What event are your training for and what is your goal?
Longest Day C2C 2019. Goal is to finish before the sun goes down and have fun.

What it is your motivation for wanting to achieve this?
As an endurance athlete, the C2C is something i have wanted to do for a while. Having recently been posted to Burnham ( yes I am in da Army ), this is my chance to tick this epic, iconic race off.

What is your background and how did you get into your sport?
Former A grade cyclist, then Endro cycling, to Ironman NZ ( 5 finishes, pb of 10:13hrs ) and a few ultra marathons. I got into individual sport after 12 ish years of playing Football (Soccer) as I found myself having a different work ethic than the rest of the team.

What is your favourite event/or training mission so far?
Got to be Ironman NZ for the challege and atmosphere. Tarawera Trail 50km for the journey, a great trail run with heaps of variety. In regards to training, i really look forward to the 15hr training weekends….sicko.

Why?
As above.

What is your favourite training ride/run/kayak/swim etc?
Ride would have to be around Apiti in the Manawatu, 130ish kms of hills. Run would be around Lake Rotoiti, do try it! Kayak, still a novice with limited experience, that will change! Swim has to be Lake Taupo, in fact any swim in fresh water, Lake Rotoiti is a close second, even with the huge eels.

Who is your inspiration?
Me in 6 months.

Who is your biggest fan?
My two girls, Taryn and Jessica.

Do you have an inspirational quote that you would like to share?
Do or do not, there is no Tri….lol Yes its a play on words for all the Triathletes

What is your favourite recovery food?
Chocolate Milk, hence my failure to ever to down to race weight.

Any other comments?
Stop making excuses and get off the couch.

• “I can’t run to the top of the hill”,
• “I can’t swim 10 lengths”
• “We don’t have a cure for my brain tumour”

Yesterday I had a great catch up with a good friend of mine Andrew Sloan who I used to do a lot of training and racing with in our university days in Dunedin.  Andy has completed the Longest Day Coast to Coast, the full distance Challenge Wanaka and basically every other endurance event in the South Island not to mention the countless adventures and missions into the hills around his hometown of Hawea in Central Otago.

Unfortunately Andy could put a tick next to each of the three bullet points above after being diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year and is in the middle of treatment for it.

Everyone that knows Andy will vouch for the fact that he is one of the most positive people there are and as we talked he introduced me to the concept of adding the word yet to end of each of these statements above.

• “I can’t run to the top of the hill yet”
• “I can’t swim 10 lengths yet”
• “We don’t have a cure for my brain tumour yet”

That short three letter word changes each of those statements significantly.   They moved from being something negative that’s just not possible to a goal that given the right practice, hard work, support, knowledge, feedback, resources and expertise they are achievable.

No matter how big the challenge that you have got in front of you it is possible. I think that this idea is summed up by one of my favourite quotes…

“Never take no for an answer, and never give up if you really believe in what you are doing and you’re really keen, then you will succeed.  It’s as simple as that.”  Sir Peter Blake

In the last few days Andy has since ticked off the second bullet point 🙂

Let’s talk sleep…we all wish we had more of it.  After attending a Exercise Recovery Symposium led by some of the greatest minds in the Sports Science Industry, I was made very aware of how important sleep is to…EVERYTHING!!!  If we are not sleeping, we are not recovering, which leads to a raft of problems on its own, more of that in another post..but for now I wanna address another elephant in the bedroom and that is devices!

We are all guilty of it, last minute work on the laptop, trolling through facebook, checking our Instagram posts, emails etc.  While this seems harmless, there are a few things to be aware of and how it is impacting your sleep.

The infamous blue light emitted by our devices has a very powerful effect on the suppression of Melatonin- our sleeping hormone.  As a result, we are not getting a solid amount of sleep, in fact we as a society are no longer getting 8hrs…in fact, we are barely getting 6.5 hours!  That means, our cortisol hormones (the flight vs fight) response are in overdrive and we are staying awake longer than we should.

