Tim Thomson

Age 31
Sport Played Triathlon
Years Played

Tell us about yourself

I'm 31yrs old, married and have a 7yr old and 8 month old sons. I currently live in Canberra. I grew up playing the typical aussie sports of rugby league and cricket. After starting work when I left school sport took a backseat. I gained alot of weight and was generally very unhealthy. After 4 or 5 years a co-worker decided to give triathlon a go. After watching him complete a sprint distance race i decided that i could do that if I put my mind to it.

So with that in my mind I started out on a long road which saw me lose 20kgs and take on the huge task of doing the half ironman race in Forster as
my first ever triathlon. I completed it and was hooked from then on. I continued on doing as many races as possible for 5 years until I changed to my current job with the Australian Federal Police.

With the new job, shift work for the first time in my life and a 3 yr old son I found that I had no time to train anymore. Again I gained weight and became unhealthy. Then 15 months ago I was given some great news. My wife was pregnant again. This both excited me and worried me. I was now going to have 2 kids but I was so unhealthy. So I decided to start training again. Shiftwork doesn't make it easy to keep a routine but I have managed to find a way. Now all we need is our youngest to sleep through the night!

If anyone ever tells you that it is easier the second time around because you know all of the right and wrong things to do their lying. I slowly got better and better and lost 16kgs. My goal was to qualify for the Long course World Championships in Perth this year. Well I got there. The one person I have to thank is my wife. She is always there on the sideline cheering me on no matter how good or bad a day I am having.

Proudest Sporting Achievements

It would have to be gaining selection in the Australian team for the Perth long course world championships.

What are you hoping to achieve

My next goal is Ironman Western Australia in December 2010. I have always wanted to do an Ironman and now I am starting the journey towards that goal.

How does LineBreak help

Linebreak gear allows me to train longer and recover faster. I have bad knees from my younger years in contact sports and the linebreak gear allows me to train without old injuries flaring up. What I like best about them is the fact that they don't have high profile athletes that just say it works because they are getting paid to say it. So all I can say is if you get the chance to use their products "GET ON IT". You won't regret it.

My Blog

11/4/11
Unfortunately it is not good news at the moment but I am hoping it doesn’t get to bad. The upper body compression gear has been a godsend whilst on crutches.

Well I haven’t posted since the end of December after IM Western Australia. I decided to use the time over Christmas as a recovery period and also enjoy the school holidays with my son’s. I had planned on getting back into training at the start of Feb but that took a back seat due to work. So the plan was for this week. Well that has now well and truly been thrown out the window.

Whilst instructing at a training session at work on Wednesday morning I was demonstrating a technique to students and during this I have twisted my knee and dislocated my kneecap. Luckily It has gone straight back in at the time. But after going to the hospital I have found out that I now have a fractured patella, possible tear in the meniscus and possible ligament damage. I have been to see an orthopaedic surgeon and am now waiting to have my MRI done so hopefully I will have some good news after that.

I have however entered IM Western Australia again and I will be training hard for that soon I hope. So I guess this years blog will follow me getting back into good health with my knee, not putting on too much weight hopefully and of course training for IMWA and going faster than last year.

So I will keep you all informed as to how I am going with my recovery and will hopefully be out training soon.

11/12/10
Well for those that don't know this was my first IM and I had decided early on that this one would be 2 things. Firstly just to finish even if it was in 16:59:59 and secondly to dedicate it to my dad.

I enlisted the help of a coach who understood my goals, lack of fitness, time with family, shift work etc.

We left cold Canberra on the Monday before the race and all I wanted was for that day to end and not be a preview of what race day was going to be like. Waiting for our flight to Sydney our plane was 50mins late. When it arrived and all the passengers got off the fire alarm in the airport went off so my wife, my mother 8yo and 18 month old all started the evac out. We no sooner got out when they said it was a false alarm. So back through security when I get stopped for a explosives test. that normally doesn't bother me but the fact I was holding my youngest, a carry on bag and another bag didn't make me very happy.

Finally down onto the plane, arrive in Sydney to be told we missed our connecting flight by 10mins so had to wait 4hrs for another one. Finally got into Perth and to our accom for the night. Next morning we start our drive to Busso and get less than 5kms on our way when a truck flicks up a rock and smashes the windscreen of our hire car. So we take it back and luckily they have 1 last territory left that we can have. All good we got there in one piece and finally saw the famous Busso Jetty. Wow that looks like a long swim! Not to mention the heat compared to Canberra.

