My show is on Channel 4 tomorrow!!
My show goes out tomorrow on channel 4, I haven't seen anything yet so it is all a little scary. Hope I don't come across as arrogant or over confident. Nothing I can do about it now ;) It is also on at the very sociable time of 5:45am!!! Means I can watch it and then do some training so not all will be lost. If you miss it, email me at ironcaro@aol.com and I will send you a copy of the DVD. Maraka has kindly offered to set her DVD recorder for me.
I got all motivated to write in my blog watching a show on 'Girl with a One Track Mind' a sex blog about a woman's sexual exploitations in London. http://girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com/ Interesting how the media went after these women to unmask them. I guess for me blogging was never about remaining anonymous, I guess I am to some people who read this, but it started as a place for my friends to keep up with what was going on in my life. I found some printed copies of the emails I used to send home to everyone when I first came to England almost 6 years ago. I will post some of them in here. Ruth and I really did get ourselves into some funny situations.
I heard back form the US insurance company and they are rejecting my claim from going to hospital in Kona because they don't cover dehydration. Despite drinking a litre an hour, it is my fault. Not so sure what to do. I will go back to my health and also travel insurance companies and see what they suggest. Might be a tough one to work out and I certainly don't want to pick up the $2k bill!
I am getting back into my training. I ran this morning and it was the first training session since the world champs in October where I have felt that fired up and really wanted to go nail my session. Almost like the batteries are truly recharged. It was exactly what I needed, to get my teeth back into it and my head around that I didn't have my best race in Hawaii. I still spend a lot of time thinking about where it went wrong and have come to the point where I can be subjective and accept that it was a great achievement to get there in the first place. It is always hard to accept as an achievement what I had previously considered a failure. My respect and perspective on triathlon has changed, I hope it serves me well in the future.
My triathlon club, IronHead Racing http://www.ironheadracing.co.uk/ is moving ahead in leaps and bounds. I am really excited about the future of the club and honoured Dan and Rich have asked me to help them take the club forward. Next step is to become members of the British Triathlon Association and Cycling Time Trial group and bring some new members in. I am very much up for the challenge!
I have been dating someone. I have no idea if he reads this so I will keep it brief :) I have been emailing him from my personal email account which has the link to my blog in the auto signature so I am guessing he knows it exists. The great news is, he is into triathlon, running marathons and has some great connections. VIP tickets to see the Kaiser Chiefs Friday night. Yippee!!
I am off to Dubai next week to see Ruthie. Can't wait!!! It is going to be so great, and warm weather will be such a treat. Of course there will be luxury of training in a 50m pool. What a treat! One of the guys at work pointed out I am the only person he knows who would be excited about a 50m pool :)
Have a wonderful and safe Christmas.
Love Carolyn x
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Yay! It's Friday!
Yay! It's Friday!
It has been a few week and I figured I should get in an additional entry before the end of November! I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner...which means it is 3 weeks till I go to Dubai! Ruthie and I are going to be spending Christmas and New Year together and tearing the town apart! I haven't seen her in over a year and despite many (expensive) phone calls to Dubai it just isn't the same.
Training over the last month has been pretty easy, Rich has been going easy on me and I have actually skipped a couple of sessions which isn't like me at all. I am really taking advantage of being to go out and have a life again. I did mix them up last weekend by having a rather large Saturday night at Fiona and Andrew's engagement party, and then dragged myself out of bed to do 100km Sunday morning on my bike. Punishment and the best way to sweat out a hangover! Was a fantastic ride out to Box Hill in Surrey and back in with 6 of the guys from my club. John had also been out the night before so knew what I was going through! I have to admit I did get home and had to collapse on the sofa for 3 hours.
I have started to put on a bit of weight but there is no way I can maintain my race weight (59kg) when I am not training 20 hours a week and eating and drinking alcohol again. I am up to 61kg but feel great. I have an easy week scheduled for next week and then we start to get started on the decent running in preparation for my next race which is the Valencia marathon on 17th Feb. Rich, Bob and Sam are all doing it too so my goal is to beat all of them!!!!
I am still having problems with my hip flexors so Rich is treating me for that, I only feel the pain when I cycle and it is certainly getting better. I am only out on my bike once a week for a long ride so plenty of time to recover. I have another 2 weeks of swim4tri and that is finished for the year. I love swimming with those guys but it is a Thursday night which is of course the best night to go out during the week! It starts at 8:15 and you don't get out till 10pm so it really is the entire evening. I am sore today, I was really working last night, our main set was 4 laps, rest, 4 laps, rest, 8 laps drills and we repeated that sequence 4 times with the aim of getting faster as the session went on. You time each of the 4 laps so my times were 2:38, 2:35, 2:25, 2:28, 2:28, 2:25, 2:18, 2:20. The 4 laps are across 132 metres.
I met this cute guy on the weekend who I went for a drink with when I got back from Hamburg on Wednesday evening. I was a little taken back when he admitted to having google-stalked me. Now, we all do it, but is it crossing the line and admitting to someone you have google-stalked them? If you do it, you do watch everything you say as to not let them know you know more than they have told you :) I expect people to google-stalk and I am perhaps an easy target with a blog, website, open tagged picture and video galleries but to be told was slightly uncomfortable.
I'm out cycling early tomorrow morning with Rich and then off to Henley to spend the weekend with Leanne. Have a safe and happy weekend.
Carolyn x
PS: I have a counter on the left on the bottom right and with the release of new functionality to the Blogs product I got reset to 0!! I was upto 1000!! Not. Happy. Jan. See video below if you don't know what that phrase means :)
It has been a few week and I figured I should get in an additional entry before the end of November! I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner...which means it is 3 weeks till I go to Dubai! Ruthie and I are going to be spending Christmas and New Year together and tearing the town apart! I haven't seen her in over a year and despite many (expensive) phone calls to Dubai it just isn't the same.
Training over the last month has been pretty easy, Rich has been going easy on me and I have actually skipped a couple of sessions which isn't like me at all. I am really taking advantage of being to go out and have a life again. I did mix them up last weekend by having a rather large Saturday night at Fiona and Andrew's engagement party, and then dragged myself out of bed to do 100km Sunday morning on my bike. Punishment and the best way to sweat out a hangover! Was a fantastic ride out to Box Hill in Surrey and back in with 6 of the guys from my club. John had also been out the night before so knew what I was going through! I have to admit I did get home and had to collapse on the sofa for 3 hours.
I have started to put on a bit of weight but there is no way I can maintain my race weight (59kg) when I am not training 20 hours a week and eating and drinking alcohol again. I am up to 61kg but feel great. I have an easy week scheduled for next week and then we start to get started on the decent running in preparation for my next race which is the Valencia marathon on 17th Feb. Rich, Bob and Sam are all doing it too so my goal is to beat all of them!!!!
I am still having problems with my hip flexors so Rich is treating me for that, I only feel the pain when I cycle and it is certainly getting better. I am only out on my bike once a week for a long ride so plenty of time to recover. I have another 2 weeks of swim4tri and that is finished for the year. I love swimming with those guys but it is a Thursday night which is of course the best night to go out during the week! It starts at 8:15 and you don't get out till 10pm so it really is the entire evening. I am sore today, I was really working last night, our main set was 4 laps, rest, 4 laps, rest, 8 laps drills and we repeated that sequence 4 times with the aim of getting faster as the session went on. You time each of the 4 laps so my times were 2:38, 2:35, 2:25, 2:28, 2:28, 2:25, 2:18, 2:20. The 4 laps are across 132 metres.
I met this cute guy on the weekend who I went for a drink with when I got back from Hamburg on Wednesday evening. I was a little taken back when he admitted to having google-stalked me. Now, we all do it, but is it crossing the line and admitting to someone you have google-stalked them? If you do it, you do watch everything you say as to not let them know you know more than they have told you :) I expect people to google-stalk and I am perhaps an easy target with a blog, website, open tagged picture and video galleries but to be told was slightly uncomfortable.
I'm out cycling early tomorrow morning with Rich and then off to Henley to spend the weekend with Leanne. Have a safe and happy weekend.
Carolyn x
PS: I have a counter on the left on the bottom right and with the release of new functionality to the Blogs product I got reset to 0!! I was upto 1000!! Not. Happy. Jan. See video below if you don't know what that phrase means :)
Monday, November 12, 2007
Back on board
Back on board
I got on my rollers tonight for the first time in months. The great thing is, I can get through 2 episodes in sex in the city and do my workout! I was so shocked I didn't fall off, those things are tough!
Spent the weekend in Padstow for Ellie's birthday. Someone in ticket bookings was having a laugh when they booked 13 people into a quiet carriage on a 4 hour train journey on a Friday night. We did manage to drink the bar dry of wine.
Ellie booked us into Rick Steins seafood restaurant for lunch on Saturday which was gorgeous and.....Jamie proposed in the most romantic way...he gave Ellie a Tiffany's key ring with 'will you marry me' engraved on the back. Imagine 15 people all screaming at once. It was great, the entire restaurant was cheering and clapping.
This isn't the place to talk about what some people got up to but apparently some of my friends secretly favour themselves as pole dancers and some others as cross eyed lesbians. Extreamly entertaining evening.
Sunday was hanging out in the pub curing the hangover with a bloody mary or 2 till the flight back. The B&B Corinna and I stayed in was gorgeous. Such a beautiful place that has recently been done up by the owners Mary & Mike.
Really loving being back training and as always I am amazed at how quickly you can lose fitness. I am running twice a week and cycling once or twice and then lots of flexibility and stretching. I started pilates which I am still not sure of. I have that every Thu lunch so will keep going and see what happens. I sorted out Austria today, Antoinette is coming with me so we have an apartment for the 4 nights we are there. Also booked our ski trip to Austria in Feb. Have to make sure I get in lots of weight work before then and strengthen everything up. I can't afford an injury at the end of Feb.
And finally, this is the message I received from a man on a dating website...Hello Beautiful, how r u today, it would be great to chat, see if we get on. look forward to ur reply. Chou bello.xxx
Carolyn x
I got on my rollers tonight for the first time in months. The great thing is, I can get through 2 episodes in sex in the city and do my workout! I was so shocked I didn't fall off, those things are tough!
Spent the weekend in Padstow for Ellie's birthday. Someone in ticket bookings was having a laugh when they booked 13 people into a quiet carriage on a 4 hour train journey on a Friday night. We did manage to drink the bar dry of wine.
Ellie booked us into Rick Steins seafood restaurant for lunch on Saturday which was gorgeous and.....Jamie proposed in the most romantic way...he gave Ellie a Tiffany's key ring with 'will you marry me' engraved on the back. Imagine 15 people all screaming at once. It was great, the entire restaurant was cheering and clapping.
This isn't the place to talk about what some people got up to but apparently some of my friends secretly favour themselves as pole dancers and some others as cross eyed lesbians. Extreamly entertaining evening.
Sunday was hanging out in the pub curing the hangover with a bloody mary or 2 till the flight back. The B&B Corinna and I stayed in was gorgeous. Such a beautiful place that has recently been done up by the owners Mary & Mike.
Really loving being back training and as always I am amazed at how quickly you can lose fitness. I am running twice a week and cycling once or twice and then lots of flexibility and stretching. I started pilates which I am still not sure of. I have that every Thu lunch so will keep going and see what happens. I sorted out Austria today, Antoinette is coming with me so we have an apartment for the 4 nights we are there. Also booked our ski trip to Austria in Feb. Have to make sure I get in lots of weight work before then and strengthen everything up. I can't afford an injury at the end of Feb.
And finally, this is the message I received from a man on a dating website...Hello Beautiful, how r u today, it would be great to chat, see if we get on. look forward to ur reply. Chou bello.xxx
Carolyn x
Friday, November 2, 2007
Here we go again...
Here we go again...
I met with Rich, my coach, on Wednesday night to go through a rough plan in order to qualify for Hawaii next year. Bad news is I am going to have to pull 2 stellar performances out of the bag which means 2 peaks. 1 in Austria in July and another in Florida in November. At least I have the experience now and they are far enough apart we can plan for it.
There is certainly something odd about a coach and athlete meeting up to talk strategy for an Ironman season...and drinking 4 pints in the process :) Rich has been off the booze for about 5 years and me for about 6 months (that is the Aussie equivalent of 5 years). I don't this is going to make it into the training plan for next year!
We have agreed I will start light training again next week, I am still not back on my feet after Hawaii so need a bit more rest. Winter is going to be focused on building strength and endurance and a marathon in Feb with a 3:15 aim. I need to be doing those sorts of times in IM, so if I can do it in a straight marathon in the pre season it puts me in a good position to achieve a 3:20ish in Austria.
I started swimming last night with the swim for tri guys which I love. It is the ideal swim session for me because I get the social aspect but am also put against people of the same ability. I am pleased to say that I was moved up to a faster lane last night so something went right in all the km's I have swum this year!
I am planning on getting back out on the bike with the Ironhead guys on the 17th November. I cycled over to Netball this week and there is still some deep pain in my hip flexors. Just takes time to heal. Netball is going great, we play the final next week and we are miles ahead in points so we have already won the comp regardless of next weeks result. We have had a really fantastic season with some really strong players. We have been lucky that w have been able to draft in people like Stephanie and Jen who were both state players back in Aus when we needed to have someone to fill in.
I have also come out of denial about my upcoming 30th in Jan 08 and have booked myself a flight to Rome to spend it there with a few close friends. I couldn't think of a better place to be, great food, wine and wonderful sights. I have been to Rome 4 times now so I don't feel any pressure to do lots of sightseeing. just relax and take it all in. There will of course be a big party in London too!
Having dinner with Fiona tonight, her and Andrew got engaged last week which is just wonderful. They make such a fantastic couple. I have started calling her sparkles due to all the diamonds dripping off her. Andrew bought her a diamond watch for her bday and then a gorgeous engagement ring a few days later. Lucky girl ;)
The channel 4 Sherborne show is on at 8:25 on Sunday so might get to see some shots of me. Not sure what they are planning in terms of a lead in to the Kona show which is next and is the one about me. Have to wait and see! Have a great weekend!
