Dreams do come true if you work at it long enough.

My Goal and Dream

This is my dream.... I am not a great athlete. I have only one fantastic trait and that is the ability to keep going when others drop by the way side. I have tenacity and a dream.

Last year in November with my father in ICU, I competed in the Mandurah 70.3 ironman with the aim of qualifying for the Worlds in September. That time I missed out by a single slot... one more and I would already be going....

So it was back to the training board. I got a little injured in December and missed completing in my 9th half in Albany my home town and then it was on to Busselton. My first half was at Busselton and it is only in the last 12 months that I have managed to reduce my times to below the time I did for my first one.

So on the weekend despite a less than ideal race I managed to achieve one of these

in a personal best time and any time you do a PB its a good day. I was 3 minutes quicker in the swim and 4th fastest in my age group in the cycle. Bit slow on the run, but I had tummy trouble so it was good to get a PB.

Then it was on to the roll down on Sunday. Roll down is a system where the 30 slots to the world championships are allocated. There weren't many people there but when the head count was done, there were more people than slots.....So some of us were going to need some luck, and as 14th in my age group I would need some of that.

And I got one ... I was so happy So now in September I will

until I get to finish my dream.

 

Will keep you posted on the journey .... but now I rest (this week anyway)

 

17 weeks to go

 

Race Report for Busselton Half (70.3) Ironman

The Lead up

So motivation problems aside. I was well rested and travelled on Thursday to Busselton in preparation for the event. Ironman and 70.3 events take a little time to get organised. There is the bike to service and make sure you don't have any problems with your tires. You need to pack your wetsuit, goggles, spare goggles, spare swim cap, helmet, bike shoes, socks (optional), spare tire, CO2 canisters to fix a flat and the little device to use with these, carbohydrate gels, something to put the carbohydrate gels into, electrolyte mix of your choice, a couple of water bottles, food to make sure you are fuelled pre event, triathlon kit, bra that won't chaff, running shoes, hat or visor, sports sunglasses, racing watch, charger for racing watch..... Should have also packed sunscreen (borrowed some open access product) and body glide or similar. Then you need to get all this to the event - easy in a car (fill her up) harder via plane (dismantle bike into bike bag and use much of the gear as padding to protect the bike - then pray it all arrives in the pieces you put it in to start with).

2 nights out is the "critical" sleep and I decided to have a calm day before and travel Thursday. Unfortunately there was a major issue at work and I had a silly phone call about something I could do NOTHING about from 500km away at 9pm. as a tip - ironman type people are generally asleep by 9pm - ring at your peril.

Check in for me and the bike.

Half ironman and ironman events are too big to bring your bike on the day, so registration is always the day before for 70.3 and 2 days before for ironman. Fridays job was simple.... register, collect the bag of goodies including timing chip, bib for event and stickers for your bike, helmet and gear bag.

Then apply sticker to bike, check the tires again and head to transition to leave your bike with 3000 others for the night. I don't know what the average value for the transition that night is but it is definitely more than 1 earn in a year.

Then for me it was a little R & R and sight seeing. Off to Cape Leuwin for the afternoon oh and more food.

Pack race day bag and risotto for dinner.

RACE DAY

So earlish start at 5am. a couple of crumpets for breakfast with honey + a banana and 1 electrolyte drink. (the real breakfast of champions)  should have had a coffee but forgot, then I walked to 3 blocks to the race start with my gear in tow. Only repacked the bag once in the morning. Almost a record for me. 

Into transition and set up my gear (by this stage it was about 5:40am) then recheck the gear and catch up with some friends, including one from high schools days who I reconnected with through ironman. We had a good laugh at both getting All World Athlete status last year due to our top 5% world ranking in our age group. This was mostly due to us both competing in at least 3 events... although this meant we both competed in 2 70.3 and 1 ironman for the year and there are lots of people who couldn't do that and wouldn't want to!

The it was off to the loos - only to find them blocked - who would have thought anyone would want to go to the toilet after drinking to be well hydrated pre event and want to have a morning constitutional before putting on the wetsuit.

Then it was gear drop time, time to strip down to the trisuit and remove the extra warm layers. Sometimes I bring thongs to the event to walk around it but I left them in the hotel room - oh well cold feet it is. Then on with the wetsuits and the first problem of the day.... put my hand straight through the let - twice. Sigh looks like I will be getting a new wetsuit before my next event. Then off to the start to watch the pro go, then the new dads (30-35 males) after all they have to be up early... then the eligible batchelor group (AKA 25-29 males), then the scary women - apparently women over 40 are scary... I take offence to that but perhaps that's why we scare him. We are a bit of a no nonsence group, in the water and go.

