I've just realised i don't need to enter the date in the title of this blog as it enters the date anyway!
Well so much for endurance - if the regularity of the blog entries by most of the Team Lifestyle Ironman entrants is anything to go by we don't stand a chance. Me included.
Good week this week, since the last posting (4 days ago) I have managed:
1X Half hour swim session
1X Hour long swim session
1X 90 minutes turbo
1X Hour run
1X 2 hour run
I have decided after advice to drop all speed sessions. So that's my excuse when I finish last in the Bexhill sprint "didnt want to win it anyway"
It may have been more useful if someone had advised in advance that I would permanantly smell of chlorine and my nipples would always be sore! I found myself admitting on this mornings run that I actually had a set of childrens monkey plasters guarding my nipples against further onslaught from the wind and rain........
Enjoying it all nevertheless... This mornings run with Alan and Tamsin was great and just what I need for base training. Amazing what you learn on some of these runs too !
Noticed some fatigue creeping in so going to get in tomorrow mornings swim and a long bike before then I feel I am ready for another rest day Monday.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
24th January
The two hour 50km bike on Saturday happened, it was a bit painfull due to wind and a little rain - I probably ended up working too hard!
A few beers in the hotel with family on Saturday night (not too many) then up early for a run before breakfast on Sunday morning. On the whole this was really enjoyable, ran down and round Hayling Island which was beautiful at 7am on a Sunday morning with a sea mist clearing. I was out for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, for about 1 hour of this my heart rate didnt pass 140.
Then suddenly it was 215, why? a sodding dog was in pursuit (and it wasn't playing) 20 yds behind the dog there's the owner shouting for me to stand still - I promptly did this and guarded my nuts in one swift movement. Now, I am not quite sure whether it was a lack of education, no common sense or just sheer panic but once the owner caught up to us (the dog and I) he decided in his infinite wisdom the first thing he should do is apologise to me. While he is doing this the dog is still gamely sniffing around parts I would rather it stayed well away from. Finally he got the point when my sensitive, subtle side came across and I screamed out "get your F~**~##* dog on the lead!
Monday morning and it was time to get back on the turbo, 6am spin for an hour, replicating hills, steady state with maximum resistance but low RPM to try and build leg muscle. Pickups every 5 minutes or so. Need to do this as bike is probably my weakest disciplines, bummer its about half the race!!! My Ironman success will depend heavily on building my bike, I need to get a good speed at moderate effort, hence maintaining energy for the marathon. So I followed the bike up with some weights to build leg strength further. And these weren't normal weights, NO, I couldn't do things by half, so I decided I needed to look up some of Lance Armstrongs old workouts on-line. I did a half an hour session of walking up and down the garage like a monkey on steroids with weights on my shoulders - then couldnt make it up the stairs for a shower!
Half an hour swim at lunchtime focusing on drills.
Rest day tomorrow I think, probably just a lunchtime swim to flush muscles................
A few beers in the hotel with family on Saturday night (not too many) then up early for a run before breakfast on Sunday morning. On the whole this was really enjoyable, ran down and round Hayling Island which was beautiful at 7am on a Sunday morning with a sea mist clearing. I was out for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, for about 1 hour of this my heart rate didnt pass 140.
Then suddenly it was 215, why? a sodding dog was in pursuit (and it wasn't playing) 20 yds behind the dog there's the owner shouting for me to stand still - I promptly did this and guarded my nuts in one swift movement. Now, I am not quite sure whether it was a lack of education, no common sense or just sheer panic but once the owner caught up to us (the dog and I) he decided in his infinite wisdom the first thing he should do is apologise to me. While he is doing this the dog is still gamely sniffing around parts I would rather it stayed well away from. Finally he got the point when my sensitive, subtle side came across and I screamed out "get your F~**~##* dog on the lead!
Monday morning and it was time to get back on the turbo, 6am spin for an hour, replicating hills, steady state with maximum resistance but low RPM to try and build leg muscle. Pickups every 5 minutes or so. Need to do this as bike is probably my weakest disciplines, bummer its about half the race!!! My Ironman success will depend heavily on building my bike, I need to get a good speed at moderate effort, hence maintaining energy for the marathon. So I followed the bike up with some weights to build leg strength further. And these weren't normal weights, NO, I couldn't do things by half, so I decided I needed to look up some of Lance Armstrongs old workouts on-line. I did a half an hour session of walking up and down the garage like a monkey on steroids with weights on my shoulders - then couldnt make it up the stairs for a shower!
Half an hour swim at lunchtime focusing on drills.
Rest day tomorrow I think, probably just a lunchtime swim to flush muscles................
Friday, January 21, 2011
21st January
Sitting here waiting for the Friday evening swim session - what can I do for 10 minutes, I know, update the blog!
