thank you, will try this tonight
Pretty jam packed weekend.
Sat - Started with what is now a rare round of golf then did 82k in the afternoon, zone 2 but the wind was absolutely howling, not the most enjoyable experience but got it done.
Sun - ran a half Marathon, found this so much easier than the first half I ran on 31st Dec, think mentally knowing I could do it really helped, plus this had 3000 people compared to the 500 in dec so was surrounded by people and supporters so was lots of fun. Ran this in the same time as before but previously I ran at 6.44 pace pretty much consistently and found the last 4k really hard, this time I ran at 6.55/7 pace for 17k then kicked it up to 6 min for last 4k and this felt sooooo much better.
This morning was a 50k zone 2 ride at 5am, and I know the UK guys are going to call me soft, but it was bloody freezing 
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Was that Burj to Burj? Popped up on my Strava feed, think some local guys might have done it.
PS. re the weather - yeah your soft! Although I know what you mean, almost felt chilly riding home in the wind this week at 8pm in shorts and short sleeves. But the temp was 18C 
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Yes was burj to burj - was a nice run and first time I’ve done such a big event so was really cool to run with a bunch of people.
Swam last night and this morning! still hate it 
it was 15 degrees when I went out yesterday and I had a jumper on and wished I had a snood and gloves
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Had some run of the nill sessions this week. Vo2 max/threshold training on the wahoo with intervals upto 120% FTP weds and a 16k run last night.
This morning had my longest sea swim of 2.4k at a 2.30 pace so happy to be able to get the distance done, would have liked to be a bit quicker but all in all a good session
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Yep, definitely. Always mentally rewarding to finish “strong” but experience shows the physical toll on your body is significantly less too. Whilst theoretically being able to pick up the pace significantly means you probably left something out there, unless you’re trying to break long established pbs (which you’re not as just starting out), then that’s no real concern. And you’ll likely be able to dive back into training much more quickly if you’ve paced a half marathon with that approach
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8 Days until D-Day!!!
Body felt pretty smashed up last week, had an 18k run and was super painful on the legs and feet and was cramping during the swim so we started the taper early, gentle 75 min ride Weds eve and a gentle 60 min run last night, day off today then a small brick Sat and sea swim sun.
Then I travel on Thursday!!!
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We. You got yourself a coach? (Did I miss that update)
Hey - yes I’ve had a Triathlon coach and a swim coach from pretty much the start of the journey
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Good on you. They’ll probably make more difference than any of the other shiny investments you made, and hopefully keep you enjoying the sport one step at a time!
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Hey everyone,
Taper all finished now, got a little spin on the bike this evening and then flying to Oman in the morning.
My Bib number is 396 if anyone wants to follow.
Thanks for all of the support and advice!!!
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All the best, enjoyed following your progression & I’ll definitely be tracking…I love a bit of tracking me.
Good luck! Smash it!
Eagerly looking forward to reading your race report
Good luck
Yes, enjoyed getting the updates through this morning
Well done @G8zzaj
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Wow, how did that happen, missed that you had entered a 70.3. For some reason thought you were doing another sprint. This is an entirely different beast, really nice work 
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didn’t see any of the 70.3 yesterday as was having fun snorkelling off Muscat but saw a few athletes wandering around yesterday evening in the Old City with finisher tops and wristbands still on.
Would have been a warm day for it so well done @G8zzaj for finishing your first.
Hope you didn’t get as sunburnt as I did snorkelling….
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Well done @G8zzaj , top work
Hey everyone,
Thank you for all of the messages and support this weekend and through the process, it’s been an amazing experience!!!
The 70.3 was incredible from start to finish, the organisation, atmosphere and general vibe/feeling around the whole event from amazing.
Flew in Thursday morning and stayed at the Ironman hotel as wanted to absorb as much of the atmosphere as possible. The sheer number of top notch bikes being wheeled around the lobby on it’s own made the hotel choice worth it! It was a like a strip club for bike nerds!
Got registration etc… out the way Thursday and loaded up on 70.3 stash 
went for a bike ride and had some issues with the brakes so dropped it into the onsite mechanics and all sorted and had the pasta party and briefing that eve.
Fri got up and out for the coffee boat swim, pretty cool to swim out and have a coffee floating around in the sea, had some drama as a team mate got stung on the ankle by a baby stingray and had to withdraw from the race which was really sad and unfortunate. Had a little 25 mins loosener run followed by pasta and a burger (carb loading might be my favourite part of training), little bike ride again and then packed all the bags, got nutrition ready and dropped everything off and everything started to get very real! One again loved the vibe of everyone setting up their bikes and transition bags and being in the middle of all of it! Off for pizza then bed!
Up at 4am on race day and all set and good to go, felt nice and calm lining up for the swim and seeded myself at the back in the 40-45 mins group. Swim went well, tide was out so we walked the first 150/200m then began the swim, felt nice calm and controlled through out, went a little off course 400m-600m but nothing major, came out the swim content with 46.24 for a 2.26m/100 pace - by no means fast but considering I was struggling to get across the pool in October I’m very happy with it. was obviously waaaaaaaaay towards the back in 566th overall.
T1 was smooth and no issues - got the bike and headed out in just over 5 mins.
Bike course was amazing, went out through the town and then into the mountains with spectacular views and 800m of elevation, a few initial climbs on the way out then a big 10% climb at 10% that had people off their bikes and pushing them up. really enjoyed the bike and the course and it’s easily my strongest discipline, averaged 29.26km/h and moved up 120 places in the overall field to 446th. the last 15km I started to get sore/uncomfortable and was looking forward to getting off.
T2 was fine and simple again, had a little toilet pitstop then out on the run.
Felt strong straight out the blocks on the run and probably ran a bit too quickly, was planning 7 min pace but 6.30 felt so smooth and easy off the bike and then the rain man calculations started and worked out I was going to PB my half marathon and break 6 and a half hours, this was shorted lived as KM 3 the heat and swim/bike exertion hit me like a ton of bricks, was absolutely cooked the first 7km lap, but the vibe/support from friends/strangers and aid station staff shouting out support and encouragement was incredible, had to run/walk quite a bit of the course frustratingly but it was just too hot and I didn’t have the gas tank to run it all! Was dousing myself in cold sponges and water and necking cokes like they were going out of fashion!
Crossed the finish line and felt amazing, body in absolute pieces but super happy and content, had a great rest of the day with the team and friends and back at my desk with the post race blues now!!!
Initial negotiations have been started with the wife for Netherlands 70.3 end of June but they weren’t initially well received so will need to work on this!
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