North Island, N.Z.
29/ 09/ 2008
Headed over to Tauranga to check my investment out and it is looking good, so am happy enough with it.
Stayed in a great home in the Bay of Plenty with relatives looking over the sea. Went for a run along the most beautiful coastal track with a cousin who previously raced triathlon in the USA. Will be back there for sure. Am not putting the exact locations here so you will have to explore yourselves, but am sure there are plenty of spectacular beaches and coastal runs in this area. life is good but am looking forward to getting in some more regular training. Have a friend(girl) coming to stay for the next week so hopefully will find some time for training, well don't swtart work for 2 weeks so should find time. The focus is training.......... I really want to finish this long distance triathlon with a flurry................. Must remind myself to do the local marathon coming up and some other events, but am waiting to see my work plan/roster.
I am eagerly anticipating this years Ironman World Champs, so much so that I wrote a small article on it for this site:
Preview Ironman World Championships
Have heard a bit more about why some of the top athletes didn't perform last year in Kona, but it was pretty personal stuff, which is why it probably isn't in the public domain. Everybody has a life outside of triathlon and anything major, eg unexpected will certainly impact on performance. If a partnership/relationship goes sour for example it will drain your living energy, especially if the circumstances are unpleasant.
Long distance triathlon requires more energy and focused attention than any sport I can think of.
And some endurance sport inspiation here.....
The 35 year old Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie smashed the world marathon record at the Berlin Marathon in the weekend in a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Despite an ailing calf he shattered the mark he set in Berlin last year.
Put the photo above on here for a couple of reasons. Number one being that it is quite a good action sports photo. Met up with this guy from the USA when I was last staying in downtown Auckland a few years ago. He was just on his way back to Baghdad after a short Stag hunting trip in the rugged West Coast of N.Z. Well it just so happened he had just went on a hunting trip and shot a large Red Deer Stag from the chopper.
Deer are a very big pest in N.Z so he was doing a good bit of conservation and admit this is something I have always had a dream of doing.One interesting thing was he was an electrician for the army and been getting shot at in a chopper while flying between camps at night just before this. But having bullets hitting the steel girders around him while putting up antennas sounded a bit daunting to me also. Had sent an e-mail to him a while back and not heard back so was glad to get this e-mail. I seriously considered joining the armed forces a few times in my own life, the last time being in 2002 while in Britain and partly for the challenge/excitement. A lot of people have pretty boring lives by comparison to these people.......... sure they have big arguments and fights but much of this is created in their own minds.
Anyway, if you are feeling a bit flat and need any inspiration then read or listen what some of those guys in the armed forces go through. also doing an iron-distance race is tough but some of the army training/battle front is a lot tougher. It really is a shame that everyday of the 38 years of my life it feels as though there hasn't been a day when a war is not on. It is less costly to human life these days but still as costly as ever financially and I think it has a lot to do with much of the financial melt down in the West we are currently experiencing. Everyone pays for it in some way.
Travelling.
19/ 09/ 2008
Some images from my recent trip in Australia. Nimbin at left and myself on the beach at Surfers Paradise.
Well I haven't been doing that much training but my diet is improving. Well some small changes like drinking decafeinated tea at night and eating less biscuits/junk food at night.
And here is the latest event page update: Ironman Singapore 70.3
Also this website is planned to take on a new look over the next month.
Dr John Hellemans retires from coaching.
09/ 09/ 2008
You can clickhere or on the photo to go to the article I wrote on Dr John Helleman's coaching contribution in triathlon.
This blog thing all feels a bit egocentric, but am keeping it going to try and maintain the interest in the 'TriathlonShots' website. Well at least you all have the choice to read it or not?
So what is it like for training/doing triathlon in England? Well that is a question I ask myself while contemplating going back to the U.K to take up some fulltime work there.
Here is part of the answer below in photos. I guess one could try and keep fit by going to gyms, using a wind trainer for cycling and competing in many events. Hmmmmm.... more on this later.
Will try and improve/re-write some of the topics in the training section of this website. Note to self is to include some more topics such as running, cycling etc.
And here is the latest event page posted on this site:
Ironman U.K, England.
And here is some latest 'TriathlonShots' website statistics:
Site statistics from the 23rd January to the end of August. Starting to get some more consistent viewers.
Your viewing is welcomed as are any referrals/links.
Please note if you are particularly interested in these statistics that the pages on this site are very long. Reading this page would take many hours but it only results in one page hit(infact this page is about 60 screens long). Definitely need to start filing it so topics can be easilly searched and also for people with slow servers.)
The above statistics also correspond to 24 hour viewing of this site since November last year. Sometime there are only a few people on this site but it is all day long indicating an international audience.
Four days left in Cairns.
07/ 09/ 2008
This crash certainly put and end to olympic medals for this group. Am pretty sure they were in the 2nd cycle chase group. I can make out Lisa Mensink(39) who finsihed but not in her recent top form. Lauren Groves usually places in the top 10 so it was disappointing to see her crash out also.
And here is the link to the photos on this website from the Olympics:
Here is a direct link to the 'Womans' Olympic games page.
Direct link to full coverage of the 'Mens' Olympic games' photo page.
And what am I up to. Printed off the 'Coast to Coast' entry form but am now pretty set on entering the oneday race in 2010. Reconsidered because my body was fried for about 3 months after the 'Challenge Wanaka' event last year. Fried for going long anyway and also had tearing in a tendon behind the knee which took about 4 months to be resolved back to normal.
Cairns, Australia, whats new?
02/ 09/ 2008
Coral Coast Triathlon, Cairns, Australia
I would like to have done the triathlon(above) but don't have my bike with me in Cairns and also it was $120 AUD to enter. As it has worked out I could have brought a bike over with me from N.Z but not having been to Cairns before was unsure how it would be if I decided to travel away from Cairns.
There was a 1km swim at 8am then the triathlon at 9am and would like to have done the swim, but figured I needed the energy to photograph it well. There was a 10km fun run at 3pm that afternoon which I did and it went well. It wasn't too competitive so finished about 6th.
Fellow Kiwi Gina Ferguson also did the swim and run but not the triathlon as she was in Cairns doing some training with her partner. The cost versus the rewards didn't quite balance in her mind either from the discussion we had. She broke 9hrs for the ironman in Germany a few months back and is preparing well for the World Champs ironman at Kona in 6weeks or so.
We also discussed the 'Coast to Coast' held in Christchurch N.Z and it has renewed my interest to try an enter the 'longest day' event in February 2009. Maybe Gina will do the 'Coast to Coast' someday? Richard Usher is doing the 'Challenge Wanaka' event in January 2009 and I am picking he will be defending his title at the 'Coast to Coast' 4 weeks later so I wouldn't be the only person trying to do both.
