tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57314905582381613092024-03-05T21:39:47.137-08:00Erin Furness - TriathleteErin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-20443880242550242762015-05-02T22:46:00.001-07:002015-05-02T22:46:43.295-07:00The Annual Hurty Run Around The LakeRace blog time!<br />
The beginning of May sees a permanent fixture in my racing calendar - the Rotorua Marathon. I only ever really have six weeks to prepare for this after racing Ironman NZ, but I like to use at as a gauge to see where I am at before heading overseas to do anything silly....like an Ironman.<br />
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I never did a blog about Ironman NZ this year. The race really didn't go to plan. I was close to being a non-starter but the allure of racing at home on a course I love was just too much. Instead of indulging in an online pity fest about it, I put my (very average) race performance behind me and attempted to have a complete break. It was a hard decision to make - after four years under Keegan's guidance, which saw me move up through the age group ranks, set the age group record at IMNZ, race in Kona and then race pro - I went from full time triathlon machine to trying to "exercise" like a normal human being. This lasted for four days.<br />
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Figuring four days constituted my break, I touched base with Kerry Suter. I needed a plan for Rotorua, and I needed someone to give it to me who knew how I ticked. Triathletes are a special breed. I also respect the huge amount of knowledge Kerry has (at the risk of him getting a big head). However you do have to weed it out of the trivia he spouts at you as well, for example, the correct way to peel a banana (we have been doing it ALL WRONG!!!!).<br />
Kerry rose to the challenge - and it was a challenge. I suddenly had a range of paces I had to run in training. For the first four weeks I couldn't seem to do this, so just ran everything at marathon race pace. Except for any small intervals, which ranged from 200m to 5km. These were all run at the same pace too, which was "slightly faster than marathon pace". Kerry would explain to me repeatedly (much like his 3yr old daughter) that 800m is less than 5km, and 5km is less than 21km, so you should run it faster. In theory this all made sense....<br />
I would like to think toward the end I managed to add an extra pace into my two pace repertoire, but I think this is actually still debatable.<br />
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Race day dawned chilly, but with the promise of a good day. I hit the start line filled with excitement, and was stoked to see training buddies Lance and Patrick lining up near the front as well. <br />
Before I knew it, we were in to the race. Jess Ruthe set out strong, and after tailing her for a km, I had to let her go. She was running at the faster of my two paces. So I settled in to pace #2 and found Naoko and Gabby settling in behind me. I felt strong and comfortable, so aimed to just keep the pace ticking over for a while to see what the other girls would do. Naoko settled in behind me (a bit too comfortably), while Gabby dropped off after the 10km mark.<br />
This is when I realised that running in this position actually created a bit of pressure. I didn't want to ease up the pace at any point, or give Naoko an inch. Especially as she had the advantage of using me as pretty good windbreak (damn my broad shoulders and wide lats - too much swimming for this runner!). Suddenly I had to concentrate on form, pace, the lines I was running.... and the fact that SkySport were eagerly filming what was going to be a close race. There is nothing like a camera constantly on you to make you paranoid about foaming at the mouth, pulling facials or generally running like a moron.<br />
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This went on. For. 36. Km. <br />
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I tried to drop her on some of the hills, but dammit these Japs are tough. She stuck with me. Coming off the back of the lake we turned into Rotorua's infamous headwind, where Naoko tucked in behind again, and like a bull-headed triathlete, I grunted it out. Much like all the single ladies here in NZ, I then tried to find a big strong man (to run behind of course). But these were lacking. And given the pace we were passing the guys at, there was no hope of persuading one to run in front of me for any length of time. <br />
I tried slowing to force her out, but she smartly slowed right up as well. So I kept providing a nice Erin-shaped wind break and hoped that when she made her move I would still have the legs to go with her.<br />
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We passed Jess, who had unfortunately blown a calf. Bad luck on her part, as she was in pretty speedy run form for this race. But huge kudos to her for walking to the finish, yelling encouragement at the rest of the front girls. <br />
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Just after 36km Naoko smartly pulled ahead at a congested aid station where we had caught up big packs of the marathon walkers and I had let my concentration lapse for all of a few seconds, creating a gap that I just couldn't bridge. My legs were sending all sorts of "you idiot!" signals to my brain, and nothing was going to prompt them to go any faster. I spent nearly 6km with her in my sights, but just couldn't get to her.<br />
She ran a smart race to take the win and definately kept me working.<br />
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Turning in to the finish chute to finish second was still epic. I love the atmosphere at this race, and to make it on to the podium again at this race was awesome. It was a tougher race than last year, having run the entire thing solo with no pack mentality to tap in to, but I am stoked with how strong and comfortable I felt for most of this. A few lessons learnt, but not bad going for this triathlete!<br />
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Big thanks to Asics and Shoe Clinic Hamilton for taking the guess work out of what to wear on race morning. I didn't win, but I was the best dressed runner on the start line!<br />
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To Roger, for being awesome support out there as usual and providing a blow by blow commentary over the last 30km for friends and family back home.<br />
And to Kerry for his awesome coaching - sometimes a change is as good as a holiday. I learnt a lot but loved it. Had some great runs chasing him and Hugh up and down hills and blasting it out on the flat. It definately kept my training honest. <br />
Don't think I could be a full time runner though, you guys don't swim and cycle nearly enough.Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-47448638734871161132015-02-09T17:06:00.000-08:002015-02-09T17:06:14.517-08:00Two Halves means it must be time for a Full!The start of 2015 saw me lining up for my first two races of the year. Having raced Challenge Forster in Nov, and Ironman Western Australia in Dec, I knew I was by no means starting the year fresh!<br />
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First up was Tauranga Half Ironman. After taking a 2 week break following Ironman WA, then cramming in a couple of week's training over the Christmas/New Year period (of which routine and diet went a bit out the window!), I lined up on the start line knowing I was lacking a bit of speed.<br />
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I got dropped before the first turn buoy in the swim, but managed to stay at a solid pace, exiting the water in 5th place and not too far back.<br />
I managed to move up to 4th on the bike, but I knew I was riding at Ironman pace, while the top 3 girls were smashing out some decent bike splits.<br />
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This was my first race on my new BH bike though, and despite my legs being a touch slow, I loved riding this machine! Super smooth and responsive - if only I could give it something to respond to!<br />
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On to the run, I ran out of transition holding 4min/km's - but promptly died once I hit the base track of the Mount. From here I grovelled my way around the rest of the run, posting up my slowest run split in two years. A good 8min slower than last time I raced here!! <br />
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I finished up 4th overall, with a good indication of what I needed to work on!<br />
It was great to see other Fitness Locker athletes delivering some awesome performances out there, the product of some hard work over the summer.<br />
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After Tauranga it was straight into a big training block to prep the body for another Ironman race. Off the back of 3 big training weeks I lined up at my annual pre-IMNZ hit out, New Plymouth Half IM.<br />
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This is such a well run race, on an honest course, with an awesome vibe. I love racing here. Despite some brutal winds on Friday, race day dawned promising light winds and sun.<br />
I was on the start line with three speedy girls, including super star Sam Warriner.<br />
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I had another good swim, exiting not too far back from the leading three. However 3 big training weeks soon ate into my legs when I hit the hills on the bike. I seemed to have forgotten my climbing legs at home (as well as my socks - more on that later!).<br />
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I came off the bike nearly 7min down from 3rd. Having forgotten my socks (rookie mistake!!), I shoved my shoes straight on and prayed for the blisters to hold off as long as possible. My goal for this race was to enjoy the run. After some very average run performances, I felt the need to redeem my running ability a little. Also, my grandfather had passed away a week before. Having run multiple ultra's, he has always been my biggest inspiration, and I wanted to run to remember him.<br />
I hit the run course feeling good. Until 5km in.<br />
1. I really, really needed to pee<br />
2. I could feel I would finish the race with less skin on my feet than what I started with.<br />
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There was only 1 portaloo on course. Of course it was busy when I got to it. I stood around for 40sec with my legs crossed, before deciding to keep running and hope to spot something (a bush, a fence.... anything!). Luckily I spied a public toilet in a car park, which I veered off to.<br />
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Having dealt with 1, I knew there was nothing I could do about 2, so tried to ignore the sensation of my skin being rubbed off in various spots on my feet. My legs felt good and I held a decent pace for the rest of the run. I finished in 4th, 90sec behind 3rd, having run up a pretty good deficit. I am pretty sure that 90sec would have been my toilet break!<br />
