I know there are plenty of triathletes out there who are either preparing for their first Ironman ever at Port Macquarie, or who contemplate doing one in the future, so I’m going to try and write a few posts in the lead up to the race targeted at you guys.

We’ve got just under two weeks to go now until the big day. Right now you’re probably tapering, backing off the training and beginning to (hopefully) feel great!

There is one thing to remember about each and every time you prepare to race an Ironman:

Throughout life, it’s likely you’re only going to have a handful of days where you are at such a peak level of fitness. Savour and enjoy the feeling!

Between now and the race, inspect all of your race day equipment. Get your bike serviced. Check your wetsuit zipper. Check the laces on your shoes. Go over everything now to eliminate stress later.

Whilst you might be reaching peak fitness right now, your immune system is open to attack. Eat well. I don’t mean massive servings, I mean aim for maximum nutritional value from your meals. Wash your hands properly. Dry off completely after swimming.

Continue Reading “Ironman University – Two weeks out…” »

Whilst out walking yesterday I was having a think about the races I’ve completed over the past few years – and those I would love to toe the startlines of sometime in the near future. So of those completed so far:

Most Physically Demanding Race - The Victorian Mountain Running Championships. Held near the ‘1000 Steps’ in Ferntree Gully National Park (VIC), this race starts at the foot of the ‘Kokoda Memorial Track’ and instead of using the steps, follows a parallel track to the top, rising 300m in just over a kilometre, followed by a long, winding descent to complete the 4.2k lap, to be done three times. This race took me weeks to recover from! Getting up the climb was tough, but I made up time there, however I lost places on every lap by simply not being able to run fast enough downhill. Those guys and girls are crazy!!

Most Enjoyable Race - Ironman Australia, Port Macquarie (NSW). This one is special because I’ve been lucky enough to have family there to support each year. It’s like a little holiday as well as a race outing. I love it all, from the moment we leave the garage, to the moment we get home again.

Most Satisfying Race - Ironman Australia 2001. My first Ironman at Forster-Tuncurry (NSW). I know it’s cliché but your first Ironman is special. Mine was the culmination of years of preparation and at 18 years of age, I went 9:57 and set a mark that until 2009 had me beat. Continue Reading “On The List” »

I’ve recently been trying to apply the use of .htaccess files to some test sites running on my localhost web server (Mac). After wondering why I couldn’t get things to work and subsequently spending several hours tinkering with the content of my .htaccess and httpd.conf files, I discovered this fantastic .htaccess tutorial, that not only improved my understanding of .htaccess, but highlighted the fact that my local server wasn’t even reading the .htaccess files to begin with! It seems quite stupid in retrospect but hopefully this will help someone else suffering the same problem!

I’d been checking and re-checking the configuration settings in the httpd.conf file, completely unaware that each user profile on the Mac has it’s own httpd.conf file! So within the main directory is a folder named “Users” containing the config file for each user profile, and the settings within these override the settings in the main config file.

Example of the config files in the directory structure

Altering the settings within the specified user config file fixed the issues I was having.

If you’re having Apache issues, you may find the following link useful – outlining the default file locations for each version of Apache.

If I’m still in your RSS feed and this has popped up – big thanks for not having hit the delete key before now!

I’ve designed the Wordpress theme for the site. Not quite polished and final just yet.

Exciting content to come – both on the triathlon and web development side of things.

With Study Period 4 of the 2008 OUA study calendar behind us, it’s time to move onto the first period of 2009. I’m pretty excited about getting stuck into the two units I’ve chosen – Computer Organisation at RMIT; and Human Computer Interaction at Swinburne.

I’ve previously attempted the Computer Organisation unit but didn’t get to complete it, so thankfully I’m familiar with some of the material. On the other hand, I know what to expect with regards to difficulty. It’s one of those subjects that requires continuous thought and a transformation into some form of uber-programmer mindset. For the next three months I’ll be doing some serious time thinking in 1’s and 0’s – binary – working through assembly language problems.

Human Computer Interaction is of real interest and I’d like to explore this area further. The concept of blending technology with human psychology appeals, so we’ll see how it progresses.