Friday, January 9, 2015

10 Beer PB; and 2015 Event Goals

You've got to have goals.

Life Goals, Athletic Goals even goals of things you want to do to your house (so I've been told)

My wife and I like goals, personally I like a good list! A to do list, but not one that's put in a draw one that's on the bench top and crossing things off.

So as the clock ticked over into 2015 I started thinking
a) How the hell am I going to perform at Parkrun in the morning after 10 beers *
b) What can I achieve as a Parent-Athlete

So I started drafting up a few ideas, and I always find myself adding and subtracting to this list as the year goes along.

I've got the new born arriving in March Little Mr or Miss will no doubt will keep me off the training track for a short spurt and I have to keep in mind my wife also wanting to get her running back on track.

I have one more event coming up at Elwood Beach and then I'm finished for the year (that and the odd bit of rugby training, yes I'm attempting to play at least 1 game this year). Its been a good start I would have completed 2 Triathlons and Dualathlon and cycling mountain climb event - but I want more!

So here it is.
  • 10km Pram Push at Run Melbourne (Jul)
  • Compete in Tri-Vic Dualathlon Series (4 Races Aug-Oct)
  • Melbourne Half Marathon (Oct, my wife's come back race)
  • Domestique Lake Mountain Ride Event (Nov)
  • Gatorade Triathlon Series (5 Races Dec - March)
Added to these events I'd like a few little personal fitness attempts.
  • Ride 100km in a day
  • Attend Parkrun regularly (I can be a little lazy at 8am on a Saturday morning)
  • Complete a double and triple lap of Parkrun one morning
  • Run my own marathon, on a road, on my own.(mainly as I can't afford to pay $90 for the privilege of a closed road)
Now it starts I've put it in writing and signed up for it - it won't be easy to squeeze in the training runs so I've got to be smart with my plan, riding to work helps and running with the wife will certainly help. It's all about planning preparing.

I'm looking forward to the journey, the kid being there and setting a good healthy life example to little human who won't really care so long as I wipe its butt and feed it. (its the thought that counts, and the photos on instagram)

* For those wanting to know, after consuming 10+ beers the night before I went to Parkrun on what was a warm morning in and around the 25C mark and ran a PB! 22:18 .... new training plan, smash 10 beers with your buddy, stay up till 1am talking with pregnant wife brings success!!!

It started with a bike ride

Looking back retrospectively it really did start with a bike ride and a book. 

My wife had tackled a marathon before and as she jokes I've played every sport there is, which not quite true but yes before my hair started to fade off my head I had successfully been a high school basketball champion, baseball, cricket, soccer, aussie rules football and some golf as well. 

I like sport! I like playing, I like the challenge of learning something new and I like the people you meet the places you play. It solves all my problems, it makes me forget about some of previous dead-end jobs or overpowering bosses. 

But as I walked off the field from my new found sporting fling, RUGBY. Which has a small family history being part British and all. We had just lifted the Premiership Shield and I was stoked at the effort it took, 4 seasons, lots of gym work - I'd put upwards of 10kgs on my more athletic built frame through hard work in the gym, eating right and training real hard I knew then and in the back of mind that organised sport, with organised training times was never going to work being a Dad. 

So what's a guy to do .... I'd grown to love rugby but this may of been my last full season, and maybe for the better, my back didn't hold up well and I hid a shoulder injury through the last part of the season just to get into the final. 

Well I started riding my bike to work, just a lazy 20km round trip and then I went down to my local Parkrun Group and started jogging 5km and lastly I read Ultramarathon Man. 

And then it hit me ...

Event. Running Events, no better yet Triathlon Events. 

No real club required, I train myself on my own time to my own plan. 

And it a short space of 3 months I was baby shopping while looking at the latest tri-suits on my phone - and the obsession started.