Another You Tube clip on some of the Pros in Kona and their Dreams. Being an Alexander fan, it is hard to support Mc Cormack but I do enjoy the way he set and went after the Dreams he wrote down almost 25 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyDVKA61iMI&feature=youtube_gdata_player
When an Ironman enters the arena, he or she will experience many emotions and will have to push their physical abilities to the absolute limit. There comes a time in the Ironman (many times) when the competitor experiences immense pain in the heat of the battle, be it physical or emotional pain. What is the response to that pain? Well the Brain whose primary motivation is self preservation will ask the question, “Why must I suffer?” and “What is the point?”, questions that many of the spectators and people watching on TV ask themselves of the Ironmen.
In an Ironman you better have a great many reasons, as your brain will be asked this question over and over and as Lawrence Van Lingen once said, you need to know why you want to go visit some deep, dark places if you want to get through the big black tunnel/s.
The successful warrior will answer the question with the vision they have dreamt of, the vision they have painted, the vision they have prepared for and they will (hopefully) be able to convince the brain to continue to Fight, to fight off the pain or move up the stepladder of pain. Those who have made pain their ally over time and in training will succeed better than most.
Since the majority of the population lack this crystal clear vision (lack of mental training is a contributor) and have no real reason to suffer, they slow down, or even quit, as soon as the pain kicks in. Developing a crystal clear vision of why, is the secret to finding the motivation, to hanging on when there is nothing left, resulting in world class performances.
For me it’s about Burning the Boats, once you’ve burnt the boats, there is no sailing home in the comfort of your own boat, there is no surrendering, no slowing down…. I pray and hope we can all find the motivation to hang on in an effort to produce our best with what we have on the day.
I will be submitting a series of short video clips on Ironman and the IM Pros over the next week, which cover things like Pressure, Inner Strength, Dreams and the like. Hope you enjoy the read.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbCsWJRXQKU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
When I started writing my weekly journal, prior to leaving Los Angeles for Kona, Hawaii I realised that it was exactly 27 days until the Ironman World Championships. I stopped to reflect about the upcoming 27 days, as well as the number 27 and I realised that it was quite a significant number in my life.
It isn’t significant because I was born on the 27th, but because it was 27 years ago in 1985 that I first heard of triathlon and entered a triathlon. In 1985 I think there was only one Ironman, it was in Hawaii and I dreamt of racing it. At the age of 27 I plucked up the courage to leave the comforts of the teaching profession and head to Europe to attempt some Triathlons, only to injure my knee and return 6 months later without having done a solitary race.
So it was 27 years ago (1985) that I saw a poster advertising Port Elizabeth’s first ever Triathlon, to be sponsored by Total Sports and it would comprise a 1500m swim, a 35km bike and a 15km run.
I can recall thinking, quite naively, that this event was made for me…. I wasn’t the worst swimmer, I had ridden a bike when I was young and I could run. All I needed was a bike and I managed to get a Le Turbo at a cost of R450 (US$35). Race day dawned and I can’t remember if it was windy, but I do recall the sea being quite choppy, but I was hopeful I could compete against the likes of Jack De Kort, Mark Edge, Ian Walland and a few other lifesavers who had taken up the challenge.
When I saw about 6 or 7 strangers amongst the masses on race day I was worried and started enquiring who they were, only to hear they were the winners of races held in other cities, including the national champion Manfred Fuchs from Durban and Paddy Murphy from Cape Town. To say I was in over my head was an understatement, especially as my biking was woeful, but fortunately the 15km run was my saviour as I made up a 7 minute deficit off the bike to win that day and then I was hooked.
I then set myself a goal of trying to win the Durban Ultra Triathlon, hoping to qualify for the SA team to the London to Paris Triathlon Relay and the Ironman in Hawaii.
I came close, but never did win the Durban Ultra in 1985, 1986 or 1987 and gave up Triathlon in 1988 to concentrate on the Comrades Marathon. I was lured back to Triathlon, via the Leppin Ultra-Man in 1990, a series incorporating 5 ultra- distance races, including the Durban Ultra Triathlon. I managed to win the Durban Ultra Triathlon that year, overhauling Jaco Loots and Manfred Fuchs on the 32km run and I was going to go to the Ironman in Hawaii, or so I thought.
