Marina Duvnjak

Sup!!

 Hey people, I’m off to Plouay tomorrow! wipdee doo!!!  11.5hrs on a train! Will be interesting. Mitch H and I are meeting up with the rest of the team in Lorient. They have been away racing in Trophee D’or… I’m not too sure how they are getting along as there hasn’t been much in the news……. but i’m sure you’ll find out at some stage!

 I’ve been feeling heaps better. Finally things are starting to come right! I’m still not where Id like to be but the time off I think might have helped! Anyway there is not much to say at the moment as Saturday is the last “selection” race so I gotta pull something out of my ass….and hope for the best!!   Shall keep ya informed how that goes!

Right its bed time so keeping this short…. and I can’t think right now…

C U
Over & out

Hey!

Ok, as promised here I am writing again on the past week, I bet you this time my story won’t be as detailed, but I will try!

Right, so the Route de France last week was a bit of a bugger for the NZ team as none of us finished, due to either girls only doing 4 days right from the start, to Mitch crashing twice and for a couple of us it was just too much…. oops… so there we are, our first disaster for the year!

So, there are 8 days till my next major race which is the Plouay world cup on the 1st September, then the worlds team is to be announced on the 3rd…. shall keep you all informed! Anyway, there is not much I can do between now and the world cup except rest,train, eat right and see what happens….

I’m sooooo excited  PEAK FUEL   ( www.peakfuel.co.nz ) has sent me new supply of the magic stuff !!! Gels, the new “Summit” energy bars, and also the “Hydration Formula”  for the bottles!! The coolest thing it comes in little sachets just biff one into a bottle add water, maybe some vodka…hahha just kidding! and whala!!! got yourself a drink!! ….. but wait there’s more……. if you buy and use PEAK FUEL in the next 7 days you will experience a lift in your performance, a more speedy recovery and an all-round ability to kick some ass!!!!!   So rush down NOW to your nearest bike shop and purchase your supply of PEAK FUEL!!!!!   If you havent already been on the ‘not so sercret’ winning formula you will be amazed!!!  It’s wicked!! And of course its Kiwi made by our own Mark Inglis!!!!  so go now…… go on!! hehehhehe….

Right, so…… now that you all know all my secrets, its ok…… spread the word!!!!

The girls are off to a 5 day tour tomorrow, and Ali Mitch H and I are staying back….so no doubt I will be on here writing about my day!! So stay tuned!!!

My week’s been pretty standard, just been training and had a bit of fun on Sunday, went to the pool it was mint…. but since then the lovely summer seems to have dissapeared(14degrees today) its been raining for the past 3 days and today I have a rest day but 3 of the girls are  out with full leg warmers, thermal jackets and booties!!! Crazy!!!!  I got a day off!! yessss!!

Anyway thats all for now. Hope everyone’s good!! Take care

Marina

Hey,

 Just to let you all know I wrote a a kick ass blog….. just to fill you all in on the rest of route de france and the past week here, and even tried to make it fancy by putting in a picture…………then I lost it all!!!! I got no idea where its gone…… dissapeared ….. 1 press of a button………GRRRRRRR….

 Anyway so, I have to go train now, but will write more/another update in the next day or so….. sorry…

Over

Marina

Hey

Right, well…. some people are wondering what has happened to me since I dissapeared off the results from the tour, and basically the answer is, I’m not quite right at the moment, in fact im rather F***ed…… to put it bluntly…

I went into this tour feeling rather tired to start with but was seriously hoping and praying that the 2 days I felt better prior to our departure was going to get better and better, but NO!

Prologue= 2.2km basically looked like a crit circuit and the person with the biggest balls to take the corners fast won! hence that wasnt me….. I got 22nd bout 7 seconds down

Stage 1 = 130km, just rolling fast roads, the team has a few digs but nothing that stuck, it was bunch sprint

Stage 2 = 103km again simmilar terrain, the kiwis were attacking left right and centre, I was pretty smashed by the end of it, but hey……. we got the “most aggressive team” so Toni went up and got the kickass trophy and flowers!! nice!!

Stage 3= 101km, well this morning I felt incredibly smashed and was almost getting dropped in the neutral zone. I let the coach know over the radio that I was really struggling, so when he saw me going backwards 50miles an hour he passed me in the team car and just said pull out at the feed zone, he could tell I was almost in tears and just struggling to keep upright…… so there we are……….. I pulled the pin.  Its gotta be the hardest thing to do, just give up….. I  HATE it…felt like a complete failure….. but deep down I knew that if I had tried to keep going I’d be digging myself into a bigger hole…

 So Toni, Rushlee (who were only going to do 4 days anyway) We were dropped off at the train station in Paris and off we went, back home to good old Limoux where i’m having 5 days completely off my bike!!! yay!!  I think this is the only way I will recovery and give myself a fair chance at the next big race which is a world cup on the 2nd September….

As of right now Carissa’s finished her part in the tour and has pulled out, Mitch had 2 crashes yesterday and hit her head so we are not sure if she’ll continue, and that leaves our lovely Brei to fly the kiwi flag solo!!!  Go you good thing!!!!

 So its fair to say this trip has been a slight balls up……

Righto, thats all for now folks, take care and will write soon!!
Marina

Hey

 Well just to let you all know, I am feeling waaaay better in the last 2 days, so here we go!! bring on the tour!!

 Anyway we are leaving in an hour, driving 6 hours today then another 3 or 4 tomorrow I think and wont be back till the 19th so if you don’t hear from me its because I didnt take the laptop!! Brei’s taking her’s so i might have to scab!!! heheh…

The tour’s called Route de France, so if anyone’s bored there should be results up on  www.cyclingnews.com , those dodgy russians are doing it too…… will be interesting and its gonna huuurt!!!

 There isn’t much else to report really, so thats all for now!! Wish me luck!!

Take care

Marina

Sup!!

Well, not much has been happening in the past week! I pretty much got back from the last tour pretty shattered and for some reason am struggling to recover……….

Basically I have spent the week either doing easy rides or attempts at efforts but always feeling like crap… its been more frustrating than anything, but like the coaches are saying the form is there, just have to try rest up as much as I can till the next tour which starts on Saturday.It’s called Route de France,a nd its 8 days, which will deffinitly make it interesting. It’s apparently not as hard a Tour de l’Aude , but hell some of the stages are pretty darn long. Anyway I’m sure you’ll al hear about it when I get back.

I stayed at home on the weeked while the girls did a 2 day tour (they had a stage win woohoo , with  Ali on the last day, but thats all I know), and man it was soooooo lonely here, I went from a full house and constantly being surrounded by people to hanging out at the kitchen table during meal times and all I could hear what the kitchen tap dripping…,  Basically Saturday was spent cleaning (as I am the expert heheh )I even ventured out to the Laundromat and had the couch covers washed. Then I re-arranged my room back to the way it was (when Ali arrived I changed it round so we would have more space, but for the whole week I couldnt sleep properly, I’m thinking ‘feng shui’ !) so anyhow its all good now. I think I deffinitly had too much time to think, I got pretty homesick actually, Ants had a few more phone call then usual and I was trying to ring other people but of course everyone was out!! stink :(… Its been a long time away from home, and I’m loving it here but I guess when you end up on your own for a bit you think too much…… but anyway the girls are back now so I’m happy again….

The weather’s gone a bit nuts again, where the girls were racing only 4 hrs away it was almost 40degrees and then today it was 14 and raining.  hoping it will be good for the tour …

 Righto I’m off to bed, sorry there wasnt much to report, but better something then nothing.

Cheers for reading

C U
Marina