Post-January 2009
After crashing and burning after Wanaka by getting stuck into running (and ignoring all of Paul’s previous advice regarding duration and intensity), I’ve gone back to the boss for some guidance. I was thinking of doing the Kepler or the Heaphy, but I couldn’t be trusted trying to coach myself (read “I’d end up killing myself”) so I’m now back swimming, cycling and running again – cross training is great for the soul, and helps to mix things up. Who knows what the future holds.
My training involves even doses of cycling, running and swimming. Swimming is a discipline I only picked up in March 2008. Prior to that, I NEVER ventured into a pool – I hated water, chlorine, public pools, salt water, being seen in togs… the list goes on. I had been a kayaker for two years beforehand (that was my swimming equivalent), having passed my Grade 2 in May 2006. So why did I pick up swimming if I disliked it so much? I’m a little bit over kayaking – it is so very time consuming to put in any decent training. Most races are a minimum of an hour’s duration (up to five or six for the likes of the Waimak Classic), which requires far more training than swimming. Swimming, I guess, was a fear I wanted to conquer, and a skill I wanted to develop. And besides, I understand Duncan Laing isn’t coaching any more (nasty man that he was – he used to prod me with a stick when I took swimming lessons as a child – he scarred me for life!).
My coach is Paul Westwood. I used to think having a coach sounded pretentious, but it’s certainly nothing like that. If you want to train effectively without burning out (in my case!), and be the best that you can be, a coach is a must-have. I’m loving Paul’s training philosophy – there is nothing in his programmes that I don’t agree with, and I fully understand what he is trying to achieve. If I do everything he tells me to do, then I feel very confident that his coaching will get me to where I want to be.
My focus is endurance. I had two choices – do events that are long, the completion of which instills a real sense of achievement, or do sprint-type events that require far greater pace (but don’t have the same sense of accomplishment). I’ve tried and tried to get quicker in preparation for shorter distances, but my PB for a 5km is only 24 minutes which is simply far too sluggish to be competitive. I have a goal of one day getting closer to the 20 minute mark for a 5km (I’d be rapt with 21 or 22 minutes) but in the meantime, I have a preference for longer slower distances.
Training can be tricky with two children and a shift worker husband, but then because Graham works shifts, sometimes that means I can get out straight after work rather than waiting for him to get home (other times, I can’t get out at all!!) Swings and roundabouts.
Toys… can’t train without them! My kayaks (albeit temporarily redundant!) are a VOK Sprinter, DMK Renegade (check out their website – there’s a pic of me on their home page, and in their blurb about the Renegade!), and a JKK Eclipse 5.2, which I bought off Megan after she did the Longest Day. Three kayaks… one of me… don’t ask! I have a couple of Cervelo road bikes, one of which is relegated to the mag trainer.
