Dunstan's UK Tour 2005-2006

Well I'm flying out on Monday the 12th, arriving in the UK on the 13th in time for a beer with Charlotte, Kristian, Dom and others! Can't wait to catch up with everyone over there, its been too long - not far off 3 years... Woah!

I've published my 'Tour Dates' Calendar here so that you can keep track of my movements.

Do have a look, and be sure to bookmark it as I will update it when I plan more details. I think its pretty cool! Note: the bit in italics at the top is where I will be spending each night ;-)

Just finishing everythin off here at work and Off to Canberra in the morning for MTBing and Half Ironman on Sunday, then back to Clovelly for farewell drinks on Sunday night. Pretty busy and lots still to do...

More soon,

D

Meanwhile...

Whilst Charlotte and the others were over in WA getting their final pre-race sleep I was at the Murrayfield Scottish Ball! A black tie affair with Haggis aplenty! I headed over from Bondi with JP (via an unmissable photo opportunity on the beach) and bumped into Anna wandering through Martin Place in her ball gown and looking rather fine. Roo had organised two tables of 20 great people and showed us why she is a Highland Dancing champion. Claire was diverted from a quiet night in after a last minute cancellation and turned up within 30 minutes looking stunning! Kenny showed us what to do with the Haggis, Jack and Alana told us of their recent engagement - CONGRATULATIONS! Emma suffered some impressive 'fling-bruising' on her upper arm, JP claimed that it was inflicted collectively. Doug Isles arrived after dinner but without his kilt and entertained us all with his infamous game of 'C or B'. Emma has published some great photos from the night, they are on her website which can be found here...

Sunday morning was a rather wet affair. What better way to recover than at an Ocean Swim, the 'Round the Island' in Coogee. I got there in the nick of time for the 1km warm up swim!

There are three things you need to know about the morning...

1. It started well but soon revealed itself to be cold, wet and windy.
2. We didn't make it around Wedding Cake Island - the organisers changed the course to keep us inside the Bay. Probably a wise move!
3. It was good to finish the swims feeling positive, with some great results from the crew:

In the 1km Ian won his age group with his usual laid-back & modest attitude and picked up a nice photo at the soggy presentation. Eva managed to overcome her fears of open water and finished 2nd in her age group. Anna completed her first ocean swim and coped really well with the challenging conditions, all smiles at the finish on around 3 hours of sleep. Nice work! Chad's teams (racing as 'Sea's the Limit') picked up 1st (Dash) and 3rd (Splash) for the 1km event and the Mermaids were 3rd overall in the 2.4km.













































... meanwhile Emma was standing on her head somewhere in Brookvale as part of her yoga competition! Perhaps not the best position to recover from a big night, but certainly a great look...

Those links again in case you missed them...
Emma's Photos are here
'Sea's the Limit' is Chad's swim club
Coogee Swim photos - I'm in at least 2 of them, can you spot me?
Coogee Swim results are here I'm still trying to work out why I didn't get a time for the 2.4km, I reckon it was about 24:45 which would have put me 18th in my age...

Its interesting to note how 90% of swimmers in the photos lift their heads right out of the water to breathe. I know its important to be able to see where you are going but doing it every breath is like driving with the handbrake on!

"Ideal Body Shape" by Grace McCLure

Click here to read an interesting article by Grace McClure
(scroll down)
Her modelling website can be found here

Grace is an interesting combination of: IronMan Triathlete, Model and Single Mother. This gives her a pretty unique perspective on several worlds!

Grace has experienced pressure to conform to a body shape that is expected of her as a model and this is now at odds with her desire to pursue her ambitions as a triathlete. Recently she has been turned down by a bikini swimwear calendar on the grounds of being too athletic!

The irony of that is certainly not lost on me...


Grace seems to have rejected the notion of having a 'perfect figure' in favor of living and training as she wants to, citing her happiness and health as higher priorities. She quotes a survey which claims that 74% of Australian women are unhappy with their bodies. I think Grace would like to challenge some of society's firmly held notions from within the modeling industry. I have never met her, but I can imagine that this takes a certain amount of determination and courage.

As for my opinion...?

