Karen and Kate's journey to Ironman and beyond

I have officially paid for, and received confirmation that I am registered for the 2013 Ironman.  The printout is pinned to my wall behind the computer, I can see it when I glance up.  YAAAAY! Hmmm, we might be doing the budget grocery shop this weekend...

Oh Kate.   What can I say apart from thank goodness you got onto that when you did!   The spectre of Melanoma is one to  think about when you spend hours and hours out on the road in the Kiwi sun, and belonging to the generation roasted from an early age in the name of a ‘healthy tan’ (usually with lashings of vegetable oil applied), we aren't the only ones for whom it is a serious consideration.   Overall I shall remember March 2012 as having had more than it’s fair share of disappointments, starting with our Ironman experience, then a succession of things on the personal front, all with the backdrop of the very unsettled Health Promotion work environment right now, and then Kate’s near miss to top it all off.  To introduce a bit of trivia, in spite of (or perhaps because of?) all the other serious stuff, possibly the most annoying thing right now is a song which has been stuck in my head since hearing in on Radio NZ National last week, it was someo...

Its a funny thing waiting for test results. You never think that they will be bad. Well Tuesday night the phone rang whilst I was driving home, so like a good girl I did not answer the phone. It was my GP saying that she did not want to leave the results on the phone and will call me at home. Hypochondria set in! I waited all night until I went to bed. I was going to die! I know that's stupid but its the way I think. The following morning I get to stalk my GP. I find her in the car park of a different surgery that she works in. She beams at me and tells me that I should buy a lotto ticket, the mole was pre melanoma! It had been caught before it had turned nasty. What a relief I can breath again. I need to go and have more of the arm removed and a check for any other moles, but basically I will be ok. But it made me think about the sun. I'm usually good with sunblock, but now I think arm and leg protection is a must. I've seen some nice red arm warmers I will buy those....

Just got serious after 3 weeks of mucking around in regards training, a 5 week programme for the Rotorua Marathon has arrived from Grant by email.  Today's scheduled effort is my favourite...NOT...gym, 9 exercises, split into 3 groups by 4 minutes of hard spin. It's not hard work, I just struggle to start, and then struggle to keep going.  The girls tried to help, but I was too worried about someone damaging themselves with their enthusiastic swinging of the weights, then when the swiss ball started getting bounced back and forwards between them in the lounge it was time for my helpers to be retired reluctantly to bed. It's funny, after all that hard work before the Ironman, I now don't have any confidence in my fitness, hopefully getting back onto a programme I can prove to myself that I am still fit!  I am losing weight though, while I was working so hard before my weight had gone up to 75kg, now I'm down to 73kg, still eating too much and not doing nearly as mu...

Older daughter went to bed last night curiously unconcerned that the weather looked dreadful, the wind was blowing and the rain was drumming on the tin roof, but she had perfect confidence that her Weetbix triathlon was going to go ahead this morning. Everyone was reluctant to get out of bed to head off into the cold, wet dark, I can relate to that, but as we hit the edges of the city and saw the city lights, then started spotting other cars with bikes on them the mood lifted.   St Heliers weather was just as bad as Maraetai weather.   Rain and rain, oh that is such familiar stuff.   By the time it was daylight, the rain was slowing, and by the time the swim started the sun was out, it was a perfect day, so perfect I was regretting not plastering everyone with sunscreen.  Really busy though, there was a madly milling press of kids on the field, an unending stream of bobbing red, black, blue, yellow, orange heads in the water, then frantic activity...

I am getting ready for Ironman. Well its a year away, so its those jobs I have put off. I am seeing a nice physio in Parnell who specialises in sports injury's. The Achilles seems better and I did a good run the other day. I have just got to remember to stretch. The other job I needed to do is have a mole removed. The Dr said last year that it did not need urgently removing so on Friday I had it removed. I kept my eyes closed the whole time, only opening them once to see this huge hole in my arm. I have the arm strapped up and huge bandages holding it all together. It does not hurt! but I think the strapping does. Anyway it has put my plan of an ocean swim off, the wetsuit can  be put away for a few months. I woke up this morning thinking I would go for a run but the rain was pouring down, and I cannot get the bandage wet! So I went off for a good walk on West Coast Beach with Rach and the dogs. I wore my arm warmers to protect my arm, but the sun came out and we had a ...

