I love reading Dean’s blog posts as his enthusiastic and gung-ho attitude to life is so refreshing: http://diaryofaheadlesschicken.blogspot.co.uk/
The header of Dean’s blog
If you want to feel inspired by an ordinary guy who has some amazing adventures, I’d recommend that you read Dean’s blog.
I grew up in California but have spent the last year and a half in Texas. Last year, shortly after my 29th birthday, I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon before I turned 30. I signed up for a race (which will be here in just a few weeks), started training and haven’t looked back! I’m nervous but incredibly excited for the race and to meet my goal. I also don’t eat sugary foods or desserts. Some people are surprised to learn that I request fruit each year instead of cake on my birthday.
Whatever Floats Your Oats is about my experiences in fitness, healthy eating, training for races, hobbies and life general adventures.
I started reading blogs about two years ago and felt inspired to adopt more healthy habits – regular exercise, less processed food and more peace in my life. After receiving such great inspiration from others, I wanted to give back and share my experiences. I started my blog hoping to make a difference in someone’s life.
Are you still blogging for the same reasons?
Yes. I am so grateful for the help I received and want to inspire others to believe that they can make healthy changes in their lives too.
1)Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers – Peanut Butter Fingers is the first health and fitness blog I read. Julie’s enthusiasm for exercise was so contagious that I started working out regularly. She also introduced me to my favorite breakfast … overnight oats!!
2) Anne at fANNEtastic Food – I started reading Anne’s blog when I began working full-time and needed help balancing my life. Anne shares quick, healthy recipes and great tips for managing a healthy lifestyle with a busy schedule.
3) Janae at Hungry Runner Girl – Janae is such an inspiring runner. Her great attitude about life always makes me smile. As a new runner, I appreciate her tips on injury prevention, long run fueling and keeping training fun.
I love reading Michele’s blog at NYC Running Mama and Monica’s blog at Run Eat Repeat. Both have an honest, friendly style and combine helpful information with heartfelt sharing.
Informational and inspirational. I like learning from others’ successes and in turn, hope that readers can learn from my experiences.
My Dreaming Big post in which I announced that I want to run a marathon. This announcement came as a surprise to those who’ve known me for a while since I wasn’t a fan of running for most of my life.
Write about what is interesting to you. If you don’t like writing about your topics, reading the blog will not be as enjoyable.
Individuals trying to live healthy, happy lives. I also have a loyal group of family and friends who read my blog – thanks, guys!!
Are you writing with any specific person in mind?
Yep. I write to two audiences – my family/friends who want to know how I’m doing as well as anyone who is trying to stay fit and healthy in a busy world.
If it’s something that I would like to read about in someone else’s blog, I figure that it’s worth blogging about. I write about experiences that I think might help someone else.
I’m new to the running scene. Sometimes I’m hesitant to share my experiences because I’m afraid I’ll sound naive or inexperienced. I try to remind myself that everyone has to start somewhere.
Spend time with my husband, exercise and work.
A half marathon in June, 15K in September and half marathon in October.
Run a 10k in less than an hour and survive the marathon I’m hoping to run this coming spring.
What is your favorite exercise when you are short on time?
My Garmin Forerunner! I love that it tracks my pace, distance and overall workout time. I wouldn’t be able to do outdoor runs without my Garmin.
I traveled 3.5 hours for a special 10k race at the University of Texas.
Sure do! I love songs with catchy lyrics and a great beat. My husband helps me find fantastic running songs. Music is a necessity during hard workouts, especially songs with a strong beat. I particularly like hip hop and pop songs because I can zone out and keep pace with the beat of the music. At the moment my playlists includes songs by B.o.B., All American Rejects, Black Eyed Peas, Timbaland and Parachute. During races I love to listen to music but while training, I occasionally alternate between music and books/inspiring speeches. Sheri Dew is one of my favorite motivational speakers.
I want to run for the rest of my life. When I’m dealing with an injury, I remind myself not to push too hard – I would rather take a week off from running now than never be able to run again ten years down the road. I do struggle on and off with knee pain, especially if I increase my mileage too quickly. It’s gotten better now that I’m working on strengthening my hips and core. When my knee pain flares up, I rest, ice, foam roll/stretch and do lower impact exercises like walking and using the elliptical. I’ll also concentrate more on strengthening my arms and core so that I can give my knee a break.
Express love and gratitude each day!
Make time to take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual health. I am a better wife, sister, daughter, friend and employee if I take a little time each day to exercise, eat healthy and pray.
Be honest. It’s okay to write about a training run that goes badly or a day where you didn’t eat as well as you’d hoped. Someone else may need to hear that you are human too.
Definitely! Please follow me on Twitter (EmilyWFYO), Instagram (EmilyWFYO) and Bloglovin.
My next guest blogger is local photographic legend, ‘biggest loser’ and blinged up runner Jules Porter: http://julesporter.com/running/
Jules blog
My name is Julian and my friends call me Jules. I am a 51 year old photographer and I am a type 2 diabetic which means I need to stay fit and healthy to maintain my weight and the more I exercise, the more I can eat, so I exercise quite a lot! I have always struggled with my weight and I still do to this day.
An incredible photo showing Julian after losing nearly 100lbs © Julian Porter
I was brought up in a very sporty family, but never participated in any sports at all and it was not until I was 50 that I started running and racing and now I have become super competitive.
I have been blogging my business blogs daily since 2006 and decided to start this blog when I started running in March 2013. The idea is to track my races and training so that I can look back to see what I loved, what I hated and where I excelled… and so far I have not hated any of them. My reasons to blog are just the same today I still blog every race for a record.
Despite running several blogs myself I don’t really follow too many bloggers, but I do follow a few holiday blogs that I love, mostly Americans who are way over the top and one cooking blog, which is diabetes-related. I also read a few local blogs like Dean Jones running blog, but my style really comes from my other blogs. As with much of what I write, my blog style is very much “as I say it”. I am not an academic and type what I feel – simple 🙂 I write with my heart.
If you’re starting a blog then think about what you want to achieve first. A blog or “weblog” is simply that: a log or a diary, so think about posting things that you might want to look back on like race stats, weather etc. but also look at your audience and try to keep it interesting. For me, I try to do this with photographs.
An image from one of Jules’ most recent runs © Julian Porter
My audience would be my lovely clients who follow my running and hopefully a few running buddies. I know a few of them choose races that I blog about booking and I get quite a few comments on some posts which is nice. I have had non-running people call me and say, “that post about ……… inspired to start running”, and that makes me feel pretty good.
