dude
10.04.2008, 12:21
Ok Gimmilli here it is. Will keep it pretty short and basic. Hope it makes sence.
* First heard of triathlon in 1986 when my Friend Clinton barter started doing them.
* First watched a triathlon on TV in 1987 when Dave Scott beat Mark Allen in the Hawaii Ironman. My first thought was wow, that looks really cool.
*My entire life i wanted to be a Marathon Champion like Deek and Moneghetti.
* I met Sean Maroney in 1989 at the Southside Masters Thursday night running meet. All the triathletes would come to this run.
*Sean gave me my history lesson in the sport as his brother was a very good Triathlete and they had all the Triathlon Videos at their home. We would watch all these races, read all the magazines and Sean would tell me all about this sport.
*In November 1992 I did my first Triathlon, the Diahatsu Wollongong Triathlon and won the junior category and a trip to New Caledonia. i was hooked.
*Raced Junior Worlds in Manchester 1993 and finished 4th decided then and thier i wanted to be a proffessional triathlete.
*Returned to Australia to finish University. Sean and myslef wrote a list of al the races in the World we were going to win in our career. I still have this list to this day.
*Sean and I would tell anybody who listened that we were going to be the best triathletes in the World. Some of the shire guys did not like our arrogance but we did not care. Greg Welch was the king of the shire and king of the world, and we would try and race him at every chance we could get. You got this chance every Tuesday and thursday morning in the triathlon pack rides, and every wednesday night at the club run.
*Maybe we were dillusional, but We lived it and I really wanted to be the best in the World. Sean enjoyed the party scene more than the discipline that was required with training and would often miss sessions. I was determined to beat Greg Welch one day. That was my aim. i thought if you could beat Greg Welch you would be the best in the World.
*Formula 1 Triathlon started in 1995 and the St George Series and this really made us focus on training and set a goal close to home. I qualified for the series in 1995 with other shire locals, Greg welch, Jason Metters and Jason Harper. Some of the older guys who were always putting myself and Sean down and tried their arse off to get into this series and failed to qualify, gave us a hard time because we got our arse kicked on TV. I did not care. We were in the seeries and they were not.
* Finished University in 1995. Started Work at Bankers Trust. Lasted 6 months before deciding to quit and go to race proffessionally in Europe. I had made some contacts in 1993 and sold everything I owned and packed up and flew to Europe with my girlfriend. We just bummed and and lived out of a suitcase.
*Finished 6th in the Paris ITU World Cup in July 1996 - Won 2500 dollars. Thought i was the richest guy in the world.
*2 weeks later won the ITU World Cup race in Drummondville Canada - Won 10 000 dollars. We were rich.
* Qualified for my first Australia Team to race World Championships in Cleveland. Met Miles Stewart on this trip. Team was, Miles, Welch, Beven, Bennett, Me, Trench, Knowles. Finished 18th place. Talked to miles. He convinced me to return to Australia and move to the Gold Coast to train under his father. I agreed, flew home and was on the Gold Coast 2 weeks after worlds.
*Learned how to train and the importance of consistency under the guidance of Col. At this point in time this was the best training group in Australia. It was awesome. realised as Col used to say it, Cronulla was a great place to relax but not to train. The cronulla triathlon culture was not good for a proffessional athlete.
*Immediately improved and had an incredible 1996-97 Australian domestic Season. Finished 4th in the F1 series and won Australian Sprin title and Australian Triathlon series. Finished 2nd at Australian Championships to Brad Beven. Started ticking off some of the races on the list that Sean and I had written out 3 years before.
*Won the first two rounds of the 1997 ITU World Cup series- moved back to south of France for season. Broke up with Girlfriend and got angry at the world.
* Raced well on World Cup ciruit-ranked number 1 in World.
*moved back to Sutherland Shire in september to prepare for World Champs. Trained hard with Sean Maroney and Clinton Barter to try and win World title.
*Won World title in november 1997. Won World Cup series.
