Spring in My Step Blog

2024 has gotten of to a productive start. 2022 & 2023 I simply felt like i was chasing my tail the entire time. My desire to do everything seemingly lead me to spread myself a little thin & never really feel like i was doing anything as well as I'd like to be doing it. At the conclusion of last year i basically had two options. 1, Leave sport behind for good, or, 2, do things better. Thanks to the belief that those around me have in my athletic ability, I decided on the latter. 

Setting a plan has always been fundamental to my sporting endeavours. The biggest obstacle I've been experiencing these past couple of years has been my inability to follow a plan. My role with the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team is to be on standby all the time which makes it difficult to follow a stringent plan.  So instead of trying to follow a stringent pan, i need to be able to adapt to whatever it is that pops up on my schedule. I realised i needed to allow myself to be more fluid & work with my coaches to work within this framework & ensure we build the foundations to continue improving throughout the year. Most importantly for me from an Ironman perspective, the final block towards Kona will be uninterrupted & be able to be carefully planned out. The 6 months of the year prior to that is the time to build all the blocks to be able to piece them together for the race that matters most to me in Hawaii. 

With that being said we came up with the following frame work. Phase 1, The Australian Summer. Swim Focus, really make the most of the Aussie swim culture & move that discipline to a new level. Strength training, dynamic, core & mobility. Running, Speed, Drills. High intensity on the bike to prepare for the Spring Classics. 

Phase 2, Spring. Nail Kona Qualification in South Africa or Lanzarote if i feel I'm not ready. Hit the classics hard & run after races whenever possible. Maintain the swimming & running foundations that i established in Australia over the summer.

Phase 3, Target the Ironman Pro Series races, 2 x 70.3's, 2 x IM's. Race Vittoria Gastez & aim to improve on my 2nd place back in 2022. Start to build the big training volume weeks. Block of bike races in August to boost the fitness to begin the final build up for kona. Basically get as fit as possible over the summer. I absolutely love training & competing during the European summer. 

Phase 4, Final build up & put everything together in Kona on October 26. 

So now i had what I felt was a very manageable plan as a base level, & some flexibility to add to it as the year progressed. With this in mind, the biggest adjustment we made was choosing some key workouts that had to be done, non negotiable's if you like. From there we had a bunch of other workouts i could plug in depending on the days i had to train between the bike races & any other commitments that's popped up. Making this small adjustments completely changed my mindset. Basically I went from constantly panic training with my swimming & particularly running, between bike races. To all of a sudden feeling like i was doing what was required & anything ontop of these core sessions & bike races was an added bonus. 

These non negotiable's were quite simple. 3 swims, one Vo2/Threshold session of 100's & 50's, One endurance swim of 3km @ Ironman Pace, one continuous swim of 50 minutes or IM swim race time. Next was 2 runs, one threshold/track session & one Ironman Pace run 21-23km. I didn't plan to do any cycling specific training during this period as i felt the bike racing was enough to at worst case get me through a kona qualifier. Truth be told, I rode my Triathlon bike 5 times between January & Ironman South Africa. Perhaps a little audacious however I felt I'd strong enough to be in the race with that & I'd use all my energy to ensure i had a good swim & would be able to defend myself on the Marathon.  So long as i did these core swim & run sessions, & with the loading from the bike racing ontop of that, I was very confident in laying the foundations for the season ahead. 

My summer all went to plan & before i knew it i was in Europe for the opening weekend of the classics. I recently did a podcast with Greg Bennett where we discussed in detail this period of the year, if you're at all interested in how that all went down. https://bewithchampions.podbean.com/e/cam-wurf-olympic-rower-to-pro-cycling-and-ironman-phenom/

Opening weekend in Belgium also signified the beginning of my spring campaign & first real test of my new strategy & approach to my kona Qualification. As in previous years my schedule changed a number of times throughout the spring. Through that however I never ever missed a core workout in any week during this period in the build up to South Africa. The one major change i had negotiate was certainly not one I'd even anticipated happening which was to miss Paris Roubaix & instead race the following week in the hillier classics. This last minister came about when Tom Pidcock decided to race Paris Roubaix & he told me that it gives me a chance to get an extra good weekend of swimming & running in. Being 2-3 weeks out from the Ironman this proved vital to be able to achieve my objectives in South Africa. I was able to have the biggest swim week I'd had all spring, & also complete a 2hr 45min steady run giving me the confidence that i could go the distance in the Ironman. Until this point id only done my 23km runs & while i felt good i had no idea what that would mean in the back half of the marathon. I always like to simulate in training as much as possible what i'll experience in the race so this 'free' weekend proved to be invaluable. Thanks Tom!

