This is it: the Busso IM gets close

I'm sitting by myself in a lovely apartment in Busselton at 7.30pm WA time.  I've been up since 4.30am Sydney time and my body's reminding me that while it might be just on dusk here, it's actually 10.30pm in Bondi and it's time to sleep. It's good to finally be in Busso and I'm starting to think seriously about Sunday.  The weather is forecast to be warm at 33C which will make a for a hot day at the office. 

I have absolutely no idea what time I'll do the race in as I've never put the three disciplines together and have never done the complete distance. So my best guess is as follows:

3.8km swim = 1hr 20mins

Transition = 10mins (hopefully 5 but let's see)

180km bike = 7hrs (if I average 25km/hr but I hope to do better)
Transition = 5mins

42.2km run = 4hrs 54mins (if I average 7mins/km as I'm completely unsure of how I will go on the run)

Total time should be around 13hrs 45mins.

That means that with the start at 5.45am on Sunday morning (the swim), I should be finishing around 7.30pm on Sunday evening.

Whether I finish or not, the moment I saw Enda do the IM here two years ago I knew I wanted to give it a go. It's always better to be a competitor than it is to be a spectator.  I figure it's a mistake not to live life to the max and the cool thing about the IM is you really get to know you're alive. 

Twelve months ago as I started training a sports physician told me not to run again as it's not good for osteoporosis. I gave the running a break and until recently haven't done much at all.  I've managed two or three 21km runs in the past couple of months.  I've travelled far too much to train properly this year, especially swimming or cycling, and as running has been more or less out of the question it's been hard to stick to a solid regime. So for my part I've done the bare minimum.

Of all the people I know who get into this sport, Enda has been his typical wonderfully generous self in helping me think the IM through and getting me set up and ready to race, all the way to driving me to the airport this morning. Brilliant and a huge thanks mate. His behind the scenes expert has been POD who should really minister to the stars when it comes to IM training and competition. He's got it wired. Simon and Mark are competing on Sunday as are others from back home, so it'll be fun seeing them out on the course.

Ange of course has been a great running partner (not so much with the swimming) and a great mate in cooking the big breakfasts at the end of the long Staurday rides. And Gene will be the happiest of all when the IM is done and I get to spend a little more time sleeping in and hanging out with her. She's also hoping I put a bit of weight back on, but I'm happy where I am currently at a healthy 68kgs, despite being fed like a king by my beautiful wife. I've never felt fitter and I can recommend it to anyone. And Etienne has managed to get off work and will be coming to Busso with Gene on Friday night so he'll get to see his old man race and be the kids' rep on the course.  Jade is going to be checking on the net from London and Pascale & Yanni will be hooking into the Multisport website from Bondi to see if I'm on target.

So we'll see how we go on Sunday. I suspect that all it requires is a bit of ticker and self belief. If I can knock this off as a 57 year old then I might give it another go when I'm 67yrs old! Let's see what Sunday brings . . . .