Welcome Back Turbo Man The Triathlete!

Yes, in 2011 I will be returning to Long Distance Triathlon by entering The Outlaw on 24 July. Not exactly sure why I've decided to return to tri but the time just seemed right to give it another go. Sorry for appearing to build up the suspense but I had to get in the pool and try swimming again before making any announcement. So today I headed to the pool at lunchtime to see whether those feelings that made me stop so suddenly 2 years ago would re-emerge, and if not, whether I could still swim. The initial feelings were positive, I was actually looking forward to getting to the pool, and even climbing in and experiencing that horrible feeling as the cold water hits your stomach didn't put me off. I adjusted my goggles, took a deep breath, and pushed off. I kicked under the water surfaced, breathed out and my arms just seemed to know what to do, and did their stuff (well as much as they ever could!). Bilateral breathing just seemed to happen and I didn't suck in great lungfuls of water. Touch turn at the far end (I never learned tumble turns) and then steadily back. It's a 33m pool so took a bit longer than I remembered but I reached the end and stood up.

" Well that went as well as could be expected" as Wallace would have said!

The goggles leaked a bit so I faffed about adjusting them, just like old times. I did a few more reps of 2 lengths and then decided to time a few to set some sort of benchmark; I thought that if I could swim at 2:20/100m pace it would get me through 3800m in just under 90 minutes which would be a good start to my Outlaw on race day. The times were very consistent at 70 seconds for 66m so about 1:45 per 100m pace, very very happy with that. I reckon 2:00/100m over 3800m is a more realistic pace for me to aim for in July 2011.

With the decision now made the next step is to set some benchmarks for my jog/walk strategy. I want to average 8.5kmh for the marathon that will get me home just under 5 hours; not fast but my marathon PB (set at IM Frankfurt in 2006) is 5:11 so a sub-5 time would still qualify as a PB! I will do some tests on the treadmill and outside to see what sort of pace I can jog at and walk at and then determine how many minutes of jogging I need to do compared to walking. I'm setting out with the intention of jog/walk, and it will all be worked out in advance to deliver a pre-determined marathon time. It won't be fast but I'm hoping it will be fast enough. And I want to enjoy it so there will be no runs of 3 hours + in training.

So there you have it. Turbo Man the Triathlete is back. Wish me luck as I expect there will be some doubts on the way.

All the best.