Pic from Karapoti

This is my teacher friend Tomo and myself in our prize-winning mountain bike outfits at the Karapoti this year. Last year my friend Denise and I went as geishas (inspired my my trip to Japan, I guess), but this year Tomo and I went as bride and groom...just backwards. We got dubbed the "drag wedding couple". It worked though and we got $50 worth of bike clothing each so it was well worth it. A bit hot in the outfit to ride in though. I think Tomo had to put up with a bit more than I did....

Diet and exercise don't fail

Some interesting words from Bill Maher:
"If you believe you need to take all the pills the pharmaceutical industry says you do, then you're already on drugs."

"We won't stop being sick if we don't stop making ourselves sick."

"The government isn't your nanny. They're your dealer and they subsidize illness in America. They have to. There's too much money in it. You see, there's no money in healthy people and there's no money in dead people. The money is in the middle, people who are alive (sort of) but with one or more chronic conditions that puts them in need of Celebrex, Nasalnex, Valtrex, or Lunesta."

"50 years ago children didn't even get Type 2 Diabetes. It's now an emerging epidemic as are a long list of ailments which used to be rare but have been 'mainstreamed.' Things like Asthma, autism, acid relfex, arthritis, allergies, adult acne, attention deficit disorder. And that's just the A's."

"In Hillary Clinton's health care plan, the words NUTRITION and EXERCISE appear just once. The word 'drugs' appear 14 times, just as the pharmaceutical companies wanted. You know, they're advertising weasels...

Love to say ' when diet and exercise fail'. Well, DIET and EXERCISE don't fail. A FACT brought home last week by a Duke University study that showed exercise, yes EXERCISE, is just as effective as a cure for depression as Paxil and Zoloft. So ASK YOUR DOCTOR if getting off your {butt} is right for you!"

"The answer just isn't another pill."

Big weekend

We had a massive weekend last weekend. 2 races in 2 days. Saturday was the Karapoti, which is New Zealand's biggest, most popular mountain bike race. Bryce rides the main 50km race each year and has attempted several times to do it in less than 3 hours; no easy feat. One year he did it in 3 hours and 0 minutes and 57 seconds. Gutted. But this year he finally achieved his goal and completed it (on a single speed bike, no less!) in 2 hours, 59 minutes and 53 seconds. A very exciting day! Plus, I dressed up like a groom and my Maori co-worker Thomo dressed up as my bride and we ended up winning the fancy dress prize. Second year in a row for me (last year went as a geisha). We both won $50 worth of cycle clothing so it was worth all the weird looks all day. Plus it was fun to be cycling around as a partnership. It made lots of people smile and I ended up passing about 6 girls in the last 10 minutes of the race to come 10th overall female and get my best time in the 20km course.

On Sunday, Denise and I did the Kapiti Women's Triathlon and Duathlon (respectively). We both did well and had a good time. I enjoyed not having the added pressure of having to go in the rough ocean, as I have in past years and loved pushing myself all the way through the run and ride. I came 4th in my age category and 9th overall so I was pleased with my efforts. Especially after having exhausted legs from the day before.
Marathon training is going well, and I feel like I am getting faster than I was when I was primarily the "shuffler". Just over 50 days to go...