Swim sessions are getting busier now as we get towards the season, will be interesting to see how packed our lane at the club will be tonight. Must be something in a triathletes nature, everyone claims they are going slow and just getting back into it after the "off season" then, you guessed it, as soon as they get in the lane the competitive nature kicks in and nobody wants to be passed!!!
The last couple of days have been good a 60 minute run yesterday, decided in my wisdom to pull out a pair of old trainers and either my toes have grown or the trainers have shrunk. I am now sporting a couple of black toe nails. Think its time I binned them!
Followed up with a 30 minute lunchtime swim and got talking to the woman in the lane next to me (56 years old and achieving sub 12 hour ironman, training for Lanzarote) based on this I should be able to do about 6 hours in Wales I reckon :-)
This morning I got on the turbo again for an hour, followed straight afterwards by 15 minutes weights on my legs. I am feeling the benefit of building leg muscle as my bike gets stronger. Its a shame I can't follow up last weeks 4 hour ride with a long ride again this Sunday. Due to a family christening I need to be in sunny Southampton for the weekend. So its up early Saturday morning for a couple of hours on the bike before we leave, I will then do a run from the hotel on Sunday morning.
Good swim session tonight, swim, kick, pull followed by 2X800M sets and 100M warm down - Chris was on form as we were balled out for not working hard enough. And yes, you guessed it, I was passed and hated it!!!
Swim sessions are getting busier now as we get towards the season, will be interesting to see how packed our lane at the club will be tonight. Must be something in a triathletes nature, everyone claims they are going slow and just getting back into it after the "off season" then, you guessed it, as soon as they get in the lane the competitive nature kicks in and nobody wants to be passed!!!
The last couple of days have been good a 60 minute run yesterday, decided in my wisdom to pull out a pair of old trainers and either my toes have grown or the trainers have shrunk. I am now sporting a couple of black toe nails. Think its time I binned them!
Followed up with a 30 minute lunchtime swim and got talking to the woman in the lane next to me (56 years old and achieving sub 12 hour ironman, training for Lanzarote) based on this I should be able to do about 6 hours in Wales I reckon :-)
This morning I got on the turbo again for an hour, followed straight afterwards by 15 minutes weights on my legs. I am feeling the benefit of building leg muscle as my bike gets stronger. Its a shame I can't follow up last weeks 4 hour ride with a long ride again this Sunday. Due to a family christening I need to be in sunny Southampton for the weekend. So its up early Saturday morning for a couple of hours on the bike before we leave, I will then do a run from the hotel on Sunday morning.
Good swim session tonight, swim, kick, pull followed by 2X800M sets and 100M warm down - Chris was on form as we were balled out for not working hard enough. And yes, you guessed it, I was passed and hated it!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
19th January
Year of firsts, first half ironman, first marathon, first Ironman, and first broken bike............
I broke my bottom bracket! the training must be working! it completely sheared :-) fortunately it all happened on the turbo and not in the arse end of nowhere 'cos this bike shagged.
It all started with a day of rest on Monday following the long weekend hours (13 hours training last week) i felt like I was catching a cold, maybe stepped the training up a bit too much too early. So a rest was in order. Legs feeling a little heavy and permanently hungry! it didnt matter what I ate Monday the appetite would not go away. Roll on Tuesday and back to it, demoralising when you open the curtains in the morning and its dark and wet, but out for a run I go - just over an hour at a moderate pace, probably not above 140 HR but didnt wear a HR monitor so not sure (trying to also get a feel for the rate my body is working at without using one because I plan to run by feel on race day)
Half an hour TT session in the pool at threshold pace then at lunchtime and just over a mile in 30 minutes. Swimming is improving and seems to be on track for a pool time of 1.15 for the 3.8km. Given no strong currents on race day, extra speed of a wetsuit and race adrenaline should be able to train towards 1.10 - but its the sea and its Wales so who knows there could be a 5ft swell on the day (my years of surfing would come into there own then!).
Wednesday
Up this morning then and time to put "my best bike" on the turbo 5 minute warm-up, then 45 minutes of hill climbing intensity, followed by 20 minutes of leg weights. I need to build my power and muscle endurance for the bike so a couple of weight sessions a week now. I must look like a plonka at 6am in the morning with my wool hat, bottle of water and tights heading into the garage. Even though the milkman has seen the sight many times he still gives me a look as if to say "you tit"
Another 30 minute swim at luchtime, drills this time followed by 10 minutes of 100m intervals. Always picks me up for the afternoon on the office.
Back to running tomorrow and intending to inject a little pace so my body doesnt forget how to run faster.
I broke my bottom bracket! the training must be working! it completely sheared :-) fortunately it all happened on the turbo and not in the arse end of nowhere 'cos this bike shagged.
