00:00:00
so so you get back home and you're
00:00:01
recovering and you're adapting to life
00:00:03
and I guess you're still adapting to
00:00:05
life now like with day-to-day challenges
00:00:06
that pop up but when do you get the idea
00:00:08
to um like embark on a sporting career
00:00:12
well like I say I I've always dabbled in
00:00:14
some sports so it was about okay where
00:00:18
do we go from here and I thought you
00:00:20
know I want to make this a New Journey
00:00:22
so I thought let's do something
00:00:25
radical some people might call it stupid
00:00:27
Dom but I thought let's find find a
00:00:30
sport and do something so instead of
00:00:32
just aiming for something small I
00:00:34
thought I'm going to aim for something
00:00:36
big so I thought right I'm going to try
00:00:39
to get into a New Zealand
00:00:41
team um in a sport that would have to
00:00:44
challenge me so like I say said before
00:00:47
I've dabbled in a bit of running and
00:00:49
I've dabbled in a bit of cycling but I
00:00:51
hate swimming with a passion absolutely
00:00:54
Lo it um so I thought probably for one
00:00:58
because I have to keep my mouth shut to
00:00:59
I
00:01:00
so so I thought let's try
00:01:04
Triathlon um so you know there was all
00:01:06
these things and these challenges and I
00:01:09
knew swimming was going to be my
00:01:10
challenge obviously you know I didn't
00:01:12
know if I was going to sink swim or go
00:01:14
in circles mate you know um so I just
00:01:17
jumped into that challenge so literally
00:01:21
a month to the day of having Stumpy
00:01:23
removed we went to Hawks Bay I didn't
00:01:26
want to do it at home I wanted to be out
00:01:29
of my surroundings and just be somewhere
00:01:33
where I felt that nobody was looking why
00:01:36
because it was the first time I was
00:01:37
going to be in public and be exposed you
00:01:40
know for one woman and TOS are you know
00:01:43
it's not something we like to do L alone
00:01:46
with half a wng right but for for anyone
00:01:49
that's listening to this that doesn't
00:01:50
know that area of New Zealand like
00:01:52
you're talking like a two-hour road trip
00:01:54
that's like from Fielding to Haw Bay
00:01:57
it's a couple of hours it's a a long way
00:01:59
go for half an hour in the pool but I
00:02:01
knew there was a good pool there and I
00:02:03
knew it was it was going to be quiet at
00:02:06
that sort of time so so way we trudgeon
00:02:09
and we decided it was going to be for a
00:02:10
weekend away as well you know okay okay
00:02:12
so um yeah way we trudgeon um Owen comes
00:02:15
into the pool with me I stripped down um
00:02:18
I got my goggles and I hopped in the
00:02:21
pool and I was like how the freak am I
00:02:23
going to put these bloody goggles on
00:02:25
there was another new challenge straight
00:02:27
away see what I mean are things like
00:02:30
that every day that you would so the
00:02:31
first thing I done was I got my goggles
00:02:33
I stuck the strap over my nose and I
00:02:36
pulled it back and I looked like Miss
00:02:37
Piggy with my nose and the Flaming ear
00:02:39
but I pulled the strap back and then I
00:02:41
was able to adjust my goggles yeah yeah
00:02:44
and it was like there's a challenge who
00:02:47
else has tried to do that you know um
00:02:50
and I and I overcame that challenge so
00:02:53
the next thing was to see if we could
00:02:55
swim now I had no flaming idea Dom how I
00:02:59
was going to go M had no idea had no
00:03:02
idea how Stumpy was going to react to
00:03:04
being put in
00:03:06
water yeah yeah I'm just trying to yeah
00:03:08
yeah yeah you know all these things um
00:03:11
that people probably just take for
00:03:14
granted but it was all new for me and
00:03:16
hence why I wanted to be in a
00:03:18
surroundings where nobody knew me so
00:03:20
that I could just give it a go if I
00:03:22
floundered if I sunk if I went in
00:03:24
circles nobody was going to see me that
