Rebecca Preston's Blog

Friday afternoon this week, called for an optional recovery session.  All day I had been feeling cranky- after Tiger being catnapped, I awoke to the newborn kittens being MIA.  Not a happy camper today.  Anyway, I knew I needed to get out and do something to blow off some steam, and rather than head out for a jog, I decided to do the stairs at the temple down the road.  I decided first time up will be an exploratory mission- take some pics and enjoy the experience.  Next time, the stop watch will be on.

Ummm, this doesn’t look so bad….

Ooops, spoke too soon, the incline kicked up straight away.

I walked straight past these monkeys and didn’t realise it until I had already past them.  Lucky!  I doubt I would of had the courage to walk past them.

It’s getting steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Not only steep, but very narrow.  Had to place my foot sideways on this section.

Over half-way!

The end is in sight, yippee!

Refreshments at the top.

Now for the trip down, which I was kind of dreading.  Safety first!!!

Yep, it’s steep, hang on!

Once I was down safe and sound, my legs had that weird sort of ’shakey’ feeling. 

Here’s a  monk heading up, barefoot.  I wonder if he does it everyday?  This sounds like a CHALLENGE.

One of the locals, hanging around.

How lucky are we to have this right at our doorstep?

If you have read Donna’s blog, you’d be updated on the recent adoption of a cute little orphan kitten, “Tiger”.

He is such a little angel.  Compared to my naughty little Zena at home, Tiger, is so well behaved. 

There are also two other cats that ‘live’ here at Tawantai hotel.  And it was only on the weekend that we noticed that one of the cats seemed pregnant.  Donna and I call this cat Ginger, even though it probably has a Thai name already.  So we were all wondering if Ginger was pregnant, and if so, when is she due??? 

Monday rolled around, and Ginger was different.  It is hard to explain, but she seemed sort of restless, and she was constantly miaowing.  We all assumed that she was going into labour.  Tuesday came, no kittens :(  But she lost her belly?  A miscarriage?  Perhaps we were imagining that her belly had disappeared, because there weren’t any kittens around?  Anyhow, Donna and I had our hands full with little Tiger.  Plus other important things, like training to keep us occupied.

Today (Wedensday), Ginger still seemed restless and continued to miaow.  Definitely no kittens, and no belly. 

We headed out for our afternoon ride, and left Tiger roaming around the foyer of the hotel, hoping he would be safe.  Donna and I were devastated to find that he was missing when we got back.  I went searching for him after dinner, then again before I planned to go to bed.  It was then I saw Ginger, miaowing yet again outside the bike room.  Hmmm, maybe, just maybe Tiger is in there. 

So I opened the door, and Ginger ran straight in and out of sight.  I finally caught sight of her, climbing inside my bike case, which was stored behind a couch.  Me, being lazy, hadn’t zipped it up.  I thought to myself, “why is she going in my bike case?”  Then it hit me-   KITTENS!!!!  KITTENS IN MY BIKE CASE!!!!!  No wonder Ginger was so restless to get inside the bike room. 

So the mystery is solved.  Ginger had her kittens most probably on Monday.  The funny thing is, that bike room is frequented so much by us all, coming and going with our bikes, tuning our bikes, and today, people packing their bikes.  I only hope that Ginger wasn’t separated from her babies too long, because the door to the room is usually kept shut.

Tomorrow we hope to find Tiger. 

As for my bike bag- I think I will need to invest in a cardboard box for my trip home…..

On Saturday, I let down Black Panther.  At 150km into the bike leg at Ironman Langkawi, I was unable to continue.  I was vomiting and experiencing dizzy spells on the bike since 100km, and despite Black Panther’s best efforts, I let her down :(.  I won’t lie, I am very disappointed in myself and my body.  However, I am trying to take the positives away from the situation, and think of it as a quality training session.  After a quick discussion with the boss, my problem was quite simple-  I’m unfit.  I’m not a spring chicken anymore, and can’t go into an ironman race with 3 weeks of training under my belt, and expect to be still upright after 10 or so hours.  Especially at Ironman Malaysia.  Had I been smart, I would of rolled around the course steady;  instead, I attempted to ‘race’.  And because I’m unfit, my body couldn’t handle it.  In hindsight, it sounds so simple and obvious, but I always have to learn things the hard way.

