Feedback to this page is welcome and comments on blog entries can be sent to triathlonshots@hotmail.com .
Booked myself an entry in the January 2008 'Challenge Wanaka', which is a big part of the inspiration for the entries.
Update, am now booked for 'Challenge Wanaka' 2009(completed so have some new challenges lined up).
Races locked in for me now are 'Challenge Roth' in July, ITU world age group champs in Septmber and 'Challenge Wanaka' half in January 2010.
At the present time it is a blog of what I find so don't really want people to take it as advice, but more some ideas to consider.
Countdown to 'Challenge Roth':
.........already blasted off and finished.......... another mission acomplished.
Training is going well enough
May 6th 2009
Wow, that first mens ITU world series race was exciting to watch. Break aways and hard running....just awesome.
My cycle training is going pretty well because the weather has been perfect for riding recently. The days are perfect and I would like to have done more hours but I always start pretty late in the day so am only getting 1.5hr rides in.
I got the 14th spot out of 14 available for my age group at the standard distance triathlon champs to be held at the Gold Coast later this year. So decided to take it and in the end it has helped with my plans for later this year. Am pretty sure about 5 people have pulled out who were ahead of me and the first guy is doing the elite world champs long distance(?), and some others the world sprint champs. The sprint champs race didn't exist a few years ago, soit is new to me.
Have my plane tickets booked for this trip and my trip to Europe. I am really excited about doing 'Challenge Roth' such that I could go pretty well. The only thing slowing me a bit is that i will work whenever certain work comes up and already have a bit of sheep shearing lined up and some other stuff. Got to keep a little cash coming in, as I finish my seasonal job. Thankyou heaps to all that have bought from this site ; it is going well and there are plenty of great ORCA trisuits still for sale. Will try a ORCA distance-226 trisuit myself as they look good. Here is one in action :
Cool photo also.
Will write some more soon.
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Steady on along
April 26th 2009
Well that is the best way to describe how things are going ; think it is just the time of year as we are heading into Winter soon. I plan to be somewhere warmer for the Winter though from early July onwards. Have chosen to work a seasonal job and will finish a couple of weeks earlier in mid May or soon after. But the useful side to that is that I will have more time to train properly for 'Challenge Roth' in mid July. Am getting close to buying/finalising my flights and timetable for the trip.
So time for a photo :
So will discuss some points from the above photo. This is my race bike but have been doing most of my training on it. Put the disc on earlier this week by chance. Had a flat tyre on my Xentis rear wheel and it was very late in the day so checked the cassette was also a 10 speed on the disc and put it on the bike. Was thrilled when it fitted and all the gear changes were smooth without having to make any adjustments. Bought the above disc wheel exactly a year ago on a website called 'trademe.co.nz' and initially I couldn't get a cassette to fit it(nor could the bike shop I took it to). So I sent it back to the guy who sold it explaining the problem and he put a cassette on it and sent it back to me. It was all a bit of drama and I didn't think it would fit my bike without adjusting things at a bike shop ; as a result it sat around until the flat tyre happened this week.
The first ride using the disc above was my first ever using a disc and it was motivational having a new 'riding feel'. Didn't fix the other wheels puncture to later in the week so have ended up doing about four 1 hour rides on it. Will go back to the Xentis rear wheel tomorow so will be interesting going back from this. Will definitely try this disc wheel in race and have some lined up later, but firstly will do some 'time trial' comaprisons with other wheel sets. So can probably figure my training isn't ideal for the 180km ride at 'Challenge Roth' at present, however getting on the bike most days is a good start point.
And the drink bottle at the front is bought ready mixed. It is 'Mizone' sports drink and they sponsor Bevan Docherty so that inspired me to try it. It just so happened that it was on special the last week where I grocery shop for $1.49NZD so have ended up buying about 30 bottles of it. It is made up to be isotonic and has only half the carbohydrates of regular endurance sports drinks(including the powder formulations). Actually it works out cheaper than the powdered sports drink I normally use and it has helped me in several ways. Because I work nights my energy levels rise towards the end of the day and getting prepared was getting a nag so having my drinks made up was a good starter. Will say though that for 1-1 1/2 hour rides you can get away with straight water but I like to have a little bit of energy so this drink is perfect. Somedays before my 10hr shift I will fit in a one hour ride so what drink is left over I will finish on my 1/2 hr drive to work ; straight away it is reducing a bit of fatigue.
To add to the above paragraph I will still use my higher carbohydrate powder mix for my rides over 3hours. Also my well educated friend wrote a very thorough article on fluids and electrolyte use which is in the subscription part of the site ; can say I found the article confidence boosting in that it helped my understanding of electrolytes/energy via fluids. Also like most others who have made triathlons/endurance sport a big part of there lives I follow a few of the top guys. Bevan Docherty is one I have followed and spoke with him briefly a few times when photographing the ITU in 2007. So I sent him a subscription the otherday, also sent the subscription to many other people that have helped me as well as to over 200 people who have bought clothing of this site since it began selling sports clothes. A dozen or so responded back straight away which was encouraging and Bevan was one of them so thanks to everyone who has said they like this site or has giving me input in the past.
For the bike above have just bought a new 'super duper' light chain on 'ebay' and a new durace cluster of 'torpedo7.com'. Intend to make those upgrades to the above bike for 'Challenge Roth'. Say I intend to and will but really just want it all to fit without having to spend money getting it set up ; plan to do it myself. Obviously keeping fit and healthy through triathlon is my number one goal and spending alot of money doesn't have to be part of that, so I am always working to keep the costs sensible.
