & did just that. Finished the race feeling fresh & wanting more. We also had a great fun filled weekend with our friends & training buddies.

I had the following week as a rest week, then on the Sunday I competed in the North Island Inter Club Duathlon race at the Pukekohe Raceway. This was a 5km run, 20km bike followed by a final 2.5km run. I didn't go there to break any records & certainly didn't , but had a good fun race. That's what it's all about isn't it ????

During this time I finally dragged myself along to the physio to see what might be causing the pain behind my knee. Physio's thought is the glute injury I have had for about 15 years is playing up ( & not firing ) & as a result the hammie has been doing more work & has now become inflamed & sore. So 2 weeks into treatment & the glute is already much stronger. I can only look at this as a positive thing & not something that has slowed my running down to only 30 minute runs for the next few weeks.

So now with just over 6 months left till that gun goes off for Ironman I have sat down & nutted out my training schedule with my wife / coach. I now feel that it's time to start doing some real serious training & not just going through the motions & just getting the job done. Each training session from here on in needs a purpose & a goal.

It's taken a couple of swim sessions to get back into that & I haven't been outside on the bike yet but did have an excellent windtrainer session in the garage in the weekend. Did the Spinervals 24.0 HILLacious DVD. Awesome workout !!! The running is obviously taking a little while to get back into but hopefully I'll be stronger.

I have now taken possession of my new Jamis TT bike but haven't been out on the road yet so that is going to take a bit of time getting used to. I also have a new pair of K-Swiss Konejo 11 running shoes to try out so all very exciting times.

So for now it's just head down & get training. Will post some photos of the bike as soon as I take some.

This weekend

Only 48 hrs now till the start of the Mizuno Half Marathon in Taupo.

I really enjoy doing this race & halfway through the year it comes at a good time, giving you the motivation to keep training through the winter months. Now as I've said before this run is not about a PB, it's just about finishing feeling strong & fit. My time I'm looking for is between 1:50 & 1:55.

The weekend should be abit of fun also as we have a group of 12 staying at the Huka Falls Resort & we have other friends who are in Taupo but not staying with us. Might even watch the All Blacks kick the Wallabies on Saturday night.

I'll let you know next week as to how it all went.

No I didn't do the fun ride last weekend. I chose to stay @ home, save some money & time & did my 6 monthly gardening instead. Was worth it.

And lastly , hopefully I will get my new TT bike on the road in a few days time. I've had it sitting at work for a number of months now but haven't had it built but very soon it will hit the road. Can't wait !!

Might see ya in Taupo.

26 more days to go

Yep that's right. Only 26 more days till I seriously start my journey to Ironman & the Cameron Brown Award.

Sunday August 1st is the date of the Mizuno Taupo Half Marathon. My plan for this race is to try & run to my Heart Rate ( will probably be a bit higher due to it being a race ) & not worry to much on my time. I know it's not going to be a PB so it doesn't bother me. I just want to finish strong & feel like I could keep on running. My hopeful time for the race will be around 1:50 - 1:55. That's about 10 mins slower than my PB but who cares.

Now to get me there in top form I have been putting in some long runs over the month of June & are really pleased where I am right now. I managed a 2:05 hr run doing 22.70 kms which is the longest ( time & distance ) I have ever done. My total running for the month of June was 140.75 / 12:41 hr.

Now all we hope for is a nice Taupo winters morning.

I have 1 other event which I'll do before the 1/2 Marathon & that's the Okoroire 70km FUN ride. Yes fun ride, it's not a race !!!! Yeah right. I did this ride last year & had great fun. It was the race which kick started my journey to the 320km Enduro. This year it's just something to do during the winter & to get you out training before the Wattyl Cycle challenge. So this month I've managed a total of 245.5 kms / 9;45 hr of cycling & 100km on the windtrainer.

My swimming just keeps ticking along doing 20 kms this month.

Once again it's more than last year, with the running especially being heaps more & I'm even enjoying the running. So down to Taupo we'll go in a few weeks with a group of us staying at the Huka Falls Resort. Should be fun.