So as I said, I treated Saturday like a long brick, followed by the luxury recovery method of an ambulance ride and a drip.  Then I headed out on Sunday and ran my long run.  I have received wonderful support and guidance from the team and Doc, so I want to say a big thank you to everyone.  It has really helped me put the experience behind me.

Also, another big thank you to Hiro.  Aside from having the race of his life this weekend, he was our tour guide/trip organiser on the weekend.  He would buy our ferry tickets, organise taxi’s, be pushy for us in queues and pack the mini bus with our bikes and bags.  We couldn’t of done it without you!!!

So once again, I’m back in Krabi and back into training.  I’m not giving up!

Last Wednesday, Jocelyn and I headed off to Singapore, for our new bikes!!!  I must admit, I was a little disappointed to be leaving training camp after only 1 week, but with IM Malaysia coming up, I wanted to get on my new bike sooner rather than later. 

We arrived early Wednesday evening-  first up was a quick trip to the Bike Boutique, then a great Japanese dinner with two of Jocelyn’s close friends.

Unfortunately, the Wongstar had to up and leave me early Thursday morning for a flight to Clarke.  We managed to fit in a 30 minute run in the darkness, where I nearly kicked a turtle that was lying on the road??? What the?  Jocelyn was game enough to pick the turtle up and return it to the saftety of the garden, before it was squashed by a car

Later on, I spent the afternoon hanging at the Bike Boutique watching my P4 being built, followed by a Retul fitting session.  I’ve got some great pics of the P4 on my facebook page-  check them out!

By friday though, I was growing restless…..I needed to get back to Krabi.  I missed my little (temporary) home.  I filled in my morning with a run and swim, then once again, off to the Bike Boutique.  Thanks guys for putting up with me!!! 

Now it’s Sunday, and the Wongstar and I are back in Krabi.  We’ve taken our bikes out for their maiden voyages, and we both agreed, we ‘felt’ fast.  Tomorrow, Doc will have us break them in properly.

Ahhh, so good to be back.  Home, sweet home.  Krabi, sweet Krabi.

Yippee, I arrived in Thailand yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon.  The travel here was pretty uneventful.  I flew with Emirates to Singapore- thumbs up for the 30kg luggage allowance!!

I spent the remainder of yesterday unpacking, getting my bearings, visiting the Big C, catching up with old team mates and meeting new ones, chatting to Doc, then getting some much needed sleep.  Oh yeah, and downing a few of these:

I love these soda waters.  So yummy!!!  I drink them like they are going out of fashion, and for 10 baht (at the little corner store, they are 7 baht at the Big C), I can afford to.

When I first heard we were returning to Thailand, I was so excited.  I really enjoyed my time here in 2007.  I spent Feb to May here in 2007, and that set me up for my best year of racing.  Then the squad returned here in September 2007  for our pre-Hawaii camp, and I went on to place 5th at Kona.  Yes, I love it here.

I am missing my cat though :(  Zena (with a ‘z’)

There is a cat here at Tawantai Hotel.  But I’m afraid to get too close, because Luke (Dragsta) got ringworm from a cat here in Thailand. 

There were a few dog encounters this morning on the run, but nothing compared to Bali Dogs. 

Anyway, better go and finish unpacking.

Last Wednesday, my nephew, Jarva, had his first day of school.  In Queensland, kids now attend “Prep” prior to starting year 1, so I guess it’s pretty similar to pre-school, except they attend 9-3, Mon-Fri. 

After spending so much time with my nephew the past year, I must of grown attached to having him around so often.  So I was a little (ok, a lot!) sad to see him go off to school.

Here is Jarva, all excited to be heading off to his brother’s school.  However, he soon became upset when he realied he wouldn’t be in his brother’s year 6 class.

Holding back the tears a little and being brave.  I think he’s just realised, “I have to stay here all day…..”

Next Wednesday will be my “First Day”, back into training camp…..I hope I can be as brave as Jarva.