I blog every race – warts and all 🙂
I don’t really cover much about nutrition in my blogging, so it’s not really a challenge to me.
My blogging does not take up much time, I do it either early mornings or late night and other than that I run a lot and spend time photographing my amazing clients, which keeps me busy.
2014 will be an exciting year, I plan to do my first full marathon and work on my speed work much like I did earlier in 2013. I let that slide a little towards the end of the year concentrating on mileage, which I think was a mistake.
The one skill I need to master is marathon running. I have run 16 miles on my own several times but never raced more than 13.1, so that’s my new challenge. (On Wednesday this week, Jules completed a 22.5 mile marathon training run!)
I would like to ask the next featured blogger, “What do you get from blogging personally, is putting pen to paper enough or do you thrive on feedback?”
My favorite “running-related” gadget is my Garmin 620 watch. It’s amazing and has all sorts of information to help me become a better runner. It also allows Sue (Julian’s lovely wife) to follow me from her laptop and it allows me to upload my stats when finished.
Garmin Forerunner 620
I have travelled 4350 miles to run a half marathon in Disney Florida. It was amazing! I have booked to go to California this year to run a series of races and that’s 5400 miles, so getting longer!
Jules at the Disney Half Marathon © Julian Porter
I don’t listen to music when running.
Being a diabetic I have so many recipes that I love. We make a lot of meals together and all are clean and healthy. I don’t eat much processed food apart from cakes 🙂 I don’t really have a favourite, because it changes from month to month. I am a big curry fan for special occasions, but for daily food I cook a lot of brown pasta and brown rice meals
I am injured right now, so I see my physio at least once a week plus get a sports massage and I go to my gym and keep up my strength work.
I always put my socks on in order and I have a lucky penny sewn into my hat.
Smile and those around you smile.
If you are new to exercise take it easy and start with small challenges like the parkrun (5km) and build up slowly. Start running and don’t stop until you reach the finish. Hopefully the finish is a long way off.
I get an awful lot from my running and my blogging helps me remember the great races and fun times and I love it. I love getting feedback from all sorts of people.
I use Facebook and Twitter although I find Twitter very boring.
Please head over to Julian’s blog and check it out – you can be certain that it will be illustrated with beautiful photos!
This week’s interview is with Sandra from ‘A Promise to Dad‘. Sandra has been blogging about her life and training in Nebraska following the loss of her father in 2011. Sandra shares her adventures as a swimmer, cyclist and runner, including lots of lovely photos in the mix. I’ve been holding onto this fantastic interview for a while as I wanted to have enough time to do it justice, so apologies to Sandra. I hope everyone enjoys reading it 🙂
Thank you for interviewing me! I am honored.
I have lived in Illinois, Nebraska, Spain, and New Mexico, and am currently back in Nebraska again (for the last 18 years). I am a professional historian and currently a university professor, but people that meet me outside of academia have a hard time believing that. I never had kids, so I never had to “grow up”. I like that about me.
Growing up, I was never good at anything except softball, which I played from the 5th grade up until a couple years ago when I took up golf league instead (apparently no one wants a fat middle aged woman—even if she hits .750 and has a slugging average over a thousand). I always used to be fit and muscular—it’s hard not being that way.
I am married to an amazing man whose talents blow me away (botanist, musician, photographer, woodworker for starters). His two daughters accepted me with open arms, and one of them just had a baby. So I am technically a gramma now 🙂
In my spare time, I love camping, training for triathlons, kayaking, walking my dog, reading in the sunshine, writing, photography… basically being outside and/or being creative.
What would surprise folks? I have published 5 [history] books, the last two of which were award-winning books.
I started blogging because I wanted to be accountable to the “universe” about my road back to health. I was a caretaker for my Dad (with mom) as he sunk into Alzheimer’s, and a couple days before he died, I promised him that I would get healthy again. I couldn’t take it back.
I have had a lot of bumps along the road, some of them ridiculously frustrating, but the friends I have met along the way have been so encouraging! I have learned so much about races, training, food, diet, clothing options, online programs, and so much more. Mostly I continue blogging because I feel like it keeps me motivated to continue my training and because now I have lots of friends out in bloggyland that I would miss if I stopped.
When I have questions about training or injuries or whatever, I can just ask and lots of people respond with their suggestions and solutions. Sound ones that are tried and true by folks that have used them. Folks that I have grown to trust.
Finally? Because I learn about cool new devices and tools and groups to join for community!
Cult Fit
CultFit (http://cultfit.wordpress.com/): CultFit reminds me about staying grounded, true to myself, and honest about my intentions, goals, and accomplishments. And to find happiness.
Transventure
Transventure (http://transtri2.wordpress.com/): Andrew over at Transventure enjoys life, posts photographs of his adventures that remind me of my joy of being in nature, and reminds me that life is too short to not do what you love. Part of my post “What Can I Give Up” was inspired by his recent life changes.
Fit Recovery
FitRecovery (http://fitrecovery.wordpress.com/): While he is on a different track in life than I am, I find his posts motivating and encouraging. Plus, he understands what it means to reclaim his life—and his posts are filled with admonitions about getting it done.
Haphazard! I wrote a different blog before I started this one—it was all about my journey with my Dad. I wrote on that blog in order to keep my siblings posted about his progress into the disease, but I also wanted it to be an outlet for creative and very descriptive writing—a style I don’t get to do in my field. That blog has grown into my next book project for which I received a $4500 grant to write. It’ll be done by the end of this year.
I originally hoped that this blog would be an outlet for more creative writing, but I don’t seem to have as much time to devote to writing as I did then. So my posts feel really haphazard. I should work on that!
I have 69 comments on my “About Page” (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/about/), but I have 3 posts that are tied for having the most posts (from most recent to oldest) of 24:
Half Marathon (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/half-marathon/): I think it’s because I couldn’t do the half that I trained for due to injuries, but I was SUPER excited that I got to hand out race medals. My first volunteer stint at a race. Time to pay it back!
Momma (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/momma/): I took my mom in for knee surgery and it elicited a variety of comments—some of them were back and forths, so I am not sure if that qualifies!
Hannah (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/hannah/): This day we lost our sweet Golden Retriever quite suddenly. I posted my favorite photograph of her and, well, the loss of a family member evokes a lot of comments from people. Understandably—we love our four-leggeds!
Hannah © Sandra, A Promise to Dada
Have a distinct theme and stick to it. I should do that more 🙂
Wow, it’s overwhelming to see them all listed here! Apparently my words are motivational to other people. You see, I’m not a little person—I started this blog when I weighed 222 pounds, the heaviest I have ever been in my life. I’m happy to say that I don’t weigh this much any more.
