takin' it 2 frankfurt

suddenly its here...race week. the first real race of the season. am i ready to take it to frankfurt? well, i 'll be honest - i dont feel so. but i'm becoming aware that i NEVER feel ready, never seem feel good running up to a race. nerves, stress, fear, doubt - whatever. someday i hope to crack it and be entering the final few days, those days when little can be done to improve my chances of a a good performance except relax, rest, focus and mentally prepare for the race, full of confidence, strength, energy and enthusiasm. but who knows - that' could be when i fall flat on my face come race day - tripping up on complacency.

so, the reality for ironman germany? well, it's likely that i am still a little fatigued from the big training block 2 weeks ago. i certainly have not managed to catch up on my sleep since then, as intended. there are aspects of my winter training that i might have done better - but i wont dwell on those - there always will be!

i've made few changes to my training this year, increasing the volume across all 3 disciplines, by reducing my working hours to a 4 day week. gradually migrating further from the prescribed schedules that my coach provided each month, and supplimenting it with a lot of additional running. the indicators have been good along the way - pleasing results from my running events ( a few wins and the sub-3 marathon in april), the ultra tri and riding strong in the lake district in may, and being able to take it on at epic.

so reason to be positive about germany.

and at the end of the day - there's not much at stake. i'm not racing for a slot, don't need to win my age group....a good race will be great for my confidence for the rest of the season, bt a bad race will be something that i can learn from, use to reveiw the training year so far, and make adjustments. which,now that i'm self-coached, is quite exciting in itself!

c'mon frankfurt - lets have some fun! ;o)