The Final Hurdle

A task on one of my many lists has been to write a post for this blog before the big day looms. That was at the beginning of last week, and since then it has transpired to many many more until now, a small window of opportunity as I sit on a plane heading to Gore for the Southern Field Days with work.

The nerves have finally caught up with me as I look ahead to Friday with both excitement and fear. There’s a slightly uneasy feeling in the bottom of my stomach, and no that isn’t from air turbulence on the plane either! Four sleeps; wholey cr*p, it seems a lifetime ago since I was standing on the beach in Sumner and thought to myself ‘that will be me next year.’

Over the last 12 months, I’ve learnt a lot. There is the obvious that comes with competing in multisport events like the Coast to Coast, such as mastering the art of kayaking (very much still working on this!) and training my body to last the distance over the three disciplines. But one thing I never considered was how much of this is a mental game. I take my hat off to athletes who compete at the top of the world stage and even more so to those who manage to stay there year in and year out. I’ve had one year at a complete amateur level, and I can’t wait for that week in the Bay of Islands once this is over! The pressure these guys feel must be so intense. It’s not even worth thinking about how they must feel when things don’t quite go to plan and with the added stress of media on top of that too. Definitely no press for this girl, but even the expectation I have for myself wanting to perform well for my family and friends have been interesting to deal with.

I attended a seminar last week run by Richard Greer from Complete Performance on the topic of mentally preparing yourself for events like Coast. I’m pleased to say I found myself nodding more often than not on how to best prepare both physically and mentally for the race and came away feeling like I was in a good place. When someone asks me how the race went I want my answer to be simple; awesome. I have amazing people supporting me along the way while venturing through some stunning country NZ has to offer.

Bring on that can of Speight’s and the sand of Sumner beach and here’s to the race going according to plan! Till next time…