For once I managed to find some feet. which I am sure helped greatly in keeping me on line, out approx 1km and back for a total swim of 1.9km. Then up the ramp and into transition. Helmet on, race belt on, gloves on, sunglasses on, bike off rack and to the mount zone. Managed to stuff up my shoes again, so wasn't as smooth as I would have liked on the mount part but oh well it is only a few seconds.

The start of the bike a group of about 4 girls formed a non-drafting who's in front group. You are not allowed to gain advantage by riding on the wheel of the bike in front. 12 meters is the rule of ironman event, so 12 meters between your front wheel and their back or approximately the length of 2 dotted lines and the gap between them... it's quite a way. obviously you can pass but you must only be in the zone for 25 seconds. If you enter the zone you must pass, but you only have to get your wheel infront then the person you passed must drop back to the 12 meters before having a go at passing you. The problem is if you pass one person who is 12m behind another person you end up in the next persons draft zone, so you have to keep passing, but if you are passed you then end up behind this slowing group of riders trying to pass each other, hence the who's in front now. WE played tick tack tow for  about 30km and it was about then that I realised the tick tack tow was causing me to ride beyond myself (36km/h average!) ... YIKES time to slow down a little or I will never be able to run.

So I settled down but still finished the bike in a new PB of 2:39.... wow that is fast.

Off on the run. got into my rhythm. I am not a strong runner and for the first lap it felt like everyone was passing me - cause they were.... when I got to the end I felt like I needed a pit stop and checked the loo - not in use so in I ducked. All good and much easier to run without a full bladder. Fortunately no other problems yet - except my legs telling me I rode too fast. On the start of the third lap was a bit of a different story... I started to get some mild stomach cramps.... So I stopped again. This time was a little more problematic, but all sorted and back out on the run. The only problem now was I hadn't positioned my trisuit back in place very well..... and started to chaff. not a pleasant feeling. By this time I was slowing a little bit more and was worried I wouldn't get a PB despite running well in training, it is quite a different situation of a hard bike ride. I had worked out that although I was going to be outside my PB it wasn't going to be by much .... seconds really and the second time I will be under the respectable 5:30 mark.

So I finished a happy triathlete my 9th half ironman in 5:26:44 and 14th in my age group (up 6 places on last year)

Happy with that but then I thought I will just check what my Mandurah PB was..... 5:27:03.... hold on that's slower..... So it is a PB .... WOOHOO.

Now for the rest and then the roll down ceremony tomorrow. Just hoping others don't want the spots (like 13 other competitors.....)

Easter Plans and How to cope with low motivation 2 weeks to an event

So It's Easter

I have a busy weekend planned......

Run Friday morning (which turned into a walk as my friend was injured)
Then a Kayak trying out the double inflatable kayak we will be using for an adventure race in 4 weeks time. It was fun and the harbour was very flat! Fabulous day for a paddle. What was really interesting that although my other half and I managed to paddle across the harbour with just a few minor steering issued it was his lack of fitness and need to rest regularly that was most interesting.... Clearly I am fit .... OK very fit.... good sign....

Tomorrow I am planning a swim across the harbour in Albany, Just a lazy 4km swim to start the morning. It will be my 4th time and could be interesting to see how I go with the extra training I have been doing.

Sunday I am planning to take a rest day - given I will be busy timing a swim event in a near by town.

I am now in count down mode from my next big event - Busselton half ironman. it will be my 9th half. pretty pleased with that.... I was going well with training about 1 month ago but I have been really struggling in the last few weeks.

So I have been taking a good dose of JFDI. Although this hasn't always been easy and sometimes due to extreme lethargy I have started a session and pulled out.... I have also been having trouble with knee pain and swelling as well.

So I now need to relax and use my version of the 5 minute rule - that is if after 30 minutes I still don't feel like I can train well I stop... a little longer than the 5 minutes but it works better for me.

So this week when my motivation to cycle was waning I jumped on the computer trainer did a 20 minute session at 100% of my maximum power threshold then got off and went for a short 1km run. I figured a "brick" session like that would actually help and I am sure it did......

So this week again I am going to relax and enjoy the ride... it's taper time... all about short sharp sessions.

Music free running and songs for inspiration

I notice a fellow 1/2 marathoner commented on music during events. I have to say I am not a fan of running with others with headphones in so this will be a little bit of a rant but also a bit of a reflection of music which has shaped some of my events.

I am a bit of an old fart - and have been running for a long time - long before music able to be carried easily - I remember trying to run with a potable CD player - just didn't work!

