Rotorua Half Ironman 2012. I DID IT!!!!!!

 Yesterday I FINISHED the Rotorua Half Ironman!

Got out there really early and racked my bike, sorted my box of 'stuff' and then headed down to the water.  I had written a plan for the day, which I re-wrote 3 times though out the week!  It kind of reminded me of university days (without the copious amounts of alcohol!) where you studied and wrote the same information over and over to ingrain it in your brain.  Much the same really.  The plan was to get in the water before the briefing and then again after to sort my head out.  I felt really good out there, no nerves, just excitement.  Decided to get in the water after the briefing, had a wee paddle around, swam in circles for a bit and then got told to hop out.  It was then game on, with the men heading off first and then 5 minutes later, the women and teams.  It was quite surreal really.  I casually strolled down in to the water and just swam.  Actually loved the swim.  Was the highlight of my day as I felt so fresh and so confident.  Thoughts washed through my mind

about how the rest of the day would pan out and before I knew it, I was heading around the turnaround buoy for the second lap.  Uncanny moment on the 2nd lap when I glanced over to the side of me and saw my training buddy Dean swimming right beside me.  Took a couple of glances to make sure it was him, had a giggle to myself and then carried on.  Completed the swim in around 38minutes.  Not bad for 2km!
Then it was bike time.  Felt absolutely fantastic going out on the bike, settled onto my seat and sorted my head out about where I was going to eat and what... I kicked myself for not putting a few leppins in my pocket but was confident I had more than enough food!  Was chatting to people as they passed me and feeling confident.  Up and over the hills, Tikitere was hot but my mantra was "just keep peddling, just keep peddling".  The hills were actually a break to the monotony of the flats, not that there were many of them!.Along the straights back to the lake I started feeling a bit tired but knew that I had to get myself up Tarawera

hill so had a GU in Lynmore and then the cramp hit.  Started in the side of my leg and by the time I got to the bottom of the Tarawera hill it was excruciating   My mantra came again to get myself to the top and the cramp actually took my mind off the pain of the height of the hill!!  Felt horrible the whole rest of the bike and simply just got myself to the end.  Off the bike and then sorted myself for my run.  I took ages in transition and I think I knew it was going to kick me where it hurt.  And it did.  The first part of my run was simply awful.  I had the stitch and cramp.  I kicked myself for not eating a banana as I had one sitting in my box at transition.  So it was a case of one step at a time.  I knew that as long as I kept moving forward, it was another few meters closer to my goal - TO FINISH.  I got up to the turnaround at the green lake and both my cramp and my stitch had subsided dramatically so I challenged myself to run the rest of the track to the bottom of the hill, I walked up the hill and then made another challenge to run for the rest of the blue lake loops.

 I did this and was relieved that the running actually got easy!! I kept counting back in my mind over and over how many hours I had been going and then realized that I could actually make it in in my original goal of 7hrs30minutes.  Was having serious doubts about this especially with not being able to run. I think this made me run faster and I kept checking my watch as at one stage I thought I could make it in under my goal time.  The last 10 minutes of my run I was overcome with emotions, I kept crying and at one stage was actually crying out loud!  The lady in front of me must have thought I was loopy!  Lee-Anne emerged from the bushes to run the last 5 minutes in with me which was a great distraction and kept me running. I came out of the bushes to see the finish line and the words of Lee-Anne ringing in my ears "You have done it girl, you are a half Iron man".  This made me bawl again and I just cried the whole way in.  Scooped Max up in my arms and he ran over the line with me.  Super emotional moment as I bent down and sobbed my little heart out.  Jacky, my mentor and Ironman idol gave me a huge hug and presented me with my medal.  It was

simply the best moment I have had in a wee while.  So emotional and relieved and tired and over the moon with my effort!!!
Hugest thanks to all of my supporters, especially my wonderful family, friends and training buddies.  Could not have done it without you all.
So there you have it, one half Iron man under my belt and new goals to ponder and set over the New year!! Ironman 2014 - here I come!!

What a ride!