I think that athletic girls can be very attractive and I think that beauty resides in the heart and mind as well as the body. When a person is living strong mentally, physically AND emotionally then they are are truly alive they radiate life energy. To my mind the 26% are the truly attractive ones ;-)

So what do YOU THE READER think?

Would you like to see models that are more representative of the general population?

GIRLS Are you happy with your body the way it is? Do you feel that there is pressure to conform to an 'ideal' body shape?

GUYS Do you like athletic girls?

Bussleton Ironman - Sunday 27th November

It sounds as though this event was an epic. It was a stormy weekend across much of Australia and Western Australia seemed to get more than its share! Race start was postponed for an hour to give the weather a chance to die down. By all accounts the swim was still pretty rough, times seemed about 5 minutes slower than usual. The bike was really windy too - "...hardest conditions I have ever raced or trained in..." (Dingo).

It sounds as though people were happy to get to the run leg and none more than fellow Inner City Cycles athlete Charlotte Paul, who had the race of her life to finish 2nd Pro Female and 39th overall in 9:47 with a blistering 3:10 run split that decimated most of the pro women. Angela Milne, however, was never headed, despite a drafting penalty, and finished 16 minutes ahead to claim the only available Pro Women's Hawaii spot. Charlotte has certainly proven that she is capable of racing with the best in Hawaii.

Other notable results were John Mergler, fresh from his 2nd place in Kona, who won 40-44 by a country mile in 9:34; Tony 'Dingo' McClement, who finished 4th in his last year of 25-29 with a time of 9:50, narrowly missing out on a Hawaii slot in the process; and Jarrod Hudson who was 9th in 30-34 with a 10:12.

Mitch Anderson took out his first Ironman title in 8:27, racing cleverly and patiently for the whole day. Luke McKenzie led for much of the race, tried to break Mitch Anderson on the run and succeeded only in breaking himself, ending up withdrawing, his 2nd DNF out of 3 IM starts. Surely the race goal for this young talent must be to FINISH his next race, regardless of placing!

McKenzie wasn't alone, as 13% of the field failed to complete the race, most of them falling victim to the extreme swim conditions. It is an achievement to complete any Ironman race, but it seems that Bussleton '05 will go down in history as an epic test, with those that rose to the challenge achieving success.

The official race report can be found here

PS - OOOH I nearly forgot to mention, Charlotte's husband Kristian is the official cover boy for IMWA! Can't wait to get my signed copy of the poster ;-)

Training Ride

We rode up to Hornsby and out on the old highway, got a bit wet, used makeshift bin-liner waterproofs to keep warm, ate pie at 'Pie in the Sky', flew home and dried out on the Harbour Bridge. Group riding skills were excellent in the heavy traffic on the way back down the Pacific Highway and spirits were mostly high in some appalling conditions. Nice work Adrian, Chris, Lynsey & Roo!

I'll be donating $60 from the ride to the Amy Gillett Safe Cycling Foundation. Amy Gillet was a member of the Australian cycling team who died when they were struck by a car in Germany in July. Cycling safety is an issue close to my heart and I feel that this is a very worthwhile and relevant cause. Click here to find out more...

Leave me a message or send me an email if you would like to know about the next session in the New Year

Paul Mac and The Presets...

... played at the metro last night. I was there with my housemate Cath.

The Preset were brilliant. They really didn't five a s**t, just as you'd expect from a pair of rock stars!

Paul Mac's 'Panic Room' was good, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. it was really hard to understand what he was saying between songs, he seemed a bit weary and I don't think he was really connecting with the audience. Don't get me wrong, the guy is a huge talent, just he seemed to be a bit lacking a bit of Mojo... Abby Dobbs had a strong presence on vocals. Dreamy and sexy. GRRR!

The Presets are here
Paul Mac's website is awesome - you can listen to the whole album, the first track is pumping!

TI Workshop and Cockatoo Island Swim

Last weekend was the TI workshop and the Dawny-Cockatoo Swim on the Sunday morning.

My friend Belinda came up from Melbourne for the weekend and 'did the double' - click here to read her race report from the ocean swim. My housemate Josh also swam, completing his first ocean swim without any difficulty. Official photo report is here. Results will be here once they are posted.

The TI workshop was one of our best ever. I was lucky enough to be working with Kim Gould and all of the participants picked up the new ideas really well.

All in all a great weekend!