The winner of the 2008 'Challenge Wanaka Marc Pschebizin did both the above events this year a month apart and placed 15th in the 'Coast to Coast'.
My training is still ticking over although I have had a few days off running after killing my big toe nail in the 10km fun run. I thought my toenails were cut short enough but will be making doubly sure in future. Also I haven't done any hard racing at all so maybe my feet need a bit of toughening up?
Oh, and it seems a blog is a good way to keep visitors interested in what is new on this website so am going to put a link to it from the training section of 'TriathlonShots' again. The other page on this site which is getting a real surge in visitors is the results page; am trying to source a couple of great images from the big events to put with the results on this page.
Well wishing everyone well, so take care out there especially when you are on the roads. I am thinking to write a page in the training section on cycling safety and also a page with some running training suggestions.
Can tell you though that the quickest way I am going to regain some speed is to loose some weight. More training and focusing on diet is going to be my approach to this.
Whats up?
29/ 08/ 2008
Well have just travelled up the Queensland coast from Rockhampton and back to Cairns. It was a nice trip but not having my 'own wheels', resulted in it being a bit 'touristic'.
The best experience for me was staying on Magnetic Island for 3 nights just off the coast from Townsville. Seeing five Koala's in the wild was just great. Also a few weeks back I headed up to Cape Tribulation for a weekend and got to photograph Crocodiles in the wild. So intend to make up a page of Australian wildlife to go with the other wildlife photos here. Unlike those below most photos will be from the wild.
Here is a snippet to create some interest:
The image of the sleeping Koala's is from the wild.
A native Casowary at left and a friend from my travels getting to hold a Koala. Well put a mixture of photos here to create some interest to check the pages out. Note to self is to put some music with it.
And my training, well managed a long(2 hrs?) run along the entire length and back of Mission Beach yesterday. Cycled and run around Magnetic Island. Ran along the water front of Airlie beach a couple of times. Did two 7km laps of the Capricorn 1/2 ironman just after it finished and would have done a third lap but had to get the hire car back in time. And more........ training is on schedule but it will need to pick up another gear.
First swim today and it took a bit of getting back into it, after a 2 week hiatus. Note to self about the swim is that my technique is changing when going from using 'no swim pads' to using 'swim pads'. Need to concentrate on using the large back muscles more when using no swim aids. Basically I go faster using swim pads and it feels quite a bit more easy, which I can only explain by a slight technique change occuring.
Plan to do the 1km swim and 10km run this Sunday at the Cairns festival. The triathlon was $110 and don't have a bike so will try and photograph it. Apparently Brad Bevan comes back annually and takes it out most years.
Also was getting close to going to Papua New Guinea with another guy from France to explore, but was struggling to justify it. Wanted to get out in the wilderness and photograph the unique wildlife there, but that trip can wait. There are few logistics in doing the trip properly and can get to the border with the the Indonesian Papua, but crossing it could be tricky. Was given some information from a guy living near this border and more money(gear) and time(Visa's) sounded in order.
Latest event pages.
19/ 08/ 2008
Full photo coverage from the mens and womans Beijing Olympic games triathlons :
You can click on these images to go to the event pages. 
And here is some I took the weekend just gone :
Capricorn 1/2 Ironman, Australia.
There are not many of the cycle or run as was shooting for triathlonphotos.com which was pretty full on. Am still hoping he will send some shots of the pros though for use on this site.
Completed the Capricorn 1/2 ironman myself back in 2005, so have made a few comments on how I see this event.
Dietery requirements for heavy training.
14/ 8/ 2008
Like what these images are showing and my interpretation is "ecstasy of the result and the power that goes with years of dedicated training". It should be said that some of the emotion was due to the great competition with the French only a hands length behind in this the final of the mens '4 by 200m relay'.
About a months ago I stayed at a very nice hotel and since it was quite expensive for the night made sure the splendid breakfast was 'put to good use '. So it was scrambled eggs and bacon, a big variety of fresh fruits, some fish and some very rich meusli mash in a smallish glass. For the rest of this day I felt stronger than usual and wasn't hungry until very late in the day. So my regular toast and weetbix is not really 'cutting it', when it comes to getting a good start to the day. Having a big meal at the end of the day is traditional for many in the 'western world', but I think it is not the way to go when doing a lot of physical activity.
So below is a typical days diet for Michael Phelps in heavy training/competition and I believe it is what is required for many ironman athletes:
The 23-year-old is swimming his way into the record books fuelled by 12,000 calories a day.
Phelps starts the day at 5am with three fried egg sandwiches topped with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayonnaise.
That's followed by a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits (porridge), three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, and three chocolate-chip pancakes, all washed down with two cups of coffee.
By lunchtime though Phelps, who is contesting eight events in Beijing, needs refuelling.
That comes in the form of half a kilo of enriched pasta, two large ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise, and nearly 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.
After a hard day's slog at the pool Phelps ends his day with another round calorie and carbohydrate loading.
Dinner consists of another half a kilo of pasta followed by an entire pizza and another 1,000 calories of energy drinks.
The massive menu is needed every day to fuel Phelps' five-hour long pool sessions six days a week.
And to relate it back to my own diet, recall writing down everything I ate for a week for a 2nd year biochemistry paper(in 1990) called 'Human nutrition and dietetics'. I was following a 12 week running programme at the time which had me running 80+kms or so a week, plus I was biking everyday and doing other sports also. I weighed 72kgs and was consuming an average of 10,000 calories many days. One day even cut back the real number of sausages I ate from 6 to 1, because it made my cholesterol level rediculously high(my weeks intake was 5 sausages short). Since then I gringe everytime when eating sausages unless they are obviously high protein. Basically the cholesterol in them had me heading for a heart attack within years. Well excess cholesterol causing heart disease was the 'fad' of dieticians at the time. Anyway one point is that there were no weight gains during that time and I did get very fit. Another point is that you have to be very cautious with reducing your diet when coming off such a heavy training programme.
Was driving a bus at a resort but they started getting rediculous asking me to vacuum and wash it at 10.30pm in the dark so let them know what I thought of that. It was great for a while but it was time to move on.
Need some inspiration?
2/ 8/ 2008
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:
'Iron War' link.
This one is better though.
Latest event page and more swimming.
27/ 07/ 2008
Click on the above link to see a great endurance New Zealand. It is the 'Peak 2 Peak '. This is high on my 'to do list'. Will I ever give up doing endurance sports?........can't see that happening.