So firstly - why I don't like people running with music (especially on events)

1. you miss talking with fellow competitors
2. you don't hear someone coming up behind you and generally become a greater obstacle to pass.
3. It probably gives you an advantage over others (especially as most people train with music now)

I guess I am just mostly old school - but I will say if everyone wears headphones then why do we bother gathering and running together on big runs - what happened to actually talking to each other and sharing the experience.... I did say I was old school.

So to help keep myself motivated and just because I am a complete nutter .... I sing to myself on the event (and often in training - remember practicing everything you are going to be doing in an event makes it easier)

Here is a list of what popped into my head for some major events.

First Half Ironman - Busselton 2008 - "I feel good" - didn't even know the words properly but it popped into my head in the swim then I switched to singing the rocky theme on the bike. Got a bit tough by the run so I started singing "I feel good" again - just to try and fool myself!

Gold Coast Half Ironman - This was a very wet day 200mm of rain so we were all soaked. My brain got stuck on "day trip to bangor" which is a really old song that people who grew up in the 70s and 80s in country WA seem to remember from their childhood - there was only a small number of radio stations and ABC often played it. So nothing is more fun than singing "didn't we have a lovely day the day we went to bangor" .... in the poring rain!

Other songs I have sung include: hey soul sister, someone like you, jumpstart, call me maybe (which a SA tri group made a youtube video about at Busselton IM one year). I have an interesting remix of the Lazy Song which I also like singing.

I also know the words to "chariots of fire" and on the run leg of my second half one of the local residents was playing this song (without the words) so I started singing

"there is but one freedom, men running along, each step that he's taking a step to his soul. The passion and courage it is to be there, the spirit of freedom alive in the air.... whenever the running in man awakes to challenge the freedom he knows that he can turn the key once more to unlock the soul"

Definitely inspiring stuff.

 

The best event for this was London Marathon (my only marathon without a swim and bike before it) in the pre ipod era of 2003. Here the music is on course for you - every pub ( it's London there are lots of pubs) had music. From classic, to rock, to pop, reggae music... it was a complete blast ... helped me dance all the way to the finish line.

 

So pre event now I think about what songs I might be singing.... then I set up a playlist called "ear worms" This helps me find my mojo when out there on course and makes my event more fun.

 

Mandurah 2013 was my last event and strangely it was Adele "Someone like you" that was working for me.

 

Now I need to find a new set of ear worms for Busselton this year - or will I just go back to my old favorites?

Ahh recovery week - its all about the mindset

Training in a competitive way is about balance - like everything else in life. I suppose I am a competitive athlete although that was not what I was ever aiming to be - or how I look at myself.

So we will just assume that lots of the world will look at me as a serious athlete.....

There are several things I have learnt on my journey to be a serious athlete

1. Have a plan

I use a training plan and have done for years in various form. I started with a generic program we used at the club. This was lots of fun, lots of coffee after some great rides and runs. All very social. Then for my first ironman I borrowed a friends program and after my first I got a program of my own. I now also have a half program that is individualised. Individualised plans are definitely better but one thing I have learned is that no one ever gets everything done on a plan..... but it is the consistency that matters. Doing a smaller amount more regularly gets results more than cramming. In fact I have a saying -

" Ironman is not a test you can cram for " 

 

So a plan is important and keeping consistent is also really important. this time I am using my old half ironman plan - I have missed quite a few sessions but I also know that quality is more important that quantity.

This week is a recovery week so I am going to have a light week as planned. I will be perhaps a little more than planned but I am feeling like I am going OK and there is no point "flogging" myself and then getting too tired to put in the effort I need next week when I am sharpening up.

2. No you can't eat whatever you want - no matter how much you train

This is such a sad fact. I can eat more when I train but I have managed to do 15-20 hours of vigorous training a week without losing any weight! This is a sad but true fact. People often ask me about supplements. I have to say I am not a fan. I love food. Why would I "skip" eating food and take a supplement! I don't understand it. I know lots of people think that we need supplements as our soils are depleted in this or that but I eat a really wide variety of foods and I think my diet is pretty balanced. For this reason I don't take supplements only the occasional vitamin D (don't show much skin when I train) and some magnesium if I am getting lots of cramps.

Key things for me if I am hungry seems to be protein. Yoghurt or a tin of tuna. Lots of protein based breakfast. Don't do a big training without food - it just doesn't work so I have a piece of toast before I head off for a 3 hours bike ride or I take food with me. Also don't get hungry eat small amounts and often.

