Ironman 70.3 Muscat 2026: 16 week check-in (RAWE CEEK)
February 11, 2026It’s here. This is the final week of Ironman Oman 70.3 2026 season. I am currently serving my (apparently bi-annual) long layover in Abu Dhabi as I write this blog, sitting in the same cafe I did ~2 years ago on my way to Switzerland.
I need a series of miracles this week, a series of things that need to go right, almost all of which are mostly out of my direct control. The week started off sketchy, two of my friends who were supposed to do Oman with me dropped out last minute due to a medical emergency, so for all practical purposes I am now going solo. My coach and a few others from the training group are at Oman, however I am not super familiar with these people. Truthfully, this was going to be a solo run anyways, just that the solo-ness is starting sooner than expected. Here are my miracles, some bigger than the rest:
- Etihad checks-in my bike at no/low cost and delivers it safely to Muscat → we’re halfway through this miracle
- Assemble the bike without any hitches which is a first for me
- Eat, hydrate and rest well ensuring I don’t fall sick and get enough food in the system
- Pack all my transition bags to perfection, make do with whatever equipment I have
- Wake up in time on race day, eat, do the bag and nutrition check-in without chaos and be composed at the swim start
- SWIM WITHOUT DYING and/or DNFING → this is a big one
- Handle T1 smoothly without forgetting equipment
- BIKE WITHOUT DNFING, having no equipment issues, rock solid with nutrition, cramp-free → this is a big one too
- Complete the half marathon - run, walk, crawl if I must
- Make it back home in one piece
That’s a long list. Certainly things are bound to go south, things that are probably not even on the list. I will check in once again in a few days, hopefully I am a (half) Ironman by then. Back to regular scheduled programming.
Swim (7/10)
I have now done multiple 1.9K swims in the 7ft pool with sighting, off-side breathing and some doggy paddling to stay afloat. I am confident I can go the distance in under 1 hour in controlled environments. Open water is still a gamble, I have two sessions on Thursday and Friday to get used to it.
Bike (8/10)
My penultimate brick workout with the boys was educative. I tried keeping up with them and my HR spiked, I should stick to my pace in the race. I got a flat 52Ks (~2 hours in), due to a very stupid error of under inflating my tires. Lesson learned. I went to Velo the day after to learn how to replace a punctured tube which was helpful. My concerns with the bike are:
- I have only done a 2:50 continuous bike, I expect Oman to be an hour longer than that. I hope my nutrition and stamina holds up
- I’ve never actually done a super hilly course IRL, only in training. I hope I don’t fall
- Biking after swim might be weird but I should be able to settle in I hope
Run (8/10)
Feeling good as always, last brick run was 1 hour in belting heat and I did okay, although it was post a much shorter bike segment
Overall (7.5/10)
Feeling a strong 7.5/10 overall. Mainly need to focus on the mental. It’s easy to get caught up in the enormity of the challenge, it’s happened before during training sessions where I let the distances get to me. What I need to be focusing on over the next couple of days is to be calm, rested and properly fueled. On race day, clear my mind and rely on instincts. This is proof (for myself) that I can do hard things.