In the last 4 days i've watched this clip dozens of times. Everytime it reminds me of a phrase, sport pyschologist Dr. Bruce Pinel, based here in Victoria, told me a few years ago.
"Don't race to the finish line....race through it"
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Pulled Pork on Pancakes
Noa and I are fans of Diners Drive-Inns and Dives, wait, who isn't?
Anyways, a while back, Guy visited Vancouver and went to a cafe in East Van called Red Wagon. Known for its modern comfort food, one of its specials is Pulled Pork on Pancakes...... this was the seed to what ranks up there as one of the best dinners I've had, no joke.
Noa, has a recipe for Swiss Chard Cakes that is top notch on its own, add to that some 6hr slow cooked pork w a chocolate/cayenne rub, bbq sauce from scratch and her complimenting kale slaw and this is what you get:
For sure to be a part of her sport nutrition cookbook in early summer, I do enjoy being her #1 tester.
Anyways, a while back, Guy visited Vancouver and went to a cafe in East Van called Red Wagon. Known for its modern comfort food, one of its specials is Pulled Pork on Pancakes...... this was the seed to what ranks up there as one of the best dinners I've had, no joke.
Noa, has a recipe for Swiss Chard Cakes that is top notch on its own, add to that some 6hr slow cooked pork w a chocolate/cayenne rub, bbq sauce from scratch and her complimenting kale slaw and this is what you get:
For sure to be a part of her sport nutrition cookbook in early summer, I do enjoy being her #1 tester.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Trust
Right about this time of the year the mind can start to wander. Winter has truly set in and your looking for some light. Training is going well and your itching to race, but the real stuff is still a ways away.
The head needs to stay down, blinders on, trust the program and coach.
Case in point: Cole Trickle, NASCAR extordinaire, back to racing after his near fatal smoke screen accident with Rowdy Burns must face his fear in Daytona. Trust in himself and his coach....
and just because it is one of the best movies ever, the final laps....
The head needs to stay down, blinders on, trust the program and coach.
Case in point: Cole Trickle, NASCAR extordinaire, back to racing after his near fatal smoke screen accident with Rowdy Burns must face his fear in Daytona. Trust in himself and his coach....
and just because it is one of the best movies ever, the final laps....
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tough As
Kiwi's are tough.
Not that we are soft, just softer. Like a pear to an apple.
Tough as:
- Setting up base at top of 13k suspenion blowing dirt rd w snow in summer
- 300k ride
- Squeezing in another run at 20:30
- Iguana Wrestling
- Challenge Wanaka
- Having 16 year olds toe up with Vidal, Gemmell, Sissons..
- Those same 16 year olds not getting lapped out on a 8 x 2.5k bike loop.
- Win Road Nationals, then 160k ride , then heart surgery, 2days later back at it
- Boxing out
- Inventing Zorbing
- Rugby
- Disregarding any earthquake below 5.0
- HP Director in the Kayak with 4ft surf
- HP Director w a sub 9 Kona clocking
- Snorkel being standard for all 4X4
- Crown Range in a 12-23 after 3.5hrs
- Back flip off Albert Town Bridge
- Raising $10,000 for sprint race, putting it all on line for first, and donating it all to charity if you win.
Take away message: Sunny day over the Vic Waterfront today but rode towards the black clouds over Metchosin.
"Nothing came easy growing up on the dairy farm." - K.Gemmell
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
So many Sheep
time for an update.
After a great Christmas visit (thank you Mhairi and Tim for a great week) with family and some time to relax with festive foods I found myself on a plane New Years eve headed to New Zealand.
An experience I have been looking forward to ever since it was mentioned has lived up to the expectation and more.
When you fly into Queenstown, it is a landing you'll never forget. The landing pattern takes place between two mountains that two planes would have trouble squeezing through. Upon arrival Marilyn Adams, team physio extrodinaire, picked Simon, Matt Sharpe, and I up. Climbing the 13k dirt road up to Snow Farm I think we were all thought, "where are we headed here???"