Haven't posted in ages, purely because I really didn't know where to start and mainly because I simply haven't had time.
Training has been steadily ramping up week by week.  I am following the Rotorua Half Ironman training programme which is working really well for me.  Some weeks I have hit every session.  Other weeks I haven't.  I have learnt to move on from these weeks, and put better plans into place for the following week.  The main thing is that I am feeling confident that the work that I have done, and will continue to do in the next few weeks, has definitely paid off.  My swimming has stayed steady, my biking has come ahead leaps and bounds and my running will always be a struggle, but the struggle is getting easier.
A few weeks back I headed out to the lake with my wonderful training buddies Lee-Anne and Dean and super fabulous support crew Greg, Georja, Lockie, Max and Nic to do a mock version Tinman triathlon.  This was a 1km swim, 40km bike and 10 km run.  We all managed this in a very casual manner and felt ok.  The run was slow and hot, we think we did around 9km, but a huge achievement after swimming and biking.
I have been having ongoing issues with my open water swimming but am determined to get my mind sorted and have been just getting back out there each week.  Hugest thanks to the wonderful support of the RATS crew for their help in my freak out times and their advice and support.  Jacky, Lauren, Karin, Lee-Anne, Nina, Jamie - you guys rock!  I have had loads of suggestions from people and have tried a few of these out which are working for me.  The main one being to get in there early and swim around a bit to get my heart rate up slowly, take my time when starting out and watching my hands when swimming.   I did the first RATS aquathon of the season last night (750m swim followed by 5.5km run) in 54mins.  So utterly stoaked as I certainly didn't get close to finishing this in under an hour at the end of a long season of training last year. Woohoo!!
Last weekend I completed the last 80km of the Lake Taupo cycle challenge.  It was an awesome day, wonderful atmosphere and apart from a pain in the ball of my foot, a hugely successful ride.  Felt good on finishing too so that was a great hurdle jumper for my mind - if I can do 80km, surely I can do 90km!
Running has been steady but I know that over the next few weeks, I have to add a few km onto my long runs.  This will be interesting, but I did a 13km run a few weeks back and lived to tell the tale!  The run is always going to be the thing to kick me where it hurts so I am hoping that the steady runs I have been doing religiously, every week, over the last few months will pay off.....  I have also taken my Iron man uncles advice and making sure to run off the bike as often as I can.

Finally, What a huge commitment it is to take on training for a Half Ironman, let alone an Ironman.  I text my wonderful mentor Jacky James (check her out on www.ironjack.co.nz) just recently when I was having doubts that I would ever manage to juggle all of this to Ironman distance.  I asked her just how she managed to fit it all in.  Training, working, parenting, being a wife, running a household etc etc.. She replied that she really has no idea how she did it! And I totally believe her.
My take on it all is - One day at a time...  It takes sacrifice, it takes juggling, it takes organisation, it takes asking for help, it takes guts, it takes hard work, it takes commitment and it certainly takes a physical and mental toll.  I guess I always thought it would be hard, but until you add pressure into the pot, you never really know how hard.
Think of me on December the 15th!!

Training thru it

Been a bit slack of late with my blog posts but the title says it all really.
Have had a mixed few months of training but am just having to just train through it if I want to make a decent effort to finish the Rotorua Half Ironman on 15th December..
After my last post of wondering how on the earth to get back into it all after illness, I just took it one week at a time.  Starting with lots of walking, keeping out of the pool, spinning inside on wind trainer.  Once I could walk without coughing the whole way, I started running.  After a few weeks, I was back to decent training once again. Like everyone said, it didn't take long but my running has definitely suffered.  I am slowly working my way back to where I was before I got sick and have had a few half decent runs lately which is always a good boost for the soul! I am also on a concoction of immunity boosters to help my poor body build itself up again.  On the upside, I have lost a bit of weight which can only help my training become slightly easier with less to lug around.
I'm following the programme on the Rotorua Half Ironman website and for me, it is perfect. It focuses on times in training rather than distance.  With being in a busy household, it is hard to judge how long a 'distance' is going to take, where as if I know I have to go out for a 2hr bike ride or an hour run, I can jiggle things around to fit it in.  In the last 2 weeks I have managed to stick to the programme for running and biking but am still just swimming once a week.  Swimming isn't a weakness and the fact that I still have a chesty cough and not fully back to 100% (yes - 2 months later!) it was a case of having to drop down in the pool rather than wanting to!  Still, I am swimming 2.5km once a week so that gives me a steady base to build from in the next month.
So the road ahead is going to be a hilly one I'm sure.  Talking about my goal with people helps as I have come across so many people who have either done the Rotorua Half IM, or know someone that has done it, and have picked up some great tips.  Some of these being, train on the course so that you know what to expect on the day, sort nutrition out before the day on training rides/runs, get into the lake as much as you can in the month before and have fun!!
I head off to Napier today to support a friend who is being induced with her first baby.  Exciting times ahead and am feeling so blessed to be able to be with her on this special day.  It will also be a great break away for me and and I will obviously throw my bike, shoes and togs in the car so I can continue my training while away.  It kind of makes me giggle as we have just got over the baby paraphernalia phase of having to take the porta-cot, buggy, highchair etc etc every time we go away and it has now just morphed into bikes, wet suits, helmets etc!!

