31 January 2011
In the press again
On Sunday 30 Jan little bro', Chris and I featured on Contact Tri TV (http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/video) and then an article about us appeared in the latest TriNZ newsletter (http://www.triathlon.org.nz/news?id=95).
30 January 2011
A new beginning
Well, I have my first month of training from Coach Geoff as I set out on a new adventure for the year. It's recovery mode for a few weeks yet, but now that I have completed my first iron-distance race, I am starting to believe in my ability to become more of an athlete.
I have a whole new perspective on training, on my limits (and how my perceptions of what they are have always held me back) and what I might be capable of. In most areas of my life I have always believed that anything is possible if you work hard enough, but never really felt that to be true of my athletic prowess. NOW, I BELIEVE!
This year I have some ambitious goals and I am going to pick them off as the year unfolds:
1) First and foremost I am going to get my weight down to something that is going to allow me to be faster and stronger. That means loosing another 20-25kg so that I am under 80kg - a weight I haven't been since I was about 16 years old. I can't imagine what that will be like, but I know that at very least I will be much faster than I am now.
2) A sub 1:30 half marathon before the end of the year. Given the planned level of weight loss, that should be a breeze (1kg is usually equated to 2-3 sec per km and my PB stands at just under 1:45), but I know that I am still going to have to work hard to achieve this.
3) A 3:40 marathon. This is a conservative target (if I attempt this at my goal weight) but, as I will also be training for Challenge 2012, my guess is it will be hard to fit in too much marathon-specific training. This will be more than 50 minutes off my PB.
4) Top 20 in my age group for Challenge 2012. This will require a more than 3 hour improvement on 2011 and somehow trying to overcome the cramping issues that I faced this year. In fact the cramping should deal with most of the time I need to make up and the weight loss a significant amount more.
None of this is going to be easy, but the rewards will be huge. I love what I have learnt over the last 12 months and I want to use it to become leaner, stronger, faster and more ambitious. I no longer accept that I am a back of the pack athlete for life. This year is all about working hard to move my way through the pack and I have longer term ambitions to make it close to the head of the field. The 'Good-on-ya-big-guy' that people have been encouraging over the last couple of years is going to become someone to be taken a bit more seriously.
Race reports are on the way, but I don't have consistent internet access at the moment and I have been busy with work and catching up on lost family time.
I have a whole new perspective on training, on my limits (and how my perceptions of what they are have always held me back) and what I might be capable of. In most areas of my life I have always believed that anything is possible if you work hard enough, but never really felt that to be true of my athletic prowess. NOW, I BELIEVE!
This year I have some ambitious goals and I am going to pick them off as the year unfolds:
1) First and foremost I am going to get my weight down to something that is going to allow me to be faster and stronger. That means loosing another 20-25kg so that I am under 80kg - a weight I haven't been since I was about 16 years old. I can't imagine what that will be like, but I know that at very least I will be much faster than I am now.
2) A sub 1:30 half marathon before the end of the year. Given the planned level of weight loss, that should be a breeze (1kg is usually equated to 2-3 sec per km and my PB stands at just under 1:45), but I know that I am still going to have to work hard to achieve this.
3) A 3:40 marathon. This is a conservative target (if I attempt this at my goal weight) but, as I will also be training for Challenge 2012, my guess is it will be hard to fit in too much marathon-specific training. This will be more than 50 minutes off my PB.
4) Top 20 in my age group for Challenge 2012. This will require a more than 3 hour improvement on 2011 and somehow trying to overcome the cramping issues that I faced this year. In fact the cramping should deal with most of the time I need to make up and the weight loss a significant amount more.
None of this is going to be easy, but the rewards will be huge. I love what I have learnt over the last 12 months and I want to use it to become leaner, stronger, faster and more ambitious. I no longer accept that I am a back of the pack athlete for life. This year is all about working hard to move my way through the pack and I have longer term ambitions to make it close to the head of the field. The 'Good-on-ya-big-guy' that people have been encouraging over the last couple of years is going to become someone to be taken a bit more seriously.
Race reports are on the way, but I don't have consistent internet access at the moment and I have been busy with work and catching up on lost family time.
18 January 2011
I Knocked the Bastard Off
Just a very quick post to say that I am no longer semi-ironman, I am an ironman (even if it is not an ironman branded race).
Race conditions have been described as the worst for an iron distance race ever and the winds were worse than Kona. It was simply brutal.
