It’s back into the swing of it. For me that involves ironman training and some ironman cross- training, which earns my income.

The whole purpose of cross training is variation and if you get paid, well that’s a positive!

What is this cross training? Its farm work! In particular shearing sheep! After some serious thought and deliberation I started to draw some very strong parallels between shearing/dagging sheep on the farm and ironman training.

 A couple years ago Hugh  (farm manager) taught me to shear, and dad tried to polish off my technique. Like anything in life, if you want to be good at something, you have to practice it a lot and practice it consistently. Once the whole ironman regime takes over unfortunately you lose a bit of consistency in other parts of your life, so my shearing technique is still pretty slow, I help more with the dagging, which means more time to practice and maybe keep up with Hugh one day…..age is on my side!

So how does ironman training and this cross training relate? Here’s what I think:

Shearing/dagging is largely about footwork. Get that wrong and you will spend more time sheep wrestling than sheep shearing…..I’m speaking from a significant amount of sheep wrestling experience. It’s not fun or productive.  While in the shed I may end up sheep wrestling from time to time, when I’m training for ironman it’s my mind I will wrestle with from time to time.

It’s essential to work through the sheep one at a time, try and break it down, or it can get a bit overwhelming, especially when the shed is full and there are more sheep outside. Ironman is exactly the same, break it down or it can get overwhelming.

This type of cross training will kill, murder, annihilate your hamstrings. Yep that’s a parallel.

Nutrition, if you don’t eat and hydrate properly, you will suffer for it. Both ironman and shearing burn a lot of calories. Consume plenty.

Competitive environment. Always working towards those PB’s every bit counts.

Sweat. A lot of it.

It’s been a great season for the farmers here in the Waikato, good grass growth. The sheep are fat, they are woolly, this time of year they are also pregnant. Just when you get the hang of something it can always get harder.

Sometimes  I’ll  get a sheep that won’t wriggle, I won’t have to wrestle it, I’ll get the technique right and do a good job, there is a rhythm in that which is addictive. It’s called progress. Finally I start getting a bit better. You see improvement. It’s encouraging. It’s when you start to believe if you put in the work…maybe I can get better at this sheep shearing..….maybe one day I will keep up with Hugh. Training is no different. Mostly you struggle along, it’s a lot of effort, not always enjoyable, mostly caught up in trying to get the task at hand done. That odd session where you finally keep up… “Ha ha didn’t get left behind today, kept up with ya”! Or you finally manage to hold the splits you’ve been chasing for months. That keeps you hanging in there for a bit longer.

And finally you have to just get into it and go hard! The slower you go, the longer the day!

Check out the recent World Shearing Champs here (there is some great commentary):  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVQQmilMmaU&feature=related

See ewe later!

Next ironman race June 3rd.

THANKYOU Proform. Tony and Celia Smith have been a massive support.

Thankyou Kevin Burgess and Kim Munro at Cambridge Amcal Pharmacy 

Thanks Andrew Sheath Hamilton Shoe Clinic. Great footwear & Tri gear.

Thanks Paul Taitoko Te Awamutu Physio…I don’t always enjoy those visits!

Thanks Graham Scott

Thanks Val and team at the Cambridge Fitness Centre.

Love Oakleys.

Considering the heat and humidity in Koh Samui, I was happy to finish up 8^th in the women’s field. There were 38 finishers total, which reflected the conditions.  Interestingly this hasn’t discouraged race organisers at all, next year the race will still be the same distance and same time of year (their hottest month) except rather than a 122km bike around the Island it is going to include some mountainous ranges…to add some variety maybe?! 

So the race (4km swim, 122km bike, 30km run): The women started off 5min ahead of the men. A 4 km non-wetsuit swim was never going to be in my favor and I slipped off the pack early on. The stronger swimmers were able to stay together and continue to work together on the bike. I only wish I was part of that as it makes for some exciting racing when you have other women to pace with, however swimming is still coming along and I have a lot of work to do.

Alexandra Louison and I came out of the water together. She was pretty much the only person I saw throughout the rest of the race. At the aid stations our options were water, coke, dried fruit or sugar cubes, a bit old school! I had been training on the Island 10 days before the race and we had a couple sessions that left me feeling toasted in the heat so I stayed conservative on the bike and stopped at each aid stations to get 2-3 bottles each time and a handful of sugar cubes.

The leading girls had continued to open up the gap on the bike and the 30km run was a lonely one, Alexandra took off and opened a 2min lead until the finish. The only athlete I passed was Ali Fitch as she had some bad stomach problems. The aid stations on the run were very welcomed with ice and lots of it as well as coke and Gatorade. Besides getting the shits I felt great on the run and glad to have my running legs back after losing them in Taupo.

There was a great atmosphere at the end of the race and I felt happy to have finished. On reflection, I may have been a bit too conservative in the heat, but I can only learn from it. Apparently races don’t get too much hotter than this at 32-33 degrees and humidity around 70%, so at least I know how the body will respond.

Legend Caroline Seffen won the women’s race and her partner David Dellow the men’s.

It was great meeting some of the other athletes I really enjoyed their company. I loved the story of Armando over heating on the bike so he stopped off at the hotel, had a shower, something to eat, then went back out and finished the race, what an athlete!

My coach Keegan placed 11^th  A good result as he favours cooler temperatures. 

