Donations for my cause can be made here
http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/KatrinWalbert/
This money will go directly to Mark Inglis' limbs4all and I promise, not to the Kat is addicted to coffee fund :-)
Thanks for your help!
Kat
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Ryders is on board!!!
Woooooaaaahoooooo
Thanks to Julie, our persistence and Brent Martin we've got some sponsorship from Ryders Eyewear towards the race! Wiiiiiiiiicked. More on those guys soon, check out the webpage for cool sunnies....www.ryderseyewear.com
We're on the hunt for more support, watch this space, but in the meantime, cher bro to Ryders for giving us their support!!!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Team Mullet races the Whitestar Intrigue
So, we survived the big weekend of training and after an easy week and lot's of sleeping it was time to hit the road for a trip up the the Coromandel for the Whitestar Intrigue Weekend. Dave 'Thumbs up' G, Sarah 'the machine' P-C and Kat 'you talk to much when racing' W hit the road on Friday for a whole weekend of MTBing - on Saturday's menu was a Points race (Timetrial, Crit, Hill Climb and Downhill), followed by the main course of a 60km MTB race over the hills of Coromandel on Sunday.
The highlight of the trip was Sarah wondering out loud if we would be able to use someone's mullet to get our tentpegs into the ground...the picture of a headbanging mullet over a tentpeg did not leave us for the rest of the next two days...
Fortunatley the camping ground was soft enough for us not asking anyone for their mullet and we got our tents up just before dark, so that we could sit back in our chairs with a beer and watch other late arrivers struggling to put their tents up in the dark. Ah the joy of Schadenfreude...
Saturday was a day full of different activities - you could choose between a 3h or a 6h Orienteerieng event or the Points Series. I'm a pro elite in getting lost, so the Points Series it
was. We had to do a 6km Timetrial, a 10km Criteriumrace and in the afternoon we were off to a hill climb and a downhill race. Wicked concept, hang out time with oth
er people and lots of cowshit action on the timetrial...the machine had a wicked day out and won two of the races and Dave won the best cornering action with thumbs up! After pricegiving it was gametime - a rather interesting mix of games between some of the teams, the banging one (pic) went on for quite some time, I think they really enjoyed it...
Day two was again full of options, we chose the 60km version of sightseeing the Coromandel. Again, a wicked day in the saddle. The machine powered away but her i-drive broke, so she had to pull out and doddle home, and the Thumb and I played tag team for some time until he managed to to break away...ah the testosterone...
All in all a great weekend and highly recommended - two great days of racing and playing on your bike, thumbs up!!
The highlight of the trip was Sarah wondering out loud if we would be able to use someone's mullet to get our tentpegs into the ground...the picture of a headbanging mullet over a tentpeg did not leave us for the rest of the next two days...
Fortunatley the camping ground was soft enough for us not asking anyone for their mullet and we got our tents up just before dark, so that we could sit back in our chairs with a beer and watch other late arrivers struggling to put their tents up in the dark. Ah the joy of Schadenfreude...
Saturday was a day full of different activities - you could choose between a 3h or a 6h Orienteerieng event or the Points Series. I'm a pro elite in getting lost, so the Points Series it
was. We had to do a 6km Timetrial, a 10km Criteriumrace and in the afternoon we were off to a hill climb and a downhill race. Wicked concept, hang out time with oth
er people and lots of cowshit action on the timetrial...the machine had a wicked day out and won two of the races and Dave won the best cornering action with thumbs up! After pricegiving it was gametime - a rather interesting mix of games between some of the teams, the banging one (pic) went on for quite some time, I think they really enjoyed it...Day two was again full of options, we chose the 60km version of sightseeing the Coromandel. Again, a wicked day in the saddle. The machine powered away but her i-drive broke, so she had to pull out and doddle home, and the Thumb and I played tag team for some time until he managed to to break away...ah the testosterone...
All in all a great weekend and highly recommended - two great days of racing and playing on your bike, thumbs up!!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
May the force be with me
Sometimes I think my coach is a sadist.
Over the last few years I've called him many names during my training sessions...On the Donaldson Ironman-diet you get things to do like a 8km run - 42km ride - 8m run - 42km ride - 8km run - 42km ride - 8km run session (yes, that is ONE session) or a 6hr ride followed by a 30km run - after 2 weeks of running, the 30km run will be your 4th 3hr run within those two weeks. When you read those sessions you generally read them 3 times, in case you miss-read what you just read.
You generally read them right the first time though...
