1st July 2009

This is the date that I can officially stop running all the time and start back on my race walking build up for the World Masters in October. I have just looked up on the World site and see that there are 4 in total in my age group. Now its a race, now I have a goal and incentive to really put 100% to my training and my coach!!

I am so excited to finally get on with it. I have really enjoyed my running ... more mentally than anything. It is nice to know you can make you body move at a time under 60 Min's for 10km. If I can do it running, I can now do it race walking!!!!

I am fitter and lighter on my feet. In fact I think I am in the best shape I have been in my life. Watch out world.......here I come!!!!

Birthday Gifts

June 12th was mine and my husbands birthday. Yes we share a birthday!! being Gemini's they say we spend our lives searching for our other halfs. So I guess you can get much better than that. Except one of us is two years older than the other.

I got so spoilt. I had my wonderfull ring that Shane had brought me in Phuket, I also got an insence burner, a platter and lollie jar from my kids. I got a gift basket full of moisterisers etc from my mother in law and with the gift my mum gave me I brought the following. An egyptian 3D puzzle ball. It is awesome and I am really rapt with it.

Shane got a wood carving I brought him in Phuket, a 40th mug, a warm vest, lunch, a box of chocolates and an ice mug.

Then to top of the weekend we went and run a 8 km Cross Country at Happy Valley as part of the club competition. Nearly broke us both.

I am still on a NO race walk - I am running at present to build on my cardio fittness and also to try and build the other muscles in my legs that were lagging a little. I am loving the jogging/running, there is no pressure and you can push along quite happily. But with only 2 weeks left I best get out there and make the most of it. It will be back to some serious training for the World Masters - there are 4 in my age group so there will be a race. yay

Sportsperson of the Year 2009

Well, its finally Friday night.....The night of the Sportsperson of the Year awards. I have to admit to feeling nervous. Up until now I had not even given thought that I could possibly win this, but with all my Friends showing so much confidence in my achievements that I did sit and think...well maybe I could. I knew I would really like to win it, but I was not really going to say that out loud.

When we arrived, everyone was mingling in the foyer and drinking bubbly...so not to feel out of place...bubbly was drunk!!

Soon after our arrival all the finalists were asked to move into the hall and check where their tables were, then we were taken back stage where we stayed until they announced our names and what categories we were in. I didn't know until that moment that we were all to be awarded with a special plaque for making it as a finalist. So I was really chuffed....but also realised that I had our camera in my handbag and had no way of getting it to Shane.

So we all lined up out the back in our wee groups and got to chat for about half an hour while we waited for it all to start. It was nice to mix with the others and get to meet the other two finalists in the Masters Category. To make my night, I was the last one out of our group. The first two being guys and having a name of Nyle.......the compare called me a HE......until I came on stage and then he did a double take and apologised. The funny thing was that it was Butch Bradly and I worked with him for a year at the Radio station..but in his defense he didn't know me as Nyle back then.

So I made my way to our table and joined Shane. Our meal was lovely and I slowly helped to polish off the last of the red and white wine. When they announced the masters section it was won by the Triathlete who had competed at the worlds. So it was well deserved. The overall Sports Person of the Year...was won by the Mako's player that was named an All Black. So it was well won all round.

We had a fabulous night, the only down fall of it all was that the mixing of some red, white and bubbly brought on my migraine and I have been down for the last 3 days hiding in a dark room unable to train or function.

But I am determined to do well at the World Masters and in all my next events and hope to have another shot at it next year.

Nelson Sportsperson of the Year

About a month ago Athletics Nelson nominated myself and my coach for the Masters section of the Nelson/Tasman Sportsperson of the Year.

Not long after nominations closed my husband and I went over seas for a much needed holiday. We were gone for two weeks and I had no idea of when we would hear about the awards.

I contacted my coach to see if he had heard anything, but he hadnt.

Well today I got a letter in the mail from Sports Tasman to say I have been selected as a finalist in the Masters Catagory. I am thrilled. I truely didnt expect to be selected, it was an honour to have been nominated by the club.

I have not heard from my coach yet, so I am unsure if he has been selected too. But I am fairly confident that he will have been.

