The Pack – so far in 2010

It may still be a small group but they are keeping me on my toes. Bike racing, Xterra, Mountain Biking,Sprint Triathlon, Olympic Triathlons . . . and that’s just Adam

Last season my group were focused on the ‘National Series’ in Ireland – all very stressful, particularly since I wasn’t intelligent enough to understand the scoring system or motivated to ‘play the game’.

This seasons race plan is a lot more variable and interesting. We have some Ironman 70.3 and Xterra as well as some of Europes iconic races to prepare for such as the London Triathlon and the Alph D’huez triathlon. Add to that the European Champs in Athlone and the rest of the Irish Calendar and we have a packed year of racing.

It is the international racing that excites me – I am always in favour of the guys using triathlon to see the world. People spend a lot of money on equipment etc but would they have a better life experience using the same money to race abroad ? Life is all about experiences and memories . . . .

Last season we trained more as a group – very effective in terms of improving our swimming – this year though the plans are very individual but the ‘Hot Chip recipe’ still the same

“Over and Over and Over and Over . . .  the joy of repitition really is in you”

We have built our base over the winter and as the wise man says

“now it is all about racing, you cannot improve much on your fitness between races but you can become more tired”

Training is becoming more specific to the demands of the race and recovery is high on my list of demands. I should maybe listen to my own advice !

With the season well underway I am more of a stress manager and motivator than programme generator – every so often I am helped out with words of advice and motivation  from others

” The bike is where the business happens- you can really make the race on the bike- go depending on your fitness and Gav’s advice. After the bumping and jostling of the bike (oh yes, and the pedaling) the run is always tough and quite slow compared to road tris. So just prepared to slog it out. Oh yes, make sure to enjoy the thing- its the bloody Mediterranean! Have fun, make friends and enjoy the process…”  Conrad Stoltz

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