Check out the highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stW1i4L5S_E&feature=relmfu

Here is what Kiwi greats Jo Lawn and Cameron Brown thought of the race: http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14354&Itemid=1

Top 10 women:

1^st Caroline Steffen

2^nd Carrie Lester

3^rd Jo Lawn

4^th Belinda Granger

5^th Isabelle Ferrer

6^th Erika Csomor

7^th Alexandra Louison

8^th Candice Hammond

9^th Ali Fitch

10^th Lynda Sharp

Due to weather Taupo Ironman was cancelled this year for safety issues. The race organisers were quick to act towards improving the situation for 1600 very disappointed athletes by organising a Half Ironman the following day, provided the weather had improved. Fortunately everything fell into place and we were able to do what we had come for… hammer our bodies through swim, bike, run.

I was a bit gutted with my disappointing result at the end of the day. Somedays your body responds to the demands you place on it, somedays it doesn’t quite meet the level you want to take it to. My swim and cycle efforts were about where I’m at, but I fadded into a slower than usual run and had a bit of a grovel to the finish line, not my greatest race! But I will learn from it.

On reflection the last two Half Ironmans I have raced, I ran a 1:26 (Taupo half) and 1:27 (Taranaki half) so a 1:33 on the weekend is particularly off my pace, I had just had no juice in the tank after 5km. Regardless all the top 5 women ran 1:23 or under, that is super fast and its a great standard to work towards for the future.

So onto a bit of a rant: I had became increasingly disillusioned and frustrated on the cycle course at the amount of blatant drafting from competitors and ended up telling a couple of them what I thought about that. In hindsight it was just a waste of energy on my behalf anyway. You’re either going to give the race a honest go and self regulate the seven metre non draft zone when riders come past, or its just not on some peoples conscience.

Whether its prize money or points for the professional athletes or Kona slots (world champs) for age group athletes there is alot at stake when a few seconds or minutes may separate athletes over the finish line. Drafting well within seven metres will allow an athlete to conserve energy for the run and cycle faster than they could out of this zone. Its simple, but it’s also cheating as it isn’t ironman racing.

Taupo Ironman is also becoming a very popular event with it’s largest field this year, although as it grows the drafting issue seems to be getting worse. Why the officals gave out so many warnings (up to 3) over penalties I don’t understand as it was still a validated WTC race despite the change in distance.

Thats my rant.

Besides that it was wicked to see some world class athletes racing here in NZ, I didn’t know athletes could compete so fast over the Half Ironman course here, it was very impressive and incredibly inspiring.

There was a massive amount of enthusiastic support over the course which was awesome. The spectators really created a virbrant, lively atmosphere and while Elliot didn’t get his speedos out for the half ironman, I did see a few costumes out there, and loved it.

The volunteers that were able to stick around despite the 24hr delay in racing were the best. They pulled off wetsuits (literally dragging me off the chair and across the ground.. I had to laugh), direct your course (even though I managed to overshoot the turn off), feed and hydrate your fuel for the fire, and generally keep you going through the slow suffering! Thanks team.

Hopefully I can produce something better for the next race coming up in April.

Awesome effort Erin Furness for qualifing for Kona!

Thanks Elliot, Ben, mum & dad, Lousie & Hamish for the support and Pete Sheriff for letting us stay at his house once again. Loved the company Pete & Cheryl! Thankyou.

Andrew and Adele THANKYOU so much for the zip wheels. Wow they made a difference! You guys are AWESOME and I am forever grateful.

Thanks Andrew Sheath at the Shoe Clinic for my sweet racing gear, proud to wear your logo!

Thanks Dan at Oakberries in Cambridge for the delicious blueberries.

Cheers Keegan for trying to get me as prepared as possible….next time aye!

Thanks Graham Scott and Paul Taitoko for everything!

Also…any first timers that missed this race, hope you do give it another chance. You never know where your first ironman may take you in the future or what opportunities it creates, hold onto that training and give it another go ..if it doesn’t break the bank account!

Taupo Ironman is next on the race schedule 3^rd March. I have competed twice on this course before, but this will be first time up against the pro field….which is looking pretty stacked!

I’m pretty excited to be at the start line with some legends in the sport, I’ll only get a chance to see them at the start before they burn me off in the swim, but that’s ok! Goal is to make sure I go faster than last year (9:56) and benchmark myself against some exceptional iron-women.

If you are thinking about coming to support the 1600 athletes taking up this ironman challenge don’t forget a comfortable couch/seat for the long day ahead and if your feeling up to it wear a costume!

This is Elliot supporting the athletes last year. It gives us something to a smile about through the many arduous hours of racing!

Andrew Sheath in Hamilton provides comfortable 2XU racing apparel and my favourite ASICS racing shoes.

Paul Taitoko in Te Awamutu is a truly great physio. I feel incredibly fortunate to work with him on a frequent basis towards injury prevention and movement efficiency. 

                                               Want to get fit…Check out the Cambridge Fitness Centre. Great staff and fitness classes are available. I really enjoy the Body Balance Classes for a bit of strength work and a good stretch after training. 

Graham Scott has been an awesome supporter and life advisor….”what’s the big picture?”

Kevin Burgess has provided me with Leppin supplements from his pharmacy, couldn’t get through some training sessions without them!

Woo hoo! Set my first Half Ironman course record at the New Plymouth Half Ironman race on Sunday and recorded the fastest cycle and run time. No doubt it won’t stand for long as it’s only a matter of time before this race attracts some ‘bigger fish’. However I will enjoy it while I can! Below is a link to the race report from the Taranaki Daily News. Pretty much says it all.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/sport/6406730/Teacher-goes-to-top-of-the-class

Awesome result from Brodie Madwick who won the mens race, and Erin Furness who is also coached by Keegan Williams placing 4th by only 2seconds behind Fiona Eagles.