Strength Vs Size

Win number two for 2011

2011-12-03T22:17:00.000+13:00

"Great work James, pretty good day at the office. You finished 6th overall with 330.43 wilks. Another 5kg would have put you 5th. Also, you got Canterbury raw records for bench, deadlift and total."

I DIDN'T MISS A SINGLE LIFT TODAY ~ COULDN'T HAVE GONE ANY BETTER.

Weighed in at 142.78lb around 10.30am.

SQUAT
220
242
264

BENCH
209
220
231 *COMPETITION PB*

DEADLIFT
396
407
418 *PB*

TOTAL: 913

Less than a month to go

2011-11-06T09:13:00.000+13:00

Training has been going great. Deadlifts have really improved, quite happy with them and hoping to post up a big number at the meet. Squats, again I'm happy with how they are coming along. I'm making improvements both with hitting depth and increasing my power. Even my weakest lift, the bench is getting better.

Looking forward to competing against everybody on a level playing field... raw powerlifting is what the sport should be. I'm all for getting rid of suits, shirts and wraps and walking out your squat. No inflated numbers, just an honest reflection of what someone is capable of achieving. Man Vs Iron.

Next meet: Dec 3rd

2011-09-21T09:25:00.000+12:00

I realise this only gives me 11wks but I'm sat on a reasonable strength base at the moment and hate not having anything to train towards. Haven't really squatted much at all over the last few months, hit them up last night and finished up with 225 x 3, ass to ground. Would like to think I can hit close to 315 for the meet.

Bench I'll be aiming for somewhere around 230-240.

DL, well again I haven't been training this much lately but anything over 405 I'll be happy with. I'll be competing in the 130-145 class. Right now I'm feeling and looking pretty lean, so going to bump the bodyweight up a bit and start moving some heavy weight again. Time to make some noise and put right what went wrong last time!

Rule #4: IF YOU ALWAYS TRAIN THE SAME WAY, EXPECT THE SAME RESULTS

2011-07-11T18:10:00.000+12:00

Easing into the last few weeks of training with higher reps before I get back into the strength work.

This was my third set of five last night for DL's, tried to do more of a SLDL to make it a little tougher and managed 315 x 11 (new PB for reps). I actually thought I had got to 12 so I stopped; this back session was a pretty average workout as I had a migraine... just wanted to do one good set before I left the gym.

I have set myself a challenge to get 315 x 15 this coming Thursday, bodyweight will be 145 or less. I'll let you know how I go, but definately looking forward to attacking the heavier weights again J.

Rule #3: LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES

2011-06-15T10:23:00.000+12:00

I didn't have a good day at all, I bombed out after the squat round where I didn't manage to get a score on the board.
I failed the first attempt at 140kg for depth ~ probably the right call, I had no issues with that. They failed me on my second lift becasue I was a little too high/not deep enough. Coming out of that second lift I was sure I had it, and watching the video back straight afterwards I was still convinced it was an unfair judging call. A few days on and I don't know, I've managed to put it behind me but it was a real 50/50 decision that could have gone either way.

Video of attempt #2 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHzPrl-TBcE

SO WHAT HAVE I LEARNT FROM THAT MEET?
____________________

1) I probably opened a bit too heavy. I did feel confident opening with a 140kg squat, although in hindsight with a current PB of 150kg I probably should have gone a little lighter. I think somewhere around 120-130kg would have been better, and neither of those are weights that phase me.

2) I need to get more depth. I'm going to sink it to the ground from now on, I need to leave no doubt in the judges minds.

3) Positive attitude, good mental state. By the third lift I think I had already set myself up to fail. I sunk it completely to the floor, but couldn't quite get all the way back up. Close but not close enough !!
____________________

Next meet is the Wellington Powerhouse Open on November 19th, then a local club meet two weeks afterwards. Despite the bad result from this last one it can still be a valuable learning experience, and the mistakes I made hopefully will be learnt from. Cheers J.

Rule #2: EXPERIMENT

2011-06-04T09:10:00.000+12:00

One week out from South Island Nationals

So last meet I did I ended up having to try and drop 7.5lb over the last week. Although the meet went well my logic was telling me with that kind of drop over that short amount of time there would have been a strength drop (at some level). I don't think it was much but I do believe it flttened me out a little.

So this time I thought I would try it the other way round; one week until the meet, over the last ten days I have been deliberately dropping while keeping my training consistency & intensity up. Using food & water manipulation I've dropped 5.5lb ~ this morning I weighed in at 141.4.

My reasoning behind this is now I can focus on bringing my weight back up (which even if this offers no strength benefits it is much mentally better for me), and have no stress or worries about making weight. I have nearly 4lb to play with and I plan to come in bang on 145.

** Video is from leg day last week, leg press 280kg x 8. Squat is back up at 140kg, back where it was 7yrs ago!

Rule #1: INTENSITY

2011-05-22T16:25:00.000+12:00

Training is going great at the moment, three weeks until the South Island Champs. Have made some good progress with my squats, I am confident I can add a bit to them this time around. Mixed them up tonight with some leg presses...

Bodyweight was 66.5kg, leg press machine loaded up with 6.5 plates each side. From 14 reps up it was maximal intensity, I honestly didn't think I would get to 20 reps when Ray told me I had 6 more reps to go ?!

He thought it would be fun to add some extra resistance (you can see him leaning into the machine, bottom left of the video), so it would have been a little bit heavier than the 260kg that was loaded on there, felt like it too.

Right now I feel like I'm going to vomit, really nauseated. Can't walk properly either as my knees keep buckling from under me. This 20 rep set with that amount of weight was something new to my body... and CNS. Let's see how my legs feel over the next day or two, this kind of intensity is just what I needed. J

2011-04-28T11:56:00.000+12:00

I've had a few days break, feeling recharged and ready to go again. I qualified for the South Island Nationals on June 11th which gives me six weeks to prepare.

GOAL TOTAL FOR NATIONALS: 440kg / 970lbs

I'll be needing to use everything to my advantage, so the knee wraps will be coming out of a seven year hibernation! This should bring my squat up at least 140kg. Bench... well it's probably my weakest lift but I think 105-110 is attainable. My strong suit is the deadlift, I reckon I could pull about 185 right now so a 190 is my target.

Anything over 422.5kg in my weight class would meet the qualifying standards for the NZ Nationals. The others don't look too out of my reach over the next few years either, I just need to put in the hard work and work on my technique.