00:03:26
I knew so yeah I just I said to ow film
00:03:30
this this is going to be
00:03:32
interesting so um he got my camera ready
00:03:36
and away I went I just instantly went
00:03:38
under the water pushed off the edge um
00:03:41
propelled this my right arm over and I
00:03:44
propelled forward threw Stumpy over and
00:03:47
I felt like I went flaming nowhere
00:03:49
because there was nothing there to pull
00:03:51
back you know um but I just kept
00:03:54
swimming with this arm and so were you
00:03:57
going were you going straight or were
00:03:58
you sort of veering well yeah yeah you
00:04:00
were going straight I didn't feel like I
00:04:03
was but but yeah when I watched the
00:04:06
video cuz I concentrated on that bloody
00:04:08
black line you know that's always in the
00:04:10
pool um and so obviously my core was
00:04:14
doing a bit of work but we got to the
00:04:16
other end mate and I just came out from
00:04:19
under that water and once again it was
00:04:21
just a massive smile it was like yes you
00:04:25
know I've done that so yes here comes
00:04:27
the journey I know I can swim where do
00:04:30
we go from here how do I improve um how
00:04:33
do I include these three disciplines
00:04:35
into one um to make this journey happen
00:04:39
and that's where it started though
00:04:41
that's exactly where it started exactly
00:04:43
a month of the day after meeting Stumpy
00:04:46
how you guys have got kids he how old
00:04:47
are you kids Owen's got Owen's got kids
00:04:50
and I've got one um yeah that the young
00:04:53
well 34 now so they're all growing up so
00:04:56
they're all gone you know doing their
00:04:59
what do what do they make of um
00:05:01
everything um honesty they don't treat
00:05:04
me any different yeah yeah no but they
00:05:07
must be [ __ ] proud um I hope they are
00:05:09
yeah I hope they are yeah um is it not
00:05:12
not a convers not a conversation I've
00:05:14
said it's not a conversation of gr up is
00:05:17
that just sort of your your family you
00:05:19
know don't like to talk about myself I
00:05:22
really don't really don't feel
00:05:23
comfortable talking about my
00:05:24
achievements because I do it for me and
00:05:27
I do it for Owen I want him to be proud
00:05:29
of me um yes I'd like um ow I think
00:05:33
Owen's family is proud of me I don't
00:05:35
know I don't I I as I say it's not a
00:05:38
conversation I like to yeah hey are you
00:05:41
happy with what I'm doing are you proud
00:05:43
of me you know that's not something I
00:05:45
you no and it shouldn't be your job to
00:05:46
say that but I I feel like to show to
00:05:49
show such courage and strength and such
00:05:51
adversity I feel like that's something
00:05:53
that Warren saying to someone you care
00:05:55
about hey I'm really I'm really proud of
00:05:57
you I know um Owen's son's
00:06:00
son which is Owen's grandson Josh I know
00:06:02
he's proud of me we text quite regularly
00:06:05
they live in Australia and Josh is one
00:06:08
that you know I'm proud of he's done
00:06:10
well in rugby so I think it's through
00:06:13
the sport that we connect you know and
00:06:16
and he he'll quite often text and say
00:06:18
you know I'm proud of you Shar you know
00:06:22
um so yeah I know he is and if I can
00:06:24
make him proud well you know and
00:06:27
likewise um so yeah yeah I think they
00:06:29
are proud of me yeah yeah sounds a bit
00:06:31
like my family we don't we don't
00:06:33
necessarily you know tell each other
00:06:34
these things with words but I feel like
00:06:36
sometimes you should exactly I you know
00:06:38
I was always bought up we were never
00:06:40
told we were loved we were never cut off
00:06:42
you're just supposed to know it you know
00:06:44
we would that wasn't our family
00:06:46
Dynamics um yeah it just wasn't in us so
00:06:50
when I went to the farm you know it was
00:06:52
a totally different ball game you know
00:06:54
