Unfortunately, my preparation didn't go really well and structured due to work and illness, but I have to deal with that. Unfortunately, since the race in Swakopmund, I haven't been on my bike and have only gone swimming a few times. At least I could go running regularly. I've been doing long runs weekly for the past few weeks so I'm not worried about doing at Israman. My poor preparation offers all the more the chance to enjoy this unusual race. The Israman is special because of the rough landscape combined with a very crisp elevation profile.
Adapt material and training to the requirements
Of course, due to the height profile, a particularly light road bike with an aero attachment and a cranked seat post would have been good.
On the other hand, it would of course have been good to train strength and endurance especially for cycling. On the other hand, regular downhill running training would have been helpful to prepare for the muscular strain on the first ten kilometers of the run during training. The whole thing should have been rounded off with extensive trunk stability training .
Had, had, bike chain
After the Sandman I went on vacation for 2 weeks. On our trip through Namibia there were few opportunities to train. To be honest, I didn't feel like doing any more training. Rather, the holiday was characterized by a lot of driving and delicious food. Well, that has to be the case.
Get better with a break
Back in Germany, I fell ill with a sore throat and runny nose and did not allow any training until Christmas. After Christmas I slowly started again, but after 2-3 days of training my immune system was always at its maximum and I had to take a 1-2 day break. In addition, since the New Year I have had a lot of work again, because the inventory at five locations, the preparations for our new training department , the preparatory work for the triathlon.de CUP , the neoprene test tour , our swimming seminars , support for the trade fairs in the winter running series , annual accounts, etc .all demand their time. So some nights in January I didn't get home until after 10pm. And then I usually just don't feel like training anymore.
Just enjoy
In short, the preparation was modest. Due to a lack of preparation, I simply cannot expect a particularly good sporting performance. Rather, I see an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to the race and simply enjoy it. The charm of this is that you can rather perceive the landscape and everything around you during the race. You are less focused on yourself and much more open to the external influences that are happening around you.
I approached my Ironman in Hawaii in a similar way in 2006. At 10:45 I wasn't really fast there, it was actually my slowest long distance. But it was also the only Ironman that I could consciously enjoy, because I wasn't concerned with times or the fastest possible race. Rather, I found it irritating that after the race most of the participants described how or where they could have been faster. One could have been happy that one had just finished the Ironman Hawaii and was one of the best triathletes in the world. In my opinion, it doesn't matter whether you're one hundredth or two hundredth.
Conclusion:
Tomorrow's Israman , January 26th, will be a tough race to enjoy! I'm happy for that!
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