The damn thing with this coach though is, he know's what he's doing...you shit bricks the night before those sessions and then you go out and do them. And no, you don't die...you just do them. And you realize, you CAN do it. I've come to the conclusion that training is really a cheesy combination of Adidas and Nike marketing - anything is possible, you just have to do it...wicked feeling though once you've done it!
So, my schedule for this weekend is to ride the Whaka 100km MTB course on Saturday (in other words - ride every blimmin hill and singletrack in Whaka Forest), and the 50km course on Sunday. Morning. The afternoon will be topped off with 4 reps of Moerangi South. And some Split Enz inbetween, if the hand-eye coordination still works.
The longest ride I've done on a MTB is maybe 3hrs, on the road 4 1/2...and funnily enough, no, I'm not shitting bricks this time. I know it might be painful going to the toilet after this weekend, but I also know I'll just have to go out and do it. Won't be pretty, but I'll get it done.
Ingrid, one of Scott's Ironman-coachees has written this great column on Training and Scott...
http://www.dailypost.co.nz/localsport/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3793654&thesection=localsport&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
She pictures him as the wise yoda. I still reckon he has some relation to Satan, but yes, he's a wise man...and all I'll hope for this weekend is - may the force be with me!
Over the last few years I've called him many names during my training sessions...On the Donaldson Ironman-diet you get things to do like a 8km run - 42km ride - 8m run - 42km ride - 8km run - 42km ride - 8km run session (yes, that is ONE session) or a 6hr ride followed by a 30km run - after 2 weeks of running, the 30km run will be your 4th 3hr run within those two weeks. When you read those sessions you generally read them 3 times, in case you miss-read what you just read.
You generally read them right the first time though...
The damn thing with this coach though is, he know's what he's doing...you shit bricks the night before those sessions and then you go out and do them. And no, you don't die...you just do them. And you realize, you CAN do it. I've come to the conclusion that training is really a cheesy combination of Adidas and Nike marketing - anything is possible, you just have to do it...wicked feeling though once you've done it!
So, my schedule for this weekend is to ride the Whaka 100km MTB course on Saturday (in other words - ride every blimmin hill and singletrack in Whaka Forest), and the 50km course on Sunday. Morning. The afternoon will be topped off with 4 reps of Moerangi South. And some Split Enz inbetween, if the hand-eye coordination still works.
The longest ride I've done on a MTB is maybe 3hrs, on the road 4 1/2...and funnily enough, no, I'm not shitting bricks this time. I know it might be painful going to the toilet after this weekend, but I also know I'll just have to go out and do it. Won't be pretty, but I'll get it done.
Ingrid, one of Scott's Ironman-coachees has written this great column on Training and Scott...
http://www.dailypost.co.nz/localsport/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3793654&thesection=localsport&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
She pictures him as the wise yoda. I still reckon he has some relation to Satan, but yes, he's a wise man...and all I'll hope for this weekend is - may the force be with me!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
limbs4all
Time to be philosophical...
Take a moment.
Look down on you.
A pair of legs.
Whatever shape or size or color they may be, some are well shaved, some belong to multisporters and will never be shaved even though they should, some have paint on their toenails, some are fast and some are just the way they are.
But they are there.
You just walked on them over to your computer and logged onto this page. You may have just been swimming or out for a ride or run. After sitting here and reading this, you might go out for a paddle or some more riding, getting that kick from exercising that we love so much.
We have a pair of arms and legs which enable us to go out and live life.
What would you do without them? Despair? Give up? Go on and find another way?
The thought of having something happen to me which would take away the freedom of living my life as a sport-addict always freaked me out a bit. What would I do if something would 'disable' me?
A few years ago I met Mark Inglis. For those of you who don't know, he's a Kiwi, who lost both of his legs below the knee in 1982 during a freak climbing accident. A blizzard caught him and his climbing partner out and they were stuck in an ice cave on Mt. Cook for 13 days. He went on to win a silver medal in 1 km time trial event at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, climbed Mt. Cook again in 2002 and moved on to become the first ever double amputee to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. 2007 he came to Rotorua and gave a talk to our Triathlon Club about his life, his amputation and his quest to climb Mount Everest.
