Richard Hall spends up to eight hours a day training for the Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa triathlon.
Richard Hall spends up to eight hours a day training for the Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa triathlon.
His goal for his fourth time entering this gruelling race is to finish within 12 hours and to hopefully complete it without any pain from an injury that’s been troubling him recently.
This hasn’t got in his way though. Hall alternates between running and cycling on a daily basis and he swims most days, spending anything from an hour-and-a-half to eight hours training.
For athletes preparing for a race like the Ironman, it doesn’t start with a simple new year’s resolution. It is rather a lifestyle choice Hall says and he likes to keep a basic level of fitness as well as eating healthily all year round.
Mental preparation is an equally important part of the race he says, as “training is a great time to clear your head or to think things through clearly and make good decisions”.
The marathon will be the toughest part of event for Hall and the swim his strongest leg. “But it’s such a small part, so I actually prefer the bike,” he says.
Hall started easing off the kilometres about a month ago, making sure his body is fully recovered and rested when race day comes.
The local fast-food business owner also plans for his Ironman training to have the more long-term outcome of preparing him for the Comrades ultra-marathon. This arduous 89km race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban will take place on Sunday 2 June this year.
With a few competitions under his belt, Hall confesses that “this is the first time I’m competing more on muscle memory than actual training, so it should be a new experience”.