I posted up the fastest run split of the day, despite bleeding all over my Asics DS Trainers in several spots.<br />
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All up I am happy with how the half panned out, given the workload I put in prior to it. Backing it up with another couple of decent training days has given me some good confidence my race fitness for IMNZ is there.<br />
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Stay safe & see you all in Taupo - be it on the start line or the sideline!<br />
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-55137388175417266942014-12-09T05:07:00.000-08:002014-12-09T05:10:43.793-08:00IMWA - #neverquit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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December usually means two very awesome things for me - Christmas and Ironman WA.<br />
This year I was pretty excited to head to Busselton. I had been really knuckling down on my cycling and was keen for a hot, fast race to set a new PB.<br />
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Leading in to race morning I had no nerves at all - this is something I have been working on, as in the past I have been pretty nervous on race morning, and hate the feeling. This may be the result of having done a number of Iron distance races now, but I would like to think its partly due to some of the strategies I have been using to change my mindset in the days leading up to the race.<br />
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Before I knew it, we were off. With a strong field of nearly 30 pro women, we soon formed some pretty solid packs. Settling in to a group, I soon realised I had chosen a slightly slower pack to swim with - slower than what I would have liked. I tried to sight the next pack, but the bridge to gap to reach them was too big, so I decided to save some energy and cruise in the pack.</div>
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By the turnaround the pack had slowed (probably due to a bit of swell and some decent chop rolling in), so I swam through to the front, hoping to hammer it back. Which seemed to suit the other girls nicely, as they all then sat on my toes.</div>
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Coming out of the water they soon disappeared on the bike, while I suffered my usual Post Swim Trauma Disorder for an hour before my legs came to the party on the bike.</div>
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I was soon caught by some of the fast age group men, and within 30km managed to drop some of my bike nutrition. Big mistake!!!!</div>
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It took me 30sec to realise I had lost it. I considered going back to try find it, but with pacelines of men coming through riding 38-40km/hr at that stage I decided this was probably a risky manoeuvre. I would have to use the course nutrition - which was one of my least favourite drinks, Gatorade.</div>
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I completed the first lap in 2hrs33, which was 3min slower than I wanted. But I figured as long as I didn't slow down I could still come off the bike better than last year.</div>
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By this time we had some decent head-cross wind to contend with, which did slow me a bit. Toward the end of the ride my legs were feeling pretty heavy, but I was managing to pass some of the age group men who had shot past me on lap 1, which I took as a good sign.</div>
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Knowing I was coming off the bike behind the other girls (I had only caught and passed one pro girl on the bike) I knew I would have to put a good run effort in. Running off the bike my legs felt pretty heavy, but I was managing to hold 4min20/km's and hoped I could run this feeling out of them.</div>
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Incorrect.</div>
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By 18km the first of many quad cramps hit. I knew I had consumed quite a bit of water on the bike - I never usually drink water in a race (after some good advice from a nutritionist), and must have put my sodium balance out. Instead of sodium being transported into my working muscles, the low concentration of it in my blood would result in it being drawn out of my muscles and into my bloodstream. The result - some decent cramps in the working muscles. With no quick fix.</div>
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Running back to begin my third lap (I use the term "running" loosely) I had a big debate. My quads hurt. A lot. And I knew they wouldn't stop hurting. I could either pull the pin, or guts out the remaining 24km. I even had the "why on earth am I doing this professionally?" debate. The answer to that was simple. I love it. I want to be the best athlete I can. I want to inspire other girls so they see their bodies as the amazing tools they are, to push limits and achieve dreams. I thought of some of the athletes I mentor and coach, of the messages people have sent me in the past saying they had been inspired by me. I thought of my Oupa, who inspired ME to begin running, and how he followed my sporting progress, sending me emails after every race saying how much he would love to be able to run again (he was a very accomplished runner, completing numerous Comrades Ultra marathons as well as a few 100 milers). </div>
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That did it. I couldn't quit.</div>
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The next 24km felt a bit brutal. I ran as much as I could. I walked when I couldn't run. I stopped to repeatedly punch my own quads in an attempt to get them to stop cramping. And I finally hit the last 3k of the run. I met an age group man then, trying to hammer it to the finish. This was his first Ironman, he told me, and he was starting to struggle. So I ran with him, giving him encouragement to keep going, until I got to watch him run ahead of me down the finish chute. This is what I believe the spirit of Ironman is all about. To keep going when you want to quit. And to support those around you doing this demanding and ruthless sport.</div>
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I finished under 10 hours, but far from the time I had in mind.</div>
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I read somewhere the definition of success is being able to go to sleep at night satisfied. I may not have given my best race performance on Sunday, but I did give it my best. Even though I missed setting an epic PB, this race reminded me why I do this, and why I will continue to do this.</div>
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I am looking forward to what the next year is going to bring!</div>
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A big thank you to Marie and Josh, for opening their home to me in Perth (and the epic coffees!). To Mel for being an awesome pre- and post-race buddy - unfortunately her race plans got derailed, but only after she completely smoked the bike course. To my sponsors, Bob's Bikes for keeping the Trek in top condition, and Shoe Clinic for my awesome Asics. And to Roger, whose unending support and love make living my dream possible.</div>
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Have a safe and happy festive season, and remember - when it gets tough #neverquit.</div>
Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-53713886430750871722014-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:002014-11-11T13:13:10.578-08:00Challenge Forster... And how to make friends with strangersOne of the things I love most about triathlon is how it brings complete strangers together solely on the basis that we like to do three sports on one day dressed in the same piece of lycra. There will be no awkwardness; rather you will indulge in hours of non-stop chatter about training, racing and where to get the best post-ride coffee (note: in Forster this is Tartt).<br />
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Stepping off the plane in Sydney I was greeted by Pete, who was a complete stranger for all of a minute, until he asked what was in my bike bag (cue the beginning of non-stop tri talk). This was handy as we were soon confined in his car for the four hour road trip to Forster. He tried very hard to unlock the secret of racing professionally - or even just racing fast. I did give him my two best tips:<br />
1. Spend A LOT of time sitting around in cafés in lycra drinking good coffee<br />
2. Always have a flat phone on you - the sign of some hard core instagramming (a must). <br />
I hope these tips help his future racing.<br />
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I soon discovered Pete was a man of many talents - taxi driver, entertainer, bird rescuer, IT guru, tour guide extraordinaire, cyclist, triathlete, beer conniseur and owner of "Pete's Hotel", aka his apartment, with the best view of Sydney.<br />
Pete had kindly volunteered to drive me to Forster to deliver me to my homestay.<br />
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Wayne and Vanda had opened up their home to both me and Lachie, an Aussie pro. I was lucky enough to spend race week doing a little riding and swimming with the local training groups, eating the amazing food Vanda was whipping up, and drinking some awesome coffee (see tip 1).<br />
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Race morning rolled around soon enough, and before I knew it I was wetsuited up and eagerly waiting for the swim start.<br />
The swim was uneventful, with me sitting on the feet of Julia Grant for most of it.<br />
Out on to the bike course Julia soon opened up a bit of a gap - as much as I tried to go with her, my legs felt a little heavy and incapable of producing the power I know was in them. This lasted for 40min before I began to find a good riding rhythm. It always seems to take me a while to really get in to the bike. I like to call this Post Swim Trauma Disorder. I am also currently seeking some kind of support group for this.<br />
By then I was about 2km off the paceline the other girls had formed, so settled in for a solo effort over the 90km course, Some good undulation and headwind kept the legs working until riding in to T2 in town.<br />
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The run was a 2 1\2 lap run. I LOVE lapped runs. Not only is it easy to see how much ground you are making up, I am also a little OCD about consistency, so it keeps my run solid for the entire race. I soon caught and passed Julia and Michelle. Knowing third place had quite a lead I then settled in to a comfortable pace to finish.<br />
