Just a tiny prick...

Most of you know by now that I'm a bit of a wreck, hanging on in the world of triathlon by a fine thread, a body held together by spit and the thinnest of ligaments.

My rugby career was huge fun - the best time a sportsman could ever have, but it took its toll physically. I have ear problems due to my cauliflour and the subsequent operation I had to have there, I broke my nose twice, fractured my right cheekbone whilst playing rugby at university, suffered a triple fracture of my left cheek and eye socket playing for London Irish against Gloucester (resulting in an operation where the surgeons inserted a crowbar into my skull above my left ear and warned me there was a 'very slight chance we'll hit the optic nerve and you will lose your sight'), I've broken my hand (London Irish v Orrell) my right ankle (Manchester University vs Liverpool University) and numerous toes.

But these injuries pale into insignificance when I offer up my right knee. The original injury occured when playing for Irish against Vale of Lune up in Lancaster (this was the days pre today's league structure). The ball shot out of a scrum and I lunged forward with my right leg to try and poke it forward, just as Vale's scrum half tried to fall on it and smother it. Unfortunately I got there first and he fell on the outside of my outstretched leg, buckling the knee into the Lancashire turf (as a Lancastrian I'm glad it happened there rather than Yorkshire). Long story short is that I've had constant problems and three subsequent operations on said knee which has been reduced to bone on bone operation without cartilage for many years now.

None of which was much of a problem before I decided I'd like to swim 3.8km, bike 180km and run a marathon in the same day.

Managing the mobility of my knee has become an integral part of my training and preparation for Ironman and triathlon. I use a sports physio - my Ironman mate Dave Harvey - and need to have rest periods factored into my long distance training. My coach, Mark K, works schedules around it and more often than not a long training session will see me sat in a freezing cold bath followed by hot shower, followed by knee sweep (where I elevate the leg and use my hands to brush away all the fluid that collects there as it swells) followed by knee compression bandage. Usually that means I can train the next day.

It's pretty obvious to me - and to anyone with half a medical brain who ever treats me - that I'll need a new knee at some point in the future.

But that will be then... and this is now. All the more reason to get Ferrous and push this ailing machine I call a body!

Why am I telling you this? Well, the only reason really is that it's kind of cathartic for me to remember and also, as part of ongoing treatment for a back problem I visited my chiropractor and he decided to take a look at my knee.

More specifically, he asked me if I'd be open to his using accupuncture. Now, not everyone from Blackpool is a closed-minded neandrathal. I have a very open mind about these things and my philosophy on medicine and healing is that the body responds to all forms of treatment, from conventional medicine, through healing, hypnosis, reflexology and the like. Whatever rocks your boat, kind of thing.

So what's a little prick between friends (no, that's not this week's film quote though I suspect it might have been used in a 'Carry On' film). In went the needles and, simply put, the knee loosened up almost immediately as blood flowed into the constricted areas, attracted by the presence of the needles (at least I think that's what happened). It's not the cure for all my knee-ly woes but it certainly helped short term and I'll re-visit it as a form of treatment as and when I need it.

It certainly loosened up the leg for me to compete in the Eton Sprint Triathlon on Sunday at Eton College's amazing rowing facility in Dorney. I was competing with a mate of mine, Dan. Dan and I lived together at university, part of the notorious 'Log Cabin' in Manchester's now infamous Longsight area. Little did we think that (he) greying and I (balding) would be competing in triathlons together some twenty five years down the line. He did really well and, with a time of 1 hour 25 mins, has already knocked 5 minutes off his earlier season's sprint time on the same course.

I had a good race, coming in at 1 hour 10 mins, feeling strong in the swim and bike but dropping off slightly on the run where I became aware of my non-training over the past month and the fact that I was holding back slightly due to the recent ankle injury. Still, a performance I was pleased with and, I think (official results aren't up yet) enough to get me into the top 20 of all male competitors.

I think I might have won my category for Male over 45 with dodgy knees.

Training's been better this week too:

Monday - 10km run, gym work
Tuesday - 2km run, gym work
Wednesday - 2km swim, gym work
Thursday - 10km run, gym work
Friday - gym work
Saturday - 2 hour mountain bike, gym work
Sunday - Eton Sprint Triathlon (no gym work - damn ! double today to make up)

Last week's film quote was spoken by TIM CURRY as FRANK N FURTER after he had dispatched EDDIE (played by Meatloaf) in the freezer. The movie? THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.

In the spirit of comparing injuries... who said this:

"Mary Ellen Moffat. She broke my heart."

And don't anyone say that I don't give you easy quotes.

Anyway, must go... I have an appointment today with a vascular surgeon to talk about stripping some veins out of my right leg...

I guess reading back over the catalogue of injuries... 10 hours 42 mins isn't a bad time after all...

-- sigh --

'Ave it...

So... this week I finally discovered mountain biking. Here I am, flying through the air on my new £ 5,000 mountain bike.

Actually it's not me. It's some bloke called Stewart from t'internet. I'm running late here and searching for a photo, so old Stewey boy will have to do.

But it does kind of sum up the exhiliration I felt zipping through Woburn Forest's off road tracks in the rain and mud of Sunday morning with my Team MK mate Graham Mackie.

Several of the guys (and girls) from Team MK go off-roading in the winter season to keep their cycling skills up to scratch and to take a break from the dreaded turbo trainer. Needless to say I've got the bug and am looking out for an inexpensive mountain bike on which to join them. I'd have more success searching out Lord Lucan, me thinks.

Training has been better this week... not too much but increasing steadily and my mojo is returning, though it's still - I think - on its annual holiday to wherever mojos go for their vacations.

The 'Mojove' Desert maybe?

Monday - no training
Tuesday - 1km open water swim
Wednesday - 5km run
Thursday - 10km run, 1 hour Team MK swim session (pool)
Friday - no training
Saturday - no training
Sunday - 1 hour mountain bike, 3km run, gym work

Fellow Ironman Gabriel started blabbering on something about doing press ups and sit ups every day for 100 days. So I've decided that for the next 100 days, I'm going to do 100 sit ups, 50 press ups and 50 weights bar curls to keep my core strong. This will be in addition to general training.

Busy at work, busy in life, Fiona busy, Erin busy, Alice busy... frankly, we're all busier than the Mayor of Busy on National Busy Day. This week should see my latest commercials 'put to bed' leaving me free to finish off my film treatment. I'm thinking about taking a week away to focus in on it and get it finished. But then again, I'm thinking of not doing that too...

My mate Andy Fulbrook from Wellington, New Zealand correctly identified last week's film quote as being from GONE WITH THE WIND and being spoken by RHETT BUTLER played by Clark Gable.

And this?

"One from the vaults... Don't be upset. It was a mercy killing. He had a certain naive charm, but no muscle."

A clue - it was a spoken line from a musical.

Ironman UK took place yesterday and what a nightmare of a race it seems to have been. Tough, tough, tough. It didn't stop some great performances from the Team MK athletes so congratulations to all who took part, you know who you are. Big, huge, massive Kona-sized congrats to Mark Booth, though, our Team MK top athlete, who secured a place at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii with his fantastic third place in age group performance at IMUK.

'Ave it, Boothy... 'Ave it...

Goodbye doesn't mean this has to be the end...

