Hi Gang,
Well its time again to take off for overseas(my eight year in a row).BUT the focus is alot different to years gone by.....
From 2001-2008 MY overaes travels have been all about race schedules,bike check ins,getting up and down all flight to keep the legs moving,compression pants,nutrition plans and the nervousness of a brand new racing season ahead.2009 however,i am leaving Australian shores with the excitement of knowing i will firstly been taking my dream trip through South America for three months to Peru.Bolivia,Equador,Colombia and Mexico and secondly i will be starting my new career in the Environmental industry while climbing mountains and running stupidly long distances for fun on the side:)
The 'COMFORT ZONE' is something this kid will definetly not be living in over the next few years but honestly i have never been more excited about the challenges that lay ahead.
SYDNEY via TAPEI via VANCOUVER via BEND,OR is on the cards over the next week before i get my first taste of South America culture!Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Clarky.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Closing Time on the Gold Coast!
Hi Gang,
Damn how time flies by!It has been 2.5yrs since i made my way up the National Highway from Sydney to embark on a life change and training refresher by moving to the Gold Coast.There was at the time two goals to this move-new training grounds to give me that new lease on life for my triathlon career and the start of my coaching career.I was lucky enough that within a few months i started a position at Southport Triathlon Club based out of the Broadwater at Southport Pool.At that time i turned up to my first swim squad training session to be greeted by a half a dozen eager triathletes ready to get stuck into training for their end of season goals.Fast forward to current times and STC has swelled to over 90members ranging from the beginner eager to nail out their first enticer race to Ironman Hawaii qualifiers.I now look back with great pride at how far the club has come and leave it knowing that it will be a force to reckon with not only in QLD but also throughout Oz.
Obviously my role was to coach and mentor athletes into the sport and to achieving their goals throughout each season but my fondest memories will be the laughs i had and the friendships i made which don't end with my leaving the coast.I am lucky enough to be continuing with some of those athletes in the years to come as they embark on their big goals in 2009/10 and can't wait to see them achieve them.
So now its time to say goodbye and close that chapter in my life......I have some exciting,nervous and life defining times ahead but i can't wait for the challenge.
Later Goldie!
Clarky.
Damn how time flies by!It has been 2.5yrs since i made my way up the National Highway from Sydney to embark on a life change and training refresher by moving to the Gold Coast.There was at the time two goals to this move-new training grounds to give me that new lease on life for my triathlon career and the start of my coaching career.I was lucky enough that within a few months i started a position at Southport Triathlon Club based out of the Broadwater at Southport Pool.At that time i turned up to my first swim squad training session to be greeted by a half a dozen eager triathletes ready to get stuck into training for their end of season goals.Fast forward to current times and STC has swelled to over 90members ranging from the beginner eager to nail out their first enticer race to Ironman Hawaii qualifiers.I now look back with great pride at how far the club has come and leave it knowing that it will be a force to reckon with not only in QLD but also throughout Oz.
Obviously my role was to coach and mentor athletes into the sport and to achieving their goals throughout each season but my fondest memories will be the laughs i had and the friendships i made which don't end with my leaving the coast.I am lucky enough to be continuing with some of those athletes in the years to come as they embark on their big goals in 2009/10 and can't wait to see them achieve them.
So now its time to say goodbye and close that chapter in my life......I have some exciting,nervous and life defining times ahead but i can't wait for the challenge.
Later Goldie!
Clarky.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Next Stage!
Time continues to fly by as i get ready for the next stage in my life so to speak.I have three weeks remaining on the Gold Coast fulfilling my coaching role at Southport Triathlon Club and i am making the most of the great end of summer weather we are having up here.I find myself most days at the beach knowing very well i will be replacing sun,surf,saltwater,boardies and sand between my toes with mountains,snow,thermal underwear and the end of my eight year endless summer.BUT quite frankly i can't wait and at present am tying up loose ends for my setup in Van and my dream trip to South America.
Rather than 30hr training weeks i have been enjoying training as i feel,when and in which way and must admit i am a consistent coffee shop spinning athlete right now with a keen eye for the near future where the days or early morning will be spent running endless trailheads around Van and on the weekends climbing and hiking mountains while learning the art of mountaineering.
All my athletes have their end of season goals with the Luke Harrop Triathlon,Mooloolaba and Ironman Australia scattered over the next five weeks so time is sure to continue to fly by and keep me busy.