Motivation is a big thing for the average triathlete like myself. You may even be above average and you know you could do well in your age group but how much time and expense to you want to commit to it. One train of thought I have been having recently is to put alot of time into it to get a great result and then cut right back. But I have already done that by doing a 1/2 ironman in 4hr 38mins in 2004 and a few other shorter races with good results. The other option is to just try and do a 10 1/2 hr iron-distance performance ; so will go all out for the next while and if I do go under 10 1/2 hours that will be my goal to be really feeling good. Just finishing is the first thing though but have done that twice already.
So to a new article for the homepage of my website titled 'endurance sport motivation' is my plan for the next hour. Actually alot of it will be copied out of this blog. Link below in one hour :
Inspiration & Motivation
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New topics for future:
- Is triathlon a new stand alone sport or is it still learning from the individual sports of running, cycling and swimming.
- physiological signs from the body, ...muscular problems and bleeding noses happening when putting alot of pressure on the body. Actually like it when the leg opposite my hip muscualr problems starts showing signs of weakness. Very faint soreness of hip(first started early 2004),even going into cramps lately when tired from work.
- night time ; drink a milkshake to calm nerves and get to sleep versus drinking coffee or alcohol.
Lake Hayes Triathlon
April 10th 2009
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Start line at Lake Hayes today. More photos are now up on this sites 'home page' or by clicking on the photos here. A few droplets of water on the water proof cover.
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And moments after the start; getting pretty close to the action in this shot. It was such a beautiful day so will enter the next one on 'boxing day' for sure. The water was cool with the snow in the background, but I managed a swim across the lake and back after the event concluded. There were 128 individuals and teams racing today so about 150 or more people in total. There were plenty of great spot prizes also, another reason for me to enter again. The lake has had algae blooms the past 2 years but it looks to be clearing up which is good for me beacause I was starting to get sinus allergies after swimming in the water.......but not after a 30min swim today.
My first time to do it was Easter 1989 and still remember being very cold(no wetsuit) and inexperienced in the swim. Mind you still come back for more and did the age group race in the World Championships and was one of the bigger highlights of my endurance sporting past.
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And what have I been doing? I count 3 swims, 2 runs and 2 rides in the past week, which for me is enough for maintenence or even gaining a little fitness. One of the cycle rides was with the guy who won the 'Lakes Hayes triathlon today. We went really hard and it was a great evening until my back tyre exploded. I had checked the wear on my tyre a few weeks back but it had worn alot in short time. The new tube was bulging through the tyre, so Bobby pulled out a NZ plastic $20 note and I folded it over and placed it between the tube and tyre. We took the short way home and it held well and when we got back the $20 was like new. AlsoI managed to snap the valve off another tube when making the change so had to use Bobby's spare tube to get home. NOTE to self is to start using the valve extenders....firstly find them....... update, have found them and they have solved the problem.
So who would want to read an article from me about bike preparation I here you ask? I will get someone with expertise to edit it and it is the same person who has given me the advice. I do have a few ideas but it is partially that I don't want to keep spending all my money on road bikes ; $4000 for a bike in 2004, $2000 in 2005 for some Xentis wheels and another $2500 in 2006 for a bike. And that is just for starters and not including many accessories.
Thats enough for now. Take care out there and enjoy!
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So what is coming on this site endurance sport related? Three things to come are listed below:
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(1) - Abook review of 'Going Long' by Gordo Bryn and Joe Friel ; I will compare it with my old 'training bible by Dave Scott to a certain degree,
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(2) -More great photos also,
And the following events are tentatively planned to be covered:
As well as the events below I intend to have a few more great articles that are sure to be useful for success in endurance sports. A regular article will be written by a friend with a Bpharm/dipSports Medicine. And there will be other articles by experts in particular areas.
Events that are planned to be covered on this website in 2009 are:
- IM Australia (already done),
- IM Brazil
- May 23rd- American Triple T
- June 14th- IM 70.3 Kansas (Chrissie Wellington is racing).
- Boulder 5430
- ‘Peak to Peak' multisport race from Queenstown / NZ.
- First day of ‘le Tour de France' (Time Trial)
- Final day of ‘le Tour de France'
- IM France
- IM Japan
- IM Germany
- ‘Challenge Roth' (I am doing it but will have a friend there getting photos).
- ITU world championship series: Japan, Korea , Hamburg & London
- IM U.K.
- XPD adventure race from Australia
- IM World Championships from Kona
- IM AZ
The highlighted events above are the ones I intend to be at. If you see me there you are welcome to say hi.
I can't guarantee that all the above will be covered but they are provisionally/tentatively organised with photographers. There is likely to be a few other events added during the year also.
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(3) - An article on bike preparation for the big race day(in the subscription part of the site).
So I start the bike preparation pointers here(to remind me to do it and help you) :
- a new chain and rear cassette will make the bike go faster, especially if the old ones are well used,
- if not renewing the above remove them and soak them in petrol, meths etc to remove all the grease build up.
- check the cranks and rear cassette are not loose and tighten them; check seat and handlebars etc are all tight also,
- put new tyres and tubes on the wheels,
- clean the bike with warm soapy water(this should be done regularly anyway),
- check spokes and wheels are not faulty and that the wheels are running 'true',
- check that the brakes aren't worn and that they are set up to work effectively; fix the problem if the brakes are sticking,
- check there are no cracks developing in the frame and especially the front forks,
- if using tubulars then re-glue and replace them the day before the race(that way you can get them off if you puncture(pre-glue the spare also).
