It does seem a little weird to be pushing open the door to this blog after leaving it abandoned for so long, but I feel I need a bit of impetus to get myself going again. And what better way than to open up and lay myself bare for the world to see (the world being those half a dozen readers who have nothing better to do than waste some time reading my musings).

Will keep this first one simple, so apologies if it doesn’t read as well as it might. I need to get myself organised to get a proper day of training in, so I’m going to spend 30 minutes (actually two hours) writing this with my morning coffee and post it before I get a chance to change my mind.

So firstly, a brief catch up.

My last post was in Aug 2024, and without writing a bunch of race reports (well, in actual fact there wouldn’t be that many to write as I haven’t done much), I did complete Ironman Gurye 2024 and was lucky enough to snag a WC slot for Nice 2025, mainly due to the fact that no one else wanted one. This all seemed to fit perfectly with my plan to make 2025 a massive year, as it marked the 60th trip around the sun for me, and I wanted to create some epic memories… well, that was the idea anyway.

As it turned out, that didn’t really happen. During the planning stages for my LEJOG cycle ride, my ultra marathon and the Sata to Soya ride across Japan, I started to think a little bit more about my business and, after some sound advice and counselling from friends and family, decided instead to make 2025 the year I put my business back on track. I put all sporting and adventuring plans aside and focused full time on making this business flourish. The first thing I did was get an office and pull staff back from WFH, which meant me being present at the office too. This led to my daily training schedule literally going up in smoke, as the pressure and the grind had me back in my bad habits of using the crutch of alcohol and nicotine to fight my way through the day.

Anyway, that was last year. I did go to the World Champs in Nice, but chronic under-preparation and just being a shit had me getting a DNF again. I was faster on both swim and bike than two years ago, but losing the chain twice on the big downhill caused additional delay, meaning I missed the bike cut off by just 5 minutes. However, looking back, if I am honest, I don’t think I had the energy left to complete the run anyway. So once again I left Nice without a World Championship medal, really questioning my ability to hit the grade, and whether it was time to step back from triathlon all together. And that really pisses me off…

Along with that, there’s something else that’s been rattling around in my head since I started this sport. I’ve always wanted to prove I can be more than just a finisher, that I can compete, not simply complete. And in this sport, the Kona World Championships is the benchmark, the holy grail. I am not talking about getting to WC in Nice on a roll-down because no one else wanted the slot. I’m talking about genuinely earning a place in Kona, properly, against full competition.

So… I’ve made the rash decision to try and do the impossible this year, and if it doesn’t work, if I don’t come close, then it’s probably time to get out my pipe and slippers and enjoy a more restful life. My plan is to have a proper crack at KQ, as in qualifying for the World Championships now back “full time” in Kona. I have played around with ideas, looked at what I would have to do, and this is the first time I am actually making my plans public, in an attempt to shame myself into not giving up.

After much research, I have accepted the obvious, that I will never be fast enough to come close to KQ in a “normal” Ironman. I need to find something that would level the playing field between those naturally gifted athletes and a diesel-engined plodder like me.

And I think I found it: heat. I don’t like heat; my gut shuts down, my HR skyrockets, I sweat out all my sodium and I end up walking. But the interesting thing is… so does everyone else, in some form or another. The finishing times in a hot and humid race are significantly slower than in a “normal” one, and the hotter and more humid it gets, the slower the finishing times become. So if I can train myself to cope better with the heat and humidity than everyone else, then in theory I should give myself an advantage. That along with some very major changes in how I train and execute, maybe, perhaps, potentially, very unlikely but still worth a shot, might give me enough of an edge to squeeze into the KQ reckoning.

I will write more about what I need to do in terms of those major changes in my approach and training, along with plans for the hear aspect, etc., but for now it’s fair to say I reckon I have around 6-9 months to prepare myself for what could be my last chance to be more than a completer and become a competitor. The actual race that I will target is still a bit up in the air, I have a pretty good idea, however I just want to hang off for a few weeks before going all in and booking.

One thing I have always said, is that I feel I make a much better alcoholic than athlete. I’ve spent the last twenty-odd years trying to prove that feeling wrong.

Looks like I’m having another go.

You will have to keep coming back here to see which one wins.