Redundancy. Not always a bad word...

Well I've pretty much been a professional athlete the last 3 months... It's been fantastic as well as scary. But one thing is for sure, it's given me a good chance to think about my life and what I want out of it.

A hard life being a pro... Bondi in all it's glory

It's been three months now since the company I worked for since completing my degree had to make me redundant. Sure, at first I was upset, angry, confused... I had given almost 7 years of my life to this company including spending countless hours/days/weeks away from my friends and family with projects trips all around the state as well as months spent in Melbourne and finally culminating in a move to Sydney with the uncertainty of whether Aimee would follow me or if we would spend even more months or years living apart...

But. The day after I was given the news I was lucky enough to be able to get on a plane and head north to Noosa for the Noosa Triathlon festival. After a great weekend away in Noosa I started to realise that it might not be such a bad thing. I only really told a few people that are really close to me what had happened, and it made me realise exactly why those people are really close to me. Such amazing support and full of positivity no matter what they were going through in their own lives. They made me realise that I had been in the same company for so long that it was going to be a good thing for me to be able to have a change in my life! You all know who you are, so thank you :)

Absolutely loving Noosa National Park!

So with that change in attitude I decided that I wasn't even going to entertain the idea of looking for a job until the New Year, giving me almost 2 months to try and enjoy a summer in Sydney. A big part of that was being able to focus on my training and really get some solid sessions in.

Two of the best training buddies you could ask for

Hence the life of the pro athlete... there were lazy coffee sessions after the morning training, double swim sessions, midday core sessions... it was great. I rediscovered a love of the sport again.
I had all this time to relax and sleep on the couch, although I don't think I ever really did... it's amazing how the day gets away from you so quickly... I did manage to complete some great tasks while I had the time, including setting up a new website for one of my best friends as well as taking our coffee addiction to another level by starting a blog to voice our untrained and totally biased opinion. I was resident chef and dishwasher in our household which (hopefully) made life a little nicer for everyone, and took to baking pretty heavily! The no-sugar “diet” (I use that word loosely as I don’t like the word) had officially ended, although it had caused a permanent shift in our mentality and now we still follow it, although allowing a few more exceptions ;)

The 9am Mug

 
So this pro life was always going to come to an end. And this week was that time. I have now started with a new company and the role is really exciting and something that is outside of my comfort zone. Something that if I was still with that same company I would never have looked at. But given my time and my assessment of my life this new role fit the mould perfectly and would allow me to explore the industry from a different light and add another feather to the cap so to speak which is never a bad thing I don’t believe.
I discovered that my life, although needing challenges, needs to be supported by my working world rather than the other way around. My old company had (past tense) some great perks, although they soon became further and further apart until to be honest they almost disappeared... it was never a bad company and I learnt a lot, but the culture started to change... My new company has a sensational culture and attitude towards the work life balance. One that promotes a great flexible work environment, in which people are comfortable, which in turn promotes hard work and loyalty. That's a good thing and I’m very excited to be able to be a part of it.

Not all doom and gloom

Now that I have started a new role I have had some time to think about the old company a bit. One of the things that I never really thought about at the time I was made redundant was the customers I dealt with and how the news of my redundancy was treated? The word 'redundancy' is generally a cuss word, so I wonder what they were told when I didn't show up again? Did they get told 'Shane is no longer with us'? Which seems like a generic and harmless statement. But is it? If someone told you that the person that you have been dealing with was 'no longer with the company' what would you think? Me, I would probably think that they were fired or they had found a new job (although if they had a new role would I not have been told and had a handover with the replacement?). So no matter what they think when told, you can be almost guaranteed that they think it was my decision or my action that has caused me to not be 'with the company anymore', where in actual fact I was made redundant, which means that it was neither my decision nor my action that caused the result. It was in fact in part the company’s action and decision that has caused the result as well as the market, including potentially the customer, which would no doubt change the perception of me in their eyes, which might seem trivial, until your paths cross once again in business...

So I hope that the people and customers that I was lucky enough to work with during my time that were delivered the news of my departure were told the truth. There's nothing I could do about my redundancy, so I hope that my previous company and the people in it didn't (unintentionally) harm my image in the eyes of those that I dealt with. Next time you have to deliver the news to a company that a former colleague is 'no longer with the company', do them a favour and tell the truth.

Now, please excuse me, I have a new challenge in my life and I want to get out there and attack it.