3. Mindset is the key to life and success

Not quite "the secret" style believe and it will be but more dream and it could be. There is a great saying that if you say you can or you say you can't chances are you will be right either way. The thing I love about the 12WBT program and part of why I keep doing the program. Yeah yeah we all know these things but somehow we don't do it.... So we seem to be reminded regularly.

Set your goals - but make them realistic and measurable.
Be the adult - not the teenager who has been left alone with the fridge for the first time
stick to the plan but be kind to yourself

We all deserve success but we need to work for it more some times than others.

Check in time.

I haven't blogged for a while - despite saying I would keep it up this round.

As is often the case I have been having motivation problems after such a busy lead up to the start of March. Training hasn't really been on track and I am feeling tired at this stage

Here is a summary of my last 3 weeks training.

Week beginning 3/3/14 - General Prep week on program.

1 hour swim, 2 hours cycling, 72 minutes of running and a 60 minute gym class
I was also away in Perth for the weekend and despite planning a run I didn't quite do the distance as planned (at this point I haven't even got a 10km run in)

Week beginning 10/3/14 - General Prep week
no swimming (various excuses used), 2:50 hours of riding (including a race), 3:20 of running including my first long run, 90 minutes of gym work and a 72 minute triathlon event for a total weekly amount of over 8 hours of training. at least I got a long run in this week.

Week beginning 17/3/14 - adaptation (recovery week)  

1 hour swim (quality session), 3:40 cycling (111 km including a long rolling hills ride), 3:30 hours of running including speed work, tempo, recovery and long steady distance and my usual 60 minute gym class. Almost got to 10 hours for the week which is OK for a recovery week although I am not sure what I am recovering from

So the next 2 weeks are crunch time for me. They are called Special Prep and they should be long and hard. It is the final set up for the taper down to the event. Think 3 hour bike rides and 2 hour runs and lots of fast sessions. Planned hours for this week is about 14 hours although I already know this is going to be a problem as I have a quick trip to Perth planned, but I have adjusted the session to minimize the impact.

Roll on the week.

Phew - got the other side

Wow what a day.

Stress levels were through the roof but these are the times you need to remember to not sweat the stuff you can't change and work on the things you can.

Yesterday I received lots positive comments about how the day went and everyone loved the new course.

We organized a triathlon of which I did lots of the leg work but also had lots of great help on the day. Each year the Albany Triathlon club organize a state calendar event which is also our major fund raiser for the year. this year finances were tight as we didn't have a major sponsor. Despite this our plan was to put on a fabulous event and by all account we did.

 First to things you can't control.

Weather

Perfect day 26 with light winds.



Couldn't get any better than that. The picture shows fog which rolled in around us.

So got the event set and the briefing done (a little late - oops) then off to the start.

About 70 individuals set off and 5 minutes later about 20 teams. Into the water. The Surf Club did a sensational job again of managing the water safety. Our local club pride themselves on the job they do. As many of them race they know how to watch and respond quickly to swimmers but also do little things like keep the jetski fumes and IRB fumes away from the swimmers.

We have some new timing equipment which went almost seamlessly during the event. With only 3 chip problems (one was a failure of the tag - others were operator error). Timing was  a big problem last year but this year it was better managed.

The Road were closed - by a professional company who arrived as planned and for the road marshals we used our own. No one understands the needs of athletes like athletes and using local tri and cycle club members on the lollypops works much better than using "professionals". These bikes travel fast.

Cycle leg

Speaking of the cycle leg. This was a new course this year - We sent them up the hill.... There is a knoll next to the beach and we closed the scenic drive that takes people back to town. 3 laps so 3 times up the hill, but 3 times down the hill and the rest of the course is flat...

Feedback was fantastic. there is nothing like a long hill to spread the field out - so no penalties. Got to be happy with that. Although we have fun and made the penalty box the bus stop - If you get caught drafting of a competitor it's a period in the bus stop - waiting for a bus - but there are no busses on sunday!

Only one problem on the bike with a local competitor coming off and needing some help from the ambulance. He will heal but is going to take some time for the skin to grow back.

The rest of the day went well and the technical official we happy with how we managed the day. Lots of great feedback about how well run the event was.

These days are stressful but it's all about JFDI... setting yourself up to succeed. This is what we did... with lots of help from some great volunteers on the day who gave out drinks on the run, cut up the fruit at the finish and called people through on the PA

I am glad it is over for another year but WOW what a day

The only problem is - pity about the exercise the last 3 days.... kinda fell in a hole there - but food intake was great.

Now it's off for a ride and hill repeats.... back to training for the half.

Its going to be a big week

So it's Monday .... and I have already had one melt down. I am sure there will be more this week.

