0 Running Naked: The Busy Athlete Goes Au Naturel And Loves It

Yesterday I ran naked for the first time in way too long.  Don't worry.  I wasn't jogging nude around the running trails of Melbourne, frightening people.  I did something much more radical, and for a lot of runners and triathletes, even more unimaginable.  I ran without a GPS, heart rate monitor or mp3 player.  I got home and had no data to review.  No split times.  No "time spent in Zone 3".  I have no idea how far I ran, or how fast, and I will never know if I took the Strava CR on Yarra Bend Road. I realised recently that I, and many people I know have become addicted to data.  We endlessly...

0 Mental Toughness: Pushing Yourself Past Your Limits

I recently started to use Strava to track my runs.  Not only does it map my route and give me pace and distance data (like a million other apps), it also allows me to challenge the times of other users my area.  Being a ridiculously over competitive guy who likes winning a LOT, this is right up my alley.  The first thing I did upon downloading the app was to plan a run that took in as many local sectors as possible, in order to break the existing records and claim top spot. I'm honest enough with myself to know that I am by no means physiologically gifted when it comes to athletic endeavours.  I'm an average, middle of...

0 How My Exercise Addiction Saved My Life

My addiction (and it is an addiction) to training has saved my life.  I'm absolutely convinced of that.  If I hadn't embraced exercise as passionately as I have, I would be dead well before my time. 5 years ago I was 14kgs (30lbs) heavier than I am now.  I was a heavy smoker, drinker and recreational drug user.  I was lazy, unfit and existing on a diet of unhealthy junk food.  I had a big wobbly belly and suffered from an unfortunate case of man boobs.  I would go out and party for days on end, and would never be asleep before midnight during the week.  I never exercised, was weak and generally just in...

0 A Great Ironman Movie - Ironman Coeur d'Alene

Check out this great movie on Ironman Coeur d'Alene.  Some excellent interviews with the pros and the age groupers who make this such a wonderful event. ...

0 Get Off The Couch! 5 Reasons You Should Start Getting Fit Today

It's cold outside at the moment.  The weather is terrible, it's grey and dark and the only thing most people want to do is stay inside where it's warm and cosy.  If you're anything like me, you also want to eat filling, hearty winter foods that might not necessarily be fantastic for your waistline. It's all too common to see people putting aside their exercise routine in the cooler months, and paying a heavy price for it (pun intended) As our lives get more sedentary and we spend more and more time at our desks, sitting in cars or on the couch, it's never been more important to include regular exercise in our daily routines. ...

0 Tour De France For Dummies: The Busy Athlete's Guide For Cycling Beginners

If you are not a cycling tragic like I am, you may find the terminology of the Tour De France (or cycling in general) a bit confusing, if not downright baffling.  Terms like peloton, echelon, gruppetto and maillot jaune are an impenetrable code to the unitiated.   So that there are a few less people in the world to stare at me blankly when I talk about cycling, here is the Busy Athlete's Guide to Le Tour. The Jerseys: What are all the different jerseys about?  Yellow (Maillot Jaune) - The jersey worn by the overall race leader Polka Dot - The jersey worn by the King of the Mountains.  The rider who collects the...

0 Le Tour De France 2012: An Australian Fan's Survival Guide

The Tour de France.  An epic, three week test of endurance.  The battle of iron will over the screaming fatigue of an exhausted body.  And then there is the bike race. As an Australian, I count myself lucky to live in a beautiful, relatively uncrowded land of startling beauty.  We have wonderful food, beautiful beaches and generally pretty good weather compared to much of the Northern hemisphere.  What sucks is the fact that we live in a VERY unfriendly timezone for watching European sports.  I can't count the number of nights sleep that I've missed because of Football, Cycling and Ironman races over the years,...

0 Kettlebells: The Busy Athlete's Guide

I have to admit, I don't really like working out in the gym.  There's something about the repetitive, mechanical nature of gym equipment that just doesn't sit right with me.  I would much rather be outdoors, running or riding my bike, or even (in warmer weather) swimming.  I really enjoy the freedom or running a trail or riding a quiet road, and find that I have to really psych myself up to go to the gym. If I'm honest with myself, I probably don't like the gym because I suck at lifting weights.  I've neglected the strength elements of my training for too long, in favour of building cardiovascular fitness and endurance. ...

0 CrossFit For Triathletes: Get Stronger and Faster

Like it or not, us triathletes operate in a fairly narrow, specialised range.  Our training is designed to move us through the swim, run and ride in the most efficient way possible.  If you're training for Ironman 70.3 or Ironman events, you may not even be worried about how fast you cover the ground, concentrating on just building the endurance necessary to simply survive 12 or so hours of torture. An unfortunate side effect of this concentration on covering miles and building volume is the loss of speed, and in some cases strength.  No matter how far you run or ride, you may very well finding your performance plateauing as...

0 Bradley Wiggins: The Winner of the 2012 Tour De France?

Based on early form, the cycling world is afire with talk of Bradly Wiggins and his chances of finally winning the Tour De France in 2012.  More to the point, there is talk of whether anyone has a chance of taking the race away from the apparently bulletproof Team Sky, with Cadel Evans seemingly being the only likely fly in the ointment. With a deep list of in-form riders including Mark Cavendish, Edvald Boassen Hagen, Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte, Team Sky appear to be the dominant "Superteam" of the moment.  But it's Wiggins who is carrying the weight of expectation going into the Tour De France.  A high altitude...

0 Lance Armstrong wins Hawaii 70.3 by a mile!

The man's a freak!!  Smashed it on the bike then ran strong for the win.  Lance Armstrong just won the 2012 Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Triathlon and looks like he could be a real threat in full Ironman distance races.  Considering he was still training hard this week (a long run only a couple of days ago plus track work), it's obvious that he has some more improvement in his 40 year old legs.   It will be interesting to see what happens at Ironman France when Lance races his first full Ironman distance triathlon. I wonder if there are some "contenders" for the Ironman World Championship who are starting to pay close...

