Hi Everyone!

If you have read many of my posts you may get the impression that I am baffled by nutrition. Over the last few years I have tried a whole number of different ways of eating. While I stand by my stance on fad diets and the belief that if you can't do it for the rest of your life than don't bother, I do like to experiment. I have gone vegetarian to learn how to cook and eat vegetables (so happy I did this), I have tried low carb high fat (didn't last too long) and seem to have settled on the idea of portion control. In short, I weigh my ingredients when I cook to avoid overeating. This way of eating has seen my weight drop and stay in the low 70's for the last 12 months. Even though that is the way that I eat now I am still incredibly confused about how much I should eat and what should my breakdown of carbs, fats and protein be. I think that it might be because of my history of being overweight but I notice that I put weight on very quickly. This tells me that while I am generally doing things right I am not doing them perfectly. With my next big race being in Phuket where it is hot and humid I decided that I want to head to Thailand lean so I can race fast. I also feel like I have been 'flying blind' with my nutrition. As I said, I think if you had to give me a grade I would pass, but there is lots of room for improvement. So this week I made the decision to consult a dietician. 

Seeing a dietician is something that my Mum has been on my case about for a long time. Mum wanted to make sure that I was fuelling right and not doing anything too unhealthy. I actually agree and it is something I have been meaning to do for a long time now. I think nutrition is such a big part of the puzzle but often one of the most neglected. There is literally too much information out there with everyone being an expert so it is confusing to know what to do. What this means is that many people are confused and may stumble across a diet plan which works for them but it might not work best. As my training becomes more intense and my results improve I figured it was time to get this sorted. So this week I booked an appointment with Chloe Mcleod. Why Chloe? Well when I started looking for a nutritionist I was surprised to find how difficult it was. I eventually stumbled across a nutritionist directory and when I saw that Chloe was at Balmain Sports Medicine, a sponsor of my new triathlon club, Concord Tri Club, I looked into her. Chloe's speciality in sports nutrition and weight management was all I needed to book the appointment.

Yesterday I went in for my initial consultation. I knew I was in good hands as soon as I sat down and Chloe, knowing I was a member of Concord Tri Club asked if I race 70.3 or Iron Man. I explained that I am not so bothered by the number on the scale but instead am interested in dropping my body fat percentage. I believe that the key to racing in the heat is the ability to cool yourself down and to do this well you need to be lean. We discussed many things and I was asked a lot of questions about my training, eating and goals. I was delighted to be told that I was doing lots right. I had made some smart changes over the last 5 years and that is why I am now 50kg lighter than I was. The good news was that Chloe was confident we could make changes to help me reach my goals. Chloe was going to put together meal plans for 4 types of days. A double workout day, a single long workout day, a rest day and a long workout day but a fasted session. I think this approach suits me really well. The main thing I am looking forward to is knowing exactly how much I need to be eating. Instead of flying blind I will have actual qualities of what to eat and this will help me to consistently do it. How I look at is is similar to my triathlon coach. I used to train before I signed up with Ben but also felt like I was flying blind. Now, Ben tells me what to do, when to do it and how hard to go. This will be the same. I will eat certain amounts of certain things at certain times. I like the idea of having this certainty, it has certainly helped with my training.

The added bonus that I wasn't expecting when I went in for my meeting was that Chloe was going to start helping me with how to fuel while I race. As a bloke who relied on redskins for my race nutrition for years this is another area where I feel I need all the help I can get. Basically all the information I received exceeded my expectations, I went in kind of expecting just a sort of eat this at this time but what I got instead was information specific to my demands as a law student, triathlete, husband and human. I am really excited to start following the plan and seeing my progress. I ordered a set of fat callipers which I will use to measure my progress and I am sure I will keep you updated as to how I am going with it. 

Other than that, I am racing a half marathon tomorrow and will once again have another crack at going under 80 minutes. The race is also pancake flat but the last two years I have delivered less than stellar performances. I will be giving it a red hot go though. Other than that I am looking forward to a weekend of racing, riding and probably some swimming. 

So enjoy your weekend and remember to TRI!

​Hi Everyone!
 
