Hi Guys,
Well the hour of pain went well on the weekend at the Australian Sprint Triathlon Championships in Forster. It was great to have a hit out after some time off. I had one objective - to podium and obtain an automatic qualifying spot for the ITU World Sprint Triathlon Championships on the Gold Coast in 2009 but I aimed to win and gain a national title. After leading the swim and bike (go the norminator kuota kalibur), I was passed on the return run leg from Tuncurry by 1 guy. I finished 2nd, podiumed at an Australian Champs again for the year, and gained my spot to the worlds. It was nice to race again in Forster after the Ironman has moved to Port Macquarie. I tried out some new gear which seemed to go well (compressport calf guards) and had a ball racing some mates. I also have to say thanks to the "Lee Clan" for letting Sam and I crash at their place in Elizabeth Beach/Pacific Palms - it certainly helped out a great deal being able to have a quick kip before the race.
I didn't get to enjoy the Forster festivities and free beer because I had to drive to Newcastle for a helicopter (Robinson 22) lesson with Aerologistics. This has been a long time coming as Sam gave it to me as a present last year and circumstances have dictated many missed opportunities for the lesson. I got to fly the chopper over Newcastle, Swansea, and the surrounding regions. It is such a lovely area seen from the sky and I found many new training grounds to try. We also flew over our house in Cooks Hill and just enjoyed the beautiful sunny day up in the sky. Flying a helicopter is very precise with very limited movements of the controls giving huge movements of the chopper. But you can do some pretty awesome turns and you speed along deceptively. Perfect conditions made for an unforgettable experience and one I hope to continue doing in the future. Thanks Sam.
Cheers,
Bevan.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Countdown begun, Developments, and Thanks
The count down has begun in the household. Four weeks left until the due date and we are welcomed with either a baby girl or boy. Our baby is now 'full term' meaning it could come at any time. We had our last baby class Sunday and so now are all 'trained up' for the arrival. I must say Taryn presented a thoughtful and very helpful course. Sam and I feel more prepared now and mostly gained an insight into the onslaught of sleep deprivation that our bundle of joy will invoke upon us ;) . Seriously, it was great to gain pointers into signs that can help us better judge the needs of our baby, be better prepared, and have some insights into what we are embarking upon in a few weeks time. It would certainly be a massive change if you were not alerted to the changes that will be occurring and I can see how some people have trouble coping. At least we now have our eyes open to some of the things that will be thrown our way and have some direction in options for us as these events occur. Anything that helps is a bonus I say. We also cannot wait to welcome our child into this world and I am truly looking forward to the moment.
The shop has been going great guns with the sales. We are clearing out a large amount of stock and there are people in continuously.
The house in Newcastle is nearly ready. Just a few more things to complete on the inside and some minor aesthetic things on the outside, and the house is done. We received the king-sized bed from Sleepyhead (thanks George and Mike) on Monday. I cannot wait to sleep in it and have some leg room for once. It will certainly help with the recovery. The way this house has gone up is a tribute to Frank, Jan, and Dave (plus the others roped into helping). It is miraculous how fast it has been completed.
Training has been going well. Time has been short, but the sessions completed have been pure quality. Lets hope that the hour of pain this Saturday goes well (Australian Sprint Champs in Forster) and I get a win/podium. We'll see how the short course speed is going on the long course training and lack of sleep ;) .
New car is going great guns. Anthony, John, and Gabriel from Peter Warren Ford helped us out with the Kia Sportage V6 and tricked it out with a bike rack also. So much easier to get the bike, training gear, and casual stuff into the car plus have leg room with left over space. It suits us to a tee and will fit in the bub, bike, us, and gear with room aplenty. It is also pure comfort on the road compared to the no air-con, non-power steering, Toyota echo that has been the transport vehicle of late.
A big congrats also to Craig Alexander on winning the 2008 Hawaiian Ironman World Championships. A fellow physiotherapist from Sydney Uni, it is great to see such a nice bloke win.
Train safe,
Bevan.
The shop has been going great guns with the sales. We are clearing out a large amount of stock and there are people in continuously.
The house in Newcastle is nearly ready. Just a few more things to complete on the inside and some minor aesthetic things on the outside, and the house is done. We received the king-sized bed from Sleepyhead (thanks George and Mike) on Monday. I cannot wait to sleep in it and have some leg room for once. It will certainly help with the recovery. The way this house has gone up is a tribute to Frank, Jan, and Dave (plus the others roped into helping). It is miraculous how fast it has been completed.
