The musical equivalent of a triathlete
The major reason triathlon is my sport of choice is because of how varied it is.
If I don’t fancy going for a bike ride in the rain, I can lace up my running trainers. If I am sick to death of following the lines at the bottom of the pool, I can head to the gym.
And variety is particularly important when you have a seriously low boredom threshold, which I am 100% guilty of.
But sometimes even triathlon, with all its different disciplines, can start to wear a little bit thin.
If you have been waking up at 5am every morning for weeks on end, for the same routine, training at the same locations, sometimes a bit of variety is exactly what you need to keep it fresh.
For specialist runners / swimmers / cyclists the other two disciplines are often championed as the best cross training activities.
What happens if you already do all three!?
My salvation came through tagging along to the 6 o’clock club – a crew of like-minded souls who do ‘micro adventures’ in and around Sydney and its surrounds.
The 6 o’clock club is not sport in the traditional sense, if at all. But that’s why I like it. It is a group of people who love outdoor adventures. It just so happens that you can’t help but do physical activities when you are adventuring.
During the trips to date we have been kayaking in the Kangaroo Valley, surfing in the Royal National Park, hiking (everywhere) and mountain biking in the Blue Mountains.
Mountain biking session in the blue mountains
None of which conforms to any triathlon training plan I have seen, but every weekend I come back completely refreshed, having eaten nothing other than what I could carry and, as soon as my head hits the pillow on Sunday night, I am out like a light.
And best of all it isn’t some exclusive club, there are no membership fees – the only requirement is that you are up for it.
The lads love a hammock
If you fancy giving it a go search ‘6 o’clock club’ on Facebook and like the page. Henry and the crew send out updates for upcoming adventures roughly every month.
Ross
Highlight of the week: With 6 months to go, settling into my routine. Starting to find my feet on the bike, and I have already clocked up 6.5km in the pool this week and it’s only Friday. Pow.
I have also found the perfect tool for my competitiveness on the bike. I first heard about Strava ages ago, but due to my basic aversion to technology (classic late adopter – I don’t want anything until everyone else has it), I didn’t download it until this week.
It basically means every ride is a race. And you earn points accordingly. So awesome.
Lowlight of the week: My knee still won’t play ball. I have been doing everything that my physio has told me to – taking it slow on the runs, incorporating lots of walking intervals, but all to no avail (yet).
tryathlete 