I prefaced the title with “if that exists” as to most our, team benben’s normality is far from most people’s idea of normal! Don’t they say self-realization is the first sign of madness!! Hey ho to heck with it! I was not sure if I was going to continue with the blog once we arrived home but due to the success, over 5,000 hits on our blog spot to date and enjoying documenting our tri tales the decision was easy to continue and keep on tapping.
I am still acclimatizing, what I have become very aware of, 12 months in the sun has made me soft or yes a woos, wuss (not sure on spelling)!! I have often claimed its freezing and we are no where near minus numbers, yet! It’s my toes, they are like ice blocks most of the time, 2 pairs of socks with 1 being a ski sock still does not seem to remedy my issue. Upon “googling it”, Viagra was suggested as a solution, enough said, I will leave that there and move swiftly on!
Ben, ( bless him) being on a sabbatical from work was straight back into it 5 days after we arrived. I on the other hand was unemployed, pushing those stats ever higher, I say that in jest as of course I did not “sign on”, I think they use the term “actively seeking”! Which for me was having coffee’s and catch ups with all my contacts from the retail and recruitment world. An old boss came to my rescue and offered me a month’s work in her “famous floral print emporium”, Liberty. Week 1 is already over and I am really enjoying it, please all join me in praying I can stay longer than a month.
Monday was not only the start of life back in the world of employment but we were also back in the game, back in the saddle. Yep training started again, or sorry Ben’s Boot camp kicked off again with a twice a day, every day regime! Again week 1 nearly over and I’m still standing. He has eased us into the swim, bike and run stuff but we are smashing up the all body, 90 mins, conditioning sessions. I am tearing and toning parts of my body I have never knew existed or knew they could hurt so much. My ab’s / 6 pack in the making hurts to touch. Jess Ennis: I may be able to body double for you, JOKE!!!
Catching up with friends and family has of course been high on the agenda and so much less of a chore than getting up in the pitch black when the alarm rings at 5.15am! My gorgeous nephew Ethan is sooo much fun to hang out with, and the new lady in my brother’s life Zara, my scrummy niece is such a cutey and soo good for mummy and daddy, ok when we have seen her!
I cannot even remember what I have been up to since I started this blog entry it was so long ago. This training, working, living in London gig is tough isn’t it. I am definitely not spending so much time in lycra instead more time in Lasenby House my temp home for a few more weeks, yes I got my contract exyended. Keep praying please it is extended yet further. I am loving being back to my retail chick roots working for Liberty , this time round I am behind the scenes instead of pounding the shop floor, working in the HR dept supporting the team with recruitment. I have even had a few stints as the face of Liberty head office! OK so I am bigging myself up!! What I actually mean is I was covering the front reception desk! Manned with my post it notes, a pen and my friendly telephone manner I was ready!
I have been religiously sticking to my training programme, I hope the boss has noted that and happy! It has been a twice a day, every day regime, so yes I do go through more lycra than under-wear!! I am sure it will come as no surprise the local gym we signed up to a few weeks ago has been mailing us advising we are amongst the most visited clients.
Training on the bike has been inside, we are still waiting for our boxes which include the road bikes to dock. The vessel is due next week, fingers crossed customs does not take forever! Inside training on the bikes consists of using our race bikes on turbo trainers, static stands that allow us to pedal until our hearts are content or legs screaming or boredom or all 3! The bikes are set up in front of the plasma, cue a dvd, my Blockbuster membership has started to be used more frequently.
Swimming is giving us brain ache! We had a lesson / session a few weekends ago with an expert. Although doing some things right we are very aware we have lots to work on to nail this discipline which is the Achilles heel for the two of us. Ben has been soooo patient with me, he remains so calm when I just can’t quite get how I lift my bum a few mm’s higher in the water or breathe from a different part of my lungs to shift the buoyancy! I have no idea what the life guards must think we are doing as we “torpedo” up and down the slow lane, lying flat on the water one minute then boom on the bottom of the pool and so the process goes on. Torpedoing, submarining, yo yo ing, call it what you like it takes both physical and mental strength.
Running is chilly or freezing would be no exaggeration! Leggings, hat, gloves are a must, head torch should be added to the dress code as it’s still dark at 7am and you cannot see those nasty icy patches.
What else is different vs. our "reduced responsibility" life in the sun…….calorie consumption has reduced a little, phew, although the combined food bill for Ben and I is a tad higher than what I forked out for when living on my own and living off a diet of what my friends referred to as bird food! Caffeine consumption I reckon is on a par.
Tis of the course the season to be jolly with xmas parties on the agenda, Ben’s work one this week and one for me the week before Christmas. A girl’s get together is in the diary for next weekend which I cannot wait for, the whole crew will be back together!
On that note, cheers to good health and fun times x
Sunday, 9 December 2012
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
TEAM BenBen KONA in PICTURES
Out of the swim, both a little relieved!
T1... about to jump on for 180km!
Bike leg.... Brutal! Although Catherine does seem to make it look easier. The girl is ripped :)
Onto the Run.... Along Ali'i Drive
Up Palani for ...
Last down hill I think before turning onto Ali'i Drive.
The finish line! The feeling that is truly hard or even impossible to describe...... Catherine was too busy to celebrate trying to pick off more men to beat!
T1... about to jump on for 180km!
Bike leg.... Brutal! Although Catherine does seem to make it look easier. The girl is ripped :)
Onto the Run.... Along Ali'i Drive
Up Palani for ...
Last down hill I think before turning onto Ali'i Drive.
The finish line! The feeling that is truly hard or even impossible to describe...... Catherine was too busy to celebrate trying to pick off more men to beat!
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
It’s the Final Countdown…..
Today, Thurs 11th Oct is our last rest day before the body needs to start responding. Two days out from the race is all about resting the legs and building up the calorie stores, as if we have needed an excuse to eat or sleep!! The day will also be spent sorting our kit into the correct bags and some mandatory tinkering with our bikes prior to bike and kit check-in on Friday. Decisions on what flavor gels and in what order one wants for breakfast, lunch and dinner on race day cannot be overlooked. Calories / nutrition for the entire day will be in the form of liquids, predominantly gels no so solids. Bearing in mind we can burn anything between 8 to 10 thousand calories on race day we need a whole lot of gu-eeeee stuff!
Marc “Fozzy” Foster our support crew arrived safe, sound, in 1 piece although a little red eyed from 3 flights, a night in Honolulu airport and copious amounts of caffeine! Teambenben greeted him with both his fav’s and the local must hav’s, 85% dark choc, macadamia nuts and a floral necklace known as a lei. His bags had hardly hit the apt floor when he was consumed by the schedule of Ben’s boot camp, coffee and catch up at the famous lava Java café followed by a swim and run.
The last few days have passed without too much drama (phew), unexpected expense to both our bikes did catch us unaware, another phew, for the plastic this time! As race day looms the circus feel in Kona is in full swing, the show ponies are out on parade and we have an endless supply of caffeinated and double shot caffeinated energy gels!! The “expo” here where all the brands set up their tents to drain you of cash is as the Americans would say “awesome”. I think we have all made some purchases, of course being the true retail chick I have dug deeper. A new kit on race day for me has ensured a fashion disaster averted!!
Training has been kept up over the past few days, a bit of everything swim, bike and run has been on the agenda. Fozzy has joined us for the swim and run sessions, he is taking support crew to a whole new level and exceeded expectations this morning….he participated in the “undie run”!! Yes you did read right and just as it says on the tin you strip to your undies and run. Sunnies, visors, shoes and socks are allowed.
Social / catch up time has also been found which has been fun and a momentary rest bite from the training. We know a number of fellow lovers of the lycra who too have made similar sacrifices to get here. A mix of friends from home and friends we have met on our travels through Thailand and Aus.
Our safe haven or “condo” as they call it over here suits the 3 of us just fine. A well equipped kitchen, a marble-esque bathroom, 2 pools, your own piece of private beach and a veranda to chill out on to enjoy “el-fresco” style eating.
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A lot has happened since I finished the last paragraph with a full stop, the ironman, 3 flights which meant numerous zones and “f-ankles” (fat ankles) in Ben’s case, arriving back in the UK and returning to my flat in London.
Going back to and just to touch on the ironman in brief, wow what an experience and yes for the record, I want to do it again! The most awe inspiring part of the day was not coming down the finish chute and at last crossing the line to the sound of “you are an ironman” but being at the finish line for the last few hours before the midnight cut off. 82 year olds were crossing the line and one lady made it with less than 30sec to go, now that’s efficient planning and strategic pacing!!!
Ben had a blinder of a race, he is just too quick and gave many of the pro’s a run for their money. The brutal winds which are being reported to have whipped up to 60 kmph did not appear to slow him! They certainly slowed me and nearly blew me off course and off my bike! A slower than anticipated and expected bike time meant I had to run like the wind! It was a break through run for me and my little legs which is encouraging as I know they can still go faster. We both finished 21st in our age groups and I managed to get top placed Brit too which was one of my goals. Big shout out again to Fozzy our support crew who did sterling job on the day with endless encouragement, you never quite knew where you would see him next which was exciting. As I am typing this Ben is compiling his race report which is always from the heart and a blow by blow account of the blood, sweat and tears (if there were any)!! Hence no war and peace paragraph on the race in this blog. All the action from Ben’s race report can be found at www.bwebeck.blogspot.com
I am not sure the reality of being back has quite hit us, although it being cold, grey and raining is a constant reminder! We have started the exciting tour of catching up with friends and family so not all doom and gloom, plenty to look forward to. The subject of work can no longer be avoided, trousers have been in the dry cleaners and shirts ironed for Ben, updating the CV is top of my agenda.
As this chapter comes to a close and a new one begins I cannot sign off without thanking you all family, friends, followers and fans for your love, support and encouragement over the past year whilst we have been running round in lycra, living the dream, our dream.
Who knows when we will next close our eyes to start dreaming again?
and where we will wake up?
Night xx
Sunday, 7 October 2012
The Last Supper & onto the Big Island... Aloha!
This is our penultimate week in Coff’s, cue the Kleenex for the following week. It is also the week where the volume and intensity in our training is reigned in a little, do not be mistaken taper has not started yet that is still round the corner. One more big week of training in the post then bring on the taper where we should freshen up and start to feel alive again, I am just looking forward to being able to walk up the stairs without my legs hurting! A little less time in the saddle has allowed the packing to commence.
