News
Check this page for news about how training is going and other stuff...
Saturday 22nd November - A Big Training Weekend - Yay!
Today my friend Glen and I are cycling to Tauranga (approx 160km to the overnight stop) after my early morning lake swim. Tommorow we are cycling back (160km) to Taupo.
This is the lake this morning at 7am. Beautiful. Warmer than it looks too!
After breakfast Glen rocked up to mine and we headed off on our Epic Journey for the weekend....
Saturday was a tough ride as there were strong Northerly winds (which meant headwind) all the way to Tauranga. The route we went was from Taupo climing up to Rotorua then through Nongataha along Pyes Pa road which meant even more climbing!! Some good downhills too and then on to Tauranga on some nice smooth flat roads before heading to Mount Maunganui.
This little cafe was is about a quarter of the way into our ride! Nice if we could have got midway by that point!
Not with these winds today!
The GateKeepers of Rotorua
Lunch Stop! Yum!
Into the valley! Anything that goes down has got to climb back out!
This is just the start of the climb! Had to put my camera away otherwise I'd fall off my bike!
A herd of Jersey Cows! All wondering why on earth I am taking their photo!
Not far from home - Only 77km to go !!
The last climb to Taupo - not much left in my legs right now but a big smile on my face.
Well this says it all really - I'm off to put my feet up now!!
(325km = 202 miles)
Thanks heaps Trinny and Scott for cooking such an awesome dinner on Saturday night! You fueled us well for the ride on Sunday and it was awesome watching you at the Rotorua Tri too. It was nice to see you too Amy! Hope you had fun at the party... next time I'll try to fit my party clothes in my little backpack.
Thanks Glen for letting me beat you up the last little hill in to town! Even after you took off like a rocket for the last 20km of climbing back to Taupo! That's the last time I'm sharing my jelly sweets with you! They make you go way too fast!
Cleaning the Office
We did it... we got new desks and cleared out all the junk that was in there! I think my colleague Aniek got a bit carried away!!! I love our peice of Maori artwork though.
Our Papier Mache Maori Artwork
My CRAZY! Colleague Aniek Lenoir!
On a Work Trip to Mangakino we saw this guy walking his Sheep!
Training Camp
We did a training camp last weekend from my place and Heather, Jenny and Holly all trained hard for the Rotorua National Series and the Taupo Half Ironman. It was great fun.
Back to New Zealand
I've been back in Taupo now for 2 weeks but it feels like forever... I miss Hawaii a lot and the people over there. So I've been keeping myself busy in an attempt to stop me wanting to jump right back on a plane to be back with everyone on the Big Island. Its really nice to be home though and to be with all my friends here in NZ.... I've started the coolest new job, which involves working with all the different sports clubs in the area....I'm learning heaps and meeting some really motivated people who are passionate about what they do.... Our Tri-Club also won Sports Club of the Year at the Annual Sports Awards so everyone is really happy.
Working at the Awards Function the table dressings remind me of Hawaii
My friend Lynette made a pretty window for me at my house
HAWAII 2008
The laptop that I had with me in Kona died when I picked it up by the screen, which splattered the LCD inside it!! Tip don't pick up your laptop by the screen!! They don't like it....! So my reports from Hawaii were limited and taking photo's was also hard as my camera packed in! I've managed to get a few together and over the next few days will be adding photo's and putting up stories (wonderful memories) of my time here......
Manta Rays !
Been for another Ocean Swim today and bumped into 3 HUGE Manta Rays.... These are the wierdest looking things and they are MASSIVE!!! I got scared again but was swimming with others who gave me the confidence that they are harmless... they eat plankton and stuff like that so not interested in humans.
Can't wait to go back and see what is in the water next time I'm swimming.
This is all good stuff.
I was mooching about yesterday looking for a market with veges! I walked the opposite way from town for a change and found a market but no veges - just this little organic stall. The guy asked what I was looking for and went out of his way to give me some of his own salad (he was heading out of town tommorow so wouldn't eat it all).
