Travelling to Roth

I left Sydney 26 hrs ago. I’m now writing this on the train on the way to Nuremburg (another 2 hrs), then my homestay will drive me to Roth (another 1hr). I have hardly slept, eaten ordinary food, and am feeling the effects of both.

On a good note, despite missing my train at Frankfurt due to me forgetting to bring my train ticket with me and having to purchase a new ticket on a later train, it did allow me more time to chat to Jan Sibbersen, infamous triathlon swim specialist and owner/founder of Sailfish wetsuits.

Jan contacted me a week ago and immediately I was impressed by the chance to meet someone who I have referenced to many times before in regards to telling friends about how others have made their careers, and how I would like to simulate, and improve on their performances.

It was great to arrive in Frankfurt and be met by Jan. he helped me sort out my train ticket problem, and my subsequent problems of finding the platform and finding a contact number for my homestay to tell them I am on a later train. Very helpful. But best of all is the opportunity to try a new wetsuit. Sailfish have been doing very well in Europe, and they are thinking of selling in Australia. But for now, it’s just about this weekend. It’s about me showing that my swimming has improved since I started squads. It’s about showing that getting a new wetsuit 3 days before a major race is no problem, and will be fast. But mostly it’s about the fun, thrill, and excitement of trying something new, which is what my whole race this weekend is about.

I’ve worked hard building strength on the bike. I’ve trained hard in the pool more regularly, and my running has been draining/tough. My knees have been pretty creaky for the last month, but thankfully the easy week last week brought them enough recovery so they didn’t ache for this long trip. It has been a tough program for 2.5 months, and a big taper the last couple of weeks. So I am left wondering how fit am I? The taper was somewhat forced due to hitting a wall of fatigue, smashing through it, then hitting a larger one that slowed me up, till now. Now I have a spring in my run, earlier than usual. But the next test of my legs/lungs/heart will be the race. I have to go with my confidence, and believe that everything I have done in the last 3 months was right. I have to believe that after the race I will say “what I did, I will do it again the same for Hawaii”. Of course this is not correct, because it can always be done better, but that is only after the lessons of each race. It’s ironic – you must believe nothing could have been done better, but know you will be able to do it better next time.

Cheers

pj