New Zealand photos

Earlier this month I was over in New Zealand, initally in Taupo, Nth Island, to support at the NZ Ironman, and then headed to the Sth Island where I met up with Andrea the Christchurch airport and we headed off for 7 days travelling around to see some of the spectacular sights. And spectacular sights they were...here's just a selection of the photos...



On the road from Christchurch to Greymouth on the west coast, over Arthur's Pass, some one of the brilliant views.

Heading up the west coast alongside the mountain range covered in thick forest and some clouds.

Just one of the dozens and dozens on single-lane bridges we crossed that traversed huge river beds filled with snow and ice melt. They would be raging torrents in spring.

A waterfall along the side of the valley leading up to the Franz Joseph glacier.

The Franz Joseph glacier winding down from high up in the mountains.

Another waterfall cascading down, quite dry at the moment but would come to life after rain.

Franz Joseph glacier again, caught in a stunning reflection.

The outflow from the Fox glacier, with chunks of ice washing down the river.

Fox glacier, not quite as spectacular as the Franz Joseph glacier, but stunning nonetheless.

A funny sign which actually means a cattle grid in the road!!

Lake Wanaka in the morning with Mt Aspiring in the distance.

"Engagement hill"...actually called Rock Peak, where I proposed to Andrea. She said yes...phew!!!

Milford Sound - just stunning and spectacular.

Andrea and I did a sea kayak trip to the head of Milford Sound.

Stirling Falls, fed from a glacier and was very windy at the base...we got with about 2m of the base.

One of the other sea kayaks up close to the falls.

Andrea and I on the Tasman Sea.

A mushroom - lots of these along the walking tracks.

A stunning view of a lake on the way back to Queenstown. All the lakes are spectacular.

A gate we went through on the walk up Queenstown hill.

Some rock arrangements further up the Queenstown hill walk.

An artist installation high above Queenstown.

Andrea and I on the top of Queenstown hill - a great view.

The main street of Arrowtown, a historic gold mining town.

 Mt Cook, across a lake on the drive through the middle of the Sth Island.

A statue of a dog on the shore of Lake Tekapo.

View from the hill above Lake Tekapo of the bare and barren mountains in the distance, some with snow and ice on them.

Triathlon tool box

Triathlon is a complicated sport. Not just do you need to master the performance in the three legs - swimming, riding and running - but there's a myriad of equipment you need just to participate, not to mention the planning and coordination to complete training, let alone the logistics of getting everything to a race!!! Who ever said life is simple??

Anyway, once you've got the basic pieces together - swim, bike and run gear - there's a number of other things that I rate as valuable and important to include in your triathlon tool box, that can help both your enjoyment and thus performance in the sport. Here's my top-5 things to include (in no particular order):

1. Power meter
I consider a bike power meter - and running speed/distance device - as the most valuable training and racing tools around. The things you can learn about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, power profile and more is worth its weight in gold. Then, the way you can use a power meter for training and racing, and maximising your performance is endless. There's a truism that says you can't manage what you can't measure, and a power meter and GPS running device are the ideal measurement devices to provide valuable information to boost how you manage your training and racing. The key thing is, though, to use them as a tool and not be a tool using them!!

2. Recovery strategy
This is not so much an item as a commitment to doing the little things that make a difference to your overall performance. Recovery is everything you do between finishing one session and starting the next one, and rates equally as important as the training itself. You can never over train, only under recover.

Recovery strategy includes the products you use, from self-massage tools, ice baths, nutrition, to complementary activities you perform like sleep, stretching, relaxation, and so on. The better you execute your recovery strategy...the more productive your training will be...and the more improvement you'll achieve.

3. Sunscreen
This one is simple. Australia has a very high rate of skin cancer, and in every bunch of triathletes you'll see all range of sun tan lines on arms, legs and back. Sunburn is dangerous, unhealthy, hurts and is a performance inhibitor. But it is also a preventible performance inhibitor. There's a range of good products to help athletes cover up, eg, summer arm sleeves, not to mention great sunscreens that last. But they don't last forever so make sure you pack sunscreen every day.