My latest swim reminders:
- keep one eye in the water when breathing to the side,
- push the under water stroke right out, and brush the thumb against the thigh,
- remember the 's' shape under the water and try to keep the power on,
- don't be a wimp; use those big back/shoulder muscles to fill effect,
- started doing some kicking with the short fins, kick from the hip and do more kick reps,
- do keep doing 100's and even 50m's by the clock, building the speed as I go through the sets,
- contine to practise the 4 beat kick and the 2 beat kick with a wetsuit,
- don't start breathing for the first 5 strokes or so,
- do breath unilaterally during the race but swap sides every 200m's or so; sometimes skip a breath to ensure stroke technique is right.
The above is just some of what was going through my mind during todays swim. note to self is to start timing how long I am in the pool.
Thats all folks.....have a great day wherever you are.
More swimming.
14/ 7/ 2008
Have been swimming 5 days a week for the past 3 weeks which is alot for me. Have plenty of time so am doing drills I enjoy and trying to modify my technique slightly.
Todays focus was using the palm as well as the forearm to get a hold of the water and this was acheived by keeping the elbow flush with the palm when it was at the midway point of the underwater stroke. Also pushing the stroke right out and brushing the thumb on the thigh at the end of the underwater phase. Just focusing on technique and not speed.
And here is my latest technique for learning; watching a clip of Michael Phelps swimming from multiple angles:
Michael Phelps.
And here is a great link if you are passionate about ironman. Have met up with one of the guys who does the podcast a few times and he knows sport as well as anyone.
Ironmantalk/Podcast.
Have listened to 2 of the podcasts. One was an interview with Chrissy Wellington and it was great. The only thing was they tend to have the interviews about 30mins or so into there broadcasts, which is fair enough as they want to make it more than just an interview. Intend to put some links to the podcasts on certain event pages as it is good to listen to the podcast while looking at photos of the event. Well have done that twice but most of the time I just have some music in the background.
The latest interview is of Torbjorn Sinballe and Pete Jacobs but the previous podcast are also available.
And here is a link to a very informative blogspot:
JoelFilliol.blogspot.com
'Very informative' is a bit of an understatement. This guy coaches the great Canadian triathlon team and there is plenty of detail on his blog, that is useful for all levels of athletes.
Cheers from Grant......do come back.....
Life balance and physical well-being.
06/ 7/ 2008
Firstly there are quite a few people looking at this page so here is a link to my latest event page; Ironman Germany. Many superb photos here.
Here is a link to what I wrote on the above topic. Tried to write it for the 'TriathlonShots' website but decided it doesn't fit with it, so made the only copy of it here:
Life balance and physical well-being.
See there is one link to this blog via the clothing page. Will remove that link and any others I find still on 'TriathlonShots' when the clothing page re-opens.
Travelling and training continued.
29/ 6/ 2008
Travel companions and I visiting the beautiful 'Four Mile' beach at Port Douglas. Thankyou to my blonde Lithuanian/Italian freind for taking the next couple of photos of myself swim training in a great 50m pool in Cairns.
Not much can be seen of my swimming style in the above 2 shots, but it looks o.k to me. However I do have a whole series of them and my head looks to be moving a bit much from left to right, so that will be something new for myself to concentrate on. Would really like to see a video in slow motion of my own stroke...well maybe someday.
Some notes to myself for swim technique:
- keep fingers pressed together,
- practise one arm strokes(and sometimes concentrate on timing of the kicks when doing it),
- Keep the head centred; no side to side movement
- am also swimming slightly faster with a 4 beat kick(2 kicks on each side/stroke), and when breathing to my offside; note to myelf is to practise one beat kick with wetsuit in open water.
Timed myself for a few lengths and best was 35secs for 50m with pull buoy and hand pads.
1min 20secs for 100m.
Am holding about 1min 32sec/100m for 1km or so.
And a wider angle of this great pool. Am swimming and running most days for 40-60mins in both. Swimming is going well and not pushing to hard but trying to concentrate on a nice steady style.
Might as well rub it in(good times) and say my running is benefiting in the heat also; that is putting in some fast reps and it feels great.
Well I feel like taking some real time out to relax, holiday and train so plan to update this page next in 4-6weeks. There is planned to be several more event pages up in that time period though.
Until next time, take care and enjoy......Grant.
Travelling and training continued
23/ 6/ 2008
Have found the Cairns 50m outdoor pool and it is great, so my swimming should benefit from a bit of extra mileage. The fish market is opposite the pool entrance so I have bought each day after my swim for lunch......my favourite food.
So I decided to visit the great barrier reef, to check it out and do an introductory dive. Figured to give some underwater photography a go as a practise for getting some underwater and surface shots of triathlon.
And here are a couple of images from my first ever dive and my first go at underwater photography:
Oneday this will hopefully be a shot of some triathletes swimming overhead.
Here is a link to some really great close-up images of the sea life on the Great Barrier Reef. Oh yeah there is a great shop that rents cameras out and sells camera housing in downtown Cairns called 'Wet Rez'.
Next time I will try to get back to some triathlon training! Promise to myself.
Also not planning any more trips in the short term, but rather to start looking for a bit of paid work.
Travelling and training
19/ 6/ 2008
Above is a photo of where I am living for next couple of weeks in Cairns. So far have been here 4 days and managed a couple of 10km runs. Going running and swimming is the top of my list as seem to have a few extra kgs to shed. Was a bit outnumbered on the female to male ratio this day which is almost always preferable.
Got an e-mail from a mate today who said I was a lucky guy. I truly beleive we all create our own 'luck'. Prefer to use the word 'situation' rather than 'luck'. And will say I just try and make the most out of any situation. We all have a variety of opportunities that come up in our lives and it becomes a matter of which ones we choose. For me there has been 2 places/situations I would equally like to be in in the past few years. Maybe will be able to make it work now with a seasonal job I can go back to?
The major treat for me so far of this time out was flying business class for the 5+ hour flight from Auckland to Cairns. It was a complimentary upgrade due to all the flights I booked through the 'Star Alliance' last year. It also included a one-off complimentary pass to the Koru lounge in Auckland which was very grand. It just happened to be on my birthday so the extra comfort was very appreciated. It pays to treat yourself at least once a year or so, or at least that is one of my theories to keep a healthy body and mind.
Update.
6/ 6/ 2008
Not up to much. Just started the 4 1/2 months off my seasonal job. So far have been helping my parents prune their vineyard for a week. Hope to be off to somewhere warmer in the next week or two.
Only 1 swim in the last week as am not used to a physical job at the moment. Have a few lawns to mow and some garden work in the next week for the little business I have set up to cover my travel costs and keep fit.
Will try and come up with something more interesting soon. It is a bit of a flat patch.
Am watching the ITU olympic disatnce world champs closely though with the Olympics coming up. So far it looks pretty cold from the photos I have seen of the juniors.