Hey everyone, well this isn’t really the sort of blog I wanted to write.  Unfortunately, it is a non-race report-  the kind I write way too much of, and the kind that has got to stop!!!  Simply put, I fell sick the day before the race, and I hoped it was just pre-race nerves or anxiety, but I think it was maybe a little virus, who knows???  I got to the start line, because I did not want to go all the way to NZ and not do something;  however, starting was about all I did.  I took off, my stomach immediately said no, I cramped up, then proceeded to get a full on panic attack in the water and was then ’saved’.  How humiliating :(  There comes a point when you start to ask yourself, “WTF is wrong with me???”   Okay, pity party over.

Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the day in bed and I didn’t get out to see and support Lisbeth, Bek and Keegan during the rest of the race.  Well done guys!!!  I’m sorry I couldn’t join you guys at the finish line. 

So, I’m back in good old Queensland today.  My brother-in-law has just returned back from Bali, and has brought back all the latest dvd’s for me to watch, including up-to-date season 3 Gossip Girl.  Can’t wait to get the windtrainer out, and see what Blair, Chuck, Serena, Dan, Nate, Jenny and Vanessa have been up to.

One of my objectives the past year, was to get my sister into shape.  Jo and I are pretty much as different as you can get.  She hates exercise of any shape or form;  I don’t feel normal and get quite grumpy if I don’t get my endorphin hit.  As a teenager she was known to spend all day in her pyjamas and eat potato chips and chocolate for breakfast washing it down with a Coke, in fact she probably is doing that today (sorry Jo!!!).  She loves to host parties and socialise with friends, whereas I’m a hobbit.  We do however, share some interests-  our love of Twilight, True Blood, Glee, John Hughes 80’s high school movies (i.e. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club), and a strange attraction to Z grade movies (e.g. Top Secret, Zapped).

Anyway, as I previously mentioned, I wanted to get Jo into shape this past year.

Jo before embarking on her training program

 I immediatley eliminated the wrestling program, as it was unnecessarily bulking her up.  Then of course, revamped her diet.  After a lot of blood, sweat and tears, you could say the program was a success.

Jo after committing to my eating plan and training program.

Jo's husband, Oppy, after following my program.

Hi Everyone!!!  I wanted to post a quick blog to say that I am officially back and part of  Team TBB in 2010.  I am so excited about the upcoming year of racing and training.  I can’t wait to see my old team mates, and also meet the newbies…..am I a ‘newbie’ too??? 

I’ve got some great ideas for my blog, but just wanted to post a quick update today.  First up, I’m jumping right in the deep end and ‘participating’ at the Wanaka Challenge.  Doc thought I jumped the gun a little bit, by entering an ironman race in January, and I’d have to say, I completely agree!!!  So that’s why I say, ‘participating’, rather than racing.  Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll get out there and give it my best, and get some good hard racing miles in my legs early in the year.

Last time I was in New Zealand, was in 2003 for the Olympic Distance Triathlon World Championships in Queenstown.  Wow, was that really 6 years ago?!?  Racing as an age grouper in the 20-24 years category, I won my category and also recorded the fastest female age group time.  The next day, I sat and watched Emma Snowsill run away from the rest of the women, which only confirmed what I suspected all along….I’d love to be coached by her coach!

There’s me running in Queenstown.  Notice the closed eyes, hahaha.  I never used to wear sunnies, but I have this habit of closing my eyes when I run (????) especially when the going gets tough. So now I wear sunnies, to hide this.   I’m surprised I find my way around the run course!   As you can tell, Queenstown and NZ holds great memories for me.  If I race (ooops, ‘participate’) half as well next weekend, I’ll be a happy girl

The Ancient Pull Buoy

Looking a little worse for wear

This pull buoy is probably older than me.  My sister works at another pool on the coast, and she found this out in the back shed with the rest of the abandoned equipment, that had been traded in for ‘new and improved’ swim products.  Most of them had been cut in half (oh the horror!!!), probably because they provided too much floatation.

The Wongstar attempted to make one-  but she failed.  Keep trying Wongstar!

I used to own a fantastic blue speedo one-  but that was lost in Brazil.  Rei, if you’re reading this, can you get my pull buoy back from Silvia?!?

There is a lady, probably mid 40’s, that swims in the masters squad at my local pool a few times a week.  She has a blue one!!!  I sit there most days, eyeing off her prized possession, thinking she probably doesn’t even appreciate  it.  It’s in pristine condition.  I’m very jealous.  I’ve contemplated offering her BIG money for it.  What does everyone think a fair price is, for the now-extinct-pull buoy?