\u201cIt usually tells me I\u2019m on the right track. As we get older, we get comfortable and every now and then I like to throw in a life challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key to success, he says, is routine and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime commitment is the big thing people talk about with Ironman,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t do it alone. You need support at home and at work. I\u2019m usually training from 5 or 5.30 in the morning, or fitting sessions in after work or at lunchtime.\u201d<\/p>\n
He trains all three disciplines, swimming, cycling and running, multiple times a week. <\/p>\n
Under the guidance of coach Russell Smith, de Bruin follows a structured programme that leaves little room for shortcuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a weekend warrior like me, you\u2019re looking at about a six-month lead-up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just turn up on race day and hope for the best. You\u2019ve got to put the work in.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are physical changes too. Long hours of training tend to strip weight away, something de Bruin admits he\u2019s not entirely unhappy about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m enjoying the leaner version [of me],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely easier to maintain when you\u2019re training for hours every week, though I haven\u2019t figured out how to keep it without the training.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Bruin said even though the challenges that come with tackling an Ironman bring up doubts about the project every now and then, to him it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut on those long weekend sessions, you do ask yourself why you\u2019ve done this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of other things you could be doing with your time. But it\u2019s good fun. It really is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graeme \u201cMintie\u201d Mead is a sports commentator, the host of the radio showWaikato All Sports Breakfastand a Newstalk ZB overnight host. He is also a Hamilton City Councillor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt usually tells me I\u2019m on the right track. As we get older, we get comfortable and every…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2246,28602,6255,148051,17379,8449,2070,6288,2944,296,22961,3025,111,139,69,384,15400,28142,147536,37410,118452,148052,213,1569,1852,165,8812,23366,102],"class_list":["post-256668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-2246","tag-bruin","tag-businessman","tag-businessmans","tag-coffee","tag-ease","tag-full","tag-hamilton","tag-inside","tag-into","tag-ironman","tag-most","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-people","tag-push","tag-quiet","tag-quinton","tag-rather","tag-sixmonth","tag-sleepin","tag-sports","tag-starts","tag-taup","tag-their","tag-training","tag-weekends","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}