Great Ocean Walk

During the week before Xmas, Ms A and I took-off from Melbourne down the Great Ocean Rd to the Otways region of Victoria for 4 days of hiking and camping along stretches of the Great Ocean Walk (GOW). It was fantastic, not just leaving the pre-xmas hustle-bustle of Melbourne behind, but also for the beautiful track, amazing coastline, serenity, absence of others and some quality time.

While the GOW is set-out into 8 days of walking from Apollo Bay to near Port Campbell (about 104km in length), we did just 4 stages of it, starting from the Otway lighthouse to Wattle Hill. And although we camped for 3 nights, we managed to do a car shuffle each day which meant we didn't need to carry full packs, which was a relief.

During the walk my brother, his wife and 8-month old baby came along for 1 day walk and night, which was great given their knowledge of the area. The weather was pretty good and the lack of other walkers in the area was welcome relief from what we left behind in Melbourne - it was like another world.

Here's some photos from our trip...

 A board walk down to the beach on the way to Rainbow Falls.

 A big coil of rope washed up on rocks on the beach.

 Rainbow Falls...not a lot of water, but a lot of moss in a range of vivid colours.

 I also managed 40km of running along parts of the GOW - this run along the ridge-top was spectacular.

 Part of the GOW track, which ranged from beaches to sandy tracks, dirt, bush enclosed tunnels, steps and more. A fantastic track.

 A spectacular view along the coastline...just one of endless stunning views.

 Fishing on Johanna Beach...rod, seat, fishing box, thongs and stubby. The fisherman has gone AWOL...

 An echidna digging a burrow. We saw many part burrows but caught this guy mid-way through a dig.

Westwards from Johanna Beach near dusk. Breathtaking.

 Johanna Beach, the view from our campsite...doesn't get much better than that!!

 Running on Melanesia Beach...remote, hard to get to but stunningly beautiful.

 Locals offering of water for GOW walkers...with free view behind the bushes.

 Melanesia Beach.

 Post lunch rest on Melanesia Beach, Ms A and me.

 An ocean channel on a rock shelf, with water gushing in.

 Dusk at Ryan's Den, possibly more stunning than at Johanna Beach.

 View from Moonlight Head towards the Otway lighthouse.

 One of the anchors wedged in the rocks at Wreck Beach, surrounded by stunning rock pools and coastline in the background.

 The rock pools around the anchor.

 The rainforest near Triplet Falls, up in the Otway ranges and just near the Otway Fly.

Triplet Falls surrounded by ferns, mossy trees and more lush rainforest.

The Top 20 Tips on Being the Best

The following is gold-value information, and comes from Wayne Goldsmith who is an Australian sports coach, consultant and one of the smartest sporting brains around. His web-site (from where you can subscribe to his blog) is http://www.sportscoachingbrain.com/ Read the following very carefully!!!


I have been lucky to be involved in high performance sport for the best part of 20 years.

I have been very very fortunate to work with Olympic Gold Medalists, World Champions, World Record Holders, Premiership Title Winners, World Cup Winners…champion athletes, teams and coaches in many different sports and in several different countries.

Quite often, when I do professional speaking or training with corporate or sporting groups, someone in the audience will ask, “What do all the winners have in common” or “From your experience, what things do all the great athletes, teams and coaches do that makes them the best”.

There are indeed some things all the great ones have in common: The Top 20 Tips on Being the Best: 20 years of experience in 500 words!

1. Perseverance: They never give up.

2. Humility: The are confident – but not arrogant – seeking performance not praise.

3. A passion for continuous improvement: They embrace the belief that “success is a moving target” and that they can always get better at what they do.

4. Honesty: They are honest with themselves and other people realising that true progress is not possible without it.

5. They know how to win: They are comfortable chasing victory and thinking about, talking about and pursuing winning.

6. Self-belief: They believe in themselves and the limitless possibilities and potential they possess.

7. The courage to be different: They know that the essential quality of being the best means daring to be different and being unique.

8. No compromises: They drive towards their goals without compromise, without backing down, without surrender.

9. The ability to learn fast and accelerate improvement faster than their opposition: They know that improvement is essential and that improvement comes from learning: to learn faster means to improve faster and win sooner.

10. Passion: They love what they do and do what they love.

11. Hatred of losing: They tolerate losing only for one reason: to learn from it so that they become stronger, more resilient and better in the future.