Today was long run day, and I made the mistake of not thinking about the fact that the Auckland half Ironman participants were heading off on their bikes on the same stretch of road I was going to be spending 3 hours plodding along in the sun. It wasn't a problem heading towards Clevedon, but when I turned around and came back I was running straight into the oncoming stream of cyclists.  While leaping into the drain and back out again played havoc with my legs, that was almost made up for by having the opportunity to play one of my favorite games, 'mad smiley runner'. How you play the game is you smile at everyone you see and see if you can get a response.  Sometimes you wave, sometimes sing out a cheery "hi there".   As expected, the fastest ones with the flashest gear didn't apparently see me, I got about a 1 in 20 strike rate from that lot.  As the field spread out though it was a different story, there were surprised smiles back, some "hello's...

It all seemed a bit of a fizzer entering online this time.  Last time I remember we were both soooo anxious, so jittery about actually pushing the button which committed us to what seemed like complete madness.   Afterwards I felt physically sick and had to walk around a bit with "what have I done" running round and round in my head.  I'm not sure anyone in the office actually believed at the time we were going to really sign up, including us! This time the anxiety is about not getting in rather than the event itself.  Although we have been promised guaranteed places, the worry is more along the lines of "what if I made a mistake?", or "what if the computer malfunctioned?" and it turns out I'm not entered at all (and Kate is!). Last year the unknown was part of the excitement of the process of our first ever Ironman.  This year, its a peculiar hybrid of the known and the less known...we know we can complete the training, we know what we need an...

Sigh.  I've signed up for the 2013 Ironman too.

Well madness or maybe its sanity has arrived. I filled in the boxes and said yes I am interested in booking a place for IM 2013. It is unfinished business. Several people from my training camp have also booked in, so its like a big family all supporting each other. Karen is at Uni today so can not do it until this evening. She better do it!

We have a marathon in less than 6 weeks, training is getting serious again on Monday after a couple of quiet weeks.  Last night I had an altercation with a chair leg while hanging washing out on the deck in the dark...that isn't a toe which will take kindly to being squashed into a running shoe in a hurry!

I am…ahem…a mature athlete.  In many respects my body is in better shape than it has ever been, better than when I was much younger and skinnier, and certainly it works and feels better when working than when I was a teenage runner back in the days when modern concepts of sports hydration and nutrition hadn’t been invented.   I like my arms again after years of covering them up, I enjoy my hard working legs, I have hopes for ongoing improvement in various other bits as the strength training continues to slowly make changes, and I love being able to burst into activity…just because I want to.    Like when smallest daughter was learning to cycle, I could run beside her without a thought, or older daughter is currently training for a weetbix triathlon , she might be faster, but I can keep going when she runs out of puff. Sometimes things remind you that you aren’t a youngster any more though, that time thing shifts the goal posts in subtle but nonetheless imp...

I have a whole year of getting ready for the ironman. So time to but new equipment. I am trying a nike sportsband. I'm not very good with electrical equipment and can not even get a watch to work . So why try this one? Well it only has one button! It should help with measuring my runs and timing them. I have down loaded the info and waiting for the usb thingy to charge. I will run later and see how it goes.

I said "I want to do Rotorua marathon faster".   Grant the Ironman trainer hasn't given up on me yet and said "how fast?".  He suggested rather facetiously that if it was just a few seconds I could do a sprint at the finish.  I said I wanted to do under 4 1/2 hours, I always aim for 4 1/2 hours and haven't quite managed it yet. Kerre Woodham (one of my marathoning inspirations, see this 2008 interview)  did 4 1/2 hours in her first marathon effort, not me though.  Given my failure to achieve even this goal in spite of repeated attempts, I thought I was being a bit brave by adding on the "under" word. My friend said "go for 4 hours, you can do it".  I muttered something about setting goals which weren't going to embarrass me too much when I failed to meet them. Fast is something which worries me a bit.   I can plod along at snails pace, not much faster than walking if truth be known, but I feel like I could do it forever if I had ...

I came home feeling very despondent from Ironman that did not happen. I was given two lovely presents. the first was my new number plate. IRON K8. It was a nickname that I was given and now seems to fit. I will just have to do Ironman next year now! I was also given a lovely top , from my sister and niece. It is beautiful and I will enjoy it. Plan of action, I will learn to swim faster and breathe on both sides. I will bike more and get stronger, I am seeing a physio about the Achilles heel and will do my exercise! I will run!