C x
I met with Rich, my coach, on Wednesday night to go through a rough plan in order to qualify for Hawaii next year. Bad news is I am going to have to pull 2 stellar performances out of the bag which means 2 peaks. 1 in Austria in July and another in Florida in November. At least I have the experience now and they are far enough apart we can plan for it.
There is certainly something odd about a coach and athlete meeting up to talk strategy for an Ironman season...and drinking 4 pints in the process :) Rich has been off the booze for about 5 years and me for about 6 months (that is the Aussie equivalent of 5 years). I don't this is going to make it into the training plan for next year!
We have agreed I will start light training again next week, I am still not back on my feet after Hawaii so need a bit more rest. Winter is going to be focused on building strength and endurance and a marathon in Feb with a 3:15 aim. I need to be doing those sorts of times in IM, so if I can do it in a straight marathon in the pre season it puts me in a good position to achieve a 3:20ish in Austria.
I started swimming last night with the swim for tri guys which I love. It is the ideal swim session for me because I get the social aspect but am also put against people of the same ability. I am pleased to say that I was moved up to a faster lane last night so something went right in all the km's I have swum this year!
I am planning on getting back out on the bike with the Ironhead guys on the 17th November. I cycled over to Netball this week and there is still some deep pain in my hip flexors. Just takes time to heal. Netball is going great, we play the final next week and we are miles ahead in points so we have already won the comp regardless of next weeks result. We have had a really fantastic season with some really strong players. We have been lucky that w have been able to draft in people like Stephanie and Jen who were both state players back in Aus when we needed to have someone to fill in.
I have also come out of denial about my upcoming 30th in Jan 08 and have booked myself a flight to Rome to spend it there with a few close friends. I couldn't think of a better place to be, great food, wine and wonderful sights. I have been to Rome 4 times now so I don't feel any pressure to do lots of sightseeing. just relax and take it all in. There will of course be a big party in London too!
Having dinner with Fiona tonight, her and Andrew got engaged last week which is just wonderful. They make such a fantastic couple. I have started calling her sparkles due to all the diamonds dripping off her. Andrew bought her a diamond watch for her bday and then a gorgeous engagement ring a few days later. Lucky girl ;)
The channel 4 Sherborne show is on at 8:25 on Sunday so might get to see some shots of me. Not sure what they are planning in terms of a lead in to the Kona show which is next and is the one about me. Have to wait and see! Have a great weekend!
C x
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Hospital Bill
Hospital Bill
Go on guess...1 night in hospital including 3 bags of saline, some painkillers, a blood and a urine test. Guess how much...?
$2806
Who can afford to go to hospital in the US??? Amazing. Lucky for me I have race day insurance!
Cx
Go on guess...1 night in hospital including 3 bags of saline, some painkillers, a blood and a urine test. Guess how much...?
$2806
Who can afford to go to hospital in the US??? Amazing. Lucky for me I have race day insurance!
Cx
Settling into the off season
Settling into the off season
Things have started to settle down, I am feeling better and really ready just to take it easy. I went for a short run a couple of days ago and it felt OK, when I feel back on form I am looking forward to running and leaving my watch at home. No pressure training.
I collected my bike from Sam on Wednesday night. I am really sad it is over, but I know it was the right thing to do. In hindsight there were too many differences for us to overcome. Unfortunately, in the very wise words of my friend Claire, love just isn't enough.
Corinna pointed out that relationships that don't work out are like paving stones in the road to the right one. I have to say, this road is getting very long!
Fiona and Andrew got engaged this week which is just brilliant. I have started calling her Sparkles, she got a diamond watch for her birthday followed up with a very nice engagement ring a day later. The man has impeccable taste in jewellery.
Last night was out with the Ironhead Racing boys. Everyone is at the end of the season so it was nice and relaxed. Met up in Covent Garden at the Porterhouse which I was surprised to see was full of older men or groups of Aussies. I wasn't expecting that, maybe it was overflow from the Walkabout :)
We scarpered out of there and went to the Roundhouse which had Star on tap so I was happy :) It has been about 6 months now since I have been off the booze, so during that time it was rare for me to be on one of the last tube's home. I really did forget how entertaining it could be.
I am still shrinking, it is really strange because I don't really have an appetite so I'm not eating too much but I'm not doing crazy exercise (30min in an entire week). I think being ill hasn't helped but I am losing weight from strange places like my fingers and wrists. I was just talking to Mum and thanks to genetics I am never going to lose it from my chest or bottom! I am down to 58kg which is 1kg lighter than my race weight. I have started drinking again so no doubt it will pile on again quickly enough. Breakups and Ironman - The Carolyn Hewett Diet.
Have a great weekend!
C x
Things have started to settle down, I am feeling better and really ready just to take it easy. I went for a short run a couple of days ago and it felt OK, when I feel back on form I am looking forward to running and leaving my watch at home. No pressure training.
I collected my bike from Sam on Wednesday night. I am really sad it is over, but I know it was the right thing to do. In hindsight there were too many differences for us to overcome. Unfortunately, in the very wise words of my friend Claire, love just isn't enough.
Corinna pointed out that relationships that don't work out are like paving stones in the road to the right one. I have to say, this road is getting very long!
Fiona and Andrew got engaged this week which is just brilliant. I have started calling her Sparkles, she got a diamond watch for her birthday followed up with a very nice engagement ring a day later. The man has impeccable taste in jewellery.
Last night was out with the Ironhead Racing boys. Everyone is at the end of the season so it was nice and relaxed. Met up in Covent Garden at the Porterhouse which I was surprised to see was full of older men or groups of Aussies. I wasn't expecting that, maybe it was overflow from the Walkabout :)
We scarpered out of there and went to the Roundhouse which had Star on tap so I was happy :) It has been about 6 months now since I have been off the booze, so during that time it was rare for me to be on one of the last tube's home. I really did forget how entertaining it could be.
I am still shrinking, it is really strange because I don't really have an appetite so I'm not eating too much but I'm not doing crazy exercise (30min in an entire week). I think being ill hasn't helped but I am losing weight from strange places like my fingers and wrists. I was just talking to Mum and thanks to genetics I am never going to lose it from my chest or bottom! I am down to 58kg which is 1kg lighter than my race weight. I have started drinking again so no doubt it will pile on again quickly enough. Breakups and Ironman - The Carolyn Hewett Diet.
Have a great weekend!
C x
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Kona Pictures
You can also see them here with tags and descriptions http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
24 October 2007 Kona Photos
24 October 2007
14:54:22 o'clock BST
14:54:22 o'clock BST
You can also see them here with tags and descriptions http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
Monday, October 22, 2007
London 22 October 2007
London
I''m back! I am so tired so taking it easy at the moment. I am trying to get in to see my doctor as I suspect I may have stirred up my chronic fatigue again as I constantly have that drained exhausted feeling, or it could be becuase I just did another ironman :)
I have decided to draw a line under the 2007 season and call it quits. No more races this year and if I do want to train it will be without a watch, I just need to recover. Mentally and physically.
I have had nightmares every night since the race about the wind in Kona. I have this dream that I am going flat out on my bike but I can't get away from whatever is chasing me because the wind is so strong.
When you get body marked you get stamped with thick black numbers, which means the sun doesn't get through. I have now tanned around the 1757 that was stamped on each arm and it looks pretty funny :) I call them my Hawaii Tattoos.
I worked out today that I ate 35 gels and 2 power bars throughout the course of the day. No wonder I couldn't sleep that night, but they do work!
I also dumped Sam after we had this stupid fight in Hawaii and he managed to ignore me for the entire flight home. Not an easy feat I am sure. The incredible part was when he acted surprised when I dumped him saying I deserve better than that and that I want a man in my life not a child.
Physically I am getting better, but still so tired. The burns on my back are slowly healing, I have managed to hang onto my big toe nail that was threatening to leave and I don't have any aches or pains. No problems with my knee which is really encouraging.
I reckon it will only be about 5 days before I have been for a run... :)
C x
I''m back! I am so tired so taking it easy at the moment. I am trying to get in to see my doctor as I suspect I may have stirred up my chronic fatigue again as I constantly have that drained exhausted feeling, or it could be becuase I just did another ironman :)
I have decided to draw a line under the 2007 season and call it quits. No more races this year and if I do want to train it will be without a watch, I just need to recover. Mentally and physically.
I have had nightmares every night since the race about the wind in Kona. I have this dream that I am going flat out on my bike but I can't get away from whatever is chasing me because the wind is so strong.
When you get body marked you get stamped with thick black numbers, which means the sun doesn't get through. I have now tanned around the 1757 that was stamped on each arm and it looks pretty funny :) I call them my Hawaii Tattoos.
I worked out today that I ate 35 gels and 2 power bars throughout the course of the day. No wonder I couldn't sleep that night, but they do work!
I also dumped Sam after we had this stupid fight in Hawaii and he managed to ignore me for the entire flight home. Not an easy feat I am sure. The incredible part was when he acted surprised when I dumped him saying I deserve better than that and that I want a man in my life not a child.
Physically I am getting better, but still so tired. The burns on my back are slowly healing, I have managed to hang onto my big toe nail that was threatening to leave and I don't have any aches or pains. No problems with my knee which is really encouraging.
I reckon it will only be about 5 days before I have been for a run... :)
C x
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Sunday 14th October - Post Race Blues
Sunday 14th October
The day after. Predictably I was feeling pretty rubbish so only managed to make it to the pool. I had to do an interview and the guys kindly came to the hotel to meet me there.
I was pretty badly burnt and had blisters coming up on my lower back where my tri top had ridden up when I was on the bike. My shoulders were badly fried too. I wasn't feeling my best so spent the day at the hotel.
We headed off to the awards ceremony. Both Chris and Chrissie made great speeches and all it made me want to do was get back there and give it another shot. I hadn't achieved what I set out to do.
The day after. Predictably I was feeling pretty rubbish so only managed to make it to the pool. I had to do an interview and the guys kindly came to the hotel to meet me there.
I was pretty badly burnt and had blisters coming up on my lower back where my tri top had ridden up when I was on the bike. My shoulders were badly fried too. I wasn't feeling my best so spent the day at the hotel.
We headed off to the awards ceremony. Both Chris and Chrissie made great speeches and all it made me want to do was get back there and give it another shot. I hadn't achieved what I set out to do.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007
Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Up at 2.30 because I couldn’t sleep and gather my things together. Got on my funky little tri outfit with my sponsors names all over it and caught a cab to the start. First thing is to get body marked where you get stamped on both arms with your race number from your shoulder to your elbow in big black numbers. Then I headed into transition to pump up my tyres and put my drink bottles on my bike and give everything a last minute check over. I put on some 6-hour sunscreen and headed out to find everyone. I had about 30 mins before I wanted to line up and get in the water. It was already getting hot. For the past 2 days around 2pm it clouded over and the temp would drop a little. I was really counting on that because according to my plan I would be starting my run around that time.
Load of pictures later I headed off to get in the water. Because it is a mass start you have to seed yourself according to your ability. I wanted to be in the middle about 2/3 of the way back in order to take advantage of the draft.
The pro race started 15 mins before the age groupers and we were off at 7am. I was amazed at how I couldn’t see a thing. The water was just white due to all the arms and legs thrashing about and it was like this for about a hundred metres. There was a bit of jostling but is wasn’t too bad and I got into my rhythm quickly. Because of the swell it was hard to sight so I wasn’t sure how I was doing. I got to the turnaround point in 40 min, which meant I was dead on target. I had enjoyed the first half of the swim but could feel my Zoot suit scratching the back of my neck. This only got worse and as much as I wriggled it around the damage was already done and the salt water was making it sting. My swim back into the pier took 50 mins and I felt tired. I felt like I was putting in lots of effort and not getting anywhere. I caught a couple of draftsbut the field was really spread out and I was finding it difficult to get someone going the right speed. I was also conscious I was outside of my estimated time and was trying to make it up.
Out of the water in 1:30:27 in 1587 position. I ran straight into the showers they set up and there was load of volunteers so someone had my bag ready for me. I stripped off my Zoot suit and had my tri suit on underneath. Rob was waiting in transition for me and was filming me getting my shoes and helmet on and asking me about the swim. It really bothered me that there were very few bikes in transition. I am not a strong swimmer but this made me realise that I had missed the main pack. I got out on the course and did the loop through the town. Because I was 10 min down on my plan I really went for it, a tactic that had worked well for me at IMUK. I knew that in order to meet my target I needed to do 38min 20km splits.
I achieved this on the first 2 and was at 40 min for the 3rd one. I was finding the bike really hard going and it was so very very hot out there. There was a strong head wind and I was ill prepared for how desolate the scenery was. I was finding it easy to stick to my nutrition plan of eating a gel every 20 mins but I was becoming increasingly worried about my plan and how far I was down. It was also very apparent that the main pack had gone and I was closer to the back, something I had never experienced before in a race. This was really getting to me. The bike course is out over what is called the lava fields and that is exactly what they are. There isn’t anything to look at except black rock. There weren’t any spectators and the only human contact was at the aid stations. I gave up saying hi to people as I went passed them, this clearly wasn’t a friendly race, which was something I had really enjoyed about the UK race.
At around the 60km mark I developed cramps in both feet and this spread really quickly into both calves. I loosened my shoes, I tried moving my feet around, I even tried cycling with the sides of my feet but nothing worked. It was impossible to push any of the big gears and I had to stay in the lower ones. Anything too hard and I had pain shooting up both legs. I was slowing down and people I had over taken were now catching and going past me at speed. I was beginning to become really demoralised. At body marking you have your age written on the back of your left calf. I could now see that women in their 40’s and 50’s were going past me which frustrated and infuriated me. I would try and make a move to pull them back in and would have to almost stop pedalling to ease the pain in my legs. I wanted to cry with complete and utter frustration, as I knew my Kona goal was slipping away.