I remember seeing the weight go up, starting in graduate school, and thinking “Well, it cannot go much higher than that.” And instead of doing something about it, they kept going up. I lost some weight a couple of times, but watching my Dad dying did something to me.
I think that my passion for life and working out has touched people on some very deep level, and in many different ways. I’m not any better than any other blogger out there—there are many FAR better than me—but it’s so amazing to be appreciated like this! It means so much to me.
I started writing this blog assuming no one would ever read it. Ever. Except for me. I have no idea where my followers found me, but I’m honored that they have. I realized that most of them were fellow triathletes or folks just fighting their own weight battles themselves. That’s who I’m writing for. I’m no expert, I’m just a girl who wants to live life fuller, longer, healthier!
My workouts are definitely blogworthy—I want people to know that I struggle, but I keep going. Sometimes I have other things to share that aren’t workouts, like my post on March 9 (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/what-can-i-give-up/). Even though it isn’t really about a workout, it is about reprioritizing—which in the end is about me being healthy, happy, and living longer. I want my blog to be motivational, but real.
Sandra on the bike trainer and her partner on the treadmill ©Sandra, A promise to Dad
Finding the time to do it during the busy parts of my year!
Oh, and it’s really hard to blog about sports and health when I cannot do any sports because I’m injured! That just makes me feel sad. (http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/not-my-plan-again/)
Walk my bordippit collerier (flat coated border collie whippet cross), train, teach, grade papers/exams, go to too many meetings, kayak (my hubby built this kayak for me a few years ago: http://springrun.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/maiden-voyage-2/), work on my next books, and many other things!
Dulce © Sandra, A Promise to Dad
I signed up for Hickory Grove Aquabike in Colo, Iowa, in May (because I cannot run yet); and the WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon in Smithville, Missouri –just outside Kansas City (http://www.winforkctri.org/). It’s still open! You all should join me!
Notice I said I cannot run yet. I’m planning on being healthy for this July Triathlon, and I will walk the run if I have to—but I AM DOING IT! I also plan to sign up for the Olathe Women’s Triathlon in Olathe, KS (September); and am REALLY contemplating the RedMan Aquabike in Oklahoma later this summer.
Hills on my bike. I hate hills. And to get back to running.
What got you interested in Triathlon (or whichever sport you love)? What keeps you going?
Oh! I’d love to!
MILESTONES: When I did my first triathlon in 2008, it was pouring so hard that they cancelled the bike portion—but waiting at the end was a ring I had purchased to commemorate the event. I have never taken it off. I decided to buy a bead (Pandora style) for every event I have completed, and I get them from Milestones, because I like the owner. She answered my questions and was very personable. While it seems crazy, we sort of became friends via the internet. She started the Milestones Sports Jewelry Team—and if you sign up ($40, yes you, too, can join!– https://www.milestonessportsjewelry.com/whats-new-team-milestones-membership-p-4232.html), you get an awesome tech shirt and a discount on merchandise. But the best part is you get training programs from her team of experts which include former Olympians! BY the way, I have filled up an entire bracelet with race beads (several triathlons and 5ks, and a 10k from last August!)
Milestones logo
OGIO: Early last year when I was sidelined with a severe case of asthma, I started shopping online for a good triathlon bag. I landed at OGIO and while poking around, saw that I could apply to be an OGIO Advisory Board Member. So I applied. And they chose me! http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/ogio-advisory-board-member/. They sent me two amazing bags, then gave me 40% discounts on orders! Needless to say, I’m OGIO-fied! 🙂
SWEAT PINK: Thanks to YOU, I applied and was accepted as a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I think part of my application that they appreciated was that I helped a student start the Triathlon Club at my college and got a math professor and a staff person to do a women’s triathlon with me—their first! Since then, they have continued to compete in Triathlons around the region! I’m so proud of both of them. The best part? I get to hand out hot pink shoelaces to people who inspire me or have been inspired by me! I LOVE that!
Sweat Pink laces
OMG. I LOVE MY GARMIN 910xt!!! I am a stat freak because it is SO motivating to me. I had a 205 about 10 years ago, then upgraded to a 310xt (giving the 205 to mom, which she still uses—although she just told me she has never uploaded the data to her computer. Whaaaaaat?????). I use the Garmin swimming inside and outside, on my bike inside and outside (with the cadence sensor), walking and running inside and outside (with a footpod), and kayaking, sailing, hiking, whatever. I LOVE that thing!
I’m sure I’ll say I love the GoPro Hero 3 too, but it’s been TOO miserable where I live to use it outside. I will take it to the pool this week to check my swim mechanics, though. Here’s a GoPro video in doubletime—my bikeride December 30, 2013: http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/a-december-ride/.
This one! I was supposed to run it, but I developed plantar fasciitis while training for it last fall. I’ve been sidelined ever since. Since I had already purchased our plane tickets, we went anyway! We hit the one good weekend in the entire month of January in Texas. LUCKY! Before that? It’s been five hours to North Platte, Nebraska, for the James O’Rourke Triathlon. It’s an awesome one in April every year. They have the Platte River Series that encourages Nebraskans to get fit and stay healthy! Motivational speakers the night before the race tell such awesome stories, well, you just have no choice but to sign up again the following year! I’ve done it two times. Here’s the heartwarming story of my first one three years ago: http://promisetodad.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/race-report-orourke-memorial-triathlon/
Funny that you ask. I haven’t listened to music while training for a long time—probably since last spring. If I’m on the treadmill or trainer, I usually watch a movie or TV show (also Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Daily Show, and Colbert Report, among others)—they keep my mind away from the pain and tedium. When I first started training, I would listen to U2’s faster stuff, or The Gypsy Kings. Sometimes now I listen to Bluegrass (Folk Alley, find the app on your i-Device)—mostly because I don’t listen to music on the radio and therefore I have no idea what new music is out there. I even listen to NPR when I am at the gym on the bike, treadmill, or elliptical (this tells you I’m at the gym when the news is on really early in the morning!)
· What’s your favourite food/recipe?
Pizza. Anything with Chocolate. Popcorn. New Mexican food. Recently I’ve discovered Zesty Quinoa Salad (we add avocados). MmmmmM! It’s waiting for us in the fridge for weekly lunches! Homemade pizza tonight! 🙂
Oh dear me. I hate being injured. I research the injury online, ask everyone I know how they’ve dealt with it, and then usually make a stupid decision to keep training.
