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Back out on the PTC River Loop today. A little over 2 hours this week, but it seems everyone had a similar experience; it felt as though the effort was there, yet things were a little slower. Was it the cold? The dark? A head wind? Seems it may have been the latter. A good ride nonetheless, and some breathtaking views of the city and river as the sun lingered just below the horizon - no time to stop and take photos though!
Defrosting with hot coffee and chatting with @perthtriclub club mates finished the morning perfectly.
strava.app.link/fzMJKCJtF6
#NMMFG #MakeLifeAmazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #SmallSteps2GreatAchievements #ptcaccountability
Comment on Facebook Back out on the PTC ...
Where is the .2 to make it a marathon ride?
Because it’s the 5th anniversary, and because I had never really made a record of things on the HAA Instagram account, I’m posting photos and reflections to the HAA page, via the linked instagram - this will be every day for the next 4 months.
For those who might not be completely aware, this is something I posted on HAA on this day 5 years ago...a few years ago I realised that I needed to change my life; partly because of increasingly clear signs of poor physical shape, and an increasing likelihood of major health issues in the near future, and partly because those physical issues were reflections of 25+ years of drifting, letting life just happen, letting life pass by.
when I made the changes, when I completed that first marathon, when I emerged from an 18 month period of metamorphosis, I knew that I had to use my story and experiences as an example of what is possible, even for the most ordinary, unexceptional people like myself.
a few months later, I had the answer to the question "what can I do to prove this is the case?" running from Perth to Brisbane.
I didn't know how it would happen, I had no idea how it couple possibly come together, I just held on to the belief that there would be a day when I would set off from Perth, and start heading East, on foot.
TODAY IS THAT DAY....
#HAA2015 #SmallSteps2GreatAchievements #NoMoreMrFatGuy #NMMFG #HeartsAcrossAustralia #MakeLifeAmazing #Perth2Brisbane #NoMoreSleeps #parkrunday #lifestylereboot
Heart Foundation Saybubble Runwest Hoka OneOne Australia HOKA ONE ONE Tailwind Nutrition Australia Tailwind Nutrition USANA Athletes USANA Australia New Zealand parkrun parkrun Australia
Comment on Facebook a few years ago I ...
Check your Inbox
Time for a huge dose of accountability and reality. Finally replaced batteries in my scales in order to track weight. Regardless of what’s happened with training and some events pre-COVID, it’s clearly time to tighten up on the food front. Especially convenience stuff and sweet treats. 😳
Comment on Facebook Time for a huge dose...
Yeah, it's the food mate. Have read somewhere that it takes something like a 5k run to burn off the calories in a donut. It's better to just not eat the donut.
Happy birthday Gary 🎂🎁🎂🎁 one last piece of cake today to celebrate i hope 😊
Well done Gary... I’m on the same journey but don’t have the bravery to stand on scales so I’m just counting calories and making a conscious effort to get up to walk in the morning.... slow and steady! I’ll judge it on my clothes when they start to feel a bit loose lol 😝
I believe in you ! 👍👍
You’ve got this buddy
I need to do the same. Well, not change the batteries, but I should step on the scales and see what the damage is and do something about it.
You are looking good son, it's your usual problem but you can conquer it!!! That's the problem with weight just creeps back on lol I'm sure you can do it like you have before . 💯
You got this Gazza
Slowly but surely... you can do it mate 👍🏾
The first @perthtriclub river loop ride since restrictions were applied... a little slower than before, but still under two hours. A lovely, albeit chilly morning. Some smoke in the air from controlled burn activity. Was great to see some familiar faces for a post-ride takeaway coffee 😀
strava.app.link/4ipTpMXvt6
#NMMFG #MakeLifeAmazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #SmallSteps2GreatAchievements #ptcaccountability
A very happy Mother’s Day to all who can relate - Mums, Step-Mums and whatever other variations exist these days 😊 Hope you’re all suitably spoiled and throughly appreciated.
When #covid19 means your event for the weekend is cancelled, and you can’t even travel to the location, what do you do? Head to Coogee, do a #bootbrick #diytri and even rope a few friends into doing bits of it with you. Now there was no way that a #halfironman distance was going to happen, but there were thoughts of an #olympicdistance - in the end it was a sort of extended #sprintdistance with 1.5km swim, 20km ride and 5km walk. That’s a sort of ending of this phase - #ironmantraining starts this week...
