I'm ready

Hi Cristelle,

yes the flight is OK, IB 878 IBERIA arrival time 14:00 in fuerteventura.

Chris my bike is just in a hard box all pieces taken apart,a friend of mine has lend me.

See you in feurteventura
regards

ANDREA

A white wedding?

It's snowing in England again and with just a day to go before Fiona's wedding!

The snow interrupts our training on the bike but the camp in Fuerteventura will be even more special -- sun and warmth.

Dear Fiona,
I am sure I speak for everyone connected with the Oakley Transitions Ironman Team in wishing you the very best for your wedding tomorrow. Hope it goes well.

Chris GBR

Living in a box

Have you put your bike in the box yet?

If the answer is "no" then I suggest you do it quick. It is not as easy as you might think.

So far this has been the most painful aspect of my Ironman preparations!

Mario, in answer to your e-mail..........

Hi everybody,
how are you? Few days and see you in Fuerteventura.
I can't write an e-mail to Mario, all 3 that I've wrote him are come back with an error, and so I hope he read this blog.

FOR MARIO:
Hi Mario,
I'm well and I hope are you too, in answer to your e-mail:
yes I'm looking forward to meet all you in fuerteventura and to made many km in bike in group. I'm following exatly your training plan but I'm not still sure of my maximun heart rate. First week after Monaco I assume my hr max 185 and I have regulated my cardio computer with this value, but the training I think was too hard, for example to run at 85% the pace was 3'50" at km and this is near to my max pace on 10 km,this was suspicion for me and so I've changed in 180 the max hr.Two weeks with this value and now in this week I have tried to see my real max hr and by myself I have cheked.In a run of 1600m 4 time 400 m increase to max.With this metod my max hr is 172.
Is it possible for you?
How do you think?
In Fuerteventura can you check my hr max in the run?
Sorry for your time and see you in Fuerteventura.

Regards
Andrea Strada

All hail the Ironman

Well not just hail, some sleet, snow and sun as well.
What a fantastic morning Sunday was. Sunny and crisp.
Got out of the house nice and early, well it was Mothering Sunday after all, to get the bike ride in before the day got underway.

Got half way up Box Hill and what this? Snow, wind and hail. I know we British have an obession with the weather but what is going on. Is is global warming or El Nino?

Chris Bennett GBR
PS- Sorry for pushing Ceorgia's picture off of the top of the blog!

I forget, GIORGIA is bigger now

This is the big GIORGIA now...

Bye Bye..........................

Swim problem

Hi everybody,
From yesterday i'm 39° fever, stop training again......but today is just better,and maibe tomorrow i restart.

Dear Kees and Pablo,
these are my two methods to count lengths: if i have to swim for a long distance continuosly (1000 m 1500 m),i count how many times i complete 200 m,it's more easy to hold in mind. Another metod:if you know your average pace on 100m,at the end of session you can control your total split to be sure to have completed the distance, in this case you need a cronograph. I hope is useful for you.

Regards
see you soon in fuerteventura.


ANDREA

Vous avez raison!

I only have ten fingers Vladirmir, can I stop at 10 lengths?

Dear Pablo,

You are absolutely right. I had a session the other day which totalled about 135 lengths. One session of 48 lengths I lost count about ten times. I have been very tough on myelf. If I lose count I have to choose the lower number to restart on.

Chris

1.500 m SWIM, 60 LENGHTS OF SWIMMING POOL

How do you swim? I mean.., how do you count the lenghts?
I get lost..., 23, 36, 48, .... 46? , 58? shit, it was taking 48? 58? 44?
I am doing two more or less, or ten more or ten less, probably they were 58 ....? That madness, another day there were 160 lengths.....

See you in Fuerteventura!
Pablo ESP

TEAM PROGRAM IN FUERTEVENTURA

Today i have read the program for fuerteventura..........2 hours of bike, 3hr bike, 4hr bike, 6hr bike, ...................I have to change my saddleback, or carry with me a pillow.
I'm joking, i'm looking forward for this.
Were we will swim? in the sea or in the pool?we must carry the westsuit?
How many degrees there are in the night?
It's possible rain easy?