Last year I had tennis elbow—which kept me from swimming and bicycling until April (note O’Rourke Triathlon is in late April—I was not prepared).
I finally healed and was slammed with the worst case of asthma I had ever experienced (I’m still trying to learn how to manage it—I was just diagnosed with it in 2009). I had to stay inside—couldn’t do the Color Run I signed up for in May.
By June my asthma was gone and I had a bike wreck and partially separated my shoulder. Not only was kayaking out, so was biking, swimming AND golfing. FINALLY got over that by late September then BOOM!
Plantar Fasciitis. By that point, I was so frustrated. I researched online and asked my readers what I should do. I vaguely remember most people said, “run through the pain.” They probably didn’t, but people hear what they want to hear. I kept running on that pain from October until Thanksgiving. My sister and I did a Turkey Trot and when I got home, I could not walk. I was done. The Physical Therapist said, “You should not have run through the pain—it will now take MUCH longer to heal.”
Lesson learned. Now I’m going to Dr. Leon at Sport and Spine—he does Active Release Therapy. He said I’ll be back to running in two weeks because I have stayed off my foot! Phew! I’ll be ready for the WIN for KC Women’s Triathlon after all!
I used to do them in softball all the time, but I used to win all the time in softball. I’ve only recently moved up to the middle 1/3 in my age group for Triathlon. So I see no use for them. My goal is to keep racing until I am the only one left in my age group—then maybe I can win first place! THEN I’ll have a ritual! 🙂
Live, laugh, love, and be outside!
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF—IF YOU DON’T, WHY SHOULD ANYONE ELSE?
[I also like: You’re the biggest obstacle in your own success]
Every day I can do something physical is a day I should do something physical. There will come a time I cannot. I never want to look back and think, “Why didn’t I at least go for a walk that day?”
I’m trying to simplify my life, so I’m fading away from FaceBook and refuse to begin Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Scoop it! I am not on Bloglovin, but if anyone wants to join me at Strava (Sandra “Yakkergirl”) or Garmin Connect (yakkergirl), please do!
Thank you so much to Sandra for agreeing to be interviewed – please go and check out her great blog 🙂
My next guest is the brilliant Rikki from Rikki Rants.
• Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m originally from Essex, but moved to Southampton for University and never left! I am currently studying a PhD part-time, while working as a Teaching Fellow. I study and teach computer science, so am a bit of a geek. (Rikki is being quite modest – he is super intelligent and can answer any computer-related questions that I have posed, as well as helping me with WordPress from time to time!)
• What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I am half-Swedish, I am from Essex (I don’t really have the stereotypical accent) and I enjoy writing computer programs in my spare time.
(There may not be many famous Swedish runners, but you may recognise Bjorn Ulvaeus from Abba who completed the Stockholm marathon in 3:23:54).
Super Trouper: Bjorn (nearest camera, with headband) en route to a fine time in the 1980 Stockholm Marathon.
Originally, I expected my blog to be a place for me to vent about things that annoyed me, but the more I wrote for it I found it more as a platform to share knowledge and opinions. When I find something new out, work out how to fix something or see, hear or read something I enjoy, I try to make time to blog about it to share that information with the world.
• When and why did you start blogging? Are you still blogging for the same reasons?
I had avoided blogging for a long time. I didn’t really see the point, as most of the things I wanted to say were quite brief and didn’t seem worthy of a blog post. Also, as a naïve young geek, I didn’t like the blogging systems and thought I could make my own better one, before I discovered that there’s not enough time in life to rewrite everything from scratch!
When Twitter started taking off, it was basically perfect for me. 140 characters was a little restrictive for me, but it made it acceptable to publish short, transitory thoughts and opinions. After a couple of years of tweeting, I eventually pined for space to write more, so compared a couple of blog platforms and ended up setting up a WordPress account.
• Which three blogs/bloggers have had the most influence on you and why? Are there any particular bloggers that you look to for inspiration?
If I’m honest, I don’t really read any particular blogs religiously. I come across a lot of blog posts when trying to solve problems in my job, so I guess I’ve been influenced by all the bloggers who have ever bothered to share what they know. I’m also a bit of a fan of my colleague Dave Millard’s blog (Fixed in Growing Headlights), as his blog posts seem to be a grand culmination of a lot of thought about a subject, which I envy.
• How would someone describe your blogging style?
• Which of your blog posts has generated the most discussion and why?
Unfortunately none of my blog posts seem to generate that many comments. Most of the comments are from me, either as additional notes or in reply to other people’s comments. The most I’ve had is on a post about having my Twitter account hacked, and another about barefoot trail shoes. Most of the comments were people offering me advice about what to do.
• What tips would you give to anyone thinking about starting to blog?
Find time to write. I struggle. I find I have lots of ideas that I start drafts for, but never get round to finishing, which doesn’t sound so bad but is frustrating because they tend to become less relevant as time goes on, so there’s often no point finishing them. I haven’t figured out how to blog something that I should have blogged a long time ago!
• Who do you think the main audience is for your blog? Are you writing with any specific person in mind?
In much the same way as I treat my Twitter and Facebook posts, I mostly write to get something out of my head, but with a slight awareness that my friends (people I study with, people I work with, people I play football, play tennis or run with and others I have picked up along the way) are the most likely people to read it.
However, I also hope (and have observed to some extent) that the audience that will find my blog most useful are those that search the web for a question that I happen to have answered.
• How do you decide what is ‘blogworthy’?
I don’t really make an explicit decision. At least, I don’t think I’ve ever made the decision not to write about something because it’s not worthy. Essentially I write about things that interest me, and that I think at least one other person would learn from if they read it. There is also an element of whether I have time to write the whole post – if it’s too long, it won’t get written!
• What do you find most challenging about blogging about sports?
I am fearful of giving bad advice. I certainly cannot classify myself as an expert in any of the sports I do, despite having done them a long time. I therefore try to only give opinions, unless I can back it up with quality evidence.
• Two weeks ago, Liz posed the question ‘Do you try and blog every day or just when you remember?’
Unfortunately I don’t have time to blog every day. If I did, I’d be worried that it would dilute my blog; Twitter is the place for short thoughts. I only blog when I there is something that inspires me to write about it straight away.
• What do you do when you aren’t blogging?
• What challenges/races/events have you got lined up for 2014?
I have a number of 10k and 10 mile races scheduled in the Hampshire Road Race League, and I’d like to improve my PBs in those distances from last year. Over the summer, I am considering attempting some middle distance running, and maybe even some sprinting. I’ve never really done it, and it will involve a change to my training, but I think it will be interesting.