Nelson Shoe Clinic Half Marathon 2009

(Photo as in Nelson Mail...Nyle in full flight just at the finish line - pushing hard and watching the clock - setting a new course record of 1:04:43)

Under the advice of my coach, it was decided that I would enter the 10.55km walk (quater marathon). With the damage I had been doing to my legs with the wrong shoes - I had taken a break from race walking to let my legs heal.

I woke up today to race a 3deg frost...brrrr.....and I was very thankfull that I was not doing the half marathon as they had an 8.30am start. We all started at 9.15am and even though it was chilly it was a lot warmer for us. For the first time in ages I woke up with no pain in my calfs and shins and was really feeling great.

With my training partner doing the half, (which she won) I was not sure of the competition I would have today. I new Gillian, Ros and Wendy were all racing the quater but I new Wendy would be my closest and toughest to stay with, in fact I had thought she would bet me as she is one of nelson's fastest walkers-she just hasnt competed since I started.

With a lot of pushing and shoving at the start, from the runners....(I did sneek up to start with the lead runners) I settled into a steady pace. Wendy also had snuck up to the front but on the other side and was ahead of me. I decided that the best move would be to pass her now and try to stay in front. Shane had also entered the quater but was running and he ran past giving me a wave.

With not having done any walking I was not sure of how my pace would be or if I could hold a pace for any length of time. I went through the 3km mark at 17min 30 (my track 3km time..gosh it was a bit quick) the I hit the 5km mark at 29min 15 and I was feeling great. Normally I dont look behind me in a race. I feel it uses too much energy and if you are pushing as hard as you can then it really doesnt matter if someone is coming up on you. Well I broke my own rule and at the 7km mark I looked behind me as I rounded a bend and was shocked to see Wendy only 50mtrs behind me. I checked my pace and thought...I can go faster and so took off. (Wendy jokes that she saw me look and then I was gone....)

I had to put in a finishing time when I entered this race so I guessed 1.04...which really was much faster than I had inteneded to do...but amazingly I did just that. I finished in 1:04:43 so I was really thrilled. Shane finished in 58:50 which is just fantastic. He is doing so well.

We had been at a coaching weekend too were shane and I both passed our C grade Race Walking judging course.

Here am I with my trophy.

Frank Aplin One Hour Track Race 2009

This is an event that I really enjoy. It is different from any other race that I enter. You don't compete against the other walkers but against the clock and yourself. You have one hour to walk as far as you can on the track (400m laps)

You enter in as per your age group. Each age group is graded and given distances to achieve to reach medals. In my age group it was 9.1 km for bronze, 9.9 for Silver and 10.7. Last year was my first time at this event and first time in front of judges. I didn't medal last year stopping 150mtrs short. So I went back this year knowing I would achieve a medal...I was just never sure which one.

With all my troubles I have had with my legs and my shoes, I was not as confident about my distance. I was so looking forward to this and knew I could do really well - if I was in good form. Do to shin and calf pain I had not been able to train as much as I would have liked and I knew it was also frustrating my coach, who had given me a program to follow and I had been pretty much unable to do any of it.

We travelled down on Saturday afternoon and spent the last part of the day shopping at the Riccerton Mall. Heading back to the motel and settling in for the night. Awaking to an overcast day was a relief. It wasn't raining but it was not cold either.

As per usual in my nervousness we arrived about 30mins before anyone else did, so I had the track to my self and so made use of it for some calm time.
It didn't take long for the other 16 walkers to turn up....for many of us its a great catch up time and alot of friendly banter was being made and a fun atmosphere is created.

Shane was to be my and Stephens lap scorer and he settled in with his chair and spot on the side line.

With out much adieu the race was started and away we all went. The front group broke away quickly and made a size able gap by the first 3 laps. I had basically decided to find a pace and stick with it. I had programed my GPS with the silver lap times and did stay on track for the first 8 laps but with two cards from judges and then two marks on the DQ board....I slowed dramatically and really struggled mentally for a good 7 laps. But a few pep talks from Stephen as he lapped me helped me along and I picked it back up towards the end. When the horn blew we all stopped dead and I nearly fell flat on my nose.

The markers came round and measured where we had stopped and I new then I had won the bronze....BUT....I still had a very anxious wait for all the judging slips to come in as one more mark would see me DQ'd and I so didn't want that.