When will I learn?

When will I learn to listen to my body and ease back/stop the training if I am sick???  I think we are all beginning to work out the answer to this.... NEVER...
I have no idea what to do next, when to start back, how much to do, how little to do or even where to start.  After 2 weeks off training, 1 of these I was literally unable to get out of bed.  This week was supposed to be my 'recovery' week but as I reach Sunday evening, a deep sinking feeling hits me.  I am STILL not right.
To cut a long story short, I got sick almost a month ago with a cold but pushed through with a quiet training week that week, just doing bits and pieces but not pushing myself too much.  I didn't get back to 100% before pushing myself thought the 'Tough Guy/Girl challenge' and then it was all over.  It was all downhill from there.  I actually ended up with the nasty flu virus that has been circulating and just to top it off, a nasty D&V bug for good measure. It was an 'interesting' week!
 I don't think I have ever been hit with a flu this nasty in my life.  It completely wiped me of every ounce of energy and I thought at one stage, I was actually going to end up in hospital. Believe me, I'm a tough old bugger and can generally push myself though any pain barrier in my way.  I have given birth 3 times, broken bones on countless occasions and had my fair share of knocks over the years!
I am now left wondering - with 15 weeks left to go until I am meant to be doing my first ever half ironman, where on the earth do I start?  The Rotorua Ironman is a particularly gruelling event as it is.  How on the earth am I going to get my strength back to where I was a month ago to continue on my merry way.
I know, 1 step, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month at a time.  But where do I start??

Freaking Out

Well, I hit new levels today.  I totally freaked out in the lane pool at the Aquatic Centre during a 1km time trial and had to get out of the pool mid trial.....

The history behind this wee story goes a little bit like this:

