New Orleans 5150- May 2013

The weekend after Florida, I found myself in another new place- New Orleans! I had never been here before and was told I had to experience the Beignets and Chicory coffee from Cafe Du Monde- that I did it was delicious!

I was yet again fortunate to stay with an unbelievable Homestay- Neill Buie and his lovely girlfriend Jodie Archer. It was fortunate or unfortunate I'm not too sure, that the New Orleans Food and Wine festival was on the very weekend I was there, AND, even better, Neill was the president!! So I couldn't help myself and Thursday I agreed to go and do the wine walk :) race or no race- it was awesome. I might have to come back sometime though and enjoy the whole weekend without having to race.

The swim was average, I had confidence after Florida but I guess with these 5150's it's a way different level to 70.3, it is fast. The girls took off like the speed of light and I just didn't have that speed. I came out in 20.27 the lead time was 18.54- hmm some work to do there.

Once I hit the bike I tried to push but something was just missing I couldn't seem to get out of my own way. I came off the bike in 3rd with 1.02.41. I really wanted to go under the hour but oh well next time.

    

The run felt good actually, I didn't know how to feel only going out for 10k- so short!!! I tried to push hard, which the body felt a little confused about. I ran a 40.20 in the end which isn't too bad for my first short course race in about 4 years!! It was frustrating in the race, I passed the 2 girls who were off the bike in front of me but 3 others passed me, and it kinda felt like slow motion, but I just couldn't keep up. It was fun though and I really really want to do some more of this distance it is fun with so much less pressure. So a 4th for me in 2.05.29. And in the money- always helps :)

Florida 70.3- May 2013

Coming off such a high from Wildflower I was expecting good things for myself from Florida. It was 2 weeks after Wildflower so I had a week of training to do then I could taper off again.

I stayed with another unreal Homestay, Brian and Kim Jones, and also Beth Bradford who looked after me race night!

I was determined to not have another bad start to my swim and warmed up very well right up until the gun went off. Well, it worked. I had a magnificent start and decided rather than lead the swim just settle in which I did. I felt unreal the entire time so with about 600m to go I decided I wanted it and took off for the win. I was stoked to take out my first 70.3 swim with 25.35, the guys finished in 23.40 so not too bad of a swim.

                             

The bike was a bit frustrating for me, as i couldnt seem to shake Mary Beth Ellis off my wheel. I was feeling good though and contined to ride hard. At the 80k mark I accidentally took a wrong turn and realized straight away, only not quick enough and MbE passéd, as did an age group man who she appeared to jump right onto the back of. I smashed myself trying to bridge to them but they just took off. She put over 2min into me in 10k. I was a little pissed off about this to be honest. It did appear she was a little close to the guy but anyway.

                                 
I was coming off the bike in 2nd place, 2min behind MBE. 2.19. Not too bad... And then I crash landed off the bike, face plant right at the dismount line. I have never done that before. I think my shoe hit the ground a little too hard and it catapulted my bike, and me who was holding onto the bike face first into the ash fault. I had a bit of blood but felt in one piece so continued on.

                                  

The run actually felt pretty good for the first section but I guess the lack of running hit me about 7k and I quickly went backwards, I finished up the run with a 1.35 and I ended up in 6th with 4.24. Out of the money. Bugger. No swim primes at this race either. But happy to have another finish under my belt for then year next up New Orleans 5150- next week!

                        

Wildflower May 2013

My first race in the USA for 2013, my first race "cured" from my mysterious cramping which had plagued me since the end of 2006, which ended up being a slipped vertebra in my back i can fix with a simple stretch, i was excited to see what I could do.

My Homestay was awesome, I was lucky enough to stay with Keith "K-Man" Schmidt, right on the expo/finish line in his huge RV. It was so great being at Wildflower and not having to go up and down that damn hill every time I went 'home' or to the race sight, it was fantastic.

Another first for wildflower- non wetsuit swim! Yeeha! The lake was very low and warm this year- 72 degrees. The morning of the race the air was still cool despite the water being quite warm and after a good warm up I got cold standing around waiting for the men to go off. It meant when the gun went off my arms were very heavy and I had a terrible start but I knew I had the swim fitness behind me so pushed the whole way and ended up in 4th not too far behind the lead girls. I swam a 27.30 while the lead guys swam about 26.50 so actually really happy with it considering I swam alone the whole way, I felt strong.