The best surprise of the day was Stephen winning the Trophy for walking the furthest and also him winning the judges pick on best style, plus he also won a bronze for the distance walked in his age group - 10.7km

On the way home Shane suggested we swing past Hamner Springs and soak in the hot pools for a couple of hours.........even though it was really crowded...I really enjoyed it and my muscles did too.

Photo is of me and Stephen(My Coach) and our winnings.

NZ Nationals - 20km Road Walk

Sunday Morning came around too fast. After spending a wonderful day strolling the streets of Wellington on Saturday with crystal clear blue skys. It was sad to wake up to a light breeze at 6am. My plan today was to keep the younger competitor behind me as I was overly confident that age and experience would see me through and that she in her youth wouldnt have the stamina to carry her through...........You know...there are many times I should just keep those thoughts to myself!!! lol

The course was an interesting one. Walking around the top most part of the westpac stadium (under cover) then out across the walk way that goes down to the trains. A 2km lap all on concrete. Which I thought .. YES!! this will be a breeze, nice and flat and fast. Man was I way wrong.

We all line up for the start. I had programmed my GPS watch to beep at time splits not distance and was all geared up for my 20km pace. The gun goes off and away we went. I was most pleased to have the younger one behind me. But as we came back in doors after going out and around for our first lap, I realised we were going way too fast. Infact my watch didnt beep til 40 mt past the start/finish line!! as we came round again the young one started chatting to me and I also noticed she was getting warnings for bent knees. Me being me, I offered her some advise and said "keep your toes up" but she didnt listen. At the 5km mark I knew there was no way I could keep this pace up for another 15km and said to her...if you want to do the 3k track pace go for it!! to which she replied - "I intend to and will catch my mate" and away she went. My stratigy for doing that was this......she was not going to slow down so by going faster she was getting more warnigns and risked being DQ'd.

She put a large gap between us and by the 9km mark my body was screaming. My hips hurt, my knee was swelling and it felt like I had broken toes. With the knowledge that the young one had the bronze, I was going to pull out at the 10km mark. The wind was picking up making walking very hard and I was struggling to keep my form. As I came under cover for the 10km lap, I looked at the DQ board and saw that she had been pulled off the track - DQ'd. But that I had 2 marks on the board too. So to win the bronze I had to keep going for another 10km and not get 1 more mark on the board. After a stern talking to my self, I continued on and battled the wind, the judges, my body and my mind. The last lap took forever to get round, with every inch of my body complaining. I crossed the finish in 2 hours 10mins ( not the 2 hours and 3 mins we had planned) but I had finished and had no more marks giving me the Bronze Medal. Both of the top women walkers didnt post great times and everyone was saying how hard the surface was to walk on...so it wasnt just me.

It was then a huge panic to get back to the motel, then to the track for medal presentaion. Which ran late and we had to hurry it up as we had booked a taxi to the airport at 1.15pm as both of us had planes to catch at 2pm. We made it to the airport with 2 mins to spare.

I had the most amazing time away. I was thrilled that the walking groups all knew who I was and had been following my progress too. They are a great bunch of competitors all offer advise freely and all so friendly and helpfull.

Here is the 20km Open Women recieving their medals. Rachel, Michelle and Me.

NZ Nationals - 3000m Track Walk

26 March 2009 - Myself and my coach travelled across to Wellington along with many other Nelson Athletes to compete at the NZ Nationals. We all represented Tasman Centre. For our track walk we had to first qualify to be able to enter and as luck would have it both my self and stephen did at the NZ Masters.

Wellington put on a gloreous day - by Wellington standards. Sunny but windy!! I was very nervious entering this as it is my first time competing in the Open class. So I was up against women half my age and size.

The gun goes off and all my plans go out the window as I get caught up with the first bunch. Sadly for me the first bunch seem to just steam away from me as if I was walking backwards but I was the leader of the next bunch of ladies. After 3 laps I settled into a steady pace with 3 competitors hard on my heels. Eventually the group made a break past me but did so in the group of three. I couldnt follow as they stayed two wide so I couldnt get past with out going 3 lanes wide. They were also working together and helping the middle girl (who I found out later was in the Open Women and not Under 19's) As I rounded the last lap (7.5 in total) I decided to give chase to the girl who had passed me as her group had carried on and left her behind. She was 40mt ahead of me and I picked up pace 100mt from the finish. I almost caught her as we went across the finish line. She beat me by 1 sec!! So I came 5th in the Open Women.