... something to inspire ...

There is something about an extreme challenge that can lift the human spirit and gives a person the opportunity to face their doubts and fears head on and to grow bigger and stronger. Physical challenges and in particular sporting events are an opportunity to test oneself and often to compare achievement to others'. I have been fortunate enough to experience some amazing 'growth moments' in my life, all of them connected with my heart and many of them through sport.

Many people face challenges in their life that are part of the daily fabric of their lives. Some of the life challenges that people face are things that I find hard to comprehend, as I don't have any direct experience of hardship. All of my challenges so far are out of choice. I hope that some of my personal challenges in the future will involve helping others who have less choices.

Two guys I know from my rowing days at university are attempting an extreme physical challenge that few have completed. Dan and Rich are competing in the 2005 Atlantic Rowing Race. In just over 13 days (Sunday 27th) they will set off in a 24ft craft 'Atlantic Prince' from the Canary Islands and will, along with 25 other teams, attempt to complete the 2,550 nautical miles across the Atlantic to Antigua in the West Indies.

They are aiming to win the pairs event and also to break the record, which stands at just over 40 days, and are hoping to raise £50,000 for Cancer Research UK and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As part of their preparation, these guys broke the world record for one million metres on a rowing machine - a shade over 3 days! If you are anything like me, you will enjoy reading about their adventures to date and following their progress online at www.atlanticprince.com. If you want to support the guys and have the chance to win £1000 you can enter a competion to guess their finishing time.

Rich and Dan, here's wishing you the adventure of a lifetime and hoping that you achieve your 3 goals!

India's marathon boy, aged three

What do you think about this?

Its an article about a kid who runs marathons in India - AGED THREE!

Click the title to check it out...

What do you think? This is something you are bound to have an opinion on so go ahead and share it by leaving a comment!

Wow - what a weekend!

It was a good one so I thought I'd share...

On Friday night Cath and I left the clues for the treasure hunt. This involved a bit of crafty stencil work and some exploration of the more 'interesting' parts of our 5-floor warehouse complex.

On Saturday morning Rod took me to the St George Rowing Club. I used to do a lot of rowing between 1995 and 1999 before I started triathlon but I don't think I've been in a boat since then! The first outing was a time trial so I decided to go for a light paddle insted to get used to being in a boat again. Rod showed me the map of the waterways, coach Ron allocated my scull and off I went. Great to be back on the water and to my relief it all came back to me pretty quickly, although my balance was somewhat suspect! Second outing was a quad with Rod, Daniels and Andrew. It was great to be back in a crew boat, it felt great for a scratch crew and we even managed some cheeky starts which left me grinning broadly!

Our Hawaiian party kicked off with the treasure hunt. Teams had to answer 10 questions about the housemates by discovering clues around the building. The winning team of Andrew, Dan, Dan, Emma and Leilani scored 23.5 out of 30. Awesome! The questions are here (click link and scroll down) in case you missed out ;-)

Josh opened up a classy cocktail bar in his room and we served up Water Melon Martinis, Thailand Iced Teas, Lychee Lime Caprioscas and Tequila Mockingbirds until we ran out of ingredients. Lani's home made pesto and humus dips were a big hit too. Thanks to everyone who helped to pump up the pool. It was officially 'opened' and the party moved into phase 3...

Well I'm out of time so if you want to know the rest you'll need to find someone who was here. In the meantime click here to check out the rest of Emma's outstanding photos.

PS The award for the best outfit has to go to Wendy for her outstanding coconut bra which she was kind enough to share upon leaving! It was actually rather comfortable - I'm sure that Piers can confirm...

Letter to my coach - Grant Giles (Aeromax)

I'd like to say thanks for getting me to the start. Your progs were excellent with lots of emphasis on quality, but helping me through some of my darker times was what made the biggest difference and meant the most to me...I had a really good race - I went in 70% looking to enjoy the experience and 30% hoping for a good result.
I used to be the other way around but Yeppoon taught me an important lesson there...

