Update and Liverpool 5i50

Since Lanza I’ve been doing a good impression of a yo-yo: up & down, up & down. Training, motivation, injuries, weight - all have been going up and down. It’s actually been quite enjoyable, taking it easy with no pressure to stick to a training schedule. Even had a beer or two J

The injury to my left calf has been troublesome with lots of trips to the physio, recovery runs, progress then set backs. However, I got through a race on Sunday and my leg held up so hopefully things are on the up.

The race on Sunday was the Liverpool 5i50. As I got set up, the drizzle turned to persistent rain, slowly washing away my motivation to race. However, as we queued up to get in the water I pumped myself up and got the game face on. The water was warm so actually nice to be out of the rain.

Once we got going I really enjoyed myself, the swim and bike went fine, the race was well organized, on closed roads and the support was good. The rain had stopped but the roads were wet and it was a bit gusty so caution needed. Locked my back wheel up on one of the 180 degree turns but only wobbled.

Finally on the run, how would the left calf behave? The plan was to take it easy-ish and go around at ironman pace, i.e. 4:45-5:00 min per k. But the leg felt good and I settled into a comfortable pace of ~4:10 per k and even pushed on a bit in the last 2.5k.

My times were ok, but getting a good time wasn’t the point, nor was it even possible considering I’m in a “recovery/prep” phase. My main aims were to get a bit more race experience, have a hard workout, enjoy, and continue the rehab, so all in all pleased with the day out.

After I was done, we watched the “elite” race which kicked off at 11:30. Four Man Tri club mates were racing, Roger Witz-Barnes, Joe Skipper, Paul Hawkins and Tim Fletcher, along side two-time Ironman World Champ Chris McCormack plus a bunch of other ITU pros. It was great to see the guys do so well alongside some pretty stiff competition.

My times
Swim: 25:37
T1: 01:36
Bike: 1:09:22
T2: 01:52
Run: 39:25 
Total: 2:18:10
77th out of 556