As i was rested for Roubaix it meant i was now required to race the following week instead. This presented a new challenge for me as i would be racing on the bike the same week i was racing an Ironman. Whether it was good or bad for my performance in the Ironman is irrelevant. I had a Job to do for the team on the Sunday & Wednesday in Europe prior to the Ironman in South Africa 3 days later. As this week was set in stone i was able to plan out the logistics & sessions i wanted to do around the races meticulously to be confident for the Ironman.

As I'd expected him to, the week got off to the perfect start with Tom Pidcock winning the Amstel Gold Race. I was very confident Tom would win when he decided to race Roubaix the weekend before. To me it was obvious he wanted that hard hitout to prepare his body for Amstel which is perfectly suited to his characteristics. When you have this confidence in your leader it's incredibly easy to execute your role for the team. Mine was simple, ensure the correct manageable break formed in the early stages & then control the race for the first 150km. Basically meant riding on the front alone keeping 4 riders at around 3 minutes gap. This gap is easy to shut down when the big guns start firing out of the peleton on that kind of course. Once my job was done the rest of the guys kept Tom in the perfect position for him to make his move in the final 20km. From there it just seemed to be a formality that he'd win which he duly did in a 4 rider sprint to the line. The week was off to the perfect start & gave me a great feeling that I'd have a successful Sunday in a weeks time. 

Between the race on Sunday & the next race on Wednesday i had a chance to do my key pre race sessions in the pool & on the run. These are pretty basic sessions, a 12km run with 2 X 3km at IM pace 4minutes per km, & a swim with 12 x 100m @ IM Pace with some 50's race rehearsal start speed practice. I felt great in both of these sessions & knew my body was ready to race, i simply had to get through Wednesdays race without incident & I'd be on the plane to South Africa. 

Wednesdays bike race, started out perfectly. Once again we'd ensured the manageable sized breakaway & i set about controlling the peleton. We once again had huge confidence in Tom & where riding with our tails up from his win on Sunday. Just when everything seemed to be going perfectly a crazy rain/hail/snow storm came out of the blew & the next thing i knew our entire team was back on the bus shivering on the verge of hypothermia wondering what on earth just hit us. Personally I've never been that cold in my life & I've been in some freezing situations during my rowing days! My hands hurt so much i couldn't even slide my hand through the sleeve of a rain coat. Anyways not a lot of point dwelling on that one, we weren't even in the race, literally, all of us were on the bus with 50km of the race remaining. Only 30 riders of the 170 starters finished that day. Obviously some really do have thicker skin than others!!

My biggest concern after being this cold was obviously getting sick. I followed all the protocols the team doc gave me to regain my core temperature most effectively & also supplementation to give the immune system a massive boost. Basically this meant 10 tablets of vitamin C, some crushed garlic, & plenty of water to flush the system. It worked a treat & 24hrs later i was on the ground in South Africa putting my bike together. It was the tail end of summer in that part of the world which was a pleasant warming of the bones after the events of 24hrs prior! I went through my final checklist of activities in the last couple of days leading into the race. 

Two days out i like to do an easy 50min or race time swim on the ocean. Obviously a very easy swim, normally 3km +- where i again do a little start & mid race speed speed practice, familiarity with wearing a wetsuit again & make sure that all fits properly. To me this is the most important session in those final couple of days to give me the confidence im ready for a good swim on race day. Next up is a ride to ensure the bike is working all as it should. I usually do around 10minutes at race pace just to get the feel for that, ensure I'm comfortable in the position & obviously just to prime the muscles to what's expected of them in 48hrs time. Next up is you guessed it, a short run, usually 5k. I slowly build up to Ironman tempo, again that's 4minute/km pace & lock in the feeling i want to have on race day. 

Once these 3 sessions are done i feel like I'm ready. The day before the race i don't do any structured exercise at all. Simply ride around the car park & make sure the bikes ready to go, & jog up and down the hallway of the hotel to make sure my shoes & socks still fit me. From there pre race day is spent prepping all my food & anything else that needs to be organised for race day. Unlike when I'm with the cycling team i need to take responsibility first this job myself as I'm on my own out there. The rules are pretty simple in Ironman racing, zero outside assistance, only what you carry yourself or what you can take from the feed zones on the course. Worst case scenario you dont bring any food of falls of your bike there's more than enough on course to get you through a race. It's obviously part of your preparation to use the nutrition & hydration you've trained your body to function best on. Again similar to race type training, gives you the confidence that you'll have the energy onboard to execute your race. 

