Purple rain...

A while a go I got a real treat...a nemeth javelin!!! I have thrown with this jav a few times in competition and it feels great. I'm in the business of points so I knew this was the one for me.

New speer amongst friends (Stu's javelins)

Earlier in the week my purple points eater had it's first appearance in training. I went down to Porritt Stadium, Hamilton, to train with Stu and Deb which I do on a regular basis. It's great to get out of Auckland for a session and I really enjoy training alongside Stu and taping into Deb's extensive javelin brain :)

Stu and I following our session

smashing it up and getting smashed!

Friday marked the completion of my November cycle which was pretty epic!!! As I mentioned earlier it was a big three weeks of eccentric loading in the gym, hurdle drills in weights vests, lots of running and throwing. To finish it off I had a good weights session on Friday morning and then a speed session in the afternoon. The best thing is I got through unscathed and got some really great work done. 

My coach, Elena, always says to me don't worry about tomorrow just focus on today and bring your best to right now. It's a great attitude to have in heptathlon and athletics. Particularly when you are tired from the day before and are faced with another killer session today. As a result in my third week of the cycle I was producing the fastest times of the cycle despite being physically, neurally and mentally fatigued. Very pleasing!

Angus and Mike have been nailing me in the gym but I'm loving it. We have done an eccentric phase which has resulted in Mike having to resist against me in certain parts of a few key lifts. Mike is pretty dam committed to the team that he actually had sore abs for three days after the first time we did eccentric squats!!! Great to help him push play for the day :)

Russell, Bay of Islands, NZ

I had the weekend off training which was a huge treat to have two full days off. I was up in the beautiful Bay of Islands at a friends wedding. It was so special to catch up with my amazing friends. It's pretty much head down at the moment so to escape for a couple of days was a dream. Now back to reality and a recovery week...time to get the body ready for the last big cycle of 2011!!!!

Multi sporting action alive in Auckland...

Wow what an awesome event yesterday in the beautiful Big Little City...Auckland :) It was fantastic to see watch the ITU triathlon held in downtown Auckland yesterday. It was a pretty tight course with the athletes weaving themselves around the city. The kiwis cleaned up and it was great to see some of the athletes who train out of MISH do really well on home soil. Great stuff guys!!!! It was pretty cool as a multi-eventer to be amongst the crowd of other multi-eventer athletes (in a different sport!).
I'm onto week 3 of a tough cycle and I must say it's going to be a good feeling after my sessions are done on Friday :) I'm getting through some really good work and some heavy loads. As a result I'm pretty tired. Je suis tres fatigue! So big sleeps, eating well and focusing more on recovery between sessions has been a big part of this cycle.

I've raced in the local hot meets the last couple of Saturdays at Mt Smart. It's been great to get out there racing. To be in the blocks and hear the gun is what it is all about. I'm looking forward to January when I get to freshen up before I race and that's when we shall see a lot faster results. Til then 1 week to go and then it's a recovery week. This will mean time for some resting, testing and super-compensation time for another hard cycle to finish the year :)

November??!!!!!

I can't quite believe it's November! The year is speeding away but there is lots of work to do in the remaining days of 2011 :)

I had a good recovery week ironing out a tired and sore body and getting ready for the next cycle. Tomorrow I start a 4 week block. My main aim is to get through the load injury free and rip it up in training.

I had a great time at Takapuna Grammar Sports Awards during the week. It was a really nice evening and so awesome to see the achievements of the TGS sporting community. I thought it was really cool that all the volunteers and families who have contributed so much time and energy into their children's sport acknowledged and really valued. My parents both coached my brothers and I in various teams and gave up their time so freely. In our 'busy' lives truly the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. So I thought it was great to see this acknowledgement.

I'll be starting to do some racing on Saturdays starting next week. It will be good to see where I am at and get the engines firing with the gun again! Bring it on!!!!

Steve Jobs quote that I shared at Takapuna Grammar to start the week off:
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.