Countdown to Germany - part 1

Forget the countdown to the pending World Cup in Brazil. There is something far more pressing in my mind at the moment. The countdown until my first appearance as an Age Grouper representing British Triathlon Federation in Germany at an aquathlon.

As I sit here writing this I have 6 sleeps left until I get to wear this.

With the help of my #runboss David Tune we have formulated a plan to get me to Germany in the best shape possible.

That plan started some weeks ago when I went for my last Lactate Threshold test at Blizard Physiotherapy and my training plan was changed accordingly.

But now with one week to go we have finalised the preparations

Yesterday a mini aquathlon was scheduled. This was so I could practice my transition.

Since I have started open water swimming this year I have been suffering with being unsteady on my feet getting out of the water.

However yesterday I had a breakthrough. I wore earplugs in the swim and this stopped my unsteadiness and allowed me to transition form swimming to running in under 30 seconds and that included taking off my wetsuit. The design of the Huub Archimedes really does enable a swift transition with its breakaway zipper.

After that I went for a 3k run with the aim of my HR being at a minimum of 172 bpm for as much of the run as possible. The run was in a word uncomfortable. I couldn’t find my run legs for the first 1km or so. Going from swimming to running is a really weird feeling, I can’t really describe it.

The plan for the rest of the week goes something like this.

Today - Rest day

Monday - Recovery run or ride

Tuesday - Track session with reduced reps

Wednesday - Functional movement with a 60 minute recovery spin on my turbo

Thursday - Rest day including travelling to Germany

Friday - 15 minute easy jog and easy swim and registration

Saturday - Race day

So with six days to go. It is a relief to know there is a plan in place but I still can’t believe I am writing about going to Germany to represent my country. After all it is only 569 days ago that I gave up smoking and decided to turn my life around.

Check back later in the week for the next instalment in my “countdown to Germany”

Michael

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