A HUGE thank you to everyone who purchased some cheese rolls. Also to the many that helped me make thousands of them. Definately on the road to being able to compete in Challenge Roth :)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
New Zealand Standard Distance Championships
Even though i have decided i will primarily race longer triathlons from now on it is always fun to mix it up, so i entered myself in the NZ Standard Distance Champs. This race involved a 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run.
Leading up to the event i was a little nervous as my mock race run and especially bike efforts were not much faster than if i had been doing an Ironman. With speed being a big factor in the upcoming race i wasnt sure how my long distance body would match up.
Race day came and was suprisingly quite a nice morning for Wellington. Usually i would be preparing for gale force winds up there! I was kind of hoping it might change to a duathlon with the Tsunami warning (swimming is not my favourite part of the race) but all was well and we lined up for the swim. Off we went...
My swim was ok and didnt get hit too much at the start. I did get a good wack to the upper arm near the end though. I came out of the water 18th out of around 120ish. At the time i thought i was a lot further back. Usually i end up playing catch up after the swim which i dont mind too much as i love the bike.
On to the bike i was feeling fairly comfortable and enjoying the fact that it would be only 40km rather than 180km. The bike course is out and back on a road following the harbour. Mostly flat with a couple of small inclines near the turn around. I started to pass a few people as the ride went on. It was difficult to get into a rythm with lots of corners (i definitely need to practise those at high speeds!) and a lot of people on the course with the men having started 5minutes before us. It is meant to be a non drafting race so everyone is required to stay the allocated distance away from each other.
Off the bike and onto the run i was feeling pretty fresh, but knew it was going to be a big task to try make my legs run fast! I had passed a few girls near the end of the bike but because of a very slow transition 2 by the time i started the run they were half way up the road...dam it. So i now had the task of making my legs run really fast to try catch them again.
My legs were not doing as they were told but still mangaed an ok run and passed all but one of the girls that had passed me in T2. Ended up being only 2 seconds between us at the finish line. Came away with winning my age group and an overall placing of 3rd. By all means not a bad day.
It definitely made me realise that i really love long distance racing though. I like having more catch up time after the swim to make your mark. I will however still mix up my training with some short races to work on speed, but the main focus now is for the Cairns Half Ironman in June and Challenge Roth in July. Finishing off my international races for the year with Standard Distance World Champs in Beijing in September.
A big thanks to R and R Sport who supplied me with my new racing kit for the event. It was super comfortable and Newton Running for my trusty Stability Racers.
Leading up to the event i was a little nervous as my mock race run and especially bike efforts were not much faster than if i had been doing an Ironman. With speed being a big factor in the upcoming race i wasnt sure how my long distance body would match up.
Race day came and was suprisingly quite a nice morning for Wellington. Usually i would be preparing for gale force winds up there! I was kind of hoping it might change to a duathlon with the Tsunami warning (swimming is not my favourite part of the race) but all was well and we lined up for the swim. Off we went...
My swim was ok and didnt get hit too much at the start. I did get a good wack to the upper arm near the end though. I came out of the water 18th out of around 120ish. At the time i thought i was a lot further back. Usually i end up playing catch up after the swim which i dont mind too much as i love the bike.
On to the bike i was feeling fairly comfortable and enjoying the fact that it would be only 40km rather than 180km. The bike course is out and back on a road following the harbour. Mostly flat with a couple of small inclines near the turn around. I started to pass a few people as the ride went on. It was difficult to get into a rythm with lots of corners (i definitely need to practise those at high speeds!) and a lot of people on the course with the men having started 5minutes before us. It is meant to be a non drafting race so everyone is required to stay the allocated distance away from each other.
Off the bike and onto the run i was feeling pretty fresh, but knew it was going to be a big task to try make my legs run fast! I had passed a few girls near the end of the bike but because of a very slow transition 2 by the time i started the run they were half way up the road...dam it. So i now had the task of making my legs run really fast to try catch them again.
My legs were not doing as they were told but still mangaed an ok run and passed all but one of the girls that had passed me in T2. Ended up being only 2 seconds between us at the finish line. Came away with winning my age group and an overall placing of 3rd. By all means not a bad day.
It definitely made me realise that i really love long distance racing though. I like having more catch up time after the swim to make your mark. I will however still mix up my training with some short races to work on speed, but the main focus now is for the Cairns Half Ironman in June and Challenge Roth in July. Finishing off my international races for the year with Standard Distance World Champs in Beijing in September.
A big thanks to R and R Sport who supplied me with my new racing kit for the event. It was super comfortable and Newton Running for my trusty Stability Racers.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Challenge Wanaka
It is never a good start when you wake up race morning to the sound of trees banging against your window, but living in Dunedin I have often had to train in the wind so wasn’t too worried about it, that is until I stepped outside! It is amazing how Wanaka changed from such a beautiful still sunny Friday to overcast and gale force winds on Saturday, but I guess that is why it is called Challenge. For those of you who don’t know an Iron Distance Race includes a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a 42.2km run.
