So. Here we are. Eleven years ago I signed up for my first triathlon on a whim. The plan was to finish, survive, and maybe never do it again. Somewhere along the way I set a goal: qualify for Kona within five years. It took eight. But it happened - twice. At some point you have to admit that you’ve completely overshot your own expectations - and that it might be time to stop before the universe corrects the situation for you. ...
2014 Season Statistics
Unfortunately there are new records to announce this year too — somehow it was possible to top last year… Mostly by only a little, but still… Swimming 2013 2014 Total km 328 379 Total time 112h 116h 51km more swimming than last season, with only 4 hours more time invested — if only that showed up in race performance too?!?!? Cycling 2013 2014 Total km 12,151km 12,689km Total time 436h 457h Biggest week 722km / 26.5h 607km / 23.4h Biggest month 1,639km / 61h 1,293km / 52h Weekly average 234km / 8.4h 244km / 8.8h Longest session by km 342km / 11.5h 342km / 12h Max 60min average power 256W 280W Max 15min average power 284W 302W Overall average power 181W 185W 20 more hours in the saddle or 528km more than last year — though the biggest weeks weren’t quite as big. Power numbers were also significantly better than last year. ...
Ironman Hawaii 2013 vs. 2014
Stats and comparisons are a wonderful thing — and as they say, trust no statistic you haven’t fudged yourself… For exactly that reason, here’s the bike split comparison between Hawaii 2013 and 2014. Yellow = 2013, red = 2014. Power output: 2013 2014 Normalized Power 209 210 Avg Cadence 83 85 TSS 273 277 IF 0.745 0.751 VI 1.07 1.05 Time not pedalling 10% 6% The red curve’s consistency is great to see — very few outliers up or down. Exactly as it should be, and the VI value reflects that perfectly: much more even than last year. Also nice to see how evenly the power was sustained over time with no dramatic drop-off toward the end. In 2014 I also had to pedal 13 minutes longer — very interesting. Both TSS values are at the upper end of what you’d recommend to anyone. Speed: ...
Ironman Hawaii – Breaking into the Top 100 Best Long-Distance Triathletes in the World
Who would have thought I’d ever get to start a race report with a headline like that?!?!??! I earned my World Championship qualification in May at Ironman Lanzarote. Four weeks later I raced Challenge Kraichgau (1.9km – 90km – 21km), and four weeks after that I stood on the start line at Challenge Roth (3.8km – 180km – 42km). After that came a longer break and a significantly longer and better preparation for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. ...
Ironman Hawaii – A Quick Race Summary
After a night’s sleep the world doesn’t look quite so bleak anymore. Where yesterday I was pretty disappointed with the race and how it unfolded (especially the marathon), today I’m already happy and satisfied with the result. A clear improvement over last year, in significantly tougher conditions. 20th in the age group, 90th in the overall standings at a World Championship, 14th-best German overall and 7th-best German age grouper. What more could you ask for? ...
ready, set, go
Rain on Hawaii — a first for me… Good that the bike is already checked in, not so good that the helmet is hanging on the bike completely wrong: Then again, maybe I should just choose the following ride tomorrow — then a wet helmet wouldn’t matter much anyway:
Impressions
Aloha
Finally here…. ….not entirely according to plan — 4 hours late and in the middle of the night, but here. The departure from Frankfurt and arrival in San Francisco were still on schedule, but unfortunately the connecting flight to Kona kept getting pushed back further and further, so we didn’t arrive there until around 1:30am local time and weren’t at the hotel until about 3am. At least I could still get 3 hours of sleep in an actual bed — sleeping on airplane seats and airport benches isn’t really restful. ...
The Last One…
2 months have passed since the last post — a lot of time for plenty of highs and lows, training and much more. What happened in the past 8 weeks? First, 2 weeks of recovery from Challenge Roth — including a relay ride leg at Heidelbergman and a 342km cycling marathon. Admittedly not exactly recovery in the traditional sense, but it was fun. Right after that it was back into structured training as preparation for Ironman Hawaii. ...
Challenge Roth: A Race Like No Other
First it comes differently, and second differently than you’d think… That’s more or less how my 12th long-distance race can be summed up in a nutshell. On Friday before the race I traveled to Roth, and the moment I arrived the special atmosphere was already palpable. By far the best that the triathlon world has to offer. Picking up race registration went smoothly, then back to the hotel to be there in time for the pasta party. Among other things, there was this to eat: ...