Went for a run this morning - really enjoying getting out early on the weekend. The goal was to go sub-55 for 10km, then take it easy for the final 5km. I cooled down with a gentle pace, pushed a little at the end and ended up with a 15km PB as well.

Loving these runs across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Stunning views - running past the Opera House, through the Botanic Gardens and finishing in Barangaroo. One of the best spots in the world ❤️

Over the weekend, I've been playing around with some Vibe Coding to tackle a challenge I've been thinking about.

There are probably existing products that do something similar, but for me, it's more about getting hands-on with AI and building something myself. I used to be a software engineer, so tinkering with things like this comes naturally - and I really enjoy it.

The problem I'm exploring is related to my work in the health industry, which is a broad and complex space. To give you an idea: there are general practitioners, specialists, allied health professionals like physios and psychologists, private and community clinics, hospitals (public and private), private health insurers, Medicare and government services, regulatory bodies like ADHA and AHPRA, My Health Record, and the underlying tech infrastructure like Best Practice, MedicalDirector, and Genie.

Then there are patient-facing platforms like HealthShare (where I work), HotDoc and Health Engine plus areas like patient education, pharmacies and aged care.

This is a lot!

As a product leader, I try to stay on top of market news and emerging trends but it takes a lot of time and constant context switching.

That's the problem I'm trying to solve.

UTA50, 2025

UTA50 is next week. 50km. 2.5km elevation. Just writing this makes my legs feel heavy. Scary.

Doubts are louder. Have I done enough? Am I ready? What if I can't finish?

But I'm doing it anyway.

Doubt doesn't mean stop. I'll show up. Then I'll take the first step. Then the next. Then the next. Until it's done.

See you in Blue Mountains!

Procrastination

How to kill procrastination.
Pretend you're on live TV. No edits. No second chances. Everyone who matters - your family & friends, your team, your mentors - is watching.

Every move is seen. Every pause is noticed. You can't stall. You can't check your Instagram. You act.

Treat your to-do list like it's broadcast live. Not to perform. To finish.
You don't need motivation. You need urgency.

You need the switch that says: “They're watching...”

Got wrecked in the Blue Mountains over the weekend - legs felt like bricks. So hitting a PB for 15Ks with sub-6:00 pace felt massive. Nearly 200 metres of elevation in there too.

That's a big one for me. Not just the numbers - the confidence it gave me after a rough session.

These are the moments that build the legs for UTA50 - and the mindset for everything else.

"Common People" - Black Mirror S7E1

Stay Cool

Calm is the flex.

Anyone can snap back. That's easy. A sharp reply, a passive-aggressive jab, a silent cold shoulder. But reacting lowers you. ​

Real strength isn't loud. It's poised. Collected.

Because when pressure hits and others lose their cool, staying calm does more than protect your dignity - it shows who's really in charge of themselves.

You don't need the last word. You don't need to win the argument.

So stay calm. Not to keep the peace. To keep your power.

This route is brutal but beautiful. Elevation like this breaks most runners. But it also builds something race day can't fake - grit.

Prompted Vision

That gut feeling - that AI-generated art doesn't feel like yours - comes from a shift in how we define creativity, not a lack of it. But creativity has never been about tools.

Photographers don't build lenses. Filmmakers don't engineer cameras. Designers don't invent Figma. Yet no one questions whether their work is “theirs.” Because their fingerprints are all over it - what they chose to include, exclude, highlight, or distort. Intent is the signature.

AI doesn't change that. The interface got smarter. You're choosing the vibe, the story, the style, the framing. That's direction. That's creation.

If anything, AI just exposed how addicted we were to the romantic struggle of the process.​ But real creative work is about judgment, not just labour. You made the call. You made the thing.

It's yours.

Or is it?

Sketches to Magic

Yeah, everyone's talking about ChatGPT image generation online - and I get it. It's addictive and pretty entertaining.

One of the cooler ways to use it is by turning a rough sketch into something way more polished.

Here's one of my early, messy drawings I made for the “Cultivate and Cut” post. I always meant to come back and clean it up but never got around to it. So I asked ChatGPT to turn it into an illustration - and honestly, the quality blew me away.

Here's my (ugly) original drawing:

A morning run. Half-marathon with over 700 m of elevation. Three hours on the legs.

That's not just training - that's mental conditioning. This was another brick in the UTA50 wall. Quiet work. Honest effort. A long session that burns the calves and builds the mindset.

Pace doesn't matter when the elevation looks like a mountain range. What matters is showing up. What matters is stacking these efforts week after week.

You don't finish UTA50 on race day. You finish it here. In the sweat. In the silence. In the rain. In the Sunday slogs when no one's watching.

I had to....sorry, not sorry #ghibli

Went for a 15km run over the weekend and couldn't resist snapping a photo - Sydney really is a beautiful place.

Master small hills to conquer the peak

While preparing for UTA50 (total elevation 2.1km 😱) and doing some hill training, I looked at the elevation profile and got an idea for an illustration.
From this...

Didn't know this!

The Balmoral tram line in Sydney operated from 1922 to 1958. It was a branch of the larger North Shore tram network, designed to bring people from the city and surrounding suburbs to Balmoral Beach.
The tram line played a significant role in making Balmoral Beach a popular destination during its operation.

Criticism Fuels Growth

Yes, It's hard to hear criticism.

When someone points out your flaws, your gut reaction is 'WTF?!' - or in business terms, 'defensiveness.'

Of course, you want to protect your ego. You want to explain yourself, prove them wrong, or even tell them to f* off. Tempting, isn't it?

But defensiveness kills growth. Pause. Breathe. Ask yourself: 'What can I learn from this - even though I hate it?' Growth starts the moment you listen instead of emotionally react.

Nothing to learn from it? That's also ok but still thank the person who gave you feedback.

I don't like running in the morning. Or rather, I don't like the idea of it. What I really want is to have breakfast first, drink my coffee and then, a couple of hours later, think about exercise. But once the run is done, it feels great - like I've earned that big breakfast.

This morning, I went for an easy, scenic 10km run. My legs were still sore from Thursday's hill session, so I didn't (and honestly couldn't) push too hard.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my progress (112km) in January. I've built up mileage quickly, especially considering I was struggling to run 3km at the end of December.

It's Thursday, which means hill running day. I can feel the gradual improvement compared to my last two hill runs - I'm feeling much stronger. It's still tough, but I'm covering more distance and tackling more elevation.

Today I did 12km, 437m elevation. The first 9km, I didn't switch to walking - I ran all the hills, which is a huge improvement! Looking forward to an easy run on the flats this weekend though!