4. Efficiency
This tool box item is a skill that is not just limited to triathlons in that the athlete with greatest level of efficiency will get the most return for the effort they put in - the most 'productive' athlete. Think of a race being made up of as many efficient minutes as it takes to complete it, which takes into account both your equipment and your level of physical preparation...and your tactics in combining both of these to maximum effect. Efficiency is developed and practiced during training, from being streamlined in swimming, aerodynamic while riding, and efficient when running, and should become a lasting skill you practice al the time.

5. Passion
Last but certainly not least is an essential attitude you simply must have in order to experience – and achieve – the most from your sport. Passion. Have a passion for training, for knowing your body, for pushing yourself, for learning about performance, for racing, for the people, for being fit, for being outdoors, for your body, for being part of the sport. Immerse yourself and have passion and you’ll never grow tired of it all.

5b. Perspective
A supplementary tool box addition is a healthy perspective about your involvement and participation in sport. Keep it in perspective and keep it real.

Story behind the photos

Phil from www.firstoffthebike.com asked me to write a piece about snapping the photos of Mirinda Carfrae at NZ IM...seems the photos were very popular!! Anyway, here is what I wrote about it all...

If every picture tells a story, then a series of photos of the reigning world champion waiting beside the road mid race with a flat tyre is worthy of a novel. I'm not going to write such a tome, just tell the story behind the photos I was able to snap that wet, wet day in Taupo.

I was in Taupo primarily to support 5 athletes I coach in the race, and being ever the opportunist, Phil (firstoffthebike.com editor) gave me the assignment of following and describing a day in life of the IM world champ in her first outing since winning the title. No problems, I said, and see if you can get me a media pass complete with free drinks that I hear the media live on. Alas, it wasn't to be so I would be watching from the sidelines like everyone else, which left me wondering...do the media even get free drinks??

Anyway, I was excited about the whole event being 6 years since I did the race myself - my first IM - and now spectating with multiple people to watch out for.

Pre-race it was hard to find people - let alone Mirinda - as everyone went to ground, understandably, and loitering around the bike drop-off isn't my idea of fun. Plus, it was starting to rain. So the best I could do was a photo of Mirinda's bike, in the dark, through the perimeter fence, on race morning. Knowing her bike and race number would prove useful later in the day.

The race got underway in rain, often heavy, but non-stop pretty much all day which would play havoc with even my waterproof compact camera from getting drops of water on the lens and nothing dry to wipe it with. The first sighting of athletes would be as they started the bike while it was only semi-light, and things were looking good for Mirinda - and my athletes - after good swims. Snapping moving bikes in the wet with a splodgy lens was tricky...I am far from a professional photographer, or even a competent amateur.

Things went quiet in town during the first bike lap, with the Ironmanlive web-site providing good updates. I planned a strategy to hopefully see / photograph Mirinda and also my athletes amongst the field, which inevitably meant getting very wet...at least it wasn't too cold, I reassured myself. Despite my plans I still missed the pros heading back into town but got on my hired mountain bike to ride around the outskirts of town to hopefully see them heading out...which I also mostly failed at. However lady luck was on my side, as I was about to realise.

As I rode up a road against the flow of athletes the other way I came upon a bike propped up against a sign pole, obviously with a flat tyre. That must suck, I thought, at the prospect of changing a tyre in the wet. When I got closer I recognised the bike and race number, #12, as being Mirinda's and at the same time thought that is really bad luck for her, but also excitement at the photo scoop I was about to get...there wasn't another camera in sight. Phil will love me...in a man-love kind of way, that is...

I dropped my MTB and dashed across the road where a car and 3-4 people were standing - Mirinda, another athlete and a couple of race volunteers - waiting for race tech support to arrive. With camera in hand, Mirinda was happy enough to pose with a little wave and a smile, wrapped in a space blanket. We chatted for a few minutes and she explained that her spare tyre had bounced out, and that just she wanted to finish in order to ratify her qualification for Kona.