... faded dreams grow cold as ice

And I have a feeling that we will meet again

when we return to paradise...

Ah... Bernie Taupin at his finest.  Well, not actually his finest but a song that I like to sing to myself in my inimitable out of tune drone when I'm alone in the car.

And it was with a certain sadness that I bade farewell to open water swim training this morning. At least on a regular basis.  5 am starts have become a thing of the past recently, where pre IronMan they were commonplace.  So rolling out of my bed at that ungodly hour was something of a shock to my system especially when I was confronted with driving rain, heavy winds and a tar black sky.  But it's not called 'Iron' for nothing (my mantra when things get tough) and I headed out to Brogborough, east of Milton Keynes to meet up with the few stalwarts left of our Team MK swimming group (several others swim at another lake).   Here we are in this week's photo.  From left... myself, Corinne (age group GB representative in Vancouver this year), Martin Paul (IMCH this year and IMUK on Sunday and Graham Mackie (IMA with me this year).

I'd not swum for a few weeks with various injuries so the quick 1km burst added to Saturday's 2 hour bike ride has brought some much needed movement to my muscles.  I'm easing back to training and trying to approach it sensibly so I don't strain or pull anything.

Actually, it's been an informative period of relative inactivity.  To go from so much training to so little has made me realise just how 'tuned' my body is to the training regimen.  My muscles, bones and indeed everything that makes up my body's modus operandi is tuned in to a frequency that involved huge amounts of cardio vascular exercise.  To suddenly stop results in a 'sag' of muscle and bone that can lead to injury.  I've certainly noticed that my posture has changed, as has my general demeanour.   Neither for the better.  So I'll slowly be increasing the training to a comfortable level to maintain levels of fitness and mental fulfilment. 

On Saturday I'm taking a trip up to the Vit to watch Tom, Helen, Robert Quantrell, Colin Bradley and all the Tri Talkers taking part.  I'm not regretting my decision to withdraw and am looking forward to a good morning with my mate Graham Mackie including a stint on one of his mountain bikes which will be my introduction to ... well, not surprisingly, to mountain biking.

Oh.. where would we be without the opportunity to keep spending money on bikes?!

It's been an enormously busy week or two which accounts for the tardiness of the blog.  I shot my commercials on Tuesday and Wednesday last and have been editing them over the past few days.  There are meetings on grading, music composition, sound and final edits today with all these events scheduled over the next couple of weeks.  Each commercial utilises almost fifty technicians - all employed on a freelance basis by my production company and we rent all the enormously expensive equipment on an 'as needed' basis.  

I could tell who the ads were for and who they featured but I'd have to kill you... which, as those of you who have been reading the blog since its inception some two years ago will remember, is a paraphrased quote from TOP GUN.

Which in turn brings us neatly to this week's quote.  Nobody had any ideas on:

"Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big, no fee is too big!"

The quote was from one of the greatest New York Stories... GHOSTBUSTERS and was spoken by Bill Murray as DR PETER VENKMAN.

Couple of quick stories about GHOSTBUSTERS.  To this day I still maintain that the most exciting moment I've had in a cinema (leaving aside schoolboy incidents) was in 1984 when Ghostbusters opened in London and Fiona and I went to see it at THE ODEON LEICESTER SQUARE.  A screen the size of five football pitches and thousands of people packed into the enormous auditorium, witnessing the (then) very latest in cinematic entertainment.  Fantastic.

And also... when we were wandering around New York recently, we happened across a familiar fire station.  That's right... the very one used in the movie.  The firemen were very pleased to have us there, nodding understandingly when I seemed more intent on recognising their environment for being in a 24 year old movie than their recent heroism in saving lives.  

As the theme of today's blog seems to be 'goodbye'... how about this quote:

"No, I'm through with everything here. I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Great, great movie.  Who said it?

So... Ironman UK is almost upon us.  Good luck to (in no particular order) Boothy, Sean, James, Kevin, Andy, Martin, Lee, Ollie and all the others from Team MK doing the race.  Good luck also to the Vitruvianers... have fun and race strong.  To my mate Gabriel who is labouring with an injury... get well soon and, to all of you... until next time...

goodbye...

There's no place like home...

Well, we're back from New York. We arrived on the red eye back from JFK on Friday morning, only for me to be whisked off to a day of preparation for the two TV commercials I'm shooting tomorrow and Wednesday. The flight was great though and enabled me to catch some much needed sleep before a full on day of work.

Truth be told, I'm always a bit grumpy when I'm back from a holiday. It takes me a couple of days to settle back in to 'life' here and the time spent in transition isn't always fun. But at least I know it's going to happen and I can prepare for it. Forty eight hours on though, I'm right and ready, delighted to be back in Blighty and locked and loaded for the next few days.

I've come back from New York with a renewed appetite for my film script which has undergone a hibernation period during this busy commercials time. There's nothing like being in the place you're writing about to have it all become real and feed story, character and location ideas into the mix. Once I have a moment I'm going to download them and get back to work on that baby.

Unfortunately, New York has its problems... one being that you tend to walk everywhere (well, on Manhattan, you do) due to the deceptively simple nature of the street layout. Getting from Madison and 41st to Broadway and 29th? Easy, three blocks across and twelve down. Only trouble is... it's bloody miles and it takes a toll on you. So I've come back with a back that's out of kilter and my chiropractor hasn't been able to see me this weekend... and I can't see him until Thursday at the earliest due to work commitments. So I'm waddling around like a pregnant duck until I can get 're-aligned'.

Once I do I'm going to get back into training. It's impossible for me to keep in shape if I'm not training. So, even if I'm not at Ironman level, I'll need to have some sort of regime to keep me in shape through the winter as I'm commited to arriving at IM training in the New Year in better shape than I did this.

I'm thinking of having a late season marathon to aim for as well as starting up with the mountain biking. That, combined with the pool swimming should keep me honest.

More photos from New York this week. I hope you like...

I know the film quote has been burning a hole in your minds for two weeks now. To be honest, I thought some of you movie buffs would have got this:

"It must be hard living your life off a couple of scraps of paper. You mix your laundry list with your grocery list you'll end up eating your underwear for breakfast"

The quote comes from MEMENTO and was spoken to Leonard (Guy Pearce) by Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss). If you haven't seen Memento, do yourselves a favour. Buy some beer on a friday night and sit down and enjoy. It'll make your head hurt though, so have the nurofen handy.



How about this week's offering. Big clue... it's a New York story...
"Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big, no fee is too big!"



So, my Blogettes... onwards and upwards.

Greetings from The Big Apple...

I'm writing this from my hotel in New York City. Fiona has repaired to bed for an afternoon nap following a visit out to Coney Island so I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up.

We touched down at JFK Airport as an electrical storm shut the airport. We were held on the tarmac for an hour and then for a further three hours in the baggage reclaim as the handlers couldn't retrieve our bags. So not the best start then...

We've followed that up by three great days, visiting Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho, Greenwich Village. We've seen the Dali Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and checked out the lesser known Tenement Museum down in the Lower East Side. On Sunday we headed out to up and coming, Bohemian area, Williamsburg in Brooklyn for brunch and on Sunday night we dined in style at Cipriani's overlooking the main concourse of Grand Central Station. Saturday lunchtime saw us up on the roof terrace at the NY branch of my London club Soho House feeling like extras from an episode of Entourage.