Snowfarm, @ 1600m, is a nordic centre / winter car testing site by winter and an NZ altitude centre / lord of rings / 10,000 BC movie site by summer. Welcomed by some of the NZ crew here we settled into training and the culture quite quickly. Ginger brews and driving on the left went down smoother than pepto.
On the first ride i took down 4 to 5 flies as the jaw hung in awe. The riding is brilliant, amongst others we've climbed the highest sealed road in NZ up Coronet Peak, a 4.5hr Crown Range Loop each sunday, and a windy windy out and back towards the wild west coast.
Running up at the farm is ideal. The surface is soft dirt with almost a 'tar sand' feel (possible exploration?? patent pending). Loops within loops within loops that can be done. You could literally choose loops from 15' to 2h30. Down from the farm the running is unreal. Whether along lake wanaka or lake Wakatipu in Queenstown you have hundreds of km of trails to run on. Today we ran West Wakatipu which included flat shoreline, single track pine forest, rolling gravel golf course, and rugged bluffs.
Swims have been at the Wanaka pool and wetsuit in the lake. The lake has given us varied conditions from glassy to ridiculous chop. Having to change your stroke over these varied conditions has been great practice. We did have one swim that took place at a Hippie Commune which i might take back. Many had quite the battle with that pool, including scars to show from the cheese grating lane ropes. For me it got personal with the pool quite quickly. I began to personify the ropes, the walls, the bottom which had no black line, as they were all 'out to get me'. With 7k on the board the pool had plenty of time to get under my skin and have me tap out. By 4k i had experienced all that it could throw at me. Over the last K it was quite rewarding to rub it in the pools face I must say.
Perhaps the best part of this camp has been the ability to see how these kiwi's and dutch train. A common difference to N.American programs is that the training is done without compromise. The hours in the day are there to simply get the work done.
The volume here is higher. Weekly totals I thought were unreachable are routine to them. There is no fear in 'overtraining'. I could write on and on about the differences i've seen, but the last thing i'll mention is the approach. With the amount of hours done here, the only way I see the athlete accomplishing the training and hungry for more is by it being enjoyable. With ever-present banter amongst the group, the miles click by. It is a job and they enjoy it.
When within a 20m radius of Kris Gemmell, you've got a comedy club, gossip girl, and trivia pursuit 24/7.
It's no secret that companies research how to improve their employees job satisfication. The more you enjoy your job, the more productive you become.
This Friday we will all be racing the Tri NZ Wanaka Contact Sprint Cup. Nicknamed 'The Doddsy International' from local NZ international Tony Dodds, the race will take place at 8pm in front of Friday night pubs along the lakefront. Cannot wait for this one!
After a great Christmas visit (thank you Mhairi and Tim for a great week) with family and some time to relax with festive foods I found myself on a plane New Years eve headed to New Zealand.
An experience I have been looking forward to ever since it was mentioned has lived up to the expectation and more.
When you fly into Queenstown, it is a landing you'll never forget. The landing pattern takes place between two mountains that two planes would have trouble squeezing through. Upon arrival Marilyn Adams, team physio extrodinaire, picked Simon, Matt Sharpe, and I up. Climbing the 13k dirt road up to Snow Farm I think we were all thought, "where are we headed here???"
Snowfarm, @ 1600m, is a nordic centre / winter car testing site by winter and an NZ altitude centre / lord of rings / 10,000 BC movie site by summer. Welcomed by some of the NZ crew here we settled into training and the culture quite quickly. Ginger brews and driving on the left went down smoother than pepto.
On the first ride i took down 4 to 5 flies as the jaw hung in awe. The riding is brilliant, amongst others we've climbed the highest sealed road in NZ up Coronet Peak, a 4.5hr Crown Range Loop each sunday, and a windy windy out and back towards the wild west coast.
