I thought it was time for a proper update on where I'm at with my training.
For those of you who follow along, you'll know that back on the 14th of June I was racing Ironman Cairns — my A-race for last season. Literally as I was running my bike out of T1 toward the mount line, I felt a sharp pain in my calf, like someone had stabbed a knife into it. That turned out to be a Grade 2 calf tear. I pushed on for the next few hours on the bike before withdrawing at around the 60km mark as it got progressively worse.
If you missed that story, I wrote about the race itself in my Ironman Cairns 2026 race report and about the mindset side of it in From Setback to Reset.
Now I'm coming up to the end of three weeks of structured training, so here's exactly where things are at.
The hardest part of coming back isn't the training — it's being patient enough to let the training work.
How the Recovery Started
The first thing I did — and the thing I'd tell any athlete to do — was see a physio. I got in literally on the Tuesday after flying back into Brisbane for a proper assessment. That confirmed the Grade 2 tear and gave me a rehab plan, which started with a four-to-six week rest period.
It was meant to be complete rest. I lasted about nine days before I started going a bit stir crazy, so I began adding some light rides. But I held off on any structured training until about five weeks after the injury. That patience early on matters more than any single session later.
The Honest Truth About Losing Fitness
One thing that surprised me was just how much fitness you lose in such a short space of time — and I suspect some of that is age. I'm very close to turning 58 next month, and two things have become obvious:
- Recovery takes a lot longer than it used to.
- The performances I had in my 40s simply aren't there anymore.
When I raced Australian Ironman back in 2014, I went 10:29 and felt I had more in the tank. Pushing from 58 toward 60, I don't think I'll see those numbers again — and that's okay. It just means being smarter about how I train and how I progress. If you're navigating the same thing, I've written more about that in starting (or restarting) triathlon after 50.
The Plan for the New Season
The season kicks off on the 27th of September with the Moreton Bay Triathlon, and I'll be racing that as a sprint — 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run. No pushing out to the classic distance this time. The plan is to race mostly the shorter races through the season, then maybe pick one half-iron or long-course event later on. I haven't decided whether that'll be Ginninderra in February or something after that — I'll assess once I see how the first few races go.
Rebuilding the Swim
The swim has honestly gone fantastic. Here's how I structured it across the three weeks — swimming Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with two interval sessions and one endurance swim each week:
| Week | Interval swims | Endurance swim |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1,500m — 400m warm-up, 10×50m, then 100s with paddles | 1,500m continuous freestyle |
| Week 2 | 2,000m — same structure, more volume | 2,000m continuous |
| Week 3 | 2,000m — 500m warm-up, 10×50m, 8×100m with buoy + paddles | 2,500m endurance |
The key on the interval days has been generous rest — around 30 seconds at each — so I can concentrate purely on form and the feel of the water rather than smashing myself. I've been throwing paddles into the 100s to start rebuilding upper-body strength. The endurance swims are just pure, easy, continuous freestyle.
Rebuilding the Bike
The bike has stayed strong — I really haven't lost much compared to the end of last season. My structure has settled into three rides a week (four in week one):
- Tuesday – Intervals (indoor): upper zone 2 / lower zone 3 efforts, followed by a short run off the bike.
- Thursday – Recovery: an easy 60–90 minute zone 2 ride, depending on how I've pulled up.
- Saturday – Long ride: my endurance ride, low zone 2, building 2:00 → 2:15 → 2:30 across the three weeks.
Getting back on the indoor trainer for the harder efforts has let me control the load precisely while the calf settles — which matters, because effort is something you can actually manage. If you want to understand why I train that way, have a read of Training with Power.
Rebuilding the Run (Carefully)
The run is where I've had to be most careful. Early on you're almost running on eggshells, waiting for something to go wrong — but so far, fingers crossed and touch wood, it's held up well. Here's how it progressed:
| Week | Run structure |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1km off the bike (Tue), plus 30-min easy zone 2 runs Wed / Fri / Sun — all on feel |
| Week 2 | 2km off the bike (Tue), 45-min zone 2 runs Wed / Fri / Sun |
| Week 3 | 2km off the bike (Tue), 60-min run (Wed), first intervals (Fri), 30-min recovery (Sun) |
Everything early was run on feel and heart rate, not pace — no chasing numbers, just getting the legs turning over again. Today (the Friday of week three) I'm introducing my first run intervals: a solid 10–15 minute warm-up with a few strides, then 6×2 minutes with 90-second walk recoveries, purely on feel and concentrating on cadence and tempo. The moment I feel the calf getting tired, I'll back off and warm down. This is a test, not a hero session.
What's Next
Week four is a recovery week — I'll drop the volume by around 25% to let my body adapt before I keep building into the season. There's not a huge amount of volume there yet, but the adaptation weeks matter just as much as the hard ones.
So where does that leave me three weeks in?
- Swim: going fantastic.
- Bike: stayed strong, minimal loss.
- Run: still a bit of an unknown — but progressing carefully.
Final Thoughts
Coming back from injury at almost 58 isn't about proving I can still hit the numbers I did a decade ago. It's about being patient, staying consistent, and being smart enough to build slowly so I actually make it to that first start line healthy. So far, so good.
If you're rebuilding after your own injury and want a plan that respects where your body is right now — not where it was ten years ago — book a free 30-minute consultation with me, or explore my free training resources to get started.
Are you coming back from an injury or a long lay-off? Drop a comment below and let me know where you're at — I read and reply to every one.