• What skill do you hope to master over the next year?
I hope to improve my running technique, but as a core part of that I want to get stronger and more flexible. I think this is critical to avoiding injury and running faster, but the challenge is to integrate it into my life and training in a way that is sustainable!
• What is something you would like to ask the next featured blogger?
“What was your most memorable race or other sporting activity and why?”
• What is your favourite gadget and why?
I’m in computing: everything I own is a gadget! In general, my laptop as it’s let me do so much more while also sitting in front of the telly; however, it has destroyed my work-life balance. For running, it’d have to be my Garmin 405CX: my running has improved in leaps and bounds since having a way to easily monitor my progress.
• What’s the furthest from home you’ve travelled for a sporting event?
I think it must be when I went to Poland to run the Gdansk and Gdynia parkruns.
• Do you listen to music when training? What music motivates you?
Never! I think it’s important to be aware of your surroundings, especially when exercising (which is quite a distraction for your brain). Listening to music would make me less aware of road traffic, other pedestrians, dogs, bikes and other moving obstacles!
• What’s your favourite food/recipe?
Pre-race, a salmon and vegetable pasta bake with a cheese sauce, I’ll blog the recipe one day 🙂 At the other end of the spectrum, my top 3 junk foods are pizza, proper fish & chips, and baby back ribs!
• What is your strategy for dealing with an injury? Have you ever had to put it into practice?
RICE! (Not the grain! Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. – Tamsyn) From what I can tell, it’s almost universally advised by people who know more about injury than me. It is obviously frustrating to not run, when it is something you enjoy, but it really is the only way to not make it worse.
People also forget just how effective something as simple as elevating your leg (everyone has a chair, stool, bench or table they can use) can be in treating an injury. I even sometimes use a pillow in bed to prop up an injured foot!
• Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions?
I nearly always make a pasta bake the night before. I always have a Nature Valley chewy chocolate cereal bar an hour before the start, but that’s more because it gives me a bit of an energy boost, without filling my stomach too much. And it’s not very British to say, but I make sure I go to the toilet enough times: no-one wants to have to do a Paula! 😉 So not really rituals or superstitions, just practicalities of running!
• Describe your philosophy for life in a six word sentence…
Why can’t everything be better?
• What is the most important advice that you can give to readers?
Keep at it. Everything takes time. If you want to get better at something, you have to keep practicing at regular intervals. You can’t get better (at anything, this means cognitive and physical activities) by cramming in a day, even if you did for 24 hours straight. So get into a routine, do a little bit often, and you will get better!
• Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Tamsyn’s great! Read her blog 🙂 (I didn’t have to bribe him to say that – honestly!)
•I’m surprised that you haven’t mentioned you love for your unusual running shoes…
I’ve begun to realise that I’ve worn the Vibrams for so long now that they no longer seem like a unique thing that identifies me, and is just so normal to me!
• Aside from your blog, do you have any other social media presence where you are happy to be followed?
Today’s guest blogger is James from ‘Running – one step at a time‘. I’ve known James for several years now. I met him through parkrun and have witnessed the impact that he has had on my local running community. He loves a new challenge and never seems to sleep!
James and his family in the Olympic Park Run
One of the changes that I’ve introduce to my blog this year is the inclusion of some interviews and guest blog posts. My latest guest is the brilliant Liz from http://operationfitandhealthy.blogspot.co.uk/
Liz has an incredibly positive outlook on life and manages to make the most arduous training session sound like a hilarious party. When I first mentioned to her about the possibility of writing a guest post, she responded with: “I must try to write something other than brilliant fun or great fun or even great great fun when talking about my training!”
• Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve lived and worked in Southampton for over 20 years, was a bookseller for 10 years at Dillons and October Books before joining No Limits back in 2001 as a volunteer and now nearly 13 years later I’m still there!
If you’ve never heard of No Limits before, please check out their website. No Limits is an amazing charity which offers free and confidential information, advice, counselling, support and advocacy for children and young people under 26 who live in Southampton and Hampshire (my local area). When I was a teacher, I regularly referred my pupils to this great charity.
• What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
You know what, I have no idea to be honest! [It’s not a surprise to anyone who knows Liz, but I was surprised to discover that Liz is a ‘Cheesehead’… despite being terribly English, Liz just loves American football and is a huge supporter of the Green Bay Packers].
• How would you summarise what your blog is about?
An encouragement tool for myself to keep going!
• When and why did you start blogging? Are you still blogging for the same reasons?
I wanted to lose weight and get healthy so signed up for the Great South Run (10 miles) in 2011 – in May 2011 realised my training had so far consisted of eating chocolate and drinking red wine. I’d read somewhere that you’re more likely to succeed in your goals if you enlist the support of friends/family so thought a blog would be a very public way for me to get that support.
• Which three blogs/bloggers have had the most influence on you and why? Are there any particular bloggers that you look to for inspiration?
I find blogs very inspiring – I’m currently following you (Tamsyn) and the Vegan Food Quest – the blog of a good friend who’s upped sticks with her fella and moved to se.asia for awhile.
• How would someone describe your blogging style?
Conversational.
• Which of your blog posts has generated the most discussion and why?
The post after a big event – so the day after the Great South Run was very popular.
• What tips would you give to anyone thinking about starting to blog?
Just do it – it’s a great record of your achievements. Also set up your email so you can email new posts directly to your blog
• Who do you think the main audience is for your blog? Are you writing with any specific person in mind?
Friends and family to keep them updated with how I’m doing. Also I like the fact that friends/family have seen such a huge change in my fitness and body shape in a relatively short space of time and are now getting more active themselves.
• How do you decide what is ‘blogworthy’?
Anything to do with my training or events.
• What do you find most challenging about blogging?
To remember to blog consistently!
• What are you doing when you aren’t blogging?
Pottering about my flat, watching TV, training, working and drinking tea.
• What challenges/races/events have you got lined up for 2014?
Excited for 2014 – Brighton Half Marathon 16/2/14, then the Portsmouth duathlon series (one race in March, April & May) sprint triathlons – 1/6 in leatherhead and 29/6 in Eastleigh. Weymouth standard tri in July and the Weymouth half ironman in Sept. Plus any aquathlons, other duathlons, any 10k’s I quite fancy and of course as much running for LRR as I can. I especially enjoyed the RR10’s last year that I did.
• What skill do you hope to master over the next year?
Get much better at swimming
• What is something you would like to ask the next featured blogger?
Do you try and blog every day or just when you remember?
