Winter, Spring and Summer Update - Been a while since we posted!!

Ok so we have been rubbish at blogging over the last few months, we have been busy so here is a summary.

It was winter, it rained, now summer its sunny!

Ok so we have done a bit more than that.

Last time we wrote we were both in the Pilbara, me working, Naomi not working (as usual). The good news is we are both back in Perth now, I started a new job in July based near Perth Airport, this means a lot more time for a social life, however does mean that we have a bit less time for travelling around Oz.

Final Flight out of the Pilbara- I will miss those sunsets!

The good news is more time for biking to work, and with a commute along the riverfront; could be a lot worse!

Saturday Morning breakfast dates!!! 

The last few months have seen a few new arrivals to the Stack household. First to arrive was Geronimo, my new mountain bike, a treat to myself after getting my new job.

Geronimo's first outing to Jarrahdale. He had fun!

The next arrival was under slightly sadder circumstances, poor Java, Naomi's trusty old steed was stolen from the hospital, leaving her bikeless after finishing her shift at 3am. Another trip to the bike shop was arranged and we came home with Fitz Roy. Another giant with a giant name (big mountain in South America).

So some time ago now we decided to take the plunge and sign up to an Ironman, for those that don't know this is a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run. Sensibly Naomi decided to seek the assistance of a coach to set a training plan, as we figured it would need a little more than our usual couple of runs, quick dip, go out for a few beers before and wing it approach. So we signed up with F4L coaching in Perth Hills and well that has basically been our life for the last 4/5 months. Going from a couple of rides/runs at a weekend to training everyday with one rest day if we are lucky every fortnight was a shock to the system to say the least, but we have loved it so far. We have met some great friends and have been on some great sessions along the way.

In August we headed out to the East of Perth to a place called... York! I have to say it bears no resemblance at all to its namesake in God's Country, but still a picturesque typical Aussie country town. Blink on the highway and you will miss it!

We were here to do the York Cyclo Sportive. Armed with one weeks training I decided I was Chris Froome and set off at a pace, forgetting we had a team of two compared to all the other teams consisting of 8 or 9. This made a big difference in sharing the effort. We died a little on the second lap, but it was good to get a few miles back in the legs after a cold wet couple of months.

Next up on the calendar was the City to Surf Marathon. Last year I did the 12km event, along with the whole of Perth's population. This year time to step it up and do the full Marathon. This meant an earlier start in the dark on St Georges Terrace in Perth CBD.  It was a stunning course, the first half flat as a pancake along the Swan River, before entering back into the city and climbing up to Kings Park (A killer hill with 22km in your legs already), then around Kings Park (hillier than you think) before heading out to the finish at City Beach. The hardest part was at 34km where we passed right past our front door, it took all of our strength to not pull out and grab a beer. Naomi especially was struggling at this point having smashed a half marathon PB was starting to pay for it after the hills of Kings Park. She soldiered on though to smash her Marathon PB by over 20mins. I came in just under my Manchester PB with a 3.27, pretty happy on a hilly course after 12months of FIFO.

All smiles at the start

Look out for Naomi bright orange vest!

Our new diet for training, chuff loads of clif bars. (I take sneaky ones for breakfast sometimes but don't tell Naomi!)

 For a rare break from training we headed down to Freo to watch the Dockers in the play off series. Last year the Dockers got all the way to the  final and were narrowly beaten, so expectation was high. The atmosphere on the Cappuccino Strip was amazing, everyone out in their colours, and the road was painted purple for the game. In the end they lost, but we had fun and now have jerseys for next season!

The winter seemed to drag on this year with lots of rain, storms and facebook profile updates from the UK of Tour de France, friend's weddings and general summer fun. This led to a bit of winter blues and an onset of home sickness, however as Spring sprung and the sun came back out, we realised how lucky we were to be living on the doorstep of one of the world's best parks. We headed out into Kings Park with the whole of Perth for the first sunny weekend and enjoyed a nice ice cream on the lawn listening to live music, not a bad afternoon at all!

So September came around and we were treated with a last minute visit from some ugly bloke from Yorkshire! In true Yorkshire fashion his first stop was to the WACA to show the Aussies how to play cricket!

This all proved a bit too much for him and....

After sleeping off the jetlag we headed out for a road trip to the Pinnacles, north of Perth. Dad was amazed by the nothingness once you passed the Northern Suburbs, and he couldn't wait to see an Emu, after I told him we couldn't move for Emus last time we headed up North. Well all day passed and no Emus! We did see a lot of rocks though! 

After our road trip it was back to work for me for a few days, which gave Naomi the chance to play tour guide. This mainly consisted of walking 100kms per day, knackering dad out then treating him with an ice cream! We nearly had to call in air ambulance when he collapsed up Kokoda Steps in Kings Park!

Whilst Dad was here we managed to prise him away from providing a detailed and comprehensive comparison of cheap souvenir tshirt shops in Perth for a little while and even found 5 minutes where he wasn't in Paddy McGuires (our local Irish Bar) to have a fake 60th Birthday! As we would be missing the real one in December (Only 12 days away as I write this you old git!), we had some Caaaakeee as Horace likes caaaake and got approval from the fire service to light the candles!