The course is an out and back and I experienced a head wind for the entire way. I knew that in the afternoon the wind changed direction and it wasn’t unusual for people to experience a head wind both ways. On the way out there were times I was down to 10km an hour due to the hills and the strength of the wind. It was infuriating to watch the KM’s tick by so slowly. Every metre felt like a KM. I could see people flying back in with the wind at their backs and that spurred me on. I knew I needed to get to the turnaround and get some respite from the wind that was sapping my energy.
I got around the corner and picked up speed heading back but the wind had already changed so Iwas getting a side wind rather than a full on tail wind. It was better than a head wind and I was going to take it. It really picked up, so much so I had to miss one of my feeds simply because I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars. It was so bad out there one of the pros was blown off her bike.
My back was aching quite badly because it was too windy to use my tri bars and my upper body was stiff with the effort it was taking to keep my bike upright and on the road in the incredible wind. The respite I had hoped for only lasted around 40 minutes before I was faced with the headwind once again. I was still suffering with cramps in my legs and I could feel my skin burning as I caught the sun and the sunscreen was starting to wear off. I was feeling really low and thought a lot about pulling out of the race. It isn’t like me to give up but I was already so physically exhausted I wasn’t sure I could make the cycle back let alone run the marathon.
My average speed by this time had dropped and I was finding it difficult to focus. I had a few brief moments where I would get some strength but these didn’t last long and each time it took a little more out of me. I was continuously being over taken and this was really messing with my head. The only saving grace was that Eric the cameraman had filmed on the way out when things were not as grim. I was thankful there wasn’t anyone around to witness my rapid decline. I got back to transition 1:15 later than planned but by this stage I was in survival mode.
I came off the bike in 6:59:52 and in 1504th position. I had a long T2 as I tried to decide if I could continue and gave myself a mental kicking to get out there and finish the race. Rob was filming me come out of transition and I managed to hold back the tears of pain and frustration until I had passed him. I broke down where I saw my friends and they helped me to get going again.
This was the only day where the clouds hadn’t come over so the respite form the sun was not going to be had. I was now also thinking about the prospect of having to finish the race in the dark, something I hadn’t thought would happen to me. I almost pulled out of the race again when the same old cramp under the left side of my rib cage appeared and I had to walk it off. I got going again and made the turnaround on Alii drive, I even managed to pick up the pace slightly on the ay back to town.
It didn’t last long and once through Kona I had no idea how I was going to run the remaining 16 miles out to the Natural Energy Lab and back. My friends were at the top of the hill and I started to cry again saying I couldn’t finish. Sam, Antoinette and Corinna ran with me for a while and Sam continued on with me for about a km in bare feet, which got me going again. I kept telling myself I had to keep running because walking would take too long. Everything was hurting and I was in considerable pain from severe sunburn and chaffing. I was managing to get a gel down every 20 min and was trying to get as much water and ice down as possible, but I knew it wasn’t enough. It was just impossible to drink enough without getting more cramps.
Eric the cameraman found me on the run and I was really struggling, but I guess that makes great viewing. I kept running but I wasn’t getting anywhere, I have never run so slowly in my life. Mentally I was just taking it one step at a time trying to distract myself from the ever-increasing darkness that was falling and the huge number of people running back into town.
I held out getting a glow stick for as long as possible, I was in denial that I was going to have to run in the dark, but the worst was yet to come. I had incorrectly read the run route and thought the turnaround was at the top of the road to the NEL. As it turns out it was about 1.5miles down a hill on another road. It almost destroyed me. My pride was the only thing stopping me from pulling out and it was all being recorded on film. I put on a brave face, held back the tears and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
It was so dark along the route you wouldn’t see the other runners until you were right on top of them. I was running alone and it was so tough but knowing I was on the way back kept me going. It was getting grim and there were people still heading out of town, but some were in really bad shape. People were throwing up and collapsing on the side of the road and as cruel as it sounds it gave me strength to know that there were people in a worse state and it kept me going.
About 10km from the finish I started to run with this Canadian guy. We were both in a bad way but having someone next to you makes a huge difference. I was lucky that the times I wanted to stop, he kept me moving and I did the same for him. I don’t know if I could have finished without him. We even managed to pick up the pace slightly as I was getting slower and slower. I just had nothing left.
Corinna and Antoinette were waiting about a mile from the end and ran with me. I couldn’t even speak by this stage and their words of encouragement fuelled me for the last mile. Sam was waiting for me in the finishing chute and I was so pleased to be at the end. I crossed the line hand in hand with my new Canadian friend. I don’t even know his name and I lost him as we were both swept up by our respective friends in the finishing area.
I did the run in 4:16:36 and finished in 1368th place with an over all time of 12:56:08.
I did an interview but I don't really remember what I said. I went and got into the water to ease the pain in my legs and went and collected the most impressive medal in the world! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't eat or really walk without support so asked to be taken back to the hotel.
Things went down hill pretty quickly and in the space of about an hour I was pretty much out of it and on my way to hospital. I was put on a drip straight away and given drugs for the pain and nausea. The doctor ended up giving me 3 bags of saline and I was only in for the night. Not exactly how I had planned my Kona race to go!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Kona Day 3 Friday 12th October
Friday 12th October
Up at 4.30 and Sam put Matilda together so I could cycle down to the swim. I got a flat which was lucky as I had managed to get the wrong CO2 cartridges, better to know now!
The camera crew were waiting for me and filmed Chris and I getting into the water.
Everyone was meeting down there for a swim out to the Coffee’s of Hawaii catamaran moored about 700m offshore serving, you guessed it, coffee! Quite a novelty. I didn’t partake myself. Chris and I swam quite a way out and it gave me some real confidence for the swim. There was a bit of a swell but nothing too severe. The water was really warm and it was so lovely that you could see the coral and lots of fish below you. Visibility was excellent and I could see the bottom the entire time, even when we were out quite deep.
Swam back in and got filmed exiting the water and then another brief interview. Can’t believe I am going to be on national TV in a bikini. Scary.
I cycled back to the hotel to do a final check on my transition bags, as I had to check everything in that afternoon. Had a rest and more to eat and packed everything up. I was feeling sick so was finding it difficult to eat. I think I was jetlagged.
My plan was to wear a Zoot suit that borders on legal as wetsuits are banned in the Kona race. Wetsuits of course give you buoyancy and make the water flow over your body more smoothly reducing drag because of the surface. The zoot suit is sleeveless and short and thinner than a wetsuit but does much the same thing. I did hear rumours that race organisers are going to ban them next year.
I cycled down form the hotel and checked in, it was daunting to see some of the bikes there. Amazing. Some people really do live and breathe triathlon. I have never seen such a collection of fit people in my life. Made me feel like a complete blob next to some of these complete muscle bound girls with 6 packs and rippling muscles.
Bike checked in and having walked the transition area I caught a cab back to the hotel for some more rest and eating. The heat was causing alarm bells to ring in my head but as there was nothing I could do about them I decided to ignore them.
I went to bed around 7:30 but couldn't really sleep.
Up at 4.30 and Sam put Matilda together so I could cycle down to the swim. I got a flat which was lucky as I had managed to get the wrong CO2 cartridges, better to know now!
The camera crew were waiting for me and filmed Chris and I getting into the water.
Everyone was meeting down there for a swim out to the Coffee’s of Hawaii catamaran moored about 700m offshore serving, you guessed it, coffee! Quite a novelty. I didn’t partake myself. Chris and I swam quite a way out and it gave me some real confidence for the swim. There was a bit of a swell but nothing too severe. The water was really warm and it was so lovely that you could see the coral and lots of fish below you. Visibility was excellent and I could see the bottom the entire time, even when we were out quite deep.
Swam back in and got filmed exiting the water and then another brief interview. Can’t believe I am going to be on national TV in a bikini. Scary.
I cycled back to the hotel to do a final check on my transition bags, as I had to check everything in that afternoon. Had a rest and more to eat and packed everything up. I was feeling sick so was finding it difficult to eat. I think I was jetlagged.
My plan was to wear a Zoot suit that borders on legal as wetsuits are banned in the Kona race. Wetsuits of course give you buoyancy and make the water flow over your body more smoothly reducing drag because of the surface. The zoot suit is sleeveless and short and thinner than a wetsuit but does much the same thing. I did hear rumours that race organisers are going to ban them next year.
I cycled down form the hotel and checked in, it was daunting to see some of the bikes there. Amazing. Some people really do live and breathe triathlon. I have never seen such a collection of fit people in my life. Made me feel like a complete blob next to some of these complete muscle bound girls with 6 packs and rippling muscles.
Bike checked in and having walked the transition area I caught a cab back to the hotel for some more rest and eating. The heat was causing alarm bells to ring in my head but as there was nothing I could do about them I decided to ignore them.
I went to bed around 7:30 but couldn't really sleep.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Kona Day 2 Thursday 11th October
14:57:02 o'clock BST
Thursday 11th October
Up at 5am to start getting used to waking up early and got my transition bags ready. We had a cab pick us up and take us to the power bar breakfast where there was around 70 people including Melissa Ashton (top 10 Kona finisher 2 years running), Luke Bell (big name triathlete and Kona winner), Scott Neyedli (IMUK winner), Jo Fenn (British superstar runner), Hillary Biscay, Belinda Granger plus a whole lot of other elite athletes. I also got to meet the head of Power Bar Europe and my contact Zibi who is based in Germany.
Power Bar have been a fantastic support to me and have not only provided loads of brilliant nutrition products but also a funky race suit. It was such an honour for me to be invited to the breakfast and rub shoulders with some of the super stars of triathlon.
The film crew arrived and filmed us having breakfast and me talking to various people. I had a good chat to Scott and got the low down on his IMUK race. Very impressive, I find it interesting that the elites have the same races as the rest of us, just quite a bit faster.
We each got given a power bar pack in a cool power bar bag and loads of free samples including recovery products, gels and bars. The US product is slightly different to the products we get in the UK in that it isn’t as thick and they have loads more flavours in both gels and bars. I decided to try out the gels and found them easier to get down when running. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for them in the UK.
The breakfast was held at the Kona outdoor circle which was up on the slopes so it overlooked the ocean. Beautiful views and it backed onto the Botanical Gardens. a fantastic setting and a lovely introduction to our first day in Hawaii. Thanks to Zibi for arranging our invites.
After the breakfast we headed into Kona to register. I got a bright yellow band put around my right wrist that was to stay there for our entire stay as it had my race number on it and is my entry into everything. Most importantly I paid my $10 to get my race day insurance…. something I didn’t realise I was going to need.
Through registration I got all of my transition bags, race numbers, spectator tickets, bike check in information, maps a free bag, cap, mouse mat and loads of brochures, mostly trying to sell you something.
We wandered into the ironman store and I picked up a few things I needed such as CO2 canisters, a couple of spare tubes and a bento box to store my gels in. There was everything you could possible think of with the IM logo plastered on it from clothing, coffee mugs, posters, an ironman bed (!), jewellery, pens, coffee, photo frames and many many other things.
Registration and the race office were located in the KKKBH, which is right next to the Pier where the race starts. 5 min walk down the road is the expo so we headed down there and ran into Leanne, Dan, Kaisha, James and Steve. It was really hot so I was trying to stay out of the sun. I was feeling a little bit apprehensive about just how hot it was. I was also a little stressed as I had to get so much done on the Thursday and didn’t feel like I was resting, eating or drinking enough. Plus I was tired from only having 4 hours sleep. IM is massive in the US so they had some big brand sponsors including Clinique. Finally someone is realising that women do this sport too! We all picked up some free stuff and the guys made me some cool signs to hold up during the race.
Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I had lunch on the water and then I headed off to give another interview about how I was feeling pre race. I talked through my race plan and what I wanted to achieve. I then spent some time on the IMUK race stand at the expo talking to Chris and Ally. Chris has raced Kona twice so was giving me some great tips and we agreed to meet at 7am so we could go out for a swim on the course.
After that we met up with everyone for an early dinner and watched the sun go down. I then went off to the race briefing. I have decided I am not going to attend them any more as they are a waste of time. You don’t ever get told anything new from what is included in the race information. I was falling asleep and it took me ages to get a cab back to the hotel so I didn’t get to bed until 10.30.
Thursday 11th October
Up at 5am to start getting used to waking up early and got my transition bags ready. We had a cab pick us up and take us to the power bar breakfast where there was around 70 people including Melissa Ashton (top 10 Kona finisher 2 years running), Luke Bell (big name triathlete and Kona winner), Scott Neyedli (IMUK winner), Jo Fenn (British superstar runner), Hillary Biscay, Belinda Granger plus a whole lot of other elite athletes. I also got to meet the head of Power Bar Europe and my contact Zibi who is based in Germany.
Power Bar have been a fantastic support to me and have not only provided loads of brilliant nutrition products but also a funky race suit. It was such an honour for me to be invited to the breakfast and rub shoulders with some of the super stars of triathlon.
The film crew arrived and filmed us having breakfast and me talking to various people. I had a good chat to Scott and got the low down on his IMUK race. Very impressive, I find it interesting that the elites have the same races as the rest of us, just quite a bit faster.
We each got given a power bar pack in a cool power bar bag and loads of free samples including recovery products, gels and bars. The US product is slightly different to the products we get in the UK in that it isn’t as thick and they have loads more flavours in both gels and bars. I decided to try out the gels and found them easier to get down when running. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for them in the UK.
The breakfast was held at the Kona outdoor circle which was up on the slopes so it overlooked the ocean. Beautiful views and it backed onto the Botanical Gardens. a fantastic setting and a lovely introduction to our first day in Hawaii. Thanks to Zibi for arranging our invites.
After the breakfast we headed into Kona to register. I got a bright yellow band put around my right wrist that was to stay there for our entire stay as it had my race number on it and is my entry into everything. Most importantly I paid my $10 to get my race day insurance…. something I didn’t realise I was going to need.
Through registration I got all of my transition bags, race numbers, spectator tickets, bike check in information, maps a free bag, cap, mouse mat and loads of brochures, mostly trying to sell you something.
