Steff Kidd hoped children would learn to incorporate physical exercise into daily life when she took part in a personal bike challenge.
The mother of three first appeared in the Rotorua Daily Post in February when she pimped out her bike for the Rotorua Bike Festival. It coincided with five visits to in-home carers she was due to make in her role of Porse programme tutor. "I want to show the children you can incorporate exercise into your daily life," Mrs Kidd said at the time.
She's followed that through herself and in March will take on the challenge of Ironman New Zealand - a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km marathon run in Taupo.
"Back in February doing Ironman was definitely on my radar. My brother and uncle have done Ironman, so growing up this is what I saw ... It's healthy role modelling."
Mrs Kidd is being sponsored in her Ironman quest by Porse, who paid her entry fee and are providing her with a race kit. In February she said her cycling during Bikewise was also a good message for her colleagues. "It creates a message to my educators that you can carry on with everyday life while including physical exercise. It's a lifestyle choice ..."
From her training she is learning how to manage her time, how her body responds to long hours and nutrition, as well as gaining confidence in her ability to complete the challenge.
"I try to squeeze in as much as I can out of my day. The training itself isn't too bad when you look at it over the course of the week. It's a slow process of ticking things off and managing tiredness, work and life. I don't want my kids to miss out on their mum being around but it's been awesome for [my husband] Greg as well."
Come March 1, Mrs Kidd will be putting her training into practice with her children - Max, 4, Lockie, 6 and Georja, 15 - cheering her on.