Go Hard

Well it's finally the end of the year. Even though the change from one year to the next is an arbitrary thing, it still does hold some personal significance. Gone are the days when I would head out looking for a massive New Year's party (usually to be disappointed). Usually I now spend the night with just some good friends. Tonight however, I may not even be awake through midnight as I have an early start at work tomorrow. I am not in a habit of making specific resolutions. I like to think I can keep my goals in check throughout the rest of the year. New Year resolutions tend be made just so you have an answer when someone asks you what your resolutions are. Instead I take a quick moment to reflect on 2007. Unfortunately it wasn't what I had hoped. With some family members suffering significant health problems. My wife and I experienced a miscarriage at the start of the year, followed by the stillbirth of our daughter later in July. This year has forced me to take stock o...

I like trying out new training routes. I tend to find at least one variation per week. Something I picked up on a recent run. If a road has "hill" in it's name, then there is probably a good reason for it. I got to thinking about this while on Hill martin Road, when I was reduced to a walk just to complete the long steep climb.

It is now 100 days out from Ironman Australia. It isn't really that much time to get things right. In fact, I'm starting to get a bit stressed by it. Wondering if I actually have time to make the gains I need to. I think the combination of way too much food and a good few doses of alcohol over Christmas have me feeling a bit unfit too. The solution is to take a quick look at what I need to do over the next hundred days without getting too involved in the detail. Then do it. So here it is: Ensure I complete my key workouts which include: Long ride (150-240km) Long run (2:45-3:30) Long swim (3000-6000m) SBR Combo (6-8 hours) To complete these I need to be on top of the other tasks of life, including: house work, garden, shopping, cooking, bike maintenance. To be on top of these I have to do some each day (and not leave it until the last minute). This means thinking ahead. Doing things like planning my meals for when I'm on shift at work and making sure I have food in the cu...

It is that time of year. The silly season, where people spread the good cheer of getting narcy in shopping centre carparks, stressed because they can't find the present they want at 11pm on Christmas Eve, drive way too fast around the streets because they don't have time and expose themselves to the family arguments that have been kept at bay for a year. Of course there is also all the good bits of spending time with friends and family that you want to. Enjoying way too much good food and a few too many drinks. Plus doing very little training for a few days, and feeling good about it at the same time. Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy the Silly Season.

As I have mentioned before, cycling is where I am going to focus most of my energy. I did give the general outline, but there were a few specifics I didn't get into. So how will I focus on the bike? Firstly I still believe in the principles I outline in Cycling For The Ironman last October. These principles I summarise as: Develop central endurance and fat metabolism with long rides (4-8 hours) at 55-75% VO2max (approx 60-80% HRmax) Keep general pedal cadence moderate and gradually progress my comfortable range Keep the long rides steady (minimise freewheeling) Ensure good core conditioning and flexibility Train in race position Now to get a little more specific to Ironman Australia. The race course is 180km divided into three laps. The majority of the course is undulating with a relatively short but steep hill on each lap. There are hardly any flat areas at all. The course profile can be viewed here. This creates some interesting points in regard to race strategy. The main challe...

I have had so many people tell me how tired I look over the last few days. Funny thing is I don't feel too bad. I am a bit tired at the moment, but being on night shift that is to be expected. I'll see how training goes over the next few days and take stock of things.

There are times when it feels easier to shift responsibility away from yourself. It is easy to take the credit when things are going well, but spreading the blame when things don't go as planned can be such an easy thing to do. I am writing this for one main reason. To give myself a kick up the backside, since I noticed myself not taking responsibility. First I'll get into where I come from on this topic. I strongly believe that the increasing lack of personal responsibility is a blight on our society. There are many people who always have an excuse, it is always someone else's fault. There are many examples. As a paramedic I get to deal with this style of thinking often. From the lady who drives her car through a stop sign causing a crash resulting in significant injuries to other people who stated, "It wasn't my fault, the other car must have been going too fast." To the teenager, too young to hold a license who claimed he "wasn't doing anything stu...