REP Arundel Tri 2024 - Gallery now live

The Raw Energy Pursuits Arundel Triathlon gallery 2024 is now live

 https://bit.ly/REP-Arundel-Tri-2024-Gallery

search by your race number, and if you can't find yourself - have a search on 000. Apologies but we only got the first bit of the sprint tri swim - because the standard tri runners started to finish from around 8am...

it's a castle and flaggy things ! lovely !

don't go in the paddling pool over there

arty shots because no mist, and dry. Elbows hurt though.

not quite a drone shot..

again, dry ground and nice sunshine...

Amanda waved hello as I said happy birthday

more arty stuff...

that's a lot of water to be churning about to go forwards

it's the fun downhill bit innit.

That arrow is actually part of his bike seat post

fast machine

I think he's bent the frame

it's about this wide

come in number 1

happy days

Nice one Ed

happy to finish that run in the sun

Love a double thumbs up :-)

I present the referees and race directors... always buy them cake and coffee

so that was a quick day - 12hours end to end to get the gallery live - off 5hrs sleep, so might just go for my run in a moment - but first a word from my grey matter...

Mental Health Awareness week :tldr : Do some Mediatation. just as much as you go to the gym or go for a run.

So it's the end of mental health awareness week, and here I am up at 4am to take photos at 5:45 of people seriously committed to their physical health. And there's all the evidence that physical health helps your mental health - need to clear your head ?  go for a run !, or perhaps even a walk.

and does mental health help your physical health ? well judging by the triathletes I saw today...

Do you know why it helps clear your head though ? because your brain is prioritising balancing, because if it wasn't for balance - we wouldn't be humans. Preproception (balancing subconciously) is *the* way to force your brain to forget all the other noise going on and concentrate on keeping you upright.

And it works - having a stressful trip to the Bodyshop as your senses get assaulted by the temperature, light, sound, colours, crowd, and yes - the smells ? Need to calm things down  ? well just balance on one foot. Nobody will see you do it, and it will take 100% of your mental capacity - and all that other sensory stuff your brain thought was important back then - has just been dropped like sack of coal. Because Balance. Apparently it's important - who knew ?

So running and walking, and even cycling - because it's balancing or sorts - just sort of push everything else out of the way. You feel good, but when it comes back to brain clutter central, it hasn't strengthened your brain to process that stuff faster and get rid of it faster. It's still going to take you about 15 mins of running to even start to clear that mind of yours.

So what else do we have that could ? Whats the mental gym workout that we should all be doing *just as much* as the physical workouts we all do ?

Meditation.

*ugh as I hear a collective sigh* he's gone all hippy on us again...

Hear me out now...

Real meditation is not "taking a break" or "having a rest" - it's real mental hard work to clear your mind. Like physically going up to the attic and giving it a good clean out - it takes effort and on the way you will find a few old memories on the way that will slow you down - but you have to make the effort to clear it out. It takes time and effort.

But the rewards - just like going to the gym, your brain literally will build new and faster neural connections. This is called neuroplasticity. Start to do it and after a couple of goes - you'll be stronger and can do more hard work - just like going to the gym.

Your brain will speed up, you will remember things faster, you will have a quicker wit, you will be able to process a gabble of social situation faster and more easily, and you will be able to process irritating things faster and more efficiently - instead of them stressing you out. The left-right connection in your head will get stronger and faster - you will be able to connect up all those emotions but also be more reasoned and in control. Things that used to overwhelm you - or you were sensitive to before (cold, light, smells, difficulty with hearing) - simply won't register as you just process those signals faster.

A real meditation is hard work - learning to clear out your mind, letting thoughts in and moving them away - requires brain power. Just like the gym, you might feel weirdly tired after a meditation, but you will feel strangely relaxed and more mellow, chilled or connected for a time afterwards. You may even feel more focussed and ready to concentrate and in full flow. Let it go !

The goal (of a lot of meditation types) is a brain frequency (yes the brain has a processing frequency - just like your computer) - and aiming to operate in what are called Alpha waves = ~10Hz. There are other wavelengths of Beta, Gamma, Theta and Delta, and it's the Beta ones that lock you into stress, depression, exhaustion, fogginess etc. (we don't like the Beta, but that's what the outside world makes us think at).

https://sspimg.com/types-of-brainwaves

So how do you get to an Alpha wave state ? ("Practise Anginsen!", or "wax off, wax on" if you're a bit younger...)

Bilateral / Binaural music
Here's the good news - just as a piano playing middle C to the choir so they all know what's going on - you can play Alpha-wave embedded music to your brain to get it "into the zone". 

This gives your brain a really good example of what to aim for, and most often becomes "entrained" or "harmonic" with the music you're listenting to. So it turns out there is a short-cut kick start to meditation, listen to a bit of alpha wave music and you'll be chilled out and productive sooner than you know.

And here's the weird thing - I combined (because obviously why WOULD YOU DO THIS?) listening to a bit of this bilateral / binaural music whilst I went for a run. The one I have is a bit like "spa music" but you can hear on the stereo headphones - the change in stereo left and right. It was weird to start off, but then - I noticed my shoulders were more relaxed, the breathing was deep and sound, and then I checked my watch and I couldn't comprehend it - I was running 7:15 mile pace instead of 7:50 mile pace, and I kept it up for four miles. Nothing made sense anymore. I finished expecting to be utterly exhausted, but I wasn't and hey that was good.

But I also listen to it in the house on my headphones or around the house. Message me back if you want to know the track I listen to, and I'll put it in another blog for you or email you back with a link. I cunningly put it on in the house when the kids need to concentrate on their homework or something similar, or I have an important bit of work to do - and everything just flows. A friend of mine with a very sensitive 6year old played it in the lounge and kitchen for a couple of weeks - and the kid completely chilled out (and that was without headphones) and even said "I'm a lot less sensitive to things now". Yes, alpha waves work.

So, without pronouncing what else we need to know on Mental Health awareness week - I put it to you - if you look after your physical health and put time into that, they you might well want to consider putting time into meditation - and giving your brain a workout too. Because meditation done right - is hard work and builds it up, just like the gym does for your body. And if you believe in physical health - then I'm guessing it's not a big leap of imagination to believe in actually doing something for your mental health too.

If you think physical health deserves some of your time, then Mental Health - via meditation work - deserves an equal amount - and no less. (PS long term meditators live longer and look younger - so yes mental health does effect physical health).

enjoy your training, and until next time 

It's not a bad venue is it

That morning calm - always the best time - what your mind should be like

Sunrise, 5:25 over the fence - see that in another years time then...

cheers for now, don't forget to let me know if you want the music track...

Anthony