My Journey to Ironman

Chilterns 100 Challenge

2009-06-10T09:54:00.001-07:00

...and what a challenge it was! Jason from Wiggle kindly sent me a cassette with some smaller gears for my Kiron and without those I would have been walking up some of those steep climbs as many people were having to do. The weather was perfect for this day out and I loved every minute of it! I had The Dutchman, Toby and Sten with me who did a great job of keeping me out of the wind all day. I did eventually take my turn at the front...for the last 2km but they signed up as my trusty domestiques knowing that! The aim of the day was to try and get the fastest time for the women and due to a flat and an extra stop we had to make we managed 2nd fastest and gold standard which was great.

The ride started at Missenden and after getting out of the town we went straight up. It didn't feel like there was a flat bit the entire day, it was either up or down and really hard work. I haven't done any long rides this year so was a little bit worried about how I was going to hold up on the day. The longest ride had been 104km a month before but my secret weapon, and a hangover from my IronMan days, is that I am a pro at eating on the bike. I eat every 20 mins and whilst this may sound like overkill, I have tested it time and time again and it actually makes me get stronger as the race goes on. The feed stations were also really well stocked and the volunteers who make these events possible were wonderful. There were some little kids on the 2nd stop and didn't quite know what to do when asked where we get the fish and chips from. :)

I went out to Nice last weekend for 3 days of training in the lovely sunshine. The Dutchman and I did a really tough ride on Friday where I went out for 3 hours and split with him so he could do a longer ride and I could get back to Nice do my swim. I am getting better at pushing myself hard on the bike. It is like a reprogramming exercise where I have been told for 2 years to hold back on the bike to ensure I can run a marathon, and now it is about pushing super hard all the way through.

The water temp is so lovely! I am swimming in a Zoot suit which is a mid thigh, sleeveless number and keeps me protected should I swim into any jelly fish. I'm not really that pleased with my swimming at the moment, and the harder I try the slower I go. Not good given race season is here and the swim has always been my weakest discipline. Practice makes perfect so you can find me in the pool at Hampstead a few times a week :)

Saturday I went out for a fast run along the promenade and was checking out the waves which were looking pretty mean. I decided to postpone the swim until later in the day hoping things would calm down. After some DIY painting the terrace furniture we headed to the water only to find the police getting everyone off the beach. The waves were massive (for the med) and coming way up the beach. All very entertaining sitting there watching it but not so good for the swim training.

Sunday we did one of my favourite rides from Nice, across to Menton and then up Col de la Madona. It is a tough climb! I think I have this romantic notion about it in my head because I am surprised each time just how tough it is. I am yet to go under the 40 mins to get to the water stop at St Agnes, but I am determined to get there!

This weekend I am looking at doing the Ride to The Horns which is a sportive organised by Mark Webber the Australian F1 driver. There are still places and it is easy to get to on the train so why not! Happy training!
Cx

1st Triathlon...1st Place

2009-05-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

1st Tri...1st place!

As mentioned in my last post, I had signed up to do the 220 Dorney Lake Evening Triathlon. This was going to be my first triathlon of the season and I was really looking forward to it. I am very pleased to say that not only did I have a great time, I managed to win!

Dorney Lake is easy and fast for me to get to, it's a short train ride from Paddington to Slough and then I cycle the 5 or so miles out to the lake for a 7:30pm start. I was one of the last ones into the water and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't freezing. We set off for the 750m swim and I went out fast to try and find some nice big feet for me to draft off. It didn't quite happen like that and I lost the front pack within the first few minutes and ended up doing most of the race on my own between the faster group and ahead of the 2nd pack. I had done a very hard 4km set in the pool Tuesday night with Terry so my arms were tired and were not willing to co-operate. My stroke was disintegrating so I decided not to push it too hard and just settle into my Olympic distance race pace and make it up on the bike.

Into T2 which was just a joke because I managed to get stuck in my wetsuit. I had pulled it down at the front running into T1 and started peeling it off my arms when it got stuck on both arms and I couldn't move. I really was Team Wiggle trying to get myself out of it! At one point I actually considered riding my bike wearing my wetsuit as it was not budging. I am sure it provided some entertainment for the spectators seeing me squirm about. Lesson learnt: don't forget the wetsuit lube! Once finally free of the sticky suit I leapt onto the Focus Izalco Chrono and started the 5 laps, a total of 20km, along the side of the lake.

Dorney Lake is a purpose built rowing lake out near Eton and will host the 2012 Olympic rowing events. It makes for a great traffic free race with smooth paths along the side of the lake. Of course you are then confined to doing laps, but hey, a sprint distance race isn't about enjoying the scenery.

The bike leg went very fast and I managed to rein in all of the girls to get into 1st place. It was very windy out there which actually worked to my advantage. The Dutchman and I have spent the past few months tinkering with the Focus Izalco Chrono so I am as aerodynamic as possible. I have also been doing quite a lot of training on the bike to really get to know the gears and what works best. Last night I felt like I was slipping under the wind and it didn't feel like a hard effort. The twice weekly Regents Park intervals are paying off!

I did a quick T2 quickly slipping into my new Pear Izumi running shoes I received last week (thanks Pearl Izumi & Wiggle!!). The great thing about them is they don't have any seams which means no socks. In previous races I always had to put socks on because of problems with blisters but last night I was out of transition super fast.

I decided to put the hammer down early and try and open up a gap on the run to give myself some breathing space in case it went wrong later in the race. It was a 2 lap course for 5km and the wind was really blowing. I wasn't really over taking many people but felt like I was running strong. On the way home on the 2nd lap I tried to put a bit more pace in and managed a slight increase in speed. I had seen a few of the girls at the turn around points but was confident that I had enough of a lead that they wouldn't catch me so I reverted back to my original target of going under 1:15. I finished strong and was pleased to be home in 1:14:33 nabbing 1st place by a 90 sec gap. I have a £50 voucher and some new goggles to show for it so not bad at all for a bit of mid week action.

Happy training and more after this weekend 100 mile challenge in the Chilterns.
Cx

Mid Week Racing

2009-05-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

A long weekend is one of the rare times I feel like I can have my cake and eat it too. In this case get in some great training and have enough time to enjoy the weekend. Terry has started a Saturday morning coached session in Hampstead Lido which is a very reasonable 9:30 start for a hard hour of swimming. The lido is even starting to warm up from the 10 degrees it was a few weeks back and I would even go as far to say it is ‘pleasant’. If only my Aussie based friends could hear me say that. There was a time I wouldn’t get in the water unless it was at least 25 degrees.
On Sunday The Dutchman and I met a friend in Stevenage and went and did our 100km loop around the country lanes. It is very deceiving how tough the ride is as it is short sharp hills and never flat. As our friend is from Cambridge we rode back with him and did some sight seeing in the beautiful sunshine. One of the punters on the river even obliged and fell in whilst we were watching. He was a good sport and very entertaining.

The purpose of the ride on Sunday was to bed in a new cassette in preparation for this weeks 100 mile Challenge in the Chilterns. It isn’t going to be easy and there was no way I was going to be able to cope with the larger gears I normally have on the Kiron Scandium. I have managed to recruit a few guys to protect me for the ride so my plan is to stay tucked in behind them and hold on for dear life! I am really looking forward to it, but made the mistake of looking at the ride profile. I generally avoid looking at things like that because then I just think about it and how hard it is going to be. The thing is, I am going to ride it regardless and in my case ignorance is bliss when it comes to nasty climbs. I will be in my Wiggle jersey so please do say hello if you are also out there doing the ride. Also feel free to give me a little push along, or even better hook a bungee cord onto the front of my bike and drag me along behind you.
I decided Monday was going to be an easier day as I am racing on Wednesday night out at Dorney Lake in a sprint tri (750m, 20km, 5km) and my legs are not really recovering very quickly at the moment. I had 2 sessions of plyometrics (lots of jumping, step ups, star jumps and explosive exercises) last week and I can still feel it so decided to just do an hour on the Focus Izalco Chrono around Regents Park more to test getting in and out of my tri shoes whilst riding. I can just see me having to ride the entire bike leg with my feet on my shoes because I’m not co-ordinated enough to get my feet in before the end of the race. I think it is safe to say I won’t be attempting that at Wednesday’s race. Respect to anyone who has mastered that skill, I need to sign up for transition 101 training I think.
I am feeling very positive about my training at the moment and really loving that I can race so much more frequently doing short distance races having stepped back from Ironman distance. Next Monday I have signed up for a 5km race in Battersea Park and will be leading a guy called Chris who is blind. I think it is incredibly inspirational that Chris took up running 11 months ago and he is racing doing really great times. Hopefully it really will be me leading Chris around and me not being dragged around by him which could cause a few problems :)
So, for those of you out there wanting a bit of short course mid week action there is plenty of it going on at the moment.5km Monday night races in Battersea Park. There is also a mix of shorter and longer distance races all at a very reasonable entry fee. www.srichinmoyraces.org/uk/races/london/ 220 Evening Triathlon Series on the last Wednesday of the month. This week’s on the 27th May is still open and they are taking entries on the day. www.humanrace.co.uk If you are based near Hammersmith and want to run with a bunch of other people at lunch time I have kicked off a Wednesday 12:30 5km time trial along the river from Hammersmith bridge to Putney bridge and back. This starts on the 3rd June and please do get in touch if you are interested. Twitter: IronCaro.
Happy training.Cx

Wiggle Thunder 10km

2009-05-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Wiggle Thunder 10km event. The race was on the Saturday and weaved in and out of the bike course to be used for the night time trial and Wiggle Enduro 6 the following day. It has been years since running a cross country race and I loved it! Not one for usually getting out into the mud (with the exception of Tough Guy!) I surprised myself and really enjoyed being back out in the paddocks.

I caught the 6:24 train out of Euston with the Focus Izalco Chrono equipped with a bag of food that I munched through for the 2 hour journey. I am an expert when it comes to cycling from train stations to events, but it proved to be a bit more of a challenge riding the Focus as it isn't really a bike to be ridden with a back pack along an A road :) It was only a 20 min ride so I got to the race site with plenty of time to spare.

Registration was easy and I went next door to say Hi to Jason, Rob and Ben from Wiggle who were manning the Focus tent with the collection of demo mountain bikes as well as taking part in the night time trial scheduled for Saturday night. After a quick warm up in the pouring rain, I headed out to the start chute for the final countdown. Lucky for us the rain stopped just before the race started which I thought was a nice touch from the organisers ;)

The race started and we went out across the timing maps straight into the fields. It took a while for me to get into my stride as I was wearing my cross country runners which feel a lot different to my normal running shoes. I was having a bit of a laugh with some of the guys I was running with as it was all a bit fox and hound. There was a 'runner with dog' category in the race and the 7 or so dogs at the back of the pack were all excited and making a lot of noise when everyone started running. I think it was why I went through the first km in 3.50 and realised I had better slow it down if I wanted to finish :)

The course was lovely and had a great mix of wooded sections and some open undulating sections, made all the more challenging by the uneven ground. I wasn't sure what place I was in, but was content to stick to my 4.30min km's which was tough but wasn't killing me. The field spread out within the first 3km and I found that I ran most of the run on my own as I was too slow to stay with the front pack and just a touch faster than the guys behind me. I had seen the lead lady go past me as we crossed the start line and I was beginning to wonder if I had imagined it as there was no sign of her at all.

I thought that the race was well thought out with the little things that can sometimes make or break a race. Every KM was clearly marked, there was a water station just after the 5km mark and the course wound back towards the start line so there was some support halfway through the race which was great because it was also going up hill! Best part is you get a great medal for finishing! I was very pleased to cross the finish line in 2nd place in 44:50. Given it is only April, I am really happy with the way my running is coming along. I am doing a weekly track session in Hampstead every Thursday which is certainly paying off along with 2 other runs throughout the week.

There was a lovely ceremony at the end where the top 3 men and women and the winner of the runner and dog category were presented with medals with some Wiggle vouchers on the way.

I wore my 2XU calf guards and also my 2XU compression tights for the run and I cannot recommend them highly enough. I really notice the difference if I don't wear them in that I get sore calves whilst running and it takes me longer to recover. If you don't have them, get them! I used to spend 15 mins in a cold bath after hard training sessions and I now find that wearing compression tights gives me the same results and it is a lot more pleasant than the cold water torture!

As you can see from the pictures I was in my Wiggle Jersey for the race. I use my commute between Marylebone and Hammersmith on my Kiron as extra speed training and as I have a few Wiggle jerseys I often wear those. I have had a few people chat to me when stopped at lights which is really cool, so if you do see me out and about do say hi!

Happy training!Cx

5 Days Cycling in Provence

2009-04-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have just come back from an amazing 5 days in Provence cycling around with The Dutchman and 4 friends. We all met in Nice last Wednesday night with Midori flying in from New York, Oskar from Amsterdam, Pete and Ian catching the train from St Pancreas and The Dutchman and I flying in from Gatwick. Everyone got their bikes together and we pulled out the maps to check out where we would be going. I prefer not to know. I have been riding with The Dutchman long enough to know it will always be 'up' and it doesn't pay to know what's in store!

Day 1 - Thursday
Nice to Entrevaux 101km 2040m vertical.

We set out in convoy along the promenade and then as always with leaving Nice, you have to go up. We started climbing and it was then that people got a little envious that I wasn't carrying any luggage. The Dutchman had agreed to carry everything for me because I knew I would be the weakest rider in the group so for The Dutchman to get on his bike he had to perform a gymnastics routine to get over the tower at the back of his bike. I had been given a list of things I was allowed to bring but managed to sneak in some contraband makeup and clothes without him knowing :)
We were soon onto the peaceful quiet roads and headed up to Vence where we had some beautiful views of the valley. It was a little overcast but dry so it was perfect cycling weather. We continued climbing and had a 10km climb that started to bite a little near the end up to a tiny little village. We hadn't had time to stop for lunch due to some earlier mechanical issues so people were starting to blow going up the longer climbs such as Col de Trebuchet (1141m) and Col de Felines (930m). I was OK, I made it up all of the climbs but completely lost it on the last decent of the day down the Entrevaux where it was technical and steep. I had to stop and have a quick gel after I was about an inch from missing a switchback and launching myself over the edge. It made me realise how much even decending can take out of you. Maybe that is an indication of my current shape that I even blow up going down hill!!

Entrevaux is a beautiful little walled town with a river along one side and a moat with 4 gates in and out across draw bridges. Really quaint and charming. I would really recommend it to anyone who wants to get away cycling for a few days to use it as a base. The hotel in the town in very cyclist friendly, the best part was they gave us all seconds for dinner knowing we had been riding all day!

Day 2 - Entrevaux to Entrevaux 123km 2150m vertical

Everyone was very happy to leave their luggage in the hotel for day 2 and we set out to climb Col de La Couillole, a beyond category climb. This was going to be the toughest climb of the trip being over 16km and 1678m vertical. I knew it was going to be tough, and given how seriously I take my nutrition I was very silly and didn't eat enough before setting out which made the last 6km very unpleasant after I blew to pieces. I was really enjoying the spectacular views and we were riding up through the snow which was a great novelty but such hard work. The climb just seemed to go on for ever and I was getting slower which was not helping my mental state. I was trying to eat some bars but the damage had been done so I was having to stop frequently under the guise of taking pictures :)

I wasn't the only one who blew so after the lond winding decent we were all very pleased to spot a little place to grab some food. The owner didn't really know what to make of us as we consumed numerous cokes, coffees, 2 main meals and dessert each. I was much happier and we started the next climb up to a ski resort. So funny to be cycling along and have skiiers zooming past! We got some strange looks at the top as everyone was having their afternoon hot chocolate and we roll into town on our bikes. After a fantastic long decent with fast sweeping corners along the side of the Daluis Gorge the road started to flatten out and I could start to enjoy the view. We had about 20km to get back to Entrevaux with a viscious headwind which was the theme of the trip! Midori and I jumped on the Dutch express and stuck like glue to the back of The Dutchman who pulled us home to a well deserved cold beer.
Day 3 - Entrevaux to Moustiers-Ste-Marie 86km 1300m vertical

We set off early with the aim being to go along the nouth side of the Gorge du Verdon, also known as the Grand Canyon of France. We set out from Entrevaux and did a wonderful climb to get over and across to the lake where we stopped in Castellane for coffee. It was cold, the wind was really gusting and it was threatening rain so we agreed to cut the ride short by 30km and go around the north side to get to Moustiers earlier. It was the right choice because it started raining just as we arrived at the hotel.

The gorge is so beautiful. There is a river that goes along the floor that is an emerald green and flows into a lake. I took some pictures but it is so hard to really capture how lovely it is. There is a road that goes along each side that has been purpose built for tourists and it is smooth and in great shape. Very welcome after 3 days in the saddle :)

Day 4 - Moustiers-Ste-Marie to Les Arcs 103km 1550m vertical

We were greeted with rain day 4 but decided to brave it. We were so lucky it stopped within 30 mins of setting out and the weather wasn't too bad. Our old friend Mr Headwind was of course with us. We started climbing up through Aiguines to get back up onto the side of the Gorge du Verdon and just had the most spectacular views. We crossed over the Pont de l'Artuby which is Europe's highest bridge with a 180m drop. A real engineering feat to build it!

The group had split so Oskar, The Dutchman and I stopped for lunch on the gorge and the other guys were in Comps-sur-Artuby, 13km away. Oskar was the powerhouse of the group. He is also Dutch, over 6'5'' and is built like an ox. The guy seriously missed a career as a time triallist. You point him in the direction you want to go and hold on for dear life. I was tucked in behind him and have never done such incredible speeds on the flats going into a headwind. He was dragging me along doing between 45 and 50km hour! I was working so hard with my heartrate sitting between 165 and 170 bpm and having the time of my life at the same time! We covered the 13km in a flash to catch up to the other guys. Everyone should get themselves an Oskar :)

We collected the others and continued on down towards Draguignan. The Dutchman was so pleased with himself that he found us a tiny little road that skirted around Draguignan so we didn't have to go through it. The rest of us were not so pleased given that stretches of it were 22% up!! The good news was it was over within 2km. I did try and get a local kid to swap his motorbike with my bike but he just laughed at me!

It was our last night together so we had a fabulous meal in the castle over looking Les Arcs. The castle was restored in the 70's after it had been used for years to grow mushrooms in. French food at it's best and we all had the 7 course dinner. Yum!
Day 5 - Les Arcs to Nice 113km 1000m vertical

Finally the sun decided to come out! We had been very lucky with the weather but it was a welcome change to have some sunshine. We set out on a beautiful small road that was packed with cyclists! Anyone that had a bike was out enjoying the day with it being Easter Monday and also a bank holiday in France. We were climbing out of the valley out of Les Arcs and met some local triathletes who were telling me about the wonderful training rides they do. Makes Box Hill look like a speed bump :) The riding had much shorter climbs of 4km to 8km which suited me a lot more. The strange thing was I was feeling the strongest on day 5 so was powering up the climbs a lot better. We skirted around Grasse and then onto a quiet undulating road heading back to Nice. I jumped back into position behind The Dutchman and we had Oskar take on the head wind. The guys corner so much more agressivly than me so I kept slipping and would then have to sprint to catch the back of them again. Hard work but again very exhiliarating.