* Won 4 more World Cup races in 1998-99 - Ranked number 1 in the World for 3 years.
*mother passed away from breast cancer April 1999 - Contemplated retirement. Stopped training and did not go to Australian Training camp in Europe. Sean Maroney and Mick Gilliam talked me back into training to get me back in the right frame of mind. Started training in August for ITU Worlds in Montreal.
* Missed Olympic selection in April 2000 - Contemplated retirment. Met my wife and decided to go to America and complete the list of races I had written out with Sean. Sean joined me in the USA later that year and watched me win San Diego international Triathlon and Chicago Triathlon. These were two races that were won by his sporting Idol Mike Pigg. We sat in the otel rooms like two kids looking at the trophys and Sean telling me who had won these races in the past. These were great times. This made me want to win more of these races and put my name next to the great champions of this sport. As Sean would always say - This is your time to shine man.
*Moved in with michellie Jones in San Diego. Learned what a professional athlete was. She taught me so much and matured me as an athlete. Incredibe learning curve here. The most professional athlete i have ever been associated with.
*Went on a rampage of racing - Winning 32 races and staying undefeated for 2/1/2 years. Spoke with Sean as we ticked the races of the list.
*Won the Goodwill Games in 2001 after Crashing at Worlds in Canada. Qualified for Commonwealth Games. Decided the ITU circuit was not for me. I was enjoying the racing in the USA and was dictating my own future, and not bing reliant on the decisions of Triathlon Australia. Also starting to make a very healthy living from the sport in the USA.
*Decided to move across to Ironman in 2002 with debut in Australia. Foster was one of the races on my list of races to win. Did that in April. Spoke with Sean who was in the USa at the time after the race. He was losing his mind.
*Sean passed away june 2002. Was supposed to come and watch me race in Alcatraz. Won a record 4th Alcatraz title and dedicated this win to Sean. Incredibly emotional race for me as it was Mike Piggs Record i was breaking and this was Seans Idol and this was why he was coming to watch this race.
*Raced Commonwealth Games in August - Informed Triathlon Australia that i would not be looking at Athens as an athlete. I wanted to win Hawaii as this was what Sean and i had discussed our entire lives. I wanted to complete the list.
*Raced Hawaii and failed in 2002, 2003, 2004
*Broke 8 hours in the Ironman - Ticked that off the list. Won Roth which was also on the list we had made.
*Married in 2004 to Emma - jane - Daughter Tahlia born in 2004/Sienna born 2006
* Here we are now still chasing two final things on our list. Once this is achieved i will frame this crumpled piece of A4 paper and put this up in my pool room. This has become my life and my driving force. I feel fortunate and proud that I never gave up the chase and aim to complete this list for myself and to complete a dream that two teenage kids talked about in a TV Room as youngsters. I want to show my children to have the courage and the belief that dreams are worth chasing. A dream becomes a goal when you write it down on paper and goals are worth setting and chasing.
You ask what you need to succeed well in this sport. I believe the most important thing you need is a solid support team and a team that you believe in. I have had this my entire career. You cannot second guess your support team. Many people will tell you your doing things wrong or give you all the reasons why you should be doing things a different way. You need to believe in your team and believe in what your doing. It is this that you will draw on when the going gets tough and if you doubt this then you have nothing.
You need to have a sound belief that you can do it and the courage to chase your dreams. Along the way you will always have the knockers and the ones who draw huge satisfaction out of your failures. Distance yourself from these people. They dont understand that the real losers are the ones who dont have the courage or the conviction to actually try and achieve a goal. They are usually these people themselves.
You need to have good discipline and work ethic but be smart enough to understand the fine balance of this sport. Triathlon is a single sport that requires training in 3 disciplines. Many people forget this important fact.
Jabba says you need to be angry. I agree I always raced well on anger but it needs to be centred and focused. Anger projected the wrong way can be distructive.