Tonight we're meeting up at Smith and Wollensky's for a steak with my brother, Sean, who's in town for a couple of days on business.

So it's all good. But bloody tiring!

The girls seem to be having a great time in Florida, though how long that will hold with the impending hurricane due any moment is anyone's guess.

I'm going to try and put on a few photos taken from my iphone but, needless to say, I don't have the right cable to do that so I'll have to re access this blog from the i phone. Anything could happen. - Edited later - sorry, couldn't manage this so have to make do with generic NY shots !

How's my foot do I hear you asking? I did hear that, didn't I? Well, not too bad actually. Sore, yes... but not half as bad as it could have been. That said I've withdrawn from The Vitruvian and will re-commence light training on my return to Blighty.

I'm getting extremely frutstrated with not training, so much so that I had to strip off and plunge into the sea today at Coney Island and hammer out a 20 minute session. I feel much better for that but find myself absent mindedly pinching my arms and waist to see if excess skin is forming due to non-training. Do you think, perchance, I'm becoming obsessive?

Film quotes next week.

Injury and The Blockhead...

Hit me with your stupid stick, hit me… hit me.

Tell me this… would I, four weeks before Ironman Austria be seen with several glasses of wine inside me, playing a hybrid game of Dodgeball/British Bulldogs with a group of parents and kids in a pair of ill fitting sandals on a potholed campsite at 10pm at night?

Of course not.

So why on earth would I do it four weeks after and think that I wouldn’t go over on my ankle, it make a sound like a gunshot and swell to the size of a grapefruit.

Damn, my first injury of an otherwise perfect season and a nasty one to boot. But all my own doing.

It’s possibly the end of the season although I may come back for a few sprints at the back end. Ah well.

On to happier things. I’ve been camping this week with Erin and Alice. Fiona decided to stay in the 5* comfort of Old Thatch, drink wine and imagine the full glory of our bonding session.

Truth be told, we had a great time now that I’m back and reflecting on it. The girls were complete superstars and we had Jane (my sister in law) and her family right along side us. We ate appallingly, of course, mostly frying bacon or eating fish and chips. The nights were grossly uncomfortable and most things got damp in the wet. But that’s why people camp isn’t it?

Actually we had reasonable weather and Erin demonstrated her ever improving ability with the stills camera. I think she has a real talent and eye for compostition and you can see some of her shots alongside this week’s blog.

From the top… crappy colour photo from my iphone of my injury by me then Erin's efforts:
Empty beach, brother in law Guy and Emily, Guy and myself, high and dry trawler...

I’m writing this on Monday night as I’ve been out location hunting today for my upcoming TV commercials. Tuesday sees a day of more location scouting and a casting session, Wednesday a pre production meeting and then on Thursday we’re off to New York. Bring it on.

Film quote last week was:

"Don't worry darling, its just a small hat, belonging to a man of limited means, who lost a fight with a chicken."

It was uttered by the ultra-urbane Roger Moore in LIVE AND LET DIE.

Any offerings on this:

"It must be hard living your life off a couple of scraps of paper. You mix your laundry list with your grocery list you'll end up eating your underwear for breakfast"

Off to bed now to let my ankle rest and heal.

Oh but were it for sex and drugs and rock and roll :-)

Sleep tight, my lovelies...

Just like old times...

Lordy it's busy around here. Now the girls are off school there's stuff happening left right and centre. Every day is a challenge in time management.

Which has never been a strong suit of mine. :-(

Apart from this year's Ironman. :-)

But I DO thrive on chaos. Not chaos as in anarchy, but I'm undoubtedly at my best when there's stuff going on and I have to keep as many plates spinning as possible like one of those guys running around on Roy Castle's Record Breakers all those years ago.

At the moment I'm rushing around pre-producing two TV commercials that I'm shooting back to back at the end of August - both these require location sourcing, casting, storyboarding, creative meetings, post production planning and the like. I'm also still writing my movie script, finding a piece of time each day to inch forward the storyline, trying to give it the depth and resonance that will lift it above the norm. I'm taking the girls camping on Thursday for a few days so we've been practicing tent erection - no gags please - over the weekend, and I'm furiously making lists of things I've never had to list before... water carrier, torch, batteries, tea towel, washing up liquid... I mean... what the...???!!! I've never needed any of these things in the Intercontinental before now.

Fiona and I are also planning our trip to New York, though it looks like I'll need to find a bit of time each day to orchestrate preparations for the shoots of the commercials which are just a couple of days after we return.

Added to all this, of course, is my triathlon. Thank God, I hear you say... I wondered when we were going to get to that. Enough of the dude's life story. But folks, this is a life blog, not just triathlon. I'm at the stage now where one influences the other. And that's kind of my point this week... tri has become a part of my life, not simply something to fit into my 'down time'. So, within the framework of all of the above, I need to work in my training and competing time.

Having set my targets for my 'A' race next year of Ironman Germany, I'd asked my coach to keep supplying a training plan for the rest of the year. Now this isn't something he likes doing. He made it very clear to me that he felt I should be easing off the gas until training for Germany 09 recommences in January. I felt different and - sure enough - a plan came through. But as early as the middle of the week, although feeling strong, I was beginning to feel tired.

Very tired.

And I realised that if I kept going at the same rate then, come January, I'd be in serious trouble of burnout and, more importantly, I'd have nowhere to go in terms of improvement. To use this week's analogy; the spinning plate that is Ironman training would be well and truly smashed upon the floor.

So I've changed my plans. I'm going to see out the rest of the season with training how and when I feel like it. I'll be training most days, but not to a rigid plan. The Vitruvian half Ironman on September 7th will be my last serious event of the season and I'll give that a lash, hoping to enjoy and compete well. After that I'll do a couple of sprints to wind down and that will be my season done. I'll then keep fit through the autumn by mountain biking (Graham Mackie - my good mate from Team MK is keen to get me started) and other, non tri specific work. General running, cross training etc. Hopefully by January I'll be ready to go get 'em and attack the 10 hours 15 minutes target.

All that said, I've been at the sprints again this week. Team MK entered five teams at the National Team Relay Championships in Nottingham and what a great event it was. Fiona, Erin and Alice came up with me to watch and we had a sunny day competing in a sequential race (each team member does a 400m swim, handing a rubber wristband 'baton' in between their efforts, followed by a 15km bike ride, followed by a 5km run). We lost a bit of time on the swim as Mark K cut his toe in the first leg and disappeared off with the baton leaving Slacko - our number two - perplexed as to this new switch of tactics. However, we picked up and ended up finishing eleventh vets team overall and in the top third of all teams.

A great day, full of triathlon and socialising. Great also to hook up again with Poet from Tri Talk and Tom and Helen too.

I'm beginning to get the taste for sprints and am thinking of making it a goal of the second half of my season next year. I find the switch from endurance to power quite easy to make and figure if I work on the power side of things a bit more it will complement my training for Ironman and give me a focus post July 5th 2009.

Once again a great day with my club mates. Photo here of our team: from left, Mark K, myself, Graham M and Steve Slack (Slacko).