NZPF Qualification Totals (59-66kg class)

Silver - Commonwealth Champs
500kg

Bronze - Oceania Champs
462.5kg

Black - New Zealand National Champs
422.5kg

Brown - South/North Island Champs
382.5kg

My six week training block kicks off tomorrow, back soon J.

1st place, won my 59-66kg class

2011-04-23T20:37:00.000+12:00

My final lift, bringing my total to an even 400kg.

The hard work is done.

2011-04-21T21:19:00.000+12:00

I had my final session last night. It was a tough but solid 1.5hr slog with my training partner Greg, running on hardly any calories.
I've dropped the weight I needed to (3kg in just under a week) and I weighed in at 65.6kg this morning before breakfast. Now I just need to hold this until I weigh in for the meet on Saturday morning.
The last lift last night was an easy 170kg which will probably be my opener. I'm confident of pulling 180kg, if I'm going good I hope to have a crack at 185 which would be a PB. I was aware that my back rounded a little on this last one, but that's more than likely because I was completely spent haha. Now I can rest up and get in the right headspace.

Just under 3wks to go

2011-04-04T16:53:00.000+12:00

Looking forward to competing in the 59-66kg class. Training has been going really well, strength is at an all time high and I am confident I can place in the Top 3. My only weak spot is the squat; I have had a hip problem which meant I couldn't squat for a month or so, that will just be a case of doing whatever I can manage on the day. Will be a bit shitty though, probably not much over 100kg I reckon. The other two lifts should be okay ~ bench I aiming for around 110kg and I'm confident I can pull at least 180kg for the deadlift. Will be back with an update soon, looking to get in a couple more training sessions before I head up to Auckland for a week away from all the earthquakes! J

Strength is on the up...

2011-02-03T17:57:00.000+13:00

My first Powerlifting meet of 2011 has been locked in, I will be competing at the Canterbury Champs on April 23rd (59-66kg class) and hopefully qualify for the South Island Champs in June. The way my strength is coming along, with another 3 months of training I will easily be the strongest I have ever been. My goal lifts for the first meet are:

Squat: 140
Bench: 120
Deadlift: 180

The best I got for flat bench press when I was doing my last block of weight training was 100kg x 4. Was feeling good a few nights back, grabbed somebody from the gym floor (just to be on the safe side) and had another go with it. Considering I thought I might get two or three reps I was pretty happy! I failed on the 9th rep so the 10th had a slight assist by the spotter, here's how that last set went...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whPpzs6hWDw

NB: Sorry about having to just copy & paste the link, it wouldn't let me insert the webpage OR upload it. Maybe the file was too large? Cheers J.

The last couple of months...

2011-01-20T09:11:00.001+13:00

Well I'm back in the gym building up my strength. Looking to do another powerlifting meet at some point this year, I'll have to take a look and see what meets are on in Christchurch. Training has been going very well, I have added 5kg over the last two months with very little change in bodyfat. I'm starting to hit some decent numbers and my PB's are already coming back into sight. Last night I managed 42kg x 6 on the flat dumbbell chest press which is a new PB for that amount of weight and reps (video clip below). All in all I'm happy with how my fast my strength is increasing.

All the best J.

IMTalk, fantastic interview with Chris 'Macca' McCormack

2010-11-07T10:09:00.000+13:00

I would imagine any athlete would find this interview both interesting and inspiring. Macca offers a great insight into how he approaches his races, targets his opposition and gives a complete rundown of his race in Ironman World Championships in Kona this year (which he won). Great job Bevan and John, love your work !!

http://www.imtalk.me/home/2010/10/25/imtalk-episode-232-2010-kona-champ-chris-macca-mccormack.html

Time for me to retire

2010-11-06T11:04:00.000+13:00

I have decided to hang up my running (and cycling) shoes. I have a heart issue which was of concern to the doctors when I was in hospital, and with some trauma already done there's a major health risk to me by running long distances. I'm going to see a cardiologist soon and find out just where I am at and what I am able to do; every person with aortic stenosis is different, so at this stage I don't know if I'm okay to race at all. All I know is that endurance events such as Ironman and ultra's are something I have to step down from.
So for the sake of my family and friends I won't be training or racing anything out of the ordinary any longer. Not sure what I'll do instead, initially I think I'll just get back into the gym and maintain what fitness I have right now.
Matt left a comment saying how he thought I was a fraud and I never clock up the distances I talk about, also commenting on how low my mileage was through July and August. Well that's probably because I only took up running again this June! I hadn't ran seriously at all before June, so I'm hardly going to jump straight into racking up the km's. I do often fall short of what I aim for and I admit that, I have a family and things in my life crop up. But I can be sure this obviously isn't someone that lives in Christchurch, where all through September & October we were simply trying to get through some major earthquakes and aftershocks (and even now). Being with my family was more important than leaving them home alone to fit a run in. The majority of October also saw me struggling with digestion / stomach problems which left me feeling generally 'off'. It was a pretty rough time for me overall.
So with this poster knowing nothing about what was happening with me over the last few months, I found it a pretty disrespectful comment that I deleted in the end, especially as he thinks I am trying to make money of having some kind of a 'false image'? Just for the record NONE of the clients I have I charge. I already have a full time job, I just happen to love training people towards their goals; I am not in it for any financial gains and I do not make even a cent from personal training anymore. Same as running... I run becasue I love running. If my passion for what I do can inspire others to do more with their life than that's a tangible difference I have made to their confidence, lifestyle and health.
So as always, I'm just gonna keep doing what I've always done and ignore people like this. I'm now at a point where with my health I need to reassess what I am able to do. Whatever you do, do it because you enjoy it. Dedictaion and passion is a powerful combination J.

