Rookie Goes for Three in a Row at Ironman UK Week 6 of 40
Areet??
Sad to report that I’ve fallen off the wagon once again this week.
I did one pool mile and that’s yer lot cock….
Tut Tut….
This ‘battling with your demons’….
I find it neigh on impossible!
The trouble is, I am just too selfish
I want to do what I want when I want
For me temptation, in all its many forms, seems to be everywhere I go…
In my opinion, this is precisely why the masses dont ever become the elite
They are not prepared to make the many sacrifices required on a daily basis
They don’t want it badly enough…
Make no mistake, for your common man, this battling of the demons, It’s the biggest battle of the lot
That said, I felt ridiculously strong during that pool mile so maybe the rest has done me good…
I have to say though, I’m missing that ‘razor sharp’ feeling that you get when you behave and train all the time..
So i’m ‘getting back on it’ as of now..
No drinkin, no smokin, eating the right things…
Good little Rookie once more…
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***
We are now on to key #5 of 10
Here it is….
Key #5 : 10 Mile TT’s
I cannot over emphasise the power of key #5
I am struggling to find the words to describe its profound impact on me to be honest…
Whilst each key represents a single piece of the jigsaw which all join together to create the ‘perfect storm’ in terms of getting your loop time down, key #5 is the picture on the box…
I would go as far as to say that you don’t learn how to ride your bike properly until you start riding 10 mile TT’s on a regular basis…
10 mile TT’s have been around since bikes were invented and whilst I have been aware of them for some time, they only appeared on my radar very recently.
As modern technology and complicated training ‘fads’ have evolved, I believe the power of this little ‘old skool’ gem has long since been forgotten by some..
You see, In the days before treadmills, heart rate monitors, VO2 max and posh watches, if a runner wanted to get their time down they would go do an interval session using lampposts…
On a similar vein, in the days before zwift, turbos, power meters and watt bikes, if a cyclist wanted to improve their bike speed, they would make their way onto their local 10 mile TT course…
Ironically, my local 10 mile TT goes right past my house.
I was aware of it whilst I was training for my first Ironman but dismissed them as ‘pointless’…
My attitude at the time was ‘not being funny cock, but I’m only just warming up after 10 miles – why the fuk would I want to go and do those?’…
Boy was I missing a trick…
Big time….
I started ‘bandit’ riding them a couple of months ago to see how I fared against the ‘regulars’ on Strava and to see the impact it had on my loop time….
Out of 30 regular ‘club’ riders I ranked #29 (someone in his 80’s even beat me which I couldn’t believe) and so began the mission to move up the leaderboard.
I will never forget the time I went down to my first ever 10 mile TT event earlier this year (and the last one of the season)
First thing I noticed, 10 Mile TT’s are like the F1 of the bike world…
Think sexy, really expensive bikes, aero helmets, beautiful people, all the latest gear…
Its like the monte carlo of cycling…
Even the birds who were taking part were dolled up to the nines like they were going for a night out…
And here’s Rookie turning up on a crappy bike, battered old tri suit and a mushroom helmet…
“Areeet?”
It was like turning up at the Ritz for a posh meal in me baseball cap and me trackies….
To be fair, once you get talking to them, they are a good set of lads…
And if you go with the right attitude, drop the ego and adopt the mindset of ‘hey, it’s my first time here – i’m shit but I want to learn’ they will put their arm round you, welcome you in and you never know, might even teach you a thing or two…
It was the last event of the season and they were all there putting their immaculate bikes together that still looked brand new then warming up on their turbos (?) when all of a sudden the event got cancelled because of ‘heavy traffic’…
I watched open mouthed as 29 of the 30 entrants immediately packed their bikes away and went home…
“It’s only a bit of traffic, what the fuck is the matter with you? – let’s’ have it anyway’ you soft bastards!”
But they are not ‘soft’….
They are very intelligent riders (more on that another time…)
I couldn’t believe it though how I was the only one that ‘went anyway’
I can just imagine their conversations as I sets off, bit between me teeth like…
“What’s that dick doing?”
“Oh ignore him Dave- he’s one of them Ironmen – they are off their heads..”
Don’t get me wrong, they are tough….really tough…. go and do one then compare your time to the boys that have been doing this week in week out for the last 20 years at your local TT course and you will soon see what I mean.,….
But I digress…
The point is, riding a ten mile TT midweek once a week will have a dramatic effect on your IMUK loop time….
Not so much on the hills, but once you get the other side of Brindle and onto the flat section of the IMUK loop, this is where you will notice a huge difference…
Why?
4 reasons…
First – It gets you used to riding in the aero position for 30 minutes straight – so you learn to get comfortable riding this position for extended periods of time
Second – If you go and absolutely twat yourself as hard as you can for 10 miles straight once a week, the IMUK circuit at your previous pace is going to feel like a piece of piss after a while (so you will be able to ride the loop faster)
Third – 10 Mile TT’s make your legs feel like a couple of loaded machine guns after 2 bike free days
Fourth – You will soon realise the impact ‘conducive conditions’ have on PB’s (there is a reason that the TT season only runs March-Sept)
I did 3 x ten mile TT’s spread out over a couple of weeks then took to the IMUK loop and straight away I noticed a difference…
I kept doing them once a week on a Wednesday then an IMUK loop the following Saturday and my IMUK loop time came dame dramatically..
It’s the old adage, eskimo comes to Bolton…
You’ve heard that one haven’t you?
Eskimo comes to Bolton and complains that he is too hot….
Jamaican comes to Bolton and complains that he’s fukin freezing..
The point is, its all relative….
If you get used to twatting yourself once a week on a midweek TT, the IMUK bike loop at your previous pace will start to feel like a piece of piss after a while (so you will be able to ride it faster)
And I repeat…
You don’t learn how to ride your bike properly until you start doing Ten mile TT’s….
Training this week : pool mile (pathetic) (see above)
Current Weight 14/3 (pathetic) Height 5/11 (ok)
Don’t miss next week, key #6 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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