It's show time

It's hard to believe that the 22 week training plan for Ironman WA has nearly come to an end. It sure was an interesting ride! I'd like to thank my coach Bill Scanlan for getting me this far, it is with his coaching and guidance that I have confidence in my preparation to be at my best on race day. My lovely wife Li-Ann for tolerating my absence both in body and mind, when I'm out training and when I'm either too tired or zoned out when I'm at home. Without her support I would not have made it this far. The BYL crew, thanks for pushing me to my limits and beyond. It is only with these guys and girls that I can put training for an Ironman and fun within the same sentence.

After a couple of months hiatus, I joined the BYL interval run session on Tuesday morning. We did 6 x 1.45km in King's Park. As it has been a while since I've ran at intensity, it was pretty tough and I was careful not push too hard to prevent getting injured. I did two swim sessions during the week and tried on different wetsuits - full sleeved and sleeveless. My arms felt really sore partway through the full sleeved session and I was baking inside swimming in the heated pool. I felt a lot more comfortable in the sleeveless and my swim times were pretty similar, if not quicker than swimming in the full sleeved. So it's a no brainer that I'll be using the sleeveless on race day unless it's going to be a really cold morning. I'll still bring both down to Busso just in case.

The weekend's volume was a tad bit shorter than last week. I rode for 3.5 hours on Saturday down the Freeway. I had my aero helmet and the disc wheel on, and got many stares from other cyclists and pedestrian. I even copped some abusive words from a bogan driving past in a ute and the Murdoch traffic lights. On Sunday, I ran for 80 minutes around my neighbourhood with negative splits. My first half was quicker than last week's tempo pace and I managed to go even quicker in the second half. Glad to see I'm feeling fresher with the taper.

My dark knight all set up and ready for race day

I had a massage session with Nathan Doig this morning. He was kind not to hurt me too much (his words, not mine!). Race week coming up, a bit of packing to do and plenty of nerves going around. A bit of nervousness is good but too much can be self destructing. Sometimes, it's good to shut away from it all and just take a deep breath.

I wish all those taking part all the best! And to the first timers, enjoy the moment! No one else can do that for you, but yourself. Track us live this Sunday on Ironmanlive.com, my next post shall be my race report!