Onto the bike, my favorite bit of triathlon. I felt good right from the start and went hard the entire way, I won't lie I wanted the record. I saw that a lady had ridden 2.30 and I wanted it! I ended up riding fast- but 2.32. Not overly happy but yet i was off in first and I had a nice gap on the rest of the field.

                                       

I had just got over the stress reaction in my shin and had quite a bit of time off running, which with my run background and ability is not a good thing... So naturally I got run down mile 4, by Heather Jackson. She is such an awesome competitor and I knew she was a great runner, so my goal quickly changed to stay in 2nd- no more passes!! It's a tough run and I love it, it lived up to all expectations hot and hilly but I got myself to the final downhill kilometer and crossed the line in 2nd, i was back!!

                                       

My first drug test wasn't the greatest of experiences- 3 hours later, I was finally able to go and enjoy the moment!

Changes April 26, 2013

Well my life has taken a few turns in the last few months. Firstly January 2013 I started wih Darren Smith and his D squad. It was very eye opening working with him and I got a lot out of it, including a stess reaction in my right Tibia at the beginning of February. Long story short though it wasn't for me and I ended the agreement April 26. I was in the US alone and ready to tackle the world. My first race was going to be Wildflower in lake San Antonio, California May 4th.

New Sponsor- The Cyclery!!

Thank you to my newest (and first) sponsor, The Cyclery bike shop, Lonsdale Street Braddon and Fyshwick. Visit their web page at http://thecyclery.net.au/

With some sweet new kit and a very generous BG bike fit, there's nothing stopping me from smashing out more crazy bike splits in my races..

There are a few changes and improvements being made this year so 2013 watch out because this is my year.

Shepparton 70.3 - 18 November 2012

Race number 3, I had time after Port to actually train a bit, and work on my run.

I was very lucky to have such awesome people here in Canberra to help me out. I approached Daniel Green to help me with my run technique which was invaluable, skipping to the detail he helped me drop to a 1.33 half time, 2 little technique cues and that was only with 3x 20min runs a week- Potential?? I hope so..

Brad Hisko was able to keep my screaming Obturator at bay and gave me exercises needed to adopt the new technique. Thanks guys!!

The Race
My swim at shep was crappy. I started with the pack then i think i got a little too comfortable and got dropped at about the750m mark, I was alone. As annoying as this is I'm not one to harp on things that happen, I put my head down and kept going. In the end it wasn't a terrible time but I had a good couple of minutes to catch up to the 2 leaders Bec Keat and Lisa Marrangon.
Onto the bike and a few niggling cramps forced me to start slow but once again they left me (thank god) and I was able to start pushing. It seemed like forever before Bec Keat came into view, Due to dead roads and lots of turns but once in sight I passed without hesitation. Unfortunately Marrangon never came into view which did deter me slightly, I really couldn't tell if I was riding well or not. In the end I had the quickest time by a minute, I guess I was riding alright.

Onto the run, and as I brushed on earlier I felt good!!! :) I did not think I would be saying that so soon, but for once I actually felt like I could push and not just ' get through it' , I pushed the entire way, hips forward, striding back wards not forwards and I was moving- forward this time!! I was stoked not to get caught, I was only passed by Bec Keat who went on to win, and Lisa stayed in front only being passed by Bec also but no one else, as hard as Sarah Crowley was trying I don't think she expected such a big improvement in the run from me, but then again neither did I. It was nice to be able to use the engine in the run. Can't wait for future races.. I am excited about my run improving. So exciting.. So finished up in 3rd again. happy.

Port Macquarie 70.3 - 28th October 2012

So after my more than competent return to racing, I decided I just couldn't pass up another opportunity to race, in 7days. Because of the lack of running I had been doing in the lead up to Mandurah I was- to dull it down a little- slightly sore, I just concentrated on getting myself able to walk again by Sunday.

It's kind of nice racing back to back, I didn't have to train so much just recover well. I got myself to Port Mac ready to go.

The Race
I had a good swim at Port, coming out first with Kiyomi Niwata (officially 2nd by 0.1sec ). It felt reasonably easy too so happy with that. The bike was awesome, no cramping, so I was happy to put the smack down right from the word go. I managed to put 11.30 into the next girl off the bike. Yep, 11min 30, I should be able to hold that lead right? Wrong. I ran on the spot. I quietly hoped I would be able to run better at this race after my long hard training session exactly 7 days earlier but no, I ran terribly with a 1.43 half. Britta Martin managed to run 19 min quicker and took out the race, Rebecca Hoschke also had a Stella run coming in 2nd, I held on for 3rd. I was content, the fact I could hold it together with so little running and such a short training block coming back into it, I was convinced that this was my chance, my body was finally giving into my stubborn head and letting me do this.

