Well... 4 days to go and I'm getting a bit bored of waiting now! With the reduction in training hours, I'm feeling great with more energy. I'm ready to race but it's taking ages to get here! Also, if the race was here quicker it would be less time constantly changing between panic and excitment.
The planning is well underway, I've read the race report and planned my saturday in Nottingham, racking my bike and packing my transition bags. It's all a bit different to what I'm used to. Normally on race morning you rack your bike and then pile your stuff next to it ready for the transition change overs. In the long distance race the bikes are racked seperately, and transition is done in a large tent where instead of having a pile of your change over clothes etc. you have have 3 bags, one for after the race, one for change from swim to bike and one from bike to run. It's a bit different but seems pretty straight forward.
For the last week I have also been checking the weather compulsively. Trying to figure out if it will be wet or dry, windy or still, warm or cold. It's obviously nothing I can predict (neither can the weather wetsites it seems) but I am still praying forthe perfect conditions... along with all the other races and probably spectators too. I've told myself I need to prepare for all conditions... then I wont have any surprises. But I can still pray!!
Another add on to the nerves seems to be every slight twinge, or tightness in my legs is sending me into panic! I have trained hours and hours for months now and not had anything really troubling, and any of these twinges I have just ran through and survived... but when out on a steady run last night my calf twinged I instantly thought I was in trouble. Obviously it turned out to be nothing at all.
So, it's the final countdown to the day. Next post should be the post race post, unless I can think of something interesting to write in between.
Sponsorship is going great now. I have had some generous donations from people who don't know me again! Which is great! It amazes me to be honest, thank you all!
Link is still available to make sponsorships if you wish to.
Until next time!...
Originally a story of me becoming an Outlaw... What will happen after? Stay Tuned...
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Two weeks to go! Reflection of Training
So... 2 weeks today is race day and hopefully at this point in the race day I should be resting somewhere rather than still running!
The taper so far has been quite uneventful, I've given myself a few extra hours off to get my motivation back as it's been a bit lacking lately. But my legs and mind are rested nicely, so now the race cant come soon enough.
My thoughts at the moment are constantly shifting from confidence and excitement right through to panic and nerves. Which I hope wont get much worse with 2 weeks still to go.
At this stage I'm starting to make lists... we all love a good "To do" list! Things I need to take, things I still need to do before the race etc... Hopefully good preparation will ease the anxiety and help me sleep in the last nights before the race.
I have been thinking about the last 18 weeks of training I have done, since the cold dark nights/mornings in early December, right through to the cold light nights/mornings of June! On reflection I guess I should think myself lucky, apart from a few slight injuries I have suffered from nothing major, and I haven't had a cold or flu to slow me down either... I'm very thankful of that, it's certainly made the progression to longer distances a lot easier.
There have been a few things that have slowed me down and tested my resolve though, terrible weather has made a lot of training difficult, including right up to this week when really the sun should be on my back during most training sessions (dreaming I know!). Also the swimming pool that is very close to my house and the quiet times is very convenient for my training schedule has been closed since March. Forcing me swim a further away from home and at 9pm instead of straight after work. Not exactly how I wanted, but at least I didn't lose my swimming completely.
When I first looked at the training schedule to complete the Ironman the things that stuck out as the most daunting were around the big training weeks.Especially looking at the 6 hour bike rides and 20 mile runs. But they turned out to not be so bad, the progression to those distances and times throughout the weeks of the training plan helped survive these sessions.
I think I have found the mental side of the training the hardest. Some weeks where I have had no time to sit down at all, going to bed not long after finishing training at 10pm and then getting up to do a run at 5am was very hard sometimes. Also planning other aspects of my life, things you always have time to do normally, become very hard to fit in, right down to having time to do the washing up after eating! This was something I never thought of before I started this journey, it will definitely be something I will think about before I think about before I consider doing another Ironman distance race.I would love to know how people with children or who work longer hours than I do manage to get the training hours in. I can only assume its better organisation than I have and even less "sofa time".