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Crossing the finish line, I was stoked to see both Wayne and Vanda volunteering in the finish area (I think they were working harder than I had worked all day). Wayne was conveniently in the beer tent (on a side note, there happened to be a discrepancy of beers and competitors.....).<br />
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Overall I am happy with a solid race performance off the back of some big mileage in preparation for Ironman WA. <br />
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I want to say a huge thank you to Wayne and Vanda, and to Pete, who all opened up their homes to me and made sure I had everything I could possibly need. They definitely made this trip feel more awesome than just a trip overseas to race.<br />
A big thank you to Forster Cycles as well for their help before the race - the team there were fantastic.<br />
Also to Bob's Bikes for keeping the Trek running so sweet, to Shoe Clinic Hamilton and Asics, and to the team at Elite Energy for putting on an awesome race in such a beautiful location. I will definitely be back next year!<br />
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-57893791066921310502014-08-28T19:09:00.000-07:002014-08-28T19:09:03.835-07:00Metaman Bintan - Racing in ParadiseIn a bid to escape the worst weather on earth (i.e. winter), I grabbed the chance to head over to tropical Bintan, Indonesia, for the annual Metaman Race. <br />
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On the race website, Metaman is described as "a tough, honest iron distance triathlon". This does nothing to describe the beauty of Bintan, the friendliness of the locals or the tropical paradise that is Nirwana Gardens, race venue.<br />
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In the build up to the race I was lucky enough to stay with Jeremy and Janet in Singapore. Not only were they feeding me very delicious meals, but Jeremy was an ideal cycling buddy (who also went on to win his age group in the half iron distance race). Without him I would still be cycling in circles around Singapore trying to find my way home.<br />
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After the concrete jungle of Singapore, it was bliss to arrive in Bintan where the most road traffic you would experience was a handful of scooters and a troop (?) ... herd (?) of monkeys.<br />
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From this:<br />
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Race morning dawned as every other morning - very warm. It was a nice experience to head down to transition without wearing layers of clothing and dreading the moment I would have to strip it all off.</div>
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Aside from a flat tyre in transition, which I quickly replaced, race morning was relatively relaxed and I couldn't wait to just get started.</div>
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The water was a warm 29-30 degrees for the swim. I lost the front pack before the first turn buoy - this is the first time I have been dropped for a solo swim in a race! I then aimed to stay steady and comfortable as I knew it was going to be a long, hot day. Before long I realised I actually had Bec and Jo swimming on my feet, which was some consolation that I wasn't the only one to get dropped. Plus if there were sharks (which there aren't), ideally they would sneak up behind me and eat one of the others instead.</div>
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I was quickly dropped on the first few hills of the bike! </div>
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At Ironman New Zealand I made the mistake of riding too hard in the first half of the bike, and then grovelling home a bit for the last 40km. Knowing it was going to be hot and not wishing to repeat this experience I started conservatively - in hindsight, too conservatively :-/</div>
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I spent much of the ride alone, with only villages breaking up the jungle around me. These were always a good source of motivation - the local kids lined the street and cheered for all they were worth. If you gave them one of your empty drink bottles (of which I seemed to have many), they acted like they had won the lottery. It was very cool.</div>
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Most of the ride was uneventful, aside from a torrential shower of very warm rain for the last 20km, making peering out of my fogged up sunglasses a bit tricky. Luckily enough there were none of these on the road:</div>
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As they are the size of very short-legged dogs. </div>
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I hit the run feeling good, which lasted for 2km. Then the heat began to hit. Aid stations were about 1.5km apart, which I initially thought was overkill, but I soon realised that this was pretty much the distance you could run without going crazy in the heat. Each aid station was a welcome nirvana of drinks and ice cold sponges. My pace soon dropped and my race goal changed to merely finishing. I soon caught Bec, who had pulled a hamstring, and moved into 4th, where I stayed until the welcome sight of the finish line.</div>
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Although I raced slower than what I thought I was capable of, this was an amazing experience. I learnt a lot through the race, and met some amazing people, some of whom I have looked up to for many years.</div>
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A big congrats to everyone who finished a tough day. And to Gina and Cam who once again showed why they are such amazing athletes.</div>
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I have to say a big thank you to Jeremy and Janet for opening up their home to me and Roger, and to their two girls for putting up with Roger!</div>
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To the race organisers, for a well run and top notch race - this is definitely on my racing calendar in the future!</div>
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To the team at Bob's Bikes and Shoe Clinic for their continued support.</div>
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And to Rog, who had the very tough job of coming along with me - I know it was a hard place to be for a couple of weeks....</div>
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-47069197015437492902014-05-05T02:35:00.002-07:002014-05-05T02:35:57.259-07:00Rotorua Marathon Turns the Big 5-0!There is something about the Rotorua Marathon. I just can't stay away from it. And every year, at the 26km mark, I always question my sanity in returning for another dose of hurty legs that this marathon serves up. This year I was back for more!<br />
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Winning this marathon last year was incredible. Going back this year my main goal was just to put together a good solid run effort, ignoring the super speedy elite field I was up against.<br />
My build up was less than ideal. Since Ironman NZ I had managed two "long runs". The first was a good hit out at the Xterra Off road Half marathon, where I romped off with an easy win. Buoyed up by my trail running success I hit the trails of the Eskdale Forest on a running blind date with Kristian and Ruby (running blind date: when a running buddy sets you up with another running buddy for some running joy. The awkwardness is gone straight after your first toilet stop in the bush). We managed 28km of the coolest running I have done in a forest. I also managed to fall over the only pinecone lying on a dead flat gravel road, spraining my ankle. I knew things were a bit grim when I got out my car after driving back to my parents and my foot was already four times its usual size. It was only a 20min drive. That and the fact I couldn't push my clutch in (yes, I tried to drive back in one gear... damn you manual car!!). And it remained this size for nearly a week (complete with pretty shades of blue and purple). Cue not much running...<br />
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Two weeks later I was on the start line with a tender ankle and an uncertainty as to whether I would even make it half way around the lake. I decided to forgo my GPS watch, and basically just run on feel.<br />
Coach Keegan had mentioned something about easily doing another sub 3hr run, I had dismissed this as another one of his crazy ideas...but somehow he always manages to be right.<br />
No one was more surprised than me when I realised at the 26km mark I was on track for a good run. Yes I felt a bit terrible (everyone does at that point in this race given the slight uphill and headwind of the return to town) - but not as terrible as previous years. At the 40km mark I realised a 2hr55 was within my reach, and somehow lifted my pace to 4min/km's to bring it home.<br />
Crossing the finish line in 4th place still felt like a sweet victory to me. I felt I had given it my best, and to finish in the front end of the field, given the calibre of the elite field, was a bonus.<br />
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My ankle had been tender to run on, but it definitely made me smart about my run form out there. One of my friends had also written on Facebook "heart> ankle" (heart is greater than ankle, for those who struggled with greater-than and less-than at school!!). Thanks Nathan, I will be remembering this next time I race!!<br />
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I also proudly got to watch Caroline, Heidi and Tarina finishing the marathon, after seeing (and writing up) all the hard work they put in to get to the finish line. Well done team!<br />
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A big congrats to everyone who finished the marathon. I believe it is the toughest onroad marathon in NZ. Much respect!<br />
I must say a thank you to Tom for the company out around the back of the lake. Pity I dropped you buddy - next time you will definitely hang on for a sub 3!<br />
And some nameless man who stuck with me for a few more km's with plenty of encouragement (until I dropped him too...).<br />
Also to the volunteers for being so positive to sweaty strangers, and giving us smiles and encouragement with our drinks. And to Emma and the team at Event Promotions for once again organising a spectacular race!<br />
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Now time for some solid training miles again!<br />
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-36779951804301236412014-03-03T23:49:00.000-08:002014-03-03T23:49:21.234-08:00IMNZ 2014Someone once told me Ironman would try break your heart. I suspected they didn't mean this literally. Until Saturday's race.<br />
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Race morning dawned a chilly 2 degrees. Anything less than 30 degrees is usually too cold for me. So you could imagine my joy at cycling around in dripping wet lycra in these conditions! <br />