Triathlon Tauranga have been running a Duathlon series over the winter & we had another great race on Sunday. Now I haven't been doing them just organising them with another guy who's training for the Sprint distance Worlds in Budapest. We have had great fun & some great feedback from the people competing, so if you read this & can get down to Tauranga, we have 1 more race left on August 22nd. Otherwise you'll have to wait till next year & we hope to do them again.

So onwards with the month of July. I have 2 weekends away with the family over the school holidays which isn't the best for training but luckily things taper off towards the 1/2 Marathon.

Where is the year going ???

With May now behind us we head ourselves into the deep dark winter.

Na really our winters here in Tauranga aren't that bad. We may have just had a whole lot of rain but it's still not that cold. So that's meant I've had some reasonably good training, but have had somethings like a kids Cub Camp to attend & organising the Triathlon Tauranga's Duathlon Series get in the way of training. The Duathlon went off just great the other weekend so I don't mind doing that stuff & you always have got to have time for the kids.

So for May I managed, Bike - 213km, Swim - 16.5km, Run - 101km, Windtrainer - 70km

I also managed a few core & weights sessions. Very happy with where the running is right now. Need to work on the bike k's & also the same with swimming. Now overall for the year I'm ahead of the same time last year so that's a good thing considering I'm heading towards Ironman.

So the month of June will just be more training with the Mount Joggers 10km run the only event I have planned. Will only do this if it's not rubbish weather.

Yes I'm in

As alot of you would know by now IMNZ has reached it's 1500 person capacity & is sold out for 2011.

So this is a small piece of history for IMNZ, We all know IM races in the States sell out in hours but not down here in good ol NZ, so for most of us this is quite a shock & has meant we have had to fork out the entry fee 9 months in advance. Anyhow I'm in & have atleast 10 other people I know joining me in the experience.

So my jouney has started with some good weeks of training under the belt already.

My main goals for the year ( next season ) are to complete the Cameron Brown Award which is given out to people who complete the following events in the one season. This starts with the Taupo Half Marathon, Taupo Cycle Challenge ( only 1 lap this year ), Kinloch Triathlon, Across the Lake swim & finally Ironman NZ. You don't have to do them fast, you just gotta finish.

I will also throw in the Taupo Half Ironman & no doubt some other smaller events to keep my mind off the hard training miles.

So that's the plans & from here on in I'll try & keep you all informed of how things are going. I'm happy with where the training is at right now, with my long run upto 15km & biking 70 +km for my long ride. Have been managing 2 swims a week for a total of about 5km & throw in some weights & a windtrainer session & that's about the week full up. My biggest challenge will be to stay injury free & not over do the running.

On the event front I've had a busy last 2 weekends with being team / company manager for our teams we had in the Moonride 12 Hr MTB in Rotorua, just last weekend at the Kaimai Classic Multisport event in Tauranga. Two great events & our teams had some good results.

Hopefully for me the next event will be the Okoroire fun ride in late July.

Train safe & be cautious of crazy drivers.

Things have changed

Yes I have now made the decision not to go to Busselton & compete in Ironman.

Instead I will line up at Taupo for IM New Zealand.

The decision was made due to a lack of holidays on my behalf & if we travel that far we want a holiday also, so for the moment it's just on hold.

So NZ it is! I hope to line up with about lots of mates this year so should be a bit of FUN.

What a busy start.

Well we are almost at the end of March, a 1/4 of the way through the year & time has just raced by. It needs to slow down or I'll be 40 in no time.

So here's a rundown on what's been happening in that time.

It all started with me doing the swim leg for a team @ the Port Of Tauranga 1/2 IM. Clocked a time of 36:51 in very trying conditions. Was happy with that time & beat all the people I wanted to. I then helped marshalling on the run course.

Then I had the last 2 weeks of the school holidays camping at Bowentown with the kids. This was a great break. Did do some small runs & swims whilst I was away. We then packed up on the Saturday & had the Womens Triaction ( formerly Bendon )race on the Anniversary Monday. I was the Chief Bike Marshall so was up bright & early setting up the course.