Postscript: I have been recently criticised for 'advertising' that I run more than I do. This is due to me being an over-ambitious person, I try to aim high and I guess the reality is I do fall short a lot of the time. This is what it comes down to, nothing more, nothing less. But you know what, at least I put it out there what I am trying to do and it's myself that lives with the outcome at the end of each training week.
So for those few individuals out there that seem to get a kick out of giving me a good old bashing, if you scroll through the blog over the next few days you should see that I've followed up with postscripts where neccessary. The idea that I'm somehow creating a 'false image' is laughable, I'm at the stage of my career where I do things because I want to - I have nothing to prove. I've ran an ultra, 7 x marathons, 30+ half marathons and numerous 5/10/15km races. And that's not even including what I've done in cycling, powerlifting, duathlon etc etc. But these guys still know more about my workouts and running than I do ?! No, I'm not going to make the mistake of worrying about people that mean nothing to me, what a waste of positive energy! J

No Molesworth for me HEALTH UPDATE

2010-11-04T16:28:00.001+13:00

Only a couple of weeks before the race and I have had to make the decision to not to race this year. Despite training going really well and some solid runs (a few 50km runs and one 60km, both in a decent time) I have decided in the interest of my overall health it's best if I try and recover. After last year I feel like I'm destined not to run this race!
The last couple of weeks I have been having stomach issues, cramping and digestion etc. I have been seeing my doctor since the start of this week and they were keeping an eye on things such as my liver & pancreas values. Last night it got very bad and I spent 3 hours in hospital... poked, prodded, more bloods, an ECG and even a finger placed where it shouldn't really be placed. I'm now on medication and I've lost the last couple of weeks training. I have had some internal bleeding somewhere along the line, thankfully that seems to have stopped now. The doctors have told me I would be foolish to try and run at present, instead I'll have to ease back into it when I come right.
I also had the Sri Chinmoy 100km race in mid-December which is now looking very unlikely. They say setbacks like this can make you stronger - I really hope so. I feel like it's something I haven't had any control over, however I still get that feeling like I let people down.
To all the people racing, I hope you have a fab day out there. I'll reassess my December ultra soon, will depend on how much fitness I have lost and how my body handles the running when I get back out onto the road again.
Onward and upward, and as Arnold someone-or-other once said... "I'll be back!"

Three weeks to go...

2010-10-30T11:11:00.000+13:00

I said I'd post up some of my training so you can see kind of what I do. Here's a snippet from last week...

Sun 24th Oct: 30.12km / 3.05 (easy run with friend)
Mon 25th Oct: 6.1km / 28:30 (picked up pace over last few km's)
Tue 26th Oct: 50km / 5.15 (long run, ultra pace)
Wed 27th Oct: 12km / 1.01 (recovery run). Gym session in evening

Still time for fit in a few more long runs and test out my nutrition, I'm aiming to do another couple of long(ish) runs this weekend which should come out somewhere around a 150km week. I'm liking my new Saucony running shoes, no blisters after the 50km in them so that's a bonus! Take care and enjoy the weekend J.

Postscript: I never managed to run much after Wednesday as I started to experience bad stomach problems (which was the beginning of a bad gastric bug). This put me about 30km short for the week, finishing up around 120km. The only other run I did this week was a good 22km night run, I felt really strong throughout and had to hold back the pace. Here's the breakdown of the Saturday run:

Sat 30th Oct: 22.14km / 2.05 (easy pace)
Max spd: 14.83kph
Best Pace: 4.02/km
Calories: 1,731

Time to fuel up mmmm

2010-10-23T09:23:00.000+13:00

It's 'Big Run' time for me. This Tue will be my Molesworth simulation run, a 70k'ish trot around McLeans Island and probably finishing up around Hagley Park (which incidentally is the second largest park in the world, a little smaller than Central Park in New York).
I am hoping to come away with some confidence that I can a) ingest a lot of liquid & food without vomitting b) test out my new, genius 'blister-resister' plan c) and finally try to maintain my new ultra pace... which is only marginally faster than my wife speeds round the supermarket.
Back soon, have fun with whatever you're doing and wherever you're doing it! J

‎"Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting." Desiree Davila

6 weeks until Molesworth

2010-10-05T15:40:00.000+13:00

The gravelled road climbs Ward Pass 1145m and descends into Isolated Flat - 250 hectares of expansive grass and tussock lands, bounded by rolling mountains and massive scree slopes. This event is run in the 'High Country', approx 1000m above sea level. As such weather patterns are EXTREME, severe heat, little shade and limited water, can be countered with snow and severe frost at any time of the year. Competitors and support vehicles must be equipped to handle these conditions! You will finish outside the famous Hanmer thermal spa - A total distance of 84km.

I am now into my final block of training and my focus will be to try to get some bigger km's under the belt. I'll have an easy week before the race and hopefully I'll be ready to take on this iconic NZ ultramarathon. I'm really looking forward to testing my body over the longer distances again, and I have it on good authority that the 10hr cutoff time isn't particularly generous! Check back soon as I'll post up a few snippetts of my weekly training. Kia kaha

New PB at Sri Chinmoy half marathon

2010-09-25T10:20:00.000+12:00

I was confident in my fitness as my training had been going pretty well (apart from a little disruption due to a small earthquake that hit Christchurch). I was happy that my brother in law Gary was racing as we have done a few races together and it's always good fun to push each other. Usually we end up either cramping and falling to pieces or running hard and finishing within seconds of each other. This race went like that.
It was a chilly start to the morning, I remember keeping my jacket on until the last moment so that my fingers stayed able to move. Aparrently they don't function so well when they're like icicles. The Sri Chinmoy team always give you a minute before they set the runners off, just so you can find the right headspace - for me that meant putting on a serious look and grinding my teeth. Yeah, that scared a few people I'm sure.
The gun went off and I tried to get out near the front, gradually ending up in about 5th place out of 45 runners. This was good despite my lungs telling me I'd be better off around the 30-35th place. I kept the pace up for the first out-and-back lap which was 2km, then Gary pulled in front of me and that was more or less how it stayed for a while. I was keeping an eye on the splits as my goal was to try and run 1hr35. They were:

5km: 22.30
10km: 45.30
15km: 1:08.00

So all on track, and we were starting to reel in a few of the guys that had been in front of the whole way which was reassuring. I had a few moments out there when Gary picked up the pace and was running well under 4.30/km pace, I was thinking I might have to let him go and try and catch him towards the end. Typically I am quite strong over the last few km's of a race and I can make up a bit of time. However I somehow managed to hang tough and at about the 17km mark I decided to try and put my foot down. I basically just went past Gary and put my head down, and those last couple of kilometres hurt like hell!
I crossed the line in 1hr36 after what probably looked like the Worlds' slowest sprint, Gary was just behind me in 1hr37. I think we both had a great race, we ran smart and at a consistent hard pace (for us anyway). We ended up being 11th and 12th place which I suppose is okay, I have put a 1hr30 goal on my running 'Bucket List' after I get all of the upcoming ultras out of the way. I think it's a possibility, and I'm always up for a challenge!

