It’s official, the entry fee is in, I’m now committed to racing the 2 day Coast to Coast but before Coast comes is Spring Challenge! It’s an all women adventure race in teams of three. This year will be my 3rd time racing Spring Challenge and I’m super excited that it’s in Wanaka. I’m excited to be racing it with Kathryn Bunckenburg(a previous team member) and Nicole Ranger.

Over the last few weeks I have had some good and bad luck. I got sick not once in 3 weeks but twice, which has been annoying a bit of a set back for training. The first time didn’t impact on training too much. It just meant I wasn’t feeling so great and I was a bit worried as it was 2 weeks out from a race. Luckily I got better and I was ready to go by race day. I smashed out Twin Peaks a 26km run/hike with compulsory gear (like 10kg of gear). It was an awesome course with a mix of hills, ridges, ice and mud. It even snowed while we were racing! I was really stoked with how the it went. I was 2nd place female most the way until the 2nd big hill where I overtook the 1st place female. This gave me a massive metal boost which powered me to the finish (5-6km ish). I was super stoked to take out 1st place female individual.

A few days after Twin Peaks I had an avalanche safety field trip in the Craigieburns so there wasn’t much time for training. I started to get sick on the field trip, which was just annoying – lots of coughing and a fever. It’s taken awhile to get over being sick but I’m nearly better and am looking forward to getting back into more training soon.

Am not sure if this happens to everyone in winter, but as the mornings get colder and colder the effort to get out the door and exercise with a positive frame of mind gets harder and harder. I am very fortunate enough to be a part of an inspiring group of women who have entered the Catch Fitness 20-week challenge. There has been much chat amongst us about where our mojos disappear to at times and also what methods we use to keep focused and pushing ourselves when really, at times, I want to do is stay at home, eat and keep warm.

For me being out of my comfort zone and my mojo are pretty much linked to the little voice in my head and the mental battle I have with myself.

Due to a waning mojo, over the past few weeks, I have been working on training my mind as much as my body. A motivational slogan popped up on Facebook a few weeks ago that said, “The body won’t go where your mind doesn’t push it.” I am beginning to realise that mental training is just as important as the physical. Recently I have probably had to work harder on getting my mind in the right space in order for my body to follow.

Currently one of my goals is to improve my 5km run time, which not only requires me to push myself out of my usual meandering run style it also requires me to quieten the doubts and fears in my mind to be able to push myself. Usually the run starts out okay then my mind starts screaming, “Slow down! Warning! Warning! Your lungs are about to explode!” Of course they never do but unfortunately that little voice sometimes wins and I do slow down. This leads to feeling annoyed with myself and with that annoyance negative thoughts creep in about my perceived lack of effort and a bit of my mojo disappears. With my last couple of interval sessions I have been working on silencing the mind with breathing and not panicking about time and speed. Am trying to move my mind into the positive as I run as often my thought pattern is along these lines – running too fast I worry that I am going to keel over and running too slow – I worry that I’m not going to get the time I am aiming for. Either way both these ways of thinking means that I am thinking in the negative. So I have been changing too fast to – Ooh I am doing good today, and if I am a bit slow I try and think – good time but just push a bit more.

I find myself in the same situation with personal training as well. If I dwell on how hard it’s going to be (again this is an area where I am usually well out of my comfort zone!) then it’s bound to feel worse than it is. My trainer sent me a message last week which said, ‘See you tomorrow – bring your muscles!’ which has helped with turning my thought pattern around. Sounds crazy but for me separating my body from my mind enables me to be in charge of those muscles and takes away the panic factor of how hard I am going to be working. Pessimism and doubt is like a road block – you have to believe to achieve.

Hard to believe that I’m at the end of my first four weeks of the training plan and four weeks closer to racing the amazing Taraweras. Flights and accommodation have been booked, so it really is official, race entry wasn’t quite enough commitment!

It’s amazing how quickly the training plan workouts just became part of everyday life and suddenly I’ve become really organised. When I got two days rest last week, it felt like ages since I had worked out and I almost felt out of sorts!