Going into my first Ironman I definitely had mixed feelings about how the race would pan out. If I would get my nutrition right, would I be able to pace myself throughout the day so as to not burn out and what would the weather do to affect my race.
Walking to the swim I could see the water was starting to chop up. It honestly wasn’t bothering me though, I was just thinking thank god its not salt water ill be choking on (swimming is not my strongest discipline). The swim start was pretty chaotic. For a good 10minutes it felt as though people were swimming on top of you, so I was just trying to control my breathing and not get hit too many times. Once around the first of the two lap course the field had started to spread out and I was feeling comfortable with my pace.
Out of the water and into T1 I spent far too much time mucking around with my Garmin watch but it was something that was important to me to ensure that I paced myself on the bike as I have a habit of bashing the bike and not leaving enough for the run. This might work in the past with an Olympic race where the run is only 10km but I knew 42km would be a little different.
The bike was brutal with high winds from start to finish. The bike however is my strongest discipline so I tried to use that to my advantage. Rather than trying to go as fast as I could with the tail wind I tried to reserve some energy for the head wind on the other side of the lake which I knew would suck a lot of energy out of riders. As I turned into the head wind at Cromwell I couldn’t believe just how tough the head wind was. My speed was in the high 40kms on the other side of the lake and now it had dropped below 20km/hour. I put my head down and focused on trying to keep a steady cadence. I soon started to pass riders on the way to Tarras.
Coming into T2 I was third women off the bike and knew the run would be tough. Previously my longest run only being 26km, it was important to start off slow. For the first lap I focused on pacing myself sticking to my pre race strategy. It was important to ease my legs into the run so that my injuries did not flare up. Sure enough my legs held out. On to the second lap I just managed to hold my form but at a slightly slower pace and finished the run in 3 hours 56minutes. A time I was pleased with for my first marathon and longest run ever. My choice of Newton Stability Racers was perfect for race day and can not wait to race in them again.
I finished in 11 hours 6mins for my first Ironman, many of the professionals said that this was the hardest race of their career.
I was the first female amateur home with an overall placing of 5th. Recovery is going well and my next major race is the Challenge Cairns Half Ironman in June which I hope to race as a professional. Watch this space…
A big thank you to friends and family that came to support me on the day as well as my sponsors R & R Sport and Newton.
Happy Training…Tams
Going into my first Ironman I definitely had mixed feelings about how the race would pan out. If I would get my nutrition right, would I be able to pace myself throughout the day so as to not burn out and what would the weather do to affect my race.
Walking to the swim I could see the water was starting to chop up. It honestly wasn’t bothering me though, I was just thinking thank god its not salt water ill be choking on (swimming is not my strongest discipline). The swim start was pretty chaotic. For a good 10minutes it felt as though people were swimming on top of you, so I was just trying to control my breathing and not get hit too many times. Once around the first of the two lap course the field had started to spread out and I was feeling comfortable with my pace.
Out of the water and into T1 I spent far too much time mucking around with my Garmin watch but it was something that was important to me to ensure that I paced myself on the bike as I have a habit of bashing the bike and not leaving enough for the run. This might work in the past with an Olympic race where the run is only 10km but I knew 42km would be a little different.
The bike was brutal with high winds from start to finish. The bike however is my strongest discipline so I tried to use that to my advantage. Rather than trying to go as fast as I could with the tail wind I tried to reserve some energy for the head wind on the other side of the lake which I knew would suck a lot of energy out of riders. As I turned into the head wind at Cromwell I couldn’t believe just how tough the head wind was. My speed was in the high 40kms on the other side of the lake and now it had dropped below 20km/hour. I put my head down and focused on trying to keep a steady cadence. I soon started to pass riders on the way to Tarras.
Coming into T2 I was third women off the bike and knew the run would be tough. Previously my longest run only being 26km, it was important to start off slow. For the first lap I focused on pacing myself sticking to my pre race strategy. It was important to ease my legs into the run so that my injuries did not flare up. Sure enough my legs held out. On to the second lap I just managed to hold my form but at a slightly slower pace and finished the run in 3 hours 56minutes. A time I was pleased with for my first marathon and longest run ever. My choice of Newton Stability Racers was perfect for race day and can not wait to race in them again.
I finished in 11 hours 6mins for my first Ironman, many of the professionals said that this was the hardest race of their career.
I was the first female amateur home with an overall placing of 5th. Recovery is going well and my next major race is the Challenge Cairns Half Ironman in June which I hope to race as a professional. Watch this space…
A big thank you to friends and family that came to support me on the day as well as my sponsors R & R Sport and Newton.
Happy Training…Tams
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