Chrissie Wellington and Andrea Hewitt.
19/ 5/ 2008
What else do they have in common apart from the fact they are great swim/bike/run woman athletes??
Like many other triathlete/ironman athletes thay have a swim background, but that isn't it.
Answer : They both competed and placed in a long endurance event before settling into the swim/bike/run format. And it was the 2 day 'Coast to Coast' multisport event held in the South Island of New Zealand.
Richard Usher(photo below) should be added to the two athletes named above as he took the title of the 'one day event' this year and 6 weeks or so later placed 7th in ironman NZ with a fast time for the conditions.
Mention the above because having done the same event back in 1992, believe it to be a great introduction to endurance events. Even said this to Andrea's coach a while back. He said that he advised Andrea not to do it, and this was before she started triathlon. Knew inside how fit I was back in 1992 after completing it and would have put it to good use if it was not for the professional degree being done at the same time. The fun aspect of it probably helped as well as the decent bike/run distances involved.
It is quite expensive to enter though so am not really trying to promote it (but rather promoting the idea of getting some decent endurance miles 'under the belt' early on). Note it ended up being a long duathlon in rugged conditions the year I did it due to river flooding. Just think that somehow it was a very good background as a starting point to do well in triathlon.
Winter has arrived so it is time for training indoors for me.
My latest exercising is going well with a few wind trainer sessions and regular swimming. The glare is from the flash.
And you can't beat watching movies like this series from 'Fat Albert'. Think it was over 25 years ago when I last saw this. Note to myself is that I still want to see the 'Flintstones' movie from a couple of years back. Plenty of good morals in this including not to steal and how to make your own fun. 'Fat Albert' really is smart when it comes to keeping out of trouble.
Habits and weight control/loss.
19/ 5/ 2008
The weight loss bit is at the bottom and the rest of it is not sports related, so skip over it if you want the sport stuff. It is my only gripe and advise caution if you read it.
A definition of ' habit' :
Habits are automatic routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, without thinking.
'Habit' is a word I often associate with negative conotations but it doesn't have to be that way. Am certain we all get into some habits as we go along in life, some of them useful and some not. Regular exercise has become a habit for me that I don't wish to give up. So I see exercising as a good habit, but it could also hinder oneself if we put it above all else(eg relationships).
A solution to the above could be to hang around people that also rate exercise similiar to yourself. Or to just execise when you have spare time; the problem is some relationships will entail spending your spare time is used very wisely(eg. planning ahead or doing things around the house to keep things in good order).
My own definition of a habit is:
If we get so habituated to doing the same thing on a regular basis that it is hard to stop, then I would call that a habit.
Another question could be, ' When does a habit become an addiction?' Being addicted to exercise can be seen as good thing but being addicted to alcohol obviously isn't.
So here is just one habit I would like to break to begin with and that is speeding while driving. Am glad I haven't developed an excessive alcohol drinking habit as well because speed and alcohol don't mix. It has taken a long time to happen but now whenever a person gets pulled over for speeding they get breath-tested for alcohol in New Zealand.
Can list the reasons why I speed but instead will list the reasons not to:
- dangerous if something happens on the road ahead(to myself and other people that maybe present).
- it costs me money in tickets and loss of license
- it uses more petrol in my car when I put the foot down
- it only gets me to a destination a few minutes faster and usually I end up wound up from driving fast.
- one answer maybe to spend less time driving altogether and this is being considered. Cut out all the unnecessary trips to begin.
And one other habit to change is to listen more and talk a bit less, so what can be done:
I do listen, but think the habit here is talking a bit much.
-' Listen more' is such a cliche in communication courses that it makes me want to ignore it. I have to listen to someone telling me to listen more. Like I want to listen to some old geezer telling me this, when I would rather be outside going for a run. You can't talk if you are running or racing hard and you don't have to listen to anyone else.
- However have a book which I bought and am willing to try and follow the advice in it. The book is titled 'How to win friends and influence people', first published in 1936. Think it is better and more original than all the previous talks on communication I have heard. So it also advises to talk less, which goes 'hand in hand' with listening more.
- I don't really like hearing it directly from a person on a boring communications course and surprising though it may seem sitting and listening to lecturers wasn't very enjoyable for me. Guess the problem on these courses is that they are very intent on saying this advice is correct and you must listen to me and then you will be more successful........
Will put some feedback on here and on how I go with the above and also about weight control.
Can't recall the exact words but an old friend who is medical doctor said to me that 'habits are very difficult to change/break out of '. I believe some habits get tied with the environment we live in, and some of these habits can be broken by moving yourself. That is a bit drastic for most people but is one to consider. Routines can become habits and could become problematic also if it is time to move on.
Habits can also be very easilly linked with the topic of weight control. Healthy eating habits is a good starting point, as are healthy drinking habits for that matter. Add more to this............ My good habits are eating a variety of many different fruits. Bad habbits include eating too many biscuits and cakes.
This page or 'my training blog'.
12/ 5/ 2008
This page looks to be getting more people visiting it( from web statistics). But in the next few months I am looking to separate it from my site. This page('my blog') will still look the same with links to my site, but there won't be a link from the site to it.
Well that is my plan for a few months away. So if for some reason you are interested in the information/suggestions on it or are just interested in what I get up to, then you will need to add this page to your favourite(bookmark it). Basically the page will still have the same look, it will just be floating in cyberspace.
Blogs do seem a great way for old friends to check up and see how you are going. If any old freinds out there have their own blog then feel free to e-mail me the link..
So my intention is to re-write the different sections so 'TriathlonShots' is not so personal(about myself). Well that is the plan.
Met up with a couple of fellow ironman people in the weekend just gone, and got some more inspiration. One of the guys was about 10 years older than myself and has completed 11 ironman events.The interesting thing was that he has got faster as the years rolled on and this years was his fastest time of something like 9hrs 40mins. Great stuff.
It does also remind me of John Hellemans who did his one and only ironman(Elmere) in just under 10hrs at age 52 or so. He is in the 55-60 age category now and still places in the top 20 or so of amateur triathletes in N.Z. He has however slowed with time in his favoured olympic distance from low 1hr 50's to around 2hr 10mins today. There are a few other guys in N.Z and around the world that are similiar but not many(quite a few in the 40's category). I think the secret to it is consistency over many years. Am sure some of them do a few weights and stretches to keep the strength and flexibility up also.
Time to be more concise.
1/ 5/ 2008
The plan is to have a different layout to this page in the next few days. There will be a link to this page in its original style but the entries will be shorter and only 1-2/month.
There will be links to separate pages with most of what is below categorised into specific topics.