Done & dusted in Dunedin

2010-09-14T17:46:00.000+12:00

What a beautiful race, tough and challenging with rolling hills and a grunter at the end. I wanted to see if I could beat my PB of 3hr54; my goal was to run at a consistent pace the whole way and maybe push a little harder after the final hill.
After a reasonably fast start I worked on settling into a good rhythm. My stomach was a little unsettled for the first half an hour (maybe pre-race pizza and 3 x beers isn't the best combo for me), but the legs felt fresh so I plodded on.
I knew my friend Norman (the other guy in the photo) would start off faster than me so I just let him go. We run similar times for a marathon so I tried to keep him in my sights. He must have had a few surges along the way as he was about 1min ahead of me for the first 10km. At the 15km mark I was sitting 10-15secs behind him, then at the halfway point he put the hammer down and opened up 2mins on me. Oh well, I watched him disappear and I tried to keep well hydrated (the morning was 88% humidity). Luckily I usually race quite well in the heat. The splits I can remember were:

2km: 10.00
5km: 26.00
10km: 54.00
21km: 1:56.00
25km: 2:23.00
30km: 2:47.00
35km: 3:20.00

By the 38 or 39km mark I had to maintain a 5min/km pace to just nip under my PB, I couldn't quite hold it and didn't have enough in the legs to sprint the last 1/2km. I missed it by about 30secs... at the time it was a bit disappointing but looking back now I think that's the best marathon I have ran so far. I was patient, kept a consistent pace the whole way and didn't make any stupid mistakes (apart from sneezing with a mouthful of water and soaking the marshalls - sorry)!
I fell across the line in 3hr55 and Norman came across about 4mins after. What an awesome day, I think I'm going to pick a flat marathon next and try and break into the 3hr40's. There's a Sri Chinmoy half marathon this coming weekend, so I have a few days to sharpen up and get some speed back. I'd like to run a sub 1hr40. Should be fun! Cheers for reading J.

Finding the balance...

2010-09-01T13:51:00.001+12:00

... between distance and speed. I feel like I've had a great month or so of training, my weekly running has been in the low-mid 80km range and I'm just starting to incorporate a little faster running so I can go hard for the Dunedin marathon on 12th September. I'm following that up the next weekend with a flat half marathon around Hagley Park, hence the speed work (some may not call it speedy but it seems fast to me). I want to see how close I can get to a 1hr30, will be ouch but a fun ouch (hopefully)!
Yesterday was a pretty crappy day in Christchurch so I did a morning + evening session on the treadmill, 40mins morning and 50mins at night. Both sessions I did a little faster running - I was trying to imagine someone running away and I wanted to chase them down and then stay with them at that pace.

Run 1: Total run = 40mins
11mins at 4'30"/km pace

Run 2: Total run = 50mins
7mins at 4'30"/km pace then into 3mins at 4'15/km

That all felt pretty comfortable, and I'm out for a 17km tempo run this afternoon, will head out round the back of the airport. I love it out there, despite it being right next to the airport I find it very peaceful and relaxing.

Keep training hard and smart J.

Dunedin bound, anything is possible...

2010-08-20T11:09:00.000+12:00

" The Greta Valley Marathon Relay is a six person running relay starting from the Greta Valley school on the corner of SH1 and Motunau Beach Road and finishing back at the Greta Valley Cafe & Bar in the village. The course follows the sealed road into Motunau Beach for approximately 15km then turns into the Happy Valley Road which becomes unsealed after a further 2km then continues along the Happy Valley Road for another 13-14km before meeting up with Glendhu Road. The course then continues along Glendhu Road before meeting with the Motunau Beach Road again and covers the reverse of the first lap then continuing back into Greta Valley village to finish outside the Cafe & Bar carpark.

The course is very challenging with many twists, turns, climbs and decents throughout the whole course. "

Taken from the race website:
http://www.sportsground.co.nz/ClubSite.asp?SiteID=11789&PageTypeID=1&PageID=39710

I am feeling really good after the hill marathon I took part in last weekend. I ran it on Saturday, had a couple of days off and am now proceeding to get some strong, bigger miles into the legs. My goal for the next month or so is to consistently hit around the 100km/week mark. This should give me a good base for Dunedin marathon next month and then I'll be training towards the Moleworth ultra which is in mid-November; I really have been just getting back into the groove of running again after spending a few months in the gym bulking up to insane proportions. Folks, I wouldn't lie to you.
So, I ran the 4th Annual Greta Valley Relay marathon (well it's meant to be a 6 x person relay) and loved every 281 minutes of it. I was treated a little like a rockstar as I was the first person to attempt it solo and without any support (the other 16 teams of 6 people were allowed a full car of friends out on the course for food, drinks, Mexican waves across the back seat, yelling out the window etc etc). I was always given great encouragement as I soldiered / plodded / scuffled through the changeover stations, they were astounded when I explained this was my 6th marathon and that I might just be okay out there all alone. The hardest part for me was watching the people I had been chasing now sitting down with what looked like very appetising food. MUCH more appetising than my PowerGels that I had to see me through the morning and early afternoon.
It was a ridiculously hilly course, with the leg breaker coming for me at I think somewhere about 29 or 30km. There was a steep, long hill that went on for probably only a couple of kilometres but it was enough to reduce my scuffling to what most would probably consider a crawl. At least the hills gave me plenty of oppurtunity to get some calories in, the muesli bars weren't as satisfying as a pizza with all the toppings but they definately weren't as messy. I had so many up-and-downs in this race, even from early on. Holding off cramp from 20km in, running out of drink (also at 20km), five blisters which incredibly managed to keep increasing in size the whole way round the course and a few more unmemorable moments.
Mike Riley did a great job organising the race, and the prizegiving was entertaining with some good spot prizes. I am proud to say I hold the course record until this time next year - I bet there's not too many people that can say they have won a marathon with a time of 4hr41 !! My suggestion to Mike would be that he open it up to individuals next year, I am positive he would get a good response as there is a bit of a gap for marathons at this time of the year. I'll be back to try and win another couple of bottles of wine in 2011... and I'd love some competition !!

If you put your mind to it you really can do anything.