We wandered into the ironman store and I picked up a few things I needed such as CO2 canisters, a couple of spare tubes and a bento box to store my gels in. There was everything you could possible think of with the IM logo plastered on it from clothing, coffee mugs, posters, an ironman bed (!), jewellery, pens, coffee, photo frames and many many other things.
Registration and the race office were located in the KKKBH, which is right next to the Pier where the race starts. 5 min walk down the road is the expo so we headed down there and ran into Leanne, Dan, Kaisha, James and Steve. It was really hot so I was trying to stay out of the sun. I was feeling a little bit apprehensive about just how hot it was. I was also a little stressed as I had to get so much done on the Thursday and didn’t feel like I was resting, eating or drinking enough. Plus I was tired from only having 4 hours sleep. IM is massive in the US so they had some big brand sponsors including Clinique. Finally someone is realising that women do this sport too! We all picked up some free stuff and the guys made me some cool signs to hold up during the race.
Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I had lunch on the water and then I headed off to give another interview about how I was feeling pre race. I talked through my race plan and what I wanted to achieve. I then spent some time on the IMUK race stand at the expo talking to Chris and Ally. Chris has raced Kona twice so was giving me some great tips and we agreed to meet at 7am so we could go out for a swim on the course.
After that we met up with everyone for an early dinner and watched the sun go down. I then went off to the race briefing. I have decided I am not going to attend them any more as they are a waste of time. You don’t ever get told anything new from what is included in the race information. I was falling asleep and it took me ages to get a cab back to the hotel so I didn’t get to bed until 10.30.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Wednesday 10th October - Kona Day 1
14:45:32 o'clock BST
Wednesday 10th October
So we are sitting in San Fran having lunch after a “fun” flight. Not a cankle in sight. All hail the compression flight socks. :)
Corinna is now known as the ‘Nun Worrier’ after walking in on a nun in the toilet. The nun was not best pleased and got a little huffy. Quite an achievement to get huffy with your habit around your waist. We think she is going to go to hell.
We had to pick up our luggage and then check it back through security after clearing customs. We had everything loaded on 2 trolleys, came up to the guy who was clearly a little stressed and started instructing us to ‘step away from the luggage. Thank you. Move away to your right away from the trolley’ I wonder if he actually does work for the airline.
United are not at the top of our favourite list. No personal entertainment system. No free booze. Sitting on the runway for almost an hour after we landed. Antoinette was ‘providing feedback for superiors’ in how communication is key to keeping their passengers calm. Those who know her can imagine the tone of voice being used with the target…. I mean flight attendant. One flight down, one to go!
Flight ended up being delayed for 4 hours so the journey ended up being around 27 hours.
We arrived in Kona and had a taxi waiting. We got Matilda in the back of the van along with our entire luggage and then had to unpack everything s the cabbie lost the keys. They were in his pocket the entire time. Checked into the Sheraton and off to bed by 1am.
Wednesday 10th October
So we are sitting in San Fran having lunch after a “fun” flight. Not a cankle in sight. All hail the compression flight socks. :)
Corinna is now known as the ‘Nun Worrier’ after walking in on a nun in the toilet. The nun was not best pleased and got a little huffy. Quite an achievement to get huffy with your habit around your waist. We think she is going to go to hell.
We had to pick up our luggage and then check it back through security after clearing customs. We had everything loaded on 2 trolleys, came up to the guy who was clearly a little stressed and started instructing us to ‘step away from the luggage. Thank you. Move away to your right away from the trolley’ I wonder if he actually does work for the airline.
United are not at the top of our favourite list. No personal entertainment system. No free booze. Sitting on the runway for almost an hour after we landed. Antoinette was ‘providing feedback for superiors’ in how communication is key to keeping their passengers calm. Those who know her can imagine the tone of voice being used with the target…. I mean flight attendant. One flight down, one to go!
Flight ended up being delayed for 4 hours so the journey ended up being around 27 hours.
We arrived in Kona and had a taxi waiting. We got Matilda in the back of the van along with our entire luggage and then had to unpack everything s the cabbie lost the keys. They were in his pocket the entire time. Checked into the Sheraton and off to bed by 1am.
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Speech. 08 October 2007
16:18:37 o'clock BST
Hello! I went to the AGSM annual Ball on Saturday and did my little speech for them after dinner. I was really happy with it, and think it went well. Everyone was lovely to me and wished me luck for the weekend. It is always nice to get the ball gown out! Sammy scrubs up alright as you can see from the pictures! I hadn't seen him in a suit before...Yum! Everyone was looking lovely on the evening.
2 more sleeps! I am starting to get a bit nervous and moving into the zone. I am going to pack tonight, the hard thing is that I have to take all my food with me, I don't want to risk not be able to get the things I like and know I can eat pre race. Sam has kindly packed my bike up for me today so Matilda is ready to go! I ran this morning, no pain in my knee so it is on the mend.
Rob Walker sent me an email saying they were heading out toHawaii today and that they are going to come to the Power Bar breakfast on Thursday and also come and film me swimming with Chris Boon, IMUK owner.
I plan on keeping this updated when we are travelling and away.
C x
Hello! I went to the AGSM annual Ball on Saturday and did my little speech for them after dinner. I was really happy with it, and think it went well. Everyone was lovely to me and wished me luck for the weekend. It is always nice to get the ball gown out! Sammy scrubs up alright as you can see from the pictures! I hadn't seen him in a suit before...Yum! Everyone was looking lovely on the evening.
2 more sleeps! I am starting to get a bit nervous and moving into the zone. I am going to pack tonight, the hard thing is that I have to take all my food with me, I don't want to risk not be able to get the things I like and know I can eat pre race. Sam has kindly packed my bike up for me today so Matilda is ready to go! I ran this morning, no pain in my knee so it is on the mend.
Rob Walker sent me an email saying they were heading out toHawaii today and that they are going to come to the Power Bar breakfast on Thursday and also come and film me swimming with Chris Boon, IMUK owner.
I plan on keeping this updated when we are travelling and away.
C x
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The Website is Live! 04 October 2007
13:46:08 o'clock BST Feeling Happy
The Website is Live!
Finally I have managed to get it together and get the website published. It is a work in progress and I will be adding some pictures over the next few days. Please do feel free to leave me some feedback either via email or this blog.
http://ironcaro.googlepages.com/
Carolyn x
The Website is Live!
Finally I have managed to get it together and get the website published. It is a work in progress and I will be adding some pictures over the next few days. Please do feel free to leave me some feedback either via email or this blog.
http://ironcaro.googlepages.com/
Carolyn x
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
MMMMM Normann! 03 October 2007
16:07:59 o'clock BST Feeling Ecstatic
MMMMM Normann!
I just received my shipment of goods from Powerbar and they have included a signed hat form Normann Stadler. I cannot convey how excited I am about this!!! He is my number 1 triathlon hero. I'm just sitting her gazing at it knowing his hands have touched it. I am sounding a little creepy so going now.
C x
MMMMM Normann!
I just received my shipment of goods from Powerbar and they have included a signed hat form Normann Stadler. I cannot convey how excited I am about this!!! He is my number 1 triathlon hero. I'm just sitting her gazing at it knowing his hands have touched it. I am sounding a little creepy so going now.
C x
Press Release 03 October 2007
13:53:07 o'clock BST Feeling Happy
Press Release
This is the press release put together by AOL's press company, enjoy!
WORKING WOMAN AIMS TO BRING WORLD ‘IRONMAN’ TITLE BACK TO BRITAIN
Amateur triathlete beats viral meningitis and pro athletes to get chance to represent UK
LONDON, XX XX – Holding down a full time job is tough enough for most people, but not for 29 year-old Carolyn Hewett, who is set to represent the UK in the grueling Ford Ironman World Championship in October 2007 - two years after being told she would never run again.
Carolyn, from West Kensington, London, qualified for the World Championship by winning the Female 25–29 age group at the IRONMAN UK competition on August 19th 2007 - beating the existing course record by 21 minutes in the process.
But unlike many serious triathletes, Carolyn is still only in her first year of triathalon and has to find time to for 17 - 20 hours of training a week outside of her busy full time job with internet portal AOL. And even more impressively, she was told she would never run again in March 2005 after being diagnosed with post-viral chronic fatigue following a bout of viral meningitis.
But the challenges she faced only made her more determined to succeed:
Carolyn said: “I didn’t want to believe the Doctors, so after 7 months off training I went for a short run and ended up in bed for a week recovering. So I waited a month, and only ended up in bed for 4 days – which I saw as progress”
Carolyn then built up her strength over the next year, finally making a comeback to competitive running at the Rome Marathon on 17th March 2006 – the anniversary of her diagnosis with post-viral chronic fatigue. Carolyn competed against 1574 other athletes at IRONMAN UK, the UK’s only official World Championship qualifier, going on to claim the only World Championship qualifying slot for her age group. The Hawaii championship will feature athletes covering a combined total of almost 250,000 miles on race day.
The Ironman is a long distance triathlon in which participants cover 226kms or 140.6 miles broken down into a 3.8km or 2.4 mile swim, 180km or 112 mile cycle and a 42.2km or 26.2 mile run completed consecutively.
Alison Boon, Race owner of Ironman UK said: “What Carolyn has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. To achieve this result in her first year of triathlon whilst holding down a demanding job is a great testament to her dedication”.
All the Athletes training for the Ford IRONMAN World Championships are expected to cover over a million miles – 40 times the circumference of the earth at its equator.
Carolyn said: “I can’t wait for the Hawaii Championship. Race morning is one of the most electric times with 1500 athletes waiting nervously to start a race to the finish line 140.6 miles ahead”.
She continued: “I’ll give the competition my best shot. I’ve learnt that almost anything is possible with the right attitude and determination”
Carolyn’s achievement is so significant that she will be the subject of a triathalon TV feature for Channel 4, ESPN and Fox TV.
A blog, photo archive and video coverage of her training and the competition are available at www.AOL.co.uk now, so supporters can keep up to date on her progress and achievements.
AOL is so impressed with their employee that they are also sponsoring Carolyn for the event.
Video: http://uncutvideo.aol.co.uk/videos/day/d242ce6c9c638f504f00fd231f5eb1f7?index=0
Blog: http://journals.aol.co.uk/ironcaro/my-journey-to-ironman/
Pictures: http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors For an interview with Carolyn or further information, please contact Alex Wood on 0207 861 3013 or awood@resonate.uk.com.
Press Release
This is the press release put together by AOL's press company, enjoy!
WORKING WOMAN AIMS TO BRING WORLD ‘IRONMAN’ TITLE BACK TO BRITAIN
Amateur triathlete beats viral meningitis and pro athletes to get chance to represent UK
LONDON, XX XX – Holding down a full time job is tough enough for most people, but not for 29 year-old Carolyn Hewett, who is set to represent the UK in the grueling Ford Ironman World Championship in October 2007 - two years after being told she would never run again.
Carolyn, from West Kensington, London, qualified for the World Championship by winning the Female 25–29 age group at the IRONMAN UK competition on August 19th 2007 - beating the existing course record by 21 minutes in the process.
But unlike many serious triathletes, Carolyn is still only in her first year of triathalon and has to find time to for 17 - 20 hours of training a week outside of her busy full time job with internet portal AOL. And even more impressively, she was told she would never run again in March 2005 after being diagnosed with post-viral chronic fatigue following a bout of viral meningitis.
But the challenges she faced only made her more determined to succeed:
Carolyn said: “I didn’t want to believe the Doctors, so after 7 months off training I went for a short run and ended up in bed for a week recovering. So I waited a month, and only ended up in bed for 4 days – which I saw as progress”
Carolyn then built up her strength over the next year, finally making a comeback to competitive running at the Rome Marathon on 17th March 2006 – the anniversary of her diagnosis with post-viral chronic fatigue. Carolyn competed against 1574 other athletes at IRONMAN UK, the UK’s only official World Championship qualifier, going on to claim the only World Championship qualifying slot for her age group. The Hawaii championship will feature athletes covering a combined total of almost 250,000 miles on race day.
The Ironman is a long distance triathlon in which participants cover 226kms or 140.6 miles broken down into a 3.8km or 2.4 mile swim, 180km or 112 mile cycle and a 42.2km or 26.2 mile run completed consecutively.
Alison Boon, Race owner of Ironman UK said: “What Carolyn has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. To achieve this result in her first year of triathlon whilst holding down a demanding job is a great testament to her dedication”.
All the Athletes training for the Ford IRONMAN World Championships are expected to cover over a million miles – 40 times the circumference of the earth at its equator.
Carolyn said: “I can’t wait for the Hawaii Championship. Race morning is one of the most electric times with 1500 athletes waiting nervously to start a race to the finish line 140.6 miles ahead”.
She continued: “I’ll give the competition my best shot. I’ve learnt that almost anything is possible with the right attitude and determination”
Carolyn’s achievement is so significant that she will be the subject of a triathalon TV feature for Channel 4, ESPN and Fox TV.
A blog, photo archive and video coverage of her training and the competition are available at www.AOL.co.uk now, so supporters can keep up to date on her progress and achievements.
AOL is so impressed with their employee that they are also sponsoring Carolyn for the event.
Video: http://uncutvideo.aol.co.uk/videos/day/d242ce6c9c638f504f00fd231f5eb1f7?index=0
Blog: http://journals.aol.co.uk/ironcaro/my-journey-to-ironman/
Pictures: http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors For an interview with Carolyn or further information, please contact Alex Wood on 0207 861 3013 or awood@resonate.uk.com.
7 MORE SLEEPS!!!!! 03 October 2007
So I have been working on my plans for the race which is really starting to get me fired up!! I am definitely getting into the zone as Sam calls it :) The zone for me is somewhere that I really get centred and focused on my race and I visualise all the things I am going to do and how I am going to absolutely kick butt and meet all of my race day goals.
We fly out next Wednesday, so a week to go! I had the film crew in here on Monday filming me at my desk which was great, they just asked lots of questions around how I got into triathlon and how I manage a busy work and training schedule. The presenter, Rob Walker, is very good, made me feel very relaxed. I checked out his website, he has done some cool things! http://www.robwalkertv.com/
Sam and I are meeting them tomorrow to do some cycling. Sam freaked out when I told him that he would have to be on national TV in lycra hee hee hee!