Wednesday morning went down and had a 40min easy paddle around with my mate who was also racing. Loved the water, so clear and perfect temp. Didn't get stung either. Spent the rest of the day taking the family around to see different things. Thursday morning went for a ride over some of the bike course. Went out to the Forrest beach road turnaround. Awesome bike course. Friday was an easy day. Went and did registration and the nerves started a little then.

Saturday morning started with one of the best things I have ever done. My 8yo Nick did his first ever race in the first ever IronKids race held in OZ. He loved every minute of it. A 100mtr swim followed by a 1km run. It was the best thing I have seen and very well put on by WTC. And the look on his face when he got that medal was priceless. $20 for that was money well spent. That afternoon we took our gear down and setup the bikes in transition. Spent some time looking at the bikes and picking which one will be my next! Went to the briefing that night and couldn't understand why they had that stupid video when at end of every bit she just said refer the the athlete information guide.

Got to sleep about 9pm Sat night and slept quite well waking at 4am. Got down a good bowl of cereal and a banana and walked the 1 block to transition. Got the leg marked, pumped up the tyres and walked down to the swim start to put on my wettie.Now I was really nervous. Wondering if I could even make the start. Watched the pros start then swallowed a little bit of nervous vomit!!

Said goodbye to the wife and Nick a headed for the water. Now I knew if I could get through the swim I would finish the race. I have had this weird thing about swimming in the last 2 months so I was very nervous. BANG the gun went off. I counted to 10 then started. I did not feel comfortable in the water at all. just could not get into a rhythm. The water was quite flat, not choppy. I struggled my way out to the turn around and found it to have quite a swell going out there. Got to the big white cans to turn only to realise I had to go a further 50mtrs to the blue and yellow ones. It wasn't till I got to the bend in the jetty with about 500mtrs to go that I finally felt really comfortable. I had finally found my mojo. I now think I am going to be fine with all my swims. Got to the beach and looked up to see 1:46 on the clock. Not very happy as I know I can go at least 30mins quicker without even trying. But on the other hand I was just happy to get through the swim after the last few weeks.

Into T1 and I could feel my neck was a mess from the wettie. More bodyglide next time!! Helmet on, glasses on and off I go. That bike course is awesome. I just found that I couldn't slow down for that first lap. I am not as fast as the average on here but I went around the first lap in 2hrs flat. I knew that was going to be a problem later though. Out for the second lap and when I hit the 80km mark I felt my legs go pop. On top of that when I had first gotten into the water I suddenly needed to do numbers 2's. So I ended up with a 10min stop out at the far turn on Tuart drive. the rest of the second lap was a fair struggle. The headwind on the way back into town was tough.

I turned for the last lap and started to feel good again. I had a golden patch for about 50kms of that last 60km lap. It was just the last 10kms into the headwind into town that hurt. Ended up with a 6:45 and change for the bike. Not bad considering I had a 10min toilet stop and was only aiming for 7hrs.

T2. Took my time as it felt like I had been riding a horse for a week when I got off the bike. Into T2 and on with my shoes and socks. The volunteers were excellent. Except for the one that put sunscreen on the wetsuit rash on my neck. OUCH that hurt!!

Onto the run and I felt surprisingly good. i was keeping to plan and running for 5mins and walking for 30secs like in training. My legs felt great. for about 5kms that is. Then my calves went tight, my back went really tight and it was just a walk from there on in. I struggled through the rest of the run with the tightness and pain in my calves and back. The support from the crowd was awesome. So many high 5's from people I didn't and still don't know.

I started to come good on the last lap and managed to run although very slowly for most of the last lap. Got to the start of the finish shute and I stopped and gave my wife, son and mum a big kiss and cuddle, then slowly moved down the shute enjoying every minute of it. I stopped just before the line and gave my dad's dog tag that I was wearing a little kiss and pointed to the sky to say thanks to him then crossed that line to hear Mike Reilly calling me an Ironman.

In the end I finished with 15:58:06. Not fast I know but satisfying to finish. I am going to be back next year bigger and better. I can't wait to do it all over again.

22/11/10
Hi Everyone,

Well it’s only 2 weeks now till Busso and I am really nervous. I fly out in a weeks time and I am really starting to think about and dream about the race a lot now. I completed the Nepean race on the 14th November. That was the first time I had done the race since 2002.

We arrived in Penrith on the Friday evening and right away I knew that it was going to be an interesting race. Up till then we hadn’t had our temperature here in Canberra go over 19 degrees. When we got there it was 36! Straight away I knew that even though it wasn’t a 10hr race it was still going to be a lot of hard work to get used to and deal with the heat.

i went and picked up my race pack on the Saturday afternoon to make it a little easier on the Sunday morning with our 18 month old. Hoping that he would sleep through the night so we could all get a good nights sleep. I woke Sunday morning to find he slept through and didn’t wake till we were ready to go. We got to the race site and started to unpack the car to hear on the loud speaker that it was going to be a non wetsuit swim. Well there goes my only chance to try my new wetsuit before Busso! I got my body markings done with my race number and age group and racked my bike. I hadn’t been this nervous for a race in a long time.