my my Auntie and Uncle would come up and
00:06:56
give me a cattle you know that was all
00:06:57
new to me you know
00:06:59
um so yeah things changed the Dynamics
00:07:02
changed yeah but yeah not it wasn't a
00:07:05
that sort of Lifestyle yeah so what's
00:07:08
the first event that you do so you go to
00:07:09
go to Hawks Bay have a have a got
00:07:11
swimming and you think right I'm going
00:07:12
about to do this so then what I do is it
00:07:14
just like a standard Triathlon or is it
00:07:17
what length um yeah it was just you know
00:07:19
I I actually I went
00:07:22
from trying to swim to entering the New
00:07:27
Zealand um par
00:07:30
um championships or national
00:07:33
championships um went along to that um
00:07:36
and there was you know there was only
00:07:38
about three or four of us CU it's not a
00:07:40
lot um yeah and I won that and that was
00:07:44
the start so I decided right here we go
00:07:47
this is how we start earning points and
00:07:50
getting
00:07:52
into um the Paro Olympic ranking
00:07:55
situation so um yeah it started there
00:07:58
and then of course the next thing you
00:07:59
had had to go to Oceania which was in
00:08:02
Australia um went over there I got
00:08:05
Sila um so the pro the progress and the
00:08:08
progression was starting to happen and I
00:08:11
was loving it you know um Shane and
00:08:14
Tammy Reid were coaches in Fielding um
00:08:17
Shane was a um Olympic triathlete
00:08:21
himself um I don't know if you've heard
00:08:23
him um you've only got to Google The
00:08:26
Beijing Olympics and Shane's the first
00:08:28
one out of the water and man he's he's a
00:08:31
weapon right um unfortunately Shane's
00:08:33
passed away um he had brain cancer and
00:08:36
passed away you know not so long ago
00:08:39
well when we say 12 months coming up um
00:08:42
so yeah it's but Shane was just one of
00:08:45
those humble guys and Tammy's wife she
00:08:47
was a um
00:08:49
National um triathlete herself and she
00:08:52
decided to get into
00:08:54
coaching so they came on board and they
00:08:56
started coaching me so that's where we
00:08:58
started yeah so swimming and then um and
00:09:01
running you see had some running um
00:09:03
experience beforehand it's running just
00:09:04
the same what's the difference with so
00:09:06
no Shane and Tammy got me into a
00:09:08
coaching program and they coached me for
00:09:11
swimming running yeah and um biking um R
00:09:15
running as as an UT is is it oh mate
00:09:19
weird is it weird seriously and two a
00:09:23
what you know um put it this way the
00:09:25
first run I went out with Tammy I didn't
00:09:28
know how I was going to I didn't know
00:09:29
how Stumpy was going to W it was
00:09:31
freaking painful because of the the
00:09:34
jarring oh okay the jarring it was just
00:09:37
horrible but I wasn't going to let Tammy
00:09:40
know that so Tammy would run on the side
00:09:42
she said I'll run on the right hand side
00:09:44
sh cuz I don't want to be anywhere near
00:09:45
Stumpy I said thanks um we'd be running
00:09:48
along down the road next minute the bits
00:09:51
she'd give me a whack you know Tammy's
00:09:52
only a little short ass and it's nothing
00:09:54
of a fit little lean mean machine and um
00:09:58
next minute she'd give me a whack on on
00:09:59
the shoulder and I'd say what's that for
00:10:00
and she'd say move over you're veing
00:10:04
out oh cuz the imbalance that's
00:10:07
interesting isn't it you now I only had
00:10:10
1.75 kilos taken off right when I lost
00:10:14
the my arm but that 1.75 kilos Dom made
00:10:18
a huge difference in my
00:10:21
balance who would have thought well I
00:10:23
wouldn't have thought that yeah it makes
00:10:25
sense though yeah totally so that's the
00:10:27
that's the running what about the um the
00:10:29
the cycling so you just do you cycle
00:10:30
with just one hand on the bar so I
00:10:32
started off just on a road bike um and
00:10:35