We got back to Nice and had an early dinner sitting on the beach. A perfect ending to a perfect 5 days :)

If anyone is interested in the routes we took or any tips about cycling in the Provence area, drop me a line, I am happy to share info.

Happy training.
Cx

A Shiny New Trophy!

2009-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

I headed out with the Dutchman and my trusty Focus Izalco Chrono yesterday morning to Dartford in Kent to have a crack at my first ever duathlon and first race of the season. My last race, Ironman Arizona last November feels like a distant memory! Despite coming from a running background and loving to cycle, I was not really looking forward to doing a duathlon.
We got there with plenty of time to spare after a 6am start, went through the registration and got the Dutchman a t-shirt. I do the races and he gets the T-shirt. An arrangement we are both happy with :)

We then headed over to the transition area and slotted the Focus Izalco Chrono into an end space. I was very pleased to see that on the next rack was another Focus Izalco Chrono with a lovely Zipp disc wheel. I got organised which took no time at all which is a huge plus to duathlon. You don't need anywhere near as much prep time as triathlon given you turn up in what you are going to wear running and basically need a bike, cycling shoes and a helmet in transition.

They started the race in 2 waves with the majority of the men heading off 15 mins ahead of us ladies and the rest of the men. I started at the front with 1 other girl and stuck behind her with the 2 of us leading the field around the first 500m lap of the field and out onto the road. The other girls and guys seemed happy to sit behind us and see what was going to happen. I was slightly slower than the leading lady and decided I would run at my pace keeping her in sight and let her go for the time being. The boys behind us must have sensed this and started to move up also trying to keep her in sight. 1 guy managed to catch our speedy leading lady about 1km in. By the 2km mark I had slipped back to 50m behind her but was feeling good and actually really enjoying myself.

I sat back for the rest of the race pushing up all the hills and using the flats and downs to recover. I went through the first 5km in 19:33 which is OK for this time of year given I am still in base training phase and building up my fitness. I was thankful for all the recent track sessions as I am usually very adverse to that hard push required for short distance. Having been an Ironman athlete for 2 years I am really not used to pushing hard like that in a race so it is all new to me.

My T1 was a little slow and then out onto the bike. I was a little worried about the bike leg as it was the 4th time I had been on the Focus and we are still getting acquainted. The course was quite hilly and really didn't replicate any of the training I had been doing in Regents Park so was a bit all over the place with my gears and having to get out of the aero position to climb. This is exactly why I do these races early in the season to iron out the bugs as quickly as possible.

I am extremely lucky in that I have no fear descending and I loved the thrill of flying down the hills tucked up in the aero position. The speed is so cool! I don't have a computer on the bike as I sometimes like to race on feel rather than looking at the numbers so I have no clue how fast I was going. I got a pretty good indication when I hit some gravel in a corner and slid a little. Makes you realise how far away the brakes are all the way out to the sides!!

It was an out and back course and I had managed to miss the front runners who were a minute ahead at the first turnaround and working as a group. I was working hard but in hindsight could have been more efficient on the bike, especially climbing. Hill repeats in Richmond Park coming up for me I think :) I am so pleased with the way the Focus performs, as soon as I get in the aero position my back is completely flat and you just feel the bike surge forward. Now all I have to do is work on these legs and get them in tip top shape! It was a reasonably quiet road and the cars very patient. Being only 22km it was over reasonably quickly and I was off the bike in 37:48.

Back into T2 and out again for another 5km lap of the run course. I had overtaken 6 guys in a group at the end of the bike leg and was refusing to look over my shoulder knowing that they would be coming for me on the run. It was spurring me on and was pleased that only 1 of them managed to catch me and he was a great runner so I happily let him go :) My legs were feeling pretty heavy by this stage and it was a case of just keep pushing knowing it was only 5km.

The 2nd lap was quite a bit slower at 21:25, but I was very pleased given I had no idea how I would feel. With transitions I had a total time of 1:21:00, 2nd place and a shiny new trophy to boot. All in all a morning well spent!

The guy next to me in transition with his Focus Izalco won the race overall and broke the course record at the same time! Very impressive. Happy training this week everyone, I am heading to France to go cycling through Provence for 5 days with The Dutchman! Cx

Collecting the Booty

2009-04-07T11:00:00.001-07:00

Friday saw Team Wiggle congregating at Wiggle HQ to collect all of our amazing Team Wiggle Kit. I almost fell over when I laid eyes on the Focus Izalco Chrono Is that for me??? This is some serious German engineering. Speed radiates out of this bike and it is so beautiful to look at. This thing was made to go fast, really fast. I think it is safe to say I am not going to get close to the times the Milram boys are going to be churning out on this Beast, but it isn’t going to stop me from trying! I am going to take it out and test it at a 20 mile time trial on the 18th April and see what we can do. I just need to learn how to ride it first! I haven’t been on a time trial bike before so a few sessions on the turbo first I think to get used to the position.
I have been riding the Kiron Scandium for the past few days and the weight comparison to my current bike Matilda is huge! Lightweight and good looking in a lovely bright red with black pedals and wheels. Very sleek. The next challenge is to name the 2 bikes. Any suggestions? If so, put them in the comments below :)

It has been like Christmas this week trying out all my new dhb gear Wiggle have kindly supplied me with. So far my favourite is the dhb Ladies Triple Lens Sunglasses. I must own the largest collection of single sunglasses lens and consistently lose 1 of the 2 lenses. I love that my dhb’s have a combined lens and they are so easy to change. The best part is they don’t fog up cycling or running.

I was on a recovery week last week so reduced volume and intensity. Terry has me do a 3 weeks hard, 1 week recovery cycle. I am lucky to have a gym in my office and I do all of my weights and core sessions there so first thing Monday was an hours session focusing on building leg strength for cycling and core strength. Monday night I jumped on the rollers for a high intensity hour workout with Pod Runner podcast http://www.djsteveboy.com/mixes.html pounding away in the background to keep me going, not that you really have a choice on rollers!
Tuesday morning I was on the Barnes Elm track for 6*1600m reps. I really don’t like that session, it really hurts!! It never sounds like that much when I look at the weeks programme, but the 4th lap of each mile rep is so tough. This morning was even tougher as there was a sprinter out doing a session and she was making it look like I was standing still as she breezed past me multiple times! It always makes me smile when I am on that track that you have to run around the geese who happily cross over in front of you to get to the grass in the middle. Very cute.
This week also saw me take a hard look at my diet. My weight has crept up a little following Ironman Arizona at the end of November last year and I could really do without dragging the excess few kg around with me. It’s like I’m taking the Wiggle deal literally as I have some ‘wiggle bits’ around my middle that have come from somewhere and have to go! Looking at the Focus Izalco Chrono all I could think about was that I am going to be a blob on this sliver of carbon :) It’s very dull but I find it really effective to control portion size and intake to write down everything I am eating including carbohydrates, calories, protein, sodium and fat. Given I have a weakness for cake and we have a lady from our canteen who brings a trolley laden with cake to our desks every 2nd day, it is a necessary evil. The big one is no more booze. I generally quit each year around this time because I find it difficult to stay hydrated doing 16-20 hours training a week, 2 sometimes 3 sessions a day and if I’m drinking alcohol, I’m not drinking water and sinking a little further into dehydration.
So the rest of the week is swim focused where I need to make huge improvements. I have a 1 on 1 with Terry to look at my stroke tomorrow, he keeps telling me how important it is to slow down in order to go faster, something I struggle with. I just want to smash it in every session and I find the slight changes to swim technique so boring and tedious. I’m sure I am not alone with that and will have to learn how to be patient! Anyway, that’s it for now. Happy training Wigglers!
Cxps. Don’t forget, comments below on any suggested names for the bikes!

Race Entry

2009-04-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

This week I have been busy entering races and trying to find some suitable time trial to give the Izalco Chrono a chance to run. This weekend I am hitting the start line of the Fast and Furious duathlon run by White Oaks Triathlon club in Kent. It is a 5km run, 22km bike and 5km run. I'm really looking forward to it as I haven't done a duathlon before. It will be interesting to see how I race on it this weekend, this will be my first race since Ironman Arizona last November and keen to get that 'race' feeling back. I have been out a few times in the past few days on the Focus Chrono riding laps of Regents Park. It is a speed machine! I feel like a piece of origami folded up on it, the aerodynamics are so cool! I am so impressed with this bike, it is a dream to ride and handles beautifully. The Dutchman and I went to Nice last weekend to train...and it rained ALL weekend which certainly put a dent in the amount of riding we wanted to do. Next week we are in France again, starting in Nice and spending 5 days riding with 4 friends out through Provence. Hopefully the weather will be better, but too bad if it isn't, we are going anyway! I'm really into the swing of things now and loving the training. The hard graft of the past few months is starting to pay off and my times are going down. I love this part of the year when it starts to come together. Thursday is track night at Parliament Hill with Terry and some of the other athletes he trains and it is the session I probably dread most. There is no where to hide and the clock does not lie. Last weeks session was 10*400m at max with 1.30 - 2 min recovery. I was very pleased to see that not only were my times very consistent across the 10, but they were also 5-6 seconds faster than 3 weeks ago. I was trying to explain to my mother how it is a good thing if after each lap you want to throw up as it means you are working hard. She wasn't having a bar of it and wanted to know if I was ill, she didn't specify physically or mentally :) So, more next week after the duathlon! Happy training.Cx

I'm on Team Wiggle!

2009-02-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

By some miracle I managed to get myself a place on Team Wiggle! This is such a fantastic opportunity for me as they are going to give me not 1, but 2 bikes to train on plus a whole bunch of other equiptment to get me through the year. I wrote to them along with a couple of thousand other people last year following an invitation to write in and tell them about my racing and training. Whilst out in Australia over Christmas (more on that later) I got an email from Paul inviting me for an interview. Lucky for me I made the team! So now I also blog for them on their site http://www.wiggleblog.co.uk/ as well as my own.

I can't stop looking at the beautiful bikes. Check these out!! If I am feeling a little low, or having a problem getting out of bed to train I look at this picture of the timetrial machine and it gets me going again :) Biggest challenge is going to be finding a great name for it!

I can't wait to get my mitts on that thing. I am going to fly! I met with Terry last night to go through the race schedule and we have a couple of races ear marked to do really well in. This year is going to be easier in some respects now I am focusing on shorter distance as I will be able to race more frequently and train in a different way. With Ironman, the emphasis is endurance. Shorter distance is about having a solid base as well as speed. I am very motivated at the moment and feeling great! I was on the track last night for 8x400m reps at maximum speed. Awful awful set but one of the ones that gives you that fabulous feeling of a job well done afterwards. This is the other bike, a beautiful carbon frame and what I will be doing the majority of my training on. Matilda (my current bike) will be moving to Nice which cuts out the crappy having to take her apart and put her together each time. This year The Dutchman and I are in Nice every 2 weeks until the end of September. All great training!!

So I included my first Wiggle blog below. I decided to focus on the people who are there for me day in and day out. I don't thank them enough for what they do, I really couldn't do it without them.

______ www.wiggleblog.co.uk

Hello, welcome to my first Blog! Whilst triathlon may be an individual sport, I am by no means alone so I wanted to introduce you to a few of the people who play a big part in my training and racing.
I’m really getting into my base training at the moment and can already feel the results. Last weekend The Dutchman and I went to Nice for the weekend. Saturday was spent skiing in Auron and Sunday I went out for a 11km run along the promenade, around the port and then up the hill, into the steep winding road to the top towards Villefranche. It’s the same run I do all the time and I never get sick of the wonderful views of the Mediterranean. The sea was so flat I was thinking I should have taken my wetsuit and taken a dip! The sun was out and it was a beautiful day, certainly makes training a pleasure!
The Dutchman: The Dutchman is my beloved and main training buddy. An ex semi pro cyclist and being Dutch means he knows how to handle a bike. He was known on the racing circuit in The Netherlands as ‘Kamikaze Pilot’ for his extreme descending skills, some of which he is teaching me! He has 1 bike that in 15 years he has never replaced the brake pads, says it all really. He also runs to keep in shape and drags me up Primrose Hill in London for nasty hill repeats. Its not all bad, I’m rewarded with a hug after each one :) The Dutchman has a base in Nice so we can often be found cycling around in the beautiful Maritime Alps, generally with me trailing along behind and him reminding me that “this is not a vacation!”.
Antz Pantz (Also known as Antoinette): One of the team who follow me around to races, making sure I have everything I need. Antz Pantz is an accomplished Ironman spectator and accompanied me to Ironman Austria last year and after stupidly forgetting my Co2 head, I had to convince one of the stall owners at the expo with extreme sign language to open early and sell her another before rushing back and handing it over to me relay style as I came out of T1. Superstar and I couldn’t do it without her.
Corinna: My other loyal supporter who I shared a flat with for 3.5 years and has seen it all. Including me fall off my rollers numerous times. Corinna dishes out the tough love, the kind that works best with me, and was seen at Ironman UK telling me to run faster because she wanted a holiday to Hawaii (Ironman World Championship). How could I refuse when she was wearing a grass skirt, a shell bra over a sweater and several lei’s along with her wellingtons.
Terry: My coach. Terry agreed to take me on 5 weeks before Ironman Austria last year and completely revolutionised my training. A well known and respected coach he has taken me to the next level in my training and racing. Terry manages to strike that fine line between pushing me hard but not too hard by having me do 11 sessions a week including 2 core sessions, 3 swim, 3 run and 3 bike. I train every day except Fridays and twice a day except Sundays where I do my long bike ride instead. My weekly training hours sit between 16 - 20 hours depending on where we are in the programme. A great coach who is always there when I need him.
Rich: My sports therapist Rich always jokes that the massage is free, its the advice I pay for :) Rich has thumbs of doom and if there is a knot lurking in a muscle, he will seek it out and banish it! An awesome masseuse, I give him credit for keeping me injury free by working wonders on my legs each week by stretching and massaging out the stress and strains that triathlon training puts on my pins. Having been in the triathlon game since the early 90’s he always has a wise word ready for me.
Wiggle: Last but not least, the great team of people at Wiggle who look after us athletes making sure we have everything we could possibly need.
So, that’s the team! Wonderful people who do more than they realise.
Cx

Arizona Ironman - RACE DAY!

2009-01-20T01:47:00.000-08:00

I was feeling great come race morning. Ate my breakfast and headed to the start. They had a great service where guys were pumping up tyres so I did that and started slathering on the 50+ suncream. I was feeling very relaxed and couldn’t wait to get out there!

The swim was in the Tempe town lake which was quite big, but the water was very brown from all the dust. It was impossible to see anything which caused some problems as you would swim on top of someone before you knew they were there. I paid the price when I did that and got a sharp kick in the ribs which winded me and made me suck in some rather yucky tasting water. It slowed me down but I stayed calm and kept going. About 10 mins later a rather enthusiastic guy managed to rip my goggles off despite them being under my swim cap! I had to stop because I was so scared of losing a contact lens which would have made racing very interesting indeed. All of these things added time and put a dent in my confidence. I didn’t enjoy the swim and it became about just getting to the end.

I got out, ran what seems to be miles through transition and did a full change into cycling gear. We had a nasty head wind on the way out that kept me at 20km/hr or below, but saw me cruising back in at 45-50km/hr on the return leg in places. It made it very difficult to know how I was going given I was expending so much energy on the way out. By the 3rd lap the wind had become a cross wind so I lost the advantage of having the tail wind to push me home. It was very disappointing to see so much drafting going on. At one stage I had a pack of 15 riders go past me. I can understand that it is tempting to jump onto the back of that and take shelter from the wind but personally I can’t do it. It is cheating and just because lots of people are doing it doesn’t make it right.

I was feeling pretty good on the ride but was losing a few minutes each lap so was dropping time off my target. I wasn’t worried about the run but it was in the back of my mind that my legs were going to have a tough time simply because you never stop pedalling on the bike because it is flat. On hilly courses at least the legs get a rest descending.

I wasn’t having any problems eating so stuck to my nutrition plan 100% of eating every 20 mins and was keeping hydrated. The 3rd lap was tough but I was pleased coming off the bike. I had a bit of a fumble getting off the bike so ended up with one shoe on and the other on the bike. That was minor compared to the stories I heard later of people crashing into the barriers, and others into the bike catchers! There were bike catchers who take your bike from you which really helps so my transition times were pretty fast.

I grabbed my run bag and was very lucky to have 2 volunteers helping me so was in and out in no time including a full change into run shorts and top. First lap of the 3 lap run was OK with only a couple of guys passing me. About halfway on the first lap the lead guy came past which kept it interesting. Towards the end of the first lap I had 2 pro women go past. It was hard not knowing what place I was in and starting the 2nd lap even harder to know if the women I was passing were on their 1st or 2nd lap. I started feeling sick on the 2nd lap and felt like I had a huge lump in my stomach. I had never experienced anything like it. The 4 immodium plus I had taken over the course of the day gave me the confidence to keep eating gels because I knew I was going to have to keep running to pull some places in.

I saw the Dutchman who told me I had a couple of girls up ahead which got me moving again. I was running the aid stations because I didn’t trust that if I stopped I could start again I was feeling so ill. I caught this woman and sat behind her for a couple of hundred metres summoning the strength to go past her when one of her supporters told her she was in 3rd place in her age group (40-45) and she put the hammer down. I went with her but could feel myself starting to redline so I pulled back and let her go. I was passing a lot of people despite how I was feeling and starting the 3rd lap I knew I was going to have to really pull it out of the bag.

There was a girl from my age group who caught me and went past me so quickly I just knew she was headed for home. I was still about 7km out and knew I wouldn’t be able to sustain that pace for that long. I am pleased to say her and the other woman mentioned above were the only non female pros who passed me on the run.

I had picked my point in my reccie run where I would start to hammer it home and it was around 5km out. I was passing so many people I would just focus on one and draw strength from them each time I went by. I had been racing for more than 10 hours by this stage, I was having to swallow back vomit because I was so sick and my mind was wandering thinking of the most random things. I was counting people, my steps, trees, anything just to stay focused on keeping speed and getting to that finish line.

That last stretch along the lake was awful. I just went for it telling myself that the faster I ran the sooner I would be home. Turning left to go up the chute was more of a relief than an amazing feeling I usually get from racing and I pushed the last 200m thinking that someone was going to pass me. I must have stopped my watch by accident during the race because I my watch said 10.40, but the clock said 10.52. I started to cry with sheer exhaustion, frustration and self pity because I wasn’t even close to the goal I had set myself. I was in top shape and yet had done a better time in Austria 5 months earlier.

The Dutchman was amazing and gave me a hug despite me stinking and being rather wet and sticky. I felt like a bit of a pratt when this woman came over to me and congratulated me saying what a great time I had achieved. It did make me stop crying and appreciate a lot of people were still out there and would love to have a 10.52 time.

I felt very agitated about the entire race in the days following and was quite emotional about it simply because I had invested so much in the 1 race and I really don’t know what went wrong. Everyone I talk to says that you have bad days, but why was my bad day on the most important race day of the year for me?

It has taken me some time to write about the race and to work through it and come out the other side with the lessons learnt. Doing 4 ironman races in 15 months is a lot to put your body through, but from that I have fantastic endurance. The thing that I have forgotten how to do is race at speed. So, 2009 is about the need for speed. I am not going to chase a Kona placing this year but instead focus on getting faster over shorter distance and then applying that to longer distance. I know I can be a better triathlete.

