The bargaining game

When my head is in the right space I am more than capable of completing a quality training session...then again when I am not “on” the bargaining process begins

So what is the bargaining process? Today it started as I dragged myself to the pool.

I had planned to a one kilometer......then again maybe I would not do a kilometer....maybe I could get away with 800 meters.....in the 25 meter pool....not the 50...

The worst part is that this goes on the whole time I am training. Sometimes it is a constant battle / bargain

Does anyone else do this? Or is just me?

Here is the thing – I managed to get through what I had planned and felt better for it.......

Hope you all have a merry Christmas and happy new year

Cheers

Greg

The very occasional athlete

It finally struck me the other day. I am the occasional athlete

I try to train every day but it ends up 3 to 4 days per week

I plan my sessions religiously but end up doing whatever I can fit in (The plan today was to go for a swim at lunch......to a trainer session tonight)

I like to compete in races but always seem to have something on, so only do a couple each year. Each time I do one I am sure I could have done better

I have all the gear but little or no idea

And when I am not training I am injured

My name is Greg and I am an occasional exerciser

PS I am training for my next race on the 17th of January....and I am injured......

The 10k run

They say prior preparation prevents poor performance.

At 10:30 the night before the race I was still looking for my bib and timing tag....good job it was less than 10 hours till race time! Did I mention that I left my only working watch at work? There went any chance of a race plan

After one of those nights where you wake up every hour (and no it was not my son...it was me) I was up at 5:30 ready to go.

Pity we were leaving at 7:30

As my wife and son were doing the same course as part of a walk I decided to get creative with my timing chip. Yes I was going to run as my wife.

After the trek to the Olympic stadium...about a 45 minute drive from our place....then another journey from the car park to start line....another 30 minutes...we had about 3 minutes to find our friends before the race started! No real stretch or warm up, it was going to be ready set go....

As we got to the start line it started to drizzle then really rain. I said goodbye to my wife and son and meet up with Ben (my running mate) to head for the start line.

There were around 6,000 runners – it was pretty weird running with all those people! At the 7k mark or so Ben decided to slow down...feeling good I decided to kick on. Before I knew it was running into the Olympic stadium and through the finish. As with every race I have ever done the real issue was the pacing i.e. I felt fine at the end and could have pushed much harder. I guess this will only ever get better with experience

I had my time somewhere around the 48 minute mark but it turned out to be 52.11.

The good news is that I finished 1,290 overall and as the 92nd woman in my age group.....

Cheers

Greg

52 min something....

And i felt fine!

Proper report to come but when i am ever going to get my pacing right???/

Cheers

Greg

6 Days till the 10k run

And I have not trained enough and am as unfit as I have been for the past couple of years

How far do you think adrenaline can carry you in a race?

10k’s?

Here is hoping

Cheers

Greg

How do you know when you have not swum for a while?

When you almost drown in a 25 metre pool.

I am back in the pool and it is not pretty. I have never been the best swimmer but after a 3 month break I am worse than before

Back to the fun an splash lane for me

Lord knows what my cycling will be like!

Cheers

Greg

Is it ever okay to take off your shirt.....

......when exercising?

Let’s take swimming out of the equation and I say never.

I never have and never will

While I was in the park doing some stair work (1500 up 1500 down...i will let you know how I feel tomorrow!) when some larger chaps started to do some push ups / chin ups using the park equipment

It was not a hot day. In fact with a strong wind up it was pretty cool...although to be fair I am pretty soft and find almost every day cold

After about 5 minutes of exercising they stripped down to just their shorts. And flexed. And preened. And occasionally exercised

You might ask why I did not move or look away. It is pretty hard when you are on stairs...

Cheers

Greg

Is that what you call an omen?

Lately my training has been ambling along without any particular direction. To address this I thought I would enter my first ever running race the

http://www.run4fun.com.au/

Now here is the cool thing. It finishes insider the Sydney Olympic Stadium.....with a 100 metre run to the finish line. What a way to love out a sporting fantasy. So with my entry completed I thought I would go for a lunch time jog.

Nothing crazy. Get some k’s in the legs sort of a thing

After about 500 metres I had to stop, my stomach was not feeling good. Pre race nerves? Not likely as it is 6 weeks out.....

Bad news is three hours later I was throwing up into a plastic bag outside my 70 year old neighbors living room. Classy.