Love/Hate/Kurnell...

I don't know why I entered this year. I'm sure it had something to do with pre-season excitement and a certain Pommie fella. But who really knows...

Team Bondi Fit. As loud as ever

I had decided that I wasn't going to race already. It was Saturday morning and it was looking like being a miserable day Sunday. Why would I drag my arse out of bed at 4am to drive for almost an hour for an hour race in the rain on a 'testing' course and then drive over an hour home in traffic... And plus, I didn't have my watch as it was getting replaced under warranty.... Nothing made sense.

But for some reason Saturday afternoon I decided that I was going to race? Perhaps it was the alternative of training for a few hours in the rain instead? Who knows? I still don't know why.

Sunday morning.

Up. Breakfast. In the car. I get a good run down to Kurnell (as you bloody should at that time of the morning!) and get through rego and transition quickly (setting up next to Tommy again for a laugh). As it turns out it hadn't really been raining down there and the roads were almost dry... promising... Although then I noticed the wind. Yay. It was howling. The bike leg was going to be great fun... haha

Regardless, I wandered over to the team tent to see the rest of the poor soles that had ventured down to try their hand (some in their first race!), mind you I was still skeptical that I would even start... Chatting to the team it was great to see so much energy from the rookies and those in their first hitout in this sport that I love and the energy somewhat transferred to me. So much more motivated I wandered down to the swim start for a warm up.

We struck it a little lucky in the swim with the wind giving us some assistance, although as usual my wave swam the most ridiculous curve from can to can... I again decided that I would swim my own line and left the feet of the front pack to do my own thing. Again, hitting the can I ended up back on the same feet as I had left. Joy. Feels good to bust a gut swimming solo only to end up back where you started... oh well at least I didn't lose any ground, that's a positive!

Out of the water on the toes of the front pack

Heading into T1 I saw Tommy grabbing his gear and heading out. I had a reasonable swim crossing the mat in 12:15 which includes the little jog up the beach and into T1 (not that I knew that at the time....).
T1 was an abortion. Pretty sure I dropped everything I tried to pick up 4 times. Considering all I had to pick up was my helmet I would consider that a pretty epic fail. Muppet.
Out of T1 and straight up that magnificent hill with the most beautiful road surface. I hate that hill. I hate that road surface more.

The bike leg was as wind as I had imagined. Heading out along the flats (the part that I actually quite love!) was like playing with fire. Hammering along and then all of a sudden you cop a side wind that blows you sideways 5 feet and sends your heart rate through the roof. I think I counted it happening 10 times before I stopped counting.
Aside from that I quite enjoyed the bike leg. Only getting passed by one bloke was a good feeling and made me confident that (sans watch) I had put in a reasonable split. Turns out I rode quite well (34:27) considering my epic T1 time (that gets added to the official bike time).

Heading back into T2

The run at Kurnell is a shocker. 3 lap 5km. On grass, sand, wooden stairs (yep) and the coast path.
Although the words 'you are a runner' and 'you love running' were going round and round my head. Thanks Sid.
I pushed through and tried to just go as hard as I could. The long ride in my legs from Saturday was a great feeling (who am I kidding?), although I felt myself coming around in the 2nd and 3rd lap. The plan was just to go untill I blow on the run, so without a watch it was all by feel. Turns out I got a little faster each lap and finished strong enough in 20:28. Would have been nice to notch a sub 20min run (even if it was Kurnell) but even so I was pretty happy with that effort.

So with another Kurnell out of the way it was back in the car and time to head home. To be honest I loved it. The thrill of racing is why I do what I do. So no matter what the race and no mater what the pain involved in getting to the start line. When that buzzer goes off it's another race and those same feelings every time!

Love this shit!

On the way home my mind started to wander... What will the next week of training have in store for me? What goals do I need to reassess? What's the next race going to be...?

Noosa meltdown

Thank you Noosa!

Wow, you can take me back anytime you want.

After a week I'd rather forget, the flight to Noosa opened a different world far away from the troubles in Sydney, a world that I could have quite comfortably stayed in...

We arrived in Sunny (but not actually that warm) Brisbane Thursday morning, threw the bags in the back of the hire car and went off in search of food. The decision to fly to Brisbane was a good one as there was only one other bike on the flight so we had no issues (unlike some unlucky people who flew into the Sunny Coast...). Arriving in Noosa is always a wonderful feeling and that afternoon was no different, we pulled into our lush apartment in Little Cove and instantly knew that we had made a good decision!
Keeping low key the first night Aimee and I snuck off to a nice restaurant for dinner to try enjoy part of the weekend not related to triathlons :)

Our apartment for the week! Freaking awesome!

