Post 91 - What next?

On the first day back at work after Ironman UK, before I had even made it to the office, I had received word that I’d likely have to go to Italy. Argh. My legs were a mess, I couldn’t walk properly, I was knackered, I had blisters, my kit hadn’t been washed, my bike was filthy, and all I wanted was a straightforward week, with time to sort myself and my gear out, eat well, hydrate well and recover. And also take some time to think and to make a plan for the “what now?” after Ironman UK.

To cut a long story short, I got to work, completed a travel request, got some documents together, went home, packed to go to Italy, went to the airport, and went to Italy. It was pushing 40 degrees C in Italy, and I spent the whole week on my feet, outside, in a fabricating yard. It was so tough. This continued right through until the Saturday night. I didn’t have control over my diet, and was all-too-often faced with a choice of eating rubbish, or not eating at all. It wasn’t a good week. I was over 70kg for the first time this year when I got back from Italy.

Out the back of the hotel was what looked like a go-kart track. It turned out that it was a junior cycling club track, and probably the highlight of my week was standing on the balcony of my hotel room, watching junior cyclists on little mini road bikes riding round and round. They were loving it. And I was loving watching them. I need to get the enjoyment back into my cycling, all the indoor training I do gets very tedious.

Really wanted to go for a rip around the track

I decided that I wanted another go at Ironman this year. I’ll give Ironman Wales in Tenby a crack in September. I have to do it. I weighed up going to Ironman Holland at the start of August, but decided it was too soon. I also thought about Ironman Vichy in France at the end of August, but again it is a bit too soon and it’s a big unknown, plus it’s a long way away. I know Ironman Wales inside out.

However, both Ironman Holland and Ironman Vichy are very recent additions to the Ironman calendar. This means they only have around 700 entrants (compared to 2000-2500 at a “normal” Ironman). Most Kona-qualification-chasers will have planned their season a year in advance (long before we knew that Holland and Vichy would be on the Ironman calendar), and entered their races a year in advance before they sold out. So this means that there could be fewer top-end athletes at Holland and Vichy. With such low numbers and with potentially fewer top-enders present, it’s likely that the chances of qualification will be much higher at both of these events. I’ll look at the results with interest, and probably despair.

For Wales though, it’s local (relatively), it’s known, and it is a tremendous event and occasion. It really is. I’ve got 7 months of focused training and fitness behind me, and I’ll likely have stability for a few more months at work. OK, the weather in Wales in September might not be great, but it cannot possibly be as bad as it was in Bolton, and I can learn a lot of lessons with regard to wet weather gear and keeping warm. Wales features a tough sea swim, massive jellyfish to contend with, an obscenely hilly bike and difficult course and a run course that isn’t much better. But Ironman Wales is an amazing event. The support is incredible. It’s a nice part of the world. Tenby is a brilliant host town. Logistically it’s an easier event than Bolton. To qualify for Kona at Tenby would be something amazing, as Tenby is a place I could easily return to time and time again for a holiday.

If I can only get to the finish line at Ironman Wales, and be able to say that the race was as good as it could have been, then whether I qualify or not, I’ll have to be happy with that. Saying that, I would still hope to qualify. In the past two years in the M30-34 age group, 10:30 has been good enough. I have done a 61 minute swim at Wales, a 5:43 bike and a 3:34 run. That makes 10:18. The long first transition can take 7-10 minutes, and the second transition can take 2-3 minutes. I’d like to believe I am fitter (and certainly more experienced) this year, so I’d like to think I can better those times. But what I think doesn’t matter in the slightest, it’s what I actually do that counts. I keep saying that I can do it. I’m sick of saying it. I want to deliver.

Then after Wales, things are going to change. Work is really unstable and the project I am working on will transfer to Korea. It looks like there will be no more work in London beyond September, and I am set on leaving London anyway. I’m not sure where I’ll be by the end of the year. If I qualify for the worlds at Ironman Wales, I’ll go to Hawaii in October 2016. So I’ll have lots of time to plan and prepare, and I’ll have my pick of flights and accommodation, hopefully at decent prices. Whatever happens, I’ll have to make something happen from summer 2016 to October 2016 so that I am able to train for the worlds. If I don’t qualify at Wales, I’ll have to have a serious think as to whether or not it is feasible to carry on and try again in 2016. It’s a big, big commitment in every way – physically, mentally and financially. It’s tough on the body. I’m aware that it’ll be very, very difficult to keep doing this indefinitely, at the expense of pretty much everything else in life. It’s a difficult call – I’ve never given up on anything, but there are other things I could do apart from Ironman that would still leave me time to have a bit more balance in my life. Training for a sub-32 10K wouldn’t take hours and hours and hours per week, for example. But for now, Wales is set up and guaranteed, everything I need is in place, so I’ll go there and lay it all on the line, with the mind-set that I don’t know if or when there will be another chance.

So, 6 more weeks. I’m going to the Alps for a week and a half soon, and that’ll be good training. I did nothing for the entire week after Bolton, and only this week I’ve started to get back into it, so hopefully the de-conditioning and rustiness will be gone by the time I get to the Alps, and I can train well in the mountains – it’ll be good training for Wales, and will be a lot more enjoyable than battering away on the turbo trainer in my room. I’ll also do a lot of work on explosive strength – I’ve already started standing at the bottom of the stairs and “hopping” up to the next stair with only one leg. This is tougher than it sounds, especially after 20 or 30 repeats. But it’ll be good strength training which will benefit me in Wales. I’ll look at getting some good wet weather gear. I’ll try to cover every single eventuality.

And hopefully, by 5:30pm on Sunday 13th September 2015, I will finally be a Kona qualifier. If not, there’ll be some serious thinking and soul-searching to be done…

Training done since Ironman UK:

Sun 19 July: Ironman UK

Mon 20 July: Rest
Tue 21 July: Rest
Wed 22 July: Rest
Thu 23 July: Rest
Fri 24 July: Rest
Sat 25 July: Rest
Sun 26 July: Rest
Mon 27 July: 1:10 turbo
Tue 28 July: Rest
Wed 29 July: 1:05 turbo, 25 minute run
Thu 30 July: Swim 1.5km
Fri 31 July: Rest