We walked the 700mtrs to to the swim start to get ready fro the 1km straight swim in the beautiful regatta lake. Getting into the water they said it was supposed to be 27 degrees. I think they may have gotten that wrong. I don’t think I would have gotten goose bumps from the cold water if it was that warm! The gun went off for our wave start and with the thrashing of arms and legs we started. the first 100mtrs was frantic. Well that was for everyone else. I just didn’t feel comfortable in the water. I am not sure what it was and still aren’t. I don’t know if it was because it was a non wetsuit swim or what. I still don’t know. I think it may all just be in my head. I ended up swimming a mixture of breaststroke and freestyle.

Out of the water and onto the bike I knew this is where I would gain some confidence. I started well and began reeling people in from the swim. This was a first for me. Normally I am the one being overtaken on the bike. Throughout the whole bike leg I had only 2 people pass me. This made me feel really good. The bike course up there is excellent. It has a lot of corners and has a great road surface. It was really starting to heat up now temperature wise and I knew the run would be interesting.

Off the bike in transition with a big cheer from my own personal cheer squad giving me a big cheer. I started to run from transition and the strangest thing happened. I had absolutely no jelly leg feeling from the bike. My legs felt really fresh. I stopped and gave my youngest a big kiss which he loved and high five for my eldest and my wife. I got to the first aid station 1km into the run and had a full cup of water and 2 over my head to cool down. The run went well for the first 5kms. Out onto the second 5km loop and the heat really bit in. It was around 35 degrees and I really started to feel it. i found someone to run with and we managed to get through the rest of the run together. I did however see a number of athletes suffering from the heat and the ambulance took a few away to be looked after. I think my family suffered from the heat almost as much. They made me proud for standing there and supporting me through that heat.

All in all it was a good and bad race. I am really nervous for Busso now with the swim but ok with the rest. I know that I can handle the heat and will also help being there a week before the race to acclimatise to it. Hopefully it is also a wetsuit swim and not to hot. I’m trying to ignore all the reports of shark sightings over in WA as well. This last week has been a light week for me due to work with a lot of nightshifts. I will only have a very short taper due to my training as I seem to suffer with a long one. I have also revised my goal to just finishing. Even if it is with 1 second to spare I will be happy. I will be back the year after for a big crack at it.

Well like I said 2 weeks to go. I am dreaming of that finish line not only for myself but for my dad. This one is for you mate. A big thanks to my wife as well for supporting me all the way and I think being just as nervous as me for me to finish.

And I know I say it every time but it’s true. I never get as sore after a race or training thanks to my Linebreak gear. It has to be the best out there.

Here are some pics from the Nepean race. The last one is of my biggest supporter. He was worn out after the race. He even got to meet his new cousin who was born the day after the race. Congratulations sis.

Talk soon when hopefully I’ve heard the words. Tim, You are an Ironman.

27/10/10
Well it's be about 2 months since my last blog and the time has just flown by. Training has been going well. I missed 1 week due to having an accident at work whilst of all things completing a bike patrol course! I have done all the right things with my weight loss and have now managed to lose a total of 13kgs since I started the training for IMWA. That in itself is something I am more than happy about.

Now if I can only make sure that this last 7 weeks of training are consistent. My aim for the next 7 weeks is to hit every session. I don't want to miss a single one. If I am hurting during training than it will not seem as bad come race day. And after my last ride on the weekend I hope that is the case. I think that is the worst I have ever felt after a 5hr bike. But I must say the LineBreak gear is a pleasure to put on after an effort like that.

I have entered and will be doing my first race of the season at the Nepean tri in Penrith in 4 weeks. I haven't done this race for 8 years so it will be good to back. It is a really well run race and is a lot of fun.

I'll let you all know how I go after that race and then it will be only 3 weeks till IMWA. I can't wait.

17/08/10
Hi Everyone,
Well it's been about 7 weeks since you last heard from me and my training has now started to ramp up. I have been reasonably consistent over the last 7 weeks but have also started to let a lot of doubt sneak into my mind about the training I have been doing. As any of you that have been reading my updates would know, I am not doing this ironman to win the race but to just finish it and dedicate it to my dad. Well about 3 weeks ago I started to wonder if I was doing everything I possibly could to get over that finish line.