12. Discipline: They know that winners are willing to do whatever it takes to prepare to win and will pay whatever it costs to be the best. What others see as sacrifice, winners see as lifestyle.

13. Self-acceptance: They accept who they are without judgement and are comfortable being themselves in all situations.

14. Consistency: They know that one moment of glory comes from many years of consistently out-planning and out-preparing their opposition.

15. Vision of what could be – not what is: They see where things are going and do whatever it takes to get there first.

16. A clear personal philosophy: They know who they are.

17. A clear set of personal values: They know what they stand for.

18. Action driven i.e. they “do” things: They know that while everyone thinks about being great and talks about being great, greatness comes from actions.

19. The capacity to “re-invent’ themselves: They know that time stands still for no one and that they need to stay relevant to the times and situations they live in.

20. They live excellence: They know – as Aristotle knew – that excellence is not a single moment or competition: it is a habit – a daily commitment to being the best.

The self-sufficient athlete

In these times of global climate change, self-sufficiency is in vogue as a way to long-term sustainability for ourselves and the planet. And although on a very different level, being a self-sufficient athlete is also a way to long-term success because in the real world, it's not always possible to have an entourage accompany you 24/7, so having a degree of self-sufficiency is not just helpful, but essential.

But what does self-sufficiency mean when it comes to endurance sports, how is a benefit and how do you become self-sufficient?

Self-sufficiency is having a competent grasp of all the aspects that contribute to your performance, and knowing how to manage those things at times when circumstances require it. It's not about being self-sufficient for 100% of the time as the role, influence, advice, support and more from coaches and colleagues is a necessary step in the process to being self-sufficient. To an extent, self-sufficiency is up there with taking responsibility for your own performance, and doing it under your own initiative rather than being prompted to.

As a real-life example, when an athlete travels to an event, being self-sufficient means spending time before leaving to ask questions, prepare plans, check equipment, buy supplies and more, so that once at the race the athlete is ready for most things which might arise. It's a lot like preparing for an expedition where you know you'll be cut-off (or at best with limited access) to the support networks which are usually on hand.

Self-sufficiency is important on a day-to-day basis where it is up to the individual athlete to be ready for training, from simple things like having your goggles, spare tubes (and knowing how to change them!!), and training nutrition to non-equipment things like being on time and ready for training, knowing the standard warm-up routine before training (or a race), through to managing how much sleep you have.

As with the expedition analogy, it's not possible to be 100% self-sufficient all the time. You need to return to base to review, re-charge, re-learn and prepare for the next challenge ahead - trying to push-on solo for too long can be a path to destruction. For athletes this will usually mean the support and guidance of a coach and/or support network, from where you develop further, learn more and grow as an athlete.

The periods of self-sufficiency are part of the process of growth, each being a test of what you've learned and a chance of independence. Remember as a kid you longed for freedom and self-sufficiency, well as an athlete you need periods where you break away on your own because, after all, in the heat of competition you're an individual competitor.

Becoming self-sufficient begins with wanting to be self-sufficient. Like a kid, you need to want to be able to break away from the comfort zone from time to time, and to take your own stand...even if you stuff up a couple of times. From those stuff ups you'll quickly learn what you need to know, learn, do, pack, prepare and more for the times you're on your own. In many cases a moral support line will only be a phone call away, but the physical separation is the obvious distinction of your situation.

In the end, self-sufficiency is not something to be afraid of although each person will react and respond differently. Regardless, it is a scenario you can prepare for through planning, practice and trial and error. Once you do master self-sufficiency your horizons will broaden, and your confidence in yourself will soar. You'll be on track to mastering your performance.

Women who TRI seminar

On Thursday the 16th of December 2010, LSD Sports are holding a women’s specific triathlon seminar at MSAC - I'm one of the speakers, talking about running and transitions.

Please see invitation image below which includes more details.

The seminar will have several different topics covered ranging from:

• Correct swimming training
• Choosing a bike and correct bike fits to ensure optimum riding efficiency.
• Proper running training and racing.
• Body maintenance including, physiotherapy, massage, and diet.
• Time management to ensure you have a life as well as training.

And a questions and answer session with four Team LSDtriathlon elite age groupers being Kristy Hallett, Natalie Sheffield, Bev Thomas and Rochelle Kursidim.

