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”.
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