I had expected to do 17min and 20 secs but was most surprized to see I had finished 17min flat. That is 27 secs better than my best time. So I am thrilled with that.

My coach was just thrilled and was busy calculating my new training pace for the next couple of months.

Belgrove 18km Race

Records tumble during Belgrove event
The Nelson Mail Last updated 13:49 23/03/2009 Share Print Text Size Relevant offersThe Tasman Masters fifth Belgrove 18km road run on Sunday not only had a record number of entrants but also resulted in three race records being broken.

In winning the men's race in 1hr 4min 51sec, Simon Mardon broke his own record set two years ago by 74 seconds.

He had a good tussle with Brian Kemp before eventually managing to gradually pull away over the last 7km to win by 40 seconds. Kemp, who is currently enjoying his best form ever, also went under the previous best time.

Brent Stebbings had a good run to take third place overall in 1hr 8min 35sec.

Fourth and fifth placings were taken by two M40 runners, Neil Cotton (1hr 10min 13sec) and Steve Flaus (1hr 10min 18sec), who are both in serious training for the Rotorua marathon in six weeks time.

Sixth overall and the first M50 runner was Murray Hart in 1hr 10min 53sec, who also won the Tasman Masters trophy for the highest age graded percentage with 79.51 percent.

The second record was broken by Paula Canning in winning the women's race and finishing 11th overall. Her time of 1hr 13min 32sec broke her own record set in 2006 by 3min 39sec.

Canning's record continues her good form as evidenced by her win last month in the Buller marathon. Second place went to the improving Nicola Mercer in 1hr 22min 24sec.

The third woman was Collette Read in 1hr 24min 21sec who achieved an impressive improvement of 10min 47sec on last year's time.

In the 18km walk, Nyle Sunderland broke the women's record set by Wendy Healey in 2005 by 3min 36sec in recording a time of 1hr 55min 7sec. Her time was also an impressive improvement of 7min 56sec over her time last year.

Stephen Farquhar (1hr 44min 13sec) repeated his performance of last year in taking line honours in the 18km walk. Bevan Cook claimed third place, four seconds over the two hour mark.

Craig and Maren Harford won the 18km relay run in 1hr 26min 54sec to head off Peter Hague and Shane Sunderland in 1hr 33min 55sec.

Day 2, NZ Masters in Tauranga 2009

Photo of our team - Gary Holtz, Me, Peter Hauge, Stephen Farquhar & Yvonne Shaw

2.30am Sunday morning I awake with cold sweats and vomiting…..”oh Joy” I think to my self. I lay awake until its time to get up trying hard not to be sick again. After talking with coach it is decided that I try and start the race and just get around the judges to finish. Today is the 10km and one that I had hoped to do my best in. We all get up and put on our damp racing gear from Friday….ughh…..and head for the 2km walkway. Yvonne takes one look at me and teases me that even when I tell her I am sick she can still never beat me and that I will prob do a record time…….. I weakly laugh and start to dread the start.

8am we are lined up ready to go, gun goes off and away they all go. Stephen to the front, Pete, Yvonne, Gary and then little ol me. There were 6 judges scattered around the track today, so you really have to be watchful and concentrate all the time. By the 2nd lap round I saw Yvonne pass pete and as I too got close enough I also passed Pete….he was looking greener than me!!! Both of us must have eaten something that didn’t agree with our tummy’s. I was not enjoying this race on little bit. I was mentally struggling with the fact that Yvonne was getting further and further away from me and the fact that I was going to be ill at any moment was not helping either.

I managed to make it to the 5km mark before I had to succumb to the queasiness in my tummy and took the opportunity to be ill on the grassy corner out of everyone’s view. Pete by this stage had got his second wind and was away again. With Yvonne in his sights he set out after her and did manage to catch her in the final few laps but sadly for Pete on the last lap as he went over the speed bump a judge was watching and it was decided he had a bent knee and he was disqualified. Which was such a shame as he had picked up and was making good time.