Little did I know how much sporting isolation would put paid to that, until I received a regret letter from the organisers and that was the beginning of the end of my sporting career. Motivation started to wane and competing for SA coastal teams vs inland teams didn’t quite cut it, but as sporting isolation contributed to change and to Mandela’s release from prison I don’t hold any regrets about that.
When we emerged out of the darkness and back into world sport, I was trying to assist the athletes I was coaching to win races and make it to the Olympics. Focussing on the athletes and their needs and neglecting myself is hardly a worthwhile excuse for allowing myself to deteriate as badly as I did, but I ballooned to a Ton and am not proud of that fact.
Most of you know that for me there was a Before and an After moment in my life. Before my Stepson’s tragedy in 2004 I was in a rut and I can assure you it was not a ‘comfort zone’ and since then it has been the After! I started out trying to run 20 minutes three times a week with Richard Sharwood and gradually progressed to running a marathon and then the Ironman. At first it was a case of trying to get fit and then that spark that was ignited by Reece’s passing, became a flame within and as I fuelled that flame with more training and progress it became a burning desire to fulfil a lifelong dream.
In 2005 at the SA Ironman awards evening I wrote on a serviette the words “in 2010 the year you turn 50, you WILL qualify for Kona!” I chased that dream with all my might and even though I did my Achilles and missed the 2006 race, I tried in 2007, missing Kona by one place. Then I had the DVT scare after the 2007 IM and missed the 2008 race. In 2009 I was fit and ready, but self-destructed and ran a 6hr 15 marathon. I recall vividly friends suggesting I give up on my Dream, as they obviously saw that I was trying too hard and I was becoming a little despondent, but I had to keep on trying.
I don’t regret much in life, because the only time the rear view mirror is of value is when you are prepared to learn from your mistakes or experiences, so I prefer to look forward. However, although I didn’t regret the sporting isolation I did regret giving up on my sporting goals a year or two too early, as the opportunities for South Africans in 1992 and beyond were bountiful and I missed every single one, because I had not persevered. So close, yet so far and 2009 was another of those watershed years…. Do I quit or do I push on?
Life is a 10 speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use…. Charles Schultz
Choosing the latter wasn’t easy, as Money Talk had just merged with Consolidated
Financial Planning with new leadership and structures and it also required the support of my family, never mind the fact that I needed to up my motivation and my training. At Ironman SA 2010 I had the race I had been dreaming of and finally qualified for Kona and the Ironman World Championships. This was it, or was it? Due to the generosity of so many friends and triathletes, I was able to go to Boulder, Colorado to prepare and I had worked hard to get myself into shape where I believed I would be a genuine contender in Hawaii. Unfortunately a bike accident (clavicle shattered into 5 pieces) 2 weeks before Kona led to me flying back to SA for a collar bone operation on my 50th birthday, instead of to Kona to fulfil my dream.
Today is the 2nd anniversary of that dreadful accident and it’s been two long years since that fateful day, two years of sacrificing, two years of hard training and two years of personal growth. But it’s also been two years of immense sacrifice by my family and I thank them for their support and encouragement; it’s been two years of patience by my employers, my work colleagues and my clients.
So last night we touched down in Hawaii, what a relief to finally arrive on the Big Island as I’ve followed Paula Newby Fraser’s 8 victories, Dave Scott and Mark Allen’s 6 victories and the late Keith Anderson’s effort in those earlier years. More recently I’ve followed Raynard Tissink’s epic efforts and watched Craig Alexander and Chris Mc Cormack win 5 races between the two of them.
The next 3 weeks will be crucial to what happens on the 13th October, but I’ve learnt to focus on the process, on the journey and not so much the outcome. For me I believe I’m victorious in having finally made it to the Big Island, the next goal is to stand on the start line and take it all in. Thereafter the first goal of any Ironman athlete is to get that sought after finisher’s medal, although believe me when I say I will give this race my absolute all in an effort to let the world’s best in my age group know that I was present.