A trip to Wellington during the first week of the training plan meant that I had to adapt and work it into my weekend. Of course being in Wellington meant there wasn’t a hope of getting a nice gentle flat or windless run in! But it was nice to explore somewhere new.

At the end of week four, I can honestly say I’m feeling the best that I have in a long time. I’m feeling fitter and stronger. The gym workouts, something I once dreaded I now look forward to. Although I’m doing the same exercises every week, it is getting harder because I’m pushing myself harder. The same goes with run group. I’m pushing harder to try be up the front with the fast boys and girls and I’m loving the challenge of it all. It has been really encouraging catching up with fellow CPers every week about the training plan and their training goals – everyone is so positive.

Highlight of the last few weeks is getting my average road run km/hr down and taking on my first off-road run since starting the training plan.

I’ve included a photo from Thursday nights run group. This is me and Awesome Girl Jenny Halliday. Jenny was deservedly awarded the cape at the Mount Grey CP outing last Sunday. I really enjoy running with Jenny every Thursday and hearing about what hills Jacob has planned for her to run up! She’s also a bit of a legend!

Simon will write up the next 4 weeks of the training plan which will kick off on Monday. I’m already intrigued to see what he has in store for me…no doubt more erg! GROAN!

Until next time…

I haven’t always been a runner – about five years ago I set myself a goal and decided to complete a half marathon (21.1km). It was on my list of things I would love to do one day. When I set this goal I was about half way through my Weight Watchers journey of losing close to 18kg. I ran my first half marathon on 3 December 2011, I had ticked this off my list.

One thing that you don’t expect when training to run a distance like that is that you will get the “running bug” and want to run it again, and again. This was me. Never thought I would do it again, was just excited and happy that I had completed it once!

Over the next five years I would run another five half marathons and actually really enjoy it! People would ask me “are you going to run a full marathon” I would always say no, not something I was interested in doing – I was happy with just running the half, I was comfortable with this distance. Until the end of last year.

For some crazy reason I decided to commit to running a full marathon! I chose the Air New Zealand Queenstown Marathon as the one that I would do. I had heard so many good things about this new marathon course so why not choose one of the nicest places in the country to run my first marathon. This brings me to my current status. My training for Queenstown.

I can run 21km no trouble but running 42km is a whole other ball game. I knew that I would need a bit more guidance and assistance in training for 42km! I came across TeamCP and thought why not investigate! I met Richard and the rest is history (well nearly two months history!).

So far am I really enjoying working on actually “how” I run and learning that changing just the smallest things can make a huge difference to how I feel when I run. Simple things like straightening my posture, the way I swing my arms and where my feet land makes a big difference to making the run easier – and therefore using less energy so that I can run a longer distance (aka the 42.2km!).

I am excited to see how I can improve the way I run now so I am at the best I can be for 21 November!

Keep an eye out for more blogs on my training and running related antics!

Actually started some proper training last weekend. 83km including some good rough riverbed tracks to test out the new handlebar bag. It took about 5km to get used to the extra weight on the front, but with a fairly realistic gear load on board, the bike felt pretty well balanced by the end of the ride. First and last shakedown before this weekends “The Coaster” micro-adventure (August 1&2), a nice simple 230km to get started!!. Plan is to carry all camping gear etc, just to get used to riding with the bike loaded up, but will be motelling at the halfway point. At this stage of my training, 120km a day will be quite enough.

I’ve been slowly accumulating gear and generally getting ready for some spring/summer trips away. Tonights brainwave was how to carry some duct tape, without filling up a bag with the roll. 1.2m now wrapped around the bottle of Stans sealant I will be carrying. I pick up my Spot tracker on Friday, so hopefully someone will know where I am, when I don’t!