Onto race day. I had the best pre race sleep I've had before an Ironman. I was in bed at 8pm & didn't stir until my alarm went off at 4:30am. At the time i was greatful for the sleep but deep down i knew it meant i was tired! I put that quickly out of my mind though & instead drew on the positives that i'd had a great sleep & was ready to race! I went through all my pre race routines, checking the bike, stretching, & getting myself into the wetsuit ready to dive into the Indian Ocean. Finally it was time to put my new training strategy to the test & see if i could qualify for kona on a much reduced yet strategic preparation. 

Once i was in the water i knew i was going to have a great day. I quickly positioned myself in the main front group, comfortable in the knowledge that only 2 quicker swimmers were dangling just of the front of our group. To qualify for Kona i needed a top 4 finish position. My strategy was simple, be in the top 4 from start to finish. I the swim, we swim in a group, i was happy with 4th being in my group. So in this case the swim was already going better than expected as the leader of our group was in 3rd place. I exited the water in the excellent position & can honestly it was one of, if not the best swim I've ever had in Ironman. It felt incredibly comfortable & in was right at the front of the race. The first test of our new training strategy had been a success. 

Once on the bike i quickly dropped the group of guys id swam with & set about chasing down the 2 guys up the road. They were only 90 seconds in front so with 20km i was already at the front of the race. At this point things couldn't have been going anymore perfectly & I continued to grow in confidence believing that not only could i qualify for Kona today but potentially be in contention to win the race aswell. 45km into the ride we hit the first turnaround which gave me an opportunity to see the entire field & asses where everybody was. I was incredibly happy to already be leading at this point & also i thought quite happy with where everyone else was in relation to me. Around 60km into the ride i got quite a shock when the giant suede Rasmus Svenningsen blasted straight past me. He must've made up close to a 2-3minute gap on me after the swim & was absolutely flying. Like a dog to a bone I obviously upped my pace to stay with him. 

For the next 100km or so we swapped positions at the front of the race & continued to put time between us & everybody else. It was obvious that the winner on the day would be one of us, was just a matter of who would execute there race the best. Approaching the final 30km of the ride i was really on the limit, Rasmus was really putting me to the sword. I decided the leave my cycling ego at the door which i don't often do & back off to a more comfortable pace, confident that I'd be able to run him down. Yes that's right, i had confidence in my running legs that that was my best chance of winning the race. In all honesty i knew if i tried to maintain Rasmus's pace on the bike it'd be highly likely I'd pay for that big time on the run. So confident was i in my foundation of work i did in Australia over the summer & had maintained during the spring, that I'd  turn this into a running race. Most definitely a tactical first for me haha. 

Onto the Run with a 2 minute gap to Rasmus. At this point i was very confident i could close that down & win the race. I'm always excited to get onto the run especially when I believe i can run well. I realise that sounds obvious but it's for a certain reason. To me, the swim & the bike both have unforeseen problems that can arise that are capable of ruining your day. You can get wacked in the face & lose your googles, swim off course following the others & lose time for example. When you're on the bike you can crash or get a flat tire. Once onto the run its simply you on your own two feet. It's the only time in an Ironman i truly feel in charge of what i'm doing. I simply cannot wait to slide into my running shoes.

Back to the marathon in South Africa. I didn't rush the process of chasing down Rasmus. I simply settled into my own rhythm that'd enable me to slowly but surely claw him back, & take the lead in the later stages of the marathon. The race for qualification seemed to be under control assuming I didn't do anything silly with 3rd & 4th 8+ minutes behind, & fifth almost 10 minutes back. I knew that with a high 2:40's to a low 2:50's marathon I'd be safe & sound for kona qualification. So i slotted into my marathon pace I'd been knocking out during my non negotiable sessions throughout the spring. 4min per km +- had me on track for a 2:50ish marathon. The course was 4 laps meaning 8 opportunities to see your opposition. 

Everything went perfectly to plan in the first half marathon. I was slowly but surely catching Rasmus & keeping 5th place at a safe distance away from me. My wife as always was fundamental in feeding me information about what was happening around me although its hard to hear her at times as Wyatts cheering is next level. He really has a set of lungs on him that boy! He asked me the night before to try & win this race. I told him i always try to win, most often I'm simply not good enough to win. He said can you try even harder this time! I said of course mate. So obviously when he roared at me each lap on the run I definitely picked up my heals. 