The sponsorship is continuing to creep higher and higher... can't thank people enough for the donations... it does seem more and more people are collecting for different charities now, so for people to still give as much as they do is great! especially people I don't really know who are donating selflessly... Thank you all, I have promised myself to remember you all when I am struggling on the run, hopefully it will keep me going and keep my spirit up. If you want to help with my spirit and energy in 2 weeks, the donation button is always on the top left hand corner of the page! :-)
So, officially 17 hours of training left to do before the actual race... I'm sure I will write again before the race, until next time...!
The taper so far has been quite uneventful, I've given myself a few extra hours off to get my motivation back as it's been a bit lacking lately. But my legs and mind are rested nicely, so now the race cant come soon enough.
My thoughts at the moment are constantly shifting from confidence and excitement right through to panic and nerves. Which I hope wont get much worse with 2 weeks still to go.
At this stage I'm starting to make lists... we all love a good "To do" list! Things I need to take, things I still need to do before the race etc... Hopefully good preparation will ease the anxiety and help me sleep in the last nights before the race.
I have been thinking about the last 18 weeks of training I have done, since the cold dark nights/mornings in early December, right through to the cold light nights/mornings of June! On reflection I guess I should think myself lucky, apart from a few slight injuries I have suffered from nothing major, and I haven't had a cold or flu to slow me down either... I'm very thankful of that, it's certainly made the progression to longer distances a lot easier.
There have been a few things that have slowed me down and tested my resolve though, terrible weather has made a lot of training difficult, including right up to this week when really the sun should be on my back during most training sessions (dreaming I know!). Also the swimming pool that is very close to my house and the quiet times is very convenient for my training schedule has been closed since March. Forcing me swim a further away from home and at 9pm instead of straight after work. Not exactly how I wanted, but at least I didn't lose my swimming completely.
When I first looked at the training schedule to complete the Ironman the things that stuck out as the most daunting were around the big training weeks.Especially looking at the 6 hour bike rides and 20 mile runs. But they turned out to not be so bad, the progression to those distances and times throughout the weeks of the training plan helped survive these sessions.
I think I have found the mental side of the training the hardest. Some weeks where I have had no time to sit down at all, going to bed not long after finishing training at 10pm and then getting up to do a run at 5am was very hard sometimes. Also planning other aspects of my life, things you always have time to do normally, become very hard to fit in, right down to having time to do the washing up after eating! This was something I never thought of before I started this journey, it will definitely be something I will think about before I think about before I consider doing another Ironman distance race.I would love to know how people with children or who work longer hours than I do manage to get the training hours in. I can only assume its better organisation than I have and even less "sofa time".
The sponsorship is continuing to creep higher and higher... can't thank people enough for the donations... it does seem more and more people are collecting for different charities now, so for people to still give as much as they do is great! especially people I don't really know who are donating selflessly... Thank you all, I have promised myself to remember you all when I am struggling on the run, hopefully it will keep me going and keep my spirit up. If you want to help with my spirit and energy in 2 weeks, the donation button is always on the top left hand corner of the page! :-)
So, officially 17 hours of training left to do before the actual race... I'm sure I will write again before the race, until next time...!
Friday, 8 June 2012
Rubbish Weather, Peak Week and May Updates
Well I'm in the middle of Peak Week in my training 20 hours this week and then the 3 week taper beings for the race. Unfortunately the weather is back to winter by the looks of it with the wind and rain.
I don't mind running in the wind and rain but biking becomes a right pain in the backside, it's taking all my motivation to get outside on the bike, when by now it should be warm and sunny evenings. That would certainly make the biking motivation a bit easier to build up.
Ran 20.5 miles on Tuesday for the first time in this training plan. Felt good for all of it and managed a good time. I realise this doesn't reflect the marathon on the race day, I know mental strength will be what goes me through that marathon. But at least I know the running is my strongest of the three sports and if I get my head down, the miles will soon be ticked off.
