I thought it was about time to start thinking about what’s next. It’s been a few weeks since I did any training, or if I’m honest any real exercise at all. I think I’ve deserved some time off to rest and recover and to come to terms with starting to train for anything as big as this again. The wife and kids have certainly put up with a lot and have deserved some quality time from me – but I suspect I’m just getting in their hair now and they’re probably ready for a little less attention again!

Sitting down today and re-reading my race report and lessons learned from The Outlaw, I’m re-motivated to think about events for next year. I’d like to think that I have a sub-12 hour Ironman in me, and certainly have unfinished business at the 140.6 mile distance. The question is which event, or events, will I attempt next year to see if I can improve on this years performance. Do I re-visit The Outlaw where I know the course, or do I branch out and enter an Ironman branded event such as Ironman UK. Unfortunately the two events are only a week apart next year, so doing both is not an option and there’s the small matter of Ironman UK falling on Lily’s birthday, which is an argument I haven’t considered yet!.

I believe that Outlaw is my best chance of a fast time, given the course profile compared to Ironman UK in Bolton, but I do want to do an “official” event before I can consider myself “done” with the distance. Should this be next year? I don’t have an answer to this question yet, but will need to decide soon, since both events open in the next few weeks and sell out in a matter of days.

However, one thing’s for sure – I’ll be doing another Iron distance event next year and will be looking at training plans and schedules ASAP.

Watch this space….