Hanging with the main pack of pro girls in the swim saw me get out the water in 59 minutes, which seems to be my go to swim pace at the moment. I was in and out of transition in a flash, mostly due to my lack of warm clothing to put on.<br />
I had mentally prepared myself for a cold couple of hours on the bike; my upbeat optimism about freezing to death only lasted until the first descent from the motorsport park. I spent the next hour shivering uncontrollably. The only reason I didn't fall off my bike due to violent shivering was down to the fact I was actually frozen on my bike in the aero position. I could only console myself with the thought that the second lap could only get warmer.<br />
The rest of the ride proved uneventful, as I seemed to spend the majority of it grinding it out alone. I passed a couple of other pro girls on the second lap before heading in to town to run a marathon.<br />
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I smashed out another speedy transition (the only thing I seemed capable of smashing out at this race) and hit the run course. I had been looking forward to the run here for months. I love the energy and support on the course in Taupo, and knew a ton of people would be out there cheering me on. My goal for this race had been to really enjoy the run. And I did. For 2km. Then I realised something was wrong.<br />
I could understand if I had mucked up my nutrition, hit a wall, or simply burned my legs out on the bike. But I didn't understand why my heart didn't seem to be working. Everything else was!! Everything felt good, except for my heart which seemed to struggle to beat. My heart rate was pretty low, and it felt my heart was really working for every beat. Now I am not a doctor but I was pretty sure this was not a good sign with a good 40km left to run. I had a good debate with myself over the course of the first lap and decided to push on with the race. Even if I had to walk (which I did). I didn't want to see a DNF next to my name, and figured if I was going to collapse of anything, an IM course would probably be the best place to do it. The medics there are pretty good! So I soldiered on. By the last lap I was walking a fair bit to try ease some strain on my heart. There were moments I had tears behind my sunglasses, and I was so grateful for Roger's support out there - even when he saw me walking. <br />
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I made it to the finish in 10hrs02. Not quite the race I was after, but happy to finish. I made it in as the 11th pro woman out of a strong field of 20.</div>
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After finishing the first thing on my agenda was a chocolate milkshake, followed secondly by some tests with the doctor (priorities, right?). Hopefully nothing more serious than an undetected virus!</div>
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A huge thank you goes out to everyone out there supporting - it makes a difference when you are racing well, but an even bigger difference when you are not. </div>
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Also to the volunteers for spending countless hours looking after sweaty, smelly strangers.</div>
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To my coach Keegan at VO2Coach for the hours of training spent behind the scenes.</div>
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And to my sponsors Bob's Bikes for getting the Trek machine running so smoothly (next time I would like a seat warmer please), BSC and GQ Nutrition for supplying my race bars, gels and recovery formula, and Adidas Eyewear for the pink Evil Eyes.</div>
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I am definitely going to enjoy the break after Ironman before setting my sights on my next big goal.</div>
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A huge congrats to everyone who achieved out there - be it a Kona qualification, a PB, or simply just a finish. </div>
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Stay safe & see you at the next one!</div>
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-44266809552963557572013-12-15T14:18:00.000-08:002013-12-15T14:18:04.026-08:00Ironman Western Australia 2013 (said in an Aussie accent)Four years ago I did my first Ironman. I was woefully unprepared. I had no formal swim training and preferred to spend my surfing rather than counting laps. I had just bought a bike but looking back I rode it like a bit of a clown. You know, the ones on the unicycles, who go really slow so they can juggle (I can't juggle). And I could run, but lets face it, evolution makes this happen to everyone (well, everyone who wants to stay uneaten).<br />
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Back then I remember looking the pro's with awe. Clearly they were some kind of superhuman with their freakish fitness and flash gear. <br />
Back then I never thought one day I would be lining up at the pro start.<br />
Bearing this in mind, in Busselton I decided to be as down to earth and humble as possible. This was largely determined by how broke I was. I think I was possibly the only pro... in fact, the only triathlete there, who had to catch the bus. Everywhere. I had to time racking my bike on Saturday with the bus timetable. Luckily we had a family friend come down for the race on Sunday (with a car, woop woop), otherwise chances were I would have had to have slept in transition overnight.<br />
As a bonus though, the bus drivers were very friendly and chatty :-)<br />
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After a win at the Karapiro Half Ironman four weeks prior, I was ready for another hit out over Ironman distance.<br />
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Race morning was pretty much perfect - the ocean was nice and flat with only a little swell out toward the end of the jetty. And there were no sharks (well, none that I could see).<br />
I had a pretty good swim, managing to hold on to Maureen Hufe's feet for a 59min swim. Unfortunately she ditched me rather quickly on the bike, being the super cyclist she is.<br />
Going in to transition I wasted a bit of time getting tangled up in my wetsuit. Prior to leaving my Orca Alpha split a seam. Orca were brilliant in repairing it, and sent it back to me with instructions for the courier to deliver it before Tues (when I flew out). The couriers clearly misread this as "keep this as long as possible" as Tues morning they didn't know where it was, and then finally located it just after my plane took off. So I raced in my old 3.8, which is only loosely classified as a wetsuit now due to it falling apart and sporting a massive hole on the leg. The hole which I managed to stick my foot through trying to get it off.<br />
Once I finished my own private wrestling match with my wetsuit in transition, I hit the bike.<br />
The temperature was a cool 25 degrees with not much wind on the first lap. The course was a flat, fast 3 lap course. Laps 2 and 3 were a bit more chaotic trying to dodge age groupers, and we had a nice headwind spring up too just to keep it interesting.<br />
Came off the bike in 5hrs10.<br />
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I hit the run feeling pretty good, and tried to stick to my pacing. I always get a little too excited about the prospect of running a marathon after 180km on the bike, so I tried to keep my pace in check. I felt awesome. Until the 20km mark, when someone clearly flicked the "feel sick" switch. I slowed down a bit and soldiered on to the end.<br />
Total run time was 3hrs17.<br />
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I was the 6th pro to finish, out of a field of 12. I was pretty happy considering the quality of the pro field there. In hindsight, there are things I could have done better, but this is only one step in my journey.<br />
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Congrats to the race winners, Elizabeth Lyles and Jeremy Jurkiewicz, and fellow kiwi athletes Michelle Bremer and Melanie Burke for their 4th & 5th placing.<br />
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A big thank you to Sandie for looking after us in WA, my sister Nadine for consenting to be dragged along as support crew, SkyCity, Bob's Bikes, Adidas Eyewear, coach Keegan Williams (VO2Coach.com), swim coach Cameron Stanley, Roger for giving me a leave pass, and the Busselton bus drivers for always being on time!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-45055959691974609292013-09-01T18:06:00.001-07:002013-09-01T18:11:08.530-07:00Challenge Penticton 2013If asked to sum up Challenge Penticton in one word I would be hard pressed to decide between "beautiful" and "brutal". But I think this is what makes this such a spectacular race.<br />
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I arrived in Penticton ten days prior to the race. I got a bit of an opportunity to head out and do some training on the course, as well as scoping out some of the more challenging parts of the course. I really must applaud the person who decided to include not one but two climbs over separate mountain ranges in the same race. All before running a marathon, of course. <br />
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Four days out from race day, while out riding and battling the winds at the back of the course (did I mention the wind?? As if the climbs weren't going to be challenging enough!!) I got bitten by a wasp. Now this is something that doesn't really happen to me. Enough so that I hadn't realised up until this point that I was allergic to wasps. Being a trooper (and I didn't rate my chances hitch hiking), I rode another 70km with a throbbing leg.<br />
I woke up the next morning to find from my knee down to my foot my leg was twice the size, very red and very hot. Being a typical triathlete, I did what all triathletes do, and went down to the pool for a swim, ignoring the glowing red puffy thing attached to my knee. Apparently this was the incorrect thing to do (as was finishing my ride the day before) as told to me by the doctor I then had to visit. In short I was given some pills to take that "may cause drowsiness" (read: they knocked me out senseless every time I took them). Additionally my appetite vanished - for those who know me, this is a serious thing as I am usually always eating. Not ideal pre-race prep! However after two days the swelling had reduced enough for me to put my foot into my bike and running shoes. <br />
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Race morning dawned and for once I had no nerves. This was either due to spending the last three days in a drug-induced fog, or due to the fact that everyone involved with this race was so supportive and friendly - it is hard to get nervous when everyone wants only the best for you.<br />
The swim was rough with a lot of chop but I managed to settle into a small group with Jen Annett, Trish Deim and Janelle Morrison. <br />
