342 days to go!

It's been an interesting week.  My physio has provided me with some hope for my foot.  Strengthen the foot arch and it will help protect the lisfranc injury.  I discussed my list of events I want to complete over the next 4 years and we agreed better to cross train and set a goal for next year rather than take on an ultra which would involve more running.  Boosted with this news, and having discussed it with my wife and my coach, I "pushed the button" and entered the Frankfurt Ironman which is also the European Championships! 3 July 2016 - in 342 days time!

I choose this event because team ATHelite are entering a large number of participants so for once I will be training with my team mates working towards the same goal - I am so excited!  But that's the easy bit.  The hard work will start soon enough.

Training for an Ironman takes a lot of planning, hard work, blood sweat and sometimes tears.  But you've got to enjoy the training  due to the time I will be investing and the first goal is to get to the start line, hopefully injury free.  That's easier said than done.  Even getting to the startline leaves a number of challenges and you want to avoid on race day so there are no guarantees of success.  What I do know is getting back to fitness will feel fantastic.

Having set the goal my attitude changed instantly.  This week I have run three times with my coach and am feeling good but I've a long way to go.  Yesterday I went out with the "big boys" and we went on an 80km + ride that I hadn't done before.  2 big climbs with equally steep descents but the weather wasn't as forecast and it poured down.  This made the conditions tricky especially on the descent.  I was getting dropped on all the hills and the group waited for me to get back on.  The "chimp" was trying to discourage me but all I did was think back to my biking fitness a year before Lanzarote ironman and what it was like at the event.  I've been here before, I know what I need to do and I'll be designing the training programme with my coach and then executing it.  342 days may sound like a long time but it's not.  I hope you follow my journey and of course I'll be raising money from Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres which will also motivate me.  The journey continues.