I'm back- Mandurah 70.3 - 21st October 2012

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, but then again it has been awhile since I've raced and pretty much since my last blog in mid 2009 I have been to hell and back...

I might get into what has happened the last few years in a future post but for now let's keep in positive- I am back doing what I love, racing :)

Since studying for uni, in particular biochemistry I happened to stumble upon a life changing piece of information, which has appeared to have cured me somewhat of my mysterious cramping up in races and inspired me to come out of retirement where in typical Kat Baker style, I took it too far and worked up to 80hr a week for 4 different companies in various different jobs. Agh I just can't help myself. It was end of july and i decided i would just get back on my bike and make sure i still new how to ride, then August 1st i would follow a specific program i would write for myself, which i had been doing since the beginning of 2009 anyway. Port Macquarie 28 October looked like an achievable first race back. There was a slight problem though, back in September 2011 I had torn my Obturator Externus, on my last 'comeback' and it still wasn't healed, and would limit my running making Port questionable but possible, I decided to just keep it in the back of my mind as a possibility. As the race grew nearer I found out there was another race, Mandurah 70.3, the Australian Pro Championships none the less, which was Oct 21st, a week earlier. I'll do both. Again, a questionable decision, and I said to myself at least enter both then if there is any problems at least you'll have another to do as back up.

So against all odds and against what Brad Hisko- my awesome therapist helping me with my hip, would have said (I may have failed to ask him if I could race, I was only up to 20min of running at this stage), I got to Perth in reasonably good nic.

The Race
In the swim I did ok, definitely better than previous years. This I put down to my change of stroke in the month leading up. I came out in 5th just a bit behind Lisa Marangon who was slightly behind Annabel Luxford, Liz Blatchford and another ITU girl.
Onto the bike where unfortunately I did cramp up a little, preventing me from smacking it from the start but I got there eventually the cramps went away and I dug deep passing all the girls who had passed me while I was cramping up and all the girls who had beaten me out of the water. I was on fire, and it felt good.

Unfortunately i didn't pass the leaders until the end of the ride and I started taking my feet out of my shoes a little early, so the girls who had managed to stay with me (Blatchford and Marangon) passed me and got into transition first but I was right there with them but as I expected only having run 20min in the lead up they quickly ran away and I was passed by a few of the fast runners.. But on the
bright side I didn't do too bad, managed to hold onto 6th and ran a 1.36, with an overall of 4.19- one of my best! ( how does that happen???). I was back.

Kansas 70.3 June 14 2009

My first 70.3 race. Micko and i were to be staying with yet another fantastic homestay in Kansas city, 45 min away from the race. We started our drive to Kansas from Boulder for some really strange reason thinking it was going to be a 6 hour drive. Kansas is not 6 hours away from Boulder. 12 hours later (including the time zone loss of an hour) we made it in the rust coloured roof dodge caravan.

It turned out the field was a lot more packed than we initially expected. Chrissie Wellington, Pip Taylor, Jo Lawn, Nina Craft among others. The men’s field was just as good with Luke Bell, Tim O’Donell, Paul Matthews, Tim Deboom, Simon Thompson. It was going to be a fun race.

Race day was expected to be stormy and wet and the morning of just supported that. There was lightning and a bit of rain at 4.30am when we were driving out. Luckily though, it looked ok at 5 when we arrived. The park where the event was held was hectic. There was one road in- no road for the pros who were off first and we found ourselves in a 45min traffic Jam. As we were starting to panic a little, i saw a porta loo on the side of the road while we were waiting in traffic- this seemed like a good idea so we didn’t have to wait in lines down in transition, we pulled to the side and switched off the car- bad move. A few minutes later, when we were back in and ready to keep moving the rocked dodge caravan wouldn’t start. Oh well, Leave it. I scribbled on some paper ‘Car wont Start’. We grabbed our stuff and ran to transition. We reached T2 to put our shoes down at 6am. We were scheduled to start at 6.30 and T1 was down by the lake a 20min walk away. We put our shoes down and continued running. Quickly setting up our bikes and putting on our wetsuits we hurried to the start. Just in time.

