This weekend I did an educational brick training session on Sunday. It started off the week before with a major plan to clock 180k on Saturday But then Saturday arrived and so did the rain. A quick change of plan and I moved my long swimming session too Saturday with the hope of riding on Sunday. Saturday’s swim I can only sum up in one word … Awesome.

So Sunday arrived, but the morning wake up was not motivational at all. One excuse followed the other. It was mzanzi road challenge and the road to the cradle will be blocked was the most popular. So what did I do? I did nothing and decided I need to go shopping for a heater. Suddenly the motivation came, probably with the help of the sun. My mind changed into “mzanzi should she done at 12pm and I can sneak in a bike ride between 13:00 and 18:00. I packed my rear and front light and I hit the cradle loop.

On the ride I changed my strategy to a 80k bike followed by 10k run. I chomped on a energy bar -powerade- and had my 1st learning. Eating on the bike is valuable. So act like a hamster and take two big chunks and let it dissolve in your mouth. It leaves a gap for breathing and you don’t need to chew. It worked for me.

After the bike I hit the run. I picked up my pace by the time i reached half way. Getting towards the end I felt my concentration was dropping. Now this after 3 hour bike and 15 min run. What strategy did I follow? I started counting every second step. I kept doing this and counting faster to maintain the pace. What a great distraction from being tired.

Both options are worth a try. They work for me and hope to use them in the training forward and in the Ironman race.