Kulia I ka nu’u – Strive for Excellence!
The Sun setting in Kona, Hawaii
Thank You Isuzu
Sport is a great leveller and teaches us so many important lessons about Life!
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength,” according to ArnoldSchwarzenegger.
I think one has to acknowledge that this is quite an appropriate quote and particularly apt for Ironmen athletes. Sometimes we get the outcome we desire and train so very hard for, but more often than not we struggle, we persevere, we suffer hardships, but very importantly we decide not to surrender.
One of the most significant races in my Ironman career to date was arguably the 2009 Specsavers Ironman, where I endured a 6hour 15 min marathon run to finish one of my hardest days in sport. But, it was days like that where I persevered, although I contemplated quitting, that have made all of my races since that day a little bit easier.
Most successful people in life achieve because they consciously cultivate good habits and finishing, like winning, becomes a habit. Appreciating each and every opportunity becomes a habit and there were quite a number of South Africans who were afforded the opportunity of testing themselves at the World Ironman 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas on Sunday.
There were no medals or titles for the South Africans (although ex South African Darren De Reuck now a US Citizen won Gold in the 45-49 AG) but there were lessons learnt, experiences gained and friendships forged.
The upside down flag!! L to R: Darren De Reuck (new World Champ 45-49), Alec Riddle, Abel Esterhuysen and Paul Wolff
I was up bright and early to get to the Swim start, as T1 closed at 06h00 and you could feel the excitement and tension as the American National Anthem was sung and the Pros were cut loose at 06h30. I was in wave 4 with all males 50 and older at 06h45, so it was quite a large group, but I got a reasonable start and felt I was swimming well, but was a tad disappointed with my time (same as last year).
Swim start
I had a much better Transition and got going on the bike and immediately one could feel the temperature climbing. The conditions were certainly a little tougher on the bike this year, but I also had to work much, much harder to try and stay in touch with the leaders in my Age Group and wasn’t climbing as well as I did last year.
Biking into T2
Still managed a 2h38 bike split and dismounted 5-6 minutes off the lead going into the run, so was still quite hopeful I could make a run at the leaders, as I really think my running is better than this time last year (although it’s not showing just yet).
The run was like a furnace with the temperature climbing to 103 Degrees F by mid-day, but I set off on the first lap trying to run conservatively. By the end of the first lap, try as I might to get into a decent rhythm I could not and it was as if my engine was mis-firing. It was kind of surreal as here you are in a World Championship race and there is no petrol and you are running on empty.
Starting the run
So mid way through the half marathon I knew I wasn’t going to defend my title successfully, so now it was a case of can I get onto the Podium? Well we all know now that I could not and as hard as I tried there were far better prepared athletes on the day than me who were worthy winners of the medals in my category, but I struggled on and persevered, finishing ninth in 5 hours and some change.
Disappointing? Most definitely, as you want to do your best, you train very hard, you sacrifice so much, as do many others close to you, but it is these tough days that make the good days more enjoyable. So I’m still coming to terms with my disappointment, I’m still trying to digest the events of the day and to work out what I could have done differently, as we can learn a great deal from our mistakes.
I’m sure that many other South Africans who participated in Las Vegas will have similar stories to tell, but rest assured everyone prepares as best they can, everyone strives to perform to the best of their ability, but there are very often 100 of the best age groupers in each division. This year it wasn’t to be for me personally, but I will be back for more and I salute the winners on the day for preparing and performing brilliantly in extreme conditions.
Man down in the Massage Tent!
I was very grateful to once more have an opportunity to learn more about life and sport, on this incredible journey. Next stop Kona!
In a world where people are often measured in terms of wealth, material possessions or status, how would you define being the Best or being Successful?
A dictionary may define best as “of the most excellent, effective, outstanding or desirable type or quality!” That is a pretty good definition, although it is very broad.