To more mundane things now:

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

was uttered by Gert Frobe, playing AURIC GOLDFINGER, in the movie GOLDFINGER. Use the quote as a totem in your life... you'll be amazed at how accurate it proves to be.

Let's stay Bond this week:

"Don't worry darling, its just a small hat, belonging to a man of limited means, who lost a fight with a chicken."

Which actor said this as James Bond and in which film? Use your memories... think...

So... I would love to chat more, my friends, but I glance around me and see my plates wobbling dangerously. Must get spinning...

Shin Sprints...

And a fabulously warm and fruity good morning to you all.

Okay. first things first. Who loves this weather? Everything seems so ridiculously enjoyable and easy in this kind of climate, doesn't it? From shopping, to training, to being with the kids... it's all so damned comfortable. If only we could bank on this weather for a guaranteed two to three months of the year...

--sigh--

Anyway, what do I have to share with you this week? Well, firstly I've had a meeting with Coach K and a debrief on Ironman Austria. We agreed that all went well this year and I've asked him to work with me through the winter prior to beginning Ironman training in January. I was so knackered after Ironman last year that I didn't train for a couple of months then, when I did get back to it, I picked up injuries that kept me away from quality work until xmas. This year I'm determined to begin Ironman training from a stronger base. Especially as...

... I've set my target for next year. What are they, do I hear you say? (I know I hear you saying that). Well, thanks for asking. I'll tell you. Next year I'm aiming to finish Ironman Germany in 10 hours 15 minutes or less. That will mark a significant improvement on this year and will require a serious raising of the bar in both training and performance. But I reckon I'm the man for the job and it will keep me honest.

I've been amazed by my recovery and ability to train since Austria. This week I've been training every day, getting back to some serious work with a 1 hour swim session on monday, 1 hour bike on Tuesday, 10k run Wednesday, 10 mile Time Trial on the bike on Thursday, 5k speed run on Friday, 2km swim followed by a 50 mile bike on Saturday and yesterday... my first sprint triathlon.

Well, I tell a lie. It's actually my second sprint triathlon. My first marked my introduction to triathlon a couple of years ago but it went by in such a blur and I've been focussed on the long stuff ever since that I don't really count it. But I digress.

As part of my desire to keep fit during the Ironman off season, I'm not only committed to training but also to doing more events. So I figured I could use a little sharpener on Sunday and signed up for the Bedford Weekender triathlon. An open water swim of 750m, a bike of around 22km (to be confirmed) and a tough 5k off road run. Fiona was a little disheartened by my rising at 4.50 am (by 'rising' I, of course, mean getting out of bed) but I sneaked out and my mate and fellow triathlete Colin Bradley picked me up for the short hop to Bedford.

We racked and raced and enjoyed it. I placed 10th overall out of 116 and 2nd in my age group with splits being - 12.50 for the swim, 1'02 for T1, 41'10 for the bike (including T2) and 19'48" for the run, for a grand time of 1:14:50 finishing in the top 6.9%, comfortably my top finish position in any race. I placed 5th fastest on the bike and was really pleased with the strength in my legs not only so close to Ironman but after the 50 mile bike the previous day. I placed 11th fastest on the run and 17th fastest in the swim which was slowed down by a poor T1.

Afterwards we went country walking (Erin, Alice, Nicky and Mike our Canadian cousins staying with us) and Mike and I went swimming with Alice which I used as a bit of a recovery session. Following that I kicked back - nursed my sore knee (see picture) and enjoyed rather too many beers. A splendid weekend's recreation.

Last week's film quote came from (the over-rated, I think) The Shawshank Redemption, where RED, played by Morgan Freeman, said:

"Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

Try this on for size. It's a quote I've held dear to my heart since reading it in the novel of the same name as the film from which I now take it.

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."

Who said this? In what film?

Toodle pip to you all...

Reflections...

A week on from Ironman Austria I've had time to digest the race experience, think about my preparation and the event itself and reflect on the positives and negatives of my preparation and performance on the day.

I like to reflect and post analyse as it helps me quickly set my goals for the future. All my life I've set myself high targets and I've quickly learned that once they're achieved, I need to be moving on quickly to the next. The past is history.

Of course, along the way I allow myself fleeting moments of satisfaction. But without tough goals I'm like a ship without a rudder. It's just the way I am and I'm happy with it.

So what of the previous year. Well, positives first. Some that come to mind are:

- I've moved my training to a new level. I work more efficiently and train smart.
- I've involved my family in the triathlon process and they've enjoyed it.
- I'm stronger in all three disciplines.
- I've got a great base to move on to the next challenge.
- I've been relatively injury free since xmas, allowing me to train and perform to my potential.
- I've retained the ability to (just about) balance my training with work commitments and family life.
- I've developed the confidence to begin 'racing' rather than simply 'taking part' in triathlon events.
- I've developed a great new network of training partners through Team MK.

And negatives?

- Training can border on the obsessive and I'll need to be much more efficient with my time management in the coming year.
- There are times when training has come first. I'll need to learn to keep family first and training second - which comes back to time management, listed above.
- I don't feel I'm truly unlocking my full potential on the bike. I can go faster. I know that.

But really, I have to say - the positives this year far outweigh the negatives.

So what of future goals? Well, here's some to be going on with. In no particular order of priority.

1. To develop Alice's triathlon.
2. To compete in Ironman Germany 09 as my A Race and achive my time goals (see later).
3. To complete my latest movie script and set it forward towards production.
4. To continue to enjoy my work, life, and sport balance.

At present these are simply outline targets. Which is where you, blog friends, come in. I'm due to have an Ironman de-brief with Mark Kleanthous, my coach, today. As part of that session we'll be talking about goals for the coming year. I have some ideas in my head of my Ironman goals but I'd be interested to hear what you think I should be aiming for. Leave your thoughts on the blog... I'd be interested to know what things look like from the outside. But please, please, bear in mind that a one and a half hour PB improvement in an Ironman will never again be something I'll enjoy. There are goals and then there is dreaming !

I'm back in the swing of things at work, which is terrific. To come back from Ironman with an empty desk and quiet phones would have been soul destroying. So I'm delighted to be recording radio commercials this week as well as working on two TV commercials over the next month. A couple of other projects are bubbling under too, not to mention my movie script which has been on hold for a week due to Iron commitments.

The girls finish school on Wednesday. For Alice, and for us, it's the end of an era as our youngest daughter finishes at the village primary school. Edlesborough School has been wonderful for them both, allowing them to flourish and develop at the right pace whilst stimulating their intellect and providing them with not only an excellent academic base but, more importantly, a sound moral code and a sense of spiritual well being. Both have been fortunate enough to pass their eleven plus exams and, with Erin happily installed at Aylesbury High School for Girls, Alice will start at the Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School (also in Aylesbury) in September, offering a mixed sex environment and specialisms in the performing arts.

A busy summer awaits. I'm taking the girls camping in early August and then they're off to Florida with their cousins Kitty and Brogan for two weeks under the supervision of my parents. Fiona and I are taking the opportunity to have a week in New York to belatedly celebrate our 20th (count 'em) Wedding Anniversary. I have the National Triathlon Relay Championships on August 2nd and am competing at The Vitruvian Middle Distance (Half Ironman) triathlon on September 7th. In addition I'm thinking of tossing in a cheeky end of season marathon. So... combined with work commitments, a busy summer.