Training has been going well. Time has been short, but the sessions completed have been pure quality. Lets hope that the hour of pain this Saturday goes well (Australian Sprint Champs in Forster) and I get a win/podium. We'll see how the short course speed is going on the long course training and lack of sleep ;) .
New car is going great guns. Anthony, John, and Gabriel from Peter Warren Ford helped us out with the Kia Sportage V6 and tricked it out with a bike rack also. So much easier to get the bike, training gear, and casual stuff into the car plus have leg room with left over space. It suits us to a tee and will fit in the bub, bike, us, and gear with room aplenty. It is also pure comfort on the road compared to the no air-con, non-power steering, Toyota echo that has been the transport vehicle of late.
A big congrats also to Craig Alexander on winning the 2008 Hawaiian Ironman World Championships. A fellow physiotherapist from Sydney Uni, it is great to see such a nice bloke win.
Train safe,
Bevan.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
A busy September
Hi All,
It has been a hectic few past weeks with much travel, developments, and training. Along the way:
- Sam and I have been to the Hunter Valley for Sam’s work colleagues’ wedding, staying at the lovely St Briavel's cottage near Broke (with Dirk and Sarah Melton - plus Brad, who was a late addition to the household ;) ). It was a great weekend away…'Angel' by Robbie Williams has taken on a whole new meaning for me…I don’t think I’ll ever sing it seriously again…not that I ever did;
- I wanted to do 3:10hr for the Sydney Marathon and I scraped in with 3:09hr on dead legs. Sam’s cousin Steve ran his first major half marathon and Sam felt like she had done a marathon just walking around and watching it from the sidelines (she’s not so active these days);
- I finally bought a car (from Peter Warren Ford thanks Anthony, Peter, Gabriel, Emma) for the bub (and my bikes ;) ) ;
- I bought a nice new king sized bed for some leg room and a great sleep from Sleepyhead;
- the house is speeding along and nearly complete. Sam and I are hopeless “handymen” – thank goodness we have Sam’s parents to help us with it – they’re like our own version of a renovation show – we keep expecting Scott Cam and Jamie Durie to jump out at us – but instead we have our own makeover show with Frank and Jan”;
- baby classes are almost complete - with the biggest learning curve yet to come; and
- the shop is having a sale in a big way to clear all stock for some new remodelling and it is going crazy.
Updates to follow with some nice pictures. But Sam, bub, and I are all travelling well and all spare time is being spent on the training front with the programs Mark has given me which I’m really enjoying.
Congrats to Brats for winning the Australian Team Triathlon Champs on the weekend for the 4th consecutive year!
Cheers,
Bevan.
It has been a hectic few past weeks with much travel, developments, and training. Along the way:
- Sam and I have been to the Hunter Valley for Sam’s work colleagues’ wedding, staying at the lovely St Briavel's cottage near Broke (with Dirk and Sarah Melton - plus Brad, who was a late addition to the household ;) ). It was a great weekend away…'Angel' by Robbie Williams has taken on a whole new meaning for me…I don’t think I’ll ever sing it seriously again…not that I ever did;
- I wanted to do 3:10hr for the Sydney Marathon and I scraped in with 3:09hr on dead legs. Sam’s cousin Steve ran his first major half marathon and Sam felt like she had done a marathon just walking around and watching it from the sidelines (she’s not so active these days);
- I finally bought a car (from Peter Warren Ford thanks Anthony, Peter, Gabriel, Emma) for the bub (and my bikes ;) ) ;
- I bought a nice new king sized bed for some leg room and a great sleep from Sleepyhead;
- the house is speeding along and nearly complete. Sam and I are hopeless “handymen” – thank goodness we have Sam’s parents to help us with it – they’re like our own version of a renovation show – we keep expecting Scott Cam and Jamie Durie to jump out at us – but instead we have our own makeover show with Frank and Jan”;
- baby classes are almost complete - with the biggest learning curve yet to come; and
- the shop is having a sale in a big way to clear all stock for some new remodelling and it is going crazy.
Updates to follow with some nice pictures. But Sam, bub, and I are all travelling well and all spare time is being spent on the training front with the programs Mark has given me which I’m really enjoying.
Congrats to Brats for winning the Australian Team Triathlon Champs on the weekend for the 4th consecutive year!
Cheers,
Bevan.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Week 25-31 August and Kangaroo Valley
Training wise, a stable week of 107.2km running plus 30km of walking recovery. I also had my first hit out in the pool which felt great with the blood flowing into the arms. I will be starting to ramp up the biking and swimming again now. Sam is not able to exercise much with the bub growth now limiting her. So, Sam will be joining me for night swims at the pool which will help us both with some frequency. It will be fun to train with Sam for a bit.