There will be a goodies bag plus some great lucky door prizes.

This amazing seminar is not to be missed by any female who is considering racing in a triathlon or is looking at becoming serious in their endevours of breaking best times or doing longer distances.

Could you please pass on to all of your contacts and ask them to RSVP to admin@lsdsports.com as seats are strictly limited.

Thanks for your help and support.

 

Movember

Recently I subjected myself to Movember, where during the month of November blokes grow a moustache and get sponsored in support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and BeyondBlue, two causes with a particular focus on the welfare of men.

During the month I took some photos to accompany an email message to various friends, partly to amuse(??) them and partly to request donations...which they responded amazingly!! By the end of the month $780 of donations had been raised from just my mo. Thanks very much to those people.

So this post is a little catalogue of those email messages plus the photos that went with them. If you don't like seeing a dodgy man with a mo turn away now...

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From: Campbell Maffett [mailto:cmaffett@bigpond.com]
Sent: Monday, 8 November 2010 8:54 PM
Subject: Oh no...Movember

This is a scary and frightening story. I'm turning into a 70's cricketer...a sugar daddy...a po*n star...a dag...a Magnum PI...or any of a number of other caricatures. See I'm doing Movember, despite my better judgement and previous amusement at those folks who think a bit of upper lip hair is a great way to change the world. Because actually it is, in the name of men's health...not the magazine but the issue of men's health...in the name of Beyond Blue and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

It was a moment of weakness - and discussion around my brother's new "flavour saver" - that lead me to commence the fine art of manicuring my face, being careful in the first few days to mark out the desired shape (think Chopper Read style, but me with ears), and watching the strange looks of friends and colleagues who were wondering what was happening on my top lip. But a week into the process and there is now something clearly going on and my fair whiskers are clear to see...not to mention the annoyance of feeling part primitive animal...

But despite my somewhat non-hirsute genes, I've now got more hair on my lip than on top of my head...and there's still 3 weeks of growing to go. I don't know why people do this voluntarily, but perhaps I'll grow fond of it, give my mo a name and keep it...but right now I'm thinking not...although a couple of people think it actually suits me. Maybe I do have a movie career ahead of me...

Nonetheless, I'm doing this in the name of charity and this message is to ask you to vote with your donation about whether I should keep this thing...and maybe suggest a style and/or name for it. So if you like it...donate. And if you don't like it...donate more. I can't offer you any prize other than maybe to grant me the pleasure of cutting this growth off on 1st December...or maybe not.

Also, if you can think of any practical use for a mo please let me know. So far it has proved useful for scratching my hand...by simply rubbing my top lip. I'm yet to catch a cold and see if it catches the snot from a runny nose, but it certainly feels weird when swimming.

I'm not going to post a picture of my mo just yet, only an artists impression so you get the idea of what I'm doing (except my mo isn't black like that). If you really want to see it, then track me down...

BTW...here's a link to make a donation via. http://au.movember.com/mospace/1136826/  Thanks.

Campbell "Chop Chop" Maffett

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From: Campbell Maffett [mailto:cmaffett@bigpond.com]
Sent: Monday, 15 November 2010 9:24 PM
Subject: RE: Oh no...Movember...update

Hi again,

Well it’s half way through Movember and I’m coming to grips with this increasingly bushy thing on not just my top lip, but down the side of my mouth in a scary way. There’s no mistake it’s a moustache now and has drawn a variety of responses from “That’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen…do we have to put up with that for the whole month??” through to “It actually kind of suits you.”

As for my opinion…I’m still not so keen on it and still feel that I just need a good shave…especially as we headed out the door to a wedding last Friday night. (Sorry for looking like that, Rose & Jeff!!) But I’m going to stick it out for the whole month…if only because I owe it to the kind and generous folks who’ve donated $320 to the cause (Andrew, Mark C, Gretch, Kylie, Mark H, Rhiannon, Peter & David). Thank-you very much.

But rather than listen to me going on about how instead of scratching my chin I now “stroke my mo”, or how breakfast gets caught in it, or the challenge of shaving without cutting part of it off…I’ve attached a photo… OMG!!

