The Motivational Bite

2am on a Saturday is when I once would have been creaking open the front door after a successful Friday night out. This time, however, it's the first of my new wake up calls from Z-Girl as we've entered into the teething zone.

Again at 5am - and this time I'm forced up and out of the comfort of my toasty bed. I have to be up for parkrun (5km Running Group) in two hours and now I'm in the twilight zone of baby nursing. Pacing up and down with my daughter over my shoulder trying to calm her and ease her pain. As well as the obvious tiredness, I'm also facing the uncertainty of how long little Z will take to fall asleep. Straight away would be ideal! However if it takes 30 minutes, for example, I have to decide whether it's worth getting an extra hour and a half of sleep or just get on with the day and snooze in the afternoon.

My wife has been up three times already and grunts "your turn, honey" at me from under the doona. So I shuffle downstairs, flicking the sports news on and making a little bit of breakfast while Z-Girl lays on her play mat shoving every toy in her mouth, the product of her early teething. It takes nearly an hour and I choose the latter option.

The second alarm, this time the real one of the non-human type, blings to remind me to get the wife up.

She is NOT interested! In fact she has more interest in the cool side of her pillow, as the current side she is on must be as warm as hell as she blasts me with "I can't be bothered, I'm so tired, just go without me!"

NOPE I'M NOT HAVING IT! I enjoy few parts of my training more than parkrun Saturday's as it's such a great opportunity to do something active as a family. And sometimes my wife just needs a kick in the backside. It's a terrible mental catch-22; you're tired but you want to get your post-preggy body back (I'm talking about my wife here, not me) and to do it you need to be active and focused, all the things being up three times in the night with a teething terror doesn't help.

So I told my wife to get her ass out of bed; yep that was pretty much it. I thought about getting all motivational, telling her to do it for the team, the fans and the sponsors, ha! But sometimes a simple one liner works best. I know that running makes my wife happy, I've seen it with my own eyes. The buzz she has when she's completed a marathon, half marathon and her weekly jog in the park for parkrun. Her mood is better, her diet is more focused and she feels better about herself. So, with love, I told her to get her ass out of bed!

The thing with having a little one is you naturally throw your focus towards their tiny little world of fluffy toys, breast milk and nappies, and forget that you live in a world of work, friends, family, taxes and traffic jams. But outside those traffic jams and tax paying is those early moments every morning and every night where you catch yourself staring into the mirror.

It's that mirror talk that turns negative first, where you step out of the shower and catch a glimpse of your body, or you're brushing your teeth and see the bags under your eyes or the extra grey hair you thought was shaving cream doesn't wipe away. We face ourselves first every day, and it's how we react to this I believe sets up the next hour, day, week, month and in the end, our life. So in essence if you want the best of things sometimes you have grind the hardest rock - today's rock was lack of sleep.

This bus needed a driver, so I took the wheel, threw some warm clothes on Z-Girl, grabbed a couple of bananas, slugged my half a mug of coffee and assisted getting the wife out the door.

It was a cold morning and despite the tired body, the cool fresh air warmed slightly as the sun woke up after we arrived. I pushed out a Pram-Run PB, got to catch-up with some running buddies and saw my wife back in stride again with her familiar post run smile.

Pram Wars

Training can have it's teething moments too; motivational teething where you want to do everything positive but those negatives slip in. I'm not perfect and sometimes it's a tough one to get up after an evening/morning spent nursing, but I've never gone for a run and thought "that was a terrible run, I wish I hadn't done that."

#motivation #forher #dadathlon #runningblog #teething #run #runner #running #TagsForLikes.com #fit #runtoinspire #furtherfasterstronger #seenonmyrun #trailrunning #trailrunner #runchat #runhappy #instagood #time2run #instafit #happyrunner #marathon #runners #photooftheday #trailrun #fitness #workout #cardio #training #instarunner #instarun #workouttime

Brooks Duathlon Series Race 1 July 2015

Physioheath/ Tri Vic Team 

First race of the year, and proudly my first as Physiohealth Team Member. Physiohealth have been great to offer spots on their team for for the 4 race series from July - Sep to the not so elite and the super elite, making for great team dynamics.

Sunday morning was FROSTY! and a little moisture in the air - bravely the super wife and Z-Girl were up and about for the event, always gets me excited to see the wife & Z-Girl on the sidelines even in those conditions it brings a smile to my face and increases my effort level when I hear them as I ride/run past!