Swim was fine but nothing special. Bike was mostly good - all of the strength work must have paid off! I was expecting lots of people to ride hard at the start and then blow up on the way home. Riding out to Hawi felt easy but I think I drank too much water for first part of ride. Stomach bloated and the gels weren't going in. On the way back I had some low energy patches so I was the one struggling and getting passed! Strangely enough, most people out there were decent riders. Mental note to self - don't underestimate the other competitors when you are at the World IM champs! Hit the cola at 130km which was good but energy was flicking on and off all the way back, like a car with dodgy carburettor! Last 20k of the ride I gave my stomach a chance to empty and came into town strong.

Took my time in transition, walked into easy jog pace. Felt great for Ali'i drive section of run - form was good and I felt like I had the Ace of Spades up my sleeve. Out to energy lab still felt great but the Ace wasn't there anymore, although I hadn't used it! Lost my form coming back from EL, It turned into a muscular effort but I knew I was on the way home :-) Run nutrition worked well. No flat patch like at Forster 04/05. Last 2km were a HUGE BUZZ. Feeding off the energy of the crowd and just soaking up the finish chute.

Was doing my own thing all day, didn't really race anyone apart from a couple of dudes I overtook in the last 100m. Lots of nice shade along Ali'i and the hat flap worked a treat. Supporters were great. I'm voting for the bikini as the best invention of the century - why do you think I was smiling so much? The event was so much bigger than its competitors and I feel lucky to have been able to be a part of it in 2005.

Not sure what now, I'm really enjoying training 'cause I feel like it at the moment. Looking forward to doing some work on core / technique / flexibility without the pressure of a big race coming up, quite keen on Canberra 1/2.

Exploring the Big Island

Well the post ironman celebration dust has finally begun to settle.
I'll be posting my race report and more photos soon :-)

Yesterday was a bit of a washout. Good to take some time out though +
hung out with Renaud and his cool parents in the evening. Watched the
sunset and fell asleep to the sound of the waves breaking! from the
balcony.

This morning I completed my 3rd checkout in 4 days and then went to
visit this amazingly cool Waldorf elementary (K-8) school. Spent this
morning observing / participating in lessons - I practised walking
along a telegraph pole with a stick balanced on my head and my eyes
closed, in geography I learned about the Hawaiian island chain (did
you know there is a new one forming to the SE of the Big Island?) and
then helped out with some gardening, followed by a pumpkin hunting
session in Spanish. The kids fed me thimble-berries, I helped them to
reach some guavas that were out of reach and we checked a den in the
middle of some giant bamboos! I bought a school T-shirt and the kids
personalised it for me with some funky dolphins, turtles and a
volcano. All in all a very stimulating experience.

Hitched out of town with some interesting characters - a chilled
dude, a vietnam veteran and a local climate expert. We just drove
past South Point and crossed a stark N-S line onto the east side of
the island. It goes from bleak broken lava to lush green over a
couple of metres. A bit drizzly now. I'm now in Naalehu. Population
of 800, 9 churches, 0 pubs and 1 very cool cafe with wireless
internet where I'm sitting now - the old theatre. Also famous for a
tree that Mark Twain planted

9:33:15 – Happier than Larry!

1:03 swim, 5:03 bike, 3:20 run

Well I’ve finished and it was an amazing day. Certainly one of the best in my life so far! Completing an Ironman takes a while, and every day has its highs and lows.


My main aim for the day was to enjoy the race and soak up as much of the experience as possible. I also wanted to 'push my envelope' by having the race of my life. I had no specific target time in mind, although 10 hours was always a subconcious barrier. All of these things I achieved. The ride was fast due to the smooth surface and kind conditions. The marathon was a PB and the first part of my run felt amazing!

Some of my highlights were:
• Seeing some of the disabled athletes being carried into the water for the swim start, let me tell you, that IS inspiring
• Treading water watching the pro start, pier packed full of people, helicopters overhead.
• Finishing the swim
• The first 80km of the bike leg – sitting of an average of 38kph!
• Working with Phil on the bike at the start of the climb to Hawi (“har-v”)
• Getting back to civilisation on the bike!
• The first 30km of the run. It felt effortless – F-A-S-T.

• Seeing Mel out at the energy lab.
• Getting water, ice and coke from some of the kids on the aid stations. These kids rock!
• The final 2 km, down Alii Drive and into the finish chute, feeding off the emotion.

Thank you to everyone for the awesome messages you have been sending to me. I've had so much support throught cyberspace and it gives me a really strong anchor!