I am president of the local triathlon club.... and the main organiser of the local state calendar classic event. This is a 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run. There is so much to do and so I have taken the week of work.

There are so many things to be stressed about
- organising volunteers (finding volunteers!)
- Sorting traffic management plans
- writing race briefings
- Setting up the event profile on the timing equipment (new equipment worth $$$)
- organizing the PA system
- getting fruit for the finish line
- getting drinks for the finish line
- moving around a variable message sign to maximize the visibility
- making sure the volunteers I do have know what they are doing
- touting for business.....

I just need to remind myself that regardless of how well the event goes I can only do so much.....

So today after calling into work for a meeting I couldn't get away from I sat on my couch and cried .... all caused by my partner being a little unkind to me... he only asked me a simple question and it isn't his fault .. he has been really lovely but I am just so fragile at the moment....

So at least with the week off work - I have no excuse not to exercise (although it is a recovery week on my program)

So this morning I got up at 5:30am and met a friend down the track where we did 6x400m. All in a great time under 1:40 per 400m. Now I just need to keep the diet under control too......

Hope it all goes well and I am looking forward to sleeping next week sometime!

Why I call my blog fit and fat.

I am fit, I have been fit for a long time. I have done amazing things but despite being a 4 times ironman, finishing the London marathon and clocking up 8 half ironman triathlons in my time.... I was still fat. Not obese but overweight anyway. I have bad knees .... I was told I would never do an ironman. But I have something more powerful than anything else....

I have tenacity

I keep going and going and going

So last year I decided it was time to be more than fit and fat (although this is much less stressful) and now I am fit and no longer fat (although technically I am still just overweight). Now the aim is to get fast.....

We all have the most amazing qualities inside us .... we just need to focus on our strengths, get fit, stay fit and get out and enjoy life.

So here I am fit and looking fabulous - no longer fat - my other half is loving it (although not like the fact that he is heavier than me) and all because I decided to do something about it.

Things are slowly getting better

What a week that was..... phew

Stomach cramps Monday - which settles with a bit of medications. still got some hill repeats in for my run on Monday night.

Tuesday I dragged my tired but out of bed and did some efforts. Basically these are riding hard and stready (kinda like a tempo run) for Xkm. In this case X was 6km. I got 3 in then joined the boys on the regular ride. Its good for my mental health to ride with other people. Triathlon and especially long course triathlon involves lots of long km often by yourself. I also added a swim in at the beach. It was quite unpleasant.... like swimming in a washing machine with stingers.... yuk

Wednesday I got up for my usual stretch with an hour of body balance. It makes me do it and I guess its a case of getting stretching and core in anyway you can is important. Then I got home to discover I forgot to turn off my garmin yesterday so no garmin to do my 12 minute run with. I was already running late but I headed out anyway and tried to use a running app. I am definitely no used to this.... sigh. Perhaps someone can give me tips on how to set these up to do a 12 minute test. Anyway I think I was a little slower (2.4km)

Thursday morning I just couldn't get out of bed. I was suppose to be doing hill repeats but just couldn't face it this morning so I took the morning off. I know this is one session I can get away with missing. Then Thursday afternoon was swim squad for a hour. 800m using paddles! that was tough.

Friday is my rest day and so I went for my usual walk with the dog and a friend.

Saturday was the first championship race of the cycle season. Not sure if I am going to do much of the season this year but Time Trialling is a lot like what I do for triathlon. Its an individual thing you against the clock and your mind. I was well rested having had a double rest day for the legs and the wind conditions were spot on ... I managed a PB just over 1 hour 10 minutes for the 40km. Averaging about 34km/h for the 40km and I was fastest of the women (thanks to the 2 women who would have beaten my for having other things to do on the day :) )

Then it was off to Peaceful Bay A lovely little settlement about an hour west of Albany. We hold an annual Kids tri on the Saturday afternoon and an adult tri the next morning. The kids tri was fantastic - 60 kids mostly from the local areas ... maybe next year we should include an adult enticer tri afterwards.... for the parents / aunts and uncles to have a go and have the kids cheer them on :)

Sunday morning after a terrible nights sleep on a camping bed I went for a run. We kept it short as the track we went down soon turned to sand.... tough. Also snuck a little run leg for the adult tri in as well.

So keeping my exercise diary going I have managed 7 1/2 hours of training this week and travelled over 100km for the week. Need to build it up more next week. I am aiming for a big step up next week - 13 hours of planned exercise.



Food has not been so great but plenty of time to work on that.....

Kids Triathlon - the under 7s "swimming"

Stomach cramps !!!