I must admit it will be weird to be packing the bags and bike and boarding a flight to North America not with my focus firmly on my race schedule but dreams need to be achieved and 2009 is my starting point.
Cheers,
Clarky.
Rather than 30hr training weeks i have been enjoying training as i feel,when and in which way and must admit i am a consistent coffee shop spinning athlete right now with a keen eye for the near future where the days or early morning will be spent running endless trailheads around Van and on the weekends climbing and hiking mountains while learning the art of mountaineering.
All my athletes have their end of season goals with the Luke Harrop Triathlon,Mooloolaba and Ironman Australia scattered over the next five weeks so time is sure to continue to fly by and keep me busy.
I must admit it will be weird to be packing the bags and bike and boarding a flight to North America not with my focus firmly on my race schedule but dreams need to be achieved and 2009 is my starting point.
Cheers,
Clarky.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Number Two on my 'ATHLETIC BUCKETLIST'
And here's some facts on NO2.-Leadville 100mile Ultramarathon
-50 miles(80k) out and back course in the midst of the Colorado Rockies.
-Lowest point is 9,200 ft. and the highest point is Hope Pass, 12,600 ft.
-The majority is on forest trails with some mountain roads.
-Mens record stands at 15hrs 42mins held by Colorado's Matt Carpenter
-Cut off time is 25hrs
-I have already noted the hardest part of the course,the 50mile(80k) turnaround point where the 50mile race finish line is.Can see it being very hard not to take a little nap right then and there.
Number One on the Athletic Bucketlist-Climb Denali!
Hi Guys,
Some quick facts about NO1. on my 'ATHLETIC BUCKETLIST':
#NO.1 CLIMBING DENALI(MT.MCKINLEY)
- Denali (The High One) is the Native (Athabascan) American word for North America's highest peak, Mount McKinley in the mountain chain called the Alaska Range.
-Its stands tall in the Denail National Park in Alaska,USA
-The mountain sits at 6,194mtrs or 20,320ft
-There are many different routes up Denali some extremely technical. Denali's most used route is the West Buttress route (80% of all climbs), which has seen more than 20,000 climbers, Roughly 50% of the climbers have reached the summit.
It is known as the coldest summit in the world and has been recorded at -73degrees.
-Climbing in an Alaskan winter is near impossible so May to July each year is the time mountaineerers aim to summit the peak.
-A summit attempt takes up to three weeks with adjusting to the altitude meaning that there are five different camps to climb from base camp(7,300ft).
Moving Overseas and the "Athletic Bucketlist"
Hi Guys,
A lot has been going on since my arrival home to Australia after the 2008 North America season.As you all know I have been out of action for the last five months with a left femoral stress fracture,my first real injury in a 15yr career in triathlons.This time spent away from the daily grind of training gave me the first chance In a long time to sit,take in and plan for what I wish to do from 2009 and onward.I came to the conclusion that it was time to shift my focus from Triathlons and Ironman racing to what I am calling ‘MY ATHLETIC BUCKETLIST’.
I never thought I would have such a long career in the sport of Triathlons and never dreamed it would take me to the places that I have been to and experience racing in countries all over the world.I want to now extend my athletic endeavours to a list of seven athletic goals I have been thinking about doing them for quite some time now and will start the process of ticking them off once I depart for North America in April.They are as follows:
1)Completing the Leadville 100mile Ultra marathon in Colorado(www.leadvilletrail100.com).
2)Climbing the highest mountain in North America and one of the seven summits-Denali or Mt.McKinley in Alaska(www.7summits.com/denali)
3)Compete in the Trans Rockies ten day MTB race in Canada
4)Swim the English Channel
5)Kayak a Class V river
6)Compete in the Coolangatta Gold
7)Ride for a Continental Bike Team.
All of these goals are significant and nothing to be sneezed at and I will be giving each one my upmost attention when I choose to focus on them.The first two I am aiming for are Leadville and Denali and will begin training for them this coming July out of my soon to be base of Vancouver,Canada.
Vancouver will give me the best chance at training for these goals as the city has many surrounding mountains to climb including the Costal Mountains,Mt.Rainer near Seattle and all of Colorado’s 14000ft peaks plus some of the best trailrunning in the world.As I am very much a novice in the world of mountaineering I will take my time and learn the trade and aim to accomplish this goal in May 2010 .In regards to the Leadville Ultramarathon I will build up my distances in terms of racing competing in both a 50k and 50mile race before the end of 2009 and aim to compete in the 2010 edition of Leadville.
