Diary of an Ironman 27/26 weeks to Kona

It’s raining solidly outside, I’ve got things to do but it’s good to take a forced rest. I swam 3000m and did a 40min “power cranks” interval session after coaching my squad this morning.

I am shattered. I am looking forward to travelling to Port MacQuarie tomorrow to support my athletes in the IMOZ on Sunday. A few days of rest will be good. I have been working hard this week.

For my athletes who don’t work manually, I often prescribe periods of gym work into their yearly routine. Swimming. cycling and running can all be helped by building overall strength. I rarely ever go to a gym because I fit a few landscaping jobs in between my coaching committments.

This is my gym work. This week I’ve put in four days of carpentry and concreting. By last night, I was so tired I sat on a chair to coach the swim group. I enjoy doing the construction work, it keeps my skills alive but it does smash me. My plan is to do a few jobs between coaching committments up until I start training for Hawaii in June.

My training program is light at this stage of my year, usually about 7-9hrs per week. Just working on technique and maintaining a basic level of fitness.  This week I’ve added 26hrs of solid manual work.

While this does “harden me”, there’s a line which I have crossed. I feel my age today. It’s a good thing that I enjoy my work, I’d hate to have to face a life of doing a job I disliked, and coming home exhausted every night.

——————— 26 weeks to go ———————————————–

I’ve spent most of this week answering e-mails and responding to the race analysis I’ve asked my Ironman OZ athletes to send in.

It’s amazing what can be learned by watching an Ironman race – Chrissy Wellington and Pete Jacobs smiled all the way through the Ironman. Both had great races. Many of the other athletes of similar talent and fitness treated the race as something difficult or unpleasant. It’s just as tough for all of them, but attitude can make it easier.

Racing with a smile on your face is easier than racing with a grimace.

Another strange thing  which has showed up in the race analysis is the “never good enough” judgements athletes have of their own performances. One age group athlete has just done a 70min PB over last years time, and is not satisfied. We all have to be happy with what we’ve done, whatever it is. Otherwise we’ll never reward ourselves. Rewarding ourselves is very important.

One thing which always impresses me is the high number of overachievers in our squad/club. We have lots of people who either in their high pressure jobs or their own businesses work long hours. They also have happy families and train for very good Ironman performances. Passionate people perform.

We’re having an easy Easter this year, my wife and I are enjoying an off season without the pressure to train. We still run a couple of times each week, swim a couple of times and she rides to work and home each day. One of my hardest jobs is to hold her back now, so when it comes time to train seriously, she’ll be hungry for it.

Mental freshness is a valuable assett which cannot be manufactured. It has to come in it’s own time. We have our accomodation booked in Kona and our airfares have now been booked and paid for. Rod Morrison at Tri-Travel has once again found us the best deal on airfares.