Around 25km into the run i passed Fallon & Wyatt this time in 1st place (photo attached). Fallon had to move a little further away from him to ensure i could hear what was going on behind me as it was crunch time in the race, he was going absolutely wild with encouragement, gave me goosebumps. While I'd ultimately fade & finish 3rd, it was nice talking through the race with my son about coming from behind & getting into the lead & atleast giving myself a chance to win, however once again not being good enough to win. We agreed i need to try a bit harder next time! 

Normally when you take the lead late in the race like that you're home and hosed. I couldn't have be more wrong & perhaps i lost some intensity thinking i had it. I built up a good lead, however, Rasmus had a second wind in him. With around 8km to go Rasmus surged past me like I was standing still, similar to the way he had on the bike 5hrs earlier. While on that occasion i was able to steady myself & claw him back on the run, this time it was a knockout blow. I was definitely running low on reserves. The week of bike racing & travel felt like it was finally catching up with me & the adrenaline had well & truly worn off. As much as I wanted to respond again & chase him down I physically couldn't a 2nd time. It was now time to forget about Rasmus & the win & instead focus on qualifying for Kona, the main objective is had for the event.

Fortunately i was in a comfortable position provided i kept jogging. Once you slow to walk you burn minutes very very quickly. With 7km to go i still had 3 minutes up my sleeve on 4th & 4minutes on 5th. 3rd was somewhere in between but to be honest i was more worried about where 4th & 5th were. It was simple, I couldn't lose more than 30 seconds per km. At that stage in a marathon it's unlikely for anyone to be running 3:45 per km in the final part of the race, 4:15's & i was safe. I slowed to this for a few km's just to regain my composure & energy a little in case i was pressured in the final few km's. 3rd place was the fastest runner on the course & sped past me inside the final 2km. At this point i knew so long as i stayed strong i was safe & sound in 3rd, however, having suffered the qualification attempt failures the previous 2 years i wasn't prepared to risk that again & fight Mathias for 2nd. 

I rolled into the final 500m & saw Fallon & Wyatt for the final time. Wyatt gave me the best advice I've ever heard in an Ironman. He simply said Dadda, go to the finish line, our work here was done in other words haha, i was definitely ready to cross that finish line. 3rd place & qualification secured i was extremely satisfied running down the finish shoot. When i crossed the line I was totally exhausted, not so much physically but more mentally. Failing the qualifying the previous years had really scared me & I didn't want to experience that again. I dug so deep into all the reserves my body possessed to manage the spring & week I'd just been through with all the events that I was simply out of gas. 

I wrapped up the post race formalities, podium, interviews ect, & walked across the road to the hotel to reunite with the family. I walked into the room, jumped in the shower & popped straight into bed. Despite having 1000mg of caffeine racing through my veins i went lights out. I was asleep within 1hr of crossing the line basically, that'd never happened before. Normally you're too wired & sore to even contemplate relaxing enough to close your eyes. Following the best afternoon siesta i think i think Wyatt must woken me when he stirred from a similar nap. He said "you didn't win Dadda but you definitely tried" haha he summed it up extremely well, i told he was very correct & that i definitely gave it everything i had. 

So that was the almost perfect end to a great spring. A spring where i finally had a plan, was able to stick to it, believe in it, & for sure this belief in the preparation allowed me to get the job done in South Africa. Being apart of Tom's win in Amstel Gold Race 7 days earlier was a huge boost. I so desperately wanted to win myself but sometimes a win comes in other forms, in this case qualification felt incredibly satisfying.

With the spring now behind me I'm incredibly excited to get stuck into the summer. I'll have time to train a lot more & I love the summer races in the hot weather. Unlike previous years, I physically feel much fresher than i have in the past. This strategy to hold back a lot in the first half of the year has definitely had the effect i was hoping it would have. I plan to target the Ironman Pro Series with Les Sable 70.3, Ironman Vitoria Gasteiz, & Ironman Lake Placid looking like my most likely races in June/July. In August i'll some more bike races from the team hitch will kick start the final build up to Kona. Europe really comes alive in the summer & that energy gives me great motivation to train & race my ass off. At the ripe old age of 40 I feel like I've finally found a method to my madness. 

CJW

P.s.