Below is one of the most famous images in the world of triathlon/ironman to date,
Mark Allen and Dave Scott going 'head to head' at the Hawai ironman. This was the most inspirational of images to me when it come out on the front of the triathlon magazines back in 1989. They look so fit/lean and were pushing themselves to the limit.
Their times would still win many ironman world championships in the most recent years. They were running faster to begin with.
Time for a short ramble; will try and tie it in with endurance sports though.
23/04/2008
Have been making a few lists recently to try and stay on track with some goals. Things I am looking at are my financial and mental maturity. Both need a bit of reviewing. Both really stem from a lack of direction at times. Either that or the direction I have been following needs a bit of reviewing. Will leave out the personal details though as this can be read by anyone! You see many people who all of a sudden have children mature pretty quickly(especially since many of them have to).
And some of the above thoughts come from the recent surge in costs of alot of the basic items like food and petrol. We quickly get used to the new prices but I can remind you that they have almost doubled in the past year or two. Long term I believe energy costs will come down and with that the price of many things could come down. Not sure of the time frame for the energy costs coming down but have an understanding of more than a few energy alternatives.While it has been fun focusing alot of my energy and thoughts on endurance sports for the past couple of years, it does come with some sacrifice. Examples are not watching spending and not focusing on the investments I have or even making very average investments. Everyone who has a mortgage, free hold place, business, student loan or a few dollars in the bank has an investment they should utilise. It does require some concentrated thought for it to work the best for oneself / family. I think we all really have to make our own decisions to do well and it will work out better if we have a good understanding of the areas we invest in. Obvious but again it helps to remind ourselves.
Now to tie it in with endurance sports. Have committed alot of time to it over the years, but did have a break in between for a while. For many reasons am considering another break from it but will be back for sure. Don't intend to give up on keeping fit however, just less events on my race calendar and made up of mostly local ones.
Think some of the above stems from the time of year as much as anything as it has turned to Winter pretty quickly. I do have 4 1/2 months off my day job soon(by choice) and will find some paid work for a fair chunk of it. Am pretty set on going to Australia for most of the time as us Kiwi's can work there with no problems. Am thinking to go back to Europe for a month or so but I can't work there and will be scrutinising the costs versus benefits(it is looking unlikely).
Have started up a little lawn mowing business to fill in my time outside of work. Am looking at it as my exercise and the replacement for some runs. Ah yes there are other ways to keep in shape and this gear should be tax deductable, unlike my cycling/running gear. Have enough cool gear now to keep me going for a while. Funny how there is always something else I would like, and sure this is not an uncommon thing. Age group athletes are getting alot of products put in front of them, and many of them are just making us lazy. It is not that hard to put a bit of malt in a tube dispenser and carry it on the bike for nutrition rather than buy the latest 'tri food' product.
Many of us have forgotten how to obtain or grow our own food. This stems from urbanisation, but also laziness I think.
Could go on about the above alot mor but will move onto nutrition. Am revising my milk intake and will be opting for smoothies without the milk. Already don't eat butter or cheese because these products are over 50% fat, but also because I am getting plenty of them in my bread, biscuits etc. Am also looking to cut back the amount of bread eaten and replace it with other sources of starch. I talk it up on here but really my diet needs as much of a 'shake up' as the items in the first paragraph of this post.
Hopefully it can all work in unison. Saving money by growing a vege garden and at the same time resulting in a healthier diet; a few chooks wouldn't go astray either. Which is all very serious and mature. Well it hasn't happened yet, so will put it in bold to remind myself. Now when does one plant the potatoes? hmmm it is time to get real about these basic things.
Am always keen on feedback via my e-mail links on this site.
Also want to remind myself to calculate how many visitors are visiting this page each day, to check if it is worth carrying on with. But don't worry I can't work out who is visiting here. Worked it roughly to 2400+ visits to this page in the past 4 months which would be about 20 visits a day. That would be about right and expect only a few would come back regularly, say once a month. Will have to try and post on it twice a month to keep in worth visiting I think.
I do visit some other peoples blogs about twice a month myself and here are the links:
gordoworld.com
Another I intend to check up on is renoriders at this link:
eliotdrake.blogspot.com
And here is a link to a ITU athlete I met last year that made a link to my photos(can you read Dutch?):
Birgit Berk
Will put a few more links together on a separate page someday.
Have alot more to do on this site at present but it is only a hobbie(little return) so it is moving down my priority list. For example I have great photos of the Oceania tri champs and Aussie Xterra to make up event pages, but struggling to make time for it.
Just read through some of my old posts and there seems to be some useful advice in amongst it for me(and others also I hope). There is so much already written below that it helps refresh my memory by reading it. Am starting to highlight some sentences which seem better advice than I can recall many days. That is part of the problem, sometimes when we are in a 'sticky'(tough) situation we need good advice, but when we are in a 'sticky' situation the answers/solutions don't come flooding back. So I think a diary with advice/ideas for yourself by yourself could and should be helpful. The list of alternative work you would do is a good example. When you are at your wits end at work, you won't be able to come up with this list very easilly ( helps to have it written down anyway).
Her is one to to put on your list to start you off. Take a well desrved holiday, by yourself if required. have heard some people go back to work to recover from the stress of the holiday(funny but not really smart).
Another solution to above is to train yourself to handle the toughest of situations. Training yourself to handle the toughest of situations is a good way to go. This can equally apply to everyday events in your life or a 8 hour plus endurance event.
Note to self: discuss inspiration from the SAS(u.k) man I worked with for a couple of part days back in 2001. This guy and his fellow soldier were captured by the enemy and only he survived. Will discuss it more later but it will focus on his mental and physical toughness and have nothing to do with who caught him.
Updated: Basically he wasn't all that happy with previous events events but it didn't hold him back working in the most demanding situations in the present day. Very loyal and dedicted, just a bit fitter, tougher and knowlegeable of the latest technology than anyone else. Yes I truly believe they get to use the new technology first and this was from another older SAS(u.k) soldier I worked with at a later date who said they used the facsimile first. Well maybe some other milatary/government or NASA employees use the technology early on also.
Related to the above is that my first approach to a job was with my countries airforce to be a pilot, but I don't have 20/20 vision in one of my eyes so knew it was pointless applying.
I used this guy as my my role model to get through my first ironman. Actually that is all I am going to say at this stage. With the preparation I had and this role model, completing the ironman was really a walk in the park. It did keep me shuffling along in the run however when my legs said no more.
A list of healthy foods you like and a list of goals(eg sporting ones) are no doubt useful for the above reasons and all helps to keep the focus.
Goal setting.
23/04/2008
Below is a link to an online forum response by Chris McCormack(Macca) emphasising a goal list.
