The Fonginator: bare blends

It has officially begun - the road to the TCS New York City Marathon, 2014! It's all starting to become real now and I am pleased to have the first block of training under my belt. Thanks to the programming skills of Coach Waino, I feel great and I'm really hoping that feeling will stay for a while!

I've been to New York City a few times but never for a race, and never for a marathon. In fact, this will be my first ever proper marathon. The only other 42km run I've done was at the end of Ironman in 2012. I'm hoping I will feel A LOT better during this race, considering I don't have to ride 180km before the run!

At the moment, my training consists of 3 runs a week on top of swimming, cycling and teaching group fitness classes. This month, I have run a total of 100km (averaging 25km per week, with the longest run being 13km). Probably doesn't seem like a lot of mileage to most runners but it's definitely a step in the right direction, in order to gain some consistency in my training.

Being the peak of winter in Sydney right now, it's time to embrace the suck and stick it to those freezing cold mornings! Getting out of a warm bed in the dark is tough, but not when you have these views to look at:

Sydney Harbour Bridge - 5 mins from my house

Milson Park, Kirrbilli (behind my apartment)

Kiama with the girls (Girls Weekend Away)

North Sydney - who run the world? MINIONS!

(huge thank you to Mike Delagarno from Northside Runners in Crows Nest for sorting me out with my new Saucony Ride shoes. So comfortable for my long runs. Love them)!

Recovery swim with Penny at Balmoral Beach (only in Funkita swimwear)

Along with training for the marathon, I have decided to race in an Olympic Distance triathlon in Yarrawonga, VIC in October! Nuts, right?! There is a reason: this is a qualifying race for the Age Group World Triathlon Championships in Chicago, USA next year. Obviously not ideal timing, but certainly a race I need to do (in terms of locality) if I want any chance of qualifying. That and I have always wanted to race in America!

My New York City marathon buddy, Teresa (aka The Health Whisperer) has been helping me out a lot with my nutrition, which has made a massive difference to my training, both mentally and physically. I'm also enjoying making loads of goodies with Bare Blends products. They have been a massive support since I came on board as a Bare Blends Athlete, so a huge thank you to Anthony and Chris for all their help in fuelling me for training and recovery. I've made a ton of smoothies and bars but I thought I would share some creations made by fellow triathletes that have been using Bare Blends:

Chocolate Ricotta - by Em

Chia Pudding - by Em

Vanilla granola bars (using Bare Blends Vanilla WPI) - by Allison

Peruvian cacao protein balls - by LJ

Lastly, a huge thank you to a few people who have helped out with my fundraising efforts lately: the staff at Australian Fitness Network and to the BTC open water swimmers who bought goodies at the tuckshop I held at Balmoral a couple of weeks ago. Thank you to Kat, Alisha and Kristyn who have all made goodies for me to sell. To the Robison Family in San Francisco and everyone who has generously donated their hard earned dosh to my fundraising page. You guys rock!

I'm always looking for training buddies so drop me a line if you're in the area and want to join me for some training!

15 weeks to go!

Well, there you have it; another triathlon season done and dusted, and what a year it has been!

After Ironman in 2012, I decided to go back to short course racing and this season, with the help of my coach, Owain Matthews, I competed in four Olympic Distance triathlons (and two Sprint Distance triathlons) as part of the Elite Energy series. This was a great opportunity to get out of the city, once a month, and compete in races around NSW.

In the Elite Energy series pointscore, the top 20 in each group are awarded points for each race. The higher you place in your age group, the more points you earn. At the end of the series, they take your best four results and tally them up against others in your age group. This year, I finished off with 58 points over 4 races, which gave me 3rd place overall in the 30-34 age group. I walked away with a massive bronze medal (see below) and a race entry into one of the Elite Energy Olympic Distance races next season - stoked!

If you win your age group in the series, you get 3 free race entries. Second place wins 2 free race entries and 3rd place wins one free race entry. This is such a great initiative from Elite Energy. It not only encourages people to participate in races around the state, but it also gives back to the age-groupers who support these races. Well done, Elite Energy!

Here's Elise Garner, excitedly accepting my award at Presentation Night in Port Stephens #therealfakebel

Here is my race summary of the Olympic Distance races I competed in:

HUSKY 1 (10th November, 2013) - Olympic Distance
There are probably only two words I could use to describe this race - CHARACTER BUILDING! In summer, this is one of my favourite places to visit. However, on this particular day, it was 12 degrees outside, and it literally poured with rain from start to finish! At one point, I think I was laughing so hard on the bike because the rain was literally pelting down and there was nothing I could do about it! By the time I got to the run, my feet were so cold, my achilles tendon felt like it was going to snap. For the first time in a race, I had to stop and stretch a number of times during the run. Once I had a hot shower and got over the blisters and achilles pain, I felt pretty happy with myself for getting through the race with a Top 10 result in such horrific conditions.

