Thursday, December 16, 2010

Mulling over Christmas with Dirk Bockel.


2008 Olympian Dirk Bockel has had yet another solid season kicking off with a second place at Abu Dhabi and finishing the year with a top 10 finish at Hawaii Ironman. No longer flying under the radar when he stands on a start line, Dirk will certainly be one to watch for Kona 2011. We find out how Dirk plans to unwind over Christmas before launching into 2011 training.

Are you Santa or the Grinch? Love Xmas or hate it?
Not too much of a fan, getting the right presents is always a hassle for me and I don’t like to sing in front of people either....X-mas is for the economy nowadays and we should remember the real reason to celebrate it.

Where are you spending Xmas this year?
I will be with my In-laws in Florida in St Augustine and we will be all cuddling up near the fire place and enjoy some good mulled wine under the tree.

Who will you spend it with?
Alicia’s family, the 3 dogs and hopefully the brothers will make it out here as well.

How do you spend the day? Travelling around or bunkered down at home?
Well, I will be back to training again, but the Euro way is to celebrate on the 24th at night (this is the real Christmas btw) and then we do the American way in the morning of the 25th. So we will be busy for a while with the double celebration- but we will be home for sure.


What’s on your Gift Wish list this year?
Well, I still want the Mustang 1966 convertible but as of now, I need to race faster and put all the money in the house to get it fixed up... its an old Victorian house from 1899, so that’s all we have on the wish list for now...I am excited to get some little surprises though...

Best present you ever got? (Aside from your blueseventy wetsuit of course)
well, the goggles, the goggles from blueseventy! I love the basic Element model. Apart from that my best present is that I am happy in what I am doing and the way we live our life!

Worst present you have ever got? It’s socks isn’t it…
Hmmmm, I got sure, I got a lot of shit on the way, but there is always ebay u know. Oh, I remember my old room mate in the US gave me a 12 pack of Smirnoff Ice, and that was the only thing I got as I was away from home and I was really sad after that...

Got any traditions you’ll be upholding? Carolling? Snow Angels? Bit of backyard cricket?
Nahh, just going with the flow here in the US, being passive and doing the family thing. Nothing special, I used to play guitar and my sister played the flute on Christmas, I am glad that’s over now.

What’s your training schedule like around Christmas?
I just restarted, so nothing crazy, just base training and 2 short sessions if I feel ok in the first week, then after Christmas I will try to pick it up so I have 2 months of solid training before my first race.

Do you train on Christmas day, and if so, what do you do?
Well, just a run, as I am sure the pools will be closed again, so maybe a 1h run with some core.

Favourite tipple at Christmas? Do you allow a bit of eggnog?
More like mulled wine with a short of amaretto- you should try that, it’s awesome and works well!

We do nothing but eat from dawn to dusk at our place – what do you do? What’s on the menu for your feast?
Oh no clue yet, I will not be involved in the food planning, but I know I need to start eating better again. Alicia’s Mum Lori is a great cook so I am sure we will get something very special again.

Do you prefer Xmas in the Snow or the Sand?
Oh I love white X-mas, but the last time I had that was back in the days when I was a little kid. I have been trying to do it for many years but somehow it never worked out. Its my dream to be I a small little hut somewhere up in the mountains with my kids and dogs one day and just a big picnic basket.

We’ve got Dean Martin crooning Xmas songs in the office – who will you be singing along to this Christmas?
I will be jamming to the Red River band here from St Augustine, Alicia’s parents are musicians and so its all about the local stars here.

Got any tips for getting rid of any excess, er, “Christmas weight”?
Well, same old- same old: Don’t eat too much, train well and don’t eat too many carbs at night. Very simple to understand but hard to put into action.

Will you be heading off on holiday anywhere?
Nope, just got here to FL, no more holidays till December 2011.

What have you got planned for New Years?
I haven’t even thought about it, not sure yet, most likely a local party here in lovely St Augustine with all of your friends and family.

And lastly, what’s this year’s New Years resolution?
Well, I wanna be a good husband to my wife and make sure we both live a quality life. I would like to reach my potential in Kona in 2011 and therefore will be busy all year with that.

Pic courtesy of Herbert Krabel @ slowtwitch

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