Ironman Journey: Day 1 – 27^th September 2017

July 29^th 2018 – there you go Tom and Kate. Time to mark turning 30 with an Ironman in Zurich.

Intro

It goes without saying that that training for, competing in, and in doing so completing The Lakesman Triathlon, over iron-distance, back in June was a big challenge. It was also time consuming. You spend many, many hours wanting to go to sleep, you eat like a horse – but try your best to ensure that you focus on the good stuff – complex carbs, protein, fruit & veg etc. You become more and more anti-social the more you become addicted to your training plan and routines. You bore the shit out of anybody who mistakenly engages in conversation with you and mentions the word ‘Triathlon’. You curse yourself every time you miss a ‘session’. You become 100% addicted; to the extent that you treat running up the stairs at work, at 7am, as a training session…. “Next time…..I’ll do it a second quicker…..”

So, if you enjoy the simplicities of life and having a beer whenever you wish and having a take-away when you ‘feel like it’, then never do an Ironman. If you’re an idiot who is prepared to lose a bundle of your social interactions, be tired most of the time, lose countless toenails, get excited by the words ‘aero’ or ‘negative-split’  ….then maybe consider it?

So why do another one you ask?

Simple answer. It’s there. It’s a challenge. I can do the distance. Time to make it official. M-Dot hunting I suppose. Perhaps I’m brand hunting – but I want to be a real Ironman.

I can’t answer for Kate. Perhaps so she won’t have to spend hours on her own!? Perhaps, simply, because it’s there.

 

Day 1 – Although we won’t really get going for a few weeks (after a holiday)!

Day 1 involved a fun little session running around some local trails. 10k ish overall. Bit longer for Kate after getting lost. We managed to see the remains of a Ukrainian aircraft that had crashed as it transported arms to Asmara during the war – providing weaponry to Ethiopia.

So…how did I feel? After lying dormant for a few months, truth be told, it was tough. Moreover, after being high up on the edge of an escarpment at 2500m means the air is thin. You get knackerd – quickly! So at this point 10k is tough. Hopefully this will improve…….It’ll have to.

Another teacher, Lellaini, is doing a half iron in June, in California. An extra training partner will be helpful when the going gets tough.  I’ll try to add training photos and videos as we go. Reality is I’ll probably bore the hell out of whoever reads it with my monotonous obsessions over this sport/challenge. So….I’ll get Kate to write some blogs occasionally – I guess you’ll get a different perspective.

I hope you find it interesting to read…..The journey has started.

 

Tom