It was gorgeous! Had Rose Petals and all kinds of things in it! I just hadn't bargained on getting a spider in there for free too! eek! Not a huge one but big enough to make me not want to venture in the salad forest any longer!
I've had the most AWESOME day today! Went down to the pier at 7.30am and there were some girls there doing a swim to the 1 mile marker (I've not had the confidence to go past the 6 buoys on my own). They swam with me (and waited for me) which was great, it's really beautiful all the way out there! And Dolphins! OMG they are amazing creatures swam right underneath me. I was so scared when I first saw them (anything with a fin on top is scary at first sight - right????) but they absolutely blew me away! They jump right out of the water and swim under you.... its breath-taking.
I had a few errands to run today too... I get really low on Iron and struggle with my training when I'm heading to anaemia. This weekend was a tough one out there and I knew I should have sorted this out earlier last week rather than wait till my body tells me to get to the Doctors. After, several phone calls yesterday to medical centres, things didn't look too rosy. Appointments were going to cost anything from $180 to $200+. (I have the medication with me so it's only the time I would be paying for!!)
Still had a few numbers to try today so I stopped at the Information centre and met a lovely lady called Katie. She has the coolest car by the way.
When she overheard on the phone that the charges were still going to be sky high - she completely took charge... and boy am I glad she did. She rang several centres where she knew people and her own medical centre said to send me right on up there....COST - Nada / Nil/ Free / A big FAT ZERO ..... not even one tiny little Cent ! It's cool for me to go back there every fortnight too. I can not thank them enough for this I now don't have to worry about my health as much.
So I headed on up to the TGA Supermarket (bought a little too much for my backpack) and then started the 45 min walk back from the shops to the apartment. It's quite hard carrying heavy things in the heat - Doh! Anyway - One of the guys who lives here in the apartment complex saw me walking up with all the bags so turned his motorbike around and gave me a ride back.
Awesome People, Awesome Day and it's only just lunchtime!
Two Weeks in Paradise
Wow, I can't believe that I've been here for 2 weeks already! It's a beautiful place and when people tell you it's hot.... They're right! The pools here are great! Free of charge to use... so you can swim as much as you want...
The other day I was out on the bike and got chatting to a fellow triathlete called John... he's not doing Ironman this year but is learning how to swim so that he can. I asked about the lessons and he suggested I go along on the Weds as Steve the Coach likes newbies to show up and learn! When I rocked up Steve saw my tan-lines and went 'Aww' (imagine American twang here) you must be a triathlete. We're not training today this is just a lesson but I asked if was okay to still be part of the group and he welcomed me along with the others. It was a great lesson, and I established that I'd been catching too high in the water, which automatically explained why my shoulder was hurting so much. It felt good, and I'm keeping the focus on a good catch in the water.
There's a group that swim from the Pier in the open water so I'm going to join them next week. I've already been in there and its truly beautiful... so many coloured fish and corals! I have seen dolphins jumping out of the water in the distance, so I'm wondering if I will get to swim closer to them when I'm out with the group. My new swim friend Kathy is also doing the Ironman and we swim about the same pace so we can have a nice steady swim.
Everyone in the town is so friendly and there's a few more athletes starting to arrive now so things are starting to build up towards the big event. Next week and the following it's going to start getting much much busier.
This weekend we've had Super Super Strong Winds and temperatures of 36 degrees! (I had thought I'd started acclimatizing at 34 degrees and then it goes up a couple of notches!).
Doing some big miles in training, and am pretty tired at the moment, and still have a couple of big weeks to go but its all good and I'm enjoying it. I know that I'll be strong for race day...... going to be looking forward to the taper! :-)
One Week of Madness
Going from 24 degrees in Queensland to -4 degrees in Taupo! After a wonderful 10 days in the sun meeting a bunch of awesome people, it's always nice to be home. Taupo rocks!
