Personal

I took a leg rest day yesterday and today I felt so much better. My legs were much fresher than they were on Tuesday and felt pretty good, especially considering it was hills training today.

Ran 9km with a total of 300m elevation. I couldn't run all the hills and had to walk about half of them, but I'll keep pushing!

When I'm trying to solve a problem and my brain starts running around in circles like a headless chicken, I like to smash the "I'm going to bed to let it marinate" button.

At that point, there's no way to push my stubborn brain to explore other ideas. The brain is tired and moody.

Stepping away is progress because you trust your brain to do its thing while you sleep. Don't do this during the day, though; your colleagues won't appreciate it.

I know when I wake up, I'll have a dozen (okay, maybe a couple) fresh angles and new ways to tackle the problem. Magic!

Tough run today. I planned for 7km plus sprints but ended up with just 5km. Everything was sore - feet, calves, hammies, glutes. My energy was low too. It was hot. It was a slog. It wasn't pretty.

But that's alright. The main thing is showing up and doing the best I can on the day.

I'll give my legs a rest tomorrow, then on Thursday, I'll do some easy hill running/walking. I won't push it too hard - just easing into the hills.

123 days until UTA50 in the Blue Mountains.

Leg day this morning:

• Started with a 1km easy run to warm up
• The leg extensions and leg curls on the machines.
• Lunges, with 2x12kg kettlebells, 40mx2
• Burpee broad jumps, 60m
• Wall balls, 10kg x 30

Slowly building strength back. 💪

A short, hilly run near Avalon Beach. Hot, tough but absolutely beautiful.

I'm going to miss out on the Sydney Marathon in August as I didn't get an invite 😭. I'll have to find an alternative place to run a marathon. It's a pretty cool experience and wanted to do it again.

Anyway, I just came back from another run. I did the same routine as on Tuesday (6km easy run plus sprints) and somehow got PBs in 400m (1m 19s) and 100m (17.6s). I didn't expect that at all as my legs felt a bit heavy. But here we go. Making progress. Really enjoying the sprints at the moment.

Did another body scan, the first since July, just before Hyrox. As expected, I gained a bit of fat during my trip to Japan. The percentage was probably higher right after the trip but I've likely dropped some in the last few weeks of training.

My goal is to get under 15%. It's been almost a week without snacks or sugar. I stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only thing I allow myself to eat in between is carrots 🥕

I created another illustration. This time, it's the famous Vienn Diagram!

The journey to UTA50 has just begun! I'm gradually building mileage, adding sprints at the end of sessions and getting used to running on tired legs.

Tonight's run was an easy 6km at a 6:25 pace, followed by sprints: 400m x 1 200m x 2 100m x 4

I'll keep track of my progress as I work on improving my speed.

It's not working harder. It's stepping back.

The answer isn't hidden. It's waiting for a moment of space, when the mind quietly connects what was already there. That's the brilliance of stepping away.

When it clicks, everything changes.

One realisation I had was that I want to create and share a “manual of me.” Something to help others understand how I work and how best to collaborate with me. So, I went ahead and drafted the first version.

The other realisation was about how our product teams operate in the context of our market. We can move faster. We should move faster. And we will.

Big day!

I did some sprints over the weekend to remind my body what explosive power feels like. Started with a 2 km warm-up, followed by some stretches and then did 6 x 100m sprints with 90 seconds of recovery in between.

The first couple were at about 80% effort to get the muscles firing, then I pushed hard for the rest. My best time was 18.4 seconds, which works out to a 3:04 pace.

This is already faster than the sprints I did on January 2, where my best was at a 3:23 pace.

Of course, 18 seconds isn't groundbreaking. Especially considering I used to run 100m in 12 seconds. But that was 20 years ago and I was 25 kg lighter!

Feeling excited to keep tracking my times. I'll aim to do the same for 200m and 400m next.

SkiErg all out, 500m in 1:46 😮‍💨 A good way to wrap up the day

Returning to the office with New Year energy, you spot two packages waiting on your desk.

A gourmet hamper and a bottle of fine wine spark instant excitement - this is your moment.

Then you see the label. The label says it all: not yours.

The year's first reality check. Fresh challenges are ahead in 2025. Let's go! 🚀

Afraid to look slow on a run? Remember, they don't know if you've run 1km or 50km. You could be an ultra runner and they're the ones not running.

Keep going. It's your pace, your progress,. your journey.

Created another illustration. Experimented with colours today.

Started with a rough idea. Then sketched out each element and put them all together.

Update (Jan 3): Ah, forgot about fog! Need to add it.

Concept:

The final version

First run of 2025 done ✅️

Apparently, there's a claim that "95% of adults over 30 will never sprint again" so I decided to do some sprints today - right after my 5km easy run. I knocked out 100m x 3 and the good news is - no muscles pulled! That feels like a solid start.

I reckon I'll start adding sprints to the end of all my easy runs to keep my muscles active and moving well.

P.S. Day 1 without sugar - so far, so good!

Just wrapped up my first gym session of 2025 and even snagged a badge for it in Garmin. Apparently, you can earn that kind of badge up to 250 times. Can't imagine anyone ever maxing that out!

Another illustration in the bag.

Yep, I know it's a bit messy and feels a little empty - but that's totally fine. Right now, it's all about getting into the rhythm of creating.

Quality isn't the goal yet. It'll come naturally as I keep practising.

Progress over perfection.

Cultivate and Cut

Happy New Year 2025!

The empty wall finally got its moment. Em, my wife, had a clear vision for where everything should go. I shared my thoughts too but let's just say they didn't make the cut. Fair enough.

Before

After

867km in 2024! That's about 17km a week on average - nice but time to step it up next year!