Karen writes: Back on two wheels

Well, maybe not war, but certainly serious preparation is underway now.   And I don’t know what Kate is worried about, while I have concentrated only on running for months to keep my measly little 20 seconds per kilometer ahead, she has been attending twice a week spin sessions, and swim training most of the year.  She has dragged me into an early morning swim tomorrow, I am sure it is to demonstrate tumble turning, superior technique, and advanced speed while I flail along in the water trying to remember how to breath and which bits to waggle or flap when.

I had my first bike-ride on the open road on Saturday, I was ashamed to see that my poor bike needs a serious clean, it still has drink stains on it from last years Taupo cycle challenge.  The story with this is that every year on that ride we have a traditional stop at the service station about 30km out of Taupo, its there I fill my empty drink bottle with coca-cola which I sip to get through that last dash to the finish line (it really works, provided you don’t start too early with it).   I did learn to my detriment one year that you never fill a bike drink bottle up with carbonated fluid and close the sipper top tightly, after riding for a while I opened the top of the bottle with my teeth and got the insides of my nasal passages cleaned out forcibly with brown fizz, not a nice thing to happen on two wheels going at speed!  I now fill the bottle and leave the lid slightly open, I don’t get the internal workings of my head pressure-washed but my legs and the bike tend to end up spattered with sticky stuff.

But after my initial trepidation (I am always nervous about getting back on the cycle if I haven’t ridden for a while), and once I had safely gotten past all the malicious car door openers and 'don't look before you back your car out' cyclist maimers at the beach, I remembered that I actually really enjoy whipping along on the old Scott bike in the fresh air. One thing is your head is so much higher than when out running or in your average car so you end up seeing a whole lot more, you smell things like flowers, grass, hay, warm tarseal, (the occasional dead possum goes past pretty quick fortunately) and actually hear the insects and birds and animals. Having the legs working smoothly without pressure on the joints feels great and I did 36km at an average of 25km/hour out around Clevedon, which was a super speed for me, I normally laze along.  Here’s hoping I can maintain that as the distance goes up in subsequent weeks, an added bonus was picking up a Rugby World Cup silver fern flag which must have blown off a car, it now flutters proudly from under my seat...litter retrieval and patriotism all at one go...Yay Allblacks!

I also had my first run with the Te Puru runners since the marathon, followed by a pancake breakfast meeting to look at where the group is going and how it can more actively encourage others in the district to run and walk, especially children.  Exciting possibilities there, I feel a bit guilty about needing to stay a bit selfish about my own training needs on Sunday’s though, but hopefully I can still help out with some things.  Unfortunately guilt is really an inescapable part of training for a serious event, whether it is feeling that you are neglecting the Whanau, the housework, your studies, work, your friends, your community, or pretty much everything else, its just part of the huge demand training puts on your time, and your energy.