Heading Out East and Close Call

With a rather average weather forecast for the next few days I was keen to go for good push yesterday. I managed to to get Bruce Welch to escort me again.  The weather must have been good as Bruce had his shorts on and we did have mild temperatures, sun and only a gentle NE breeze. We head out just after 4pm and I decided to try a different route, heading for the countryside NE of Ashburton.  We started the push by heading through the Domain and past quite a few people who looked at me with puzzled expressions. From out of the Domain we crossed SH1 which slowed progress, from there we headed through the Ashburton east and out into the country side.

The first rural road we travelled along was Wakanui Rd that heads towards the coast. This road and previous urban streets all have a downhill gradient and by the time we turned onto Cochranes Road we had dropped about 30m of altitude. This helped the average speed for this segment. Cochranes Road had us generally climbing again but the road undulated with ups and downs, this seems like similar terrain as New York. I continued pushing as hard as I could and we eventually get to Fairfield Rd that leads to Fairton and we are starting to head home. Rather than getting onto the State Highway we turn onto Company Rd which gives me a little downhill and the pace climbs a bit. As normal Bruce was letting me know when cars were coming behind us and a few cars must have been leaving the Talleys vege processing plant which we had just past. One of these cars however took us both by surprise and decided to UNDERTAKE us which freaked both of us out!!

After this little shock we head into the new NE Industrial Area which had a beautifully smooth hotmixed road surface but we are climbing again. We then head down Bremners Rd towards the cemetery and back into town.  We cross the highway without any drama and then wind our way through the urban streets and back to home. This ended being a really good push with new territory covered with different terrain.

Push Stats: Distance 23.4km  Time: 1hr 38min  Speed:14.3 km/hr

Two days later and with Harry in residents for the school holidays we head out on the same course out east. I aim to try and beat my time, I have a good start but don't manage to maintain the pace and we end up with almost identical stats. Harry also undertakes some filming of the push with my phone, video attached.

Push Stats: Distance 23.3km Time: 1hr 38min  Speed 14.2km/hr

Another Hard Day in the Chair - Plus Record Distance!

There are only 41 days before I am lining up for the start line of the New York marathon and I am really starting to get excited.  This event is going to be huge for me & Denise; our first full marathon in a wheelchair and it is going to be in the most famous marathon in the world.  Our excitement was definitely helped after watching "The Road to the Finish".

After having a rather big day out on Wednesday my cross training on the rowing machine was waved on Thursday and Friday. Come Saturday and I decided the training push would go further than previous sessions. The day was cool with a brisk SW wind but reasonably sunny. Again I was lucky enough to have Denise escort me on this training session. She was well rugged and equipped with the latest post-quake fashion garment, the hi-viz vest!

Denise Loves Hi-viz

I made pretty good progress travel out along my usual course with a tail wind helping progress. This wind became most noteable when we reach Winchmore School Road which is at the end of the out and back course. For this pushed we went the full length of this 6km road which meant the total session would be 40km. The hard work started at the turn around with the SW wind straight into my face. The 6km of hard work battling the head wind really made me fatigued making the remaining trip home hard work.

Distance: 40.1km  Time: 3hr 1min  Speed: 13.3km/hr

I now realistically only have 4 weekends of training remaining, I really need to push things along now!!

Back to Staveley - Traffic Jam....No Bull!!

Following last weeks busy training schedule there is a need to kick on and continue the momentum. After the 21km push on Monday I "jumped" on the rowing machine Tuesday evening and rattle through 6116m in 30 minutes, a new best distance. Today I meet up with Alison again at Staveley at midday, she was heading north for parent interviews at Rangi Ruru. It was a very mild spring day with a hint of northwest although the wind was swirling around under the hill at Staveley. We headed up the hill again and it definitely didn't get easier than last week with the lungs and the arms tested. The trip down the hill was again quick with another record speed recorded, 48km/hr.

About to start - Mild day at Staveley

We then head down the Ashburton Staveley Road, as we head down the road I seemed to be getting faster and faster. This unfortunately wasn't the result of a power surge from me but a tail wind. We keep head down the road and Alison and I both said that the going was far too easy and I would pay the price. On the way down the road we ran into a traffic jam in the form of a herd of heffers heading up the road, more animal poo to dodge. The heffers weren't too keen on my orange flag and ended being driven back down the road and back into paddock they had come from. The farmer was very accommodating.

Traffic Problems - Ashburton Staveley Road

We headed all the way to the Forks Road intersection, about 12km from Staveley, and then turn back into the northwest wind. It was only then that I realised how solid the wind was. It ended up being a long slow slog home, heading up wind and up hill.  When I finally crawled up to the Staveley Store I was absolutely spent.

Clocking Up The Miles

The week just finished has been productive for my marathon training with pushes and indoor rowing. The week started with a 30min row and 6040m clocked up. Monday was a rest day followed by a shorter push on Tuesday afternoon. Bruce Welch accompanied me and I aimed to do this session at a quicker pace. 