I really started to think that I would really struggle and yes I may only finish in 17hrs but I still want to do it as comfortably as I can! So about 10 days ago I talked with my wife and decided that I would make contact with a coach and let them make all the right decisions for me as what to do training wise.

I spoke to my coach about what I wanted to achieve both short term and long term, about my diet, work and family commitments and how I had been going about it for the last 3 months. He then took that away and came back to me with a change to my diet and also a change to the way I was training. I have just finished my first week of this new training program and I am already happy with it. This week I ended up with 13hrs of training and a healthier diet.

The weather down here is very cold at the moment and makes those early morning rides and runs hard to get out the door to do but once you finish it makes you feel even better that you got out there and did it. It always helps though to have some linebreak gear on underneath to keep you that little bit warmer and you know that you won't get as sore.

So the new plan is to follow this program to the very littlest step and loose some more weight in the process. When we spoke about short and long term goals ( I haven't even spoken about this with my wife, so don't tell her) I made him aware that my main goal is Ironman Western Australia in 17weeks, but I also want to do the Nepean race in October and Huskisson long Course in March next year. They are my short term goals. My long term goal is the iconic Hawaii Ironman. I know this could take 10years to achieve but I am willing to knuckle down and succeed. I have a very supportive wife and kids which makes it all the more easy.

So after I take you all on this special goal that I have, hopefully the guys at LineBreak will keep me on so that I can take you through the journey of achieving the ultimate triathlon dream, Hawaii.

21/06/10
Well I have had a great 6 weeks since my last blog. I have trained quite consistently and enjoyed every minute of it. I have managed to average 3 rides a week and also 3 runs a week depending on my roster of course. The winter weather has now definitely arrived down here in Canberra so it does make it a lot harder to get out of bed in the morning and train.

I have now swapped my training on my days off to rides between 1 and 2 hours in the mornings on the wind trainer and my runs are during the day. That way I am not out fighting the cold early in the morning and I can take my 1yo son out for a run during the day in the running stroller when it warms up.

Swimming will start in the month of July. Looking forward to swimming again as I find that this is quite relaxing for me. It is not as taxing on the body and I grew up swimming so I enjoy it a lot.

The only bad thing about the last 6 weeks or so has been that I was unable to train this past week as I was on a course. But I am not complaining as it's probably good to give the body a break and recover.

As of this week I am starting a 24 week program to build into the Ironman. I can't wait. As I have said before I'm not in it to win the whole thing. Heck even if it takes me the whole 17 hours I don't care as long as I enjoy it.Below is a picture of the stickers on my wheels. So if you see the wheel at a race please come and say hello and have a chat. If you want to see any of the LineBreak gear just ask as I always have it with me. I guarantee you will like it.

Well till next time hope you all train well.

01/05/10
Hi everyone, Well it's been about 5 weeks since my last blog so I thought it was time to update you all on how I'm travelling with my lead up to IMWA. I have had a very good 5 weeks worth of training. My most consistent block so far and I can see the difference. I have managed to be able to fit in on average 4 rides and 4 runs each week.

This has made a huge difference in the way I feel now when I go out to train and also how I feel both during and after with recovery. It also makes the wife a little happier to see me out there training knowing that I should be ok come race day. I have also managed to lose just over 3kgs in that past 5 weeks so that has made me feel even better.

Well the Canberra cold has hit us now with ANZAC day passing this is usually the when the cold weather hits us down here and hit us it has. This past week has seen me ride in the mornings with it being anywhere from 2 degrees to 7 degrees to start the rides. But that just adds to the challenge and makes it all the more enjoyable when I am finished.

Well this coming week I will remember why I am doing IMWA with the 4th anniversary of loosing my father. He always showed what you can do if you put your mind to it and I intend to use that to both get to my goal and also complete it. I use it in my daily life also.

Well till next time I hope that I can talk to you again having completed another full block of training and also having lost a little more weight would be nice also.

25/03/10
It has been a very trying time as far as training goes. I should have put a title to this blog called Kids, who needs them! I have had the luck of having both my two sons sick at separate times which has made it very hard for me to find anytime to train.

I had two good weeks of training after my last blog where I had 4 rides and 3 runs each week and started to feel a lot more comfortable. Then my eldest son got tonsilitis which meant he ended up having a week off school and I ended up getting it myself. After mine had cleared up we were having a weekend up in Newcastle visiting family and I would have the opportunity to ride and run near the beaches which I miss so much down here in Canberra. After getting to Newcastle on the thursday afternoon i was holding my youngest boy when all of a sudden he vomited everywhere. To cut a long story short this continued for the next 24hrs till midnight on the Friday night we ended up in hospital with him. He has only just started to recover in the last week.