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
April totals top to bottom, Swim, Bike, Run
Safe to say that April was a big swimming month for me, with over 13km in total. Those regular long easy swims @ Coogee certainly added up.
A ride total of over 200km is averaging out to one ride to work per week. Soon I will be riding to work more, and hopefully clocking up kms and building fitness.
The “run” total needs a bit of work!
Overall, not a bad month in the context of covid clampdowns and event cancellations...
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
Comment on Facebook April totals top to ...
Well done 👍🏻
Bossing it mate 😎
Looking good Gary 💪🏼
Once it became known that the new section of bike path was open, and the horrible detours were gone, there was only ever one option for Tuesday’s training - #ridetowork
strava.app.link/ydgTIGUe55
It didn’t disappoint - 4km of turns, hills and road crossings have gone, and instead you just glide through on some fresh tarmac - in fact at one stage it almost felt like I had cheated lol. I look forward to training in this path more and more!
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
After a busy week that led to zero training occurring, it was good to get down to Coogee Beach this morning and do a week’s worth of training in one go lol. OK, not really, but I did put together another #diytri using my car as the transition area. This time it was sprint distance - 750m #swim 20km #bike and 5km #run
Water temperature was perfect, conditions were fairly calm, but water was a bit murky and plenty of seaweed, especially towards southern end of the net.
Weather conditions were pretty much perfect for the bike leg too - hardly any wind, bit of cloud cover, and not too hot!
It started to warm up a bit for my 5km walk, but still very pleasant, and also was great to socially distanced “bump” into one of my Insta followers - hello Anne-Marie @roundtabletravels !
There were no time pressures, no race paces to hit - just a leisurely start to a Sunday morning. Just under 30 mins in the water, and just under an hour each for ride and walk was pretty much as expected.
Great start to the day 😊
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
Comment on Facebook After a busy week ...
Good job Gary! 🙌🏼
Not too much to say really - cold morning, flat calm and relatively warm water, and a wonderful relaxing way to end the week. I really am becoming very comfortable in salt water, and usually have to force myself out!
strava.app.link/njQvmQJaK5
#NMMFG #MakeLifeAmazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #SmallSteps2GreatAchievements #ptcaccountability
Comment on Facebook Not too much to say ...
So awesome Gary 👏🏼
Well done!!
Very jealous. We are not allowed to swim here
Another ride to work today, and another easy paced 50km ride banked. Was a cold morning and I noted several times that gloves might be a good idea 😜 The detours were annoying as per usual, but the ride itself was fairly uneventful. For some reason though it left me a bit flat all day, so I opted for a train ride (and nana nap) home again. One day soon I WILL do the ride home as well - but for now I’m happy to be able to get a 50km ride in as part of my commute.
strava.app.link/N0EitAWeJ5
Looking forward to a nice swim again tomorrow 😊😊
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
Quick splash in the ocean this morning as a recovery swim - air was cold, sea was choppy as anything and it was hard work to move forwards at times - but was great to get into the salt water and my legs definitely appreciated it.
strava.app.link/cNyfTe0dH5
#NMMFG #MakeLifeAmazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #SmallSteps2GreatAchievements #ptcaccountability
This weekend was meant to be very different - a road trip to Geraldton, a chance to catch up with the Marina parkrun team, and my second time participating in the @geraldton_triclub Triathlon. This year I was going to step up to the Olympic distance, and was looking forward to a couple of post-event pints watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean 😊
Of course, the pandemic changed all that - event cancellations, travel bans and so on. So I was grateful that here in WA we still have quite a bit of freedom to get out and exercise/train - and the idea for today’s session became a sort of plan B do-it-yourself triathlon, covering the Olympic distances for the first time.
There were no time goals, I just wanted time, distance and the experience of combining a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride, and 10km on foot for the first time.
I headed down to Coogee for an early start, parked up in the reduced capacity car park area easily, and headed to the water. The car was my transition area.
Water was choppy, and a fair bit of weed around - I kept thinking at least it wasn’t as much as you get at Geraldton. I’d expected an hour for the swim, and it was just a few minutes over.
