Steeling myself for the hills
Lately I’ve been doing some bike training, in preparation for a mountain race at Motatapu, near Queenstown, in early March. It hasn’t been possible (or smart) to go running with a broken shoulder, so I’ve switched to spin-bike training.
Of course, by spin training with a sling, I do get a few sideways looks from other people, but it all works well and is quite safe. There’s only a few weeks to go until I tackle a very steep 15k mountain race, so I do need to be fit…
I reckon it’ll turn out ok. I should be able to sneak in a couple of actual hill runs before race weekend, and I had a pretty good base of fitness before my surgery in December. That’s enough to do the event justice, and most importantly enjoy being free again in a spectacular running environment.
I’ll be proudly representing Steel Pilates at the event. I’m honoured to be a Patron for the Pink & Steel Pilates Trust, which does truly great work across NZ and Australia, by training physiotherapists to provide special post-treatment rehabilitation for cancer patients and survivors. The Steel & Pink Pilates programmes help people who’ve had (often extreme) surgery and radiation treatment, by carefully strengthening their way back into exercise, to improve their overall health.
It’s a great cause, a thrilling event and a spectacular setting – Looking forward to it!
p.s. Special thanks to Sarah, Sarah and Sarah at Power of S fitness studio at my local Waitangi Park – for the use of their spin bikes in the mornings, and for their enthusiastic support!
Photo credit: Hook plate image is from Tom Whitwell.