Ironman Athlete Shane Kervin shares an insight into his prep for the Aquathon (run / swim / run) Multisport World Championships.
I am the first person to admit that I probably have no real business donning the green and gold and being any part of an Australian team, but hey, if you qualify and are lucky enough to snag a spot, you would be mad not to take it, right?
Once on the team, the reality of toeing the line with some of the fittest and fastest 50-54 year olds in the world started to hit me, sh*t I might have bitten off more than I can chew here. There will be no where to hide on race day. Don’t get me wrong, there is no shame in coming last, but if I can help it I would prefer not to.
Thankfully Sarah was kind enough to squeeze me onto her busy roster of athletes and agreed to an 8 week training block to drag the few fast twitch fibres I possess out of hibernation.
The first week consisted of some testing, with the results pretty underwhelming on my behalf and some of the efforts had me gasping and questioning my choices.
However, I soon learnt the difference between ‘exercising’ and ‘training’.
I was suddenly ‘training’ and loving the variety and Sarah’s approach to it, moulding the program around my work roster and family life.
By the time I flew out to Townsville I could clearly see the improvements in both my run and swim paces, and in my training I felt ‘strong’, which had me mentally in a great space and excited for the race.
I was hesitant to set a goal time, because I hadn’t raced this particular format of the Aquathlon and the conditions always play such a big part, but I had some reference times in my head.
If I went over 45 minutes I felt I would walk away disappointed, if I went under 44 I would be really satisfied and if I went under 42 I would be rapt.
So to finish in 41:51, in the top half of the field (by one spot) and having enjoyed every second of it, I could not have been happier!
(Race distance 2.5km run, 1km swim, 2.5km run )
Looking back at my qualifying event times compared to the World Champs the improvement is considerable.
A HUGE thank-you to Sarah – what she achieved in such a short period is amazing!
