Blog 2: The Plan

Monday morning, April 15, 2013

SMS from Kim Tyler Lees: "Holy Shit Kona here you come".

What???

Rob's never ending health scares must be finally sending Kim over the edge. Silly old goat has obviously sent a message to the wrong person, Gilly perhaps?

Then came the avalanche of messages and Facebook posts. Turns out Kim was not losing the plot after all. The SMS was indeed sent to its intended recipient. F**k, my name came out of the Kona 2013 lottery. This changes everything!

But what the hell is Julie going to say? We were already over committed this year. Hope she likes the idea of a holiday in Hawaii. Time for some perspective, and a new plan.

I was already entered and committed to Ironman France. Now, this was no longer a priority. It became "Brick Session Number 1". As we were still going to be in Europe, I had decided, just a couple of weeks before the Lottery Draw, to commit to IM Zurich. This now became Brick Session Number 2.

With all the races, accommodation, air fares, etc, etc locked in and paid for, and the WTC's harsh policies, withdrawing from events was not an option. The revised itinerary now had the primary goal of getting to October 12 in reasonable condition. Built around a 7 week European tour, the dates were all locked in - 4 Ironmans in 5 months! (I had also entered the December, 2013 Busselton Ironman several months earlier).

The European tour: The focal point of our trip had absolutely nothing to do with Ironman. As proud parents the focal point of our trip would be Rebecca's graduation ceremony at Manchester University. Around that we hoped to have a bloody good holiday, catch up with family and friends, and not have too many restrictions regarding eating and drinking.

I normally follow a reasonably strict daily diet at home: chocolate, dark not dairy; wine, red not white; and beer, Corona, which is supposed to be gluten free. In addition to this remarkable self-discipline I  try to avoid wheat, dairy, pork, the "5 whites" and processed food when possible, yet not be too over the top about it (yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction). I did have to accept that 7 weeks in Europe, frequently eating out, being based mainly in Italy, the diet would be severely compromised (why am I not feeling a sympathetic response?)

Our plan did involve a lot of travelling. A highlight, for Julie in particular, was Paris, not to mention Lake Como, Nice,  Switzerland, etc. We did not want to restrict our options too much with the impracticalities, and logistical implications of dragging a bike box, plus tri gear around Europe.

Following a typical, selfish, obsessive IM training regime, was out of the question. Even a relatively modest schedule would be difficult. So for three, of the five weeks, between the two IM events my bike would be in its box, untouched, in a Zurich hotel. Nor would I be swimming in the River Seine, or the Rochdale Canal. A quick dip in Lake Como, and a swim in the hyper-chlorinated Ellesmere Port Swimming Baths would have to do. A couple of good mates in the UK were going to lend me bikes for the days in the UK, and some excellent rides were planned, including a couple of MTB rides in the Saddleworth Pennines; plus Stage 2, of the 2014 Tour de France, in Yorkshire. Running shoes are not a problem so it would be easy enough to fit in a couple of runs a week to tick over.

The aim was to approach Nice and Zurich as a kind of Ironman tourist, not really race fit, not fatigued, nor risk a recurring injury by trying to stick to a programme (something I have never done anyway). Instead, be healthy, have modest targets, then get back to Australia for the start of August, reasonably fresh, injury free, with a solid foundation to build race fitness for Kona.

So the plan (including predictions/targets):

May 11: Busselton Half (<5hrs)

June 23: Ironman Nice (bike <6', run <4'15", total <12')

July 28: Ironman Zurich (bike <6', run <4'30", total <12'15")

August/September: 8 week training block
    incl IOAR races, Bike Races (road), TTs, C2S Half Marathon, Dwelling 100 MTB race

October 12: Kona (<10'45")

Are my ambitions compatible with my capability? Perhaps not.

And if all that doesn't get the better of me, the following events will see the year out:

Cape to Cape 4-day MTB race at the end of October (recovery ride); the Mandurah Half (4'59") in November; and an IM PB (10'29") at Busselton in December.

Now, that's a plan!