With only 54 days until Ironman France the volume of training seems to have ramped up dramatically. When I started this journey I was following my training program religiously and don’t think I ever missed a session but over the past few weeks staying on track is proving to be harder than I thought. Trying to maintain a balance between family and triathlon is a much harder challenge than I had bargained for, I take my hat off to anyone that can train for these events consistently as the dedication required is unbelievable.

This long weekend has seen me complete a 94 mile bike ride over what I consider some of the hilliest parts that we have to offer in my area. The image below shows the elevation of my route.

However, I did find this elevation map of the IM France route and it just goes to show how much more difficult cycling there is going to be. Sadly there is nowhere I can train for these types of climbs so just gotta make sure I arrive feeling fresh !

I also managed a 28km run and a 3km open water swim (first of the year!) so felt like I have got some good sessions in this week. The fatigue from this longer stuff does carry over throughout the week though and trying to get the shorter higher intensity stuff in during the week is a struggle.

Its off to the Marshman next weekend for a half Ironman distance to test my race plan and fitness. Then its only another 5 weeks of hard training before I start tapering down to race day. Still full of excitement for the race but in some ways I am looking forward to the end as I would love a week off training !!