A few things struck me as we talked...that she is really quite short, is a humble and lovely person, and was very relaxed about the whole situation even though the race was riding away from her up the road. My opinion of her as a person - let alone as an athlete - went up considerably, and it turns out we'd even met before via a mutual friend back in 2003...a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then!!

Not wanting to revel in her back luck too much, I got back on my MTB and rode on a bit further to spot my athletes but turned back after a 5 minutes or so to still find her roadside but now with tech support slotting in a new rear wheel. However, that wasn't the end of it as just as she got back on they found her rear bottle cage was loose and needed an Allen key to tighen...adding more time to her delay. By the time she was ready to go she was visibly shivvering but pushed off nonetheless and back into the fray after at least 10-15 mins beside the road.

The race - and the rain - continued on, and I saw both my athletes and Mirinda later in the race, in particular on the run leg where she started way, way behind Sam Warriner but running strongly with her usual rhythm. My final sighting was with about 9km to go where I thought she was close enough to push for a win, but it wasn't to be yet still came in an amazing 2nd place, just ahead of fellow pucture recipient Jo Lawn.

The moral of the story from following Mirinda is to never give up in any circumstance, and also that regardless of what success you might enjoy during life, being an honest, humble and friendly person is what most people will remember about you. And from watching my athletes I learned that the level of age group competition is amazing, and that where the mind is strong enough then the body can do amazing things.

She said yes!!

I've just got home from 11 days in New Zealand at the Ironman and then a week travelling around the South Island with Andrea on a holiday...more pictures of that coming soon. It was a great trip.

Anyway, the highlight of the week was me popping the question to Andrea high up on Rock Peak, near Queenstown last Wednesday...and after a momentary pause (surprise?), she said yes!!! Here we are with the inspiring view we had in front of us at the time...we're both quite happy about it all.

So we're getting married later on this year, probably late-July'ish. Suffice to say there's a lot of planning  ahead...and I've been given the task of organising it. It will be a fun day.

World Champion's dog day out...

Last October Mirinda Carfrae won the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, installing her as "top dog" on the women's side of things...along with fellow Aussie Chris McCormack, which was a proud day for Australian triathlon.

Anyway, Mirinda's next race after Kona was the NZ Ironman last Saturday, and so Phil from http://www.firstoffthebike.com/ sent me off with the task of reporting on the new World Champ's day at the office, since I was going to be there spectating. It turned out to be a wet, wet, wet day and following anyone was a hard task...but nonetheless I had some ideas for how I could come up with something for Phil.

As I headed around the bike course on my rental mountain bike cheering various friends, imagine my surprise as I came across bike #12, Mirinda's bike, beside the road with a flat tyre. Here was my scoop!!! I quickly out my camera and in true papparazi style snapped away, while having a chat with Mirnda while she waited for race tech support to help her get going...which took a good 10-15mins. She was super cool and friendly, and was a delight to chat to.

Anyway, I got the following photos of her dog day out...in the bike leg, at least, but recovered to run herself into 2nd place overall. Well done, Mirinda!!

2011 New Zealand Ironman

New Zealand Ironman, Taupo, Saturday 5th March

Apparently they’ve had a good summer over here with warm weather and dry conditions (unlike Melbourne)…until yesterday, race day. It rained, poured, rained, poured and rained some more. From Friday night until this morning (Sunday) there was only perhaps 30mins that didn’t rain. And not just rain, but heavy, heavy rain times. Fortunately, however, it was fairly mild and calm in town (Taupo), although there was some was wind on course. I’ve never seen a triathlon with such rain…

Anyway, the race went ahead regardless and everyone dealt with the conditions as best they could, to their credit. I was particularly following 5 athletes – 3 from our group (Shaun, Rhiannon & Dave) and 2 other guys I’ve been coaching (David & Mark) – plus a number of others in the race I know and was cheering also. The whole field had about 1500 athletes and sold out about 9 months ago.