- mark on the seat post with a permanent marker where you have the seat height for racing ;it maybe 5mm higher or so than you use for training. Also marking your seat height on the post is useful if you pull the bike to bits for travel or you think the seat has moved down slighty due to loosening off.
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Accident sees the passing of the great extreme skier Shane Mcconkey.
Just mouse over the above clip and you will see the pause button. It will continue to load when paused.
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There will be more great clips to choose from once the first one is finished.
And this one is better. The best skier ever. This guy like many of the extreme skiers came from a strong background of ski racing.
I don't recommend anyone does the above unless you have and build up the background over many years. It looks amazing to me but is not something i could ever have done.
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Some of the first photos I took when deciding to follow my passions of sport and photography were of an extreme ski competition in the back bowls of the Remarkables Ski Field.
And my training and this website. Am still doing both but don't really feel like I am getting ahead the last few weeks........ a bit of a flat patch but you get that sometimes.
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Well these video clips lift me. Here is one from my home of N.Z. Have met up with the guys who get 1st and 2nd in this clip. All the freeskiers I have met seemed great and are just out there doing it...... some good ski-ing in this clip:
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N.Z National champs.
March 16th 2009
Well ended up 16th out of 30 or so in the 35-39year age group. Top 10 to make the team to Australia was required and there is another race but won't be making it(New Plymouth). I was 2 1/2 mins off 10th.
Enjoyed the swim and had a time of 23min 30sec, but the timing mat was 30secs from the swim exit. Am very happy with that as have only averaged 1-2 swims/ week over the past 5 months; two months in Winter I did 4 swims a week while in Cairns so that was my base. My technique feels good and I am motivated to swim more now.
Just did the cycle and run to my fitness but never felt strong all day. Overall my finish time was 2hrs 15min 56sec. I was focusing on all the others with an 'F' on their calves but at the end realised I had an 'E' on my calve muscle. I didn't see anyone in the 'F' group drafting, but some others were. Got passed by alot of cyclists and one time looked back just before 1/2 way and saw 5 or so altogether; was annoyed so tried pushing out the front but I didn't have it so just dropped off the back.
The guy at the front was in the same age group as me and he left all others in his wake riding solo all day. The drafting is not an issue for me, and the poeple who really want to get there will. Drafting a bit would only save a minute max as it was pretty calm so not sure why anyone would bother.
I was really in ironman mode/fitness for this race with regard to everything so it wasn't quite right.
Didn't bother to get my bike sorted before the race and the front brakes were sticking so I stopped once on the way back to pull the brakes pads apart. A bit of CRC might have fixed it but I didn't have any.
Will be putting on a few new components to my bike for 'Roth' and will be putting an article on the homepage also on it 'Bike Preparation'. I thought the Wellington event was great and will go back but ITU age group worlds aren't everything to me; it is good to do once as I have done in 2003. Will try and get my cousin to add a few bits to the article on bike prep as he worked as bike mechanic and raced triathlon as a pro for 15years (winning/placing in many big tri's around the world).
My heart wasn't in it to make the team for a few reasons, but mainly that I am doing 'Challenge Roth' in July and that is enough cost/time committment. Want to do it well. Am planning to go around the world and want to travel back through the USA/Canada ending in Kona, so Australia would mean extra flying. Also the worlds this year is a series and I will go to Hamburg and London, which is enough.
Have also entered the 'Challenge Wanaka' 1/2 and want to lay down a good time there also.
The whites of my eyes were a little bit bloodshot from poor sleep patterns(due to shift work changes),before the race and the day after my body was surprisingly dehydrated. I do triathlon to keep healthy and do look at performance as an indicator of that. Doing it within my limits makes sense. Had some little issues in the weeks before the race that I mostly bought upon myself by choosing to do some extra work that was offered. Normally work 4 by 10hrs but have just started 5 by 9hrs and also did 4 hrs extra on top of that some days until I got a throat virus(which was extremely tender/sore). My throat come right about 6 days out from the event but think some viral effects were still there.
What actually tipped the balance was something unpredictable. A filling done several weeks before fell out and when I went to see the dentist it was a 5 week wait. Before I got in my glands swelled up on that side of my face then a throat virus took hold. That started the day I got the filling fixed; actually got only 2 hours sleep as a chance booking become available first thing in the morning. I have 2 of my baby(deciduous) teeth and it was one of them so was keen to save it. There is a real shortage of dentists and other professionals in Invercargill, but in future I will book anywhere else in the country and fly out to get emergency dental work. The problem is when you are already pushing things as hard as you can then extra tips the balance. It is the same for people who are on the 'breadline' financially; there is no extra for car breakdowns etc... so I do feel for those people.
So the above is a whole lot of excuses to me. Basically I would like to have gone 5 mins faster but not for the reason of making the age group team. More so just to lay down a good time.
A couple of tips on travel in NZ,
- I booked accomadation through 'travel bug', did all the credit card thing and thought it was right, but they had sent back an e-mail saying the rooms that were showing available which I had paid for were not any longer, and they had refunded me. I didn't check this e-mail so was running around Wellington finding myself another room the day before the race.
NOTE to self is to check credit card printout to see the money was refunded.
- If you have under 50kgs luggage carry it in 2 bags. I carried it in 3 and it cost an extra $65, but on the way back I put it all in 2 bags and it was $15.
The above weren't big hassles as I had plenty of time and the budget allows for extras.
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N.Z Standard distance champs in 2 days.
March 12th 2009
Well I am entered and feeling quite fit but could be fitter . The last 4 days have been terrible weather wise so got in a few swims this week only. Also resetting my body clock from doing night shift to dayshift which has been awkward.
