South Island Half Ironman Champs & Gore 1/3 Ironman

In the past few months i have done a couple of local races in the South Island to get in some good hit outs to test the body. First up was the South Island Half Ironman Champs held in Ashburton in November. They had changed the swim and run course slightly from other years which I feel definitely made the race tougher and more interesting.. I had an ok race, but didn’t feel particularly strong in any part. I had recently sold my time trial bike and my new one was yet to arrive. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable on the bike but surprisingly had a good fast ride. I ended up with a PB over this distance which was great as the new run course felt a lot harder than in previous years. In fact my swim and run time were slower than usual, so it was through a strong bike ride that i managed 4.39, coming 2nd female.. Next goal will be to try and break 4.30!

I didn’t feel my recovery was as fast as it usually is after a race of this distance so it took me a while to get back in to the swing of things. With a month of steady training it was on to the next race. In early December I went and raced down in Gore. They usually have this race after Challenge Wanaka. This year they decided to have it earlier and change the distance a little in the hopes it would attract more people as a build up to Wanaka. It was now a 1/3 distance ironman race. Its a classic race as the swim is basically in a man made shallow lake well more like a pond in a paddock where you complete 2laps (trying not to get your hands stuck in the mud) to make 1.5km. You then make your way out on to the road for the cycle which is made up of 10km laps with a few really good hills in it. For the new distance we did 6laps. Then a 15km run with more hills and varying terrain through farm land and out on the road. Overall it’s a great course leading up to Challenge Wanaka. I once again found the run quite tough. It was a hot day down there with very little wind. I have to learn how to make the trunks run faster or trim them down! For this race I was able to use my new time trial bike - a Giant Trinity. A huge thank you to the guys at R and R Sport for slaving away, getting it put together for me to fit perfectly. I really enjoyed the bike course. The hills are great fun. I placed 1st female here.

Back home in Dunedin getting stuck into some decent training preparing for the next races...and not over indulging at Christmas.  January is going to be a big month with the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman and then two weeks later Challenge Wanaka. Cant wait :)

Training pic of me running in Ross Creek in the rain! Hope summer hurrys up :)

A huge thank you to all my sponsors. Especially Physio Plus who have increased their sponsorship for 2012. It all helps in such a big way to me being able in race in this sport.