The film quote prior to Austria was too easy for you lot...

"I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. "

was spoken by JIMMY CONWAY (Robert de Niro) in GOODFELLAS...

Gabriel got it, so did my Ironman running twin Robert Quantrell (though he cheated by looking on line for it).

Here's this weeks...

"Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

Any ideas?

Numerous pics this week. From the top. Me, looking sprightly on the marathon course! Some of the Team MK party with families at Hotel Worth. Alice with Ironkids medal and tattoo. The swim start. And finally, in the morning going by boat to the race. Left to right Helen, myself, Boothy (Team MK - 9 hours 32 mins!) and Paul going to his first Ironman.

Congratulations this week to Paul on becoming an Ironman, to Andy and Jo for signing up for Austria 2009 and to Gabriel who went sub 10 in Austria. Great effort, mate.

The last week has seen me gently jogging and doing a couple of lake swims to recover and get the blood flowing again. Now I'm rested, my bike is pieced back together after its transportation and I'm ready to go. And so, this week, I must return to training.

Why? Because, that's what I do. I train.

Have fun this week and feel free to contact me by commenting on the blog.

I love it when a plan comes together...

Greetings blog people. Short and sweet this week as I've created a link to my Ironman Austria Race Report. Suffice to say:

Job Done.

10:42:39

You can read all about it here: Jevon's Ironman Report

Thank you for all your support through the year. To Fiona, Erin, Alice, all my family, friends, Tri Talkers, Team MK mates, training partners, Mark K my coach et al.

We'll be back next week with a relatively normal service and hopefully some photos.

In the meantime, there's one of us all in Austria after Alice had placed 9th in her Ironkids triathlon.

Soon...

Another Brick in the Wall...

Good morning blog-friends. I hope that wherever you are in the world that he sun is shining on you and there is hope in your hearts.

There's no sun here as I sit in my office looking over my front garden but I'm hoping the weather will lift for Thursday's flight to Austria and the days thereafter.

Yes... we're finally there. Ironman Austria is this Sunday at 0700 (Austria time) and it's been quite a journey. I feel in the shape of my life - seriously, I haven't felt this fit since I was playing first-class rugby in my early twenties and am mentally as prepared as I'll ever be. In fact... I'm really looking forward to it. Fiona, Erin, Alice and myself fly on Thursday from Stansted. We're staying at Hotel Woerth in Maria Worth next to the lake at Klagenfurt, some 10k from the start of the race itself. My brother Sean and his family will be there, as will my other brother Conal. My parents will also be with us, not least as it's my dad's 70th the day after the race. So it will be a wonderful family affair.

Of course, there'll be others there too. My mates Tom and Helen will hopefully have recuperated from their fantastic races at Ironman Germany this week (Tom raced in sub 10 hours, Helen in sub 11 - well done, guys) and will be staying at the same hotel to cheer me on through the race. Ironman Sam will be there too, as will dozens of Team MK members and families. So, all in all, it should be a fantastic race.

My task for the day is to focus for (hopefully) just less than eleven hours whilst expending a huge amount of physical energy. I'm hoping to swim the 3.8km in 65 minutes, then take 5 minutes for my first transition, bike 180 km in 5 hours 45 minutes followed by another 5 minutes for Transition two, followed by a marathon in under four hours.

Put like that... you can see it's a tall order. But I've not been training this hard for nothing. I'm physically capable of all these targets and I'm capable of stitching them together. Ironman isn't just about physical capability though, it's about marshaling and utilising all your resources when your body is at its lowest ebb, every fiber of your being is screaming at you to stop and your mind is wandering due to the lack of oxygen. I promise you... halfway through the marathon, you're hard pushed to remember your middle name, let alone focus on on-going race nutrition and split time calculations.

I made two key mistakes last year - I neglected my nutrition on the bike and I set off too quickly on the run. I won't be making those mistakes this year. There will be problems, there will be difficulties. It's called 'Iron' man, after all, not 'Easy' man. But I'm looking forward to facing them head on, gathering strength from my support and driving forward to achieving my goal.

So, now I've had that Winston Churchill like chat with myself... what's been happening this week. Well, my taper has been going well. I've been reducing the hours training but - as Tom told me to do - included a few sessions in there to keep myself 'honest'. Training highlight this week was knocking another 25 seconds off my PB 10 mile Time Trial time on the bike which now stands at 23:51. So there is life in the old legs still !

I've been busy at work too, setting up some radio ads that I'm working on after I'm back from Austria, discussing future TV commercials with some clients and, of course, working on my film script. I'd be lying if I said that I find the latter the easiest thing in the world, but as I'm writing differently this time - producing a fully formed treatment consisting of over twenty pages of story before I begin scripting - I'm happy with where I am in the process. I'm hoping to have the treatment finished prior to flying to Austria so that there's nothing playing on my mind during the race preparation.

My taper week's training has looked like this:

Monday - 45 minutes swim drills, 20 minutes easy running
Tuesday - 45 minutes open water swim, 60 minutes bike, 45 minutes 80% Heart Rate run
Weds - 45 minutes run at Ironman pace
Thurs - complete rest day
Friday - 45 mins bike 10 mile TT (23:51) plus warm up and down, 15 minutes back to back run at 8 minute miles and 69% of Heart Rate Max
Saturday - Back to back session: 45 minute 2.2km swim, 2 hrs 15 mins bike 40 miles, 5 mile run at IM pace, 45 mins.
Sunday - 40 mins run at 85% max heart rate.

Total time training this week - 9.68 hours

Last week's film quote was

"You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself. "

and was spoken by Michael Caine as Jack Carter in GET CARTER. Robert Quantrell got it but only after sneaking a peak onto IMDB. Boo... hiss...

Have a go at this one:

"I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. "

Go on... you know you know. Who said it? What movie?

Congratulations, of course, this week to Tom and Helen for two outstanding performances at Ironman Germany.

Finally, the photo... Fiona and Erin went girly shopping to Milton Keynes on Sunday so Alice and I hung out together at home. She'd recently picked up a big box of complicated looking lego models which, frankly, had me scratching my head and wondering how long it would take before she gave up. But she didn't give up. She followed the assembly booklet, constructing the things, bit by bit until - eventually - a fully formed model was formed. It was a patient, revealing and enjoyable process (I played a small part as 'coach') and it made me think of the journey I've taken over the past year on the way to this challenge. My coach, Mark K, has provided the 'assembly booklet' of training schedule and words of wisdom (as have other friends along the way) and, piece by piece, I've constructed my fitness over the year to the point where it is now, I believe, a fully formed item ready for the game to begin!

Let's see.

Nearly Time...

... And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death...

Those words come, of course, from 'Time' by Pink Floyd.

I've been musing about time this week for more than one reason. It's less than two weeks to Ironman Austria now and I've watched as the counter ticks down from over three hundred and sixty days when I installed it to its current paltry day display. Also, my script involves time or, more specifically, a character's sudden ability to re-visit a certain incident in their past.

Now, I know that Ironman blogs aren't supposed to muse over the meaning of life and characteristics of the universe, but stay with me while I postulate on time. What is time? Essentially a measuring device of our experiences I guess. But our experiences only happen in the present. There is only the present. There is no past and there is no future, for these things are gone just as is the moment a second or go that I typed this sentence. It's gone. And it's only because we, as humans, have a memory that the notion of time exists so that we can somehow file away and order our experiences. And, as we've realised that we have memory, so every force must have an opposite and we've given ourselves 'the future'.