The swim for me was disappointing. I just have trouble sitting on feet. My swim 2 weeks ago was 26min and i was off by myself. The swim here was 28min while i was trying to draft. I think i’m just going to swim by myself next time. I came out in about 7th or 8th place. I was excited to get onto the bike because i had had some awesome training and the ride was going really well for me- i really wanted to ride! I jumped on the bike and rode strong- one of the top ride times. I laughed when riding along the only road going in and out- our car was right next to an aid station. They had banners around it and bins. I passed quite a few girls including ironman champ Nina Craft. I rode myself into 4th place. Still ahead was Chrissie, Pip and some other girl who finished very well- who were all riding very well together. Unfortunately for me my run is still just coming along and it was inevitable that i would get passed by the stronger runners. That i did and i finished up in 8th. Not bad for such a packed field. I have improved on my last race however and i know the next race will be even better. Chrissie won by miles and Pip was 2nd. The other girl was 3rd and Jo Lawn 4th. Luke Bell won the Men’s race.

The story doesn’t finish there. We collected our stuff after the race and walked to our car hoping it had composed itself and would finally start. Crossing our fingers and after explaining what happened to the people at the aid station we tried....it didn’t start. Shit. A lady came up to us and said some officers were coming to help us- meantime people were still running the course right next to the car- it was the run turnaround, grabbing and throwing cups, gu’s and sponges at the car (kinda- the bins next to it anyway). A few guys came to help and they concluded that it wasn’t the battery- oh oh. One of them was talking to the other and mentioned something about fuel. “it was on empty!” I said. It turns out, the angle that the car was slanted on because of the slight ditch we were parked on the side of, meant the fuel in the tank was on the opposite side to go into the engine. One guy left to get us a jerry and then a few national Weight lifters came to our aid and we pushed the car onto the flat. After refuelling it started and we were off to go get petrol!! We were applauded by everyone at the aid station and our other helpers. What a debarcle.

We assured them we wouldn’t park there again next year. Sorry about the lack of actual race coverage. The car was the interesting bit. Kansas was nothing like we expected. It was so green and full of rolling hills, beautiful actually. A bit different to the brown, dry, flat desert we were told it was going to be.

Next is Buffalo Springs, Texas in 2 weeks time.

Kat

Thursday 11 June 2009

Well we made it to Boulder. 2 weeks later we are off again to Kansas for my big 70.3 Debut. I bought some Zipp 808’s just the other day so i’m excited about giving them a hit. It should help having race wheels. Training in Boulder hasn’t been the best because it has been fricken raining the whole time! Apparently unusual- it hasn’t been that fun riding. Swimming has been going well though as has gym and running pretty good. Because of the altitude though we cant go too hard- we haven’t done the mile repeats yet for example.
Kansas is 8 hours away and we are just in the middle of the drive now. Its dead flat and very boring. It will be interesting to see how we race off training at altitude and having a race under our belt now. Should be fun.

To Boulder!

Well the Half has been run and won. I was estatic to find out i had broken the course record by 25mins! I had a killer bike. The swim was pretty good, concidering i wasn’t sitting on- it was all me. The run was actually a bit of a disaster because i was cramping in my quads the whole time but i trucked on and actually managed a reasonable time on that particular course. I am very happy with how well our training has prepared us. We are off to Boulder now in the big Dodge Caravan we bought for $500! It is rock solid with a V6 engine, very powerful and ensures that we don’t get dropped on the climbs. Unfortunately the first car we bought, a Subaru loyal pretty much blew up on us 4 times, so we decided not to use it last minute and bought this. Money well spent on the dodge. Its also cool because we figured out too that you can drive it without the key! Ha. You just start it up by twisting the key hole. Pretty cool- especially if you tend to loose keys. So we are half way through our trip- staying in a cheap hotel we booked on hotwire in Salt Lake City.

Kat & Mick - Worlds Toughest Half- Auburn Half Ironman, California 31 May 2009


Course Record by 25min - Race #1 accomplished

Well, I’m finally fit and racing again over here in the USA. 5weeks back into it and I’m happy to say the hip is recovered and training seems to be going well. My first race back was Auburn Half Ironman, also known as the ‘Worlds Toughest Half’ with 6000ft of climbing on the bike course. Steve Larson, one of the best triathlete cyclists, managed a 2.36 for the 90k which is saying something. The race definitely lived up to the hype and the bike course was one of the toughest but the most beautiful that i have ever done. The run wasn’t too bad- still with a bit of climbing but after that ride your legs are shot!