Good news I have dropped some serious weight and will be lighter on my feet

Cheers

Greg

Why do you need to take your shirt off when you get a chest x-ray?

Well????


I have been sick for 9 weeks, constant cough (read man flu) shivers lack of energy etc. After 3 courses of antibiotics and some blood tests I was sent for a chest x-ray

Good news it was clear. Bad news I need more tests

Man this is playing havoc with my training!

Cheers

Greg

Whenever you can

My blogging is a lot like my training. Sporadic, laboured and very much hit and miss

The other day I had a classic Greg moment. It was a fine and sunny day so I decided to take my son out for a walk. After a nice hour strolling around the neighbourhood it was time to head home.

As I walked up to our place I started to look for my keys. They were not in my pockets, not in the pram, not in the bag.......not anywhere.

Then it hit me.

I had left my keys in the boot of our car. Which was not at my wife’s work. 3 kilometres away.

Now for the wanna be tri athlete this can only mean one thing.

Training session

So I put my son back into his pram and started jogging......in black jeans a t-shirt and trainers. Not forgetting the 20 odd kilo’s of pram and my son I had to push in front of me

Did I mention it was the middle of the day...and in typical winter time for Sydney it was around 25 degrees

50 minutes later, covered in sweat later, I had my keys and was back home. All that said I had somehow managed to overtake some other runners...what’s up with that!

I guess you have to fit in the training when you can

Cheers

Greg

My Forrest Gump Moment

The other day I thought I would go for a lazy 9 k run

The plan was to run half way home then jump on a bus. When I got to half way I heard a voice (go with me here)

Run Greg Run

So I ran. I ran all the way home. A very satisfying 18k’s in around an hour twenty five...with plenty left in the tank

Maybe I am feeling fitter than I thought!

Cheers

Greg

PS I feel a bit dirty after this one as I have a vast dislike for Forrest Gump!

How to look like a freak when running (in 3 easy steps)

1. Wear black tights. Then wear black shorts over the black tights. Looks like you are running in just tights. Not a good look for a dude

2. Run in the rain holding a closed umbrella. I guess running with an open umbrella would be weirder but what are you gonna do

3. Have a bright, shield your eyes bright, yellow rain cover for your bag


At least I always get a seat to myself on the bus

Cheers

Greg

The things we do for love

I thought after 6 months of parenting I figured I was starting to get a handle on things.

Turns out I was wrong. Kids have ways of challenging you which is far far tougher than any training session

If you had not picked it up already I am a somewhat unusual person.

I hate bananas

The way they look, smell everything about them I hate(a strong word I know but I do not know how else to describe how “they” make me feel)

The other day I had to feed my son mashed bananas. Whilst I was struggling not to gag Luca thought it would be a great time to sneeze

With a mouthful of mashed Banana

He covered me, well mainly my face. I smiled and laughed and acted like I did not want to run and scrub myself under hot water

You have to love parenthood

Cheers

Greg

PS I have been flogging myself in the start of “2 months of pain”. I figure the next 2 months will make or break my season

A kick to the face

I have slowly started to get back into training after the farce that was the sprint tri. The other day I was at the pool thrashing my way up and down the lanes when I noticed one of my eyes slowly filling with water

Now this is nothing new for me. I am nothing if not sloppy when it comes to preparation.

So I stopped thrashing around and re-adjusted my goggles but still water trickled in. I took them off to have a look.

Turns out that when I was getting kicked in the face during the swim my goggles got cracked

So not only did my eye twitch for the next week but my goggles are now cactus

The question I have to ask is

Is swim training worth it? Am I better off being at the back of the pack?
Cheers
Greg

It is never a good sign

When you start pumping the tyres on your bike at 2:30am

The night before a race

Did I mention I was slightly drunk?

Or that my pump exploded around 3ish

And that I had to leave for the race at 5:30? Just 2 hours or so after I finally got to bed

Have to love having my mother in laws birthday party the night before a sprint! (it was a great night though)

Basically I was about a minute slower than last year. Some highlights / lowlights were

• For once I was strong in the swim finishing in the middle of the pack. In a new experience I was sitting on the feet of someone going at a fair pace when they decided to do breath stroke. Their first 4 kicks were straight in my eye…..

