Kona 16 Days to go
As I write this blog I’m just coming to the end of my last big training block before I start my 16 day taper. I’m in the back of one of my training partners (Hinchy) van after a days bike riding in the Peak District hitting a few PR’s on hills such as Holme Moss, Snake Pass and Strines. Confidence Booster number 1! Since my last blog I’ve had many visits to Mcbride Physio and the hospital for X rays and MRI scans to get to the bottom of the injury I picked up in May. Hopefully the cortical stress fracture in my tibia is going to be ok come the 12th of October and I’d just like to thank Ian & Helen Mcbride and Mr Pacheco for all the help they have given me to try and get my leg right.
On Sept 8th I decided to enter The Race Hard events Doncaster Triathlon having only done a 2 and 3 mile run over the previous 10 weeks I needed to have some sort of race before Hawaii and also to try and get a few of my confidence race boxes ticked. Anyway the race actually went quite well coming 1st out the water in the fast group wave (only ever happened once before) with a sub 20 minute swim no doubt aided by my Zone 3 wetsuit and showing that the extra swim sessions I’ve been doing have done me some good. Confidence Booster number 2 ticked and even though Kona is a non-wetsuit swim, Zone 3 has still helped me out and it’s a shame they don’t do swim skins.
Onto the bike leg and using my Claud Butler TT01 I not only set the fastest bike split of the day but also managed to get myself a good few minute’s lead on the rest of the field going into the run. Confidence Booster number 3 ticked. Going into Kona I’m pretty happy with my biking and feeling strong as I’ve really been putting the time in both on the road and the stationary bike due to the lack of running. For the run section the original plan was to do the first 5km lap and drop out but as I found myself in the lead I decided to keep going. I didn’t go mad and just ran at a comfy pace that surprisingly was enough to still win the event. Confidence Booster number 4 ticked. I also did this run with my Sigvaris Pulse Compression Sleeves on and I can honestly say these are the best compression product I’ve ever used as they take more than one measurement to make sure you get the perfect fit for your body shape. I also ran in my new Scotts Eride AF courtesy of Metres to Miles and these seem to suit me much more as they are a high mileage trainer with a lot of cushioning but still very lightweight.
Confidence Booster number 5 was ticked when I went to see the Mother at the weekend and she said I looked “ill and too skinny”. This is always a sign that I’m hitting my optimal race weight and the scales (plus recent fat percentage test) back this up!
As you all know in Kona I’ll be racing against two others from the Off That Couch Race Team Robbie and Luke and I won’t lie – I want to beat these guys. At the end of the day I enter races to RACE so this is what I’ll be doing. My plan is to start the Marathon after the bike as if I’ve had the perfect run training preparation and see what happens hoping the miles I’ve been doing on the X Trainer at the Pods (instead of running) transfer across to the Marathon.
Finally my race number in Kona is 1847 for anyone who wants to follow me using the athlete tracker and hopefully you won’t be following me walking (fingers crossed).
The next blog will come a few days pre Kona and I will try to include a few pics from the Big Island
Till next time Steve