Dunstan's live update from Kona...

Hi all,

My name is Jacqui, i am a good friend of Dunstans and
proud spectator of todays Ironman Championships over
here in Kona, Hawaii.

I am sharing with him in a house over here and will be
giving you as many live updates as i can throughout
today to track Dunstans race. Alternatively you can
also track it through www.ironmanlive.com.

Both Dunstan and Melissa have just departed our house
to head down for the race. I will heading down there
to watch the swim.

The action has started.........

International Spectator Info - Part 6

All packed and ready to roll out in the am.

I've been keeping my head down and saving energy for the last few days.
Thanks for all the messages, they mean a lot to me!

If you want to watch go to www.ironmanlive.com

If you want to use the 'athlete tracker' my race no is 1501. Mel is 149

Race start is at 0700 local time
that's 0300 on Sunday if you're in Aus
and 1800 on Saturday if you're in the UK
Pro start is 15 minutes earlier

My friend Jacqui might post some updates to the blog during the race.

Feeling quite nervous and really looking forward to the start gun firing.

That's all for now,

D

Observatory Sunrise and Briefing – Part 5

Last night was an awesome swim. I left it a bit late so swam out a km or so as the sun set. Beautiful! One of the venues was kicking off and as I floated in the ocean I took in the contrast between the calm of the ocean, with several fishing boats at anchor against the buzz of activity from the shore. Sadly, I returned to the shore to find that my bag, containing my towel, T-shirt and body glide had been taken. Fortunately my thongs (flip flops) and shorts, with the key to Mel’s hire car in the pocket were still there. Phew! On the way back I stopped by at the expo to seek out a free T-shirt and got the chance to try out the endless pool.

Kona, here I come! – Part 4

I'm on my way to the airport and looking forward to experiencing one of the most unusual and beautiful landscapes in the world. I have heard a lot about the race but am aware that I really know very little. I'm expecting the unexpected and looking forward to one of the best adventures of my life and soaking up as much of the experience as I can!

The big island is awesome. 2 main industries here are tourism and astronomy, on account of the clear skies. Ranching is also big, as is Ginger and Macadamia nut production. Just touched down in Kona airport. Its one of the coolest airports I've been through. As you fly in the overwhelming impression is one of blackness from the lava around the airport. You step out into the heat and down onto the runway. Into the terminal and past the queue of people waiting to board the same plane! Its 100% pedestrian, not a conveyor belt or walkway in sight!

I’m staying with my good friend and training partner Melissa Ashton and several of her friends – Britt, Jacqui, Andrew (Mel’s brother) and Brendon (Mel’s Husband). Monday was a day off for travelling. John took me to the iconic Lava Java hotel for some lunch and free wireless internet ☺. The accommodation is at Luna Pule, about 1km out of town along the Ali’i Drive (that’s pronounced Aleehee) which is part of the bike course and the run course. Put my bike together again and wandered down to the Kailua Pier to check out the transition areas and the swim course. 1.9 km out and 1.9 km back! That’s like swimming 2 lengths of an Olympic rowing lake. Most Ironman swims are 2 lap affairs and unsurprisingly, this one looks like a long way too!


This morning was my first ride on the legendary smooth roads. Mel led us out of town along the Queen Kaahumanu Highway (Queen K for short) and into the lava fields. A few solitary pieces of white coral form a sharp contrast to the black-brown of the lava and are also used to write messages along the side of the road, a kind of eco-friendly graffiti. The Queen K runs parallel to the coast and passes the Natural Energy Lab (most distant part of the run course) and the Airport. We spotted a few lava goats and also a donkey crossing!? See photo above... Later on I ran out along Ali’i drive with Dan McGuigan. Kona is truly a triathlon paradise, there is even free Gatorade at the side of the road so you can help yourself while you are training! Well that’s all for now, I’m off to swim.

World Championships – Part 3

Well Yesterday (Saturday)’s swim was a bit bouncy on account of the swell coming in from the side. I swam the 2 laps of the 750 m worlds course, pausing half way to tread water and take in the spectacle of the sun sinking into the ocean. The moon was out way before it got dark and made up for my stroke feeling slightly ordinary.

