Realisation

Realisation

It never fails to creep up like a comedian trying to jump you from behind. It seems like the training has only just begun, but a quick glance at the Calender and  all of a sudden it shows 6 weeks to go. 

The typical response to this kind of realisation is the sudden flurry of questions that come blazing out of the woodwork. Will I be ready? Have I done enough training? Was this really such a good idea??

You can often hear many of the managers in Football refer to this equivalent part of the year as "The Business End" of the season. It is time to knuckle down. The training steps up a lot. The social hours disappear for a while. You accept that you will see you friends again when this is all over. It is a tough realisation, but you understand an important one.

This week also presented the first real exposure to the heat and subsequent suffering. In Tulsa, I was confronted with the brutality of heat and humidity, combined with the need to complete a heart rate test. It was unpleasant. The test began with far too hard of a pace. I "blew up" completely with around 25 minutes of the 30 minute test complete. Pulling over to find some shade and any water I could grapple at. Upon inspection of my TomTom gps watch it was clear why. Staring back at me were an initial two miles far above any pace I would normally hold. Yes, these test are designed to be a maximum all out experience. However, this was far beyond that yard stick. On the stumble back to the hotel and the subsequent long cold shower (not that kind!) once again I confirmed to myself that I did not enjoy hot and humid. Good news! Denver isn't humid in August. Shame about the heat element.

Bryan and I at The Depot

After some very unwelcome extended work periods, a missed long run and seeing England relegated to their second World Cup defeat and subsequent exit, I was primed for an up tempo ride. This was duly completed over 4 ish hours during the hottest day of the year (and of course the most humid). On this occasion I found myself better prepared and although I sweat like a pig on a spit roast, I came out relatively unscathed and with only a slight sunburn. The lake's beaches were packed and the trails full of traffic.  This made for less than a fluid ride, but once joined by my friend Bryan, the ride's enjoyability level increased. 

Forever constrained by time, as most working amateur ironman athletes are, too much resting at my favourite spot, The Depot, was limited and I raced back to town to finish all the chores that awaited me. This is when it became apparent, as I tinkered with my training plan, that all of a sudden Ironman Boulder was just around the corner and sneaking up the inside rail quickly. The forthcoming week will be chock full of training and I'm sure the next post on this blog will be a tired one. 

On a parting note, I wonder to myself, if ever I found myself on a larger aircraft whether anyone would notice if I tried to sneak on my bike and trainer and go for a high altitude spin??? 

Good luck to us all!!