• What is your favourite gadget and why?
I do like a stopwatch so I can see how long I’ve been out.
• What’s the furthest from home you’ve travelled for a sporting event?
About 80 miles for the Ashtead 10k but it is where I grew up so able to combine with visiting friends/family.
Liz modelling an Ashstead 10k tshirt ©Liz Carter
• Do you listen to music when training? What music motivates you?
I used to listen to music but don’t really anymore – probably because I need decent sports headphones and I managed to drown my mp3 player when it got utterly waterlogged thanks to a huge downpour last year when I had to wring my bag out!
• What’s your favourite food/recipe?
Chocolate.
• What is your strategy for dealing with an injury? Have you ever had to put it into practice?
Rest. I have been to physio – it was good, but really hurt – in fact the physio did say to me “Liz – treatment hurts”. I also try and have regular massages and have bought a foam roller, but have only managed 32 seconds so far as it also really hurts!
• Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions?
Not really except having to have a pee
• Describe your philosophy for life in a six word sentence…
Try and enjoy it if possible!
• What is the most important advice that you can give to readers?
Just keep going so ultimately it becomes your lifestyle choice
Teri is one of my friends who is training for her first marathon and blogging about the experience: http://gingergirlrunning.wordpress.com/
Giner Girl Running website © Teri Pragnell
• Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a 40-something mum of 2 small children and I love to run. I also swim and cycle, taking part in my first triathlon and a half marathon in 2013. This gave me huge sense of pride as I am not confident in water out of my depth and was terrified of lake swimming.
Teri had a full team of supporters at her first aquathlon
I started running in 2010 to do Great South Run to raise funds for a local charity, Friends of PICU (Paediatric Intensive Care Unit), to thank them for saving my son’s life. I intended to stop once GSR was over, but I got the bug. I may not be fast, but I love it. I love running with my club (Lordshill Road Runners) and getting to meet new friends. I never thought I would do a marathon, but here I am training for London, the biggest marathon in the UK, if not the world… and for the same charity that started my running journey.
• What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I have a First class Honours Degree in Maths… I forget this too! (This is something that I didn’t know and now I feel even more embarrassed that on our last long run, I may ahve mentioned my inability to explain the basic maths on an online course that I’m involved with – oops!)
• How would you summarise what your blog is about?
My blog is about my marathon journey – both training and experiences getting to the finish line!
• When and why did you start blogging? Are you still blogging for the same reasons?
I started a blog to learn how to use WordPress (I wanted Teri to help with one of my many projects, so I guess I’m to blame!) Then when I got a place for London Marathon, I was asked to blog about my progress. So I started blogging properly in Dec 2013.
• Which three blogs/bloggers have had the most influence on you and why? Are there any particular bloggers that you look to for inspiration?
I have only read a couple of blogs, but ones that I enjoy are James (Running – One step at a time), Julian’s (JulesPorter.com/running) and yours. I don’t tend to read blogs of people I don’t know, unless a friend shares a blog of interest.
• How would someone describe your blogging style?
Factual – I’m still learning best way to write it.
• What tips would you give to anyone thinking about starting to blog?
I don’t think I am in a position to do this yet!
Teri and Meryl having a go at map reading
• Who do you think the main audience is for your blog? Are you writing with any specific person in mind?
Friends who want to follow my training and people interested from Friends of PICU.
• How do you decide what is ‘blogworthy’?
Anything related to my training – I think of it more as a diary.
• What do you find most challenging about blogging?
I think it might get a bit tedious after several weeks of repeating the same things, for me the writer and the audience.
• What do you do when you aren’t blogging?
Exercise or have family time. I also enjoy the “occasional” glass or two of wine.
• What events have you got lined up for 2014?
London marathon, Bramley 20, Eastleigh 10k, Reading Half Marathon, Eastleigh tri.
• What skill(s) do you hope to master over the next year?
Learning Agile development at work. Improving my cycling ability.
Garmin 410
• What is your favourite gadget and why?
Garmin forerunner 410 … Love to see my progress.
• What’s the furthest from home you’ve travelled for a sporting event?
Oxford to participate in Blenheim tri or Manchester to watch Man U play!
• What’s your favourite food/recipe?
A really good rare steak with pepper sauce. Hot chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.
• What is your strategy for dealing with an injury? Have you ever had to put it into practice?
Rest and ice, foam roll and do a different exercise. Get physio if a bad injury. I’ve had to do this twice in the past 18 months.
• Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions?
Go to the toilet … lots!
Posing before Stubbington 10k with Teri © Steve Robinson
• Describe your philosophy for life in a six word sentence…
Believe and you can do it!
• What is the most important advice that you can give to readers?
Make the most of all opportunities.
Self belief and confidence are the most important things to have if you want to succeed.
Set realistic goals.
© Chris Collins
I’ve been following Chris’s blog (http://nzmultisports.wordpress.com/) for several months now and was extremely flattered when Chris offered to be interviewed… I love it when anyone comments on my blog, so an offer to contribute in a greater way was really surprising and exciting!
Like me, Chris is a triathlete who came to the sport later in life, is in his late thirties and is losing weight. As one of his recent blog posts recalls, he had an amazing year last year, with some amazing highs (including getting married, starting a new job and losing 15kg [33lbs = 2st 5lbs]) as well as some devastating lows relating to injuries.
So, Chris, you’re originally from Birmingham, England – when did you move to New Zealand?
I moved to NZ at the beginning of 2009, and have always lived in Auckland. I had intended to be a tourist for a few months before finding employment, however I struck lucky early on and my first role was Auckland based, hence staying here. I chose New Zealand as an alternative lifestyle after having an opportunity to work overseas in 2007 and saw huge potential for life changes (both in style and approach), so spent 2008 largely gaining my Residency Visa.
I understand that when you aren’t blogging or training you’re a dog trainer and a data specialist – can you tell us a little bit more about these?
© Chris and his canine companion
Sure thing. One of the motivations for coming to New Zealand was giving back to community, and I wanted to do this as a dog handler in Urban Search and Rescue. One of the pre-requisites was to have some professional dog handling experience, and so I enrolled with Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour Therapists to gain this experience. Part of the course required me to create a company – Confused Canines – which I then applied towards rehabilitating abused and injured dogs from the racing greyhound industry.
I continue this now through the Hibiscus Coast Dog Training Club, based in Orewa by offering different levels of obedience training, tracking and behaviour therapy to domestic pets and their families.