I felt super confident even if it was a little cold coming into this, confident but nervous - as I wanted to do well for the Physiohealth Team for helping me out and also to really set a good benchmark to start the series off.

My confidence I think has come from doing more of these events, knowing what to pack, how to prepare, set-up my bike and transition area. I think the one place I really lack and maybe due to not being in a club or team previously is my warm-up routine - it's a bit here and there and I need to sort that out for the next race.

Start line on a frosty morning

Getting the sponsor photos ( Physiohealth & Sommerville Sports AU) and doing a light warm-up had me ready, and Z-Girl was so excited for Dad she fell asleep right before the race started!

Marshals were concerned for the water on the course, with the route not having changed at all from previous years, 5km run out and back past transition, 4 laps of the bike course (20km) and then a run out the back for the final 3km. Plenty of talk of slowing down into the bike turn around points with the expectation of some falls!

Gun goes off, we get out for the run - strong start as I tried to match myself with some of the better known athletes in the race, rightly or wrongly I was happy to go hard for the first 4 kms and taper back to reserve my energy going into transition was going to be my race plan from the beginning.

By the first turn around point the group was starting to spread out, checking my splits I was looking pretty fast for the first 5km - in fact it was PB Territory, knocking off 30secs off my current PB and whole minute faster than last year.


Transition was a little awkward, maybe the cold or the rapid heart beat but I just couldn't get my left cycling shoe on!! I haven't yet mastered the flying mount on the bike. And my cold hands and excitement levels meant I lost a little time - the bike wasn't quite in the right gear (forgot to double check this on a warm-up ride) but I got away ok concerned about falling over leaving the transition area.

I gave up some time early on bike lap as started a little slow to get the muscles going, but then I got into good cadence. Having read recently about pedal strokes I just focused on having a slightly lower gear and turning the legs with rhythm to create power - working at just short of 195watts and averaging around 31kph I posted my best single lap time, and on a dry day I would have shown more bravado! I started to lap a couple of competitors and kept myself between the leaders of the middle aged pack. Watched the Elite Guys & Gals zip past me and was pleased to see Physioheath Team had few in the running for a medal.

Same plan as my run to work hard in the middle of the 4 laps and real fuel bottom of the 3rd lap, and conserve some energy coming into transition.

By now my hands were frozen, shoulder was giving me cramps from the bike, and my calf started to cramp a little from the cold. Again a little fumbling getting into my shoes and I couldn't get my helmet off!! Seriously it was stuck! I wrestled with getting feeling in my hands to try and press the clip - the thought of just running the 3km in it briefly crossed my mind.

Plenty of smiles even in the cold! 

Coming out of the transition I wanted to get my running legs back and the trail leading out is tight with little chance to overtake, put pacing with a guy gave me this opportunity as the road widened out I took my chance and pushed on - the right knee that I tend to favor was now showing some soreness and I couldn't seem to get into long strides due to the cold and cramps - instead just moving the legs in short sharp steps. As expected I started to chase down a few runners in this final push.

Passing Grant Cosgriff from Tri Victoria going in the other direction was a great boost! the little power house gave me the thumbs up as we smiled between the rain drops. Again near the turn around point another Physioheath Team mate and I crossed paths and we gave each other a little nudge to keep going.

Determined not to be over taken by anyone else and hold if not improve my position was the goal for the last 1.5km and keep my pace at 4.30 really helped.


The mark has been set - official times I will update the blog with but on reflection I looked to have shaved 4 mins from last year, set a 5km PB and know I still have areas I can get better in, along with the weather being a bit more race friendly. It was an exciting start to the year of racing, and this series is a great builder into the Spring & Summer.

Huge Thanks to my supporters:

• Super Wife & Z-Girl - getting out in the drizzle to take photos and cheer me on AMAZING! 
• Sommerville Sports AU - great cycling kits, super positive company that is backing this blog 
• Physiohealth/ Tri Vic Team a soggy start but great team and recovery support on the tables, going to be a fantastic series can feel it, already collecting medals! 
• Ivan - this guy has been on the early morning rides in the winter and pushed me to go faster on our runs 

#duathlon #physiohealth #sommervillsportsau #forher #dadathlon

Brand Ambassador Sommerville Sports AU

You've heard me mention them before on here, and I'm super stoked that I have recently become a Brand Ambassador for Sommerville Sports AU.

