Hills & Longest Push

This week I have only completed 2 pushes after resting from the big push last Sunday, no training was possible on Thursday and Friday with trips to Christchurch required. Wednesday however did present an opportunity for something different with a push around the roads up hill from Methven.  My search had started to find somewhere to match what I face at the start of the marathon - Verrazano Narrows Bridge which has 50 metres of climbing over just 1300 metres.

The push was on some of the roads between Methven and the Rakaia Gorge.  Very kindly Alison Batchelor volunteered to ride with me and we started on Rakaia River Road with about 50 metres of climbing. This was quite tough, especially a very steep pitch at the end of the climb. We then wizzed down Mt Hutt Station Road that has quite grade and reached a record speed, 36 km/hr. With 120 metres lost in the decent the remainder of session had me climbing back the 80 metres we were below from the start. This was a tough tough session. The total distance covered was on 21.8km, but felt like a lot more!

Moving on to this weekend more work continued on the raised garden with Henry having two labourers at his disposal - Thomas and Harry. With this worked out and Kate in residence also I grab her for a push at lunchtime.  We headed out on the usually course to Hepburns and Mitcham Roads and the onto Winchmore Dromore Rd and beyond to Winchmore School Rd another quiet sealed Mid Canterbury road. When I hit the 15km mark I turned around in the next driveway and headed home.  A good portion of the trip home had slight downslopes which made  progress relatively quick, but as I got closer to home things definitely got tougher and my pace slowed. I got home having completed 30km in just over 2 hours, I am determined to do as many more trips of this length as possible!!

Pushing towards Two Hours and Gear Failure!!

Last weekend was busy at home with work continuing on the raised garden between the deck and the new ramp.  This work is being done by Henry Hogg with Harry and myself labouring on the less technical stuff.  This building work soaked up the whole of Saturday. The next day we were down to Timaru with a trailer to pick up some of Denise's household items.  With great efficiency this was completed by early afternoon giving us a chance for a training push.


The last push I completed on Thursday was pretty tough, my pain levels were high and I ended up thinking "can I really do this thing??" My feelings on this latest push were totally different. I was aiming to get close to two hours in the chair.  It was a perfect day; clear, light breeze and mild temperatures. The push went really well, I did have to make some steering adjustments along the way but this did not take long and I ended up pushing for almost 27km and about 110 minutes in the saddle.  The one rather large hiccup happened just as I cruised into my driveway and I went to apply the brake to stop the handle bars broke off!! Photo of the damage is below.  Very lucky this happened when I got home rather than 13km up road! 

Broken Handle Bar

Also attached to this post is a video of part of my latest training push, enjoy the music!!

Knuckling Down to More Training and a glimpse of the Big Apple

With the trip to Marlborough and Wellington past it was time to crack on with more training. Last week not wanting to over do it I went out for a couple of training sessions.  These sessions went well, both went for about 80 minutes. The first session Bruce Welch accompanied me and conditions were good with no rain or wind. Alison Batchelor accompanied me on next push which started with a brisk head wind and with a relatively quick trip home. The weekend went pear shape with building going on, a visit from the hand bike supplier trying to sort out issues with the power assist and then duties at work, this meant no training!!

Also during the weekend we went to "Trainwreck" the new movie out which put a new twist on the RomCom genre. The movie was set in New York which added interest for both Denise and myself. This week I have managed another 80 minute push with Don Geddes and a record session planned with Alison on Thursday after travelling 22.5km. I need to work out some steering issues with the racing chair, off to the bike shop!!


http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/TerryONeill/

FOREST AND RURAL FIRE ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND

Since my last bog I have been out for 2 more training pushes only! The last push in the weekend was with Harry escorting me in my hand bike. This all went well with another push up Hepburns Road and then up Mitcham Road, total distance was 20.4km. The only problem was on the return the battery in the hand bike gave out. Without the battery Harry could not keep up with me!! After waiting for Harry to catch up I suggested turning the battery on and off. This managed to spark the power assist back into life and we were all go again.

Jock Little and the raffle money

This week I managed to get a new tire on the front wheel of the racing chair, this is a relief as the old tyre looked like it would give way at anytime. No training during the last week but the fundraising got a boost at the Forest and Rural Fire Association of New Zealand. Jock Little of PSL (fire equipment supplier) donated $500 worth of prizes for a raffle. This raffle raised $950, a huge thank you to PSL, Jock Little, the rural fire boys from Ashburton for selling tickets and to all the delegates that bought tickets. On top of this Veronica Clifford (fire researcher) donated her spot prize to the NY Marathon fundraiser, this paramedic kit is worth about $500!!!  Thanks Veronica.