I had that last week. As I explained a few weeks ago, I had a bit of a rubbish exprience in my last race (the first tri of the season). Flat tyre aside, it would have actually been a decent performance. But I didn't 'feel' it; I didn't love racing. I was over it even while riding ok pre-flat. For me, that's really disappointing as that's my major motivation to race at all. I realized I'd been too busy, too stressed (yep, work, travel, training and having a baby on the way seems to be fairly stressful... who'd have guessed?) and dialled it back for a few weeks. Skipped a local sprint tri. Focused on the training. Focused on enjoying the process. And while I was getting my equipment, bike and nutrition dialled in throughout these sessions, it turns out I was also getting my head dialled in.
There's a point in every triathlete's season - and I imagine it's the same for the pros as it is for us Age Groupers. Sometimes it's a race, sometimes it's an easy swim or a recovery jog, or it might even arrive while sat at home eating dinner. For me, it's almost always a key, longer session. It's the realization that you've reached that point... you're finally 'fit' and near race shape.
I had that last week. As I explained a few weeks ago, I had a bit of a rubbish exprience in my last race (the first tri of the season). Flat tyre aside, it would have actually been a decent performance. But I didn't 'feel' it; I didn't love racing. I was over it even while riding ok pre-flat. For me, that's really disappointing as that's my major motivation to race at all. I realized I'd been too busy, too stressed (yep, work, travel, training and having a baby on the way seems to be fairly stressful... who'd have guessed?) and dialled it back for a few weeks. Skipped a local sprint tri. Focused on the training. Focused on enjoying the process. And while I was getting my equipment, bike and nutrition dialled in throughout these sessions, it turns out I was also getting my head dialled in. Intro
As regular readers will know, since I made the move to Clogand Windmill Land, I have become increasingly passionate about passing on my love for triathlon and endurance sports to others. Back in Dubai, I used my burgeoning interest in health and fitness to qualify as a gym instructor and went on to run a weekly beach bootcamp session. Since starting the European adventure, I've helped Wifey and several of her friends train from 5km races up to 16kms and half marathons. I've served as Tri Director for Amsterdam Triathlon & Cycling Club. And now, I'm really happy to be studying to become a Level 2 British Triathlon coach. In the meantime, I've started coaching a couple of local triathletes and have been enjoying that experience enormously. Here's the first race report from one of those athletes - Neil - who tackled his first ever triathlon recently, here in Amsterdam... Race Report for Rabo Breukelen Triathlon 2015: Or the unexpected virtue of not having the perfect race. This race is held in a small and unassuming town, located between Amsterdam and Utrecht, which has the distinct honors of giving its name to the New York borough of Brooklyn and hosting the first triathlon of the season here in the Netherlands. The former was due to the Dutch West India Company staking its claim on the small village just off New York during the days when us Europeans were dividing and conquering a whole new continent that wasn’t ours. The latter has more to do with the fact that the Rabo Breukelen Triathlon uses a pool swim, so cold lake waters don’t force this race to go later in the calendar. It’s a nicely organized and enjoyable race which I also did last year. With that in mind, I decided to enter again this year just to compare and contrast and get a firmer grasp of what sort of shape I’m in. So, what sort of shape am I in? Er, well, it’s still hard to tell… Last week, I was lucky enough to spend six days on a mini vacation with The Wifey and a couple of friends of ours over on the Balearic cycling Mecca of Mallorca. The focus was a break in the sun - it would be, we figured, our last chance at such a break for quite a long time thanks to the bun in wifey's oven - but I also wanted to get some consistent riding in. I'd heard, of course, just how popular Mallorca is with cyclists these days but, having last visited more than 15 years ago, I hadn't witnessed it. The first clue was when - two weeks before heading over - I was totally unable to rent a road bike on the island (all sold out), so had to book my own bike on the plane. Not too much of a bother.
The rest of the week continues with some cycling interspersed with excellent meals, plenty of drinking and random outbreaks of karaoke. It was important for me to remember that we were there for a fun vacation and break from work, with some nice weather thrown in. I rode - but it wasn't a riding holiday. On Sunday, I headed up to Arta and a decent climb behind that pretty walled town; I climbed once, descended, climbed again, then headed for home - less than 2 hours in total with 4 x 10m intervals at up near my FTP. The legs were feeling it a little by Monday, so I opted for a run and some sightseeing instead. On Tuesday, we spent the day in Palma, lapping up the beautiful architecture, charming streets and (yep, you guessed it) local food and drink on offer. Palma was around 65km from our apartment in Cala Millor, so I came armed with the bike in the back of the car. As we left Palma, I donned my cycle gear and put the bike together, then rode back east, with a diversion north to make the ride a little longer. There was a pure headwind most the way, which was excellent as this 3h ride was focused on strength, with 4 x 10m big gear intervals, spinning at around 60rpm. This was a great ride and, by now, I could tell that I was riding pretty well.
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AuthorMatt. Brit in Amsterdam. Triathlete. Ultrarunner. AG30-35. Slightly in front of the middle of the pack. Slightly behind the front of the pack. Categories
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June 2015
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