National Triathlon Sprint Champs

Yesterday the Contact Tri series visited Kinloch, on the Western shores of Lake Taupo for the National Sprint Champs.

Local triathlete Jono Lee, finished 11th in the elite under 19 race. Well up with the action after the swim and bike, Jono faded on the run somewhat to finish in a time of 1.02.55. Plagued by a calf injury for a good part of last year, Jono’s build up was far from ideal for fast running, particularly in an event which attracts the best in the country.

In an event run on the same day, “local” Tom Francis finished second to Cameron Brown in the Erin Baker standard distance triathlon.

Click here for results.

Results are here.

Steve’s Ironman Update

You’re in trouble when we get to the bicycles”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Ironman takes over your life and the lives of those around you.  

It’s been a really different build-up this time round and I really don’t remember it becoming so all consuming last time. A couple of people have asked if I would contemplate anot(not that I can say I’ve done 2 as yet) and the answer is no.  (We’ll see Steve – I reckon you’re just getting warmed up)

I met some people recently that would qualify as being ‘right into Ironman’, and to be honest they left me a bit cold. One couldn’t talk about anything unless it was to do with training.  The usual questions like, where do you live? what do you do? were met with one word answers and glazed looks, whereas a query about what supplement you use in your drink got a half hour answer complete with personal analysis and detail of recent experimentation to produce the optimum brew.

The other person had embraced the whole Ironman lifestyle to the max and life was like a race. She was an expert at the toilet stop whilst riding without actually stopping. Okay, I concede she is at a level of Ironman I will never get to having won age group races and done well at Kona,  but when you have to drop your kaks and ‘go’ on the grass verge, on a training ride, with a public toilet about 5m away, I reckon you have become a bit too obsessed with saving seconds.

Wondering what all this reflective stuff is about? Well, I haven’t done much training in the past week after the heavy sessions in Taupo so I don’t have anything to talk about! Actually life has been a bit like a normal person’s existence with a half hour ride (including a cafe), a 60 km ride with Phil B, where heart rates got to levels more like those of walking pace and a leisurely 10 km run. It all changes Tuesday when the schedule kicks in again in all its glory. The easy days now have rides that once upon a time I could only have contemplated after a summers worth of training.  

We are planning to have Twitter updates on the day on this site, so you can keep track of what is happening with Marlborough athletes at Ironman NZ.

Lochmara Big Swim

 

On 28 Feb, Lochmara Lodge has their annual Fun Festival. As part of this they have the Lochmara Big Swim, which is a 750m swim from across the bay back to Lochmara. I know, 750m is only a warm up, but you could swim to the start of course and get 1500m in. Awesome first prize of a free night for two at the lodge – hmm could be tempted.

They are offering discounted water taxi rates for the day – $30 adult return from Picton ($15 kids). Entry to the race is free.

For those wanting some more intensive training than just the swim, it is a 7.5km kayak from Picton across to Lochmara Lodge, around 20km along the Queen Charlotte Track back to Anakiwa, and about 27km from Anakiwa along the road back to Picton.   They can also do bike/kayak transfers for people who want to bike/kayak/run in from Anakiwa or Mistletoe Bay along the track.  For more information go to www.lochmaralodge.co.nz, or phone Allanah at the Lodge on 573 4554

Avoid the Picton Elevation on a bike today

We have it on good authority that the Elevation is being resealed today. Hot tar and loose gravel top to bottom today. Probably be loose for a few more days.

Steve’s Ironman Update

Ironman start – Lake Taupo

35 days to go until Ironman. It’s fair to say the nerves are beginning to kick in. Just the usual stuff – who in their right mind does all the swimming and biking and ends it with a 42 km run? After all the training why does it still hurt so much? What was I thinking? 

The past week was spent going over the course in Taupo with Phil B and a bunch of others from Tauranga, New Plymouth, and Palmerston North. Even this early there seem to be heaps of people out training on the course, and there are signs talking of road closures that aren’t too far away. 