Look through it for the posts by 'cjmacca'.
http://forums.transitions.org.au/index.php?showtopic=23031
Reading this was one of the most inspirational stories/things to me in recent years. It will mean more to you if you are aware of this guys acheivements. He has pretty much ticked off everything on his sporting goal list(a piece of paper), that was made 15 years ago or so........ Wow........
Physiology.
31/03/2008
And below is a post I made recently on the 'Slow Twitch'(ST) forum:
| Slowing the onset of ageing through exercise. |
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Read an article in a local magazine quoting 3 times olympic gold medalist Peter Snell regarding this topic. He is from N.Z but now based in the USA as a Doctor with specialist knowledge in exercise physiology and cardiology.
The article only touched on the subject above, but some ideas were:
- muscle size reduces with age, and exercise can help slow this,
- The hippocampus(part of the brain important for memory formation etc..) reduces in size more slowly in those who exercise regularly.
- exercise helps keep the heart healthy.
There was some more but much of the article involved motivational ideas for the elderly.
Do any of you ST's out there have knowledge related to the above? Am interested to hear what people think?
My first thought on the above is that a more healthy heart(cardiovascular system) as a result of exercise is pretty well known and even this alone is a large subject.
I do however think
very strenuous exercise(over a long time) can start putting excess stress on the cardiovascular system which can be detrimental. And to get the heart fit a gradual process over many years is a sensible approach.
Time for some more training tips..
17/03/2008
Don't overtrain.
Good coaches will help to prevent this happenning. However your coach is unlikely to be by your side all the time(only if you are married or live next door to them), so it helps to learn to listen to your body very carefully. And respond the right way(ahh?... a day off....... ahh?... revert that hard training session to something more easy). Really stating the obvious, but again it is a reminder.
So what does this entail. Firstly for example it entails oneself thinking consciously of what is happening when we are getting sick. Getting sick a few times in short succession is also pointing towards a weakened immune system, which is a bad sign.
Having the background medical knowledge helps alot, but it is not essential. Commonsense can prevail.
Don't race when you are sick.
Watched a guy doing an elite ITU race last year and noticed he was coughing during the bike. In the run he was at the very back and breathing really hard. Caught up with him after the race and found he came to a sticky end; fainting and being carted off by the ambulance. That is an extreme example, but I say under no circumstances should we race if sick. You can get away with it in non-elite races but it is just not worth it. Am sure the pros with any longevity in the sport know this. Here is a suggestion, wait until you feel back to full health, do a couple of normal days training, still feeling no ill effects, then do a sprint distance tri in your training. That should ensure you make up for the missed race. If the missed race was a half ironman or so, then do a quick olympic distance triathlon for your training day. There has to be a way around racing when you are ill.
And yes I have done two age group races while still under the cloud of inflenza, and no it wasn't worth it. One of them I was 100meters into the swim and all of a sudden my arms and the rest of my body just went flat.
If you are well enough to start you might try, but obviously it would make sense to pull out if you weren't feeling up to taking it out/getting the required placing. I don't recommend starting and pushing untill you drop under any circumstances though(when under a cloud of ill health).
So basically am not going to give a definition of what 'sick' entails on this site. I could try but it would take too long. Common an obvious reasons not to start are gastro-intestinal illnesses for example. Otherwise consult a doctor who understands what you are doing and use commonsense if you deteriorate.
Use a heart rate monitor in training.
I refer you to Mark Allens home page for this. Scroll to the bottom of the homepage(markallenonline.com). His comments seem to be based around stopping yourself doing too much in the hard zone. This will be true and useful to some. It also gives a guide for calculating your HR zones, but I would highlight that it is only a guide.
Also like his article on speed training and the bit on listening to your body even more though and I will be trying his advice. After all he is one of the all time greats. I prefer to listen to someone who has been there, but that is just me. Not all of what the best athletes say will hold true for us all though as our physiological systems can respond differently. The most obvious being male versus female physiological differences.
The reasons I say for using a HR monitor is to start getting an idea of what is actually happening during your racing and training. It is another tool for reading your body.
Basically I have been doing too little in the hard zone in training. And my HR results on race day helped prove that to myself. Managed to hold a HR of close to 160bpm for 5 hrs 43mins on a tough cycle course. That was way higher than I thought possible for myself. So I should incorporate some interval training on the bike where my HR at least goes around 160bpm. Proper intervals of at least a few minutes duration that is!
Plan your triathlon and racing season.
Another heading from the same site refered to above, but can assure you the following are my own ideas.
Planning is required because of the difficulty for age groupers to even enter some races. Enter early. The further out you know the races you are doing the better you can prepare(obvious really). Achieving the goal of getting into your countries age groupor elite team will be more easy if you plan it a year out. There is more to it such as the cost which can be prepared for also in advance. It just is better to plan ahead in most cases; that doesn't mean you can't leave some flexibility in your race calendar however. You want to win? Then make a miticulous plan, just don't forget to enjoy the process occasionally.
Ask someone if you are unsure.
No one can do it by themselves. Getting good advice early on can save alot of wasted time. Now I do have a couple of coaches in mind to contact. Certain coaches who have produced the very best results. How did they do it, I am not sure. The only way to find out might be to give him a go.
Like to think I know the answers to success. Really that is a bit arrogant, because no one knows all the answers. The best results of all the elites really come from a combination of coaches and motivational sources.
My excuse is that I can't get along to regular swim squads. A valid excuse because believe a swim coach( settiing up a good plan for your needs), and squad training to be essential. Making excuses is also a bad approach as there are usually ways to try and mitigate things. Have come up with some but will post about that later if I can prove it right.
Get your body to your correct body weight and proportions for your distance/sport.
Will let you work that one out yourselves. But can only say it is very important. Many will say it comes with the training, but for some it requires consciously working towards it.
This guy(me) weighed in at 85kgs on raceday, and looks like he needs to loose a few kilos of upperbody weight. Carrying extra weight on long runs just isn't working. Even on long training runs I was coming to a standstill at about 30kms. And from 30kms on raceday it was the ironman shuffle to the finish line.
Latest addition to this website.
15/03/2008
Mens and Womans tri-suits are available for purchase on this site at the clothing link at the top of this page or by clicking on the images below.
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'Thoughts'(file in pyschology).
4/03/2008
The mind controls just about everything.
Just watched a movie called 'The Secret', so that is where the above sentence in bold comes from. Most of the ideas in it, were either passed on to me previously or I had thought through them before myself. There was some good advice in it mixed up with a bit of what I call hype. My interpretation of it was that we create most of what occurs in our own lives, be it good or bad. There was alot more philosophy in it and even though it was interesting, it is really not my thing.
How we are perceived by those around us is interesting to be aware of also.