This slick Brooklyn Operation that landed on our shores of wide open spaces via the Captain Ivan are making a mark in the custom kit market place here in Melbourne & Sydney.

With a great eye for style and a product that oozes pro peleton quality it's great to be attached to this up and coming brand.

For more information click on the Sommerville Sports AU logo on the side panel of this blog, and stay tuned for kit and product reviews.

If you're after any more information or designs and costings (5 piece minimum order) get in a contact so we can begin the creative process!

Thanks again to Sommerville Sports both here in Australia and the USA Big Brother - going to be a great year on the bike!

Follow Sommerville Sports AU 
Instagram @sommervillesportsau
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sommervillesportsau?fref=ts

Physiohealth/ Tri Vic Duathlon Team 2015

Had some great news in the lead up to this years Brooks Duathlon Series; Physiohealth who support a range of athletic and sporting organisations have teamed up with Triathlon Victoria to enter and support a team of athletes from all walks of triathlon. From the elite, newby, returning superstar or dadathletes like myself.

I'm really honored to be accepted into the team starting on the 12th of July till end of September. Providing us with a great looking tri kit along with extra hours services during the series to assist with recovery and race prep.

For more information into products and service they can provide please click on the link on the side panel of this blog.

Thanks again to Rosie & the Physiohealth Team for the opportunity and looking for to the weekend and the start of the 2015 racing calendar.

Sommerville G-Funk Transfer

Post Ride posing! (from Rosie Price Collection)

" My little human alarm clock had me up an extra hour earlier than I needed at 4am so I was glad to have prepped the night before; cranking the coffee machine to "Super Awake Mode" required an extra effort "

The lads at Sommerville Australia had planned an epic journey to Geelong for anyone brave enough to make the trip. 80km that took in some of the World Champs Course hill climbs along with some fantastic open and quiet roads perfect for a big group ride.

My little human alarm clock had me up an extra hour earlier than I needed at 4am so I was glad to have prepped the night before; slipping into my kit and cranking the coffee machine to "Super Awake Mode" required an extra effort. The lack of drinking the night the before certainly made sleeping easier and waking that little less disruptive.

A quick roll into Ivanhoe to catch-up with Sommerville Australia Ivan on the donut collection from the well equipped Benjamin's Cafe; this guy is the business! he'd been up that morning while I was soothing a baby and had baked donuts! Crazy Guy, Good Chef! Benny poured us a nice little coffee (nothing like a double caffeine intake before 6am)

Not sure if I'm sharing these Donuts or Eating them myself!!! (Salvo Riders Sommerville Kit)

Train to Melbourne City was a definitely fuller than I expected at that time of the morning; and I was going towards the city not home from it. Southern Cross change over onto a very full regional line train; main space was taken up by the solid crew of cyclists who had heard of this epic event and wanted in.

With a group of at least 20 on board; and some having made the trip up from the other side of the bay (Mornington Cycling Club you get a shout out for the effort) Melb-Geelong leg of the journey was a great a chance to talk shop with other cyclists, knock back more coffee (That's 3 Cups before 8am, just saying) and of course donuts - them donuts! The attempt to lose some weight for the hills is not going as planned.

The elements weren't in our favour, and they aren't expected to be when you ride near the coast in July. But a light drizzle didn't stop us getting started. I floated up the front to chat to Curtis who as leading the ride, a new Geelong native having moved from Melbourne - I had ridden with him once before a slight of frame fella who can be a scary customer on the climbs generating some great nudge with those legs.

" You feel that metallic taste in the back of your throat which reminds you, you're at capacity but not quite at fail point "

I always think a big social group ride is best planned to be hard early and easy later, essentially as the ride grows longer the route gets flatter; it means when we're fresh we attack the hills and as we get further down the road we can saddle up in pairs and have a good chat.

Sommerville had this mix just right! Challambra Crest is a wicked suburban climb, used in the World Champs Course, back in vogue for the Cadel Evans Road Race it has a nice steady rolling build up and then just ramps hard, pinching at the top - it's the sort of medium length climb where you go looking for gears and know you've maxed out - you feel that metallic taste in the back of your throat which reminds you, you're at capacity but not quite at fail point. The quads turn and the legs burn and then its OVER! PHEW!