I’m back from my escapades on the Sunshine Coast. I have recovered and started training again for my next big race. My focus is on Phuket 70.3. This was Challenge Phuket last year and the first 70.3 race where I won my age group. I am excited to go back this year with a bit of a goal. I want to pick up a slot to the 2017 World Championships. I had such an amazing experience on the Sunshine Coast that I want to do it again. I am feeling completely different this year compared to how I was feeling the same time last year. Last year’s Sunshine Coast race I was expecting to absolutely smash the race. I had come back from Bintan where I qualified for Worlds and had suffered a bike crash. I was in red-hot form before the crash and was convinced that if I had stayed upright on the bike I would have delivered my best ever performance. So I therefore assumed that as long as I stayed upright on the Sunshine Coast I would have an amazing race. Ultimately I didn’t race well and was probably more injured than I realised. But I remember that I was basically done with triathlon. I wrote about how frustrated I was that I wasn’t making any progress. 
 
This time last year I had basically stopped training. In fact the only reason I did start up again was because I had committed to racing the Nepean Triathlon with a friend of mine. It was a blessing in disguise because I had such a good time at that race I got my motivation back. Compare that to this year and I am so motivated. I can’t stress how much I enjoyed myself at the World Championships. The fact I didn’t have the perfect race coupled with the fact that I am seeing some serious improvements again has meant that I am mentally and physically in a much better place to get started for the end of the year. I had originally planned on taking 2 weeks off after the race but decided to cut it back to one because I was going stir crazy. I was also becoming a bit too lazy and I wanted to put a stop to that quick smart. So while it is great that I am back in training, I am actually very relieved. Relieved that I am not struggling for motivation following me A race for 2016.

​For those of you who have never experienced it, many athletes find that after their big race they can lose motivation and almost feel depressed. It is often referred to as the “Iron Man Blues.” But don’t let the name fool you; it isn’t only applicable to IM races or even triathlon. I know many people who have suffered it after races of all distances and disciplines. While there are probably a number of psychological and physiological reasons as to why this happens I assume that a big part of it is that we build an event up in our mind so much that we kind of shut down a bit after. I see it all the time with dieting. People set themselves a weight goal and as soon as they finally get there they relax and surprise surprise they slip back into bad habits and put the weight back on. The worst part about it is that often you are helpless to stop it from happening in people. I have had many weight loss clients hit targets only to put it all back on. I have seen athletes hit their A-race and then struggle to get back into training. You know it is happening they know it is happening but are powerless to stop it.
 
I really felt like this was happening to me last year. Unlike other years where I had a poor performance and was determined (motivated isn’t the right word here) to improve last year I was ready to give up. It wasn’t until I had some fun that I started to get my mojo back. I found new friends who I started to train with and was around a number of athletes who were all training for their very first triathlon. Training with them probably had little to no physical impact on my performance but man it had a psychological one. That excitement was what I needed to get back into it. This year I think that a big reason why I have not been suffering from post race depression (if I give it a fancy name it sounds more legitimate) is because I still have more goals to achieve this year. This is why I think there are two key things people can do to avoid falling into a PRD (see what I did there.) If you have something else to work towards you will have another event to focus on and be less likely to let your post race feelings get to you. The other obvious hint is to make your training fun again. You don’t always need to be training like a mad dog. Even for me the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of just going on some social rides and it has been fun.
 
 
It is absolutely important to take a break after a big event or goal. Use that time to give back to those who have made sacrifices for you. If you are in a relationship, give your partner some TLC. If you have kids, make sure they get to spend some quality time with you. You need this for your sanity. But by preparing in advance for what you know is very likely to occur you may be able to avoid it from happening. Focus on the positives after a race and you are likely to remain positive. I feel like the universe is forcing this on me a little bit at the moment. Even this week I had a Facebook memory come up showing that old photo of me from my first triathlon. If I ever need a boost of motivation all I need to do is look back to where I came from and visualise where I am going.
 
So keep moving forward when it gets hard. Remember to make time for those who are important to you but also remember why you do this for yourself. Keep this in mind and as always remember to TRI!

***I am just over $300 short of my fundraising total for the RSPCA. If you are able to throw even just a few dollars towards getting me to the Noosa Tri start line and supporting the RSPCA it is greatly appreciated.

DONATE HERE

Hi Everyone!
 
It’s done! Finished! All over for 2016. The 70.3 World Championships is behind me and I can’t believe it. This race was 12 months in the making after qualifying in August last year. I want to start by saying how grateful I am for having the opportunity to race against the best athletes in the world. Just being on the start line was a dream and to finish the race carrying the Australian flag is an experience I will never ever forget. But before I get into how my race unfolded I want to set the scene for you all a little bit. Because this experience was more than just a race, it was a week of highs and lows, new experiences and challenges.
 