So I got very organised for the weekend - Took snacks to eat on the trip and water to drink
Took my running gear and charged to Garmin up ready to map the run....

Then Friday night I started getting stomach cramps - almost like something working it's way through - maybe it was too much fibre in the snack balls?? But the worst thing is the cramps continued all weekend and never developed into anything more. As a result I didn't manage to run at all.

On the positive side
1. I kept my diet in check
2. I didn't over eat in the road. Stuck to drinking water
3. I did lots of incidental exercise - helped my mum clean up taking 2 loads of cardboard to the tip and a load of asbestos. Lots of walking up and down hills plus heavy lifting.
4. I got out and got a run in tonight.
5. My training diary arrived on Friday. I entered my exercise for last week and was surprised to discover I got over 5 hours of the 8 hours planned done (despite not training Friday to Sunday)

so tomorrow it is on wards and up wards with a swim and a ride planned.

How to beat the snack attack!

So time to talk about snacks.

Meals are easy to manage but the "hungry Hippo" who comes home from work each day is not so easy to manage.

Here are some things that have worked well and no to well for me

First the not so good:

• Drinking water once I am hungry doesn't work for me!
• Having any cheese in the fridge is dangerous - especially a cheese
• Ice cream is best left at the supermarket - it is too easy to eat on a couch with a spoon 
• High fat and tasty yoghurt is a close second for things to avoid.
• Peanut butter is also dangerous but I can ignore it is I lock it up. Although it makes great satay curry rice cakes.
• Not planning snacks when I travel is VERY dangerous.
• I can eat too much fruit really easily
• I can eat WAY WAY too much dried fruit - my mother makes home made fruit leather and I can eat the equivalent of 10 apricots in a sitting!

And the Good

- Protein fills you up very well - So low fat yoghurt is a great snack
- Snack balls are great - Dried fruit in this form is portion controlled.
- Home made hummus and ryvita cracker make a good snack.
- Planning your snacks is critical - This is what Sundays should be for
- Drink water BEFORE you get hungry
- When you are learning to drink Green Tea - make it weak.

Also exercising when I get home from work BEFORE I sit on the couch means I don't have time to eat and drink things I shouldn't

Here are the  Fig and Cranberry balls I made on the weekend. I also made a batch of snack balls with nuts and coconut.

I am travelling to Perth on the weekend so the plan it to take some of these morsels with me to eat - no buying chips or lollies to travel with.

And of course take a bottle of water to drink - helps manage the boredom of a long trip.

Letter to myself

Challenge for week 1 is to write a letter to yourself.  and Here is mine

Today you are excited about the idea of starting your fourth round of 12WBT. You are ready to really smash this round. Injuries have settled and your head is in the space to make the most of the next 12 weeks. To train hard and eat well. Next week is the start of your Busselton 70.3 program and you know you are better organized than ever before. Organization is always your down fall, but you have a new diary on its way and it’s time to plan the whole preparations. Remember to put in the red flag weekends but don’t allow the usual excuses to creep in.

You know you are in great shape and there is no reason why you can’t get another PB at Busselton in May, you have more to give and you know it. You will need to get a PB to have any chance of a world championship spot but you can do it.

Be kind to your friends and most of all Murray but don’t forget to be kind to yourself. Murray is a great supporter and you need to remind yourself that he has your best interests at heart. You know you will have doubts and worries. Try not to worry about things you can’t control.  Don’t let other feed your doubts, you are strong enough to train without help and you already know this. Get out there and just do it.  

Listen to your body and read the signs. Rest only when you need to. Remind yourself that you are going to be tired at times but you may as well be tired because you trained not tired and you didn’t even train.

“Oxygen is good for the brain – get out there are exercise your brain with thank you for the extra oxygen”

how to get motivated to exercise

I often get asked - how do you do it.

You must be very motivated!

sorry to dispell the myth but - I am no more motivated than anyone else out there.

 I would call myself "Event Motivated". I only get up to exercise if I am training for a big event. If I don't have a reason to train I can be a couch potato like everyone else. I have just found my mojo thats all. the most common thing I hear people say is I'm too tired to exercise or I don't have time. I have to get up early to exercise. I figure I am going to be tired at about 2-3pm in the afternoon it may was well be for a good reason rather than no reason at all. But here is the kicker.... once I got used it I found I actually had MORE energy not less. Things got easier. I remember thinking back about my first Ironman Campaign in 2010. I had never got up before 5:30am to train in the morning but found myself getting up and on the bike by 4:30am doin 2 & 1/2 hours of riding then having a quick breakfast, shower and off to work. I would then work a full day without feeling the need for a sleep. Sure when I got home I was exhausted and was often in bed early but seriously what was I missing.... some bad tv! How many of us just sit there and what something cause nothing else is on!
I know I am guilty of this one.

