PERFORMANCE THROUGH PERSISTENCE

If anyone has had the pleasure to either be coached by or had a chat with my coach Dan Atkins they will gather pretty quickly that he is a firm believer in persistence. A motto that Dan swears by and one that the DAT crew hear often is 'performance through persistence'. Over the last month or two I have really come to understand what this motto is all about. Persistence is key, with not only training but recovery too.

As every athlete goes through a block of training they see their fair share of tough days. I have just gone through one of the toughest weeks ever. Not only physically but also mentally. Fridays stingers are a swim/bike session. Having a less then desirable swim session I find myself asking the same questions "what the heck is going on?" followed by "I cant do this, its too hard". Reluctantly I pulled on my cycling gear and decide its time for a change of attitude, also thanks to some motivating words from Dan. We head off to the DAT secret location where legs are burnt and souls are searched better wise known for its Friday 'STINGER', it is similar to the hill on the ITU JRN Devonport course, for those that have had the pleasure to ride over it. Once completing a number of reps to the satisfaction of Dan we head to the crit for 17 fast laps. Turning thoughts from 'I cant do' to 'I can' was the battle of the day. Being able to overcome a mental battle and turn the session from bad to good is always a gratifying feeling. Knowing that come race day I can recall on the tough days and being persistent with my training I am able to achieve the goals I set myself. A very fitting quote that someone sent me earlier this week has stuck with me and I think it is suited to how I am feeling at the moment. Hopefully you read it, see its meaning and take something from it.
"He who has invested the most is the last to surrender"

A photo of myself and training partner Emily post ride

Whilst on the topic of 'tough' I have found someone who is absolutely amazing, the things this man has achieved and is striving for is breathtaking. I find him and his story truly inspiring. His name Oscar Pistorius. Take a look at this bio I'm sure your too agree with me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3M9cdo-eYI&feature=fvwrel

Till next time!

Just back yourself
HG

Osaka!

Hi Everyone,

Well what a week! I have just returned from my very first international triathlon event not to mention my first time overseas and my first olympic distance race. To sum up, all three of these milestones in one word, AMAZING. Throwing myself into the deep end and into a brand new world of triathlon.

On Wednesday the 4^th July Dan, Luke, Emily and myself embarked on our journey first having a brief 10hr layover in Singapore before reaching our destination Japan the following day. This being such a new experience I was full of excitement and eager to jump into the culture of Japan. Food, of course being on our minds we ventured over to the nearby Trade center, where various restaurants and outlets can be found. After searching for what seemed to be hours we settled for Subway as our first meal in Japan, promising ourselves that we will dine at a traditional Japanese restaurant that night. After getting rid of the kinks in our legs with a visit to the treadmill and swimming pool we once again headed to the Trade center taking refuge in what seemed to be a traditional Japanese restaurant with very happy waiters upon our arrival. Reading a menu proved to be a challenge let alone ordering, so the tastiest picture on the menu would suffice. Little did we know, we were consuming traditional Korean food rather Japanese. Japan-1, Aussie tourists-0

Jumping forward a couple of day we find ourselves the morning pre-race. Nerves were most definitely at its highest. Having never completed this distance before what laid ahead of me was completely unknown and somewhat scary. Any who there was job at hand and as Lukey would say “get the job done”. With the race being push back another 1 hr and 20mins, it would seem friends and family back home were left in the dark having not heard of this progression and for one mum becoming very anxious with little news.  Before I knew it I was wading in the water with the dreaded ITU heartbeat music in the background 2..1.. We’re off. Arms, legs, whitewash everywhere! It took me majority of the first lap to find somewhat clear water and get into a rhythm. Coming out in a comfortable position within the front pack it was now time to get the legs into gear with a total of 14 climbs and 12 180® turns on a 7 lap course, hilly and technical would be an understatement. Off the bike and into transition frantically trying to wedge my back wheel between to padded polls and remembering to place all utensils in the box before exiting T2. As triathlon.org would tell you Osaka was to be a flat run course but I can tell you differently.  Three by 3.3k loops with a decent out and a slow dirty rise back towards transition it was going to be twice as hard as previously thought. Japan being a very humid place, temperature of 29® suddenly felt like 35® adding to the level of difficulty out on a hot 10km run. 42mins later I crossed line remarkable speechless (sorry to those around me post-race if I accidently freak out with my lack of communication). Quick visit to the massage table to help re-gather my thoughts and ease the cramping I jumped of the table feeling proud of what I had just achieved. 

Being my first olympic it held other challenges that didn’t just include crossing that line, such as nutrition. More importantly what was going to get me through the next 10km run! I would just like to send a huge thank you to Nutrend for providing me with great tools, knowledge and nutrition to get the best out of me. Next stop  Chengdu, China where I intend to better myself with a fresh new perspective on olympic distance racing. 

Once all post-race routines had been completed it was time to inform all family and friends back home of the days efforts. Sorry for the delay but once in range of free wi-fi I tried to let everyone know how we all got on. That would have had to be one of the hardest things when it comes to travel. Finding the right time to thank everyone back home. Thank you to everyone that sent their wishes and congrats it was truly appreciated. It means a great deal to know you have such a supportive group at home who back you 100% So, for that Thank you!

JUST BACK YOURSELF

HJ