Remember, there is nothing noble about being superior to someone else, the true nobility lies in being superior to your previous self.
So in a material world where far too often we are judged in terms of worldly standards, I thoroughly enjoyed the book entitled ‘The Training Camp” by Jon Gordon.
The book is a Fable about excellence and talks about what the Best do better than others. There are 11 key lessons and I thought they may be worth sharing, as these are things we can all strive towards in an effort to become better, or more successful. For more on this, follow the link….. http://ironmansa.com/2012/09/04/eleven-traits-of-the-best-of-the-best/
The past week and my final week in Boulder:
As mentioned previously the highlight was the arrival of my Family and it has been wonderful to be able to show them where I have prepared, to introduce them to new friends and show them some of the beauty of Boulder.
It’s been a busy week, with the kids running in the East End 2km, the Boulder Creek 5km and enjoying a tough 3km swim session with Flatirons Swim Coach Wolfgang Dittrich. This afternoon both Camryn and Jamie will be having a personal swim session with 5 times World Champion Simon Lessing and tomorrow they both spend a day at school in Boulder.
Camryn, Dad and Jamie pre the Boulder Creek 5km
This past week was a good week from a training point of view, as I seemed to come out of my little ‘training slump’, the highlight of the week being a 40km bike time trail, with a 10km run off the bike and for me, the numbers were very positive. You see I’m one of those people who are not the best of trainers, in the sense that I generally need and thrive on competition to dig deep and work at a higher level. I’ve always struggled to produce good training sessions (unless somebody irks me), so very often I’m going into races never knowing my true form, but simply putting in the hard yards and believing in my ability to dig deep and fight to the bitter end.
Yesterday (Sunday) I concluded my Boulder training ‘block’ with a 4 hour bike ride up to Raymond and Ward (9,000+ feet) and it’s great to be able to climb for almost 2 hours at an average heart rate of 118, when 3-4 weeks ago the average HR was 30 beats higher. To me that is progress, not sure if it is the acclimatization to the altitude, fitness improvement or simply taking it easier, but I do know that my brain is able to turn those numbers into a positive. So now it’s time to back off, idle and look forward to a great game of Chess in Las Vegas at the World 70.3 Championships.
I mention Chess, as these races require an inordinate amount of patience and you very often have to react to your opponent’s moves, before striving to knock the Pawns off one by one and seeking that elusive check mate. Also treating the race as a game of Chess certainly helps to take the mind off the real pain that our body and mind has to endure, in order to be able to persevere and produce our best.
Perseverance is not about talents, nor time…. It is about Finishing!!
Perseverance does not demand more than we have, but all that we have.
Perseverance recognizes life is not a long race, but many short ones in succession.
So while I thought I knew a lot about Sport, I have realized that every day, every training session and in particular every competition presents another opportunity for me to learn more about Life, about persevering, about trying to be the best that I can be. This has been an incredible Journey where I am able to learn more about Him and who I am.
Pastor Bob Richards, an Olympic Pole Vaulter says “people are inspired when they see themselves as they can become and not as they are. It’s when they see themselves, not in terms of their weaknesses and shortcomings or failures….But in terms of what they can be, when they begin to believe they can be what their vision tells them…. That’s when they’re inspired.”
In this sporting Journey of mine I have tried to focus on seeing myself as I could become and no longer as I was and I certainly hope that I have learnt from my experiences along the way and that I could in some small way aspire to the Lessons learnt in the Training Camp.
Incidentally, the Journey has been more rewarding to me than any medals or accolades achieved along the way. In the Training Camp they talk about the Journey being more important than the Destination and that the Moment is more important than any success or failure and I would have to agree with this, as it is the opportunity that is the success and the reward.
“Success is like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired,
you quit when the gorilla is tired.” –unknown.
So the past two weeks has seen me training very hard (http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/key-training-block/) , possibly a little too hard, or more likely it’s the accumulative fatigue of 4 weeks of training, but with Kona still 7 weeks away, hopefully I am building a strong foundation for the toughest Ironman on Planet Earth.