The ride on race day is out to Reporoa and once you get back to Taupo … you go back out to Reporoa again! It all adds up to 180 km, and it doesn’t have the scenery of the Waihopai or the Sounds so it’s as tedious as hell. The ride ends with Heartbreak Hill, which is a long slow grind of 8 km that never seems to end, before you get a 5 km downhill into Taupo. I know its 8 km because every time we did it the wind was blowing hard into the face and I was really counting down the metres.

We did the whole course twice and its fair to say the butt on the 2nd ride was about as sore as it could possibly be. Even minor dents in the road felt like I was being shot. We also got a couple of long runs in, one of which was 3 hours in torrential rain.  The run course is alo out and back twice and, as everyone says, Ironman is as much mental, as it is physical, and that is so true. Completing a lap, whether it be on bike or foot, and then having to do another one is really hard on the head.

We did a lot of swimming, and probably the pick of those was a 3 lap circuit in Accacia Bay. The foreshore at Taupo was too rough to get in so we had headed west and Accacia Bay was like a glass table top. That was a good way to wind down after the 3 hr run and thankfully the weather had started to improve by then. All in all, everything that was scheduled was completed. I got some seriously good advice about nutrition for race day, and then got the opportunity to apply it, so I’m feeling as prepared as I ever could be.

One of the best parts about it was the 3 day break I had planned – and I am in the middle of that now. That’s a really nice feeling, but at least when you are in training you can avoid doing the lawns and the like. Not so easy at this point.

Tasman Trespasser

The truly lunatic feats of endurance by others helps to change us. To master endurance sports, you have to continually expose yourself to situations, people and events that change what your mind believes impossible.

Who didn’t ride a little further after reading It’s not about the bike, and if you’ve read this book by James Castrission, you’ve already changed your views on what horrors challenges your mind and body can endure.

On 20 January, Shaun Quincey left Australia to row solo to NZ, a feat that his father accomplished in 1977. Colin Quincy is the only person ever to have made the crossing solo.

No doubt, if he doesn’t make it, he will be labelled as foolish. If he does make it, he will be a hero. Either way, let his endeavours expand your own horizons.

You can follow him here.

We are also following him on Twitter on the side bar of this web site.

Jono Leeds the way

Marlborugh triathlete Jono Lee took a win (by nearly 7 minutes!)  in the  Avanti Plus Sprint Triathlon at Rabbit Island, Nelson, on Sunday.

Link to Nelson Mail article here.

Full results are here.

Local Events Galore

The Marlborough Multisport Club (MMSC) has been busy working away at a revamped selection of events for the multsiporters and wannabes amongst you.

MMSC is to take over the running of the Blenheim Summer Triathlon and Winter Duathlon Series. We’ve got some course changes planned, making them safer, better options for kids and new sponsors.

Along with this we will take over the Michael Huntley Memorial Triathlon. The date and location will change because  it clashes with the Grape Ride, and the Delta Lake is now deemed unsafe for swimming

Also, the Quadrathon, NZ’s longest running multisport event, is back on. Put April 17 into your diaries and get a team organised. We’re currently working on some course changes and we’re planning to incorporate Waikawa, Picton and Rarangi in this year’s event.  Approximate distances will be 750m Swim, 8km paddle, 30km Bike, 10km run.

Watch this space for updates.

Anakiwa Triathlon – photos and results

Josh Scott and Mark Grammer, winners of the Kayak and Swim triathlons, keep their noses clean after the race at Anakiwa

Click here to see photos of today’s race.

Click here to see a video shot by Mark G’s 10 year old son.

Results are here.

Link to Marlborough Express article here.

La-Z-Boy Duathlon is a hit

220 Marlborough Men took to their running shoes and bikes last night for the inaugural Matt Heagney Memorial Duathlon. The event took in the Taylor River Reserve and the Wither Hills Farm Park, both fantastic exercise assets for Marlborough.

Whilst not billed as a competitive event, Marlborough duathlete Kevin Bishell was first across the line.

Click here for photos from the event.