One of the bigger developments over the last 8 weeks has been my employment of Andy Thornton (our “Garmin” guide from the Paris ride!) as my coach for the remaining time to the Ironman itself. From the start, his plan for me involved some assessments to see how I was progressing and to set some heart rate zones for me to work in. Heart rate zones were something I had in fact begun to explore myself properly in the period before I began working with Andy. I had researched how important it was to work in the correct aerobic zone to ensure I did not deplete glycogen stores too quickly and could continue to exercise for the long periods the event requires. I had started running whilst keeping my heart rate as stable as possible, although once we had gone through the assessments, it was clear I was still going too fast, especially whilst cycling!