This is the first of a series of short stories about winners I’ve known. They’re not all triathletes but they’re all people who have motivated me along the way.
Peggy
Peggy was a nickname given to her by her twin sister many years ago. Peggy and her sister were orphans. She told the story of begging others in the orphanage for the skin off their apple. Some of the other kids were sent fruit by relatives but Peggy and her sister missed out on this privelage.
The girls were sent to neighbouring cattle properties to …

Race photos can tell us so much.
Looking through the photo collection from the Yeppoon half Ironman last weekend has given me lots to work on with myself and other athletes in the squad.
When I look at race photos, first thing I look for is core stability. You can’t hide lack of core strength when you’re racing. The dropped hip, the knee bending out under load.
Next thing I look for is stride length and foot placement/heel strike. It’s really easy to point out bad runing technique when the photo has stopped …

Last Sunday before the swim start at Yeppoon I swam out to the first buoy as part of my warm up. Greg Kelly did as well. Each of us swam out far enough and stopped for 30sec to see how the current was running. It was sweeping across from right to left strong enough to move us 10metres in 30sec. We knew to swim out aiming about 40m upstream from the buoy so when we got there we’d be swept across and go right round smoothly.
Ten minutes later the “pro …

Some missed the Sat morning talk during our stretching session. Some came late. Some were focussed on the bits that they thought I was aiming at them and missed other important parts. It is amazing how when we read a newsletter or listen to a talk, we feel it’s directed at us personally. One of our members told me, he hadn’t been to club sessions for a while due to work commitments and sickness. Every time he opened the newsletter, he thought the only thing missing at the top of the …