Was it going to be 2nd time lucky for our Whale Watching trip, yes it was. We were blessed with calmer seas on Friday which meant the Pacific Explorer would head out to sea in search of the humpbacks. Straight ahead, to your left / right would indicate sighting of tales, blows and diving whales. We homed in on a pair of whales that appeared to be going in circles, running rings round us, we had no idea where they would next surface. We learnt the humpbacks dive for between 4 to 14 mins and even up to an hour, let’s hope these whales were not looking to surface only every 60 mins!!! Fortunately they did not run and hide but instead showed us their grace and beauty.
Sunday 23rd was the Coff’s Harbour running festival where over 1,500 keen athletes were under starters orders for their chosen 3k, 5k, 10k or 21k run / fun-run! Of course the 21k or half marathon was what team benben signed up for. All the races were being run round the local Coff’s Creek, a loop I have made many references to over the blogs. I would hate to think how many times we have been round it since we arrived last Dec, it’s the only flat track to run round here!!!
Ben had a blinder of a race coming 3rd overall, Steve Moneghetti the Aus running legend who has medals of every colour to his name took the overall win but not that far in front of Webeck. I steam rollered in about 10 mins later just out of the top 3 females overall. As I did not take overall honors I was recognized as 1st in my age cat (30-39 years old). More medals to pack into the box and a great snap of Ben in the local paper.
I return to the computer and blog nearly a week later, it’s now Sat 29th not only are we in to our final week, but in to our last few days. It’s also 2 weeks today until we take on the best. The good-byes are in full swing, a damp eye or two on occasions has required that Kleenex I mentioned above.
Road bikes and belongings which are not required for Hawaii were packed and dropped off to Allied Pickford’s, the freight forwarders who will send our bits n bobs on to the water. I hope they arrive sooner than the given ETA which is up to 16 weeks!
Our last BIG week of training is nearly in the bag, 100k plus bike ride tomorrow still remains to be ticked off and banked, the objective will then switch from getting fitter and faster to freshening up. I am sure you can imagine some sessions over the past week have put us into the “hurt locker”, been there before can do it again is what it’s all about. This morning’s swim set was the perfect example of a key killer session that allowed us to dial into and get a feel for that desired race pace we want to hold during our 3,8k swim. Nailing a critical session is great for the confidence, it reminds you, you can do it, you did it in training so why don’t you think you can do it when it’s time to perform.
Hitting the big sessions was made a whole lot easier with the A-mazing dinners Marg was spoiling us with! As mentioned before we cook twice a week but this week we were not allowed, we were booted out of the kitchen. Salmon, roast dinner and salads that were worthy of a Master Chef appearance were laid out in front of us. Notes and pic’s were taken, watch and learn Catherine, watch and learn!!!
I must make mention and extend thanks again to Andrew, the local tri club coach who wrote a specific swim set just for us, the Kona Kids, it was our last swim squad! It is gestures and support like this from each and every member of the tri club that has really made our year. A friendly face is never far away, all those smiles and interest in what we are up to have made us feel so welcome, part of their family with support and encouragement by the bucket load. The people we have been so lucky to spend the last 10 months with, Ben’s family, our fellow tri club buddies are the biggest reason leaving Coff’s is a whole lot tougher than anticipated.
After the inevitable sad good-byes could not be put off any longer we were bound for Sydney. Our last few days and “last supper” Down-Under were Chez Uncle Geoff and Auntie Lyn. I made mention above of Ben’s wonderful family above, The Sydney Crew, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins spoilt us rottten, dammm still more melancholy good-byes to endure. Training did not stop it was fitted around the catch ups with friends and family. Geoff and Lynne, our hosts in Sydney arranged for a big family “Webeck” bbq at theirs for the hi and bye. Lynne told me she had gone to no effort but my favorites were all there, roasted beetroot in a salad and then figs in a salad, I was in heaven. She then saved the best till last and spoilt us with salmon done on the bbq for our last supper. Was this a tact to try and get us to stay / return!?!
We of course have been asked by most will you be back, when will you be back or some have simply instructed you will be back won’t you! I have simply said it’s the end of this chapter, a new one starts when we arrive back in the UK. As the chapter on our Oz experience draws to a close we have just one final chapter to relish, “Aloha” Hawaii.
Time just ran away with us (posting blog remained on the to do list) despite gaining a few hours crossing the date line on route from Aus to Hawaii, yes we are here on Hawaii’s “Big Island” home and host to the 2012 Ironman World Champs. Not really sure where to start or what to write to give this place justice or summarize our feelings. Kailua-Kona where all the action happens is a sleepy town I suspect 51 weeks of the year the remaining week is PUMPING! Everywhere you look reminds you of what lays ahead, the reason you and 2,000 fellow triathletes have made the crusade to this island. Everyone is ripped!!! There is no shortage of lycra, carbon and caffeine. This place really is amazing, it feels as though the circus is coming to town, show time is just round the corner!
Our Hawaiian adventure started on Wed 3rd Oct, having been here a few days we have got our bearings and settled straight into the action. We have been swimming off the pier daily which is where the cannon fires on the 13th Oct to signify the start of the race. Fellow triathletes are not the only company you share in the water, turtles, dolphins and “nemo” fish can all be spotted, just as if you’re snorkeling.
The bike course is pretty much an out and back, 90k out, 90k back on the Queen K highway with the turnaround at Hawi, pronounced “Harvey”. 180k on a highway sounds fairly gentle, but do not be mistaken this “queen” can play games with you. She rolls up and down, up and down, with a longer grind uphill to reach the turnaround point. Sound a bit tougher now?! The toughest part of the course has still yet to be mentioned …..the elements. Stinking hot, humid and windy in a nutshell. It can feel like you are racing in a furnace. I have just picked up a brochure on the island to ensure I get my facts right, “The Big Island” is not only home to volcanoes and endless lava fields but the phanflit states it sites one of the most active volcanoes on earth, nothing like a bit of active lave flow to make one pedal a bit quicker!!!! In all seriousness it’s not the volcanoes we are worried about it’s the vicious wind that can nearly pick you up and spit you out. I felt like a wibbly, wobbly piece of jelly on a plate at times throughout our 120km ride on Thurs. As if being slammed by the wind is not enough for one day, the marathon still awaits.
On to the run, the elevation is spikey, all on tarmac with no shade. The majority of the run is again on the Queen K, more sapping heat slamming wind, lava fields and white lines. There is a section of the run which takes you through the “Energy Lab” do not be mistaken by the name it is not pumping and buzzing with energy instead the polar opposite. You are there alone, access denied for everyone except competitors. This is the part of the race where the mental strength must kick in and win to warn off any demons that are ready to bring you to a snail’s pace or at worse a stand still.
And yes despite all the above I still think this place is amazing!!! Emotions are mix of excitement and nerves. Fozzy our support crew arrives on Mon from the UK, cannot wait to see him and have another nutter to share this awesome experience with. As I type and bring this blog entry to a close if all goes to plan a week from now it will all be over, done, dusted, box ticked, got the finishers medal and t shirt!
Fingers crossed please bloggers as I love it when a plan comes together!
Was it going to be 2nd time lucky for our Whale Watching trip, yes it was. We were blessed with calmer seas on Friday which meant the Pacific Explorer would head out to sea in search of the humpbacks. Straight ahead, to your left / right would indicate sighting of tales, blows and diving whales. We homed in on a pair of whales that appeared to be going in circles, running rings round us, we had no idea where they would next surface. We learnt the humpbacks dive for between 4 to 14 mins and even up to an hour, let’s hope these whales were not looking to surface only every 60 mins!!! Fortunately they did not run and hide but instead showed us their grace and beauty.
Sunday 23rd was the Coff’s Harbour running festival where over 1,500 keen athletes were under starters orders for their chosen 3k, 5k, 10k or 21k run / fun-run! Of course the 21k or half marathon was what team benben signed up for. All the races were being run round the local Coff’s Creek, a loop I have made many references to over the blogs. I would hate to think how many times we have been round it since we arrived last Dec, it’s the only flat track to run round here!!!
Ben had a blinder of a race coming 3rd overall, Steve Moneghetti the Aus running legend who has medals of every colour to his name took the overall win but not that far in front of Webeck. I steam rollered in about 10 mins later just out of the top 3 females overall. As I did not take overall honors I was recognized as 1st in my age cat (30-39 years old). More medals to pack into the box and a great snap of Ben in the local paper.
I return to the computer and blog nearly a week later, it’s now Sat 29th not only are we in to our final week, but in to our last few days. It’s also 2 weeks today until we take on the best. The good-byes are in full swing, a damp eye or two on occasions has required that Kleenex I mentioned above.
Road bikes and belongings which are not required for Hawaii were packed and dropped off to Allied Pickford’s, the freight forwarders who will send our bits n bobs on to the water. I hope they arrive sooner than the given ETA which is up to 16 weeks!
Our last BIG week of training is nearly in the bag, 100k plus bike ride tomorrow still remains to be ticked off and banked, the objective will then switch from getting fitter and faster to freshening up. I am sure you can imagine some sessions over the past week have put us into the “hurt locker”, been there before can do it again is what it’s all about. This morning’s swim set was the perfect example of a key killer session that allowed us to dial into and get a feel for that desired race pace we want to hold during our 3,8k swim. Nailing a critical session is great for the confidence, it reminds you, you can do it, you did it in training so why don’t you think you can do it when it’s time to perform.
Hitting the big sessions was made a whole lot easier with the A-mazing dinners Marg was spoiling us with! As mentioned before we cook twice a week but this week we were not allowed, we were booted out of the kitchen. Salmon, roast dinner and salads that were worthy of a Master Chef appearance were laid out in front of us. Notes and pic’s were taken, watch and learn Catherine, watch and learn!!!
I must make mention and extend thanks again to Andrew, the local tri club coach who wrote a specific swim set just for us, the Kona Kids, it was our last swim squad! It is gestures and support like this from each and every member of the tri club that has really made our year. A friendly face is never far away, all those smiles and interest in what we are up to have made us feel so welcome, part of their family with support and encouragement by the bucket load. The people we have been so lucky to spend the last 10 months with, Ben’s family, our fellow tri club buddies are the biggest reason leaving Coff’s is a whole lot tougher than anticipated.
