What event are your training for and what is your goal?
Corsair Bay Classic Triathlon and the RailTrail Duathlon.

What event are your training for and what is your goal?
Coast to Coast

What event are your training for and what is your goal?
Longest Day C2C 2019. Goal is to finish before the sun goes down and have fun.

What it is your motivation for wanting to achieve this?
As an endurance athlete, the C2C is something i have wanted to do for a while. Having recently been posted to Burnham ( yes I am in da Army ), this is my chance to tick this epic, iconic race off.

What is your background and how did you get into your sport?
Former A grade cyclist, then Endro cycling, to Ironman NZ ( 5 finishes, pb of 10:13hrs ) and a few ultra marathons. I got into individual sport after 12 ish years of playing Football (Soccer) as I found myself having a different work ethic than the rest of the team.

What is your favourite event/or training mission so far?
Got to be Ironman NZ for the challege and atmosphere. Tarawera Trail 50km for the journey, a great trail run with heaps of variety. In regards to training, i really look forward to the 15hr training weekends….sicko.

Why?
As above.

What is your favourite training ride/run/kayak/swim etc?
Ride would have to be around Apiti in the Manawatu, 130ish kms of hills. Run would be around Lake Rotoiti, do try it! Kayak, still a novice with limited experience, that will change! Swim has to be Lake Taupo, in fact any swim in fresh water, Lake Rotoiti is a close second, even with the huge eels.

Who is your inspiration?
Me in 6 months.

Who is your biggest fan?
My two girls, Taryn and Jessica.

Do you have an inspirational quote that you would like to share?
Do or do not, there is no Tri….lol Yes its a play on words for all the Triathletes

What is your favourite recovery food?
Chocolate Milk, hence my failure to ever to down to race weight.

Any other comments?
Stop making excuses and get off the couch.

• “I can’t run to the top of the hill”,
• “I can’t swim 10 lengths”
• “We don’t have a cure for my brain tumour”

Yesterday I had a great catch up with a good friend of mine Andrew Sloan who I used to do a lot of training and racing with in our university days in Dunedin.  Andy has completed the Longest Day Coast to Coast, the full distance Challenge Wanaka and basically every other endurance event in the South Island not to mention the countless adventures and missions into the hills around his hometown of Hawea in Central Otago.

Unfortunately Andy could put a tick next to each of the three bullet points above after being diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year and is in the middle of treatment for it.

Everyone that knows Andy will vouch for the fact that he is one of the most positive people there are and as we talked he introduced me to the concept of adding the word yet to end of each of these statements above.

• “I can’t run to the top of the hill yet”
• “I can’t swim 10 lengths yet”
• “We don’t have a cure for my brain tumour yet”

That short three letter word changes each of those statements significantly.   They moved from being something negative that’s just not possible to a goal that given the right practice, hard work, support, knowledge, feedback, resources and expertise they are achievable.

No matter how big the challenge that you have got in front of you it is possible. I think that this idea is summed up by one of my favourite quotes…

“Never take no for an answer, and never give up if you really believe in what you are doing and you’re really keen, then you will succeed.  It’s as simple as that.”  Sir Peter Blake

In the last few days Andy has since ticked off the second bullet point

Let’s talk sleep…we all wish we had more of it.  After attending a Exercise Recovery Symposium led by some of the greatest minds in the Sports Science Industry, I was made very aware of how important sleep is to…EVERYTHING!!!  If we are not sleeping, we are not recovering, which leads to a raft of problems on its own, more of that in another post..but for now I wanna address another elephant in the bedroom and that is devices!

We are all guilty of it, last minute work on the laptop, trolling through facebook, checking our Instagram posts, emails etc.  While this seems harmless, there are a few things to be aware of and how it is impacting your sleep.

The infamous blue light emitted by our devices has a very powerful effect on the suppression of Melatonin- our sleeping hormone.  As a result, we are not getting a solid amount of sleep, in fact we as a society are no longer getting 8hrs…in fact, we are barely getting 6.5 hours!  That means, our cortisol hormones (the flight vs fight) response are in overdrive and we are staying awake longer than we should.

Leptin..the hunger hormone, is also higher at night, so while you are up surfing the web, you run the risk of answering that hunger call and the nibbling ensues.  Our waistlines don’t appreciate this.

So, what can you do to help increase your sleep habits?

1. An hour before bed, dim the lights.
2. Create a nightly routine you can every evening at the same time. Our bodies love routine.
3. Allow for more time in bed to actually get to sleep
4. Avoid phone, tv, computer late at night
5. Ensure bed comfortable, room is cool, quiet and dark (a cave).  Better that the room is slightly cool – 18 degrees
6. Avoid thinking planning or other mental activities while in bed – do a sleep reset if you are overthinking – write a to do list to not have to think about it and put a time next to when you will do it. Read a book restart your normal sleep routine.
7. Implement relaxation strategies – progressive muscle relaxation – contract and relax your muscles

Now you have some strategies, start implementing them, and watch your quality of sleep improve!

Training is easy when the sun is shining, the temperatures are warm and the daylight hours are longer. But with winter now officially here, the colder temperatures and darkness setting in before you even get home from work, enthusiasm and motivation can very easily waver.

So to help you remain inspired and passionate for your training and upcoming events, below are some strategies for you to try;

• Decent Kit! If you have good quality clothing, training in the colder temperatures or wet and windy conditions really is no problem. Put your layers on and get out into the elements – you know as soon as you get going you will warm up. And remember – you won’t melt in the rain! So head to your favourite outdoor clothing store and grab yourself a few essential items to keep you warm and safe.
• Feel Good Factor. You know how good you feel after any training session right?! So if you are feeling sluggish, think about how awesome you will feel after you have been out there and done it, and how good the hot shower will be when you get home.
• Make it an Adventure. It may be wet and windy…but that just adds to the challenge and fun of the session. Get those layers on and face the elements…push the boundaries (safely) and see how capable you are. You may just surprise yourself!
• Team up with your Mates. Keep yourself accountable by organizing to do your session with a mate. Or join in with a group. Training with others has many benefits so don’t feel you always have to go it alone. Check out the fun and friendly Team CP group sessions available every week; https://www.teamcp.co.nz/group-sessions/group-timetable/
• Stay Healthy. Respect your rest days and avoid over training and fatiguing your body. With winter ills and chills in the air, you are more likely to become unwell if your body is already run down. So train sensibly, keep warm, prioritize sleep (this is important!), fuel your body well and ensure you are getting plenty of the right nutrients on board to keep yourself fit and healthy.
• Make it a Journey. Training for an event is a journey so ensure you make it fun. Add variety into your sessions, explore new places, make a day of it with family or friends…this way you are creating a story and many awesome memories, making the end result of crossing that finish line so much more rewarding.

Winter is simply a season and we are fortunate to have such a varied climate that allows us to experience and enjoy such a wide variety of absolutely awesome activities. So embrace it, relish the extra challenge and continue doing what you love year round.