Map of race:
http://nz.mapometer.com/en/running/route_757241.html

Brrrrrrr

2010-06-14T16:38:00.000+12:00

You can always trust New Zealand to turn on the weather, unfortunately at the moment that equates to rain, wind and Antarctic-like temperatures. I'll be the first to admit I have been struggling a little to get back into my running groove, it's hard to get out of bed in the morning and hard to get out of the house at night (for me that's after 9pm when the kids are up in bed)!
So the last few weeks have seen me pounding out a few km's here and there on the gym treadmills. Not my favourite thing - doesn't even come close to running the stunning trails high up in the hills but at least it teaches you to be tough. I did a 2hr run last weekend, I listened to some music for the first hour and then the Criss Angel 'MindFreak' show was on TV for the last hour. That guy is amazing, I encourage anybody to watch an episode or two and I can guarantee you will be wondering how he does what he does. Levitation has just been added to my bucket list.
One of my good friends and fellow marathoners Norman Chan kept me company for a good blast round the back of the airport last week. It was only 12km and my first run on the road for a long time, so showed me just how much I need to get my skinny butt into gear! Thanks Norman ;-s This weekend I'm heading up to do one of my favourite runs in the Port Hills, a 21km run with a few descent climbs. Comes out at a quad-squashing 1,026m ascent. Great!
Take care, wrap up warm and get out there. If I can do it then you can definately do it!

Running again...

2010-05-18T17:49:00.000+12:00

Just a quick update...

It feels like I haven't done much running for a long time, so it's a good feeling to be getting back into it again.
Have started things up slowly but was surprised at how much base aerobic fitness has remained as I've mainly been only been doing weights. I'm up to running an hour again which feels fine, just on the treadmill at the moment as the weather in Chch has been pretty lousy. I hate running in the rain, but worse still is putting on wet trainers the next day. Bleugh!
I'm going to keep up the weight training as I ramp up the running, hopefully I can keep hold of the muscle I've gained (about 7kg). Interested to see whether marathoning with this extra muscle will make any difference to performance? Cheers J.

Pumping Iron

2009-11-28T09:29:00.000+13:00

It's been a while... nearly six months if I'm counting. But I'm really looking forward to getting back into the gym and hitting the iron again! Like running it's something I have always got a lot of benefit & enjoyment from and I'm lucky in that I respond really quickly, I will pack on a fair bit of size even in the first month.
A big thanks to Emma from Anytime Fitness who have taken me on as one of my main sponsors for the duration of 2010 (at least). They have a great gym that is about 5km from my house so no excuses on my part. I'm planning to run the Tarawera 100km trail run in March, and because it's not a flat ultra I am of the opinion that strength training the legs will make a big difference with how I handle the last half of the race. You sometimes forget just how much muscle recruitment is needed to get up and down hills, it's not all about endurance. If you look at a lot of the ultra guys that run the trails and they have big, strong legs - completely the opposite of the elite marathoners. So that's my plan, along with adding a fair few kg's of muscle overall; my current bodyweight 60kg doesn't really allow me to store a lot of reserves! And it's going to be a plus for injury prevention as well, prehabilitation as I like to call it.
Speak soon, I'm off to make myself a nice bowl of oats, fruit and molasses mmmm

Reality, Lisa Tamati and cups of tea

2009-11-10T06:23:00.000+13:00

Reality... I've made the tough decision of not racing Molesworth. Not an easy one at all, I spent about a week going from yes, no and everything in between. A couple of reasons, the first being that I got sick with a really bad cold and cough that turned into a bronchial infection; one minute Misa is home from PreSchool not feeling the best and the next the whole family is down and out! It was hard to shake and I ended up not being able to run for two weeks. I thought I was going to go insane! The second reason is that a knee injury I have been running with for the last month has turned out to be some torn medial ligament fibres (or something close to that, I may have the exact terminology slightly askew)? If the race was a marathon I think I could have got through it, but I had to weigh up the risk of running 85km and potentially putting myself out of action for quite a while. I didn't really think it fair for the organisers either, for me to run with a pre-existing injury that I knew about and then cause problems by getting stuck out on the course somewhere. So I'm out, although Mieke was kind enough to offer me free entry into next years event. I'm there, thank you!

Lisa Tamati... this woman knows no limits! She is currently about 10 days out of 33 of running the length of New Zealand. The maths works out to be 2,200km with Lisa running an average 70km each day.
My good running friend Norman and I got an early start to drive out to try and find her yesterday as she was leaving Christchurch to head North. By 6am were driving out towards Kaiapoi with our educated guesses as to where she might be. We found her and her amazing crew (complete with flashing lights and hi-vis vests) just after 6am, she must have got an early start as she'd already done a good 10 or 15km. We had planned to run with her for a while and give her some support, Norman seems to know her quite well thankfully as I didn't want to appear like some random groupie turning up to annoy her at some crazy hour of the morning. Norman ran over to her first where he was greeted with a nice hug from Lisa, I followed and was introduced to her. She looked like she was in quite a bit of discomfort but managed a smile and looked genuinely pleased to see us. Unfortunately we only ran with her for a minute or two until one of Lisa's crew took us aside and asked if we minded letting her carry on her own for a while. We knew that she wasn't very talkative in the morning, but aparrently she just wasn't in a good headspace and was battling with a tibial injury (a RSI probably caused from running the hills in Dunedin). We headed back to the crew car and left Lisa to it, I met Lisa's new boyfriend, an American guy Jason who came across as a very warm, humble guy. He was really appreciative of us making the effort to come out and support, I just hope Lisa didn't start wondering where we disappeared to! We said our goodbyes, wished them the best of luck for the rest of the tour and drove back to Christchurch. I got in a good one hour run with Norman and caught up on all the news in the process. A nice way to start the day.

Check out her daily blog here, inspiring stuff

Cups of tea... just digging them more than coffee at the moment. Very strange.

Hardy's Summer 09 magazine

2009-11-06T07:41:00.000+13:00

I finally made it onto a cover of a magazine! But seriously, please pick up your free copy from any Hardy's store and check it out, or the online PDF version is available here:

Hardy's Healthy Living magazine

Cheers, hope you are all having a great start to your November J.

Three weeks to go

2009-10-25T17:45:00.000+13:00

I'm feeling good, a little nervous but quietly confident.

It always intrigues me when everyday folk ask me why I do it. My answer tends to be along the lines of, "because I can." Often not the most complete answer they are looking for, but there's a definate truth in it. I like the challenge that exists between me and the distance I set to run, I like the connection with nature that I get from running the trails and the hills, and I especially like the disconnection from reality (I have never yet received a bill, email or phone call whilst out running). To be able to be out running is to be truly alive. I can feel my heart beating, the comforting sound of my footsteps taking me towards my destination. Completely the opposite of what most of the population is doing. Sitting down watching television, probably eating something that isn't that good for them or drinking something that isn't conducive to their health. And this room in our house is called the 'living room' ?!

