Weekly News Number 22
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Don’t Stick Your Head in the Sand
"Everything was right: the weather was good, the atmosphere was good, the pitch was good - only we were bad."
Darius Wosz
"Sometimes you lose, and sometimes the others win."
Otto Rehhagel
With these football quotes, I’d like to welcome you to another week from my life.
But there’s one more quote I have to include because it fits my current situation perfectly:
"The main thing is not to stick our heads in the sand."
Aleksandar Ristić
Honestly, I’m a little frustrated at the moment. I thought I was heading in the right direction and that things were slowly improving. Unfortunately, it turned out that wasn’t quite the case. I got sick again and found myself feeling run down once more.
My HRV (heart rate variability) has been very low since the 70.3 and is only recovering slowly. Usually, that means the nervous system is constantly under stress and never really switches into recovery mode.
Still, I’m trying to focus on the positive things. And luckily, there were quite a few of them this week.
The highlights were definitely the two sunsets I got to watch. The first one was at Sunrise Beach. Yes, that’s right watching a sunset at Sunrise Beach. There’s something slightly funny about that.
The following evening, I went back into the national park. Sitting on a cliff, I watched an entire family of dolphins playing in the water below. Combined with the beautiful golden winter light we have at the moment, it made for one of those evenings that remind you how lucky you are to live in a place like this.
My gravel bike also received a little upgrade this week. The new chainrings and chain finally arrived and were fitted. The bike is now ready for plenty of adventures again.
I’m honestly looking forward to riding without the creaking, skipping and worn-out drivetrain. Unfortunately, the first ride had to wait until next week, but anticipation is part of the fun.
Golden Winter Days and Cold Mornings
On Tuesday morning, I was back swimming with the squad.
That meant another early alarm clock. A very early one.
I think I was wearing almost every jacket I own, plus thermal underwear, and even then the scooter ride to the pool felt pretty cold.
Which is funny when you consider that temperatures still climb above 20 degrees during the day.
For many people back home, that would probably sound quite comfortable. Especially knowing that it warms up nicely later on. But after spending months in 30-degree weather, it still takes some getting used to for me.
During the day, you can comfortably walk around in shorts and a T-shirt. But once the sun starts disappearing, it cools down surprisingly quickly.
The swim itself was definitely worth it. It was great to be back training with the group. Sessions like that always remind me how much easier things can feel when you’re surrounded by other people.
Apart from that, training remains fairly quiet at the moment. I’m keeping the intensity low and trying to give my body the time it needs. Of course, I’d love to be further along already. But sometimes you simply have to accept that certain things can’t be rushed.
A Weekend on the Live Tracker
Most of my weekend was spent watching live race trackers.
This time not because of my athletes, but because of friends racing all over the world.
Many were competing at Ironman 70.3 Rapperswil. Others were battling through an Ironman in the extreme heat of the Philippines. And then there was my friend Kurt, who produced a brilliant performance to finish seventh at the T100 in San Francisco.
I’ll have to ask him what kind of power numbers he rode. Especially racing alongside athletes like Haydon Wilde and Rico Bogen, that would be interesting to know.
But honestly, the real heroes in our sport are often not the winners.
They’re the people smiling at the finish line.
Triathlon makes it incredibly easy to get lost in numbers, processes and results. Sometimes we forget why we started in the first place. The joy of movement, the experiences and the people we meet along the way are often worth far more than any finishing position.
Before I finish, I have a recommendation for my German-speaking readers.
Recently, Campino from Die Toten Hosen appeared on the Hotel Matze podcast. The episode completely pulled me in.
He talks about politics, music, life and getting older. Even though he’s been famous for decades, he comes across like someone you could simply sit down and have a normal conversation with. He has strong opinions but is still willing to listen to other perspectives.
I found that incredibly refreshing.
Because of that, I might put on a Die Toten Hosen album during my next ride and listen to some of their music again.
Looking Ahead
And with that, I’ll wrap up another week.
Despite everything, I’m taking a lot of positive memories with me. Even though the current situation is frustrating at times, I know that phases like this are part of the process. Right now, the most important thing is to stay patient and trust that my body will eventually catch up again.
At the same time, I’m excited for the coming weeks with my athletes. For many of them, the biggest races of the season are getting closer. With Ironman Thun approaching, some are entering the most important phase of their preparation.
Moments like this always remind me that success rarely comes from one heroic training session.
It comes from consistency.
Day after day.
Week after week.
That’s what prepares you for the big day.
As for me, I’m hoping for a more stable week ahead. Until then, I’ll enjoy the sunshine, the beautiful winter days here in Noosa and head out for another run.
See you next week.
Cyrill