With Friday being my last day at current job, my first (mini) brevet over the weekend and then starting up as a self-employed Quantity Surveyor on Monday its an exciting time!

tyre sealant and general fix-it tape in one unit

Test ride with new handlebar roll. Opihi River tracks

It’s been a whirlwind of appointments, texts, emails and phone calls as I’ve got sorted out with (or was that by?) Fleur and Beck. I love the Training Peaks environment, being someone who loves schedules. Beck has me listing every morsel that passes my lips (oh god!). I have had my long neglected road bike out on the road this morning, where she belongs. I was pretty lucky really to find she was still in fine working order, in fact in much better shape than I am! What looked like cobwebs all over the derailleur turned out to be cat fur. Hmm, must have something to do with the cats spending their nights in the garage.

It wasn’t easy getting on the road again, lots of memories assailed me as well as the wind. I can barely ride a straight line, all core strength having been turned into cork strength I suspect. But they say you never forget how to ride a bike when you’ve done it once and sure enough the vibro-massage of the rough chip seal, the lovely sound of the tyres humming along the smooth bits, the rhythm of the pedals felt very familiar.

So now I am properly on my way and wouldn’t you know it I have to stop already! I had more surgery booked in but without a fixed date. I did say I would be available at short notice and Fleur and Beck were already primed for a likely hiatus at some point  but I got the call on Thursday, could I be in pre-op on Monday at 0700? Crikey. So the training goes on hold whilst I am doing part 2 of my double mastectomy. The good thing though is that we’ll have this out of the way at the start and then be able to push on.

I knew I’d made a great choice with CP when I said that surgery would be part of my schedule and no one even hesitated. Together we can deal with anything.

The last month has been pretty busy, I finished my first semester at CPIT and hit the holidays which was awesome. It was a fun and busy semester filled with learning how to whitewater kayak, run adventure based learning activities, lead climb and much more. During the semester I started being coached by Chris Stagg and training for Multisport races. I competed in TWALK and raced the 3D Rotorua 50km premier multisport race. With these events done training now focuses on training for Spring Challenge and Coast to Coast.

I always look forward to the holidays, a good chance to have some fun, and by fun I mean adventures and training. First week and I went off whitewater kayaking on the Hurunui river with some friends. I also did some running and cycle training sessions. Chris and I tried to get out for a paddle on the lower Waimakariri River in multisport kayaks and start working on my kayak skills but unfortunately the river flow was too high. I was pretty gutted as I was keen to test out my new Sharp 6 and get my first experience of paddling whitewater in a multisport kayak. I started paddling a few years ago but have only just started learning how to whitewater kayak this year and it will be something I have to work on for Coast to Coast.

I took the opportunity of holidays to head to the hills and check out Arthurs pass as I had never been tramping there before. My Friend and I attempted to tramp the Casey- Binser saddle loop over 3 days with a side trip to Lake Minchin on the second day. It was a nice tramp but unfortunately we had to tramp back out from Casey Hut via Andrew’s track – the same way we tramped in due to lots of heavy rain and a risk of not being able to cross some streams.

After tramping I headed home to Wellington and was excited to hit the Wellington hills for some training. I smashed out a 2hr run where I got to run through most of my favorite running spots, Wellington Skyline, Karori cemetery and Otari-Wilton’s Bush, it was awesome. I also got to test out the new mountain bike track at Makara peak – Peak Flow, which I’d been dying to try, and can’t wait to ride it again. I got typical Wellington weather of wind and rain to add extra fun to training.

To finish off the holidays I went on another tramp in Arthurs Pass. It was a fun adventure where we attempted to cross Harman Pass. After a fun holiday of tramping and training I’m now settling back into semester 2 and study.

So why do I need a coach this time?

There are millions of marathon plans on the internet, in books or I could have copied my Queenstown Marathon plan from last year. I could have been coached by my husband (Mike) as he has run the Gold Coast Marathon twice but we all know that would never work – as I always know better! Can you imagine a frosty July morning at 6.30am, black ice on the road and the grass crispy white and Mike is telling me to get out of bed and go for 10k run, that is never going to happen!