The data side of things is what puts fruit and veg on the table. I’m a statistician by trade and have spent much of my time working in banking. Like a plumber, I am armed with a suite of tools and knowledge about those tools to apply them to various situations. These could be from building score cards which assesses customer suitability for credit cards, through to detecting and preventing fraud/financial crime, through to analysing behaviour to appropriately communicate to people in ways which is most likely to create inspiring conversations.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I have an ‘out there’ persona which would mean that if something unusual was learnt about me, most of my friends would say ‘im not surprised’. That said, the one key ability I have is a musical ear. I can pretty much pick up any musical instrument and within a few minutes play a tune on it. I’ve applied this skill to drumming in the army, Irish tin whistles in my old local pub (Sheffield), through to jazz saxophone, other brass and wind instruments and now more recently guitar. My neighbour (an enthusiastic pianist) quite likes this ability as it means we can jam with relative ease; and having another neighbour who can sing means we have some truly fantastic BBQs!
How would you summarise what your blog is about?
My blog is a journey about the highs and lows of my journey towards Ironman, where I hope to inspire others on their journey through exercise by offering my experiences and learnings, as well as those from others which I have found useful and inspirational.
You started ‘NZMultisports’ in March 2013. Why did you start blogging and are you still blogging for the same reasons?
That is an interesting question, and complex to answer! I started blogging to record the highs and lows of training as a motivator for whenever I felt low/uncommitted. In November 2009 I broke my spine in a rock climbing accident, the despair that comes from being told it’d be unlikely that I’d walk again, becoming afraid to do anything for the ‘what if’ scenarios, and the inevitable spiral into depression and other equally dark spaces.
With the culmination of everything that transpired after this injury, the turning point was somewhere in 2011 where I decided I was no longer prepared to be afraid any more. Life simply couldn’t be called living being that afraid. So with this in mind I started cycling and getting control of my life. Later, I would continue into my teenage passion, mountain biking, compete in The Dual and coming 41st in my age group, and about half over all. Did I mention it was 50km over a volcano? Oh well…
Thereafter, the psychological chains that were holding me back broke. If I could do this, I could do anything, and so set upon a journey of triathlon to see exactly how far I can go before my physical scars limit me. So far, I’m yet to find them.
I still intend to train for, compete and finish in full Ironman or 70.3 unless I either physically cant do it, or something more important comes my way; such as fatherhood.
Which three blogs/bloggers have had the most influence on you and why? Are there any particular bloggers that you look to for inspiration?
I have to say, that my friend and superior blogger Vera Alves aka Super Generic Girl simply must be in this top 3 list. When she writes, she does so like she talks. And its brutal, honest and funny! The fact she’s a complete nut-job running one of the hardest trail runs in the southern hemisphere helps too. www.supergenericgirl.com
Gianni at Velo Boutique often has lots of cool tips about cycling. And he happens to be the guru my besty Darren uses to get his bike tuned. Darren happens to be the most un-cyclist looking cyclist you can find. Tall, big belly, walks like a penguin. But damn, he can spin them pedals! http://veloboutique.wordpress.com/
Finally, I have to give credit to Rich Roll, ultraman, iron athlete, ex-alcoholic. While I don’t engage with his blog per se, I do follow him closely on Instagram and on his pod cast, and read his book. His situation, while unique, shares the same moments and thoughts to recovery and success for the path I walk on now.
How would someone describe your blogging style?
Haha, blunt I’d say! What normally happens is I think ‘damn, that was so amazing I have to blog this!’ and I end up writing 2 or 3 sentences, largely saying something ‘useful’ such as ‘this is awesome!’. Literacy isn’t my strong point. So to make up for my writing skills, I often stalk others and reblog their amazing stuff on mine.
Which of your blog posts has generated the most discussion and why?
Hmm, that’s an interesting question! I notice that people tend to engage more with the more emotionally wragged posts than the positive ones. I guess no one wants to hear ‘my race was sweet, no flats, was strong to the finish, and overtook a guy just before the finish line’!
Have a plan. The plan can be vague/generalist, i.e. exercise, but don’t deviate from the plan. Also, it is important to blog your lows as well as highs. Connect with people. Share stuff you find interesting. Don’t waffle. Post pictures – blogs are worthless without pictures of yourself!
Who do you think the main audience is for your blog? Are you writing with any specific person in mind?
The budding athlete, maybe on a health kick, life changes, aspiring runners, cyclists, swimmers, triathletes or anyone who wants to have a giggle at a fat(ish) guy in lycra. No really. I’m stunning in lycra.
How do you decide what is ‘blogworthy’?
If it strikes a chord, does something really well/badly, will be useful for someone else, or simply a record of me doing things (so I can reminisce in my golden years) it goes down.
What do you find most challenging about blogging?
My inability to put into words the feelings I experience. Guess I’m a typical male in that way. I wish I could fix that.
Well Cindy and I recently married (30 Nov) and we’re keen as chips to start a family. Not wanting C to have all the fun with Junior (name still to be agreed..) I’ve said to her that training continues as normal until baby comes along. Then we’ll see. So for now, it’s still game on getting the running faster and longer, the cycling still needs an aero bike, and I have to not be a floundering whale in the water. Game plan for 2014 is to do running and triathlon events with Auckland 70.3 for early 2015 or Taupo Ironman 2016. Oh, and to drop at least another 10kg.
What skill do you hope to master over the next year?
Run a sub 2 hr half marathon, swim 2km in sub 1hr (sub 45 min ideal) and be consistent on the bike.
What is something you would like to ask the next featured blogger?
When you’re in that pit of pain, what do you do to keep pushing through to the finish?
What is your favourite gadget and why?
I’m not sure it classifies as a gadget, but I do love my Specialized Tarmac road bike. Its comfortable, fast, looks sexy, and almost always gets me into the zone on the hills, where I can disassociate myself from the burn to enjoy the scenery and wildlife around me.
Not really that far – Auckland has some fantastic terrain that enables it to hold world-class events such as Ironman, through to arguably the best mountain biking NZ has to offer, and everything in between. Seriously, you can’t move for triathletes or stand up paddle boarders around here. So in reality its going to be sub 200km distance. I guess the most dramatic is Rangitoto Volcano though?
Do you listen to music when training? What music motivates you?
It depends. Generally, I don’t listen to music whilst cycling – its plain stupid and dangerous to do so unless you’re off road. Whilst running, if I’m pounding a given distance for a given pace, then absolutely and can recommend MotionTraxx.com for this. The music is largely electronica/dance/house music but the benefit is the sessions are designed for set paces; i.e. I tend to run at around 165 foot-strikes per minute, and finding the corresponding tunes to run at (they’re marked up and they tell you how fast they go at the beginning) means you can keep tempo really easily. This is especially useful for speedwork, or getting a little tired.