The swim went well, all of the women and the relay teams started together 5 min after the men. The good thing about this was that i never really had to sight where to go. I actually had a good swim. I was out in front (except for some relay teams who i tried to stay with but they took off like mad men) this actually was good for me as usually i’m just trying to sit on feet which never really works. I got into a rhythm and came out by myself with a 28min.

Onto the bike and i was prepared- i just got in my granny gear for every climb knowing there was more to come. This paid off as towards the second half there were a lot of men blowing when i was just getting comfortable. It was actually scary at one point, on a skinny road a little ferret thing ran onto the road- they do it all the time here, normally they are quick and cross before you get there but this one was late and saw us so stopped in the middle of the road so we slammed on our brakes, so it couldn’d run into our wheels (i’ve heard horror stories of that happening to people), and the other guy behind me who saw it too, for some reason or another his back tyre popped and he came skidding down the road- i really thought he was going to crash right into me but he managed to hold it up and we were all ok. Anyway- i managed a 2.55 on the course which i was estatic about. I really didn’t think i would be doing much under 3.15.

Onto the run and i was in first place. I hoped that my ride would give me a big enough buffer as to hold off the runners. I felt good for the first 3 miles and then it hit. My legs were cactus and my quads were cramping up. The hills really paid a toll. I really wanted to win this race though because it was a free return flight to anywhere in the US. And when i saw a girl close at the turnaround of the first 10k loop i started to get a bit nervous. She didn’t come around me for the second loop and then with about 2miles to go i saw she was even closer so i just put everything into it to keep her away- she couldn’t take it now after so long! I was hurting pretty bad but i pushed on up the hill to finish 1st !

I ended up finishing with a 1.42 run which was also pretty awesome on this course and a 5.07 overall time which broke the course record by 25mins!!! I learnt then too that the girl behind me wasn’t even in my race- she was doing the duathlon. (there were a number of races being held at the same time). I’m glad she was there though.

Micko did really well too, he was first out of the water and then first off the bike by 15min! He had matched the bike time ridden by Steve Larson which was truely amazing, he was running great too and then finished in second by 6mins only to be told that he had been wrongly told to an extra loop of the run course twice instead of just once- which would have taken off 8mins or more which could have made for a very cool win. Its all Ironman training. Next up is Kansas 70.3 in 2 weeks.
Kat

Before The first race

So Training has been going really well. Mick and I have been in Reno for 5 weeks now smashing out some solid weeks to prepare us for Auburn Half Ironman- The Worlds Toughest. I have been getting steadily fitter, with times for running, swimming and riding up the ‘bergs dropping considerably. Generally its just Mick and I training by ourselves, although we have been swimming with masters and riding occasionally some big weekends with another local, Nenad, and his friends from Yugoslavia.

The USA 2009

Well. I've returned to the USA.

Last year was so awesome i just couldn't pass on the opportunity to go again.

So Micko and i set off to LA. Where we visited Mel and Ryan (Micko's sis and boyfirend). We stayed in Westwood- a very expensive part of town but unfortunately wasn't the best for training. We got some good sun though.

We stayed for a week before we decided it was time to stop holidaing and start training. We were getting restless. So we hired a car and headed off for the mountains. Reno, Nevada.

Once we arrived we wasted no time and got straight into training. The first race on the calender was Wildflower. I never really planned on doing it. And after only a week of training after practically 5mths of only consistant swimming i wasn't prepared to run 13miles. So i did the swim/bike and ended it there.

The race calender looks like this:

Auburn Half Ironman May 31Ironman

70.3 Kansas June 14Ironman 70.3

Buffalo Springs (Texas) June 28

Boulder Peak Triathlon July 12

Boulder 5430 August 9

Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens (Washington) August 16

Ironman Canada August 30

Pacific Grove (Tri-Cal) September 12

Ironman 70.3 Cancun September 20

Scott Tinley's October 4

So I will update as appropriate. For now my hip is ok. it has its good and bad days. I have found an awesome therapist here and it seems to be helping. But training is going awesome.

All i need now are some sponsors and it will be all good. The doller isn't good this year and i haven't come over with much. Work hard and you will be rewarded. Life is a great big challenge.

Back in Aus. Ironman + the Hip

Back in Aus i felt good. The Altitude in Boulder and Rneo definately helps.