I also find that the fresh air in the morning is fantastic for my mood. I live in a beautiful part of the world which is nice and quiet. Fortunately we are too far away from anywhere for many people as a result I can often ride for 40km in the morning and only see 1-2 cars. Makes sharing the road easy. It is great doing hill repeats at the top of mount Clarence watching the sun rise over the harbour or running on the boardwalk with whales playing in the waters below. How can that not make you smile just a little.


So next time you think .... I am too tired to exercise remember ... you are going to feel tired anyway it may as well be for a good reason! Get out there and do it.

Fitness test and scores

It's that time of the round again - Last fitness test of 2013 and first fitness test of 2014.

This last round has not been kind - the now to get fast hasn't gone so well for lots of reasons including injury. So it's time for a new start.

Run

For then 1km time trial I have started using a new course so it is hard to compare but I am now down to 4:10. Happy with this but a "perfect" score is 4 flat - I would be stoked if I could get to that.

My 12 minute run test (something we get to do on the 1/2 marathon program and perhaps other run programs too) I got slower over the round but have finished off with a solid 2.47km.

Ab Strength and push ups

During the last round I did a 30 day plank challenge. As a result mid round I managed a 5 minute plank - yep that is a whole 5 minutes on the toes! Not up to that quite at the moment and especially after the run - but pretty happy with my 2:29 effort today. There is definitely room to improve here.

For the fitness test at the start of the round I did the push ups on my knees. Still not my strong point but I managed to get 48 out in the minute. Happy with this but I think I might also record a toes record for the start of the round.

Wall sit

this has been my nemesis. I struggle with this one - who would have thought sitting could be so hard. I have definitely improved in this area - I can now wall sit for 2:49 but still plenty of room for improvement.

Flexibility

How to cheat on a flexibility test? Do it after body balance. This is what I did today but I will continue to do this each time. Also in my case it is the easiest way to get an accurate reading as they gym has a sit and reach box. Much easier than doing this myself - especially as I can't even find a ruler in the house :) So my score was a fantastic 22cm! Almost a foot (OK about 2/3 of a foot)

Other tests

So I am also going to record my body fat % for this round and on the weekend I am going to so a power test on my computer training. This is going to be a tough 20 minute ride at a 2% gradient. From this the computer will enable me to track any improvements in my power on the bike.

Overall score:

So this all adds up to a great score of 81/100 for me. Really happy with this and not surprising it puts me at the advanced program level. I would expect nothing less.

Tomorrow is measure up - already taken the readings today for the check in - but I am going to do them again tomorrow.

Let the fun begin.

Wins Planning and Time for a new year and a new start

Everything is linked.....

Wins for the last year include
1. Completing another ironman (NZ in a slow time but done)
2. Moved the pharmacy department to a new hospital (it is the thing myself and my fellow colleagues were most proud of this year - its what made us shine)
3. Managed a PB for both Busselton and Mandurah half ironman.
4. Finally ditched the weight (not calling it lost as I don't want to find it again)

So this year I have gone from 82kg down to 72kg and am finally a healthy body weight.

Planning for a new year

So after such a great year the question is - where to now??

1. Keep the weight off. I don't mind if I don't lose any more but I do want to hold the weight
2. Catch up with friends more often. I can be such a hermit.
3. Don't over commit myself. I like to help but it is not worth exhausting myself over it all.

This round has not been kind to me so now I am going to focus on the next round. Red flags are mostly when I am away and I have some longer trips planned for travel. These are the hard bit for me.

Time to get moving again. Training hard for the half and eating well. Drink more water. Its all very simple really.

Health Weight - My opinion!

So this will probably be my first really controversial blog. It worries me the number of people who seem to be aiming for a low body weight. I wonder what the height of some of these people are??

I am never going to be a small person but I know that fit and fat is definitely better that skinny and unfit. Body image is such a big concern these days. People seem to want to look really skinny. I laugh at people who are clearly not overweight who still comment on wanting to lose a few kg.

I laugh when my friends call me skinny - I know I have lost quite a bit of weight from my heaviest (92kg) but interestingly I am still not under the 25 BMI regularly - however I think I know look really healthy.

Christmas morning swim - yes it was cold.

So this is me only 1kg off a BMI of 25 but I am a ball of muscle. So hence I think I look healthy. Interestingly I would still be in  a healthy body weight range at 55kg a whole 18kg less than I am in this picture! I have to say I think I would look sick at that weight! I would have no curves!