After what turned out to be a couple of light training weeks...ha ha...I am ready to get moving again with a view to doing a better job of the Rotorua Marathon which is in just under 7 weeks time.  I plan on bringing my time down, wanting under 4 1/2 hours for the 42km if that is physically possible.  The photos also came back from Taupo, I am not in the least bit tempted to buy them, partly because it wasn't the looked forward to real event, but also there is nothing like unflattering shots in lycra AND neoprene to make you think seriously about how losing a few kgs might be a worthwhile investment if you want to stride it out in public again...weight loss is not sensible in the latter stages of a serious training programme, no excuse right now however, except for an ongoing case of the impossible hungries. So I had a short run on Saturday evening to see if the legs were going to work, and then a lovely 16km run on Sunday which reinforced the fact...that yes the legs do sti...

Going a bit nuts here.   Feeling physically in excellent shape, wanting to do some exercise, but figuring since there is another whole year of training ahead, it’s probably a good idea to take the opportunity to have a wee rest right now.   Also, there is plenty written about recovering after a big event, nothing about what to do for a big event which simply didn't happen...it's like the training momentum builds and builds, then....crash...nothing!  And while the half IM saved us on the day, it was still a shorter effort than some training days had been in recent times. Just heard that the entry for next years Ironman isn’t opening tomorrow morning as was advertised, apparently there is work to be done first sorting out the reduced rate overseas Ironman opportunities which were to be offered to us as compensation for our 'lost' event.  Not an option for me and Kate, we just want to sign up for next years Taupo version, and we will remain on tenterhooks until we...

Today I feel more positive about the event. We completed another Half Ironman and I can still walk! I had to re think the day and my timing. Swim The water was 15 degrees, thought it might be cold but once in , it was really quite nice. I warmed up and got ready to start. I could not see where I was going but just followed the rest of the girls. I came across a pink float so knew I was on the right course. Eventually I found a big buoy in the water I had gone off the course a bit but swam over to it and along to the next one. The water was a little choppy at this stage but I knew we had turned the corner and was on our way home. I found the other end and a big buoy there and the flags were flying and home I went. It took me 51 minutes. Bike Transition was slow 10 minutes, but there was a long walk to the tents. Next time I will run a little. I had a great bike ride, doing an average of 24k an hour. Enjoyed most of  it and even got an official telling off for being too ...

The sun is out, however it is getting cooler in Auckland now that Autumn has officially started.  Not that it ever got particularly warm this summer, which had the benefit of making training more comfortable.    And I’m feeling much more positive today.   I’m also feeling more tired, having forgotten that it isn’t the day immediately after an event I feel any impact, it’s usually the second day.   Still no aches and pains, a bit tight across the lower back which has been a longer term problem, thighs a bit stiff when I get up from the chair after sitting for a while, and just that residual low energy.   Even the blisters have flattened themselves out and while a bit ugly are no longer tender.  It goes to show that even though we were trained for twice the distance, a half Ironman is still a significant drain on the body. So, the plan.  1)   Body (and mind) recovery this week. 2)   In the next week or so we will tally up the ...

Getting to Ironman has been an emotional journey. Having arrived on Thursday, booked in and got to the race meeting we were very excited. I found my coach Gerrard and the group of friends from camp, we sat down to listen to all the rules and regulations. Falling asleep as the last speaker got up to talk and started talking about the weather BOMB. Well that woke me up. We might not be able to do the swim, he said. Ok I was worried about the swim, that's OK I thought. Then he said if there is no bike race there will be no race.  OMG, we might not be doing it! My coach was sitting with us and he told us all to carry on as normal and get ready. Friday came and the morning was spent getting our bags ready and bikes ready and then off to town we went. We booked our bikes in and looked the part as if we were going to become Ironmen. It was going to be cold so we also went to buy more clothes.  The extra meeting that night at 4pm was an eerie experience, 1600 people jammed int...

With the 2012 Taupo Ironman being cancelled because of the 'unprecedented' weather, the organisers kindly pulled out all stops to run a half Ironman on the Sunday, for which I am pathetically grateful. Losing our first Ironman opportunity then going home with no culminating point of all that training and effort would have been devastating emotionally and physically. Getting to that Sunday race however was an event in itself, is it on, isn’t it?  That extra day of eating was a killer and it was hard to take anything too seriously about getting ready…in case the substitute was cancelled too. Sunday morning, up at 5am, race breakfast of rice porridge and yoghurt, look at the weather and figure out gear, panadol on the way out the door, and down to race start. The process was different because we had taken our bikes back home on Friday to keep them out of the bad weather so we wheeled our bikes, carrying our swim bags and wetsuits into the main tent with 1500 others. We had to st...