One thing that athletes pushing themselves at or close to their limit need to factor in, is ‘recovery’ and very often the questions are how much can my body take, how hard can I push? The key question though is how much recovery do I need, without being considered (by yourself) soft? I’ve often heard that you need to push yourself through immense fatigue to toughen up for an Ironman, but this level of fatigue can lead to overtraining, illness or injury, so one has to be very careful. (To read more on this see….. http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/overtraining-tough-it-out-or-recover/)
The undoubted highlight of my trip to date was being reunited with my family this past Saturday, after being apart for a month. One can never underestimate the importance of family, the unconditional love and support that we receive and I am already experiencing the benefits of their arrival, with a couple of nights of great sleep. Undisturbed sleep will certainly aid recovery, something I have been struggling with a little of late.
This past week we saw the USA Pro Cycle Tour meander through Colorado and one of the best days of racing happened right here in Boulder. We spent the afternoon in and out of a Pizza place on Broadway, near Lee Road where the race came past. It was great to see Jens Voigt leading the breakaway pack, which included eventual stage winner Rory Sutherland.
I was also fortunate to visit the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, for the Gotye Concert, supported by Missy Higgins, which was quite a highlight. 
The previous week I had a near miss, if you can call it that, when I was in the latter part of a tough bike workout and became a little dizzy and disorientated. I had stopped at the traffic lights and when they turned Green, must have been thinking I was back in South Africa, as thought I could just clip my cleats in and proceed left. Unfortunately I didn’t have right of way and found myself turning into oncoming traffic and luckily for me the oncoming driver was very alert and braked quite hard, slowing down sufficiently to avoid sending me careering over his bonnet. Fortunately I got up, dusted myself off and both my bike and I were fine, but quite shaken up and the irony was that the accident happened about a mile from where I had broken my collar bone in 2010.
Besides doing the Heart and Soul Half Marathon (a Boulder Running Company event with Mark Plaatjies and Johnny Halberstadt at the helm) as part of my long run, I also did the weekly stroke (1.5k swim) and stride (5k run) at the Boulder Reservoir this past Thursday.
So quite a full two weeks have just sped by, it’s a little more than a week till we leave for Las Vegas, which should provide me with quite a stern test being the World 70.3 Championships. One thing is for sure, I should have a good idea on my progress as I build towards Kona. To all my South African friends, Spring is just around the corner, so don’t forget to set some goals, develop some plans and chase them enabling you to enjoy summer (life) without regrets.
Thanks to everyone for their support, the words of encouragement are much appreciated and a big thanks to my sponsors too.
The past two weeks (week 4 and 5) in Boulder have seen me put in some really hard work but the accumulative fatigue has definitely caught up with me, so needed a little backing off (http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/overtraining-tough-it-out-or-recover/).
Some key sessions and insights:
For my run training in Boulder, I train with the RRB club, under head coach Darren De Reuck and we normally do two quality sessions and one long run a week. As i’m eager to do well in Kona, I’m pushing my limits somewhat (fortunatly I recognise that) and my 4th week totalled 100km, but it was last weekend that probably knocked me back somewhat.
On the Saturday I did 22km, including a hard track workout (3 sets of 800/1600/800 with 2 min recovery and 3 min between sets) and when you are doing a mile sub 5:50 (or sub 3:40/km) the 2 minutes between intervals is barely enough recovery, so over the course of the whole session you accumulate a lot of fatigue and experience some serious Oxygen Debt. This was immediately followed by a hardish 3km swim workout.
Ideally I should have ensured I had a few days easy running to recover, but when you are pushing boundaries you tend to push them till something gives. So the next morning I was doing the Heart and Sole Half Marathon, as part of a 34km long run and although I was awmazed out how comforatble I felt, running 21km in sub 1h40 and 2h 50min all in all (including stops), the accumulative fatigue would soon sneak up on me.
