hard decision.....

Over the last couple of weeks I have been contemplating having to make a hard decision. It's one I've been trying to avoid making, allowing myself to live in denial but then a deadline loomed and the pressure was on to make the decision.

I have had to withdraw from the 2010 coast to coast :(

It became pretty obvious that I was not going to get enough Kayak skills and practice under my belt to be able to get the Grade 2 certificate that I must have to compete by the required deadline.

I'm pretty gutted....this dream is taking SO long to realise.

The positive is that it gives me more time to gather kayak skills as this was my greatest area of weakness and fear.

So its now about continuing to gather the equipment needed (mainly kayak) and build a good base of skill and fitness in all three disciplines and my plan is to totally rock the race in 2011.

I am hoping that I can make it down to the finish line of the 2010 race to experience something of what its like for the competitors and as fuel to keep the dream alive.

watch this space.

REGISTRATION IS POSTED!

This morning on my way to get my stitches removed from my back I took a moment as I stood in front of the post box with an envelope in my hand. Inside the envelope was my completed registration form for the C2C10. I held in my hand the next step in a dream. It represented a challenge that lies ahead of me that is both scary and exciting. I know there will be pain, tears and hopefully not too many tantrums as I prepare for Feb 13th 2010.

I just wish my back would get better so I can start training properly.

So watch this space as I keep you up to date with the training and progress towards the longest day

xx

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN

It's official! Race Registrations are open for the Coast to Coast 2010. I printed off the entry form this morning and as I held it in my hand had a few butterflies in my stomach. It seems far more real now that I see my name on the entry form (not that I've actually sent it yet). I will have until November to get my grade 2 cert for the kayak (a part of training that I am really NOT looking forward to after my last experience in a kayak).

Now I just have to grab the bull by the horns and post it off - oh yeah and find the money for the entry fee!

Outrunning Bono and The Edge

So last weekend was the Moonride, and on Sunday afternoon I was feeling both 'fit' and inspired. So I went for a 5km run. It was once I got home that the 'seedy' feeling kicked in after all the physical activity and lack of sleep.

Today I was conscious that the 1/2 marathon is looming around the corner so I decided I would head out for a little run. I had decided that instead of taking the usual route I would go a different path. I decided to run to the place where my friends kid does gymnastics; that way if I was really tired I could just hang out with her and grab a ride home.

The first couple of kms was hard going but I kept reminding myself that the last few runs I have been on it has been that way and it got better. When I made it to the gym I discovered that while Kendal was there, Sue was not. So I had no choice but to continue on my run. I was actually quite ok with that as I was feeling really good and knew that I had more in the tank.

I ended up running for 95 mins and it felt great. I tend to choose U2 as my running partners and today I actually outran them. They finished on the ipod before I did. So it was up to KT Tunstall to get me home.

The new tri shorts worked well too so that bodes well for the C2C10.

Moonride 2009

So I have had two countdowns going on my blog; The Coast to Coast 2010 (the main reason for this blog) and the Moonride..which has now counted all the way down to ZERO!

I was nervously excited by the prospect of competing in the 24 hour moonride. Doing events for 24 hours is not new to me, having run from Dunedin to Oamaru and back, and cycled from Dunedin to Bluff and back. It was really the idea of mountain biking and in the dark that was a little daunting. I don't actually own one of my own but my friend Jaz was kind enough to lend me her bike. So I managed to get in a night ride and a day ride at a local track here in Hamilton. I loved it! In fact I began to see that this could be the best way to relieve stress and clear my head on a regular basis.

Arriving in Rotorua the team met each other for the first time. In the guy's open team were Mark, Bruce, Simon, Alastair & Wayne. Our team were entered in the mixed grade; Sue, Kath, Nick, Mat and myself.

Kath and I had to do some negotiating soon after meeting - Sue was going to do the first ride and both Kath and I were keen to follow. Kath graciously made way for me to go 2nd (I was so nervous there was no way I would have slept before my ride so if I was on from 2am-4am it would not bode well for the rest of the race)

My first lap was exhilarating and intense as I made my way through the track that was totally unfamiliar relying only on my trusty lights to guide my way. It felt like I had been out for 1 1/2 hours but when I got back to the tent I was stoked to discover it was only 40 mins. The next couple of lap times got a bit messed up as no one was recording my start times of each lap (i was stopping in between each lap to change my light batteries).

I got to go to bed at about 2:30am and by 6:30am was up heading towards the portaloos (after dreaming about them I took that as a sign I should get up and face the day).