Just a quick blog post because I have just arrived home, bundled tired, grumpy children into bed, sorted out what the cats have brought into the house in our absence and put the first of several loads of washing on from the weekend away. We did get our Half Ironman today (they call it a 70.3, it's a 'half').   I was slower than the last one I did at Rotorua, (7 hours 14 min), Kate took more off her Rotorua event time in spite of injury problems, and it was a big day for a variety of reasons, not least of which was the emotional roller coaster of the few days before and the bitterly cold start. Anyway, coming home with the medal, towel and finishers t-shirt is bittersweet, we are entitled to them as that was the official 2012 Ironman event for NZ, but I suspect these things will be tucked quietly away in my cupboard to only be fully appreciated when the real thing has been achieved.  Yes, you heard that right, on the day the entries open for Ironman 2013, I may possibly ...

Kate and me have just been for a walk when we should have been out racing, probably we would have been out of the water and on the bike by now.  We admit that an Ironman race couldn't have been safely run today, in spite of the sunshine when we woke up.   We walked along the lakefront, held our arms out and the wind blowing directly into our faces nearly held us upright.  The lake was a washing machine, the air was cold and my ears hurt. We talked about how we had read about 'post' event depression. We decided we were suffering from 'lost' event depression and that for a variety of reasons it was important to make every effort to do tomorrows half Ironman if they offer it.  It will make things complicated in terms of extending the accommodation, cleaning before we leave, packing, and getting back to Auckland late on Sunday to be ready for an early start at work and school on Monday. First - whanau, yes, they are behind us. Second - accommodation - the fabulous ...

Well, most people (in New Zealand anyway), will have heard that Ironman NZ has been cancelled, something very rare in Ironman history. We made our way to the briefing at 4pm, the dramatically worsening weather was described (last night there were worries about 45km winds, now it is 140km winds), and this weather affects most of the country with Civil Defence on alert, power companies expecting power outages, and warnings for flooding and property damage.  So 2012 Ironman has actually been cancelled.  We all sort of expected to lose the swim, I don't think anyone really thought a whole event cancellation could possibly happen. Imagine the room, the 1600 athletes, of whom around 500 are first timers like us, this is something we have all worked really hard for, our friends and families have made all sorts of efforts to get us here over the long period of preparation.  We all have something to prove to ourselves and we have dreamed of that IM medal, but we also heard about...

I was feeling so twitchy this morning I went for a short run early.  It was cold, I was still feeling anxious about whether we would even be racing tomorrow, but that little run was reassuring on two counts.  Firstly, the legs still work.  Secondly, but most importantly, there were a heap of others out there, obviously all with the same aim, all running, cycling intently, and a few hardy souls heading wetsuited for the water. It has been such a strange day, cold first thing and windy.  Now all is eerily quiet on the weather front, as though we are all WAITING for something to happen.  Ohhhh, if only the Ironman was today it would be an excellent day, calm, mild, overcast.  The man at the bakery asked if I knew what was happening because he would normally open early for IM day, the mechanic said "of course its going ahead", and the volunteers are all business as usual. So all goes per plan, the bikes have gone into the cycle pen not to be seen again till...

Sleep was a bit of a problem last night.  I tossed and turned for a variety of reasons, the biggest reason was totally unexpected, more on that later.  Anyway, we are finally in Taupo, home of NZ Ironman after a year of hard (and not so hard) work.  The accommodation is lovely, big daughter has figured out the TV, I haven’t figured out the washing machine. Kate took me for a quick ride on the only real hill on the cycle course, I asked her when we got the to the top, "was that the hill?".   The fridge is full of pasta and bread. The buzz at registration was amazing, we went from here to there, filling things in, signing a disclaimer (if ANYTHING goes wrong its not the organisers fault), signing a huge flag which had all the signatures of all the competitors on it, and getting weighed (end of the day, carrying handbag).  As I type, I am wearing a wrist band with ‘athlete’ written on it, obviously in case I forget!  I couldn’t resist buying a ...