Ironman 70.3 Marbella race report - Gavin Burrough

I've always wanted to do a triathlon abroad, scrolling down the list of races on the Ironman website I was like a kid in a candy store! Mountainous Marbella located on the Costa del Sol seemed to be the right destination to mix some pain with some pleasure! 

It was the very first Ironman 70.3 thats been held in Marbella and when I arrived there was a real buzz about the town! Lots of nervous anticipation! 

The sea was lovely and flat and had a nice little recce swim to check my wetsuit over as I hadn't used it since doing the double Brutal last year. That lake still haunts me to this day! Come race day though there was a bit of wind kicking up and conditions had changed dramatically! It was pretty rough, but oh well get on with it! Lining up for the swim I went into the 32:30 pen, it helps a lot with the flow instead of just a mass start less chance of people running over you and vice versa as your swimming with people of similar ability. So off I went doing my best David Hasslehoff impression! I quickly realised that all the training in the pool wasn't really going to help me much now! My stroke rhythm and rate went out the window as I just had to time getting over the waves so as not to swallow a load of sea water. Sighting the bouys was nearly impossible so I settled for just alternating my breathing and checking there were people either side of me, I figured that way I'd generally be in the middle. The swim went pretty fast, I looked at my watch, 26mins!!! I was well chuffed! I later found out they cut about 300m off the swim though because of the dangerous conditions. It gave me a boost going into the bike transition thinking I'd magically become Michael Phelps! 

The secrets of successful endurance athletes: #3

Patience, patience, patience.

Patience might sound like an odd quality to value in an athlete. But I think it's very important. As endurance athletes, we tend to place great pride in our actions, results and data. Rest days are an annoyance to be endured with good grace if possible. The action is where it's at: we're never happier than when we're sweating it out, pushing through barriers, or chasing PBs.

So where does patience come into it? After all, patience sounds very calm, serene, and....… boring.

Without patience, your best efforts aren't likely to bring results. In endurance sport, you need to be committed for the long-haul, whether that means a 12-week training plan or decades of training and racing, with all the accompanying highs and lows.

Progress, fitness and strength come slowly (sometimes frustratingly so), and we can be our own worst critics, failing to spot small successes and instead focusing on how others are doing.

A patient, calm and methodical mindset will place you amongst those who enjoy true success in endurance sport… whatever that personally means to you.

These things are what underpin my coaching advice and guidance. Without them, the fitness training, nutrition advice and race-specific coaching can only ever get someone so far.

Do you agree with our three key characteristics of successful athletes (check out number 1 and number 2)? What would you add to the list?

Playing the long game

Playing the long game: Many beginner and novice triathletes look at triathlon racing as a project, something they've thought about doing for a long time and are now taking the plunge. But remember, like many projects, good things take time; sometimes weeks, months, or even years to accomplish. Depending on your athletic background it can take 2 to 12 years to unleash your full potential in triathlon. However, it is possible to make great progress in a much shorter time, and in reality, the biggest jumps will happen in the early days of your training. Unfortunately, to reach your full potential it takes much more time than most people think.

The secrets of successful endurance athletes: #2

Progression, progression, progression.

Our second secret of endurance sport success is progression. You absolutely must be making progress, no matter how small, if you want to improve speed, fitness, strength and race times. Progress needs to be planned, measured and tracked.

To build progression into your training, look at training stimulus. Training should build, layer on layer, by applying the correct load at the right time. Volume, distance, speed, endurance, pace and technique can all add layers to your training. Once you adapt, add another layer, to keep the progress coming. This is where it really helps to work with a coach in your sport.

Be honest and rigorous in asking yourself: is my training progressing?