Bear in mind the previous weekend over 3 days I had done a 160km bike ride, 32 km of running and a quality session, which totalled 20km, plus 2 big swim sessions, so this wasn’t just a sudden ‘hit’. Anyway the Monday was an active recovery day and then Tuesday I did a 17km Fartlek session on tired legs (but was moving well), followedd by a swim and then a 50km bike pacing test. This started to show that there was too much fatigue in the legs, but still I was pushing on.
Wednesday I had an easy 1h40 min run on the trails, it was very hot and I think I was a little dehydrated, which wasn’t clever…. took the rest of the day off.
Thursday I needed to do 6 x 10 min hills on the bike, aiming for some decent Watts, but struggled to hold the Watts after the third one and although I completed the session, I knew my legs were shot. Ian Rodger, who has been helping me with my biking picked it up a lot earlier than I did and had been trying to cut my cycling back for a few days, but I had been compounding the problem by continuing to push hard on the run side.
Anyway, seems we are on the same wave length now and I’ve cut the running back a lot, which will freshen the legs up quite considerably and I could already feel less fatigue when I rode 160km yesterday, at about 34km/hr average for most of the ride, except the final 20km when I just spun easy.
So this week and next will be very low key runwise, while the bike (and the swim) requires another big week (for Kona) before I start a mini taper into Las Vegas.
Lessons Learnt:
1. Listen to your body.
2. Don’t think you are a young Pro, when you are almost 52.
3. Watch for any signs of over training.
4. You need more recovery than you think you need.
5. Running can hurt your body (more than biking and swimming).
6. Rather arrive at the race 100% helathy and 90% fit, than 90% healthy and 100% fit. You will have a far greater chance of doing well.
7. Where possible seek the input of an independant 3rd party or coach, as you are training in a cocoon and want to push hard, to prove you have what it takes.
8. Lots of Recovery required, massage and in my case, Compression Boots and/or Ice Baths, as have access to great facilities at All Sports Recovery.
Another thing that athletes pushing themselves at or close to their limit need to factor in, is ‘recovery’ and very often the questions are how much can my body take, how hard can I push? The key question though is how much recovery do I need, without being considered (by yourself) soft? I’ve often heard that you need to push yourself through immense fatigue to toughen up for an Ironman, but this level of fatigue can lead to overtraining, illness or injury, so one has to be very careful.
Over the past two weeks I encountered one of those ‘slumps’ and very often you try to push through, thinking I need to tough this out. Fortunately, I’ve been training with Heart Rate, Power Meter (bike), Speed and Perceived Exertion all of which are indicators athletes use to look for progress in their training. However, we can also use these indicators to see if we have hit a Plateau or have stopped making progress and an old friend, Ian Rodger, who has been helping Conrad Stoltz has been giving me some training input on my cycling and made a few very interesting observations.
Although the indicators came through in a couple of cycle ‘test’ sessions, the extreme fatigue in my legs had been caused by running much harder and longer than I had been accustomed to. Add the altitude, heat and ‘struggling to sleep’ into the mix and you have a number of additional stressors that can impact your body, over and above the swim, run, biking.
So I was heading for a case of overtraining, something I would have struggled to pick up myself as being an athlete, you are very much in a cocoon and don’t see it coming, as you want to tough it out. It so often takes an independent 3rd party to witness the signs and to recommend additional rest, so I was grateful not necessarily for the couple of rest days, but for the opportunity for the body to absorb what I had subjected it to, with the knowledge that I will rebound stronger, fitter and fresher.
Spotting the signs is one thing, doing something about it is another. People say we need courage to train hard, but I think the hard training is the easy part, as it goes with the turf ,if you have the time and especially the appropriate training environment like I’m currently experiencing. To me it takes far greater courage for an athlete to tone things down, to back off what they truly believe they need or to change their training programme.
Last year I noted that I had done an extremely good track session (super fast times for me at altitude) and fortunately Paul Wolf, a fellow triathlete and former Biokinetician, who knows sport very well, picked up on it and wrote me a reply warning me of over doing it. That was the perfect mail, with the perfect timing and I backed off, tapered well and ended up having a great race in Las Vegas, whereas I had planned to push for one more week… it could have been disastrous.