After the inevitable sad good-byes could not be put off any longer we were bound for Sydney. Our last few days and “last supper” Down-Under were Chez Uncle Geoff and Auntie Lyn. I made mention above of Ben’s wonderful family above, The Sydney Crew, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins spoilt us rottten, dammm still more melancholy good-byes to endure. Training did not stop it was fitted around the catch ups with friends and family. Geoff and Lynne, our hosts in Sydney arranged for a big family “Webeck” bbq at theirs for the hi and bye. Lynne told me she had gone to no effort but my favorites were all there, roasted beetroot in a salad and then figs in a salad, I was in heaven. She then saved the best till last and spoilt us with salmon done on the bbq for our last supper. Was this a tact to try and get us to stay / return!?!
We of course have been asked by most will you be back, when will you be back or some have simply instructed you will be back won’t you! I have simply said it’s the end of this chapter, a new one starts when we arrive back in the UK. As the chapter on our Oz experience draws to a close we have just one final chapter to relish, “Aloha” Hawaii.
Time just ran away with us (posting blog remained on the to do list) despite gaining a few hours crossing the date line on route from Aus to Hawaii, yes we are here on Hawaii’s “Big Island” home and host to the 2012 Ironman World Champs. Not really sure where to start or what to write to give this place justice or summarize our feelings. Kailua-Kona where all the action happens is a sleepy town I suspect 51 weeks of the year the remaining week is PUMPING! Everywhere you look reminds you of what lays ahead, the reason you and 2,000 fellow triathletes have made the crusade to this island. Everyone is ripped!!! There is no shortage of lycra, carbon and caffeine. This place really is amazing, it feels as though the circus is coming to town, show time is just round the corner!
Our Hawaiian adventure started on Wed 3rd Oct, having been here a few days we have got our bearings and settled straight into the action. We have been swimming off the pier daily which is where the cannon fires on the 13th Oct to signify the start of the race. Fellow triathletes are not the only company you share in the water, turtles, dolphins and “nemo” fish can all be spotted, just as if you’re snorkeling.
The bike course is pretty much an out and back, 90k out, 90k back on the Queen K highway with the turnaround at Hawi, pronounced “Harvey”. 180k on a highway sounds fairly gentle, but do not be mistaken this “queen” can play games with you. She rolls up and down, up and down, with a longer grind uphill to reach the turnaround point. Sound a bit tougher now?! The toughest part of the course has still yet to be mentioned …..the elements. Stinking hot, humid and windy in a nutshell. It can feel like you are racing in a furnace. I have just picked up a brochure on the island to ensure I get my facts right, “The Big Island” is not only home to volcanoes and endless lava fields but the phanflit states it sites one of the most active volcanoes on earth, nothing like a bit of active lave flow to make one pedal a bit quicker!!!! In all seriousness it’s not the volcanoes we are worried about it’s the vicious wind that can nearly pick you up and spit you out. I felt like a wibbly, wobbly piece of jelly on a plate at times throughout our 120km ride on Thurs. As if being slammed by the wind is not enough for one day, the marathon still awaits.
On to the run, the elevation is spikey, all on tarmac with no shade. The majority of the run is again on the Queen K, more sapping heat slamming wind, lava fields and white lines. There is a section of the run which takes you through the “Energy Lab” do not be mistaken by the name it is not pumping and buzzing with energy instead the polar opposite. You are there alone, access denied for everyone except competitors. This is the part of the race where the mental strength must kick in and win to warn off any demons that are ready to bring you to a snail’s pace or at worse a stand still.
And yes despite all the above I still think this place is amazing!!! Emotions are mix of excitement and nerves. Fozzy our support crew arrives on Mon from the UK, cannot wait to see him and have another nutter to share this awesome experience with. As I type and bring this blog entry to a close if all goes to plan a week from now it will all be over, done, dusted, box ticked, got the finishers medal and t shirt!
Fingers crossed please bloggers as I love it when a plan comes together!
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
Icing on the cake.....
After riding high from the success of the duathlon I hit the deck. Not literally and neither did I fall off my bike but some pesky bug flawed me. It meant I could not train for five whole days, YES IT WAS THAT BAD!! Poor Ben I was terrible company whilst I laid in bed, Bridget Jones styleee, “all by myself”. It was sooo frustrating whilst Ben was off smashing himself with our usual training regime, I was clocking up in my head all the k’s I was missing out on. I must admit watching Ben come in and out and in and out from the training sessions throughout the day and week I really did wonder how we do it. But we do and we love and we can’t get enough. I could not even enjoy the so called “rest” as it had been forced upon me, not my choice. I obviously thought I would become instantly unfit overnight and a few training sessions out of a year would of course mean failure when it really counts. Pro-biotics, super foods, sleep come on lets show that bug it’s not welcome here anymore, it’s already over stayed its welcome, late check-out fee coming your way!!
A little retail therapy from my favorite place near Coff’s Harbour, Bellingen put a smile back on my face and a spring back in my step. She’s back!! Ben also knew I was back on form when the to-do list, hoover and cleaning products were back out!!
Getting back to training stung the legs but was a relief. The week ahead was another biggie on the both the volume and intensity front. Although chomping at the bit I knew I had to hold the horses a little and back off a touch on the stress I put on my body to ensure I was not put back in bed. Getting the calories in and energy levels out of the red was my first priority. Girls, I did this for you, put a few slithers of cheese on my sweet potato!!!
A date for the diary support crew…..7th July 2013, team benben will be lining up to take part in one of the UK’s iron distance races. We will be mixing it up will Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Nottingham for The Outlaw. It looks like it’s a bit of a boy’s weekend away plus Cat at the moment with a number of Ben’s friends also entered, better start training!!!!
Thursday 13th Sept one may have thought would be a memorable day as in a months’ time (13th Oct) game face and race outfits will be on, it’s show time Kona stylee!! But no it was our 5 hour, 120km hard gearing ride that made the morning one to remember………. Over here particularly this time of year, September, cyclists and any moving object for that matter need to be aware of swooping Magpies. Over the past few weeks Ben and some fellow cyclists keep talking of a particular bird that is rather active in Bruxner Park. Most of our rides start and finish in Bruxner but until last week I had made no sightings of the talk about bird. The boys had said how it swoops down as if it’s going to try and dive bomb you! All the talk of this black and white thing did not prepare me for what happened next….In Bruxner park on my own, (Ben way out in front) nearing the telegraph where the you know what normally sits on, no sighting again, but just to be on the safe side, head down, pedal legs pedal, harder, faster….then boom it got me!!! No fly by and full-on touch and go off my helmet! Instantly my regard of Magpies fell in to the same category of Pigeons, and when I refer to pigeons as vermin of the sky I think you can understand my new found sentiment for the dive bomber!!
Still on the ride a few hours later we were doing 20 min efforts up the Ulong climb, on completion of our 2nd one Ben said he had something to show me at his turn around point. This did mean another rep up the climb for about 25 mins but it was sooo worth it! And there is was just sitting, snoozing in its chosen tree or should I say sleeping off its hang-over as its chosen food makes them inebriated, “can you guess what it is yet”!?!.....yes a fluffy koala. They really are too cute, it posed for a few pics then nodded back off again. I will admit I was excited about my 1st koala sighting, Ben’s too for the record. I had accepted the fact I would prob be leaving Aus without seeing one but that was the icing on the cake.
A dead Python snake on the side of the ride and getting stung by a bee all paled into insignificance after the bombing episode and our first sighting.
Friday, our lusted after day off was meant to be spent on a Whale Watching cruise but high winds, rough seas and mist put the kybosh on that one. Booked in for next Fri, fingers crossed for some calmer conditions. It did mean we could enjoy our usual coffee out with Russ and Marg. It also meant we had more free time to tick those jobs off the to do list that were coming close to burning a hole in my piece of paper. Hawaii visa, tick, accommodation booked for Honolulu airport, check, drop off paperwork and pay for our boxes to be sent home, done, on a roll!!!
Sunday saw the local (Coff’s Harbour) Tri Clubs 2012/2013 season kick off with the first of their fortnightly sprint races. It was also sadly to be our last with the club we have been so proud to be part of, race with and represent. Ben was having a blinder of a race, 3rd out of the water. My swimming is still not quite so slick, the quickest 3 boys had got me by the 3rd turn around buoy and that was with the 2 mins head start I had from the handicap system. On to our trusty steeds, well they normally are until pssssssssssssssssssssssss was ringing in Ben’s ear a flat put him out of contention. I pushed hard on the bike, getting in the head of some boys as a game of cat and mouse was played out. Ben fortunately got his flat close to start / finish of the looped bike course so he wheeled in to transition and opted to run as company for one of the boys as opposed to me. Ben’s off the hook I smashed my fastest 5k run split off the bike, wahooooooooooooooo! 1st lady over the line and 8th overall, getting amongst those boys, love it!!!
Porridge, coffee and a double packet of the Aussie classic biscuit “Tim Tams” from the club as a good-bye, good-luck and bon voyage, we were back on our feet to do our usual Sunday long run. 26k’s later from this session it was time to put the feet up and eat some proper food. I am surprised my teeth have not fallen out with the copious amount of sugary stuff we coat our teeth with on an hourly and daily basis!
As I tap it’s the 16th Sept, a month today we will be touching back down in the UK, where has the past 11 months gone. 1 month left of living the dream until this chapter of team benben’s draws to a sad closure, but as the saying goes “all good things have to come to an end”.
A little retail therapy from my favorite place near Coff’s Harbour, Bellingen put a smile back on my face and a spring back in my step. She’s back!! Ben also knew I was back on form when the to-do list, hoover and cleaning products were back out!!
Getting back to training stung the legs but was a relief. The week ahead was another biggie on the both the volume and intensity front. Although chomping at the bit I knew I had to hold the horses a little and back off a touch on the stress I put on my body to ensure I was not put back in bed. Getting the calories in and energy levels out of the red was my first priority. Girls, I did this for you, put a few slithers of cheese on my sweet potato!!!
A date for the diary support crew…..7th July 2013, team benben will be lining up to take part in one of the UK’s iron distance races. We will be mixing it up will Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Nottingham for The Outlaw. It looks like it’s a bit of a boy’s weekend away plus Cat at the moment with a number of Ben’s friends also entered, better start training!!!!
