Taper time

So the Outlaw's at the end of this week, and I have finally got that big event feeling of excitement and anticipation. Up until now, the thought of doing a long course tri again has left me feeling a bit 'meh'. Even two weeks ago, I was talking to Suzie, a clubmate from Phoenix as she was feeling the same, although she was tackling Ironman UK in Bolton. It was as she was preparing for that event and I was following a few threads on Tritalk with many first timers excitedly building up to it that I started to feel something too. Then realisation hit; I had not done an open water swim since August 2014 when I did the Alpe d' Huez tri. Yikes; so over the last few weeks I have been down to Shepperton Lake to get a feel for open water again and see if I could get around 3.8km. Last Saturday I met up with Simon and we did 3.2km, so near as damn it, and while not fast, it was pretty comfortable and brought a smile to my face, although my sighting and swim lines were woeful.

So Sunday was spent fairly glued to the laptop, tracking those people I knew at Bolton, in particular Suzie. She had a blinding swim and bike and actually dismounted as second in her age group and therefore in a Kona slot, but she had a torrid time on the run and her lack of run training came back to bite her. 5:15 for the run when I think she did 4:30 last year. A few of the Tritalk guys had similar stories; feeling great on the bike and then hitting a brick wall on the run. I know this feeling all too well from the Forestman and while an IM marathon will never be easy, I am hoping that I can run off the bike. Is that likely though?

So here's the thing; I am probably in the best shape of my life on the bike. I am considerably faster now than I was six years ago ans I have consistently put in some big miles, including 4 century rides and many more over 60. I should, in theory, be able to get off the bike and have fresher legs than I have ever had before, if I pace it right. I could go out and smash it and probably be around the 5 hour mark and yes, this would be monumentally stupid. My last long ride at the weekend was 85 miles in just over 4 hours and I felt really good afterwards. This would be a 5:15 bike but that would still be far too fast. 5:30 pace would be a good target to aim for and hopefully leave me something in my legs.

I would love to run a 4 hour marathon off the bike but with so little running, this is unlikely. A 4:30 marathon would be more likely, but to be honest, it will be what it will be. Ultimately, my run will be dictated by the first 50 miles of my bike. So my mantra for Sunday will be 'Bike slow / run fast (ish)'

The best news is that the forecast weather looks almost ideal with 19 degrees and scattered cloud; compared to the 30 degrees at the Forestman, this is Utopian. If any of my 6 readers can be bothered, I'm number 887 and there's a tracker. It might make Sunday afternoon more entertaining.