March 26 - April 29

March 26 - April 1 (Week 1)

This week was really a chill out week. I didn't do much as far as exercise goes and the girls travelled to Lake Karapiro for the NZ Secondary School Champs Triathlon & Open Water Swimming Champs and went with most of our Triathlon Squad. During the time they were away, I spent most of the time by myself riding to and from work, and watched the last Splash and Dash on Wednesday.

I believe my motivation has been average at best and I wonder if it is tied into my depression. It must be. I need to take this time to think about if I want to coach or compete. I know I do enjoy both, but I wonder if shorter races is were I need to focus and do things well.

The girls came home exhausted, happy and proud of what happened, and I did miss them while they were gone.

April 2 - 8 (Week 2)

This week was a bit of mix of ups and downs. I found out I missed out on selection for the Triathlon World Champs by 1 place. So while I was happy for my good friend Matt, I was also disappointed he beat me by 25 seconds, and that was how close I was to making it.

A couple of days later I was offered a spot in the Sprint team and accepted that straight away. I GET TO RACE!!!! GOOD TIMES.

I do feel that I am slipping into bad habits with my eating, taking my pills and generally being lazy. I know it is good to have a break, but at what cost? The more I think about it, the more I begin to become more depressed. It is an ever decreasing circle into the dark. I should plan things out better than I do.

April 9 - 16 (Week 3)

This week was a bit stressful as it was Jane's birthday, and Alex had the brilliant idea of a surprise party! Jane is not one who enjoys surprises, more so secrets, so when it comes to not telling her what's happening, she kind of gets cranky. A true test to how well I manage my anger, and from other times, I have definitely improved to maybe a 7 out of 10. So everything came together and Jane had a great time so success!!!

After the party we had to take the 2.30am ferry to the South Island and drive South to get Alex to National Division 2 Swimming Champs in Dunedin. I had been feeling dizzy already and a Southerly came up and made to crossing difficult at best for me, plus exhaustion made me a bit grumpy so it was not that much fun. After driving a bit and then having a snooze in the car we got down near Christchurch around lunch time and stopped in Pegasus.

I had a call with Claire at TriNZ and we found out Alex had made the World Aquathlon team to race at the World Champs in Auckland for the 16-19 Age Group!! Very proud!!!! We celebrated and had a look at the CBD of Christchurch. Decimation!! It honestly looks like a war rubble now. Heartbreaking.

The next morning I flew back to Wellington to work and the girls headed further South. Alex made her 100m Butterfly final and came 8th in NZ for 15 year old girls. A great week for her and so very proud parents!!!

April 17 - 23 (Week 4)


This week was the last week of the school holidays and I am not sure if it is me, my lack of training, my bad eating habits, the medication, but I feel my tolerances levels to resist getting angry over little things is slipping. Next week we start coaching the kids again and our own training is still on hold as our coach wants us to take a decent break. 6 months to go until Worlds. No hurry really. Better to be fresh than exhausted. I am still having problems with my foot when I go out running and I guess that is another thing, as well as my weight that is getting me down.

We took some of our youth squad kids out for a ride and what a stunning day to be on the bikes and we had a total of 14 people (kids and parents) out there and good times.

April 24 - 29 (Week 5)

I am still having some problems with small out bursts of anger, but it is not rage or anything close like it used to be. Some days are better then others and I do feel restless with the lack of structured exercise and weight gain, plus foot pain.

Had my foot looked at finally as it hasn't improved since Ironman, just the bruising has gone away. It might be ligament damage over a few structures,  but I am getting an x-ray and ultrasound scan to rule out a break and to look out the damages areas. Hopefully I can get this sorted quickly as it has been dragging on for too long now.

First session with the Youth Squad doing a spin session and I plan to push them harder than they are used to as many of them have commented on how they were disappointed in their cycling at National Secondary Schools, so time to build their bike strength and top end capacity. A lot of happy and tired faces at the end of the session so a great start. Coaching the juniors is great, and it is something I really enjoy. The parents can be a bit of a challenge as some think they know what needs to be done, some are a bit intense, and some are helicopters, but it is the kids I enjoy helping.

A few more days to go and back into the full swing of preparation for Auckland.

Monday is day 1!!