It was the day of the Big blokes on for this inaugural race in country Australia. Elite Energy put another race in their Long Distance qualifying series. The Wagga “Ultimate” promised to be a tough day as for the two days prior, the rain was coming down in buckets and the temperature dropped to the low teens (Celsius) just as athletes were starting to acclimate to the heat, Mother Nature pulls another one of her change ups. (Typical Female).

However, as race day dawned the sun was shining but with a howling wind to let us know who really is in charge. As I made my way down to what was my first race (long course) in two years, I eyed the beautiful chocolately milky lake that had a serious chop to it. I saw some old mates and was also there with some other athletes that I work with. The Cannibal (Clint A.) brought  his usual can of whoop a$$, new sign on Nathan Dunkley was eager to chase down T. Berkel and none other than “terminator” Nathan Wood was there I think just to tease and taunt me to add to my upcoming pain.

After waiting over an hour for the gun due to a course muck up to get straight, we got started. My lack of swim training and fitness showed straight away as the front pack dropped me. The good point was I kept good sighting and stayed hydrated by swallowing the bits and pieces of beautiful Lake Albert. At least when I got out of the water, there were still a few bikes on the racks.

On to the bike and it seemed like a tug of war was happening just trying to stay upright on the bike. This was to be a day where being a Semi-Clydesdale would prove beneficial due to the wind not blowing them around like it was everybody else. As I made my way through the field, my good mate Troy Pietsch was kindly working the water feed zone and started to give me time checks on where Woodsy was up the road. I told myself I was not going to get drawn into that battle, but on each go round, the time started to drop, (6 min./4 min/2 min.)my God I thought, did he have that big of a gap on the swim? so I thought maybe I can have a go at the big Diesel. I caught him just before transition and we headed out on the run together. This was an unexpected surprise and I felt good so far. As I was running out, coming in on the return was Nat “Ned Kelly” Dunkley (another biggie) who seemed to be in the top ten and looking smooth as butter. Nat would eventually finish 5^TH OVERALL and win his age group!!

That is until about 10k to go in the run. It seems (although I am not sure) that my stomach started getting some bad cramps and felt really bloated. I was not sure, but think because I am lactose intolerant and drinking the chocolate milk lake water eventually did me in. It was this point that I found out Woodsy was gaining on me and said a hearty “G’day” as he floated by. After what seemed like an eternity of walking and running, I caught whiff (or rather he smelled blood) of Clint “Cannibal” Arizmendi. He was coming on strong for the kill. Fortunately for me, the finish was just ahead and I struggled in just ahead of him.

Wow, despite getting a bit sick, what a great day and better yet a great feeling to be out there again celebrating a day of good health. We take times, wattages, etc. for granted but at the end of the day, we are very fortunate to be out there having a go of it. Till next blog….

As warmer weather approaches, the internal mechanisms in our bodies start to crave lighter, less dense foods than what we were eating in the winter. This can be good or bad depending on your diet during the winter. It is sometimes harder mentally to just eat a “salad” when it is cold outside when we crave a big piece of meat with some potatoes and cheese. Warmer climates naturally bring our bodies to a better nutritional place with the sunshine and heat that accompanies it. There are plenty of nutrient dense foods that are light on the palate. And the best part is these are what we should be eating year round anyways.

If you have not yet, go ahead and start planting some veggies in your garden. If you don’t have one, make one. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy. You can even have some plants in your house by an open window that gets good sunlight. The bottom line is that you are eating good, whole foods that you added a “personal” touch to. Some easy going veggie/herbs to grow are tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, eggplant, etc.  Add some chicken, fish, or roo (Buffalo in America) and you are primed to go hard!! Don’t forget the krill oil!

In terms of hydration, drink lots of water (filtered if possible). I know this is old news, but when you start to get busy at work or are out there flogging away on a training session, it's all too easy to skip drinking. Before you know it, performance starts to decline and that's all she wrote. Get in to the habit of regular fluid intake and you'll recover and feel better at the end of the day.

As the American season winds down, all the good (or bad) food starts to tempt. Again, self control and reasonable thinking will guide you. It's ok to delve off a good diet and eat some tasty treats (on occasion), just use common sense and self control by limiting the input. Putting on extra weight requires extra work to take it off, so instead of that extra helping of cheesy, buttery, creamy whatever, use the discipline you have learned and just say no thanks.

Thanks,

Jake