Ironman 70.3 Galway 2012

Race Report

No matter what you have or what you have done you always want more and sometimes it seems tat you’re never getting any closer. Patience is a wonderful thing and something which I think I like many other Sports People lack. We’re always looking to do more then we already have, do it faster then we have before, we’re never really happy and we don’t want to wait and be patient, we want it now.

So onto Galway and I’m going to skip the bull shit with this and I have to admit that my initial thoughts were of disappointment, I came 8th Overall and to be honest I was shooting for a top 5. Once I had finished I thought for f***s sake not another average result however on further reflection on the race it’s not a s**t result there were some strong old boys in the race such as former Ironman 70.3 world champion Terrenzo Bozzone, Mike Aigroz (15th at Kona 2011), Jan Van Berkel (2nd Ironman Switzerland 2012), plus a few other guys who have had top results so when I put it into perspective it’s a result which I think is reflective of the level I’m at the moment.
The thing is because I’ve had a 5th place all be it in a weaker field at UK70.3 so when I come to other Ironman branded events I am always looking to build on that and get an even better result I want to get a podium and weather or not I may be capable of that it’s easy to think that if I don’t achieve it then it’s not been a good race which is ridiculous really but I know I’m not the only one who thinks like this. I think pretty much everyone I know thinks like this, I mean for example if you get a pb in a 5k race you’re always going to want to try and beat that in every 5k you do and it’s just not possible to break it every time as terrain may effect this and the course but hey if we don’t aim high how are you ever going to know what you’re capable of. Also how many people have had a goal failed and then thought right f**k this I’m going to smash it and make sure I bloody get that result next time!
Well that’s what I’ve thought since Galway, I have 1 more race left and then that’s it the end of the season so I thought right I’m going to really push the training in the build up to the next race (http://ironmanpaysdaix.com/) I’m going to absolutely smash it, take a few risks and spice it up a bit, a shit or bust approach. To make sure I got the most out of myself I’ve been going to bed really early getting lots of decent sleep and doing everything else pretty much spot on, it’s just been head down, train, eat, sleep, so it will be interesting to see how this race goes. As the race is next week I’m currently tapering at the moment which will involve doing a few short hard sessions, time off my feet, decent sleep at night, I mean I’m sure you guys know the drill. One thing which I’m really focusing on is visualizing the race trying to imagine how I want it to plan out. Mentally I want to be in the right place, I think it helps knowing that I have no races left, no training to do after the race etc so I can just fully focus on trashing myself and just basically total obliteration well hopefully, to do that your head needs to be in the right place and I really hope mine is because I’m so, so, so desperate to finish on a high!
I know it’s not much of a race report but there isn’t much to write really about Galway really, the most interesting thing was getting into a battle, it started on the bike and finished on the 3rd lap of the run with him just pulling away unfortunately but it was a good battle! I really liked that unfortunately though like I said he pulled away but he’s no slouch apparently as he got 3rd in Norway 70.3 behind Filip Osplay, and Rasmus Henning. He’s a mad bastard as well as there is no swimming pool where he lives so he swims in the sea all year round