Drive...

Or Motivation.  Whatever it's called, it's a fleeting thing, sometimes I have it and sometimes not.  There are times when I can't wait for each workout.  No so much lately, though.

Hayley and I had dinner at some friends’ home last night and over an astonishingly calorific desert they asked me why I do Ironman.  ”What is your motivation to do something so hard?” they said.  I couldn’t answer, at least answer it well.  It’s a challenge, I said, I like doing things that are hard to do.

Therein lies the motivation, or at least its origin.  It comes from within, the same place as thoughts come from.  The Id.  I’m hard wired to do difficult things, that’s where I get my mental pay-cheque.  That’s a little hard to focus on while in the middle of a hill repeat workout on the bike though.

The motivation will come, it always does.  I have a 2012 goal to qualify for the Las Vegas 70.3 World Champs and I need to be in better shape than I was last year to get there.  More inspiring though is my friend Jim’s enthusiasm and staggering commitment to triathlon, a sport he took up partly from a desire to emulate me.

Jim’s schedule is harder than mine and more complex than mine; and he’s getting all his workouts in.  I have all the advantages of schedule, experience and finance.  I have no excuse.  Tomorrow I will run in the morning before breakfast like I used to.  And I’ll do it because that’s what Jim does.  And that’s what will motivate me.

Christmas...

Despite the commercialism, the excess and the cost, despite all the temptation and the hassle; despite itself even, Christmas is about family and friends and celebrating life and love.  If you want.

Welcome...

I thought I’d give a blog a go.  I already have a couple of outlets for some of my random thoughts, but they’re mostly oriented around my passion for triathlon.  I have a Facebook page too - but that’s mostly for keeping in touch with family and friends while I’m traveling, which I do a LOT.

I’m not sure if I’ll post every day, every week or not at all, but when I have something to record (because the primary reason of the blog in the first place is to record stuff, like a diary).

Be prepared that there will be a high proportion of triathlon racing and training in here!  This is unavoidable; after family and job it’s the most important thing to me.

Be also prepared that I’m opinionated and often hold contrarian views.  A recurring theme in these pages will be observations on what I see as mindless group-think and how it’s the result of poor or non-existent critical thinking.

Finally, lest you think it’s all going to be a bit heavy, there will be a healthy dose of random crap that makes me laugh or at the very least, amuses me.

I hope you follow along…