Rookie goes for 3 in a row at Ironman UK week 4 of 40
Areet?
So the big news this week is that Ironkids opened for registration and 3000 parents signed their kids up in only 4 hours…
3000 tickets in 4 hours!
It’s no wonder the slots sell out so fast – the kids get to run down the magic carpet whilst being roared on by the crowd then get a medal and t shirt thrown in to boot, all for 3 quid…
I managed to get my 4 year old one of the golden tickets for the first time and her little face when I told her was an absolute picture!
I’m now almost as excited about that as I am the big day itself!
If you really think about what Ironman are doing with Ironkids it’s a very beautiful thing, beautiful on so many levels…
So I got to thinking…
Imagine what would happen if the vast majority of those parents went on to enter the main event…
As a parent that has just signed their little one up for Ironkids, why would you not want to set a brilliant example to them and go collect the sacred medal at Ironman UK??
There are books that will get you to the Ironman start line you know! 😉
I for one hope I see the day when the main event sells out so quickly…
Mark my words, that day is going to come…
Back to business and I found myself coming off the tracks as far as my training goes towards the tail end of the week
I Blame Crooky (Ironman legend)….. and the Co-Op…
Crooky posted a message on twitter Wednesday that he had just been for a run and was now going for a pint…
I proper fancied a pint myself so I went the co-op with the intention of treating myself to a 4 pack but they were selling 10 cans of fosters for 9 quid
How can your common man resist 10 fosters for 9 quid?
That’s 90p a tin….
Of course smokes made their dreaded appearance and then it was someone’s birthday and before I know where I am 3 days have passed and I haven’t trained…
See for me, it’s one or the other, all or nothing, I’m either training or I’m enjoying myself on the pop and the two don’t mix….
The trouble is, when i’m on the sauce I enjoy a smoke and then there are some fags left over the following day and…
You get the picture…
It’s the fags that are the absolute killer, on the days that I smoke I can’t train, simple as that…
It’s like i’m fitted with a big fuk off self destruct button and I keep pressing it…
It’s gonna be the same Monday as I’m at a company event with free beer and where I come from you get a slap if you sit there sipping tonic water when it’s a free bar…
This yin and yang, fully committing to your training or falling for temptation – it’s the biggest battle of the lot…
I don’t know how the pros and the elite do it
I’m convinced they are wired differently to me…
But at the end the of the day, I’m not a pro or an elite, I’m just your average bloke who is more than happy to simply ‘get round’ at IMUK…
So fuk it…
I took a few days off and enjoyed myself…
That said, as you know, I’ve been having a bash at trying to get my IMUK bike loop time down recently.
Throughout 2018, my circuit time has been peppering the 3:20 mark, but last week I got that down to 2:39. www.strava.com/activities/1916694019
To put that into perspective, a 3:20 effort would currently rank you #250 out of 352 for the 2019 IMUK bike loop on strava.
Not bad….
But a 2:39 circuit ranks you in the top 50….
And that is fukin excellent as far as I am concerned.
And you know the best bit?
I feel as though I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface with this yet…..
On that basis, I have deceided to share with you exactly how I was able to get that time down via this blog over the next few weeks….
In my opinion, if you want to improve your loop time, you require a total of ten ‘keys’ in order to do this….
***Please note this is not aimed at ‘Kona wannabes’ …..this is aimed at those that are currently hitting 3:20 loops and want to learn how I took that down to 2:39 so wind yer neck in ‘big dog’….Cheers***
***Please Also note, riding a 2:39 single 50 mile IMUK loop on fresh legs is one thing, yet ‘racing’ a full Ironman is something completely different and I have no desire whatsoever to ‘race’ the full distance, i’m perfectly happy simply collecting the third sacred medal in a row at IMUK, but let’s have it right, a 2:39 loop is still a 2:39 loop***
So….
The first two keys were all about mastering your demons (as above) and your bodyweight (fat)….
Closely related to this is key #3….
Key #3 of 10….Diet
Dont worry, I’m not going to tell you that I have discovered a ‘magic pill’ and if you eat it all of a sudden you will be able to ride a 2:39 loop
Nor am I going to go into war and peace about a new ‘fad’ diet linked to ‘peak performance’
Make no mistake, there are experts out there way more qualified than me that can give you excellent advice on this subject, sports nutrionalisrts and qualified triathlon coaches that understand precisely what you need to put into your body and you can take this subject as far as you want to go…
However, at the end of the day, you all know what you need to do in terms of making some simple changes that will have a dramatic effect on your training…
Porridge for breakfast, loads of fresh fruit and veg, salads, lean proteins, brown rice, wholemeal carbs yada yada yada…
No bread, chocolate, crisps, cookies, biscuits, sweets, booze, kebabs, chips, fags
All the things people have repeated a thousand times but nobody listens so they repeat it over a thousand tines….
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got the biggest sweet tooth of the lot and I struggle with diet on a daily basis
But what I have found is this….
If you can commit to this ‘clean’ way of living for 7 days and view food as ‘fuel’ for just a week, then you will feel like Dr David Bruce Banner when you are sat at the bottom of Babylon lane waiting to start your Ironman loop the following Saturday my friends….
Doctor David Bruce Banner…..(google him)
Here is how my training went this week…
Monday…Pool mile…38 mins…felt very comfortable, which is the gig
Tuesday… Weights day…I might be a couple of stone over ‘peak’…but i’m defo feelin stronger in the gym
Wednesday…Weds = 10 mile TT Nite 30:31 which I was pleased with given I have misbehaved again…Way more importantly, I dropped one of me red Enervit bottles that has been with me since IMUK…sad but true, I have become very attached to those little red bottles so went looking for it in the car after like a lost puppy…Some fuker had run over it, but I managed to rescue it all the same….Hoping it will be back in operation for Saturday…I swear I need to go and see someone
Thurs, Fri & Sat…Went awol – see above
Sunday…10kish run…If ever you want ten million reasons not to smoke its during these 10k’s that you get them- big time – my legs felt strong to be fair but my heart and lungs were screaming at me from the get go – i’m still wheezing like jack duckworth now – seriously, the fags are getting ditched once and for all… 56 something though which I am over the moon with as anything sub hour is perfectly fine www.strava.com/activities/1932485019
Current Bodyweight 14/4 (pathetic) height : 5/11
Don’t miss next week, key #4 as to how Rookie got his IMUK loop time down from 3:20 to 2:39
Like this article? so will your mates – feel free to share it and don’t forget to ‘add’ me on FB where you will find my daily training log for 2018/19 updated daily, as it happens
By the way, hve you heard about this book? its nearly 500 pages crammed full of hints and tips detailing exactly how I was able to go from zero fitness to completing an Ironman triathlon and covers super sprint, sprint, olympic 70.3 & full iron distances all from a ‘first timer’ perspective – please take a moment to read the reviews on amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Secrets-Ironmen-Iron-Rookie/dp/1974002322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540676777&sr=8-1&keywords=iron+rookie
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