Affirmations for August - My FAST Month

'You create your own life'.
'create' is a verb.You have to actively do something in order to get the life you want.'

This comes from Brett, the author of the blog 'Zen and the Art of Triathlon' and I think its a great quote' . So with this powerful thought in mind, here is what I will do in August to 'create' my life.

Firstly the goals -

1. Next weekend, I will participate in my 3rd Half Marathon in 4 weeks. My goal is to achieve 2hrs 15mins again- and beat it if possible.

2. 4 weeks after that, I will attempt to run the 10km Bridge to Brisbane in 55 minutes (this time is a HUGE stretch but I will see what I can do)

3. The following two weeks will see me ride the Queensland Big Bike Ride from Yeppoon to Bundaberg (a 9 day ride- should be fun!)

4. In October (5 weeks after that) it is the 210km Around the Bay in a Day in Melbourne.

It's a very challenging program (Improbable?) and I need to get a LOT fitter, and in a hurry.

Its actually quite scary and I am not sure I can do it. I've always been slow and these goals are all about being fast.

I am going to work really hard to achieve them, to bring me closer to achieving my Improbable Dream.

I am creating my own life - but only if I get off my bum and do something.

So here's my Affirmations for August....

'August is my FAST month. Its the month I will get a lot faster in my running and my riding. I will do this by hard aerobic training, and by improving my technique.

I will focus on two things only -

1. Complete the Bridge to Brisbane in 50 minutes
2. Be riding at an average of +28kph by the time I start the Big Bike Ride.

This month I am improving my speed fitness and my technique. I push myself hard at each training session.

I commit to completing the interval training sessions without whimping out.

I am improving my running and pedalling technique, my riding position and my gearing selection.

Each workout is focused on getting faster for longer by getting both fitter and smarter.

Every day I push myself harder for longer, and I improve my running and riding technique.

I will CREATE my own outcomes.

And when I get this right, in September I will develop my long rides in preperation for the next stage of my dream.

I will celebrate my result in the Bridge To Brisbane.'

If you want to leave me a comment you can do so below....

More later, journey on.....
James




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A Head Full of Snot

I feel terrible today and it's making me anxious. Actually its p#issing me off! I want to go hard but my body is insisting I rest. Dont you hate that!!!

I spent a large part of this week in Goondiwindi and Toowoomba, and as usual when I visit my the old stomping ground of the Darling Downs - especially during ploughing and sowing time - I end up with a head full of sinus. And it makes me feel like crap. Worse - I get anxious because I cant exercise. I dont have time to be sick. Coming soon I've got the Bridge to Brisbane 10km fast run and the Around the Bay in a Day 210km Bike Ride. There's no time to waste.

Since arriving home I've tried to clear my head by exercising hard. I figured the best thing to do was to try to blast it out of my head with some hard aerobics. Over two days I ran a fast-ish 5ks, did a hard 30min spin on a stationary bike, and then fast-hiked up Mt Coot-tha to the lookout.

Instead of fixing it I seem to have made it worse. It feels strange- my body is fresh and ready to go but my head is cloggy, achey and I'm quite dopey. I hate having sinus... and I should know 'cause I've had it regularly throughout my whole life.

There's no choice - take the day off, take some anti-histamines and stop whinging. And get ready to go hard from tomorrow. It's time to be positive - I will regard today as a rest day in my personal 'Improbable' journey. And try to enjoy it.

So where are the tissues. And the TV Remote! :-)

More later, journey on.....
James



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Jetty to Jetty 1/2 Fun Run - my second ever 1/2 marathon

I didn’t have a lot of expectations for my 2nd go at a ½ Marathon. After I pulled up quite well from the Gold Coast event two weeks ago, I made the late decision to enter the Jetty to Jetty 25th Anniversary ½ Marathon. But as I say, without any great expectations – just go along, build on the confidence I took from the Gold Coast, have fun and see what happened.

In the back of my mind I did hope to beat my previous time but it wasn’t critical- more of a training run than an attempt to prove anything to myself.

I finished the run in almost the exact time – 2 hours 15 minutes 9 seconds (6 seconds faster) but two good things – I stopped for a pi%s stop that took about 2 minutes and the course was a LOT hillier. So overall I feel like I did better than last time. I also achieved my goal of – having fun (heaps!!), improve my confidence (yep- see above), and go with the flow.

The whole thing was good. It was a glorious pre-dawn drive to the north side of Brisbane, and to then get ready for the run as the sun came up over Moreton Bay was just special, a rare thrill. The run itself - as the name suggests – is a run along the coast, out and back to a jetty, through a Sunday market, along the beachfront, up and over hills, around the North Moreton Bay coast.

The best bit was I ran the last 2ks with a girl from the organising runners club and she encouraged me to run hard to the line ‘Knees up, pump your arms, push hard, go James go!” It was great fun, I felt like a runner (although tired) and I learnt how to push to the end. Thanks heaps to that nice girl.

The rest of the run was like a training run- just as I’d hoped. I found a pace runner for 2:15, quickly settled into a good rhythm, and joined a good chat with a bunch of other 2:15 runners. The chat lasted for 15ks before we spread out and got home on our own time.