My next two laps were great - I got to see the track for the first time in the daylight. It was great to be able to work out what was the best path to take, when to go left or right on the track and what traps to avoid. I was totally stoked to see that my laptime got down to 35 mins. On the second lap I was 15 mins into it when the 12 hour and 6 hour competitors were starting. I had only one goal that lap - to make it out before any of them caught up to me - so I had 300 or so riders hotly pursuing me - I did it!

My next ride was later as it was starting to get dark so lights were back on. It was awful! So many pushy and rude riders on the track and the volume of riders was really noticeable. You have to understand that previously when people needed to pass they asked and said thanks, or "just when you're ready". It was great for a novice like me to feel ok on the track with the elite riders. But I really did not enjoy that 6th lap at all - I obviously just wanted it over and done with as it ended up being my best time 34mins.

My final lap was slightly better, I stood my ground and didn't put myself in danger of falling just because someone yelled "passing on your right" and assumed I would move straight away. It was a slightly slower lap 36mins but I was pretty tired by then.

Now to put my lap time in perspective - the fastest lap times on the boys team was 19mins, ours was 22mins - but they are all experienced riders and have done lots of training and stuff like that. So I was totally wrapped with my performance.

The great thing is that Sue, Kath and I are all committed to the Day/Night Thriller in Taupo in Sept - so the training will continue so that next time I'm in the race I will be able to compete and offer more to my team than what I could for this race.

good to feel the sweat!

So this afternoon saw me head out for my first run in a few weeks. My silly back is still playing up but I thought I'd take the body out for a test run. The Moonride is less than two weeks away and the SBS marathon is at the end of the month. Its pretty certain that I won't be running the full marathon and I'm feeling a bit despondent about that - but have no one to blame but myself.

So I figured instead of sitting around the house feeling sorry for myself I'd take the frustration out on the road. It felt great...at the end of the 6km run. After about the first 1km I was thinking the couch was sounding like a great option. But I remembered the story Danielle Strickland shared about the rock and roll marathon and finishing the race, so I imagined myself running past live bands cheering me on and marines yelling at me not to give up....and it was great. When I arrived at home I felt I had more energy than when I started the run (go figure!)

So I am planning to run each day for the next 4 weeks and I want to build myself up to being able to do a good time for the 1/2 marathon at the end of May. Progress is slow but I'm making progress all the same.

I have issues!

I have been prompted to post an update thanks to my wonderful Godmother (thanks Aunt Ann). It's been a frustrating couple or three weeks. I have not been able to stick to any sort of routine with my training...no excuses will do. However the main issue for me at the moment is a sore back. I don't know what I have done and I don't know what to do. It has put me off riding for a couple of weeks but I have added incentive to get back on the bike.

Our moonride team has gone CO-ED! Here was me thinking my first experience of the 24 hour moonride would be with an awesome bunch of girls who just wanted to "give it a go!" Our time or number of laps wouldn't be that important...what would be most important is to have a great time together and to say..wow we did it (whatever it is). However plans have changed and Sue and I are now the only representatives for the girls. Suddenly lap times and quantity feels somehow more important. This of course could be fueled by Marks various tweets on his rides, the mathematics of a 50 lap race etc. No pressure aye Mark!

I am off to Australia on Thursday for a week to do some speaking at a couple of youth events. I contemplated taking my bike but with no bag for protection I decided against it. So the running shoes will have to do and perhaps the bike can come with me to Easter Camp. Whatever happens April must be the month of biking first, driving second (except when it comes to grocery shopping. That's too tough trying to balance the shopping bags on the handle bars).

RPM

Each time I visit THQ (the Salvation Army's national office in Wellington) I am usually asked "how are you?" or "How's things?". It seems that since word is spreading of my intention to enter the C2C10 and the earlier event of the Moonride (in May) the question I have been asked on my previous two visits and no doubt the ones to come is this "have you been out for a ride?" or "how's the training going?"

I'm conscious that I really need to establish my base fitness before working on the technical aspect of mountain biking (and road biking for that matter). So I have decided that I will make use of the RPM class that Les Mills run. Having had a membership at Les Mills for a number of years now I've dabbled with RPM and always enjoyed it, but never made the most of it.

Today I went to the class, got there nice and early, attempted to follow the picture directions of how to set up my bike and look like I knew what I was doing. It was a great class but it didn't take long to realise I had set my bike up wrong. After the class I introduced myself to the instructor, Tony, and asked him to help me get bike sorted.

I thought some accountability would also be a good thing, so I told him my intention with the C2C10 & M/R. He asked me if I wanted to be pushed during the classes. I've told him to give me a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of RPM & adjusting the resistance etc and then go for it.