This year my main focus is Kona, although I am also racing Las Vegas 70.3, so I am doing a lot of extra training, longer runs, more weekly mileage, longer bike rides, swims, etc, etc. Once you add disturbed sleeping patterns, high altitude, heat and stronger training partners into the mix, you have training stresses that you are not accustomed to, you are highly motivated and have all the time in the world, so you are pushing as best you can.
So a week ago Sunday I had just concluded my best ever training week (see http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/27/key-training-block/), 100km of running including a super fast track session followed the next day by a long run, plus biking and swimming. I thought things were going great and was ready for the next week (just gone by). Then I did a light Fartlek session, followed by a swim on Tuesday and a tough bike workout in the late afternoon and sent the data back to Ian, who immediately recognised the HR was higher than expected for the session and the Watts I was pushing, so he had me back off on Wednesday.
Thursday was another test/tough bike session on Jamestown Hill. Once again the data was not what it should be so a total day off on Friday and must be honest was glad to say goodbye to that 120km ride, as my body was tired. Saturday was a relatively easier day, followed by a 160km ride yesterday at a very good average for me, so I think I’m getting back to full strength, I think I’ve absorbed the hard workloads, I think the recovery has kicked in and now we can look forward to the next 7 weeks of preparation for Kona.
I would recommend that you think of your body as you would a sponge used for washing cars, if you use the sponge regularly every day, day after day, it may lose it’s shape or elasticity and need to be replaced (in the body’s case it may need some rest and recovery or it gets ill/injured). If you use the sponge sparingly, it almost always returns to it’s normal shape and is ready for another session. The challenge is finding the balance.
As an experienced athlete and coach, you know that you will experience 2 or 3 slumps in a 12 week training period, especially when long distance travel (time zones), altitude and heat are added into the mix. I experienced a mini one in the first week of arriving, a full blown one this past week, now I need to keep an eye out for the next one, unless I keep the training nice and balanced.
The good news is that I had this ‘extreme fatigue’ in and out of my body a good fortnight before Las Vegas, so hopefully I may be on an upward curve going into Las Vegas, which is what we as athletes are always aiming for. Hold Thumbs!!
Cresting the summit
‘The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret’ – Nido Qubein
With the Olympics having entertained the world for the past two weeks, we have witnessed the world’s best athletes in action and enthralling us with their amazing performances.
We saw the very best of those who were disciplined enough to try and maximise the talents that they were Blessed with, but for every Champion crowned and every Participant at the London Olympics one wonders how many sat at home wondering what if?
What if they had been prepared to put in the hours required, what if they had the necessary self-discipline to maximise their talent? The answer is simply this: They didn’t and they will forever live with asking themselves ‘what if’, alternatively they may live a life filled with regret.
Everything in Life starts with a Dream and while we all know where we are (start) and where we want to get to (finish), and while it is important to know what it will take to get there, the key question is are you prepared to pay the price? You see life is not always what we expect it to be and unlike the world of instant gratification that we live in, in sport there are no shortcuts, you have to make a concerted effort and you have to persevere on this journey and overcome the obstacles along the way, if you are to be successful.
It would have been easy for Oscar Pistorious to settle for a life of mediocrity or self-pity, but he didn’t, he challenged himself, he dreamt of bigger things and he was prepared to pay the price, by being disciplined. Oscar could have been satisfied with being an Paralympian Champion and World Record holder, but he wasn’t. In true Olympian fashion he fought for something bigger, something higher and something faster and I’m sure you will agree with me that he has inspired Millions, not only able bodied but those who face challenges that we cannot even try to comprehend.
While I dreamt of the Olympics as a young boy and while I too dreamt of representing my country, it wasn’t possible back then due to South Africa’s political regime. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me, as I certainly don’t consider myself good enough to have been an Olympian, but I personally feel for the many great South Africans (too many to mention) who could have graced the Olympics.