Friday morning was a beauty. So Reidy, Donkey and I headed out for a morning lap of the course. A 5:30am departure ensured that the sun was completely up before our ride started (QLD, seriously, daylight savings!).
The course was familiar as some of us were lucky enough to spend a week in Noosa only a few months ago on the Turbo Studio Noosa Camp (which was amazing!) so getting to reacquaint myself with Garmin hill was nice, besides a few over zealous locals in their cars almost killing us it was a nice morning ride and a great way to start the day! A quick coffee with some of the crew on the main street and it was back to the pad.

In Noosa you have such amazing places to train on your doorstep and it would be just rude to not take advantage of them. So Aimz and I got our gear on and went for a great run through the Noosa Heads National Park, I love that place so much I could move there just for that!

Enjoying our run through the beautiful National Park

Capping the day off watching the Eyeline Noosa 1000 Ocean Swim and getting seeing coach get a 3rd place (and bust a lung trying) and the rest of the crew all having a great race as well was great. Sid and I snuck off for a quick swim out around the point and back to stretch the arms mid-race as neither of us fancied the actual race.
Dinner at the surf club (for something different) with the crew and a few sneaky beers was a great way to finish off a great day!

It's all about the photo! Coach starting the Eyeline 1000

Bondi Fit dinner (and beers) Friday night

My old training buddy and partner in crime Tommy got into town on Friday night and it would have been rude to break our tradition of riding the course together the day before the race, so I joined him and Sid and headed off early again (and in full sunshine...) to ride the course. It was quite possibly the highlight of the trip getting back on the bike and riding with these two legends. Always such a pleasure.

Having a ride with these two legends: Tommy and Sid

Tommy departed and Sid and I carried on to meet the Bondi Fit team who were just getting started on their morning of mini-tri's around the island. Seems the Bondi Fit bus arrived the night before as the numbers had swelled dramatically overnight! So we joined in for a few swims and runs and had a good time before all heading off for a team breakfast (man I love breakfast!)

Mini-tri's Saturday morning

One of Sid's sponsors Shotz Nutrition was holding their SSNLRSNWBB Championships (long story) so we wandered down to see the crew and have a laugh while they attempted to body surf the swimming pool that was Noosa main beach... Was good to meet some of the team and also to meet Darryl from Shotz and put a face to a name finally.

The Shotz team debating the rules pre-SSNLRSNWBB Championships

After an afternoon of chilling out on the couch I headed down to rack the bike and hang around for the swim round the island with the team, felt good through the swim and was feeling very relaxed, which was a big change from a few days ago back in Sydney....
I also managed to rack my bike right next to Tommy which was a bit of a laugh :)

The amount of bikes in transition was unreal!

Just like old times. Parking up next to Tommy in transition

The SUBARU Australian Open Mens Criterium was on just after and local bike shop name and friend Ben Johnson was racing so we jostled for a spot to watch the action. Being the first Crit that I had watched it was an exciting race with Robbie McEwen coming through for the photo finish!
A quiet meal tonight and an early night to bed was in order before the big day tomorrow...

Mens Crit race, great to watch!

Sunday morning. Race morning.

Love & Hate relationship. But mainly Love.
Aimee got up (bless her) and helped stick the race numbers on and off I went to setup transition. My wave start wasn't until 8:45 (!!!) but I had to be done in transition by 6am like the rest of the field. Tommy and I were lucky that we found some empty racks on our row so we could move our bikes (shhhh) and space out a bit to make it easier in transition.
At first a start time of 8:45 had me doing back flips, although I soon realised that it would mean I could watch Sid in her first race as a Pro. So it all of a sudden became a great thing I had a late start!

Sid's first Pro start!

Out of the water and starting her hunt on the bike

Most of the team were down at the swim start for the pro race, and we made sure that we gave Sid her tunnel into the water before her first pro race, much to the surprise of all the other pros and people who wandered what all the noise was about :)
It seemed her first race wasn't going to be without drama with a snake in the water scaring the life out of Moffy just before the buzzer went on the start line! We hung around and waited at the swim exit to make sure we gave her a good cheer before she got on the bike and started her hunt. And hunt she did! Tommy and I quickly ducked off to grab some breakie and got back in time to see Sid come back into T2 having ridden through half the field (into about 7th place) and with a smile on her face that you could see from miles away, super effort!
Starting the run we shouted support at her until she started shouting back something like "I thought it was only a swim and a bike?" when we stopped shouting support and started shouting abuse!