Yvonne cleared the 10km with no marks on the DQ board and won her age group with a time of 1 hour 2 mins. I crossed the line with 1 mark on the DQ board (you can have 3 then you are disqualified) I won my age group with a time of 1 hour 4 mins. Glad to have finished I crawled off to the side and lay on the cold grass and proceed to feel like I was going to die!!! It was the worst I have ever felt during a race.



Photo is of me slowly coming back to life and speaking with Stephen (my coach)

After the race we zipped back to the motel, through all the gear into the rental and it was announced that I was driving back home while the guys were going to sit in the back and enjoy all the wineries on the way home……………..all 3 of them. Needless to say that by the time we pulled up at the airport, the guys were in a “great” mood and poured them selves out of the car and into the airport. Luck it was a gentle flight back home.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip away with most of us winning two gold medals and being NZ champs in our age groups. Stephen and I have qualified and been invited to enter the NZ Open Track & Field at the end of March…so what this space.

Day 1, NZ Masters Champs in Tauranga

Day 1, NZ Masters Champs in Tauranga

Friday 6th March 2009 brought about the start of the NZ Masters Champs. We had decided to fly up to Auckland and then drive to Tauranga…..me thinking it’s only an hour drive – turned out to be more like 3!! The flight up was bumpy and I got my ears talked off by a wee 6 year old that sat beside me. After a 2 km walk to find the Juicy Rental cars – we bundled into the wee car and were off…………in the wrong direction and almost ended up in Auckland city!! Being with two men…..it was up to me to get directions and head us in the reverse direction and on our way.

We arrive in Tauranga 3 hours later and it is pouring with rain. The track is just a wash with water and did not look that inviting for walking…back stroke or freestyle more like. The only positive thing was that it was very muggy and humid with no wind. After a wee huddle amongst our wee team it was decided that personnel bests were not going to be broken in these conditions and that to just get the race over and done with was good enough. We braved the rain and proceeded to warm up and get ready for our first race of the weekend – 3000m track walk.

At the gun, Stephen leapt out to a front spot, closely followed by Pete. I set off after them and quickly passed the two walkers between us. I quickly set into a comfortable pace and was surprised to hear as I went past the time keeper that I had done a 2.11 first lap and that I was feeling great. This continued through the next 5 laps and as I came round on the last lap and heard my time I knew that if I pushed now it would be a personal best……and it was.

I improved my 3000m track time by 9 secs…………17:26 was my official time. Nelson also bagged 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th with 3 of us getting personal bests and 4 getting GOLD medals to boot. Stephen (our coach) was just thrilled.

Saturday was our day off, so we travelled back up the road to Wahi to met up with Cath. While exploring Wahi we discovered that up behind the old pump house was a huge huge hole!!!! Infact, it’s the largest open cast gold mine in the Southern Hemisphere. Most impressive. We all drove back to the motel and preceded to park up for the night, it was raining again so telly was put on so the guys could watch rugby. We were all watching the lightening out side when a close clap of thunder struck…….blew the power for the whole of Tauranga and Rotorua for 2 hours. I have never heard a clap of thunder like that before.

2009 World Masters Games

Well I cant beleive I am about to post this.

The World Masters Games are being held in Sydney this year, in October. It has been something of a small dream of mine that I should enter. I told a few people I would love to do it but didnt really think that it would be a posiblity.

After my success at The Buller Half Marathon, I started to look towards the end of the year with a great longing. Then some thing happened that made me change my priorities. What happened? A very sad event happened.....while competeing at the Buller as I neared the end an ambulance went out with lights and sirens blazing. Everyone was talking about this at the prize giving and then a couple friends of my training partner came over and told us of seeing a male walker colapase and they stopped running to asist and ended up giving CPR until the ambulance arrived. Lucky they were nurses. Well after that, no one knew who it was or any other details until I looked up on the Stuff Sight and went to the Westport paper and learnt of the persons name. It was a walker we all new, he was only 60 and his wife had walked that day too and had won her age group in the rec walk. They both come over to our events and compete and are well liked and respected. Sadly, he died on Weds afternoon after spending 4 days in intensive care.

This made me think that time is really too short and that why put off tomorrow what you can do today!! so I chatted to my hubby and he said go for it.

So I am officiall announcing that I have booked and paid for my flights and entry....