then we progressed obviously to a TT bik
00:10:38
to start International racing with um
00:10:41
and that's where the obviously first of
00:10:43
all how was I going to ride a TT bar
00:10:45
with the EOB bars uh so um the limb
00:10:49
Center it was like phone call to the
00:10:50
limb center now honestly they must every
00:10:53
time they hear chez's making an
00:10:55
appointment they must roll their eyes
00:10:56
and think oh God what's she coming out
00:10:59
had us with at this time but um they
00:11:02
came up with this rarely rad idea of
00:11:05
making a cup for Stumpy to sit in so I'd
00:11:07
sit stumpy in this um and I'd be down
00:11:10
here like this okay so that's how we
00:11:13
managed to get around riding on an aob
00:11:16
bike on a TT bike
00:11:19
um and that's that's how we progressed
00:11:22
on that but it was once again it was all
00:11:23
about balance because I couldn't put
00:11:25
pressure down in that cup because of the
00:11:28
pain in the end my stump so we had
00:11:31
cotton wool we had Lamb's wool we had
00:11:33
foam we had so much in there to stop any
00:11:37
jaring um but yeah we we got around it
00:11:39
and that's how my bike is still set up
00:11:42
today um and they just actually looking
00:11:45
it's cuz it's all made of carbon at the
00:11:47
moment they're just starting to look at
00:11:49
a new way of being able to do a 3D
00:11:52
printed one so it's lighter and a little
00:11:54
bit more Flex in it for me so um yeah
00:11:58
they're amazing down there at the LM
00:11:59
Center in Wellington freaking cool
00:12:02
clever guys so when when able-bodied
00:12:04
people do these um these sort of events
00:12:07
there's pain that you have like there's
00:12:08
pain in your lungs pain in your legs
00:12:10
whatever what extra pain do you have
00:12:12
above and beyond that um is it just
00:12:14
Stumpy stump like a burning sensation or
00:12:17
a throbbing or she's firing right yeah
00:12:19
when I say she he he's firing you he's
00:12:22
been a typical male a right prick you
00:12:24
know um just being a pain in the ass
00:12:27
literally you know real pain it's it's
00:12:31
it's a pain that you can't describe
00:12:33
don't
00:12:35
um yeah it's it's not a pain
00:12:39
that I can describe to people because
00:12:42
people wouldn't believe
00:12:44
it um but you know I I've found ways of
00:12:49
just getting getting out there doing
00:12:52
things I feel if I'm doing something and
00:12:54
keeping active it's um helping with that
00:12:58
pain if even though I'm in pain and I'm
00:13:00
causing myself pain
00:13:03
mentally I feel like that and physically
00:13:06
that I'm helping that pain yeah you're
00:13:08
making yourself stronger building
00:13:10
resilience yeah but how do you um like
00:13:12
how do you how do how do you block that
00:13:13
out like do you do you have mantras or
00:13:15
anything or do you um I just you know I
00:13:17
have got a mantra um yeah and I my
00:13:20
Mantra is I may only have one Wing but I
00:13:23
can still
00:13:24
fly and that's what I have I have to say
00:13:27
to myself or when I am in this pain I
00:13:31
just say don't give in it comes from
00:13:34
within and when I say within I mean it's
00:13:37
what's in your heart you know if we
00:13:39
really want something we'll dig deep and
00:13:42
we'll do it you know we'll find a way
00:13:46
but we have to find that way nobody else
00:13:49
will do it for
00:13:50
us so so that pain that you're talking
00:13:52
about is that only when you're like
00:13:54
competing and pushing it or is that
00:13:55
training as well every it's everyday
00:13:57
pain I'm in that pain every day mate so
00:14:00
when you're in when you're um this is
00:14:02
the first time you know you're a prick
00:14:05
cuz you're making me open up about it D
00:14:07
don't want to get the tissues I can get
00:14:09
the tissues no I I don't want tissues
00:14:11
that's a sign of weakness it's no I
00:14:13