Dez and I arrived in Mooloolaba, the race hub on Wednesday afternoon and were excited to find the accommodation we booked could not have been in a better location. Directly opposite the swim start and right near my favourite coffee place in town. I was keen to be in a good location because traditionally at this race there is a decent chunk of time between transition closing on race morning and the race actually starting. We settled in and I attempted to commence my final race preparations. I wanted to swim everyday in the lead up to the race. I am a big believer that it is important to really keep a feel for the water. It doesn’t have to be a long swim or particularly structured but just be in the water and swim like you would when you race.  In the days leading up to the event I had the opportunity to meet a number of people who I have met through the sport online but never in person. It was great to put faces to the names.
 
One of my biggest priorities in the lead up to the race was to head out and scout the new section of the course. A Swedish athlete, Karl, who I first met in Phuket last year, joined me for the course recon. When I looked at the race map I was pretty sure I knew where we were going. I was wrong. We ended up climbing a monster climb before eventually finding our way onto the course. Sorry about that mate. But once we found the course I was excited to see just how good it was. It was a significant improvement on the old course. The loop was challenging and beautiful. If it was possible, this made me even more excited for the race.
 
There was just so much happening around Mooloolaba with a breakfast for AWA athletes and a 5km beach run which Dez signed up for. I think the biggest highlight in the lead up to the event though was the Parade of Nations. They grouped all the athletes into their countries and had us march up to the beach. It was like a mini opening ceremony. I was actually surprised how few Australians took part in it. But as we were the last to walk onto the beach and pass, the other athletes went ballistic for us. It was an amazing thing to be part of.  That same day my family had started to arrive. So having my brother, dad and wife there to see it was so good. There were so many other highlights in the lead up to the event but I think it is time to get into the actual race.

So where do we start?  I went into the race with big expectations. I wasn’t fussed where I placed but I wanted to go quick. I think after seeing the course we were on I had accepted I wasn’t going to be dropping a super fast time but I definitely felt like this was still a fast course. Looking at the pro times I think I was right. The day before the race I dropped all of my gear into transition, racked my bike and tried to chill. By Saturday afternoon not only was my whole family (with the exception of my sister who lives in London) in town but my coach also made the trip up. I wasn’t too nervous. I was really excited.  We chilled out in the afternoon, had an early dinner and I was in bed early. I woke up the next morning and my excitement had turned to nerves. Horrible, terrifying nerves. I kept my game face on to my wife and family but Dez knew I was in a bit of strife. The best thing about Dez is that after years of this sort of racing she is pretty good at knowing what I need. She let me do my own thing. I went to transition and set everything up. I then came up, got ready and made my way to the swim start. I gave her my usual farewell “Ill see you in a few hours.” Then I headed down to the holding area where I got myself ready. We were let into the water about 5 minutes before we started. I got myself into a good starting position and waited for the gun to go. It was time to deliver.
 
THE SWIM
So the siren sounds and off I go. The thing I noticed about swimming in this race compared with others was firstly, I was nowhere near the front and secondly, I was surrounded the whole time. At no point did I manage to find rhythm. I had people touching me in all the wrong places (get your mind out of the gutter) the entire way. By having my arms and feet constantly being hit I was unable to swim the way I wanted. The swim tips I learned from Chris McCormack certainly came in handy as there were times where I literally had to climb over other swimmers as they cut across me. While I was swimming it felt like I was swimming for a long time and I was worried that my poor swim form was catching up with me again. When I finally managed to spot the swim exit I was actually quite relieved. It was a hard physical swim. I realised after the race that my swim cap had actually been knocked off at some point during the swim. This made me thankful for wearing two with my goggles inbetween them. Otherwise I may have lost my goggles and that would have been a disaster. When I exited the water my garmin was just under 28:30 which I was actually very happy with. When I checked my GPS file I was delighted to see it measured the course at 1910 metres and even more surprising, I seem to have swum straight the whole way. My official swim time was 28:47.
 
