The reason why the 2003 Ironman in Jeju never happened can be traced back to this day. I don't need evidence to remind me what happened, but I have it. I have my diary, and my Polar Uploads to confirm the details of that day.
I've written in my dairy:
Gorgeous Day! Independence Day! One of the clearest [days] I have seen in Korea ever!
Got up at 6am (4 hours sleep)!
Cycled to Walmart, then to Tongil Dongsan. Noonah (which means, older sister, and also known to us foreigners as Eeh Sung Hee, or'The Ironwoman')brought the Powerbars. Lots of guys from Han's squad. Cycled fairly hard to Imjingak with Han's no:1 guy hard on my heels, sprinting absurdly up hills as if to show his form.
Stopped to collect some Powerbars then did it again. Wow, saw speedskaters (in uniform), and just saw forever!Came back and waited - my [running] shoes were locked in the car. Finally the dude arrived and about 9 of us ran together. I dropped them all. Run was hot, but I felt very good - only 9km. Paid Noonah W300 000. Had some watermelon, then cycled back - 147km.
Had pasta at Pomodorro with Corneli , then came home and slept. Slept from 16:00 until 19:30. Then went to New York restaurant for a steak. Then had a massage and watched Old School. Went home at 01:00 feeling really tired and weary.
Next day's entry:
Woke up or a swim, but then lay in for a minute and fell asleep. Woke up later, and feel like I have a cold...
Next day's entry:
Went running at 9am despite not feeling too hot. Ran 2 with Andrew and Bernard. Did another 2 on my own. Felt pretty good. Came home and slept. Later went to KFC. Came home for a sleep... and later went swimming.
Monday 18th:
3 very stressful events occur on the same day, one of which is my Chinese girlfriend finally tells her parents she is seeing me, and they prohibit her from flying to Korea to visit me. This is profoundly disappointing to me.
Tuesday 19th
...still poegaai with flu...&
Observations
1)What may not be very clear is that the cycle on the 15th was in fact very hard, not so much in and of itself, but because it was done in combination with a hard run in the heat, and then another cycle home, and I remember this is where I really felt drained...when my body had cooled and I was really hungry at this stage. I remember feeling exhausted when I got home. The error here was a combination of nutrition and over-exertion in the heat.
3)I notice also that my sleep patterns were not looking very good, and I seemed physically tired. I needed to rest/sleep more than I was.
4)I was exposed to a lot of stress, which needed to be diffused, or resolved quickly.
5)Was I listening to my body? I think all 4 points above caused the flu which followed unabated right up to race day.
Polar Indicators:
Maximum heartrate: 161
Average: 130
Average speed: 30.2km/h
Time: 5h46 Total. 4hrs 20 minutes for 130km, followed by a 9km run (46 minutes), and then another cycle: 43 minutes (17.5km). It was roughly 5 hours of cycling and almost an hour running, 2 weeks before the race. It was the hardest workout the whole year, even harder than the 180km cycle (6 hours, 34 minutes, heart rate 156 maximum/129 average, speed 27.7km/h on 3 August)or the 5 hour 13 minutes 150km (28.8km/h and 126 average heart rate)cycle a week later. It should have been a 120km cycle in total. The last cycle should have had a slightly higher average speed and average heart rate, but a much lower distance. But the distance was not reduced, and a run was added. I remember that day as specifically feeling extremely hard, and that after that I really felt tired and unable to recover. That small amount over and above what was required, was enough to tip the delicate scales of my immunity and so the entire fortress of fitness got washed away over the next few days.
Besides all the technical detail, I don't believe I was ready to do a good race. I believe, had I backed down, I may well have finished the race, and performed reasonably. It is pertinent to note the last 4 weekly totals which are way below what I did this year:
Ironman was in Week 35:
Week 25 (10 weeks to go):12h42Week 26 (9 weeks to go): 6h14
Week 27 (8 weeks to go): 8h06Week 28 (7 weeks to go): 11h52 (including Cheorwon triathlon)
Week 29 (6 weeks to go): 8H39Week 30 (5 weeks to go): 10h07 (big jump)
Week 31 (4 weeks to go): 12:27 (big jump)
Week 32 (3 weeks to go): 13:45 (another consecutive jump).
Week 33 (2 weeks to go): 11:13 (Starting to feel sick)
Week 34 (1 week to go): 00:00 (Sick)
Week 35 (Ironman) Raced for 4 hours (maximum heart rate 169 (while swimming)) and withdrew at 100km on the cycle, totally exhausted: Total training time including the Ironman, 6:11
Another thing wrong with these figures are that they are way to low. There should be workouts in there totaling more than 15 hours, even reaching 20 hours. The most was less than 14 hours , the hardest workout only 3 weeks from race day. 4 weeks is better. So it was a case of doing too much, too late and unsystematic, in too big jumps. The workout on August 15th was the culmination of making too big jumps in training, and was what finally undid all the work. The day should be a lesson, but perhaps more important, is that a more consistent pattern allows one to at least stay healthy during the buildup process.
So the lesson for 2005: train in a consistent pattern
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