One of the main reasons I am being coached by Richard again is accountability. I am not going to let him or myself down. And I am paying for this and as an accountant we like to get our money’s worth. Richard talks to me at the start of every week and we decide what we can and can’t do for the week. In the beginning I told him I could only run three times a week, well he has me running up to 5 times a week, yoga and two strength trainings as well.  It may sound a lot but a couple of the runs are very short and are combined with exercises, I was always doing the yoga anyway and the strength sessions I do at home in front of my TV!  It is actually very achievable.

So I have 15 weeks to go until Melbourne. Running a marathon is like having a baby. If we remembered how painful and scary child birth is we would only have one child and marathons are like this. What also made me want to run again was listening to my friends Simon and Lynn talking about their marathon training for Rotorua and I realized I was missing the discipline of training and their enthusiasm was contagious.

The thing about a marathon is it keeps you honest. There is no bullshitting a marathon. You may be able to wing a 10k or even a half but not a marathon. I do love that about running.  You get out what you put in and your results are obvious. Sure it never seems to get any easier but that’s because you are getting better, faster and stronger. If I had stayed at my original pace of 8 minute k’s then I guess I would find it easy but you really do progress quickly when you put the work in.

I love being fit. It makes me feel a little bit smug but that’s ok because I have earned it!

After a nice restful weekend in Hanmer Springs, I was feeling set for week 1 of the training programme which started on Monday. This is the foundation phase of the training. The first few weeks are about laying down the ground work for whats to come in the next few months. I’m currently scheduled to do three runs per week. The running side of things have been nothing out of the ordinary and I’m delighted to squeeze in two of my three sessions with CP, particularly with the cold days motivation can easily slump.

A big part of the programme is getting into the gym and doing some strength work. Simon has me doing lots of erg work. I thought I had officially retired from the erg after finishing up my rowing ‘career’ in 2011, however it seems Simon is having me make a comeback. I’m finding the gym stuff manageable but getting a few aches and pains as I’ve neglected this stuff for a while. I’m looking forward to two or three weeks down the track when I start to feel stronger and more able for multiple minutes of planking and squatting.

Until next time..

Firstly I will apologise in advance for this blog being mostly about my coaching with Richard – for those of you who read this and have never had a running coaching session before – do it! Not only has it made me re think how I run it has also shown me that I can improve even at my age!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to having a run coaching session with Richard.  Initially he filmed me running and then on the replay asked me what I thought was going on with my ‘style’. My first reaction was, ‘Jeepers I make running look like hard work!’ We discussed what was working and what wasn’t and from there moved onto some run specific exercises. After an hour I could already see changes in my stance, stride and could actually feel the difference when I ran. The impact had gone out of my calves and achilles and I could actually feel my glutes working. Since then I have been doing shorter runs and trying to put into practice what I learnt.

Even though the session was awesome, I am now in that frustrating place between trying to emulate what I have learnt, and trying not to slip back into old inefficient habits. I know eventually it will get easier but for now I am unlearning my previous style while trying to implement new habits that will hopefully help me to remain injury free. When I get the technique right I run faster with less effort. Am looking forward to the day when that happens consistently!

Richard suggested doing 5-6 shorter runs implementing what he shown me and to cut out my long run at the weekend. When he said that in my head I was like, ‘Gasp, no you’re joking right? No long run? Seriously…” Needless to say I did not heed that advice and have still taken to the hills for my Sunday long run/stroll. Sorry Richard!

This made me realise how much my attitude and motivation towards exercise and running has changed – a year ago I would have been, “Sweet! Good excuse not to have to push myself or get out of bed early on a Sunday…! It was also a bit of a lightbulb moment – I have had training programmes for running events before but never coaching. Knowledge is power and any advice that can help keep my body moving and in one piece is all good.

I am also currently doing the Catch Fitness 20 week Challenge and one of my goals has been to decrease my 5km time. Since starting ten weeks ago I have been steadily decreasing my time and over this past month I have decreased my 5km time by a minute. I believe this has been due to strength training with my amazing PT, Rachel Palmer, as well as the coaching I have received from Richard.

As you can tell my coaching session has been the highlight of my training programme for the past few weeks! Hopefully progress will be evident at my next coaching session…!