Ultrarunning is simply an extension of 'normal' running; instead of heading out for an hour around the block you go for longer, usually a lot longer. But that is about the crux of it - there's nothing majorly different between the two apart from the mindset the ultrarunner must adapt in order to succeed. You can bluff your way through a 10km race or a half marathon, but a marathon and beyond will surely find you out. In essence, it is about moving forward rather than the speed your are moving forwards at. The challenge comes from within, the innate drive to reach the finish line regardless of how things are unfolding in front of you. It is about monitoring and managing pain, it's not really about fancy gear and clothing, gadgets and gizmo's and things that beep... and it's really not at all about ego.

Unless you win.

Final training phase

2009-10-12T18:01:00.000+13:00

All has been good so far, I guess along the way I would have liked to be able to get more runs in but maybe that's something every runner says? With a family it is hard, there is no doubt of that. Having to fit my training around family activities, my wifes work and sometimes even the kids' sleeping patterns it's often a relief when I finally manage to get out of the door! I occasionally feel a little selfish thinking ahead to when I can next run, or planning in advance my sessions for the week; but in retrospect I don't think it is selfish when you consider I do the majority of my running either before I go to work in the morning or after 9pm, when the children are asleep.
What works for all of you? How do you fit in your training around home life, 40+ hour work weeks and still maintain healthy relationships with your friends and family? Post up what works for you, a problelm shared is a problem halved so they say.
Right, I'm off for a large bowl of oatmeal, protein powder & fruits before my evening run. Two hours around the roads of Christchurch tonight on what is a beautiful, mild evening . Finally it looks like Summer may be on its' way - check out the lovely blossom on the tree. Makes you feel good to be alive and in harmony with nature...

'UltraRunningGuy'

2009-10-07T15:53:00.000+13:00

There is a comic strip character known as UltraRunningGuy that now has a bit of a cult following on the internet. I had been having a bit of interaction with the guy that created him and draws his strips, then next thing I know my suggestion is up on his sight. Kind of made me smile, and I'm sure anyone that's gone from running shorter distances up to marathons and beyond knows we often tend to get a little slower !! The link to my little comic strip is here:

http://ultrarunningguy.blogspot.com/2009/10/quick-one.html

So close...

2009-10-05T19:35:00.000+13:00

Well, I ended up missing my PB by 3mins but as anyone that was there can attest the conditions were certainly not in favour of setting of any records.
A race report coming soon, but I gave it a good shot and looking at it now (a day after the race) I am really happy with how I ran. I finished in 3hr57 on a blustery, wet and cold morning and managed a faster second half - even it was only by one minute! The splits that I can remember are:

10km - 54.30
21km - 1hr59
25km - 2hr23
37km - 3hr30

Back soon with all the details, thanks to my friends for turning up and lending their support as well as Norman for some great running and Gary gifting some excellent pacing! Cheers J.

Weekend nearly here

2009-10-01T17:32:00.000+13:00

Well it's been a good week at work, nice and busy and back getting in the swing of things after a week off. It was great getting a chance to spend some quality family time with my wife and children. I am so lucky, my family is everything I have and time passes so quickly... it only seems like yetserday that I was holding Bree in my arms at the hospital (she's 1yr old this weekend)!
Anyway, still feeling good for the marathon this weekend. Legs were quite tired on Monday & Tuesday after the big hill run on Sunday but I am well rested now. It'll be a quick 30-40min run tonight, the same tomorrow and then an easy Saturday before I race early on Sunday morning.
Bye for now J.

On track for a PB?

2009-09-27T20:19:00.000+13:00

Had a great run up around the Port Hills this morning, probably one of my last 'long' ones until the Sri Chimnoy marathon next week. I picked up my Brother-in-law for the last hour, felt pretty good throughout despite their being more than a fair share of uphill slog. Was a bit concerned I didn't eat or drink enough (only got through an Ems PowerBar slice, 2 x PowerGel gels and about 700ml of drink), but was okay nonetheless.

In the end 33.3km in 3hr28 at a fairly conservative pace - apart from a surge for 3 or 4km along the downhill section of the Harry Ell Walkway. Great fun, thanks Gary!

Until the weekend, take care and have fun. Recession is over so stay happy! J

A good few weeks...

2009-09-23T10:22:00.000+12:00

(Photo taken the day before Dunedin marathon, 12th September 09. Enjoying a coffee in Timaru with good friends, from L to R Tom Sheehan, Mike Stewart, Norman Chan & myself)

I have been away from my computer for a while, and for me that's a good thing! As some of you will know I disabled my (much used) Facebook account last month, I felt it was taking up too much time. I was surprised I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would, the only thing I really miss is keeping up with friends & family that live outside of NZ... but hey, I still have good old email!
Training wise things are going well. I have 4 weeks left to get in some solid base work (bigger miles and getting as much time into my legs as I can), then it's into 3 weeks of building on that fitness before I start tapering for the last week before the ultra. Last month I was having a few nagging thoughts like, "Am I going to be ready for this thing?" They've dissipated a little, now I'm for the first time realising that yes I can do it! I did the tough Dunedin marathon about 10 days ago and felt good (for the most part), ran a very hilly 30km trail run up in the Port Hills yesterday in just over 3hrs and a few good shorter distance runs. Tonight I'm planning on trying something I haven't done before - running through the night! Should be quite exciting, I'll head out about 10pm and see what happens.
A quick thanks to Tom Sheehan, you are a great guy and a joy to run with. Thanks for putting up with me for 35km in Dunedin, you kept things in perspective and positive when I was hurting! Tom has written up a great race review here http://www.tomsheehan.co.nz/?p=762
See you all soon, it's my Birthday today so I'm going to go have some fun!

Bringing up the mileage, base phase ultra training

2009-08-22T10:07:00.000+12:00

I've enjoyed the start of my base training, easing gently back into it with a few club races and smaller events such as the Tai Tapu 15km (finished this year in 1hr10) and a few marathons. Fitness seems okay and is constantly improving and I'm in a good mindset to get some solid training in. For those of you are interested in the type of training I'm putting in for the double-marathon ultra in November, here's what my current training weeks are starting to shape up like...

