Embracing the outdoors and getting active is something many New Zealanders enjoy. Many events are held around the country that cover many sports and all fitness levels. Some popular events are the Weetbix Tryathlon and MoreFM womens triathlon for beginners, right through to the Coast to Coast, one of New Zealand’s foremost endurance events. These events along with the kiwi can-do attitude help to motivate and inspire many people into a more active lifestyle.

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Yesterday I completed my first open-water triathlon. Having only learnt to swim as an adult, just a few years ago, this was quite a big deal for me. No touching the bottom, or resting at the lane rope/edge of the pool if I needed a break. Maybe even more crucially, no indoor, temperature controlled environment (I really don’t like cold water!). The weather forecast hadn’t looked promising, which made me quite nervous, but fortunately the weather gods were smiling down on me, and the day dawned perfectly still without a cloud in the sky. The water seemed a bit colder than when I did the practice swim a couple of weeks ago, and my plan to pace myself completely evaporated as I did my best to get to the other side as quickly as possible! It was a glorious day for it, and a great course through the countryside of Rangiora.

Learning to swim was something I had always meant to do, and I did finally get there, a few years later than most. A few months after I started learning I read about the Special K Womens triathlon and decided to give it a go to keep me motivated. I didn’t exactly break any records, expect maybe for longest ever swim time, but felt an enormous sense of accomplishment once I finally finished the swim. Others are often put off doing triathlons by the swim portion if they are not strong swimmers, but that’s what motivates me to keep doing them. Each time I get a little faster, and maybe one day I’ll catch up to the others.

Rose

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