My first experience of freaking out in water from memory is actually from when I was really really young and water skiing.  When water skiing in Lake Taupo, my dad actually had to take me out into the middle of the lake so that I could deep water start as I had a total fear of skiing over water where I could see the bottom of the lake... Strange... Yes... I progress.....
About 2 years ago I did my first Contact Triathlon at the Blue lake here in Rotorua.  I hadn't actually practiced training in the lake before I set off this day, but thought I had done enough lane pool swimming to get through the 300 mtrs I had to achieve for the 3:9:3 (300m swim, 9 k bike, 3k run)..  I had a wet suit that was a little too small/tight and felt a little breathless before I even got in the water.  I started swimming and got probably 10 strokes in and started puffing, panting, heavy breathing and then wound myself up enough and started freaking out.  I looked around and I wasn't the only one in this predicament - so decided to suck it up, doggy paddle for a bit and I eventually made it into shore.  Then, I thought that was the worst water experience in my life.   I was wrong....
In January of this year I attempted to complete my first Aquathon for the year through the RATS club here in Rotorua.  The whole swim was 750m and I got out to the turnaround buoy ok.  Then I turned around and looked back in at how far I had to get back and I quite simply "freaked out".  Not one of your average "oh dear, I think I'm in trouble and flip to lie on my back and kick myself to shore" kind of freak out, but one where I was actually in fear for my life.  I tried flipping onto my back and kicking, but this almost freaked me out even more. All I wanted to do was to pull my wet suit off from around my neck, as I felt like I was slowly choking. So I tried to swim again, but each time I put my face into the water, or looked at the shore - I just panicked. I couldn't breathe properly, just rapid and shallow panic breaths.  Fortunately for me, a lovely man called Jason was actually watching this all unfold from a few meters in front.  He was swimming alongside his wife in the aquathon and had turned to see me flapping about.  He called out "Are you ok?"  I resisted my stubbornness and called back "NO, I'm freaking out".  He swam straight over and talked to me calmly, which helped a tiny bit.  He tried to talk me out of still attempting to get my wet suit off, tried to get me to lie on my back and kick, and when all this failed, he put his arm around me and dragged me in as fast as he could to shore...  I cannot tell you how relieved I was when he looked over at me and told me to pop my feet down.. I was sooooooo grateful for his support and for my life!
I managed to overcome this after a couple of months of just continuing to go back and swimming out as far as I felt comfortable and heading back in again.  Each week I just extended the distance I went out by another buoy and by the end of the aquathon season, was fine!
So anyway, today's pool incident was just a rather strange set of events..  I had very limited sleep last night and turned up to swim squad feeling a bit below average anyway.  I was just expecting to plod along doing our swim drills and then get out at 7 as usual to head home. I knew that was achievable.  My coach then suggested that I do my 1km time trial that I missed a few weeks back.  In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't ideal as I was really struggling with the warm up, let alone swimming 1km non-stop and I hadn't emotionally prepared myself.  BUT in true Steff fashion, agreed to do it as thought I could just plod away on my own.  Easy.  I do more than 20 lengths every Monday night so didn't think too much more.  Headed over to my lane, only to be joined by a rather speedy bloke who was doing his time trial too.  This is where it gets interesting! We swam side by side and set off at a pace that was nice and relaxed and easy for me to keep up with.  Was feeling good and strong and started settling into my groove.  Lap 8 came and went, only 11 more to go.  Speedy bloke was still beside me (surprisingly) and then I started thinking to myself, hey - I could just about keep up with him for the whole 1km..... UH OH... dum dum dum....  That little bit of pressure I put on myself made me obviously get a little rush of adrenalin and I started puffing, panting, heavy breathing and then winding myself up.  I tried to relax and breathe alternative sides for another 50mtrs to get myself to the end but that wash of panic waved over and then i just had to get out...  I couldn't seem to catch my breath and had a wee panic attack at the end of the pool.  I jumped out, walked back to the end of the pool where the coach was and by then was back to semi-rational thinking. She suggested I just join  the rest of the squad.  HUH - NO WAY!  Stubborn Steff returned and I jumped back into the pool and finished off my 11 laps to end my time trial!! 22mins 50secs too - not too bad with around 3mins of panic in amongst it.

I initially thought it was just all really weird, but I spent the rest of swim squad going over and over it all in my head and came up with a fairly rational explanation. I believe it was linked to this anxiety I seem to develop in some water related situations. I am a little anxious at the best of times anyway, so the added pressure of adrenalin, mixed with tiredness, competitiveness, fear etc, all may be factors that triggered me to freak out.  Am sure this will be explored more over the next few years with different events, challenges etc, but I am really pleased has happening now. I have plenty of time to work through it and come up with strategies to help myself push through it, should it happen again.

Bib #0131 Rotorua Half IM, 15.12.2012 - 'Steff Kidd'

Up until a few weeks back, my whole focus this year was to slowly and gradually reach the stage where I could comfortably do sprint distance triathlon's by the end of it.  I was hoping to enter a few of the Contact Tri series races and be happy with the results and the gains I had made in my training. Next year was going to be the hard slog towards IM 2014, with a half IM or 2 thrown in at the end of 2013 just for good measure?? Wasnt too sure how it was going to pan out really but knew it would all just slot into place.
My husband Greg, sat me down one night last week and we chatted about my goals and aims for the next couple of years leading up to Ironman.  He understood the intent behind my thinking above but wanted to me listen to what he thought I should do also.  What came out of his mouth next kind of blew me away.  He said that he had been sent a link through for the Rotorua Half Ironman and then said I should do it. All of the usual tapes played in my head, there is no way I will be ready, I don't want to do a half IM that soon, I wont be strong enough, my body will fall apart.. blah blah blah.  Then thought - hey, hang on.  In 6 months I have gone from nothing, to being able to swim at least 1km in the lake (cold weather put a stop on the aquathons and thats where my training in the lake ended until later this year), clocking up 2 km plus in the pool on each training session, biking around the lake (45ish km) biking up Mt Ngongotaha (7km of straight uphill hard slog), and running 8-10km comfortably on the road or in the forest.  In another 6 months with a gradual increase in training surely I could be up to those distances... surely???
What's more is that Greg believed that I could do it.  But did I??
As fate would have it, I attended an award presentation evening through my work and they had a guest speaker who was incredibly motivating and inspirational in the area of taking an idea and running with it until success.  She played a small clip to us with a whole heap of phrases surrounding the area of setting and achieving your goals.  This was on Tuesday night - the entries opened for the Rotorua Half IM the very next day!  My mind was made up and so I sent a txt message to a friend and told her I must be mad for even considering it.  She replied "If by MAD you mean Motivated And Driven, then I guess you are!!
So there we are. Bib #0131 'Steff Kidd' will be on the start line of the 2012 Rotorua Half Ironman.