 
A re-group at the top had everyone blowing; a few may of had too much donut, or maybe even not enough, but at less than 5km in that really woke us up!! - from there it was on out the back towards Torquay, taking in Cape Otway & Hendy Main Roads; just great silent patches of rolling countryside with only the spinning wheels of a big group to worry about.

A few gradual climbs and the standard flat tyre did string the group out a little; which was bound to happen but we kept a great leading group of 12 or so together - regrouping when we could to spin our way into Torquay - the cold was getting to my feet but certainly not my spirit - with good company you can't be worried about a little chill air.

Re-grouping at Growlers in Torquay, caffeine up and some rice cakes from my back pocket meant I had plenty in the tank for the relative short 25km return to Geelong - facing a potential headwinds up Horseshoe Bend Rd, a tight group of 6-8 of us got up front and worked well rotating the front markers to put on what I thought was a good pace back to Geelong.

The knee started to feel the final 3 km's and the head started to think about the warm train carriage so not clocking up a three figure KM wasn't an issue, as I think 80km in those conditions was certainly just the right amount.

" The cold was getting to my feet but certainly not my spirit - with good company you can't be worried about a little chill air "

Regional Trains have a habit of not running as often as their city counter parts; and missing the train by 10mins made me grump a little; but talking with the group meant the time passed pretty well - only real shame was the messing around and not everyone able to get on the first train that turned up, sucked leaving some of the group behind after a great days riding - but these little negatives never outweigh the super positives of the day.

It was home on the iron horse, and then a quick (due to a dead Garmin not recorded) quite possibly the fastest ride home from Clifton Hill to finally see the Super Wife and Z-Girl. With Super Wife off to a party I had the couch to myself and my over ridden legs along with Z-Girl. Nothing beats extra carbs, herbal tea and the Tour de France on the Telly box to finish off **


** But I do feel a cold coming on  ..... dammit!

Get your hands on the new Sommerville Australia Official Kit - Orders need to be placed ASAP
Order here: www.sommervillesports.com.au/shop












#sommervilleAU #forher #stravaproveit #dadathlon #ridewithme #sommervillesports

Tour de Event (July Training Plan)

 I can feel the start of something happening this month; event dates are being confirmed and the training doesn't feel like it's for nothing at the moment.

July is a big month for events, the first Duathlon is on the 12th of July which is a great marker to see where I am regarding fitness, transitions and overall improvement from last year. It was these events by Tri Vic that really kick started this love of multi-sport and challenges.

I'd like to try and compete in at least 3 of the 4 Duathlons this Series, which is basically one a month till September, I think they are affordable ($55) and the dates fit well around current upcoming running events. Can't imagine I will win the series or even place in my age group but if I can stick a good time along with enjoy myself with a few new friends I've made so far on the journey then it's all worth it.

Next up is the Sommerville Sports Australia Geelong Ride; as mentioned in previous post Fresh Kit Review  I'm a big fan of their custom kits and lucky enough to get an invite to their group rides. This one is bound be great with a train ride to Geelong from Melbourne and then spin down to Torquay and back taking in some great hill climbs that featured in the Cadel Evans Road Race last year - will be a tough 80km on Saturday so I've backed off the legs the last two days to make sure I'm fresh for this one. a group ride on the day the Tour de France starts is just a great way to celebrate cycling's most prestigious event!

Run Melbourne 10km is a family affair on the 26th of July; with the wife fearing she would get FOMO (fear of missing out) is a late starter, she clocked in her first 5km run last week just 16 weeks since giving birth, which I think is a pretty fair effort. Z-Girl will also be joining me as we attempt to knock over this together with her in the Pram ideally I'd like to finish this one side by side with the wife, even if it means backing off a little and not trying to gun down other runners.

With all this in mind along with eyes looking forward to the Half Marathon and needing to start to get some training runs in July is going to be a real balancing act of Fitness/ Rest/ Health. It's getting cold I can already feel a little cold coming on, the nose is runny and the throat is a little horse - super important to stay healthy as well as rested to make sure I can complete and put in some good times. I have something BIG on for 3 of the 4 weeks of this month.

