That comes with the territory when preparing for an ironman event.
The Southlander is going for three swims, four bike rides and four runs for up to 30 hours a week — while juggling his career as a teacher aide at Ruru Specialist School — to prepare for the gruelling event.
Tomorrow the 23-year-old puts it all to the test when he races in Ironman New Zealand in Taupo.
‘‘I’m just eager to get started,’’ Gough said.
‘‘I’m just over sitting around and ready to put all the training that I’ve done out there and ready to race.’’
It is his first Ironman event on home soil. He became hooked after competing at Ironman Cairns last June and registered for the Kiwi event the next day.
While you always cross your fingers for an easy day out, he was prepared to expect the unexpected.
‘‘It’s such a long day. There’s so much that can do wrong and so much that can be affected.
‘‘It’d just be nice to have a real drama-free day.
‘‘I’ve got a time in my head that I’d like, but you don’t know. You’re out there for nine, 10 hours — so many things can play up and you just have to hope for a day that falls in place with what you want.’’
Gough is no stranger to high-pressure environments.
The former cyclist competed in the Tour of Southland five times from 2020 to 2024 and won several national medals on the road and the track.
But a bad case of glandular fever about two years ago nearly broke him and he walked away from being a fulltime cyclist.
Looking for a new challenge, Gough turned to running and that led him to becoming a triathlete, following in the footsteps of parents Shane and Kylea, who competed in Ironman events when he was growing up.
‘‘Might as well tick that box in the family legacy,’’ he said.
Leading up to the event, Gough came second overall at the national duathlon championships, won the Southland duathlon series, was second overall at the Challenge Wanaka multi duathlon and second overall at the Challenge Wanaka aqua bike event, and won the Southland 76.5 challenge long-distance triathlon championships.
But it was the test Gough relished the most.
‘‘I just like a challenge. Anything hard and sort of long is what I like to just dive deep into.
‘‘I like the mental aspect of triathlon, where it’s just you against you. When I was a cyclist, it was very much you against a whole bunch of people.’’