The lead up to Ironman Arizona

2009-01-20T01:40:00.001-08:00

I collected the Dutchman’s bike and then The Dutchman from the airport Saturday night. We left early on Sunday and drove North from Pheonix through Flagstaff and onto Sedona. As we got up at 5am, as was the plan to get ready for an early start on race day, we got to the outskirts of Sedona around 10am. We went into a roadside diner and had a massive breakfast and then unpacked the bikes to head out and go for a ride.

It was undulating, but very pretty cycling along with the red rocks as a backdrop so it didn’t seem like much of an effort. On the way out we had seen a few wineries advertising wine tasting, so we decided to drop in and see what they had on offer. Now I am not sure this was a great idea given that I had been off the booze for quite some time with the exception on Fiona and Andrew’s wedding at the end of September so to now pour 8 ‘generous’ tasting glasses down my neck with a 30km ride home was not the smartest move. Made all the more difficult by the head wind we encountered. It was worth it. We were in there for ages chatting to everyone in there completely decked out in lycra so it was hard to miss us. Was kind of cute when the woman serving us said how much she loved Amsterdam when she went there but had never been to the Netherlands J

The Dutchman had booked us into this beautiful hotel with the most spectacular view in Sedona where we were staying for 2 nights. The first night we went for a beautiful dinner and had the most incredible steak I have ever eaten. It was melt in your mouth cooked perfectly. I am sure I ate my body weight in steak. That was the other thing, I was dropping weight at a steady rate despite eating the same amount (around 2500 – 3000 calories a day) but not training so much. I wasn’t paying too much attention to it at this stage but in hindsight I think I should have.

We went hiking up into the red rocks the next day and encountered a family of Javalinas! They are like small hairy pigs and were out foraging for their breakfast. We hiked quite a long way in so felt like we had earnt ourselves an afternoon by the pool. The pool had the same view as our room and no one there! We had the entire place to ourselves. The Dutchman turned up in these tight little lycra shorts which earnt him the nickname of Eurotrash for the rest of the day.

I went running the next morning along one of the trails whilst The Dutchman hit the road to cycle further north towards the Grand Canyon. I caught him after he had done some decent miles in temps of around 3-5 degrees. The valley he cycled up out of doesn’t get the sun and it was too early for the air to be warm. In places there was ice, but he survived and I took him to starbucks to thaw out.

Arriving at The Grand Canyon and seeing that view for the first time is breath taking. I was in absolute awe. I had flown over it, but standing on the edge looking down into it, I can’t even explain. We were booked into the El Tovar, the oldest and grandest of the hotels in Grand Canyon Village and it was like stepping back in time. We checked in and hit a road that had only been open for 3 days. It was like riding on silk, there wasn’t a bump in it. We rode out to Hermits Rest and I have to say riding in the altitude really takes it toll. A small slope all of sudden is a lot harder to maintain pace.

I took lots of pictures so it took us quite some time to cover the 13km out. We really went for it coming back and we were cruising at 45km hour on the return leg. I was feeling fitter and stronger than any other time in my life.

We watched the sunrise the next day and then jumped on a bus to go out to the path that leads into the Canyon to Skeleton Point which is a 5km hike in, but only halfway to the bottom. It was an easy hike because the path is so well maintained and wide enough you can pass people. We were stopping frequently to admire the view as the path wrapped around and you would get a different vista every 10 – 15 mins. It was very impressive.

We got to Skeleton Point and we were the only ones there which made it all the more special. As we were sitting there another group arrived and we could also see the mules coming up the path.

The hike is advertised as a 6 hour round trip, but we were back in 3 having given the mules a 30 min head start, we soon caught them and over took them in our power hiking back to the top. We caught the bus back and jumped on the bikes. This time we got to Hermits rest in record time and I was feeling fantastic so I upped the pace and really pushed it home. It is one of only 2 times out of the hundreds of rides we have done together where The Dutchman has had to hang onto me and just sit on my wheel. It gave me a great boost mentally knowing I was in such great shape I could even push the indestructible Dutchman almost to his limit.

We got up the next morning and drove to an eastern point in the Canyon to watch the sunrise and it is one of the most romantic moments ever. Sitting there snuggled up with the Dutchman (it was about –2 degrees) watching the sun climb its way over the rim and splash into the canyon. It was like a spotlight being shone on various parts of the canyon and made you focus on the individual points as they became illuminated. In the background we could see the mules making there first trek of the day into the Canyon, following the path we had taken the day before. I took some pictures, but it is almost impossible to capture the beauty and expanse. You can see the mules over the Dutchmans right shoulder in this pic here.

We drove back to Pheonix and went straight to registration where I picked up my very disappointing race pack and my Zipp wheels. The Dutchman had kindly arranged for a set of 404 Zipps to be waiting for me. I decided to go for a spin on them as I had been in the car all day and wanted to stretch my legs out. Against the Dutchmans advice to take a spare I headed out…..only to get a flat 6km out of town. Now what does a chick in lycra do? Well, you want in the same direction as the traffic carrying your bike on your shoulder of course J I was walking all of about 25 seconds and this guy pulled up. Turns out he was doing a reccie of the course and had a 4X4 to fit my bike in the back. He kindly gave me a lift back in exchange for some tips on the course.

We met up with James and Kaisa the next day and they hitched a ride with us so James could register and I could go return my Zipps that had quite a few cuts on the tyres hence the puncture. I have to say, this guy was fantastic. It wasn’t a problem to change them over and he totally understood that I wanted everything to be perfect leading into the race. It was in complete contrast to Tempe Bicycles who were rude and very unhelpful when we returned the Dutchman’s bike. There are plenty of places to hire a bike in Phoenix and I would recommend somewhere like Dominic’s cycles over Tempe bikes.

So the Dutchman was smart and left me to race prep on the Saturday. I had pre warned him that I wasn’t the best person to be around the day before a race so he went off and cycled the 50 odd km’s to the top of Mount Lemmon down near Tucson. I did some more transition training and got my bags ready and then hitched a ride with James and Kaisa to check everything in.

Now to say that Arizona Ironman smacked of making money is an understatement. I was already disappointed with the rubbish registration pack. When I checked into the hotel I got a welcome pack of energy gel, sunscreen, water, energy beans, lip balm and a lovely note welcoming IM athletes and their family and friends. What do you get for $550 with IM Arizona? A free number plate holder and a bag full of flyers. L

I went into transition, got my bike spot and then went to dump my bags. They couldn’t even stretch to get racks to put the bags on or a tarp to protect them from the 33 degree sun. Nope, you put your bags on the ground following the hand written signs. I was beginning to think I had turned up at some Mickey Mouse event.

Feeling pretty good I headed back to the hotel to eat more and chill out. I was reading Ellen Macarthurs autobiography which I was finding very inspiring, exactly what I needed. The Dutchman returned and we had a slight drama when we set the fire alarm off. Problem solved by ripping it out of the wall, throwing it into the hallway and demanding a change of room because of the smoke and some silly rule about not being allowed to open the windows. We got to bed and I had an ok-ish nights sleep.

ARIZONA

2008-11-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well....1 week to go. I got here Tuesday night and have been finding my way around and training on the course every day. It is a FAST bike course. Wow. It takes about 1.50 to do a 60km loop and that was with stopping 4 times to make adjustments to my bike and stopping for traffic lights. It is very much within reason to do a sub 5.30 on the bike. As much as it is tempting to hammer it on the bike, The Dutchman has made me promise I will hold back. He showed me an article in a German cycling mag he gets that had plotted bike performance against run performance in Kona this year and how the race is won on the run. I suspect it was part of my problem in Austria. I can't afford to run anything slower than a 3:30 here. The article showed the bike splits of Normann Stadler who came off the bike 12 mins ahead of Craig Alexander (the 2008 champion) and how he lost 30 mins on the run. It is going to be hard to hold back but I have to do it. I get my Zipp wheels on Thursday so really looking forward to seeing how I fly on those!

I have not done a course like this before where you are constantly having to pedal. All the other IM's I have done have had downhills where you can rest a little bit. That will also affect my run time. That and the 30 degree heat! So pleased I have been out here for a few days already and have been spending as much time in the sun as possible trying to get a bit of a base tan and used to training in the heat of the day. I am pleased for those treadmill sessions where I was wearing 4 layers zipped up to my neck sweating it out, no matter how strange I must have looked.

The swim is in the Tempe Town Lake and is great for spectators as they can stand on the bridge and watch it start. We then swim out and back to another bridge. The bike goes out in 3 loops along a highway where they close on side of it which is great. It has been a bit scary riding alone out there even though the shoulder is wide. Had some guys in a massive pickup shouting stuff at me yesterday as they went past. Can really do without that. I also hope they sweep the road because there is a lot of crap on there. Came across a guy yesterday with a flat and have seen a few discarded tubes along the road side. I have been lucky which is great as I wasn't carrying a pump or CO2 cartridges. I figured I could hitchhike back in if necessary. (hope Mum isn't reading this).
The run is along the lake, over a bridge back along the other side back across again and away in the opposite direction to cross once more and loop back around. 3 laps. I have a 1.20 run scheduled today so will do the loop at race pace which is sub 1.10 to see how that feels.

I swam in this community centre pool earlier this week. Pool was stinking hot and the showers freezing and wasn't that nice. Complete stroke of luck yesterday when I turned up there to do my laps and they were not doing lap swimming on Fridays so they sent me to the YMCA. It is the same size pool, heated, outdoors and free!! The locker room is also really nice unlike the other place where I picked up some foot fungus thing I am now desperately trying to get rid of.

Really enjoying driving around now that I have some perception of how big this car I hired is. I got a large car because we need to fit 2 bikes, bike bag, suitcase and we will be doing some decent miles so wanted to be comfortable. This thing is massive but kind of fun to drive now. In fact I wouldn't want anything smaller given the size of some of the cars and pickups they drive here. Not a hatchback in sight!

I hit the Arizona Mills mall yesterday and was disappointed. The Nike outlet was OK but that was about it. Got a great base layer for $20 I saw recently for £50 so was pleased with that. Also got a cool run top, will be running in that today. I got a new race outfit too. I ran in black at Austria and this time I will be in blue and black for the bike and black and white for the run. I prefer to get completely changed in transition. The time it takes is well worth it for me to be comfortable, plus by wearing a cycling top I am more protected from the sun. I rode at midday yesterday and it was hot hot hot out there as there isn't any protection.

I was out riding a few days ago and came across another cyclist who was training for a race in Tucson in a few weeks. I was taking pictures of the bike course (included here) with my blackberry because I have finally learnt how to ride without hands and I don't have to stop. Corinna and Leanne used to joke that I would have a camera strapped to my helmet so I wouldn't have to stop, but this works better for me :) Anyway this dude rode with me for 10 mins and then said I was setting too much of a pace and he wanted to drop back. It was very good for my ego because I had slowed down to talk to him :) I don't get any sense of my cycling improving because of cycling with TFD all the time who slows down to adjust to my pace, but it must be!

This hip flexor 'thing' is settling down ( it isn't an injury!). I get the odd twinge but it is OK. I am stretching every few hours. I have been so busy the last few days, I really don't know how I manage to go to work and train. I have also been getting up at 3:30 so have all day to do all of this stuff. Today I slept in till 6 which was good. Ideally I want to be waking up at 5am so I am used to eating and getting up at that time so it isn't a shock to the system on race day. Thank goodness TFD is OK with that. I pick him up tonight from the airport. I can't wait to see him!! We have been on skype every day. He makes me laugh so much, he really is the BBE. (Best Boyfriend Ever).

We had dinner with Corinna and Antoinette last weekend and they were giving him Ironman support tips as they really are the pros at it. They were also fishing for investment into Iron Dreamz. Made me appreciate again how great they both are and how much crap they put up with when it comes to Ironman. Corinna gave me such a beautiful card. If I had functioning tear ducts I am sure I would have cried it was so touching.

So, I am feeling amazing. I am in a great frame of mind. I know the course. I am going to win. I have so many people behind me. I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea but I love the tough love approach. Before I left work on Monday my boss told me to 'just win ok'. Mum said 'we are proud of you no matter where you place, but we know you can win it'. Corinna and Antoinette 'you better not ruin our holiday to Hawaii next year' and finally TFD 'I'm not going all the way to Arizona to watch a loser'. Some of my own personal favourites '2nd place is 1st loser', 'don't look back, someone might be gaining on you' and finally 'pain is temporary, giving up is forever'. Can you tell I have been doing my mental preparation? ;)

Tomorrow we head up to Sedona and then onto the Grand Canyon. It is going to be amazing. We get back to Phoenix next Thursday for registration, pick up the Zipps and start the serious race prep. Right, time to go train.
Cx

The Calm Before The Storm

2008-11-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a very interesting week last week. I fell victim to something I thought was just being a bit more tired than normal but turns out is a whole lot nastier... Over Training.

For those of you who have experienced this, I am sure are not keen to let it happen again. To those who have not...well be warned. It can strike, chew you up and spit you out before you even have a chance to work out what is going on.

Last week was my last hard week of training before I start my 3 week taper for Ironman Arizona. Everything over the last few weeks had been going well, excellent volume and intensity of training up around 17 - 20 hours and I was feeling like I was in the best shape of my life. I started out last week after doing a 5 hour ride and then run on Saturday to a 2.5 hour hilly run on Sunday. Felt tired as you would expect. Hit Monday with a 2 hour 15 min brick before work and a track session in the evening. I was feeling pretty shattered and noticed I wasn't as quick as I should be. Monday night was the first of the sleepless nights. Into Tuesday morning with a 2hr 10 session before work and a swim in the evening. The swim wasn't easy and I was a good 10 secs down and slipping on my normal 300m times. Very little sleep again Tuesday night.

Anyway, the week progressed with me continuing to push as hard as I could on all of my sessions, sleepless nights and the worst thing I started to doubt my ability to even get to the start line let alone actually complete the race. If you know me or have been reading this you will know that I am very confident (probably over confident ;) in my ability to perform and complete an Ironman race, after all this is IM number 4 for me.

I had to get the cranks and bottom bracket replaced on Matilda (my bike) and couldn't quite work out what the problem was with her when I picked her up from the bike shop Wednesday night other than the cranks were a different colour. The guy in the shop was saying how great these cranks were and I wouldn't have any problems with them and that he had them too. Anyway, I took her home and put her in her bag ready to go out to Nice for the weekend.

Thursday I ran an OK-ish flat 11km at lunch in 45min which is a little slower than normal but legs were very tired and I had this niggle above my left knee. I of course ignored it. As the afternoon wore on, the pain got worse but I figured it was just because I had been training loads during the week and it was just one of those aches and pains you sometimes get. I swam Thursday night and my arms were aching doing the warmup ... it went seriously down hill from there. I was barely hanging onto the back of the group I normally lead.

I headed out to Nice with TFD (The Flying Dutchman) Friday night and managed to get some sleep but it was more through being absolutly exhausted than anything else. Saturday we got up and I put Matilda together and I hear a shout from TFD wanting to know what the hell had happened to Matilda. Blank look from me which is the look he normally gets when he starts talking bike techie stuff, I tell him that is what they told me I needed in the shop. Turns out they fitted MOUNTAIN BIKE cranks and bracket to my beautiful baby. Not only do I now have less gears, the cranks are for people with much longer legs than me and they sit at an angle. Now all of that may sound minor but after 18 months of training with 1 set up, changing that 3 weeks before a major race is not a good idea. So this added to the already sinking feeling I was already experiencing.

Nothing we could do about Matilda so we headed out for a ride but by now I had managed to work myself into a complete state of self doubt and my legs were killing me. It was like trying to cycle through treacle and having to head straight up the side of a mountain 10 mins into the ride really didn't help. That is the only drawback of cycling in Nice, you have to go up to get out. TFD was trying to chat to me and I was being a complete pain and giving him one word answers and snapping at him. He was really noticing the drop in speed and was being very supportive and trying to push me along a little bit. It got so bad at one stage I almost started crying with sheer frustration that I couldn't get my legs to work without being in pain. Everything from the week was starting to take it's toll. I actually convinced myself that I wasn't good enough to race and that I should pull out rather than go out to Arizona.

I managed to struggle to the top of the 2nd climb and from there is was 40km down or flat to get home. Even flying along going down the mountain wasn't making me happy and thats one of my favourite things in the world! TFD could tell I was in trouble so took us on a short cut to get home. We got in and I went for a run for 30 min but kept it flat on the promenade rather than doing my 12km up and then back down run I normally do. I pulled the pin on any further training for the day and TFD started making noises that I was completely over trained and needed to take it easy.

Sunday we did a short but spectacular 90 min ride to Eze. I was feeling slightly better mentally after a lovely evening in and a fantastic nights sleep. The issue today was the incredible wind. So many times we would come around a corner and almost be blown off our bikes the wind was so strong. I really got the speed wobbles at one point doing around 55km hr went round a corner and got hit by a cross wind that pushed me across the road into the oncoming traffic. That slowed me down.

We got back and I went out for a 2 hour run which I cut back to 90 mins because this leg thing was flaring up again. TFD met me at the beach and I pulled on my wetsuit and stood looking at the MASSIVE swell. As I said to TFD, you can't drown in a wetsuit and off I went. Interesting getting out past the breaking waves not made any easier by the fact they were coming in to the beach on a 45 degree angle. I swam against them for 12 mins or so and had to turn back because there was a pier making them break much earlier. I was being tossed around out there like a rag doll. I would swim 3 strokes and then be slammed from the side which was making me dizzy and feel a little sick.

I turned back and swam with the waves which should have been easier but I was now starting to get flipped over more often just by the sheer size of the swell and because it was really choppy. I swam further out which didn't make me happy because I was now feeling rather ill and it had started to rain. I wasn't far from where I went into the water and stopped and was treading water and noticed a crowd of people looking out into the water. After looking around me I realised they were all looking at me probably asking why some crazy person was out there :)

By this stage I was trying not to throw up I was feeling so sick so decided to go in. I had been fighting out there for 30 mins and couldn't do it any longer. I started to swim in and I could see TFD on the promenade and he started to come down. You so know where this is going. The big waves were coming in sets of 4 then 4 smaller ones so I tried to ride in the last big one of the set but lost my footing trying to get out of the water and got completely slammed from behind by the first in the big set. Now I'm sprawled on the beach trying to get up and bang! Slammed again. Very elegant. TFD had to come and held me get out of the water. If I knew how to speak French, I would have told the spectators 'I meant to do that!'.

So, we got back and I got in touch with Terry (my coach) http://www.triforfitness.co.uk/ and he diagnosed over training and pulled me from doing anything for 2 days. So I'm back on my feet with this lingering pain which I am seeing a physio about on Saturday. Bike is fixed with the correct cranks and a massive apology from the bike shop and life is once again great!

I leave on Tuesday to head out to Arizona and can't wait to just get going out there and see what I can do. I have never been in better shape, I feel strong and I feel even stronger mentally after last week. It gave me a brief insight into what it must be like to suffer from depression, that sinking feeling, closing everything off and not being able to ask for help. Lucky for me I am surrounded by people who recognise the symptoms and pulled me out of it quick smart.

So, bring on Arizona!
Cxx

Arizona is 4 weeks away!!!