0 Review: Fuelbelt Revenge R20

I need to be honest about something up-front.  I used to laugh at people that wear hydration belts when they are running.  I thought they looked silly and served no real purpose.  Then I started to run further.  Now I just think they look silly. When I started running more than 10k for my long runs, I found that I often got halfway through my workout and was desperate for a drink of water.  I found myself plotting my route to ensure that I passed near a drinking fountain at regular intervals.  Obviously this severely limited any sort of variation to my weekly runs, and certainly didn't allow for any spontaneity. ...

0 The Inconsiderate Cyclist. Breaking The Rules And Getting Caught

I am an inconsiderate cyclist.  As a matter of fact, according to a fellow cyclist, I'm a" f#@king idiot!" I am a vocal critic of drivers in Melbourne who disregard the safety of cyclists with their dangerous driving and thoughtless actions.  I can't count the number of times I've been in danger of being run over, clipped by an opened car door, or abused by  irate drivers for no reason.  I have blogged about how much it annoys me, and have bored many a person with my rants about the aggressive attitude that Australian drivers have towards cyclists. So it is with great shame that I admit that on Monday I did the wrong thing...

2 Ironman?? Why everyday people put themselves through hell.

I didn't just wake up one day and decide to do an Ironman.  My journey to that decision was a more subtle and slow evolution that began in my late twenties.  I was your stereotypical office worker.  A few kilos overweight, mainly sedentary, drinking a lot and smoking too.  I felt heavy, slow and uncomfortable.  One day I realised that I had man boobs and my disgust at the state of my body was the initial spark that led to the burning passion that I now have for endurance sports.  I began to focus on getting myself healthy, losing weight, getting active, and starting to participate in a more active lifestyle....

0 Injury! What Now?

I'm injured. I pushed too hard, and ignored a couple of small niggles (against my own advice).  A couple of weeks ago I had reached that magical level of fitness where you feel invincible.  You are energised, strong, fast and feel as if you can run all day.  I smashed a half-marathon PR on Saturday and then my 10km PR on the Monday.  A week later, and I couldn't run at all.  Shin splints, and a disturbingly painful left ankle had brought my quest for world domination to a screaming halt. Faced with my own physical frailty, and robbed of my regular fix of exercise induced euphoria, I've found myself struggling to stay...

0 Look After Yourself. Knowing When You've Had Enough Exercise

Pushing yourself hard is the best way to see improvement in your mental and physical conditioning.  Nothing beats the satisfied, warm feeling you get after a strong week of hard training.  Whilst you need to keep challenging yourself, it's very important that you know when it's time to take a break.  Pushing your body to far will almost always result in an injury or illness that will set your training back further than you might think. As I've mentioned before, rest and recovery are the most important part of any training regime.  Your body needs time to repair damaged muscles and overcome built up fatigue.  Without...

2 Too Busy To Exercise? Get fit and lose weight in no time!

How many times have you heard (or said) "I don't have time to workout".  As our work lives become busier and more stressful, it becomes easier to convince ourselves that we are too busy to dedicate long hours to sweating in a gym.  It's an easy trap to fall into, and unfortunately it has some serious consequences for our health.  The sedentary, desk-bound lifestyle that has become the norm, has been proven to shorten our lives significantly and has direct links to the increase in heart disease and diabetes in the Western world. The good news is that you can take some easy steps to not only re-incorporate exercise into your...

0 Lycra And Lattes: Cycling Is The New Golf

We've all seen them.  Groups of weekend warriors, wrapped in brightly coloured (often overstretched) Lycra, sipping lattes in a cafe packed with what looks like a slightly overweight version of a pro cycling Peloton.  The familiar "click-clack" of cleats on polished concrete is all too familiar in most inner-city cafes on weekends.  Mixed with the usual brunch conversations, you'll hear earnest debates on topics like average watts, the aerodynamic benefits of shoe covers and the best leg hair removal techniques. Whilst MAMILs (Middle Age Men In Lycra) have long been a widely mocked, and dismissed as try-hards suffering...

0 Shin Splints. What Causes Them and How To Get Rid of Them

Shin splints.  If you run on the road regularly or play high intensity sport, you'll more than likely experience this annoying, pain in the front of your lower leg.  More formally known as Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), is a common, and potentially debilitating injury that plagues many runners.  Symptoms vary in intensity, from a vague discomfort or tightness in your shin area, up to sharp, recurring stabbing pains that hit every time you take a step.  Bad cases can even lead to stress fractures that will keep you off your feet completely if not treated properly. Last week I noticed that I was sore...

0 St Croix Triathlon: Beauty and THE BEAST

Lance Armstrong continues his incredible return to professional triathlon tomorrow in St Croix.  He last raced this event 22 years ago, and comes back with a very real chance of finishing at the front of the pack in what is considered the most brutal Ironman 70.3 race in the world. Good luck Lance, and all the other competitors.  Have a great race. St Croix Triath...

0 Climbing Hills. Build Strength AND Speed!

It's very easy to get into a routine in your cycling that includes lots of long, flat rides that build fitness and endurance, but can lead to your fitness plateauing and boredom setting in.  Hill climbs are a great way to build leg strength, cardio-vascular fitness, and just as importantly, mental toughness that can help you push yourself harder and faster on race day. True climbers are a strange breed.  Small framed, lean and weighing about 60kgs dripping wet.  You see them every year in the Giro and Tour de France, dancing on their pedals as the rest of the Peloton dies a slow, painful death on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez. ...