Out of the swim I got on to my bike but soon lost Jen, Trish and Janelle who proved to be powerhouses on the bike.<br />
I knew this was going to be a hard day at the office when 60km into the bike I began to feel like my legs were working really hard. And I hadn't even hit Richter's Pass yet. <br />
Things looked up a bit when I caught sight of Trish on Richter's Pass proving I had made up some ground again, but I soon lost her on the long descent over the other side. Note to self: load bike with bricks for descending...<br />
By the time I hit the final stages of the 20km climb at Yellow Lake I was concentrating very hard on not thinking about running a marathon. My legs were hammered.<br />
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The final 20km of the bike had some good descents back to transition, enough for me to convince myself I actually wanted to run a marathon.<br />
Off the bike on to the run course I couldn't quite seem to hit my targeted pace, so I settled for as close as I could and tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery along lake Skaha. I managed to make up some ground, passing Trish a few km's out from the turnaround, putting me in 5th place. I caught sight of Jennifer Luebke in the final 4km and I managed to gain some ground on her, but not enough to move into 4th. Finishing 23sec behind her for 5th place with nothing left in my legs I could only be happy.<br />
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For my first pro race I definitely learnt a lot and was happy with the effort I put in. After talking my nutritionist Mel, I can see now that taking those pills a few days out interfered with my body's ability to absorb things. Wasps are now my least favourite creatures!<br />
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Well done to everyone who completed the race!<br />
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I want to say a huge thank you to the team who put Challenge Penticton on. I feel honoured to have been able to race in the inaugural race here. The entire team, the volunteers and the community were just absolutely awesome. In particular to Kelly Hall the pro coordinator for the fantastic job she did, and for opening her home to us. I have never seen anyone work so hard but be so enthusiastic all the time! She really made this experience very special for a lot of us pros. Also to Judy Sentes who made us very welcome in her home and in her family. Roger and I have gained some lifelong friends who we hope to see again next year!<br />
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Finally thanks to my sponsors SkyCity for getting me over to Canada; to Bob's Bikes for all the prep they put into my bike; to Saucony for my fast running shoes and racing apparel; and to Adidas Eyewear. And to all my friends and family who provide me with so much support and encouragement. Lastly to Roger who always believes in me, making pursuing my dream possible.<br />
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-12217554202751683572013-08-04T01:07:00.000-07:002013-08-04T01:07:01.307-07:00Winter Training - roll on somewhere warm!!I would like to think I have survived my winter training this year with minimal moaning. Some of my training buddies may beg to differ as I have probably assaulted their ears with my whinging about the cold without even being aware of it (I do recall standing in Keegan's garage next to my bike refusing to take my Ugg boots and puffer vest off not so long ago...).<br />
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The winter has seen some pretty solid training going into the bank. Under swim coach Cameron Stanley I seem to have finally figured out how to move forward in the water (but still not how to dive in without my goggles moving). Thanks to the purchase of a new Trek and a bike fit from David Bowden at Speed Theory I am starting to feel a lot stronger on the bike. And thanks to some good old fashioned long run mileage my body seems to have discovered a very efficient way of running with what feels like minimal energy being used. I also seem to have figured out how to run about 26km with no fluid or gels (thanks to Roger who got dropped carrying some vital fluid on the mountain bike one day...). I am sure this may all come in handy for the inaugural Challenge Penticton in three weeks!<br />
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My winter training was rounded off with the Taupo Half Marathon. A great race with a stunning course on the edge of the lake and some amazing views of a snow covered Ruapehu. Despite having just completed some solid training over the last two weeks training buddy Candice and I managed to pull off a decent race, Candice taking the win with me not too far behind for second. Overall I am happy with the progress I have made this winter and can't wait to test it out in Penticton on the 25th Aug!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-60206297703051544422013-05-04T23:08:00.000-07:002013-05-04T23:08:51.941-07:00Rotorua Marathon 2013So this year saw me packing my bags (in my usual pre-race rush) to get down to Rotorua for annual run around the lake. This is one marathon that is fast becoming an annual event on my race calendar. Its a good honest course (i.e. you physically want to die in the last 5km), it has a brilliant atmosphere and the spot prizes offered here are out of this world thanks to some very generous sponsors.<br />
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I went in to this race with no big expectations. All I wanted to achieve was to come in under the 3hr mark, preferably a little faster than the 2hrs59 I ran last year. I was feeling pretty good - coach Keegan has had Candice and I doing some really strong sessions over the last few weeks; and Tanya Momo had given me a couple of legendary massages that left my legs feeling super light.<br />
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At the boom of the cannon we were off. I always seem to have this habit of starting out a little too quickly, so this year I really made sure I stuck to my pacing plan for the first 5km, despite runners shooting past me at sub 4min/km pace. I had to constantly check my watch, as I was convinced I must have been running 5min km's - I was being passed left, right and centre, and felt like I was running a tad slow. But no, my pacing was spot on, so I made the decision to ignore everything and just stick to that. My aim was to stay as comfortable as I could for the first half, and then wind it up a bit in the second.<br />
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I knew I was sitting comfortably in 3rd place, and was pretty happy to catch 2nd place once we hit the back of the lake. Knowing Gabrielle O' Rouke was sitting in 1st place I resigned myself to trying to hold my 2nd place, happy in the knowledge that this triathlete could make it on to the podium amongst pure runners.<br />
So you could imagine my suprise to catch Gabrielle on what is fondly called Heartbreak Hill, and pass her! At this point I really had to discipline myself to stick to my pacing, instead of trying to race off into the distance, despite the fact I was sure she was hot on my heels.<br />
While running I noticed a cyclist on a mountain bike in a high vis vest, who cycled along at a steady state constantly glancing back. I ran along, thinking "wow, someone has the most awesome support person. They are pacing them the entire way and making sure they aren't losing them. That's commitment!". It took me until the 32km mark to realise this was the "Lead Female" bicycle, and he was in fact, glancing back at me. Yup, this is definately not a position I find myself in!<br />
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Once I hit 32km, my aim was to just run strong for 10km. I met an awesome runner (Aaron) who was keeping pace with me for most of the run, and the encouragement he kept giving me was awesome. Likewise Rog, who I had given permission to rant, rave and yell at me to get me through what I anticipated being the hardest part of the race.<br />
I was convinced Gabrielle would run me down, I just hoped to keep up a strong enough pace that it would be closer to the finish than further, as I didn't know how I would have matched up in a head to head! It wasn't until the last 2km that I realised if I wanted it, this race was truly mine.<br />
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Crossing the finish line was awesome, even if it was one of the slower winning times in Rotorua. I was happy to see training buddy Candice cross in 3rd place not too far behind me, knowing she had completed this after a decent training week.<br />
Gabrielle and Candice definately kept me working and I feel privleged to run against strong athletes like them.<br />
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A big thank you to the race organisers, Event Promotions and the Lion Foundation for yet another brilliant event. Next year is the 50th anniversary race, a must do if a marathon is on your bucket list.<br />
Also to Skyline for the excellent dinner they put on for the winning athletes, event organisers and associated VIP's - the meal here was definately worth running a marathon for!<br />
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Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-21442451876556426472013-03-06T11:02:00.000-08:002013-03-06T14:02:29.642-08:00Ironman NZ 2013Ironman NZ was a dream come true this year - and that was just the weather! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was by the prospect of 1). Sunshine and 2). Heat!!!!! These two factors alone had me very, very excited about race day.<br />
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Race day dawned promising to be a stunner of a day. The lake was flat and glassy, things were looking good! <br />
<br />
The swim went well - aside from losing my transponder at some point. I was out the water in under an hour (a first for me) and got to experience first hand the joys of a much emptier transition. This is the first time I have ever had my very own volunteer (in fact, I had two....TWO!!) there to rip my wetsuit off me - usually I arrive in with the masses and resort to removing my own wetsuit.<br />
<br />
Once I got over the excitement of my wetsuit removal, it was out on to the bike course. After spending months chasing (read: gasping, panting and getting black spots in my vision) Candice up hills the bike course felt almost too easy. Lap one went by quickly and comfortably, I rode on to lap two feeling very optimistic. Until just before Broadlands I heard the dreaded combination of a motorbike and a blast on the whistle - apparently I had taken more than 20 seconds to pass through the draft zone of a guy I was passing. I was gutted. I hadn't even been aware that it had taken me slightly longer to pass; add this to the fact that I would rather commit a felony than draft during a race. Those four minutes were some of the longest in my life. Back on to the bike I felt on the back foot (I gave up counting the number of girls who had passed in those four minutes), but soon worked my way back up the field, and back toward my favourite part of the race - the marathon!<br />
