Why ... is Dunstan ... lucky?

Click here for photos: WARNING - NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED!

The Stack...

On Monday Eve I rode up to Pennant Hills to get things at work ready for the painters to do their thing. I was riding across the Sydney Harbour bridge towards the city on the cycleway from N. Sydney; past the middle and heading downhill with a tailwind so probably doing about 40-45 kph. A girl was coming the other way on her MTB and we were reaching an extra narrow section so I moved over to the left to give her plenty of space. Just as we crossed I hit a bit of metal that was sticking out from the pipes on the handrail. The first I knew was I heard a metallic 'clunk' (actually the sound of my brake lever hitting the bit of metal) and then I was flying through the air in a 'Superman' position.

The Aftermath...

I came to a rest after sliding about 10m and dead opposite where the security guard was. My initial thought was to get back on my bike and ride on to avoid embarassment but I quickly realised that wouldn't be a good idea. The guard helped me off the cycleway and Wendy (the girl on the MTB) cleared my bike out of the way - I later discovered that I'd clipped her as I came off but fortunately only lightly so she wasn't hurt. We were soon joined by another security guard and they called an ambulance. I knew that I had a big hole in my elbow and suspected I had broken my forearm. At this stage I was sitting on an old tin of paint with my back against a wall. I began to have some really lucid thoughts and then everything faded to white (why do they call it 'blacking out'?) for what must have been a couple of seconds. Then the security guard brought me round and helped me to lie down. The 4 of us were soon joined by Elaine - she had been leading a Bridge Climb group and had seen me sliding along the path! Elaine covered me up with her jacket to keep me warm and she, Wendy, Sam and Paul (the security guards) were great company; even agreeing to a few photos! I called Ali, Hani and Jane and they co-ordinated arrangements to pick up my bike.

The Hospital ...

Once the paramedics (Nathan and Kylie) arrived they put my arm into a sling and helped me to my feet. I felt a lot better by this stage and was able to walk down the stairs unaided - getting a round of applause from Elaine's boiler-suit clad group on the way past. The rest is less interesting: lots of waiting around in the hospital, Some X-rays, a clean up for my wounds and some more waiting. Al, Hani and Trudi came to see me in the hospital and brought me a heap of goodies :-) The 4 of us had been planning to go to a Tango class in Broadway and I was really grateful to them for cheerfully downgrading their evening to come and keep me company. Great news when I got the all clear as far as broken bones - so relieved!!! By the time it came to the stitches Hani was the only one who didn't feel squeamish (good job being as she's a vet!)
I must have been feeling the benefits of a whole load of adrenalin and endorphins 'cause it actually didn't hurt too much, even though I had persuaded Mike (the doc) not to use anaesthetic, much to everyone's bemusement! Good choice - I certainly felt alive and anyway, I knew I'd need a good cold beer once I got out of the hospital!
4 stitches and a few dressings later I was discharged.

Why am I lucky?

1. I met some amazing people who really went out of their way to look after me and check I was ok. Thanks Elaine, Paul, Sam & Wendy.
2. My friends and all of my housemates were great - its nice to feel truly cared for.
3. Because it happened during a maintainence phase of my training and not before a big race.
4. Not to have broken anything! A cast would need 6 weeks and my serious training starts in 3.
5. That I didn't bang my head!
6. My bike isn't as bad as it could have been.
7. I managed to stay in control mentally. That's gotta be a good life experience!
8. I ended up wih a great story and some cool pics for you, the blog-reader, to check out!

Forster Half-Ironman '04 Race Report

I had a pretty good race - my dumb goggles filled up with water in both eyes (despite a perfect seal during my warm-up swim) about 100m into the swim so I discarded them and felt my way around the rest of the course as best I could! It is good to know that I can get through a swim like that without goggles, without too much stress and all importantly without losing my contact lenses! I Swam well for my current ablility and clocked just under 29 min. My investment in Total Immersion swimming is definitely starting to pay me some good speed dividends!

My bike leg was strong - I caught and passed heaps of people but couldn't manage to get away. At the first (24km) turnaround I saw the race leader and eventual winner, Jason Shortis out on his own (phenomenal rider) then a 'chase' bunch of 10, then a small group of 3, including my swim coach Steve Croft and training partner Paul Morris. I also realised that there were about 40+ people right behind me, despite my best efforts to break clear on the hills. After 35km I used an aid station and a sharp pinch to get away from the bunch. Determined to stay clear, I was able to bridge the gap to the group of 3 within about 10km :-)

Crofty was riding strong - we worked well together but stayed legal, again determined that we wouldn't be swallowed up by the big bunch. At the end of the ride we were still a couple of minutes clear. My plan for the run was to settle in for the first 5km and then see what I could do. Well as it happened I didn't find my running legs until 14km in and managed to finish 15th overall and 3rd in my age group (the other 2 both made it into the chase bunch).

All in all it was a pretty hard day; especially knowing that I was too far away to run anyone down + trying to hold off the faster runners behind me when I had nothing left in my legs. I learnt a lot from the race - It was the most tactical triathlon I've ever raced and I really enjoyed that aspect. One of my main aims now is to work another couple of minutes off my swim so that I'm not forced to play catchup from the start of the bike leg!