Leptin..the hunger hormone, is also higher at night, so while you are up surfing the web, you run the risk of answering that hunger call and the nibbling ensues.  Our waistlines don’t appreciate this.

So, what can you do to help increase your sleep habits?

1. An hour before bed, dim the lights.
2. Create a nightly routine you can every evening at the same time. Our bodies love routine.
3. Allow for more time in bed to actually get to sleep
4. Avoid phone, tv, computer late at night
5. Ensure bed comfortable, room is cool, quiet and dark (a cave).  Better that the room is slightly cool – 18 degrees
6. Avoid thinking planning or other mental activities while in bed – do a sleep reset if you are overthinking – write a to do list to not have to think about it and put a time next to when you will do it. Read a book restart your normal sleep routine.
7. Implement relaxation strategies – progressive muscle relaxation – contract and relax your muscles

Now you have some strategies, start implementing them, and watch your quality of sleep improve!

Training is easy when the sun is shining, the temperatures are warm and the daylight hours are longer. But with winter now officially here, the colder temperatures and darkness setting in before you even get home from work, enthusiasm and motivation can very easily waver.

So to help you remain inspired and passionate for your training and upcoming events, below are some strategies for you to try;

• Decent Kit! If you have good quality clothing, training in the colder temperatures or wet and windy conditions really is no problem. Put your layers on and get out into the elements – you know as soon as you get going you will warm up. And remember – you won’t melt in the rain! So head to your favourite outdoor clothing store and grab yourself a few essential items to keep you warm and safe.
• Feel Good Factor. You know how good you feel after any training session right?! So if you are feeling sluggish, think about how awesome you will feel after you have been out there and done it, and how good the hot shower will be when you get home.
• Make it an Adventure. It may be wet and windy…but that just adds to the challenge and fun of the session. Get those layers on and face the elements…push the boundaries (safely) and see how capable you are. You may just surprise yourself!
• Team up with your Mates. Keep yourself accountable by organizing to do your session with a mate. Or join in with a group. Training with others has many benefits so don’t feel you always have to go it alone. Check out the fun and friendly Team CP group sessions available every week; https://www.teamcp.co.nz/group-sessions/group-timetable/
• Stay Healthy. Respect your rest days and avoid over training and fatiguing your body. With winter ills and chills in the air, you are more likely to become unwell if your body is already run down. So train sensibly, keep warm, prioritize sleep (this is important!), fuel your body well and ensure you are getting plenty of the right nutrients on board to keep yourself fit and healthy.
• Make it a Journey. Training for an event is a journey so ensure you make it fun. Add variety into your sessions, explore new places, make a day of it with family or friends…this way you are creating a story and many awesome memories, making the end result of crossing that finish line so much more rewarding.

Winter is simply a season and we are fortunate to have such a varied climate that allows us to experience and enjoy such a wide variety of absolutely awesome activities. So embrace it, relish the extra challenge and continue doing what you love year round.

The Winter Worlds Workshops are split into two parts catering for those new to bunch riding & racing – Bunch Skills (Part 1) – and those who have Bunch racing experience: ‘Race Ready’ (Part 2).

This workshop is a PART 2 (‘RACE READY) and is delivered to you by Team CP and Odlin Cycle Coaching.

What you need: your bicycle and cycle clothing (cold weather gear if it gets inclement – postponement will occur if really bad & you won’t lose your payment).

The workshop covers:

Bunch riding skills: leading, following (how to “Scout, shout & point out”), how to rotate in a group & riding adjacent to others.
Sprinting & race tactics: rules of sprinting.

If you complete either Part 1 or 2 workshops you receive a $5 discount off full entry price every time you race Winter Worlds in 2018.

