No Improvement But Some Achievement

This post is about some amazingly exciting news!!! Since I started this blog, I haven't taken such a long time without writing a post, but I have had such a busy time these past few months that I just didn't have any time to sit down and write. But, even though I'm still busy, I thought I'd share with those who follow the blog some of the things I've been busy doing.

Teenagers, Body Image and Eating Disorders

My daughter just turned 13, and, as a parent, I have to think very carefully about my kids' future. Since I have started to get more involved in sports in the last few years, I have come across so many cases of eating disorders and body image issues, especially in teenage girls. I have also come across kids who have amazing potential in sport but they absolutely despise doing any training.

In this post, I discuss my view on how to tackle long-term health and fitness issues in children in general, with teenagers, specifically, in mind.

Race Recap - The London Triathlon 2014

Although it wasn't the original plan, but The London Triathlon was my last race of 2014. I have gone into it after a whole month of not doing much at all, maybe doing a total of 3 runs, 4 bike rides and 2 swim sessions, so I entered not expecting much at all other than just to have fun. The goal of this race was purely to share the experience with my wife and son, who haven't seen me race at all this year (my daughter already saw me in my other race in London in June).

This post is a brief recap of this race, plus a more general view of what has gone and what I'm planning next.

With my son at the finish line :)

Lazy Summer & 2015 Plans

Since the 29th of June, I haven't done much in terms of quality training. It is the month of Ramadan, which means that I do not eat or drink all day until sunset, so I have very limited time during the day to exercise. It also means that I have had the chance to catch up on some work and take time to think about my next moves and plan ahead.

Better Times, Still More To Improve (My Ironman 70.3 Luxembourg Race Report)

I have just completed my second Half Ironman race, the Ironman 70.3 Luxembourg, and I must say that I am happy with the overall result. After my race in Mallorca earlier last month, there were a lot of lessons that I have taken away from there, a couple of tweaks I've made to my training and racing strategy, and the training race in London three weeks ago, and it seems to have worked. There is still plenty left to be desired, but what I'm pleased about is that I can see that I'm on the right path. In this post, I discuss some details of these lessons, as well as an account of my race.

2 minutes under my target. Happy! :)

Recovery, The Heart, Doping, & Health

My main aim in this post is to provide some useful information for everyone, not just for athletes. I talk in a very simple and simplified manner, trying to avoid anything that is too technical, and I try my best to explain certain complex theories in very basic terms, as I believe this is a very important subject for EVERYONE to be aware of.

Yet, as much as there is a lot of information that can be used for everyone, even those who don't do sports or just starting, I believe that some of the information here is also crucial for anyone doing sports, especially those who want to improve and who would consider themselves to be at a more advanced level.

Please note that, since I am trying to simplify the subject, some parts may not be complete, just to avoid complicating things. I am more than happy to discuss the subjects mentioned here in much more detail with anyone who may be interested.

My Triathlon Story In Numbers (& WTS London Race Report)

This post may be of particular interest to those who are just starting out in sport, those who want to improve, or those who are just curious about how certain people develop. It may also be of interest to those people (like myself) who like to look at numbers and data.

After briefly going through some of my past and present result highlights, I talk a bit about my race in the weekend, factors I believe have got me there, and then I end up with a table where you can calculate what race times and/or efforts you should expect.

But, before I get on with this, I have to say a huge THANK YOU to all those who came out and cheered for me, as well as those who have sent their messages of encouragement! Every one of you really made it that bit easier for me and made me go that bit quicker :)

With fellow Egyptian,
the phenomenal Moustafa Fawzy :)

Ironman 70.3 Mallorca Recap (Found My Perfect Distance)

I have just completed my first Half Ironman, and I truly believe that I have found the race that is ideal for me! Since I have started participating in triathlons about 10 years ago, I fell in love with the sport, but, until this weekend, I never knew that I would say that it was perfect for me. Now, I do.