Bike next - plan was to head north to City Beach and come back. I hit a dead end on the coastal option north of Cottesloe so turned around and made up the distance with an out and back south of the car park. I spent about half the ride with my back hurting - but I pushed through to 40km, because that’s what I’d committed to LOL
The next leg was a 10km walk, not even attempting to run! I kept going to South Beach knowing that in order to get back to my car the only option was to complete 10km on foot.
Overall - it was tough and I was shattered. I’ve covered those distances individually before, but was a different matter stringing them together. Swim Bike and walk times were all roughly as expected - transition times were generous lol.
Was a tough but ultimately rewarding way to spend 6 hours of Easter Monday and helps move things forward overall.
#slowlympic #diytri #nmmfg #makelifeamazing #trilife #swimbikewalk #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #ptcaccountability @ Coogee Beach
Comment on Facebook 194267184005019_2704366259661753
Well done 😁
Great work!
The photos look a bit like a sunset, it actually it was the moon setting! The phone camera’s low light setting makes it look like daytime, though the moon WAS bright and illuminated my swim before the sun came up.
Another 2 hour session and 3km covered again - conditions were flat and calm, but these swims really are giving me confidence in my ability to swim 3.8km and the gradual improvements give me confidence that it can be squeezed into 2 hours.
strava.app.link/WHWh2BSbw5
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability @ Coogee Beach
Comment on Facebook 194267184005019_2693933624038350
So proud of you Gary! Well done 👏🏼
The conditions at Coogee this morning were perfect. Even starting in the dark, I could see the light sand of the sea bed. The shark net was like a swimming pool with a bit of a North to South current.
My initial plan for today was simple - go a bit further than last time. This slowly evolved as I thought about it, realising I’d break 2km for the first time, that one more up and back from last time would yield almost 2.5km... and eventually deciding that as long as I woke up early, I could simply take things easy and see exactly what 2 hours of non-stop swimming was like...
So I did wake up early, and the weather and water conspired with me to create the perfect morning for what was the longest duration and furthest distance that I’ve ever swum.
The recorded distance is a little higher than it really is (probably more like 3100m), but the 3km barrier was definitely breached (2km? Pffft)
As for how it feels to swim for 2 hours - in conditions like this morning’s very very peaceful 😊 OK, so my shoulders did start to ache, and I’ve discovered a couple more places on the neck where the stinger suit chafes, but actually I took things easy, eased off when needed, and got out of the water feeling that I could have done another out and back (600m) at least.
Great for confidence building, as well as developing even more familiarity and comfort with being in the water!
strava.app.link/wUAWWzudn5
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
Comment on Facebook The conditions at ...
Nicely done!
Fantastic love you should be able to swim over here in a few months time 🏊🏊 ser well done xxx
Perfect temperature and it’s a lovely day out, but 26km/h headwind says Merry is getting another overnight stay in the city and a lift home in the car tomorrow... 😜😜😜
Wondering what a stinger suit is? Well this is basically it. A bit wetsuit-ish at first glance, but basically a full length lycra one piece that provides protection from stingers and UV too.
Recently I’ve found that stingers are a bit of a distraction, and the great thing about the wetsuit was it allowed me to forget about that completely.
The issues with that are that putting the wetsuit on takes time, doing the zip up is easier with someone else present, and (as mentioned before) I really do think the wetsuit is working against me (or vice versa) until I get some basic techniques and positioning more correct.
After some research I decided to give the stinger suit a go - even if it is a bit like a fancy morph suit... 😳
The front zip meant it was easy to put on and take off, and while it did take a little while to get used to having the arms looped over my thumbs, mostly I didn’t really notice the suit at all while swimming.
All I felt was a return to complete freedom in the water, less restrictions on the shoulders and chest, the ability to take things easier when I needed a rest - but without losing too much momentum..
So yes, it’s a bit dorkish I suppose, but if it enables me to train like I did this morning, and help me get ready to truly take advantage of a wetsuit, then what the hell - who cares? lol
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability #stingysatanspawn #stingers #morphsuit
Not the most exciting #strava map there is, but was really good to get in the ocean this morning. Conditions were near-perfect - there were others at Coogee Shark Net, but I’m happy to report that #socialdistancing was being very well observed.
strava.app.link/zK7lh2vvk5
This was my first non-wetsuit ocean swim for a while, and I was excited about it for 2 reasons; first I was trying a stinger suit for the first time, and secondly I wanted to test a theory that currently the wetsuit is actually working against me.
