Week 18th - 24th August Update

Another week and I am feeling better as the legs are turning over well. Total of 104.6km of running and 30km of walking. I have been walking for recovery totalling a minimum of 30km each week for the past 3 weeks. It is certainly helping with flushing the legs out with the increase in weekly kilometres.

What a week for triathlon as Australia finally broke the Hoodoo and claimed an Olympic Gold Medal. Emma Snowsill in first with a gutsy run putting it all on the line to claim Gold, and Emma Moffet claiming the Bronze with a more controlled early pace to run through. The boys had a different day but Courtney Atkinson ran awesome and just missed out on a top ten. Geez, those guys can run fast! Terrific scenery on the course and great to see a lot of coverage on the TV for triathlon. Hopefully TA can now parley that into some summer coverage for our sport and keep the ball rolling.

It will be a busy week at 3 Sports with the Winter Sales starting. 30% off rrp for most items, more for some older stock. Great opportunity to come in and get some new runners/gear for the summer season or stock pile some great cycle gear. I'll be grabbing some Assos at those discounted prices ;) .

Sam and I have our first ante-natal class this Thursday evening, so it should be interesting. We are away this weekend with Julian and Mel in Kangaroo Valley. I am looking forward to some mountain runs and finding a few beaten tracks to plod along. Last time we had a great dinner at the local cafe with a chicken and duck pie that I can hear calling my name again. Hopefully the weather behaves for us.

Train safe, Bevan.

Canberra and training

Well, it was cold in Canberra as predicted. It got to minus 4 degrees overnight not including the wind chill factor. And believe me there was some wind chill. Driving into Canberra we could see snow on the far mountains which was quite a nice sight. It was great to catch up with the family and for them to see Sam and her growing bulge. We also had our last scan on the Friday before heading down and so were able to bring the 4D photos of the bub. We again escaped without finding out the sex so it still a surprise until 'pop out day' ;) . The photo's are absolutely amazing and seeing the 4D image in motion was pretty damn cool. It really brings it home that there is a live bub running around in Sam's tummy. And believe me, Sam says it already feels like it is doing laps galore. Maybe another athlete on the way!

We headed out for the evening in Canberra to a charity auction for the Buffaloes League Team and had a quick dinner before taking the boys (brothers Stewart and Morgan) to the movies to see 'Taken'. Was nice to give mum and dad a night out. Damn cold after though and we were happy to get to the electric blankets. A good sleep and I headed out for a run around Tuggeranong lake for an hour or so. I had brought my micro-climate gear and rugged up big time. I think it was still in the minus degrees when I headed out. Certainly made me put a few intense surges in to get the blood running. Was nice to train on the old stomping grounds and after a while the chill was refreshing. Everyone I met said hello, which is nice after running in Sydney. A great 'Mum's lunch' and we headed back to Sydney. A nice weekend away and good to see everyone again before we have the new addition to the family.

I have been concentrating on running only these past few weeks. I have been easing into it and getting plenty of rest/sleep for recovery. I feel great now and ready to start ramping up the kilometres. I logged 80.4km for the past week of running and 67.2km the week before. I will have a slow progression up and continue through the marathon including it into my base phase without much of a taper. It is now 4.5 weeks away, which is plenty of time to get the kilometres in the legs to use it as a practice pace session for the Ironman's and test some nutrition strategies.

Train well and keep safe,
Bevan.

More Ironman NZ Photo's 2008

Myself, Nick Wright from Platypus Asset Management, and his brother Dan celebrating finishing NZ IM earlier this year. It was great to have their support for race day and Sam certainly loved having someone to have a good laugh with during the long, wet day. I am looking forward to the encouraging barracking again in March 2009 from the guys.


My lovely Sam giving me a final farewell before the start of the NZ IM. You can't tell but it was absolutely freezing. The sun came up just before race start and it looked to be a perfect day before the rain and wind settled in. Next time around we will have one more addition to this photo for our family.

Photo and Weekend Trip Home

Well I have finally got this photo loading caper down. This is a photo from Ironman NZ 2008 out on the bike course with me winding up the Norminator. You can see the clouds starting to roll in over the mountain behind. I think this was one of the few times during the day that it was not actually raining. Arm warmers and gloves are two things I normally do not use and were there for the freezing temperatures/winds that belted us on race day.

I am off to Canberra this weekend to see the family with Sam. Looking at this photo reminds me of the cold weather that will hit once I arrive in Canberra. Has been in the minus degree range there. We may also head out to the farm to help with the sheep and lambs where it has been snowing regularly. It will make my early morning runs interesting. I will post some more photos when I have thawed out from Canberra.

Cheers,
Bevan.

Update - Fast Cars, Opera, Running, Beijing Olympics

Hi guys,

Well I have been back now in oz for a couple of weeks. The running has started again and it feels good to be out in the early morning/late night chill. I love that cold feeling when exercising, reminds me of growing up in Canberra and minus degree temperatures. I get to catch up with the guys at Platypus this coming week and see how things have been for all. Extra time due to less training has meant some more time with Sam plus bub, catch ups with mates, and others things including:

- a ride in a Lambourghini Murcielago and an Aston Martin DB9 around the Newcastle beaches and top of town (absolutely amazing experience and the speed, stopping, and cornering ability are phenomenal);
- finally saw 'Phantom of the Opera' at star city casino lyric theatre with Sam (something I have always wanted to do but just somehow let it pass by each time - another box ticked);
- entered the Sydney Marathon on September 21 as part of my run specific block;
- had a damn good night out at a Bavarian beer cafe with Irishman Niall, NZ girl Deb (Sam's friend), and a big stein glass (yep, sounds like a bad joke);
- tried those Una's famous schnitzels again twice with Sam and friends;
- hit the movies for some down time;
- checked out the progress on the renovations of our house (Frank and Jan are making it fly up);
- feel the bub tumble turn on time each night; and
- had some time to read some books again.

The training will ramp up a bit now. Especially with the Olympic Games starting this Friday in Beijing. Always nice to feed off some great athletes competing in the best arena for some extra motivation to hit the training grounds. And we have an added bonus in Australia of the games being only 2 hours behind us so I do not have to stay up during the wee hours of the morning watching sport. All the finals will be around midday oz time due to the broadcasting rights being adapted for US time. I will be looking out for the triathlon finals in the second week and hope that the Aussies can get up after all the selection dilemmas that have occurred. I can appreciate how the athletes have to prepare for each sport and love watching new sports - I really got into the fencing last time with the French going fantastic. I worked for Nike during the Sydney Olympics with the VIPs and gold medal athletes and had some amazing one-off experiences. The Olympics always bring up memories I think for all Australians of the Sydney games and I am eager to watch the cycling, waterpolo, marathon, and just the Aussies in general to go well. And best of all, I do not have to go to the eurosport channel to watch it ;) . My coach is also commentating for NZ Media for the cycling, triathlon, and some other sports. It will good to hear his thoughts post games on how things went.

Injury free and looking forward to the new training phase,
Go Aussies!
Bevan.