I headed off for Christchurch on Thursday evening so I could arrive in time to compete in the Canterbury Triathlon Champs on 03 Feb, followed by a two week training camp.  My main aim was to gain some more race experience, work on my swimming which included a trip to the swim flume in Dunedin (more on that later) and get in some serious training before the season really kicks off.  I was really looking forward to two weeks with almost nothing else to focus on other than training, lots of sleep and to catch up on some reading.  This would make a welcome change from my normal 40 plus hours work and 20hrs training per week.  I had also just received the new power output unit from Polar and was keen to play with my new toy.

I always seem to have these wonderful plans, thinking of all the spare time I will have and it never seems to happen. I think I managed a whole half an hour mid-day sleep in week one and I was still getting up at 6am every morning to make the swim session on time!  I was staying with two friends who live in Christchurch running a Multisport Centre, Gordo (pro triathlete who spends 5months in NZ per year training) and John (ex-pro triathlete from NZ who lived in HK for a year). They also had three Swedish long distance stars there training in preparation for the NZ Ironman and I had managed to convince Mark, Fred and of course Cookie from Hong Kong to join me at boot camp as they called it!  As you can see it was a full house and meal times took on a whole new meaning…….

The race went well although my legs felt tired on the bike probably from the trip down as it was only my second day and it was also a hilly course. It was a great way get the body used to the whole idea of racing again even if it was a bit of a shock to the system!  The swim was really choppy but gave me a chance to practice as most swims in Asia are pancake flat.  I came out of the water in 4 th place which was a little disappointing but headed out of transition up a killer hill that I would later have to negotiate again on the run.  I managed to overtake Annabel (third out of the water) on the bike and after a 12km fight was able to finally gain a 2 minute break going into the run.  I had been given the run down and knew she was an ex-track runner and top downhill skier (she also proved she doesn’t hang around when running downhill either!) so I was glad to have a small cushion.  

The two leaders were well ahead after impressive swims and a strong bike ride so I focused on maintaining my third place and clinching the last of the prize money.  The sun had come out and the run proved to be a tough affair with plenty of steep hills to negotiate.  I managed to maintain my place and only loose 40 seconds to Annabel on the run and break the magic 40minute mark so I was pleased with my efforts – hopefully a good sign for the season to come.  Shanelle Barrett (NZ National Champion) won the race with Ainslea Savage (NZ Junior team hopeful) in second.

No time for too much rest after the race as training started in earnest bright and early on Monday morning.  I don’t think I have ever been so nervous as I headed off at 6.30am with the guys for my first swim session.  Fred had arrived a few days before me and had already warned me of killer 5km swim sessions.  This was a little daunting, as my biggest session was normally 3km!  I had also been told Roly (swim coach) could be a tough taskmaster.  All this being said, I felt at ease as soon as I met Roly, sometimes you know when you will click with someone. I knew he would work me hard and push me to the limit but had complete confidence and respect for him. Maybe I would be swimming like a fish on return to HK after all……..

It wasn’t until we were about halfway through the first session that I realized the lane was being led by Craig Watson (Olympian and currently ranked third in the world). Admittedly he was returning from injury but is goes to show the quality of athletes you are training with and helps to bring you up to a new level.  There was also a quicker lane with the likes of Kris Gemmel (one of NZ’s bright triathlon hopes for the future), Daniel Lee (HK’s top triathlete training in NZ for 4months) and a multitude of top surf lifesavers and Commonwealth Games swimming hopefuls.

One of the things I learnt very quickly was how friendly everyone was and the other athletes were genuinely pleased to welcome a new training partner.  You can see why Christchurch has become a training hotbed for both NZ and international athletes.  There was a fun but very professional atmosphere at training and excellent coaching/support based at QEII (Queen Elizabeth Stadium). John Hellemens (renowned multi-sport and triathlon coach) runs Active Health from QEII where he is both a doctor and coach together with wife Ien, one of NZ’s top sports nutritionist and Physio Mark Elliott (NZ team physio/manager) and a number of other sports specialists including a podiatrist & psychologist.

Well I had made it through my first swim session but was assured Roly had been easy on us as many had raced in the tri champs the day before. Tomorrow would be another interesting day.