2008-10-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Someone drank a little too much champagne....and that would have been OK if I didn't have to get up and do a 5 hour ride the next day. I was NOT feeling the best and it certainly reminded me why I don't drink very much any more. The first hour of the ride was spent trying not to fall off my bike and not throwing up, then 3 hours of a horrible headache and then a combination of nausea and a headache for the final hour before I cried mercy and we headed back in to London where I then lay on the couch trying not to move. Running to get over a hangover is great...cycling not so good.

It was all worth it because Fiona and Andrew's wedding was so much fun! They had such an amazing day and they both looked brilliant. I loved Fiona's dress so much, she just looked so beautiful. After TFD (The Flying Dutchman) telling me that he doesn't dance I had to practically drag him off the floor once he got started. :) Everything was perfect about the day and the weather was incredible! I wore an Amanda Wakely halter neck backless dress in dark blue. It went all the way down to the floor with a big bow at the back. My hair was up in a French roll with some bits hanging down. The obligatory 2kg of hairspray and 17 bobby pins to hold it all together were in there too. TFD was in a tailor made grey suit and was looking very handsome. I tease him and tell him I only have him because he makes such great arm candy ;)

Training is going well. We went out to Ludlow for the Autumn Epic a few weeks back but didn't end up doing the event as the weather was so bad. Checking out forums the next day, people were having problems getting to the start line as the surrounding roads were flooded and a lot of people who actually made it there pulled out in the 1st 10 miles and turned back. We made the decision not to do it after the alarm went off at 6am and it was a complete downpour outside. Being wet for 6 hours is not my idea of fun, and I really can't afford to get sick now. It is far too close to Arizona for me to have any time off. It wasn't all bad, we were staying at Fishmore Hall just out of Ludlow where they have a Michelin starred chef so we went for the 7 course meal on the Saturday night. Very nice. Great place, would definitely recommend it. We headed back in on the Sunday and we watched a movie 'together'. TFD was on the couch with his feet up and I was on my rollers sweating it out doing a training session on my bike. The movie wasn't long enough so a few episodes of South Park bumped up the time in the saddle. Only problem was I kept almost falling off because I was laughing so much. Not ideal focused training and 2 hours was more than enough. It was the longest I have ever done on my rollers.

2 weekends ago we did a sportive down in Surrey from Dunsfold Park. Really great ride, except for the getting lost part so we did a few extra miles which was a shame because we missed out on getting silver by only a few mins. I was pleased, I was 3rd fastest woman which wasn't bad given it was only TFD and I. We would have been much faster in a pack. We got back in and I did a run on the runway as it was at the airfield. The runway was obviously not in use ;)

Last weekend was another wonderful weekend in Nice where we did a snappy 3 hour ride Saturday. I was getting very cranky, my legs were not working as they should have been. All the training is making me tired and they were sore from a heavy weights session Thursday. TFD was 'encouraging' me but I was throwing abuse back, more because I was frustrated with myself for not being able to push harder. We got in and I did my hour run along the promenade, around the marina and out of Nice up the side of a mountain and back down again. TFD met me and handed over goggles, swim cap, bikini and Zoot suit and then into the sea for a 45 min open water swim. The water was 20 degrees so a bit chilly but refreshing. The problem was the jelly fish! I got stung on both feet and under my left arm. The 2 on my feet went away by Saturday night but the one under my arm was over the top of some chaffing from running so hurt a tab bit more. I am taking my wetsuit next time so I can stay out there longer than 45 mins.

Yesterday we did 3 big climbs. The pictures are from the Col de Braus which was the 2nd one we did of the day. 10km of up and up and up, but so much fun around those hairpin turns :) We then headed back down to sea level to Menton and then up to St Agnes and onto Col de la Madone. That's the climb that lance Armstrong used to do his testing on. I believe he used to do it in about 33 minutes. I can manage an hour, so we are clearly neck and neck (if he does it twice!).

The best thing about all the climbing is the descending and the going as fast as you can part. My riding and handling skills have really improved the last few months and I put them to good test when riding in France. We always try and do the big ride on a Sunday when there is less traffic and it pays off because you only see a couple of cars. After descending Col de la Madona it is 45 mins back to Nice and it is sloping down with one up hill. TFD and I generally race each other back in doing an average of 50km/h and sometimes more and really hammer it. The descents are great and I have no idea how fast we are going on those, way too fast to look at my speedo and check that's for sure! You really have to work and I just love going at speed. The cars are very forgiving which is great, they don't try and run you over if you take a wider corner. The only bad driver we encountered yesterday was a guy in a 4x4 with British plates who tried to overtake us on a super narrow rd and besides almost pushing us into the wall almost had a head on with another car.

We are back in Nice in 2 weeks for another few days of heavy training and that marks the end of Arizona training and then the taper starts!! I am feeling great and very strong. The 2 or 3 core and strength sessions are really paying off, and I have never been able to do 50 pushups before in my life which is pretty cool ;) I am really looking forward to Arizona and if I had to do it tomorrow I would be ready. The fact I have another few weeks is a complete bonus and I am really happy I have yet again managed to keep my promise to myself that I do everything I can so I never turn up to a race thinking I could have done more. As I say to TFD he isn't going to Arizona to watch a loser :)

Stay safe and happy training.
Cx

Tuscany, Nice & TFD's Birthday

2008-09-22T05:38:00.000-07:00

Lots to catch up on! I was out in Tuscany in the Empoli Hills staying in a lovely villa for Anna and Jeremy's wedding. Such a wonderful long weekend! I headed out to Pisa on Thursday with the Irish Massive (Helen, John, Sam, Kirstin, Ruth) and picked up the cars to start a rather long drive to the villa. The driving instructions we were provided with were vague to say the least! The villa was massive with 2 floor and a converted attic space to house the 10 of us staying there. Thursday we headed out to take over the local co-op, shopping for 10 people is an adventure in itself and we were not too popular with the locals after we had forgotten to weight the fresh produce and held up the line whist we tested our knowledge of the Italian names for fruit and veg.

I got up Friday morning and had this fantastic run through the vineyards. I ran around the ridge line of some of the hills and just kept getting higher and higher. The views were just breathtaking so I kept going further up. I was supposed to be doing a structured session but sometimes the training plan has to go out the window! I ended up doing a loop around so I could look back across the hills having reached one of the highest points in the area and could see our villa which was quite distinctive with turrets along the top of it. I came across quite a lot of pheasant and no matter how many times I saw them they still made me jump when they explode out of the bushes. I was crossing through one vineyard where there were 5 old men picking grapes who just stopped working and just stared at me. I'm not sure they see too many runners. I gave them a big wave and a smiley buongiorno and picked up the pace before they could say anything :)

Friday was the wedding in one of the most beautiful settings. Anna and Jeremy got married in an olive grove and then we headed to the pool for prosecco and canapés and lots of pictures. It was a lovely surprise to see Joanne there with her husband Matthew and baby Gabe. I had no idea she was going to be there! Joanne and I used to work together in product management at AOL.

The party was certainly starting to get underway and we were ushered up to an outside terrace where dinner was. I was on a table with Lena, her husband Jasper and another colleague Ingo. The 5 course meal was to die for! Amazing, especially the wild boar ragu. It was very dramatic sitting out there as there was a lightening storm across the valley which made for a fantastic atmosphere. In perfect style the speeches were not too long, just right, food was incredible and the company absolutely charming.

After dinner we were sent back to the pool where the DJ was warming up. John was causing mischief by going around saying to guests that the party starts when the bride hits the water. Enter stunt bride. John had packed his own stunt dress and managed to talk one of the guys to jumping in with him. There was a collective gasp when he jumped in until everyone realised Anna was safe on dry ground :)

Everyone up on the dance floor and of course all the wedding classics were coming out. About 11.30 the heavens opened and it just poured and poured with rain for the night. We were all inside so it wasn't a problem. The problem was waiting for the 1 and only taxi in the area to ferry people around to the various places. It was nice watching the storm and waiting so wasn't bad at all :)

Unfortunately the bad weather settled in, it was humid so the rain was actually welcomed for my run Saturday morning. I think I might have been sweating white wine on my run but did feel good once it was done. Some of the parents of the Irish Massive were also at the wedding so they came over for dinner on Saturday night so we had 16. Huge BBQ and some great salads along with a drop of Tuscan Chianti.

More bad weather Sunday so I did a little run and then focused on some core exercises improvising with rocks for weights. We drove to Sienna for lunch and had a bit of a wander around. I have been there 5 or 6 times and love it so was more than pleased to be back there. John and I were heading back on a 10.30pm flight which was good and bad. Good that we got to spend the entire day and bad that I didn't get home till 2am! kind of ruined Monday's training because I was so tired.

Was back on track with training for the rest of the week and knew I had to keep it up because I was flying to Nice on the Friday with The Flying Dutchman for his birthday! We had a later flight Friday night that removed the airport stress. Friday night was a lovely cold beer on the terrace when we arrived, all in anticipation for his birthday!

Got up Saturday for breakfast on the terrace and put Matilda (my bike) together. I gave TFD his birthday present which was the new ipod video nano. I had loaded it up with some youtube videos, various cycling podcasts and my music collection which he has not stopped poking fun at. I had to point out that there was a time where Aussie Music of the 90's was cool. Somehow he didn't believe me. :) We headed out on our ride on Saturday which was about 3 hours and I still can't quite believe how breathtaking the views are in that part of the world. It is so totally worth climbing these mountains for an hour just to look out across a stunning coast line. When we got back I went out for a 50min run along the promenade towards Monaco where the road goes up..and up..and up. I spotted some cyclists so made them my target to beat them up the hill. Think I may have over done it because I hadn't eaten on the ride and wasn't fuelled up for a 3 hour ride and then a high intensity run. Totally screwed up my nutrition so was feeling pretty sick by the time I made it back to the beach to meet TFD. I skipped my swim which wasn't good but I wasn't feeling so crash hot. A little nap on the beach fixed that :)

Dinner Saturday night was amazing. We ate at La Reserve which is a Michelin starred restaurant in Nice. We got a table on the terrace looking back over Nice, awesome watching the light go down and the lights of Nice come up. The food was incredible, the service perfect and I think I had the best chocolate torte I have ever eaten. Highly recommend it.

Sunday was supposed to be a 6 hour ride but it was raining! No! That isn't supposed to happen in Nice!! We waited and it cleared so we went out for 3 hours up a climb past Elton John's house. It is such a long climb but it is so worth it to come back down it. I hit 82km hr coming back down. YEEE HAAA! It is like flying and is so exhilarating, especially passing cars. That is the fastest I have ever been on Matilda before. Previously I had managed to get to about 72km/hr but always starting thinking about what would happen if I crashed. I don't think about that now, I just concentrate on trying to catch The Flying Dutchman who certainly does fly when on a bike. I call his bike Razor simply because it just cuts through the air fast as you like. That and the seat is like a razor blade :)

It is always such great training being in Nice, I can really feel the improvement in my legs. I am already feeling fitter and stronger than before heading into Ironman Austria in July and I still have a bit over 7 weeks to get ready for Ironman Arizona. Race prep starts here. I have the competitor list and will start researching who will cause me problems in the race, just as I did for IMUK. No more alcohol from now until after the race and I will start getting strict with my diet again. I have done quite a bit of work and research on nutrition planning for racing so will post up some of my top tips. being the absolute geek that I am, I have also created an excel spreadsheet with formulas that when you enter the food you are going to eat it highlights if you are getting enough carbs/calories/protein/caffeine or anything you want to program it for. Screams Tri nerd I know :)
Thats it for now. Next up: Fiona and Andrew's wedding :)
Cxx

Nice Long Weekend

2008-08-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Some photos from a wonderful bank holiday in Nice with The Flying Dutchman (TFD). We arrived Friday night after a little bit of airport stress in that TFD's train was delayed and I was starting to think I would be going to Nice alone. We got to his cool apartment and had a couple of beers on the terrace. So nice to sit outside and be warm. He gave me a fantastic gift of a new cycling computer that does everything from altitude, speed, heart rate, power but also has a ski setting. Very very cool and he just keep securing his position as the best boyfriend ever :)

We did loads of cycling over the weekend, and most of it was up hill. It doesn't matter which way you go, you have to go up which is of course excellent training. Some of the pics show the roads we were riding that just keep going switchback after switchback. I spent 3 months cycling in Italy a few years back and I had forgotten that roads could be like that. It is so worth it for the views when you get to the top and then the fun part...the decent! TFD is awesome on a bike and he drops down the side of mountains faster than gravity. If you have read any previous entries you will know how competitive I am and there was no way I was going to be left behind so I tucked my fear away and just went for it hitting 70km an hour coming down. TFD taught me how to go faster around switch backs on the way down which was also handy. My aim was to always try and keep him in sight but it didn't always work out, if I braked just a tab bit too long on a corner, he was gone and I would have to work so hard to even have a chance of seeing him again before the bottom. All excellent fun. We did part of the Monacco 1/2 Ironman course and that is tough. The race is next week and I am seriously thinking about doing it next year. Having the advantage of being able to train on the course is a huge benefit. We were out for about 6 hours on Saturday and it was about 35 degrees so we came back pretty worn out. Saturday night TFD took me out for a lovely meal on the beach and then onto a cool bar for cocktails. Perfect ending to a perfect day. It was so nice just hanging out with him, I find it really difficult that we have so little time just to do stuff like that.

Sunday was a shorter ride of a couple of hours but really hard. I had my heart rate up at 174 and thought it was going to come out through my chest. I also thought I would cry when I convinced myself I was at the top after about 3km of climbing only to find out I had another 2km to go. Again, worth it for the views at the top and the rush of flying down the side of the mountain. We got back and I did an hour run up hill from the port to turn the legs over. I try and do a run off the bike as much as possible, obviously in a triathlon you want to get out on the run as quickly as possible so it's best to train for that :) We headed to Cap d'Ail for some beach time on Sunday afternoon and i got in a 45 min swim. The good news is it that it I got over my desire to swim the channel. I swam quite a long way out from the beach and it was rough once you got out of the protection of the small bay and I am guessing it is still nothing compared to the channel. Not sure I want to put myself through that. Saying that it was so nice to be in the open water. I also threw on the zoot suit, figured I have it I might as well use it seeing as the last time was Kona last year. We wanted to have an early dinner at Cap d'Ail but nowhere was serving and there was a 2 hour gap between trains which wasn't great as we wanted to get up early to ride before heading back. We went for a drink in a lovely bar I had actually been to 2 years ago when I first found Cap d'Ail. It is just stunning. Right on the water with lovely furniture and the best bit...cold beer :)

We caught the train back and had dinner down near the markets. I had probably the best piece of salmon I have ever had. Lovely. We were not out late, I was almost dead on my feet by the time we got back having done so much training throughout the day.

Monday was another long ride where we headed out and across to Menton and then up the famous col de la Madona. What a climb. It just went on and on and on. I wasn't quite going at the speed Lance Armstrong used to go up it :) I am sure I would have kept up if I wasn't stopping to take photos ;) TFD flew up that. He needed to get in some good training, he is leaving Saturday for a cycling week in the Pyrenees. He got in a pretty long rest whilst waiting for me! We got back to Nice and I took Matilda (my bike) apart, a task I am getting very good at! Flight back was uneventful, shame that TFD and I were on different flights.

Perfect perfect weekend. Lovely spending so much time with TFD, I am going to miss him when he is away next week. So, back into the training this week. I had a great session on the track this morning, I am running 6 min miles at the moment and they feel pretty good, I feel like I can go faster. I just have this small issue of a sore foot that is giving me quite a bit of pain and has been swollen for about a week now. Dr's tomorrow I think.
Enjoy the photos!
Cxx

IronMan UK Race Tips 2008

2008-08-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

This might be useful for those of you doing IMUK this year. One of my Aunt's in the US who is also a multiple IM finisher including Kona, has a friend doing IMUK and asked me to send her some tips.

Swim
* The water is cold. It always rains here in the UK in August so the water never really heats up too much so definitely make time to get in and do a warmup. The start line is actually about 200m from the shore so you do get to swim a bit before hand.
* Be careful about what time you get in the water, last year (2007) we were delayed and could have really done without the 20 mins of treading water.
* You swim clockwise around the course, 2 laps
* The water is murky brown so don't expect to see much. You will be lucky to see your hand a foot in front of your face
* They do a practise swim around 9am each morning so do try and get to one of those in the days leading up
* The swim was delayed by more than an hour 3 years ago due to mist on the lake. Make sure you can get some food and water should this happen and you have to wait because you will be in the race funnel on the side of the lake waiting.

Bike
* It starts with a hill. A steep hill. You leave the castle and go maybe 1km and then start climbing. Take it easy, it is one of those hills that when you think it is over, it twists around a bit more. You only do this one at the beginning of the race because the loops start at the top of the hill.
* The climbs are tough, especially on the back section of the 60km loops. They are long and it can be really windy. We had a really strong cross wind last year so when you would get to a gap in a hedge you would have to really hold on.
* There is a long decent on the back stretch, it isn't technical but a lot of people hold off. If you are fine with speed I suggest you cane it. I was overtaking loads of people on that section and it isn't a technical descent, you just need the balls to go for it.
* It can be cold in Britain in Sept, in fact a few people got hypothermia last year. I wore a cycling top, arm warmers and shorts and I was fine but I don't tend to feel the cold too much. You definitely need to plan on having some warmer clothes than a trisuit. Saying that you might get lucky on the day and have beautiful sunshine!
* They sweep the roads the day before the race but they do get covered in crap so there are lots of punctures. A friend got 4 last year which was game over for him. I was lucky, but make sure you have plenty of spares and know how to change them quickly.
* Put a tube, spare C02 canister and a bt of food in your special needs bag. You won't get it back but it is nice knowing you have a backup tube should you go through the ones you are carrying with you. It could have saved my mates race last year.
* The mechanic support on the course is minimal, even one of the pros I know couldn't get help, so game over for her. I don't think they would even help you with punctures.
* They do have mechanics at the expo if you want your bike looked at pre race, but you have to book in. Mail the race office and they will help you.
* There is always support at the top of the hill in point one where the loop starts again as lots of people walk the couple of km's out there to support people. There are a few other hot spots for supporters and you pass through a few towns but there isn't loads of people out there.
* The aid stations are great, shout out what you want going into them and you will get it. Remember to say thank you to these people! They have all got up very early on their Sunday to help you realise your dream. Saying thank you isn't going to cost you any time.

Run
* The run course has changed this year but I believe they still do the same 1st half around the castle grounds and changed the 2nd half which was on a duel carriageway rd.
* 1st half leave transition out towards the campsite and is lumpy, it then goes up gradually to the turnaround and back down around behind the castle, around past transition and around again. You will get a bracelet as you do the first loop so they know to send you out on the 2nd one.
* If it has been raining it will be muddy in parts as some of it is dirt tracks. Avoid the water, last thing you need is wet socks, yuo will get blisters.
* After the 2 loops around the castle you go through the town and over this bridge which is stairs on both sides. Killer on the way home!
* Once through town, last year it was 2 loops of basically 3 hills, there wasn't a flat bit in it. If they are not doing that part again thank your lucky stars!! It is brutal but if you can run hills you will dominate. If your strategy is to run the marathon, do it! If your plan is to run / walk, stick to that. Don't change your race plan on the day.
* It was incredibly windy on the run, especially the 2nd half and it was either a head or tail wind which made some of those hills interesting. At one point I was blown backwards :) Be mentally prepared for that!
* Once the 2 loops are done, back across the killer bridge, through the town and out to the castle to finish. Even the finishing chute is on a hill!!
* The support going back through the town is great so don't forget to soak it up!
* Again, don't forget to be nice to the volunteers. They don't have to be out there and it is a thankless job.