This talk really opened my eyes that there is no real 'disability' unless you accept it. And there's always a way forward. Loosing a limb doesn't mean you have to loose your life. You can keep going on and live to the max, whatever your max may be. But you need two things - attitude and a prosthesis. The right attitude may not come easy, but you can get it if you work on it. Attitude comes free of charge, but sometimes you need some help to get it. That second thing, the prosthesis, that's not for free, you need money and help to get it. In some cases your insurance may help, in some cases and countries there is no insurance. And there might be this young kid, who want's to pursue his talent in a sport but needs a special prosthesis for it. There are people out there, that may never get the chance to walk upright again if it wasn't for people like Mark and Anne Inglis, who have set up limbs4all to help some of the 400 million disabled people in the world by supporting projects and individuals both within New Zealand and world wide.
Inspired by Mark that there's always a way out and forward, I decided that I would like to support his charity during my journey towards the BC Bike Race. We all so often take everything for granted and don't know how lucky we are and forget to pay it forward.
I hope some of you are keen to support me and Mark to raise some money for his charity limbs4all. If you are, then take your healthy hands and go to http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/KatrinWalbert/ fundraiser logo on the right side which will bring you to the donation webpage. You might have to get on your two legs to get your credit card details, but hey, it's worth the cause!
If you want to know more about Mark Inglis and limbs4all, check out www.limbs4all.com www.markinglis.co.nz - he's one handy motivational speaker! Mark also know's how to make sports nutrition, his brand Peak Fuel can be found in Bike Shops all over the country and is highly recommended! Check out www.peakfuel.co.nz for more info on the products.
Take a moment.
Look down on you.
A pair of legs.
Whatever shape or size or color they may be, some are well shaved, some belong to multisporters and will never be shaved even though they should, some have paint on their toenails, some are fast and some are just the way they are.
But they are there.
You just walked on them over to your computer and logged onto this page. You may have just been swimming or out for a ride or run. After sitting here and reading this, you might go out for a paddle or some more riding, getting that kick from exercising that we love so much.
We have a pair of arms and legs which enable us to go out and live life.
What would you do without them? Despair? Give up? Go on and find another way?
The thought of having something happen to me which would take away the freedom of living my life as a sport-addict always freaked me out a bit. What would I do if something would 'disable' me?
A few years ago I met Mark Inglis. For those of you who don't know, he's a Kiwi, who lost both of his legs below the knee in 1982 during a freak climbing accident. A blizzard caught him and his climbing partner out and they were stuck in an ice cave on Mt. Cook for 13 days. He went on to win a silver medal in 1 km time trial event at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, climbed Mt. Cook again in 2002 and moved on to become the first ever double amputee to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. 2007 he came to Rotorua and gave a talk to our Triathlon Club about his life, his amputation and his quest to climb Mount Everest.
This talk really opened my eyes that there is no real 'disability' unless you accept it. And there's always a way forward. Loosing a limb doesn't mean you have to loose your life. You can keep going on and live to the max, whatever your max may be. But you need two things - attitude and a prosthesis. The right attitude may not come easy, but you can get it if you work on it. Attitude comes free of charge, but sometimes you need some help to get it. That second thing, the prosthesis, that's not for free, you need money and help to get it. In some cases your insurance may help, in some cases and countries there is no insurance. And there might be this young kid, who want's to pursue his talent in a sport but needs a special prosthesis for it. There are people out there, that may never get the chance to walk upright again if it wasn't for people like Mark and Anne Inglis, who have set up limbs4all to help some of the 400 million disabled people in the world by supporting projects and individuals both within New Zealand and world wide.
Inspired by Mark that there's always a way out and forward, I decided that I would like to support his charity during my journey towards the BC Bike Race. We all so often take everything for granted and don't know how lucky we are and forget to pay it forward.
I hope some of you are keen to support me and Mark to raise some money for his charity limbs4all. If you are, then take your healthy hands and go to http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/KatrinWalbert/ fundraiser logo on the right side which will bring you to the donation webpage. You might have to get on your two legs to get your credit card details, but hey, it's worth the cause!
If you want to know more about Mark Inglis and limbs4all, check out www.limbs4all.com www.markinglis.co.nz - he's one handy motivational speaker! Mark also know's how to make sports nutrition, his brand Peak Fuel can be found in Bike Shops all over the country and is highly recommended! Check out www.peakfuel.co.nz for more info on the products.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The deeper reason for this blog...
I also have some good ideas. Sometimes...
Now the real reason for starting up this blog is not just to tell you all about my adventures and stupid ideas but to use this as a platform for the fundraising I have decided to do during my build up for the BC race. I will write some more soon about the why and how and who-for of the fundraising - I'm just waiting for the inspiration fairy and some free time again. In the mean time, check out this page
http://www.limbs4all.com/index.htm
which is the charity I chose to support.
