Rookie Goes for Three in a Row at Ironman UK Week 5 of 40
Arite treacle??
I’m not….
I knew the last seven days were going to be a write off……
I’ve been at a works event pretty much all week and it was a free bar at night…
What do you expect me to do?
Say “Sorry lads i’m going for a swim then back to me room to munch lettuce leaves and get an early night?”
Fuk that…
I’d have got lynched…
You can’t put me in a room with a set of cracking lads, make it a free bar and expect me to sit there sipping tonic water all evening like some sort of social outcast….
Needless to say, I’ve had the week off training….
Make no mistake, I need to get back on the wagon pronto as I can feel myself sliding down the slippery slope…
In fact i’m probably half way down it already….
Anyhow….
To Business…
As you know, I’ve entered IMUK for the third time in consecutive years because I am addicted to it and i’m writing a weekly blog about my adventures along the way.
As you also 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 the other 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 far, keys 1-3 have covered everything from battling your demons (see above) to bodyfat and diet.
It’s time for Key #4,,,
Here it is,,,
Key #4 – The magic of ‘P’
Let me ask you something…..
You got kids?
Nieces and nephews?
Cool…
Let me give you a scenario..
Your little kid/niece/nephew wants to learn how to tie their shoelaces but are getting frustrated because they can’t do it….
What are you going to tell them to do?
Let me guess…..
You’d tell them to Practice it over and over again until it clicks….
Am I right?
Guess fukin what..
It’s the same with the IMUK loop..
Not exactly rocket science is it?
If you want your loop time to come down, you need to practice the circuit over and over and over again until one day, it just clicks.
I don’t know how many times I have ridden that 47 mile IMUK bike loop, but it must be well over 150.
Why?
Because I bloody love it, that’s why.
Well that’s partly why..
I love the feelin that rushes through my body as I’m sat at the bottom of Babylon wired up to strava itching to pit my wits against the IMUK circuit and wondering what the day will bring.
I love the people you meet out on the loop, the legendary Ironmen, all the tri clubs, the cycling clubs, the weekend warriors, old people, young people, coffee riders, tandem riders, newbies, oldies and everything inbetween…
The cycling and triathlon community in the North West is one of the friendliest in England (you only need to look at the wonderful support all the triathlon clubs give to all the athletes at IMUK creating an atmosphere that will give you goosebumps for the rest of your days to see that)
Everyone you meet out on that loop in training will give you a hello, nod or friendly wave as they pass and if you start chatting to them about cycling or triathlon, you wont be able to shut them up.
So yes, I adore riding it, but the point is this…
I know that loop like the back of my hand and I could recite every single twist and turn to you with my eyes shut.
More importantly, I know when to peddle, when you can relax, and when you need to dig in.
More importantly still, I analyse my effort on Strava after every single ride and compare it to the time of someone I aspire to emulate – I can then work out the areas of the course where I am losing time and need to focus.
Trust me when I say this, ride it once a week over and over again and Slowly but surely, your time will come down.
Whilst I am on this subject, It never ceases to amaze me the number of people that enter IMUK but don’t come up to Bolton to practice the loop…
Many will often invite me on a 50 mile ‘leisure ride’ out to Blackpool or some other ‘tourist spot’ as ‘practice’ for IMUK with regular coffee stops thrown in to boot….
Not being funny, but why the fuk would I want to do that?…
50 miles to Blackpool is pan flat.
Ironman UK is not pan flat, it’s technically brilliant, up and down and twists and turns with some stonking climbs thrown multiple times.
And there are certainly no fukin ‘coffee stops’…
I am not joking when I tell you that if I had to pay a tenner to ride the IMUK loop once a week I would hand it over with a happy heart.
But there is no charge – its completely free.
Also, the iconic circuit never closes….
It’s open for practice 24/7 365…
So if you want to get faster at riding the legendary IMUK loop guess what?
You practice the IMUK loop over and over….
And only the loop.
Nothing else.
No ‘leisure rides’ out to Blackpool or some other ‘exotic beauty spot’
No ‘coffee stops’
The loop
And by the way…
You always start your ride from the Bottom of Babylon lane….
Every single time…
Babylon Lane….
Training this week : none (pathetic) (see above)
Current Weight 14/2 (pathetic) Height 5/11 (ok)
Don’t miss next week, key #5 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, have 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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