First up was Challenge Batemans Bay in the middle of March. It was a whirlwind few days. First Glen and i set off on a few flights to Sydney then jumped in a car and drove the 3+hours to Batemans Bay. Arriving in the dark after a long day of travel we set off for a wee jog. Nice and warm, super :) I enjoyed this race. It had a good tough bike course with lots of climbs. I fell backwards on the run though loosing 3 or 4 places and finished with 8th place. Not a great result but a good training day. Back in the car straight after the race to Sydney then flew home first thing the next morning. Very tiring
Next up the following weekend was the Otago Triathlon Standard Distance Championships. I was looking forward to this race. Although not a huge amount of competitors it is a good short hard hit out. I came away with the win and 3rd across the line.
The next weekend it was off to Wanaka for the Southern Lakes Half Marathon. I knew this was going to be a challenge as my run training was limited going in with a niggly calf but i hadnt ran a half marathon in a long time so wanted to see where i was at. Finished 2nd with a 1.25. 6minutes off my PB but good to have a solid run.
Now on to Ironman Australia. I had competed in this event last year but pulled out half way through the run with a knee injury so i really wanted to go back and have a better crack. Glen and i headed over a good few days before the event to get ourselves ready. I knew i was a little underdone training wise with injuries having bothered me off and on over the past year, but thanks to working with Casey from Kinetic Health for the past couple of weeks my body was feeling injury free. This made me very excited to race. There hadnt been many days in the past year that i would set out training and not feel strain coming from my calf or knee.
My swim felt pretty good. Coming out in 55mins was great considering my lack of consistent swim training. On to the bike i was feeling pretty good and by 45km had worked my way up in to 3rd position. I was able to hold this until around 135km when Mel Burke from NZ came flying past me. I was starting to tire in the wind. Everyone said they felt the bike course was really windy and hard but i definitely think it was still easier than winds we have seen at Challenge Wanaka. That race prepares you for anything! The last 20k of the bike i found my energy again and was actually enjoying the climbs. Its the first time i havent been dying to get off my bike and would of minded another 50k. Coming in to T2 i was surprised to find out that i was only 30secs behind Mel. I was excited about the marathon ahead, the legs were feeling great and i knew all i had to do was have a solid run and i could finish in the top 5. That was until around 5km in to the run when i started to feel pain in my feet like i have never felt before! The soles of my feet felt like knives were going through them and no matter what i tried to do the pain wouldnt go away. I tipped water on them, loosened the laces, stopped and stretched and tried to run on different parts of my feet. Nothing was working and it was just getting worse. As i started to walk and watch people pass me there wasnt a lot i could do. Then and there i made the decision that i was going to finish somehow so i spent the second half of the marathon walk/jogging. Everyone out on the course was great. There was no way i could just walk off the course when all these other people were racing and getting to the finish. I saw Glen was also having a bad marathon and was also on the walk/jog stage. We both got to the finish line and it was the best feeling. There was going to be no regrets the next day. I did what i could. In the back of my mind i was still excited about these non injured new legs i had and knew one day they were going to run like they should.
A couple of days of R&R and then back to NZ. Big thanks to the Hurlston family for putting Glen and i up in Port Macquarie. Also my sponsors Cycle World, Shoe Clinic Dunedin, Aloe Up Sun and Skin Care, Nathan Performance Gear and coach Keegan Williams.
AND
A huge welcome aboard to Kinetic Health, who are going to be taking care of my injury prevention and treatment. Casey and her team really know what they are talking about with sporting injuries and keeping the body in tip top condition. The results i have seen already with Active Release Therapy has been amazing. If you want to check out more about what is on offer at Kinetic Health check out their website
http://kinetichealth.co.nz