Sunday I was up early in my role as support crew. I’d been given the task of counting places in 35-39 for Phil and giving him times from the lead. He came out of the water in 35th, 4 minutes off the lead. Coming into T2 he had closed the gap to 2:30 and was in 7th place but a 35 min run was only good enough for 5th in the age. I knew that Phil had been hoping for a higher placing but to his great credit he was as positive and sporting as he was after his recent win at the World Duathlon championships in Newcastle.

Time for a quick change and onto the bike for my last key brick session. 5 x 3 min above race pace followed by 4 x 4 min of run efforts, again above race pace. The ride felt good and yielded some excellent power / heart rate data and the run felt controlled too, despite the heat. Straight back to the hotel to refuel, pack and box my bike. Off for my 30 min easy recovery run and then off to the Australian team party to catch up with Ben, Phil and other friends.

Some provisional results:

Brit Caling 5th in 30-34 (1st Australian)
Jacqui Wrightson 15th in 30-34 (2nd Australian)
Tim Porter 6th in 20-24
Ben Wearing 21st in 25-29 (1st place for partying hard)
Phil Dove 5th in 35-39 *
John Hill 15th in 45-49 *
John Mergler 21st in 45-49 *

*denotes athletes who have also completed the Duathlon Worlds and are heading to Kona for the Ironman Worlds too!!!

Full results are at www.triathlon.org

Honolulu - Part 2

Had the most amazing run last night in the dark. I ended up on top of a volcanic crater with a spectacular view of the lights of the city (Phil rekons its the 6th largest in the US!) and then had to run through an eerily empty US air force bace with rows and rows of jeeps parked up in order to get out! The running felt awesome.

This morning I rode a 70km loop of this end of the island, taking in the most spectacular rainforest I have ever seen. Riding felt great, lots of power and not much heart rate :-) Amazing how much fluid and salt you lose, not to mention the power of the sun! If doesn't feel too hot in the breeze but that is deceptive!

'Aloha' means 'hello' and 'Mahalo' is 'thank you'. Interestingly, the 2 words are close to being an anagram of each other and they both lend their names to many things, including gas (petrol) stations!

Thats all for now, I'm going offline to read your emails and then for a swim, easy 30 min

Dunstan out.

Dunstan in Hawaii - Part 1

I flew in to Honolulu yesterday, in the process crossing the equator and the international date line, which meant that I had 2 Thursdays! I flew out of Sydney at 2030 and arrived in Hi, USA on Thursday morning at 1030. I’m here until Monday, watching the Olympic distance worlds on Sunday where my good friends Ben Wearing and Phil Dove are going to tear it up, and then heading to Kona, over on ‘the big island’ ahead of my big race on Saturday 15th.

So far all is good, had my fingerprints and photo taken at immigration as part of US ‘homeland security’, 'cause remember, the world IS a safer place now. On ya GWB! I caught the shuttle bus across to the quaint little (pink!) hotel in Waikiki where I’m staying with Phil. Took my bike out of the box where It was securely packed in bubble wrap and polystyrene and reassembled it straight away. Having all of the tools and plenty of time made it a very satisfying and pleasurable experience!


The Royal Grove is a few minutes from the beach. As Piers had told me, it has ideal surf for beginners. The floor drops REALLY gradually, which means that the waves keep going forever. Long enough to actually stand up and steer the board. The place is also really mellow; kids, old guys, locals, holidaymakers, all enjoying the beach and connecting with the surf. I needed to do something to loosen up and feel alive after a busy day of packing and a reasonable flight so Phil Joined me for a quick swim in the surf. We caught a few waves and caught up with each other and headed back for some food with John Mergler. John is an extreme endurance athlete with many Ironmen races under his belt, including 6x Kona, so another great person to be staying with.

Phil really liked my bike and my umbrella! My photo of the day...


Today (Friday) we rode a 40km lap of the bike course and jogged the 5km run loop. The roads are smooth as, 95% of the course is dead flat and there is likely to be a ‘strong headwind out, fast tailwind back’ scenario. That actually sounds like a similar set of parameters to next weekend if you drop the ‘flat’ part and scale it up!

Well that’s it for now. I’m fully in chilled out spectator mode, looking forward to my last significant run tonight and happier than Larry. Hope to post some pictures soon and hope to write again from Honolulu. Bye for now,

Dunstan