So whether I'm on my bike, or at RPM I should be able to answer in the affirmative whenever I visit THQ

no matter the weather

After last Sunday's kayaking 'adventure' I took a couple of days break from training. I tried to go out for a run on tuesday but even walking the dog was painful. Aussie is a wonderful motivating factor though to keep going out and training - he's much easier to have around if he's been out for a good run. I've managed to fit in a couple of swims this week working on my breathing and lung capacity under water. Friday the weather turned to custard and its been gross ever since, but since the weather on the day could be like that, or worse, I figure the more I train in it the better.

I've decided that I am going to do the RPM cycling class at the gym during the week as much as possible to really kickstart my cycling fitness. Its a great class and has a real mix of intensity levels and has great music to go with it.

I'm still working out how I can get myself a kayak. I think I would feel much more comfortable being able to have my own kayak to practice in regularly so I am really familiar with it by the time the race comes next feb.

I hope we still have a bit more summer to go before the weather packs in completely but we'll see

kayak lesson - my first.....almost my last!

Well what a day today has been. A beautiful afternoon for a swim and my first kayak lesson with Simon. We started off nice and simple, just me in the kayak and him tipping it over. After a few goes I was able to resist the urge just to pop straight out and could hold myself under, count to 10 and then come out. This is a big improvement on my last effort and 4th form camp where I came straight out of the canoe instead of tapping the tune on the bottom before surfacing.

Next step was putting the skirt on and tipping in that. Getting the skirt on is a mission in itself and Sue and I bonded as we had to do a team effort to get the thing positioned right. The first couple of goes were great. I could feel the little tag at the front of the skirt and once ready to get out, gave it a tug and out I came.

On the third go, Si flipped me backwards rather than the usual sideways. That was all good. What wasn't so good was when I realised that when putting the skirt on the kayak I had accidentally put the tag under the skirt so was unable to grab it to release myself.

This is where panic set in. If I had been able to remain calm I could have got out by other means; but all that was going through my head was....how do I let them know I'm in trouble so they can come and get me, and I can't miss the divisional welcome tonight I'll get in trouble.

So I thrashed around under the water trying to stick my arm out of the water to signal for help, or get my head out of the water enough to yell help or hope that someone surely would realise I was in trouble and come and get me.

I was able to grab a quick breath and eventually caught a glimpse that I was near the edge of the pool and started yelling for help each time my mouth came near the surface.

I can laugh about it now, but at the time I seriously wasn't sure if I was going to ever get right side up. It was a hideous feeling being trapped under water knowing that your friends are just above you.

I've learned a couple of valuable lessons from today - always check your skirt to make sure nothing is tucked where it shouldn't be (a valuable lesson for any girl I think)

Panicking does nothing to help the situation, staying calm does

I can hold my breath for a reasonable length of time


My challenge now is to get back in the boat - for a few minutes afterwards I seriously thought that my dream of the C2C individual race was over as I couldn't face getting back in the water....

But with the perspective of time I will not be beaten just yet.....and I'll make sure that Simon is paying closer attention to my hand gestures :)

The Coast to Coast - That Guy Style

Check out the link and watch "how not to do the Coast to Coast" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxzz-mMxgLY

My mate (and coach) AJ is currently competing in this years teams section of the C2C. Wish I could be there to experience it all and get a feel for it before competing next year.

I'm settling for checking the progress of the race via the net (http://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/ and follow the link)

A YEAR CAN PASS SO QUICKLY

Now I'm not even sure if anyone in the world actually even reads this blog, but on the off-chance that someone has been following the progress, they will know that my original intention was to compete in the C2C09. That race is on as I write. The 2 day competitors have completed day one and the longest day guys and gals are probably trying to get some sleep as they have a very early start in the morning.

There is a twinge of sadness in me that I am not competing this year...after all that was my original intention. But I really don't know how I would have been ready to earn the right to start the race. I'm conscious of how quickly the year can go by and am determined not to find myself in the same position next year.

I did get up and go for a casual jog with Aussie this morning but was feeling pretty hammered after the heat and lack of sleep over the last couple of nights, along with the swimming lesson yesterday.

Simon said he'd start to teach me to roll a kayak tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm ready for that so we will see.