Now the fun begins and I'm running around (not just in training) sorting out everything before I head off to Hawaii in a week!
I've got an assignment to complete for my HR Diploma and a whole bunch of other things to get done but my bags are already half packed! Mostly filled with my race nutrition as they don't sell it in the USA so I'm going to be taking very little in the way of clothing. I'm under the impression it's hot enough not to need much over there anyway! eek!
Well, I'm going to head off and write another to-do list but will catch up with you all soon.
Blue Skies
(my friend Lynettes' favourite wishes -always puts a smile on my face - hope it does yours too)
x Lucy x
Winter Training
Hey all.... well it's about time I updated everyone on how things are going. Sorry it's been such a long time. It's been an interesting few months with some major life changes but I'm happy that things are going the way that they are. One of the best things is that I can focus on helping other people with their Triathlon goals through my business The Triathlon Centre here in Taupo. I've got several athletes now and the positivity, motivation and dedication that comes from all the individuals in the group is infectious... it's brilliant.
I'm now training full-time in the build up for Kona and have been loving the testing conditions in the Winter. It's good for the soul to push yourself to get out there regardless of the weather. Although I'd be lying if I didn't admit to a few long sessions on the wind trainer! 4hrs is the maximum time on there so far and I really hope it doesn't have to get any longer than that.
I've got a new coach "Greg Fraine" and he's been giving me some awesome plans to work to. I'm feeling strong at the moment and have made a few adjustments which have seen some of the previous strains and pains dissappear!
Swimming... still going at a steady pace but am confident that I can swim 3.8km withouth a wetsuit having done 76 laps in one non-stop session this week. Just need to try and get a bit faster so that will be the focus over the next several weeks.
A few weeks ago I took part in the Wellington Half Marathon and Pb'd with a time of 1hr 31 mins so that was a really good day out. I've often been told about how windy it is down there but definatley didn't anticpate how strong it really was..... all the Wellingtonian's that day were commenting on how the weather was good and how the wind was mild !!
I'm going to be updating on a more regular basis now and will let you all know of any news that comes in. The next race is the Capricorn Rydges Half Ironman at Yeppoon in Australia on the 17th August.
Happy Days to all of you.
x Lucy x
Hawaii here I come
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Hi Everyone
It's Monday morning here in NZ and the sky is blue, no cloud, just beautiful sunshine!
Over the past few days we have had some huge rainfalls and gale force winds here in
Taupo!!
This made for a very very tough day at Ironman the only thing that was shining was all
the supporters who also toughed it out to keep our spirits up when we were out there!!
Absolutley fantastic!
I raced in the 35-39 age-group having just turned 35 three days before the race. I'm
glad I did as there were some very fast girls in the 30-34 age-group this year! There
were some fast ones' in my new age-group too! Ex-Pro's and some very experienced
triathletes.
All day I had to push really hard, harder than ever before as I went in to the race
having had a rather upset stomach the night before, and no amount of immodium would stop
the upset! I came of the bike in 2nd place and managed to hold on to 5th place even
though I had to stop at every support station over the 42km! It was not a pretty day!
Having dug deeper inside, I really don't know where I found the strength to get through
but it's amazing how your mind can overcome the way that your body feels when you really
need it to.
I crossed the line at 11hrs 10mins, so 20 mins faster than last year. I went home tired
but happy to have got through.
The next day we all headed down to the information centre. I was going to see what time
the roll down meeting was for any Kona slots that hadn't been accepted by the 1st to 4th
place getters. Imgagine my surprise when I found that there were 5 slots in my
age-group..... so I qualified on my own merit and finish time!!!!
Kona (Hawaii) is the Ironman World Championships and is the pinnacle of all races in the
sport. You can not enter the World Champs unless you qualify from racing an earlier
Ironman. It's tough to get there but I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be
going!
