Oh yeh baby ! Not quite like the above but thats the target. I’ve done two runs this week for a total of 25 minutes. It’s a start. It’s the biggest improvement I’m going to get … from zero to something is infinitely better. The physio is happy with my walking and on Monday gave the nod to gentle build up my running. It seems the rehab now is really about rehabbing my ankle, calf, achilles etc… after 3 months of very little  and a long period of restricting movement. The runs have been gentle on a treadmill and to my relief there is no particular discomfort from the scar on my foot. The bigger problem is the various blisters and sore spots I’m getting on my toes of that foot. Never had them before. I’m hoping it’s just because they’ve become soft rather than that the surgery has somehow subtly altered the position of my toes so they now rub. Only time will tell.

I’m starting to feel myself again. I feel like a triathlete now I’m able to do all the disciplines. I also feel like I’m getting into a routine now and it’s a routine with regular weights sessions which I’m enjoying.

I’m hoping that the amount of walking I’m doing will help me on the road to strong running. I’ve been walking most places where I can. On Monday I must have walked for over 3 hours and yesterday I walked to swimming because of the tube strike. That was a 90 minute walk and made me think about how much better London would be if everyone was willing to do an hours walk to and from work – it would not only make people healthier but it would reduce the strain on the roads and public transport.

My swimming continues to go awesomely. Last night I managed a set of 5 x 100m on 1:20. I’ve never managed to hit those times since I’ve been a triathlete. I was hitting them comfortably coming in on 1:15/16. This was followed by 10 x 200m on 2:55 which I paced really well coming in on 2:38 for all of them give or take a second. Finished off with 5 x 100m on 1:25. I can tell I’m in a good place with my swimming when my reaction to being told the final 100s are on 1:25 is “great, thats gonna be a doddle”.

On Tuesday I inadvertently checked out my bike fitness. I’d agreed to meet Roger at 9:45am in Newport Pagnell to ride with him back to London. He reckoned it was about 50 miles from London. It’s actually 65 miles so not only did my ride end up a little longer but it also had to be at a slightly higher pace not only to meet Roger but also to get back in time. I was riding well and enjoyed it completing the 130 miles in 8 hours. Roger seemed very strong which augers well for his Kona performance.

Something Jo said in an email prompted some thoughts on my final preparations for an Ironman. I have such an engrained view that hard work pays off that I’m willing to put in endless hours during the base and build phase (for want of a better phrase) of my training. I just know that for each minute I put in I will reap the rewards later. The problem comes in the taper. I don’t seem to taper well. I’m now thinking it’s because  of this engrained view. I get in to taper and start to feel there’s nothing that can be done now. ie the hard work has been done and what will be will be. That is so wrong. As the race gets closer what you do can has an even bigger effect, this continues, of course, right through the actual race till you finish. The idea is to race just beyond the line so that you don’t ease off too early. I need to use that idea for my race preps. I’m going to mull this  over and hopefully end up with better final preparations for Kona this time round.