Thank you

Andrea

Things that make it all worthwhile

Rose at 0630 on Sunday to get in a nice long cycle before the day got underway. What a fabulous morning. The sun was shining, a slight chill in the air but clear and sunny. A local high spot in my area is Box Hill which gives stunning views across the Mole Valley. I must have been one of the first up there. I managed a 50km cycle in a little under two hours and best of all it took in 420m of climb. It all felt really good except for a lung bursting climb at the foot of Box Hill which felt like a 45 degree slope.
I will try and remember to take a camera next time!
The rest of the day was even harder as I have to get my allotment ( vegetable garden ) in order before the Spring arrives for real.

Chris GBR

"So how do you get clean Dad?"

"Easy son."

Who are your training buddies

One of the best things about the training camp was being able to train with people on a similar level. At home I normally find myself training with the dog or the kids. This weekend it was Max's Birthday (12) so we all took his new mountain bike for a thrash.

You can't see it from the picture but we were all pretty muddy.

Living out of a bag ...

Getting confused in the daily concerns about work, family and sports I do not know which bag to take with me ..... work, swimming, cycling, running, tennis and of course shopping.
Beside that I bought a second washing machine for all the extra towels and shirts I use during the week. My lovely girlsfriend insist that I use my towel twice now :-)
And than, bying an new bike. What a choices a IronMan has to make. Carbon of not, which techniques on the bike. Of course we need a suitcase to bring the bike in the plane. It took me 8 hours to find out a bike within my financial limits, thanks Uwe for your help. In 2 weeks I can start the bike trainings

By the way, the dutch journalist Dick van der Niet made me a blogger also. Check www.vision-today.com and see the bloggs. By the way, this is a good site, also in Englisch.
Having fun during sports !

Kees

WITHOUT REST...

My god!! I have to train today too!!, and work!!! and tomorrow is Sunday..... free? NOOO. Tomorrow I have to work again in my optics (Open firts days of the month...:-( )
And of course, train again... and monday, tuesday....
I´m sure that triatlon is a sport create for opticians, the men and women that have to work every day... without rest...

Pablo ESP

SUN FOR ALL!!

Hi everybody!!!
To be and Ironman in Spain is very hard also, but there is sun every day. The bad thing is the cold, but maybe I prefer cold than rain. I´m sorry Chris and Fiona and members that have to train with rain. You will be more strong in september... ;-) And there is another thing that is hard or dificult for me, the Sport Control-Site, imposible to understand it completely and less in english. I try to train everyday improvising and asking to the whole word, thanks Andrea. Now is better.

Pablo ESP

Je ne suis pas un transvestite

I just wanted to set the record straight here, I am not a transvestite. I believe it is very popular in France!

Also Fiona do you always take your purse with you when you cycle? Is it some kind of weight training?

Bike boxes ARgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh. So far I have ordered two only to be told they are out of stock. Has anyone opted for a bag rather than a box?

Swimming schwimming. I thought things couldn't get worse. But they have. My visits to the pool coincide with those of the Man from Atlantis. A 6ft 6 adonis who has shoulders as wide as the Rhone valley and swims faster than a speeding TGV -- what a git.

Chris

Mario saves the day!

Day to day life, weddings, birthdays, house hunting and work all begin to take their toll…………….. fitting in ironman training (and filling in the blog and training sites) is becoming tougher and tougher. Mental fatigue and any excuse not to swim tonight would be a good one!!!!…………………Then as i was getting ready for bed, out of the blue, our team trainer Mario calls from ‘Austria’ (it like he is telepathic!) to ask how things are going?.....................’Great’ I said I’m just off swimming this minute………..I’m back on track

Fiona.

Wet n becoming 'WILD'

Last week was a real test ……from ordering wedding cake n flowers, nagging estate agents n solicitors, attending my mother in laws (to be) 60th birthday (where she looked stunning by the way!), having a wedding dress fitting and to top it off a bike ride in the torrential rain with my finance (who though it was actually quite hilarious getting drenched by a juggernaut!!)…………………………and all with just one day off!! .........................am I cut out to be an ironman?????????

I am not a fish

If God had wanted us to swim he would have given us fins. I have developed a mental block when it comes to swimming. Running fine, cycling great, ploughing up and down a swimming pool for an hour late at night -- that's for the fishes.
Does anyone else feel like this or is it just me.