Running up at the farm is ideal. The surface is soft dirt with almost a 'tar sand' feel (possible exploration?? patent pending). Loops within loops within loops that can be done. You could literally choose loops from 15' to 2h30. Down from the farm the running is unreal. Whether along lake wanaka or lake Wakatipu in Queenstown you have hundreds of km of trails to run on. Today we ran West Wakatipu which included flat shoreline, single track pine forest, rolling gravel golf course, and rugged bluffs.
Swims have been at the Wanaka pool and wetsuit in the lake. The lake has given us varied conditions from glassy to ridiculous chop. Having to change your stroke over these varied conditions has been great practice. We did have one swim that took place at a Hippie Commune which i might take back. Many had quite the battle with that pool, including scars to show from the cheese grating lane ropes. For me it got personal with the pool quite quickly. I began to personify the ropes, the walls, the bottom which had no black line, as they were all 'out to get me'. With 7k on the board the pool had plenty of time to get under my skin and have me tap out. By 4k i had experienced all that it could throw at me. Over the last K it was quite rewarding to rub it in the pools face I must say.
Perhaps the best part of this camp has been the ability to see how these kiwi's and dutch train. A common difference to N.American programs is that the training is done without compromise. The hours in the day are there to simply get the work done.
The volume here is higher. Weekly totals I thought were unreachable are routine to them. There is no fear in 'overtraining'. I could write on and on about the differences i've seen, but the last thing i'll mention is the approach. With the amount of hours done here, the only way I see the athlete accomplishing the training and hungry for more is by it being enjoyable. With ever-present banter amongst the group, the miles click by. It is a job and they enjoy it.
When within a 20m radius of Kris Gemmell, you've got a comedy club, gossip girl, and trivia pursuit 24/7.
It's no secret that companies research how to improve their employees job satisfication. The more you enjoy your job, the more productive you become.
This Friday we will all be racing the Tri NZ Wanaka Contact Sprint Cup. Nicknamed 'The Doddsy International' from local NZ international Tony Dodds, the race will take place at 8pm in front of Friday night pubs along the lakefront. Cannot wait for this one!
In the lake post run
In Queenstown do Fergburger.Friday, November 25, 2011
5 Rings
Inside The Olympic Dream from cameron sylvester on Vimeo.
The Rowers seem to always have the best videos.
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Silver Fern
Never been to New Zealand. Want to go. People speak very highly of the country, its people and landscape.
Watching the Auckland World Cup over the weekend, on the great live feed from Nz Tv, reinforced my desire to visit. I was taken away by the crowds on hand for it. The numbers looked to be similar to Hamburg, people lining the streets over the entire bike!
Some might feel 'home field advantage' doesn't play a factor in triathlon. I think this weekends results beg to differ. From Hewitt's and Gemmell's victories to Davisons and Adams hard nosed efforts, the Kiwi's dictated and dominated the event. Hard work and talent were obviously key to the outcomes, but that extra % was pumped through their veins from the '6th man' so to speak. The desire to give back to the crowd could not be matched by others just racing for points.
As Bevan is quoted post race: "It was a great race for New Zealand"
The media's attention to the event was even more impressive. Interviews and press galore surrounded the race weeks leading out to front page papers the day after.
It's no surprise that NZ rates as one of the top medal/capita countries each Olympiad. The people love sport and love to embrace it. All sports too, for a rugby crazed nation they remain open minded to endurance feats just the same.
What sociological factors make Kiwis this way?
One guess comes from a story a friend who backpacked there once told me. Traveling the south island, he would often work under the table at sheep farms to fund his trip and lengthen it out. Essentially living there for 6 months he began to see their values in life. He felt Kiwis tended not to place emphasis on personal prizes such as fancy cars or high salary jobs. They drove a car that got them from point A to B, serving purpose. Value was placed on health and family. With health and family they had love and happiness, and that's all that life needed. He saw sport to them was an outlet to join health and family together, whether it was touch 7's or a hike together in the mountains.
Having such simple values in life perhaps prepares kiwi athletes to perform to their best. They don't get sidetracked by sponsors, and they don't compete for themselves, they compete for a cause and are driven by it.
Bravo to Gemmell for his cause for cancer. It helped him get to that finish line first.
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