I am going to the 2009 World Masters Games in October!!!!

The Buller Half Marathon 2009

This is an event I have been waiting all year to enter again. Last year I was second women home in the Race Walking section and I was so determined to go back and win it and do a faster time.

This year was to be more of a challenge to me than I had first thought of.

1) - my training partner and very good friend was entering as a RaceWalker
2) - I had torn my calf and it has not healed
3) - I had not long recovered from 100 day cough

We had all challenged my husband, Shane, at xmas time to enter and so he had been jogging along with Yvonne and me on our long Sunday treks. Week 1 a 12km, week 2 a 16km and week 3 an 18km and then after that we shortened it back again. But 2 weeks out both Yvonne and I were injured. We had both pulled the same leg calf muscle. Both of us were hedging bets on how the race would go and as the day drew nearer the scarier it got. I just couldnt see myself being aggressive and competitive against her. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find my competitive edge at all.

This year the race was run on Valentines day....which is also our 6th Wedding anniversary.....a nice way to celebrate it I thought.

We drove down to Westport on Friday, stopping at the swing bridge and going over (me terrified of heights....I nearly had kittens..TWICE!!) but I lived and made it back.


We pull into Westport and find our accommodation. A lovely man had opened up his home and billeted us for the night.

5am Saturday, we awake to eat banana's and get ready only to find its RAINING!!!!! well that's better than 30 deg heat....a little....We head to the buses and get taken to the start line. Promptly dropped off at 7.30am and left as offerings to the sandflys (that were the size of house flys!!) Race start was 8.30am and the gun goes off and away went the runners. I waved and blew kisses to Shane as he jogged past to start his first ever Half Marathon. Then in a huge mix up, instead of waiting 5 mins the guy yelled out to go as walkers were getting mixed up with the runners. So off we shot. Yvonne and I flew off to a shocking pace...way too fast but neither would let up. We did out first km in 6mins 11 (and thats up hill too) and that pace continued for the first 7km. I clicked on my music at 7km and set off in the hope that I could pull away and put a small amount of space between us. I slowly pulled away...metre by metre until at the 10km mark there was a 30 mtre gap. By the 10km mark my leg was hurting terribly, I had felt it tear and the pain was awful, but the stubborn me kept pushing. In this whole time unbeknown to Shane...he was only 100m a head of me and I had been watching him the whole time. I had hoped to catch up to him just at the finish but he found a surge of energy towards the end and I lost sight of him. But the time I crossed the bridge 2km out from the township, I looked behind and thought I saw Yvonne hot on my heels (about 30 mtres behind me) and was so paniced as I was completely done and dont think I could have fought her off.

Turning at the ANZ bank has never felt soooo good. Racing towards the park and finish I was thrilled to know 100% I had won the race walk section and given a personal best time. As soon as I crossed the line it was a quick dash to the first aid station and ice on my leg for half an hour. I was there for Yvonne cheering her on and jumping for joy seeing her beat her last years time and finish too.

We stayed on for prize giving and I won .. a trophy, a pair of shoes, a rimu jewellery box and a huge bottle of bubbly. The cute wee tiger is my Valentines pressy...hehehe...still romance there.

Shoe Clinic 10km 2009

As a New Years Eve dare....I dared shane to enter the Shoe Clinic 10km race held in Nelson around monaco. He had been walking the 5km series with me and had just started to jog the odd few. So he took up the challenge and started training with me. Everything was going to plan until I pulled my calf muscle during a hard training session on the track. But this didnt stop me entering too.

The day dawned and it was going to be a super hot one. The race started at 4pm and the heat was horrid. At the start we were all told there would be no drink stations either......most of us dont carry water so it was a shock to us but not much could be done about it.

The race was more a training run for me as there was no competition in this one for me so I set into an easy pace but by the 5km mark was starting to suffer terribly from lack of water. At this stage shane caught up to me and jogged along beside me for some time but about 1km out I told him to head off and to his surprize he did. He bet me by 2 mins flat. So the challenge was laid by the walking team that shane should enter The Buller Half Marathon.....to which shane nearly fell off his chair and spilt his beer!!! "what..in 6 weeks you think I can jog 21.1km....."

and so the training began.......

