Spencer Smith
I have not disappeared. I am still alive and kicking. It’s been a while since my last installment. I have been busy though. As you may have read, 2007 is going to be a different kind of year for me. Call it a “new start” or the next stage in my triathlon career. As the TT site has shown, Dave the boss of PX, Julian of Lewis Kit and of course, your truly, are very close to getting the S2 clothing range up and running. I have certainly learned a lot over the last few months.
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Spencer Smith
The Day of reckoning is nearly upon us...We all felt last Sunday that day may never come. Standing in my underwear (No it was not pink!!) six floors up in our hotel room at 7:06 a.m., Melissa and I felt the earth move (LITERALLY)! Measured at 6.6 on the scale, this was one memory of Kona we could have done without.
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Spencer Smith
I have arrived in the Wild West, Tucson to be exact. I arrived last Wednesday and already the morale is looking up. The injuries seem to be feeling a little better, as is my frame of mind. The change of training venue seems to be working very nicely. I have tried since I have been here to get into a schedule, meaning early to rise and early to fall.
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Spencer Smith
Firstly, I would like to congratulate everybody who raced the IMUK. I know from personal experience how hard that race is and I really never have cracked it there (on the half). So, if you did have a good race, I take my hat off to you. Eight weeks and counting.....I am going to be perfectly honest with you, my prep for Hawaii is not (at this point) going as I would like. I am not getting too worried.....YET!! When I am training for an IM, I do like to get into a groove and with my injuries that seem to be coming back to haunt me from my accident last year, I have not been train consistently.
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Spencer Smith
Lets get that ticker on...eleven weeks and counting. Since I last wrote ( Yes!! I know it has been a while..) I have had myself a little mid season break and now I am looking forward to getting down to the business at hand, that business being a result in Hawaii. The season for me has been split up in two parts, the reason being that I began training in late November due to the fact that I missed most of last season because of the accident. So to get into some sort of racing form come April ( IM Arizona ) I had an early start to the 06 season. I think it is important for anyone who commits to an early season Ironman to break up the season into segments.
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Spencer Smith
282 watts with an average HR of 145 and 2 hours 18 minutes for the 56 miles was not exactly what I had in mind!! It was to be expected though, the way I felt, I was lucky to finish the ride. The problem being a good old fashioned head cold. Waking up on Saturday morning at 3am with what felt like razors in my throat was not a great sign of things to come. I once felt like this a week before Hawaii.
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Spencer Smith
Well, I have not written in a while mainly due to the fact that I was not sure of my next plan of attack for the 06 season. In a word GUTTED!! I would have loved to have come home and raced in front of my family, friends and maybe even a few fans but life is not always as easy or simple as it seems. If you are not aware, I have made the decision to not race at the 70.3 HIMUK in a few weeks due to financial reasons.
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Spencer Smith
It's been a few weeks since my last installment and only now am I feeling somewhat recovered. I think what my coach, Don Fink said was true. The first week after a good Ironman result, you're thinking "Yeah, that didn't take too much out of me". But as the week goes on, you generally feel worse. I felt more tired and just really out of it. By the second and beginning of the third week, sleeping ten hours most nights has been the norm not the exception.
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Spencer Smith
Well, one thing is for sure tonight, I am bloody sore!! That was a hard day at the office, but a very satisfying one, with the mission completed successfully. The day started off very nicely, with a strong swim. Leading up to the race, I was not feeling great in the pool, so to get out of the water in good standing was definitely a boost to my morale. I did feel a little tight on my right shoulder, where my injuries were because I really haven't swam for that long since my accident. I was not too concerned at this point though.
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Spencer Smith
Six days and counting......Well, I just finished watching THE RONDE and if my race goes as smoothly as big Tom's did, I will be well pleased come Sunday night. I must admit, nothing motivates me more, not even watching triathlon itself, than watching a great one day classic. The final week before an Ironman, is really just about ticking over. Maybe just a few small efforts here and there, but the miles are already in the legs. On Tues, I will move down to the race site, which is about a 2 hour car journey from Tucson. Once there, I will get settled and go over the course with a fine tooth comb.
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Spencer Smith
Firstly, I would like to join in and congratulate everyone involved on the tritalk website on winning the 220 tri website of the year. Long may it continue. Below is my list of Do's and Don'ts before the big day!! 1. Rest, Rest and more Rest. Remember race day is the day to do the business. Why keep testing yourself? If you have done your homework and trained well, the last hard workout should be the race. I see so many people before a big race going crazy. A little too much too late in my mind. Don't fall into that trap.
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Spencer Smith
Well, I'm glad the first one is out of the way. I knew as soon as I mentioned sunny San Diego, the weather was going to be anything but sunny. So Saturday morning rolls around and the race was due to kick off at 6:40 am, which means a very early breakfast. Who really wants to eat Weetabix, a muffin all washed down with a nice cup of tea at 3:45 am. Still, it has got to be done, as I need my food to be fully digested before the gun goes off. Driving down to the race, the clouds moved in and the rain began. Temperatures more reminiscent of one of my first races of my career in Wakefield, in the North of England.
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Spencer Smith
OK, I am sorry I missed a week but when you are not at home you get out of your usual routine (well that is my excuse anyway.) This saturday (March 18th) is my first race of the 06 season, it is the Ford Ironman 70.3 series race at Oceanside CA. I am feeling good and the legs have responded well to all the weeks of training and now it is time to open up the engine. I think for me it is important to start the race season early for two reasons, firstly my lack of racing after what happened last year and secondly and more importantly, is to see my name back on the top of the result sheet.
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Spencer Smith
Well I've arrived in sunny San Diego, but it's been torrentially raining here for the last couple of days. Travel is never fun. Especially when you have to bring everything but the kitchen sink with you. Paying bike surcharges pisses me off. I got tired of forking over another $75 on top of my ticket so I have devised two cunning plans to avoid the bike surcharge. Firstly, if traveling with a spouse, always check in separately. As checking in together with all the luggage is a red flag and is going to cost you some dough. Secondly, when asked what's in the bag, always say it's convention materials, which a bike very well could be. It may or may not fly but it's worth a try.
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Spencer Smith
This was my toughest week thus far. It's Monday morning (always my rest day) and my body feels like it's been partying... without all the fun. I believe it's called the workout hangover. For the next few weeks leading up to Ironman Arizona everday will seem to roll into the next, filled only training, eating, sleeping and unfortunately for my wife, Melissa, not a whole lot else. Welcome to my world of Ironman training. Thankfully, my body is accepting and absorbing the hours and intensity. It's very important to have a balance. We all love to do the hours but the quality of the training is what makes the difference.
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Spencer Smith
Welcome to my weekly column. I hope that what I write will help, humor and maybe even make you think (a little bit anyway.) My 2006 season is going to be a little different from past years. Last June while I was preparing for Ironman Coeur D'Alene, I was hit by a car while on my bike. To cut a long story short, the car won as usual. I spent the next few months in and out of the hopsital and rehab clinics. Which brings me to the theme of my first article. PATIENCE.
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