A comment on a previous Blog had a significant impact on me believing in the strategy I've adopted this season. Whoever the anonymous person was I really have placed a lot of belief in your ideas to give me the best chance of success in October Haha!! Jokes aside, thankyou, it really resonated with me. 

"AnonymousMarch 30, 2023 at 6:55 PM

Great read.

I kind of like that you didnt do 100km+ back to back run weeks this year in Jan-February as I wonder whether that might actually be a bit detrimental to the final push into Kona.

However, given that you ran out of legs after an hour in this marathon, would a 60-70km run week base in Jan-Feb be a good option for an early ironman like South Africa. It seems to me that having a long run day (2hrs morning, 30-40 miuntes in the evening) and once 'quality' session of between 40-60 minutes (plus one or two other shorter runs during the week) would provide enough base to tick off 4min/km for the whole marathon in an such an early race, and still leave you fresh (and with an appropriate base) for the rest of the season.

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One Race To Many

Another season is in the books which always provokes the desire for some reflection. On one hand, I've been able to individually produce my best ever swim, bike, & run performances. On the other hand however, I've not been able to do it all in the same race which is a basic requirement in my line of work! There's no doubt that my inability to manage my time properly inhibited my ability to get to my absolute peak, i most certainly spread myself a little to thin at times throughout the year. Being able to perform at a world class level, a level that I work day in & day out to achieve, requires a solid plan, & diligent execution. You can work as hard as you like, if you get the small details wrong they've got the potential to derail everything. Having said that, nothing ventured nothing gained, as long as i learn from these mistakes i can take the positives of 2023, & be optimistic of a much more structured & consistent 2024. 

Following the disappointment of the Ironman World Championships in Nice, i was determined to achieve something out of the year to set the foundation for next season. I decided to focus on consolidating the running work I'd done over the summer & ensure i got that back on track. I'd not run well in an Ironman in over 2 years & it'd been 4 years since i set my Marathon PB of 2:46. Realising the urgency to break this cycle, & to give myself any chance of keeping pace with the front end of the sport, a single minded approach was necessary. I ran at a much higher intensity than ever before which is my preferred way of training, be exceptionally tired all the time. I perhaps pushed this to another level as on race morning the fatigue of not only the concentrated running block, but also the season as a whole, had certainly sunk in. I honestly contemplated staying in bed & faking a cold! I was just exhausted. Not surprisingly, in the race things didn't start out overly well. When I tired i swim terribly, completely lose my technique & just flap around like a fish out of water. In the swim I almost turned & swam straight back to the hotel, i really didn't want to be there. On the flip side i'd come to Florida to test my run & simply reasoned with myself nothing else matters except how well you run. Small steps if you like, pardon the pun! The annoying thing was i had to swim 3.8km & ride 180km just to get to the run!! Keeping myself in the game was definitely the biggest challenge that day. 

Being someone who's had experience leading more races than I've been behind in, I feel i can comment on this with some credibility. Basically when you're behind by a number of minutes, you have to get to the front asap. At some point if you don't get to the front the race simply rolls away from you. The momentum at the front of the race in the final 100km is just different. You don't pedal any harder & you simply just roll away. I've experienced it all over the world. It's obviously awesome when you're up front! Unfortunately it's also rather demoralising when you're behind, you get this sinking feeling. You can still be pushing hard but you simply keep losing ground, It's how it should be. In this sport you shouldn't be able to be terrible at a discipline & expect to be the best. You need to be good at everything & ideally exceptional at atleast one of the disciplines. So having said that, the reason i was excited about my run in Florida, despite getting left behind on the bike, I still averaged my usual 300ish watts. Basically that's my power +-20 watts depending on the course & my condition at the time. So i did execute the marathon with a usual amount of fatigue in my legs, that's what made me happy with the run & a new marathon PB of 2:44. I accomplished my goal of breaking the cycle of bad runs!!

As far as lining up at Ironman Cozumel goes, that was simply one race too many. It's certainly not the first time I've lines up at the end of the season when I should've been recuperating from an already exhausting season. In 2017 i lined up in Busselton IM, all enthusiast mentally after the breakout season I'd had overseas that year. I wanted to show off infront of my home crowd. Similar to cozumel this year, the swim was canceled that day. Initially I thought that was a positive however ultimately it didn't work out for. I started full gas that day & after on 60km i simply couldn't hold my stomach & had to pull over on the side of the road to be violently ill. I was completely empty & couldn't finish the bike leg, DNF. A year later I'd returned to Busselton for redemption which i got with a close 2nd place following a great battle with Terenzo Bozzone. The week later i decided it was a great idea to fly to Daytona Florida, Florida definitely hasn't been good for me in triathlons over the years haha, & race challenge Daytona. Although only a half distance, i was absolutely legless very early in the bike leg. I did finish that day but it took me a very long time to do so haha. 2019, after a great Ironman season i decided id attempt my first & only ITU race. I just remember once the adrenaline of kona had worn off & I had to start training again it was a terrible idea. I used to convince myself 1km swims were ok as ITU racing is much shorter haha. Sure enough i turned up firstly lacking the talent to compete with the speeders but most significantly any fitness, a body full of fatigue, & i got absolutely pulverised. 