RUNNERS
Shane Sunderland 63.17

WALKERS

Nyle Sunderland 65.17

Athletic Nelson Prize Giving

Last night was the end of year prize giving for the Athletic Nelson Club. They had quite a turn out and it really impressed me how many children there are in the junior grades and just how supportive all the parents were.

It was such a buzz watching these young ones come up and carry off trophies to proudly display at home for a year and to hear how well they have all done. The Tasman Centre has 37 NZ titles spread amongst all the runners. Thats a huge acheivement for the club.

Our walking team went along as we knew that Steve and I had won the Tasman Centre Road Champs...giving us both a trophy. What I didnt know was that I was awarded "The Most Improved Female Athlete of The Year" This has never been won by a walker before nor has a walker been nominated. I was just totally speechless.

So while I nurse a chest infection I sit here proudly looking at my trophy feeling very very chuffed with myself............and to think 10 years ago I thought Race Walking was the most ridiculas sport ever thought of....... WHO KNEW.

Kirsties Wedding Day

Kirsty and Keria - both are looking so stunning.



Here is Shane and I at the party.

Today was my cousin Kirstie's wedding day. Unfortunately for me, I came down with one of my "Migraine's" blasted things and so had spent all Friday night taking as many pain killers as I could with out knocking me over. After little sleep, we got up nice and early to head over but the car was full of dog hair and so due to us picking up my Grandma, we thought we should clean it out.....then out came the car wash....well needless to say we were late heading away...But the car looked beautiful!!!!!! (remember this)

Anyhow....we got to Blenheim and I shot away to see my best mate Rach and her kiddies. I got ready at her place and promptly had two wee twin girls lined up getting full makeup applied also....they are so adorable and even Sam got in on the act with the hair spray.

With the weather setting in we were not sure if it was still to be a beach wedding or a church wedding. Finally the call came through...it was to be the beach. I zipped away and picked up my Grandma and then Shane and away we zipped to Rarangi. The wind was picking up and was fast becoming a southerly (for us Rarangians.....this means a howling gale!!!)

With my had firmly plastered on my head, we made the climb over to Monkey Bay. They had a wonderful spot...just infront of the rock face where it dips in to make a small cave. Two arch's made from drift wood had been set up with lovely purple flowers and flax. A perfect setting. Photo to come.

Kirsty looked a magical sight as she walked down the track to the bay, the wind playing with her flowing dress. Her wee daughter Keira was so beautiful. A precious wee dot that walked down hand in hand with her Auntie.

After a beautiful service they were pronounced man and wife, poppers were popped and bubbles were blown. We all made our way down to the community centre for the first round - much home brew was up for grabs...the Black Sambuca being one of the most popular. I could only watch as my head was just pounding. My auntie was awesome and gave me some pain killers and good advice.

The biggest bummer of the whole night................I crashed Shane's car on the way out of the party. I backed the car out from the car park but didn't allow enough room when I turned to drive out and I hit the passager side skirt on a large rock....I took the paint off the whole side skirt and smashed it underneath......Needless to say I am not the most popular at the moment....I am on punishment - 2 weeks of foot rubs and back rubs with no complaint and must refill all drinks with out question. :0) I dont mind that sort of punishment.

I also had a race the next day. So we went home and I took alot more painkillers and got a good nights sleep. Up at 6am and away to the start I went.

Todays race was a 10 miler from Nelson to Richmond. I had already decided not to push myself too much and my training partner had asked if I would like to walk together..which we did. Still beating her time from last year. We walked 16.1km in 1 hour 47mins .. not bad for a couple of chicks that were not feeling so flash!!! But I have spent the rest of the day laid up. My head ache did ease up while I was walking but came back with avengence later that day.

My Grand Daughter, Katie-May

Katie-May 11 months old. We adore her staying with us. Shane is loving being called Popz.




Last night I had the pleasure of having my grand daughter come and stay the night with me. I just adore her and love every minute of being around her. But I must admit to it being a slight culture shock as its been 18years since I have had a wee one crawling around.



To go in to her room in the morning and have her squeal with excitement is just the best. Then we get to destroy the lounge with toys. They go from one end to the other and she races between then with me chasing her. Here is a photo of her going hard and playing the pot and above of her chomping on her fav toy.

