Maximus is in!

My madness is infectious for my brother Del has said he'll do the Iron Man too. YAY! This is brilliant news, I wont be training and competing on my lonesome. He is the perfect training companion. He is motivated, a fighter, endures the toughest pain and will kick my arse when I am feeling lazy. He knows how to see the positive in all things incomprehensible,and this will be invaluable when I feel I cant go on any more.
This also means that I now HAVE to apply and that I will be attempting this muscle tearing event. If he'd not been so enthusiastic I would have a reason to run from the click here to register button as fast as possible. But now we are both in agreement It will be worth a shot. Both of us will be in the "veterans are us" category, but hey.. If we don't try we'll never know just what we are truly capable of. And  If  I can train long and hard enough to compete and complete someone has to come last and I'll happily take that role.

July the 22nd 2012. I've got the date firmly into my mind, exactly 9 months and 24 days to go. 

Monday 3rd October I'm visiting Del to cycle some miles and to click the IronMan register button. It will be the scariest click ever. 

Ciao for now 

two days post first olympic triathlon

I have done it. My first Olympic. The Hever castle triathlon last Sunday (25th Sept 2011).
My pre night sleep extended to about 2.5 hours so needless to say I was tired before I'd even put my wetsuit on.
I completed the London Tri sprint back in July (2011) so I had a small idea about what certain aspects felt like, but I was unprepared for how battered my legs felt once I started my run. I have practised running off the bike but this was something else. If I had moved any slower I'd be walking.  I don't know how much of this was contributed to lack of sleep or maybe working too hard on the bike. My end result time for this Tri was 3 hours and 2 mins. I had hoped for sub 3 but I am happy with this time. I know what to do next time to ensure a better time.  Don't camp the night before, get a decent bed, some peace and quiet and maybe a large brandy. Maybe more training too.

So now I am tapping my fingers in an anxious kind of way, wondering what to do next. This is triathlon for you. It is utterly addictive and life consuming. Juggling work and family life is an all to familiar constraint many triathletes have to manage. I am ever so slightly envious of the blogs and books I've read that talks about partner support making all the difference.
Lets move on from that for now .
I will be 40 next July. I have been thinking for the last 18  months about how to celebrate this marking of ancientdome . A big party perhaps, or a lovely holiday somewhere pretty and warm.
However (this is indicative of my level of madness) the one thought that now stays firmly in the front of my mind is the ultimate challenge for any wanna be triathlete ,in the shape of yours truly, is An Iron Man. Crikes, just writing those two words makes me shudder with fear. My stomach churns and the back of my throat closes over at the very thought of the level of training and pain to push myself through to make this the slightest bit possible. I need a drink. I'll be back later.................