I wish everyone who is doing Ironman UK on 7th September the very best of luck, although finishing Ironman has nothing to do with luck. Ironman is about hard work....and lots of it! Have a great time, it is a phenomenal achievement to even make the start line and something you can be proud of for the rest of your life.
Cxx

London Olympic Race Report Aug 2008

2008-08-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

I am writing this the day after the race and I should be happy. All I can feel is anger. I am so annoyed at myself for making silly mistakes that cost me time. I know I can go faster and the reason I didn't was because I haven't been training enough and silly avoidable mistakes I made on the day.

The race was good, but as always there is a lot of room for improvement. I got down to the Excel centre in London around 90 mins pre race start to get myself organised, walk transition and meet up with The Flying Dutchman who had been out training in the morning. My first mistake had already been made on the Saturday when I racked on the far side to bike exit, close to run exit but running in bike shoes is much harder than run shoes so silly mistake. I set everything up and headed over to swim start to find TFD. So easy to spot him in a crowd as he is a head above everyone else :) I stayed with him for 20 mins or so whilst I got into my wetsuit and then got into the pen with the other girls to head to the water. At the start of the race they always make you do this OI OI OI shout out. I was laughing at TFD as I have been teaching him some Australian such as 'OI'. I have no doubt he will use that on my friends at some point and it sounds hilarious in his sexy Dutch accent:)

Anyway, the water was cold and murky. I have been spoiled swimming in Hampstead Lido with its nice clean silver lining. I couldn't see my hand when stretched out in front of me. I got into the front of the pack on the line. I have worked hard on my swim and also on being jostled about so not worried if I get a bit battered. The gun went off and I went off at a fast pace to out swim the 'start sprinters' who keep up a cracking pace for about 50m and then drop back having to breastroke when the adrenalin runs out. I used to be one of them so know what they do :) It was hard to see where I was and just really focused on trying to swim in a straight line. The out bit went really fast and I was there in a bit over 12 mins. I wasn't drafting as I was finding it hard to sight and stay on feet and people were crashing into each other and swimming all over the place. I did get kicked under the chin by someone and bit the inside of my mouth.

The stretch back in seemed harder and I suspect we were going against the current. It was also choppier so I was having problems getting air despite breathing every 2nd stroke. About 2 out of 3 breathes I was getting water over my head and no air. I could feel my heart rate going up but kept pushing on knowing I was over halfway. It was also much calmer in terms of the people who were around me as everyone started to speed up so I jumped on some feet and went with it. I got out of the water feeling pretty good in 27.31 which is a new PB by 3 mins over 1500m. Very pleased with that but I need to learn to wim harder in the 1st half of the race, I am still being to cautious. TFD reckons I was in about 35th position coming out of the water. T1 is always interesting at London Tri because you have to get your wetsuit off and then run up some stairs. The volunteers are great however my guy handed me a bag upside down so I struggled running and trying to get my wetsuit into the bag and then slipped on the stairs and banged my foot. I didn't feel it at the time of course but certainly know about it today :)

So mistake number 2 of the day was running down the wrong isle to get my bike and it cost me 10 seconds. Got onto the bike and went for it....straight into a head wind! I was actually starting to get a bit worried when my heart rate hadn't started to go down at all after 10 mins because I was pushing so hard but didn't want to let up. I was overtaking a lot of people but wasn't feeling great for the first half. I was forcing myself to drink knowing I wouldn't be drinking in the last 20 mins because of the cramp issues I have been having running off the bike this season. I managed to drink about 600ml of energy drink and 2 gels over the course which is probably about right for that distance. I find it really difficult to get my nutrition right for olympic distance racing, I suspect I proably over do it.

TFD has been playing around with my bike position to get me more aero and we decided to be quite aggressive given it was only 40km. I liked it, but have an aching neck today so it is going to be moved slightly for training. I did feel it gave me extra speed and made it easier to push hard but wouldn't like to do a long ride in that position. London tri is pretty much flat except for the tunnels. I don't have a speedo on at the moment but must have been doing 50km plus in there as I was really flying past people in my largest gear. It was hard to know who I was chasing because there was other people out there from previous races, and it was a lot of the stragglers weaving across the road. I was shouting at people to get out the way and everyone was great and did jump out of the way. I had 1 girl overtake me 250m before the tunnel on the 1st lap and I let her go knowing I would fly past her, which I did. No one else went past me on the bike. TFD was on the corner and shouting at me each time I went past. I was busy overtaking 3 people on a corner on my last lap so couldn't look at him but certainly heard him which was great, made me smile.

I came off the bike in 3rd place according to Terry, I think I may have been 4th at that stage in a time of 1:09:54. I got into a bit of a tussle in T2, as I was running back up between the racks these 2 idiots were casually walking with their bikes, having raced earlier that morning and now collecting their stuff from transition. I started shouting at them to move as I was running towards them, 1 of them jumped out of the way and the other one just looked at me and sort of halfway moved to the side. I crashed into the back of him not being able to stop at the pace I was running with my bike and the redhead temper came out to play. He copped a mouth full of abuse until I realised I was wasting valuable energy on him and took me another 10 secs or so to untangle myself from him. Jumped into my running shoes now absolutely fuming and hit the road.

I heard Corinna, Marilyn and Bronwyn up on the bridge as I came down the ramp and around the turn around to head back up for my first lap. I looked for them but couldn't pick them out. I went past the pub and then TFD was in a great place just up from there. Terry was another 50m along and then Daz so that stretch was great and I calmed down a little and let the rage subside. First lap was rubbish and I got this sharp cramp pain in my left shoulder 2km in and had to walk 10m or so swinging my arm, 2 girls I had just gone past came past me so had to spend more energy chasing them back down again. 1 of them it took me 3km to catch her again. I hooked up with a Serpentine girl for the 1st lap on the way back and we kept each other moving, she sped up towards the turnaround as she was on her last lap from a previous race.

My 2nd lap was faster but because there were so many people out there it was impossible to know where I was. I had 2 girls charge past me and there was no way I could have stuck with them at that stage but I kept them in my sights. Turns out they were in my race. I picked it up for the last 2km home but couldn't pull them back in. My position was 6th having lost my 4th place position by a mere 9 seconds, the time I spent looking for my bike in T1. My run split was 42.42 which is rubbish. I can run a 41 on that course and the reason I was so slow was because deep down I know I have been neglecting my run training. I always put so much faith in my ability to run that if I have to skip a session it is always the run. I paid for that yesterday and wont do it again. I finished in 2:24:58 and was truly spent when I crossed the line. I had a few moment of panic looking for somewhere to throw up but managed to keep it together. It really isn't a good look.

The good news is that I will now work harder than ever to prep for Arizona. It stings getting 6th place when I was capable of 4th easily and 3rd with a fight, and I really do enjoy a good battle in a triathlon :) Olympic racing isn't my distance but that doesn't mean I am happy to settle for anything other than a 110% effort on my behalf and I don't feel like I gave that in the preparation and training leading into the race. Lessons learnt with plenty of time to fix them over the next 14 weeks in time for hopefully a win at Arizona.

It was great having TFD, Corinna, Terry, Marilyn, Bronwyn all there. It makes a huge difference having people around you and people to meet you at the end. After I had managed to a) not throw up and b) not fall over I started to feel a bit better about the race and had a brief moment where I was actually happy about my performance. As Terry pointed out I still have an Ironman in my legs from 4 weeks ago. He also pointed out that the holiday is now over. He wasn't kidding, this week is a killer programme of 17 - 18 hours of hard core training. Excellent, bring it on.

Cxx

London Olympic Triathlon

2008-08-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

The London Triathlon is almost upon us! Is it wrong that I am feeling almost more nervous and wound up about this race than I was for Ironman Austria? It is a little baby olympic race and a walk in the park compared to Ironman!!

I think the problem lies in the fact that I have The Flying Dutchman coming AND also Terry (my coach). It will be the first time either of them have seen me race so I want to make it a good one. Anyone who has been following this blog or knows me understands how much I hate doing Olympic distance races. My body hates being at the max for 2 hours and 20 mins whilst I drag myself around 1500m swimming, 40km bike and a 10km run. My heart rate through the roof and me asking myself what exactly is it I enjoy about this sport. I would much rather be out there for 10 or 11 hours at a steady pace doing an ironman :) Anyway, I do them because it helps me get faster in transition and makes me ensure I don't neglect my speed work, oh... and it makes me love Ironman even more (if that is possible!).

Ironman Austria was for me and I loved every minute of it (except when I cracked the sads on the run for a few km's) but this one is going to be tough because there are expectations. I expect to finish under 2:20. Last year I managed 2:20:59 and that got me 4th in my age group. I'm in the 30 - 34 age group now and the girls are a bit tougher to beat! I also know that the ironman excluded, my results have been slightly slower this year than last year and that concerns me. This year has to be about IM Arizona and I do focus on that as my main goal but there is always that niggling thought. What if I am not capable of going faster?

My swim has improved but I am not as fit as I have been in the past so I am expecting a slower run. I am hoping that what I save in the swim balances out with the run but I also want a faster bike time. Last year was 1:02:51 and I would love to crack that 1 hour mark, only problem is it will hurt me on the run if I do that, I will see how I go. I can't help getting caught up in the crowds so no doubt I will do something silly like cane it and then wonder where my run legs are. Thankfully it is a flat easy course.
My estimated splits are
28 min swim
3:30 T1
1:02 bike
1:30 T2
43:00 Run
If I can manage that I will come in at 2:18 and that would make me VERY happy. I will have a big wet sweaty hug ready for TFD. I'm sure he will love that! I have to get him in training for what it is going to be like when he comes with me to Ironman Arizona in November. He is so into this whole triathlon thing, it is so cool to finally have a boyfriend who not only understands but encourages me to train!

TFD and I are kind of out of sync at the moment because I have been tapering for London this last week and he is ramping up for his cycling trip through the Pyrenees at the end of the month. Bad timing as this weekend is the first weekend in 2 months we have together in London and he really needs to train tomorrow morning, which I fully support and there is no way he is getting out of doing the sessions.

We went for a drink last night with Aoife and Kate, 2 of the girls I went skiing with earlier this year. Aoife is based here and Kate in Dubai (incidently Kate learnt to ski in Ski Dubai before hitting the Austrian slopes) Lovely evening and then TFD and I went off to Roast for dinner in Borough Market. Fabulous food. Not as good as Chez Kristoff which is officially the best meal I have had in years.

So, I will post how I go at London. I set off at 12:10 on Sunday. Race number 6687. Another speedy number I am sure ;)
Cxx

Ironman Austria Race Report

2008-07-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

What an amazing race on a stunning course. It sold out last year in 18 hours, this year, 5 hours and I can totally understand why.

Antoinette and I arrived in Austria Thursday evening having travelled with Nirvana who arranged all our transfers, truck for the bikes and accomodation. We stayed in a place about 15km out of Klagenfurt in an apartment which was very comfortable. I was getting slightly stressed that evening as I hadn't had time to put my bike together and needed to go to bed. For the week before IM I always get up between 4:00 and 4:30 to get used to eating at that time, and don't I eat! For the 2 days pre race I eat 660g of carbs in order to carbo load. Keeping in mind that 2/3 of a cup of cooked rice is 30g of carbs or most meusli bars are around 15-22g carbs it is hard work to eat that much. I physically can't do it so I also use sports drinks such as Lucozade to top up my carbs (33g per 500ml!).

Saturday I got up at 4:15 and put my bike together. I had already done all of my transition bags in London so didn't need to worry about that. We went for breakfast, loaded my bike on the truck and then I jumped on a bus to tour the bike course and onto register. The bus was running late so Antoinette went to the race briefing for me. I wasn't too fussed about missing it, as long as you read the pre race material you don't need to be there. Kat and Geoff came and met us and I went out for a quick 20 min swim. The water was so warm and clear. We then went off for a high carb lunch and then the guys headed into town to leave me to get organised. I went for a run and ran the first and last KM of the run to familiarise myself with it. I then took my bike out for a quick 20 mins just to check it over again and make some final adjustments. Into transition to drop everything off and then the only thing left to do is relax.

I had a prety good nights sleep the night before, we were in bed by8pm and up at 4am. Breakfast and headed up to catch the bus at 5am. There was a girl on the bus who was obviously freaking out so I chatted to her a bit trying to calm her down. I do find it amusing that when ever you get to a sporting event like this that people find it socially acceptable to start telling complete strangers about their bowel movements or lack of in the case of my new friend on the bus. I didn't even know her name by this stage :)

I went into transition, pumped up my tires, got some suncream on, jumped in the wetsuit and headed over to the start really pumped up and ready to go. Gel number 1 of the day went down my throat at 6:50 and the the gun went off dead on 7am for the 2.5 mile (3.8km) swim.

The swim was great fun, it was congested and choppy but I have been doing a lot of work with Terry (my coach) on swimming in a pack, swimming over people and being swum over so it didn't bother me in the slightest being knocked around. The swim went out from the beach, out to a buoy, turn left, out to another buoy, another left and then you swim back to the shore and then up a canal. The atmosphere on the beach was amazing, there was a guy on the mike getting the crowd going, playing music and talking to the athletes. I had a totally different perspective on things this time and was really relaxed and having a little dance. You could tell the people who were doing this for the first time, they were the ones with a look of complete fear on their faces.

It is hard to describe, but there is a real feeling of comraderie at the start of an ironman. Especially a beach start where it is easier to interact with other people than a deep water start. I had this bloke turn to me on the beach and just take my hand without saying a word. He didn't smile, he just looked me in the eyes and squeezed me hand and nodded once. I think it was more about reassurance for himself than for me. I just smiled at him and nodded back, I really wish I had notedhis race number to see how hewent.

The gun going off surprised me a little as I wasn't yet into the water because of all the people, I thought maybe they would wait till people got out to the line. I got on the feet of this woman who was doing the most perfect speed and swimming in an a straight line pretty much from the start. I stopped sighting after a while because she was so dead on course. I am going to assume it was a woman because she had a lovely shade of red polish on her toenails, I resisted the urge to stop her and ask the colour. Unfortunately I lost her at the first turnaround so spent until the next turnaround moving between people trying to find someone else to draft. I got into the last stretch before the canal having not really found someone to draft. I knew I was on for a good swim time when I got to the mouth of the canal at just over 50 minutes and knew I only had to do 800m to the finish.

Swimming up the canal is incredible, there are people on both sides cheering and calling out right next to you! It was a little squashy at the mouth of the canal but I picked up the pace and got into some clear water so didn't draft at all swimming up the canal. I was loving the atmosphere and felt really strong so knew I was going to go under 1:10. I came out of the water in 1:06 and felt great, I sometimes feel a bit dizzy but nothing like that at all.

Into T1 where I had a looooong transition as I was really taking my time to get lots of suncream on. I learnt my lesson well at Hawaii last year about getting burnt and have the scar to prove it. I also choose not to wear a tri suit so got changed into cycling clothes. The transition was huge so there was no way I was going to keep to a 5 min T1, but I wasn't bothered. My bike was right near the pros so I carried my shoes and got out the other side without too much trouble. I had managed to break my Co2 cartridge head so had sent Antoinette on a mad mission to find another one whilst I was in theswim and then hand it to me when I started the bike. The Flying Dutchman had put lovely new tires on my bike so it was unlikely I would puncture but Murphy's Law, if I didn't have anything to fix a flat I would have got one. So Ant passed me a Co2 canister as I went past her 100m from T1 and then out onto the bike course for the 112 miles of fun or 180km!

It was such a beautiful bike course. You head out along the lake on a few ups and downs on these lovely clean smooth roads. There were a lot of people so it was draft central. At one point I was at the back of a group of 24 people going up a hill. I thought the draft busters were very fair, if people looked like they were making an effort not to draft they let it go and just blew a whistle to get people's attention and that generally broke the packs up. I did have 1 guy who would not get off my wheel for ages, I kept looking back at him but he wouldn't budge. I heard the motorbike behind me and still he didn't move and when I looked back again, he was being given a penalty :)

There were a couple of climbs and I wasn't feeling very strong at all. There were a couple of girls who over took me which didn't go down well. I seem to have lost my climbing ability, I obviously forgot to pack it :) The good news is I am much better on the downhill's and flats so was catching the girls and leaving them behind, along with a lot of guys. I never understand why people don't push harder on the downhill's, it is so easy to make up time. I decided to take a kamikaze approach to the hills and put faith in my super grippy new tires (thanks to TFD) and tried not to touch my brakes. I had done a lap of the bike course in a bus on the Saturday so I knew there were only a couple of sharp corners. One I didn't remember and as I was flying down a hill was wondering to myself why they had big crash mats at the bottom of the hill, realisation dawned a split second in time as I realised it was a hairpin turn, I almost scraped the mats as I went round the corner with about an inch to spare :) Rather than slow me down it gave me more confidence so I pushed harder knowing that I had been around the toughest corner. TFD has been tutoring me in not using my brakes on descents. His London bike from his race days is 12 years old and he had never ever changed the brake pads :)

My first bike lap was done in 2:42 and I knew at that point I had been out too hard. It was difficult not to get caught up in the crowds and really cane it. On one of the hills, this guy had set up his DJ decks about 2/3 of the way up. He was ignoring the guys but every time a woman went past he would shout out 'IRON LADY!!'. Totally cracked me up each time. Our names were printed on our race numbers so lots of people would call out 'Supa Carolyn, Supa!' as you went past. I couldn't help but work the crowds, I figure if you are going to be out there you might as well have fun :)

I saw Kat, Geoff and Antoinette on the way down to the first turnaround which got me screaming and hollering like a loon. There were so many people lining the road that they had started to spill onto the road. Lots of signs and balloons and people going crazy. Fantastic atmosphere, makes you feel like you were winning the race rather than just finishing 1 lap of the bike!

Rich caught me on the 2nd lap so we had a chat, I had given myself a talking to and had slowed down slightly. My bike computer wasn't working at all so was working on perceived effort. I was leap frogging between groups using the downhill's to catch the next group. There was still a lot of drafting going on but hey, it wasn't me doing it and really I don't care if other people do it. It is their guilty conscience knowing they are a CHEAT.

It rained really heavily for the lat 30-40 mines of the ride. At one point lightening struck so close to me I actually screamed it scared me so much. The thunderclap after it was deafening. I have never been that close to lightening before, it certainly made me ride a bit faster! It was hard to see but I knew that the last stretch was smooth and straight so I went as hard as I could on the down hill. Coming down that stretch for the 2nd time was a totally different experience. There was absolutely no one out there. Given how crowded and packed it was on the first lap it was almost eerie.

