Week 6

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible."


---Doug Larson

Somewhere in the weekly blog of interesting thoughts and ideas , I do have to report the mundane , the regular and downright boring bits of what it means to be in training for an Ironman .

It isn't all Beer and Skittles. There is a serious,  intentional ,slow and painful build towards the Race . Week 6 is a stark reminder of the training.

Bret Sutton , the all too infamous Tri coach for many Champions including Chrissie Wellington is always accused of pushing his athletes too hard .But what is interesting is Brett started life as a  swim coach and a horse trainer.
He often says horses can't tell when they are tired or injured.It is an intuitive way of coaching .

There is a summary of his views on 3JC Triathlon. Worth a listen to the interview Brett gave on IMpodcast last year . Even the horse trainer for Black Caviar, the fastest short course horse in Australia and just 1 win from equalling Phar Laps all time record of 14 wins , says that coaching a horse is no different to coaching an elite athlete. It is an innate understanding of the animal and when and how to train them. Peter Moody in the Australian Story broadcast on Black Caviar speaks about the endless hours of track work at 4am.

Besides ability and desire , there is the volume of quality work that goes into making or reaching the pinnacle of your ability.

This week , I had a slow start with recovery from my Sunday ride. I only managed a 7km run and skipped the swim.On Tuesday it was the hour of power but as everyone had an easy week , I was alone and rode for over an hour ...more like 1.10 hard. On Tuesday evening it was an especially hard session with Brad. I did a 4km warm up and then some sprints and the main set was 400m , 800m and 1km x 2 with a recovery after each run of the equivalent time for the interval session. With the cool down I did just under 14km .

On Wednesday I got to swim training in the morning and ran 11km at lunch as I could not run in the evening. Thursday , I rode to work and did hill repeats at Kings Park .Stayed on the big chain ring and tried not to get out of the seat. I then rode home in the evening.

Friday, I did a 10km run at Lunch time and then swam in the evening managing 2.5km with a 500m warm up and then a 700m , 600m, and 500m set before a cool down.

Saturday , the legs were feeling quite sore but I finished the long ride.I wasn't at my best but got through the ride and 20 minute run off the bike. Sometimes I am  not so sure if it is over training or just having to fight through the pain barrier.

My nutrition was fine and had enough to consume. It was a great day but towards the end the legs were hurting . I managed a short run off the bike and I hope the legs are recovered by tomorrow.