Thursday 13th Sept one may have thought would be a memorable day as in a months’ time (13th Oct) game face and race outfits will be on, it’s show time Kona stylee!! But no it was our 5 hour, 120km hard gearing ride that made the morning one to remember………. Over here particularly this time of year, September, cyclists and any moving object for that matter need to be aware of swooping Magpies. Over the past few weeks Ben and some fellow cyclists keep talking of a particular bird that is rather active in Bruxner Park. Most of our rides start and finish in Bruxner but until last week I had made no sightings of the talk about bird. The boys had said how it swoops down as if it’s going to try and dive bomb you! All the talk of this black and white thing did not prepare me for what happened next….In Bruxner park on my own, (Ben way out in front) nearing the telegraph where the you know what normally sits on, no sighting again, but just to be on the safe side, head down, pedal legs pedal, harder, faster….then boom it got me!!! No fly by and full-on touch and go off my helmet! Instantly my regard of Magpies fell in to the same category of Pigeons, and when I refer to pigeons as vermin of the sky I think you can understand my new found sentiment for the dive bomber!!
Still on the ride a few hours later we were doing 20 min efforts up the Ulong climb, on completion of our 2nd one Ben said he had something to show me at his turn around point. This did mean another rep up the climb for about 25 mins but it was sooo worth it! And there is was just sitting, snoozing in its chosen tree or should I say sleeping off its hang-over as its chosen food makes them inebriated, “can you guess what it is yet”!?!.....yes a fluffy koala. They really are too cute, it posed for a few pics then nodded back off again. I will admit I was excited about my 1st koala sighting, Ben’s too for the record. I had accepted the fact I would prob be leaving Aus without seeing one but that was the icing on the cake.
A dead Python snake on the side of the ride and getting stung by a bee all paled into insignificance after the bombing episode and our first sighting.
Friday, our lusted after day off was meant to be spent on a Whale Watching cruise but high winds, rough seas and mist put the kybosh on that one. Booked in for next Fri, fingers crossed for some calmer conditions. It did mean we could enjoy our usual coffee out with Russ and Marg. It also meant we had more free time to tick those jobs off the to do list that were coming close to burning a hole in my piece of paper. Hawaii visa, tick, accommodation booked for Honolulu airport, check, drop off paperwork and pay for our boxes to be sent home, done, on a roll!!!
Sunday saw the local (Coff’s Harbour) Tri Clubs 2012/2013 season kick off with the first of their fortnightly sprint races. It was also sadly to be our last with the club we have been so proud to be part of, race with and represent. Ben was having a blinder of a race, 3rd out of the water. My swimming is still not quite so slick, the quickest 3 boys had got me by the 3rd turn around buoy and that was with the 2 mins head start I had from the handicap system. On to our trusty steeds, well they normally are until pssssssssssssssssssssssss was ringing in Ben’s ear a flat put him out of contention. I pushed hard on the bike, getting in the head of some boys as a game of cat and mouse was played out. Ben fortunately got his flat close to start / finish of the looped bike course so he wheeled in to transition and opted to run as company for one of the boys as opposed to me. Ben’s off the hook I smashed my fastest 5k run split off the bike, wahooooooooooooooo! 1st lady over the line and 8th overall, getting amongst those boys, love it!!!
Porridge, coffee and a double packet of the Aussie classic biscuit “Tim Tams” from the club as a good-bye, good-luck and bon voyage, we were back on our feet to do our usual Sunday long run. 26k’s later from this session it was time to put the feet up and eat some proper food. I am surprised my teeth have not fallen out with the copious amount of sugary stuff we coat our teeth with on an hourly and daily basis!
As I tap it’s the 16th Sept, a month today we will be touching back down in the UK, where has the past 11 months gone. 1 month left of living the dream until this chapter of team benben’s draws to a sad closure, but as the saying goes “all good things have to come to an end”.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Jazzie car needs a new home....
I last left you when we were in charge of the Motel, it was like having a real life, real size Wendy House!
Ben and I set ourselves a target to try and get at least 1 customer per night so 3 in total from un booked customers that turned off the highway to see if we could give them a bed for the night. 1 booking Fri and Sat, on target, nothing Sunday but 2 Monday, mission accomplished me thinks. I also took a number of bookings over the phone and net for the coming weeks, towels and linen washed, do you think this constitutes “running a motel” and worthy of a mention on my CV!?!
Weekend of the 25th and 26th Aug was yet another fairly hefty one in terms of training. Sat AM, up at 4am in the saddle 5.15am with the boys. 4.5 hours later we return to our starting point, 110k’s nailed which included the 12km Dorrigo climb, 30min run off and job done. Even with the climb in the legs we averaged 28kph, wahoo.
Not useful for much after a session like that, opted for a no intellect required but amusing at the same time movie, a Hugh Grant number, “Mikey Blue Eyes”. Big effort swim Sunday morning in the jetty followed by the ritual, coffee with Dan and Aimee which is then followed by the routine long run. Just shy of 30k’s clocked up again, high 5’s for Dan and Aimee who were smashing a shorter but more intense ramp run.
I have mentioned Dan and Aimee a few times in the blog in recent, they too are both training for their “World Champs”, Olympic Distance in New Zealand just a week after our World Champs. Ben is helping Dan with some coaching, the boy is flying! Aimee is properly giving me a run for my money and hot on my heels which gives that extra kick up the butt, she is giving Ben a kick up the butt in the pool, the girl can swim.
Games of rugby league and union seemed to monopolize our down time over the weekend. Caught up with The Bengers back at home with a skype chat to my bro, Alex and his wife Yvette. I also got to see my gorgeous niece and nephew. Ethan was “jamming” with the saucepans, making lots of noise, definitely a Benger!!!
Russell came back from visiting Nan on Monday, Marg will stay down there until the weekend. Ben just picked Russ up from the airport so I text Marg to let her know of his safe arrival and the dinner was chopped ready to be cooked to feed her boys!!!
Another job was ticked off the to do list this week, put our Jazzie car up for sale. We knocked up a Blue Peter “here’s one I prepared earlier” stylee sign to sit in the windscreen. The advertising and selling of your car is very different here versus at home. You park it on your front lawn or close to a busy intersection / roundabout and leave it there with its sign in the hope to tempt future buyers.
True to form some more BIG volume sessions have been put to bed which has meant backing up day after day on the battered body. Tuesday is our time trial brick session which had us in the saddle just over 4 hours, just under 2 of those hours were down on the aero bars pushing the pace, cruising at race speed. Out of the cycling shoes and into the running shoes we were pounding the pavement with our faster than race pace 2km repeats, 5 repeats today so 10km all up.
Wednesday’s early morning run squad is where the tough head had to be on and be the boss. The main set of the run session was 40 mins which involved 4 lots of 10 minute efforts. Guess what, each of those 10 min efforts did not get slower just faster and faster and faster. The last 2 mins was red lining it! On Weds I went with Group A the fast boys which of course includes Ben. Now this where there is a fine line between love and hate…..keeping pace with the boys was one thing keeping pace with the boys when Ben was up front pushing the pace is another. I think we were all momentarily relieved when he had to relieve himself, time catch my breath even if only for a few seconds!! A few 500’s to finish most people off but no not us. Team benben and the coach couldn’t get enough. 3 more 1km repeats was what Ben ordered, 3 more is what he got! And they got quicker. A 16km run set all up with very few steps taken over 4 min 59 secs per k pace.
The first weekend in Sept is Father’s Day over here, Ben spent some quality time with his Dad on Fri on the golf course. I am not sure how far the love was stretched, did you let your Dad win Ben!? Father’s Day, Sun 2nd Sept we (Ben and I not Ben and his Dad!!) had a duathlon, run 7.2k, bike 37k, run 7.2k a different format to what we have trained for and are training for. The event was a low key training session, go as hard as you want, as opposed to a full on race! For the race report I will hand you over to Steel, the organizer of this event. The below has been copied and paste from his round up e mail.
The leading participants in this year’s Blueberry Hill Duathlon took their personal challenge to a new level with the first two across the finish going under 2 hours and the third male only missing that objective by nine seconds. Reece Edwards set a new course record of 1.57.22 while Ben Webeck also went under the old mark set in 2010, 1.58.32. Daniel Stein collected the fourth fastest time since the event’s inception in 1996 with a 2.00.09 clocking.
Stein had the distinction of posting the fastest run leg with a 27.54 for his second 7.2 kms run after posting the fastest bike split of 60.42. Edwards had earlier established a small lead with a 27.58 first run only to be caught by Webeck on the bike. Edwards stuck like glue once he was passed and then posted a 27.57 for the second run to take line honours and the record. Webeck could be well pleased with his effort as he had enough left in the tank to ‘jog’ an extra lap of the course as part of his preparation for the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon in October.
Also preparing for Hawaii and also running an extra lap was Webeck’s partner, Cat Benger who was the first lady to complete the course in the excellent time of 2.15.11. Benger led all the way after a 32.56 first run, finishing with a 32.24 before embarking on the extra loop.
Just as FYI Daniel Stein is the dude known to us and talked about earlier in the blog as Dan¸the one Ben is supporting. Great job boys! Aimee did not let the ladies down and pushed to the finish line to secure a 2nd place.
I will leave you there for this installment, on the high of our duathlon hit out .
Ben and I set ourselves a target to try and get at least 1 customer per night so 3 in total from un booked customers that turned off the highway to see if we could give them a bed for the night. 1 booking Fri and Sat, on target, nothing Sunday but 2 Monday, mission accomplished me thinks. I also took a number of bookings over the phone and net for the coming weeks, towels and linen washed, do you think this constitutes “running a motel” and worthy of a mention on my CV!?!
Weekend of the 25th and 26th Aug was yet another fairly hefty one in terms of training. Sat AM, up at 4am in the saddle 5.15am with the boys. 4.5 hours later we return to our starting point, 110k’s nailed which included the 12km Dorrigo climb, 30min run off and job done. Even with the climb in the legs we averaged 28kph, wahoo.
Not useful for much after a session like that, opted for a no intellect required but amusing at the same time movie, a Hugh Grant number, “Mikey Blue Eyes”. Big effort swim Sunday morning in the jetty followed by the ritual, coffee with Dan and Aimee which is then followed by the routine long run. Just shy of 30k’s clocked up again, high 5’s for Dan and Aimee who were smashing a shorter but more intense ramp run.
