And so it begins

I work best with deadlines. With competitions, the deadline is race day. Simples! So today, I've entered my target race. The Clumber Park Classic Duathlon has been picked by the BTF as the age group qualifier for the European and World Duathlon Championships and doubles up as the National Age Group Championships. So it's going to be a nice start to the season with the most important race being the first one... nice plan. But hey, why shy away from the big ones. No point! If you want to mix it, you've got to go for it.

I'm still trying to figure out how to approach this best. One thing I know for certain, is that I'll draw on experiences from my "previous life" as a semi-pro runner. Alcohol gets cut to a minimum (i.e. an occasional glass of wine), the junk food gets canned (although anything labelled "diet" isn't going to enter my fridge. Food is fuel, I don't need to lose weight), I'll get religious about my core strength exercises and put the miles in. However, what I won't do is become a social recluse. Monk like existence is for Olympians and Pros, I'm way past that.

There are 3 mantras, that will accompany me:

1. The road to success has many tempting parking places.
2. Ever heard of Alexander the Pretty Good?
3. Success is failing repeatedly without ever losing enthusiasm.

So, here we go... let it begin!