I'll keep you all updated with the progress on my training over the next 6 months. Right
now I'm going to go for another lie down as my legs are aching a wee bit!
Much love to you all... thanks for all your support.
Lucy x
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Merry Christmas Everyone
Hope you all have a Wonderful and Festive Holiday. I'm in the throws of some big training but will be relaxing to enjoy Christmas. I miss my family and my distant friends very much and even though we're not able to share the Christmas Holiday together, I will be thinking of you all.
I'm really looking forward to the Half Ironman at Tauranga in January and will give you an update to let you know how I get on.
It's been a fun week at work and I have been presented with a brilliant challenge.
Phoenix Challenge
We have introduced Lucy Williams before: our resident triathlete and World Champs medal winner, who is specialising in IT recruitment within Phoenix. We have since added Liam Mulrooney, of the Javelin Sales and Marketing team,who is an Ironman in training too. We have a number of keen runners, cyclists and swimmers in the office SO... we are setting up a challenge. There is a triathlon, Olympic length, on 5th May 2008, which will be held at Mission Bay. http://www.peoplestri.com/default.asp?PageID=10589 We will have multiple teams of men competing against Lucy: one swimmer, one runner, one cyclist and also teams of women competing against Liam. We would like to invite you to join in! What a way to call your bluff on the New Year's resolution. There is plenty of time to train, so there is no excuse to get out of it. And it will be loads of fun! Olympic lengths are 1.5 km swim, 10 km run and 40 km cycle. Easy! If you are interested in getting involved, either in a team or even on your own, let me know.
Going to have to make sure I keep fit for this one eh! Go Girl Power! Me against multiple teams of Men! ha ha!
Hello Everyone....
Firstly, I must apologise for not keeping you all up to date with things lately. It's been quite a difficult time for me both physically and emotionally during this recovery period. The great news is that I am on the mend and I am managing to do some very light training to keep me motivated. I've learnt a lot about my body and how much I have pushed myself over the past year and I am now listening to all the advice I'm given about being patient and letting my body heal..... I'm working with Becs at EnergyLab to build my strength and resistance and am being guided by my coach to ease me back in to things.
As ever, I still want to race and am still aiming to race at Tauranga Half Ironman in January and the New Zealand Ironman in March, but I am keeping an open mind on these races. My body will let me know whether I can get there or not.... My mind is there already :-)
Thanks to all of you who have been keeping in touch and keeping me feeling positive. It really means a lot to me.
Below is a recent article in a UK Magazine about the acheivements I've made over the past year... hope you like it and I'll update you with more news soon.
Love Life, Have Fun
Lucy
http://webmail2.mydns.net.nz/horde/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pickmeupmagazine.co.uk%2Freal_lives%2FIm_an_iron_lady_article_149534.html
Time to get my head around this....
I'm on crutches and my brother is arranging for me to meet with a Sports Doctor who has recommended that I have an MRI scan. I can't put any weight on my leg at all at the moment so it's not looking too rosy. It seems it may have been fractured during the France race and resting it was making it better... I hadn't been able to do any run training on it prior to the race. Happy to say that it kept me going for half of the marathon at Ironman so it must have gotten somewhat better but unfortunatley it just couldn't hold out any more! I couldn't walk on it and so got pulled off the course for a check. They then called for the ambulance.
I'm gutted because I was way in the lead in my age-group and was in 10th position overall. I was on such a high on my second lap of the first run section to be passing some of the other pro's who were just heading out on their first lap. All my training and race strategy's were going to plan and even though the weather was awful I got all the splits I had been aiming for in the swim and the bike. I was feeling so good and knew I was going to storm home with a Top 10 placing, a Hawaii slot and a first in my age-group.... then the leg just went and the pain shot through me in every step. I tried running on the tips of my toes. I tried speed-walking. I tried dragging my leg whilst holding it to stop the pain... when the marshalls saw me doing the last bit I think they knew I was in trouble.
