As I sit and type this there are 100’s of athletes riding round the Dorset countryside on the bike leg of Challenge Weymouth 2014 Iron Distance Race.  They will have all already completed the 2.4 mile swim and the pros will soon be finished on the 112 mile bike leg.  Then it is just a marathon to go and the race is finished.  

The decent amateurs will finish in under 10 hours.  Others will be very close to the 16.5 hour cut off time; however every single one of them will be an Ironman and next year so will I.

In all honesty it is exciting and terrifying in equal measure to think that at this time in 365 days time I will be in the middle of my first Ironman race.  Exciting because I am hoping to raise a decent chunk of money for a very good cause and terrifying because an Ironman is not to be taken lightly.



If I can get my nutrition and hydration spot on, suffer no major mechanical failures on the bike, manage to run uninjured and everything goes perfectly I still have to be fit enough to cover the full distance.  This means training, a lot.

It is my intention to target around 10 hours training per week for the next 52 weeks.  Of course there will be some weeks when I manage more than this and others where I fall below the target.  This is especially likely around February time when my second baby will be born.  I also have to continue to work full-time, commute for 3-4 hours per day, spend time with my family and have a bit of leisure time every once in a while.  To be honest, fitting it all in could be a challenge.  Then again it’s nothing compared with the challenge of actually completing the race and pales into insignificance when I think of the challenges that my friends Steve and Louise (and 1000’s of other parents) face having a daughter with Neuroblastoma.

So the training starts in earnest tomorrow, with a 6am swim session.  Can’t wait 🙂

TTFN

James