Saying all this I am not closing the book on my triathlon career as I feel I have some unfinished business at the Ironman distance and will be back for sure at some point in the near future to finish that goal off.
This new athletic focus will also coincide with a degree in Environmental Science.I start my studies on March 1 and will be doing the degree by correspondence through CQU.I hope to gain valuable experience in the sustainability industry which the city of Vancouver is world leader in over my two year stay in Canada.
Finally some of you may know I am an ambassador for the HighCloud Foundation(www.highcloud.org-a non profit organization that raises money and travels to third world nations helping young children and their mothers make a better life for themselves)based out of Washington DC.I will be working closely with Highcloud and participating in programs in South America getting hands on experience while also racing for them in marathons throughout North America.
I will be redoing my website(mattclarky.com) to revolve around this bucketlist and will post stories,photos and videos of my journey once it commences on my blog for everyone to check out!.
I still have 5weeks on the Gold Coast finishing out my coaching role with the Southport Triathlon Club followed by two weeks down in Sydney before flying out in the second week of April for Vancouver so I am sure time will fly!
Cheers,
Clarky.
A lot has been going on since my arrival home to Australia after the 2008 North America season.As you all know I have been out of action for the last five months with a left femoral stress fracture,my first real injury in a 15yr career in triathlons.This time spent away from the daily grind of training gave me the first chance In a long time to sit,take in and plan for what I wish to do from 2009 and onward.I came to the conclusion that it was time to shift my focus from Triathlons and Ironman racing to what I am calling ‘MY ATHLETIC BUCKETLIST’.
I never thought I would have such a long career in the sport of Triathlons and never dreamed it would take me to the places that I have been to and experience racing in countries all over the world.I want to now extend my athletic endeavours to a list of seven athletic goals I have been thinking about doing them for quite some time now and will start the process of ticking them off once I depart for North America in April.They are as follows:
1)Completing the Leadville 100mile Ultra marathon in Colorado(www.leadvilletrail100.com).
2)Climbing the highest mountain in North America and one of the seven summits-Denali or Mt.McKinley in Alaska(www.7summits.com/denali)
3)Compete in the Trans Rockies ten day MTB race in Canada
4)Swim the English Channel
5)Kayak a Class V river
6)Compete in the Coolangatta Gold
7)Ride for a Continental Bike Team.
All of these goals are significant and nothing to be sneezed at and I will be giving each one my upmost attention when I choose to focus on them.The first two I am aiming for are Leadville and Denali and will begin training for them this coming July out of my soon to be base of Vancouver,Canada.
Vancouver will give me the best chance at training for these goals as the city has many surrounding mountains to climb including the Costal Mountains,Mt.Rainer near Seattle and all of Colorado’s 14000ft peaks plus some of the best trailrunning in the world.As I am very much a novice in the world of mountaineering I will take my time and learn the trade and aim to accomplish this goal in May 2010 .In regards to the Leadville Ultramarathon I will build up my distances in terms of racing competing in both a 50k and 50mile race before the end of 2009 and aim to compete in the 2010 edition of Leadville.
Saying all this I am not closing the book on my triathlon career as I feel I have some unfinished business at the Ironman distance and will be back for sure at some point in the near future to finish that goal off.
This new athletic focus will also coincide with a degree in Environmental Science.I start my studies on March 1 and will be doing the degree by correspondence through CQU.I hope to gain valuable experience in the sustainability industry which the city of Vancouver is world leader in over my two year stay in Canada.
Finally some of you may know I am an ambassador for the HighCloud Foundation(www.highcloud.org-a non profit organization that raises money and travels to third world nations helping young children and their mothers make a better life for themselves)based out of Washington DC.I will be working closely with Highcloud and participating in programs in South America getting hands on experience while also racing for them in marathons throughout North America.
I will be redoing my website(mattclarky.com) to revolve around this bucketlist and will post stories,photos and videos of my journey once it commences on my blog for everyone to check out!.
I still have 5weeks on the Gold Coast finishing out my coaching role with the Southport Triathlon Club followed by two weeks down in Sydney before flying out in the second week of April for Vancouver so I am sure time will fly!
Cheers,
Clarky.
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