Load of balls, I hear you say. No more than the musings of an intellectual pygmy punching above his weight. Well, you're probably right but we're nearly done and, at the very least, it will help you understand why I've put a bloke with a ball of string at the top of the post. Y'see I think the future and the past are like a giant ball of string. At our birth it rolls out ahead of us in a linear line and we walk that line BUT - and hear's the biggie - we don't just leave it trailing behind us. As we walk our ever unravelling piece of string (and it's constantly unravelling because our future isn't pre determined) we have to gather up the string of our past and stuff it into the pocket that is our memory. Imagine that - having to fit a never ending piece of string inside a pocket of limited proportions. Would the string stay in a nice, straight, linear form. Nope. It would buckle and bend and twist back on itself. There would be no order to the shape of it and, when you put your hand into your 'memory' to access it, there would be no sense to the exact part of it that you grabbed.

That's why, I think, for no apparent reason certain memories are stronger than others. How is it we can remember (as I can) a five year old boy showing me his Clarks Tracker shoes (with a compass in the shoes and animal paw prints on their sole) at my primary school in Preston in the early 1970's, yet I can't particularly remember my long bike from last Sunday. I could go on forever but work calls so must wrap up this week's post.

A few things to sort out first. Firstly - I don't use a web counter and consequently have no idea who reads this blog so don't be afraid to leave posts. It's always nice to know we're not alone.

Secondly... big news this week is that I signed up for Ironman Germany in 2009. So (and I can almost hear the collective groan from here) that's a year's worth of posting to come. I fully intend to deal with splitting the atom and finally unify Einstein's unproven theory of everything in the next twelve months. I'm looking forward to completing Ironman Austria and re-assessing my goals for the coming year. I've also enjoyed my few months membership of Team Milton Keynes Tri Club and am excited that we've chosen Germany as our Ironman event of 2009 so I'll have my regular training buddies in place.

Thirdly - I guess I should touch on my training this week. I'm officially tapering and going through grumpy and frustrating feelings which is, apparently, normal in the taper. Some days I feel like a Greek God, others like a donner kebab. But I'm putting all my faith in my coach, Mark K, to get me to the start line in tip top condition.

Here's the week that was:

Monday - 45 minutes pool swim drills, 30 minutes running (20 mins at 80% max heart rate)
Tuesday - 45 minutes open water swim, 30 minutes non fatigue bike session (easy high cadence)
Weds - 45 minutes bike (pyramid efforts with recovery in between), 60 minutes running (40 minutes at 85% or Max HR, including gels and nutrition practice)
Thurs - 45 minutes open water swim
Friday - 45 mins 10 mile Bike Time Trial plus warm ups and downs, 15 minutes back to back run, 42 minutes run including tempo half marathon pyramid sessions
Saturday - 45 minutes open water swim, 15 minutes run, 80 minutes strong bike, 30 minutes run (all back to back)
Sunday - 2 hours and 5 minutes bike including 1 hour 30 minutes at Half Ironman pace, practing nutrition, 50 minutes running (including 40 minutes at 85% Max HR and practicing nutrition).

Total training this week 12.45 hours.

Highlights have been the fact that I dragged myself out on my own in the heavy winds and completed our A505 10 mile Time Trial course (on my training wheels) in a new PB of 24:16. I'm also pleased with my running and specifically with the fact that even when running back to back off the bike, I'm having to run extremely fast to get my heart rate up to 85% of maximum. Often I'll be needing to run sub 6:30 minute miles to get into my training zone which, I think, is testament to the level of fitness that Mark K's training has brought me to.

Lowlights? This is LIFE. There are no lowlights :-).

Last week's film quote was:

"I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the wind. It's inspiring in a way. "

And was spoken by Andie MacDowell's character in GROUNDHOG DAY.

This week's quote is our easiest yet and is especially for Robert Quantrell who's been grumbling that he can't get the quotes. It could easily have described me a couple of years ago...

"You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. With me it's a full time job. Now behave yourself. "

Usual question... who said it and in what movie?

Finally, a couple of 'good lucks'. Good luck to my youngest daughter Alice, who is participating in the regional school sports today. And, after a year of superb training and blogging, my mates Tom and Helen are finally ready for their assault on Ironman Germany on Sunday and, hopefully, a slot at Kona in Hawaii in the process. Tom's surname is Williams, Helen's is Turton. Follow their progress this Sunday with www.ironman.com and their live athlete tracker.

Good luck guys... it's been a pleasure and a privilige sharing it with you. Now it's time to deliver.

B Story...

Good morning my blogging friends. Here's a photo of my heroes (or should that be heroines? I always think that sounds like a bunch of female drug dealers). Reading from left... Erin, Fiona's sister Jane, Fiona, other sister Claire and (front row) Alice... all took part in Sunday's Race For Life, walking 5km in aid of Cancer Research and, more specifically, in memory of my mother in law, Margaret, who succumbed to cancer after a long and brave battle several years ago.

It was a great event and a privilige for me to go and support them when it's usually they that are braving the elements to cheer me on.

Well done girls.

And this event got me thinking... 'B story'... what's that all about, then? Well, as you know I'm busy constructing the story and plot of my next script and I'm at that point when I have to give some thought to the B story.

Y'see a movie isn't just about one thing. Oh no. That would be too easy. A movie's usually about several things. One of them is always the key story - the main theme - but there is ALWAYS a B story (and often a C and D story) that supports that theme, underpinning it and eventually influencing the resolution of the story in its finale. An example? Oh dear... I figured you might ask for that...

Okay... Let's take my favourite movie of all time - THE GRADUATE. This is a story about Benjamin Braddock being worried about his future life. We're very clear on this. It's stated at the beginning of the movie and it's drilled into us all the way through. Even the poster screams at us... 'This is Benjamin - he's a little worried about his future'. He's a boy/man in flux, having just left university and struggling to come to terms with growing up and the direction his life is going to take. That's our A story.

As a result of our A story, Ben starts a misguided affair with Mrs Robinson, a friend of his parents. This is still part of our A story... Ben is confused, not only in life but love. However, a B story emerges when Ben meets Elaine, Mrs Robinson's daughter, and begins to fall in love with her.

As Ben's life unravels (A story) so his love for Elaine (B story) grows. The two are seemingly irreconcilable until, in a dramatic finale, Ben rushes to the church where Elaine is marrying another man, drags her from it and they escape together into a happy future. Finally, in a glorious moment we have A and B story synthesis. Ben's love for Elaine has finally been requited (B story), he's become a man by 'rescuing' her from the unhappy marriage she was about to commit to and secured his own future happiness (A story) by so doing.

So... that's how a B story works. Every movie has one. Go find them in your favourites and report back :-).

But Sunday got me thinking. There I was, watching those I love doing their thing at the Race For Life having struggled through the previous week to complete my training and to thread the B story through my own story idea. (Thanks for asking - I'm getting there!)

