FIRST STEPS

The Weasel has been sticking it out when it comes to his training. In the last three or so months I have seen a steady change in him as a whole.
Physically his body is fast becoming man and his little legs are starting to look like bonsai Armstrong legs! His mind and commitment is astonishing. For an eleven year old boy I am amazed at the effort he is putting in to fuel his dream. But, we are taking little steps.

His running is strong and last week I picked up a little fatigue. I told him to drop the effort a little bit and this week we will drop the intensity again to let him recover for a 50km cycle race this coming Saturday.
He easily runs 4:20 - 4:40 1200m. His long runs ave about 4:40 per km which I am happy with. He complains its too slow, but we will gradually pick it up.

His cycling is strong, but he needs distance in his legs. On the weekend we did a 60km ride and on the last 8km he dropped us by about 4min. I am unfit, but still!!

We are looking forward to the race Saturday. It is a 50km from Middelburg to Loskop dam. It will be his longest to date and I am looking forward to his feedback afterwards.

He started training with a Polar 625x. It is interesting to see the heart rate of a young boy. Max is about 210 and his resting is 59.

Myself. I have started slowly after my injury. Running 2 - 3 times per week and the same for the cycling. I don't know how I will ever catch up with the young lad again...but, I enjoy the easier side of things!

Have a good time and be strong and live hard!

TriJackal

OUCH

After the Tri Nations rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand, my wife an I went for a dance at the lodge where we were staying for the long weekend. Obviously it was very casual and therefore I was wearing shorts and my crocks. As we went for a 'fast' Usain Bolt turn (picture that!!) my foot slipped out of the shoe and I fell hard on my right buttock! The next day I couldn't walk and took some Voltarens for the pain. It went on like this for 11 days and I decided to go to the Doctor as it wasn't getting better. Well, to make a long story short, I tore the muscle - I actually fell it to pieces! No training for at least 4 - 6 weeks.

Bad timing, huh? The Weasel's training is picking up nicely and now dad/trainer/motivator is out of action. Well, he must just persevere and keep grinding it out until his old man is up and running/cycling/swimming again.

You should have seen his face when I gave him the Cervelo R3! Man, he totally freaked out. Love him and hope he keeps going.

Till next time, happy living!

Be strong. Live hard.

TriJackal

MIND MADE UP...THE WEASEL IS COMING!

After a month of some quiet time I have made a decision regarding my current Ironman plans. Seeing an 11 year old boy and an 8 year old girl growing up at the speed of light, I have decided to devote 100% of my time to them.

Tianari loves acting and scrap booking! I laugh and enjoy it with her mom and her, but I cannot contribute much more than giving my full support to her and the things she loves. I am a boy and I know nothing about acting apart from what I see in movies!! She has me always and I am there for her.

Wessel has a bright future in the sporting world and I want to take the steps with him because this is what I can relate to. After long rides on Saturdays I am too tired to go ride with him and this made him neglecting his training because of dad not being there. It isn't safe for him to cycle alone and should something happen to him I won't be able to forgive myself.

I will swim, cycle and run every meter with him. I am looking forward to it and in a few years time I can do Ironman 45-49 age group, who knows?

I am breaking the news to him soon and then the road begins...look out for the Weasel...he is strong, he is fast and he wont give up! Beware young world out there! The champ is focused now.

Till next time, be strong and live EXTRA hard.

TriJackal

WHICH WAY NOW?????

Good day all. Long time not hearing from me? I have been away from the office a lot on business and it has kept me from putting pen on paper! Sometimes we put our minds to a cause or we plan the future as much as we can, but then we are often bowled a un expected ball and our pre meditated shot does not fit anymore.
I have really committed to Ironman 2010 and my lifestyle has changed to suit this undertaken quest. The last week or so we have landed a franchise deal for our province which will cause me to be away from home too often. I will travel 5 – 6 hours a day and therefore will have little family time. I will have to do a lot of admin after hours as we will be seeing clients during day time. I am not a professional athlete and my work is what feeds the children.
Hopefully we can work hard to make this a success and then in a year or two I can go for Ironman again. In the mean time I will keep on training where possible because we do not know how things will pan out in the future.
Let me know what you take is on this and please leave your suggestions. I am excited about the business and I must focus on this for now. Should we have bought an existing and smooth running entity, then it would have been easier to maintain a working days hours. But, our province is very big and would require long distance travel making the daily hours to work much less.
It saddens me to temporarily shelve my dream, but hey! Life goes on! This venture is potentially very big for us and I have to pursue it in full.
Have a great day and always remember to live hard and be strong!!
Trijackal

Things happen...

Sunday was an extra ordinary experience for both me and my son. As we went for our long run we ran along side the local casino and mall. As we passed the casino a thundering gun fight burst loose making us dive in behind an armco barrier next to the road. It was a weird experience for me in the sense that it was the first time ever that I had to react to a possible life threatening situation regarding a child of mine. The biggest sore for me wasn't the shooting as such, but within my heart as I was looking back to where he was lying at my feet and reading the emotions going through his 11 year old mind at that stage...not nice. Constantly asking:'Daddy, whats happening? What's going on?' Cars were all over the place and two bullets ricochet right over our heads into the trees behind. He did the first 12k's with me and after I had dropped him off at home, he begged me with tears in his eyes not to run by the mall again.
I do know this: our little ones matter most and we have to look after them first. I will do whatever I can to make a future for both of them in a safe environment. Shootings are a weekly occurrence in our city and I will seek wisdom in making my choices regarding this.

