Feeling like a very happy coach after seeing the success of one of my athletes at Ironman Cork at the weekend. To say its been a bumpy journey to get to the start line would be fair after Simon discovered a stress fracture in his third metatarsal on his right foot back in May. He had to defer his Ironman Bolton entry but was determined to get to the start line of Ironman Cork. After initially resting the foot we had to ease back into the swim and bike training and then get creative with an elliptical trainer to try and simulate the run training. He stuck to the plan consistently and although tempted to run he resisted to give the fracture maximum time to heal. He was only really healed about 3 weeks before the event so we made the decision not to run but stick with the elliptical trainer as there was very little to gain in 3 weeks with regards to run fitness but a lot to lose if the foot wasn’t quite ready….. It payed of – after an amazing day including 20min sea swim (shortened due to poor conditions) a bike split of 5hr 23min and a 3hr 59min run split he finished in a time of 9hr 53min for 11th place in his age group. A truly incredible performance which makes me feel like a very happy coach! Consistency pays off – Trust the process!!!
