Dusting off the Cobwebs

Turns out running isn't that hard.

What's hard is deciding to go for the first run. It took me 3 days. 
3 days of excuses about it being too hot, not having a running buddy, being too busy at work and something about not drinking enough water that day. When in reality I was just shit scared that it was going to hurt and I was going to suck.

So, on the hottest day Wellington could put on, during my lunch break, with no running buddy and having not had enough water that morning, I donned my purplest running shoes and posed for a "runner's pose" photo in the hope it'd force me to actually run.

My best impression of a runner. I have no idea what I'm doing.

It worked.
Off I ran, sweat already dripping off my face from merely being outside in the heat. I returned 20 minutes later having run 4km, taken the perfect "You can't beat Wellington on a good day" photo and beaten 3 bouts of the stitch. 
And I actually enjoyed it.

You can't beat Wellington on a good day. #nofilter

The best part about dusting off the cobwebs and breaking the drought is that it got me excited about this goal. It made the race seem a little more real so I've recruited some help. I've got a tri-coach, strength coaches and I'm working on a swim coach. 
It's GAME ON.


With support, there's no limit.

Emma Cachemaille (Simply Fitness) - Tri-coach.
Emma has been competing in triathlons since 2006 with her list of achievements including 9 half IronMan races, 1 full IronMan, and qualifing for Age Group World Champs for Standard, Sprint, and Long Course distances. With over 9 years of Personal Training experience under her belt she's shifted her attention to coaching while she deals with injury. 
We caught up on Wednesday and Emma grilled me about my lack of experience in all 3 disciplines and realised she has a challenge on her hands. She's devised a pretty achievable training plan to get me on track, without taking away my current gym sessions that I love. Our chat made me realise this is really something I can achieve!
Emma has a huge passion for getting people started in triathlons and she's keen to share my training programmes with people who want to get started too!

Scotty Tilley (DEFY PT) - Strength and Conditioning
Scotty's been in the PT business for 14 years and has a fitness level and will-power I can only dream of. Scotty's got a few national swimming titles under his belt and his (contagious) competitive streak has seen him complete various road cycling and mountain biking events, and of course a couple of half marathons and mountain running events (often finishing in the top 20). Naturally, he's my go-to for some serious strength endurance training. Scotty has been my PT for 3 years, helped me lose 15kg and has lifted me through more "I quit" moments than I care to admit. He's also the one who sparked my passion for RPM. After chatting with Scotty this week he's got some intense core conditioning and leg strength workouts planned for me that I'm a little nervous about. 

Cath Parr (Suck It Up Sissy) - Strength and Nutrition
Cath has been in the PT world for about 14 years too but with a bit of a different focus for her personal achievements, again requiring some serious will-power and determination. Cath has several New Zealand regional and national Body Building titles to her name, has run half-marathons to fundraise for SAND's NZ and been a Fitness Ambassador in Australia. She knows her stuff when it comes to fuelling the body so I've asked her for a little help on how to fuel myself coming into some intense training. Cath has seen my food diaries. She knows this may be the toughest challenge of all. 

These 3 will be my rocks over the next 10 months and I'm incredibly thankful to have their backing and support for such a massive goal.


So Week 1 done. First run out of the way, second planned for tomorrow. Think it's time to buy a bike and get my non-buoyant butt into a pool.