Nelson Mail

Gold-medal effort more than a walk in the park
ATHLETICS
By WAYNE MARTIN - Nelson | Wednesday, 06 August 2008

COLIN SMITH/Nelson Mail
DELIGHTED: Nelson race walker Nyle Sunderland displays the medals she won at the 2008 Oceania Masters Games in Townsville.

It's taken Nelson's Nyle Sunderland only 18 months to get in step with her new sporting career path.
That's how long she's been involved in competitive race walking but despite the relatively short time frame, last week she walked away from the Oceania Masters Games in Townsville with three gold medals.
Sunderland, 41, won gold in the women's 40-44 10km road walk and 5000m and 3000m track events, recording personal best times in both her track successes. She won the 5000m title in 29min 34sec and the 3000m in 17min 31sec, having earlier recorded 62min 36sec for the 10km event.
She was delighted with her personal best performances in the balmy 26degC temperatures.
"That was the highlight of the whole thing," she said. "You're always aiming to beat the clock and first time on the track to come away with speeds that I haven't done before was just great."
However, the 10km proved much tougher than expected.
"The 10km walk was probably the biggest disappointment, really, because that was the one I was expecting to do the best at.
"The track that we did it on was in a public garden and it was a curved walkway. So there weren't any straights, it was all snake bends with rises and dips. It had potholes in it that they'd filled with sand just before we started competing. There were huge potholes with tree roots coming out. Everyone was complaining and no one wanted to walk on it."
The tricky surface ultimately took its toll.
"Unfortunately, I injured my leg halfway through by standing in one of the sink holes. My heel went into the sand and over-extended so I pulled my knee but still managed to finish.
"The first 5km, I did 30 minutes, which was almost my time for the track so I was on track to do a really good time - then I hurt my knee."
While the injury didn't affect her track events, the judging was stringent, with six judges situated around the 400m track. However, Sunderland's sound technique meant she completed all her events without mishap.
Formerly a competitive triathlete, Sunderland switched to walking less than two years ago.
"At one triathlon I saw a race walker and thought, `I want to do that, they can go fast'."
She credited technical advice from experienced Nelson team-mate Sharon McDonald and coach Stephen Farquhar, and the support of her husband, Shane, for her successful transition - and plenty of hard work, involving training six days a week for seven weeks prior to Townsville. It left her in the best possible physical condition.
"I was very confident. I'm fitter now than I've ever been in my entire life and I've just turned 41 so who knew?"
Besides her three gold medals, Sunderland ended the competition on an unusual note when she was invited to compete in the 4x100m sprint relay, ultimately helping her team to the silver medal. She also ran the final 200m leg in the team medley, resulting in a bronze medal.
It was a refreshing release from all the previously intense scrutiny.
"As a walker and having all that constraint, to be able to stretch out and run like the wind was awesome."
She's competing in the 10km Swann Trophy walking race up the Maitai Valley on Saturday but her focus is already shifting to the national championships in March and the World Masters Games in Sydney in October 2009.
And after Townsville, she feels like the best is yet to come.
"Watch this space," she quipped.

Off To Townsville.

Off to Aussie on Friday at 6am…..Yawn…..its going to be one long day.

We land in Brisbane at 8am and don’t fly out to Townsville until 6pm later that day. We are hoping we can stash our luggage in a locker somewhere and head off to the huge shopping complex up the road.

I thought that my first posting should be the times that I am racing. Just so you know to send me lots of encouragement to help me out … :0)

First race is Tuesday at 7.30am – 10km road race through Anderson Park
Second race is Thursday at 4pm – 5000m track walk
Third race is Saturday at 10.30am – 3000m track walk

Hope to update here soon

Hugs to all.

Harry Kerr 50km Track Relay

As said below in our press release....lol....We went to Auckland and raced in the NZ National Track Relay which was also to commemorate the first ever Olympic medal won by a NZer ... which happened to be a bronze won by Harry Kerr... A Race Walker.

We were picked to win bronze .. but have to admit to having some doubts once we got there and you saw how fast these people were on the track. But we pulled our selves together and proved to them and ourselves that we are a force to be reckoned with by winning 3rd.

So here are our medals - A NZ bronze medal and the replica Olympic medal. I am just soooo proud of what we achieved.