• My ride was okay but the course was packed. I did not get into a groove until the end of it…and ended up swearing in frustration at one point (not cool!)


• My run was tough at first but I managed to get into a nice groove. In typical Greg style I finished the course with plenty in the tank. How do I get the pacing right?

• Chris McCormack (Australian Olympic Distance Champion) was in the race. He finished about 14 minutes ahead of me….it just shows that the pro’s are on a different level

• No one is better supported than me. I had almost my whole family come along to see me for around 10 seconds!

Considering I have been sick for the past month, am a new Dad, slept for around 2 hours the night before and have not trained that much I am not too unhappy with my result….but it does give me motivation to get back into it!

Cheers

Greg

PS Word of warning the more I train the more I post – apologies in advance

Short and Sweet

I have a sprint tri on the weekend.

I am not prepared at all. Put it this way my bike has two flat tyres, my shoes have holes in them and who knows where my goggles are

I have a bung shoulder and a stomach bug (has been with me for 1 month now….basically I do not absorb protein so am tired all the time)

It is in Sydney Harbour…where all the sharks are….

Am I a goner?

Will let you know next week!

Cheers

Greg

Return to Random

Almost all of the blogs I read are from people in the northern hemisphere.

They talk about running in snow, sleet and watching out for ice. This is a picture I took on a run the other day

Not bad hey?

Is anyone else annoyed by watch shops that do not have the correct time on their clocks? How can I trust you sell me a watch when you cannot even get it right in your own store?

On the training front things seem to be slipping backwards – I am putting in the hard yards but just do not seem to be getting anywhere

Fingers crossed it is a lack of sleep but I might go to the docs this week just in case

Cheers

Greg

PS I am clearly struggling from today's session.....

Interview Me

Thanks to Coach Liz (http://tntcoachliz.blogspot.com/) I am able to indulge in some more self indulgence…5 questions about me (because sometimes bi weekly blog posts are not enough…)

Take it away Liz (and Greg)

1. Do you eat vegemite? What is this stuff made of and what is it normally eaten with? What does it taste like? Explain

Do I eat it?

Hell no

My wife does. I sometimes gage when she does…..I am pretty sure it is made from yeast and it smells kind of like Guinness (or any stout beer…kind of like the pub at the end of a massive night……..)

It is generally eaten with toast and tastes awful – this is their horrific website

http://www.howdoyoulikeyourvegemite.com.au/?go=profiles

Tempted? Off to buy a Tub? What me to send you some?

2. If you were talking to someone who was going to be visiting OZ for the first time, what would you recommend as the top three things to see? Explain why these make the top three.

1. Sydney Harbour (and a ferry trip to Manly). There is nothing better than having a drink at Opera Bar (http://www.operabar.com.au) talking a short walk to the ferry and jumping on for a trip to Manly

2. Northern Territory (Uluru and Kakadu National Park). I have to put my hand up and say I have not been yet but I know a fair few people that have and say how good it is.

3. Great Barrier Reef. This is awesome. Snorkelling looking at the fish and Coral. In a word amazing

3. Ok, this one is really goofball, but when water drains down the sink in OZ, does it make a clockwise or a counter-clockwise vortex? I just always wondered.

Can I be honest- it just goes straight down……… as far as I can tell

4. Craig Alexander or Chris McCormick, who is more bad-ass? Explain. Is Emma Snowsill the Uber tri-babe or does someone else hold that title? Explain.

Craig Alexander! Who comes 2nd in their first crack at the big show? Then follows it up with a win? That is freakish!
As for Emma Snowsill Gold medallist how can you go past that!

5. If I encountered a playtapus, a koala, and a kangaroo, which one should I be the most afraid of? Explain.


Platypus are monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. That’s just weird and more than a little bit scary. Plus they are just as quick in the water as the land…no where is safe (Kind of the opposite of me - i am jsut as slow in the water as land...)

Koalas apparently that can attack you but I am not sure about – they sleep for 18 hours a day so you would have to be pretty unlucky to be attacked

Kangaroos can actually be pretty violent …….. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0506_050506_kangaroos.html

So it is dead heat between Platypuses and Kangaroos for me (although there are that many snakes and bugs that can kill you really do not worry about it)


To Play Along:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "interview me".
2. I will respond by giving you five questions. (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Cheers

Greg

PS is this the longest post I have ever done?