Preparation

A heavy schedule today with the main sessions being 1 hours turbo session early morning and a 1 hr 15 min swim session tonight.  Going across to the "sweat studio" at 6.30am wasn't nice but within 5 minutes I started to heat up.  By the end of the hour there is a pool of sweat under the bike - great start to the day.
I was searching for some video clips to use for my Mission Ironman conference talk when I came across the swim start in Lanzarote Ironman. 1,600 people all rushing into the sea at the same time - it was a free for all punch up.  It just reaffirmed my belief that I wont be taking the risk of getting wiped out before the race starts, which does happen with the feet and fists flying.
Preparation is vital hence the reason I am going to Lanzarote in March for a weeks training so I can learn the bike course.  It's important to know when the extra effort is required so I can take the "fuel" on before I get there.  Preparation can make the difference between success and failure so must be taken seriously.

Back with a bang

This is the first of three hard weeks training.  It started with a 2,900 m swim including 16 x 100m timed efforts.  After a week of light training this felt tough and my times had slipped.  Later on I went for a 50 minute run at three different paces and felt good.  The temperature was low at zero degrees but it was a lovely crisp winters night.  Tomorrow the forecast is for snow but fortunately all my training is indoors; turbo, core, swimming and stretching.  With the training increasing my diet is going to have to change and my intake increase.  I will probably have to take food into the office so I can eat more regular but smaller meals. Yum!

Camera, lights, action

Although I am on a rest weekend I needed to take part in filming my "indoor" training yesterday.  This resulted in me going flat out on the turbo trainer to get the effect of the heat coming off me and the sweat dripping off me - looks good on camera.  However I wasn't expecting these shots to take 31 mins so it was a great workout on  my rest day.
With the snow on the ground the director decided it would be good to do the weights outside.  Again when filming the bench press the number of takes exceeded my expectations so I had a big weights workout.  The purpose of the filming is to make a short promotion video for my Mission Ironman conference speaking (www.missionironman.co.uk) and next Sunday I will be swimming in Loch Lomond as well as cycling and running.  This will give a snapshot into Ironman training.
My new schedule starts tomorrow and the endurance is building in all disciplines.  My weights and core sessions reduce by one each but three stretching sessions have been introduced to keep the muscles flexible as they will shorten and tighten with the longer sessions.  My wife is designing a yoga workout for me which should keep me right - can't wait to get started.

Snowed off!

Early morning saw the Loch Lomond swim being cancelled due to the snow.  It's one thing getting into a freezing loch for some great filming but if everything is grey due to a low cloud base it's not worth the risks!  So filming was postponed and I locked myself away to do some writing for the business.  Writing newsletters or papers are time consuming but you need time away from the office to tune into the task.  I also took the time to make some changes to the website and add some new videos.  If you have a spare moment go to www.strategicassetmanagers.co.uk and see SAM grill some leading fund managers!
I've just finished 1 hour on the turbo and now have 2 days off training, except for stretching, until the hard schedule starts on Monday.  The intensity is increasing as you'd expect and the next 3 months are going to be tough but that's the only way you can survive an Ironman competition.  My focus is getting ready for the weeks training in Lanza in March so plenty of work to be done.  It's good to have something to aim for.

The benefit of rest

It's one thing having a schedule to focus as it gets results but at the same time you need to be prepared to change if necessary.  Yesterday was that day and I am so glad I listened to my body which was asking for a rest - even on an easy week!  So when I got up to swim this morning I felt refreshed and my legs, which were the main source of tiredness, felt good.  This led to a very productive swim session this morning.  It wasn't a long swim, just 1,900m, but it was interval training against the watch and I was able to work on my technique at the same time.  I left the pool knowing I had worked out but wasn't shattered.
This recovery will help when I am filming tomorrow for a short promo video for my Mission Ironman conference speaking as I will be open water swimming in Loch Lomond!  Should be challenging as today snow is forecast.  Once my digits have thawed out I'll report back.

Interesting day

I attended a workshop today where everyone had completed a behavioural profile and we worked through them with a facilitator which was illuminating.  I have some experience in this field but it does no harm to get a fresh perspective on the most important person to you. i.e. you!  It fascinates me that we do have differences which result in different approaches which is why we are all individuals driven by different things.  It's understanding these differences and getting the best out of people that really interests me and Mission Ironman is all about helping people exceed their capability which is only limited by their mind.
Later on I went for my regular sports massage which was unpleasant / painful, but absolutely necessary.  Following the heavy week last week my legs were in need of "the treatment" and as a result I won't be training tonight as they need to recover.  I can get away with this as it's my easy week and it will mean I am ready to tackle 3 hard weeks starting on Monday.

Aimless

To spread the work of Mission Ironman I am aiming to attract conference speaking engagements which are designed to help the audience achieve results beyond their wildest dreams.  Quiet a claim but one I really believe in and know if people take the lessons from Mission Ironman and apply them then they will succeed.
So on 9 Feb I will be delivering the message to an audience at the Belfry in Birmingham.  While preparing the presentation I reflected on how I felt after my first Ironman.  After the high of crossing the line it was like falling off a cliff.  There was no purpose in my training.  Why bother?  The training had no structure, I was going through the motions - aimless.  So tonight when I was at swimming training one of the athletes mentioned he had no goal this year, no event to aim at, it reminded me of post Ironman.  The message is you don't need to be competing in Ironman but in life having worthwhile goals makes everything more interesting, more focused and more fun.  So come one, commit to a goal, set out a plan and get on with it.  Enjoy!