<br />
The first 20km of the marathon flew by. I felt comfortable, and had managed to work my way up to first age grouper overall. The support out on the run course was phenomonal. I looked forward to the various spots where I knew my friends and family had stationed themselves. By 30km my run began to unravel a little - I began to feel slightly ill and let my pace drop. The last 7km my pace dropped even more and I felt like a first year uni student at the end of an O week filled with very cheap rum. Not good! With 1km to go, Kira Flanagan caught me, to get first age grouper in overall. I tried to put up a bit of a fight, but with not much left in the tank I had to settle for second age grouper overall and just had my lucky stars to thank that she was an age group below me.<br />
I still walked (well, stumbled) away as an age group winner, setting a new course record for the 30-34 age group in 9:56:29. This put in me in 6th overall.<br />
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A huge thank you to the volunteers who were out on the course far longer than I was, you make this day possible for us. Thank you to my sponsors - Adidas Eyewear and TopMark nutrition, and a massive thank you to Bob's Bikes who do so much for me.<br />
Thanks also to Ben and Fitness Locker MultiSport Club for all the support and pre-race pep talks! And to coach Keegan Williams for teaching me how much further I could go.<br />
Lastly, a massive thank you to my family, my in-laws and Roger. The support, encouragement and belief in me that you provide is invaluable. <br />
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I have come out of the race feeling good, and a little wiser. I will be looking forward to my next challenge!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-43621929238056963242013-02-11T23:49:00.001-08:002013-02-11T23:53:29.960-08:00New Plymouth HalfThe weekend saw me and Roger head down to New Plymouth for the fantastic Wells Half Ironman. This is the second time I have done this race, and I have loved it both times. Amazing weather, the BEST race packs I have ever seen, a vibrant atmosphere, a hilly but beautiful bike course and a run along the ocean. What more could a girl want?<br />
<br />
Friday saw me doing my usual pre-race ritual. That is, running around like a headless chicken as I always manage to fully book myself up with clients until our designated leaving time, and I like to leave things like packing and organising spare gels/drink until the very last minute. I then like to add to my stress levels by having to Fill Up The Car With Petrol, usually with no knowledge of how much money I actually possess (and some knowledge that like mortgages and 10 carat diamonds, petrol is hideously expensive). Once all of this is accomplished and we are on the road, I kind of feel like I have already just completed a Half Ironman.<br />
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Race day dawned a beautiful day, as only the Naki can put on. I have been really focussing on swimming a little better, so I was keen to see if I could stay within touching distance of the front group that would inevitably break away. I successfully did this all the way to the first buoy. While I was high fiving myself in my head, and thinking of how awesome I felt, I turned too close to the buoy and stuck my arm through the netting encasing it. Cue 3 seconds of frantic floundering (while I randomly thought "aaaah, so this is what poor dolphins feel like when they are caught in nets...."), and then common sense kicked in and I extracted my arm the same way it got in. Unfortunately the front girls were long gone, and it was a slower swim all by myself.<br />
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Out on to the bike it was hard work all the way. This bike course is honest. Which is a nice way of saying you will work your butt off on it no matter what. I managed to work my way up a few places, and rode back in to transition around the point that I began thinking "I would like to get off my bike now". Coming off the bike into the three lap run, I learnt I was 5-6min behind Hilary. I wasn't sure how fast she was running, but thought I would aim to gain ground on every lap (and hopefully not have a repeat of last year's performance of being 2 seconds too slow in the finish chute). Things panned out a little differently to that, with me catching and passing Hilary on lap 2, and then running scared on lap 3 as I imagined she was right behind me the entire way.<br />
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I crossed the finish line in 2nd place, behind training partner Candice Hammond who stamped her dominance on the course with a new course record. It was also good to see fellow VO2Coach'ed athlete Graham O'Grady winning with a new course record in the men's race.<br />
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A big thank you to Bob's Bikes for fitting my new Profile Design aerobars on in time to race, to replace the bars wrecked in the crash (and for constantly tuning my bike to my race wheels!).Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-49533513505092711472013-02-03T22:11:00.003-08:002013-02-03T22:11:46.979-08:00Woohoo, 2013!! And another Ironman!So 2013 is well and truly here, and this is going to be a great year! After ending 2012 with a bang (or more accurately, a crash) 2013 can only get better.<br />
<br />
December was a pretty busy month, the end of the year flew by. Three weeks after racing Kona, I was on the start line for the Karapiro Half Ironman. My pre-race prep of sitting on a beach in Waikiki consuming my body weight in ice cream is obviously my secret weapon, as I walked away from the race with a win and some not very tired legs.<br />
<br />
After this I joined the Other Side - as support crew and #1 spectator for Roger, doing his very first half ironman at IronMaori. This was a great event to watch, with so much encouragement and positive energy out on the course. It was great to see Rog smiling his way through the entire event (in fact, I think he is still smiling from it) to finish in a very respectable time of 5:25. Very proud of him for getting out there and giving it a good go!<br />
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After this it was back into business mode at the Rotorua Half Ironman. This was my very first triathlon a few years ago now - I remember being so nervous the night before I actually wanted to die. I had fantasies of cyclones hitting Rotorua resulting in a cancelled race...yup, that nervous! <br />
This year I finished well over an hour faster than that day (and I wasn't the second to last person out the water this time due to my then philosophy of "why swim when you can surf"...yup, I was that slow!).<br />
This has to be one of my favourite races. It is a tough, honest course but beautiful - made even more so by the new offroad run this year. A must do race on any triathlete's bucket list for sure.<br />
I managed to snag second place behind the super speedy Anna Ross, and walked away with a life-sized stuffed dragon for my effort, which Roger now uses to terrify the dogs. Will race for soft toys :-)<br />
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The plan after Rotorua was to get back into some solid training. Three days later, riding back from my first really good training session with Keegan, Candice and a visiting Tamsyn, I got involved in a reluctant game of chicken with a truck. I would love to say that I flexed my muscles of titanium, and left an Erin-shaped dent in the side of the truck, but sadly this was not the case. Scotty the bike and I came off second best, while my anti-indicating, anti-giving way opponent made a speedy exit from the scene. I wish I knew where he lived, so I could have given him the Road Code for Christmas (well, that and something else that starts with black and ends with eye...).<br />
A few very concerned motorists stopped, one lady even insisted on trying to put bandaids on my road rash - not an easy task, considering the size of a band aid, and then the size of my road rashed butt cheek. I am flattered that she thought my bum was that small.<br />
Bob's Bikes did a great job of fixing Scotty up and getting me back out cycling in no time, despite the Christmas rush in the shop - thanks guys!<br />
A couple of easy weeks later and I was ready to roll again (aside from an abnormal fear of trucks).<br />
<br />
January saw some good quality miles go under the belt, all in preparation for IMNZ. I made the decision not to race this month to really focus on building some strength for Ironman. I finished off the month with a solo effort weekend down in Taupo which has left me feeling great.<br />
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The countdown for IMNZ is back on, with the wee matter of the New Plymouth Half next weekend just for fun :-)Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-86131908278421886492012-10-28T21:01:00.002-07:002012-10-28T21:01:47.566-07:00Post KonaI have finally arrived home after unsuccessfully trying to cancel my flight to "become" a permanent resident in Hawaii. Our honeymoon in Waikiki was an excellent way to wind down after the race and rejuvenate the mind before coming back to the NZ race season. It also gave me a little bit of time to realise that even though I had a disappointing race in Kona, it is not the end of the world, and ultimately those closest to you are so proud of you for just making it to the start line, regardless of your race result.<br />
<br />
Race morning dawned warm and clear (like most mornings in Hawaii). Anna and I were up at 4:20am for breakfast before heading down to body marking and transition. As I usually do, I threw my Ipod on, and got on with the job of preparing for the race.<br />
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The swim went pretty much as I had expected. Not being incredibly fast in the water I anticipated swimming around the 1hr10 mark. I also anticipated the swim to be a bit of a washing machine, so was prepared for the watery chaos that ensued once we started. I managed to get on to the feet of a couple of guys, and for the most part of the swim sat pretty comfortably behind them.<br />
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Once out of the water it was through a very busy transition, and then on to the real business of making up some ground on the bike. Well, that was my plan - which didn't exactly pan out in reality the way it did in my head.<br />
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Once on the Queen K I got into a pretty good rhythm, and felt pretty strong. Remembering everyone's warnings of making sure I was hydrated, I also began drinking. A lot. Maybe too much.<br />
