Beyond Ironman

Porridge at 5.45am, pool side by 7am - last early session unless my coach decides otherwise.
Following the deluge of comments yesterday provoked by my comment that I would not be doing another Ironman in 2011, 2 comments actually but that is a record, I thought it work an explanation.  My experience of setting goals is that if you have nothing lined up afterwards then you enter a vacuum.  I have witnessed numerous triathletes this year reach there goal and are then lost.  Nothing to aim for, no direction in their training and they become bored.  My focus is 100% Ironman Copenhagen but once I have finished I plan to take a rest to recover then start light training but with a specific goal.  2011 will involve numerous Olympic Distance (1 mile swim, 40km bike & 10km run) tri's and some Sprint Tri's where I will be working on my technique.  My objective is to learn to swim & cycle better before I consider going back to Ironman at a later date.  So don't worry, the endurance knitting event can wait!

A glimpse of life

Today is a day off from training and I took full advantage by playing golf last night, my first Medal of the year, and sleeping in till 6.45am this morning!  Golf and triathlons have several things in common; nae dress sense (diamond jumpers!) and some serious money spent on "gear" that is supposed to make you better.  The pace of the game was pedestrian at best but it was nice to be able to talk without choosing your moment between gulps of water or air.
I also have accepted my first social occasion after Ironman which will involve a few alcoholic drinks.  My poor long suffering wife has offered to drive so she will probably continue suffering as I talk utter drivel all the way home after 2 shandies.  But today has given me a glimpse of life and with any luck some form of normality will prevail after 15 August.  I can hear you asking, but what next.  That will depend on the outcome of Copenhagen but for the next 12 months I can promise you, it won't be another Ironman!

Dangerous sport

At 5.45am the alarm went off and for a nano second I thought of ignoring it then threw one leg over the edge of the bed so that the momentum would carry the rest of me out and I would have no choice but to get up.  That's always the worst bit because when I got on my bike I reminded myself what a privilege it was to be cycling through such beautiful countryside and not battling cancer in a hospital ward like Mr Baldy. 
However cycling does have its risks such as the black Honda Civic which came over the brow of a hill and obviously saw me late.  I was cycling right on the edge of the B road where the gravel is and that is dangerous enough as with the thin tyres you can easily fall off, and potentially into the path of the oncoming vehicle.  The driver reacted late and swerved taking out a bollard that is there to warn them about the corner approaching.  Shame really that they didn't stop or we could have had a chat about the right temperature to wash my shorts at to get the skid marks out!  Otherwise feeling great with the easing of my training schedule in the run up to the 15th.

Mind games

While out running my 10km this morning in the smur (Scottish word to describe fine rain) nothing interesting happened which allows your mind to think through what lies ahead.  I have spoken to many newbie Ironmen in the last month and they have all confirmed that in the race there will be things that go wrong and you need to adapt.  There will be times when you feel like sh1t, this is natural and you need to push through it.  Sounds like life / business really and its all about your attitude and how you handle these challenges.
Think of "Mr Baldy" who is currently in hospital going through a stem cell transplant - now that is a battle and he is considering doing a triathlon next year which is a step up from bowling!  There's someone with an unbelievably positive attitude and which will see him through his treatment.  We're with you all the way Mr & Mrs Baldy!
Yesterday I sent an email to my friends trying to increase the total raised for Maggie's and got another £350 which is fantastic.  This morning I got a call pledging £1,500!!  This will take the total over £6,000 but I am still hoping I might find  a corporate sponsor to take us beyond the £10,000 target. Thank you to everyone who is supporting Maggie's.

Avoiding icebergs

5.45am porridge, 7am poolside for my last long swim before the event.  I covered 3,300 meters with the last 200 avoiding icebergs - let me explain.  At 8.30am they remove the lanes and that means the rather large ladies who do breast stroke at one length every 10 minutes start to lose their bearings and inadvertently wander into the path of other swimmers who are ploughing up and down the pool.  The iceberg name comes as all you see is their head and the "mass" is below the water line.  Don't get me wrong I think it is fantastic that they are in the pool swimming and set a great example to others who are tucked up in their bed.  However the sooner they get fitted with a sat nav the better as I almost split two of them which didn't go down too well - they had wandered 5 yards off course.  Felt great after the swim, it loosened off my legs.
Tomorrow is an hours run and the weather forecast looks like I'd be better and possibly drier avoiding icebergs!

14 days to go

In 2 weeks time I will be on the bike leg (112 miles) of the Ironman in Copenhagen.  This weekend was the end of the hard training and now it is about ticking over and resting my body.  I started training a year ago but the real training started in November when I signed up with my coach Steve.  Since then here is a summary of my training:
221 training sessions including; 45 hours on a turbo trainer (static bike), 123 hour and 2,812 km on the bike, 65 hours in the pool covering 150,000 m, 2 hours open water swimming covering 4,300 m and 66 hours running covering 725 km.
The hard work is done.  Now it's about preparing for every eventuality, going over what I need to do before the race and during the race.  Then it's down to executing the plan.  Thanks for your support to date and if you haven't already done so, please click on the link to my justgiving site and support Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.

4 seasons in a day

Headed out at 8.30 with Jacques, Craig & Garry who are all in training for Mont Vontoux in September and as expected the pace was more than I was hoping for.  Craig & Garry headed back after 1hr 45 min as they didn't want the "full bhuna" and Jacques and I stayed the distance for the planned 5 hrs.  However we had to endure strong winds and numerous showers which meant we had to work hard to keep a reasonable pace.  The roads around here are a disgrace and at times its like riding across a ploughed field! 
Had one close call.  One of my bottles fell of the bike and Garry stopped to get it.  I slowed down and at about 1 mph couldn't get out my clips so fell over clipped into the bike.  No one saw it but when Garry caught up with me he did ask why I was covered in grass all down one side! Lucky escape as it could have been tarmac.
Got some good tips from double ironman Craig about how important it is to come out the water feeling fresh (I was thinking alive!), not to push hard on the bike no matter how good you feel as you need plenty in the tank for the run - it's all about the run I keep getting told and I am sure that is the case.  You don't see too many people warming up for a marathon with a 2.3 mile swim plus 112 mile cycle do you?  Must be mad but it's great fun.