Calm before the storm

It's never easy the week before your race. You reduce your training and your body starts to feel sluggish and wants to get going. But you resist. Then your mind starts to take over saying "you haven't trained enough". This is normal and you must stay focused. My task tonight will be getting packed as tomorrow night I travel to Aberfeldy for the race briefing and then on Saturday morning at 8.30am (quiet civilised!) I enter Loch Tay will 300 competitors for a deep water start - I.e punch up, notcivilised! You have to plan your equipment right down to the last detail as you have to separate your bike and run gear into different bags and if you forget something it could be the end of your race before it starts. Finally tomorrow I am having my bike checked over as the gears were playing up the other day. So two more "sleeps" to go and game on. I can't wait to get started.

Swimming smooth

This morning I headed off to the pool for probably my last swim session before Aberfeldy. I say probably because the weather is not looking too good with lots of rain and I may substitute a run or bike for a swim depending on the weather. I decided not to "kill" myself in the pool as the event is 6 days away and this should be a tapering week. Therefore I concentrated on swimming smooth and effeciently. I know when in open water this isn't always easy especially when there will be a few hundred other athletes thrashing about. But I've always found I calm down easier if I relax and swim easy concentrating on my technique. I tried to get my gears on my bike serviced but failed. I'll ask one of the cyclists to help me this week as the last thing I want is a mechanical failure. Tomorrow I won't be training as I rest although have a long distance to travel in my car which won't help. Some early nights will be required this week as sleep is an important part of training and staying up last night for the closing ceremony at the Olympics has left me tired. Can't wait to hit thesack!

Final touches

With less than a week to go before Aberfeldy half ironman, I put the finishing touches to my training. I haven't put in the mileage on the bike or the run due to my recovery from Lanzarote Ironman taking a full 2 months. I knew entering Aberfeldy was going to be tight but I needed a suitable event to motivate me to train hard. My leg injury also set me back however I am confident that my ironman training earlier in the year will be sufficient to get me through it. For endurance races it's the mental toughness that gets you through the pain and doubts. So today I completed a "brick session" to help prepare my legs and my mind. A one hour time trial on hills followed by a 5k run was just what I needed. When I stepped off the bike and started the run, which is on a tough hill, my legs were heavy and my mind was saying cut the run short. But experience tells me that my legs will get lighter and the proper rhythm will come. In six days time my legs and mind will be saying the same again but I'll be ready for it. So light training for the rest of the week and time to prepare and plan to make sure the event is a success. Preparation is everything.

Early morning workout

An early morning start had me out on the roads at 7.30 am and it was a workout with a difference. I was meeting my wife and son at a football pitch in deepest darkest Ayrshire, so I didn't want to be late. The roads were quiet for the first hour and then I seemed to find myself in the middle of a sports car rally with 4 lotus cars screaming past me followed by 2 Mazda soft tops - everyone was taking advantage of the weather. I felt "at one" with the bike which is a good sign and normally only comes after consistent riding over a period so that's a welcome feeling with Aberfeldy next weekend. I had a small mechanical problem with my Tribars and had this happened in a race it would have cost me 5 minutes so it was a good reminder to have everything checked before I head off next week. One difference on being out on the bike is you get to see more. Although I'm not sure seeing someone in a grotty area dressed only in his underpants having a fag and a coffee was what I expected! I just prayed I didn't get a puncture and probably increased my pace to put some distance between us. A terrific cycle and the bonus with my son winning and scoring in the match.

Stunningly beautiful

Tonight was very special. I arrived at 5 pm at Loch Lomond so I could go for a run before my open water swim. The sun was splitting the sky and running in such stunning scenery makes it a lot more pleasant. Most of Glasgow had decided to visit the loch so it was full of families enjoying the summer weather. We then swam out in the loch and paused before starting our circuits. Everyone agreed that this was special. 11 athletes in the water, we had the whole area to ourselves and the water was calm and not cold. It doesn't get any better. This is my forth week of open water swimming and I am feeling very comfortable in the water and am now ready for the Aberfeldy half ironman swim. So tomorrow is a long bike ride and the weather is looking good.

Mr Blue Sky :-)

This is more like it. Sunshine and blue skies in the morning. Getting out of bed is effortless and I bound out the door heading into the hills for a 7.5 mile run singing Mr Blue Sky the song from the Eletric Light Orchestra. It's hard not to sing it without smiling and the world is definately a place when everyone is smiling! Climbing the hills seemed effortless and I greated the farmer, who sees me most mornings, and thinks I'm nuts. As I left slightly later than normal I watched the "rat race" begin with all the stressed faces behind the wheel of the cars. Come on people it could be an awful lot worse, and the sun is shining! So we started with an inspirational song and I know you are now singing that in your head already!

On a course today

Yes you've guessed it, a golf course. But it was work, honest. If you've seen me play golf, it was hard work at times. Today I took out a client and a business associate for a long overdue thank you by way of a game of golf. The sun split the sky and the course was in magnificent condition. I talked the other day about taking time out for a walk and smelling the roses and this certainly was a great way of doing it. No lycra, no gps computer strapped onto my wrist giving me the MI (management information) I need, only a simple target for each hole. One of the players did have a gps so we knew the distance to the hole which made it easier, that's assuming you know how far your ball flies for each club! But it's not all play. The game was sandwiched in between emails and legal contracts and a few phone calls as we have to keep the business running. (Thought I'd put that in just incase the office were checking up on me!) It's been a special day and managing to combine business and pleasure is something I should definately do more often. Back training tomorrow!