Juggling act...

My life at the moment can only be summed up as a juggling act.  AND I have an overwhelming underlying knowledge that this is not going to get ANY easier over the next 2 years.
A lady at my work the other day said to me... "You either use your teenage daughter a lot, or you are incredibly organised".  I like to think that I am super organised, as my intention when Georja turned 14yrs old was to utilize her with the kids now and then but only as a last resort.  I intended to juggle myself between Greg's working hours as much as possible.  Georja is a teenager and needs to stay a teenager - I certainly do not want her slipping into the role of parent in her own parents absence.  She is simply a big sister looking after her little brothers while mum and dad 'pop out' for an hour or so.  In saying that, she has been super awesome lately for filling in those early morning spots where Greg is out the door before 6 to work, followed closely by myself to train.
Greg has had a huge month work wise and this means long days at work.  I have increased the hours that I am working also.  This week alone I have worked 20hr week and it is only Thursday.  This may not seem much but when you are used to working 10hr a week - it is a rather HUGE increase.  This hasn't helped the training schedule much or the housework.  But I have managed to stick to my training everyday and had to learn that the housework can wait.  I'm rather pleased that I have kept my training up as it would have been far easier to give it a miss.
The juggling and training is definitely paying off though.  I completed the RATS Winter Duathlon short course on Sunday in a really good time and really enjoyed it.  I was pleasantly surprised how good I felt the whole way around the 3km run, 8km mountain bike, 1.5km run and was only 3 minutes behind my training buddy Lee-Anne (which she kindly text to tell me tonight - I told her to watch her back!).  We pondered the fact that crossing the finish line of Ironman 2014 together would be so cool.  Deep down I know she is going to kick my butt, but what I also know is that although she would have just completed that incredible feat - she will still be there waiting for me at the finish line. And if by some freak of nature I am in the lead,  I certainly know that I would be there to celebrate with her as she crossed the line.  The other night I couldn't run with her due to it just not working out with the kids not wanting me to go.  Once I had sorted the kids out, I hopped on my bike to ride the last 2 km of her practice run home with her. Ironic really when for 5 years we have passed each other in the street almost every day with not so much as a wave!!
Actually speaking of irony - I have to share this funny anecdote from today.  I squeezed in a quick run today in between finishing work and having to be 20mins across town for an appointment (juggle juggle).  The run was horrible, just one of those ones that suck from the moment you leave the house, until the moment you return.  I never really got into a comfortable plod, more like a hippo galloping along in mud.  Anyway, I finally reached 'Perkins corner' and headed on the home straight.  Lee-Anne and I have imagined up a finishing chute for our runs and as I slopped my way along the road towards the chute, I started to pick up my pace, all the while visualizing myself running up that final chute in the pitch black, close to midnight to become an Ironman.  For a brief moment I lost sight of the suck and actually felt ok.  Then out in front of me - up the finishing chute shot Richard (Lee-Anne's cat) closely followed by Mako (our cat) and I laughed to myself thinking - IRONIC MUCH.... even Lee-Anne's cat is in the front of the 'Kidd cat' on a run!!