Wessel is really getting fit and he is becoming stronger each and every week. With the hill sessions he is whipping my butt dropping me like an old horse...and hey, I'm really not that bad!! Great future little man, just keep up the hard work!!

My training is back on schedule again and I have recovered well after the week off from 'sweating'. I feel a bit tired, but that's normal and I have found my heart to be a bit higher than normal. Another three to four months and I think that I will be on par with my fitness levels of Ironman SA 2008. That will give me six months to get really strong and put in the IRON MILES!!

I feel really good about meeting my goals for 2010. I will not be competing in any triathlons before IM SA 2010 and will run a marathon (42.2km) around November/December. I will really try to see how close I can get to a time of 2:50 which will give me a great base for a 3:05 - 3:10 Ironman marathon at the end of April next year. Doing the marathon in November will give me a lot of recovery time too. I feel much stronger than previous years and I know these times are well within my ability.

Believe it or not, but my swimming is improving! I am getting the lap times down and I am sure that with blood, sweat and tears I can get it down to a 1 hour IM swim!! I am really excited and I am really trying to do my best regarding technique, etc. Slowly but surely I am getting there, but currently still as unfit as a rock! Come October, I will put in major open water miles in both the dam and sea to make sure I don't suffer from cramps coming out of the water like in 2008. It stuffed up my whole Ironman that year making me cycle and run with such pain that I just coasted to the finish.

Cycling, brrrr! The winter time is a pain regarding this discipline and although I love it most it is the one this year that I battle most to do!! My indoor trainer is broken, but luckily my dad has a nice one that I can use since he is also not riding during this time of year. I only need to keep my fitness levels up until September this year to enable me to get the miles in to take me to a time of around 4:45 come April 2010.

On yesterdays cycle with Joahan Stemmet, my chain slipped as I stood up on an uphill section and I bumped my left leg right above the knee cap. Hell it was sore and I think I will give it an extra day with ice and rest.

That is just about it from South Africa regarding my progress. All the best with your endeavors and I wish you great health and safe training.

Remember: Although we live in a sometimes wonderful and sometimes unfair world: always be strong and live hard!

TriJackal

EQUIPMENT

Equipment in our world is extremely expensive. Especially if one is looking at becoming competitive on national or international level. As soon as athletes start training for 30 hours or more per week for 5 years or longer, then the differences in their performance become very very small. Advantages are then looked for in faster wet suits, a more aerodynamic bike and even in lighter running shoes. The problems are that the companies manufacturing these products spend millions in perfecting a possible world leading product...with us the poor amateurs 'sponsoring' the development cost and big profits they make in the process.

The question is this: Does the 3 minutes I save in total Ironman time through the usage of these products over and above the cheaper products make a difference in my position? Unless it is a sprint for a podium spot, then obviously not. But what drives us to spending these tens of thousands of hard earned bucks? Well, I suppose it can be that it is our passion and that it is not much different from the guy who spends all he has on new golf clubs! Or a local racer spending all he has to enter a few rally races. Or even the man at the shooting range blasting away at a few coloured circles looking hazy through the rising heat waves.

Whatever it is doesn't matter as long as it stays fun and realistic. As with anything in life the little word 'balance' pops up. ANYTHING can be wrong without balance. Wine! Chips! Sweets! Relaxing! Name it.

I can probably do a very similar time by using cheaper equipment, but why feel crap doing something you love!! Some time ago I spent bucks on two new pairs of running shoes, but I've been battling with them ever since! They give me blisters, they hurt my right foot and they squeak when they get whet!! But, I love how they feel and I really hope that my body will adapt to them asap. I do not want to go back to my heavy, lazy shoes...no!

I ride an old Scott Plasma tt bike and I love that bike. It is very light and fast and I will ride it for the next two years to come. It is comfortable for me and although it isn't as 'cool' on the eyes as some other machines, it still gets the job done!! I must say, when my friend Johan Stemmet gets his new P4 I will want to be one of the first to touch it...what a beautiful piece of carbon!

My wet suit is an Orca and it is about two models back. I know nothing about wet suits so I will say this: it is tight, it makes me chafe around the neck and it is a pain in the butt to put on and take of. Need I say more?? I don't like the stuff, but they do make you swim faster...much faster! I will most certainly not buy a new one until this one gets torn or gets stolen.

Give some feedback below regarding your equipment...we will enjoy your thoughts.

I love my sport for it is tough, yes very tough. Cold weeks like we have now makes it even harder than is necessary! Equipment? It must be the most beautiful in the world, for sure. But, it is the muscles and the blood that make it move...and that is what counts in the end!

Last week I was sick. Missed 7 days of training, but I think it was a wise choice to do nothing. I recovered in full and started again in full.

All the best with your week. Remember: Be strong and live hard!!

TriJackal

Just laughed like a nut. Have a look and smile into the weekend!

Weekend safety tip: Don't drink and drive!

Have fun.

TriJackal