19 September 2011

Kona Diary 2011 - Days 14-18

The peak training week is done and dusted, and what a week it was.  There's been some great training, a lot of resting and even more eating!  The week went exactly to plan, with some breakthrough sessions in all sports.  Wednesday's long swim was really encouraging, hitting paces I've never reached before.  I've managed great consistency with swim training in the last 5 months and it's great to see things developing.  

Thursday and Friday called for back to back medium-long rides with lots of intensity.  This provided another chance to dial in my race nutrition strategy, making sure that I get the right amount of fluids in the heat and humidity.  Both rides were timed to coincide with when I'd be on the course on race day, in an effort to mimic conditions as much as possible.  The winds here are so unpredictable that it's impossible to forecast what we'll be dealt with on the day.  Here's a couple of pics from the climb towards Hawi:



After Friday's long ride I had a 1 hour run planned.  Getting out the door for this one challenged my motivation.  With tired and heavy legs I wasn't expecting too much from, but once I got going I surprised myself with the quality of the session.  The tough 4 day block (Tuesday to Friday) was complete and I was super pleased with how it went.  Saturday was a rest day, with the only session being a very light jog in the morning.  Other than that, it was a case of resting and enjoying the scenery.


Sunday has become 'long run day' and this morning was a 17 miler.  As has become the norm with my long runs, there was lots of work above race pace.  There are definitely a few more professionals on the island now, and a few of them were out today.  Last week was my peak long run, so from here on in the duration of this session will decrease as race day approaches.  After a good breakfast it was time to get to the pool for the final session of the week, mainly consisting of technique work with a few hard efforts.

I said recently that the hay is in the barn, and with less than 3 weeks to go until the big day, that's definitely the case.  I couldn't be happier with this weeks training and I'm now more excited about the race than ever.  The toughest thing here is avoiding the temptation to do too much.  Everything about the island lends itself to triathlon training and it's all too easy to go out and log training hours just for the sake of it. Every session this week has had a meaning and a purpose.  20 days to go.  Let the taper begin!

4 comments:

  1. Good to hear you're feeling great and ready for race day!

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  2. Good work, Nick! Stay sharp and safe.
    Stu

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  3. Sounds as though you are enjoying the training and it is going well. Keep up the good work Nick!

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  4. Hey Nick, we're tracking you on the Cable & Wireless Seychelles O.P. (Facebook) and keeping our fans updated with your diary! We've also got your Blog site linked from our web page (www.cwseychelles.com). Keep at it and good luck! David Deltel

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