Now the real reason for starting up this blog is not just to tell you all about my adventures and stupid ideas but to use this as a platform for the fundraising I have decided to do during my build up for the BC race. I will write some more soon about the why and how and who-for of the fundraising - I'm just waiting for the inspiration fairy and some free time again. In the mean time, check out this page
http://www.limbs4all.com/index.htm
which is the charity I chose to support.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Why this Blog?
I tend to have bad ideas.
A few years ago I came across the sport of Triathlon. The German I am, I couldn't swim to save myself and sc
raped my way through my first race with good old breast stroking. And was hooked. A few sprint and olympic races later but no further swimming skills acquired I wondered if I would be able to do (aka survive) a Halfironman - 2km of swimming!
I was.
And yes, I enjoyed it and stupidly enough I thought, jeeeez, that wasn't that hard...so, the first really bad idea was born - Ironman! I don't tend to do things by halves, so the time of my Ironman plans coincided with me starting my PhD. What a wicked bad idea - 3 years of PhD-ing, 3 years of Ironman-ing...
And off we went.
Over 3 years later, I'm a Doctor of Mushrooms, have done 2 1/2 Ironman races (that 1/2 is another story) and am no wiser. Well, I am, kind of...but not really.
Anyway, after 3 years of Ironmantraining I decided it was time for a break. The hyperactive overachiever I am I was quickly bored and looked for a new goal. I do not only have this tendency to have bad ideas, I also have a tendency to aim for things I am not good at. We've kind of mastered the swimming side of things, so I looked for something else I really suck at...Mountainbiking!!!! I am the master of over the Handlebar-stunts, several I can't remember, so there it was, my next bad idea had to have somthing to do with Mountainbiking. And what better to choose than a 7-day long MTB race??? Perfect, done deal.
Multiday-stage MTB races have intruiged me since the day I've seen the finish of the Transalp in Riva del Garda. Back then I though, what the h#@%, who is dumb enough to ride 7 days over the Alps from Germany to Italy. Now I now...
So I started looking around and mentioned the idea to my friend Julie in Canada - secretly hoping I could twist her arm to do the race with me...Julie also has a tendency to have bad ideas and told me about the BC Bike Race (www.bcbikerace.com), a 7 day long race from Victoria to Whistler.
There we are. I've managed to twist Julie's arm and we're both off for our next adventure - the BC Bike Race!
I hope you will enjoy my journey and keep reading, there are more interesting things to follow...even maybe a story or two about mushrooms...
Dr. Kat
A few years ago I came across the sport of Triathlon. The German I am, I couldn't swim to save myself and sc
raped my way through my first race with good old breast stroking. And was hooked. A few sprint and olympic races later but no further swimming skills acquired I wondered if I would be able to do (aka survive) a Halfironman - 2km of swimming!I was.
And yes, I enjoyed it and stupidly enough I thought, jeeeez, that wasn't that hard...so, the first really bad idea was born - Ironman! I don't tend to do things by halves, so the time of my Ironman plans coincided with me starting my PhD. What a wicked bad idea - 3 years of PhD-ing, 3 years of Ironman-ing...
And off we went.
Over 3 years later, I'm a Doctor of Mushrooms, have done 2 1/2 Ironman races (that 1/2 is another story) and am no wiser. Well, I am, kind of...but not really.
Anyway, after 3 years of Ironmantraining I decided it was time for a break. The hyperactive overachiever I am I was quickly bored and looked for a new goal. I do not only have this tendency to have bad ideas, I also have a tendency to aim for things I am not good at. We've kind of mastered the swimming side of things, so I looked for something else I really suck at...Mountainbiking!!!! I am the master of over the Handlebar-stunts, several I can't remember, so there it was, my next bad idea had to have somthing to do with Mountainbiking. And what better to choose than a 7-day long MTB race??? Perfect, done deal.
Multiday-stage MTB races have intruiged me since the day I've seen the finish of the Transalp in Riva del Garda. Back then I though, what the h#@%, who is dumb enough to ride 7 days over the Alps from Germany to Italy. Now I now...So I started looking around and mentioned the idea to my friend Julie in Canada - secretly hoping I could twist her arm to do the race with me...Julie also has a tendency to have bad ideas and told me about the BC Bike Race (www.bcbikerace.com), a 7 day long race from Victoria to Whistler.
There we are. I've managed to twist Julie's arm and we're both off for our next adventure - the BC Bike Race!
I hope you will enjoy my journey and keep reading, there are more interesting things to follow...even maybe a story or two about mushrooms...
Dr. Kat
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