Ironman Busselton 2015 Training

Picture of the Group at Canning Dam 22 August2015

 
After NorthFace and the French Alps Cycling adventure , it is now back to reality and the start of a 15 week training programme for Ironman Busselton 2015. Whilst time is at a premium and I don't expect a spectacular breakthrough PB , it is still important to go into a race prepared as well as possible. The old adage How do you each an elephant ....one bite at a time , applies in training for an Ironman race.

Eat an Elephant

In doing so I have tried to apply a more systematic approach to preparation even if at times life and human nature conspire to intervene in goal setting. By that I mean nothing ever goes to plan and we humans are fickle creatures. A lot of what determines success (achieving your goals within your abilities)  is simply down to 3 issues in my humble opinion.

1 Mental (Emotional and Desirability Quotient )
2 Physical Preparation
3  Unforeseen events beyond human control

The first 2 can be controlled and the last is happenstance as to pure chance that we all can get ill, family issues ,  accidents and basically the world ending before Busselton Ironman. In which case really we discover rather late that we probably didn't have our priorities right. In this respect whilst important to prepare it is important to keep everything in perspective. Life doesn't stop . As such , I have found the first 2 issues intertwined and over the years my perspective has changed. The desire to do a PB is somewhat mollified by the fact that the emotional desire has wained over the years. There are I believe just so many Ironmans in us before it becomes a little jaded and possibly the body starts rebelling at the onslaught of training .I may be wrong because there are many who have done 50 Ironmans or more.The body yearns for a new challenge but not necessarily more training.Time is precious I noticed as we get older.

In this mental state I have decided to plan the preparation a little better although starting has been slow with the cold mornings and spring still a week away. I have however got a coach , Katy Duffield a professional Triathlete in WA and racing the Worlds 70.3 2015 in Austria  on  29 August 2015. The last time I had a coach was way back in 2012. If anything it makes a change and for an interesting programme with some impetus to actually train .I am still prone to skipping sessions but I think with a coach and a programme it is hopefully less likely.

Why get a coach and how do you pick a coach .not easy questions and a coach does not absolve or diminish the responsibility of the triathlete to listen and follow the instructions and ultimately undertake the task set out .Simple but never or rarely followed. Half the battle is doing the task and not more and not less. I am guilty but hopefully in the next several weeks I will be disciplined.

I have looked back at the many post and the theme is repeated.

The Fundamentals and taking Responsibility :

 My Take:

1. Fundamentally without a yearning and a desire , there is no drive .
2. Get the fundamentals right 
3. Learn and be educated ( hence a coach)

With this in mind , the journey begins yet again .The first week started easy enough with just a swim and a run . Unfortunately with the winter weather lingering around and rain I have skipped the swim . I have continued with my cross fit and did 3 sessions and then on Saturday a 110km ride in the hills and a run on Sunday for 1.20hr doing 11.5 km at a steady easy pace . As my programme starts at the end of the week I have kept to the routine and continued into the programme. With Sunday being a run at even pace. There was nothing on the Saturday but it is the long ride day so I rode with the North Coast group into the hills. First ride on the TT bike and found the hills a lot more bearable despite being slow I found I was coping and not fatiguing at the end. It was a long 5 hour session with 110km  and a 10 minute run off the bike . In the afternoon , I had my cross fit and that was tough .Just 2 rounds of the list in the picture. Dead lifts, sumo high pulls , Cleans, push-press, clean and jerks and between each exercise we did squats , push ups, burpees , start jumps and thrusters . Took 30 minutes for 2 rounds and I was done.  I start the training build at 74/75kgs , hopefully getting to 70 or less in weight in the next 4 months. The fun begins .