And the latest addition to the site:
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ll'''Ironman New Zealand'lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll'IM.N.Z' small picsllll
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Am going to give the subscription idea a go. I like to pay the photographers who take the photos as it is quite a bit of work to take them. All the stuff on the password protected area will from people I paid. So if you like this site then i hope you support it somehow.
It is $5 USD for a 2 year sub or if you buy any clothing you will get a 2 year sub. Minimum clothing purchase is $38 USD for free postage and packing.
And there will be a few new articles on it soon also including a great one on 'anti-inflammatory use in endurance sports' by a friend with a pharmacy and sports medicine degree.
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'Roast to Roast' 2009
February 25th 2009
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Start line on the West coast beach. That is rain drops on the lens you can see in the photo. The West Coast beaches are beautiful and rugged/untouched.
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Near Otira Gorge, still raining. Myself on the back. This image was taken not long after swapping with another rider.
We couldn't do the run as the steady rain had caused the Otira Gorge to flood. So we went over the Otira viaduct on the road. I run over the pass and one of the other guys walked it while the other cycled it.
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These two guys covered the whole distance from the West Coast beach near Kumara to the East Coast beach at Sumner/Christchurch. The paddled the full river section of the 'Coast to Coast'.
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The last cycle leg into Christchurch. The seat was bit low on the back and couldn't go any higher. But it was a great work out and alot of fun.
I rode the the 2nd seat of the tandem bike for about 30kms on the Saturday and 60kms on the Sunday and boy was it a good work out. I wasn't in control of the gears and the guyin front above liked pushing the biggest gears; will be interesting to see how this training weekend benefits me in 3 weekends time at the NZ national triathlon champs.
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Above is the group of guys that I was doing adventure with the past weekend.
The 'Roast to Roast' started with a roast meal at a loca West Coast pub and finished with a big roast meal at a pub in the middle of Christchurch. The beer drinking was keep to a minimum so am sure everyone gained some fitness on this weekend adventure.
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A mens and womans trisuit up 'for grabs' as prizes for some feedback
February 8th 2009
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Did this a year ago and am going to do it again. The mens trisuit is the same as the green/black one I am wearing below with my logo on it (they are already made in sizes small, medium and large). The womans trisuits are also ready and will post a photo on here.
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About the prize for feedback. I already have plenty of ideas for improvements for the 'TriathlonShots.com' website, but if anyone can see any very obvious areas to improve then e-mail me at :
triathlonshots@hotmail.com
If your ideas are something new to me and very useful/helpful then you will recieve a'zoot' trisuit with the logo 'Tri-Shots.com' on it.
And here is some info which might help with some feedback advice:
March 2008 took off as a result of my last 'trisuit promotion'. A guy from the USA gave some very useful feedback and so he received a trisuit. A couple of months later someone started a thread on 'SlowTwitch.com' to get people to post their favourite photos. And the guy from the USA who gave me feedback posted one of the 'triathlonShots' photos 'early on' and a link which got alot of viewers.
January 2009 is big because this site has a good following of 'Challenge Wanaka'.
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Exactly one year of 'site statistics'.
One interesting point from the above is that 70,449 unique computers(visitors) logged into this site. The total page visits was 168,116 which is not much compared to some sites, but I believe this site 'as it is' will always be pretty niche.
So I guess my aim would be to build up a group of viewers who like this 'niche site' and are keen to keep coming back? And guess the larger the group of regular viewers the better?
More written articles on certain topics by myself and people with knowledge in specific areas could be an idea?
Have never really had a defined goal for this website, as it is really just growing out of a passion/hobby.
But if anyone can give me some great feedback on where it could go and how? Well I would like to hear. Will put the trisuit photos on here soon.
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And one idea I have is to try and get subscriptions:
So far my idea is to give everyone who has bought photos or clothing off me a 2 year subscription. Otherwise there will be an option to pay $4 for a 1 year subscription or say $6 for a 2 year subscription(by paypal). Anyone who supplies me photos or buys clothing from the site before or after will also get a 2 year subscription.
There would still be an option for non-subscribers to get an idea of what is on offer with full subsription.
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Note to self is to explain why 'the subscription idea:
- first one is to cover the costs of the photography...
- the quality of photos would be more consistent and hopefully superb with some payment to phtographers.....
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2009 events to be covered in photos on this site are so far :
- IMNZ
- IM Australia
- IM Brasil
- IM France
- 'Tour de France' , first day(time trial) and last day
- IM Germany
- 'Challenge Roth'
- IM UK
- IM Japan
- ITU series; Hamburg, Japan, London, final from Gold Coast Australia.
- IM World Champs from Kona
- IM Arizona
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Below are the trisuits up for grabs. Have both the mens and womans in 3 sizes, but if your size is different I have more trisuits of the other sizes in different colours. Will put photos of all the trisuit options up................
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Womans suit is this style but with my logo on it:
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Mens suit is this style but with my logo on it(as in the photo of myself below):
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Training in the U.K.
February 5th 2009
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The photo above about sums it up. Well apparently there are a few good heated outdoor pools in London. It reminds me of swimming in the outdoor pool in Reykjavik/Iceland. One of the things that put me off staying in the U.K was the lack of good outdoor training options. The indoor pool in Carlisle/England stayed in my mind because of all the perfume on top of the water. The thought come to me today while swimming as there was a bit of perfume in the pool also.
Am starting to do some speed work in the pool but at the same time still rebuilding the base swim fitness. Today and yesterday have been swiming 50 meters with a break on 50secs until I can't keep up, which is about 8 by 50meters at present. Well I am stopping..........and it has been good for a change so will be able to measure some progress I hope.