I have realised the last few days, that I have been thinking of the end of this peak week as the end of it all, and it'll get easier, sometimes forgetting that the whole 30 week training has been leading up to an actual race... I haven't actually done the hard part yet. I'm hoping that the tapering weeks will let me realise that there is a race at the end of all this... and its going to be a day of hard work!!
For the last few weeks I feel like I have been grinding out quite a few of the training sessions, lacking motivation to actually start and then motivation to continue once I have got going. It's been tough but I've always been motivated by the main goal at the end of it all, so this has kept me going overall. When the taper starts I'm sure my energy and motivation will return.
May Progress Report
Below are my training hours for May, as you can see I have again upped by distances and times from April, also I seem to have done a lot more running in this period without really noticing, which either means I'm getting fitter, or I'm getting lost on my long runs! ha ha!
The overall figures are a bit insane to look at, since December 5th 2011 I have swam, biked and ran 5500km?! I guess I will need to remember this on the start line on the 1st July.
May
Swim 10 hours 11 minutes 30.5km
Bike 33 hours 49 minutes 987.3km
Run 18 hours 21 minutes 248.4km
Total 62 hours 21 minutes 1266.2km
Daily Avg. 2 hour 00 minutes 40.84km
Overall Totals
Swim 49 hours 34 minutes 144.8km
Bike 150 hours 14 minutes 4489.5km
Run 64 hours 38 minutes 883.7km
Total 264 hours 24 minutes 5518km
Sponsorship has picked up again this month with, again some generous donations. Thank you all. Link is on the right hand side if you want to donate still.
Well, its definitely on the down hill to the race now, the standard nervous feeling starts in my stomach when ever I read, or think about the actual race day... hoping the weather improves before then.
But I will have to plan for all weather eventualities come race day... I'm sure those plans and panics will be in a future post.
I don't mind running in the wind and rain but biking becomes a right pain in the backside, it's taking all my motivation to get outside on the bike, when by now it should be warm and sunny evenings. That would certainly make the biking motivation a bit easier to build up.
Ran 20.5 miles on Tuesday for the first time in this training plan. Felt good for all of it and managed a good time. I realise this doesn't reflect the marathon on the race day, I know mental strength will be what goes me through that marathon. But at least I know the running is my strongest of the three sports and if I get my head down, the miles will soon be ticked off.
I have realised the last few days, that I have been thinking of the end of this peak week as the end of it all, and it'll get easier, sometimes forgetting that the whole 30 week training has been leading up to an actual race... I haven't actually done the hard part yet. I'm hoping that the tapering weeks will let me realise that there is a race at the end of all this... and its going to be a day of hard work!!
For the last few weeks I feel like I have been grinding out quite a few of the training sessions, lacking motivation to actually start and then motivation to continue once I have got going. It's been tough but I've always been motivated by the main goal at the end of it all, so this has kept me going overall. When the taper starts I'm sure my energy and motivation will return.
May Progress Report
Below are my training hours for May, as you can see I have again upped by distances and times from April, also I seem to have done a lot more running in this period without really noticing, which either means I'm getting fitter, or I'm getting lost on my long runs! ha ha!
The overall figures are a bit insane to look at, since December 5th 2011 I have swam, biked and ran 5500km?! I guess I will need to remember this on the start line on the 1st July.
May
Swim 10 hours 11 minutes 30.5km
Bike 33 hours 49 minutes 987.3km
Run 18 hours 21 minutes 248.4km
Total 62 hours 21 minutes 1266.2km
Daily Avg. 2 hour 00 minutes 40.84km
Overall Totals
Swim 49 hours 34 minutes 144.8km
Bike 150 hours 14 minutes 4489.5km
Run 64 hours 38 minutes 883.7km
Total 264 hours 24 minutes 5518km
Sponsorship has picked up again this month with, again some generous donations. Thank you all. Link is on the right hand side if you want to donate still.
Well, its definitely on the down hill to the race now, the standard nervous feeling starts in my stomach when ever I read, or think about the actual race day... hoping the weather improves before then.
But I will have to plan for all weather eventualities come race day... I'm sure those plans and panics will be in a future post.
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