That's January gone!!!

Now into February & the 1st weekend I competed in the local Ucan2 race. These races are very casual & cheap & are always well attended by the local community. I had a poor swim but on a whole it was good just to race. The following weekend we had a house booked in Taupo which was meant to be for an Ironman camp. Unfortunately we didn't get the numbers so Kathy & I & 2 others ( not doing IM )headed down anyway & had a great weekend training. Did about 70kms of biking, 18kms of running & 3kms of swimming in the Lake. Did alot of laying around being lazy also.

The very next weeknd we were back in Taupo for the Great Lake Relay. This is a team event in which you run/walk around Lake Taupo. We had a team of 9 people. We piled into the Transit van @ 2am on Saturday morning & had an absolute ball as we ran our way around the Lake. I had a leg of 10.9kms 1st then another 7.4kms later in the afternoon. We managed to get round in 13hr 32 mins. Another great weekend.

To finish off February we headed north to Auckland to watch the final round of the Thundercat racing at North Piha. This was very entertaining as most races had atleast 1 boat flip in the huge surf. The boys had a quick boogey board then it was time to head back to the MIL house for the night.

That brings us round to the 1st weekend in March which is traditionally IMNZ weekend. So off we headed on Friday night to Taupo to watch. The day was great even if a little windy & cold. We always say it's harder to watch than compete. The finish line at midnight was very cold. Well done to all those finishers. Yes it did fire me up for the oncoming training & race.

Now just in case we were getting sick of travelling we headed to Maraetai the following weekend, with another couple to compete in the Panasonic Tri. We had an enjoyable days rest on the Saturday, then had a great race on Sunday. Kathy & I did the Olympic distance in a team. I had the swim & run to do. Swim time of 28:01 & run 46:14 which I was very happy with. The run course was 2 laps & had a climb in each lap. This was much like the run course in Mooloolaba so was a good hit out.

Now as I write this we only have 4 more days till we head to Mooloolaba for the Triathlon. Hopefully Cyclone Ului won't cause any damage to the coastline & by next Sunday any large waves will have gone. I would really like to swim in the ocean this time. This year we will be competeing in a team as individual entries sold out really quick. It's going to be a great trip as we travel with another 2 couples & have an apartment which looks out over the beach & the ITU race course.

So in nutshell that's what's been happening. We have the Bayfair triathlon this Sunday & I am going to be the Bike Marshall again.

So that will be March over & done with. Then we head on into April with my brother / girlfriend & his son arriving from London on Good Friday. We all head to Onemana for Easter.

Then watch this space as I will knuckle down & start getting some structure to my training.

Just for the record I have been doing some exercise, not just tripping around the ountry. Stats so far are, 180kms running, 670km on the bike & 42kms of swimming.

Yep I'm still alive

Yes I have been slack but these first 9 weeks of the year have raced by & I seem to be away just about every weekend.

Now with our trip back to Mooloolaba just a few days away I thought I would write something & let you know I am at home this weekend so will do some catch up on what's been happening where.

The beginning of a New Year

Well to recap on 2009 first.

Had fun in Mooloolaba, set myself a goal of the 320km Enduro bike ride & had a ball doing it & have got more active in the Triathlon Tauranga scene. Kathy & I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year. So just to finish here are a few numbers in which I hope to better in 2010. ( Maybe not the cycling but you never know )

Running - 525km, stopped running to concentrate on cycling.

Cycling - 5680km, will try to keep this up.

Windtrainer - 710km, winter training.

Swimming - 197km, happy with this effort.

Overall I've been happy with 2009's training & can't wait to get into some serious IM training.




So my goals for 2010 are to smoke the swim at the Tauranga 1/2, have fun doing the Round Taupo Relay Run, have another awesome time in Mooloolaba ( this time with friends ), train alot harder in the gym in the off-season ( maybe find some Ab's ), get faster on the bike ( getting a new TT bike should help this ), & get to Perth in December ready to race.



Some other milestones this year will be my twin boys turning 10 & myself hitting the big 40.