In 2021 Ironman Florida was the one race too many. I'd raced a lot that year & kona being cancelled had certainly left mine feeling a little flat. Searching for that high end to the year i stupidly decided to go & race against Lionel & Gustav. After a decent swim i got on the bike with the guys & instantly knew something was up. I was light headed, felt very weak, was kicking myself for even lining up. I wanted to stop but my mind wouldn't let me, besides, i was leading the race. Then my body took over again like it had in Busselton all those years earlier & I abruptly stopped on the side of the road & was violently ill. Once again I'd totally emptied the tank that year & my body & mind said enough was enough, I couldn't even finish the ride. 

So that brings us to Cozumel in 2023. Like Busselton the swim was canceled. This really annoyed me as after Florida 2 weeks earlier, I'd gone back to LA & worked hard to get my summer swimming arms back & was feeling great in the water. I believed i had a good swim in my, knew with a good swim I'd ride well, & now with my running legs back was confident i could close it out. Not to be. They canceled the swim so that already had me questioning whether i even start, really crushed my morale. I obviously manned up & decided I'd failed in Busselton all those years earlier with a bike run IM, time for redemption. I started great & quickly shut down the 2minute advantage to Leon Chavelier & Sebi Kienle following the staggered time trial style start. Just as i got to them & was finally all motivated again with the day going so perfectly, i was the virtual leader, felt great, bang! Not a tire but my seat post slammed down. I'd arrived late to Cozumel the evening before as I'd attended a charity event in Miami the day before. In my rush to put the bike together to get to transition I'd obviously failed to tighten the seat clamp properly. Anyways, I had to stop, dig out an Allen key, and raise it back up. In hindsight is I should've just tried to ride on it & hoped my body adapted. Obviously once i stopped & fiddled around fixing it, Sebi & Leon disappeared & i was faced with a similar furious chase id just put myself through to get to them in the first place. 

Once i got going again I certainly tried to chase but all the adrenaline was completely gone & the fatigue of the long season & late arrival to the race hit me like a freight train. I had one bullet for that day obviously in me & I'd used it, i was cooked. I managed to finish the bike leg & hoped for a remarkable recovery with my new found run legs. It was to be, i tried in vein to jog but just got slower & slower until i was walking within the first km. I barely made it to aid station number 1 & hoped a coke might give me a morale boost. It didn't. Instead as i stopped to drink i could barely get moving again, i was once again completely out of gas & short of hoping i could walk the marathon wasn't in any state to be racing so unfortunately DNF'd for the 3rd time in my career. Was just one race too many. On this occasion it wasn't all bad, Mexico is pretty nice spot to end your season & i very quickly transitioned into off season mode. Pretty confident now I've learnt my lesson when it's one race too many! I just absolutely love competing & if I'm able to be on a start line, I'm not good at not starting the race even when i know it's probably not a good idea!

At the end of the day I'm still relatively new to the sport of Triathlon. Even Sam Laidlow who became the youngest ever Ironman World Champion this year at 24, has been doing the sport much longer than me. Why do i point this out. Well, the longer you do something the greater chance there is you'll have a not so good season, or even a couple of not so good seasons. Look at Jan Frodeno for example, in 2017 he struggled in kona, in 2018 he was injured & wasn't able to even take the start line. These things happen. Gustav Iden is another fine example. In 2022 he couldn't lose a race, in 2023 he's struggled to even finish a race, let alone get near the top step of the podium. Obviously the best guys have more exceptional years than other athletes, however, in a sport that has so many elements involved it's almost impossible for things to not go wrong at some point. Most important is to assess the short comings, right your wrongs, & move forward.

