Aloha Julie..

18 ironman races and 12 years later, Julie Harrison finally qualifies for Hawaii ironman and she has booked the flights.. packed it.. booked it..

It's amazing to think about how triathlon (read ironman) has developed to it's curent state with event filling within 20 minutes of opening and thousands pursuing the quest for Kona.

To some extent the incredible achievement of compelting an ironman can become lost amongst your peers.. whether you can complete an ironman is no longer a debate, it's simply 'what time' you will achieve and whether you will qualify for Kona.

Never lose sight of the achievement, 99.9% of the population could never contemplate completing the distance, if it doesn't feel that spectacular to you, that's because you spend 99.9% of your life with the other 0.1% of the population...

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

Helvellyn Triathlon

Great weekend for me.. a rather surprise victory at Helvellyn (thanks to Dave at www.actionandevents.co.uk for the photo!) 7th out of the swim, 3rd off the bike and then pulling back Martin on the climb up Mires Beck (bloody hell.. he can run well uphill for a big fella). Bit of a drama on the descent with a bad fall and a nasty bang to the head but being hidden in the mist was a bonus. I don't tend to race much these days and prefer to race less frequently and race well rather than race every weekend which is a common issue with athletes we coach.
Realistically most of your hard preparation should be done before the season starts and then the fitness you have is taken into the race season and you try to produce your best performanes on the day. It will take 2 weeks to recover from olympic distance races (even if you do feel ok!) so to race every other week and expect to train hard is a non-starter. When you plan your season for 2009 leave gaps between races or pack a few in (keep ticking over between each with no real hard training) and then take a good 4-6 week break where you can solidly train before peaking for another block of races. Only mediocre athletes can produce their best performances every week of the year..

Should also mention Paul Mason (45-49 age group cat) of the endurance coaching team who finished 7th overall at the Rivington olympic triathlon thereby practicing what he preaches.

Here endeth theenduranceblog..

The end of the season..

The season is drawing to an end for most triathletes and cyclists and everyone is ready to take a break and put some (more) weight on! This is a classic pattern for many endurance athletes and is vital for performance and motivation. It's extremely difficult to maintain focus and high level performance for more than 4-6 months and that's why you should take a break.. If you are a distance runner you should also take note of this. The problem with distance runners is that they finish the track or summer road period and then immediately train hard for cross country and roll from one week to the next trying and often failing to peform at their best.. If you are a distance runner you may not be aware that triathlon and cycling pretty much shut down for the winter and pick up again in spring ensuring that everyone is well rested and hungy for racing as the season starts. Plan your breaks after particularly difficult periods or 'before' particularly difficult periods. If you are planning to train for London marathon you need a good 16-20 weeks, work backwards from the race, see when you need to start and go easy until that date to avoid burnout.

Here endeth theenduranceblog..