I'm feeling pretty inspired right now after watching some of the DVD about Chris Eatough, the guy who was 6x world champ at 24hr solo mountain biking. The guy is a legend and despite coming second in his bid for the 7th straight title win, he still road one amazing race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11oqeJFmeCg

The guts and determination that it takes to put your body and mind through something like that just leaves me speechless....and thinking, I might not be able to do that, but I reckon I might be able to do the 24 hr team race........so its off for a bike ride (after some sleep of course)

"Adult Improvement Classes"

I figure if I'm going to make myself Kayak down the Waimakariri river then the very first thing I need to do is be able to swim. Swimming and I have never got along too well....don't get me wrong - I love the water - I was just never too good at the floating part when I was a kid. I remember we used to have 'swim week' at my primary school. And while all my friends were swimming with each other and doing lengths and learning to dive, I was with the little kids learning to float!

I did swimming lessons for a while in intermediate school and they really helped, but like anything practice makes permanent and I have not practiced swimming for a very long time.

So tonight I had my first 'adult improvement class' where one instructor is trying to help 6 people all at varying levels of competency improve themselves. I did ok...I didn't swallow too much water and managed to almost swim a whole length.

I have much improving to do. I feel slightly embarrassed that at my age my swimming capabilities are so sucky, but then I think "at least I'm doing something about it". I think what will make next weeks lesson would be if I didn't eat two chit chats and a cheese and tomato sandwich on the way to the pool!!

Moonride

In the lead up to the C2C10 I am planning to do a few events. The first one coming up (at this stage) is the 24 hour moonride mountain biking race ( www.moonride.co.nz) I will be riding the 24 hour teams race with some friends. I am excited about this and the challenge of being able to 'master' the mountain bike and overcome the challenge of staying up fo such a long period of time with no sleep.

one step closer

Who needs an alarm clock when one has a dog! 5;15am Aussie (the decided name for new dog) came in and woke me up. I thought about sleeping again but then remembered that Sue was going for her first training run at 6am....and I didn't want to find myself in the position where Sue & Simon complete the coast to coast while I sit on a couch eating potato chips and think about what could have been, all because of my lack of discipline. So I got up and Aussie and I went for a run. We tried to time it so that we might meet Sue at her house but when we got there all lights were off. I was either too early or too late. So off we went. Using the harness was much better than just the collar and I found myself (and the dog) being able to run at a much more even pace today. This probably contributed to my ability today to run for much longer than yesterday and only had to stop occasionally when the dog halted suddenly in front of me, or a car was coming.

So I'm both one day closer and a few steps closer to the race. I'm not yet ready to start a daily countdown....but its coming.

training partners

I'm quite excited.....I have some training buddies. Firstly there are Sue & Simon Stevens. They have decided to compete in the C2C10 too which is great...especially since they live just down the road from me. I'm already feeling motivated by them.

My other new training buddie is currently between names. He is formally known as Pluto....I have yet to name him. We went out for our first run together this morning. By the state of his running technique no one can accuse him of being a regular runner! By the state of my running technique the same could probably be said of me.

We managed a circuit of about 6km but by the end of it he was pooped and my hangs were rather sore from his constant tugging on the lead. He's certainly a great resistance training method. I think my arms are going to be sorer than my legs tomorrow.

For me having others to train with is such a great motivating factor. It's got to be good for me. All I need now is a name for "dog".......

It has begun

Yay! I finally took my bike out for a real ride. I decided that I would get used to the bike before I attempted getting used to the shoes. That was a great idea if I do say so myself. There is a lot to get used to on a road bike - especially when one has been used to riding a mountain bike or raleigh 20!

I enjoyed being able to get all the pieces of clothing that I had collected over the last few months - cycling shorts, sports bra, cycling top, gloves, helmet and sunglasses.

I looked the part even if I didn't feel it :)

I still have lots to learn and so these next weeks are going to be a real challenge as I learn to make the best use of the bike and its capabilities. A bike is only as good as its rider....the potential is great but if unused...it remains just potential....a little like life really.

its as easy as riding a bike!

So I'm in Melbourne, having spent two weeks in this glorious city with the most amazing bunch of people. I've wandered around the streets, the parks and walked alongside the river and felt inspired to be active - which is just as well considering all that lies ahead this year.

At Insane youth conference I lost count of the number of stairs I either ran/walked up or down each day but lets just say everything is feeling tighter....who needs a stairmaster!

I fly back tonight and then tomorrow begins the serious business of training. Unfortunately I find myself in a place of feeling scared about the stupid bike!

I know I can ride a bike...Ive done it for years. Its the shoes being attached to the pedals that I'm struggling with. People sometimes refer to something as being as easy as riding a bike....however I would want to suggest that perhaps its better to say "its simple but not easy"

I'm hoping that the scar already acquired on my arm will be the only one gained in my efforts to relearn to ride a bike.

Either way I've got to be prepared to fall or I'll never be willing to try