It's fair to say my first 4 years in the sport, 2017-2021 (2020 I didn't race a triathlon) showed a nice perfect trajectory towards the highest level of the sport. In Kona alone, 17th, to 9th, to 5th, then in 2021 I'd won Ironman Copenhagen during the summer, seemed nicely on track for Kona, then it was again cancelled due to Covid. As ill fate would have it, last year I was hit with Covid & un beknowns competed with it in Kona. I found it very challenging to perform at a high level that day. This year at the Ironman Worlds, despite crashing on the bike, i was still in the mix for a top 5 when i started the run. You can't hide in a Marathon during an Ironman & the effects of the crash seemingly ruined my chances of running the way I believe I'd prepared for. So yes, as disappointing as it's been at the world championships the past 2 years, it's hardly unusual. I've never been a dominating all conquering sportsman in the past, I'm obviously more vulnerable than the likes of Jan or Gustav to have disappointing seasons. There's no doubt that being older when i started Ironman racing limits the years I've got to execute the dream season. Personally, i see this as a positive. Ive always been good at getting things done when i have to get them done, its now or never for me should i want to reach my goals in kona. This definitely has me more focused than ever. As i said in my opening paragraph, there were glimpses during the year that indicated my best years could still very well be ahead of me.

One of the things I've most certainly improved this season was my swimming. I took the decision to go back to basics & really focus on feel from the water. I probably swam half the volume usually would in a year as i was apprehensive to get tired in the pool & lose my feel & go back to bad habits. I'd  obviously planned to increase this volume at some point but this year with my schedule I just never seemed to get the consistent block of weeks together to make this next jump. One week for swimming in June definitely stood out as a massive highlight for me in 2023. Ironman Austria, & 7 days later, Ironman NIce. Austria was a fresh water lake swim & while it was a wetsuit swim there's not the same buoyancy as in the ocean. Nice was non wetsuit & the first time I ever made the front pack in a non wetsuit swim.  This swim particularly gave me huge confidence ahead of the world championships. 

This confidence probably made me a little complacent. I switched my priorities to focusing on regaining my running form & inadvertently took my foot of the gas on my swimming progression as a result. This really came back to bite me on the bum at the world championships in Nice in September, literally. While my training remained consistent though out the summer & i definitely believed at worst I was as good as I was back in June. I didn't have the foundation to handle any unexpected curve balls. 3 weeks out from the world championships the team required me to do a one week stage race in Belgium. This was certainly a perfect opportunity to hone my cycling form ahead of the world championships with 7 days of World Tour bike racing. Unfortunately however, i wasn't overly organised with hunting down pools. I totally underestimated how quickly I lost the feel for the water & also the conditioning of my swimming muscles. When I returned to the pool the following week I felt like I was starting the pre season all over again. While I should've been disciplined & just been patient to allow myself to swim properly & get the feel back, I did the opposite & panic trained to snap my swimming back into shape. As you can imagine this didn't work out so well. I basically just made vulnerable swimming muscles even tireder in the week leading up to the biggest race of the year. I Absolutely made the wrong choice with this approach.

Sure enough on race day things didn't go well. I never lack confidence & mentally believed I could make the main swim pack, the pack I knew i needed to be in to have any chance of fighting for the podium. I hung onto the pack for longer than I ever have at the world championships & for 40 minutes believed it was going to be the dream day! Then with 1km left to swim I began to flounder as the fatigue of swimming way above my capabilities in the first 3km hit me like a freight train & I was unceremoniously detached from this dream group in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. That last 10 minutes swimming alone felt like an eternity & gave me plenty of time to comprehend how stupid I'd been in my preparation. Once on the bike I was simply of the back foot all day. Sam Laidlow once again rode off into the sunset & i chipped away the gab to Magnus ditlev im 2nd. It dropped all day 1:30, to 1miute, then finally to 45 seconds at the start of the big decent. To took some risks to jump across the gap & ultimately took one to many. I completely misjudged a corner & went hurtling into a dirt back at 50+ kmph, landing smack bang on my lower back & Butt! 

Fortunately nothing was broken on me or the bike aside from my pride & I was able to remount quickly. I arrived in T2 still 90 seconds back on Magnus Ditlev, so basically as I'd started the ride, not so bad considering. It wasn't long onto the run however that the adrenaline wore off & the back pain became rather excruciatingly. Coupled with that my bowls reacted as well in a way that every runner fears & I couldn't avoid a few stops to the Porta Potty. A very crappy ending to the day. None of this is bad luck but simply poor preparation. Had I have managed my swimming build up properly & been safely in the main pack, I'd have never been on the back foot, & never had to extend myself or take the risks I did on the bike. Ultimately this poor time management, as i also eluded to earlier, cost me the opportunity of having my best possible day at the world championships. 

