Hi folks, It is fascinating how interested humans are in what other humans are thinking about them. This clearly makes evolutionary sense, but can't we get over it? More accurately I should say, what they think other people are thinking about them, which reminds me of an old saying that I learned I don't know where: "When I was 20, I worried about what people thought about me. When I was 40 I didn't ... Read more
Sports Injuries: Are You Looking For The Wrong Thing In The Wrong Place?
Hi folks, Whilst staying in a motel on the Interstate recently, I was awoken at 2:00 am by a cyclic buzzing sound, which I immediately assumed was an alarm clock in the adjacent room. You know what they say about, 'ASSUME.' Makes and ass out of you and an ass out of me. I just could not get back to sleep, so off I went in search of the offending noise, with the assistance of the night clerk (a nice ... Read more
Inspiration And Memories From The Lake Placid Ironman
Hi folks, Each time I come to a race I meet inspiring people and take home some great memories. This year was no exception. My inspiration at this event (LPIM 2011) came from three guys, in a slightly younger age group, who chatted with me on the day after the race. One of them remembered my name and called me over to ask about how my race went. Then I noticed that one guy was covered in 'road pizza' (bike crash), ... Read more
Compromise? For Success, Fit Your Workout Schedule To Your Personality
Hi folks, Here we are in beautiful Lake Placid after the race, with a deadline for people to get back to North Carolina by Saturday (four days away). We are debating what to do next. There are two camps and an observer (myself - I have no deadlines right now). Camp one says, "lets go to Montreal for a day." This is one hundred miles in the wrong direction for getting back home. The other camp ... Read more
First Ironman With AAA Stent Graft, La Poutine And A Chip Butty
Life is brief, so celebrate your successes. Yesterday I finished the Lake Placid Ironman for the fifth time. This may be the first Ironman completion for a person with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) stent graft (Cook Zenith). I had one of my worst race times, almost three hours slower than last year, due to being under-trained as a consequence of missed training in the Fall whilst recovering from the AAA-surgery, ... Read more
Your Competition May Not Be As Tough As They Look
Hi folks, Life is full of surprises, so don't let your competition psyche you out (it's not over 'till its over). When I was a youngster I joined a judo club. After only a few months of training our group of 15 to 16-year-old boys was asked to participate in a martial arts demonstration in a large auditorium in the center of town. We didn't know much, but then our role was to act as a backdrop for the ... Read more
Simple Pleasures And The Fluid Nature Of Memory
Hi folks, A life well lived is a balanced life. As I think back over my life so far, I remember some simple pleasures that cost little but left an indelible memory. The earliest is playing the ancient game of five stones as a kid in the street outside of our house in Bristol, England in the late 1940s. You find five nice small stones, just right to both throw in the air and pick up, and away you go. It ... Read more
Training As A Journey Of Self-Discovery: How Much Is Too Much?
Hi folks, The real art to training safely comes down to knowing what to do and becoming aware of how much is too much. Too much what, you might ask? Let's consider a few key variables. Impact: Recently I sent out a tweet, via Twuffer to Twitter (brave new world), providing a Chez Ollie in the TheRollaDailyNews.com website concerning the value of exercise for Baby Boomers. There was a statement in this ... Read more
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