By the way I am in N.Z. but have worked in the UK for 2 years and am often considering to go back.
I will have to remove the joke below in a few days as it starts automatically and it is boardering on being a bit rude.
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The 'Southland Summer Challenge'
January 31st 2009
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Richard Usher taking it out in 4hrs 48secs.
There was a good field at this event. There was also duathlons of different lengths, multisports which included a kayak section and a 1/4 iron-distance triathlon. Did the 1/4 iron-distance triathlon and it was a good course and there were good prizes for all the events............... highly recommend it. Also was pretty special to have the likes of Richard Usher and Luke Dragstra racing today. Luke pulled out during the bike and don't blame him as it is not easy to recover from going hard at 'Challenge Wanaka' 2 weekends ago.
All the pros did the 1/2 iron-distance race which was good for me as got to claim the 1st place prize money in the '1/4 ironman', finishing in a time of 2hours and 12mins. Had entered the '1/2 ironman' but realised I was working to 2am the night before and the '1/2 ironman' started at 9am. Wasn't quite recovered from the 'Challenge Wanaka' two weeks prior either so it worked out well. This is the third time I have claimed $100 cash for getting 1st, and it always beats the sponsor prizes. Well I have never won the one of the great spot prizes like a wetsuit; will keep trying.
So will try and go again next year, and plan to be a bit faster as intend to do the 1/2 option of 'Challenge Wanaka' next year.
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Inspiration Continued
January 24th 2009
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Sian Welch & Wendy Ingraham - The Crawl - 1997
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Dick and Ricky Hoyt video above and photo below.
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And below is the most viewed triathlon movie on YouTube, and is called 'the redeemer'
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Recovery and review of 'Challenge Wanaka' 2009
January 21st 2009
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I really wanted to swim like last year, which was pretty much everyday up to the event. In the end think I managed only 4 swims in the 2 weeks prior. Felt o.k in the water but never got into a good rhythm. Had a good enough swim base but just needed to have it 'polished up'. Everyone in the individuals race were down at least 3-4mins on last year but I was down 7 mins so dissapointed. If I could have held onto those feet in front for the 2nd lap it would have saved several minutes. Talked to Chris MacDonald briefly later that night and he lost several minutes also in a similiar way. It was tough.
Firstly a couple more photos:
I did feel a bit tired on the 2nd lap and tried to swim hard the last 400ms or so. Stopped after the first 50meters to get rid of water in the googles; they were the only non-tinted ones I have and are hard to get the last water drops out of.
Note to self is to do the half distance race in 2010.
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The bike felt great and with less training than last year, it went equally as well(5 hrs 46mins). Am going pretty well on the bike with only two 2-3 hour rides a week for 3 months. Well it is enough to get me averaging 31.5km/hr for 180kms and feeling good. Nice photo so a big thankyou sis!
The 'aero drink bottle' was a new addition only 6 days prior to the race. Had 7 gels in the smaller section of the 'aero drink bottle' and polished them off after 60kms.
I carried four separate drink bottles including the 'aero drink bottle' and that was all for the 180kms. Would consider starting with less in future and using the aid stations.
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Big thanks to Greg for this photo. Greg did a bit of sports photography a few years back and is looking to get back into it. I had two people out there getting images for my site.
About half the run course are nice 'off road' tracks which suits me great. 11hrs 7mins ...secs... so happy enough.
Have a few more race goals this year but will write about them as they get closer and when I am ready. First though should be the 'Southland 1/2 ironman' in 2 weekends time. Am feeling much better this year after the event than last year.
A great thing was that I got a good nights sleep before the event this year. Fell asleep listening to torrential rains hitting the roof the night before 'kick off'.
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It was a big thing for me to reset my 'biological clock' in one week. A week prior was on night shift at work to 2.30am. I tired myself out the day before the race this year and was still phtographing the mens 'NZ Contact energy' series triathlon at 9pm in the rain the night before. It helped me sleep. Will have an event page up of it soon,(it is up now, so you can get there by clicking the images below):
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Had another guy(Greg), who got the finish line shot and some of this race for me. My camera battery run out and I was running around trying to sort it. In the end it worked out great and fell to sleep quickly. So here is one from the womans race:
Bought a waterproof cover for my camera to take images underwater and was racing around to get it sorted for the mens race start, but in the end missed the shot and the battery went dead. If i was better organised then doing more is possible. Am even thinking to get some photos while racing in future. Set goals and acheive them is my motto. If you are reading this site, then believe this, 'you can acheive your goals so aim high'. Listen to yourself mostly and shut out the noise. Anyone who says something that is 'not useful' to you usually have some sort of problem themselves(this is most often true). They will 'sort it out themselves' so give them time(but not your own).
Five minutes faster than my first attempt last year for a total time of 11hrs 7mins and about 40secs. So acheived one little goal for the day. First goal was just to finish and run all the course except 3 steep climbs on the road, and acheived that surprisingly. Ran the marathon in roughly the same time today as the first official one I did 8 weeks ago.
I weighed in at 85.5kgs pre-race and was the same weight afterwards. Certainly ate and drunk alot! Was going pretty hard all day. Will put a new chain and a few other new bits on my bike next time I do this event or another of similiar length.
