9 years ago I wrote a piece outlining a challenge to break 10 hrs in an IM with 10 weeks training - basically a roadie who had neglected his running and swimming.
Almost a decade on it seems I have not yet learnt my lesson !
I did IM Vichy 2 years ago and since then have not swam or ran - instead focused heavily on cycling; road races, fondos, gravel and MTB
Last week I woke up and decided I wanted to do an IM again - no idea why...I think I like the challenge of setting myself a task and find 4-6 months too far out
So I am doing Hamburg, which is 12 weeks away
Cycling is good and would hope to be a decent bit under 5hrs on that course. Swimming needs to start soon; am historically a 60-70 min IM swimmer. The run is the thing that will make or break this.
I started running last week and did 5 mins around the blocks; literally 5 minutes and had the biggest DOMS in years. Genuinely astonishes me how sore running can be versus a 5hr ride !
A week later and I am up to 30 mins; but its all slow stuff - there is no aim to the workout except try and do 30 mins without stopping.
It’s very humbling - on a bike I feel strong, on a run anything but....
I know (from experience) it gets better the more you do - but have to admit its more than a bit depressing at this stage. So advice and tales of encouragement are strongly welcomed in how to best structure my next 12 weeks from a slow shuffle to a reasonable run.
Almost a decade on it seems I have not yet learnt my lesson !
I did IM Vichy 2 years ago and since then have not swam or ran - instead focused heavily on cycling; road races, fondos, gravel and MTB
Last week I woke up and decided I wanted to do an IM again - no idea why...I think I like the challenge of setting myself a task and find 4-6 months too far out
So I am doing Hamburg, which is 12 weeks away
Cycling is good and would hope to be a decent bit under 5hrs on that course. Swimming needs to start soon; am historically a 60-70 min IM swimmer. The run is the thing that will make or break this.
I started running last week and did 5 mins around the blocks; literally 5 minutes and had the biggest DOMS in years. Genuinely astonishes me how sore running can be versus a 5hr ride !
A week later and I am up to 30 mins; but its all slow stuff - there is no aim to the workout except try and do 30 mins without stopping.
It’s very humbling - on a bike I feel strong, on a run anything but....
I know (from experience) it gets better the more you do - but have to admit its more than a bit depressing at this stage. So advice and tales of encouragement are strongly welcomed in how to best structure my next 12 weeks from a slow shuffle to a reasonable run.