The Mystery

Yesterday is history , Tomorrow is a mystery but Today is a Gift  Grand Master Oogway , Kunfu Panda

It has been an uneventful week ...absolute,ly no training and lots of sleep. Did a ride this morning  to the hills with Keith and Tony ...struggled up Whelshpool Road to Kalamunda . It was a slow ride in the cold and a bit of drizzle . I did get wet  at the end when it started to rain fortunately I was a few kms from home.

 Vidoe of riding Zig Zag hill a few weeks ago and we rode down Zig Zag again yesterday

The rest of the week has been spent just relaxing and planning for the start of training.I am reading " I am here to win" by Chris McCormack .Half way through the book .I have also listened to the Brett Sutton Interview on IM Talk Podcast .Its long but quite an eyeopener about his background and experience. Basically he trains the athelete in the sport of Triathlon not 3 separate sports and doesn't believe in periodization . Having said that I am no more the wiser as to the ideal training plan for endurance racing or is there a coach who can understand and guide an age grouper who is time poor and has limited resources. That remains the perpectual question even in McCormack's book , how to train smart and make improvements with a systematic plan to build on the training. I still feel I am floundering around with the plans I have been following. Most coaches seem to be following a similar pattern .It is unfortunately not personalised sufficiently and to be fair it can't unless you are a pro.It is difficult without step by step instruction. I did know one thing its not about the technology or gagetry.It does come down to hard work but there are many questions and plans.How many brick sessions , how many runs , how long , how do you know what is easy and what hard is. How do you maximise getting the best results from a swim , bike and run combination.

It is all a mystery. That is the intrigue about Triathlons .It is a sport ,not 3 different sports . It is fitting the 3 disciplines together is what makes it difficult. The conundrum.

But as McCormcak said in his book , " For the general competitor the most important thing you can do is listen to your body......Most important , get some perspective .You're a triathlete.Thats an extraordinary thing no matter how old you are  - whether you finish an ironman in 8 hours or slip over the finish line at 16.59.Its worth accepting your age and your limitations if it means you can keep training , keep competing and keep being part of such a fantastic fraternity".