I think the basic key to success is belief, discipline and consistency.
http://forums.transitions.org.au/index.php?showtopic=23031
* First heard of triathlon in 1986 when my Friend Clinton barter started doing them.
* First watched a triathlon on TV in 1987 when Dave Scott beat Mark Allen in the Hawaii Ironman. My first thought was wow, that looks really cool.
*My entire life i wanted to be a Marathon Champion like Deek and Moneghetti.
* I met Sean Maroney in 1989 at the Southside Masters Thursday night running meet. All the triathletes would come to this run.
*Sean gave me my history lesson in the sport as his brother was a very good Triathlete and they had all the Triathlon Videos at their home. We would watch all these races, read all the magazines and Sean would tell me all about this sport.
*In November 1992 I did my first Triathlon, the Diahatsu Wollongong Triathlon and won the junior category and a trip to New Caledonia. i was hooked.
*Raced Junior Worlds in Manchester 1993 and finished 4th decided then and thier i wanted to be a proffessional triathlete.
*Returned to Australia to finish University. Sean and myslef wrote a list of al the races in the World we were going to win in our career. I still have this list to this day.
*Sean and I would tell anybody who listened that we were going to be the best triathletes in the World. Some of the shire guys did not like our arrogance but we did not care. Greg Welch was the king of the shire and king of the world, and we would try and race him at every chance we could get. You got this chance every Tuesday and thursday morning in the triathlon pack rides, and every wednesday night at the club run.
*Maybe we were dillusional, but We lived it and I really wanted to be the best in the World. Sean enjoyed the party scene more than the discipline that was required with training and would often miss sessions. I was determined to beat Greg Welch one day. That was my aim. i thought if you could beat Greg Welch you would be the best in the World.
*Formula 1 Triathlon started in 1995 and the St George Series and this really made us focus on training and set a goal close to home. I qualified for the series in 1995 with other shire locals, Greg welch, Jason Metters and Jason Harper. Some of the older guys who were always putting myself and Sean down and tried their arse off to get into this series and failed to qualify, gave us a hard time because we got our arse kicked on TV. I did not care. We were in the seeries and they were not.
* Finished University in 1995. Started Work at Bankers Trust. Lasted 6 months before deciding to quit and go to race proffessionally in Europe. I had made some contacts in 1993 and sold everything I owned and packed up and flew to Europe with my girlfriend. We just bummed and and lived out of a suitcase.
*Finished 6th in the Paris ITU World Cup in July 1996 - Won 2500 dollars. Thought i was the richest guy in the world.
*2 weeks later won the ITU World Cup race in Drummondville Canada - Won 10 000 dollars. We were rich.
* Qualified for my first Australia Team to race World Championships in Cleveland. Met Miles Stewart on this trip. Team was, Miles, Welch, Beven, Bennett, Me, Trench, Knowles. Finished 18th place. Talked to miles. He convinced me to return to Australia and move to the Gold Coast to train under his father. I agreed, flew home and was on the Gold Coast 2 weeks after worlds.
*Learned how to train and the importance of consistency under the guidance of Col. At this point in time this was the best training group in Australia. It was awesome. realised as Col used to say it, Cronulla was a great place to relax but not to train. The cronulla triathlon culture was not good for a proffessional athlete.
*Immediately improved and had an incredible 1996-97 Australian domestic Season. Finished 4th in the F1 series and won Australian Sprin title and Australian Triathlon series. Finished 2nd at Australian Championships to Brad Beven. Started ticking off some of the races on the list that Sean and I had written out 3 years before.
*Won the first two rounds of the 1997 ITU World Cup series- moved back to south of France for season. Broke up with Girlfriend and got angry at the world.
* Raced well on World Cup ciruit-ranked number 1 in World.
*moved back to Sutherland Shire in september to prepare for World Champs. Trained hard with Sean Maroney and Clinton Barter to try and win World title.
*Won World title in november 1997. Won World Cup series.
* Won 4 more World Cup races in 1998-99 - Ranked number 1 in the World for 3 years.