T1
Because there were so many athletes on course there were some huge changes to transition this year. It was actually moved up towards the beach. The biggest issue was that it was very long. We came out of the water then took a left to run down to where our gear bags were. We then changed and ran to our bikes where we then ran to exit the transition. I measured the total distance at 700m. When I came into transition I was elated to see so many friendly faces who were cheering for me. I also knew I had swum harder than I realised because I kept dry heaving like I was about to vomit. All in all the actual transition process was quite smooth. The only obvious mistake I made was forgetting to turn my visor the right way down. But in reality it probably cost me 10 seconds. My total T1 time was 4:23.
 

T2
T2 was completely non eventful. I dropped my bike off and started to run to get my gear bag. I spotted my coach who told me to keep going. I grabbed my stuff, quickly put on my shoes and started  to run and keep getting dressed as I ran out onto the course. My T2 time was 2:47
 
THE RUN
I was looking forward to the run all day. I wanted to go out and run faster than I had in Norway. So I wanted to go 1:24 or faster. The first thing I noticed as I made my way onto the run course was how many people were spectating. The crowd was AMAZING! The course was almost identical with one big hill you deal with twice (4 climbs total.) Again, the plan was a conservative first 7km and then to build into the second before “unleashing hell” in the final 3rd. I realised about 2km into the run that I had forgotten to set my Garmin to auto-lap on the run with my splits. I attempted to do it while I was running but gave up quickly. This actually bothered me a lot more than it should of but I decided just to get on with it. I was spurred on at the 4km mark to spot some of the members of the Wolfpack who gave me plenty of encouragement and equal parts heckling. I was also so excited to have my family on course cheering for me. You could literally hear my mother for about a minute before I could see her.
 
Everything seemed to be going ok. I was running the race I had planned if maybe a little slower than I thought I would. As I approached the 14km point where I knew it was time to cut loose I got a bit of a stitch. I get these fairly often when I run so when it started I did all the things I could to get rid of it. The bastard just wouldn’t piss off. I came close to walking for a little while but managed to get it to the point where I could feel it but still deal with it. A few times I tried to pick up the pace but the stitch would put an end to that quick smart. It felt like it did at Western Sydney all those years ago. This time though it didn’t beat me. I was still running around 4:20 pace which was fine for me at that point. The wind had also picked up a bit too which made the last push to the finish quite tough. With about 2km to go it really started to hurt but come on, 2km is nothing and this is the World Championships. I just kept saying to myself “get to the top of the hill” and that is what I did. Once I got to the top it was literally all down hill. By this point I wasn’t thinking about times or anything. I wanted to enjoy the finish. I spotted my Dad about halfway down the finisher chute who had an Aussie flag for me. I ran the last 100m waving it smiling. It was done. 12 months of work was put into 4:25 of fun. I finished with a run split of 1:28:28 and a total time of 4:25:25
 

AFTER
The first people to find me at the finish were Ben and Dez. I was on cloud 9. Lots of people came down and in what felt like no time at all we were all at the pub. Yes I proceeded to drink too many beers and I had a blast doing it. There was a point when I was at the pub and I looked around and realised just how many people were there to support me. I left the room because I had tears in my eyes and didn’t want anyone to know. People came from all over the place for the sole purpose to support me. I think that was half the reason I enjoyed the whole thing so much. The question everyone kept asking me was if I was happy. Even now I give an answer that lots of people don’t understand. But the truth of it is I am both happy and unhappy.
 
I am so happy about the race and the experience and even the time. I was 15 minutes faster than last year on a course which was much harder. But at the same time I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have the run I wanted. But just because I was a little disappointed doesn’t mean I had a bad race. I literally loved every second of being on course. It was my reward and I have never enjoyed a race so much before. I am definitely going to try and qualify for next year. I was so proud to represent my country at a global event and to do it on home soil in front of my family made it so special. If I had to sum up my feelings about the race in one word it is grateful.
 
I wanted to prove to myself that I was a legitimate athlete on Sunday and I feel like I did that.
 
I understand that this is becoming a very long race report. The scary thing is I could literally just keep writing about it. So I will leave it here. As always huge thanks to everyone especially my wife and family, my coach Ben Hammond, my supporters, Thanyapura, Giant Sydney, True Amino, Pioneer, Mizuno, and Suplest and of course everyone who cheered me on whether on course or from wherever you followed the race.
 
THANK YOU and remember to TRI!

***Oh I forgot to include this but I am racing Noosa Tri in 8 weeks and in order to race I need to raise money for the RSPCA. So if you want to support a great cause and help get me to the start line please follow this link and make a donation. Honestly any amount is greatly appreciated!
PLEASE DONATE HERE