Athlete's Foot

Well just for the record, there is a little bit more depth to this title than what you probably initially think my post is going to be about!!  I actually am not going to tell you about the state of my wrinkly, crinkly and stinky feet. What I would like to share with you is about how I think I am finally on the road to curing myself of continual sore backs, knee pains, ankle instability, ankle pain and numb toes...
If you have read my previous posts, you will be well aware that this year of training for me is all about strengthening my core/body for the onslaught of training that is going to quickly come about next year.  What you may or may not know is that this Iron man goal is not a new goal for me.  I had actually planned to do the 2012 Iron man, which I am thankful that I did not do now as I would have been absolutely gutted for my dream to be shattered by the weather bomb that was 2012 NZ Iron man.  Although my dad had a great analogy for it - 'you should have done it this year Steff, you would have only had to go half as far!!'
Another thing you may or may not know is that it was actually injury that eventually stopped me from even looking at starting the serious commitment to begin the training for Iron man 2012.  I started training, I did a few events and that's where the pain kicked in.  Pain in my lower back nearly all the time (spurred on by falling down some stairs intitally but it just never got any better), pain in my right knee every time I ran any longer than an hour or so, pain in my right ankle continuously and a neck that felt like I was stressed all the time.
I went to physio and it was quickly established that although I had had a few injuries that had not helped my training quest, but that I actually had NO core strength.  My awesome physio's from 'Body & Soul' here in Rotorua, put me on a strict programme of strengthening and also looked at the possiblility of my ankle pain being something more than the few strains I had had over the years.  They told me that I HAD to get onto doing regular pilates classes or exercises ASAP and maybe look at orthotics for my problematic feet.  So that is where 2012 quest left me... This was back in 2011 and life took over, family came first, exercise got put on the back burner and time went on.
Then I met Lee-Anne early this year and my Iron man spark was reignited..
I remembered that I definitely needed to get on the strengthening band wagon again as that jewel of information had stuck firmly in my mind from my countless trips to physio and I have been doing this diligently all year. But I had actually totally forgotten about the whole 'foot' thing.  The old twinges have been creeping in again lately as my distance on my feet is increasing and I have to admit to feeling the gut wrenching feeling that I am never ever going to get strong enough to be able to get to the start line of Iron man 2014.
AND THEN....It all came back to me in a blinding flood one morning a few weeks back while I had the TV on in the background whilst doing my chores.  It was an add for 'Scholl's Sports Orthotics' that captured my attention - 'Do you have lower back pain, sore knees, sore ankles' I stopped what I was doing..  The rest is history.  I went straight into the pharmacy that afternoon and got myself a pair to try on a 30 day money back guarantee. They were pricey $57, but I figured if they didn't work - I could send them back and spend that money on getting myself to a foot specialist.  I wore them for a few days on and off just around the house, then went for a small run in them and my ankle/knee pain was considerably lessened...  I took them out of my sports shoes and put them in my normal everyday flat shoes and the same thing, the pain in my ankles that I have had lately - was actually gone.  My back has been really good too since wearing them and the knee pain hasn't occurred at all.  I touch wood that my strengthening programme and the orthotics will allow me to build my strength slowly but I cannot say I am completely cured and I may end up needing to go and see the guys from foot mechanics at some stage. But I do feel that I am on the right track and the pain factor has definitely diminished enough to continue training happily and regularly... But that's a different story!!

When the mind is willing, sometimes the bodies not able..

Why my mind is willing but my body is not able....
5.30am, alarm goes off, tentatively jump out of bed, grab swim bag, sneak down hall and shut kids door, sit on couch, cough a bit, put togs on, cough a bit more, clothes on, stand up, sit down - whoa, head rush, stand up, head to kitchen, locate cough mixture/panadol and throaties, slurp them all back at once, consider a little drop of vodka could help the situation, talk myself out of that idea, grab a drink of water instead, gulp - can't breathe very well - hmmm, try to blow nose - eek - still blocked, get banana, try to eat banana - razor blades still located in back of throat, cough some more, start thinking that breathing whilst swimming in water may be a difficult venture, mind says no way - suck it up - you'll be right, cough a bit more, time check 5.41, still time to get myself together, hug and get Lockie sorted in front of his 'Justin Beaver' (actually Michael Jackson) CD to start his day dancing, give myself 2 mins to get it together, head downstairs, unlock the door, head over to Lee-Anne's, pike out of swimming for the morning, verbally change my swim for a walk instead, 'what now?' Lee-Anne exclaims, 'nah later', head home with head hung low - feeling bad for letting her down but knowing that there is NO WAY I would have been able to swim, back upstairs, catch my breath at the top, cough a bit more after walking up only 14 steps, sneak into bed and wake Greg up to take over 'Kidd' duties, time check - 5.52, think to myself - there is still time to change my mind, roll over and snuggle up, get up, locate throaties and computer, back to bed to write blog....
Lesson learnt for today:  Sometimes you just have to listen to your body and tell your mind to shut up...