A champion team will always beat a team of champions – John McGrath

It’s been over two weeks now since we stood on the finish line of GODZone after 7days 3hrs 2min of racing in the wilderness of Fiordland. Most of the time it didn’t feel like a race, it was more an epic adventure, sometimes feeling like a game of survival. We stuck together, helped each other out and really became a team, which is what got us to the end. The race was so long and some bits are still blurry that this is just a summary of the race.

When the planner (with what the race would involve) was released it was clear that GODZone was going to be truly epic. It scared me, the enormity of what we were about to take on. The only way I made it though the race was focusing on one leg at a time and often I broke these into even smaller stages. Before the race we had a quick team talk about our goals, strategies and what everyone wanted out of the race. This was really good as it put everyone in the team on the same page. Our main goal was to finish the full course and to focus on racing our own race.

 Stage 1 – Packraft, trek and Abseil 110km

The start line with the team and our awesome supporters (team parent)

We started the race with a run in Te Anau and a packraft paddle down the lake and Waiau river. Then it was into a trek. I wasn’t feeling so great so boys took some of my gear to lighten the load. The night before starting I hadn’t slept well and had ended up throwing up, which was not a great start, I think it may have been nerves. We made it smoothly through the trek to the abseil. I have never done an abseil at night or one of 100+ meters, so this was an epic experience. I have heard that it was much more scary in the daylight.

We had an interesting packraft down the Monowai River in the dark and enjoyed the company of the Bend Racincg / Yogaslackers team. We couldn’t see very well which made it more exciting. We were then dark-zoned before getting on the next section of river, which worked well for us as we had already planned to sleep.

Stage 2 – Mountain bike and caving 55km

It was nice to off our feet and onto the bikes. I really enjoyed the caving and thought it was a cool thing to do in the race. It involved a compulsory two hour stop so once we had been though the cave we all enjoyed some food and a chance to dry our feet off. Then we were off to finish the bike leg.

Stage 3 – Packraft and trek 150km

This leg was massive and slow with lots of bush bashing. Navigation was important as well as looking after ourselves, especially our feet. We knew we were battling in the top 20 teams but just continued to focus on our own race. Our navigation went well mostly with minimal mistakes (CP 17 didn’t go well for us). To get through such a massive leg I just focused on small section at a time, often this would be thinking about when we would be in a packraft next.

We were dark-zoned after the paddle across Lake Hauroko so a lot of teams regrouped here and essentially the race restarted in the morning with a packraft on the Wairaurahiri River. This was one of my highlights along with other packrafting legs on lakes and rivers.

After a big bush bashing adventure there was a long tough slog (roughly 55-60km) out along the coastal track. We managed to get a chunk of it done in the dark before crawling under some bushes for some sleep. After 4ish hours we were off again slogging it along the track. We had to keep pushing forward; we spent all day on this track with our feet getting more and more painful. It was tough. We were rewarded slightly at the end with a gorgeous sunset behind us looking back at where we had come from (which was miles away). Everyone was in the hurt box in this section and all we could do was go forward.

It was dark by the time we finally made it to the transition. It was amazing as our parents and supporters were all there waiting and cheering us on. It gave us a good boost. It felt so great to be there and to have survived that trek.

Stage 4 – Mountain bike 155km

Road riding section

I was so excited to see my bike. We had a slow transition but still managed to get out and get some of the leg done before settling down for a sleep. We really tested our gear here as we didn’t put the tent up and then it started to rain. The water resistant sleeping bags paid off as we stayed dry. We biked though Rowallen Forest; did a big road section and then the good stuff came. The Borland road and Percy Saddle. I enjoyed the first big climb, we chipped away at the climb well, the decent was wicked and the views great. Once we got onto the climb to Percy saddle it was more hard work. We pushed our bikes up most of the steep climb, it kept feeling like we were getting closer to the top but then we got to the real hike-a-bike section. This was hard work scrambling through the bush over big rocks while carrying our bikes. I was definitely feeling pretty tired at this point (so were others as well) but we just worked on chipping the final part of the climb off. I put my bike on my shoulders to carry it when possible. When we finally made it to the top we were stoked! It was super satisfying, we were there just in time to catch the view before the sun set. It was incredible, then we enjoyed going downhill to the transition.