Knowledge is important, but what is currently believed/taught can change.
To relate back to sport. Going from doing shorter olympic distance style triathlons to an event like ironman takes some knowledge. It is all pretty much out there if you have time to search it out. One mistake I made was attacking the uphill sections of the 180km bike a bit hard. Felt strong on the bike so rode it the same way I always have in olympic distance races. The result was tearing to some tendons in the proximal insertion of my gastronemius muscles. These minor tears didn't stop me training post-Wanaka, but they have slowed me down. Ouch.....
Re-read the above an am not sure how it relates to thoughts.......oh well.....
More thoughts:
- There are always new opportunities arising for all of us, regularly.
- One door closing means another door is opening.
- Find things that motivate and inspire you.
- If you are having doubts about what is the right career path for you, make a list of all the jobs you would do. It is hard to come up with this list in your mind if you are right in the middle of disliking your work intensely(save this list for this time, should the need arise).
- Accept that life isn't just all about having fun. I have purposely tried to make all the content of this site show an outflow of useful(positive) energy, but like everything there are big challenges.
- A 'problem', is really just a situation/scenario looking for a new or better solution. Finding the solution can be a useful and exciting challenge.
Ah yeah, I think these bullet points are more targetted to the heading of this post and movie('The Secret').
Website, training/race goals and the 'tri-suits promotion'.
1/03/2008
The tri-suits give away described below is now over. Have given away 3 of them, all to guys. Still have a womans one to give away as haven't had feedback recently with the female touch.
And now I have 110 triathlon suits of all sizes and colours, so will be eventually setting this site up to sell them.
Said earlier on this site and to a few people I was going to do the 'national champs' olympic distance race, but have chosen to back out. Had my plane tickets and accomadation booked and time off work organanised. However had to take another 5 hours off a weekend shift day and did a financial calculation. After taking the tax off my 15 hours work( weekend shift), plus flight and accomadation the cost was going to be $1600+ to do the triathlon, so figured I'll wait and sort some better choices to keep fit and race. So the above race goal has gone for this year.
Flights have improved alot in N.Z from what they were like 15 years ago. Was up in the middle of the North Island in 1993 when 2 of my Grandparents died(a week apart). Eventually when I went to get a ticket the airport was closed for 5 days(Easter Holiday). It was 3 flights and over a $1000 to get to the Southern most city, so couldn't even get home to the funeral when I decided I really wanted to go.
It has only been in the last year that flying around N.Z has improved significantly.
So yesterday I sent away my entry for the 2009 'Challenge Wanaka' iron distance race(a race goal to focus towards). Tried to get into Challenge Roth, but looks like I left it too late. So am now looking at other options. Would have been good to get to Roth as have a mate who is doing it, but it isn't a big deal.
This website is still getting viewers 24hours a day and is soon to be more user friendly to purchase photos and tri-gear. Yes there will be a commercial side to it sometime in future. To begin with though I am going to try and sell some of the tri-suits by other means.
Am working weekends for the next 5 weeks and this is crucial for my finances so as to work seasonally. So can't photograph or enter any events. Not complaining though as some time out is refreshing.
Well it has been 6 weeks since completing the 'Challenge Wanaka' and my last training effort a few days ago showed up the tendons behind my knee are still repairing themselves. They are sore and this is not unexpected. It does not bother me as am well aware tendons can take 2-3 months to heal(reason being a poor blood supply to tendons and it is similiar for ligaments ).
Update: the tendons took about 4 months to heal fully because I kept on training(occasionally very hard).
A work mate colleague a few years back told me how he had done some permanent damage to his back after completing an ironman. So be a bit cautious in your first ironman I would say, unless you have managed to replicate the race particularly well in training in which case you might get away with it.
On a different note, my boat sharing mate was in hospital for a week recently so went to visit and tried to point some things out to him. He was laid low by an undiagnosed cause. I think it is chronic fatigue(long term stressors) and told him as much and a doctor taking a blood sample. Nothing showed up on all the tests and there is a possibility it was set off by a virus. Bloods can show this early on. However viruses also hit the body when it is under alot of stress or weakened for any other reason. Read him some background on 'chronic fatigue syndrome' which I think is useful, and some recovery ideas to get back to full health.
Think of 'chronic fatigue' because my mate has been doing the most physical of work around 10 hours a day, 7 days a week for several months on end. In his spare time he is like a human dynamo and I usually have a day off after an adventure with him.
Also did do some work/play stints like the above myself(some time ago), but the longest was about 2 months, then I would use the start of the university year to put my feet up.
Got close to blowing an internal fuse one year by working and playing too hard. Come to think of it I did have to replace an internal fuse soon after. Takes a few months at best to replace a fuse by healing, would prefer a replaceable bit of copper wire.
7/2/2008.
By the way this blog or whatever you want to call it is due for a major overhaul, with different sections to be filed.
Am sitting at my computer and it is 5am in the morning. Just finished night shift at work and catching a plane for Christchurch in 1 1/2 hours so as to photograph the 'Coast to Coast' multisport race. No rest for the wicked and no sleep in this case. Hope someone out there will appreciate the images I get today of the '2 day competitors' and tomorow of the 'one day race'.
Questions and tri-suits.
7/02/2008
Here is an image with my logo on the front. Am just going to put a logo on the front from now and none on the back.
So far have given one away to a guy in the USA for some great feedback.
Read below for more on the triathlon suit give away(post 24/01/2008).
Am training hard and will go into my goals soon. But the first one is the 'national standard distance triathlon' in Wellington on the 9th March.
Old photos of multisport and triathlon.
7/02/2008
Below is a couple of pics from 1990 to 1992 of myself doing a few races.
All the original images were taken with film and I re-photographed them today with a macro lens on my digital camera.
Note to self: Re-photograph this as the original is much sharper.
Several competitors and myself(#74) before one of eleven Tuatapere 'Wild Challenge' races held in Fiordland National Park. The Kayaks were flown in to the start here because of the remote location.
The above photo was taken in January 1992 and I was doing it as part of a two man team. The previous year I had completed it as an individual.
We were boated in across remote Lake Hauroko to this starting location 20 miles or so from the nearest dirt road.
The Wairaurahiri River runs through Fiordland forest all the way to the sea and is the steepest gradient river in N.Z. The paddling style looks a bit strange, but this river involved some bracing manoeuvres to navigate it successfully. Didn't have a rudder on this kayak.
Tipped out in one of the three years I did it and can vouch for how powerful the current was. Each year someone who tipped out got their boat smashed into small pieces by the log jams.
This photographer made a great effort to get here as it is 2hours from the nearest road by jetboat to here. It is a good image but a wider angle image would be spectacular of the river in this event.