For me it became simply a battle to survive, even though I had done extremely well on the ride (142nd overall of almost 400 starters). At the 8 hour mark I started to cramp in my inner thighs and after the first kilometre of the run it was with me constantly. I was forced to simply walk/jog to manage the cramp which came on everytime I went up or down hill, which on an undulating course made for very slow going. My marathon was 2 hours longer than it should have been and I am pretty gutted about that as, besides the cramp, my legs were feeliung great when I dismounted the bike.
A full run down of race lead up, race day and post race will follow over the coming weeks, but for now all you need to know is I finished in 15:07:13 and, because I was forced to walk the marathon, I have a bit of unfinished business.
This is not the end, it is just the beginning.
Race conditions have been described as the worst for an iron distance race ever and the winds were worse than Kona. It was simply brutal.
For me it became simply a battle to survive, even though I had done extremely well on the ride (142nd overall of almost 400 starters). At the 8 hour mark I started to cramp in my inner thighs and after the first kilometre of the run it was with me constantly. I was forced to simply walk/jog to manage the cramp which came on everytime I went up or down hill, which on an undulating course made for very slow going. My marathon was 2 hours longer than it should have been and I am pretty gutted about that as, besides the cramp, my legs were feeliung great when I dismounted the bike.
A full run down of race lead up, race day and post race will follow over the coming weeks, but for now all you need to know is I finished in 15:07:13 and, because I was forced to walk the marathon, I have a bit of unfinished business.
This is not the end, it is just the beginning.
11 January 2011
06 January 2011
Reflection not so easy
I thought reflection was going to be a relatively easy and somewhat liberating exercise, but to be honest rather than looking back I am entirely focussed on what lies ahead. I guess that’s a good sign as it means that I am focussed on race day.
I find it a bit strange that I am struggling to put into words what I have been thinking about for most of the last six months. To an extent, much of it is already out there for all to read, but there is still so much more that has been running through my mind on every ride, every run and every swim.
On the longer sessions a lot of this reflection has lead to momentary emotional boil-overs and there have been many times on long rides and long runs that it has rushed to the surface and tears have streamed down my face. Remembering my first steps as I walked for the first time after my accident; discharging myself from the hospital to get straight on a plane so that I could be with Carleen at her sister’s wedding; being there when James was born; finding out that Carleen was pregnant for the second time and then holding Emma for the first time... – all memories that have come flooding back.
Not all of the emotional up-welling has come from reflection. I have also visualised what it is going to be like as I cross the finish line next Saturday. Raw emotion pulses through me as I see myself entering the finishing chute with Carleen, James and Emma walking over the finish. Mark Watson, from Radio Sport and race commentator, echoing some of his humbling comments about me over the PA. Mum and Dad emotional like they were when I finished my first marathon. Gary & Chris (my brothers) and their families emotional too, as they were also along for the rough ride surrounding my accident. Last, but most definitely not least, Coach Geoff will be standing there as proud as punch – as he should be, he’s done a great job.
I have also thought a lot about Jacqueline Wyatt and her Mum, Paulette, and what they are going through. To be honest, I am torn between wanting to inspire Jacqueline to be more than she ever imagined before despite her circumstances and being fearful that I might be creating too much of an expectation for her that everything will be as it was before. I know she can be more than she was before, but I have no way of knowing if she will ever fully recover. I hope that I am sending the right message and that I can inspire her to be strong whatever lies ahead. For me, any money that I raise for her along the way is simply a bonus.
Right now, though, I just want to get on with it. I am growing increasingly impatient and race day cannot come soon enough. Once again, I'm guessing that is a good sign.
I find it a bit strange that I am struggling to put into words what I have been thinking about for most of the last six months. To an extent, much of it is already out there for all to read, but there is still so much more that has been running through my mind on every ride, every run and every swim.
On the longer sessions a lot of this reflection has lead to momentary emotional boil-overs and there have been many times on long rides and long runs that it has rushed to the surface and tears have streamed down my face. Remembering my first steps as I walked for the first time after my accident; discharging myself from the hospital to get straight on a plane so that I could be with Carleen at her sister’s wedding; being there when James was born; finding out that Carleen was pregnant for the second time and then holding Emma for the first time... – all memories that have come flooding back.
Not all of the emotional up-welling has come from reflection. I have also visualised what it is going to be like as I cross the finish line next Saturday. Raw emotion pulses through me as I see myself entering the finishing chute with Carleen, James and Emma walking over the finish. Mark Watson, from Radio Sport and race commentator, echoing some of his humbling comments about me over the PA. Mum and Dad emotional like they were when I finished my first marathon. Gary & Chris (my brothers) and their families emotional too, as they were also along for the rough ride surrounding my accident. Last, but most definitely not least, Coach Geoff will be standing there as proud as punch – as he should be, he’s done a great job.
