Tick tock....tick tock!

Wowsers! A busy time in the Wilcox household the past few weeks! I bought a book a couple of weeks ago, in the vain hope that I may even be able to read a few snippets but alas, it sits, unloved, untouched and very much unread on my nightstand waiting for some attention. I fear it may be waiting there a little while…

It’s been a fun few weeks in terms of family time, as Ross (The most Senior, Junior Wilcox), arrived for two weeks of his Summer hols. With ‘Team W’ reunited, we all leapt into action with some camping, paddleboarding, kayaking, movies, water parks, go-karting, bowling and all the other uber-fun stuff that a 13 year old (and a 31 year old) boy could enjoy! Toby absolutely loved having his big brother around and the sounds of giggles and screeches emanating through the house, as each brother made the other laugh, was fantastic. The house was extremely quiet after Ross disappeared back to the UK and it was a sad sight seeing a forlorn little Turbo, toddling around the house calling ’Rooooooosss’; hoping that his big brother would come out and play ‘choo choos’ with him! 

Celebrating a win against Ross - wooohoo..... or perhaps not!

Another big family event, from over the other side of the Pond this time, was that Finley James, our brand-spanking-new-ultra cute nephew was born on 31 August. A little cracker! It’s just such a shame I’m not going to get to see him until the New Year; although FaceTime is a wonderful invention.  Not to worry Dan & Zita; we will be sure to extend the multi-sport influence from this side of the Atlantic!

Turbo Fit Personal Training & Coaching is doing well, with some new clients and some more interested in the packages we can offer; and business is also picking up at Anytime Fitness too. You might have seen from my Facebook page that three separate clients reported a 34lb, 20lb, and 9lb respective weight loss last week after weeks/months of hard work; seeing the look on their faces and being privy to such a personal achievement is inspiring. I love what I do and the opportunity I’m afforded to help others improve and test themselves everyday; seeing clients’ confidence change as their bodies change in both ability and shape, witnessing them reaching their goals and being proud of what they have accomplished!  So it’s probably no surprise that I’m excited about adding the next ‘tool’ to my repertoire in the form of a nutrition course through Precision Nutrition in a couple of weeks! I’ve been asked quite a bit about courses I have taken and what I’d recommend. Standby for more info on this in a later blog!

So we are now on the countdown and into the taper. 11 days, 10 hours, 16 minutes and 46 seconds to be exact. Not that I’m counting or anything…… It seems that everyone in Fallon is aware of my itty bitty race coming up at Tahoe. It really is fantastic to have people (some that I have never even met) come on up and ask me how training is going or ‘am i ready’ or ‘are you really going to do an Ironman?’ Mind you, it’s normally followed by a raising of an eyebrow and a ‘look’ as if to say ‘you are one crazy Brit!’

Training, up until around 10 days ago, was going well. Hitting pacing, set by my long suffering coach Stef, in the pool and out on the roads. I felt strong, I felt good but then…. 10 days ago Toby came home with a sniffle. As soon as I heard his first tickly cough and sneeze I knew that, as the current household ‘bug filter’, I would get it. Sure enough, 48 hours later my training had lost all ‘oomph’ and I felt it hit. Pah! Despite my urge to train through it, I decided I would try and stay on the ‘healthier’ side of the bug; only getting on a bike when I needed to teach my spin classes and stocking up on the vitamins and minerals and generally hydrating well. I didn’t get myself riled up that I was missing training; in fact I was completely (ahem) calm about the fact that my training kit remained neatly folded in my drawer. 

The heat of Nevada is sometime a little bit too much for a 2hour run set outside...
although the treadmill offers a bit more of a mental challenge!

My approach seemed to have worked (who knew rest and recovery were so effective eh?!) and on Saturday we headed up to Tahoe for the day and I took my chance to take on a wet-suited swim. If you have never swum in an Alpine lake then you are truly missing a treat. Crystal clear waters that originate only from glacial run off; a completely different experience to swimming in the often muddy puddles I have come across in the UK! 

'Lead-Dog' at the front of the swim pack......

Riding into the Nevada sun-rise. Just beautiful

Saturday evening came and went and there was still no sign of my ‘bug’ developing further post-swim, so I decided to to go for it. My final long training session on Sunday morning. Important to get in; not really from a fitness perspective but from building my confidence before the taper to race day begins. Back on the bike I felt strong and it continued during the following 1:30 marathon pace brick run, even in the 97 degree Nevada heat. 

Due to the intense dry heat out here, it's essential I stick with shorter run loops, using our house as a base. To prevent the urge to stop and collapse on the sofa, I leave a cool box at the end of the driveway with a few ice packs, some bottles of water and gels. Each loop, I return, fill my running bottle, pick up a gel and head back out. I know the pacing for each loop and, as long as there are no huge dogs trying to chase me off course, it’s a tried and tested formula that I have got ‘down cold’. Only in the last 10 minutes of the run I felt my form dropping off; however, I knew that was due to slight dehydration. Chris appeared on his mountain bike with Toby in tow and they rode alongside for a little while. His attempts at conversation were met, more often than not, with grunts from me as I was concentrating on not stopping but he comes in handy for pointing out when I’m looking good with running form and most importantly, when I’m not. Throughout the year I have been working on my form, specifically during longer run sets learning to recognize when my gait changes slightly or my chin and shoulders drop; so a quick few ‘efforts’ saw my form return and I finished strong, albeit rather thirsty! Back at home and a dunk in the paddling pool to cool off (it’s handy having a resident toddler!) and then it was on with the compression gear and a recovery blend up of chia, banana, almond milk and yoghurt to help the recovery process. And so the taper begins…..

Until next time friends. Happy Training! Now where’s that book…..?

TF

xx