So as i sit here on my 32nd birthday I have finally managed 3 days training in a row from Sunday till today. It has been great getting back out there and such a relief to know that now I should be back on track ( even though it feels like starting all over again ). These are the times i really notice that Linebreak gear. I am never as sore now when i wear it. It's awesome stuff.

Well I promise not to take as long before I post a new blog. It is after all only 17 more weeks of base building before moving into 20 weeks of Ironman specific training. Gee now I think of it that seems closer than I thought. I can't wait!

03/02/10
Well it has been 7 weeks ( 17th Dec ) since i last spoke to you all. What a busy 7 weeks. I enjoyed the nice warm weather in the week before christmas and was able to get in 4 rides and 5 runs. I completed 3 rides indoors on the computrainer which consisted of 1.5hrs each ride on a rolling course. Since I am in the early stages of an IM build I am just riding easy keeping my heart rate around 65% of my max. Each ride I covered a total of 45kms. These are done indoors as i look after my 9 month old son and can ride while he is asleep. The fourth ride was a 2hr ride from home out on the streets of Canberra covering 60kms. It was good to finally get outside again

The runs, well they are not my strong suit and it doesn't help being a bigger athlete. I had 5 runs of 5kms each over flat ground and 1 of 8kms over the same course. I am not a fan of running but am going to learn to love it. I know what makes the running easier is the Linebreak compression tights. They are magic and I haven't been sore once since I started wearing Linebreaks compression gear.

Well I finished nightshift on Christmas eve morning at 6am and my wife had the kids packed up and ready for our 5hr trip back to Newcastle for the holidays. Can I just put a warning out there to everyone that you really shouldn't drive after a nightshift. I made it 40mins before almost driving off the road. Needless to say I pulled over and let the wife drive. ( I know I should know better considering my job ).

We had a great christmas and I have to say it is such a joy to see the look on your childrens faces when they see that Santa has been and they have presents. Christmas day was coming to a close and as I started to get my bike gear ready for a morning ride it started to rain. No problems I thought. They predictyed a shower and fine weather for the next 4 days that we werwe to be in Newcastle for. Up early at 5am boxing day morning and you guessed it RAIN. it didn't stop for the whole 4 days we were there. So I wasn't very happy, no training and christmas food and snacks isn't a good mix.

We came back to Canberra for 5 days as I had to work. My second day back at work and while running I twisted my knee and popped my kneecap out causing it to swell and become very sore. It is an old injury so I knew what to expect. But that did mean no training for 2 weeks. I wasn't very happy. Beautiful weather when we returned to Newcastle for another 3 days and all I wanted to do was go for a ride around the beaches.

The last 3 weeks have been good to me though. I have been managing to squeeze in 3 or 4 rides and runs a week in between work and looking after my two sons while they are on holidays. I have averaged 180kms a week on the bike and 18kms a week running. Although this is not great it will get better starting this weekend as my son is back at school.

Now the weight loss. Well after a bad 7 weeks and all the festive season food I have managed to loose 1kg. Although that isn't huge it's a start and I was happy not to put any on. I am off to Huskisson in 2.5 weeks time to watch some friends race the long course race, so if anyone sees me down there come and say hello. I will have some pics next time to post with the blog for everyone to look at. I will talk to you all in a months time.

Cya

17/12/09
Well for those that have read my profile I have said that I would like to do an Ironman one day. I have decided to give Ironman Western Australia 2010 a crack. I thought it would be a good idea to use my blog as an update on training, weight loss and how I'm going. Also I thought it might be able to be used by someone as a source of inspiration to see that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it.

The reason I want to do ironman is because I lost my father 3 years ago. he was a sick man for all of my life suffering from a brain anuerism 6 years before I was born, then over 20 years he suffered 2 major strokes and up to 50 minor strokes. He was an inspiration to me, and showed me what the human spirit can achieve if you really want to. His goal in life was to see all his children grow up. He achieved that even though he was bedridden for most of that. I now have 2 son's, one is 7yo and the other who never met my father is 8 months now and I want to show them what anyone get achieve.

So my journey has begun this week. I have booked accomadation already to get me started. The training is starting. I have had 7 weeks off due to work and illness so it is like starting all over again. I currently weigh at the start of the week at 107kgs. I have attached a picture but I am not real keen on taking the shirt off yet and making everyone sick!!!

I won't be able to swim during school holidays as the pool here is always busy and on my days off i will have my boys to look after. I will give a run down at the end of every month of training times, distances etc and also how I am progressing and what the journey is like. I hope you all enjoy the read and come on the journey with me.

Talk to you all soon.