I sat at the side of the road and cried when I saw the other girls romping past but I tried to tell myself that I wouldn't have been able to race at Hawaii this year with an injury like this as pain like that out on the course tells you that sometimes you just have to listen to your body.
It's soul-destroying to know that I couldn't complete the race but I am going to focus on the memories of being up there with the likes of Hillary Biscay (she gave me a smile and cheered "Good Work Girl" when she ran by on the run). If I can do it now after such a short time in the sport then I can surely get back up there when my body is strong again. I will make it to Hawaii and I will race Pro next year just as I planned... I'm just going to have to revise my plans a little to make sure that I get there fit and healthy.
You've all been wonderful in supporting me over the past few months and I'm really looking forward to coming back home to see you all.
Thanks for everything.
Lucy x
Woohooo! Its race week!
The build up to the race is now on! I'm getting really excited now and am trying my hardest to keep all the adrenalin inside! Even though its kind of frustrating to ease off on the training and to try to not do too much in a day.... I do love this week!
All the other triathletes are starting to arrive and registration opened yesterday. I was one of the first to get my athlete wrist band and goodie pack. Some of my girlfriends arrived in Dorset, we've all been emailing each other for the past few weeks and the conversations about triathlon have been hilarious! All the things that we've had to get our head around!
So last night I prepped my bike a bit more (i forgot to put my carbon brake shoes on) after experiencing a very squeaky bike ride yesterday!! And I gave it another clean! Later on today I'm going to be putting all the nutrition stuff together and will be doing the first (probably of many) run, bike and special needs bag packing.
Going for a swim in the lake and will pick up the last bits and pieces like vaseline and insulation tape.
Training Going Good
I have been having a fantastic time here in Dorset, meeting so many different and interesting people. I'm staying with Fred and Sandra in West Coker, they were so kind and invited me to stay with them and its been so nice living with them. It really hasn't been the best of weather for camping and they have given me a lovely warm place to stay with a lovely warm bed. Their friendship and support has been unbelivable, they really are a lovely couple. Thanks to both of them for putting me up / putting up with me for the past 3 weeks! hee hee!
I couldn't resist the Pineapple Lumps and they got heartily munched after a big training session... lovely jubbly!
So the training out on the bike has been great.. I have lost count of the number of times I've ridden the course. Have changed a few strategies and am really looking foward to this section of the race! The run training has been limited to somewhat non-existent due to an injury in my hip/groin area that came on after the worlds. I've been going for physio on it everyday for the past 3 weeks and am feeling so much better. The physio here is a guy called Tony Farmer who runs his own practice in Stoford near Yeovil.. what a guy... awesome! The work he has done on my injury has been brilliant and he's confident I'll be good for race day. In fact he's been confident from the start so he's really helped me get my head around getting to the start line. It's tough getting your head around the fact that you might not make it to the start-line never mind the finish.
Page 3 Girl - Media Madness!!
My Mum rang the local newspaper when I got back from the World Champs in France to tell them about my Bronze Medal and they did a really nice article (full colour Page 3) in the local paper the Huddersfield Examiner.
Since then I've been asked to appear live on BBC Radio Leeds on the Saturday 25th August and my story will be featuring in a National Womens Magazine called Pick Me Up in the next month or so!
I really want to thank everyone for being so positive about my acheivements. It means so much to me to know that everything I have done can inspire other people.
The IMUK Bike Course!!
Tuesday I checked out the bike course for the first time! Man this is on heck of a hilly ride! There's a hill called the Giant at Cerne Abbas that just goes on forever! It took me 6.5hrs to complete the whole 180km which is very slow by my standards. I'm going back out there to do it again this week and hopefully I'll be feeling stronger. (Have been nursing a head cold and very tired legs) I'm going to take a look at my nutrition and also my bike strategy (usually I smack it out in the big chain ring) as usual methods aren't going to work on this one!