My other goal was to break 11hrs so it looks like I will have to try again. Next year might be on the cards as it is in my home area. Said before today 'wouldn't do it in 2010', but the race needs support in numbers and i really enjoy it. Will try and be a bit more rested next time. Once again I was last checking in my bike at the cut off time; wasn't aware it was 6.30pm already. And then I had a go at photographing the elite mens and womans sprint series race and finished at 8.40pm as my battery went dead. Had another guy(Greg), taking photos also so should get a good event page up of it as well as 'Challenge Wanaka'. My sister and Greg who was previously into photography got a few images for me.
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And here are the event photo pages I have made up:
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'Challenge Wanaka' 2009
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'Challenge Wanaka'............................... Bring it on !
January 10th 2009
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Last years finish; some positive thinking to get me there again!
If you sit your mouse on the above image you will see it expand. Am trialing different HTML codes to make the website photos more interesting.
Well for some reason I am feeling really pumped about the upcoming race in 7 days. Have had my bike in the big chain ring for all my rides over the past month. Probably only did 2 rides/week on average over the past 8 weeks, but am feeling strong. Just did my last hard ride and it felt great, don't know how fast I was going as have given up on the speedo. But went hard for 2 1/2 hours and think it was about 75kms. Did stop a couple of times to pee, but hopefully won't have to stop more than the once I did last year during the race. So in future it will be all big chain ring riding for me(flats anyway).
Also on the long bike rides as with running over 30kms I really start getting energy depleted. Have been using some very liquid energy gels which seem to be like rocket fuel for me. They taste a bit funny, but am guessing that is the caffeine in them. Also like that they are so liquid as it doesn't get all sticky in my mouth and slow my breathing up. Have to be careful though or they spill everywhere, but basically taking on plenty of energy gels and electrolytes during the race is going to be important to how long I last.
As indicated above bike mileage is limited, but have done alot more running prepartion this year. And also think the limited cycling was of better quality, so we will see. Assuming it is similiar raceday conditions to last year I expect to beat my time and will be hoping to go under 11hours. Last year my time was 11hrs and 12mins.
Have brought a new pair of running shoes which have run in twice and they feel like I am bouncing along. Up to now have been training in all the old runners lying around from over a year ago. New shoes and new clothes have had me feeling really comfortable the past couple of weeks. Have alot more gear to sell that isn't listed in the 'Clothing links' as yet(too busy).
Managed to snap the top off my bike tubes valve for the 2nd time. Still rode on it though even though the wind down bit was snapped off. Will need another spare tube as carry 2 when racing.
And am going to rig up the aero-bottle for my bike tomorow. Mainly chose to use one of these so I could carry more electrolytes and also to stay aero when drinking. It is just my own way but I want my own concentration drink and don't want to use the stuff provided. Will wear a drink belt also for the first lap of the run. Will drop it off with my family though as last year the people in transition lost it, and I don't like throwing away $50.
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And something a bit less serious..... this blog could start getting a bit old....... it is a link on this image to my swimming notes for me to read over before this Saturday:..
I certainly hope there is no truth in the above. It is depressing to me to be competing with an against people who use drugs banned by the sport or not passed as acceptable. Also this site is all about promoting all distances of triathlon as a healthy sport. taking banned drugs or using banned techniques is often unhealthy not to mention unfair('bad sportmanship).
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NOTE: to self is to get the biking safety page up!!!
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Inspiration
January 5th 2009
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And above is some inspiration. Torbjorn Sindballe coming 3rd in Kona (2007). He has been the best cyclist consistently in Kona in recent years. You don't have to win, 3rd is enough for recognition, especially with the fastest bike time.
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Some thoughts on the upcoming 'Challenge Wanaka'
January 2nd 2009
Have written a preview of the pro race and the image below is the link to it:
Preview of 'Challenge Wanaka 2009'
It is also good/interesting to see the race organisers are going to weigh us all before the race. Am guessing this will be useful if someone dehydrates themselves and needs to go on a drip. However overhydrating someone with IV electrolyte fluids is unlikely to cause serious complications. Well I can't think of any other reasons they are going to weigh us all pre-race.
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My training and goals
January 2nd 2009
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Will be writing my sporting/health goals down on a wordpad file for my desktop. Don't think i will post them on here for the world to see though.
Did the sprint distance 'Lake Dunstan' triathlon today and it went well. Haven't been doing any speed work recently so wasn't speedy, but felt great for the 20km bike ride i did soon after the race with another guy. This guy also helped to do up my wetsuit zipper and i must thank him for pointing out the shop tags were still on it. Bought this wetsuit 2nd hand about 10 months ago on a NZ trading site and the previous seller hadn't used it. I was considering not using it as already have the same ORCA suit but with the legs cut short. So anyone who noticed probably thought this guy(me) is dopey. And well thats what i think also, but it comes back to doing too much in the last 6 weeks.
One thing that really had my head in a spin(over the past 6 weeks), was a laptop computer i bought of a guy in NZ on the online trading site for $420. Longish story so be warned.... maybe boring but maybe also a lesson in it..... It was sent from Auckland and i am 2 1/2 hours by plane from there. I never received it so after 8days contacted him and we both put in a request with NZ post to find it. About 3 weeks later it ended up back in his hands, so i repaid the postage and it was sent again. The above problem was my fault as the address said number 59 instead of 58 and there is no number 59. I am the last number on the street so they could have knocked on the door?!. The strange thing is I had other gear sent to the same address earlier in the year so they must have always double checked with me my address? This guy did double check also, but i didn't look close enough at it.
Also after the 3 weeks without knowing where the laptop was, had decided it was $420 lost and was over it. But then it turned up a day or so after accepting the loss, so strangely enough wasn't relieved when it turned up!?
Six days later I got the laptop and all that come on the screen was error #5.5 and such like.
