The lazing-around phase is well and truly over… it was nice, but after 5 extra kilos and a complete loss of fitness, enough is enough. I’ve been back in regular training for almost three weeks now — the first 2.5 weeks felt like I’d never moved a muscle in my life. But this week the switch finally flipped for the first time: suddenly I’m running 25 seconds per kilometer faster, swimming 2 seconds per 25m faster, no more bonking after 2 hours on the bike, etc. Happy for that to keep going — the switch still has several positions to go before I’m back to full form. ...

For all stats fans, here are some numbers and facts. The season was unusually long for me at exactly 52 weeks, so all those big numbers need to be viewed in that context. Three Ironmans and the necessary training leave their marks… That said, I’ve never swum, ridden or run this much in a single year before — 742 hours total. That’s an average of about 14 hours of sport per week, with the biggest week clocking in at 32 hours and the easiest at just 7. ...

Unfortunately the wonderful time on Hawaii is already over. These lines are being written on the flight back to San Francisco, where I’ll be spending the next 1.5 weeks. One thing is certain: I have to come back here. Physically I’m doing a bit better than a few days ago — the nasty sunburn has finally faded, though it’s left behind a few minor burns. The muscle soreness is mostly gone, but the incredible joy of having been “allowed to be there” has stayed 🙂 I’ve already set another record: 4 days in a row without any sport, and more will follow… I didn’t bring any athletic gear with me — it’s all in my bike case, still on Hawaii, flying back Saturday (thanks Alex & Sandra). ...

So there it was — Ironman Hawaii, the Triathlon World Championship. Right in the thick of it… A detailed report with photos will follow sometime in the next few days. Right now I’m too wrecked to form clear thoughts. The race in brief: Up at 4:30am, caught a shuttle right away, at body marking by 4:45. Stood in the wrong line three times, oh well. Then prepped the bike Had plenty of time to watch and experience the pro start live. Note to self: don’t stand right next to the start cannon — it gets loud Lined up right after to get into the water Positioned myself in the middle and fairly far back — I wanted a relaxed swim and to enjoy the atmosphere. That worked out perfectly, no big scuffles, drafted in someone’s wake all the way back After 1:10h I climbed out of the Pacific, right on schedule In the first transition I took my time — showering, sunscreen etc. The first few kilometers on the bike through town were very very crowded On the highway things improved, but there were still a lot of groups riding together and things got pretty unfair at times Almost no wind going to Hawi, the return as far as Kawaihae also very very pleasant After that it got noticeably windier with crosswind Lost four water bottles along the way — definite room for improvement there Bike time is absolutely satisfactory Despite SPF 50+ sunscreen I got the worst sunburn of my life — it’s really burning On the run, Alii Drive in town was the hottest section — the Queen-K and the Energy Lab were much more pleasant by comparison The first half marathon went reasonably well, after that it got progressively harder. The missing training and prior races became more and more noticeable After km 35 things got really rough — in the end I was just glad I didn’t have to walk The hardest part was Palani downhill around km 40/41 — that really hurt The finish line was absolutely sensational — the reward for years of hard work (and yes, I teared up with joy for a moment :)) ...

One last update before the race: Nations Parade: √ Triathlon Expo: √ Underpants Run: √ Pasta Party: √ Bike Check-In: – How I’m feeling about the race: getting better by the hour, excitement is building fast What I expect from the race: it’s going to be hard My goal for the race: have as much fun as possible

After yesterday’s rest day (= watching fish at the pier for a bit), today’s last longer session was on the schedule. At 7am we headed out together with the rest of the crew toward Hawi — bikes loaded into trucks, athletes loaded into yellow school buses. Those were unbelievably cramped with zero legroom — even flying budget airline economy class feels like luxury by comparison. Oh well, it was only 1.5 hours. Once in Hawi everything was unloaded and we rode back to Kailua-Kona on the bikes. The first few kilometers were more about “how do I stay on the bike at all” — it felt unbelievably windy to me — but more experienced Hawaii athletes and even the bus drivers were of the opinion that it was calm 🙁 You can only hope it’ll be that way on race day too. ...

The days in Vegas went by faster than expected — a few more impressions to close out the chapter: Since yesterday I’m in Kona — the view from the bedroom is stunning: The first training session was on the agenda today. Together with the HHT crew, we rode out along the Kona Coffee Road to Kealakekua Bay, then continued in the water to the Captain Cook Monument and back the same way. ...

The first leg of my US trip takes me straight into the Nevada desert, to the gambler’s paradise of Las Vegas. Here are a few impressions: On training: Short version: more bad than good — things aren’t really flowing anymore. The schedule this year was pretty packed, it’s cost a lot of energy that I’m now missing. Well, the next two weeks will pass somehow too, and then it’s time for a break. ...

3 Ironmans in 90 days — preparations for the final IM of this year have begun. The two weeks right after Ironman Copenhagen fell into the “doing nothing” category, at least in terms of sport. That said, the recovery factor wasn’t really there either — even 3.5 weeks later you don’t feel particularly great… Still, you don’t want to show up completely unprepared to a world championship, so training had to begin again. The first week looked like this: ...