Day 1...the journey begins

Today, Sunday 12 June 2011, is the day that my 13-week Ironman Wales training programme has begun and it started with a one hour morning swim with Dubai Masters in which I covered just over 3,000 metres.

But I have something of a confession to make: I’m not new to triathlon; I’m not new to endurance races. Although this blog will record my run-in to IM Wales, my journey really began a few years ago with an urge to lose weight and get back into shape.

That urge slowly gathered momentum to the point where a friend and I took part in our first triathlon – a sprint in the tiny city of Al Ain deep in the UAE. We didn’t really know what to expect and had to race on mountain bikes with knobbly tyres – my friend came last, I came about tenth from last. I was hooked.

From then on, triathlon has come to play a significantly bigger role in my life. There’s a phrase that always sounded a little trite to me – ‘triathlon is not what I do, it’s what I am’ – but now it makes perfect sense. I’m happier, healthier and more confident than I’ve ever been. I love getting up early to go for a long ride; the burn from a weights session makes me feel alive; even running – for the longest time my exercise nemesis – now comes far easier to me.

So, that brings us up to speed. So, what’s the reason for this 13 week programme then? Well, in triathlon, you generally train with the intention of peaking at specific events, rather than just ‘training’. Plus, with a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and a full marathon run, it’s almost impossible (in terms of hours required and strain on the body) to permanently remain in ‘Ironman shape’ so the idea is that you stay in good shape (hopefully that’s where I’m at now) and then add volume ready to peak for the big race itself.

The theory is simple; but with almost 20 hours a week of training required, the practice is anything but. Keep visiting this blog and I’ll let you know how I get on.