I'm looking forward to the training camp this weekend where I'll get chance to swim in the lake and practise the run route. Will let you all know how it goes.
Thanks
Lucy
Training in Dorset
Wowee, this rain is relentless!
Its nice that there a so many shiny happy people here in Sherbourne so it still feels like the sun is shining. I've been kindly given a free 1 month pass to use the local pool and gym and people have been kindly inviting me round to their houses so I'm not stuck in my camper van on my own. I'm glad i'm not in a tent as it would probably be floating down the river by now!
Mrs Warr who owns the campsite is lovely too and I share the grounds with Polly and Petal (two Jack Russell Dogs) Clinton the Cockerel and two cats whose names I haven't got yet. The facilities are great and the shower is lovely and hot so after a cold ride you can get nice and warm.
My Awesome Friends
I am the luckiest girl in the world to have some very special friends. These friends are there for me even though they are miles away and we can not get together at the drop of a hat. The support and kindess that you have given me over the past few weeks has truly been amazing. You picked me up when I was really down and gave me the courage to keep going and to keep believing in my dreams. I couldn't have done it without you. I'm saving the pineapple lumps for the after Ironman celebration and will think of each of you when I'm munching them... hee hee.
Thank you so much for everything.
My Champion Dad
My dad suffered a stroke just recently and I'm really pleased to say that he is making a good recovery. It's going to be a long process but he's working really hard at it. He's got his movement back but his speech is still very muddled and he has difficulty communicating. I admire him so much for trying so hard to get better. I also admire my Mum and Brother for being there to look after him. I'm looking forward to spending lots of time at home with my family after the Iroman race.
Bombing at 36 degrees!
Toni and Paul have got 3 kids. Harry 13yrs, Joe 10yrs and Maddie 6yrs. On Sunday, the local open water 50m pool opened and the temperatures were reaching 36 degrees, so for a bit of cool down, I went with the boys for a swim and splash around!
Well, its great to know that at 34 years old, I can still bomb better than any teenage boy!!! After much persuasion from Harry and Joe, I went for it and did the biggest bomb into the pool, thus resulting with my bottom slapping the water with the loudest sounding smack!!! Everyone around the pool heard and all previous efforts at looking cool, suave and sophisticated went straight out of the window..... My butt cheeks were bright pink and must have looked positively gorgeous, teamed with my triathlon tan lines, as I climbed from the pool!!
We were laughing our heads off all day!
Flat, Fast and Fun
Training has got back to more familiar distances and I've done some more work on the flat to undulating routes round here. We did an 80km time trial on Wednesday which took 2hrs 08 mins! There was a head wind on the way out and a tail wind on the way back in so I'm sure that contributed to the time! It was nice to get out on to the flats after all the hills, after all the sprinting stuff is what I like best.
Ironman Training Week
One of the best things about the last week was meeting a bunch of really nice people who were training for Ironman and other intense cycling goals. Helen and Justine are aiming for Ironman UK in August this year and Allan was training on the big hills to achieve his own personal goals.
It will be the first time Helen and Justine have done and Ironman and they've both put in a lot of effort so far, and have had to get through some really tough times just lately but they're still on track and determined to get to the start line. I really admire their spirit and as I only did my first one this year also, it was great to share stories with them. Allan also had a great time, I think he would have liked to stay out for a bit longer and get some more hills.
By the end of the week my training had been a full 25hrs on the bike, 4 hours swimming and 6 hours running. It was a big week, my body ached but it was good to know that I had pushed things to the maximum.
We all learnt a lot from each other this week, and so I'd like to thank both Helen and Justine for such an interesting and fun time. I'm looking forward to seeing them at Ironman on August 19th.
Les Montagnes!!!!!!! On a time Trial Bike!!
Crikey, this has been the biggest week of training, up some of the biggest mountains! A time trial bike probably isn't the best to be climbing up them, but hey still made it to the top!