John had convinced us all down the Christchurch with the promise of great training, amazing scenery and balmy summer weather.  He was perfectly right about the first two but the weather, where do I start!  Apart from race day, we were blessed with freezing conditions, rain and a strong southerly wind for most of the first week.  This made for some of the most interesting riding conditions I have ever experienced and even topped the wind in Hawaii.  I was certainly going to come home both mentally and physically stronger on the bike if nothing else!  I had planned to do a 16km bike time trial on Tuesday evening but the weather was so bad I decided to get my ride over with in the afternoon rather than suffer at night on my own.  One of the other great things about Christchurch is the number of races that are run through the summer.  There are time trials every Tuesday evening and Sundays, bike races on Saturdays, sea swims every Wednesday evening, regular evening Aquathons, the list goes on.  

Fred, Mark and I had a run session with Mark Elliott on Tuesday morning so he could video us running and help with our technique.  We all found this session invaluable and learnt some interesting pointers.  My main things were to look forward, drive the arms and work on cadence, which would help reduce my over-striding – if I could make these adjustments it was all free speed.  Fred’s issues were all linked to his lack of flexibility in the hip flexors, watch out guys as Fred will be a new man on the run after our yoga sessions!  Mark’s technique was almost perfect so we are all trying to work out why he runs so slowly – we all assumed he can’t maintain this perfect form for the whole race!!!  Nothing that some good speed sessions won’t solve.

Tuesday night finished with a surprise as Gordo passed me the phone to say that Scott Molina (one of the big four triathlon legends) wanted to talk to me!  Cool, but what would he want?  I had been chatting with Shanelle who trains under him at the pool and we had talked about getting together for some training and it turned out he wanted to invite me on their long training ride in the morning.  OF COURSE, who wouldn’t want to go for a ride with one of their sporting hero’s?  As I lay in bed that night all I could hear was the howling wind and rain pouring down. I think I must have woken up every hour hoping the weather would have cleared up for our ride.  No such luck, it was still looking bad at 7am so I called the Molina household to see if the ride was still on. How small did I feel when I realized I had only woken up Erin Baker (past World Champion and Scott’s wife) in the process! The verdict was heavy rain and the ride was off but light rain and we would hit the road. I couldn’t prise either of the guys out from under their duvets so I headed out the door with almost every item of clothing I had taken with me to get to the meeting place.   

It was about a 15 minute ride to Sumner but I had to get across the causeway first which normally has a good gust of wind but it was something else on this morning.  It was blowing a tail and crosswind and I was flying with no effort, enjoying this feeling of speed I was suddenly picked up by a gust of wind and sent flying across the gravel on the edge of road.  Sudden panic set in as I realized I was heading completely out of control straight for a 2m drop into the sea!  The only option seemed to be to floor the bike and quickly which luckily prevented my swan dive into the sea.  I lay on the floor a little shaken as I hit the floor hard and a passing public bus driver stopped to pick me up.  After convincing him I was OK, I stood on the side of the road deciding whether to get back on my bike and keep going or cry and limp home.  No, back on the bike it was and I finally made it safely to Sumner supporting a very impressive bruise on my right hip.  After waiting at the coffee shop for 15mins I decided no-one was crazy enough to meet me in these conditions but as I was already wet and dressed like an Eskimo I may as well get my 3hrs over and done with.  This was going to be one tough ride but would be a good one to look back on when the going gets tough in a race.

I finally made it back to the house after 3hrs of battling with the wind and headed out the door for a 20min run to practice my form off the bike using the tips from our Tues session.  Not long after I arrived back, I found Jonas and Claus (two of the Swedes staying with us) in the kitchen looking like drowned rats after a mammoth 6hr ride (about 220km).  Have you ever seen two completely frozen, starving athletes behave?  They stood at the sink, hot tap running full pelt with one hand each under it and the other furiously shoveling yogurt in, then in went the bread and pretty much everything else they could find in the fridge.  And I thought my day had been bad!

Cookie was arriving tomorrow which would complete the tour party and I couldn’t wait to show him around.  It was looking a busy day with a swim session, long run,  mental conditioning session plus a massage and I was wondering where all the time went!