May Athlete of the Month 2011 - Neil Cowan

Reddog AOTM, how do you feel about that? 

Really surprised,  I wouldn’t even consider myself as an athlete, I’ve only been training for a 6 months but I’m really happy!!!

What attracted you to the sport of triathlon? 

I was looking for a hobby that I could schedule around my busy work commitments, triathlon is great because; it’s competitive, self rewarding and you can do most of the training before or after work….another plus is that it lets you enjoy food!!!

If you were Reddog coach for the week, what would you do differently? 

Introduce a Monday recovery session after races or a regular easy Monday morning swim session on non race weekends. Also, do group stretching after a Tuesday runs!

How much training do you do at the moment?

I try to do 2 run, 2 swim and 2 bike sessions a week minimum.  At the moment I am doing a ride and a run off the bike one day a week leading up to GC Marathon.

Least favourite session and why?

Any session when it’s raining!!!!

Favourite motivational quote?  

Just smash it!!!!

What advice would you give to other Reddogs who would like to be AOTM? 

Do as many sessions as you can, put in 110% at every session, have heaps of protein and get plenty of sleep!!!

What are your goals?

Do the GC marathon under 03:30, Mooloolaba 2012 sub 02:15 and not getting injured!

What advice would you give to somebody thinking about training with Reddog?

Just do it!!!! You loose weight, you get super fit,  meet heaps of like minded people who aren’t full of themselves,  it’s great stress relief,  it’s cheap,  yes it’s competitive but it really is all level’s  and most of all you have fun smashing yourself!

Who gets your vote for next month’s Reddog AOTM? 

Probably Bill Farry - 2 ironman in 2 months is nuts or Ewen Larsen - he has been smashing it lately!!!