Approaching Hawi the wind had picked up into a pretty decent headwind, with plenty of gusts hitting us from the side - very much like some of my training rides back home! At this point I began to feel a little ill, and was struggling to take on board any gels, but figured as long as I kept drinking I would be ok.<br />
Coming back down from Hawi was still windy - although not the tail wind I was anticipating. Just more gusty crosswinds. Turning back on to the Queen K for the final 60km saw these crosswinds turn into a headwind. Mentally, this was tough!! I kept looking at my watch and saw my goal ride time slipping further and further out of my reach. Still struggling with my nutrition, I kept knocking back the Ironman Perform that was on course.<br />
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Once I hit transition, I was pretty happy to hand my bike to a volunteer - actually I probably would have handed my bike to just about anyone at that point. Through transition again, I almost made it out feeling good when I realised my race number belt (not needed in the cycle, but compulsary in the run) was still in my transition bag!! A mad dash back to the change tent I managed to locate my bag and dig it out and then hit the run course. Silly mistake as usually my bike/run transition is super quick.<br />
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Out on the run I stuck to Keegan's pacing plan and felt pretty good for the first 15km. Almost too easy! Closer to the 20km mark I began to feel pretty ill again, and from then on it was downhill (unfortunately not the course, just me!). I had slowed considerably, started walking the aid stations, and had fantasies about being able to pass out (i.e. "look at that bit of lava...I bet it would feel awesome to just pass out there...on the lava...just passed out..."). It felt like the run was never going to end. Pretty disappointing as I usually love running.<br />
<br />
Running back into Kona and onto Ali'i Drive for the final 800m before the finish line was just incredible. The noise and energy coming from the crowd is just amazing. Even though I was pretty gutted running through the finish line and seeing the time I had raced, just finishing in Kona was pretty amazing.<br />
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Once through the finish, each athlete has a volunteer (or two) assigned to them to take them over to the post-race area. As I found out, if you retch when drinking a cup of water, they will also take you straight to the medic tent. An hour there on an IV and I was ready to ride my bike back to the condo for a shower.<br />
<br />
Total race time was 10hrs31.<br />
<br />
After catching up with Keegan, I think I can safely say I may have consumed a little too much (ok, a lot) of Ironman Perform on the day. Important lesson to learn!<br />
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I have to say the volunteers out on that course were amazing. They encouraged, yelled at, even threatened athletes - anything to keep them moving forward. Their energy and enthusiasm - through all the heat of the day - was just incredible.<br />
I have to say a big thank you to Roger for allowing me to bring my bike and running shoes on our honeymoon; as well as to our families for helping us get there.<br />
Also to Bob's Bikes for the support and advice they have given me, and keeping my bike in excellent riding condition. <br />
Adidas Eyewear for my Evil Eye Pro's - these are by far the best glasses I have used racing. Super lightweight and comfortable, with the best lens technology out there.<br />
TopMark Nutrition for my gels, bars and recovery formula. Fueling up for training and racing has never been tastier!<br />
And Candice for letting me borrow her race wheels - I was kind of hoping they would magically make me as fast as her!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-26270183045930782932012-10-11T20:21:00.001-07:002012-10-11T20:21:22.309-07:00Just Over a Day to Go!Relaxing on the baloncy of our condo and hearing the waves crashing 100m from us, it is hard to believe that in just over a day I will be standing on the start line of the Ironman World Championship.<br />
<br />
It is at this point when you can really sit back and review all the long hard miles you have put in training. Every early morning, every sub-zero cycle, every windy run. Those sessions in the wind and rain that you made yourself do when it would have been easier to give up. Those long weeks when fatigue really started to set in and you would become ever so slightly irrational about every little thing. Those lonely hours spent out riding and running when friends and family were socialising. Every session you ever questioned and truly tested yourself. They all count, as valuable miles in the bank - all to be cashed in on one big day.<br />
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Kona has been an amazing place for a taper. It is warm, which suits me perfectly. The water here is crystal clear, and you have miles and miles of coral reef, tropical fish and various other marine life to keep you entertained. So far I have managed to sight both a turtle and a manta ray out swimming (sadly no dolphin - yet!). The roads are smooth, and both the lava fields, and the coastal road up to Hawi are beautiful to ride on. The heat and barreness of the lava field is quite awe-inspiring, and riding up the coast is really amazing.<br />
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Fit and lean athletes are everywhere - I actually pity anyone who has unknowingly come here for a quiet holiday. I can imagine it would have started out as "wow, everyone in Kona is so fit and lean...all with really nice bikes..." to "oh dear, we are stuck in a village of geeks who just talk about aerodynamics, calories and timing splits....". <br />
The locals are very friendly and so helpful.<br />
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The entire village has been overtaken by Ironman - signs and stalls everywhere, product samples, temporary aid stations on course - it really has a festival-type atmosphere. This morning we got to view (I am sure Roger will regret not competing in) the undie run through town. A nice sight at times...not so good at others!<br />
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A nervous tension seems to have settled on downtown Kona -although Kona room mate Anna and I have been unaffected by this and have wisely decided to do our last swim tomorrow just off the coast close to our condo instead of muscling our way through the (mostly anxious) hordes down at the pier. Also living in the same condo complex as us is Miranda Carfrae - it was very exciting to meet her (and snag a quick photo op) - she really is one compact, lean ball of energy, and super friendly.<br />
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One thing I have really learnt here is not to ever stress in a taper. I feel ready to race; anticipate when the hurt is going to set in, and trust that my muscles will just continue to do what they were trained for. Keegan's coaching - and sessions chasing Candice - has definately left me feeling very well prepared!<br />
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Off for the athlete welcome dinner and race briefing tonight, then tomorrow is rack-the-bike day!! Not long to go now!<br />
<br />
<br />
Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-42478099584331806632012-09-29T02:25:00.000-07:002012-09-29T02:25:19.092-07:00The Kona Countdown is ON!!With my wedding out the way, when people now ask me when the big day is, I can safely assume they are talking about racing in Kona (pre-wedding this caused a wee bit of confusion, followed by more confusion when I asked them to clarify WHICH big day...).<br />
Energy levels and excitement levels are pretty high by now; the body is feeling good and ready to race.<br />
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The winter has seen many, many hours out cycling and running, with some pretty iconic sessions thrown in the mix. Riding around the K2 course in torrential rain and gale force winds; big run session in the Waitakeres (in the wind and rain); hill repeat sessions (in the wind and rain); more running on our regular training loop (mostly in the wind and rain); more hill work (again, with the wind and rain)...and well, luckily the pool is indoors, otherwise that would have been mostly in the wind and rain as well...<br />
One session Dave and I even got to see the Police Swat team in action, raiding a rural property on one of our regular training hills. Made for some interesting viewing!<br />
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Many a session started out with Candice and I huddling around the heater in her house (usually while Candice is trying to dry her socks, in order to wear them outside in the rain) wondering why we repeatedly put ourselves through this. There was much soul searching done in front of that heater! But when you get closer to your race, feeling fitter and stronger than ever, it is easy to justify why you spent the whole winter out riding and running in freezing, wet conditions while everyone else you knew was hiding indoors.<br />
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Fellow triathletes have been super supportive, providing me with many hours of Ironman viewing pleasure in the form of past Kona races, and some pretty inspirational reading material. Makes for some pretty good couch time (directly under the heat pump) after training.<br />
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My wedding provided a brief interlude into what was some pretty solid training. I did entertain the idea of trying to fit in a quick session before the ceremony, but found out this day alone is actually up there with racing an Ironman (minus the lycra). It was a beautiful day which just reminded me I am very lucky to have a husband who is so supportive of everything I do.<br />
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Two weeks to go for race day; and just days until we fly out. The miles have all been done. The time to test the body out is almost here!<br />
<br />
Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-27107888989051498832012-06-30T01:57:00.000-07:002012-06-30T01:57:20.288-07:00The (cold) road to Kona...So winter has finally hit! Good for chilly evenings infront of a movie with the heatpump on full blast; not so good for heading out for long ride or run sessions with rain clouds looming and air so cold your face feels about ready to fall off.<br />
<br />
The beginning of May saw me getting back into training with a few run miles under my belt in the form of the Rotorua Marathon. I learnt a couple of valuable lessons here: 1). Love the wind in training - it gives you physical strength and mental toughness; and 2). Coach Keegan's pacing plan is a lot better than my usual haphazard plan of "run fast until you can't". Despite having a pretty good headwind to run into for the final 12km of the race I still managed to scrape in with a 2hr59 marathon time. Fourth place overall, a podium finish in my age group, and a new PB saw a very happy runner!<br />
