Anyone can train well when they're fresh. Ironman isn't raced fresh — you're not racing off a taper every session, you're racing off however many hours your legs already have in them that day. That's the gap I've been trying to close this week. Not fitness. Durability.
Showing up tired, on purpose
This week wasn't about hitting PBs. It was about turning up every single day and still being able to execute — even when the legs already knew what yesterday felt like. That's a different skill to training fresh, and it's the one that actually matters on race day.
By the time race day comes around I'll already have swum nearly four kilometres. Cycled 180. And I'll still need to run a marathon. Nobody gets to do that fresh. So neither should the training.
So my training isn't just about getting fitter anymore. It's about teaching my body to keep producing good performances even when it's tired — recovery included. Boots, foam roller, the lot. That's part of the session now, not an afterthought.
That's another gap I'm trying to close. I'm not trying to survive the training. I'm trying to make race day feel familiar.