Chosen Arrow

Good luck to all those competing in Coast to Coast this weekend! Be proud of how far you’ve come to get to the start line and have a great day out there! .vreugdenhil.multisport

I actually still can’t believe today was real! 😂 To be back racing again. I LOVED every second of it! Even had a brief moment with 300m to go where I didn’t want the race to end!?! 🤣

2km 🏊‍♀️ 41 mins
90km 🚲 3hrs
21.1km 🏃‍♀️ 2hrs 22

Overall 6hrs 11mins.

Far exceeded my expectations there! Didn’t have nearly the training base or volume compared to other times but I had a much smarter pacing strategy. And a dozen other 1% ers that worked in my favour.

Plus mum strength of course! Felt like I had an extra gear physically and mentally and spent most of the race wondering how the heck it was going so well 😂

This race was always going to be different to any other. It means so much more to be out there now when training is juggled around being mum to two girls under 2.5. The training was the true achievement here and the race was the absolute icing on the cake to celebrate that!

This race was never about proving anything or “bouncing back” after childbirth, that would totally be the wrong reason to be out there. For me it was about many things but some of the big ones are:

Signing off my twenties!
Pre kids I definitely took the training / me time for granted and wasn’t ready to accept putting triathlon on hold without having another crack in my 20s.

Continuing to prove to myself that I am capable at sport (a long held limiting belief). Sounds weird but even if people now perceive me as “sporty” or “athletic” it’s still a hard thing for me to feel like I identify with.

Inspiring my girls. 12 months ago I couldn’t convince my eldest that my running shoes were mums shoes and not “dad’s shoes” 😂 Mum and Dad swimming, biking or running is so normal to them already and I love that.

And maybe a little bit of me wanted to see if racing is any easier after drug free childbirth 🤣. No but seriously, mum grit is a thing!

I’m a little sad that this race is over because the plan is to put the half distance on ice for some time. Next week I’ll be coming to terms with a to do list as long as my arm that has been neglected for training 😂. I’ll have to find some smaller goals to put the current fitness to use, and when the next half tri is, we’ll see!

Feeling a little sad that this special build has come to an end. 😢 I have enjoyed it soooo much! Taking nothing for granted now that I have so little time to get it done. I wish I’d taken more photos to remember it by, but the windows for training were often too tight for photos! 😂

I decided a little over 12 months ago that getting to Tauranga Half was a goal. Getting to the start line with no racing since 2021/22, two kids under two and after giving birth in April was always going to be a huge challenge.

The first step was making sure I had a slow and through recovery from birth. I didn’t rush things and took 12 weeks before doing anything resembling 🏊‍♀️🚲🏃‍♀️Then dabbled in some of each for a couple of months before starting a proper training build in October.

It has required doing most of my training either during the midday nap or after 7:30pm. I’ve become conditioned to riding in the garage at night or getting out with my bike lights to finish off in the dark. An honourable mention also has to go to Makino pool in Feilding for being open until 9pm! 🎉

It was a short timeframe to build fitness from a nonexistent base, so the goals for this were fairly simple:
Enjoy the training, don’t burn out, love running again, get to the start line, get to the finish line. All while being the best mum I can be for the girls.

Aimee .nz has been a HUGE help with this and so understanding of my capacity for training alongside parenting and life. 💕

Now we’re here and the race plan is simple: Enjoy and finish.

Yes I am a bit nervous. But it’s mostly about the logistics, like navigating the time from waking up until the start line with the kids. A breastfed baby that doesn’t like to take a bottle 😬🫣. The latter may even require a long T2 😬. Not sure who has the harder task, me racing or 😮‍💨

With everything it has taken to get here, my training has been the real achievement and the race is a celebration of that! I’ll be racing conservatively, sticking to a plan and not out to break any previous records, but so so sooooo stoked to be on course!

Let’s go! 💪
🏊‍♀️ 🚲 🏃‍♀️ 💃 🎉

Happy Anniversary ! Year 3 has been a busy and exhausting one for sure, but also some peak life experiences with our growing family. Spending very little time together lately due to my Tauranga half prep! So here’s a Tauranga half themed anniversary post 😂. Thanks for your all your patience during this endeavour and for putting the kids back to bed 20 times a night while I’m training 🏊‍♀️ 🚲 🏃‍♀️

A throwback to some Taupo course memories!

Best of luck to all those racing 70.3 World Champs in Taupo this weekend! 💪🏊‍♀️🚲🏃‍♀️🏃

The atmosphere looks AMAZING! 😮 Massive FOMO over here!

May the sun and the wind be kind to you out there. It’s been a long time coming since 2019 qualification for some. Well done for making it to the start line, however long and tough the journey has been. Go and give it your very best shot! 💪

Had to pinch myself reading back through these DMs from customers, you guys are too kind! 🥰

And how good are these pics of everyone out racing 🤩

It’s seeing the suits that I designed out on course, receding the photos, and getting messages like these that motivate me to keep bringing my designs to life!

Whether you’ve purchased yet or not, Thank you all for being here on my lycra journey with me, it gives me so much joy and inspiration! 😍

🔔 Reminder 🔔 The new “Comeback” trisuit pre-order window closes TONIGHT at 11pm!

Time is running out to be best dressed on course this summer with a 15% preorder discount + 10% of additional order items! 🎉

(Trisuit delivery ETA - mid December)

Well done Nicki Fisk on your IronMaori Quarter today! Rocking the pink suit + nyc marathon tee 🔥

The journey… Came back to an old 2019 diary to find this and a few other gems I didn’t know I was looking for. Reflection is a secret superpower I’m learning to unlock. I wrote a lot back then without really realising I was writing anything. A few short notes and ideas jotted around tell me a lot now about how far I’ve come. Interesting to see what was important to me then and still is now. A guide for the future. P.S Working on something new and exciting 😎 ✌️

2019 Shanghai —> Palmy North Obviously a lot has changed since these very first samples in 2019. 😅 Sometimes you need to look back at the beginning to see how far you’ve come! 🎉 Maybe it’s the curse of being driven, it never feels in the moment like I have achieved much. That applies to multiple areas of my life and never feeling as if I’ve arrived is what keeps me pushing. I’ve never been great at reflection but leaning into it helps with motivation, feeling momentum and setting smarter goals for the future. 🎯 Exciting plans for Chosen Arrow include a Winter SALE! ❄️ COMING SOON 👀 but here are some ways you can support us (or any of your favourite small businesses) without spending a cent 😜 🚲 comment on this post 🚲 invite a friend to follow us 🚲 share this page/posts 🚲 review a purchase - or just DM me your positive feedback, I’ll turn it into review content! 🚲 hit save on this post 🚲 recommend us to friends and family! Thanks so much for being here! 😁 - Johanna

Throwback to Tauranga races of 2021 and 2022. Some great outings in the blue and pink monarch trisuits! Excited for my return to the Tauranga Half in January 2025 😁 Expectations will be very different returning to racing post partum and fitting in the training with two under two!

The beginning....

2019 cycling in Shanghai. Didn't take my bike over but ended up purchasing an old Madone once I realised there were some amazing cycle groups to join.

Pretty hectic group rides for this kiwi! It wasn't until I was running reds in a mega city (along with the entire bunch of 50+ cyclists) that I realised I'd only ever cycled through one set of traffic lights 🤣 (The only one in Taupo at that time). Unfortunately no photos featuring the Chosen Arrow gear in SH as this was just before I got hold of my first-ever samples.