48 days and 12 hours till IM Nice

My promise to do a brief update every week, since my last post has gone by the wayside. I definitely under estimated how much stress starting a new job can bring and the tiredness that has accompanied this. In this first couple of weeks came home on Wednesdays needing a short midweek nap. Having just finished the third week I am now starting to feel that I’m getting into a routine and becoming more settled and relaxed. Starting a new job in the final phase of Ironman preparation is not ideal. But positions don’t come up often and as a full time worker and part time athlete, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity. My training has had to change as a result. Adding a 20 mile journey to work has meant the loss of 2 hour Bodyworks swim sets. I can now only swim for the first hour and enjoy the pain of the main set only!! Good or bad thing, time will tell I guess. On the plus side I’ve been getting a lot of bike miles in the bank. The commute a couple of days a week from Eastbourne to Hastings has added some extra rolling bike miles. The rest of the time I’m lucky to car share; saving legs, fuel, money and the environment all in one go.

My life has also become a little brighter with the new arrival of a car. Living, working and training within a 2 mile radius has meant that I’ve had little use for a car. But a new job, miles away! Came with a pay rise and I needed a reliable car, my previous cars have all been run into the ground. The priorities were 1) fits me and my bike in it. 2) is as fuel efficient and environmentally friendly as cars can be. 3) is cute! After much internet searching and some test drives I settle on a Toyota Aygo Blue, which I collected last weekend. It’s lovely and shiny! And steeling a line from Simon “its so eco friendly that rather than giving out C02 it gives out flowers and you could drive 3 times round the world on a tablespoon of flax seed oil”.

Also good news is that the cross trainer and I are starting to wean ourselves from each other. My Achilles is definitely on the mend and I’ve started to build back into running. 7 weeks out from Ironman Nice this is not good, but I’m glad to be running at all. I just need to be sensible over the next two months. But honestly starting to really worry about the marathon. I keep trying to remind myself that I’ve done lots of long runs over the winter and an Ironman marathon is steady running not flat out. But that doesn’t really put me at ease, when I know the long runs and brick session that I could be doing. As I write this the Ironman France website reliable tells me that its 48 days and 12 hours to go and I’m honestly starting to panic inside.