Training for the Ironman

There's been a kiwi pop song on the radio lately which sums it all up... There's Something In The Water... Has it made it over to the UK yet?

Sarah and I aren't sure what's in the water here - but when we arrived in July '12 we thought we'd dabble in triathlon. I learnt how to swim front crawl for the first time in my life and after a lot of hard work managed a full length without stopping. Sarah moved form her beloved spinning bike and got clipped in to a carbon machine, a wobbly transition! And we set ourselves the target of getting round an Olympic distance triathlon together (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) which we completed in 2h53m last December, crossing the line exhausted.

As with anything in life, the more you do it the more you learn about it. And we heard many people calling what we did the "standard distance". The what?! Turns out there's a thing called the Ironman, which sounded pretty unrealistic for sane people. So we set our sights on the Auckland Half Ironman in March 2013, a 1.9k swim, 90k bike and 21.1k run (1.2, 56, 13 for our imperial friends). It was tough but the training worked for us both (I got round in 6h15!)

So what could be next? Well, the realms of insane people I guess. An Ironman - double what we'd just done - so just a marathon to end with then! Training for this has all but taken over our lives lately, and I thought I'd write a blog to give an insight into what we're doing to try and realise this ambition!

March 1st 2014 is the big date, so after a winter of basic training we set out on a 30 week training plan. It's not dreary hours in a gym though as we combine weekends away in the van with training. So before I write too many more words, here's a few photos from a recent training weekend:

An M&S Training Camp in the Hunua Ranges

With a bit of cross-training: building dams

And reading books

And making use of our solar shower!

So our 30 week plan takes us right up to race day. Each week has 9 exercise sessions - Mon-Fri consists of a day off and 3 swims, 2 runs, 1 ride and a transition (a ride/run combo). The weekends are our chance to 'go long' with a long ride and a long run. Steadily the volume has been building up and we've averaged 8 hours every week over the last 5 months, peaking at 16 hours the week before last. The plan has phases that rise and fall, to give the body a chance to recover and build.

Needless to say, we're often a bit tired/grumpy/hungry/sleepy/busy. But it's all about sacrificing a few things and being efficient with others. Cycling/running to work kills off the dead time of commuting, indoor cycling to a movie combines relaxation with exercise (!) and cooking up three times the amount of food you normally would means you save time cooking later in the week. I had 9 frozen bologneses/curries/chillis in the freezer at work at one point!

But Christmas is nearly here, which means the March 1st Ironman isn't so far away. So it's time to get in race mode... we went back to where we started, an Olympic Triathlon. Speaking of Christmas, here's NZ's tree associated with this time of year. The beautiful pohutukawa.

Not your average baubles

 It was a stunning day for it, with temperatures just below 30degC, which brought out all the local triathletes.

A busy transition pen!

The bikes got racked (next to some machines worth quadruple what ours are - but it's all about the engine!!) and all the transition gear neatly laid out. It was the first outing of my horrific lycra onesie too - worn under the wetsuit, good for the bike and a bit revealing for the run!

Movember style!

Next up - squeeze into the wetsuits... top tip, put your hands and feet in bin bags so you can slide in a bit easier!

The bane of Sarah's life

As I'm now getting more confident in the water, I decided to not be at the back of the pack but get right in the middle from the go. It's horrible! People swim over you, under you and I got a savage uppercut when breathing to the side from a guy bringing his arm forward. Oh well - just keep swimming! The bike went well for us both, though Sarah had a fall (and then a mechanical problem) at the turnaround point when she hit some gravel. Back to the transition area, runners on and set off!

A native bush course for the run - stunning

And here's Sarah crossing the line!

It was a stunning day and the results were a good confidence boost from all the training we've been doing. Sarah was just behind her PB in 2h52 (finishing with a 46m 10k), even after having a fall and fixing her bike. I had a great race, finishing in 2h28 with a 41m 10k at the end. Delighted with that!

It's a bit scary to think about the Ironman being so much longer, but they're completely different beasts. This was all about speed and working in groups. The Ironman has a 17 hour time cut-off and for Sarah & I is all about finishing, so the pace will be a lot slower.

 So what do I think you need to complete an Ironman? Grit. Admittedly this girl's got some stuck in her elbow, but she's also got a couple of buckets of it left over to carry us both through the long training hours. Let's hope it's all worth it!

Battle wounds

We're doing the Ironman as both a personal challenge and a chance to raise money for two charities that we've both previously worked with and mean something to us: Mind (providing advice and support for mental health problems) and The Stroke Association (supporting stroke survivors to make the best recovery possible). We're collecting money through Virgin Money at this address. If you'd like to give us one more reason to not give in on March 1st, this may well help!