Saturday 8th October is a date that will stand out in Dickon and Geraint’s calendar. Since qualifying for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, both will have highlighted that date, and began working backwards, each figuring out how to arrive in the best form they can be in.
Dickon and Gez have had a busy season so far with races across sprint, middle distance and full Ironman – posting some great results. We’ve enjoyed following their progress throughout the year, and now 10 days out we catch up with the pair of them to see how preparations have gone and what they’re focusing on in the final build up into the race.
Dickon
You’ve raced a mixture of sprint and middle-distance races this year, how have they been beneficial to your preparation for Kona?
“I’ve mainly used the sprint and middle-distance races as B races throughout the season, so that I can peak and trough a bit in training. Having these intermediate goals has helped motivation throughout what has felt like a long season. Middle distance races are also a great training day out and give a good idea of how to pace an Ironman.”
It’s a long process from qualifying to racing, how have you kept yourself motivated for Kona since qualifying?
“This has been really challenging. It’s been 15 months since I qualified for Kona (in fact 306 sessions so far!). Having a bit of an off season was important as my motivation at the end of last season was pretty low. I gave myself a sprint race to aim for in May which was a good kick-starter. On top of that, it has been an internal motivation to be in a position to be able to do myself justice in Kona and actually enjoy the once in a lifetime day.”
Have your goals for Kona changed since you initially qualified?
“Not too much. I won’t be at the sharp end of racing here, so it’s mainly about a day of enjoyment and a personal goal of sub10 (though looking unlikely tbh!). The time is secondary though. I would rather finish in 12+hours than really hammer it for that sub10 and not finish through exhaustion in that crazy Hawaiian heat.”
What has been your most valuable lesson over the last 12 months?
“Rest days and a solid, high protein diet are essential. When you’re trying to train 2-3hours a day as well as working a full-time job and have two young children, you’re going to build up some serious fatigue. It’s important to remember that you don’t get fitter and stronger while you’re training, you get fitter and stronger after you’ve banked the training and have rested your body and given it some fuel.
I would also say I’ve learnt to be kinder to myself. It’s a tough job, being an age grouper, and sometimes you’ve just gotta go easier on yourself. If you don’t, you’ll end up resenting this amazing sport.”
Geraint
A victory in your age group at Challenge Wales middle distance, another solid performance at Swansea 70.3 and an impressive 10 hours 13 at Ironman Lanzarote would suggest preparations are going well, talk us through how you’ve spent the final few weeks preparing.
“The last few months have gone really well, naturally the training volume has increased significantly which I've managed to deal with relatively easily. I’ve just finished a 10 day training camp in Lanzarote for some heat acclimatisation before flying out to Hawaii. I've had a few slight niggles along the way but I’ve managed to stay injury free which of course is vital at this stage.”
It’s a long process from qualifying to racing, how have you kept yourself motivated for Kona since qualifying?
"It’s been a very long time with the delays due to Covid. I think the key to staying focused has been to ensure I've had races scheduled in. It's given me targets to hit along the way and something to look forward to rather than just pounding the training out. There's nothing quite like the excitement of racing, and if there's nothing to get excited about for a long time, thousands of hours of training can become tedious, and standards can easily slip.”
Have your goals for Kona changed since you initially qualified?
“Yes undoubtedly, it's no secret that when I initially qualified for Kona I was very new and green to the triathlon world. My goal was to get around Kona at around the 11hr mark.
However, over the last 12 months or so I've really knuckled down and tried to hit each and every training session. The graft has paid off immensely, my fitness and endurance levels have gone way beyond my initial expectations.
I've also raced about 5 or 6 times since initially qualifying, I've gained valuable experience by doing so and improved my race craft.”
What has been your most valuable lesson over the last 12 months?
“As Sebastian Kienle once said.....'There's a fine line between being fit and f*cked'.
This is absolutely true, when your fit and on top of your game you feel like you can keep going and keep going. It just takes one more step to make it all come crumbling down and undo hours of training. Once you've hit your training target for that session, put it to bed and move on. Don't try and push it by running that extra mile or increasing your pace by 15 seconds per km. This can cause injury and ruin everything. The progression in performance will happen naturally over time. It's something my coach Rhys Jones has drilled into me and often tells me..... We've done enough for today, rest and refuel, we'll go again tomorrow.
Remember...... The fastest way to get there, is by going slowly!”
Dickon and Geraint will be racing in our Kona Trisuit.