1st Overall Sri Chinmoy long course Triathlon, 26 Oct
1st Pro Shepparton Half Ironman, 16 Nov

My first 2 half ironman races in Aus were a wipeout for me. I was in good shape preparing for my first Ironman. Ironman WA.

3rd Pro Busselton Ironman, 7th Dec

It was amazing. I wasn't expecting anything especially concidering that a couple of weeks out my hips were giving out. I had one that was bothering me for several months, and a few weeks out from Ironman my other hip gave out. I was a mess. But i had trained so hard and too long for this i was doing it. I was proud of my 4.58 bike split and my 3.37 run. It was unbelievable for me.

After wards i went to get treatment from more people for more opinions. The verdict: i had a dead glute Min. It was dead. The glute med had been so overworked it had taken over any work of the min. 5 mths of not much running or riding- just swimming- and extensive accupuncture. It seemed to be improving. Finally. 5 mths!

THE USA!! April-September 2008

My first experience training and racing over seas.

I went to Reno, Nevada and i personally think it is one of the best places to train. I love the mountains to ride in, a nice flat trail run and masters to swim with. The weather is always perfect- with a bit of wind which can be annoying but makes you even stronger.

my races were

10th Pro Wildflower Half Ironman, 4 May
3rd Pro Memphis in May Triathlon, 18 May
12th Pro Escape From Alcatraz, 8 June
2nd Pro Oregon Pacific Crest Half Ironman, 29 June
4th Pro Boulder Half Ironman, 10 Aug
11th Pro Chicago International Triathlon, 24 Aug

This was an awesome first season as a pro for me. We also went to Boulder, Colorado. It was awesome. I was injured a few times with various things. All to do with one leg- originating from the hip. agh. we'll get to that later.

Mooloolaba 2008

My first race back was Mooloolaba March 2008. However i cramped again! I decided something needed to be done about this cramping situation and i brought it down to an overactive TFL. That seemed to help.

My New Start - January 2008

After Breaking my arm that night- after i wrote the Japanese Blog i gave up triathlon for a bit.

I just rode. I was selected for a national talent identification team for cycling with the ACT academy of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport. Long story short- i wasn't keen on Track Cycling and the most that i achieved was a 3rd Place U23 in the Time Trial at the Australian National Road Cycling Chapionships- off training on the Velodrome. From there I decided Triathlon really was my sport and i began running again after 6mths from the sport.

Japan!

So i got selected to go to Japan on a tour called the 'young Guns'.

There are two races, Gamagori and Shitchigohama.

I raced in gamagori and although posting an ok time i wasn' happy with the race. I started off with a bad swim, getting dropped and missing the bike pack. It was all over from there where i lacked motivation to chase down the leaders and i was lacking race fitness after not racing properly for quite a while because of my shingles.

The next race is tomorrow and after 2 weeks of more intense training and the previous race i'm ready to give it another crack. There are 20 girls in the race, mainly from japan but 1 other auzzie, a girl from gret britan and another from Korea.

the course should suit me alot better with a few strength climbs in it and an ocean swim.

Lets see if i can let her rip and kick some japanese ass.

What now- As at 10 March 07

So whats happening now? I just finished off a not so great end of Tri age-group season because right now i am recovering...from Shingles!

It is the chicken pox virus which lays in your body dormant until it is triggered by stress of the immune system. No i'm not stressed, it mainly means stress of the immune system- training too much probably i'm prone to doing that unfortunately... anyway the virus sits on nerve endings and is quite painful, i have it on my left side which has also effected my back and leg muscles causing them to cramp.

So from many doctors appointments and advise from others i unwillingly decided to take some time off- completely- and it sux! i cant handle it!! I will have had exactly 2 weeks off on monday. Way too much time if you ask me but apparently if you dont get rid of shingles completely it can turn into chronic fatigue or glandular fever so because i dont want that i am being good and letting myself get very unfit. But i'm planning to come back on monday.

This means i have pulled out of Geelong :( very sad, i was looking forward to it to. But it will give me a week of training before Bike Camp in Jindy, following that an Olympic dist tri in Mooloolaba on the 25th March and possibly another the weekend after that on the 31st in Wellington, New Zealand. I'm very excited though on the possibility of going on a 'Young Guns' tour for some lucky junior triathletes to Honolulu, Spain and Japan from the 16th May- 3rd July. This would be the coolest trip EVER. I would love to eat, live and breathe triathlon for 6 weeks. (hey i would love to eat, live and breathe it forever).