Don't you just love it when things are going well? It'd good for the general well-being, but bad for the writing.
Again, it's just too hectic for me to update more frequently, plus another training diary isn't really needed I guess. Luckily I have my weekly plans from Alice stored online, so if things do go the shape of a pear I can go there to see what I was doing. the shape of a pear is not something that's been considered recently though, we've come through a month of steady strength & fitness building in better shape than before, (both physically and mentally).
Life & work remain uber busy, but it's going to get me to my Birthday party at Challenge Wanaka next year, so a means to an end.
How things have gone/are going below
Swim
Madam H has taken my almost total non-swimming (between August & Jan 1st) by the horns & we've done around 34k this month. Every session seems better & this week (during main sets of 10 x 200m & 4 x 500m) I've been holding a pace faster than any of my wetsuited race swims since 2008. That's got me thinking that if I'm doing that in Feb then 08's times of 1:03:?? for 3.8k & 23:20 for 1500m may be in jeopardy? Not that I'm planning to do an Olympic, mind.
Bike
I think it's going well. Certainly feeling pretty strong on the single speed commutes & in turbo sessions. This may be a falsehood as I've not had a chance to do any group riding yet though. Feeling pretty positive considering the time of year, how the weather has been & certainly stronger than before in the winter.
Run Almost back to acceptable running form. The calf injury I was struggling with has now totally cleared, 3 runs this week have confirmed that. I've also dropped into a very natural pace now both my legs are working! This weeks runs have been 8 miles @ 7:22 min/mile, 4 miles off the bike @ 7:21 & 10 miles today @ 7:21 too. All of the runs have been very controlled, just need to keep on at that level for a short while. Coach is pleased with me, so I'm a happy boy.
General Health
After 7 weeks of consistent training the benefits are showing. Weighed in at 78.5kg last Monday, (race weight will be around 74-75). I just need to keep on at the core strength sessions to firm up & lose the extra around the middle!
Also I seem to be recovering very well from sessions with the improving fitness. Resting Heart rate is taken every morning & this week has been - 41-39-41-36-41-38-39. Obviously when I recorded 36 I double checked the reading, confirmed it was accurate then jumped around the bedroom. Then it was up around 100
So that's me, working hard, training smart & enjoying the long game.
Replies
Thank you all for your previous replies. I promise should I break down physically or mentally, then you'll have something more entertaining to read. For now tho', allow me the dullness _________________ Blog
..after the trials of last week, this week has been pretty smooth. Not very interesting from the blogging point of view, but much needed in the real world.
One thing I have got to do moving forwards is get more sleep. Weekdays are very hectic & my brain is constantly running at 100%, which in turn means I need a little more down time in the evenings before I can even consider sleeping. Maybe a reduction in my daytime caffeine intake might just help with this?
No running for me this week, other than an easy 20min jog off the bike today, the calf seems fine now so we'll be back to normal next week.
Everything else on the training front has been pretty smooth. the only thing of interest (other than swam this, biked that) is that I didn't have time to swim on Monday & Tuesday night (4 sessions for me this week), so I did both sessions together. It's been a while since I banged out 4.8k in the pool, ouchy!!
Oh, and I've broken my bike computer, so my Road to Regensburg counter has come down for a while. Road rides can easily me mapped & logged in know, but turbo time is more difficult, unless you;re in one gear all the time. Never mind, it's payday soon & I'm sure a Wiggle order is on the cards.
Off now to spend my 2010 4th quarter bonus on race entries & some sh!t I don't need, happy days.
As the blog is quite short this week, here's my favourite thing from the internet recently, total genius.
Replies
Sav - More beer, less riding is what I aim to achieve
Sue - yep, no wind this weekend, just artic
JamesBoH - You should try it, it only hurts a bit
Poet - Thanks mate, I'll have a re-format one day
The Iain - DRINK! Think we've convinced Laura on The CowMan too
Carlito - Yep every trick in the book on the calf, daft of me to run on it really
Iainm - They way I ride you would think they were all recoveries _________________ Blog
Not the smoothest week of training this week. All three disciplines have been affected, but at another time in the not to distant past it could have been a complete write off. Reason it wasn't is, as I've written before, the new found steel (or Iron) and belief that I've gained since working with Alice.
Probably the most important thing we have spoken about in the past is that I do this for fun, it isn't my job & sometimes that's all too easy to forget. I am not Chris McCormack, Alistair Brownlee or even the next Simon Lessing! I'm a (now) 42yr old bloke who likes to keep fit, enjoys racing & the social aspect of triathlon & needs to spend more time remembering that.
Maybe it's a fair point that could be levelled at many people? But that's up to them. But trust me, when a former Pro Athlete points this out to you, (as Alice did last year), you sit up & take notice. All that said I am not going to deliberately go slower this year. I will train hard & race hard but I intend to enjoy it even more than before. If I go faster than before, then so be it, but it will not be to the detriment to other areas of my life.
On the last point I would also like to thank Lizzy & her wonderful blog. We are good friends & I admire Lizzy greatly. A recent post of hers drew a lot of similarities to my life & it got me thinking.
Anyway, back to the week's training....
Swim
Just another 2 sessions this week, around 4.3k in total, Madam H is easing me into this nicely. The swimming is already feeling better (but not yet going faster). Tuesday night's session was quite literally eye opener though, I got in the pool, set off for the 1st length & realised that I had no goggles on. In fact I had left them at home so just did the whole set without
Bike
Very little in the way of single speed commuting this week, but I made up for it on the turbo. Mostly as I've been protecting the stiff calf that I picked up running last Sunday.
Also got a rather windy ride in this morning, but having slept in too late there was only time for a short ride. Knowing this when I set out meant I made every pedal stroke count today. Strong old headwind for the 1st half of the ride too. There's a lot to be said for a flat windy ride, there's just no let up, so it fitted in perfectly today. Even when coming back with the wind over my shoulder I didn't let up, unlike a hill-fest you just don't run out of gears when it's a bit 'easier' click down the cassette & keep the pressure on.
I was on the verge of easing up about 6 miles from home but I spotted a cyclist in the distance (maybe 1/2 a mile in front) so I tested my legs & chased him down, finally getting to him with 1 mile left. My legs felt so much better today than ever before in January. I think the single speed commuting I have been doing has had an effect already maybe?
Run
A grand total of 2 1/2 miles for the week
The stiff calf was easing throughout the week & 1st scheduled run was on Wednesday. A steady 45 minutes was on the cards, so perfect chance to run home from the office. I managed a couple of miles before the calf began to stiffen again, another 1/2 mile & I was reduced to a limp/walk. Fortunately my boss was still in the office & he came to get me & take me back for my car, phew.
I've not been able to run since then, my leg now feels just how it did before I set out on Wednesday, so maybe a couple of more days & I'll be back on it.
so, not exactly a stellar week, but not to worry. Work is still keeping my very busy during office hours, that stops me from dwelling on it and I also got quite drunk on Friday (as it was my Birthday), it's all good fun really!
Replies
BEEF - I was concentrating on technique, honest guv.
Poet - Done Better?
Sue - I was very brave today!
Sav - I think I found the Queen K on the A600 today
Tiv - how polite are the drivers around here? Bloody magic! _________________ Blog