Apparently it is a beautiful 30 degrees every day in Kona at the moment, so the acclimatisation is going to be interesting! Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I or CASC as I have started calling us have a gruelling 22 hour flight with a stop over in San Francisco to get there. I am really worried about my ankles and legs swelling up, it always happens when I fly so I am committed to stretching every hour on the flight and moving around.
Leanne has kindly put together a map showing where each of us are staying, each with our own TV show that has been filmed in Hawaii. Maybe I should think about getting my hair cut short? :) So Baywatch Hawaii is James & Kaisha, Magnum PI is Steve, Fantasy Island is Leanne and Dan and Hawaii 5-O is CASC. As Leanne pointed out if anyone complains, it could have been worse. Godzilla and Jurassic Park were also filmed there :)
My aim this time is to race for myself and not have to be picking off other competitors. I have 3 main goals:
1) Complete the race in sub 10:50 - this means a 15 min improvement on my qualifying time
2) Run a sub 3:25 marathon - this is a 5 min improvement on my IMUK time. As it stands at the moment, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time in my age group and ideally I want to have the fastest run time on the day.
3) Secure a top 20 place in my age group
Saying that, my race plan actually has me finishing in 10:38. The distances are the standard IM distance, 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon, or 42.2 kms. I have an advantage in that the IMUK course is considered one of the most difficult ones to qualify on because it is so hilly, each one is difficult for different reasons and Kona is going to be tough because of the winds coming in off the lava fields and a combination of the heat and humidity. I am really going to be calling on my body to remember all that run training I used to do in the heat in Australia. The breakdown of my race is as follows:
Swim 1:20
T1 5 min
Bike 5:45
T2 3 min
Run 3:25
Total time 10.38
The race starts at 7am Hawaiian time, or 6pm UK time or 3am Sydney time on Saturday 13th October. I am sure you have better things to do on a Saturday night/morning, however if you really wanted to you could check out the action online at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and http://www.ironman.com/
We fly out next Wednesday, so a week to go! I had the film crew in here on Monday filming me at my desk which was great, they just asked lots of questions around how I got into triathlon and how I manage a busy work and training schedule. The presenter, Rob Walker, is very good, made me feel very relaxed. I checked out his website, he has done some cool things! http://www.robwalkertv.com/
Sam and I are meeting them tomorrow to do some cycling. Sam freaked out when I told him that he would have to be on national TV in lycra hee hee hee!
Apparently it is a beautiful 30 degrees every day in Kona at the moment, so the acclimatisation is going to be interesting! Corinna, Antoinette, Sam and I or CASC as I have started calling us have a gruelling 22 hour flight with a stop over in San Francisco to get there. I am really worried about my ankles and legs swelling up, it always happens when I fly so I am committed to stretching every hour on the flight and moving around.
Leanne has kindly put together a map showing where each of us are staying, each with our own TV show that has been filmed in Hawaii. Maybe I should think about getting my hair cut short? :) So Baywatch Hawaii is James & Kaisha, Magnum PI is Steve, Fantasy Island is Leanne and Dan and Hawaii 5-O is CASC. As Leanne pointed out if anyone complains, it could have been worse. Godzilla and Jurassic Park were also filmed there :)
My aim this time is to race for myself and not have to be picking off other competitors. I have 3 main goals:
1) Complete the race in sub 10:50 - this means a 15 min improvement on my qualifying time
2) Run a sub 3:25 marathon - this is a 5 min improvement on my IMUK time. As it stands at the moment, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time in my age group and ideally I want to have the fastest run time on the day.
3) Secure a top 20 place in my age group
Saying that, my race plan actually has me finishing in 10:38. The distances are the standard IM distance, 3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon, or 42.2 kms. I have an advantage in that the IMUK course is considered one of the most difficult ones to qualify on because it is so hilly, each one is difficult for different reasons and Kona is going to be tough because of the winds coming in off the lava fields and a combination of the heat and humidity. I am really going to be calling on my body to remember all that run training I used to do in the heat in Australia. The breakdown of my race is as follows:
Swim 1:20
T1 5 min
Bike 5:45
T2 3 min
Run 3:25
Total time 10.38
The race starts at 7am Hawaiian time, or 6pm UK time or 3am Sydney time on Saturday 13th October. I am sure you have better things to do on a Saturday night/morning, however if you really wanted to you could check out the action online at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ and http://www.ironman.com/
Thursday, September 27, 2007
I'm Back! 27 September 2007
Malta was brilliant! We had such a lovely time and the hotel was gorgeous. We spent a lot of time next to the pool! We did go out for a run along the promenade one morning but that was about it for running. I got food poisoning from some mussels so that put me out of action for a day or so.
Hawaii is fast approaching, less than 2 weeks till we head over there. The great news is that my knee is holding up and mending really well. I managed to run a bit over 5km yesterday in 22 min with minimal pain which was really encouraging. I needed to know I could do that.
I sent off my top yesterday with the branding on it for it to be printed, really excited because it is going to look great with the Loopy Love, AOL and TriUK brands on it. It a really nice Zoot outfit which was a great score from TriUK. They sent me some fantastic things as part of the sponsorship deal.
The film crew are coming into my office on Tuesday to interview me here and then we are going to head up to Hyde park to get some shots of me training. I am looking forward to it, it should be a laugh!
Antoinette has been checking out the weather in Hawaii, great weather to be on the beach drinking cocktails! It is over 30 degrees every day. I am not too worried about the heat, it is going to be tough because I have only raced once this year in the heat, every other time was in the wind and cold! Thats the British summer for you!
I know I can race when it is hot, but I have obviously never had to do an ironman in those conditions. I am good at keeping up my fluids and I know I can run when it is hot. I remember when I lived in Sydney I used to go out in 32 - 33 degree heat regularly to run. Maybe my body will remember that!! Lets hope!
The support from my colleagues has been amazing, I think everyone knows I have a knee injury and it is really nice that people are asking how the training is going. I am starting to get really excited about the race now, I just want to get out there and do it!
I have had to admit that summer (if that's what you can call it) is now over. I went out cycling last night in totally inappropriate clothing, shorts and a long sleeve top. I made it to Putney to meet Sam and then pulled the pin, way way too cold. I am feeling OK about the level of training I am doing at the moment, I would like to be doing more but I don't have time now, I need to keep up the intensity but make them short sharp sessions.
The press release from AOL is going out on Monday, I'll post it up here after it has gone out :)
Take it easy
C x
Hawaii is fast approaching, less than 2 weeks till we head over there. The great news is that my knee is holding up and mending really well. I managed to run a bit over 5km yesterday in 22 min with minimal pain which was really encouraging. I needed to know I could do that.
I sent off my top yesterday with the branding on it for it to be printed, really excited because it is going to look great with the Loopy Love, AOL and TriUK brands on it. It a really nice Zoot outfit which was a great score from TriUK. They sent me some fantastic things as part of the sponsorship deal.
The film crew are coming into my office on Tuesday to interview me here and then we are going to head up to Hyde park to get some shots of me training. I am looking forward to it, it should be a laugh!
Antoinette has been checking out the weather in Hawaii, great weather to be on the beach drinking cocktails! It is over 30 degrees every day. I am not too worried about the heat, it is going to be tough because I have only raced once this year in the heat, every other time was in the wind and cold! Thats the British summer for you!
I know I can race when it is hot, but I have obviously never had to do an ironman in those conditions. I am good at keeping up my fluids and I know I can run when it is hot. I remember when I lived in Sydney I used to go out in 32 - 33 degree heat regularly to run. Maybe my body will remember that!! Lets hope!
The support from my colleagues has been amazing, I think everyone knows I have a knee injury and it is really nice that people are asking how the training is going. I am starting to get really excited about the race now, I just want to get out there and do it!
I have had to admit that summer (if that's what you can call it) is now over. I went out cycling last night in totally inappropriate clothing, shorts and a long sleeve top. I made it to Putney to meet Sam and then pulled the pin, way way too cold. I am feeling OK about the level of training I am doing at the moment, I would like to be doing more but I don't have time now, I need to keep up the intensity but make them short sharp sessions.
The press release from AOL is going out on Monday, I'll post it up here after it has gone out :)
Take it easy
C x
Thursday, September 20, 2007
General Update :) 20 September 2007
17:02:22 o'clock BST
General Update :)
My knee is getting better, but not good enough to do any decent running. I ran yesterday as I started a running club at AOL a few months back where I encouragepeople into coming out and doing 5km at lunch on a Wednesday. I then take the times of everyone and support them in improving their times. This week I paced one of the girls, Tonja, in for a sub 25. She did so well, although at one point I think she was close to telling me to shove it :)
I am back into doing quality training and I have really found my focus again so have been getting up a bit before 6 this week to do 1.5 - 2 hours and then go to physio. This morning I rode to Richmond Park and rode around there for a bit concentrating on hills and then back for a run. It is so lovely being in there when there isn't any traffic or many cyclists, the deer are close to the road and you feel like you could be in the middle of nowhere. I only managed 10 min run when I got back before I had to stop, just way to painful.
I am also back playing netball with the Tickled Pink girls from lastminute.com at Pimlico on a Tuesday night. I gave it up going into IMUK because I didn't want to risk injury. I managed to do some serious ligament damage in my ankle 2 years ago which meant 4 months off running so I didn't want to risk it.
The team has been playing together for 4 years now and finally we are doing really well. We have only lost 1 game this season, it has taken us a while but we really work well together and everyone is really strong. We are winning by big margins too, last week was 28 - 14 and we are now top of the table.
So I am now best friends with my physio! She is an Aussie chick from Adelaide, in fact she was one of the rising stars of Australian swimming when she was younger so she understands the pressure of athletic performance and getting me back out there as quickly as possible. Natasha is her name and she was really sweet this morning, she told me she was worried that her holiday dates were going to clash with me going to Hawaii as she wants to work with me right up until I go and ensure I am fit.
Sammy and I are off to Malta tomorrow. He has been an amazing support to me over the last few months and very understanding, so this is the just focus on you and not my bike/running/swimming for a few days. Our relationship has been tested more than once due to my commitment to triathlon. We booked this trip some time ago, I obviously didn't know I would be going to Hawaii so it isn't a great time to be taking time off from training but on the plus side it will be a good chance for me to get in some non wetsuit open water training. When I suggested that maybe Sam could get a rowboat and hand energy gels to me the look he gave me was enough for me to know it wasn't going to happen ;) As on all holidays the running shoes are standard. It is a great way to check out the surroundings. Oh no! I just checked the weather and it is going to be raining!! NOOOOOOOO!!! That isn't in the plan!
Have a great weekend!
C x
General Update :)
My knee is getting better, but not good enough to do any decent running. I ran yesterday as I started a running club at AOL a few months back where I encourage
I am back into doing quality training and I have really found my focus again so have been getting up a bit before 6 this week to do 1.5 - 2 hours and then go to physio. This morning I rode to Richmond Park and rode around there for a bit concentrating on hills and then back for a run. It is so lovely being in there when there isn't any traffic or many cyclists, the deer are close to the road and you feel like you could be in the middle of nowhere. I only managed 10 min run when I got back before I had to stop, just way to painful.
I am also back playing netball with the Tickled Pink girls from lastminute.com at Pimlico on a Tuesday night. I gave it up going into IMUK because I didn't want to risk injury. I managed to do some serious ligament damage in my ankle 2 years ago which meant 4 months off running so I didn't want to risk it.
The team has been playing together for 4 years now and finally we are doing really well. We have only lost 1 game this season, it has taken us a while but we really work well together and everyone is really strong. We are winning by big margins too, last week was 28 - 14 and we are now top of the table.
So I am now best friends with my physio! She is an Aussie chick from Adelaide, in fact she was one of the rising stars of Australian swimming when she was younger so she understands the pressure of athletic performance and getting me back out there as quickly as possible. Natasha is her name and she was really sweet this morning, she told me she was worried that her holiday dates were going to clash with me going to Hawaii as she wants to work with me right up until I go and ensure I am fit.
Sammy and I are off to Malta tomorrow. He has been an amazing support to me over the last few months and very understanding, so this is the just focus on you and not my bike/running/swimming for a few days. Our relationship has been tested more than once due to my commitment to triathlon. We booked this trip some time ago, I obviously didn't know I would be going to Hawaii so it isn't a great time to be taking time off from training but on the plus side it will be a good chance for me to get in some non wetsuit open water training. When I suggested that maybe Sam could get a rowboat and hand energy gels to me the look he gave me was enough for me to know it wasn't going to happen ;) As on all holidays the running shoes are standard. It is a great way to check out the surroundings. Oh no! I just checked the weather and it is going to be raining!! NOOOOOOOO!!! That isn't in the plan!
Have a great weekend!
C x
Monday, September 17, 2007
Woo Hoo!! 17 September 2007
13:57:32 o'clock BST Feeling Ecstatic
Woo Hoo!!
Fantastic training sessions on the weekend, I am back baby! Went out on Saturday morning and did 5 hours on my own, really needed to do it. I screwed up my nutrition and didn't have enough for breakfast so that hurt me on the last 10km's coming back in. I went up Box Hill twice, once on the way out on the A24 and once on the way back to get a cup of coffee. Somehow I resisted the lovely jam sponge cake they had sitting there!
The A24 to Worthing is a such a bumpy road. It is exhausting riding along it, I did it because I didn't want to risk getting lost and I knew roughly where I could turn around safely at the 70km mark. Don't think I would do it on my own again, was a bit scary at times with cars shooting past really close.
I ran yesterday for the 1st time in a month, I managed 30 mins with some pain in my knee, but paying the price for it today. I have a massage tonight to try and relieve my incredibly tight ITB's, physio and ultrasound therapy tomorrow morning on the ligaments and more massage on Wednesday. It is getting better, I am just impatient!