I have mentioned Dan and Aimee a few times in the blog in recent, they too are both training for their “World Champs”, Olympic Distance in New Zealand just a week after our World Champs. Ben is helping Dan with some coaching, the boy is flying! Aimee is properly giving me a run for my money and hot on my heels which gives that extra kick up the butt, she is giving Ben a kick up the butt in the pool, the girl can swim.
Games of rugby league and union seemed to monopolize our down time over the weekend. Caught up with The Bengers back at home with a skype chat to my bro, Alex and his wife Yvette. I also got to see my gorgeous niece and nephew. Ethan was “jamming” with the saucepans, making lots of noise, definitely a Benger!!!
Russell came back from visiting Nan on Monday, Marg will stay down there until the weekend. Ben just picked Russ up from the airport so I text Marg to let her know of his safe arrival and the dinner was chopped ready to be cooked to feed her boys!!!
Another job was ticked off the to do list this week, put our Jazzie car up for sale. We knocked up a Blue Peter “here’s one I prepared earlier” stylee sign to sit in the windscreen. The advertising and selling of your car is very different here versus at home. You park it on your front lawn or close to a busy intersection / roundabout and leave it there with its sign in the hope to tempt future buyers.
True to form some more BIG volume sessions have been put to bed which has meant backing up day after day on the battered body. Tuesday is our time trial brick session which had us in the saddle just over 4 hours, just under 2 of those hours were down on the aero bars pushing the pace, cruising at race speed. Out of the cycling shoes and into the running shoes we were pounding the pavement with our faster than race pace 2km repeats, 5 repeats today so 10km all up.
Wednesday’s early morning run squad is where the tough head had to be on and be the boss. The main set of the run session was 40 mins which involved 4 lots of 10 minute efforts. Guess what, each of those 10 min efforts did not get slower just faster and faster and faster. The last 2 mins was red lining it! On Weds I went with Group A the fast boys which of course includes Ben. Now this where there is a fine line between love and hate…..keeping pace with the boys was one thing keeping pace with the boys when Ben was up front pushing the pace is another. I think we were all momentarily relieved when he had to relieve himself, time catch my breath even if only for a few seconds!! A few 500’s to finish most people off but no not us. Team benben and the coach couldn’t get enough. 3 more 1km repeats was what Ben ordered, 3 more is what he got! And they got quicker. A 16km run set all up with very few steps taken over 4 min 59 secs per k pace.
The first weekend in Sept is Father’s Day over here, Ben spent some quality time with his Dad on Fri on the golf course. I am not sure how far the love was stretched, did you let your Dad win Ben!? Father’s Day, Sun 2nd Sept we (Ben and I not Ben and his Dad!!) had a duathlon, run 7.2k, bike 37k, run 7.2k a different format to what we have trained for and are training for. The event was a low key training session, go as hard as you want, as opposed to a full on race! For the race report I will hand you over to Steel, the organizer of this event. The below has been copied and paste from his round up e mail.
The leading participants in this year’s Blueberry Hill Duathlon took their personal challenge to a new level with the first two across the finish going under 2 hours and the third male only missing that objective by nine seconds. Reece Edwards set a new course record of 1.57.22 while Ben Webeck also went under the old mark set in 2010, 1.58.32. Daniel Stein collected the fourth fastest time since the event’s inception in 1996 with a 2.00.09 clocking.
Stein had the distinction of posting the fastest run leg with a 27.54 for his second 7.2 kms run after posting the fastest bike split of 60.42. Edwards had earlier established a small lead with a 27.58 first run only to be caught by Webeck on the bike. Edwards stuck like glue once he was passed and then posted a 27.57 for the second run to take line honours and the record. Webeck could be well pleased with his effort as he had enough left in the tank to ‘jog’ an extra lap of the course as part of his preparation for the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon in October.
Also preparing for Hawaii and also running an extra lap was Webeck’s partner, Cat Benger who was the first lady to complete the course in the excellent time of 2.15.11. Benger led all the way after a 32.56 first run, finishing with a 32.24 before embarking on the extra loop.
Just as FYI Daniel Stein is the dude known to us and talked about earlier in the blog as Dan¸the one Ben is supporting. Great job boys! Aimee did not let the ladies down and pushed to the finish line to secure a 2nd place.
I will leave you there for this installment, on the high of our duathlon hit out .
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Lord and lady of the Manor......
So what has team benben been up to ???
Week commencing 13th August has been our toughest 7 days of training to date. I knew I was in for trouble when 30 x 100m’s at your best pace greeted me first thing Monday morning in the pool. 180k’s on the bike and a 12km run set off the bike was waiting for me on Tuesday. Run squad Weds am which requires quick feet on our dead legs and a double swim nearly finished me off. Thurs was all about hanging on in there and telling the screaming legs to “shut up”! 4 hour bike ride with big ring efforts, 40 min tempo run then swim squad was nailed before Friday, and relax our day off.
We did the usual on our day off, morning out with Russell and Marg. A hike up Mutton Bird Island with the binoculars to see if we could catch any whale activity was on the agenda. In luck this time, a few blowing spouts were sighted. We are looking at doing a whale watching boat trip in a few weeks to really get up close and personal with them. Mid Sept I have been informed is when the droves of migrating whales will swim down the coast from the warmer waters where they had their calves up North back to their home.
Rest day over we were back in the saddle. Saturday started with an open water swim in the jetty, the water was as clear as I have seen it since we arrived. A few k’s or just over an hour later we were enjoying our brekkie, gour-met porridge of course in the warmth of the early morning sun. I am loving the winter sun, it’s been about 25 degrees over the past few days and I see the forecast is promising us highs of 27 in the not so distant future. Just going back to the porridge, it’s like a daily ritual for us, it’s what often keeps me going through the first session of the day! If you are thinking of oats and water stodge let me enlighten you, oats, half water half soya milk and a combination of any of the following, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seats, almonds, apple, banana, blueberries, strawberries, honey, yoghurt, I tried to tell you it was good!?!
Sat afternoon as we have done on occasions over the past few weeks joined the local cycle club race, and boy did I have some fun!! Essentially the group of men I was cycling, competing and racing with were blatantly ganging up on me, trying to attack me when I was off guard or as they assumed knackered in order to cycle on up the road without me on their tale. Little did they know I had my wing ‘women’ with me, Aimee who kept me fully informed when they were coming to get me! “Cat, Cat they are coming I would hear in my ear piece”! I was all over them like a rash, matching and responding to every move they made. Despite a Mark Cavendish style sprint over the last few hundred meters and the lunge for the line I think I just missed out on the win. No time to find out who actually won, I had had a great work out, lots of fun and a run set was waiting for Aimee and I. This time I was Aimee’s wing woman or pacer, keeping the tempo and heart rate up.
Ben rides with a faster group and took the role of the domestique for everyone. He spent most of the time on the front of the pack driving the train, pushing the pace, working it!
Sunday was an early and loonnngggg run, just shy of 30k’s was clocked up. We had a lunch date with Auntie and Uncle thus Sunday’s sessions, run and swim not forgetting calories and coffee all needed to be done by lunch time. The alarm or ticking time bomb as I refer to it as was set for 5am, we are out pounding the streets by 6am. Home is just a few mins to the closest beach and coastline thus we are very fortunate, time on the tarmac is minimal. What it does mean is the first 45 mins of our run from home is always a hilly one which also includes traversing some beaches and running up flights of steps in order to follow the stunning headland path that leads us in to town. Once in town we can pick up the 9km Coff’s Creek loop which meanders its way through the trees. And then guess what, yep back up and down the hills of the headland to get back home.
And so the week starts again, (20th Aug) back in the pool first thing Monday morning. Last week was the 4th week in each 4 week block, it’s the week with a little less volume but the intensity or pain remains.
I mentioned a few paragraphs above the tanning temperatures we are enjoying and have been promised. No Michael Fish blunders on this occasion, its 27 and guess who’s back….the water dragons that take up residence, sun bathing on the fountain in the garden. Summer must be on its way, hang on, we have yet to have spring!!
With the sun out we took the opportunity to have a look round the local Botanic Gardens, we have also been tipped off its where some koalas may reside. The gardens were a very relaxing and tranquille place with a glass houses, nature trails, boardwalk and rain forest area to wander around, enjoy and soak up the serenity of the space. Every so often we would stop and look up,“koala watch”, by the end of our wander we had also learnt which is the preferred tree of the koala. Even in the know, we were not in luck, no sightings.
This weekend (25 / 26th) Ben and I are Lord and Lady of the manor!! We will be your hosts at the Sapphire Motel, Russell and Marg are heading south to the Southern Highlands, Mittagong to see Nan, or Mum in Marg’s case. We have our “how to” files at the ready, room configuration, tariffs, processing payment guidelines etc etc. I think Ben is hoping 12 years of working in retail and dealing with the public will stand us / me in good stead, the customer is king, simples!! I think I am hoping having spent his years growing up in a motel it will be like riding a bike!?!
On that note, I must leave you there we have a room to do and beds to be made, I hope Russell does not check my “hospital corners” !!
Week commencing 13th August has been our toughest 7 days of training to date. I knew I was in for trouble when 30 x 100m’s at your best pace greeted me first thing Monday morning in the pool. 180k’s on the bike and a 12km run set off the bike was waiting for me on Tuesday. Run squad Weds am which requires quick feet on our dead legs and a double swim nearly finished me off. Thurs was all about hanging on in there and telling the screaming legs to “shut up”! 4 hour bike ride with big ring efforts, 40 min tempo run then swim squad was nailed before Friday, and relax our day off.
We did the usual on our day off, morning out with Russell and Marg. A hike up Mutton Bird Island with the binoculars to see if we could catch any whale activity was on the agenda. In luck this time, a few blowing spouts were sighted. We are looking at doing a whale watching boat trip in a few weeks to really get up close and personal with them. Mid Sept I have been informed is when the droves of migrating whales will swim down the coast from the warmer waters where they had their calves up North back to their home.
Rest day over we were back in the saddle. Saturday started with an open water swim in the jetty, the water was as clear as I have seen it since we arrived. A few k’s or just over an hour later we were enjoying our brekkie, gour-met porridge of course in the warmth of the early morning sun. I am loving the winter sun, it’s been about 25 degrees over the past few days and I see the forecast is promising us highs of 27 in the not so distant future. Just going back to the porridge, it’s like a daily ritual for us, it’s what often keeps me going through the first session of the day! If you are thinking of oats and water stodge let me enlighten you, oats, half water half soya milk and a combination of any of the following, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seats, almonds, apple, banana, blueberries, strawberries, honey, yoghurt, I tried to tell you it was good!?!
