Kebab to Ironman: Cairns 2020 Ironman — Month 1

First big ride of the training block — Hilly ride to Moggill and back with these kebabs.

Some know, but if you’d don’t, I’m now a little over four weeks into my first Ironman campaign. It’s been somewhat trying with a few obstacles thrown my way, but I think it has been mostly successful. I started the block by slowing recovering from gastro, meaning I lost a week of training, but I don’t think it’s impacted that much.

Why Ironman?

Ironman is a big commitment. For those not in the know, the race itself is gruelling. 3.8km swim followed by 180km on the bike and then a full marathon, 42.2km of running! Not for the faint-at-heart, that’s for sure.

I’ve long wanted to do an Ironman, and back when I first started doing triathlon regularly in late 2014, I’d promised myself to complete one before I hit 40.

That now isn’t long off, and 2020 is pretty much my last chance to do a full Ironman. So back in around September 2019 I hit the ‘go time’ button on the Ironman website and signed myself up for Cairns Ironman in June 2020. That’s after some substantial negotiation with my partner!

Rocky start

I had intended to start base training straight away, but a nasty case of acute bronchitis floored me for a month. Then I went on a three week holiday to Japan and did nothing but eat and drink. I didn’t get a chance even to start training until late November, and I was paranoid I’d not have enough time to build up to Ironman.

Others in the triathlon community assured me I’d be okay given my history of training for endurance events. I’m not a total newbie having completed three half Ironman events. Still, I was (and am) substantially out of shape due to lack of consistency and poor diet. I still am a bit worried I’ll not be ready in time.

Training so far

So a month in, how’s it going?

Well, okay, I think. The training has been more or less consistent. The hardest challenge is getting enough sleep!

Sea of green in my Training Peaks calendar is pleasing!

During the first month, I’ve managed to:

• Race two sprint races: Kingscliff Triathlon and QTS Round 4 at Raby Bay.
• Attend a freestyle clinic run by Effortless Swimming
• Procure a new TT bike and get my bike fit dialled in
• Mostly been consistent
• Also became vegetarian (for reasons not related to triathlon, but I’ve been feeling way better since doing it).

Here are some key stats on my first four weeks.

• Swimming: 3 hours, 27 minutes | 7.5 km
• Cycling: 14 hours, 52 minutes | 323.3 km
• Running: 8 hours, 58 minutes | 75.3 km

Cycling will be slightly over inflated compared to the other sports given I often commute to work on my bike. I know I’m underdone on the swim, but my usual pool has been closed recently due to maintenance (now back open).

Swimming will soon ramp up during the second month, and I want to be consistently getting in 2 hours per week at least. I’m pretty happy with running — I’ve managed to remain pretty consistent week in, week out.

I’ve maybe missed two or three sessions. Some have been unavoidable due to work/family responsibilities but only one or two due to tiredness.

Training peaks CTL metrics heading in the right direction despite some issues with my heart rate tracking gear

My Training Peaks CTL (“fitness score”) is going up consistently. I’ve raised it 18 points in a month. I have had some issues with my watch and heart rate strap under reporting my heart rate and also Training Peaks itself not applying my zones correctly but I think it’s mostly sorted now.

Additionally, I’ve dropped somewhere in the range of 2.5 kilograms, which is okay — though ideally, I’d love to lose a lot more and soon!

Racing towards the finish at QTS Round 4 at Raby Bay in my SBTC cap. Photo: Behrooz Farahnakian

I’ve been loosely following Don Fink’s Ironfit competitive plan. I’m on the base plan weeks where nearly everything is zone 2 and easy. This type of training has agreed with me and helped me build up an endurance base and allowed me to recover in time for the next session. I intend to follow this up until the base phase is over and then perhaps look at coaching.

Mark from BikeFit Studio dialing in the angles on my new Trek Speed Concept

The weeks are now becoming 8–10 hours weeks, meaning I’m up early in the morning to do a run or a brick before heading to work and often doing another session post work.

Next steps

• Get back into squad swimming and become more consistent in the pool.
• Continue to ‘train slow to get fast’ and build up a massive endurance base.
• Continue to slowly move toward racing weight (long way to go).
• Continue to see a sea of green on my Training Peaks training calendar.

Anyone else training for Cairns out there?

Credit to Si Halls for the #Kebab2Ironman hashtag and new title of this series.