don't no I don't seriously it's it's
00:14:16
because um it's from the heart you know
00:14:23
um I I don't talk about the pain people
00:14:26
don't understand or know that I'm in CU
00:14:28
I've learned to hide that but should
00:14:31
you um I don't want people to see me
00:14:35
weak no that's a weakness to me yeah and
00:14:38
I don't want to be weak D yeah I want to
00:14:41
be that strong
00:14:42
person you know don't get me wrong I
00:14:44
have some days at
00:14:46
home where I'm weak yeah when like when
00:14:49
you when you're trying I'm thinking
00:14:52
again I'm probably projecting here but
00:14:53
if I was you and I was on that
00:14:54
stationary bike in the garage on [ __ ]
00:14:56
Paton or whatever for three hours and it
00:14:59
was it was hurting every second I'd
00:15:01
probably have I'd probably cry to myself
00:15:03
I have do you I have done y yep you know
00:15:06
I'm set up in the shed um I'm not like
00:15:09
some people that you know have their
00:15:11
bike set up in the lounge that's to me
00:15:13
that my inside of my home is home my
00:15:16
training if I have to train on outside
00:15:19
is in the shed I keep that those two
00:15:21
lives separate um so yeah you know there
00:15:24
are those sessions where you have to sit
00:15:26
on that flaming bite getting numb bum
00:15:28
and you know every other department you
00:15:31
know in a uncomfortable State um out in
00:15:34
a shed and yeah there are times that
00:15:37
yeah I I I do cry and I and I think it's
00:15:39
more just because it it gets
00:15:41
overwhelming it's all too much or yeah
00:15:43
yeah some days I do I feel like throwing
00:15:46
that session in but I know that at the
00:15:48
end of that session if I didn't do that
00:15:50
session you know what it's like when
00:15:52
you're a runner some days you don't want
00:15:54
to go out for a run but when you come
00:15:56
back [ __ ] you feel good right feel way
00:15:58
better afterward you do and that's how I
00:16:00
feel about if I was to cut that session
00:16:04
short I wouldn't feel right it wouldn't
00:16:07
sit good you know um and I'd probably
00:16:10
have to go back out later into it again
00:16:12
cuz the guils eating you up yeah for
00:16:14
sure for sure and you you'd understand
00:16:18
that yeah 100% 100% but what what I'm
00:16:20
dealing with is not this extra level of
00:16:23
of adversity or or pain you know what I
00:16:25
mean there's um there's that yeah that
00:16:28
ter putting yourself in the pain cave
00:16:30
which uh anyone that's done any sort of
00:16:32
physical activity will understand but
00:16:34
then but you know that that pain is
00:16:36
going to go yeah
00:16:37
yeah no but what I'm saying sh is your
00:16:40
pain doesn't go like no it's it's
00:16:42
constantly there and then when you're
00:16:44
doing the exercise it just gets worse
00:16:45
yeah it's rough mm it's a rough hand to
00:16:48
be dealt sucks sucks mate but um you
00:16:52
know I choose
00:16:54
to you know move forward yeah that's any
00:16:59
way to go isn't it oh for sure you know
00:17:02
um yeah you know there are some days um
00:17:06
ow and may have gone out in the
00:17:08
afternoon or something and I've finished
00:17:10
training and I'll go inside and yeah I
00:17:13
do I'll have a cry but it's to myself I
00:17:16
won't show that you why don't you out of
00:17:19
all the people you could show it to him
00:17:21
right when he understand oh absolutely
00:17:24
well you just prefer to you just prefer
00:17:25
to deal with the stuff on your own I'm
00:17:27
juste yeah I I
00:17:29
I don't like to show that side of me why
00:17:31
is an embarrassment thing or a pride
00:17:33
thing a pride thing I think you know I
00:17:35
don't want to be seen as that
00:17:39
wib um yeah but every yeah I mean I I
00:17:45
you know what I don't even know I but I
00:17:46
feel like he if he ever listens to this
00:17:49
he'll probably hear this and be
00:17:50