Sat afternoon as we have done on occasions over the past few weeks joined the local cycle club race, and boy did I have some fun!! Essentially the group of men I was cycling, competing and racing with were blatantly ganging up on me, trying to attack me when I was off guard or as they assumed knackered in order to cycle on up the road without me on their tale. Little did they know I had my wing ‘women’ with me, Aimee who kept me fully informed when they were coming to get me! “Cat, Cat they are coming I would hear in my ear piece”! I was all over them like a rash, matching and responding to every move they made. Despite a Mark Cavendish style sprint over the last few hundred meters and the lunge for the line I think I just missed out on the win. No time to find out who actually won, I had had a great work out, lots of fun and a run set was waiting for Aimee and I. This time I was Aimee’s wing woman or pacer, keeping the tempo and heart rate up.
Ben rides with a faster group and took the role of the domestique for everyone. He spent most of the time on the front of the pack driving the train, pushing the pace, working it!
Sunday was an early and loonnngggg run, just shy of 30k’s was clocked up. We had a lunch date with Auntie and Uncle thus Sunday’s sessions, run and swim not forgetting calories and coffee all needed to be done by lunch time. The alarm or ticking time bomb as I refer to it as was set for 5am, we are out pounding the streets by 6am. Home is just a few mins to the closest beach and coastline thus we are very fortunate, time on the tarmac is minimal. What it does mean is the first 45 mins of our run from home is always a hilly one which also includes traversing some beaches and running up flights of steps in order to follow the stunning headland path that leads us in to town. Once in town we can pick up the 9km Coff’s Creek loop which meanders its way through the trees. And then guess what, yep back up and down the hills of the headland to get back home.
And so the week starts again, (20th Aug) back in the pool first thing Monday morning. Last week was the 4th week in each 4 week block, it’s the week with a little less volume but the intensity or pain remains.
I mentioned a few paragraphs above the tanning temperatures we are enjoying and have been promised. No Michael Fish blunders on this occasion, its 27 and guess who’s back….the water dragons that take up residence, sun bathing on the fountain in the garden. Summer must be on its way, hang on, we have yet to have spring!!
With the sun out we took the opportunity to have a look round the local Botanic Gardens, we have also been tipped off its where some koalas may reside. The gardens were a very relaxing and tranquille place with a glass houses, nature trails, boardwalk and rain forest area to wander around, enjoy and soak up the serenity of the space. Every so often we would stop and look up,“koala watch”, by the end of our wander we had also learnt which is the preferred tree of the koala. Even in the know, we were not in luck, no sightings.
This weekend (25 / 26th) Ben and I are Lord and Lady of the manor!! We will be your hosts at the Sapphire Motel, Russell and Marg are heading south to the Southern Highlands, Mittagong to see Nan, or Mum in Marg’s case. We have our “how to” files at the ready, room configuration, tariffs, processing payment guidelines etc etc. I think Ben is hoping 12 years of working in retail and dealing with the public will stand us / me in good stead, the customer is king, simples!! I think I am hoping having spent his years growing up in a motel it will be like riding a bike!?!
On that note, I must leave you there we have a room to do and beds to be made, I hope Russell does not check my “hospital corners” !!
Friday, 17 August 2012
Games over but full steam ahead for us.....
I left the last blog willing on Team GB, they must have heard me, wow what an Olympic performance for the home crowd. The Aussie camp has an awful lot of silverware, I hope they have some polish!! Sorry could not resist, first and final comment I promise.
Our Hawaii trip is starting to take shape, flights and accommodation sorted, we are also very, very, very lucky to be having a support crew member fly out from the UK to be on the sidelines in Hawaii cheering us on. Mark “Fozzy” Foster is the man making the journey to join us in his grass skirt. I must remember not to leave home without mine, Ben’s I think is already packed!!! We have also had confirmation through of our return flights back home to the UK. Team benben will be back on UK soil 16th Oct just in time for me to wish my big bro, Alex “happy birthday” in person.
Our performance has of course not quite been Olympic standard but training is starting to get epic, we have just got back from a 6 hour session, 5 hours on the bike and an hour run with both disciplines including lots of race pace efforts. This session taxed not only the body but also the mind, 5 reps of a 30km loop, numerous parts of my body were numb after the 4th loop and I still had another one to conquer. The majority of our training is of course to improve our fitness, to ensure our bodies are physically fit, however, an integral part to ironman racing is all about what’s between your ears. The ironman race is like a roller coaster, it has its ups and downs, so when those big dippers hit, mentally you need to be tough, your mind and body needs to be equipped to cope with anything the course and race throws at you. Putting yourself through mind and body numbing sessions is all part of the prep and for us at the moment, just another day at the office / just another day in paradise!
6 hour single sessions or 6 hours plus of training a day is now once again not a one off, on the upside (if 6 hours plus was deemed on the downside) this type of volume does require the odd nap in between sessions. As I type sleeping beauty, Ben in case there was any doubt, is resting. I had better shut my eyes too soon, I do not want him to think I am not tired, thus not working hard enough, I am, I am promise!!
The 6 hour session mentioned above is of course not the only session we have done this week, it is our biggest yet in this campaign, did you notice the careful use of yet, I know what’s in the post!!! Last Saturday morning I braved the dark and cold to hit the tarmac with the boys. 5.15am we are in the saddle which means the alarm pinging at just before 4am. As if the early start is not enough of a rude awakening the ride also requires climbing up Dorrigo mountain (11k’s), no pootling allowed on this pursuit!!! I must admit, smashing about 110k’s on the bike with a 30 min trot off and being back home with a bowl of steaming porridge on your lap with tea and/or coffee brewing all before 11 am is a result. A monster session in the morning also means the afternoon is free to watch a DVD in bed even more of a result! We watched an Aussie classic, “The Man from Snowy River”. We have wanted to watch this film ever since we spent a few weeks in back in Feb in the High Country of Victoria, Falls Creek. I forgot to mention the DVD is a box set so we still have part deux to watch, another result.
Yesterday (Fri) was our precious weekly rest day and a date with Russell, Marg and caffeine. Over the past few weeks we have got into the routine of popping out every Fri morning for a cuppa. Last week the destination of choice was sunny Sawtell, this week we headed a few k’s north up the highway to Woolgoolga which has a stunning headland and if you time it right a great vantage point for whale watching. Unfortunately, on this occasion we did not get the timing right, no blowing spouts in sight. No whales to watch meant just one thing it was coffee time!
A few days have passed since I started blogging and guess what I have just done again, yes that early morning Saturday boys bike ride, although this time it was just Ben and I. The wind gusting between 30 to 40 kmph meant a no show or two. The winding climb to Dorrigo and the views from Bellingen river do make it a little easier to take!
The wind made it a tough outward leg but a much zippier homeward leg. I don’t think any cyclist is a fan of the wind but we really cannot hide from it as the Ironman in Hawaii is known for its vicious cross winds, staying up right on my bike will be my first goal, moving will be the secondary goal. I have just re-fuelled on my favorite, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on rye bread, YUM! I daren’t close my eyes as we are off to the pool soon, although someone has their eyes closed and legs elevated!
A few more hours have passed since I was tapping away, the time has been spent watching part 2 of “The Man from Snowy River”, his horsey is amazing!! That’s the box set watched ready to be packed into a box for home when the time comes, that also means we have it for anyone to borrow if any requests?!?
I think that just about brings you up to date with the latest antics of team benben, like the London 2012 Olympics, this blog entry is drawing to a close. But don’t worry I will be back before 4 years!
Just a few more pics to share of what the countryside looks like when we have time to take it in on an EASY ride and the little friends we meet.......
Our Hawaii trip is starting to take shape, flights and accommodation sorted, we are also very, very, very lucky to be having a support crew member fly out from the UK to be on the sidelines in Hawaii cheering us on. Mark “Fozzy” Foster is the man making the journey to join us in his grass skirt. I must remember not to leave home without mine, Ben’s I think is already packed!!! We have also had confirmation through of our return flights back home to the UK. Team benben will be back on UK soil 16th Oct just in time for me to wish my big bro, Alex “happy birthday” in person.
Our performance has of course not quite been Olympic standard but training is starting to get epic, we have just got back from a 6 hour session, 5 hours on the bike and an hour run with both disciplines including lots of race pace efforts. This session taxed not only the body but also the mind, 5 reps of a 30km loop, numerous parts of my body were numb after the 4th loop and I still had another one to conquer. The majority of our training is of course to improve our fitness, to ensure our bodies are physically fit, however, an integral part to ironman racing is all about what’s between your ears. The ironman race is like a roller coaster, it has its ups and downs, so when those big dippers hit, mentally you need to be tough, your mind and body needs to be equipped to cope with anything the course and race throws at you. Putting yourself through mind and body numbing sessions is all part of the prep and for us at the moment, just another day at the office / just another day in paradise!
6 hour single sessions or 6 hours plus of training a day is now once again not a one off, on the upside (if 6 hours plus was deemed on the downside) this type of volume does require the odd nap in between sessions. As I type sleeping beauty, Ben in case there was any doubt, is resting. I had better shut my eyes too soon, I do not want him to think I am not tired, thus not working hard enough, I am, I am promise!!
The 6 hour session mentioned above is of course not the only session we have done this week, it is our biggest yet in this campaign, did you notice the careful use of yet, I know what’s in the post!!! Last Saturday morning I braved the dark and cold to hit the tarmac with the boys. 5.15am we are in the saddle which means the alarm pinging at just before 4am. As if the early start is not enough of a rude awakening the ride also requires climbing up Dorrigo mountain (11k’s), no pootling allowed on this pursuit!!! I must admit, smashing about 110k’s on the bike with a 30 min trot off and being back home with a bowl of steaming porridge on your lap with tea and/or coffee brewing all before 11 am is a result. A monster session in the morning also means the afternoon is free to watch a DVD in bed even more of a result! We watched an Aussie classic, “The Man from Snowy River”. We have wanted to watch this film ever since we spent a few weeks in back in Feb in the High Country of Victoria, Falls Creek. I forgot to mention the DVD is a box set so we still have part deux to watch, another result.
