While Dan and I adventure across New Zealand, I'm planning to keep up my endurance training to race the XTERRA Motatapu off-road triathlon in Queenstown, March 4th. To date, it’s been a cool challenge so I thought I’d share some training gems from each major stop-over. To kick things off, here are my favourite off-road triathlon training spots in Christchurch:

Swim

Although there are some zesty open water options, a treat for day-to-day swim training is to head to one of the outdoor pools. I’m a huge fan of Waltham. It’s the official home to the Canterbury Triathlon Club and a lovely place to get some sunshine while knocking out swim workouts. Mid-day, Waltham is a relatively quiet pool with the added bonus of extra long lanes: 33.3 meters.

Walham Pool (The lanes are behind the mob of children)

A great resource for swim training in Christchurch is Fit&Abel. They have open water workshops, swim squads and races every week during the summer.

Decided 2,000 meters of swimming in a washing machine of Ironman #Triathletes was a good idea, yesterday. Exhausted and dizzy - But I guess I'd do it again 😜\\ 📷 @harmon_dan #SwimBikeRun #ChristchurchNZ #LakeRua #SuuntoSwim #Fitandabel #openwaterswim #enduranceathlete

A photo posted by Nina Arnold (@ninaa2007) on Nov 28, 2016 at 4:39pm PST

Mountain Bike

There are so many options for training rides but my favourite link up is a climb up through Halswell Quarry, across the Summit Road, down Flying Nun Trail, up to Victoria Park, down Tilted Sally and a flat road cycle back home. Bag vertical, tech, views and intervals all in one go. Below is a short overview of the ride generated from my Suunto watch:

A video posted by Nina Arnold (@ninaa2007) on Nov 19, 2016 at 6:42pm PST

Trail Run

Just as Christchurch is spoiled for variety with mountain bike trails, they have some rad options for trail running too. But Bottle Lake Forest takes the cake. The trails are relatively flat with some nice rolling elements to keep you entertained. The main loop is a well signed 10 kilometres that weaves through a stunning pine forest bordering the beach in Littleton. The air is sweet with wildflowers, ocean salt and pine needles. It’s so damn cool:

Seriously? One of the coolest running networks I've ever played in. Pine trees to beach and back again: What a playground! #bottlelakeforest For. The. Win. \\ #ExploreNZ #ChristchurchNZ #PureNewZealand #SalomonRunning #suuntorun

A photo posted by Nina Arnold (@ninaa2007) on Nov 11, 2016 at 12:49am PST