Went to see the Brian Wilson concert last night, brilliant. Sam is a massive fan so I went along thinking it was going to be dull, but I was pleasantly surprised. We were the youngest people there by 20 years but it was a great atmosphere. I keep cracking up at the guy sitting next to me who no matter how hard he tried couldn't clap in time. Massive band, there are about 12 of them, 20 at one stage. Really cool concert.
Back into the training tonight, doing some cycling and then off to the pool first thing tomorrow before physio and getting my knee cap strapped again.
Have fun! C x
ps less than 4 weeks to Kona!
Woo Hoo!!
Fantastic training sessions on the weekend, I am back baby! Went out on Saturday morning and did 5 hours on my own, really needed to do it. I screwed up my nutrition and didn't have enough for breakfast so that hurt me on the last 10km's coming back in. I went up Box Hill twice, once on the way out on the A24 and once on the way back to get a cup of coffee. Somehow I resisted the lovely jam sponge cake they had sitting there!
The A24 to Worthing is a such a bumpy road. It is exhausting riding along it, I did it because I didn't want to risk getting lost and I knew roughly where I could turn around safely at the 70km mark. Don't think I would do it on my own again, was a bit scary at times with cars shooting past really close.
I ran yesterday for the 1st time in a month, I managed 30 mins with some pain in my knee, but paying the price for it today. I have a massage tonight to try and relieve my incredibly tight ITB's, physio and ultrasound therapy tomorrow morning on the ligaments and more massage on Wednesday. It is getting better, I am just impatient!
Went to see the Brian Wilson concert last night, brilliant. Sam is a massive fan so I went along thinking it was going to be dull, but I was pleasantly surprised. We were the youngest people there by 20 years but it was a great atmosphere. I keep cracking up at the guy sitting next to me who no matter how hard he tried couldn't clap in time. Massive band, there are about 12 of them, 20 at one stage. Really cool concert.
Back into the training tonight, doing some cycling and then off to the pool first thing tomorrow before physio and getting my knee cap strapped again.
Have fun! C x
ps less than 4 weeks to Kona!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Need to Focus! 14 September 2007
14 September 2007
17:39:00 o'clock BST Feeling Anxious
Need to Focus!
Well, it is only 1 month until the World Champs and I have to admit I am stuggling to get back on track with my training coming out of IMUK. My knee is still giving me grief, I am seeing a physiotherapist every 2nd day so I can get my kneecap taped back into place. I haven't managed to run yet, I am saving that for tomorrow. I out to do a 150km ride, maybe a bit more if I am feeling strong. I am going to cycle down the A24 to the outskirts of Worthing on the south coast of England, then run for an hour. I have decided to go solo tomorrow and really stick to my race pace and try and get myself back on track. I had some bike issues this week which hopefully Sam managed to fix last night. All in all it hasn't been fantastic. Tomorrow is my day to get back on track and focus on Kona.
Have a great weekend!
C x
17:39:00 o'clock BST Feeling Anxious
Need to Focus!
Well, it is only 1 month until the World Champs and I have to admit I am stuggling to get back on track with my training coming out of IMUK. My knee is still giving me grief, I am seeing a physiotherapist every 2nd day so I can get my kneecap taped back into place. I haven't managed to run yet, I am saving that for tomorrow. I out to do a 150km ride, maybe a bit more if I am feeling strong. I am going to cycle down the A24 to the outskirts of Worthing on the south coast of England, then run for an hour. I have decided to go solo tomorrow and really stick to my race pace and try and get myself back on track. I had some bike issues this week which hopefully Sam managed to fix last night. All in all it hasn't been fantastic. Tomorrow is my day to get back on track and focus on Kona.
Have a great weekend!
C x
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
My Fabulous Sponsors 12 September 2007
14:36:30 o'clock BST Feeling Happy
My Fabulous Sponsors
With the World Championships looming on the 13th October I have been busy at physio every 2nd day trying to get my knee fixed and do as much cycling and swimming I can until I am fit enough to start running. It is frustrating to say the least because looking at the qualifying times of the other 35 girls in my age group, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time, and I would like to keep it that way in the race!
As yu can imagine heading out to Hawaii is an expensive business and I have been lucky enough to secure the sponsorship of 4 fantastic brands:
http://www.loopylove.com/ - A really fun place to potentially meet the love of your life! I have used Loopy Love to great success and I would encourage you singletons to give it a go ;)
http://www.triuk.com/ - This is the largest triathlon store in the world. If you can't get it here it doesn't exist! Brilliant team down in Yeovil who know their stuff. They even have an indoor endless pool in the store!!
http://www.powerbar-europe.com/ - I have used power bar products all season and can vouch for their product. I use the energy and recovery drinks as well as the gels in both racing and training. My favourite flavour is blackberry gel!
http://www.aol.co.uk/ - AOL is not only my employeer but also now one of my main sponsors. I work in the product team where we look after some great products such as;
Webmail www.aol.co.uk/webmail - unlimited storage, integrated chat and pictures, free to join
AIM http://info.aol.co.uk/aim/ AOL Instant Messenger) where you can chat with all your buddies, personalise your expression and also get quick easy access into video and pictures.
AOL Pictures http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/ - Free unlimited storage, share your pictures with your frineds and order gifts and prints online
Winamp http://www.winamp.co.uk/ - Get a fantastic media player with the capability to manage all of your digital assets. Also give you access to the entire shoutcast network of internet radio
Mapquest http://www.mapquest.co.uk/ - For all your mapping needs.
Video - http://uncutvideo.aol.com/Main.do and http://video.aol.co.uk/ You can upload your own videos as well as browse the huge collection, including a great selection of music videos
Safety - http://safety.aol.co.uk/ Stay safe online with a variety of products from AOL
Check out the links if you get time, stay safe and happy training!
C x
My Fabulous Sponsors
With the World Championships looming on the 13th October I have been busy at physio every 2nd day trying to get my knee fixed and do as much cycling and swimming I can until I am fit enough to start running. It is frustrating to say the least because looking at the qualifying times of the other 35 girls in my age group, I have the fastest marathon qualifying time, and I would like to keep it that way in the race!
As yu can imagine heading out to Hawaii is an expensive business and I have been lucky enough to secure the sponsorship of 4 fantastic brands:
http://www.loopylove.com/ - A really fun place to potentially meet the love of your life! I have used Loopy Love to great success and I would encourage you singletons to give it a go ;)
http://www.triuk.com/ - This is the largest triathlon store in the world. If you can't get it here it doesn't exist! Brilliant team down in Yeovil who know their stuff. They even have an indoor endless pool in the store!!
http://www.powerbar-europe.com/ - I have used power bar products all season and can vouch for their product. I use the energy and recovery drinks as well as the gels in both racing and training. My favourite flavour is blackberry gel!
http://www.aol.co.uk/ - AOL is not only my employeer but also now one of my main sponsors. I work in the product team where we look after some great products such as;
Webmail www.aol.co.uk/webmail - unlimited storage, integrated chat and pictures, free to join
AIM http://info.aol.co.uk/aim/ AOL Instant Messenger) where you can chat with all your buddies, personalise your expression and also get quick easy access into video and pictures.
AOL Pictures http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/ - Free unlimited storage, share your pictures with your frineds and order gifts and prints online
Winamp http://www.winamp.co.uk/ - Get a fantastic media player with the capability to manage all of your digital assets. Also give you access to the entire shoutcast network of internet radio
Mapquest http://www.mapquest.co.uk/ - For all your mapping needs.
Video - http://uncutvideo.aol.com/Main.do and http://video.aol.co.uk/ You can upload your own videos as well as browse the huge collection, including a great selection of music videos
Safety - http://safety.aol.co.uk/ Stay safe online with a variety of products from AOL
Check out the links if you get time, stay safe and happy training!
C x
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
IronMan UK Race Report - 11 September 2007
IronMan UK Race Report
The swim was the best I have ever had in that I was relaxed and actually enjoyed it which is rare for me. By some fluke I managed to find 2 of my girlfriends at the start line which was great so we hung out treading water together. The gun went off and it was a little pushy but people were not being too aggressive, everyone knows they are out there for a while so didn't try and swim over the top of each other. I breathe on my left side and ended up stroke for stroke with this guy who was breathing on his right side and it was pretty funny when after about 8-10 strokes he gave me a little wave. It was comforting to have someone who wasn't taking it super seriously. We ended up losing each other but found each other again on one of the turnarounds and had a bit of a chat whilst getting around the buoy. Don't get that in Olympic distance racing!
I felt great the entire swim and pushed it a bit on the last 500m and was so pleased with myself to come out of the water in 1:14:40 which was over 5 minutes faster than my estimate. I was in 734th position out of 1575, 12th in my age group and 20 minutes behind the leader in my age group. It was also the first time I had swum the distance in open water :)
I was definitely on a high after coming out of the water in a great time for me and that spurred me on. I got into transition and started shouting for someone to help me get my wetsuit off. This lovely guy helped me out and got me into my cycling kit and picked up the mess afterwards taking my bag away. It was a bit of a free for all and modesty gets thrown out the window :) I did at one point have someone's rather hairy naked bottom pointing at me which gave me the hurry up to get out of the changing tent! I ran out into the transition area where some more of my mates were on the fence so was great to see them.
Got out on the bike and against all good advice just went for it knowing I had to catch the girls ahead of me who would probably be taking things easy for the first part of the bike. I hooked up with this Scottish bloke who was riding slightly faster than me so we rode side by side for about 30 mins and I was quietly checking off the girls we were passing and also ignoring the voice of reason telling me to slow down. I dropped the Scottish bloke when I think he realised he was going to hard which spurred me on even more. I got round to the first turn around after 60km and the crowd was really quiet as just before me a bloke had misjudged the corner and come off. I heard my mate Leanne before I could see her so we were shouting at each other like loons which got the whole crowd going. It was an incredible feeling having all those people shouting for me and it put me on a really high and I powered on that for about 40kms, still ignoring that irritating voice of reason telling me to slow down. By this stage I had passed around 20 women but knew that there were a couple from my age group still ahead of me. The weather was pretty good in that it was overcast, no rain as yet but the clouds were threatening.
The third lap the wind really started to pick up and lots of people were slowing down. We also had a couple of patches of rain which doesn't make for happy cycling. I had broken the ride down into 20km chunks and knew I had to average 40 mins per block to hit my 6 hour target. I was really pleased because I was only 2-3 minutes off each lap and given the wind it was tougher than I had anticipated. I did the fastest bike split in my age group by over 3 minutes and was now quite concerned that I had gone too hard on the bike and was going to be hurt on the run.
I was loving all the banter that goes back and forward when you are out there. I kept seeing the Scottish bloke every now and again and that was cool, we would have a chat and encourage each other. There was this other bloke who I kept catching and over taking so then he would chase me back down and get in front again. After this happening at least 2 or 3 times each lap he said to me that I reminded him of an ex girlfriend who used to stalk him. I couldn't help it and told him that this wasn't the case with us because he would now be following me and took off before he had a chance to respond. Knowing that I had been a complete smarty pants to him meant I had to pick up the pace so he couldn't catch me which got me out of there and refocused me on finishing the last 30km of the bike strong.
It was really exciting riding back towards the castle with everyone lining the road, I got to see Rich and Sam who were screaming for me which was brilliant. I came off the bike in 6:10:35 bike and had moved down to 329th position and 4th place in my age group. I was happy with transition and got going. First few steps, 2 things happened. I could feel a cramp starting under my rib cage, something that has bothered me all season coming off the bike, and a felt a twinge under my left kneecap, an old injury that hadn't come up at all this season.
Back at "HQ" Corinna's Mum, Marilyn, was tracking me online and phoning back the information to the support crew who were then passing the information out to whoever was near me on the course. As I was coming up the hill through the campsite on the first lap I could see this spectacle near the stone gates you pass through and my friends had set up a tent and decorated it with flowers. They were also dressed up in grass skirts, shell and coconut bras complete with Wellingtons because of all the mud. Corinna had me and everyone around us laughing at her when she started trying to run in her Wellingtons totallydecked out in her costume, grass skirt, shell bra, flowers all over her, yelling at me to run faster that I needed to win so she could have a holiday to Hawaii. :)
I was so happy to have them around because it took a good 5 miles for the cramp to pass and they were all over that first lap and screaming that I had almost caught one of the girls in my age group. That first 5 miles was a pretty dark place for me because I really didn't think it was going to be able to run any faster and the niggling feeling that I had smacked the bike too hard was back. Not really sure what happened but it went suddenly and I was able to pick up the pace which really lifted me mentally. I know knew it was going to have to be a PB run to catch and beat the 3 girls ahead of me and I was actually really excited about seeing what I could do. I caught 2 of the girls on the first half of the course...1 to go!
After the 2 laps around the castle and campsite you head through the town and out to the duel carriage way which is basically 3 big rolling hills that you go over 4 times. My knee was definitely letting me know there was a problem at this stage. As I was heading out for my first lap I saw Daz coming back in off his last lap and he was looking brilliant. I hooked up with this guy who again was going faster than me and I had to push to keep up with him but I knew I had to make up some time and still had 1 girl to hunt down. With him I got her on lap 1.
I got to the turnaround and Rich was waiting for me, there is a great photo of him running next to me shouting at me that I had to run faster that I was in first place and had 12 minutes on them but had to push it. Sam was also there and I stopped to give him a big sweaty kiss much to the delight of thecrowd! So now I knew I was in 1st, my knee was really hurting and I still had around 10kms to cover I decided to change strategy and just wind it up and try and put as much time between 2nd and 3rd so that if it did go wrong I could try and walk it home and still win. I had run almost 2 hours on the first half and was overtaking so many people who were now walking I couldn't really judge how fast I was going. I just kept telling myself I hadn't trained for 8 months to walk and that I was going to Hawaii. The wind was so bad! Climbing one of the hills the wind was pushing me back, I got gusted so badly at one point I took a step backwards!
