First race in a while.

I am back in the saddle after that little dilemma I had with my back, I'm convinced it must have been a pinched nerve.
Anyway, training goes on and I am feeling good. I seem to have caught a second wind of sorts as it nears the end of a teaching year. Things are hectic here at Peterhouse, despite all the madness of exams, marking and reports, I still have that burning desire to exercise even if it is an ergo session. My second wind may have something to do with racing the other day. In all fairness it was a local sprints regatta and my closest competition was a school boy, who raced well. The Zim juniors are away at Africa Champs so no competition from them, having said that it was still a great feeling to cross that finish line in first.
I eagerly await my brother Andrew Peebles' return from uni, it is awesome to have someone to train with, and i can foresee this festive season being full of exercise. Andy has come a long way since he started rowing at Rhodes University in 2008. I have watched him grow from strength to strength both physically and mentally, he put it that 'rowing training is not a sprint, rather a marathon' and this reflects in his own training. I hope he and I will compete together someday, be it in a 2-(pair) or 4x(quad), World Cup or Olympic Games, what a way to make our parents proud.
Keep watching this space and feel free to give feedback and comment, pass on links and videos - lets go interactive.

Feeling a little tender

I can't remember the last time I felt this sore. I'm sure it's not due to the training as I have been feeling a bit I'll over the last week or so, but I have an sharp pain in my middle to lower back which has brought all training to a stand still. I must admit it is almost giving me withdrawal symptoms as Jiminy Oarsman (my rowing conscience)  sits on my shoulder and reminds me what I need to be doing. At this point in time I am finding it very difficult to balance the demands of a full time job as a rowing coach, Teacher at Peterhouse, and an aspiring Olympic athlete. Each in themselves are a very demanding lifestyle and give little room for much else, I feel something may have to give sooner or later and I hope it doesn't end in crisis management  or my name being brought into disregard.
The African Champs squad was announced last week and the focus continues on the juniors, we as seniors have been given the opportunity to go if we so wish, but with no funding or aid. It is my goal to set up a senior squad database and create more of an awareness of our goals and aspirations as I can see a 4x (quad) being a viable option for Rio. Micheen (Mouse) Thornycroft and James Fraser-mackenzie have set us on the right path, awareness wise, with their invaluable contribution to Zimbabwe Rowing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. We hope that this has given a firm enough footing on the starting blocks as I and others embark on this Quest for Rio 2016.

Milestone achieved

In my state of utter exhaustion, I need to find motivational tools to keep me going. One of these tools is an account of my mileage since I started. I have just reached a milestone, and there are many more to come, which has perked me up a bit, I just passed 500km over the past 6 weeks. If you wish to keep track of this too, there is a tab on the side of my blog which I will update weekly.

Other motivations of mine are the people who support me. It's great to see how many of my friends and interested people are reading my blog and 'liking' my facebook page. I truly appreciate it and thanks for keeping me going.

It has been an awesome year for sport as we saw London host the 2012 Olympic Games. I was inspired by my old crew mates from my time at TuksRowing, James Thompson, Matt Brittain, John Smith aka 'Bean' and Lawrence Ndlovu. These boys took Dorney Lake by storm winning the LM4- (lightweight mens four) and then went on to RSA team of the year, Well done boys.

just a pic

Let's get going

Okay, as I am new and extremely inexperienced to the blogging world; I'm just going to wing it and see how it turns out.
Yes I have announced my dreams, not just as another guy placing another arbitrary status in cyberspace for others to like, comment, poke and then forget about. I am making myself accountable to my dreams but telling you about them. In order to make them a reality I have to tell society in order for them to change from dreams to objectives, and then demystify the vision and plan the way forward for the next four years.
I made this choice whilst I was coaching the Zim Junior Men's double at The World Rowing Junior Championships this year in Plovdiv,Bulgaria. Whilst standing on a jetty, it came to me that my rowing career isn't over yet and in a discussion with an Algerian lighweight sculler Amina Rouba, her french accent is still in my head "ya, why not?".
 I have been getting back into it slowly but surely and over the past 6 weeks have racked up over 426km on the bike, erg, in the boat, running and swimming.
I have competed at Junior and U23 level for Zimbabwe, schooled at Petehouse, attended 'Tuks' University of Pretoria and had an amazing base to set me up for rowing.
I will try to keep you up to date on how my training and plans are going and give you more of an incite of how i intend to navigate this elitist road to Rio 2016