Aimz had wandered down by this stage and it was nice to see her before the race start. Proudly displaying her supporter sticker for the day :)

My biggest supporter! :)

We snuck away and started to prepare for our own race and headed to the swim start, ...like we wanted to race now having been watching people already finish.....! About to jump into the water for my own race I noticed Sid had just come through into the recovery area so I had the chance to go and give her a massive congratulations which gave me the boost I needed to get back into race mode.

My swim was alright. Although I instantly regretted the 2-piece tri suit choice to swim in. Muppet. The top became an instant float and I knew that was going to suck. Oh well. The buzzer went (no snake) and off we went. Pretty sure I threw my fair share of punches at the first can, but I received my fair share as well...
My wave (as usual) swam the most zig-zagged route through the swim, so I had to make the choice to chase feet or swim my own lines. I chose my own lines and pretty much swam solo the whole way again.

Out into T1 and Tommy's bike was still there (he started 3 mins behind) which was a good thing considering how I had been swimming lately. On to the bike (after pushing past countless people stopped on the mount line... Arrgghhh!!!) I heard the familiar voices of some of the team and of Aimee on the sidelines.
I wanted to push the bike pretty hard and set about trying to get into a rhythm. About 5km in Bacon moved past me and I paced off him for a little while before realising that I wasn't going to hold on for long and went back to my own race. Garmin hill came and went quite quickly and before I knew it I was at the turn around. Still no Tommy? or anyone else for that matter... The only person to pull past me had been Bacon which was a good feeling. The return trip down the hill I was lucky that the traffic cleared up lot and I was able to just put the head down and go, nudging 85km/h on the way down.
Back into town and the traffic got worse, I apologise to anyone I screamed at (especially on the bridge) but be stuffed if I was slowing down! Quick look at the watch and it was a 1:02 bike split which made me smile. Nice.
Into T2 I heard a familiar voice behind me. Tommy! Classic moment in T2 together getting our shoes on like rookies, we almost had a picnic... I gave him the news that Bacon was gone, but chase him anyway, turned him the right way around (you still owe me a beer) and off we went.

Data from the bike

Out the gates and the familiar voices were there again. Although this time it felt like my legs had been run over. There was nothing there. It was hot and it was not fun. The whole run I tried telling myself that I felt good and that I love running, but it didn't help, the legs just wouldn't turn over... I managed to hang on to what I could and run a 45min split which isn't what I had in mind. Although the last km was amazing and I would do it again and again no matter what the pain. The banners, the people, the grandstand. the big screen. Awesome. Coming down the chute and having the Bondi Fit alcoholic supporters along with Sid and Reidy hanging over giving the high fives was epic just before hitting the line. Loved it.
If you had asked me to sign up again right then I would have. What an awesome end to a race!

Party time!

Straight to the surf club (after a quick shower) and into the beers! We sank a handful of cold ones with the team there and inhaled a few bowls of food for good measure.

Although when the message came through to get to the Oakley house I didn't hesitate and we headed off for a great night with some great people and athletes. Will remember that one for a while!
Might have even given poor Ashleigh Gentle the freight of her life on the way to get pizza afterwards... Sorry Ash!

Recovery...

Monday started with a hangover and a craving for breakfast... Sid had mentioned the WITSUP girls were hosting a breakfast with a few of the top female athletes on a panel, so Tommy and I didn't think twice and tagged along for the fun. It was a great event with Liz Blatchford, Emma Snowsill, Emma Jackson and Charlotte McShane there to answer all sorts of great questions. It was one of the better panels I have listened to, led fearlessly by Snowy!

The rest of the day was dedicated to the fact that we had given up sugar for the last 6 months and this was the first cheat day we had! There was gelati, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, gelati.... It was amazing.
But also not that satisfying... Weird?

Did someone say chocolate?

Aimee and I snuck away for a quiet dinner at Noosa's newest restaurant which was lovely (besides not being capable of bringing me a drink for the entire meal.... again, long story) It was nice to have another dinner and enjoy some non-triathlon time...
We caught up with Sid for some more gelati afterwards and a quick drink to celebrate the trip and her first pro race (very proud!)