2nd lap was slower in 2:55 but deep down I knew I had over done it. I have never cycled that fast before in training let alone backing it up with a marathon. My total bike time was 5:37 which was 8 mines faster than my plan. I was very determined to go under 11 hours and was feeling great coming off the bike, but wondered how my legs were going to perform. I had got my nutrition bang on target having eaten religiously every 20 mines and consumed 750ml of liquid an hour. My pre race and race nutrition is something I take very seriously and I know exactly how many calories, grams of carbs and mg of sodium I need to consume every hour to maintain consistent output in the race. My friends think I am a tri nerd and I have no idea why :)

T2 was slow but I took my time drying my feet, getting dry socks on and getting Vaseline into the chaffing hot spots. It took a good 7km for me to hit my stride in the marathon (26 miles or 42.2km) on the run but already I was 2 min down on my 1:45 half marathon pace. I started to make it up between 8km and around 15km but the damage had been down and I was losing time. Physically I felt OK but mentally I couldn't pull it together. I pride myself on being very strong mentally and being able to process negative thoughts in a race. In hind sight I hadn't spent enough time mentally preparing because I was so busy in the lead up. I saw Antoinette, Kat and Geoff and stopped for a minute to speak to them at the halfway point. I told them I had a case of the sads and in true tough love style they told me to suck it up and keep running. It worked and I pulled it together enough to keep a consistent pace going. I caught Rich who was walking having just thrown up and walked with him for a little bit. I struggled through the 2nd lap of the part out along the railway line and was freaking myself out knowing that when I hit the 32km mark I had to pick up the pace.

I got back through the crowds to the last turnaround and knew it was now or never and started to push. The rain has stopped and it was heating up but I had been drinking enough and had kept eating every 20 min so knew I could do it. I spotted Stef as I was almost at the last turn around and made him my target. I caught him within about 3km and had to hold it together for another 3km to get home. I couldn't speak to him as I went past, it was taking all of my effort to maintain my pace and form. There were a lot of people fading away at this stage and I kept telling myself to draw strength and push home. I had eaten gel number 20 and what I thought was my last gel at the 37km mark. I almost didn't make it and at the 40km mark all of a sudden my legs were like jelly and I knew I was going to blow or eat another gel. Yummy!! I sucked down half of it and within 2 min was flying again.

I saw Daz who was in the recovery tent which was about a 800m from the finish and he yelled at me to pick it up and get home in under 10:50 so off I went. I flew around the last bit and loved going up the last bit along the lake and into the finishing shoot high five-ing people and waving and smiling. It makes the pain worth it and is just so much fun! I crossed the line in 10:48:40 which is a new personal best for me. I achieved my goal to go under 11 hours and learnt some valuable lessons in plenty of time to fix them before Arizona in November.

Post race massage was excellent, this lovely girl who has seen more of Australia than me spent 45 minutes working on my legs. I think it is why I'm not sore at all :)

I am feeling pretty good today, I lost a little bit of skin off my chest from chaffing but by far the most painful injury is a blister I had from these lovely stiletto sandals I was wearing on the way out to Austria. With all the dirt and grit from the race it has become a little infected. It is so typical of me to have a stiletto related injury rather than a race related one :) I'm back in heels today after cycling into work and will cycle up to Hampstead for tonight's swim session. No rest for the wicked. I had a really good debrief with Terry this morning and we are going to work on mental conditioning to ensure that I am better prepared for Arizona.

So, I now have 2 weeks of easy training and then we hit a strength and conditioning phase and then onto building up my fitness. I realised that I am a lot stronger this year but don't have the fitness I had last year, but I have plenty of time before Arizona to build that up.

What a brilliant day out. Unfortunately my timing chip didn't work so you have to take my word for my splits;
Swim 1:06
T1 9:17
Bike 2:42 1st lap + 2:55 2nd lap total 5:37
T2 7:12
Run 1st half 1:50 + 1:56 2nd half total 3:46
Total time 10:48:40

It placed me 8th in my age group, 42nd woman and 834th overall. Very pleased :) Roll on Arizona!!

Ironman Austria is almost here!

2008-07-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Ironman Austria is almost here!
So Ironman Austria is in a bit over a week. I can't wait!! My race number is 810 which sounds like a speedy number to me! You can track the race at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ If everything goes to plan I will come in just under 10:30. That's a 1.05 swim, 5 min transition 1, 5.45 bike, 3 min T2 and a 3.30 marathon. I think I am either going to get one or the other on the bike and run. If I push for the 5.45, it could slow me down on the run but I don't want to hit the run thinking I could have gone harder on the bike. We will see what happens on the day. The great thing is that the run is completely flat. Whilst I love running the hills and have a real strength doing that, a flat run will enable me to push my run speed up to go for a sub 3.30. I ran a 3.21 on a flat course at the Valencia marathon on very little training (i.e. training on a treadmill in India!) and I am in much better shape now, plus I will be high as a kite on Powerbar caffeinated energy gels!

Austria isn't my main race so anything with 10 hours XX mins will make me happy as that will be a new personal best, beating my 11.04 at Ironman UK last August.

Things with Terry are great. He has been coaching me for 6 weeks now and I am really happy with the sessions and how I am performing. He is working me hard but that fine, I have big targets this year and next so need to put in the hard yards. It is one of the things I enjoy about Ironman is that there is no way you can fake it, you can't show up on the start line without having done the training without serious consequences. I started my visualisation exercises this week where I step through each part of my race thinking about how I am going to feel, what I am going to be focusing on, what I am going to be eating and the negative thought blockers, the things I think about when I start to dip mentally. Those things for me are always thinking about being told I will never run again and how that made me feel, lying in hospital not knowing what waswrong with me, not being able to climb a flight of stairs unassisted. It's those things that make me push harder knowing that I got through those much bigger challenges than this 1 race and that this is a piece of cake in comparison. It's all relative. Of course there is also the sooner you finish the sooner you can have a beer thought too :)

The next week for me is tapering and getting ready to head to Austria, as you can imagine with an Ironman you need so much stuff! Antoinette is flying out with me and Kat and Geoff are meeting us there as they are on the European Tour pre heading back to Australia. It is always such a great thought knowing you have support out there.

The Cast Iron Club was something that I decided to join up to back in March. It was $6 to join with the idea being that you complete the equivalent of 30 Ironman distances in training over the year. The target is 114km's of swimming, 5400km cycling and 1266km's of running.

I track the miles I do each week so it wasn't going to be difficult to log this in every month. It is actually staggering how much time I spend training when the numbers are right there in front of you. Somehow I manage to fit in a full time job, a boyfriend, friends, weekends away, holidays as well as finding time to eat and sleep.

This year, up to today I have spent a total of 223 hours training. That's 55 hours of swimming, 80 hours of riding, 70 hours of running and 17 hours of weights. That's covering 3180km's across the 3 sports, broken down to 101km's swimming, 2209km's of cycling and 870km's of running. Also this year I have spent approximately 8 weeks travelling where I have not had access to my bike, sometimes no swimming pool and occasionally not able to run so training hasn't been at it's optimum which means the weeks I have been in London that the volume of training is much higher than average. I also have Friday's off from training so that is split across 6 days a week.

I'm well ahead of target for the swim and run but need to get those legs pedalling to bring my bike total up. That won't be too hard post Austria where I am not really going away until Ironman Arizona in November except to Nice with The Flying Dutchman where the whole point of us going is to do some quality cycling training. I start going out there once a month starting next month. Great for the legs and the tan!

I have started calling The Flying Dutchman BBE (Best Boyfriend Ever) because he was so sweet and bought me a really thoughtful gift which I LOVE! He got me a pre Ironman Austria gift of a new chain, cassette, tyres and also a pair of wheel bags. It was really thoughtful of him. He said he wanted to make sure my bike was in tip top condition to make sure I have a great race. Unfortunately he isn't going to be in Austria, he has an amazing 10 days cycling in the Pyrenees with 11 others. He has also been training really hard and has been spending a lot of time in Nice recently. We have badly co-ordinated schedules in that the weekends I am away, he is in London. It isn't going to be until August that we will be in the same place at the same time on the weekend and it is a weekend I am racing the London Triathlon. It will be the first time he will see me race and I really don't like Olympic distance. I hate the pain of it!! Pushing that hard for 2 hours 20 is not my idea of fun. The odd Olympic distance race is the only time I ask myself what the hell I am doing out there and am I really having fun :)

I was in Brussels a few weeks ago for Antoinette's birthday which was great fun. Unfortunately I missed a lot of stuff on Saturday (shopping!) as I had to do a run and a swim. It took me an hour to run to the pool and it was lovely to see some different parts of the city, it is really lovely. Brussels isn't exactly the ideal location when I am not drinking alcohol and watching what I eat. I had a blow out the Saturday night and had a gorgeous steak with this amazing cream based mushroom sauce, a small glass of wine and profiteroles in chocolate sauce. I got back off the Eurostar Sunday evening and threw myself around Regents park for an hour on my bike with The Flying Dutchman who certainly lived up to his name. He had already cycled 160km that day and came and did an interval session and was pushing me along! The man is a machine.

The weight loss has not being going well. I am sitting at 60kg and just cannot budge any more weight. My body is used to this level of training and I am eating less. I wanted to be down at 58kg for Austria but it isn't going to happen. I am much more toned but not 2kg of muscle, there is definitely some fat that could go! My body fat was 22% in April and I weighed 62kg. I must be down to around 20% body fat now I think. It is below average for a woman (average is 24-32%), but not for an elite athlete, some of those girls are down around 15% but the trade off is no boobs or curves :)

So, I will try and do another entry pre Austria! Bring it on!!
Cxx

Race Season Has Started!

2008-06-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

So 3 races in 4 weeks isn't too bad :) I kicked off the season with the For Goodness Shakes Legs of Steel Olympic distance race out at Dorney Lake. Fabulous facilities out there but of so boring course. I almost fell off my bike with boredom. One guy actually did fall off at one stage but I think it was due to the rain not the boredom :)
The course was 1500m swim in the lake, 40km on the bike which was 8 laps of the lake and then 10km run, or 2 up and back loops.
My cycle computer doesn't work in the rain and it was raining so I took it off my bike. I also left my watch at work so was relying on my ability to count to 8, something I managed to learn as a child in between torturing my younger brothers. Well you would think it would be simple enough. Not so. I got so bored going round and round this stupid lake in the rain I got to lap 8 and wasn't sure if that was it so decided to do another one just to be safe. It wasn't until I got round the corner and saw the women I came out of the water with and was cycling with in transition I realised I was on lap 9 and past the point of return. Round I go again. I got out there and ran a sub 42 10km trying to make up some time so got a 7th place in 2:35. Not bad, would have been a 2:24 or so which I would have been pleased with. I was just making a point that I am not a short course athlete, either that or I am just simple :)
I must say the level of organisation for the race wasn't at it's military precision I usually display.
* Arrived late (got lost cycling there from Slough).
* Spent the time I should have been getting ready talking to a friend I hadn't seen in ages and didn't know was going to be there
* Forgot to get body marked (see point above, she was supposed to body mark me) so when I finally did go to get ready, couldn't get into transition and had to go back to registration
* no race belt, had to go buy one at the last minute
* was putting wetsuit on when they were starting the briefing
* looked like a bag lady with everything in garbage bags in an attempt to keep shoes dry
* Lost timing chip. Very embarrassing when they called out my number in front of everyone for me to collect it (I was still struggling with wetsuit at this point)
* Forgot my watch
* Took my cycle computer off
* Apparently can't count to 8.
* Had this woman who must have been 5'11'' try and over take me at the 5km mark on the run. No way love. See the pictures, I beat her home only just but we fought for the last 5km side by side each one of us surging trying to take the lead. Was actually really fun because we were flying and just eating people up, 1 girl tried to stay with us and we spat her out in roughly 75m, so good!!. I reckon we did a sub 20min 5km on the 2nd half of the run, but who would know with my watch safe on my desk at work!
* I am officially logged as coming 8th but I beat girl above in sprint finish. I think they got us confused at the end because someone chased me down as I was leaving the finishing area asking about the time I finished in.
* Managed to get grit in my eyes on the bike which shredded my right contact lens, so I ran only being able to see out of my left eye. I got 2/3 of it out at the end of the race and had to cycle home with 1/3 of the shredded lens lodged on the back of my eye ball. It didn't come out till Monday morning.

All in all a debacle from start to end. I am pleased I did it, I needed a wake up call on both transition and preparation which carried over well to the 1/2 Ironman distance race I did last week in Weymouth.

The event is called the Wymouth Middle Distance and is a 1900m swim, 90km bike and a 21km run. The water was so so so cold. Maybe around 10 degrees. Too cold. It took me about 10 mins to settle into the swim and stop gasping. Got through the swim OK, would have liked to have been a bit quicker but just couldn't get into the rhythm of it. Out on the bike and was very pleased with my performance, I caught quite a few of the girls and only had 1 go past me. It was reasonable hilly, one of those courses with lots of drags which I hate. I would rather a sharp up and down rather than these slopes that go on and on. It was hot out on the bike and I wasn't eating enough. There seems to be something wrong with me that as soon as the wind picks up I forget to eat. I panicked coming into transition so I ate a gel about 7 - 8 mins out of T2. Big mistake. I paid for that.

Got through T2 and basically got a cramp immediately, hello Mr Gel. I know better than this!!! I had problems with this lat year and found that not eating or drinking for the last 20 mins meant I was fine and could really kick into the run. I had to walk the first 15 mins of the run and was having problems breathing from the pain of the cramp. So frustrating!! This is the part I am supposed to be good at! I knew it would pass and it was only a matter of time and I had to be patient which isn't really a strength of mine. I was getting quite stressed at the number of people going past me, especially the girls I had worked so hard to go past on the bike.

The cramp eventually cleared and I could set into a 8 min mile pace which is a fair bit slower than I would have liked. I had to take it easy because every time I tried to push it started coming back. I started running with this lovely guy, I think his name was Tim. He was wearing all white and was telling me about his Ironman Austria attempt the year before. Things went horribly wrong and he ended up in a coma for 10 days. Fair play to the guy, not only is he out there still doing triathlon, he is doing Ironman Roth in 4 weeks. Amazing. Maybe if we weren't chatting so much we would have been paying more attention to the route signs and wouldn't have got lost! Add a few extra mins there...luckily we only lost around 3 mins.

Anyway, I managed to crank up the pace for the 2nd lap and got home in 5 hours 11 mins. I am very pleased with that given I am not in the shape I would like to be in and it gave me a whole lot of confidence for Ironman Austria that is less than 4 weeks away!

Yesterday I was in Wales doing The Dragon, a 180km sportive through Wales including the Brecon Beacons. There are around 13 climbs and more than 3000m of vertical. I loved it and the atmosphere was very friendly. I had to take my tri bars off so I wasn't always that comfortable on my bike but spent a lot of time on the drops. I also set myself the challenge of not touching the brakes unless I really had to on the descents. I got up to 70km (45miles)an hour going downhill which was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I can't help but think that if I fall it is game over for Austria as well as a few broken bones thrown in for sure.

The Flting Dutchman is incredible going downhill, the man is faster than gravity so he has been giving me some tips, and it works, you really can make up some places and cover some ground and lets face it, it is so fun! He wasn't out there but was in Germany at a friends wedding.

I met this woman called Chloe out riding. She was on a bright pink Trek and a really cute outfit. It was so nice to finally meet another woman who loves the pink girly side of cycling, but can hold her own. We were matched on speed and spent a couple of hours together, at one stage pulling a bunch of about 8 blokes along behind us! We were really flying along and getting lots of encouragement from the blokes as we breezed past them with our triple chain rings! I lost her on the last climb, I really wanted to nail the last 40km so went for it. I did wonder at the time if I would make it home, for the last 10km I was doing at least 40km (25 miles) an hour on the flats and flying up the hills like a woman possessed. The risk was that I hadn't eaten very much during the ride, just 2 bananas, a small cake, 2 gels and some energy drink across the 9 hours since breakfast. I am really struggling to drop down to my race weight so was deliberately not eating in an attempt to burn some fat yesterday. I made it home in 6.52 which was great, I wanted under 7 hours, It was a lovely feeling to get off my bike and know I didn't have to run a marathon!!

I was a bit short on time, the race started late and it took an hour to get to the start line. I had to get a 16:50 train and had to cycle from Pencoed to Bridgend and didn't know the way. Its about 5 miles so set off with a hand drawn map, the not eating strategy totally came up and bit me. I almost fell off my bike when the dizzy spell hit and I could hardly move my legs. Anyone that has ever 'bonked' as it is called will know what I am talking about. You are totally wiped and out of energy. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand so kept rolling. I had a backup powerbar in my pocket and I absolutely devoured this thing. It takes a few mins for it to work but then I was fine, I only just made the train with a minute to spare. Getting on the train was a complete mess. There were more bookings than bikes and people were getting irate. Everyone was a little tired and grumpy. 112 miles of hills does that to you :)

Everything is going great guns with The Flying Dutchman, I am loving have a boyfriend again, and especially one a great as him. We don't get to spend that much time together but we seem to make it work for us. We are both often away on the weekends and have fallen into this pattern of meeting up Sunday nights when we get back. He is great :)

Training is pretty intense at the moment in the last few weeks before Austria. Terry is working me hard but that's what he is paid to do. The sessions are a challenge but I can just about manage them. It is a big workload and most days I get up at 5:30 - 6:00 so I can train before work. I am now looking forward to Austria, but Arizona is the big one.

Anyway, enjoy the evening!
Cxx

New Coach!

2008-05-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

After a very successful year with Rich it was time to move on and take things to the next level in terms of my training programme. Terence Collins has agreed to coach me which is fabulous news.

Terry has a wealth of training and racing experience as well as MSc Sport Sciences, BTF Level 3 Coach, YMCA Fit Personal Trainer Level 3, ASA Level 2 so I think I will be in good hands. We spoke on the phone about 2 weeks ago for about 45 mins running through my targets for this year with everything building towards ironman Austria and Ironman Arizona, problems that I am currently having with my training, upcoming races and what he thought he could do for me. We then met up last week for a coffee, mind you I am lucky he didn't walkout on me. I was standing behind him in the queue at Nero's reading emails on my blackberry and had read a particularly bad one just as he turned to look at me and I gave him the filthiest look. Not directed at him at all, he just caught me at a bad moment! Anyway, we had a great chat and ran through my strengths and weaknesses and how to address them. I immediately felt at ease with him, he is very open which I like and already feel like I can trust him. The most important thing to me in a coach is someone I can talk to and I have a relationship with. It was part of the reason why Rich and I worked so well together as I knew I could call or email him at any time if I was having issues.

It was hard telling Rich I was leaving him, almost felt like a break-up! He took it pretty well and by his own admission his heart isn't in the sport any more. He is talking about cutting it back next year and focusing on some other things. I definitely need someone coaching me who is passionate about triathlon, so it was the right choice, no matter how hard it was. I will still see him every week for my 'Thumbs or Doom' session (sports massage!).

So Terry has sent me a brilliant schedule for week 1, its almost 17 hours so he is certainly cracking the whip. This morning I was on the track, it has been YEARS since doing any track work, in fact it would have been at school when I was running 5km cross country. I went down to Barn Elms to the track there which is out of the way and not busy at all. There were 2 other girls out and some geese :) It is going to be a challenge given my hectic work and travel schedule, but got to put in the hard yards. This week I am in Paris, Dublin next week. I do enjoy Paris but it is a tiring few days.

