Karen and Kate's journey to Ironman and beyond

I've done it.  I've signed up for my first 50km  ultra-marathon .  This will be in Brisbane in August, involving a flattish run made up of different combinations of  legs on a river-side course, map below showing different colours representing different leg choices.  Anyway, this will take me into new territory, part of me thinks mad mad mad, the last 8km of a marathon is always SO hard, why would I want to add another 20% on? Another part thinks its all about the preparation and I would normally walk at least an extra 6km on the same day as a marathon anyway, this is just putting it all together. Ultra-marathon has been on my list of things I want to do, I admit to rejecting a few in challenging terrains with lots of hills in favour of this urban version for my first, it starts at 7am and I have to cross the finish by 3pm, I can do this! I hope. So in 14 weeks I need to be 'ultra' fit. Before that on the 22nd of June is the Wellington marathon. I'm packing t...

I don't do taper well, I don't do recovery well.  Well, that's according to some.  Actually my version of taper still seems to work as in I turn up on the day, feel fine and finish. My post marathon recovery works too as I very quickly return to normal and don't seem to have ill effects.  Last week was the case in point for recovery.  After the drive back from Rotorua on Sunday, hopped on the plane on Monday for a conference in Queenstown. I was up a mountain in my free time ASAP.  I love being fit enough to head out for a walk, and come back 5 hours later having climbed a mountain.  Albeit a fairly small one in the scheme of things. Did two mountains while I was there actually, and an early morning 5km quick run along the lakeside, this run is a traditional part of the NZ Society for the Study of Diabetes conference. The mountain I'm standing on in the picture above is Ben Lomond.  The saddle where I got to was roughly 1300 meters high.  I sta...

Been so busy I haven't thought about writing.  Too many other things to do. As happens.  Anyway, last night I went off for a short run along the coast as the official start of the newest training effort which is for the Wellington Marathon in 6 weeks.  I was feeling very grumpy by the end of my run.  It was a fast (for me) 6km, beautiful weather, lovely setting by the sea, but the consequences of inattention, a healthy dose of idiocy, and the biology of the overweight runner meant that I came home with nasty chafing in several places, and blisters on my feet.  I paused to reflect that just over a week before I had run a whole marathon with not one single problem, but a short run with poor preparation and I paid for it. So to the Rotorua 50th anniversary marathon.  Kate and myself headed off on the Friday, shopped our way down the island, settled in at the hotel, did the registration, dinner, icecream and grocery thing and we were ready for a fun day on Sa...