Macca Checks In From Roth Germany

Well I am back in Germany and ready for the Ironman event this weekend. The flight across from the USA this time around was tough. I flew across to London and then was delayed for 4 hours before finally getting to Germany about 7 hours after I was supposed to. I spent most of yesterday sleeping and waiting for my bike to arrive. This also got lost in transit so it finally got here late last night.

Anyway I must admit it is lovely to be back here. I really enjoy this region of Germany especially at this time of year. This event is incredible and the build up is such a buzz. I have been given a V8 Volvo SUV to drive around in over the next 10 days and have to say it is one of the most beautiful cars I have ever driven in my life. It is a beast and has about 320 horse power. I have given it a run along a few of the autobahns’ here and it goes like a rocket.

I was really tired last week after doing the Baja Half Ironman 70.3 race in Mexico. I think doing back to back Half Ironman races left me flat so I had a very light week of work in San Diego before jumping on the plane and coming across here to Germany. I had a 1 hour run this morning and felt great so things are coming together nicely.

The race itself will be tough. All the talk is about a World Record but this is always hard over a race of this distance. The wind can come up on the bike and this throws any fast times out the window. First and foremost I would like to defend my title and that is what I will be focused on. I have come into this years race a little lighter than the last two years and on much less endurance work. The back end of this Ironman might get uncomfortable but hopefully my speed on the run will be solid enough to keep the pace high early on the run. I would like to push the first half of the marathon hard and then try and settle in and see how it feels for the last 6 miles of the run. This will give me an idea of the work I need to do going into Kona. My focus is to learn as much about the back end of the marathon after a hard start and carry this information into my 3 month training block for Hawaii. I have always been a little apprehensive in my first 10 miles of any marathon so trying out new things in races allows you to learn so much more. It will be a tough day but I really enjoy the atmosphere of this race, that if you are going to suffer then why not do it with thousands of people cheering you on. That is the positive way of looking at it.

After Roth I will have 1 week’s holiday in Europe before heading back to California to meet with my family. I am so excited to see them. This has been the longest we have ever been apart and it will be exactly 9 weeks since I have seen my wife and my girls. I miss them so much. We are going to Disneyland which will be a real buzz and then we will stay in Santa Barbara for a few days to relax and surf. We will then fly out to Boulder for the summer and begin my training for Hawaii at altitude again. I must admit I really think the altitude training has been great and is a big plus going into Kona. The training in boulder is enjoyable and it will be easy to log up some big miles through July, August and September. Anyway I better go swimming. I will write again before the race on Sunday.

Safe training,
Macca