Training so far....

With the race chair secured, having worked out how to load and unload, 'chopper guard' flag attached and volunteers holding up their hand to help me; training has begun. The first couple of pushers were just around local streets in Ashburton with a bit of frustration trying to sort out the steering.  With some tweeking the steering was improved.  After awhile a 7.5km circuit was established along some of the quieter streets.  What did become evident is that even though you might consider Ashburton flat there is definitely some streets that climb which certainly test you. It is also quite interesting dealing with traffic and cornering frequently.  Through out all my training so far I have continued to swim which I find is a form of therapy, both for my body and my mind.
After a number a pushers in town a friend living in the country invited to meet me on a quiet sealed country road to do some more full on training. The route we tackled was basically there and back, a long straight road with only one bend - typical Canterbury plains road.  The road headed to toward the foothills and although it looked flat it actually climbed and climbed some more.  It wasn't that steep, but the constant nature of the climb was testing. On this first push it took 38 minutes to get to the turn around, but the return trip downhill took only about 20 minutes. The distance covered was12.5km.  After this session I definitely felt I had 'pushed' myself (sorry about the pun).
Over Easter I did more trips around the Ashburton streets working on technique and fitness.  The school holidays brought the assistance of my teenage children with my training.  Last Wednesday I returned to the country road and managed to get to the turn around in about 29 minutes, a real improvement. During this session I started to get my breathing organised, it is very hard to breathe with the hunched position in the racing chair.
I completed my last session in the racing chair this morning with my friend Denise riding shotgun.  We journeyed out from Ashburton into the country with pleasant north west conditions prevailing, both warm and dry. This session lasted about an hour and we covered over 15km. With a shoulder starting to play up I plan on taking a couple of days off with other activity planned to supplement the training. Ciao for now,Terry.