*mother passed away from breast cancer April 1999 - Contemplated retirement. Stopped training and did not go to Australian Training camp in Europe. Sean Maroney and Mick Gilliam talked me back into training to get me back in the right frame of mind. Started training in August for ITU Worlds in Montreal.
* Missed Olympic selection in April 2000 - Contemplated retirment. Met my wife and decided to go to America and complete the list of races I had written out with Sean. Sean joined me in the USA later that year and watched me win San Diego international Triathlon and Chicago Triathlon. These were two races that were won by his sporting Idol Mike Pigg. We sat in the otel rooms like two kids looking at the trophys and Sean telling me who had won these races in the past. These were great times. This made me want to win more of these races and put my name next to the great champions of this sport. As Sean would always say - This is your time to shine man.
*Moved in with michellie Jones in San Diego. Learned what a professional athlete was. She taught me so much and matured me as an athlete. Incredibe learning curve here. The most professional athlete i have ever been associated with.
*Went on a rampage of racing - Winning 32 races and staying undefeated for 2/1/2 years. Spoke with Sean as we ticked the races of the list.
*Won the Goodwill Games in 2001 after Crashing at Worlds in Canada. Qualified for Commonwealth Games. Decided the ITU circuit was not for me. I was enjoying the racing in the USA and was dictating my own future, and not bing reliant on the decisions of Triathlon Australia. Also starting to make a very healthy living from the sport in the USA.
*Decided to move across to Ironman in 2002 with debut in Australia. Foster was one of the races on my list of races to win. Did that in April. Spoke with Sean who was in the USa at the time after the race. He was losing his mind.
*Sean passed away june 2002. Was supposed to come and watch me race in Alcatraz. Won a record 4th Alcatraz title and dedicated this win to Sean. Incredibly emotional race for me as it was Mike Piggs Record i was breaking and this was Seans Idol and this was why he was coming to watch this race.
*Raced Commonwealth Games in August - Informed Triathlon Australia that i would not be looking at Athens as an athlete. I wanted to win Hawaii as this was what Sean and i had discussed our entire lives. I wanted to complete the list.
*Raced Hawaii and failed in 2002, 2003, 2004
*Broke 8 hours in the Ironman - Ticked that off the list. Won Roth which was also on the list we had made.
*Married in 2004 to Emma - jane - Daughter Tahlia born in 2004/Sienna born 2006
* Here we are now still chasing two final things on our list. Once this is achieved i will frame this crumpled piece of A4 paper and put this up in my pool room. This has become my life and my driving force. I feel fortunate and proud that I never gave up the chase and aim to complete this list for myself and to complete a dream that two teenage kids talked about in a TV Room as youngsters. I want to show my children to have the courage and the belief that dreams are worth chasing. A dream becomes a goal when you write it down on paper and goals are worth setting and chasing.
You ask what you need to succeed well in this sport. I believe the most important thing you need is a solid support team and a team that you believe in. I have had this my entire career. You cannot second guess your support team. Many people will tell you your doing things wrong or give you all the reasons why you should be doing things a different way. You need to believe in your team and believe in what your doing. It is this that you will draw on when the going gets tough and if you doubt this then you have nothing.
You need to have a sound belief that you can do it and the courage to chase your dreams. Along the way you will always have the knockers and the ones who draw huge satisfaction out of your failures. Distance yourself from these people. They dont understand that the real losers are the ones who dont have the courage or the conviction to actually try and achieve a goal. They are usually these people themselves.
You need to have good discipline and work ethic but be smart enough to understand the fine balance of this sport. Triathlon is a single sport that requires training in 3 disciplines. Many people forget this important fact.
Jabba says you need to be angry. I agree I always raced well on anger but it needs to be centred and focused. Anger projected the wrong way can be distructive.
I think the basic key to success is belief, discipline and consistency.
http://forums.transitions.org.au/index.php?showtopic=23031