Enduroman Deca Iron UK. A 24 mile swim, followed by 1120 mile bike ride
along the rugged coastal roads from Fowey to Lands End in Cornwall, then
a 262 mile run along the extremely demanding and undulating South West
Coast path. Follow Steve's training blog along his journey to be the first person in history complete
the 'Toughest Deca on the Planet!
Last week was run week and as usual I started the week off on Monday evening with a long swim. We have searched the south of England high and low and Esporta in Dorset can offer us the most individual swim time - 15 and a half hours. The cut off for the Deca swim is 21hrs, however I wont be getting that luxury. In the Deca 'World' championships in 2008, the finishing times approx (in hours) for the 18 athletes over the swim were: 13.5, 15, 15.5, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 19, 19, 21, 21, 21, 22, 23. So it would mean me completing the swim faster than 3rd place in the world champs. Esporta only opens for 15.5hrs so I guess I will only be able to get 15 hours worth of swimming in. I won't have the added advantage of a wetsuit either.
My swim on Monday was over 6 miles (one quarter of the Deca). Although I tired towards the end I kept up a consistent pace over the 6 x 1 mile reps finishing in a few minutes over 3hrs.
I then ran a marathon a day for 3 days at Deca pace. From work to home is bang on 26 miles so the run home was a good use of time. Although running through some parts of Birmingham wearing spandex and a camel back is not recommended (unless you have a warrant card
), I enjoyed the training. The training I have planned over the 8 weeks before the Deca is of course, very different to what it would have been if the Deca had been in September. I know that during the next couple of months, I am going to pick up injuries. I know where the weak points of my body are, so it is important I listen to them and rest when I need to rest. Over the 3 days, the pain in my left achilles, left calf and right knee came and went, and then returned again. The only thing that was consistent after the first marathon were a pair of shot quads and the old skool rave on my Blackberry.
I had planned runs over the weekend, but it was very clear when I assessed the state of my legs Saturday morning that this clearly was not going to happen. I went over to Ringwood instead and swam in a master class as part of Zoom Triathlon Club. It was good just to be told what to do again without planning it myself and they were a good bunch of troops. Then out came the bike, 3 days earlier planned, and I set off from Christchurch in Dorset, without map and without a clue where I was going. I headed off east towards Southampton, Eastleigh, Romsey and finally to Winchester before I turned back.
Next week (Bike week) is going to be tough. 8 mile pool swim tomorrow evening then I'm going to cover one third of the Deca's bike distance over 7 days.
Things that have rocked this week:
1: Poached egg sandwiches with bbq sauce.
2: Haribo Jelly Babies
Is this funny or what?!