So... a really good chat, a beautiful early morning coastal course, lots of laughs, a comfortable running pace and a great result. That’s a good way to spend a Sunday morning - No expectations, good exercise, lots of fun, and a huge feel-good factor afterwards.

More later, journey on.......
James





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Gold Coast 1/2 Marathon 2010

So there I was..... Southport Queensland, a winter's Sunday morning, slightly chilly at 06.30am, standing nervously at the back of the pack, bouncing with excitement.

It was an amazing sight to be on a small hill in the middle of the Gold Coast highway just on sunrise looking at a writhing snake of humanity determinately making its way through the starting gate of the 2010 Gold Coast Half Marathon.

9000 runners taking up both sides of the highway, crowned with morning sun, all heading in the same direction, all pulling me forward. What an inspiration.

It was my first distance event and surprisingly I felt quite relaxed. I knew I had put in the training (although not enough- never enough), I knew I was determined to finish, and that ‘my time was now'. So I made a commitment to not waste this opportunity, to put in a big effort, to run hard, and most of all, to have fun!!

My goal time was 2hrs 30min so when I found the pace runner for 2:20 I decided to run with him for a while. I figured I'd stay with him until I got tired. But in the excitement of the event, with everyone around me trying so hard, I just didn’t stop running. I ran and I ran. I couldn’t believe it – I’ve never run so far before. What a buzz. What fun.

Suddenly there was only 3 kms to go and I was ahead of the pace runner. I realised I had a great chance to record an incredible time. Everything changed in my head. It put a smile on my face; as you can see in the photos, I was having a ball. I picked up the pace and ran hard to the end. I entered the chute, the crowds were cheering and clapping, I got another burst of energy and I sprinted to the finish.

2 hours 15 minutes 19 seconds. 15 minutes under my target. Wow!!!!!

And there it was –in a click of a timing machine I was a half-marathoner! I smiled with satisfaction. A great feeling. As I always say to myself - The discomfort of the run is temporary, the result is permanent. Damn right.

There were lots of fun things along the way. Towards the end I saw a sign held up by a random supporter that read ‘Your feet hurt cause you’re kicking butt’. ;-) Thank you to that person. Nice.

I saw an overweight guy jogging slowly, wearing a black t-shirt that read ‘I am NOT a virgin’. What the??? Funny!

I followed a girl for a while who was wearing the three layer of clothes; you know the bra, singlet, t-shirt look. I was thinking; ‘Gawd I’m glad I’m not female and have to wear all those clothes to stop things bouncing.’ When we hit a turnaround point I saw she was amazingly flat-chested. ‘Ooops’ I thought, ‘maybe it should be me wearing all the clothes, get my man boobs under control, stop the big buggers from bouncing.’ It was funny in my head at the time. :-)

I ran for a while with a bunch of ladies from the Hamilton Running Club from New Zealand, which was really nice - It reminded me of the great support I get from Chrissie in Hamilton and our other friends in NZ.

In the second half of the run I listened to my I-pod to the music from my 50th birthday. Thanks Therese.

The last thing I should mention is how well I did with my nutrition. Two hours before the start, at 0400 I had two pieces of fruit, a cup of coffee and a Growling Dog energy bar, and I drank 600mls of water. Along the way I grabbed cups of water from the aid stations, and then, at the turnaround point I had an energy gel. This was a great idea as it gave me a heap of energy and I’m sure it was what gave me the energy to finish with a burst. A smart thing to do.

So it was lots of fun, I learnt a lots of lesson and in the end I gained a lot of satisfaction. Best of all, for the rest of my life, I can now say I’m a half-marathoner.

I recommend it to everyone.

More later, journey on
James




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First goal for the year successfully completed

Today I finished my first true distance event and I'm proud to say.. I nailed it! I can now say, for the rest of my life that I am a half-marathoner. In my first event I ran the whole way, I beat my 'hoped for' time by 15 minutes and my 'expected' time by 25 minutes. It's awesome to be able to say I ran the whole way... I really am a half-marathoner now.

I ran the 21kms in 2:15:19, a LOT faster than my 'hope for' time of 2 hours 30 (see blog 8th June)and I am beside myself with excitement. I am soooo pumped.

It's an amazing feeling to train for so long and with a heap of determination and consistency, to set - and also state- a very specific goal, to put myself out there via this blog, to have a go and then, to nail it!!

It feels great. I started this journey asking 'Can a fat and unfit 50 y.o. - with a poor lifestyle and no sporting ability - turn himself into a Distance Athlete?'. At the moment it seems the answer is a resounding YES!!.....Perhaps its not such an Improbable Dream after all.

Tomorrow, when I've had a chance to rest and reflect I'll tell you about the race, and the lessons I learnt. For now though, I think I'll just enjoy the experience of finally being a successful half-marathoner. :-)

By the way, thanks for all your feedback via phone and email. If you want to leave a message on my blog, click on the 'envelope' symbol at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

More later, journey on.....
James




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