Rich was waiting for me on the turnaround point about 1.5 miles from the end and told me I was in 12th overall, including pros. He also told me again to run faster or he would schedule more mile reps :) That was all the incentive I needed! After having so many people on the duel carriageway it was strange running parts of the course on my own back through the town. There weren't many spectators on this part either. Competitive as always I set myself the target of catching whoever was in front of me in order to take my mind off my now screaming knee. Lots of the towns people were around and I was getting lots of encouragement back towards the castle and that picked me up. I also knew exactly where I was so knew it wasn't far to get home.
All of my friends were there lining the finish chute and put a lei around my neck as I went past. When I crossed the line I burst into tears, after 8 long hard months I had achieved what I set out to do. I was handed a bottle of vintage champagne and proceeded to fall off the wagon! IMUK is definitely one of the biggest achievements in my sporting career and I have never worked as hard for anything. I wouldn't change a thing and now I am focusing on getting ready for the World Championships in Kona on 13th October.
The swim was the best I have ever had in that I was relaxed and actually enjoyed it which is rare for me. By some fluke I managed to find 2 of my girlfriends at the start line which was great so we hung out treading water together. The gun went off and it was a little pushy but people were not being too aggressive, everyone knows they are out there for a while so didn't try and swim over the top of each other. I breathe on my left side and ended up stroke for stroke with this guy who was breathing on his right side and it was pretty funny when after about 8-10 strokes he gave me a little wave. It was comforting to have someone who wasn't taking it super seriously. We ended up losing each other but found each other again on one of the turnarounds and had a bit of a chat whilst getting around the buoy. Don't get that in Olympic distance racing!
I felt great the entire swim and pushed it a bit on the last 500m and was so pleased with myself to come out of the water in 1:14:40 which was over 5 minutes faster than my estimate. I was in 734th position out of 1575, 12th in my age group and 20 minutes behind the leader in my age group. It was also the first time I had swum the distance in open water :)
I was definitely on a high after coming out of the water in a great time for me and that spurred me on. I got into transition and started shouting for someone to help me get my wetsuit off. This lovely guy helped me out and got me into my cycling kit and picked up the mess afterwards taking my bag away. It was a bit of a free for all and modesty gets thrown out the window :) I did at one point have someone's rather hairy naked bottom pointing at me which gave me the hurry up to get out of the changing tent! I ran out into the transition area where some more of my mates were on the fence so was great to see them.
Got out on the bike and against all good advice just went for it knowing I had to catch the girls ahead of me who would probably be taking things easy for the first part of the bike. I hooked up with this Scottish bloke who was riding slightly faster than me so we rode side by side for about 30 mins and I was quietly checking off the girls we were passing and also ignoring the voice of reason telling me to slow down. I dropped the Scottish bloke when I think he realised he was going to hard which spurred me on even more. I got round to the first turn around after 60km and the crowd was really quiet as just before me a bloke had misjudged the corner and come off. I heard my mate Leanne before I could see her so we were shouting at each other like loons which got the whole crowd going. It was an incredible feeling having all those people shouting for me and it put me on a really high and I powered on that for about 40kms, still ignoring that irritating voice of reason telling me to slow down. By this stage I had passed around 20 women but knew that there were a couple from my age group still ahead of me. The weather was pretty good in that it was overcast, no rain as yet but the clouds were threatening.
The third lap the wind really started to pick up and lots of people were slowing down. We also had a couple of patches of rain which doesn't make for happy cycling. I had broken the ride down into 20km chunks and knew I had to average 40 mins per block to hit my 6 hour target. I was really pleased because I was only 2-3 minutes off each lap and given the wind it was tougher than I had anticipated. I did the fastest bike split in my age group by over 3 minutes and was now quite concerned that I had gone too hard on the bike and was going to be hurt on the run.
I was loving all the banter that goes back and forward when you are out there. I kept seeing the Scottish bloke every now and again and that was cool, we would have a chat and encourage each other. There was this other bloke who I kept catching and over taking so then he would chase me back down and get in front again. After this happening at least 2 or 3 times each lap he said to me that I reminded him of an ex girlfriend who used to stalk him. I couldn't help it and told him that this wasn't the case with us because he would now be following me and took off before he had a chance to respond. Knowing that I had been a complete smarty pants to him meant I had to pick up the pace so he couldn't catch me which got me out of there and refocused me on finishing the last 30km of the bike strong.
It was really exciting riding back towards the castle with everyone lining the road, I got to see Rich and Sam who were screaming for me which was brilliant. I came off the bike in 6:10:35 bike and had moved down to 329th position and 4th place in my age group. I was happy with transition and got going. First few steps, 2 things happened. I could feel a cramp starting under my rib cage, something that has bothered me all season coming off the bike, and a felt a twinge under my left kneecap, an old injury that hadn't come up at all this season.
Back at "HQ" Corinna's Mum, Marilyn, was tracking me online and phoning back the information to the support crew who were then passing the information out to whoever was near me on the course. As I was coming up the hill through the campsite on the first lap I could see this spectacle near the stone gates you pass through and my friends had set up a tent and decorated it with flowers. They were also dressed up in grass skirts, shell and coconut bras complete with Wellingtons because of all the mud. Corinna had me and everyone around us laughing at her when she started trying to run in her Wellingtons totallydecked out in her costume, grass skirt, shell bra, flowers all over her, yelling at me to run faster that I needed to win so she could have a holiday to Hawaii. :)
I was so happy to have them around because it took a good 5 miles for the cramp to pass and they were all over that first lap and screaming that I had almost caught one of the girls in my age group. That first 5 miles was a pretty dark place for me because I really didn't think it was going to be able to run any faster and the niggling feeling that I had smacked the bike too hard was back. Not really sure what happened but it went suddenly and I was able to pick up the pace which really lifted me mentally. I know knew it was going to have to be a PB run to catch and beat the 3 girls ahead of me and I was actually really excited about seeing what I could do. I caught 2 of the girls on the first half of the course...1 to go!
After the 2 laps around the castle and campsite you head through the town and out to the duel carriage way which is basically 3 big rolling hills that you go over 4 times. My knee was definitely letting me know there was a problem at this stage. As I was heading out for my first lap I saw Daz coming back in off his last lap and he was looking brilliant. I hooked up with this guy who again was going faster than me and I had to push to keep up with him but I knew I had to make up some time and still had 1 girl to hunt down. With him I got her on lap 1.
I got to the turnaround and Rich was waiting for me, there is a great photo of him running next to me shouting at me that I had to run faster that I was in first place and had 12 minutes on them but had to push it. Sam was also there and I stopped to give him a big sweaty kiss much to the delight of thecrowd! So now I knew I was in 1st, my knee was really hurting and I still had around 10kms to cover I decided to change strategy and just wind it up and try and put as much time between 2nd and 3rd so that if it did go wrong I could try and walk it home and still win. I had run almost 2 hours on the first half and was overtaking so many people who were now walking I couldn't really judge how fast I was going. I just kept telling myself I hadn't trained for 8 months to walk and that I was going to Hawaii. The wind was so bad! Climbing one of the hills the wind was pushing me back, I got gusted so badly at one point I took a step backwards!
Rich was waiting for me on the turnaround point about 1.5 miles from the end and told me I was in 12th overall, including pros. He also told me again to run faster or he would schedule more mile reps :) That was all the incentive I needed! After having so many people on the duel carriageway it was strange running parts of the course on my own back through the town. There weren't many spectators on this part either. Competitive as always I set myself the target of catching whoever was in front of me in order to take my mind off my now screaming knee. Lots of the towns people were around and I was getting lots of encouragement back towards the castle and that picked me up. I also knew exactly where I was so knew it wasn't far to get home.
All of my friends were there lining the finish chute and put a lei around my neck as I went past. When I crossed the line I burst into tears, after 8 long hard months I had achieved what I set out to do. I was handed a bottle of vintage champagne and proceeded to fall off the wagon! IMUK is definitely one of the biggest achievements in my sporting career and I have never worked as hard for anything. I wouldn't change a thing and now I am focusing on getting ready for the World Championships in Kona on 13th October.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The numbers + video of me finishing IMUK!
The numbers + video of me finishing IMUK!
So some of my regular readers have asked me what the actual numbers were around IMUK and where I sat amongst those...so here they are...
1575 entrants all starting at once for a 3.8km swim. The fastest swimmer came out of the water in 44:39 (Brian Rhodes who was the favourite to win). Fastest woman was Hiliary Biscay in 49:03. I came out some time after that in 1:14:40 and in 734th position.
The bike is 180km with 2300m of climbing. 3 laps of a hilly, windy course, with a bit of rain thrown in for good measure. Fastest man was again Brian with 4:47:41. The fastest woman was Nicole Klinger with 5:29:49. I managed a 6:10:35 which put me in 13th place out of all the women, including pros. My overall place was now down to 329th.
The run is a marathon. 42.2km of hills with 770m of climbing if you do Ironman UK. Bella Commerford smacked the run in 3:10:01, taking 1st place for the women overall. Fastest man was Scott Neyedli who flew into 1st place with a 2:48:32. I did my best ever marathon time with a 3:30:04 which was the 8th fastest of the women and 88th overall.
Scott Neyedli won in 8:35:53, Bella Commerford for the women in 9:36:09. I managed a 11:04:57, putting me in 12th place for the women, 184th overall and 1st in my age group. I also broke the course record by 21 minutes and my nearest rival in my age group was 22 mins behind me. Bring on the world championships!
So some of my regular readers have asked me what the actual numbers were around IMUK and where I sat amongst those...so here they are...
1575 entrants all starting at once for a 3.8km swim. The fastest swimmer came out of the water in 44:39 (Brian Rhodes who was the favourite to win). Fastest woman was Hiliary Biscay in 49:03. I came out some time after that in 1:14:40 and in 734th position.
The bike is 180km with 2300m of climbing. 3 laps of a hilly, windy course, with a bit of rain thrown in for good measure. Fastest man was again Brian with 4:47:41. The fastest woman was Nicole Klinger with 5:29:49. I managed a 6:10:35 which put me in 13th place out of all the women, including pros. My overall place was now down to 329th.
The run is a marathon. 42.2km of hills with 770m of climbing if you do Ironman UK. Bella Commerford smacked the run in 3:10:01, taking 1st place for the women overall. Fastest man was Scott Neyedli who flew into 1st place with a 2:48:32. I did my best ever marathon time with a 3:30:04 which was the 8th fastest of the women and 88th overall.
Scott Neyedli won in 8:35:53, Bella Commerford for the women in 9:36:09. I managed a 11:04:57, putting me in 12th place for the women, 184th overall and 1st in my age group. I also broke the course record by 21 minutes and my nearest rival in my age group was 22 mins behind me. Bring on the world championships!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
August 2008 + London Triathlon Race Report
August: I was starting to get really nervous, but had confidence in both my ability and training I had put in. When I started this back on the 29th January, I made a promise to myself that I would not be on the start line thinking I could have done more. I really do feel that I couldn't have trained or given up anything else and that I was in the best possible shape to have a crack at winning.
I did the London Olympic race which is the largest triathlon in the world. It is really well organised and run and really encourages people to give triathlon a go. The distance I completed was 1500m swim, 38km bike and 10km run. I came 4th in my age group and 12th woman. I was so pleased with this result because I was using it as training and doing the things I would do for Ironman. Despite all of this I managed to do my fastest swim ever and get the fastest first lap in my age group on the bike. It gave me a massive boost for IMUK. I went into the race with wanting to do under 2:30 and to get under 42 min for 10km run. I managed a 2:22 and a 41:59 run! Just made it there!
I am going to do a separate race report blog for IMUK, it deserves it ;)
Here is my London Olympic race report:
I had such a fun day, I think I must be one of the few people who doesn't mind racing in the heat, reminds me of home! I was using the race as a training session for IMUK and to double check race kit, nutrition and practise transition. I had a good swim (the water was lovely!) but forgot how brutal women can be to each other in open water! At around the 500m mark I had one on either side bashing me, but a few strong kicks to either one of them and they backed off a bit! The chicks seemed to be swimming in formation because every few hundred metres everyone would start funnelling in towards the centre and then there would be another scuffle and everyone would fan out again. It actually worked for me because I swam a little harder to get out of the way. Came out of the water in the middle of the pack, and as always, grateful that the least favourite part of the day was over. Onto the bike and went out strong, at the first turnaround I was in 55th position in my wave which was of mixed ages. I loved that they had a couple of short hills in there toget over the bridges, I had this one girl who kept catching me on the flats but thankfully not even her full disk wheels could get her up the hills to enable her to overtake me. I could hear her coming for me in the tunnels, it sounded like a massive bird flying up behind me and I kept thinking I was going to be picked up and swept away! I have her to thank for pushing me along on the bike, it became a pride thing that I wouldn't give in to her in the last few KM's after fighting her all race. I was trying to hold back slightly because I was determined to run a sub 42 but that went out the window.Quick transition and out into the run, I was lucky to be in the first wave so I could easily count how many were ahead of me. Lots of people were suffering in the heat, but still everyone was giving encouragement to each other. I started the run in 15th place and worked with a couple of the girls to pick off some of the top 10. I started the 2nd lap of the run in 11th and worked my way down to finish 6th in my wave. My overall time was 2:20:59 which I am thrilled about because I went in secretly hoping to go under 2:30. According to the age group results, I got 4th (thats the 24-29 age group Graham!) and posted the fastest 1st lap on the bike (Thanks disk wheel girl!). It was a PB for me across the race, with a 30.09 swim, 1.02 bike and I managed 41.59 on the run, just made it in! I had Sam and 2 close friends waiting for me at the end, who all got wet sweaty hugs and kisses from me. I thought the race was really well organised and I love that there are plenty of people out there giving triathlon a go who had never raced before. There is loads of support from the crowd, lots of drink stations and people throwing water at you to cool you off. Everyone looks like they are having fun, especially when they have that medal hanging around their neck. Well almost everyone, not sure how happy the guy in the full penguin suit was, I am sure he would have been half roasted by the end, he certainly earnt his medal!