The run in the same event as the above two images. The run was equivalent to a marathon or longer and there was a decent mountain bike to follow. I finished it in 9 hrs and 10mins or so(individual). The next year did it with a team mate and we placed well in 7hrs 10mins.
Must have taken some food as see a belt bag in the photo but still run out of water/food with 10kms or more left to go in the run. This race was tougher in many ways than the ironman races and was real look after your own needs adventure racing.
Start line in the dark of the Coast to Coast in 1992. This was one of the only years the Kayak would be put off due to floods. The duathlon that resulted suited the guy to my left who placed 3rd in the 2 day individual race. He had been doing a bike tour of N.Z and decided to give this race a go.
The kayak was my favourite part of the race and had even made the 7 hour drive from my home to paddle it prior to the race. Robin Judkin's wasn't in great spirits during the race and for good reason. The floods certainly put me off entering this race again. There were plenty of other adventure races around that were as good if not better that I would do after this one. Travelling along way from your base carries more effort unless you are very well prepared/supported.
It was about zero degrees on this pass at the 1992 Coast to Coast. Ended up being 140Kms of biking on the second day and I didn't get hot in this solid kayak jacket someone kindly loaned me.
A collection of triathlon and multisport gear in late 1990. The bike at right was borrowed for the 'Wild Challenge' race above for the one year I did it as an individual. My KHS road bike is in the dark at left. Sold all the above kayaks in 1995 when I stopped the sport for a few years.
Just bought an Advantage Kayak today by chance and am working quietly towards doing the next one day 'Coast to Coast'('Peak 2 Peak more likely'). My old roof rack needed some major engineering work and this was completed only an hour ago so now I'm ready to go back to some multisport(doesn't feel like 13 years have gone by).
Am still right into this sport after having a good start back in 1987 with wins in my first multisport and triathlon(small school one). Still getting a few placings these days and will certainly blow some hot air on this blog if i can manage it in my age group nationally. Was close to it a couple of years back, but that is a longer story.
Still have the orange 'Brooks' running shoes sitting in the kayak seat and will use them again for some soft track running as they are still o.k. Running shoes has been the biggest cost being based here in N.Z and good trainers were $200-$300 back in 1990 and are still the same price today. Was shocked when I first went to the U.K in 1995 and they were half the price for the same shoes with the exchange rate taken into account.
The above 'Brooks' somehow survived but the other 3+ pairs used every year since 1986 have gone by the way. Estimate would have spent close to $15,000 NZ dollars over the past 20+ years on running shoes alone, which seems an excessive cost to me. 'Thank goodness' some larger sports shops have come to N.Z in recent years.
Doing a sprint distance triathlon in a small town(Rangiora?) just outside Christchurch in the early 90's.
Image is a bit blury and was taken from a car by a highschool mate at the time(1990). Not a bad image considering the speed was about 40km/hr.
Bike is a KHS and I used it in 2003 with the same wheels to qualify for the World Champs in Queenstown. The wheels are 'Campagnola tubulars' and are lighter than any made today. Bought the above bike second hand in 1986 and the wheels second hand in 1988. The old bike won and placed in a few races including this one. The bulge in my back is a tubular as had to replace a flat tyre midway in the bike leg.
The aero bars are the first ever sold and are 'Scotts' bought in 1987 or so. Still use them for races on my new(2003) road bike. The 2003 bike is now relegated to my training bike as started using another bike in late 2007 that I got from a relative racing as a pro-triathlete in USA.
The image below(left) is from the same race as the bike image above and was just a small local race.
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Finishing first in a local multisport race in Dec 1990.
Use to weigh 72kgs back in the early 1990's and today weigh in at about 85kgs.
A mate from High school was into his photography and did a good job. Didn't notice him during the event.
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'Epic Camp' looks tough(great).
24/01/2008
Caught up with the 'Epic Camp' crew on the last day of their N.Z tour and was impressed.
Did a swim with them then took some photos as they raced to the top of 'Coronet Peak'.
It was inspirational watching them riding here so after they had gone by I ran up Coronet to the ski base to check it out. There was Gordo having a sit down so I asked where the rest were and he said they were still due back from running to the summit(he was first back?).
Didn't realise they were going to race on foot to the summit so was a bit amazed, and said so. At the time had thought they run back down, and that would be the hardest part in my mind(just rough tracks). Read their blogs the next day and see they actually caught the ski lift back down to the base, so was somewhat relieved for them.
Knowing all the N.Z terrain the 'Epic camp' team talk about on their blogs it sounds manageable, but cycling mountains in France sounds tougher again.
Really want to do an 'Epic camp' so this was a driving reason to catch up with them.
Think I will try and go a bit faster in my next(2nd) ironman then get along.
By the way the man who organised the world champs event at this lake in 2003 and who has been running tri's there since 1983 told me on Monday the swim across is 1020m-1050m depending where you measure it.
The first group including Gordo's wife Monica did it in 25mins or so and I was 5 mins back. Still faster than I do it by myself.
More later and will post some images on the events page..................................
Questions and tri-suits.
24/01/2008
The four questions are:
1. What do you like about this website?
2. What would keep you coming back to this website?
3. What can be improved on this website?
4. Is there anything you would like added to this site?
Address to use is triathlonshots@hotmail.com
Your e-mail/address will be treated in confidence and not used for any further promotions.
All the answers are to be concise, that is a maximum of two sentences for each question.
If there are alot of responses, there will be a maximum of 4 tri-suits given away. Of these 3 will be chosen randomly and one will be to answers I think are most useful.
Will be thrilled to get some feedback as have put alot of time into this site.
Will try and do the feedback idea again at a later date but will make the prizes t-shirts so non-athletes might reply as well. If you would like to give some feedback but aren't interested in a prize then it would still be great to hear from you, but just say.
Above are 8 of the tri-suits. The other 2 along with my own one are in the printing shop getting my logo on them. Will have them back in a few days and from these will decide how best to get the logo printed on these 8. The 2 tri-suits above right are womans size large and the other womans one getting the logo on is a medium. The red/black one is the same as that in the photo of me below.
Didn't make it along to the local triathlon held this weekend because I didn't get to bed until 4am having worked a night shift. Took my HR the last few days and it only got back to 44 about a week after the ironman. Did my first run 6 days after the event and the only sore area were the tendons of my gastonemius muscles where they insert behind my knee. Since then have done some very light stretches of this area and another run and it is improving.
Managing to do some other adventurous stuff outside of triathlon and this weekend it included taking our little boat to some rocky outcrops in Foveaux Strait where a mate and I got 25 decent Blue Cod. Like to be able to swim well when out to sea a few miles, and being fit is one of my favourite insurance policies.