We were super surprised and excited to see Tom and Levi’s Dads at the transition. They had been on their own adventure to get there. This transition was pretty slow, everyone just slumped for a bit feeling a bit tired and enjoyed eating chips. Eventually progress was made and we got through the transition.

Stage 5 – Kayak 14km

We made slow progress on this leg, it was dark and hard to see much. I really struggled to stay awake(Sorry guys!), I took double caffeine tablets to try and stay awake but it just wasn’t really working. I hoped the trek would wake me up.

Stage 6 – Trek 28km

There was a nice warm hut at the start of the trek where we took the time to look after our feet. Glen had trench foot and Levi was starting to develop it also which was not great. We bush bashed our way up the river for a couple of hours before deciding to get some sleep. I was feeling a bit dizzy so sleep was a relief. Two hours later I woke up on the morning of day 7 and decided it was time to go home but first we need to finish this trek and a paddle. We continued to bush bash up along the river. Tom carried Glen and Levi across any water to try and keep their feet dry and to prevent the trench foot getting worse. For awhile we were joined by Bend racing/yogaslackers (who we thought were way in front, but had taken a bad route choice) and enjoyed chatting to them before going our separate ways. It felt like it took forever to climb up to Lake Herries but the terrain we covered was really interesting.

Lake Herries – One of my favourite spots in the race

We were 10-15metres away from the Lake and we couldn’t see it. We were all stoked to finally make it to the Lake and were surprised to see Braden Currie and his Dad there. We then paddled across the lake which was one of my highlights being in such a cool location. We saw a team (Bend racing/Yogaslackers maybe) just behind us so we put the pressure on climbing up to the saddle. The saddle was awesome and from there it was a slow slog out along the river. Downhill was a lot more painful on the trench foot and an injury Glen developed, so it was slow going. We took weight out of Glen’s pack to take the weight off his feet. It felt like it took a really long time walking out. Everyone just kept going. Not far before the transition we saw lights behind us, it turned out The Sneaky Weasel Gang had caught us and our teams both arrived at the transition at the same time. The paddle was dark zoned so we had our last sleep. This trek was challenging but I really enjoyed the scenery.

Stage 7 – kayak 35km

We got up in the morning ready to paddle home. The Sneaky Weasel Gang managed to get away just before us on the paddle; we never managed to catch them and enjoyed a paddle on flat water to the finish. It felt amazing to make it to the finish line after such an epic adventure. It felt satisfying to make to through the entire course. It challenged you mentally and physically, it was the toughest thing I have ever done. We managed to finish 10^th overall (only 25 teams finished the full course out of roughly 72 teams that started) which we were stoked with (and we all wanted to make the top 10 if things went well). We also took out first place in the Colts category, and were the youngest team in the race again.

I didn’t know how it would go training for two-day Coast to Coast and GODZone as they are two very different races, overall I’m stoked with how it all went and am not sure what the next big challenge will be. Really it’s time for a rest and Richard has prescribed 6 weeks off training. Of course I can still go out and have fun so I’m hoping to ride down some hills on my mountain bike. I want to say a massive thank you to my teammates, Mum, Dad, James (my partner) and Richard Greer. James has put up with months of training, going to work while I go paddling, me being tired from training and has supported me heaps along this journey. My parents have always supported me and I could never have achieved my dreams with out them. Thanks Richard for setting me a good program and putting up with my always-changing study and life timetable. Our team had the help of some great sponsors – Gurney Goo, Duncan Venison, Hilary Foods and Awaken Bars. Their support helped us through the race; we went through a lot of Gurney Goo and it helped to keep our feet in great shape. Last of all thanks to all the friends who have supported both myself and the team along the way.

We did it!