First nutrition seminar confirmed!

Not a lot of news other than we have confirmed the first CCTS nutrition seminar.

Basically we are going to cover general nutrition and food intake for triathletes in general.

The seminar is going to be held at Casey Fields Community Room at 7.30pm on Wednesday the 19th June, post Tim's run session.

I am not going to cover race nutrition at this point, as this will be for a future seminar closer to race season.

Strange feelings...

There's a lot going on in life at the moment, but there are a few moments over the last few days, good or bad feelings I am unsure of which... that just make me stop and have a think.

1. Closing the door on my house in Lyndhurst and realising that the next time someone sleeps in that house, it's not going to be me, but the people that buy it from me. The time that I spent, choosing which estate to build in and picking a block I can afford, falling in love with a house plan and picking colours, building fences and more, moving from living in one bedroom to an entire house that I can spread my crap out all over...
It all seems like such a moot experience now. Because that's all it has become. An experience.

2. Finding out when Andrew's events are for the year and starting to write his program. The excitment of working with a new athlete and us getting used to each other is another thing which I don't experience anywhere else. Every single athlete you speak to is so different in every way. Their stature, their strengths, right through to the way the train, the bike they ride... it's something new every day and never the same.

3. Dad calling up and leading with "Your mother is in hospital" without mentioning that she only has a broken arm. Sure, a broken arm is still not ideal, but that small moment of panic and shock until the next part comes through the phone is a little bit panicky.

The Final Race...

Not my final race!!

The last race of the triathlon season for most of us, Dirty Triathlon Series Round 5.
The team had a long and cracking day at Lysterfield, and we also have some epic plans for next season which you will just have to stay tuned to find out about!

I just wanted to share some pics from the race anyway, not really say much about it. I've spent so long summarising the season and our plans for next season in Partnership Proposals and the like that I am just exhausted from it all!! Look, pretty pictures!!

Ironman Melbourne - Spectating

This post has obviously been a while in the making!
There are a few posts from the past few months that will sneak thier way onto this page over the next couple of weeks as I refocus and get back to what made me great the first time ;)

There are people out there who say there is nothing harder than doing an Ironman.
And, I have to admit, I have no done an Ironman, so I have no comparison for them just yet.

What is, however, quite a lot more difficult than any race I have ever done, is supporting those that are racing, most particularly doing an iron distance event.

What people might not realise: Us partners, we still go through the sleepless nights beside the athlete in question, we rise at the same time, feel the same nerves (without the adrenaline when the gun goes off!!) and spend the day chasing the athlete around the course.
The tough thing for Tim and I this year was also the six hours we spent on the aid station, and the ride back into St Kilda after a thorough day of going ballistic at any CCTS uniform we saw...

Distance Immunity

This is something interesting I noticed last night while I was at training with two people who are relatively new to the triathlon world....

And it's what I've dubbed "Distance Immunity".

It's when you start not even batting your eyelids when someone mentions that it's their "last long run and it's four hours/35km/whatever" when so called normal people would almost think you need to be institutionalised for THINKING about that distance let alone running it in a weekend...

I used to be one of the normal people. The thought of even my little mini sprints freaked me out, because I had never run before and 3km seemed like a super long way for someone who was so unfit and heavy.

I still do it occasionally when OH talks about long runs and how "it's only a marathon" at the end of an Ironman....

Geelong OD - Race Report and Revelations

For the last three years, I have loved this race. Love the bike course. Love the run (apart form the fact that you pass the finish line on the way out for another 4km FML....)

I have raced it twice before the weekend just gone. I PBd the second time I did it, which made me happy.

This time around, I was unprepared. Very much so. I only sort of woke up around the 1st of January and realised that eating crap and not training wasn't going to make this Ironman thing happen...
So I have maybe five weeks training under my belt heading into this race... and an extra 10kg or so that I didn't have last year.

I was (am still?) recovering from gastro as well as the AC in my stupid office... (It's 18°C in my office and 40°C outside and people wonder why I am coughing and sneezing all the time? Please).
I had maybe three out of the 5 weeks of solid training, good thing Glenn from EHF has been on my back otherwise it could have been worse.

Some thoughts for the week

So I have a LOT of stuff going on in my head at the moment. Best to get it all down in dot point form I reckon rather than writing a couple of paragraphs about each thing. Otherwise this could be a long blog...

• Losing weight is not that hard. In fact, take out the emotion, and it's matematical. It's our brain that makes it hard, and therein lies my issue
• Not eating enough breakfast causes me to eat everything in sight for the rest of the day. I already knew this, but still do it on occasion
• Strength training is good for me. I build muscle like a Mario. Hopefully this following with the fat going the opposite way?!
• Geelong OD this weekend. I haven't run more than 5km since... well... I don't know. 5km has been my longest run since I've been training as I missed my 8km due to having gastro and a lovely cold from riding the back of a motorbike in the train
• The plan is simple. I can swim and I can ride like a boss. Smash the hell out of that and see what happens in the run. Who cares if I walk, right?
• (Because if I can't do this race I have my doubt about Cairns. Sad right?)
• Looking forward to a weekend away. I don't have to TO. I don't have to wake up early Saturday morning and train, the go to my Elite team meeting, then train again, and probably train more when I get home. I just have to sleep in. Do maybe 15km to make sure the bike is right. And I have Monday off.... <3
• Vague times for Cairns: Just over an hour in the water. Say 7 hours on the bike. That leaves me just under 9 hours to walk a marathon. Ok, so maybe I might walk-jog. Yes, I say walk first, it will be mostly walking. Sue me. 16:59:59 is my new motto.
• If I suck at Geelong I can make it up in Adelaide. Lisa is going the mini while she is there, I'm pretty excited. And Megan is going the 5km fun run :)
• I am stoked still to be doing this elite team stuff. I am getting strong, more confident, and have some awesome people keeping me in check.
• People who give me lectures on how to eat give me the shits. I have managed to hold my tongue for the most part, but I didn't ask for their advice...
• People who have no invested interest in what I do with my "sporting career" should just fuck off. And by that I mean the people I work with. I don't see you outside of work, what do you care what I do? I'm happy, and just because you're not, doesn't mean it has to rub off on me, you self righteous prick.
• And on that note, just because you are unhappy with your home life and spend 14 hours a day at work, don't expect me to do the same thing. I am good at my job in the hours that I work. So fuck off me if I want to go home and do something other that sit in front of a computer screen.

So anyway. That's me for the day. I should have a race report and maybe some photos on Tuesday, of a DID SO FINSIH as opposed to a DNF. The good thing is that the 70.3 is on at the same time, so I have plenty of time up my sleeve to finish. Thank goodness!

Happy Friday chums!