Tuesday I decided that I wanted my favourite breakfast that I haven't been able to have for months (sugar....) Eggs Benedict! So Aimz and I went out to a local cafe and sat there patiently waiting for the awesomeness... low and behold, it was rubbish... So I have put it back on the list of things I miss and will search out a better one later...


So until then...

PB Festival at the Gong!

A weekend full of PB's!

Glorious day for a swim!

Well what a weekend for a race!
It wasn't so much the weather or the place, but the people. Specifically team Bondi Fit.
It seemed that everyone was out for a PB. And boy did everyone deliver!

After getting down the Gong late Saturday arvo to erect the Bondi Fit temple in the most obtrusive position we could find (in the process upsetting one of our medal hopefuls with our casual attitude...) it was a gentle ride of the bike course that got the blood flowing for the following days race. It was fast. Gloriously fast!

So off to the pub we went to discuss tactics, by tactics I mean how to safely dodge the beers coming from the coach rather than race tactics, everyone was looking forward to it and it was early nights all round (I think...)

Team Bondi Fit! (photo by Bondi Fit)

Sunday morning was a beauty, little bit of wind around but mainly clear.
It was a bit of a late start with some confusion with the buoys on the outside of the harbour, they didn't want to stay put, and I still don't think they ever got them to stay put... hence the swim was a bit of a nightmare. Not to mention the shape of the swim... perhaps "Squashed M" is the best way to describe it... It was brutal. head on collisions all over the place due to swimmers drifting mere meters off the straight line between the cans. Wasn't much fun!

Although lets not let the brutality of it get in the way of the fact that it was a fast swim and there were PB's flying around!

Spot had a ripper in his category, again coming out of the water leagues in front of anyone else (although on a results check it seems that young Scotty may have got the upper hand...!)

Spotty killed as usual

A 20:53 was a massive PB for me, shaving off over 4 minutes! It was bloody nice getting out of the water, looking at the watch and seeing those numbers staring back at me!

Feeling good about the swim

Although it was a little short lived as I jumped into T1 only to find Tommy Tuckerbox's bike wasn't in the rack... Surely not. Little bastard.

It felt great to get out on the bike. After the ride the afternoon before I was really looking forward to getting stuck in to that course.
Quickly found my rhythm and settled in with 2 other guys sharing the work (not drafting I swear!) over the first 2 laps. The road surface was sensational and it was a very enjoyable ride.
There were a few little bursts from each of us trying to drop the other 2 over the first 2 laps but we all managed to wind it back in... I was still feeling strong so put a big effort in at the turn around to start the 3rd lap and managed to put a big enough gap on the other 2 that I didn't see them for the rest of the ride. That was a good feeling!

Off the bike and into the run. That bloody run that breaks me everytime.
For the last half a lap on the bike I had been going over my strategy for the run and trying to get myself mentally prepared. It was getting hot as well which I knew was going to cause some issues, but I threw a gel down and went into T2 strong.
My plan was to hold 4:45min/km's for the first half and then try and build.
I know I should be able to run much quicker, but time and time again the run has broken me, so I wanted to simply run well and run to a plan to get some confidence.

Feeling good early

The first 3km's I ran to plan, but I could already feel my legs wanting to give out. I tried to grab a mouth full of Dextro at each aid station to try subdue the feeling but it really started to slow me down. From then it was a 5km mental battle with myself to stop listening to my legs and just bloody run.
The final 2km's I managed to get to a stage where I was able to convince myself that the pain was only going to be short lived and push through.
Although, coming past the crowds on the way to the line, I was able to put some pace on (gotta love that crowd boost!) grit the teeth and go for it!

Until...

That last 1km...

The final brutal km...

Wow, that was cruel. Having to run past the crowd and the finish chute and off into the distance for a painfully hot and long loop before being able to turn and shoot for the line once again... Definitely a blow mentally and it took a lot of digging to find enough to carry that pace over the line...

2:16:03 - Massive PB of over 15 minutes. Gotta be happy with that!

Tommy smashed out a 2:02:24 for 4th (he was robbed by a Kahlefeldt who killed it in 1:57:20!)

And there was Gold for Lisa in 2:13:39 (I'll get you one day soon Lis....)

Gold Gold Gold! (Photo by Lizi Hamer)

 What a ripper weekend of racing!