Looking ahead to 2024, I'm excited to capitalise on the disappointments & lessons learned over the past two seasons. I tried to do things a certain way & honestly believed at the time that was the correct way. There's nothing wrong with getting things wrong so long as you take ownership of the mistakes & don't make the same mistakes going forward. Physically there's a few key areas i'm no longer able to neglect. Strength & Conditioning is certainly a significant one, I've hung my hat on the foundation in developed in the gym during my rowing days. 17 years later, its most definitely time to re visit that in a very structured way! I've got a gym at my house & during my travels around the world there's always a gym close by, zero excuses there. Mobility & Yoga is another area i need to pay attention to. I've still never been injured from wear & tear, I've broken some bones in falls or impact related incidents. Fortunately never have i missed training from a nagging injury. Still, with realistically a few years left at this level of competition I don't want to miss a single day. Looking after myself better than ever will be crucially important going forward. 

From a performance standpoint the swimming stands out as my primary objective in 2024. Having seen how quickly i can turn the running around in the past month, I'm even more determined to no apply that single minded focus to swimming. I certainly made a huge step in the right direction this year with technique & efficiency. I now need to add the strength & endurance element into my swim training while maintaining form, to make the significant jump I'm very confident in can make. One thing in life I've always been good at is learning skills I'm determined to learn. Just sometimes takes me a while to get to that point where i say right, now i absolutely have to do this!

So bring on 2024. I've got another week here in California getting back I into the swing of things with Geraint Thomas & Froomey. From there I'll head to Mallorca for the team camp. It's an important 2 weeks as it's the only time of the season everyone from team is together, staff & riders. I've certainly also noticed over the past 5 years of attending the camp that everyone arrives fitter & fitter every year haha. There's been quite a few of the guys contacting me over the off season regarding running ideas to build there fitness & avoidance injuries in the process. Also running is a good way to keep moving while travelling around & keep the excess pounds off when the diet is set assist for a few weeks. 

Personally i love going to the team camp. I've grown up in sport very institutionalised & respond well in these environments. My day always begins before the sun comes up with Gym work or a light jog. Then it's 4-6hours on the bike with the guys. Quickly grab my swim bag & head to the pool for a recovery swim before dinner. Repeat for 2 weeks. No matter how unfit i arrive at the camp I always leave feeling very fit! Cycling is certainly my priority during this period, I'm a member of a cycling with the best riders in the world. I obviously want to give the absolute best of myself on the bike during the training sessions which also allows me to maximise the conditioning by being pushed by the guys. 

One key session we did last year was the TTT training. At that stage i wasn't planning to be involved in any TTT's during the season. Nonetheless, I really had a great day that day, learnt a huge amount about the discipline, & most importantly how to utilise the power you have in the best possible way for the team. When i was a last minute call up for the UAE tour, it paid huge dividends having had this training session in the legs. Not only for me but also all the guys there in UAE. That TTT was a huge performance by our team, losing to a star studded quickstep by only 1 second. Our leader Luke Plapp went into the leaders jersey of the race that day & ultimately held on for 2nd overall behind Remco. Im certain without this seemingly inconsequential TTT training for many at the camp the previous December, we wouldn't have executed such a performance in UAE. Every days training is an unknown opportunity to benefit from during the season. In my case it's especially paramount as i could get thrown into any type of race on any type of terrain. For example the year before we did echelon training. I'd have never envisioned how crucial that would be in Paris Roubaix that season allowing us to dominate the race from start to finish. It's obviously super important to make the most of every single ride we do during or time in Mallorca. As a result of this focus my swimming & running merely serves as a compliment to activate in the mornings or recover in the afternoons. 

So that 2023 basically done, certainly no more competitions to focus on anyways. I've realised the importance of writing this blog is really for myself. When i write things down like this, make them public, it makes me accountable, i feel like I really own my words. If I don't follow through with my words i deserve to look foolish. It's definitely something that's makes me feel vulnerable & uncomfortable. Feeling both uncomfortable & vulnerable i feel are what makes me the best version of myself. So in reality, i don't really care who reads this, about my spelling & grammar mistakes, this isn't meant to be a newspaper article. I know that those that matter to me will atleast skim read through it & hold me accountable to my words, that's all that matters to me. 

If you did manage to read all of this i greatly appreciate you & apologise for taking up so much of your day hahahaha!

Have a great day

CJW

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