MON: REST
TUE: Morning run of 2hrs
WED: Morning run of 1hr / Evening run of 2hrs
THU: Morning run of 1hr / Evening run of 1hr30
FRI: Morning run of 45mins
SAT: Morning run of 1hr / Afternoon run of 1hr30
SUN: Long run in the hills, 4-6hrs

Distance wise I'm sitting around the 120-150km mark, I don't think I'll go too much over 200km but that won't be until the Build phase and thankfully I'm a while off that yet!
I have noticed a little more residual tiredness compared to my normal shorter (and faster) training weeks; they seem to be quite different as there is a definate lag' from when the tiredness seems to hit you from these longer runs. For example, I can get in from a long run and apart from the normal tiredness that you would associate with being out running for hours on end I am actually relatively fresh. Fast forward a few days and it's then that I am picking up the after effects of that run, feeling pretty stuffed on Tuesday or Wednesday as a result of my weekend training is where the proof lies. Shorter runs are something I appear to be able to bounce back from fine, I could go all out over 10 or 15km and be a wreck for an hour or so after, but once I've refuelled and hydrated I don't have any carry-over symptons from it. I'm wondering if this is something that is common is distance runners and / or endurance athletes? Drop me a line, would love to get some feedback on other peoples experience with this.
Oh well, that's about it for the meantime. I'll be back soon. Until then, stay safe and training smart J.

2009-07-26T17:27:00.000+12:00

It's been all systems go since I got my letter of acceptance for the 2009 Molesworth ultra. While I'm not a stranger to long runs, this will be my first 50 miler which is a little daunting! First week is out of the way, and a good block of base training awaits me before I think about ramping things up a little. I'll be training somewhere around 100-150km a week until my body adapts to doing just running and nothing else.
I've got the kitchen to myself this week, not sure whether that's good or bad. The last month or so I have really gone off meat and each day I feel like I am wanting to make the transition to becoming vegetarian. Steak, chicken - all the stuff that used to excite me no longer holds any sort of appeal; instead I find myself craving a nice vege stir fry or a spicy bean burrito. I'm having a bit of a read up about veganism, interested to know whether a change will be beneficial or detrimental to my training. I figure if it's good enough for guys like Jurek it can't do me any harm.
Right, I'm off to grab some muesli & fruit J.

At last I know what's wrong!

2009-07-08T17:20:00.001+12:00

Well, I ended up going to the doctors today (mainly to rule out this Swine Flu that's going around and so I know I'm not going to infect anybody at work). Nothing remotely piggy wrong with me WOOHOO, aparrently I have got a touch of bronchitis and a viral infection on my left lung. Good news is it should clear up on its own, I am hoping to get back into some form of training towards the end of the week but will see how I feel. Cheers J.

Hard times

2009-07-03T18:49:00.000+12:00

It's been a bit up & down since my last couple of posts. Some of the good things...

* Ran the St James Ultramarathon and finished 15th in the Open Male category, after 69km of pain (see the photo for proof haha)
* Just a few weeks ago managed to be the first home in the Burnside Running Club half marathon. Some fast woman pushed the pace after the first hour and we got away from the rest of the pack, I only outsprinted her coming down the final straight, but only because I didn't want to settle for 2nd!
* Got my very nice BlueSeventy Synergie wetsuit

However, as usual my body has gotten run down from all the training I put in for the Heart Children Challenge. I have had a pretty bad cold / flu for nearly a week now, although I think I am turning the corner and coming right finally!
Been dosing up hard on all of the natural stuff and did my usual trick of staying away from the doctors. I really resent paying $50 for an overweight guy in a white suit to tell me I have a cold (jeez, you don't say), then giving me some antibiotics to 'make me better'. Hah!
So, on one hand I haven't ran for a week and I feel like things are slipping a bit. On the other hand I know my body obviously needs the rest and I'll be able to come back harder & faster from next week. I'm itching to get back out on the road!
Speak soon J.

Heart Kids Challenge... finally over

2009-06-03T20:17:00.000+12:00

I DID IT !!

One of my greatest achievements to date has finally happened, getting through my 3 day endurance challenge raising money for NZ Heart Children.
I had to have a small rearrangement with the bike leg as I suffered with major cramping on the way to Hanmer, so unfortunately had to cycle the remaining 140km after the marathon on Sunday!

Over the course of 72hrs here's what I managed...

FRIDAY
* Ran to & from the gym (7km)
* Weights
* Ran across the Port Hills, through Sumner and finishing in Cathedral Square
(35km in 3hrs30)

TOTALS:
Lifted 15,050kg weights and ran the equivalent of a full marathon
SATURDAY
* Weights
* Cycled to Hanmer

TOTALS:
Lifted 15,450kg weights and cycled 140km
SUNDAY
* Weights
* Ran the SBS Christchurch marathon in freezing conditions (finished in 4hrs30)
and then...
* Cycled the remaining 140km on my indoor trainer (took me five hours)

TOTALS:
Lifted 15,000kg weights, ran a marathon and cycled 140km on an indoor trainer

It was incredibly tough and I definately had some rough patches along the way, but finishing the final marathon was amazing. It's a good feeling knowing that I completed everything that I set out to and managed to overcome a few problems along the way (including a blister on my toe the size of a Malteser)! Ouch.

Motatapu Icebreaker marathon 09

2009-03-21T09:44:00.000+13:00

Well, it's now one week since I raced my first off road marathon of this year. I had an absolute blast!

The St James Ultramarathon is still where I need my focus to be, so with that firmly in mind (and only a few weeks away) I planned to race this pretty conservatively and enjoy the day.

It was an early start - I was up at 3.45am. A bit of breakfast and then on the road by 4.30 for a 1.5hr drive to the Glendhu Bay motor Lodge which is about 15mins on from Wanaka. I got there just after 6am and it was still pitch black, just driving home the fact that it was bloody early and I had already been up for a few hours. Crazy athletes.

I hopped onto the bus that would take us to the start line, a few nervous smiles and chit-chat saw that there were really quite a number of us that didn't know what to expect from the day! Once off the bus we had maybe a 1km walk up a hill which took us to the start line. It was pretty chilly at this time in the morning... now I know why they suggest bringing a pair of gloves with you (I didn't). A quick banana about 30mins before the start and I was feeling good.

We set off about 8.10am and quickly settled into an easy rhythm going up the first hill. I think after the first 30mins or so I had realised it wasn't going to be a fast race, and talking to some runners that had ran it last year confirmed this; they told me that the first half of the race is mostly uphill but the second half is a lot more even with a nice 4-5km of downhill at the end.

