Trains, Travels

“It’s a bit too tight”, I thought as I walked to the car this morning. Last night I’d run well – a surprise and relief given my recent illness – the pace had been good. Too good, my body wasn’t ready, I lacked the mileage of the past and the moment I stopped muscles tightened, hamstrings clamping down. As I drove home I pondered the day’s plans, negotiating a shorter, easier run with myself. Alarm bells rang, triggered by the subconscious calculation of weekly hours, this wasn’t enough; I know where I should be and it doesn’t involve a gentle six kilometre loop. I felt torn between an innate need for more and the reality of the harm that might cause.

This season is a write off. Mid-February and I’ve nothing to show, no fitness to speak of, nor form to race. Disaster.

I’ve fought these feelings for the last fortnight, following the optimism of a training camp with the disappoint of days of distraction and illness. I remembered how I’d struggled to start last year, but if anything this was worse – I was nowhere. My inbox proved I was not alone, amongst the regular mails were plaintive concerns that things weren’t going well: failed sessions, targets seemingly missed, training not to plan. On the phone my girlfriend mirrored those athletes – disaster – she wasn’t where she should be.

Last season had started poorly, January a write off, but then a rapid return to form and, at least in cycling, some success later in the year. However February was trickling away, the bulk of it gone, my season hasn’t started. I turned to my training diary for solace, perhaps I could glean something to give me hope for the months ahead. In January 2011 I rode my bike three times, I swam twice – a pattern that didn’t change throughout that year – and I ran a surprising twenty times. By comparison, this year I had been more balanced and generally trained more each week. February’s illness has set this season back, but I’d hardly shined the year before, cycling an impressive eight times and running much less. Where was the rapid return to form I’d distinctly recalled? March. I’d barely sat on a bike till three months into the year; once I’d started I’d pushed myself hard.

I was reminded of the self-deception we play on ourselves: the rose-tinted view of the past and the fantastical vision for the present. As I picked through those concerned mails I found a pattern repeating itself – we overlook what’s been achieved and focus our attention on perceived shortfalls. Somehow I’d missed how much more I was swimming this year, how well I was riding in January and – much as I lacked endurance – how fast I was running; instead I’d focussed on the days I’d lost and the tightness in my hamstring. Case by case I could pick out positives, buried amongst the moments of angst and self-doubt.

Realism works both ways. Things aren’t that bad, I am in a better position than this time last year, but then again last year was a disaster! Better than a terrible season – that’s not something to strive for. I want more, I want some measure of success on the scale of previous performances, not just dragging myself round yet another Ironman. I may not be heading down the same path as 2011, but I shouldn’t rest on my laurels because of it; not yet on the brink of failure, it’s the steps I take now that determine how much more I achieve. As I pick out the positives I also have to ask what more can be achieved, how can I go further?

So knowing that I’ve been deceiving myself and was ahead of the game, but also that I needed more, I compromised on an easy thirty minute run this morning. Perhaps I could have gone further, but I would be deceiving myself – again – if I didn’t recognise my current fitness. Progress is tempered by the limits of my body. Rather than dwelling on the past or questioning my progress I should be focussed on achieving the most I can at this moment.

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While winter singularly failed to provide any excuses for inadequate training, Bristol is delivering just the weather to drive me to Lanzarote for a training camp. In a couple of days I’ll escape dull grey skies for a warmer climate, stronger winds and unlimited training, if only I had the fitness to make the most of it! Despite best efforts to prepare myself – you cannot cram fitness – I feel a long way from ready; with three of my athletes joining me for an informal Coach Cox training camp the pressure may be on. Regardless, this may be what’s needed to drag me back into shape, there’s a busy year ahead, the season needs a kickstart.

Under prepared might be the way to go, I have a history of thoroughly preparing for training camps, arriving in great shape only to burn myself out within the week; my quiet, competitive streak demanding I hold on until there’s nothing left. So having a camp early in the season, when winter has stripped fitness to the bone, might just prevent me from reaching my destructive limits, and without the ability to demonstrate my strengths, I’ll be left proving I’ve the work ethic to regain them. I can simply train, without ego, gathering mileage and instigating the start of a program that will see me back on form when it matters – for a summer of racing. No more abusing camps, the term may come loaded with preconceptions, but Lanzarote in January is about base mileage.

Base, build, peak, whatever period or categorisation a training camp falls under, they are about athletic development not athletic prowess; they are an exercise in over reaching, removing distractions, progressing an athlete beyond the confines of their regular routine and approaching their limits. In the early season the limits sit nearer than we’d like – power is lacking, endurance falls short – it doesn’t take significant increase in volume or intensity to achieve an overload. A camp necessarily takes on a different form to those later in the season, less focussed perhaps, just consistent days of suitably testing miles. Which isn’t to say easy, there’s plenty of room for hard sessions, it’s the daily race to be alpha athlete that’s avoided.

So what can my athletes expect from their informal training camp at La Santa? Consistency across the board – the rough plan is to swim, bike and run every day. The tried and tested Lanzarote routine starts with a swim, pivots around a long bike and finishes with a run, I don’t feel any need to deviate from this. A little variation in distances and priorities, but at this point in time I’m reticent to throw in double days, not least because I suspect I’m not up to it! Despite what I’ve written they’ll be competition, it’s inevitable, but we will keep that limited to friendly motivation and perhaps the odd time trial. And in case we can’t control ourselves, day one will be big, in Epic Camp tradition I want to tire everyone out before we get started. The overall aim is to walk the line between fitness and fatigue so we return to the UK ready and able to take things further; nobody is going to lose February to recovery.

A positive lesson from reviewing 2011 is the importance of a week long bike camp in late February, it took me from relatively poor fitness to competent training on a platform of steady and tempo riding. This is the role I want Lanzarote to fill, bringing about the mental and physical readiness to train, its success will be measured by my return and not my speed up the mountains.

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Ironman is not a cheap sport. I was reminded of this when I started organising my August trip to Mont-Tremblant. As I researched flights, accommodation, car hire and other expenses the cost rapidly added up. I wasn’t surprised, I’d entered expecting an expensive race, but had planned to make it a vacation. Circumstances have changed, holidaying alone no longer appeals. Instead of a fortnight in Canada I considered a quick in-and-out – a five day trip did nothing to reduce the significant price of flights, there was no avoiding the cost. While I could afford to go, I no longer wanted to spend that amount on one event, exciting as it might be.

So I’m swapping Canada for the North of England and Ireland, withdrawing from Mont-Tremblant and instead entering Ironman UK and Galway 70.3. Perhaps not as exciting as Mont-Tremblant, I’ve raced Bolton before, but Galway will be new and considering the number of Irish athletes I coach I should visit the island. Already entered into Wimbleball and Ironman Wales meant I was eligible for the Ultimate Ironman Endurance Test providing a significant discount on race entry. Two Ironmans and two 70.3s isn’t a problem, but I need to handle three – a fortnight before Ironman UK is Challenge Roth. That’s new territory; it was hard enough when I raced them three weeks apart, now I’ve tightened the gap. I like a challenge.

I’m disappointed to be losing Mont-Tremblant from the season, but it simply didn’t fit. The new plan works, budget and travel have been approved and I still have a season filled with racing. Better get training.

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