Ok, “so we’re all in the same boat” they say. Well no, we’re not. We’re all in the same storm but many have their expensive yachts to weather the storm whereas some have rowing boats! I keep hearing people’s interpretation of this Covid-19 pandemic and their life’s’ version of it but we’re all different and we have all experienced it in different ways.
Sport for me has become a very important part of my life, it’s not the competitive “itch” that needs scratching, it’s the process – “the journey” to any event. Having some kind of methodical approach to any goal is always better that nothing at all. The 6 p’s if anyone has heard of it! lol I do thrive on having a plan and sticking to it as best I can.
With that in mind I took on a new triathlon coach, even though there was limited options of competition. The early signs were great, new cycling sessions to get my teeth into and run sessions I’ve never tried before so all was good. No swimming to start with but once open water was available I asked for some specific sessions to play with but the reply was simply “just go out and enjoy it” – for someone who needs stimulus and something to go for in a training session this didn’t sit well. In early conversations I mentioned I was a Personal Trainer for many years it was clear that I had some knowledge in this area – this shouldn’t have dissuaded the coach from making suggestions – if anything but to confirm what I had already been thinking, but no – there was no advice other than – “i’ll leave that up to you”.
Then… after a running session I aggravated a muscle in my left hip and then stupidly tried to run through it making it worse. 4 weeks later and I tried to do a simple 5k run around near where I work and within 1-minute the injury was still there. If anyone has had an injury they can’t put their finger on it’s totally soul-destroying. I contemplated 2021 as a write-off, my triathlon career finished and how I should just stick to cycling as I was pretty ok with that – you know, the usual knee-jerk reactions to your whole life when you have an injury!!!
The coach (again) wasn’t very forthcoming with ideas so after a few weeks of just “coaching” me for one discipline I stopped our arrangement. In retrospect I was desperate to have some kind of acknowledgement of my training schedule so far and I thought a coach would fulfill that need. I would say maybe I’m too knowledgeable to coach with the three disciplines as I’ll always ask “why” instead of just accepting the plan and executing it. Even now as I write this blog I have asked a good friend to give me some new cycling plans to execute – no more, no less and the relationship works very well. It’s weird how this very same friend came to me several years ago for training advice! There’s a mutual trust already and I’m looking forwards to seeing what he has in store for me over the next few months.
Oh, as for the other coach – I fed back to him my concerns, his reply – “ok, let me know if you need anything in future”. Not quite what I expected but then again this served to only prove what concerns I had.
2020 has been both a year to remember and a year to forget in so many ways. Sport has taken a complete step back with all of my planned events for the year being deferred to 2021. Nottingham Half Distance, Samorin Championships, Challenge Roth and my first GB placement in Almere. Instead I’ve plodded on with the training and tried to ensure some consistency that will see better returns next year.
Married now to my soul-mate and home life is great, a stability that I have never experienced before – in a good way of course. We’ve been very lucky to have gone to Vegas to get married only two weeks before the world locked down. Then, upon announcement that Spain was to re-open it’s borders with the UK we booked 5/6 days in Majorca and disappeared there for a quick break with some cycling too just for good measure. As soon as we came back – within 48 hours in fact, the UK closed it’s borders with Spain again! I fear our planned excursion to Majorca in October and our already postponed Honeymoon in St Lucia in November may not be so lucky. Who knows – the government change their mind pretty much every other day at the moment so things may change.
As for this journey – it does indeed continue….
Swimming has weirdly picked up. Since open water was available I’ve been going to a local river and swimming with friends and/or with Suzy. All of a sudden I’ve gained around 10-15 seconds per 100 with nothing to actually put my finger on and say “yeah- this is where I made a turn in my technique”. I’m beginning (I think) to relax more in the water. There’s no need to increase my stroke-rate as my stroke is quite a long & strong one and it seems to work. I’ll never be a great swimmer but coming out of the water several minutes earlier has got to put my in good stead for future triathlons.
Cycling has really been the only option for the rest of 2020 so I’ve entered a few Time Trials to scratch that itch. My first was a 50Mile Time Trial last Saturday. I entered it on a whim and had no real expectations apart from “don’t look proper shite” in front of all your old cycling friends! The weather wasn’t great with torrential rain at two separate points on the course but surprisingly enough I came away with a 3 minute lifetime personal best with a 1:53:25 – an average speed of over 26mph (42kph). Adding to that my two club mates got 2nd & 3rd in the event with 30mph rides giving us the Team Prize on the day. This weekend I have another 50 on local roads – only a 20 minute drive from our house so maybe a little more pressure this time. My TT bike has had a respray so it’s looking fairly cool and I’ve also got a new road machine so “all the gear no idea” springs to mind! No events booked after this but I’ll see come Sunday afternoon after the event and see what’s left in 2020 to do – if anything to give me a little mid-term goal before 2021 triathlon season kicks in.
Running – well that’s not been happening. After a few visits to a physiotherapist it’s nothing sinister. A straight forward muscle problem – due to the fact I’ve been doing no strength & conditioning work due to the health clubs shutting down in March. The club’s open now and I’ve been getting back into S&C for a few weeks so running may start again pretty soon – maybe I’ll do “Couch to 5k” to start with to not put any massive load on this discipline for now – after all my first event that requires running is May next year!
