Time to refocus after K2

Wow! What an event! K2 Cycle - 184km around New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula. This one makes the ride around Lake Taupo look like a doodle. I guess it's not really the distance but rather the 2500m plus of hill climbing. Thank goodness I had a road bike and not my time trial bike.





The day started out great and after the first hill (Pumpkin Hill) I joined a large bunch of about 100 heading up toward Whitianga. This is about where my inexperience in bike racing dealt to me. I sat too far to the back of the pack so when we hit a hill at the 50km mark the pack disintegrated and I ended up with a handful of others who weren't that strong. My only saving grace was that 30km later it was the big hill over to Coromandel and from then it was a tail wind almost all the way home.


This wee chart will give you an idea of what the ride looks like in terms of hills and the variability of speed....also some other interesting stats from my bike computer....



It's no surprise really that when building up for something like Ironman one will take part in a few adventures along the way. Adventures that will consume you and sap a bit more energy then you expect. Then, when that's out of the way you run the danger of feeling a bit deflated and find it hard to focus on what you're really aiming for. It's like that this week. K2 was more than I expected - and in more ways than I thought - not just physically, but mentally as well. Sure the tanks were running on empty when I hit the finish line but in the days that followed it was like hitting a bit of a mental dip. It was like, 'hey, I've done it now...what next?' Then the thought of Ironman pops back into the mind and it all of a sudden feels a bit numb! You then start wondering why you're doing it....bloody good question really!!!

On the physical side, my training program this week included four swims, four rides and four runs...what was the coach thinking??? Anyway, come Wednesday I was feeling like crap so I emailed him and the advice came back to take a day off, then take it easy until I bounce back. It's now Friday and things are looking up. Tomorrow I'm cycling to Taupo where, somewhere along the way, I'll be picked up by the family heading to Rotorua for our ritual election weekend party. Just don't get me started on politics!!!

Less than a week to K2

In 5 days time I'll be competing in my longest ever cycle race...K2. It's a cycle race that goes around New Zealand's Coromandel peninsula. It's not so much the 197km that is the issue. It's the 2,800m of hill climbing involved. Sure, you get to go down the other side but you gotta get up 'em first. A few friends from Hawke's Bay here have done the event and are doing it again this year so it can't all be bad.

About two months ago I bought a new TT (time trial) bike for racing in triathlon. Unfortunately these bikes are not the best for hill climbing. There is one other thing...amongst a crowd of 'roadies' (road cyclists) someone on a TT bike is bound to be labeled the idiot triathlete and who can therefore do all the work at the front of the bunch. So, to avoid these problems I now have a new road bike. Certainly a different ride - more relaxed and upright - faster? No.

So, back to K2. The coach asked me to fill out a race plan. One of the sections discusses attacking - i.e. when are you going to attack? Attack? Hmmmm. The only thing doing the attacking in bike rides involving me are the magpies (birds that become quite vicious during nesting season - about now). Before begging with the coach I'd never done race plans before. It's a discipline he's got me into and it does help, especially on the day when things go a little wrong.

The quickest riders will do K2 in about 5hrs45min. They also have something called the sub-6hr club. Some how I don't think I'll be joining that one any time soon. As for the time I'm expecting? Who knows, I'll tell you next week.