We did some local climbs around Bourg St Maurice on the first day, then on the Monday we headed up to Petit St Bernard, a nice day of climbing up to 2180m on gradients varying between 3.3 to 8.1%. We actually cycled accross to the italian border which is nice. I did this climb 2 years ago when I first stayed out here so it was nice to see how it felt again.
On the Tuesday we set off for an even bigger day, up Cormet de Roseland, which is in the Highest Category in the Tour de France, through Albertville and Beaufort, this was a truly magical experience. It hurt a lot but, boy oh boy, the adrenaline rush on the way down was unbelievable. I was so overcome with it all, such happy emotions, that I had tears running down my face. There were a few heart-in-mouth moments on some of the switchbacks, but all in all an amazing day.
The rest of the week we took in many more climbs like Col de Tamie, and I did a time trial up La Plagne which is used as a time trial in the Tour! 2 years ago it took me 2hrs 12mins to get to the top.... This year I smashed it in 1hr 14mins!!! I felt very sick when I got to the top and decided that I probably had pushed it a little too hard! Hee hee..... really happy with the time though.
Saturday 16th June - Vivé La France
Headed off for warmer climates today to stay with Toni and Paul Morgan who run Triathlon Holidays from their home, in Macot La Plagne in the Savoie Region of the Alps. With its dramatic scenery it's a beautiful, relaxing place to stay and train. There's plenty of tough climbs to cycle on and a really nice fresh water lake, just a stroll away. The food is great too, and it's really nice to chill out afterwards in the peaceful village.
Thursday 14th June - Water, Water everywhere
Well this morning, I set out for a big 6hr bike ride. It had started to rain earlier that morning but I still got all the nutrition together and headed out with all my winter training gear on! As I headed out on the climb out of Sheffield the rain just got worse and worse. A motorcyclist friend called Sassi pulled up beside me and said he was really impressed with my dedication to be riding in this weather!
At the top of the hill and into the Peak District the rain was coming down so hard that you could not see anything immediately in-front of you and the rain was whipping my face till it was sore! I figured it would be much safer to turn round and head home... this I did and once warm and dry I headed for a day at the Gym. All day I was feeling a tad dissapointed that I couldn't complete my big ride for the week and wondered if i should have just carried on!
The next morning it was reported on the news that many roads were closed due to freak flooding and that we had one month of rain in one day. It was a crazy sight, there were cars floating down the road, people having to be rescued and this bewildered chaos in the street.
Monday 11th June - Free Swimming!
The local council are trying to get people out of bed in a morning to get fit so last week they offered free swimming if you got to the local pool for 7am! The numbers were good enough to please the councillors so they've extended the free swimming sessions for the whole of June!
For the first time ever... I am the fastest swimmer in the pool ! :-) Even next to the one Freestyle swimmer that showed up this morning.. hee hee! I've only got 1 more week of basking in this new found glory before I head to France.
The old ladies were chatting with me in the changing room and they all thought I was crazy going out for a run after my swim as I'd get all hot and sweaty and that was unfathomable in their eyes! They're all rooting for me though and are well impressed with my training so its making me smile heaps.
Looking forward to my bike ride tommorow hoping the weather stays as good as today.
Sunday 10th June - A Jazzy Sunday afternoon.
A nice and easy Sunday. After training this morning I headed to the Showroom cafe bar in Sheffield to make use of their free wireless. A great Jazz band have been playing and i've managed to update the website! Yippee!
I got in touch with Sheffield Tri-Club yesterday and got a phone call from some other people training for Ironman, so its been a really nice day.
Next week I'm going to be 'DIY Doris' as I'm prepping the house so that it will be ready for viewings whilst I'm in France, it should be sold by the time i get back according to the agents! Feels kind of strange to think of it that way but it will be good at the same time.