Yesterday (Fri) was our precious weekly rest day and a date with Russell, Marg and caffeine. Over the past few weeks we have got into the routine of popping out every Fri morning for a cuppa. Last week the destination of choice was sunny Sawtell, this week we headed a few k’s north up the highway to Woolgoolga which has a stunning headland and if you time it right a great vantage point for whale watching. Unfortunately, on this occasion we did not get the timing right, no blowing spouts in sight. No whales to watch meant just one thing it was coffee time!
A few days have passed since I started blogging and guess what I have just done again, yes that early morning Saturday boys bike ride, although this time it was just Ben and I. The wind gusting between 30 to 40 kmph meant a no show or two. The winding climb to Dorrigo and the views from Bellingen river do make it a little easier to take!
The wind made it a tough outward leg but a much zippier homeward leg. I don’t think any cyclist is a fan of the wind but we really cannot hide from it as the Ironman in Hawaii is known for its vicious cross winds, staying up right on my bike will be my first goal, moving will be the secondary goal. I have just re-fuelled on my favorite, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on rye bread, YUM! I daren’t close my eyes as we are off to the pool soon, although someone has their eyes closed and legs elevated!
A few more hours have passed since I was tapping away, the time has been spent watching part 2 of “The Man from Snowy River”, his horsey is amazing!! That’s the box set watched ready to be packed into a box for home when the time comes, that also means we have it for anyone to borrow if any requests?!?
I think that just about brings you up to date with the latest antics of team benben, like the London 2012 Olympics, this blog entry is drawing to a close. But don’t worry I will be back before 4 years!
Just a few more pics to share of what the countryside looks like when we have time to take it in on an EASY ride and the little friends we meet.......
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Olympic Fever
Olympic fever and scorching temperatures seem to be gripping the UK! We (ok so I actually mean Russell Ben’s dad here) just need to make sure the “IT” is in place to ensure the TV is cued up to record the events on our not to be missed list. Even I do not think I have it in me these days to stay up past my bed time to watch the action live.
We did, however, get up a few mins earlier to watch the final sprint stage of the Tour de France before our swim rather than post number 1 session of the day. And Ben even found it in himself to move away from the I phone to ensure the Twitter feed did not reveal what happened. Being a bit of a fan of Mark Cavendish, or “Cav” as I feel comfortable referring to him as, I was a tad nervous and then somewhat excitable as the Sky train stormed up the Champs Elysee. As the excitement rose, so did I from my seat, the coffee had to be put down at this point in case of a spillage and then boom, the missile was launched! As Cav celebrated victorious with his arms aloft in the air, so did I!
For “Operation Kona” we are working on a 4 week cycle, with the 4th week in each block being just a tad lighter, I won’t go as far as saying easier as that would be all lies. We have just finished our first 4 week block, heading into block 2 and yep you have guessed it each block increases in intensity and volume as we get closer to race day, mid Oct. Ben has passed me “his notes” for my perusal which basically looks like my punishment for the next 8 weeks, although I am unsure of my crime. It’s a rest day tomorrow, I better enjoy it and wrap myself up in compression gear!
Since I started tapping away at this blog entry the games have commenced and so has our next block of training. We caught a few minutes of the Opening Ceremony and wow it looked like one heck of a show. In fact, Mr. Bean and his contribution to “Chariots of Fire” nearly made us late for our chilly early morning jetty swim. Lucky Queenie to have Daniel Craig escort her to the ceremony, I wonder if 007 will accompany me to my next sporting event?!?! In between our sessions we are catching up on the Olympic action which sounds like its red hot whilst we are letting our muscles repair and more to the point getting our beauty sleep. Being in Aus I am somewhat more clued up about what’s happening with the green and gold, boxing kangaroo athletes as opposed to my cool clad squad of GB athletes. The cool clad bit gave it away, I do not think Stella Mc Cartney was a bit “Lucy in the sky” when she designed the team kit.
Over the weekend we had a visit from an Auntie and Uncle (Lynne and Geoff) which was great to catch up with them. It did of course mean Ben’s mum, Marg was whipping up a storm in the kitchen and the will power had to come into play to pass on the choc pot desserts, I did accept the offer for a glass of vino, I did not want to look rude or a complete looser!!! Just as FYI here Ben opted for the choc dessert and no beer!
Training as eluded to earlier in the entry has been getting rather fruity shall I say. The sessions are starting to creep closer to 5 hours + and a cheeky double swim has made its way onto the programme, the double swim is post our very intense run squad. Oh and the run squad session now has “extras” added on for us whilst the normal people cool down, stretch and tuck into brekkie!
The weather over the past few weeks has certainly been on our side, it is for the locals still winter but there are certainly no complaints from me, I was back running on the beach with a singlet and visor. Although the wind was pretty vicious, a southerly I think the weather man would say, a full frontal I would call it or running into a brick wall, either way I was going nowhere fast.
I will not be going anywhere tomorrow, neither fast nor slow if I do not go and change my flat tyre. Team benben has had a serious run of bad luck with flay tyres over the past few weeks. Being positive it does of course mean I am getting somewhat of an expert, although, I am not convinced future employers are really seeking candidates with the ability to change inner tubes as part of the required or preferred skills set!!!
Until we are next on the blog, take care followers and come on Team GB, I am being reminded one Aussie swimmer alone has more medals than the entire GB team to date!
We did, however, get up a few mins earlier to watch the final sprint stage of the Tour de France before our swim rather than post number 1 session of the day. And Ben even found it in himself to move away from the I phone to ensure the Twitter feed did not reveal what happened. Being a bit of a fan of Mark Cavendish, or “Cav” as I feel comfortable referring to him as, I was a tad nervous and then somewhat excitable as the Sky train stormed up the Champs Elysee. As the excitement rose, so did I from my seat, the coffee had to be put down at this point in case of a spillage and then boom, the missile was launched! As Cav celebrated victorious with his arms aloft in the air, so did I!
For “Operation Kona” we are working on a 4 week cycle, with the 4th week in each block being just a tad lighter, I won’t go as far as saying easier as that would be all lies. We have just finished our first 4 week block, heading into block 2 and yep you have guessed it each block increases in intensity and volume as we get closer to race day, mid Oct. Ben has passed me “his notes” for my perusal which basically looks like my punishment for the next 8 weeks, although I am unsure of my crime. It’s a rest day tomorrow, I better enjoy it and wrap myself up in compression gear!
Since I started tapping away at this blog entry the games have commenced and so has our next block of training. We caught a few minutes of the Opening Ceremony and wow it looked like one heck of a show. In fact, Mr. Bean and his contribution to “Chariots of Fire” nearly made us late for our chilly early morning jetty swim. Lucky Queenie to have Daniel Craig escort her to the ceremony, I wonder if 007 will accompany me to my next sporting event?!?! In between our sessions we are catching up on the Olympic action which sounds like its red hot whilst we are letting our muscles repair and more to the point getting our beauty sleep. Being in Aus I am somewhat more clued up about what’s happening with the green and gold, boxing kangaroo athletes as opposed to my cool clad squad of GB athletes. The cool clad bit gave it away, I do not think Stella Mc Cartney was a bit “Lucy in the sky” when she designed the team kit.
Over the weekend we had a visit from an Auntie and Uncle (Lynne and Geoff) which was great to catch up with them. It did of course mean Ben’s mum, Marg was whipping up a storm in the kitchen and the will power had to come into play to pass on the choc pot desserts, I did accept the offer for a glass of vino, I did not want to look rude or a complete looser!!! Just as FYI here Ben opted for the choc dessert and no beer!
Training as eluded to earlier in the entry has been getting rather fruity shall I say. The sessions are starting to creep closer to 5 hours + and a cheeky double swim has made its way onto the programme, the double swim is post our very intense run squad. Oh and the run squad session now has “extras” added on for us whilst the normal people cool down, stretch and tuck into brekkie!
The weather over the past few weeks has certainly been on our side, it is for the locals still winter but there are certainly no complaints from me, I was back running on the beach with a singlet and visor. Although the wind was pretty vicious, a southerly I think the weather man would say, a full frontal I would call it or running into a brick wall, either way I was going nowhere fast.
I will not be going anywhere tomorrow, neither fast nor slow if I do not go and change my flat tyre. Team benben has had a serious run of bad luck with flay tyres over the past few weeks. Being positive it does of course mean I am getting somewhat of an expert, although, I am not convinced future employers are really seeking candidates with the ability to change inner tubes as part of the required or preferred skills set!!!
Until we are next on the blog, take care followers and come on Team GB, I am being reminded one Aussie swimmer alone has more medals than the entire GB team to date!
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Here we go again......
Ben indicated the first few weeks back training after our month off would be tough, we are at that point and there was no word of a lie. Dependent upon the session has determined what’s been screaming louder, legs or lungs, lungs or legs, or both!!
To mix things up this block and to keep things as social as possible we joined the local Cycle Club. Weekly Saturday group races are a popular date in the diary. Armed with some fellow tri buddies, Dan and Amy we hit the start line at 2pm. There are 4 groups A through to D, A are the speedsters who complete 6 loops of the 10km track through to D who tackle 4 loops of the track. Nothing to do with the first letter of our names but Ben went “B” and I went “C”. Although I wrote above Saturday races are a firm fixture, I went with a group ride mentality rather than race. Rookie error on my part, I think I was swearing by the 2nd hill less than half way round the first loop! Never the less and despite some expletives I held on with my group until a mechanical meant I was changing an inner tube on the penultimate lap and could not contend the sprint finish to the line. Ben I think was foxing and playing with his group, I reckon he is up for a cheeky break-away over the next few weeks! Will team benben be slipping on the “maillot jaune”!!!
Wednesday Mornings we have been mixing it up with a run squad, yes it’s that one that hears the alarm ding at 4.59am and we are limbering up in the dark. Porridge tastes even better at 7.30am knowing that a tough session of the day has already been nailed. The coach has some testing sessions in the post, I hear rumors of 10 x 400m’s holding your best pace on descending rest and 10 x 800m’s again holding your best pace, let me know if you would like any more details!
Thursday evenings are another date in the diary, this time swim squad. I exit the water after most sessions exhausted, telling myself swimming sucks and I might take up duathlons. (Duathlons requires no swim but a killer combo of run, bike, run!)
