Saturday, March 20, 2010

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.

Monday, March 15, 2010

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.