I've got a race tomorrow! And what a fun race it should be - organised by my swim club, it's taking place at Wild Wadi - one of the giant, state-of-the-art waterparks we have in Dubai.
The race itself is two laps (800m) of the Lazy River going the 'wrong way' around, i.e. against the water flow!
Friday mornings are obviously usually reserved for my long ride and in normal circumstances an 800m swim wouldn't be worth bumping my ride for. However, there are three reasons I'm keen to do this swim.
Firstly, due to the flow of the water, organises say this will be like a 1500m swim; and as the sea is about the same temperature as your average lava flow here at the moment, this is about the closest thing I'll get to practising in open water.
Secondly, it looks fun. Since I've been in Dubai I've taken part in the Swim Around The Burj (the Burj al Arab is Dubai's famous sail-shaped hotel which stands on its own island) and a Vertical Marathon (56 storeys up the stairwell of a tower block). They're the kind of events I won't get to do when I leave Dubai, so lap them up, I say!
Finally, yes it may only be our swim club and a few other keen swimmers taking part, but it's a race and I love racing. Even if bragging rights are all that's at stake, racing gets my competitive juices flowing and helps me to refocus on training. After Ironman, the triathlon season will just be kicking off here in the UAE, and there's already a packed calendar with sprint and Olympic triathlons, running races, marathons, aquathlons (swim/run) etc every weekend...and I'll be doing all of them if I can. What's the point of all this training if you don't race?
Actually, there's another reason for swimming rather than cycling tomorrow - I'm knackered. My run this morning was a bit sluggish and the past few mornings, for the first time, I've had to really drag my ass out of bed when the alarm has gone off at 5am...a sure sign of fatigue. Luckily, next week is my easy recovery week and I intend to follow it to the letter - I think a massage and a couple of ice baths will also be on the cards. So, after the swim, I'll take the rest of the day off and make it up with a hard 150k ride (mainly on my own) on Saturday instead.
Ramadan starts here this weekend. While that provides one set of problems training-wise (can't eat or drink in public between sun up and sun down), it also means a manic period of work should be over and, for the last couple of weeks before I head back to the UK, we'll be working reduced Ramadan hours (8-3 or 9-4) which obviously allows an extra hour or two per day for relaxing and recovery too.
I'm still 6 weeks out from IM - well too soon to start a taper - but equally I'm going to pay extra attention for the next three weeks that my sessions are about quality and I'm getting enough recovery (sleep, fluid, quality food, rest, massage) so I turn up in Tenby knowing I've the miles in the legs but also that I'm rested and raring to go.
The race itself is two laps (800m) of the Lazy River going the 'wrong way' around, i.e. against the water flow!
Friday mornings are obviously usually reserved for my long ride and in normal circumstances an 800m swim wouldn't be worth bumping my ride for. However, there are three reasons I'm keen to do this swim.
Firstly, due to the flow of the water, organises say this will be like a 1500m swim; and as the sea is about the same temperature as your average lava flow here at the moment, this is about the closest thing I'll get to practising in open water.
Secondly, it looks fun. Since I've been in Dubai I've taken part in the Swim Around The Burj (the Burj al Arab is Dubai's famous sail-shaped hotel which stands on its own island) and a Vertical Marathon (56 storeys up the stairwell of a tower block). They're the kind of events I won't get to do when I leave Dubai, so lap them up, I say!
Finally, yes it may only be our swim club and a few other keen swimmers taking part, but it's a race and I love racing. Even if bragging rights are all that's at stake, racing gets my competitive juices flowing and helps me to refocus on training. After Ironman, the triathlon season will just be kicking off here in the UAE, and there's already a packed calendar with sprint and Olympic triathlons, running races, marathons, aquathlons (swim/run) etc every weekend...and I'll be doing all of them if I can. What's the point of all this training if you don't race?
Actually, there's another reason for swimming rather than cycling tomorrow - I'm knackered. My run this morning was a bit sluggish and the past few mornings, for the first time, I've had to really drag my ass out of bed when the alarm has gone off at 5am...a sure sign of fatigue. Luckily, next week is my easy recovery week and I intend to follow it to the letter - I think a massage and a couple of ice baths will also be on the cards. So, after the swim, I'll take the rest of the day off and make it up with a hard 150k ride (mainly on my own) on Saturday instead.
Ramadan starts here this weekend. While that provides one set of problems training-wise (can't eat or drink in public between sun up and sun down), it also means a manic period of work should be over and, for the last couple of weeks before I head back to the UK, we'll be working reduced Ramadan hours (8-3 or 9-4) which obviously allows an extra hour or two per day for relaxing and recovery too.
I'm still 6 weeks out from IM - well too soon to start a taper - but equally I'm going to pay extra attention for the next three weeks that my sessions are about quality and I'm getting enough recovery (sleep, fluid, quality food, rest, massage) so I turn up in Tenby knowing I've the miles in the legs but also that I'm rested and raring to go.
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