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A couple of easy days after this then it was back into the training routine. Now anyone who knows me knows how much I hate the cold. I just never seem to warm up in winter. Even in summer, after bigger or harder races or sessions my body temperature seems to plummet. It is not abnormal to see me after a half Ironman wandering around in a big puffy jacket, clutching the hottest coffee I can find while other athletes cool off in the ocean. So winter and I never get on.<br />
I have been turning up for ride sessions dressed like an eskimo. I try to fob off my cycling buddies mockery by claiming I am doing a bit of heat acclimation for Kona; the reality is my countless layers are barely keeping me warm enough!! Unfortunately my blue, chattering lips tend to give me away. The down time on the couch directly under the heat pump afterward is priceless!<br />
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I always tend to struggle a little through winter as well as racing is pretty minimal aside from the odd marathon. Racing always feels like my reward for training; I love it. Not racing much tends to leave me feeling a little bored. After the initial excitement of Kona wore off I took the time to really evaluate what I want out of this race. In racing, as in training, I will feel like I have failed if I haven't given 110%. So I have used the winter months to really try put myself in the hurt box when training; and developing a pretty good head space for it. As Chris McCormack says - the pain in racing is inevitable. You can either dread it or welcome it. <br />
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So the countdown is on! Just over three months to go, with a wedding in between before we hit the warm sunny shores of Hawaii! The body and the mind are getting in to great race shape; I just hope that shape still fits into my wedding dress...Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-49929340381629106192012-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:002012-03-05T18:21:07.267-08:00(still almost) An Ironman...And on the road to Kona!!How do you make a room full of grown triathletes cry? Cancel their Ironman race. This is exactly what happened at IMNZ this year. The race directors had clearly made the right call. Saturday saw the lake looking like the ocean approaching high tide, wind gusts up to 120km/h and a wind chill factor of about 4 degrees. Not only would it have been unsafe to let us race, it would have been near impossible to just complete the course let alone race it.<br />
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Luckily Sunday dawned a better day and the amazing organisation behind IMNZ managed to pull together a 70.3 for us. After mentally preparing for Ironman, I have to admit at first I really struggled to get my mind into the 70.3. All of Saturday I sat around stressing that I wouldn't be able to lift my pace from just Ironman pace; my mind wasn't ready to face a shorter but harder race. I was very much relying on the longer run distance to run through the field; I wasn't very confident that I would hang on to the faster cyclists on the bike. Finally on Saturday afternoon I headed out for a short run, which usually clears my head a little. I was frustrated, I was fighting the wind, I was blown all over the road... but my legs felt like a million dollars. I got back to my accommodation, walked through the door and just said to Roger "It's all or nothing tomorrow. I am just going to race until I either collapse or finish in the top two. If I get anything out of tomorrow, it's going to be a Kona spot".<br />
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Sunday morning saw me heading down to transition to rack my bike again. Seeing not much wind I took a gamble and threw on the Zipp disc wheel kindly supplied by Bob's Bikes for me. I had been a little nervous that I would end up fighting cross winds too much with it on, but it looked promising that the wind would just be a headwind riding back. Once this was done it was out of transition, had a bit of time to catch up with some good friends, Caroline and Mike, who had come down to watch, then it was into my wetsuit, a quick goodbye and into the lake for a bit of a warm up.<br />
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The swim was chaotic. Imagine 1600 swimming around the same 2km course in choppy conditions, everyone with the same idea of going out fast. It was like a washing machine of bodies. I ended up swallowing so much water in the first 500m that I started to feel pretty sick. It took me up until the turnaround buoys to feel better, and I could put on a decent pace.<br />
Swim time was a whopping 36min!<br />
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A quick transition and I was on my bike. I knew I had spent longer in the water than what I wanted, and I knew I would be chasing the age group leaders. Thanks to the disc wheel and my all or nothing attitude I hit the bike course at a pretty good pace, and kept it up the whole ride. I was a little disappointed by how many athletes were blatantly drafting or cycling in big packs. Under WTC rules the race was draft illegal, and with Kona spots up for grabs it frustrated me to know people were intentionally saving energy on the bike. I made a point of racing as ethically as I could, even slowing right down when large packs swallowed me up, which cost me a little bit of time but allowed me to drop out of the pack situation.<br />
Got off the bike in 2hrs32.<br />
<br />
I got off the bike feeling good and hit the run hard. Roger yelled I was 5min behind the age group leader, so I knew I had to make up 1-1.2km or so to catch her. The first 5km of the run are always the worst for me. Once I have these out the way I always feel pretty comfortable. By the time I hit the second lap I knew I was only 30sec behind second place. Sure enough I caught Helen Kay just on Lake Terrace and could only pray she didn't have some awesome run split up her sleeve for the last lap. Helen is a very good athlete and a phenomonal cyclist, I have no doubt she will be in Kona next year. Luckily I managed to run away from her, finishing up with a run time of 1.28; 5th female overall (exluding pro's) and 2nd in my age group. And more importantly, with a very much coveted Kona qualification!! <br />
Total finish time: 4hrs45.<br />
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The awards dinner on Sunday evening was a nice wind down and to catch up on the races of training partners Ange Walker and Candice Hammond. Looking forward to some hot hot training sessions with Keegan and Candice as they prepare for racing in Thailand and I set my sights on Kona. Bring on the heat!!<br />
<br />
Despite not racing the full distance, the race organisers and volunteers did an amazing job in moving the race and still making everyone feel like the amazing Ironman athlete they are. The support out there on the run course was pretty amazing too and kept spirits pretty high. Everyone who was encouraging me (you know who you all are) - thanks heaps!! Thanks too to Bob's Bikes for their continued support - anything and everything you need to know about cycling Bob is always happy to share. <br />
Big thank you to my family for supporting me regardless of how crazy they think I am, and an even bigger thank you to Roger, who gives me every form of support and encouragement you could imagine AND who is not upset that I am now moving our whole wedding to race in Hawaii....and that I will be in "race mode" for the first half of our honeymoon!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5731490558238161309.post-59861742971762924112012-02-25T22:15:00.000-08:002012-02-25T22:15:22.694-08:00Almost an IRONMAN (again)...After a couple of hit outs at Half Ironman, IMNZ is now fast approaching. This is probably the first year I have actually been very, very serious about it. So much so that the windy, rainy weather has seen me consistently out on my bike - whereas in past years a little bit of rain usually meant a sleep in with a vague thought of "I will ride longer tomorrow....". This may have something to do with the fact I am more afraid of telling coach Keegan Williams I missed a session because of a little rain than I am of getting wet for 4hrs!<br />
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The start of the year saw me lining up at the Tauranga Half IM to race off some of the seasons eatings. Obviously my Christmas diet of lots of yummy home baking agreed with me, as I romped home 2nd in my age group, and with the fastest run split of the day - 3min faster than Ironman legend Jo Lawn (ok, I know she probably lapped me on the swim and bike, but this is the one thing I will always have!!). In all fairness, I love the run at Tauranga. It's pretty easy to block out how much your legs are hurting when you have such an awesomely supportive crowd, and you are looking out on the beautiful ocean.<br />
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Four weeks later I hit the New Plymouth Half IM, where I finished up 4th overall, 2sec behind 3rd place getter Fiona Eagles. Despite running hard to catch her, and making up the 6min she had on me off the bike, I just didn't get there! Definately walked away with a very important lesson just before IMNZ - even though you are racing for hours, every second still counts.<br />
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A few big training weeks later I am finally in my taper. There were a lot of tired, grumpy days in there, a few tears, but now the work is done I am pretty excited and looking forward to racing!!! I have spent a few days at my parents doing easy sessions and enjoying the down time; and spent a bit of quality time with my amazingly supportive fiance who doesn't make too much of a big deal that I spend more time with my bike than with him! I have even had some extra energy to throw into some much needed wedding planning :) If you ever need something to occupy yourself in your taper so you don't go too crazy, just plan a wedding. Honestly, it works!<br />
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So just under a week to go. I have a little bit of work to keep me occupied but I do feel a little sorry for my clients. I have had the time to get very inventive with their training sessions! Bike is heading in to the awesome team at Bob's Bikes for one more once over, and then its off to Taupo on Wed!<br />
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This time next week I will be an Ironman hopefully with a new PB!Erin Furness - Triathletehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06817399761170868415noreply@blogger.com0