Exams, climbing and fun in the National Park

Semester 1 exams are over, done, finished.......and Im feeling pretty damn proud of myself. I forgot how great the feeling is when you emerge from an exam knowing you did everything you could and gave it your best. This is nearly as good a feeling as opening up the exam paper and realising you know all the questions inside and out. When the marks come through, whatever they may be, I'll know I gave it 100%: which is very satisfying.

So with a few weeks until the second half of the uni year starts I have an opportunity to play a little. I took a trip to Mt Tamborine National Park for a day of running down every trail I could find. Being a Monday there was absolutely no-one around....just the way I like it. I found a beautiful waterfall and decided to follow the flow down the mountain a little. Then it occurred to me.......if you go down, you have to come back up. This is not easy with tired legs and blistered feet but i got there in the end.

So Im taking up rock climbing. I have always been fascinated by these guys that can haul themselves up a rock wall on the tips of their fingers. I went to an indoor climbing centre and it turn out Im bit of a natural climber. Being 5'11 and weighing 65kg means a good power to weight ratio, and the long arms and legs help also. So this is my new activity to maintain some strength through winter until I can get back in the pool and focus on the ironman preps.

Beautiful solitude on the trails

Well, what a great way to end the week: trail running at night!! This is one of my favourite things to do. Last night I set off at about 6.00pm and immediately knew I would be out for a while. I just felt great! when your running well its a fluid motion and you feel like your floating above the ground, weightless, effortless. From the first step I was soaring, so up to the forest I went. There is a sharp incline to get to the top of the main ridge and even this felt easy: I was on an escalator moving in the right direction. The sun had gone down and taken the temperature with it. The forest was silent except for the sound of animals waking, ready to start their nocturnal habits. My headlamp lit up the trail nicely but after a while I switched it off and ran by the light of the moon. Normally this is not the safest thing to do due to the increased risk of falling or twisting an ankle but when your floating, these possibilities fade away.

About 2hrs into the run I woke up when I nearly went off the edge of boulder. Where did the trail go? It occurred to me that I had been in a blissful trance and had just let my feet take me where they wanted. Doubling-back, I found the trail and off I sailed. Trying desperately to get back into my previous headspace I  followed a trail I know well. This allowed me to 'go to sleep' again. Inclines, declines, creeks, boulders and fallen trees: these are the best parts of trail running.

After 4hrs I found myself emerging from the forest feeling absolutely spent, but elated. It was the kind of feeling that a female would be hard-pressed to give me (well, almost, not quite as good). A hot shower and a warm bed awaited.

Tonight I remembered something: The best things in life are free

"Hello Sunday Morning" (HSM)

I am pleased to say that I have signed up for the "Hello Sunday Morning" initiative. This is such a great idea that when I stumbled upon it I couldn't resist being involved.

HSM is an initiative that gets people to question their relationship with alcohol. It is not about lifelong abstinence. Its about a designated period of time where one abstains from alcohol: 3, 6, 12 months. Im viewing it as learning period where I hope to better understand the mechanics of myself and to achieve some goals along the way.

If you know anyone who is questioning their relationship with alcohol then put them on to "Hello Sunday Morning" and tell them to spread the word

Struggling a little

For every peak there is a trough. This has become apparent to me over the past month. Luckily my recent trough has not been the same sharp decent as I have experienced in the past. I just feel that things have gotten on top of me recently and this is something I need to better manage.

There is no way to sugar-coat it....my studies have suffered. Finding the motivation to study is something that I am relearning. When one returns to academia it is not only subject content that needs to be learned but also the whole process of studying. For example, what are the main points I need to focus on? what do I leave out? how do I stay focussed? Its all new to me again, but I win the fight.

As for training: this has been a terrible month. I have been doing some running but haven't been on the bike for weeks. I feel like a part of me is missing and am super keen to get back in the saddle and crank the legs over. Its only a few months until the triathlon season starts so I need to get some consistency in over winter. Stay tuned as the starters gun has been fired!

Staying on track at Easter

Its Easter, which means family, friends and time off from work. This is the part I never look forward too. See, I need to keep busy. I need my time to be booked well in advance because idle moments see me relaxed, and Im no good when Im relaxed. 

Luckily Im booked, overbooked in fact! There are no more rooms available at Chateau de Mark. I've been training whenever possible but Im also playing catchup with respect to study so balancing the books with the bike is proving a real test. I don't know how people do it: full-time work, raise a family and train for endurance events. These people are real heroes in my book. Im single and only have to walk a dog but still I struggle to find enough hours in the day. It all comes down to discipline: and that is not one of my strong points. However, discipline is what this whole exercise is about; teaching myself discipline.

So Ive been doing base-work lately. Long distance/time but low intensity sessions on the bike and running. I went out for a six hour ride which I was really proud of. However, six hour riding sessions kind of lead to a couple of days out of the saddle and the application, and reapplication, of healing cream to various places that have not seen daylight before!

Lesson one learned: chaffing hurts!

So I recovered from the saddle sores and backed up with a 25km run a few days later. All was going well until about 10-15kms into the run when learned:

Lesson two: chaffing really hurts!

As uncouth as it might be, long distance running requires ample stocks of vaseline and band aids. I can hear the question now....."mark, how come you have a 1lt tub of vaseline?"

Well I have to rest the legs and head as tomorrow see's more study and training. Bike session followed by a fascinating session on Plasmid Vectors and DNA cloning.

Happy Easter: remember what its really about.......SECOND CHANCES!!

The Journey Begins

"You do anything long enough to escape the habit of living until the escape becomes the habit" - David Ryan


"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" - Lao Tzu


Life has always been difficult for me. In saying that I do not mean to imply that my childhood was traumatic or I was from a disadvantaged background. Quite the opposite is true. I was raised in a middle-class loving family and was afforded many luxuries that come from growing up in a free and democratic country. My difficulties and struggles do not lie in poverty or fear of an oppressive regime, nor was a born with any sort of physical ailment which prevented me from living a normal life. My difficulties are intrinsic. 


I have wrestled with alcohol and substance abuse and depression for nearly half my life. Most days are a silent battle within my head to not drink or smoke. Family and friends are aware of my past but none know that the battle still continues in the corners of my mind. A happy-go-lucky facade masks what's going on below. I can't have "a couple of glasses down the local". One turns into two, turns into four, turns into all night. As for drugs, well whats on the menu? The past few years have seen a slow, but sometimes staggered, improvement in my addiction but I still feel that I have not got a full handle on things.


Over the past 6 months I have begun to consciously focus on my health and my future. I have returned to university to finish a degree in biochemistry and physiology that was started more than 10 years ago. I have also found trail running and triathlon. When I'm running a trail or riding my bike my thoughts are strong, positive, happy. I feel like everything is going to be ok and I'll beat my demons. I, dare I say it, like myself. So I have decided to tackle some grueling endurance events such as 100km+ ultramarathons and, the pinnacle of endurance sport: Ironman Triathlon (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run)


Which brings me to this blog. "Addict to Ironman" will document my journey to completing these goals that lay before me. It's my way of staying focussed and I view at as a contract of sorts. I will be held accountable for my actions by any followers as I intend to be completely transparent in this exercise. If I fall off the wagon or use any drugs I promise to document it.


So please join me, support me, test me and hold me accountable as I go from Addict to Ironman.