Sunday morning is shaping up to be an open water swim, followed by a caffeine injection followed by our long run. The other Sunday was a stunning winters morning here on the East Coast, sun rising with some bite, little swell in the ocean, coffee date and social run arranged for post open water swim, typical triathletes Sunday morning. What was less than typical was the company we had out swimming, whilst negotiating the jetty I could see the boys (Ben and Dan) standing up, looking around them, and then I saw it …………a fin, followed by another fin. I probably swore again at this point until the boys reassured me it was friendly flipper, 2 dolphins not 2 human eating sharks looking for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
Outside of Operation Kona which is now in full swing! I keep myself busy with my to do list, Ben on occasions has started to jot a few things down which from time to time resemble a list. We have been living the dream or should I say our dream for just over 9 months now, which can only mean just under 3 months remaining. I am sure to some living our dream would be more like living hell!!! Thoughts of returning home and the associated jobs, another list have started to cross my mind.
Ben and I have also been putting our “marketing hats” on helping Russell and Marg (Ben’s parents) with some new business ideas for their motel. Oh and how have I not already slipped this into the blog…..for those that know me well are fully aware my cuisine skills are somewhat LTD…..Well you will be shocked to hear I have been whipping up some pasta dishes to keep the boy going, ham, pea and mint was a winner. Ben and I cook on a Tues and Fri eve, kicking Marg out of the kitchen.
On that note I had better slope off and slide into some lycra before I get a hiding of my own!!!!
Be back blogging soon, lots of love team benben x
To mix things up this block and to keep things as social as possible we joined the local Cycle Club. Weekly Saturday group races are a popular date in the diary. Armed with some fellow tri buddies, Dan and Amy we hit the start line at 2pm. There are 4 groups A through to D, A are the speedsters who complete 6 loops of the 10km track through to D who tackle 4 loops of the track. Nothing to do with the first letter of our names but Ben went “B” and I went “C”. Although I wrote above Saturday races are a firm fixture, I went with a group ride mentality rather than race. Rookie error on my part, I think I was swearing by the 2nd hill less than half way round the first loop! Never the less and despite some expletives I held on with my group until a mechanical meant I was changing an inner tube on the penultimate lap and could not contend the sprint finish to the line. Ben I think was foxing and playing with his group, I reckon he is up for a cheeky break-away over the next few weeks! Will team benben be slipping on the “maillot jaune”!!!
Wednesday Mornings we have been mixing it up with a run squad, yes it’s that one that hears the alarm ding at 4.59am and we are limbering up in the dark. Porridge tastes even better at 7.30am knowing that a tough session of the day has already been nailed. The coach has some testing sessions in the post, I hear rumors of 10 x 400m’s holding your best pace on descending rest and 10 x 800m’s again holding your best pace, let me know if you would like any more details!
Thursday evenings are another date in the diary, this time swim squad. I exit the water after most sessions exhausted, telling myself swimming sucks and I might take up duathlons. (Duathlons requires no swim but a killer combo of run, bike, run!)
Sunday morning is shaping up to be an open water swim, followed by a caffeine injection followed by our long run. The other Sunday was a stunning winters morning here on the East Coast, sun rising with some bite, little swell in the ocean, coffee date and social run arranged for post open water swim, typical triathletes Sunday morning. What was less than typical was the company we had out swimming, whilst negotiating the jetty I could see the boys (Ben and Dan) standing up, looking around them, and then I saw it …………a fin, followed by another fin. I probably swore again at this point until the boys reassured me it was friendly flipper, 2 dolphins not 2 human eating sharks looking for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
Outside of Operation Kona which is now in full swing! I keep myself busy with my to do list, Ben on occasions has started to jot a few things down which from time to time resemble a list. We have been living the dream or should I say our dream for just over 9 months now, which can only mean just under 3 months remaining. I am sure to some living our dream would be more like living hell!!! Thoughts of returning home and the associated jobs, another list have started to cross my mind.
Ben and I have also been putting our “marketing hats” on helping Russell and Marg (Ben’s parents) with some new business ideas for their motel. Oh and how have I not already slipped this into the blog…..for those that know me well are fully aware my cuisine skills are somewhat LTD…..Well you will be shocked to hear I have been whipping up some pasta dishes to keep the boy going, ham, pea and mint was a winner. Ben and I cook on a Tues and Fri eve, kicking Marg out of the kitchen.
On that note I had better slope off and slide into some lycra before I get a hiding of my own!!!!
Be back blogging soon, lots of love team benben x
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Red Centre Holiday
We last left you quaffing Shiraz in the wineries of the Hunter Valley. Since then we have had a whirlwind tour of Sydney to do the sights with Mum then it was off to the Alice Springs for our bush trip. On arrival at the airport we picked up Penny, Mum’s fellow travel companion who joined Mum, Ben, Kimmy (Ben’s sister who lives in Alice) and I for our 10 day adventure. Below is a selection of some highlights…..
Fri: We kicked off in style with a Champagne sunset. Just a few k’s out of the town centre and along an off road track, the sort most would not even attempt!! Undeterred Kimmy kicked “Big Red” her trusty steed, a Toyota land Cruiser into 4x4 mode to maneuver us to our sunrise spot. This was to be our first taste of what the Red Centre had to offer………and wow, vast, arid, stunning, natural beauty, a wilderness are just a handful of words which can be used to describe our uninterrupted view.
Sun: The highlight of our trip in Alice was to be our 5 nights out bush, camping. It was an early morning wake up call, no lycra, yeah!! Instead, get Big Red packed for our trip, we have all packed a car numerous times for trips so no more details really need to be given except I bet you have not done this after checking the dip stick?!? Put the dinner on so it will be ready after our 500k journey to Uluru, Ayers Rock. Back to dinner, one of Kimmy’s tricks is to cook a chook under the bonnet, I thought things like this only happened on Top Gear, move over Clarkson!!!
Mon: We were treated to another of Alice’s natural beauties the Olgas, Katja Tjuta. We got up close and personal by marveling over these beauties with a 4 hour walk. Aside from the Olga’s, something else caught our eye, a random camel with a terrible over bite wondered by and a man doing the same walk as us which involves scrambling over rocks on occasions and negotiating the up’s and downs wearing flip flops or thongs as referred to over here! Oh and he had his must have nestled under his arm like a Louis Vuitton clutch, his red I pad!! A trip out here is not complete without witnessing a sun set and chilly sun rise over The Rock.
Tues: We were back in Big Red on route to Kings Canyon where we had been promised a secret camp spot by Kimmy. It was so secret it kept us all guessing for a while including Kimmy. In her defense it was dark and she last visited the spot 4 years ago. A sign, a grid, a fence line, a track then a clearing in the bush for our swags is what we were looking out for. For those not offay with a swag, it’s something you sleep in. No tents you just jump in your sleeping bag and then in your swag. It has a waterproof outer which will keep you dry in a shower and comes with a mini mattress for comfort. Sleeping in our swags was a real highlight, laying in your warm cozy bed, with the snap crackle and pop of the fire to keep you toasty, gazing at the stars was just magic and the stuff dreams are made of. Oh and just for your comfort…..…yes we found our secret camp spot. This was home for the next 2 nights.
Weds: Happy birthday to you etc etc etc happy birthday to Ben etc etc etc. The 20th June was Ben’s 32nd and our 2 year anniversary. Who would have believed it, 2 years ago Ben asked me to do his wetsuit up at a race and the rest they say is history! His special day was celebrated with another stunning walk around Kings Canyon. Guess who we saw, the flip flop / thong man still in his preferred choice of footwear but guess what, this time another member of the party donned the same choice!!! I will let the pics do the talking. For those that know my mum, Jenny B as she is known did not disappoint, she did not quite make it out to the UK with her famous cupcakes, instead, she came armed with gifts, balloons, a banner and candles. The boy did not go without a cake, cue his sister who whipped a very naught but nice dark choc and date cake. Champers and nibbles then wine and a slow cooked lamb stew were on the menu. I think we will all agree a day and a b’day / anniversary to remember.
Thurs: Back on the road or should I say dirt track! Our destination was Glen Helen which meant we had to take on the red dirt and dust of the Mereenie Loop in order to reach the sandy banks of the Finke, where we would be setting up camp for our last night out bush. Collecting wood was a daily ritual for our fire, it seemed as the week progressed we were getting more and more game. It looked like Jenny and Penny were returning from their wood scavenging with a whole tree!
Our last supper was a feast to remember, Roo (kangaroo) was on the menu. Kimmy was in charge of the meat, I buried the sweet pots and corn in the coals, whilst Ben whipped up the onions, mushrooms and aubergine. Jenny and Penny like most nights kept our glasses topped up!!
Fri: The West Mac Donald range led us home back to Alice Spring, to ensure we could keep enjoying the wonders of the landscape to the bitter end, we detoured via Orminston Gorge and Ellery Creek big hole.
Sat: The Beany Festival had come to town!! Everywhere should have one of these they are so much fun. Over 5,000 Beanies from all corners of the country had descended on Alice for the annual event. It really is quite extraordinary what some creative people can do with wool and it’s also quite random what some people put on their heads to keep warm!!! Never shy for a bit of retail therapy I hit the stalls! 3 beanies came home with me, Ben found 2 to keep him cozy. We mixed with the locals (many with their new head adornment) for dinner at the local, Penny very kindly treated us to our 2nd last supper at Monte’s.
Sun: Our penultimate day, coffee’s, the markets, back to Monte’s for lunch, visit to the Royal Flying Dr’s museum, meeting some of Kimmy’s ladies, soaking up the sun and atmosphere of Alice was all part of the order of the day.
Mon: Back to the chaos in Sydney!! It is hard to sum up the beauty of the outback. It bears no resemblance to anywhere I have ever visited or may never visit again. Maybe the best way I can sum up this place is to say make sure a visit in on your “bucket list”!
Tues: Last day in Australia for Jenny and Penny, Wed cue the Kleenex for a goodbye.
I hope you have all noticed this entry of the blog has one major omission, the use of lycra has been absent. For those who thought it would not be possible, it is and it was. We had a month off, we have done nothing since the ironman.
Operation Kona as I have called it started on Monday 2nd July, I feel like a 20 a day chain smoker. My bottom muscles even ache as I sit on the comfort of our bed typing. Goodness knows what is going to ache tomorrow as we have hit 2 hard sessions already today. Run squad which kicked off at 6am, cue the alarm 5am and yes for those wondering it is still dark! Then a swim, Ben called the session a mixed bag, I would call it hard!!! Bring on the pain train, “toot toot”!!
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