For full results check out the Forster 1/2 IM website.

When ... is Dunstan ... racing next?

This weekend is the Forster Half-Ironman .

This will be my 3rd 1/2 IM this season. Yeppoon was a real breakthrough race for me back in mid-August, I won the 25-29 age group and was 5th overall. Gold Coast was at the start of October, I won my age group again and was 7th fastest on the day.

At Half-Ironman and Ironman distance triathlon competitors are either Professionals who race for money (regardless of age) or 'age groupers' (like me). So far this season I've only been beaten by 3 age-group athletes; I'd like to keep it that way and am aiming to win the Michael Atkins Memorial Trophy this weekend for the fastest athlete outside of the Professional category.

My coach Mark has kindly lent me a full-carbon Trek with full Dura-Ace for the race. Its a bit lighter than my trusty old Cannondale and feels a bit more responsive on climbs too!

Watch this space for results!

What ... is Dunstan ... taking to stay fit and healthy?

Right now I'm fitter than I've ever been in my life. The training that I'm doing overloads my body, which then repairs itself to be stronger than it was before. Three things that accelerate this repair process are stretching, sleeping and sound nutrition.

I'm just about to start a 60 day trial of a nutritional supplement called 'Lifepack'. The twice-daily tablets contain vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Carotenoids are one type of phytonutrient which occur naturally in fruit and vegetables and help the body to fight the effects of free-radicals.

The cool part is that they have recently developed a laser test which measures the amount of carotenoid that is stored in your skin. My skin carotenoid was measured at 42 000 during a normal day. There are 4 bands, 10 000, 20 000, 30 000 and 40 000+ so that was a 'good' score.

I'm told that the carotenoid component of the supplement will build up my body's reserves so that the free radicals released during intensive training sessions and racing will be better absorbed and cause less damage to my body.

I'm pretty excited to see what effect the 'Lifepack' will have on me but I'm going to be as objective as I can be. I'm going to have my blood vitamin levels tested before and after and also Iridology - where a photo of your iris is taken to reveal information about your health. The whole thing should be a really interesting learning experience.

Watch this space for the results...

How ... is Dunstan ... enjoying the Sydney weather?

The spring weather in Sydney has been pretty chaotic during the last fortnight. Last week there were a couple of days where the the wind blew from the NW and brought 38 degree heat from inland. Last week it was mostly rain and drizzle; which is unusual cause it normally seems to hose down for a couple of hours and then fine up again!

I'm not complaining though, the winter felt cold but it was really dry - generally pretty good for training on the bike, although not that many people were out on the roads!

ROLL ON SUMMERTIME IN SYDNEY!!! ;-D

Check out the Australian Bureau of Meterology website if you want to know more!

HOW OFTEN ... is Dunstan ... training?

Thanks Haggis for the question!

Those of you who knew me well back in the UK will have been aware of my adddiction to physical activity. I took up triathlon in 2000 with the Cambridge Tri Club , and used to ride my bike to and from work when I was teaching at Saffron Walden as part of my training.

Well since I arrived over here in Sydney the quality of of my training and racing have risen to a new level. Over the next month I'll be completing 13 training session per week, a total of over 20 hours per week. Most of the training is 'base conditioning' at this stage - maintaining a low intensity over a long distance. My weekly totals will be up to 450km on the bike, up to 62km for running and up to about 15km in the water.

With these mileages recovery is obviously really important, as is the correct timing of all of those sessions to allow my body to rebuild itself stronger and faster. I've been training as part of the Human Endurance Racing Team (HERT for short) for about 10 months now. A wealth of knowledge, experience and support from my coach Mark Newton and my training partners in the squad has made it possible for me to 'step up'.

I'm loving the challenge and want to see how far I can go in the next 4 years

:-D

WHERE ... is Dunstan ... working?

I work for a company called Numberworks which provides after-school maths tuition for pupils.

Check out www.numberworks.com

I'm the manager of the Pennant Hills Numberworks centre which is close to Hornsby, towards the North of Sydney.

Its a 40 minute train journey to work so I take Nemone (my iBook) and catch up on my emails etc. I work from 2pm til 8pm so that means I have plenty of time in the morning to do my training.

Our pupils range in age from Kindergarten to Year 12 (up to 18 years old). They work on our computer maths programs under the guidance of one of our tutors for an hour per week. When I arrive I catch up on paperwork and get everything ready for the first pupils, who arrive at 4pm.

WHERE ... is Dunstan ... living?

Right in the heart of Sydney. I've never lived in a big city before but I love it here!

I'm sharing a place with 3 flatmates. It's really close to the CBD (central business district), close to Centennial park where I do a lot of my triathlon training, and really handy for catching a train to work.

WHY ... is Dunstan ... starting a blog?

I thought it would be good to start a blog so that friends and former pupils can keep up to date with my news!

I'm planning to post someting here about once a week so that you can check out my latest as it happens.

More soon, Dunstan