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"There have been a couple of good studies done at Ironman Hawaii that have looked at post-race physiology, and one of the most startling things they found was that muscle enzymes, which show muscle trauma, remained elevated four to six weeks after the race. So you need at least six weeks off after an Ironman before beginning to build for another race."

Dave Scott, six-time Ironman champion, speaking at a Timex Science of Speed seminar.

Ironman Canada was two weeks ago, and Kona is in five weeks. If you do the math, it's clear why so many pass on Kona spots earned at IMC. It's hardly an optimal recovery period. However, a good training cycle can still be achieved, if you pay close attention to recovery, particularly in the first two weeks.

I did only a very easy ride two days after Ironman Canada, and didn't train again until the following Saturday, with an easy 25km spin. Sunday, a ride to the pool for a 30-minute recovery swim, and a 60km spin on the flats on Monday. A couple of technique-focus swims, and some intervals on the bike, rounded out the rest of the week. Saturday was a 100-km ride west past Bragg Creek, which felt very energizing. An early 3000m swim with a 1000m power set this morning was followed this afternoon by a 10km run. This was my first run since race day, due to a blister the size of Rhode Island on my right instep. It probably saved me from myself, though!

A Hard Lesson in Proper Pacing

While running the 10km loop out my back gate in Fish Creek Park today, I got to witness a fellow runner blow himself to bits due to poor pacing. At about 1km out, he went by me at a very brisk pace. Once I calmed my ego down, I thought, "well, good on you if you can hold that for a while." Down in the park , I could still see him up ahead (he was wearing a red shirt, easy to spot) but the gap was not getting much bigger.

Near the halfway mark, he was walking, picked up briefly to a rather labored-looking run, but quickly resumed walking. As I passed him, he got it going again, and stayed on my heels for about 200m. I listened to his breathing, which got more ragged with every step. I heard the telltale sole-scuffing of fatigued legs failing to pick up the feet. Then, the sounds faded. (I swear I did not purposely surge to drop him!) 5km into a 10km run, and he was cooked, all because he didn't pace himself properly at the start.

The Negative Split-It's a Good Thing!

Proper pacing results in finishing stronger than you start. This requires starting off more slowly than feels normal, building to a manageable pace for the distance, then picking it up during the last third. If done right, this results in a negative split, meaning you ran the last half faster than the first half. Nearly all recent endurance records have been set using the negative split, including the current marathon world record of 2:04:55.