Coronavirus causes Cairns athlete to rethink pro plans
Nick Carling had his early-season races lined up, and has been working to a plan which would see him transition into the pro ranks by the end of 2020. Coronavirus presented a speed bump.
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This was supposed to be the year Cairns triathlete Nick Carling turned professional.
He had his early-season races lined up, and has been working to a plan which would see him transition into the pro ranks by the end of the year.
But the coronavirus pandemic has provided a minor disruption to that well-crafted, long-term plan; though Carling is still determined to reach his goal.
An eighth-placed finish at the Ironman 70.3 in Bangsaen, Thailand, on February 23 turned out to be Carling’s sole appearance in the popular multisport events.
His planned race at the Ironman 70.3 Davao, Philippines, was postponed – first to May 10 and has now been rescheduled for March 21, 2021 – while the status of Ironman Cairns, originally scheduled for June 7, is postponed indefinitely.
“It turned out to be my last opportunity to do a 70.3 in a while,” Carling said.
“Overall, I was pretty happy with it – it was a good field.”
The Kewarra Beach athlete is back pounding the pavement, cycling and swimming where possible to maintain his fitness as he starts a build with a racing comeback pencilled in for September.
Where and what those races look like is one of the great unknowns at this point – it totally depends on the impact of COVID-19 and health and medical advice at the time – but that won’t stop Carling from ensuring he maintains peak condition.
Physically, that means regularly training across all three disciplines, as well as keeping his coaching business going, but it also means a significant mental challenge.
“It’s a little bit challenging but it’s not too bad,” he said.
“My mindset, and what I try to my athletes, is to embrace it. There’s no reason we can’t keep improving.
“It’s changing the thinking from what we can’t do to what we can do.”
Rather than swimming at a pool or the beach, Carling has a backyard pool and bungee cord to ensure he gets the time and effort he needs to keep in top shape.
The social distancing measures haven’t impacted the cycling and running components as heavily, but spin classes conducted via Zoom and regular coffee catchups via similar teleconference software have become the new norm.
Carling is also contributing to a newly-launched Facebook group intended to keep people active and physical.
TC’s C-19 Hub – Health, Fitness and Entertainment will feature regular activities and classes run by Carling and Claudia Fregona, covering strength training, fitness and yoga, that people can engage with in the comfort of their own home.
The project is aimed to keep people moving while many are forced to work from home or have to maintain isolation.
As far as his triathlon goals are concerned, Carling isn’t 100 per cent sure where that could lead.
The plan is still to turn pro, and to do so Carling has to shave about 10 minutes off his Ironman 70.3 time.
It’s doable – an achievable target – and the disruption to regular society could provide more time and motivation for Carling to smash it.
Originally published as Coronavirus causes Cairns athlete to rethink pro plans