Swim 1.5km: 26:12; Ride 40km: 1:22; Run 10km: 48:09. TOTAL: 2:36
6th in 30-34 AG, 19th female overall

Parading around in my new Smashfest Queen kit #allthegearandnoidea

CALLALA (8th December, 2013) - Club Distance
I think this might be my favourite race distance! The surf was up and the swim for the Enticer race was cancelled because of the huge swells. They still let the Olympic distance competitors race and although it was choppier than what I am used to, I managed to at least catch half a wave in, without getting dumped too badly! The ride went well and the run was honest - sand moguls for about 400m and then out onto the open road, hot bitumen and smack bang into the blistering sun (about 28*C). I actually enjoy racing in the heat (moreso than the cold) so these conditions suited me. I really enjoyed this race and was extremely happy with how I felt from start to finish.

Swim 1km: 22:33; Bike 30km: 1:01; Run 8km: 34:59. TOTAL: 2:00:12 (I will be back to break 2 hours)!
Podium finish - 3rd in 30-34 AG, 12th female overall (fastest T1 and second fastest T2)!

Elise and I after the race

ORANGE (1st February, 2014) - Olympic Distance
This year, Orange was experiencing an unusual heatwave and proved to be one of the hottest weekends in summer. The swim in Lake Canoblas was an interesting one. The water was murky throughout and you had to swim through weeds for about 300m. Doesn't sound too bad until you actually do it. I don't recommend standing up unless you want to be ankle deep in squishy, sludgy mud!

The bike course was a hilly, multi-lap course on very rough road surface. Lots of climbing on the way out but that meant some fast riding on the way back. There was a steep hill before every turnaround and boy, did everyone feel it on each lap!

I was relieved to get off the bike and start running, until I realised the run was along a fire trail and had about 3 big hills to hit every lap. Ouch! The weather was heating up to about 34*C and it took me the rest of the day to cool down. I felt OK on the run but had no idea how I was placing, so just kept trying to pick people off and overtake them. My reasoning was quite simple: run faster, get to the finish faster! Orange is such a great little town and I would definitely come back to do this race again.

Swim 1.5km: 27:19; Bike 40km: 1:20; Run 10km: 47:43; TOTAL: 2:37

Podium finish - 1st in 30-34 AG; 8th overall female (fastest T1 and T2)!

WOLLONGONG (9th March, 2014)

This race had some extremely memorable moments, most notably the fact that we had accidentally slept through our alarm and missed our wave starts - whoops! Thankfully, the team at Elite Energy sorted us out and we were able to race in the Race Ya Mates wave (thanks Laura and Tracy)! I really enjoyed this race, despite the lack of preparation on race morning. We didn't have time to eat breakfast and my water bottle was only half full for the bike. Rookie error. I guess there isn't much time to think when you're in a hurry!

Swim 1.5km: 30:17; Bike 40km: 1:13; Run 10km: 46:22. TOTAL: 2:33

8th in 30-34 AG

I may have slept in, but at least I was colour co-ordinated

Based on the results of these 4 races, I am absolutely stoked to have gotten a spot on the podium in the Elite Energy series. I highly recommend these races to everyone. They are so well organised and well attended. The volunteers are always so energetic and regardless of your ability, they have a distance to suit everyone. The atmosphere is always great and Elite Energy really know how to put on great triathlon events. I will definitely be signing up next year and attempt to crack that magic 2:30!

Whilst it was somewhat disappointing to see my swim times gradually get slower, I have to admit that this is the one leg that has been the most challenging for me to see improvements. But thankfully, I have joined the Funkita athlete team and I am determined to get my swimming up to scratch before next season! I have to give a massive shout out to Funkita for supporting me this year. Make sure you get online and get some of their swimming gear. All their swimming costumes are chlorine resistant and the colours are so bright, no-one will miss you! You'll be the funkiest swimmer out there. Don't forget to use the code FTEAM349 to get a tidy Fonginator discount of 25%!

Bare Blends have also been supporting me with my nutrition, and I will be partnering with them in 2014 to help get their products out into the triathlon market. I was always hesitant to use protein powders because I never knew what half of the ingredients on the package were. But Bare Blends products only contain organic ingredients and I have to say, it is the best tasting protein powder on the market. It has honestly made a huge difference to my recovery and I am so happy to support this Australian brand. Make sure you check out their website and their amazing recipes - www.bareblends.com.au. They're also on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Here's Reidy from Bondi Rescue, enjoying one of my Bare Berries Snow Balls at the Elite Energy Women's Triathlon Festival. You can find the recipe on the Bare Blends blog.

The focus now changes to training for the NYC marathon. I'm very excited to be aiming for new goals and new adventures with my number one training partner, Teresa Boyce aka The Health Whisperer. Bring it on!

Here are some other memorable moments of my 2013/14 triathlon season. Happy training awesome people and thanks for reading my blog!

Bel
aka The Fonginator