Silence is golden, or is it hiding something???

I now know that silence in a blog site - ie/ you haven't heard from someone in a while, does not necessarily mean that they have dropped off the face of the earth, or quit their training, or had second thoughts on their hairy and audacious goal (thanks for that phrase Jacky James!!).  It quite simply means that things (things being training stuff) are just ticking along at a steady rate of knots.  It's almost like you need to shoo the crowd on at an accident site with a 'nothing to see here' flick of the hands...
BUT for me, that's a good thing.  It means that I am focused on my goal for 2012 which is getting my core strength stronger, while learning how to focus training on running, biking and swimming steadily.. This all needs to be achieved long before the onslaught of a whole heap of pain called IRONMAN!!
SOOOOOO.... Move along, there is nothing to see here, unless you want to hear about my Monday Aqua-thon/lake swims now being replaced for AquaMax Water aerobics at the Aquatics Centre (with PORSE training buddy Joni). Tuesday morning Core strength and sprint training with Sarah Lei from Lake City Athletics Club (along with my training buddy Lee-Anne).  Wednesday morning Swim squad with RATS ( with my training buddy Lee-Anne) .  Thursday Bike to Scion, run/power walk (with my dear friend and training buddy Sally in the beautiful Redwoods forest) and bike home again. Friday run around the block (with my resistance training dog Cash who likes to run in the opposite direction to forwards..). Saturday morning swim squad with bike ride chaser (all with my training buddy Lee-Anne).  Sunday rest day........
Yep - move along..... Nothing to see here!!!

The things you do for coffee and a scone!!

I learnt first hand today that it is definitely important to get yourself a training buddy (if you are able to) who's not only on your same wavelength, but are also at a similar level of training/fitness.  If not - they need to be incredibly patient and understanding when you eventually do hold them up!!  BUT they also need to be different from you, because it is this difference, that can push you through trying times when you least expect it.  My wonderful training buddy pushed me mentally and physically, pretty hard today!
I welcome Lee-Anne to my blog.  Lee-Anne and I have lived across the road from each other for the last 4.5years and up until 2 months ago, we had never met. It was by chance that I was chatting to a friend of hers about my training and she suggested I get in touch with Lee-Anne.  The rest, as they say, is history.
In the short few months starting to do a little bit of training alongside Lee-Anne, she has taught me a great many things.  Of the many things that she has taught me, these are the things that I hope rub off on me.

• Her determination and commitment to training sessions - she will never pike out if she has committed to something (I on the other hand had no hesitations switching off the alarm last Saturday morning when I had a bad case of 'wine flu')
• She mentioned that maybe I needed to swap my 'bottle' of wine - for a glass or two.  Wise words - as have had a few dodgy training sessions feeling decidedly BLAHHHHHHH after consuming a bottly or few the night before....
• Her time management and organisation - she is always on time to pick me up (sadly the same can't be said for me - we were horribly late to an open water swim a few weeks back because I was late and in charge of the driving that night!) and she is always organised with an individual bag for each training session - legend.
• Her fitness - she just goes and goes and goes and goes!
• And finally - her ability to talk me into things that I really and I mean REALLY don't want to do.

Those of you who know me, know that I am not one to do something I really don't want to do.  I'm pretty stubborn and when I have had enough - that's it, all over.  Lee-Anne not only talked me into going along to the swim squad this morning, but to also follow that up with a cycle up one of the nastiest hills in the whole of NZ and then cycle the loop road back to the cafe for a coffee and scone!!  (Well the hill maybe was not going to be that bad - but pretty nasty.  For those from Rotorua - the 'Tarawera Road/Okareka/Blue Lake loop road' circuit).  