However, thanks to our Rainbow Nation and the vision of Nelson Mandela sporting opportunities abound these days, for the young children who will have witnessed these Games and will be dreaming beyond Rio and for those on the verge of their sporting prime dreaming of Rio and even for those who may have missed the boat.
I am very passionate about Triathlon and Ironman competitions and am very Blessed to be able to compete in World Championship events, even though most 52 year olds are considered over the hill. You see sport has evolved and Ironman, as an example, allows people of all ages to compete in their respective age groups.
One thing that the Olympics has reminded me of, is the price of discipline and the price of pain. Both are far less than the pain of regret and that is what has enabled me to push through one of my toughest training weeks. There were times in the past week that my lungs were crying out for Oxygen, there were times that my legs were crying out for levity, but no matter what, the Olympics kept motivating me to try harder, to keep pushing as I’d hate to be left thinking ‘what if’, or living the next stage of my life with the pain of regret.
My goal is to prepare to the best of my ability in an attempt to post the best time that I’m capable of on the day of competition. If one is prepared to pay the price of discipline and prepare well, there should be no regrets no matter what transpires on the day as long as you can say I gave it everything I had.
Quite a number of people have asked what type of training I’m doing, how much, how long, etc. Well for those who may be interested in a peek inside a tough (but typical) week of training, you can follow this link
http://ironmansa.com/2012/08/13/the-road-to-kona-week-three-training/
My training week always starts on a Monday, so to do a Half Ironman at High Altitude on the Sunday before starting a new training week presents a few challenges of its own, none more so the fatigue that will build should the body not be presented with sufficient recovery time. (Half Ironman = 1.9km Swim/90km Cycle/21.1km Run)
Well I did give my body some recovery, as other than a short and easy 7km run I took Monday off, before testing and preparing myself physically and mentally the rest of the week for the challenges that loom in September and October.
Tuesday was swim and core in the morning, followed by a tough run session on legs which I expected to be fatigued but they surprisingly felt remarkably fresh in the afternoon. Session included a 30 minute warm up, 8 hills and 5 threshold intervals (4 x 2m:30 and 1 x 5 minutes) on the awesome Boulder trails.
Wednesday was another semi recovery day, with an easy swim, bike and run, totalling 3 hours.
Thursday required an 8km run, immediately followed a two and a half hour ride, which was to include a 30 minute Time Trial. Well this burnt all over, legs, lungs and mind and while the sun was hot it was a very different but pleasing burn, as I managed to go sub 30minutes for 20km, a first in my lifetime. Afternoon required another swim session before preparing myself mentally for a tough 100 mile (160km) ride the next day.
So Friday required a long ride up Big Thomson’s Pass (a 32km + climb), including some nasty switchbacks at Devil’s Gulch en route to Estes Park and back down Highway 36. I’m not sure if it’s my lack of fitness for such a long ride or the long climb, but this was one of the toughest training rides I’ve undertaken. Perhaps it was the altitude as I’m not sure we go that high in an Aeroplane? So I took the rest of the day off after 5 and a half hours on the bike.
Awesome scenery
Saturday dawned and this would test my legs, as the morning run session required 3 x 2 mile (3.2km) and 1 x 1 mile intervals on the trails at Coot Lake and with a good warm up/down I logged up 22km. Even though my body was tired from the previous days ride, my legs were still capable of some good splits within the intervals. A quick cup of coffee, a slice of banana loaf and a Muscle Milk and it was off to FAC swim pool for 3 odd kilometres of swim intervals.
And just when my legs were thinking they need some much needed rest, it was Long Run day at Teller Farm Trail. Quite an undulating course and I managed 26km in the 2 hrs 10 minutes at my disposal, which was less than I had hoped for, so did another 6km run in the afternoon after a quick swim session, to ensure I racked up 32km of running. This was a day of suffering, especially the morning run as I was forcing myself to hang on to the tail end of the running group almost the whole way and all I could think about was pay the price now, to avoid the pain of regret later.
Yes… tomorrow is a recovery Day!
Thanks again to my sponsors and in particular Isuzu SA for helping me live this Dream.
The Riddle of an Ironman's Life 