Hello friends
It has been approx 8 weeks since Ironman New Zealand and it is now just 6 weeks to go until my next race, Ironman Cairns!
I took my time to slowly build back into training after IMNZ. I learned last year that recovering from an Ironman takes time and I am happy to say I am back to full training with a healthy, happy body.
Over the last month or so I entered and competed in a few ITT (Cycling Individual Time Trials) races which was a lot of fun. The first one we travelled to Cambridge for and I had a bit of a brain explosion so did not come away with a result. The second one was Auckland ITT Champs and everything went smoothly and I came away as the Auckland ITT Champion. Both races were 25km long and full gas from start to finish!
Apart from those races all my other training has been pretty steady. All about building fitness, strength and resilience.
I had thought about trying to fit in another race between IMNZ and Cairns but the cons outweighed the pros, with recovery being in question. So we will race Cairns (as the defending champion!), recover from that then decide what race to do next!
Outside of training I am enjoying helping Dan with his bike fit business. And eating... eating is a fav pastime of mine :)
Next race: Ironman Cairns 9th June, 2019. Asia Pacific Championships.
Sneak peak into a training week....
Here are some of my favourite and key sessions when training for an Ironman:
- The long run. I typically do this off road, my favourite venue is the gravel Muriwai Coast road. A session will be something along the lines of 2hr + total of running with a solid chunk at tempo / Ironman race pace. I often use a camelbak to carry water and gels. I like to fuel correctly and regularly for all of my training sessions.
- The bike / run brick session. Super important for building race specific endurance and strength. This will include 4-5hrs of riding usually with long intervals at race wattage and above. Into a run off the bike, this can be at race pace or just steady. The duration of this run off the bike gets longer as we get closer to race day. A few weeks out from the race it will reduce again as I begin to freshen up. Again a session like this requires a lot of fuelling so many gels, bars and sports drinks are consumed. The occasional (or regular) Redbull and snickers stop is a def energy boost.
In between these types of sessions I focus on lots of rest and easy training. It is important to be fresh for this type of training otherwise the targets are not hit and it is a waste of time. Plus it is not fun at all starting a session like this already tired.
Big thanks to these people and companies who support me on my Ironman journey:
- Dan Furminger Bike Fitter. I am super lucky to have full time professional support from Dan. Not only is my bike fit spot on, my race bike is always in mint condition and I never have to worry heading into a race.
- Speed Theory. David has been helping Dan and I since we began my journey into long distance triathlons. His experience and wisdom has certainly helped us successfully navigate this challenging sport!
- Intercoll. Thank you Intercoll for coming on board to support me this year. Intercoll are a local company who have been supporting many athletes over the years and I really appreciate their belief in me.
- George Duncan Muscle Therapy. George and Danelle have been key in my journey for many years now. They taught me a lot about recovery and have kept my muscles happy during week in week out training.
- Advanced Health Group. Iain Wood is a wizard Chiropractor and keeps my body loose and inline!
- Mark Bone from SwimTastic has been guiding me through swim sets over the last few years. He has recently built a fantastic new facility and the pool is amazing to swim in!
Thank you for your support and thank you for reading :)