Immediately after my ankle injury, I found that listening to music didn’t really work for me; and that I struggled to enjoy the run. So for a while I went without any music. That was worse. So I went to spoken word, podcasts etc and that seemed to do the trick. These days, I’m happy running with or without; and interestingly tend to run faster without.
Chris and some dairy-free custard
So after the back injury, my doctor had told me to not lose weight as it would interfere and possibly make the injury worse (I had to wear a corset type thing which needed to remain tight to offer support). Obviously, I didn’t want anything to happen, so I hit the food hard. Next thing I knew, I was hitting in excess of 125kg and would get out of breath doing nothing. Something simply had to change. Exercise helped, and got me down a little bit. Wii fit, helped a bit more. And doing little bits here and there offered temporary respite. However nothing was consistent. I also often ignored my dairy intolerance, and used the ‘cleansing effect’ of dairy as a means for having extravagant foods the night before. The trade-off would be sweats, shakes and epic hangovers – even if no booze had been drunk.
During 2013 I’d lost about 10-15kg but plateaued around 110kg, and I just couldn’t drop below this magic number. That doesn’t mean to say my shape hasn’t continued to change, however. I simply couldn’t get lean. This Christmas, I’d eaten something which my body really didn’t like, and I felt like I had malaria! 3 days of being besty with the bathroom and I proclaimed that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Darren is a plant-based athlete, and had been extolling its virtues for a while. Rich Roll says it works. Durian Rider says it works. F*ck it – 30 days here we come.
Now here’s the kicker – I love the taste of meat and fish, and can’t think of anything better than sitting down to a rare sirloin with some chunky fries. But the sick, lethargic, worn-out feeling sucks hard. And so I’ve started this journey, attempting to be raw vegan as much as possible, and while at home this is pretty easy to do. Out at work is a little harder, but not impossible. The effect even in a short space of time (less than 2 weeks) has been dramatic. My weight charts look like a landslide, and im lighter than I have been for at least 5 years now, fitter than I probably ever have been, and feel so alive its incredible – I’m more alert, focused, can concentrate better, can multitask, recover quicker, don’t get hangovers, don’t feel ill, and generally feel like a cloud has been lifted from my mind. I’m not kidding; it is that profound. If you do nothing else. Do this.
My favourite meal at the moment happens to be anything with courgette (zucchini), aubergine (egg-plant) or beetroot, largely because our home garden is growing these with abundance right now. I can make this killer aubergine dish with garlic, ginger, palm sugar and sesame seeds. Its roasted (so obviously not raw vegan), tastes great and with a bit of coriander (cilantro), lime and fresh chopped tomato tastes almost like tom yum soup! Takes about 15 minutes and has less than 300 calories for a monster bowls worth.
Because I’m feeling so good, I’m strongly considering going plant-based on a permanent basis. Cindy is slowly coming to the idea. I guess she likes her steak more than I do!
I actually have to thank advances in Twitter for this one. Every day or so, it tells me whom of my followers have followed the same new follower, and I’m quite ‘with the herd’ on this one. So when I saw Brett (the guy behind the oat bars) had been followed, I did similarly. It was then through dialogue via twitter and then later asked if I’d like to apply to become a brand ambassador, did the magic happen. Thankfully, the oat bars are bloody tasty, and especially for running really fill the gap. They are packed full of goodness needed for athletes to be their best, are easily digestible (much more so than gels) and don’t give a massive kick like gels do. You can buy online, and im sure are available in most countries. They’re price competitive too. My only point of consideration, is that each bar kicks out over 300 calories, so don’t munch on them just because.
Bitch, moan and complain, haha! I am the worlds most stubborn, ADHD, obsessive patient. And I love proving nay-sayers wrong. But in all seriousness, I find that when injured, google is the worst invention ever, so listen to the professionals, but do remain sceptical. If diagnosis doesn’t sound right, get a second opinion. If treatment plan isn’t working, get a second opinion.
If you do find something is working, and you trust what you’re being told, do as much as you can and as often as you can – within your limits. Remember that most treatment plans are based on the ‘average person’ doing ‘not a lot’. Firstly, you’re not average, and secondly you’re likely to be doing a hell of a lot more than not a lot. Just listen to your body more, and stop when it tells you to.
Do you have any pre-race rituals or superstitions?
Not so much superstition, but I do have rituals, which are closely guarded 😉 The only thing I would say is I don’t panic come race day. The hard work and training has been done, I’m confident in my ability, so all I need to worry about is being prepared, adequate pre/intra/post race nutrition & hydration, and to enjoy the moment.
Of the three disciplines in triathlon, which do you find hardest and why?
Swimming. Firstly, I sink; like a lead rock. Secondly, it is by far the most technical aspect which requires significant practice (and annoyingly is at odds with running; a good runner kicks like crap because the ankles are too tight). And thirdly, I’m mega short-sighted and really am blind as a bat without my glasses on. If you can recommend swim goggle manufacturers that make pro-quality lenses that deal with myopia and astigmatism, please do let me know!
Describe your philosophy for life in a six word sentence…
Measure life by the legacy you create. Bugger, that’s 7 words.
A question from Jo (my last featured blogger) What is your biggest worry when it comes to triathlon?
Just making sure that I’m prepared and have planned my race, ensuring I remember where my transition point is and to eat and drink appropriately during the race.
On your blog you state ‘Training today benefits tomorrow’. Is there any other important advice that you can give to triathletes (or potential triathletes)?
An awful lot of people will attempt to suggest it is a stupid idea. Its only stupid if you believe them. Do not expect to be god-like in your first race. Do lots of pre-big-race races to get experience of what its like, dealing with adrenalin and thousand-yard stares, bonking, almost drowning, etc etc. Do this so that come you’re A-race, you know what to expect, have put the hours in, and are ready.
Is there anything else that you would like to add?
I’ve learnt through bitter experience that we simply do not have enough time on this planet to be unhappy. If there are aspects about your life which you do not like; do not hide or ignore them. Change. It wont be easy, and sometimes there will be extremely hard decisions to be made; but rest assured doing nothing will ensure no change will happen. Happiness is there for the taking; you only have to reach for it.
Aside from your blog, do you have any other social media presence where you are happy to be followed?
Click the above link to become a Training Peaks Ambassador
Click here for a discount at SportPursuit
Fat Girl to Ironman 