[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4]

Thanks to all who’ve been sending this around in the last six months.

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I recently read a great book called “The Shack”. The core of this book is about unconditional love and how that shelters the world from fear and evil. It got me thinking about how I might be treating people around me, specifically those who I am particularly fond of. I found after reading the book I was without a doubt, more aware of my words and actions. It was given to me at the best time possible i.e. the week after an Ironman. I was (as you are in those times) reflective and open to many emotions that I might shut out say… in the week leading into a big race. (more…)

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Its Monday afternoon after a long weekend and you’re struggling to keep your mind focussed on work. 5FM is playing the same 8 songs over and over all day, and if you have to hear any more adverts for superclubs in Boksburg you might pull a Luke Watson. You long for the old days of varsity, where there was not a care in the world, and the music was “real” (more…)

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As many of you know, I have another passion : Drinking Wine. As my racing season has come to an end, I will be doing some more posts on wines in the next few weeks, and this is the first one. I love the story of Stormhoek Wines, as they launched their wines into the stratosphere via social networking and “Geek” Dinners. You can find their web presences here:

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A little about this delish farm…

“The Stormhoek vineyards can be found in a hidden valley halfway up the Bains Kloof Pass in Wellington, Western Cape, South Africa. (more…)

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Don’t say that. Don’t wear that. Don’t drive like that. For most of our lives we’ve been taught to live within confines, not just accepting the rules, but very often anticipating them and adapting to them before stepping out of bounds. We frame it as what’s appropriate.

The limits we choose to respect define us as surely as the ones we don’t. We are loyal to friends and family. We follow traffic laws (most of them). We pay taxes (whatever the accountant deems necessary), and sometimes we attack even when we know we’re riding on borrowed legs. Who cares if there is a run to follow, right? (more…)

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South African Politics are in such a troubled phase that this was such a fresh break.

The specimen today is Chairperson Nhlanhla Nene.

The following video was live on TV the Morning Live. Listen around the 10 second mark when the first bit of crucial information goes out to the viewer. From there you hold your breath as you wonder…”what was that I just heard?”

Its Classic with a Capital K!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OAPbpdGQ24]

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Hobby. Past-time. Recreation. Exercise. Factually speaking all are correct. Triathlon is each of those things and yet in a classic case of synergy, it is much, much more than their sum, even if the sport consists of three disciplines.

Hobbies come and go. Past-times are mentioned in “Are you smarter than a fifth grader” bios. A recreation is a pleasant way to pass a weekend day. Exercise is what doctors tell people to get more of. The fact is, when you clip in that first foot on Sunday morning as you depart on “the Big Ride”, what’s on your mind is both more serious and less so. (more…)

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Click the picture for a bigger view…

This was the view as we flew on the tip of the south pole on our way home on Sunday. it was so white you couldn’t look at it too long. it was so stark in relation to the dark aeroplane we were in that it seemed like a fake. I was mesmerized and we couldn’t stop looking at it. Incredible. Its been on my mind since then, which has been a grand way to reflect on an amazing year that has treated me like a King. (more…)

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Its 6am on Saturday, 11 October, 2008 and I am body marked, excited and relaxed, talking nonsense with Belinda Granger poolside before I have to get in the water to warm up to race the Ironman in Hawaii. I have spent a considerable amount of time, money and make difficult choices to be there. I am totally over the moon and a real calm has come over me in the last few days. I am excited to be in the best shape of my life. My family is ringside and there are so many people out there to help me today. This humbles me…
(more…)

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Apologies for being so quiet. Ive spent a few days in Waikiki and then a few days cruising the wine valleys of Hunter in Australia. I am finally home and can start wrapping my head around a race report and some amazing stories.

please be patient for just a day or so more as jetlag will undoubtedly give me some time to think when I am up alone around 3am.

Raoul

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