To keep up with the rat race I've made sure I'm foam rolling every night when I've ridden or run - no excuses! even if it's just for 10 minutes before bed, if I feel a little extra sore I'm wearing compression leggings to bed at night to help with the recovery process. Adding in vitamins to my daily in take, trying to boost my immune system and red blood cells I'm taking:

• B Complex
• Multi Vit
• Iron 
• Zinc

The biggest change for me this month is Beer; I've cut back to nothing! I did notice that it's a charity month of Dry July, but this isn't the reason - in fact I didn't even know about it. I'm looking to make sure I'm fresh and ready to go this month and taking a back seat to the Friday 4 beers and the Saturday 6 beers and sometimes a scotch before bed is going to make sleeping better and early starts easier. To go with that I'm making sure I drink more water and herbal teas.

This is a big move on the no booze, I'm not a heavy drinker but a consistent sipper of a couple during the week and a few on the weekend. Also it's my birthday this month so that's the sort of sacrifice I'm willing to take!

My training plan has changed slightly, still riding to work but wanting to get more running KMs in the legs so running to work once a week will give me an average of 15km per week of running, Resting on Monday's and going for a long ride on Friday mornings on the chances I don't group ride Sunday due to the weather. The parkrun group run on Saturday's is back as a family thing and it's great motivation to have super wife with me.

Did I mention the Tour de France starts this month? Late nights, inspired dreams of peletons and mountain climbs.

Of course full reports of each event will be posted up as this month starts - Can't wait! Super excited about it!

Training Plan:
Mon - Rest Day
Tues - Long Run Day (Running to work 11km)
Wed - Recovery Ride to Work
Thurs - Ride to Work
Fri - AM Long Ride 40km
Sat - Parkrun/ 5km
Sun - Group Ride

Events:
Sommerville Ride Geelong 4th July
Duathlon 12th July
Run Melbourne 10km 26th July

#forher #tdf #dadathlon #duathlon #trivic #sommerville

Running Season

The leaves have fallen off the trees and the chill factor has definitely hit Melbourne; most mornings the temperature gauge struggling to get above double digits.

Running Season.

So long as it's not raining I find I enjoy the chill factor of running in this weather; I don't over heat and as long as I have the right gear on (hat and some gloves) I find I can really get the legs turning.

More importantly in the past two weeks Super Wife has gotten her grove back, the one person that really inspired me to take up more running was her. Watching her cross the finish line at the Brighton Marathon (England) was a real eye opener, the joy in her face, the buzz she had and the feeling of accomplishment after all those hours on the treadmill and running around the parks in Southampton paid off.

I wanted that feeling, so I turned to her parkrun group as she got pregnant and couldn't run as much and started off slowly and now I couldn't imagine NOT running now. It's taken 3 months since the birth of Z-Girl but she has slowly gotten back to running 5km - it's great family activity we can both enjoy compared to my rugby matches.

It's a great feeling to have the three of us out on the running paths together at parkrun this weekend just gone; I've taken to pushing the pram around with what I thought was good success; knocking out a 25:41 over 5km and put in some nice splits to go with it.


With the Duathlon around the corner and Run Melbourne 10km also now only 4 weeks away; not to mention the Sommerville Geelong Ride this weekend it's an action packed couple of weeks.

The wife has signed up for the Half Marathon in Oct with me which will be great and gives me another training buddy; and with all the stress of being a parent I know sometimes she doesn't have the energy so it's great if I can do the reverse and motivate her. Super Wife is also keen on the Run Melbourne 10km at the end of July as a tester.

So it's officially running season! I need to make sure I'm getting a longer run in when I can as well as short one over the weekend with the family. I tested my endurance and route by running to work this week - with a good distance of 10-12km I can make it as hard or as easy as I like and really pushed me even going at a steady 6:10 per km.


With my monthly training plan now coming up for review again (will post it in the coming days) I need to look at ways of adding more with out losing evening time with Z-Girl. I have certainly found I'm more productive with my training early in the morning than I am in the evenings and so will factor this in; along with upping my KM's on the bike and running legs - not quite ready to add in swimming till August at the moment but need to make sure I'm leaving plenty of adaptable space to add it later.

I've rested more this month and gotten back to recovery; also given alcohol the boot which has helped with the early rises and even the bank balance $$ ca-ching!

#forher #runningblog #dadathlon #parkrun #trilife