Things are going well with The Flying Dutchman (TFD), and doesn't he fly. We went out cycling in the beautiful sunshine on Saturday in Richmond Park, he was doing intervals and I was trying to save my legs for my 1/2 marathon the following day. He is like lightening when he gets going. He came along to the IronHead Racing drinks on Friday night so he got to meet some of my tri buddies. I remembered what I missed most about not drinking and it is the lovely cold beer standing outside a pub on a warm Friday night. A diet coke doesn't quite cut it. No one is more surprised than me that I am still totally into TFD, I think it is because he is as busy as me so he doesn't demand or dominate my time which is guaranteed to annoy me. I love the time we spend together, he totally cracks me up. What is even more funny is Corinna trying to rip off his accent. It is Sean Connery but she insists it is from the Grolsch ad. Very amusing.

On the 'no drinking' there is of course the champagne exception which my friends have cottoned onto pretty quickly. I had the TWAG's over for dinner last night, that being the Triathlon Wives and Girlfriends :) Leanne kindly bought over a bottle of champagne which simply had to be had! I do try and be good and limit myself to 1 glass though. I just keep telling myself how sweet it will taste when I cross that finish line at Ironman Austria! Leanne as always had us in stitches over her cycling and triathlon stories. One of my particular favourites is her 1st bike which had a stand and a bell, which she put to good use in the transition area and out on the course much to the humiliation of her husband Dan. I love the story of in one of her first races she managed to overtake someone and to show them courtesy she rang her bell as she went passed them and gave them a little wave. Very funny.

Sunday was the Ranelagh 1/2 marathon, I didn't hit my target of 1:35, I managed a 1:37:34 which got me a 16th place overall and a 9th in age category, that being 'senior women', that is not good for the ego!! Next race is 25 May for the For Goodness Shakes Legs of Steel Tri. Just easing into the season with an Olympic distance, not holding out much hope as to how I will do but ideally I will be home in around 2:20.

Take care!
Carolyn x

The clock is ticking

2008-05-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

The clock is ticking
Well...we are 10 weeks out form Ironman Austria. Am I fit enough to not only finish a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and then run a 42km marathon? I can definitely do it, if I can do it in the time I want...well thats a whole other kettle of fish. Time to get serious.
My aim is to finish in under 10.5 hours, hopefully in 1 piece with a smile on my face. My goal is to bag myself a top 3 place but given my current state of fitness that is not achievable. I have started looking around for some alternate ways to step up my training and this week it has involved being caught in the rain 4 days in a row! There are some great developments and I am talking to some different coaches about what I should focus on outside of my regular tri and swim coaches. If you have read any of my entries here you will know how competitive I am and how important it is that I achieve my goals.
Next week is D-Day. That dreaded day each year that I cut booze and give my diet a complete shake down. 10 weeks out from a race I cut any processed foods where possible, alcohol, start weighing my food and focusing on the nutrients, vitamins and balance of carbs V protein that I need to optimise training all in preparation for the upcoming race. Sound boring? It is which is why 10 weeks is enough.
I also start to lose weight. I am sitting at 61kg at the moment having lost a kg over the last 2 weeks so I have another 3-4 to go which will fall off once I invoke diet hell. The only upside is that I do start to eat 4 meals a day following the smaller more frequent approach to eating. I have spoken to a couple of coaches and Dr's who believe that whilst my body fat % is below average for the female population I can safely drop it from the current 22% down to 16-18% which will make racing easier. I just don't want to look like a rake. I am very lucky in that I am toned but am very curvy in that classic hourglass shape.

So there is something VERY exciting going on in my life at the moment...a wonderful man....FINALLY!!! We shall call him The Flying Dutchman here. We got in touch with each other at the beginning of Feb but due to my crazy travelling schedule for the first 3 months of this year we didn't get to meet until the beginning of April. By that stage I was beginning to think he was just going to be a cycling buddy, the emails had gone on for more than 6 weeks! Lucky for me there was more to it. I am constantly amazed that I have met someone who not only do I find immensely attractive with his gorgeous blue eyes and towering height but can also make me laugh, engage with and have a decent conversation but can also ride a bike!! Not only just ride one, but ride well and takes his cycling training seriously. He used to be a pro cyclist :) That part is so important to me date 3 was a cycling date to put him through his paces and see what he was made of :)
I am not sure there are that many women who can say not only were they in lycra but so was the guy on the 3rd date. Maybe in some fetish circles that is the norm!
So, just a little quick update. Training not going so well but personal life is wonderful...pretty much the complete opposite of last year! Maybe I should make that my goal is to strike the balance between the 2. Isn't that a novel idea :)
Take care!
Carolyn x

Australia Mate!

2008-04-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Australia Mate!
So, I wrote the following whilst out in Australia a few weeks ago. I was out there for 2 weeks visiting family and friends.
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So at the moment I am sitting on the train heading up the central coast from Sydney to visit my Aunty Cheryl and Uncle Peter who live in Gosford. I’ve been in Australia for almost 2 weeks and in 6 years this is the first time I have thought I could live back here. I certainly couldn’t live in Parkes or Peak Hill, don’t think there is much call for what I do so it would have to be Sydney or Melbourne. Plus I would want to be close to the race scene.

Peak Hill made the national news on Easter Sunday after a brawl broke out on the main street. Well, the only street really. There are only 400 people in the town and surrounding area and the brawl involved 80 people!! Over 20% of the population. I have stopped calling it Peak Hill and now will only refer to it as Freak Hill. There was a charity Aboriginal football match organised with the neighbouring town of Narromine which is about 70kms away and after a belly full of booze it has erupted with several people being injured, including a police officer and 5 people arrested. Lovely town. My parents are trying to sell their motel, any takers?

I am amazed at how much I have forgotten. I am travelling on the train line that I used to do every day for about a year and I am seeing stations I would never have thought of in a million years. Australia really is a beautiful country and I love that people really do respect their surroundings. Looking out form the train there is hardly any rubbish at all along the tracks and the view is amazing out across the coast.

It was so wonderful catching up with friends. I had lunch yesterday with Kaylene, one of my oldest and dearest friends who is now a Mum. A far cry from the 2 grotty teenagers who used to go horse riding together! Ruby is just the cutest little baby and Kay is a wonderful Mum. She hasn’t changed a bit J

I got to see Paul again as he and Nick came and spent Easter Saturday with us and stayed the night. 6 years between catch-up’s is far too long. We email loads but spending time with someone reminds you why you hold them dear. Paul is now also a Dad to Zach who is 7 months old. It was lovely chatting to Paul about the lunches we used to do once or twice a week when we both worked in North Sydney. I do wonder what would have happened if we were both single at the same time. Paul had a fiancée for most of the time I knew him in Sydney. Predictably she didn’t like me or the friendship I have with Paul. He is now with a wonderful woman he met in WA and they have gorgeous Zach together.

This break has been wonderful to get my head straight and back into the mental place I need to be in to go back to the UK and put in the hard yards to ensure I get my podium place in Austria and my win in Arizona. I was training before I left, but now I have that killer edge back. I realised how close Austria is and I want to be in tiptop shape for it. To help me along I have joined the Cast Iron Club, which is an online club where you log your training miles. Between 1 January and 31 December you need to complete the equivalent of 30 ironmans. The reward? A drink bottle, t-shirt and the right to brag about it!! J Well worth it for the $6 entry!!

The flight out was so long and really made me realise how far away I am from my family. Especially missing out on seeing Bellah my 22-month-old niece grow up. I also got to meet Sue, my brother Tim’s fiancée for the first time and they have been together for a few years now. Not good. I have booked a ticket to go back at Christmas and spend NY there and then head to Melbourne for Ellie and Jamie’s wedding. Should be a good trip. Ruth will be back in Aus (currently in Dubai) plus all my London friends are going back for the wedding.

The best part is that my family are so behind me achieving my qualification to Kona again for 2009 that they are all going to be there! It means so much that they want to be there, I will have to put on a good performance for them!! Even little Bellah has been given permission by Andrew’s ex wife that she can go too. Things like that really make me want to get out there and train harder, and the days where training isn’t so great, it is nice to know that I have people behind me who will love me no matter what I do.

I had a really frank discussion with my Dad where we were talking about me turning pro and he made me realise that realistically it isn’t a possibility. I might have a little bit of talent, but not enough that I could win every race I enter, and how would I feel when what I do becomes a job? Will I love it as much? It’s on the backburner for the moment. I am having some sports testing done when I get back to the UK so we will see what results I get.

I got an email from a friend saying that he did a triathlon on Easter Monday at Hampton Court and it was snowing!! It is such a far cry from my peeling legs from where I got burnt swimming the other day!! The weather has been brilliant, it rained for 1 day but the countryside is so dry it really needed it. I am going to miss my nocturnal runs with all the stars but I am looking forward to getting back on my bike. By the time I get back I will have only ridden twice in 5 weeks. Not good enough! At least when day light savings kicks in I can get out after work and start getting my speed up.

Andrew kindly gave my legs a rub down a couple of days ago, I was struggling with my right leg and I suspect it was because of the road. It is slightly sloped out which meant the right leg was stretching slightly further. That’s quite a lot of stretching when you consider I run for 1.5 hours at a time. Paul as telling me a funny story about when he used to fly a judge out to this tiny little place in the middle of Western Australia where this guy had his license suspended for drink driving. The judge told him he was no longer allowed to drive on the road. The guy took the judge for his literal meaning so he replaced the 2 left side wheels on his car with 4x4 wheels so the car was on an angle if on the flat, but perfectly straight when he was driving along the side of the road where it slopes away. When he was inevitably busted he pointed out he wasn’t driving on the road because he was banned from doing that. No one said he couldn’t drive on the side. Needless to say the judge was more specific with the next sentence J

Have fun!Cxxx

Reach for the Stars

2008-03-20T06:14:00.000-07:00

Reach for the Stars
I'm in Australia in central west NSW in a place called Peak Hill which is where my parents live. They own and run the Country Roads Motor Inn as well as the farm where I grew up, which is a 30 min drive away. I really did forget how awful the flight to Australia is. So long and Antoinette and I managed to get on the same flights but couldn't sit next to each other for the 2nd (and longest) leg which was a bit of a bummer. We kpt meeting in the back for a drink and to exchange movie tips.
My Mum, 2 brothers and my niece picked me up at the airport and then we headed back to Tim's house so I could have a shower and then into the car for the 5.5 hour drive to get to Peak Hill. Nothing happens in this town. I went swimming in the local pool and I was the only person in there for the majority of the 2 hour session. I have also started running at night because I am not going to get stabbed or mugged, in fact in a 90 min run I will only see anywhere between 1 - 4 cars. I love running at night, I used to do it when I lived in Sydney but I don't feel safe doing it in London. There is something special abut being able to run out here without liht pollution and the stars are so bright. There will be a full moon tomorrow so the moon casts a shadow and provides enough light that I won't step on a snake :)
I went to a sheep sale with my Dad on Wednesday in Narromine, it has been years since I had last been. So what happens is that all the different lots of sheep are penned up with a sign saying what breed they are, how many of them, if they are in lamb or not, approx age and where they are from. The auctioners and their 3-4 sidekicks get in there with them and get them all moving around. One of the sidekicks does an intro basically saying the info above and adding his own flavour. Then the auctioner takes over and the bidding begins. Some of the things they say are so funny. On of the intros the guy was calling attention to the large frame and solid back legs on one pen of ewe's and said 'put them on some good pasture and they will grow as big as elephants'. The funniest part is that no one takes any notice of them, they just want to get their sheep for the cheapest possible price. My Dad was bidding on a couple of different lots, so one of the helpers latch on to anyone bidding and start whispering things like 'show your strength' when you get a bid against you to try and up the prices. Obviously these guys are on commission and they want to showthey sell the best to get more clients. There are generally 3-4 different agents selling so they are in competition with each other. Its really interesting to watch, it is really difficult to work out who is bidding it is so subtle with a slight nod or a finger being lifted being the sign. This isall happening with the auctioner screaming out and the helpers throwing in bits and pieces.
We bought 296 ewes, majority of them already pregnant. Once the bidding is done the 'ambulance chasers' arrive. These are the guys who cart your stock from the sale yards to the farm for a price per KM. They start out by talking about how the cost of fuel is going up to soften the blow of the cost of transporting them. You really are kind of held to ransom because you have to get your sheep home and they know it. A fun day, I'll post the pictures at some point. I stuck out like a sore thunb with my white t-shirt, versace sunglasses, Tommy jeans and ballet pumps. They certainly didn't come home the same colour. Everything was covered in red dust.
I went of to Orange which is a 90 min drive away to see a friend Paul who is a pilot and doing some work in the area. I hadn't seen him in 6 years and it was amazing seeing him. He hasn't changed a bit :) I also met Nick who is the navigator and got to hear about Nick's son Dominic who is dominating the under 21's cross country scene having just won a race in London and heading to the world champs in a week in Scotland. The boy has done some impressive times such as a 8.09 3000m. Fast!! I can only dream!!
The weekend should be great, Tim is bringing his fiancee Sue for the weekend, Andrew is also coming home and we will have Bellah for a few days, so lots more peek a boo games :) Paul and Nick are als coming for lunch along with my aunt and uncle and cousin so a full house.
Bed time for me. Have fun and have a great Easter
Cx

Italy, India, France, Spain, Austria, Australia

2008-03-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

Italy, India, France, Spain, Austria, Australia
It's been a while. Since I last wrote, I have been in all of those countries for anywhere from 2 - 14 days. Well that isn't entirely true, I'm heading to Australia for 2 weeks on Friday. I had my first weekend in London last weekend in over 2 months! It was nice to spend time in my new house and not feel like I was just using it to sleep there!
Lots has been happening so I have broken it into small digestible chunks :)

India. Wow. What a place. I have never experienced traffic like it. Just a small example for you...driving along a motorway heading back into Bangalore after a relaxing Sunday afternoon lounging by a pool, having a massage, nice lunch and we are going back to our hotel in town ready to go back to work the next day. There are 2 lanes each side of the road and a pretty wide grass medium strip in the middle and we are cruising along at around 80km hour enjoying the drive. We go round a sweeping curve in the road and there is a 4x4 coming straight at us. This guy is driving on the wrong side of the motorway!! The worst part, he was madly grinning away to himself probably thinking how clever he was to find a road that everyone was only going 1 way on. Our driver calmly pulls into the left lane to let him past, all of us in the car are totally freaked out by this! Obviously other people have seen him so within minutes we see more people driving towards us so we decide to get off and back into the traffic chocked, much slower suburban roads. We are going down the off ramp almost get taken out by a lorry coming UP the OFF ramp. It is terrifying how those people drive. I left my fingernails embedded in the door of the car. Anyone who has been to India will totally appreciate the 'unique' way that Indians drive.
Other than the crazy driving, India was good. The people are really exceptionally lovely, especially the ones we were working with who made us feel so welcome. I eat maybe 2 curries a year so by day 2 (12 to go!) I was over eating curry. I swear I was starting to turn yellow around the edges by the time I left and it is certainly going to be a while till I have another one! The guys I was travelling with from work were brilliant fun and we ended up getting our own table in the one decent place to eat near the hotel. I can handle really hot food, but was ordering medium spicy each time we went in there and it still had a solid bite on it. I forgot to ask for medium onenight and it came out 'hot'. More like lava. I took a mouthful and my vision actually blurred it was so hot. It was the equivalent of putting a hot coal in your mouth. I immediately broke out in a cold sweat and have never experienced anything like it. I didn't forget again to only order medium :)
After India I went to France for a couple of days for work which was nice bonding time to spend with my new manager and settle into my new role here at AOL. Sad t leave my old team but I am only sitting a few metres away from them :) As with most work trips, you work so hard you only see the hotel, office and the closest restaurant to the hotel. We also got to see a bit more of the airport than I would have cared to when our flight was continuously delayed coming home!
Following France it was Spain to compete in the Valencia marathon. So all of my training had been on a treadmill, and please don't try this at home, I had only done 2 long runs this year. My quads reminded me of that fact when I got to the 28km mark and had to watch the 3.15 pace group disappear into the distance while I tried to ease the agony in my legs. I managed to pull myself together and got home in 3.21, a new personal best. I am pleased with the result given I was on the Jade Goody training plan of very little training and lots of curries.
I would really recommend Valencia to anyone who is thinking of doing a marathon, especially a flat fast one. It is cheap and easy to get there and the race is really well run. They have pace groups and the goody bags are excellent. You end up getting 2 bottles of wine between the pre race pack and the finishers pack. They also have free massage at the end which was exactly what I needed.
So Spain and then Austria for a full filled week of skiing. I was being called Bambi on Ice for the first day as the quads reminded me that they needed a little bit more recovery time before having to support me showing off on a ski slope. At the bottom of every run I was shaking and quivering like a new born foal. My non fitness friends were loving it, especially Antoinette who was pleased to finally be better than me at a sport. For the record (and this will test if she has been reading my blog) Antoinette, you are an excellent skier and one of the more graceful people on the slopes.
We were lucky that we didn't have any skiing related injuries, only drinking ones. 1 girl slipped in the shower and had a huge bruise on her shin, another got drunk and managed to head butt the end of the bed and ended up with quite an impressive black eye. Her work colleagues were either to scared to ask or think she has a penchant for purple eye shadow :)
Fantastic group out in Austria and we stayed in Hotel Hannes in Niederau where we were really well looked after. The food was excellent and plenty of it which was exactly what you wanted after a day on the slopes.
This Friday I am off to Australia for a couple of weeks to see my family and meet my niece Bellah. Can't wait! I am planning on being with Mum and Dad in Peak Hill most of the time and a friend who is a pilot is going to fly up and see me. No doubt that will be the talk of the very small town. I head back to Sydney and then up to the Central Coast, North of Sydney, to visit my Aunty Cheryl and a friend who has just had a baby. Back to Sydney to stay with Antoinette's parents and then head back. Should be a fun trip, Antoinette and I are on the same flights out and back. I am looking forward to doing some quality training and swimming in a 50m pool! My coach has set me a really swim heavy programme for this month to take advantage of that.
That's it! I'm trying to finalise my 2008 race schedule and so far it is looking like I have around 20 races so it is going to be a busy one. This is the year I really want to get some good results across all 3 triathlon disciplines but really want to make solid improvements to my swim and bike. The run comes naturally, so not too concerned about that.
Hope everyone is well and as always, thanks for checking out my blog!
Carolyn x

Rome & my 30th Birthday

2008-01-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

Rome & my 30th Birthday
What a fabulous birthday. I really do have the most wonderful friends in the world. Rome as always was an amazing place and as this was visit number 5 I didn’t feel any pressure to do anything, just be there and enjoy it.

Corinna and I flew out Thursday, which was my actual birthday, and we were in Rome in time for dinner. We went to this great little restaurant near Ponte Cavour on a recommendation from a friend. We were in there for about 4 hours. Amazing food and wine and the waiters were very entertaining. One of them drew caricatures of us both. Corinna got me an amazing birthday present, sex in the city box set and this gorgeous ‘C’ necklace from Tiffany’s. I love it so much and I’m wearing it right now!