 

 

So it worries me a little when I see people who want to be a very light weight - I just hope that they are short and are actually aiming for a healthy weight range not some light weight range just because they think they should be. At this weight I am now a comfortable size 12 which I think is a great size for me and it looks like it is the best looking size too.....

 



 

It makes me positively average!

 

I know for the Lean and Strong crew this is a really important thing. Weight is less of a problem and often people on this program GAIN weight but LOSE cm.

 

So I hope people are setting SMART goals this round and are realistic about the weight they should be rather than a difficult unhealthy weight that they want to be...

 



Travelling Deamons

I have a real problem when I travel... I get Bored.... and I eat.

I failed miserably of late after a few trips to Perth and Back (400km each way) where I have eaten and drunk all the wrong things!

Tomorrow is another test....

Travelling back from Perth......

So the key is going to be to plan and drink lots of water. I do not need snacks as I will have eaten breakfast BEFORE I go and when I arrive home I will shop for healthy food to fill my fridge for the week.

I am planning as I said before to change my patterns and bad habits this round and the best time to start is NOW.

Going around again - What I love about 12WBT and what I still need to learn

So if you haven't worked it out yet... I love the 12WBT program.

Firstly what is great about this program

I was very sceptical at first - I need to eat when I am training hard hence I delayed starting my first 12WBT program until mid 2013. This was after my latest Ironman campaign and I was pretty pleased when I realised the first week was after my half ironman.

I liked the look of the program - it is calorie controlled - portion size - but from what I had heard really tasty food. What success I had had in the past had been when I controlled my calories. I was pretty excited to be starting.

I decided as I was very fit and looking for a change so I enrolled in Lean and Strong. With watching my calories I had achieved my initial weight target BEFORE I even started. Got to be happy with that.

However like many others I have found sticking to calorie counting long term just is too hard and it is also too hard to. What I found great in this program was that if I stuck to the recipes I kept the weight off. EASY and SWEET.

I also found the support in the forums was fantastic. I realize now that the lean and strong group is a little different and definitely more active... I really miss that part now - but I want to get back to my sport ... maybe I'll be back again in the off season. Initially I felt out of water.... I didn't know what I was doing and had lots of questions about what to do if I didn't have some equipment. The I realised it wasn't the 12WBT support crew who were the best support but all the 12WBT family. Others going through the same thing you are.

The other big key to the 12WBT system is the mindset lessons. I haven't been as diligent at watching and listening to these but these are the key. This is the how to get your life on a new track (a healthier track). The mindset lessons aren't just about your diet.... it is about general accountability for your life .. paying it forward.

More and more researchers are finding what we probably will all realise at some point. It is not what you have that will make your life rich but what you give to other. Happiness is not what we should all be seeking - we won't always be happy in our lives. What gives our life purpose and ultimately fulfilment is what we give to others. It is time for us all to start being adults and just do what we need to do with the understanding that it what we achieve that will make our lives great and ultimately better. It may be weight loss and health or being proud of your children or making your own dreams come true. In my case it is what I can do for others that ultimately is linked to my happiness. I love to help others (although I am not as amazing as my parents who help others and thrive on no recognition at all!)

So what is my Shout IT OUT moment for this round.

I am sure this is going to sound like my last round. Again I am going to try to qualify for the 70.3 (half ironman triathlon) world championships in Canada. But if I don't do this then that will be OK. If I train well there is no reason why I can't get a PB at Busselton which is at the end of this next round.

So how am I going to do this:
1. Get up - remind myself I am going to probably feel tired whether I train or not so I may as well train and feel good about why I feel tired.
2. Blog weekly - keep sharing my journey and it is a journey for all of us. Mine may be different to some but I am sure I should be able to share some wisdom.
3. Watch the mindset videos !
4. Eat well but don't sweat the small stuff. Plan and plan well. For me I am going to try using the weekly plan as the Saturday to Friday plan rather than a Monday to Sunday plan. I find it frustration to purchase food for the week a few days BEFORE I need it. being in the country there are less shopping hours available...
5. Get a training diary and plan plan plan....
6. Check in with the forum and help others in the way I have been guided in the past.

Hopefully that will do it.

This round is not about weight loss for me - I am on the upper range of a healthy body weight for my height but I know I have lots of muscle. My body fat % sits around the 22-24% mark on my scales which is healthy and healthy is a great way to be. I am not a skinny person and I never will be (unless I get really sick). I am sure it won't always go the way I want this round but I just need to keep getting back on that wagon.