October already? We really should do some training...

Daylight saving has kicked in and it’s as if while changing the clocks over someone remembered to turn the crappy weather switch off finally. Literally overnight things have warmed up, and the sun is out. Just in time really as the carnage in the Forest from weeks of wet and wind was starting to look pretty grim. Suddenly the forest is buzzing again with riders/walkers/runners. The tracks are riding fast, and it’s only all the extra firewood and saw dust (the remnants of some great Chainsaw work by Murray Avery clearing the mess) that hints at the mess that existed just two weeks ago.

For us we’re back into things again after most of September off on rest and recovery (well…. Recovery for Nic. Me? Just lazy rest really). Thanks to UCI and their convenient timing of Worlds, our garden is now looking pretty mint. Nic gets bored not training so has attacked the garden with vigor… just in time for spring.

We’ve resumed training with a pretty simple training plan. Our MTB’s have been Singlespeed converted so no need for efforts. We just ride the Singlespeeds. My gear is kinda big. It hurts. But I figure we’ve got SS Worlds in 3 weeks…. And I may as well go big or go home. Convenient really… because if and when I crack I really can just go home. It’s only 10min ride from the course and the fridge is waiting.

For “training” when we’re too wrecked from SS’ing, the road bikes are there to give us the wuss out option of gears. And there’s also the easier and more convenient running option. Remembering that I’m supposed to be a Triathlete this summer, and that Nic is XTERRA NZ champion….. it’s quite handy to throw the odd run into the mix (and the odd swim… but I do hate doing laps of pools and the lake’s too cold for open water swimming yet so the volume is pretty low).

The long absence from racing ended on Saturday when we jumped in the Tikitapu Trail Run’s on the weekend. There was a ½ marathon, but I took on the awesome 19km adventure run. A very hilly run that was based on the ½ course, with a couple of mint shortcuts completely off track through the bush. I loved it. Apparently ran alrite too as I won by 4mins and clocked the fastest split through Tuhoto Ariki (4.5km of tech singletrack) of all the runners (1/2 and adventure run) by a considerable margin. Nic was 2nd overall in the 10km event to XTERRA Worlds bound Junior Man Oli Shaw. Guess we can keep our New Balance sponsorship a wee bit longer?

Still haven’t satisfied my dirt bike urges. Need to scrape up a few dollars yet. So if anyone wants/needs a new Road bike or MTB give us an e-mail. Currently up for grabs to clear our garage are…..

2010 Malvern Star Oppy C7 roadie (56cm)
2010 Cannondale Flash 29er (M)
2009 Avanti Team Competitor (S…. 2010 frame)
2008 Jamis Xenith Team Roadie (XS)