As I was swimming, I had already made my mind up that I wasn't going to do the bike ride she suggested.  I mentioned this to her in my jovial fashion in the pool and she just fobbed it off saying - nah, you will be fine AND we are doing it!

Hmmmmmmm time for another tactic....

In the car as we arrived at our start point I suggested we just head out along the flat.  'Um, nope' said Lee-Anne with a grin, 'we are going to head up that hill!!!!'  BUGGER - this was one tough customer - so my mind told me to suck it up Steff and just get on with it. And that I did.  

It was as bad as she had mentioned it was and at times I felt like I was not only standing still whilst still biking, but actually going backwards.  But the one thing that kept me going was that Lee-Anne was there waiting for me (0h and of course the coffee and scone at 'The Office Cafe' on our return).  And she was waiting for me at the top of every hill with her beaming smile urging me along.  And as I sit here now reflecting on my day, I'm so pleased I have knocked that b%$#@%^&d off as every other hill now is going to feel like a mere blip on my radar!

So thanks Lee-Anne for just being you. Cheers!!

Bringing up the Rear...

It's funny how it happens, but I think if everyone was honest (completely honest) they would have to admit that no one wants to come last in a race.  I often wonder how it would feel to be right at the back, following everyone else's footsteps.
Last night at the Lake City Athletics Clubs 'Trout Fly' race, I came last!!!
I actually have dreaded this in my own mind for years and always been proud of the fact that I do not think in my 37yrs of life, I have ever come last in a competition.  Having been a competitive gymnast all those years ago, I trained really hard and had my fair share of wins, was a middle of the packer, came pretty close to the end but I think from memory - never last..
Then growing up, I have done a few other races like half marathons both walking and running, duathlon's, triathlons etc and I have always dreaded coming last and so have busted myself to escape this pain and humiliation....
I can safely say now that coming last doesn't involve pain, humiliation or anything that my mind has created over the years.  I did not get struck down by lightening.  I did not come in crying as I was so far behind everyone else.  I did not give up just because all I could see was the back of everyone else's shirts way off in the distance.  It was actually quite the opposite.  I urged myself along, challenging myself to run quicker past the sewerage station (for obvious reasons!) and then even had enough in my tank to do a little sprint down the finish chute!!  There at the end, was a group of lovely athletes all cheering for me and calling my name and I felt so chuffed with myself for finishing. I actually didn't care that I was last.  I had just run 5.4km in 36 mins and was really stoked with myself!
So there ya are.  Don't worry about the elusive 'last place'.  I was out there doing it and was running my own race and that's all that mattered to me.  So get out there and challenge yourself!!

About Me

This is the first blog of many and so bear with me while I muddle my way through and work out how this whole blog thing works.  Such as it is, my 13yr old daughter (14 on Wednesday!) taught me how to set up this blogsite.. Technology just blows me away as does what teenagers appear to know.
Anyhow - the meaning of my Blogpage - "A Kidd can do Ironman too".... I am Steff 'Kidd', 37 yrs old, married with 3 children and am about to embark on the biggest and scariest ride I have ever rode in my life.  I am going to do Ironman.  For a moment excuse me while I rundown an extremely watered down history of this madness....
Here's what happened... I made a bold statement a few years back that I was going to do an Ironman before I was 40. It just popped out in the heat of the moment and all because of a chance meeting with an inspirational lady, Jacky James (check out her page - www.ironjack.co.nz).  I hold her personally responsible for this chaos!!  (I love being able to blame others for my crazyness!)  I don't know why I said it... I didn't know how I was going to do it... I sure as hell didn't know when (or with who) - but there it was...  Being a woman of my word, this goal has floated about for the last few years as I had my ups and downs struggling with family life, injury, busyness blah blah blah - excuses excuses!  Funny how I not only am really good at blaming others for my crazyness, but can also procrastinate with the best of them.  If it was a sport, I would be in the finals hands down... So there it is.. My blogs are going to follow my highs, my lows, my short term goals, my long term goals, my successes, my failures, my training, the impact on myself-my husband-my family and probably lots more.  I hope it doesnt bore you to tears and you continue to follow as I hope that others will join my ride and get out there and achieve their dreams/aspirations or long term goals.  Ironman 2014 - Here I come!