It struck me that Ironman is one of those things that starts off as a B story in one's life but can rapidly become the A story. Now... it's important that a B story stays where it belongs - in the background - underpinning the main A story. Otherwise the story becomes unbalanced and unfocussed. It's important, I think, to remember that Ironman is something which drives us forward and informs our life, not the other way round. Hard I know... but important at this time to keep things in check and go forward to the race with a balanced mind, happy that all elements of our lives are moving in sync.

So ... with those pompous words of wisdom in mind... BIG UP to my Ironbuddy Gabriel who left his sleeping wife and kids at 1am on thursday morning and went out with a friend to ride 120 miles in circuits around London's Regents Park, returning home at 8am to kiss the kids, grab 3 hours sleep and go to work. Dude... awesome... and, as Roy Castle once said, "Dedication's what you need". If anyone can beat that for a training frenzy... please, please let me know.

My training has been solid and focussed once again. I feel this week has possibly been my best week's training this year. Every session has counted and I'm now officially beginning to taper down my volumes. Here's what was done:

Monday - 45 mins pool swim (drills and 25m sprints), 45 mins run at 80% of Max heart rate
Tuesday - 45 mins open water swim, 2km. 30 mins non fatigue bike, 70 mins strong run at 85% max HR
Weds - Rest Day
Thurs - 45 mins open water swim, 2km, 90 mins bike (60 mins at full pace in aero position), 60 mins run back to back with bike at sub 8 min miles pace.
Fri - 45 mins intense short bike sprints, 60 mins easy run at 75% Max HR
Sat - strong open water swim, 3km at 51 minutes followed by 15 minute run. 70 minutes bike (turbo due to weather) medium pace, back to back run 55 minutes - strong and controlled concentrating on good form
Sun - 2 hours 15 mins bike fatigue session (turbo due to weather) including 1 hour 45 minutes at Half Ironman pace, 45 minutes back to back run at 85% Max Heart Rate

Total time training this week 15.11 hours.

Last week's film quote:

"You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day".

was spoken by Dr Archibald "Moonlight" Graham (Burt Lancaster) in the movie FIELD OF DREAMS.

Well done to Carl and Richard who got it right. However, several of you are getting a bit leery and dissing my cryptic clues... so let's see how you go without the clue this week. Particularly apt for some of us:

"I like to see a man of advancing years throwing caution to the wind. It's inspiring in a way. "

Congratulations to my mate Dave Harvey who completed the grueling Ironman France course yesterday.

Welcome to the world of triathlon to my housemate at Manchester Uni - Dan Moore. Dan, we'll have you doing an Ironman faster than you can say "I used to be managing partner of a prestigious law firm".

Best get on with my A story... in the words of Ken Dodd...

"Tatty Bye"...

Egg Cracking...

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I'm not the most decrepit pooch in town but I've certainly learned a lot this week.

If you know me, you'll acknowledge that I'm not the shy, retiring type. Now, this can be a great benefit in life... fortitude, ploughing on in the face of adversity, a resolute determination to reach one's goals etc, etc. It can also - I acknowledge - be a limitation... I can be stubborn, pig headed and fail to see the advice of others as being in any way anything that might outweigh my own ideas and notions - even though these might be formed with a fraction of the knowledge of the advice given to me by others.

It's this last point which is relevant in this case. My coach Mark K has been trying to hold me back as long as we've been together. Last season - my first in triathlon - he took a large ex-rugby player with dodgy knees and guided him to a 12 hour Ironman. Needless to say, the time would have been sub 12 hours if I'd listened to my coach about transiton speeds and nutrition on the bike.

This year I set him the target of guiding me to a sub 11 time. No easy feat, especially with me taking his coaching plans and regularly going 'off piste'. Oft would be the time I'd crash into an unscheduled long ride or my legendary long training day with Tom and Helen without Mark's knowledge. He'd sigh (I can hear him sighing at his home in Wing, some 12 miles away) and warn me of the dangers of not listening to him.

Well, Mark... I'm listening now. I felt tippety-top at Bala, racing well and finishing with something to spare. Whilst everyone is crashing into their max weeks of training, Mark is holding me back, insisting that I spend no longer than three hours at a time on the bike and that I focus on fitness and quality at the expense of distance. His reasoning: I have the distance in my legs and lungs - it's all been done: now is the time to sharpen up and make every session a focussed piece of training and the best way of doing that is if I'm fresh for every one, rather than being burnt out after a long weekend in the saddle.

I have to say - it's worked well this week. I feel light and refreshed, a week after Bala but was amazed to see I'd completed 15 hours of training.

Monday - Post Bala Rest Day
Tuesday - 45 mins 2km Open Water Swim, 45 mins recovery run, 40 mins recovery bike
Weds - 2 hrs 40 mins easy bike (approx 45 miles) 51 mins run at IM pace
Thurs - 45 mins OWS, 2km
Fri - 75 mins cycling starting with 10 mile Time Trial, 45 mins run at IM pace
Sat - 45 mins 2km OWS, 3 hours bike, 56 miles, 30 mins run at IM pace
Sun - 2 hrs 10 mins 14 mile tough and hilly x country run at steady pace

Total time training this week - 14.85 hours

It's been a good week for learning in other respects too. I've promised to keep you up to date with my writing and it's going well. I'm writing in short bursts, still constructing the bones of the story which, for me, is the hardest part. If I'm blocked, I walk away, or go out training (or visit Tri Talk :)). But whaadyaknow... the story is coming. Evolving. And for a story that is pretty complex I'm pleased with where we're at. Previously I'd be sitting staring at a blank screen but I'm learning that when it comes it comes and when it ain't there... well, it just... ain't... there.

But my greatest new discovery of the week has been the cracked egg. "What the flip ('coz I know you speak like that) is 'the cracked egg'?" - do I hear you mumbling into your early morning lattes?

Well, the cracked egg is a game taught to me by my youngest daughter Alice. It involves sitting on the trampoline and tucking your knees up to your chest, holding onto them with your hands and arms wrapped around. The others bounce on the tramp, sending you into an uncontrollable boinging frenzy which - at some point - results in you having to let go of your legs. At that point, dear reader, your 'egg' is 'cracked'.

Fiona's egg is just about to crack in this pic...

It was the best part of a wonderful Father's Day, proving that the best thing in life really are the simple things.

I, of course, completely forgot to send my own father a card so here's a shameful and belated greeting - Happy Father's Day, Daddy... I love you.

We have a couple of 'well done's' this week but we'll leave them until after the film quote.

Gabriel correctly identified Ferris Bueller as the speaker of these words:

"A man with priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile".

He complained the cryptic clue wasn't cryptic enough. (The Big Wheel Skips School - geddit?)

Let's see how we do with this week's:

"You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day".

What film? You want a clue? Okay. Here it is... 'An ambitious crop'

BIG UP'S this week to Tom and Helen (again - this is becoming tiresome :-)). Tom for winning his age group and Helen for coming fourth in hers at the UK Half Ironman (or Ironman 70.3) on Sunday.

To Colin Bradley, my good mate and training companion... who beat me for the first time in a 10 mile TT on Friday with a personal best. Well done mate. Get ready to see much more of my arse in the future :-).