frustrated that you don't lean on him a
00:17:51
little bit more probably but he knows
00:17:54
that you know he he I think he knows
00:17:56
that um
00:17:59
I know he's here if I need him he's
00:18:02
always here um so I yeah he I think he's
00:18:07
learned now just you know don't don't 30
00:18:10
years don't even ask her you know just
00:18:13
roll your eyes and go a here we go again
00:18:16
you know here she you know um I think he
00:18:18
sort of got used to
00:18:20
me
00:18:21
um and I say that in the way that I
00:18:24
think he's got used to my ways my new
00:18:27
ways yeah
00:18:28
[Music]
00:18:30
so like who do you talk to about this
00:18:32
you like you know you're talking to me
00:18:33
today about it but you talk to anyone
00:18:34
else about it no this is the first time
00:18:37
I've really opened up Don so you you've
00:18:39
been freaking privileged you buger um
00:18:42
you know I I don't open up yeah but it's
00:18:45
good I Sharon like it don't you dare me
00:18:49
Sharon as I said I'm only get called
00:18:52
that when my mother tells me off but you
00:18:54
know um it's not a therapy session you
00:18:57
know but I feel I can open up to you
00:19:00
because I feel that I you can relate
00:19:02
yeah um you know you've had some [ __ ]
00:19:05
times in your life but as as I said
00:19:07
earlier like from doing this podcast
00:19:09
like almost two years now every single
00:19:11
person has has or will go through some
00:19:13
sort of adversity it's all on a
00:19:15
different level but uh and it's how we
00:19:18
want to progress with that adversity or
00:19:21
if we want to progress some people can
00:19:24
some people can't yeah I mean you you
00:19:27
can you can easily make yourself victim
00:19:28
and no one no one would no one would
00:19:30
begrudge you you you've got every right
00:19:31
in the world to but it's like it's not
00:19:33
going to help you grow is it it's not
00:19:35
it's not going to help me or my journey
00:19:38
you know my journey is about having the
00:19:40
best life and M I am yeah even though I
00:19:44
have this pain um you know as I say
00:19:49
um it's not about that it's about my
00:19:52
journey and how exciting that you're on
00:19:54
the the I suppose the downward slide of
00:19:57
life on the the you know the second half
00:19:59
of your life but it's also like a new
00:20:01
beginning oh it's the best part of my
00:20:03
life you know um I would never have
00:20:06
achieved or done half of the things I've
00:20:09
done Dom if I hadn't met Stumpy yeah you
00:20:12
you could have though he why wouldn't
00:20:14
you have though oh M I wouldn't have
00:20:16
been able to travel the world like I
00:20:18
have no no but you you could have and it
00:20:19
would have been considerably easier like
00:20:20
doing things likeon swimming or Coast to
00:20:23
Coast um
00:20:25
but you you you waited until things got
00:20:28
very very difficult for yourself before
00:20:29
you decided to but but that's what makes
00:20:32
the challenge even more rewarding yeah
00:20:35
you know um and like I say it's always
00:20:37
been about if one person can see me
00:20:40
doing it and it encourages them to get
00:20:43
out and do something I feel like I've
00:20:45
achieved what I've set out to do D oh I
00:20:48
think there's there's more than one you
00:20:50
make yeah a lot of people feel like sex
00:20:52
as [ __ ] well I don't mean to do that I
00:20:56
really really that's not my intent
00:20:58
mention Dom don't go that far um yeah no
00:21:01
it's more yeah just if I can encourage
00:21:04
others yeah just you know just because
00:21:06
we're challenged there's no reason why
00:21:09
we cannot still succeed at things and it
00:21:12
doesn't have to be mad radical things
00:21:15
like I've done just small
00:21:18
steps you know small steps make lead to
00:21:21
bigger
00:21:24
[Music]
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STS
00:21:29
[Music]
00:21:32
m
