To blog or not to blog…that is the question!

So…friends, family, colleagues, readers and random folk who’ve wrongly stumbled upon this page in search of information on Robert Downey Jnr, we have reached the end, I guess.

Iron Man, not Ironman...see?

I set up this blog to chart the run up to Ironman Wales and now that race has been and gone. I hope I’ve diverted, entertained, educated or amused to some degree; and I also really hope that I’ve given you some sort of insight into what it takes (physically, mentally, in terms of time, commitment and even material gear) to do an Ironman. I fear that my constant self-doubt, list-making, anger management issues (my Twitter followers are perhaps more exposed to them) and second-guessing teamed with bloody-mindedness, competitiveness and (let’s face it, triathletes) occasional disregard for my own well-being has probably also revealed quite a lot about the personality type it takes to get into triathlons and definitely Ironman.

By way of a nice summary, in the three month Ironman specific training block I did in preparation for Ironman Wales (not including the race itself):

• I swam/biked/ran 10% of the way around the world.
• I trained a total of 250 hours, or 83.3 hours per month, or 19 hours a week, or 2:40 per day.
• I produced enough watts to power one TV for just over four months.
• And I burnt the equivalent calorific value that you’ll find in 1,000 Krispy Kreme donuts (which, coincidentally, was my post-race snack!).

Keep em coming...

So, what’s next for me? Well, 10 days after Ironman I’m just about getting back into training. I’ve spun easy on the bike once and am heading back to the wonderful Dubai Masters Swimming Club tonight (if I could find a cycling and running club that got me to the same level as DMSC, I could turn pro!) for the first time.

A lot of people get a bit of Ironman Blues after their big race, as it’s usually the focus (and often last race) of their season; one upshot of my silly decision to train through a Dubai summer is that our triathlon season is just about to get going. One thing I’ve realised through all this is just how much I love racing – this season, there’s a busy calendar of runs, bike time trials, open water swims, aquathlons (swim, run) and triathlons and, sod training schedules etc, I intend to race them all.

Feeling blue...ba-dum-tccccchhhh!

Actually, I have devised a new schedule with a focus on shorter, high intensity training, some plyometric workouts (leg strengthening jumps etc) and, generally, less total time spent on the bike and on the road. It’s based on some pretty new thinking in physiology and training and I’m going to try it out until Christmas and see how I fare.

I also discovered that I’m a goal-driven person. So, now that the giant goal of finishing an Ironman has been achieved, what’s next? Well, in the long term, another Ironman. Speaking in general terms, to get more miles into my legs and become a far stronger cyclist. But I’ve a few specific goals between now and next summer too:

• To do 2:10 (or less) for an Olympic distance race
• To run a sub-3:30 marathon in January
• To knock at least 10 minutes off my time at the Abu Dhabi International Tri in March (this race is organised by evil Satanists who would murder bags full of puppy dogs and  babies in order to make a quick buck and I hate myself for entering but, as it’s the only genuinely big race within 1000 miles of Dubai, enter it I’m sure I will)
• To do a decent (i.e. race rather than survive) Half Ironman

So, there you have it.

THE END

Actually, I’ve decided that I couldn’t possibly disappoint the unfeasibly and inexplicably large number of you who read this (seriously, there are that many people out there who are that bored in work..?) and the blog will be getting a ‘rebranding’ but will carry on. My intention is, as well as reporting back on my own training etc, that I’ll post more general content too, about triathlon, training, gear, physiology and life in the Middle East. I hope you’ll continue to read and enjoy. Now seriously, get back to work, bloody slackers…