Contacted him and he said that was how it was described. He had described it as having 'Windows XP professional C.O.E'. Had seen this before and understood it as being 'College of Education' software.
He replied that it had 'windows XP professional C.O.A', which stands for
'Certificate of Authenticity', and i had no key or software. Anyway checked into it and it was using alot of my brain power and it was going to cost me more time and money.
Told him he didn't describe it correctly and said i was a poor student recently and he paid me back on its return to him.
The main problem was the time and annoyance of it all when i had already pushed my schedule to full capacity. Am sure there are some lessons to be learnt. The first would be to ask him to define what he is describing and the second is to be cautious when buying certain items secondnd hand from individuals.
It wasted my time/energy just writing it but hopefully it will help someone else avoid a similiar scenario. One lesson is not to buy stuff online when you have already 'maxed out' your time as problems like this aren't uncommon.
It did teach me some relevant things though as am selling a few new triathlon clothes from this site myself.
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Even though the above 'laptop story' was annoying, can honestly say I am relatively unscathed from all my buys online. The most expensive thing I bought was a $4500 NZD item purchased through ebay from a guy in the USA. It is the most expensive item I own and also my favourite. And here is one of the first photos taken with it :
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The first laptop I bought 2nd hand of an online trading site started playing up straight away, but it lasted 2 years before the hard-drive gave up. It was great though as it had alot of software on it including 'DreamWeaver' which is in use at this instant.
So have forgotten what the moral of the story is...... will let you the reader decide that........ but the reality of it is the internet as a place to purchase things is pretty much here to stay.
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A links page and my training
January 1st 2009
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Firstly have been planning to put a links page on this website for sometime. Might even replace the 'buy photos' page with the 'links page' .This website is all about using great photos to promote triathlon but it was never my goal to make money selling photos. Click the background link if you are confused about this website's goal. That is not to say it won't change in future though.
The guys who run sites like 'TriathlonPhotos.com' are already doing a great job of capturing every competitor in each discipline.
There are some other sites I will put on such a 'links page'. Some of the above sites I haven't looked at much but have wanted to. Am just busy enough so hopefully these links will speed things up.
My training is going o.k, better get out and do a run, more to come.......
Note to self is to write a preview for 'Challenge Wanaka'.
The 'Iron War' between Dave Scott and Mark Allen was a defining moment in the sport of long distance triathlon. And here are two links to short videos which may improve your history of the sport and inspire you:
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The 'Iron War'.
Click on the central 'play button' to begin. You may want to adjust the sound first.
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This one is better though.
Click on the central 'play button' to begin. You may want to adjust the sound first.
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Merry Xmas and a happy and productive New Year to all the viewers of this site
December 22nd 2008
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Here is one of my favourite 'youtube' clips from Kona(we don't get it on TV in NZ):
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Click on the central 'play button' to begin. You may want to adjust the sound first.
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Have been keeping busy. Well running around 'flat out' but am checking myself a bit as to whether i am just flat out going around in circles.
Have just got back from a 2 hour ride and feel good enough. Haven't done much riding at all in the past month, but just a few runs and swims. My main excuse is that I am working to 1.30am in the morning(later after Xmas)and then drive home 45km, then try to get to sleep, which isn't always happening. Haven't given up the coffee yet which i still intend to do; or go for some decafinated brands.
Am trying to do a shift switch at work so i will be starting at 5.45am for the week beginning that 'Challenge Wanaka' is on, so my body clock resets. Last year before Xmas i was on dayshift before Xmas and that worked better for training.
A friend i visited in London last year was working through the night in a factory also to 7am in the morning which i thought was pretty hard going. Well being still awake lying in bed listening to the birds start chirping as the sun comes up seems pretty similiar.
Last year i felt really good all day on the course even though i was on night shift at work and my sleep before the event was 3 hours total(9pm-11pm and 4am-5am).
Know it sounds like an excuse , but am trying to do what i can. Some days this month i have stayed up right through the night and not slept for 48hrs and done right this can reset my 'biological clock'. Training has been tricky and some training sessions in the pool i am flat as. The best example recently was a good day where i had this fast dude swimming in my lane on 1min 10sec/100meters and i felt strong, holding around 1min 30sec(good for me for 2kms or so). A week later and quite tired and i could hardly swim 1min 30secs for a standing 100meters. My solution is just to HTFU(get tougher). It only happens very rarely that my body is flat from stuffing up my 'biological clock'(akin to jet-lag from crossing time zones). I will look at it like the military do some training, sleep deprivation and carrying on when the energy is gone. So that is what i have been doing pretty much and still swam non-stop for 40mins even though i was 'slow as'. I see it as good training for the end of the ironman. And the adrenalin will be pumping through my body from about a day out from the start gun, so that will have me right.
If anyone else is in a similiar situation, and that maybe caused by having a baby in the house or anything, then 'hang tough', but listen to your body very carefully. Note you have to be able to distinguish tiredness caused by the early stages of 'a bug' versus the stuffed up biological clock due to sleep disturbance. If you have a 'bug' coming on you need to hold back and cut the training back to a bare minumim.
The 'stuffed up' biological clock only happened to me once very noticeably last year when i went to go for a run one morning. Couldn't run any more than 50meters if that, but i did manage a nice easy one hour bike ride in the great conditions.
So how do the Olympic distance ITU guys do it? My understanding is that some of them struggle with travelling and producing top race results. I think the new format with less races to be overall 'World Champion' in the ITU olympic distance race will be an improvement. But they are still going to have to travel alot to get to all the races(just less races that count than the previous format).