It was barely light when the swim started, but offered great viewing from high on the lake shore before the first transition leading into 2 bike laps, and then 2 run laps…which meant some downtime during the race. I was staying with Wes & Rhiannon and so chilled out with Wes in the motel room watching really crap NZ TV to pass time. I had also hired a bike which allowed me to ride the run course to keep track of everyone and ride with them for periods of time. We kept track with the on-line updates on the IM web-site.

Suffice to say, EVERONE got soaked – athletes and spectators alike – and unfortunately meant the crowds were a little down. But this race still has a great atmosphere. Here’s a little summary for each of the 5 people I was following…

Rhiannon Snipe – had a great swim and surprised me with how soon she was out onto the bike, with a full “race face” on! She rode sensibly and well, and paced the bike leg well…although quite distance behind her age group leaders. Onto the run and she reported feeling average, but this was her strength and was still running well. I caught up with her again with 10km to go, up a long hill on the run to the finish. If anything, she picked the pace up as she chased a girl in her age group just ahead, and was running with amazing strength and determination…this was a seriously great performance and pulled herself into 4th place in the her age group (15th female overall) with a time that would have won her age group almost every other year.

Dave Symonds – unfortunately had a cold in the lead-up to the race which didn’t help motivation or preparation. However he improved for race day and had a better swim than expected, and rode very consistently and well. Onto the run – also his strength – his turnover was typically good, although like everyone he got tired. However he maintained his form and cadence and ran strongly to the finish, his first IM, and was really pleased with his day.

Shaun Stenson – arrived feeling great and relaxed, and looking forward to a good race. He swam well and like Dave, rode very consistently and strongly with a negative split for the two lap ride. Onto the run and he was still looking relaxed and smooth and maintaining good pace through the first lap, and into the second lap. Things got tough in last 15km and he changed strategy to walk the hills and run the flats…and still running very smoothly when he did. He was all concentration and was doing a fantastic job of keeping going, gaining time on everyone as he ran. He finished with a 38min PB and a fantastic result he is very happy with.

David Green – came here after some fantastic results over summer and hopes of continuing this during the IM, the big end of season goal. He swam solidly, and well for the first lap of the ride but faded a little in the second lap but still off the bike within the time range we had hoped. Onto the run he looked good and ran the first lap well, and well into the second lap. He tired a bit in the second lap but still finished with an 9min PB, which was pleasing but missing the goal of a Hawaii spot.

Mark Harrison – hadn’t raced much but his training was excellent leading into the race. We spent quite some time working out a race plan which started on track with a good swim. He rode a controlled and good bike leg, making a tactical adjustment to ease off in the last 40km to ensure his strength, the run, would still be there. Onto the run and he went really well, and kept his pace and form to the end. While he missed goal A (a Hawaii spot), he got goal B (sub-10hrs) with a 20min PB.

Summary
David Green - 9:37hr (PB), 16th in M30-34
Mark Harrison – 9:51hr (PB), 21st in M35-39
Rhiannon Snipe – 10:14hr (debut), 4th in F25-29, 15th female overall
Dave Symonds – 11:25hr (debut), 67th in M45-49
Shaun Stenson – 11:40 (PB), 119th in M30-34

Rhiannon & Wes at bike check-in. 

 Steno looking very relaxed!!

 Maori warriors doing a ceremony before race start.

 Start of the age group race...barely light and raining.

 David Green heading out for the ride.

 Rhiannon Snipe.

 Mark Harrison.

 Shaun Stenson.

 Me looking very wet already...early in the day.

 It rained and rained during all legs of the race.

 David Green very early in the run.

 Mark Harrison...

Rhiannon...

Mark striding out in the rain. 

Dave still enjoying it all!! 

Rhiannon getting serious late in the race. 

Dave in the hurt locker...

Shaun sharing the hurt locker with Dave...

The race is all over and I'm wet.