In this post, I recount my long race day in Mallorca, and, as usual, I take away the lessons learned, what went right, what went wrong, and what I need to do to improve. This may be of interest to you if you are planning on taking on such a challenge, as I have treated it as a total newby. Main conclusions at the end.

The 3 Egyptian finishers of the race :)

Energy (& Mood)

As my first main race of the year is approaching very quickly, being only just over 3 weeks away, I am now at a stage where I'm getting some rather tough sessions in, trying to replicate parts of my race in training. A session I did this week, a 90 minute bike ride followed by a 45 minute run, is a session I have done many times before, even before stepping up the distance. It is a session where I know exactly how I should be feeling, yet this time was different! I didn't just do this session well, I smashed it! And I felt good afterwards and my body seems to have recovered rather nicely. This post is mainly about analysing how I got to this level of energy and performance. After explaining about how I got there, I give a small list at the end on how you can do it as well.

Going In A straight Line (Sharm Triathlon Race Report)

My first race in 2014 happened to be a race in my home town of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The thought of going there excited me beyond words! I have been waiting for this race for exactly one year, since I heard about it in 2013 when it was too late for me to go. Moreover, I haven't been back home for nearly 3 years, so there was the extra excitement of going home and catching up with people.

As my main goal for 2014 is racing the Half Ironman distance, this race's goal, being a sprint, was to see where I was, try a couple of new things, and gauge what I needed to work on for my first main race of the year, coming up in May. So, as beating time was not an issue, I didn't have to worry much about racing, but to focus on what I was doing, what was working, and what wasn't. And, to my satisfaction, some things did go wrong, and some lessons have been learnt! This post details some of the things that went right and wrong.

About to cross the finish line

Silver in 40-44 age group

Convenience Foods, Weight, & Healthy Eating

Lack of time, boredom, demotivation, or other factors all seem to lead to people opting for what has become to be known as "convenience food". A quick take out, a microwave meal, a snack, pasta, sandwiches, chocolate, biscuits, and other quick and easy food options have all appeared in conversations I've had with people I have been working with on managing their weights, whether they wanted to lose weight or gain some!

This post discusses what I believe is a long-term and realistic solution for the nutrition dilemma. Here I try to get my point across that in order to eat healthily and manage the weight, we do not really have to avoid the foods that we have been used to consuming. It is not just what we eat that matters, but also when, how often and how much. I try to simplify things as much as possible, so please be aware that this is not as comprehensive as it could be.

Improvement Is In The Blood

A few posts back, I have written about how I have gone through some blood tests to see what I have been lacking in and how I could improve. This is an update about how this has gone, from what markers I had to work on and how they look now, a couple of months after implementing the changes that were recommended to me by the brilliant Dr Tamsin Lewis (aka SportieDoc) via her specialised practice, CuroSeven.

Turning Weaknesses Into Strengths

After a few posts about nutrition, this one is almost all about training and progression. I thought I'd share with you how things have been going, where I am now, and where I want to be heading from here.

Since I have made the decision to step up to the Half Ironman (70.3) distance, I have been focusing on building up my endurance and strength, especially on the bike and in my running. This "foundation" period has now lasted for 12 weeks, which ended just before mid January. What I'm writing about here is a brief account of how I have trained during this period, and reflect on what I have achieved so far and what still needs to be done until my first main race in May.

Diets, Sugar, Calories, & Natural Sports Nutrition

Food and nutrition have become a kind of an obsession to me in the last few months. Being the control freak that I am, I couldn't accept putting things in my body that I didn't know or, worse, didn't want. Wanting my family to have the best and most suitable nutrition, as well as my training sessions becoming longer and more intense, I spent a lot of time researching and experimenting with everything to do with food and drink. In this post I share with you how I have changed from buying all kinds of powders, gels and drinks to making everything I need for my sports in my own kitchen, and how not all calories are created equal, and not all sugars are created equal either!

I realise that if I start to go technical, I might lose half of you, so I’ll just keep it very simple.