Regards,
Campbell

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From: Campbell Maffett [mailto:cmaffett@bigpond.com]
Sent: Thursday, 25 November 2010 9:11 PM
Subject: FW: Oh no...Movember...update 2

Hi again,

It’s the 25th November as I write this…and can I say that I’m counting down the days to shaving off the mo. The novelty has passed, but the reactions of people still come…which are amusing!! I annoy myself because I keep catching myself sucking on the straggly hairs, blowing air through it, licking it, stroking it and more…and I just want my top lip and jaw back.

Nonetheless, it has served the purpose of raising funds from some very generous donors, with the total up to $585, so thank-you very much. New donors this week are Kylie, Jeff, Andrea, Pani, Gail, Elizabeth, Ben, Wayne, Barry, Shaun, Paul, Megan and Rosie.

I was hoping to get some props for this week’s photo, something like firearms like Chopper Read would use, but didn’t even rustle up a water pistol. However I did get the city back-drop from my roof terrace as I do my best Chopper impersonation. Next Wednesday 1st December it’s coming off…which will make for some more interesting photos!!

Regards,
Campbell

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From: Campbell Maffett [mailto:cmaffett@bigpond.com]
Sent: Thursday, 2 December 2010 8:47 PM
Subject: RE: Oh no...Movember...mo-mo is go-go-gone!!!

Hi again,

Hooray!! December has started and summer is here...but the best part is that all the awful mo's around town are coming off, not the least of which is (was) mine. Hallelujah!!!

The mo-go day approached with excitement matching christmas day, and despite my initial intention to hold out until 1st December, in the spirit of the event, I was seriously tempted to sneakily shave it off the night before, on 30th Movember. But some serious talking to from friends put me on a guilt-trip over taking that action, so I stayed the course through until 1st December, which was last night as I write this.

Befitting the whole month, I built up the mo-go shaving event into something way beyond what is actually was - simply a hair cut - for which I used some props and had an official photographer for the first time (thanks Ms. A). There were pre-mo-go photos, mid-mo-go photos and finally, a mo-gone photo...it feels soooo good to be rid of it.

By the end of the month I was amazing and humbled that a total of $780 was donated by various friends for the cause. All for growing a mo. I wonder how much I'd raise if I grew hair (back) on my head...if only that were possible, alas...

Generous donors over the past week included Tony, Ben, Rose, Nuvit, Mark & Danni, who along with previous donors are greatly appreciated by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and Beyond Blue. And you also made it worthwhile for me to go through with this. Thank-you.

So that's it for Movember. I don't think I'll do it again, so save these photos (attached) to remind yourself how beautiful / dodgy / rough / rugged / dangerous / lovable / ugly / I can look with a mo...

Regards,
Campbell

Free to fly (achilles update)

"I don't need to see you again."

During my life I've learned to cope with rejection quite well, perhaps having plenty of experience helps...  Anyway, this time was different because it wasn't rejection at all. It was a mark of success and a milestone to hear those words uttered by my doctor at the end of my appointment today, indicating that my achilles has progressed really well and I'm, well, "...free to fly" (my words!!).

It's been 6 weeks since I saw Karen, and have been diligently following the running program that began back in September with 2 min walk, 30 sec run for 20min, up to doing 60 mins of continual running this week, albeit only 4 times a week. The achilles has been fantastic. In fact, the achilles has been the least of my concerns, which have focused on my weak calf and on-going peroneal tendon soreness...which was the result of the weak calf.

My weak calf has been improving steadily through gym work, drills, exercises, massage and more. Still a little way behind the right calf but improving, especially compared to the withered size it was after getting out of the CAM boot.

The peroneal tendon soreness, however, has been ongoing and is annoying. The thoughts about it have ranged from just tightness in the attached muscle, to nerve issue and otherwise. However today Karen accurately described it as some inflammation around the tendon, not serious but something we need to get on top of - hopefully we can as my dream is to be able to someday wake up without any soreness ANYWHERE!!! I'm hoping this is not too far away.

So to address that she's given me prescription for Solone which is full-on steroid...and also an anti-inflammation drug. She mentioned it may have some side effects, including hyper activity...so if you see me bouncing around over the next week, that's why!!!

Anyway, I hope this knocks that little problem on the head but in the meantime I'll continue along as I am so that by February my fitness might be at a point to start looking at some races, which will be really exciting. It's been a long road but the bumps haven't been anywhere near as bad as they might have been...and I'm certainly not complaining since I can see light ahead whereas many other people will never participate in their chosen activity again.

Did I mention that I'm really loving just being able to run again??