I have also thought a lot about Jacqueline Wyatt and her Mum, Paulette, and what they are going through. To be honest, I am torn between wanting to inspire Jacqueline to be more than she ever imagined before despite her circumstances and being fearful that I might be creating too much of an expectation for her that everything will be as it was before. I know she can be more than she was before, but I have no way of knowing if she will ever fully recover. I hope that I am sending the right message and that I can inspire her to be strong whatever lies ahead. For me, any money that I raise for her along the way is simply a bonus.
Right now, though, I just want to get on with it. I am growing increasingly impatient and race day cannot come soon enough. Once again, I'm guessing that is a good sign.
04 January 2011
A time to reflect
Over the next ten days I will take time to reflect on just where I have come from over the past nine and half years.
My last post was a little negative, but to be honest that is how I felt that day. I think it may in fact have been because a part me felt that this journey was just about over. However, since then I have actually come to the realisation that January 15 2011 will be just the beginning.
I feel just like I did once I was through the worst of my accident - I have been given a second chance at life, so I am going to make the most of it. It took my a while to figure out just what that meant, but I think that I have finally got it and Challenge Wanaka is just the start of it.
Over the next ten days I am going to reflect on where this journey has taken me, touching on the what I have learnt since my accident, but especially the stuff that I have learnt since I began my more active life two and half years ago. The posts may not come every day as internet access is not that easy in Hawea, but I will be recording my reflections in posts as they come to me and posting them when I get to the internet cafe.
My last post was a little negative, but to be honest that is how I felt that day. I think it may in fact have been because a part me felt that this journey was just about over. However, since then I have actually come to the realisation that January 15 2011 will be just the beginning.
I feel just like I did once I was through the worst of my accident - I have been given a second chance at life, so I am going to make the most of it. It took my a while to figure out just what that meant, but I think that I have finally got it and Challenge Wanaka is just the start of it.
Over the next ten days I am going to reflect on where this journey has taken me, touching on the what I have learnt since my accident, but especially the stuff that I have learnt since I began my more active life two and half years ago. The posts may not come every day as internet access is not that easy in Hawea, but I will be recording my reflections in posts as they come to me and posting them when I get to the internet cafe.
01 January 2011
Last big weekend
This is the last weekend of long efforts. Today was supposed to be a five and half hour brick (bike to run session) and the day was perfect for it. Low 20 temperatures and light winds but, in short, it was one of my worst training sessions. I had to stop on 4 times on the 4 hour ride and had to get Carleen to come and pick me up as the 4 hours ended when I was in the middle of nowhere. I had under estimated the distance and time that it would take me.
My butt has taken a pasting for the last few weeks and I was saddle sore before I even left which was why I had to stop so often. I had also had two nights of absolutely rubbish sleep as the neighbours partied til the wee hours each of the last two nights.
Once Carleen had me back at the house, a full 25 minutes after I had stopped on the bike, I set off on what was supposed to be a 90 minute run, but I soon got a stitch and stomach cramp and had to walk. I couldn't shake it at all so was pretty slow and decided to pull the pin after 45 minutes.
So, all in all, a crappy start to the weekend. Tomorrow it is into the lake at 6am for a 90 minute session and then straight down to Cromwell for the Lake Dunstan tri. Monday sees the start of my taper and I think my body is well and truly ready for it.
Oh well, not much more that I can do to be prepared for race day. So, if I haven't put in enough work, then it's too late. Now it's just a matter of managing the next two weeks effectively and putting the finer planning details in place (race bags, transitions, etc).
My butt has taken a pasting for the last few weeks and I was saddle sore before I even left which was why I had to stop so often. I had also had two nights of absolutely rubbish sleep as the neighbours partied til the wee hours each of the last two nights.
Once Carleen had me back at the house, a full 25 minutes after I had stopped on the bike, I set off on what was supposed to be a 90 minute run, but I soon got a stitch and stomach cramp and had to walk. I couldn't shake it at all so was pretty slow and decided to pull the pin after 45 minutes.
So, all in all, a crappy start to the weekend. Tomorrow it is into the lake at 6am for a 90 minute session and then straight down to Cromwell for the Lake Dunstan tri. Monday sees the start of my taper and I think my body is well and truly ready for it.
Oh well, not much more that I can do to be prepared for race day. So, if I haven't put in enough work, then it's too late. Now it's just a matter of managing the next two weeks effectively and putting the finer planning details in place (race bags, transitions, etc).
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