A strange thing happened... NLP Practitioners course

I KNOW NLP works. I have tried it myself. I was keen to learn more, and find out how it all worked. The course at Mind Training Systems came recommended by a NLP master practitioner friend Kim Ingleby, so I thought I would go ahead and take a look.  

40th Birthday bash

Magical mystery tour

I tried my hardest to stick by the theory I had about this birthday quite some months ago... go to bed on Friday and get up on Monday, thus passing it by completely and hoping no one will notice!

Nope... it didn’t work! I was dragged out of the bedroom at 10am on Saturday being ordered to get ready, we had places to go. Where? Who knows! As I am not the naturally curious ‘spoil the surprise’ sort, I didn’t ask any questions.  

Mountain biker gets taken out by an Antelope

Mountain bikers are just some: no obstacle is too much. However, there are still surprises. as Evan der Spuy found out during a mountain bike race at Albert Falls in KwaZulu-Natal. Watch this video... 

Interview with BBC Northampton breakfast

BBC radio Northampton

I was approached by BBC Northampton, as the schools had gone back, and they were doing a little bit of research on helmet safety. Tom Percival, the reporter who called me said that he had noticed that many school children did not wear a helmet when they cycled to school. He wanted my take on it, and could we do it on air? Sure.

Powerbreathe trial week 12: level 7 here I come!

This week sees the return to full training after my two week end of season break. 5.30am is very dark you know, specially now half the street lights are strategically turned off!!

Up to level 7 now on the powerbreathe. The other day when I started my 30 breaths I thought it was blocked or something, as it’s getting very tough now!! (it wasn’t blocked, it was just me being a wuss!) it was also my first track session since my head injury.

Head injury week 11: the clinical psychologist

Been back at work for a couple of weeks now. The load is still proving to be a challenge. I am not sure how much is me and how much is the fact that I do in fact have more work to do. It’s hard to separate the symptoms. I do know that my memory is proving to be a challenge though!

Helmets Save Lives

CONTACT ME TO ADD YOUR ENDORSEMENT TO THIS MESSAGE, or YOUR STORY

I always wear a cycle helmet. do you? Mine is more through habit than safety though, till Saturday 16 July 2011, when I was found by a passing motorist. I was lying unconscious in the middle of a roundabout.

A helmet saved my life that day. I came to discover that I wasn't the only one. Cycle helmets DO save lives Here are our stories:

11 stories / personal accounts have been added, to date.

Michael Downes

I started racing triathlon in 2008 after my elder sister finished one and I was jealous. I'm a swimmer so I hadn't been on a bike since I was a child and I certainly didn't have any kit. Now I'm a little accident prone so a helmet was a must.... Since then I've had two hospital trips where my helmet prevented things from being a lot worse. The most recent of these was in June 2011.

Ben Madden

I recently learned of this awfully tragic story involving a teenage cyclist and a deer. It just goes to show, ANYTHING can happen, and its not just the traffic that can pose a danger to cyclists.

RIP Ben.

Please please please, wear a helmet. 

Head injury: Week 10 – the return to work

I thought I was doing ok to be honest. I managed to get to China and back, all seemed to be moving in the right direction, yes? Well, no.... at least in part.

Don’t run before you can walk

To be fair, I was actually quite nervous about the return to work. It has been two months, my workload has changed dramatically, what if I can’t cope? What will people think of me if I forget stuff, or repeat ask questions in conversation? I went to see a clinical psychologist this week. I am still wondering why the brain injury team has sent me there.

Team acknowledgements: the journey to Beijing

On the surface, this would seem like a story about a one woman mission to achieve. That is not the case at all. I would like to acknowledge the people along the way that helped in the TEAM EFFORT to get me to the start line and round that world championship race, enabling me to achieve my original top 20 goal. Without them all, I would not have made it to Beijing.

Powerbreathe blog week 11: World champs story

The journey to get me to this start line was way more challenging than any other race I have done. A severe head injury and 6 weeks layoff directly beforehand meant that being at this start line at all was in the balance for a long time.

World Triathlon Championships 2011, Beijing

The journey to Beijing

The journey to get me to this start line was way more challenging than any other race I have done. A severe head injury and 6 weeks layoff directly beforehand meant that being at this start line at all was in the balance for a long time.

I only firmly decided if I would travel about a week before hand, and was forced to set myself a whole new set of goals.

Originally, I had decided I would like a top 20 finish, managing 31’st place last year in Budapest, it seemed a reasonable ask. In actual fact, I wanted it closer to the top ten if possible, so I was forced to completely evaluate.