As a result we're pimping out pictures of us partly-clad in Lycra in the hope that some of Nelson's businesses are keen to give us their hard earned (Global recession affected) money!
A friend from our swimming club cut one of his fingers off recently and (naturally) took up photography (he didn't cut all his fingers off!) to pass the time. He kindly donated the action-shots below and I include these to give you an idea of the wonderful poses and grimaces we sport whilst thrashing our bodies around Rabbit Island.
I begin with Bernie looking far too pleased with herself as she completes the final stage of her tri... hence the smile!:
This is more typical of Bernie running at full tilt - working the arms = good bio-mechanics, the juice bottle belongs to a man in a red t-shirt... he's got some catching up to do fortunately:
Bernie was obviously quite hungry during the cycle and took to catching flies :
Here's me trying to look serious - worrying that I have packed my lunch-box too conspicuously...
This is me in the "Aero" position - using front-mounted bars to gain a more aerodynamic position... but having absolutely no control over braking, gears and steering... I've got my eyes closed too:
This is my Baywatch moment... in reverse... not a bad venue is it?!
Today we began by cycling at a frosty 6am to the pool, back to school for a day's work (a real inconvenience to our lives at the moment!) and then off for a 70km / 50mile bike ride through the vineyards outside Nelson. Tomorrow will be a running day as I have parents' evening until 8pm - not fair at all!
Bernie will resume a relatively normal life again now her boss is back from the UK. Bernie has done an excellent job standing in for the Principal's PA for 6 weeks - especially as the Principal himself resigned, leaving the 4 assistants to scramble around trying to do his job. By all accounts, this would have been impossible without the calm and efficient Bernie on hand! She will hopefully gain a part-time contract soon, enabling her to train, bake and busy herself around the house as she pleases rather than cramming it all into the evenings and weekends.
There are still two spare beds downstairs waiting for visitors from overseas. So far the O'Donnell's are the only ones who have made from Blighty and what a time we had! Both sets of our parents booked in early next year but there are plenty of free weekends. Of course by coming to stay with us, you will be obliged to follow our training and race schedule and to eat your own body weight in baked beans each week - fortunately we do have good ventilation... however, we get regular tremors or mini-earthquakes... cant think why?!
I hope this blog enthuses you to all go out and train like never before... I honestly think I'm become addicted to endorphins:
Endorphins are endogenous opioid polypeptide compounds. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during strenuous exercise, excitement, pain, and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a sense of well-being. Endorphins work as "natural pain relievers", whose effects may be enhanced by other medications.
The term "endorphin" implies a pharmacological activity (analogous to the activity of the corticosteroid category of biochemicals) as opposed to a specific chemical formulation. It consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean "a morphine like substance originating from within the body."
The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Immediately after injury, endorphins allow humans to feel a sense of power and control over themselves that allows them to persist with activity for an extended time.
(From my beloved teaching bible, Wikipedia)
The term "endorphin" implies a pharmacological activity (analogous to the activity of the corticosteroid category of biochemicals) as opposed to a specific chemical formulation. It consists of two parts: endo- and -orphin; these are short forms of the words endogenous and morphine, intended to mean "a morphine like substance originating from within the body."
The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Immediately after injury, endorphins allow humans to feel a sense of power and control over themselves that allows them to persist with activity for an extended time.
(From my beloved teaching bible, Wikipedia)
