Whoops, it has been a bit quiet on the blog front sorry. But then it has been anything but quiet on the life and racing front. I don’t plan on boring you with the details too much but here is a brief summary to bring back up to the state of play since my last blog after our China victory back in November. The following weekend I was attempting my 4th weekend of racing in a row (after 2 days at Red Bull Defiance in Wanaka, a race in Western Australia then a 3 day effort in China). It was Challenge Shepparton back in Aussie and finished well before plan when I came off my bike on a slippery corner and bruised my hip. Ah well, it had been a good run and I swallowed the DNF with bruised pride to match my hip and moved on.
A few weeks later, after some holiday time in Aussie where Flynn got to spend time with his Aussie family members, I was racing the Lorne Adventure Fest and trying to defend my Australasian Multisport title. Despite being a bit underdone after my holiday mode for the three weeks prior, I was happy with my race but a little gutted to finish second to an untouchable Braden Currie. I’d need to get my swim up a few levels if I expect to be competitive against Braden in these races in future. One thing I can match him on though is coffee consumption and we made sure to sample Lorne’s black gold post-race, its a fantastic town and one I’d love to visit again soon. Once home in NZ for December I was straight into my training build for Challenge Wanaka. Along the way I have won the Lake Hayes Half-Iron Distance Triathlon on December 27th and this past weekend I finished third overall in the South Island Standard Distance Triathlon Champs. Both pleasing results given they have both come in the middle of big training weeks and with both being of distances much shorter than I prefer.
So now it’s all eyes on Challenge Wanaka on February 22nd. Few will be surprised to see me lose a chunk of time in the swim, myself included. However all signs point towards a big improvement on my 1.03 split for last year’s 3.8km swim stage. Time will tell how much time I am able to recover in the ensuing 180km cycle and 42km run but I have already made a promise to myself (multiple times in fact) that I will not stop giving 110% until I cross the finish line at Pembroke Park. I’m as ready as ever to head to every single dark place that awaits me on that day. It gets me excited just thinking about it.
The big announcement for 2015 is that I have a brand new principal sponsor. This has been a goal I have had since taking to sport in a more serious way in 2007, so it feels amazing to have achieved a partnership like this and especially so given the genuine connection I hold with my new sponsor. So it is with massive excitement and pride that I say welcome on board and thank you to the team at Riverside Park here in beautiful Wanaka for their support in 2015. Those of you who know Amy, Flynn and me will already be aware that we call Riverside Park home. The main reasons we chose Riverside Park as the place to call home were affordability, access to Wanaka’s outdoor splendour and quietness despite the close proximity to downtown Wanaka. Anyone who loves the thought of calling Wanaka home but is disillusioned by the perceived expense involved will be pleasantly surprised if they visit www.riversidepark.co.nz and make contact with the team behind the dream! It turns out the much sought after Wanaka lifestyle doesn’t have to cost the earth.
If it isn’t the walking/biking tracks on our doorstep, the beautiful Clutha river or the view from the top of Mt Iron keeping us moving, it is the community spa and swimming pool, BBQ facilities, or peaceful wetlands reserve helping us breathe a relaxing sigh of appreciation for the place we call home. We have already registered Flynn for the very highly regarded on-site pre-school centre (http://www.riversideeducare.co.nz/) and cannot wait to grow our little family in this slice of paradise.So you’ll see me out there this year proudly associating this incredible training, competing and family lifestyle I feel so lucky to live, with the team at Riverside Park. If you see me along the way and would like to know anything more about this special area just stop and ask. I’d love any opportunity to brag about the place I call home!
Stay tuned as I plan to release a few secrets on how to train towards one of the many endurance events on offer in this region. Tips on running, biking, multisport and triathlon will be available exclusively via Riverside Park’s website in the coming weeks. My training secrets will be aimed at all walks of life and especially to those who have always dreamed of finishing a physical challenge but just need a little insight into how to bring things to fruition. After all, being active and outdoors is a big reason to call Wanaka home. More to come but until then (to borrow a saying from the team at Torpedo 7), see you out there!