We had our first 'baby class' last Thursday where we got the gist of what happens, how, and where in the hospital. Was a good eye opener for all and very informative, especially the 'how to tell you are in labour' part rather than plain old 'cruisy' Braxton Hicks contractions. Five more classes, with 3 on having the bub, and 3 on parenting/post birth. No doubt, many more interesting tidbits to come...
Sam and I headed to Kangaroo Valley with Julian and Melanie Grover for the weekend staying at the lovely 'Alcheringa' bed and breakfast which is owned by Sam's old boss. It's very relaxing and well positioned on top of a mountain on Nugents Creek Road. We lapped up the luxury. Greeted with good weather, we headed out to Berry for a day trip, into the Valley for some good food, and just generally chilled in front of the log fire enjoying the view. Julian and I however did not enjoy waiting up to watch Australia get flogged and show a dismal display of schoolboy rugby against the Springboks (albeit with some dodgy refereeing decisions ;) ). Let's hope they can turn that around for the Bledisloe and Tri-Nations decider in Brisbane in a fortnight against the All-Blacks. Kangaroo Valley is a bit of a misnomer also. There were a few kangaroos but we saw echidnas, wallaby's, many native birds, and heaps of wombats. It should actually be renamed Wombat Valley for the pure numbers of those fuzzy animals. It would be a great place to show off our flora and fauna to overseas visitors with a guarantee of viewing the above.
I also headed out each day for some hard hill running over the Valley. Perfect tracks for training those muscles. At times I was virtually running on the spot to climb up the steep inclines of tracks. My butt, hami's, and quads are a bit sore these past two days from the hill climbs and descents. Makes me think about the Comrades marathon in South Africa that I would like to complete one day that runs through the 'Valley of 1000 hills'. I would need some serious hill training to complete that one.
I found a nice quote the other day, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve". I like finding things that help to remind you of your goals and refocus when you are drifting at times. I will be posting any that I see now at the end of each blog. The above is a nice one as I have been told many times that I could not do something or win something only to make it happen. I would rather give things a go and see how they fall, than not try at all because something/one told me it was not possible (or not possible for them). Things may take some 'extra time' but you can get there in the end or damn close ;) .
Cheers,
Bevan.
We had our first 'baby class' last Thursday where we got the gist of what happens, how, and where in the hospital. Was a good eye opener for all and very informative, especially the 'how to tell you are in labour' part rather than plain old 'cruisy' Braxton Hicks contractions. Five more classes, with 3 on having the bub, and 3 on parenting/post birth. No doubt, many more interesting tidbits to come...
Sam and I headed to Kangaroo Valley with Julian and Melanie Grover for the weekend staying at the lovely 'Alcheringa' bed and breakfast which is owned by Sam's old boss. It's very relaxing and well positioned on top of a mountain on Nugents Creek Road. We lapped up the luxury. Greeted with good weather, we headed out to Berry for a day trip, into the Valley for some good food, and just generally chilled in front of the log fire enjoying the view. Julian and I however did not enjoy waiting up to watch Australia get flogged and show a dismal display of schoolboy rugby against the Springboks (albeit with some dodgy refereeing decisions ;) ). Let's hope they can turn that around for the Bledisloe and Tri-Nations decider in Brisbane in a fortnight against the All-Blacks. Kangaroo Valley is a bit of a misnomer also. There were a few kangaroos but we saw echidnas, wallaby's, many native birds, and heaps of wombats. It should actually be renamed Wombat Valley for the pure numbers of those fuzzy animals. It would be a great place to show off our flora and fauna to overseas visitors with a guarantee of viewing the above.
I also headed out each day for some hard hill running over the Valley. Perfect tracks for training those muscles. At times I was virtually running on the spot to climb up the steep inclines of tracks. My butt, hami's, and quads are a bit sore these past two days from the hill climbs and descents. Makes me think about the Comrades marathon in South Africa that I would like to complete one day that runs through the 'Valley of 1000 hills'. I would need some serious hill training to complete that one.
I found a nice quote the other day, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve". I like finding things that help to remind you of your goals and refocus when you are drifting at times. I will be posting any that I see now at the end of each blog. The above is a nice one as I have been told many times that I could not do something or win something only to make it happen. I would rather give things a go and see how they fall, than not try at all because something/one told me it was not possible (or not possible for them). Things may take some 'extra time' but you can get there in the end or damn close ;) .
Cheers,
Bevan.
Monday, 25 August 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, 21 August 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
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.
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