Thursday 7th June - Happy Spray
I wish I had a big can of Happy Spray that I could squirt on all the people walking in the street or standing at the bus stop! Even some of the people out cycling! How much fun would it be to squirt it and watch everyone's faces turn to a big cheesy smile. It seems that we Poms have a repuatation for wingeing and I'm beginning to feel it a little bit today! The sun is shining and summer feels like it is starting to appear which is wonderful.
I did a 5 bike ride today... tried to cycle from Sheffield to Stockport but the country road ran out and turned into a very hairy dual carrigeway! Came off at the nearest junction and went back round towards Matlock and Derbyshire. A really awesome ride. Bring it on that happiness.
Monday 4th June - Back to Sheffield
I've spent the past week back at my house in Sheffield. It's really nice to be back in familiar surroundings and it's been great catching up with all my friends. There's been a few challenges with selling the property and finding the right agents etc but other than that it's all been good and things are back on track.
One of the great things about Sheffield is that it is so close to the Peak District and the cycling out there is good fun! There's a lot of hills but they take you through some very picturesque countryside such as Bakewell, Chatsworth, Derbyshire and Matlock. There's one very big hill back from Bakewell which is like Sandstone (in NZ) but it goes on for twice as long. There's a sandwhich van at the top which sells bacon butties (sandwiches) and you can smell the bacon cooking from half way up the hill... I haven't yet stopped for one but it's so tempting! ha ha.
Saturday 2nd June - A Wonderful Wedding
My brother Morgan and his fiance Kate married today, in a beautiful village called Burnsall in North Yorkshire. Kate looked stunning in her wedding dress and it was magical to watch the wedding ceremony... good job there were lots of tissues! Morgan and Kate are truly in love and it's beautiful to see. Instead of a wedding car... they rode away on a Tandem.. a Cannondale one at that too!
North Yorkshire is a great place to go out for bike rides so we all headed out for some rides whilst we were there.
Stu, Gareth and Richard (my brothers mates) were all there too and it was it was great to catch up with them all again, after all it was these guys that got me into the sport with my brother. They did point out that there should be a mention of our holiday to the Alps in 2005 where "Little Miss Ullrich" was born on the Col-de-Madelaine. I'd only been cycling for about 10 weeks when they all took me out to this mountain which is in the highest category in the Tour de France and suggested that we cycle up it. They took off and left me to it but nearly fell off their bikes on the start of their descent when they saw how far I'd made it up the hill behind them. I'll be putting a picture of us all on this holiday in the gallery soon.
Wednesday 30th May - Bike Bits
It's been really interesting to learn how different it is to set yourself up with all the parts and tools and everything that you are used to. It was under the impression that cycling and triathlon was a universal thing and that all things would be available or similar to that in NZ.
No-one seems to ride 650 wheels over here! So when you go to the bike shop and ask for tubes, everyone looks at you gone out and remarks, what on earth would you want those for! Thanks to Dave at Sowerby Brothers Cycles for ordering some in stock.
I'm now also the proud owner of my very own Torque wrench so that I can tighten my seat post and saddle to 4 newton metres. Thanks to Chevin Cycles in Otley for selling me this and giving me some good advice on how to use it correctly.
Monday 28th May - A British Summer Holiday
Well it's good to know that nothing has changed much here! I arrived to read in the Newspapers that the temperatures in the UK were colder than in Siberia!! Ha ha.... Open Water Swim training at 4 degrees Celsius. You really have to admire the British Triathletes for commiting to their training on days like these!
It was actually warmer in the water than it was on land! Not that it made me spend hours in there... about 20 mins was enough for me, then I hopped out for a bit of physio for a bit of much needed manipulation after the long flight! Any excuse really!
Sunday 25th May - Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding
One of the things that I miss the most is my mum's home cooked Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with lashings of Horseradish Sauce. After a long journey, I tucked in to this whole heartedly and it was great to be able to chill out and relax with my family. Morgan and Kate were there too so it was a special day for the whole family to be together. I went to sleep happy and content.
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