I did the London Olympic race which is the largest triathlon in the world. It is really well organised and run and really encourages people to give triathlon a go. The distance I completed was 1500m swim, 38km bike and 10km run. I came 4th in my age group and 12th woman. I was so pleased with this result because I was using it as training and doing the things I would do for Ironman. Despite all of this I managed to do my fastest swim ever and get the fastest first lap in my age group on the bike. It gave me a massive boost for IMUK. I went into the race with wanting to do under 2:30 and to get under 42 min for 10km run. I managed a 2:22 and a 41:59 run! Just made it there!
I am going to do a separate race report blog for IMUK, it deserves it ;)
Here is my London Olympic race report:
I had such a fun day, I think I must be one of the few people who doesn't mind racing in the heat, reminds me of home! I was using the race as a training session for IMUK and to double check race kit, nutrition and practise transition. I had a good swim (the water was lovely!) but forgot how brutal women can be to each other in open water! At around the 500m mark I had one on either side bashing me, but a few strong kicks to either one of them and they backed off a bit! The chicks seemed to be swimming in formation because every few hundred metres everyone would start funnelling in towards the centre and then there would be another scuffle and everyone would fan out again. It actually worked for me because I swam a little harder to get out of the way. Came out of the water in the middle of the pack, and as always, grateful that the least favourite part of the day was over. Onto the bike and went out strong, at the first turnaround I was in 55th position in my wave which was of mixed ages. I loved that they had a couple of short hills in there toget over the bridges, I had this one girl who kept catching me on the flats but thankfully not even her full disk wheels could get her up the hills to enable her to overtake me. I could hear her coming for me in the tunnels, it sounded like a massive bird flying up behind me and I kept thinking I was going to be picked up and swept away! I have her to thank for pushing me along on the bike, it became a pride thing that I wouldn't give in to her in the last few KM's after fighting her all race. I was trying to hold back slightly because I was determined to run a sub 42 but that went out the window.Quick transition and out into the run, I was lucky to be in the first wave so I could easily count how many were ahead of me. Lots of people were suffering in the heat, but still everyone was giving encouragement to each other. I started the run in 15th place and worked with a couple of the girls to pick off some of the top 10. I started the 2nd lap of the run in 11th and worked my way down to finish 6th in my wave. My overall time was 2:20:59 which I am thrilled about because I went in secretly hoping to go under 2:30. According to the age group results, I got 4th (thats the 24-29 age group Graham!) and posted the fastest 1st lap on the bike (Thanks disk wheel girl!). It was a PB for me across the race, with a 30.09 swim, 1.02 bike and I managed 41.59 on the run, just made it in! I had Sam and 2 close friends waiting for me at the end, who all got wet sweaty hugs and kisses from me. I thought the race was really well organised and I love that there are plenty of people out there giving triathlon a go who had never raced before. There is loads of support from the crowd, lots of drink stations and people throwing water at you to cool you off. Everyone looks like they are having fun, especially when they have that medal hanging around their neck. Well almost everyone, not sure how happy the guy in the full penguin suit was, I am sure he would have been half roasted by the end, he certainly earnt his medal!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
July 2007
July: This is where the races started to ramp up. I did an Olympic distance race at Eastnor Castle. Olympic distance is 1500m swim, 43km bike and a 10km run. I came 4th out of the women and 1st in my age group. It was again the longest distance I had raced in Triathlon. It was so tough because it was hilly, really muddy and it rained for most of the bike.
My 2nd race in July was a half Ironman at Belvoir Castle. The distance was 2km swim, 82km bike and 21km run. Again it was a really hilly course and I had a few problems during the race. I had a panic attack in the water, I think because I didn't warm up properly. I then got a flat on the bike and had an awful cramp on the run. I came 5th out of the women and 2nd in my age group. I was really pleased with my time and despite the problems, really enjoyed the race. I also learnt that I am really good at being able to pick up the pace on the run in the 2nd half and not 'blow up'.
At the end of July I went out to Sherborne for the official Ironman UK training weekend and got to swim in the lake, run part of the course and do a lap of the bike course. It really helped to know what I was going to be up against. Both the run and bike are hilly which suits me, especially on the run. Swimming isn't my strong point and doing one of the training swims was the first time all season I thought I might actually enjoythe swim.
My 2nd race in July was a half Ironman at Belvoir Castle. The distance was 2km swim, 82km bike and 21km run. Again it was a really hilly course and I had a few problems during the race. I had a panic attack in the water, I think because I didn't warm up properly. I then got a flat on the bike and had an awful cramp on the run. I came 5th out of the women and 2nd in my age group. I was really pleased with my time and despite the problems, really enjoyed the race. I also learnt that I am really good at being able to pick up the pace on the run in the 2nd half and not 'blow up'.
At the end of July I went out to Sherborne for the official Ironman UK training weekend and got to swim in the lake, run part of the course and do a lap of the bike course. It really helped to know what I was going to be up against. Both the run and bike are hilly which suits me, especially on the run. Swimming isn't my strong point and doing one of the training swims was the first time all season I thought I might actually enjoythe swim.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
June 2007
June - Started working with Rich and he cut me back to 1 quality session a day rather than the 2 or 3 I was doing. I also gave up the booze and really got into doing some longer quality sessions. A typical week would be around12-13 hours, ramping up to 15 some weeks:
Monday: 90 min swim
Tuesday: 2 hour run
Wednesday: 2.5 hour bike ride
Thursday: 90 min bike ride, 1 hour run
Friday: 4 x 1 mile repetitions at 90% effort with 2 min rest between each
Saturday: 90 min swim, usually open water in a lake + 2 hour bike ride
Sunday: 5-6 hour bike ride, 30 min run
In June I competed in a 135km bike race through the Brecon Beacons, such a fantastic race! It was really tough but I did it and came 5th out of the women. It was the most I had ever riden and I was feeling pretty good afterwards which gave me confidence.
Monday: 90 min swim
Tuesday: 2 hour run
Wednesday: 2.5 hour bike ride
Thursday: 90 min bike ride, 1 hour run
Friday: 4 x 1 mile repetitions at 90% effort with 2 min rest between each
Saturday: 90 min swim, usually open water in a lake + 2 hour bike ride
Sunday: 5-6 hour bike ride, 30 min run
In June I competed in a 135km bike race through the Brecon Beacons, such a fantastic race! It was really tough but I did it and came 5th out of the women. It was the most I had ever riden and I was feeling pretty good afterwards which gave me confidence.
Monday, May 28, 2007
May 2007
May - Went to Rome and Florence with Mum and Dad, again only got in 1 decent run where I ended up in some dodgy part of Rome which was an experience! What a way to keep the pace up running for your life!! Did my 2nd race of the year, another Thames Turbo sprint and slowed down! I wasn't too worried because I was faster on the bike and stayed the same on the run. Finished in 1:22:24.
2 things happened in May, I got together with my boyfriend Sam and I hired a coach.
I came back from holidays and had a complete panic and started to doubt that I could do this. I know that my training wasn't up to scratch in that I was doing too much quantity and not enough quality. I decided to get a coach...enter Rich.
2 things happened in May, I got together with my boyfriend Sam and I hired a coach.
I came back from holidays and had a complete panic and started to doubt that I could do this. I know that my training wasn't up to scratch in that I was doing too much quantity and not enough quality. I decided to get a coach...enter Rich.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
April 2007
April - Worked really hard on my bike because Mum and Dad were coming over from Australia at the end of the month and we would be doing some travelling which means nutrition goes out the window, booze consumption goes up and limited access to my bike and to swimming. Did my first sprint race, Thames Turbo - 426m swim (heated pool), 21km bike (flat course) and 5km run (flat and in a park). My transitions were slow and I hate to say it but I didn't enjoy it that much! Finished in 1:20:55
Had a wicked time in Turkey and went to see the Anzac memorial service which was amazing, really moving. We walked everywhere! I didn't get to do any running.
Had a wicked time in Turkey and went to see the Anzac memorial service which was amazing, really moving. We walked everywhere! I didn't get to do any running.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
March 2007
March - Increased my training and got in 2 really solid weekends where I was doing 6 hours each day across a Friday, Saturday and again on the Sunday. I was taking it easy but would do 60 min swim, 4 hour bike and then a 60 - 90min run. I was so tired by the Sunday afternoon but it really helped to build my endurance.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Hard Work - 25 February 2007
Hard Work
Hello! Hope everyone has had a great weekend. So so for me, I wanted to get more work in but today hasn't been easy. Yesterday was great, had my first session with my new swim coach, Kirk. I am going to see him once a week for the next 2 months, I really need to get faster and more efficient to get out of that water in a decent time. Even in 1 lesson he got me on the right track and I felt faster.
I also did my longest run that I have done for a while. I hit Hyde Park, Green Park and a couple of laps of St James Park, then back and another lap of Kensington Gardens. Nice easy pace for 2 hours 15 mins, kept my heart rate in the high 140's. I have regularly been doing 2 hour runs but want to get up closer to 2 hours 30 and then onto 3 hours with in the next 6 weeks. I am finding it difficult to find the time to fit it in, but find that if I can get up early and do the run it doesn't eat into my weekend. Also did a weights session so went to bed really early last night. Let alone finding the time to train, I am sleeping loads. I have struggled for the last 2.5 years with having to get more sleep anyway so it is compounding at the moment. I used to survive on 5-6 hours a night, now I need 8-10, sometimes 12.
I had viral meningitis October 2004 and following on from that I had post viral chronic fatigue. I went from running marathons, I even did a 54 mile (85km) race, to at one point that I physically couldn't walk 50 metres without having to sit down and rest. My doctor told me on 17 March 2005 that I would never run again and that I had to learn to live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That was devastating news for me and me being me, I refused to believe her.
The first time I tried to run again was in April 2005 and I ran for 20 minutes. I ended up in bed for 6 days because I had physically wiped myself out. I didn't try again for another 6 weeks and I only had to spend 4 days in bed to recover so I knew it was only a matter of time before I could do it. :)
I persisted and I ran the Rome marathon on the 1 year anniversary of being told I would never run again. I crossed the line in 3.50 and had taken it really easy as I had injured my knee. I had trained, and was fit enough for a sub 3.30, but was stopping for 5 mins every 30 mins to walk and give my knee a rest. It was such an emotional race for me and one I will never forget. My Mum was brilliant and called me a few times to make sure I was OK, plus I had 5 friends out there who were dashing around the course to cheer me on inlcluding my brilliant flatmate Corinna who is doing her first marathon in April.
Unfortunately everything comes at a price and I ended up in bed for a week following the Rome race, but it didn't stop me running the London marathon 3 weeks after that. Predictably, I didn't have a great race as I wasn't able to train between Rome and London as I was still quite ill. I shouldn't have done the London race, but I refuse to back down. I managed another 3.50 but didn't have fun like I normally do in a marathon. I was in a lot of pain, was physically exhausted and vomited quite a lot during the race so I kept losing any nutrition and fluids I was taking on board. I finished and thats all that I needed to do, but it wasn't a happy day :(
So, the next challenge is IronmanUK. I found it very interesting listening to a sports psychologist a few weeks ago talking about positive affirmation and belief in yourself that you can complete ironman. I was sitting there thinking, wow, I am a step ahead because I already do that. I know I am mentally strong and if I put in the training, eat enough, get enough sleep I will do a time I can be proud of. Lesson for the day...hard work is the key. Have a great week! C x
PS have included one of my favourite Tough Guy pictures :)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Iron-Head Racing 20 February 2007
20 February 2007
13:02:30 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
Iron-Head Racing
This is the link to the Tri club I have joined, Iron-Head Racing. Seem like a good bunch, all really into tri, what more could you ask for :) They also have a great forum on there to hook up with other triathletes for training.
http://www.ironheadracing.co.uk/
13:02:30 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
Iron-Head Racing
This is the link to the Tri club I have joined, Iron-Head Racing. Seem like a good bunch, all really into tri, what more could you ask for :) They also have a great forum on there to hook up with other triathletes for training.
http://www.ironheadracing.co.uk/
Roll up! Roll up! 20 February 2007
12:43:31 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
Roll up! Roll up!
Rollers! What an experience! The rollers are a fab workout, but difficult to get used to. I say that after I took a chunk out of my elbow when I fell into the wardrobe trying to master them this morning. I only managed 30 quality minutes on them as I spent the other 30 trying to stay upright!
Rollers are basically 3 rollers on a frame that you put the back when in between the 2 that are closest together and the front wheel sits on the top of the 3rd one. I preferred these to a turbo trainer as you have to work on your balance as well which is preferable to me. See the picture and you will know what I mean :)
Getting a little concerned that most of the people I meet who have done Ironman UK, or know about triathlon, make that face where they draw breath in between their teeth. The look of horror on my face usually prompts a 'oh, but I'm sure you will be fine...'
Really enjoying the Ironman Talk podcasts, I am still catching up but they do this great top 5 tips which is very useful. Also makes a nice change to listening to music when walking or training.
The swim coach I contacted is now in touch and we are having our first session on Saturday which I am looking forward to. I know I could be moving through the water a lot more efficiently so I hope he can help sort that out :)
Smile on! C x
Roll up! Roll up!
Rollers! What an experience! The rollers are a fab workout, but difficult to get used to. I say that after I took a chunk out of my elbow when I fell into the wardrobe trying to master them this morning. I only managed 30 quality minutes on them as I spent the other 30 trying to stay upright!
Rollers are basically 3 rollers on a frame that you put the back when in between the 2 that are closest together and the front wheel sits on the top of the 3rd one. I preferred these to a turbo trainer as you have to work on your balance as well which is preferable to me. See the picture and you will know what I mean :)
Getting a little concerned that most of the people I meet who have done Ironman UK, or know about triathlon, make that face where they draw breath in between their teeth. The look of horror on my face usually prompts a 'oh, but I'm sure you will be fine...'
Really enjoying the Ironman Talk podcasts, I am still catching up but they do this great top 5 tips which is very useful. Also makes a nice change to listening to music when walking or training.
The swim coach I contacted is now in touch and we are having our first session on Saturday which I am looking forward to. I know I could be moving through the water a lot more efficiently so I hope he can help sort that out :)
Smile on! C x
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