Success on both fronts - the stinger suit did not impede me in any way. The lack of actual stings though? Maybe the little beasties weren’t about...
As for the second point - with the wetsuit removed I felt freer in the water than I have for a while, and was able to keep going for the longest distance that I have for a while. Notably I covered almost the same as a 70.3 swim distance and was only just outside the cut off time for that.
There were moments in the water where things felt like they were coming together, I could feel that I had better positioning in the water, and at times even managed bilateral breathing. The awesome conditions did help, but I recorded some of my best times ever in the net.
My working theory is that the wetsuit will pay dividends once I get the underlying positioning and technique right. Hopefully the stinger suit will help me strive for that without being impacted by the stingy Satan spawn when they do appear...
All in all - a great swim session!
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
Let’s call this week a recovery week... #covid_19 impacts being felt in terms of limitations on training, having to re-jig the way my work team operates and work-specific tasks to support state government response to the situation... it’s been a crazy week for sure. Will be working from home soon, and will spend the next couple of days planning out how training will look for the near future!
Stay safe everyone.
Comment on Facebook Let’s call this ...
Stay safe son xxx
So usually on a Tuesday we have a @perthtriclub session in Kings Park, followed by coffee... No group training, no sit down coffee service currently so I decided to #ridetowork instead. Was a bit hard going, it at least I didn’t get the detours wrong this time. Was a headwind the whole way, so I’ll put the extra 20 minutes down to that!
strava.app.link/foXiwKt264
With a busy day at work, I opted to get the train home and left Merry resting in the bike cages at the office. Legs didn’t fancy the 50km ride home, nor the arms, shoulders, back, and head lol
#covid_19 #training #triathlon #trilife #swimbikerun #ptcaccountability
So this week’s @perthtriclub #riverloop was a bit slower than last week, though still under 2 hours. It actually felt harder going around, so I think conditions were just a little less perfect than last week. Given that the segment PBs recorded on #strava were all on the outward portion of the ride, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that the wind was against me on the return section. Bit of a chill in the air, and the post-ride coffee was even more welcome than usual 😜
strava.app.link/H1cjVXf3X4
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability
I think it was inevitable that @triathlonwa would have to call off #busso703 in May. So many other events have already pulled the pin thanks to #covid_19, so mentally I had already prepared myself to prepare for December’s full #ironman without any events to help maintain momentum. #ptcaccountability was always going to play a part too.
So I was actually pretty pleased when the announcement came today - postponed to October! That’s perfectly positioned for the build up to December. I’m actually very excited about the way things have worked out and now have several months of hard work ahead of me, and an exciting final third of 2020 to look forward to! #nmmfg #makelifeamazing #smallsteps2greatachievements #silverlining #trilife #accidentalironman #roadtobusso2020
Comment on Facebook I think it was ...
Self isolating runs, swims and rides 😁
Also for #ThanksCoachTA coach appreciation week, a throwback to February 2017 and the novice group that got me seemingly hooked on #triathlon. We were coached and guided through the maze by three excellent people @surianorob Rob “Slim” Wiles and @mishb77 (not pictured) Thanks to their efforts, I’m still part of @perthtriclub and truly grateful for the introduction they gave me to the sport. 😊
It’s coach appreciation week apparently, so definitely have to mention @perthtriclub head coach @anne.derover who always goes above and beyond - as can be seen from this photo 😜 #ThanksCoachTA
Loving being back on the trails in recent weeks. It’s been great to be running more regularly again, and so far the body is holding up fine. The post-run feed and ale helps make it all worthwhile too 😜
strava.app.link/HlxlIa4XR4
#nmmfg #makelifeamazing #lifestylereboot #trilife #swimbikerun #triathlon #training #roadtobusso2020 #accidentalironman #smallsteps2greatachievements #ptcaccountability #trails #trailrunning #perthhills #perthisok @ John Forrest National Park
Comment on Facebook 194267184005019_2641302955968084
Nice one mate 👍
Well Done Gazza be careful of the wildlife those Big Birdie Birds can lead you astray 😜