Bye Bye UK, New Zealand here we come!

Here’s the Ryding household luggage, yep, all of it!! I think I must have forgotten something!

This is the last blog post from the UK for three weeks!! We’re ready for off!

Its been a long journey to this point, with highs and lows, a new coach, a knee injury, a LONG season starting with Eilat in April, so I am looking forward to standing on this start line. Well, actually I am looking forward to standing on the finish line, because that is where the holiday really begins!

I am really pleased that hubby is coming with me this time, having travelled to last year’s World Champs in China on my own (due to the cost) and Eilat on my own (due to the politics!). It means so much more knowing that you have a friendly face there in the crowd, to cheer you on, even if you don’t actually see them during the race.

I feel strangley chilled. I am ok with the fact that there’s a HUGE field, I am ok with the fact that I am harbouring a knee injury, because I know that I have trained well, listened to the professionals and I will do my best. How that shapes up in the grand scheme of things, who knows, I can only affect me, and my own race.

I want to stop here for a moment and thank all the people that have helped me to get to this point (you know who you are) and I am sure I will meet even more great people over on the other side of the world.

I even get to see an old friend I haven’t seen for over a year, as she emigrated to Australia (lucky thing!) and is popping over to New Zealand to support her club mates, (both old and new!)

There’s a good little group of us travelling from Northants Tri, so It should be a great trip.

I will keep posting as regularly as I can so sign up for email updates, follow the Ryding2Health facebook page, or follow the blog if you are a wordpress member to stay up to date.

My incredible travelling bear mascott Seamus also has a page, so follow him too! He was a present to me from my nephew (then 6) to wish me luck when I went to Ireland for the Europeans in 2010, so he is a very special and well travelled bear.