They weren't wrong! I averaged a fairly consistent 8kph for the first couple of hours, here's the splits that I can remember:

9km - 1hr

16km - 2hrs

21km - 2hrs30

36km - 4hrs30

The scenery was absolutely stunning, hills that almost looked they had been draped in a velvet cloth and the small, time-built tracks that ran as far as your eye can see. I ran from about 15km with my camera, I didn't want to get back home and not be able to show what I was running in and around. There were literally moments that just made you drop your jaw, it was like something from a coffee table book.

I ran the whole race the way I had initially set out to, which was to run the flat and downhill but walk the uphills. This served me well as the best I felt through the whole race was between the 30-35km mark, and it was here that I was running past a lot of the people that had flown past me a few hours earlier. Some were walking, some were limping. Some had been reduced to moving a short distance and then stopping to self-massage whatever muscle group was casuing them concern. I offered words of encouragement as I moved by them, most of them managed a smile back. Did I say smile? Could have been a grimmace on second thoughts.

The aid stations were always a welcome site, four of them in total and the last one even had Moro bars and cookies !! Was hard to pull myself away from there and knock out the last few km's... those little cookies were damn fine! Reaching the 36km marker I thought there was a chance I could sneak in under 5hrs, I just had to run my normal pace and it was a possibility. So I set out from the last station with this in mind and for a couple of km it was still on track. What I was unaware of was that there were four of five river crossings and they were also the deepest ones. Once I had hit the first couple of them I realised I was going to finish in somewhere just over 5hrs, but that was fine. My feet were wet, numb and sore by this stage so it was almost a slight relief that I didn't have to push the last part too hard.

I caught up to Olympic Gold Medallist rower Caroline Evers Swindell at the 39km point, she was tired but considering running isn't her sport I thought she was doing great. Looked like she was having fun, although I thought she would have been quicker in the water !! Great crowd to cheer us into the finish, and I got over the line in 5hrs12 which I was very happy with considering the terrain.

I did take a few days off, was back out running on Wednesday. This weekend will see me doing a 1-1.5hr run later today and then a bigger 2-3hr run tomorrow. It's only one week until St James so that's about it for my runs; next week will just be a few shorter ones, apart from Friday where I always like to do a very hard 20-30mins the day before the race. I find this short burst of exercise really opens up the legs and body in general, as well as allowing a greater oppurtunity for the body to absorb carbs and really maximise my muscle glycogen stores. Perfect.

Speak soon, take care and stay fit J.

Springston School Duathlon, March 8th 2009

2009-03-11T14:50:00.000+13:00

I really enjoyed this race, quick enough for me to blow the cobwebs out of the lungs anyway!

I hadn't trained at all for this one so didn't have the speed needed to catch the guys in front, but I gave it a good nudge and I reckon my form is close to where it needs to be at the moment. I was wanting to go under 45mins but guessing the headwind on the way out on the bike zapped my legs a little for the final run.

Next up is the Motatapu off road marathon this Saturday. It's a hilly trail run with numerous river crossings so it's by no means a fast marathon (the average open male time for 2008 was 4hrs30), so if I can go sub 5hrs I will be happy and a sub 4hr30 would be even better! Thanks, stay safe and train hard JAMES.

Individual Competitors Time Finish

1 35 James Wilson 41.382

2 Andrew Bates 41.54

3 4 Sam Bell 42.09

4 57 Sam Keenan 43.055 2

5 Jock Mugford 43.21

6 15 Sam Harvey 45.06

7 11 Connor Hamlin 46.52

8 14 Mike Harvey 47.02

9 17 Campbell Jones 47.26

10 49 Pete Cochrane 48.33

11 31 James Styler 48.44

12 36 Karl Winter 49.02

13 20 Andrew McCormick 49.47

14 51 Kevin Addison 49.51

15 54 Rory Swanson 50

16 55 Graeme Swanson 50.03

17 3 Phil Bell 50.11

18 8 Stephen Gallagher 50.46

19 19 Marty Long 51.44

20 37 Sarah Eady 52.21

21 10 Mike Hamlin 55.06

22 52 Mike Taylor 55.3

23 18 Eddie Kerr 56.01

24 34 Shilo Wilson 56.21

25 23 Mal Morris 57.48

26 176 Stephen McKillop 58.42

27 30 Kelly Saunders 59.18

28 53 Liz Swanson 59.25

29 24 John Morrish 1.00.20

30 5 Pip Brosnahan 1:01

31 16 Brenda Holmes-Stagg 1.01.46

32 21 Michaela McIntosh 1.03.10

33 47 Craig Eastwick 1.03.39

34 38 Emma-Kate Heaphy 1.04.11

35 22 Brad McIntosh 1.04.12

36 7 Helene Faas 1:04:18

37 13 Anne Harrison 1.04.23

38 46 Andy Gosling 1.04.54

39 50 Jo Meyer 1.05.06

40 48 Desley Eastwick 1.06.12

41 29 Jackie Saunders 1.12.16

42 9 Melissa Grives 1:12:16

43 33 Wendy White 1.17.48

44 28 Gill O'Connell 1.17.49

45 26 Lisa Murphy 1.24.55

46 27 Anna Nurse 1.24.55

47 32 Anne Taylor 1.26.54

48 6 Bev Carter 1:26:54 (yep, it's Daniel Carters Mother)

2008-12-29T22:16:00.000+13:00

Hi everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my page. As you probably know, I am doing my own little crazy, relatively unsupported challenge to raise as much $$$ as I can for Heart Kids NZ.
The money that is raised will be put towards essential services for the heart children and their families including support, resources and help when the child goes to hospital. Congenital heart disease affects one in every 100 children born in New Zealand, or around 600 a year. My aim is simply trying to offer the best support and care for these children and their families across New Zealand.

Before I forget, here are some websites which I need to give a mention to...

www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/JAMESSTYLER

www.heartchildren.org.nz

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/122291?m=eade64b5&recruiter_id=19330569

I will be keeping you up to speed with how my training is going - including all of the ups and downs, photo's that I will only be posting on this blog and hopefully a few laughs along the way. Thanks again for your support (and taking the time to read). Please check out my fundraising page and you can safely donate with your credit card, as any transactions are protected with a Thawte Certificate that makes sure none of your information is transmitted anywhere.

Right now I'm at $405... my goal is to raise $2,000 by the time it's all over. Let's make this happen !! J