But I have a personal goal of doing an Olympic-distance triathlon (and maybe even an Ironman) by the time I’m 50, and I’ve been inspired by all the Olympic activity of the past two weeks and have decided to get back to peak fitness again.

After packing my running gear into a bag this morning and looking forward to a lunchtime run today - really looking forward to it after looking out the window late in the morning and seeing an absolutely beautiful August day, I went to get changed and realised I had left the bag at home.

D’oh!

But every cloud has a silver lining and I remembered that (about six months ago!) I had brought a towel, goggles and boardshorts to work and left them in a drawer, as a contingency for when it was raining and I couldn’t go for a run. Swimming is pretty important for a triathlon - you’re not going to get far without completing the first leg!

So off I went to Richmond pool for my first swimming session for about three years. I managed 10 laps of the 50m pool (with a short rest at the end of each lap). It might not seem like much, but to put it in perspective, when I started getting back into lap swimming a year or so before my marathon, I was hopeless and could barely manage 50m in one go. I was trying to swim too fast, getting out of breath, and basically had no idea. But with a bit of coaching from my friend John Bethell, I got some technique and worked out how to pace myself.

But boy, do I have a lot of work to do. My arms are really tired, and I suspect I will have a bit of difficulty lifting them tomorrow! But it feels really good to have made a start on the track to another big life goal.

Oh, and I’m back on the bike too…

The family just spent two weeks on the Bellarine Peninsula, based at Portarlington. While I was too busy with work to spend the whole time there, I was able to get away for the weekends and found some great sand on Saturday at the Point Lonsdale front beach. We visited the lighthouse a few years previously, and I was also thinking of Nick heading from Portugal to the Canaries, so I made this:

I’ve gone the hard yards this year and grown the full handlebar mo, so it’s time to dig deep and show your support for depressed prostates everywhere (see below for an explanation of what Movember is all about).

No donation is too small and everything over $2 is tax-deductable.

Check out my Molog at http://www.movember.com/au/popups/mologs/?id=136086 to survey the damage and click on “Sponsor Me” and be ready with the plastic.

Remember…

• Depression affects 1 in 6 men…Most don’t seek help. Untreated depression is a leading risk factor for suicide.
• Last year in Australia 18,700 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 2,900 died of prostate cancer - equivalent to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually.
• Men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy of males is 5 years less than females.

To sponsor my Mo please go to http://www.movember.com/au/donate, enter my registration number which is 136086 and your credit card details. Or you can sponsor me by cheque made payable to the “Movember Foundation” clearly marking the donation as being for my Registration Number: 136086. Please mail cheques to: PO Box 292, Prahran VIC 3181. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The money raised by Movember is donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative , which will use the funds to create awareness, fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and male depression.

For those that have supported Movember in previous years you can be very proud of the impact it has had and can check out the detail at: Fundraising Outcomes.

He sent me all the details before he left on Thursday: Emergency Response Beacon number, British registration number, etc. Just the sort of details that you never want to have to recite to anyone. And he said that if I hadn’t heard from him by Monday, I should start to be concerned and contact the British Coast Guard. Of course, having the utmost faith in this amazing young man, I wasn’t worried in the least. But just the same, by 9pm Monday I’m on the phone to his dad saying: “Do you think he meant the end of Monday, Europe time? Is this about the time where we should perhaps begin to think about getting concerned?”. And literally as I’m saying this, sitting in front of my laptop that I’d turned on a few minutes before, a Google chat box pops up with “made it man” from Nick. So much relief all round. Of course we never doubted him for a second, but it’s nice to know that he’s back standing on solid ground.

So head over to bigoceans.com and be sure to make a donation to a struggling sailor/artist/geek/adventurer so he can continue his incredible journey!

Cut red meat intake to save the planet. [The Australian]

Oblivious to the impact of our carnivorous ways. [The Age]

Thanks Deb!

I must try and experiment with something like flaxseed oil to replace the butter and make it fully vegan-friendly.

1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp butter (melted)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together, place in a big lump in the middle of a high-sided casserole baking dish.

Sauce:
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 and 1/2 cups boiling water
2 tsp cocoa

Mix and pour over the pudding.

Bake for approx 30mins @ 180deg C. Serve with light ice cream or light cream.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

This is something that I rediscovered when I was 34. I did quite a lot of running as a boy, right up until the time I left school. Actually, I slacked off at the beginning of year twelve, but that’s another story. I became fairly sedentary in my early 20s and my weight gradually ballooned, even when I became a commuter cyclist in the mid-1990s.

In mid-2002, I began walking at lunchtime with friends around the Tan. I saw quite a few runners and, after a while, decided I would join them. The first time, I got about 100m before thinking I was going to collapse and die of a heart attack or exhaustion. Mind you, I was about 140kg at that stage. I thought: “it’s OK, it’ll just get easier each time”, so I tried again a few days later and got about 50m. But after that, it did get better.

I ran the City to Surf in 2003, a half-marathon in 2005 and a marathon in 2006.

But in February this year, I stubbed by left little toe as I walked past a door. It really hurt, as it does, but a few hours after the pain of the stubbed toe had subsided, the whole outer side of my foot felt like it had been given half a dozen good whacks with a cricket bat. Walking was painful for a few weeks, and running was completely out of the question. I waited about 6 weeks, and tried running again, but the pain was still very much there. So, in May, I went to see a Podiatrist at the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Clinic. It was time to put the feet in for a service. I cannot recommend those folks highly enough. My Podiatrist confirmed what I had long suspected: my feet were flat as pancakes and if I wanted to keep running, I needed orthotics. She also suggested I rest the toe a bit longer and took an x-ray just in case, which came back negative. So I got the orthotics and rested the foot. Took my medicine.

The good (no, great!) news is that I’m back running again. I’ve run 3 times in the past two weeks (10min, 20min, 25min), and while I’m pleasantly surprised that I haven’t lost all my fitness after several months without running, it’s pretty tough when I get to the 20-minute mark or so.

It’s such an incredibly good feeling to be running again. When you are something and you can’t do it, it’s so frustrating, even depressing. But when you get back to doing it again, well, there aren’t too many things that feel so good!

Share and enjoy!

1 cup of brown rice (measured uncooked)
1/3 cup currants
60g roasted cashews
3 tab spns chopped parsley
6 spring onions (shallots/eshallots)
1 red capsicum (bell pepper)
2 tab roasted sunflower seeds

Cook rice and allow it to cool. I often cook the rice the evening before making the salad. Finely chop the capsicum, spring onions and parsley. Roughly crush the cashews with the flat of your cook’s knife. Mix everything together. Add the dressing immediately before serving and mix well.

Soy sauce dressing
1/4 cup sunflower oil
3 tab spns light soy sauce
2 tab spns lemon juice
1 clove garlic (v. finely chopped)
small pinch salt and pepper

Variations
- Substitute a Spanish or red onion for spring onion, or just add one.
- Substitute a mix of sunflower seeds, pine nuts and pepitas for the sunflower seeds.
- Add grated carrot or zucchini
- Double the quantity for parties, etc.