IRONMAN says he’ll start late, finish early
Mark Townend tends to start training late but he reckons he’ll be ready for the Cycle Challenge in November.
Townend is riding with MORE FM breakfast show host Andrew Leiataua in the Fun 40 Media Challenge.
The 59-year-old accountant is a ten-time IRONMAN finisher – but he’s not counting on past success.
‘‘For the past three years, I’ve been somewhat lazy. I’ve enjoyed drinking my home brew,’’ Townend said.
‘‘But earlier in the year I decided to get some fitness back.
‘‘I try to go swimming at the pool three times a week and that’s been very beneficial.’’
Townend’s last Ironman race was in 2014 and proved he wasn’t a faint-hearted competitor.
‘‘I had had heart surgery – a stent operation – prior to the Ironman race.
‘‘Fortunately, the surgeon said ‘No, you go ahead and do it’. So I did.’’
The beancounter said he had a history of procrastinating when it came to training.
‘‘First of January would come and all of sudden it’s ‘Uhoh, we’re on the daily countdown [to the IRONMAN in March] and it’s time to start doing something,’’ he said.
‘‘There will come a point where a bit of panic will set in.
‘‘There would be eight weeks of panicked training. But it works.’’
Keeping fit and achieving personal milestones was about setting goals and making an effort to get involved, Townend said.
‘‘If you haven’t got your line in the water, you’re not going to catch a fish.
‘‘You can often sit around and think about it but it’s not until the foot hits the pedal and the crank starts turning that the line goes in the water, so to speak,’’ he said.
‘‘So if anyone’s thinking about doing something like this, it’s time to get started and just do it.’’
* Racing in the 40km Bookabach Quarter Lake, the Fun 40 Media Challenge will show that even desk-bound workers like MORE FM breakfast show host Andrew Leiataua and journalist Robert Steven can complete a Lake Taupo¯ Cycle Challenge ride.
* Registrations for the Bookabach Quarter Lake and other Lake Taupo¯ Cycle Challenge rides are still open.