Easy does it…

The end of 2018 saw the back of that little “annual cycle mileage” competition I was embroiled in with a buddy – I referred to it a couple of blogs ago for those who read this page regularly.

It’s end paved the way for me to pick up my swimming and running again, ahead of Ironman Hamburg in July.

So focused I was on “winning” the aforementioned little competition that I found myself cycling to the detriment of the other two disciplines… after all, if I had scope in my schedule to run, for example, I would deem it more fruitful to get on my bike and add to my mileage tally!

I’m a bit competitive like that!!

Now that thoughts like “I simply can’t lose this competition” have left my head, I needed to make a concerted effort to get back to a more “rounded” regime.

Having said that, I also need to do so in a sustainable way – I remember last year that a focus on “pace” in all three disciplines absolutely robbed me of any enjoyment I was deriving from them.

As you’ll be aware if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, the enjoyment disappeared to such an extent that, not only did I pull out of Ironman Hamburg 2018, but I was dangerously close to pulling out of swim/bike/run altogether.

If there’s one thing I don’t want to happen this year – it’s that.

I need to remember the mantra that I chant so righteously at everyone else but which I seemingly forgot to adhere to myself, 12 months ago.

That enjoyment is king.

Nothing else happens unless you have enjoyment.

With that in mind, I start this year without any real focus on my pace when swimming, cycling or running.

I reckon that speed will come as a by-product of “enjoying” doing all three disciplines… but, right now, I’d do well not to make it about that.

Last week, I went out on my first run for what must be 6 months.

True to my word, I set off at an “enjoyable” pace… rather than a “what in the name of all that’s holy are you doing to me?” pace!

I also didn’t set myself the target of simply upping and running my regular 5km route either.

Again, I figured that, having had 6 months off, it’d be far more pleasant to cut the first run or two a little shorter.

And that’s exactly what I did – I “short-cutted” my normal 5km route by something around 1km and arrived home feeling as fresh as a daisy.

I fully expected my pace to be slow – clearly – but, given all of the factors involved, it wasn’t actually quite as slow as I imagined it would be.

It was, admittedly, significantly slower than the pace I was running when I was doing it more regularly, obviously, but that didn’t bother me.

In fact – it excited me a little, I have to be honest.

It excited me because I felt good about having ran… not bad about having ran slowly.

Roll forward a few days and I was in the pool, employing the same strategy.

And again, my “mile” swim took a couple of minutes more than the “norm”… and I was around 5 minutes shy of what would be deemed quite quick (for me, that is).

But, again, I didn’t fret.

I’d set out to achieve enjoyment and the smile on my face as I got out of the pool was enough to tell me (and anyone else watching this beaming idiot hauling himself over the side) that my mission had been successful.

And, if you’ll permit me to focus on pace for just a moment, the funny thing is that both my run-pace and my swim-pace for those two sessions were faster than anything I was capable of doing back at the start of 2014 – the year of my first full Ironman.

I’ll tell you something else, too.

The lack of concern for my average pace on my bike has freed me up a little to try different routes.

Whenever pace is a focus, I tended to look towards flatter routes which return a higher average speed.

That’s a vanity thing – pure and simple.

I admit it.

It’s wholly artificial – but you can’t argue with the average speed showing on Strava!

When my average speed is no longer important (particularly for the last few rides), I’ve felt more comfortable to head for hills.

Yeah – my average speed is slower, clearly… but I enjoy hills and it’s nice to have them back!

(And, let’s face it, it’s through training on hills where, ironically, I’ll find “genuine” pace – so it’s a “win-win” situation, really).

So it’s been a very “smiley” Phil who has been swimming, cycling and running his way into 2019.

And, I’m quite determined to find myself still enjoying my sport throughout the year, too.

Sure, if I project to how I’ll be feeling as I get closer to Ironman Hamburg, pace may become a bit more of a focus but, until then, I’ll just let my speed slowly improve as a result of enjoying getting out there in the first place.