Distance: 16km, Duration: 1hr 5min, Avg Speed: 14.8km

Wednesday I headed back to the hills and meet up with Alison Batchelor at the Staveley Store. The day was superb; snow on the mountains, mild temperatures and gentle breeze. From the store we headed straight to Flynns Road (road to skating rink), this road climbs steadily towards the hills and is a similar grade to the Verrazona Narrows Bridge. The climb was not a constant grade though and had a series of steep pinches, these saw me crawling up the hill at speeds down to 5km/hr. The trip back down was different with speeds up to 45km/hr. After this hill climb we headed out to the some flatter roads to clock up the kms. When we got back to the store I had only complete 27km so Alison cracked the wip to make sure I did at least 30km so we head up another sealed road with more climbing, this ended up being a really good hard session. Triumph comes through adversity! We ended the session with coffee and cake at the store in the sunshine.

Distance: 30.5km, Duration: 2 hrs 23 min, Vertical Distance Climbed: 150m

At the Staveley Store

Training continued through the back end of the week with another 30 minute session on the rowing machine. Staveley must have tired me out as I only travelled 6037m, 3m less than Sunday! Another rest day on Friday with my brother Stephen in town. Stephen quickly found his way to my fridge and sank a nice cold beer, this was a testing experience for me as I am going alcohol free for the month of September. 

Stephen headed away after a particularly nice breakfast of croissants cooked by our resident Artisan baker Harry O'Neill who came down on the Friday bus. After breakfast Denise headed to the pool and a Body Balance class at the new Ashburton sports complex. Harry and I then prepared for Henry who was coming around to do the finishing touches to the deck. After getting Henry underway Harry and I headed out for a training push. The day was kind with a gentle NE breeze and the sun shining. We headed out on the usual course and made reasonable time although the breeze did slow the trip out. We endured for a long session and managed to break the 2 hour 30 minute mark!

Training sessions can become rather tedious for my companions who are no amused by the breathe taking views of the Southern Alps covered with snow. Harry looked to solve this boredom by taking a book with him. Harry managed to finish the book while riding with me without incident.

Distance: 36.1km, Duration: 2hrs 32min, Avg Speed: 14.2km/hr

This post has taken sometime to publish, hence I have completed another training session. Tonight, Monday night, I completed another push again along the usual course. Bruce Welch accompanied me again and we completed a half marathon. The body was a bit washed out even with a rest day on Sunday, I ground it out though and we completed the distance eventually.

Distance: 21.7km, Duration: 1 hrs 32 min, Avg Speed: 14km/hr

Safety - By The Book, Harry O'Neill

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Pushing Hard and Building Project Nears End

Yesterday (Saturday) ended up being quite a big day with a long push and helping with the build of the raised garden next to the deck. Henry arrived around 9am and as he started work on the raised garden Denise and I set out for a training push. We took off on the usual route (out and back course) and the weather was reasonably mild with a gentle NW wind. This wind seemed to build and made the push up Mitcham Road quite tough. Most of the push out ended up being fairly hard work with an average speed of only about 13km/hr. The trip back home was generally easier especially the run back down Mitcham Road with with speeds around 20 km/hr achieved quite easily. The trip home did get alot harder though as the wind seemed to swing around towards the west and increased in intensity, this made Hepburns Road a tough battle in to a head wind.

By the time the push was over the statistics for the training was;

Distance: 33km, Duration: 2 hrs 21 min, Avg Speed: 14km/hr

Following my push I had a lunch and a shower and then pitched into helping Henry with raised garden. Henry was busy cutting and jig sawing the hardwood planks together, no easy task. I started screwing the fastners, there must be over 300 screws required for this project and they all needed pre-drilling.  The almost finished result though looks great.

Raised Garden Box - Wrapped Around Deck & Ramp

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RAFFLE TICKETS - ON SALE NOW!!

While I have been doing a little bit of work training my Rural Fire mates have been busy organising a raffle to help raise funds for the trip. After plenty of hassling, begging and borrowing over 30 different prizes where donated. Tickets as of this week went on sale. Tickets can be found with most rural fire fighters in Mid Canterbury, at the Council, ACL, Sparrows Menswear and a few other locations that I can't remember.

Many thanks to all that helped with the raffle...especially Pitty.

Indoor Rowing & Sheep Poo

Modified Indoor Rower

With the weather not behaving over the last few weeks and a need to engage in exercise that will open my shoulders out I have got the indoor rower organised with my special seat. This external rotation will help with my shoulder problems according to the medical professions. To date I have completed 3 x 20 minute sessions and I really get the lungs working and also plenty of sweat!

Heavy Traffic on Boundary Road

Wednesdays midweek session this week was with Bruce Day, fresh from casino's of Las Vegas and the beaches of Hawaii.  We went across the river to Tinwald and did a push out towards Boundary Road that heads towards Hinds running parallel with the State Highway.  The elevation of this push started with a decent which meant we made good progress at the start.  As we progressed both of us were enjoying the lack of traffic, but then we rounded a bend and were faced with a woolly traffic jam - big mob of sheep being moved down the road.  I don't think this will happen in New York.  I quickly knifed my way through the flock and we kept going. Today I was aiming for another 2 hour plus session so I turned around after just after reaching 15km. This out and back push ended up being quite tough with the return journey taking 15 minutes more than the trip out. No pain..no gain!  The novelty of travelling through a mob of sheep also meant the chair got a reasonable quantity of sheep poo slapped over it. 

Stats from this Push; 

Time: 2hr 14min  Distance: 30.5km

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