To end the trip, we headed over to our favourite place Rotto! We hired bikes and headed off to the far side of the island. Dad was flying, he looked like Wiggo! Well for about 5kms anyway and then he remembered it had been a while since his Tour de France days! Another day, another near resuscitation of Dad! He made it around though and we were treated to an amazing show from a group of whales flapping around in the ocean, and even a pod of dolphins! (This scored major points on the animal spotting game!)

The peleton!

Whale watching

Dolphin Watching

PELICAN!

After Rotto it was nearly time for Dad to head back home for winter. We had one more day to explore so we headed up into Perth Hills, where I promised we would see Emus and Kangaroos!

Sure enough we saw both and even stopped at the Camel Farm for a quick scone and ice cream!

Was great to have Dad over, and show him around even if we did lose him in Mandurah! Paddy's were sad to see him leave!

So after the excitement of a visit from home it was back to normality for Team Stack, more training and race prep. The next race on the calendar was the Augusta Adventure Race, the largest adventure race in the world. This consisted of Swim, Bike, Run and Paddle. Pretty typical for an adventure race, although the UK versions usually don't have swims. Having signed up to this months ago we finally read the details, 13km ocean kayak!!! Oh dear this is a bit longer than the token novelty kayak that are usually involved in UK adventure races. We read a bit further... competitors must supply their own kayaks! Ah problem. 4 weeks out, never kayaked and didn't have a boat! 

After a couple of last minute lessons in a Kayak with a local instructor we decided to ignore his expert advice and get surf ski type kayaks. Now these are super tippy, and falls are inevitable, however they are much easier to get back in so we decided to take the risk.

We looked on gumtree and found two identical Skis, Sharkey and George! One problem they were 5.2m long. Our house is 4.2m wide, we have no garage, out back yard is around 4m square, storage was going to be an issue! We decided the only thing for it was to have some new furniture in the front room!

I eventually showed my engineering skills and found a more suitable location for them! They are still up as well, not fallen down yet!

We managed to get one weekend of very quick paddling sessions in prior to the race. We headed to Freo and practised in the wake of the boats passing along the river. Stack score... Chris 6 Naomi 0. This worked out at 1 stack per km for me. A new training metric I would use to gauge progress!

So the first weekend in November we headed down to the Margaret River Region and found our Chalet! Pretty cool and surrounded by Roos!

Car looks pretty cool, although we could do with an estate!

We headed to Gnarabup our favourite breakfast spot on the Saturday Morning! Followed by a quick first outing on the ocean in Sharkey and George! No stacks for Chris. One for Naomi!

We then headed down to Augusta to drop off the gear at transition. It was a gorgeous day, clear skies, ocean was calm and still, no wind perfect racing conditions for those doing the Mini Race. If only it stayed like this!

Car getting unloaded

Bikes in transition

Team stack ready to go

The race was great, the run was incredible hopping from rock to rock from the famous Cape Leewin lighthouse. This is the South Western tip of the country where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet. After a hard 13km run we headed for the swim through some stunning reefs and 1.9km later made it to shore. Now for the dredded kayak. It started OK we headed out on the calm river but then we hit the river mouth. Stack 1... simultaneous stacks from both of us as we were wiped out by a wave. We soldiered on and rounded the buoy about 8km in. This is where it got tough. I was knackered, my arms were dead and core (or lack of it) was aching! The wind had picked up and we were now heading straight into it, and the waves that came with it. I fell in a few more times (I think 5 or 6 in total), and was met by the jet ski asking if I was OK (AGHHH EMBARRASSING!!) We finally made it around the 13km course and I was never more glad to be back on dry land.

Next was the mountain bike, my favourite and I had a new lease of life especially with my new race machine! The kayak and torrential rain had taken its toll however and Naomi struggled out of transition. She settled into a rhythm though after heartbreak hill and we finished strong. 30km done and now just a wet soggy 2.5km run along the beach to finish.

We were by no means winners in this race, losing around 1/2 hr on the paddle, but we had an amazing day out and would recommend it to anyone to take part in. Have a look at the highlights video 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNO1I1jVpRw (short version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIEwvWadnGk (long version)

The aftermath. So much kit to wash!

So that was spring, now heading into the Aussie summer and it was the start of the Triathlon season. First big race of the year was Ironman 70.3 Mandurah. Mandurah is around 75km South of Perth, so we set off and cycled down there for our long Sunday ride. There were a few of the F4L team competing and also one of the best pro line ups seen for these events.

3 x Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander

It was a scorcher of a day, nearly 40degs and tough for the guys out there on the run especially. After cheering the guys over the finish line, we headed back up to Perth stopping for a cheeky ice cream to fend off the heat exhaustion!

Next race was the first local race of the season the Left Bank Sprint Tri. This was a short race, only 400m swim, 19km bike and 4.5km run, but it was flat out from start to finish. The F4L team smashed it and came up with 4 podiums in the age group catagories, including 2nd for me in the 20-29 group.

I unfortunately missed the medal ceremony as I was too busy eating breakfast and catching up with Fiona who was visiting!

Luckily I got my chance 2 weeks later as this was followed up by another whitewash at Power Station Tri with 7 podiums, including 4 1st places (3rd for me this time!)

Naomi unfortunately has been working for the first couple of races, but is making her debut next weekend... watch this space.

So that brings us up to date for now. A lot of training, racing and not too much sightseeing this time, but we have some time off over Christmas so we may have a couple of trips to write about.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and we will try to update you a bit more regularly!

Team Stack

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