#4 - October: Home
Hello,
Autumn has hit and with winter slowly sneaking up on us, things seem to be slowing down - less sporting events which unfortunately means less bookings. Alex is now at home in Belgium for the quiet period, but we've kept busy creating our new home page which we're excited to share with you all (more below).
In this month's edition:
Part 1 of a 2 part interview with Matt: a reluctant runner, want-to-be fighter.
Photostory: Align with the sun
Alex breaks his running PB
Big woowoo news!
Why I Tri - One step is all it takes
Get to know: Matt
Matt: A reluctant runner, want-to-be fighter. Part 1: For the right reasons.
I became a runner through having to run. Some people go out for a 5k run and end up doing 20k because they got lost in it.. That doesn’t happen to me.
I’m aware of every minute of every run. Of how far I’ve gone. I’m not a bad runner, I run in respectable times, but I don’t enjoy it and I’m not passionate about it. That’s why I call myself a reluctant runner.
What we've been up to
Align with the Sun
A sunrise yoga session in Barcelona - and Becca’s first paid photoshoot.
It was, of course, an early start - a 6am alarm with the aim to be out the house and en-route by 6:30. Arriving to the location, I knew this was going to be a good experience regardless of how the sun decided to rise and what colours she was going to show today. Sometimes waking up early does have it’s rewards ;)
But, it was a tough shoot.
Halwillersee Lauf
A wet, gloomy autumn day at the swiss lake. On a better day, I would have had shots of the lake with mountains in the background, and runners in the foreground - but since we could barely see the lake or the mountains, the focus was all on the runners.
We were a small team for this shoot, which meant we each had multiple spots to shoot, with e-bikes to get between them (that was really fun, despite the rain!).
In the afternoon I found a cool spot in a forest section, and since I was a little bit hidden I was able to catch some natural emotions, rather than the usual poses / smiles we get.
DHL Ekiden - Alex is officially faster than he's ever been
The 'ekiden' is where 6 runners work as a relay team to complete the marathon distance (42km).
Papa woo works at DHL, and his team was a little bit short - so I happily joined for one of the 10km legs. I was pretty excited to ‘race’ the run, since most of my training is short intervals, or long and slow runs - and when I’m racing in a triathlon, I’m already pretty exhausted and can’t put in a really good run time (yet). So this was a good chance to see how fast I can actually run, and I was aiming for a time of 45mins - 10 minutes faster than my 10km at the open lake triathlon last month.
Well.. I finished with a time of 39:29 - my best ever 10km by far. I was pretty surprised, and very happy. I’m officially faster than I’ve ever been before!? 4 months into dedicated training - why didn’t I do this sooner?
That also meant I broke a sub 20 minute 5km - a time I would have dreamed about making back in my cross country days in school (where my PB in the 5km was 22:30).
What does it mean? Well for one, keep training - its clearly working well.
Two - it’s good for me to have these smaller events built in to the long plan - milestones to mark progress, and events where you can push more than the normal training plan allows.
Three - save a bit more for the run during the triathlon, and/or push harder in the run - now that I know what my pace can be!
Now I’m excited to keep training through the winter, and see how much quicker I can get.
NEWS!!!
We had the idea of a community group in our heads for some time, but with comments and hints here and there, we've decided to go ahead and launch it officially!
So, what is it and who is it for? Well, in short, it's for you... and people like you. Anyone currently doing a woo, anyone training for a woo, anyone thinking about doing a woo. It's a place to connect with others, ask questions about training plans or kit, and get motivation. It's your own support squad.
For now it isn't so big, but growing our community is something we will be putting a lot of our focus on over the next few months and we believe this is something that is going to bring value to you. Of course, if you have any more ideas for groups, please let us know.
As if that wasn't enough (we told you we've been keeping busy), we have a new homepage! We realise that stories are, and always will be, the heart of what we do at woowoo - and we decided we needed a new homepage to reflect that.
Shout out (a chance to highlight cool people doing cool things - living their woo)
At woowoo, once you're a part of our community, you stay in the community. Hopefully you've heard about George already. If you haven't, read more here.
This is his company - Hybrid Athlete - who specialise in injury prevention equipment. But there is also a whole host of videos and tips that are worth checking out for training athletes.
Guest Column: Why I Tri - One step is all it takes
I might have mentioned, 2021 was an awesome year for me – best ever Tri year, so far! And that was down to one thing, and one thing only ….. CONSISTENCY!!
Ok, the good weather helped... And working from home, giving me more time... And less eating out... But CONSISTENCY was the main thing, if not the only thing. Less travel, more time and better weather enabled me to be more consistent.
I am learning again that nothing is more important than consistency! Regular training sessions, time and time again - that is what makes the difference.
Build your plan, log your plan, stick to your plan, log the results = see the improvement. On training tools – your plans go green and your fitness index increases – motivators in themselves. To coin a phrase – Just Do It!!
Sooo many times, I could have rolled over and stayed in bed. That thin grey line, I need a rest? Or am I being lazy? Just do it!!
Yes – training buddies help! Accountability partners help. But the end of the day, it is down to you.
One step is all it takes.
Stick to the plan. You have to stick to the plan. You are not looking for a reason to do the exercise, you need a damn good reason NOT to do it.
One step is all it takes.
Don’t feel like the full work out? Weather outside is ‘frightful’, the fire inside ‘delightful’? Just do it. The weather is never as bad as it seems when you get going.
One step – if you can’t do the whole workout, do something. If you can’t run the full distance, not today, scale it back. Or walk even. Many a time I have ‘gone easy on myself’ and promised to ‘do what I feel like, what I can manage’ only to complete the whole training session once I’ve got going. And more often than not, smashing it – exceeding my expectations. And I have never been disappointed when I have completed a session, but it’s an awful feeling when you skip one ☹
You’ve just got to get going.
The more consistent you are, the more you build, the better you get, the greater your chances of competing or completing.. Triathlon is an endurance sport after all. It’s all about the long game.
And to get going … one step is all it takes.
In the diary
10th November: Photographer at The Belgian Beermile
Rest of November: Winter training begins
As we said at the start, everything is getting a bit quieter now we are entering the winter season. If you have any races or events lined up, let us know so we can shout about it. Similarly, if you know of any shooting opportunities - we're here and would love to be considered!
P.S. Have you noticed our newsletters are now available to view online? Share the link with any woowoo'ers you know!