And a big thanks to anyone who reads this who buys gear off this site. There are costs associated with getting all the photos together and it all helps for me to keep it going. It gives me a bit more energy everytime i sell clothing/gear and over the past year have sent items to pretty much every part of the world. After all it is free postage to anywhere in the world for all purchases over $38USD.
And in my spare time(?) I have been mowing lawns in a start-up business. Thanks in part to this website sales going well i am able to let the lawn mowing business idea subside to a minimum. Always wanted to have a go at this from when I was very young in the Queenstown Lakes district(fortunate my parents had a holiday home in Arrowtown from when i was 6 or so). It was a real struggle this year to make it work because it rained alot and my gear didn't work for wet conditions plus that restricted the times in my weekends i could do it. And as a result the lawns grew faster and i couldn't keep up. Anyway my good mate does this type of work full-time in the area so he has benefited in getting a few landscape and related work from it. It was and still is very complicated getting paid for some of this work and also they are tenanted properties so it is difficult to organise when to go on them. So at this moment in time it was a 'pain in the backside' and dropped to the bottom of my priority list.
So the 'good stuff' that has me still feeling great. Have been out fishing on Lake Wakitipu twice this month(caught a brown trout), on the old boat my mate and i bought and fixed up . Had a 10min water-ski on the old skis i bought 2nd hand. Had my German friend to stay for a week(she is now back in Germany), and we went to Stewart Island for a weekend. I went fishing for 4 hours with a ' work group of guys' on the sea and we caught plenty of Blue Cod and a few Trumpeter. I must have been pretty tired as snoozed for the last hour or so a bench seat. Think it is a cumulative thing though as some days that week i had slept even less than 4hours plus i was running or swimming everyday.
Well have 2 full weeks off from now and will be training hard and long based on how I feel. Did take the first day completely off though and glad I did as needed to recharge the batteries. Had a small hamorrhoid which come up late yesterday(glad I had some energy spare as this was irritating), and am right again now. Did don't mind mentioning it on here as it is not that uncommon of a problem, and not great to have when training.
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So here is my friend on Ulva Island Bird sanctury. Germany meets native N.Z!. We had only been on the Island 5 mins when this Kaka come up to us. A bit like the Kea, the Kaka is very inquisitive.
A reason for my interest in the NZ native birds is that the only mammal in N.Z prior to the first polynesians 700years ago were two species of bats. Some species become extinct due to the polynesians eating them, such as the large Moa which died out 200-250 years ago. Many of the native birds become flightless as there were no ground dwelling predators. The European colonisation begun 200years ago and with it come predators such as the rat , stoats etc which decimated the native birds to extinction in many cases.
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And here is a view of the Coast of 'Stewart Island'. There is one small settlement of a few hundred people but otherwise it is untouched since time began National park. It is off the Southern Coast of N.Z and takes 2 separate boat trips to get Ulva Island where this photo was taken.
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And here is one of the reasons i wanted to go back. That is the challenge to photograph this juvenile 'South Island Saddleback'. This was my best image after 3 hours of trying. I promise you they are not easy to photograph and this was taken with a 300mm fixed lens at f2.8.
These little birds are endangered of extinction and so this image is one of a few that exist. That is why everyone of them is banded.
2008 Update: Ulva Island is now home to 190 adult saddlebacks
which is an increase of 12% from the previous year
with an additional 47 juvenile saddlebacks banded.
41 Saddleback pairs nested producing a total of 47
fledglings.
So my take is that the conservation efforts are looking promising.
The adult 'South Island Saddleback has brighter colours than the juvenille.
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And this is the best image of this native bird on 2 trips to Ulva island. It is a NZ native Kakariki(
Red-crowned parakeet), in flight.They don't sit still for long either and don't come all that close.
All the photos above were taken(handheld) with a nikon d200 and a nikon 300mm f2.8.
That is in contrast to the link below which were all taken(handheld) with a nikon d200 and a nikon 70-200mm f2.8
And here is a link to the first photos i took with digital camera gear 2 1/2 years ago: Ulva Island Birdlife.
I don't have NatureLive.net website name any longer but have plenty of nature photos at a link on the background page. Have put more time and energy into sports photography so the nature photos aren't spectacular. Nature photography is harder, especially to get rare photos from the wild. Humans in a triathlon are more predictable as to wher they will be going.
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This little fella is so unknown that he doesn't have a name in the text books. You could say a new species but i think that is wrong. It has been around for along time and will be pretty sure it is more abundant than my favourite little 'South Island Saddleback'. And yes the North Island saddleback is similiar and not so endangered but it is different.
We get some documentaries in this part of the world that are not shown else where. One morning 2 weeks at about 2am when I couldn't sleep there was an hour long documentary on what i think is this animal. Well they both looked the same/identical to me and the locals called it a 'Sibbit'. It is a carnivorous four legged animal from Bornea, Indonesia.
Anyway the Indonesian/Australian guy doing the documentary couldn't catch one but the local hunters catch and eat a few of them. One was too sick to eat so they kept it and he got to film it. Well it sounds like i had sleep deprivation, but the thing is this sort of stuff just doesn't get prime time viewing. There was also another documentary from Australia I saw a year ago with some guys in the water with big Bull Sharks and to be honest i was amazed that they were there with them swimming around there legs. They were big enough to eat you at 2meters long.
So whythe interest?. As part of a BSc degree I caried out a study on the NZ native Blue Duck when the chance come up and spoke at a wildlife conference for veterinarians. Now as a veterinarian and with the photography bug the plan is to link the two together and get some more rare images so people realise the beautiful biodiversity of the world before we lose it.