And finally - after a grievous omission last week... great big Kenny Everett sized clapping hands to my mate Jason Bulley. Jason is a Director of Photography with whom I've become great friends. We share a love of endurance sport and yesterday (following a season of marathon running) he completed The Comrades Marathon in South Africa - 55 punishing uphill miles - in 9 hours 52 mins. He's promised a photo so at some point I'll edit the blog and add it in. Well done Jason - great work, great preparation for your Marathon des Sables (though you've got a year more prep to do !!!) and thanks for the photos from Bala - it was great to see you there.

Good luck to Dave and Iain who set off this week for Ironman France.  I'll be following your progress, boys.

Have a good week, lovely people. And if you've got kids... have fun with 'em...

I love it when a plan comes together...

FADE IN:


We open on a triathlete. Handsome. Tanned. Frustrated. He's struggling with his inner demons - looking to get started on a piece of work which he knows could change his life...

You ever have one of those weeks when things just seem to go well?

No? Then you don't know what you're missing.

I've been wrestling with the hows, ifs, whys and so on of putting pen to paper - or rather fingers to keyboard - on a new film script for the longest time now. But I've never been able to commit to doing it. Too much clutter. Too much work on. Too much training. I'd kind of lost sight that not only can I write movies, but that I actually enjoy it. The whole process had become a spiral of self-induced difficulty.

However, thanks to some serious 'knuckling down' and de-cluttering of my mind, I've put myself in a position to begin... and things are flowing... and what do you know - I'm enjoying it. I'm not going to curse the project or test the limits of your blogging patience and dedication by summarising it for you but I'll keep you posted on its progress as I work through all the elements of creating these characters, the story and the events that shape their lives. See what I mean... it IS kind of fun - isn't it?

Summer is also here and the gardens are looking fantastic. All the work Fiona has done in her planting over the last couple of years is bearing fruit (sometimes literally)

This weeks top photo is from yesterday's event at the Bala Middle Distance Triathlon (known as half Ironman for some) held in Snowdonia in Wales. It's a relentless course of hills and more hills (although the lake is reasonably flat :-)) comprising a 2km swim, 82km bike and 20km run. It was a 'B' race for me, with my main (and only) 'A' race being Ironman Austria in under five weeks time. I raced with my Team MK teammates (from left) Martin Erasmus, Andy Jones, (myself) and Graham Mackie and was really pleased with my sub 5 hour time of 4:54:53 comprising:

Swim and T1: 38'25
Bike and T2: 2:37'06"
Run: 1:39'22"

The rest of the week was a build up to Bala so my training volume was down slightly on previous weeks, though I did undertake my first ever 10 mile TT on my Cervelo P2C. Needless to say, the beast didn't let me down and I knocked a full 1'30" off my PB, bringing it down to 24'25".

I like to think that it's something to do with the cyclist as well!

So -

Monday: 70 minutes tempo cycling
Tuesday: Rest due to nagging heel injury sustained through over running on holiday
Wednesday: 45 minutes 2.4km swim (800m reps), 2 hours 35 min bike at 20.5 mph average (53 miles), back to back run 35 minutes.
Thursday: 45 minutes open water swim 2km, 30 minutes bike set up for Bala.
Friday: 45 minutes bike including 10 mile TT at 24'25"
Saturday: 30 minutes bike, 15 minutes run as loosener for Bala
Sunday: 5 hours Bala Half Ironman

Total training this week - 12.83 hours

Last week's film quote was a tricky one:

"A hobby should pass the time, not fill it" was uttered by Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho'. Too true, Normy baby, too true.

Here's one from one of the funniest movies ever (IMHO)
"A man with priorities so far out of whack doesn't deserve such a fine automobile."

No IMDB but you can have a cryptic clue... 'The Big Wheel skips school'

Congrats to Helen and Iain for representing GB at the World Triathlon Championships in Vancouver, to Mrs O'Neill for enduring 20 years of marriage with me - bloody hell that makes me feel old - and still supporting me in everything I do and finally... big and hearty steak-pie-sized congratulations to you, fair reader, for being my Bloggies...

The writer breathes a sigh of relief, turns off his computer, lights up a cigar and we...

FADE TO BLACK

Now that's what I call Training...

Some things never change ! So what's an Ironman to do in Portugal when the weather's a bit dicey? Have a pint of course.

Apologies for missing a week of blogging but have been away on our annual family jaunt to the Algarve.

Family time is very important to me, as you know, and I really enjoy our hols in the sun, relaxing with the girls. Not much sun this time but plenty of relaxing and, I'm pleased to say, plenty of training too. Well, plenty of running anyway. I ran every day - distances from 10k upwards, including a half marathon run at Ironman pace with 15 minute walking 20 second breaks mimicking the Ironman rest stops. I also took over my wetsuit and swam in the sea but it was rather too rough for this non-fish and I called it quits after one tumble-dryer like session.

Prior to leaving on the friday I'd had a good week training including a five hour bike ride with a group from Team MK.

On my return I went straight into a 'simulated' half Ironman with the same guys, swimming 2.2km, biking 52 miles and running eight miles (alright then, a bit short on the run) to get the body back into training shape.

Yesterday was a short bike ride and an eight mile cross country run.

Only six weeks now to Ironman Austria and a key four weeks of training ahead prior to taper. I think I've been overdoing the running recently as my knee is playing up again (regular bloggers will remember I've had three knee ops on the right knee and have no cartilage in the anterior side of the knee - I think that's how you describe the outside part of it). It flares up and swells if I put it through too much impact and I think that's what's been happening. My right ankle is also suffering with some kind of repetitive strain - so I'm going to be taking it easier this week on the running front on the run up to my Half Ironman at Bala on Sunday.

The good news though is that the Cervelo continues to amaze me. I'm getting into the swing of it now and it's all becoming second nature. The difference it has made to my cycling is huge and I'm confident that I can get close to the 5:45 I've set myself for the bike split in Austria.

Last blog's film quote was, of course, from CITIZEN KANE and as you all know... "Rosebud" was actually his...

... I'm sorry, I can't spoil it for you. If you haven't watched one of the greatest movies ever made you should be ashamed of yourself. Go hunt it down and watch.

Another classic movie this week and a quote particularly apt for some of us:

"A hobby should pass the time, not fill it."

Who was responsible for these words (and in what movie) and who - when you're doing as much training as we are - actually believes it?

A final photo this week of the aforementioned three girls in my life enjoying themselves in Portugal. From left, Alice, Fiona and Erin. It was also Alice's eleventh birthday during the week. Time flies by and you've got to grab that precious time with them whilst you can. Happy days.

GOOD LUCK this week to my Ironmates Helen Turton and Iain Parsons who are representing Great Britain at the World Championships in Vancouver. A great honour and I'm sure you'll do us proud.

CONGRATULATIONS to Gabriel and Iain who completed Ironman Lanzarote - the toughest of courses in the toughest of conditions.  Gabriel came home in 11 hours 10 mins after enduring a hard bike but still completing a sub 4 hour marathon.  Iain came in at 13:39 after blowing up spectacularly on the run.  Guys, even though you were both over  your target times - you're still gnarly, time-served IRONMEN.  Relax and kick back a bit.  (I guess that may be a bit tricky with Iain being in Vancouver at the world champs and Gabriel due to compete at Ironman Austria.)

Nice to be back with you all and - as ever - please don't hesitate to drop in and leave a message/comment if you've got the time.