Today I was walking my dogs on our standard Monday morning walk,across the cycle bridge under the train line underpass to the little coffee shop. Where they patiently sit while I have a coffee, read the paper, chat to the regulars and then we walk home. They have lots of friends who say hello to them and give them a pat. This is the highlight of their day.
As we cross the cycle bridge over the river we walk alongside the railway bridge. It’s a fifty year old steel structure held …

Well my first week of training has consisted of two one hours swims. Both taken cautiously. The cold has almost totally gone. Just a little congestion left.
At this stage of a recovery from a cold or flu, there are still things I can do to make my Hawaii preparation more effective. I’m able to still work on my flexibility and core strength. As long as my muscles aren’t weakened by a flu. (in my case it’s just a cold, the muscles are fine. I haven’t had a temperature)
My swims have …

For ten weeks we’ve looked forward to this moment. My first week of focussed training for Hawaii 2009.
The plan had been to spend the weekend at the Bunya Mountains about three hours west of Brisbane, running trails for Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings. The beautiful rainforest trails offer some of the best running terrain I have ever seen. We’ve spent many short breaks up there over the years.
The Bunyas are located between Kingaroy, Dalby and Toowoomba and reach a height of approximately 3500feet. This one of those special “high energy …

On Friday night my wife and I flew down to Sydney, to present an Ironman specific training seminar with Pete Jacobs. The plan was to present it from two angles. From the viewpoint of a young pro athlete at close to the top of his game. And from an age grouper with many years experience at Ironman coaching and competing.
Between us we have completed over forty Ironman races, about fourteen of them in Hawaii. Together we have a lot of experience to share with other athletes. We’ve made our fair …

It’s getting close to our official start to the Kona buildup. In three weeks we’ll start seriously building the base. I’ve just entered my wife and myself in the Gold Coast Marathon. We’ve been training for this as out “off season” event.
I mean no disrespect to the serious marathon contenders, but for us it’s just a reason to get out of bed in the dark and go running. When I say we’re not training for Hawaii just yet, it’s a bit misleading. We’re building a running base on which we’ll …