After dinner we went and met Kat & Geoff in a wine bar as they had just arrived and then onto another bar to meet Claire, Antoinette and Ellie who were on a later flight. Few drinks in the local Irish pub and then back to the hotel. I was sharing a room with Corinna and Antoinette and it was like being on school camp. We were up giggling for hours. I was on a huge sugar and caffeine rush after eating dessert plus about 6 cookies they bought us with dinner.

Friday we slept late and I went out to get my Illy coffee hit. Love the coffee in Italy, they know how to do it properly! Everyone met in Piazza Navona and headed over to Pizzeria Buffeta, which is my favourite pizza restaurant in Rome for lunch. We then wandered around for a bit having a look into the shops; I really wanted a pair of low heel brown boots.

Friday night was excellent. We headed over to Travistere, I have only been there once before with Mum and Dad last April and loved the atmosphere. Next time I go to Rome I am going to stay over there. Drinks in a bar first and my wonderful, wonderful friends gave me my birthday presents. First up was Ellie who gave me a Oliver Bonas necklace and matching earrings along with a Cross pencil (I requested this to replace the one I left on the Eurostar!!). So very generous.

Antoinette gave me the most amazing Tiffany earrings and they match my Tiffany necklace form Corinna perfectly :) I love them. Claire showed me a photo of these killer black stilletto knee high boots that are waiting for me back in London. I went out with her a few weeks ago and couldn't work out why she wouldn't show me what shoes she had bought. Didn't click that they were for me! She also got me a picture of one of my favourite men in the world (after Normann Stadler and the Hoff) Mr Moretti!!! It triggered us all doing our best Mr Moretti lookalike, I'll get the gallery of pictures up here shortly. Wasn't so hard to impersonate him towards the end of the night.

Kat & Geoff gave me a lovely card and have something back in London for me. I love it when birthdays just go on and on!

For dinner we went to this local Trattoria called….Capo de Fero which roughly translates to IRON HEAD!!! That is of course the name of my triathlon club. Photo’s will be appearing soon on the website J. The food was fabulous and we rounded the meal off with the waiter bringing us a bottle of lemoncello and a some other disgusting herb liquer that I couldn’t get past the smell of but everyone else seemed to love. Just meant more lemoncello for me! There was a guy sitting near us and he ended up joining us. Very entertaining, and after leaving the restaurant around 1am he took us into the back streets of Travestere for a chocolate liquer shot. It’s exactly as it sounds, a chocolate shot cup, filled with rum, topped with cream and chilli sprinkles. You put the whole thing in your mouth in one go. It’s like swallowing a firebomb.

We then walked back across the river and into Campo di Fiori for a final nightcap, but that didn’t last too long as everything was closing up. Claire and I were wandering around arm in arm and had this guy come up to me and ask did I have a boyfriend, I said I was engaged (standard answer in Italy) and turns to Claire, same questions and she said she was engaged to me. Guy says. ‘Lesbians?’ we say yes. He shakes his head and cuts to the chase with ‘can you give me a cigarette?’. Cracks me up he was perfectly happy to try and chat us up for a fag.

The taxi ride back was excellent, our driver fancied him self as a bit of a rally driver and going through Piazza Venezia was something in itself. I swear at one stage we were on 2 wheels and wiped out a couple of scooters.

Saturday included a long sleep in and then over to Piazza Popolo for a spot of lunch in the sun and some shopping. Success! I am now the proud owner of this gorgeous dark brown boots. Can’t wait to wear them!! Dinner was in a trattoria near the Pantheon and again the food was excellent. One of my favourite things about the weekend is that I allow myself to have an espresso after evening meals. Because it keeps me up, I don’t do it during the week, and to do it in Rome is always just so enjoyable after some fantastic food. Walked back to the hotel and into bed ready for my 4am wakeup to get to the airport and catch my flight to Bangalore.

Stay tuned for the entry that will be Bangalore…

Cx

Welcome to 2008!

2008-01-08T06:01:00.000-08:00

Hello,
What a month December was! So hectic with parties, last minute Christmas shopping, packing for Dubai and sorting out replacement contents to my stolen handbag. Dubai was a welcome break and it was so great seeing Ruth.
I was really pleased that I managed to train whilst out there most days and came back slightly heavier due to the excess of Christmas but much fitter thanks to having a gym in Ruth's apartment building. I ran most days for an hour and did weights on top of that. It paid off, I did my first swim session in a few weeks last night and noticed my catch is much stronger on my swim stroke.
Dubai is an amazing place, I loved it, but mainly because Ruth was there. Not sure I would go back if she wasn't there. She put so much time and effort into putting an itinerary together to make sure I got to see all the sights. I absolutely loved the desert safari we did one afternoon / evening where you go out 4x4 driving across the sand dunes. I could appreciate how skilled the drivers are after my years growing up on a farm and having a paddy basher*.
Ruth asked me to play 'touch' football with her, but failed to mention that she trains with men! I got beaten up out there and am still sporting a bruise on my leg after one particularly painful collision with a 6'2" man. I literally bounced off his chest and was seeing stars. I did however manage to score a try, I have the mile reps to thank for being able to take off down the field like I had just stolen something! I have no idea how Ruth plays full contact rugby. Worst part, it ruined my manicure, think I will stick to triathlon which is nail friendly :)
I treated us to a day spa where we were scrubbed, wrapped, cleansed, moisturised and massaged to within an inch of our lives before heading out to relax by the pool and then out to barasti bar for a few drinks in the beach side bar. It is times like those I do wonder if I would ever move back to Australia to lead that kind of life.
Christmas Day and NYE were fantastic with us going to fabulous places including the Yalumba brunch where they serve unlimited Bollinger. It felt soooooo wrong having skulling competitions using Bollinger. NYE we were at the Aviation club, amazing food and they set up a stage and dance floor over the pond separating the Aviation club and the Irish Village where everyone could get out an mingle. Excellent nights.
I got backmid last week but was actually excited about coming home and starting the year. I have some exciting things going on at work and feel really motivated to train hard. I also have a new flat to move into at the end of the month and not to mention a 30th birthday bash! January is going to be as hectic at December it seems.
So, the 2008 sporting goals:
* Run a sub 3:15 marathon in Valencia on 17 Feb
* Run the London marathon in April as an elite (pending qualification at Valencia)
* Win the 135km Dragon cycling race in Wales in June
* Podium place for my age group at Ironman Austria in July and complete the race in sub 10:30 (35min improvement to my PB)
* Win my age group at Ironman Arizona in November, complete the race in sub 10:15 and qualify for the 2009 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Goal for 2009 will be to train like a demon and get a top 5 placing in the world champs!
It isn't going to be an easy year but I am really up for the challenge. I also have to be smarter with the way I train as I won't have as much time to dedicate as there are a few other personal goals I want to achieve this year such as buying a flat.
My TV show went out just before Christmas on Channel 4 and it was great! Lots of me talking about how difficult Ironman is and how tough the race was. Kind of raised all the emotions again I was feeling after the race. Watching it I am not surprised I had nightmares for the 2 weeks following the race! The DVD is available through TriUK http://triuk.com//index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=578&category_id=28&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26
Happy New Year to everyone and enjoy the pictures!
!

Carolyn x
* Paddy basher is not some sort of Irish torture but is an old car to bash around the paddock in. One of the great joys of growing up on a farm :)

My show is on Channel 4 tomorrow!!

2007-12-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

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

Yay! It's Friday!

2007-11-30T05:56:00.000-08:00

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 :)

Back on board

2007-11-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

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

Here we go again...

2007-11-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

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

Pictures tell a thousand words...

2007-11-02T05:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures tell a thousand words...

Hospital Bill

2007-10-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

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

Settling into the off season

2007-10-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

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

Kona Pictures

2007-10-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

You can also see them here with tags and descriptions http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/

Tags: Ironcaro, ironman, carolyn hewett, triathlon

24 October 2007 Kona Photos

2007-10-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

24 October 2007
14:54:22 o'clock BST

You can also see them here with tags and descriptions http://aolpictures.aol.co.uk/galleries/ironcaro/

London 22 October 2007

2007-10-22T05:01:00.000-07:00

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

Sunday 14th October - Post Race Blues

2007-10-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007

2007-10-13T04:59:00.001-07:00

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!

Saturday 13th October - RACE DAY Kona 2007

2007-10-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

Kona Day 3 Friday 12th October

2007-10-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Kona Day 2 Thursday 11th October

2007-10-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Wednesday 10th October - Kona Day 1

2007-10-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

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.

The Speech. 08 October 2007

2007-10-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

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

The Website is Live! 04 October 2007

2007-10-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

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

MMMMM Normann! 03 October 2007

2007-10-03T04:56:00.000-07:00

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

Press Release 03 October 2007

2007-10-03T04:55:00.000-07:00

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.

7 MORE SLEEPS!!!!! 03 October 2007

2007-10-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

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/

I'm Back! 27 September 2007

2007-09-27T04:52:00.000-07:00

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

General Update :) 20 September 2007

2007-09-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

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 encourage people 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

Woo Hoo!! 17 September 2007

2007-09-17T04:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Need to Focus! 14 September 2007

2007-09-14T04:47:00.000-07:00

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

My Fabulous Sponsors 12 September 2007

2007-09-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

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

IronMan UK Race Report - 11 September 2007

2007-09-11T04:11:00.000-07:00

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 numbers + video of me finishing IMUK!

2007-09-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

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!

August 2008 + London Triathlon Race Report

2007-08-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

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!

July 2007

2007-07-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

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.

June 2007

2007-06-28T04:09:00.000-07:00

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.

May 2007

2007-05-28T04:08:00.000-07:00

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.

April 2007

2007-04-28T04:08:00.000-07:00

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.

March 2007

2007-03-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

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.

Hard Work - 25 February 2007

2007-02-25T03:27:00.000-08:00

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 :)

Iron-Head Racing 20 February 2007

2007-02-20T03:26:00.000-08:00

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/

Roll up! Roll up! 20 February 2007

2007-02-20T03:23:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-19T03:22:00.000-08:00

19 February 2007
13:11:53 o'clock GMT
Ironman V's Ironwoman
Ironman or Ironwoman? Talk about a steep learning curve :) I have been doing lots of research and trying to cram all these new facts and figures and tips and hints into my head, although the one thing that always seems to stand out is that all of this information is geared towards men. What about us chicks? The books that I am reading, the magazine articles, all of them written by men for men. Women do ironman as well!! I do admit it is a male dominated sport, and there is definitely a gap in the market for women specific training without having to go all out and get a coach who tailors everything to your specific needs. It is the same problem I have with tri gear. I can't wear a general tri suit as clothing manufacturers have it in their heads that if you are a 10-12 (which I am), you have A or B cup breasts, so they offer this tiny little piece of material in the bodice and call it 'built in support'. It is sooooo difficult to get anything that fits well, I am a 32E and have to wear a sports bra and another layer to ensure I get adequate support which means that I end up being wet on top for the entire race, which is fine if it didn't chafe and leave ugly welts around my body. No amount of vaseline seems to help and I am unwilling to compromise on support. I like my breasts where they are and intend on keeping them there rather than around my ankles! That's my rant over for today :)So the last week....I hit 12 hours training. So pleased with myself. I was pretty tired, but I needed to do that mentally just to get it in my head that I can do it and also have a life. I want to ramp it up over the next 6 weeks to around 18 but do plan on doing 3 hard weeks and then 1 easy week. At the moment I am having Saturdays off as I really love just being able to stay in bed, read a book, wander off to a coffee shop to read the paper and just have a nice relaxing day. I know I am going to have to change that when I start doing 1 hour swim, 4 hour cycle and 1 hour run each day for 4 days running (current plan is to do that over easter). My parents are coming to visit in April/May so that is also going to be a challenge as we are away for 3 weeks with only the odd night here and there in London which is where I will have to focus on the bike.Yesterday I went out for 3.5 hours and covered 100km's. Happy with that result as the last time I covered thatdistance was when I was solo touring around Italy. For those of you who don't know, I was made redundant from my job a few years ago so packed a few things in some panniers, put my bike in a box and hit Milan airport. What resulted was 3 months of the most fantastic cycling all over Italy with lots of adventures. I covered 3000km's in that 3 months, and when I hit the road in between stopovers I would always do anywhere between 80-120km a day. I went out to France last summer to do the same thing but unfortunately BA baggage handlers ran over my beloved Claud (my touring bike) and crushed him, bending the frame beyond repair. I am still fighting with them for compensation.So biked yesterday, came home and went for a run to get used to that jelly feeling you get in your legs. My aim is to run the entire marathon at the end of the bike, so I figure I better get used to that feeling sooner rather than later :)
Have also found these fantastic podcasts. http://www.ironmantalk.com/Podcast.html 2 kiwi guys talking about ironman, they have both done ironman, 1 of them is a pro coach and the other is turning pro this year. Very entertaining podcasts.
Have a great dayCaro xx

Bringing the Baby Home 14 February 2007

2007-02-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

14 February 2007
22:06:52 o'clock GMT Feeling Chillin'
Normann
This is an interview done with Normann Stadler last weekend at the triathlon I went to. I also went to a question / answer session with him. Wow. The guy is amazing :)
http://www.tri247.com/article_1623.html

17:40:29 o'clock GMT Feeling Ecstatic
Bringing the Baby Home
I have my new Baby!! I went to Sutton this morning to pick it up from Pearson Cycles. Those guys are fabulous, William in particular who spent about an hour with me last weekend and 2 hours today. I got him a nice bottle of red to say thanks for all his time. I love buying from places like Pearsons, they are the oldest bike shop in the UK and the 2 guys who have it now are the 5th generation. http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/index.html?action=68 gives the family history through the war and so on. Nice to see that places like that survive.
I took my bike out to Richmond park for a few hours to see how it went and I managed to hit 50km hour on the flat! I got into an aero position and just hammered it! So much fun! I was too scared to look down at the speedo coming down the hills :)
Off to the gym tonight for a weights session, and then home for an early night. Rock star lifestyle that I lead.
Went to see Underneath the Lintel last night, fabulous play and I would highly recommend it. 1 character played by Richard Schiff who plays Toby in the West Wing TV series. Really great play.
Bit of inspiration to get me to the gym ASAP... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gOF3obXbEQ&mode=related&search=
C x

I got a beaaauuutttiiiiifffffuuuulll bike! 11 February 2007

2007-02-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

11 February 2007
18:07:27 o'clock GMT Feeling Happy
I got a beaaauuutttiiiiifffffuuuulll bike!
Yay!! Went to a Tri show yesterday and got a fab deal on a new 2007 road bike from Specialized. The guy from the shop was so helpful and is going to fit tri bars and so on. I get to pick it up on Wednesday. They also do free cycling coaching not far from me so I have joined that as well.
Yesterday was a very productive day, listened to lots of talks centered around ironman, nutrition, planning, sports psychology and swimming. It is quickly becoming apparent that these races are very targeted towards men, there is definetely a gap in the market there!
I met some great people yesterday who have done ironman before and they gave me lots of tips, especially around IMUK. They said the hills are draining, but I do have the advantage of being able to jump on a train and head out there to practise on them.
Had a fab bike session today, covered 35km in 57mins. Now if I can keep that up for 6 hours I will be very happy!! Also got in a great weights session. I am going to increase the amount of weights I am doing as this coach I was talking to said it far more important for women to be doing weights because men have an easier time building muscle, whereas us chicks have to really work at it.
I got called out as a volunteer in the ironman seminar yesterday to run through my plan, it quickly emerged that it needs tightening up! The other thing that won't be quite as easy is to lose a stone before August. I need to get under 9 stone to be as light as possible and maximise my efficiency.
It is quite frustrating that all the clothes made for triathletes assume that everyone is a C cup. It is virtually impossible to get a tri suit that fits me, and that is supportive. I have decided to make my own. I can't be the only women with this particular dilemma!
Have fun!
Cx

It's Snowing! 8th Feb 2007

2007-02-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

08 February 2007
16:14:30 o'clock GMT
It's snowing! It is so lovely out there. I went for my long run this morning through the snow. Making sure I get my money's worth out of the x-country runners I got for Tough Guy! There were a few horses out in the snow, but not many people which is just so rare for London. It was hard to climb out of my nice warm bed, but it was worth it to get in a good 90 mins of running. I have uploaded some pictures I got on my phone.

I am testing out some mobile software for work so it even work related!Tuesday night I went to the football to see Australia play Denmark which was fab, but I totally blew my alcohol allowance out the window! It was worth it to see Jimmy Barnes sing the national anthem. It wasn't this version, but maybe he could do this next time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIHsDznUzMI have been hitting the gym and pool twice a day to improve my swim and start building muscle. Tonight I am off to meet with the Tri group I have joined, so hoping for some good contacts and advice. One of the guys has already emailed out wanting guinea pigs for nutrition analysis as he is studying it at the moment. He is going to have his work cut out with me :)
Had lunch with a bunch of work people today, one of my friends is getting married in Austria in 2 weeks, classic line she comes out with. "The ceremony is going to be spoken in German, they could be reading me the KFC menu for all I know!" Loved it.
Have fun people!C x

Day 1 - Buying a bike - 04 February 2007

2007-02-04T03:16:00.000-08:00

04 February 2007
23:40:00 o'clock GMT Hearing Snow Patrol
Day 1 - Buying a bike - Carolyn Hewett
I have decided to keep a blog to track the journey that I am going to be taking to get my butt over the finish line on 19 Aug 2007 at Sherborne Castle ironman. I am under no illusion that it is going to be a tough one, but I figure if I am going to give up my life (and booze) for 7 months than I want to win my age group.
Ironman is 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and a 42km (marathon) run. I hope that this blog will also be useful to my friends and family who are not going to see me for the next 7 months so I can train to survive this thing! :)
I have never done an ironman before, but I like to do crazy races, and this fits right into that category! Last weekend I completed Tough Guy and still have the bruises to prove it! Tough Guy is a 15km cross country run then 26 obstacles including one that is electrified, another that is on fire, you have to swim under a bridge, swim through a lake and lots of climbing and mud. See some video... http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=93275B762D7BDD44
I went bike shopping today for a new bike after my beloved Claud (previous bike I spent a lot of time on) was buried in France last summer after a disasterous accident with a plane (him not me). Man, there are so many bikes out there and you can end up spending so much money on a bike. I doubt I am going to get out of this for under £1k, but I figure it is an investment if I am going to be spending around 10+ hours a week on it. I went to 4 different bike shops and the good news is they all pretty much said the same thing. I did meet a former German cycling champion (cute as well!) who thought I should spend £2k on a bike! Not likely pal...anyway...I have ordered in a Trek and a Secialized so I can test the difference. Lets see what happens.
The ironic thing is you spend £1k and you don't even get pedals with that!! I am definitely negotiating free pedals and free shoes!!
Went running and swimming tonight. Ran for 45 then swam for 30 mins. Should have done more as I am in the first phase of my training where I am getting my body used todoing more exercise than normal. Up until now I have been running for around 4-6 hours a week but January was both lazy and fat so I have to drop some weight and pick up the pace.
I really hate swimming. It is my weakest leg so I know I have to work hard on it and I will. Lots of time in the yucky pool :) There are lots of old hairy men there who really don't help with the motivation to go to the pool.
Corinna (my wonderful flatmate) is making me watch a bizarre documentary on a woman who gave birth to a child that had 'solidified' and turned to stone in her abdomen after 50 years. gross. so gross.
On that note...I am going to bed. Gnight!