It all started with a day of rest on Monday following the long weekend hours (13 hours training last week) i felt like I was catching a cold, maybe stepped the training up a bit too much too early. So a rest was in order. Legs feeling a little heavy and permanently hungry! it didnt matter what I ate Monday the appetite would not go away. Roll on Tuesday and back to it, demoralising when you open the curtains in the morning and its dark and wet, but out for a run I go - just over an hour at a moderate pace, probably not above 140 HR but didnt wear a HR monitor so not sure (trying to also get a feel for the rate my body is working at without using one because I plan to run by feel on race day)
Half an hour TT session in the pool at threshold pace then at lunchtime and just over a mile in 30 minutes. Swimming is improving and seems to be on track for a pool time of 1.15 for the 3.8km. Given no strong currents on race day, extra speed of a wetsuit and race adrenaline should be able to train towards 1.10 - but its the sea and its Wales so who knows there could be a 5ft swell on the day (my years of surfing would come into there own then!).
Wednesday
Up this morning then and time to put "my best bike" on the turbo 5 minute warm-up, then 45 minutes of hill climbing intensity, followed by 20 minutes of leg weights. I need to build my power and muscle endurance for the bike so a couple of weight sessions a week now. I must look like a plonka at 6am in the morning with my wool hat, bottle of water and tights heading into the garage. Even though the milkman has seen the sight many times he still gives me a look as if to say "you tit"
Another 30 minute swim at luchtime, drills this time followed by 10 minutes of 100m intervals. Always picks me up for the afternoon on the office.
Back to running tomorrow and intending to inject a little pace so my body doesnt forget how to run faster.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
16th January
A fantastic weekend of training started with a 22k run on Saturday, 2 hours with a HR average of 130, good to keep it low and I felt I could keep going all day (despite the tsunami as I turned for home), would be happy with this pace and a slightly sub 4 hour marathon at the end of the ironman.
2k Swim set this morning (probably too much talking and not enough swimming)
The wind was howling outside but someone said the fatal words afterwards "whos up for the bike"
4 hours later and getting close to 100k (well maybe 90 and change) - i'm now following not only in JP's fumes but also SC!
Apparently there was no point in me hitting the front anyway as, i quote "its impossible to draft a gerbil"
It made me realise my bike has come a long way since last summer but I still have some way to go to get to where I want to be. Really enjoyed the ride and excited by the prospect of this group building each week. Has sapped my legs of energy though - rest day tomorrow!
Date with my sofa now for the rest of the evening.....
2k Swim set this morning (probably too much talking and not enough swimming)
The wind was howling outside but someone said the fatal words afterwards "whos up for the bike"
4 hours later and getting close to 100k (well maybe 90 and change) - i'm now following not only in JP's fumes but also SC!
Apparently there was no point in me hitting the front anyway as, i quote "its impossible to draft a gerbil"
It made me realise my bike has come a long way since last summer but I still have some way to go to get to where I want to be. Really enjoyed the ride and excited by the prospect of this group building each week. Has sapped my legs of energy though - rest day tomorrow!
Date with my sofa now for the rest of the evening.....
Friday, January 14, 2011
14th January
Yesterday was a bit of a "write off". Recovering from Jetlag i went for a half hour lunchtime swim which was just enough to inject some life and keep me up until I needed to go to bed at about 9pm!
Much better day today and back into the real swing of things. An hours run this morning, 12k with an average heart rate of 147 (heart rate probably a touch too high) went up to 183 for a short period after the theme from Rocky came on the i-pod - all of a sudden i was Linford Christie (without the lunchbox of course) Running along the seafront in the fresh air at 6.30am, I forgot how great it was living by the sea.
30 minute swim at lunchtime and a good swim with JP (following in his wake) at the club session tonight. Need a long run and a long bike over the weekend now.
Much better day today and back into the real swing of things. An hours run this morning, 12k with an average heart rate of 147 (heart rate probably a touch too high) went up to 183 for a short period after the theme from Rocky came on the i-pod - all of a sudden i was Linford Christie (without the lunchbox of course) Running along the seafront in the fresh air at 6.30am, I forgot how great it was living by the sea.
30 minute swim at lunchtime and a good swim with JP (following in his wake) at the club session tonight. Need a long run and a long bike over the weekend now.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
12th Jan
Last 2 days training has been a little poor.
We had a snow dump in Detroit yesterday which has pretty much put paid to running outdoors (especially as the only clean gear I have left are shorts and T shirt) and the gym equipment in this hotel is not the greatest.
I have managed an hour each day on a flat bike, better than nothing! It is working my legs but really struggling in that position to get a heart rate much above 120/130.
Looking forward to getting home tomorrow, getting back in the water for a swim and getting the rest of the training back on track.
We had a snow dump in Detroit yesterday which has pretty much put paid to running outdoors (especially as the only clean gear I have left are shorts and T shirt) and the gym equipment in this hotel is not the greatest.
I have managed an hour each day on a flat bike, better than nothing! It is working my legs but really struggling in that position to get a heart rate much above 120/130.
Looking forward to getting home tomorrow, getting back in the water for a swim and getting the rest of the training back on track.
Monday, January 10, 2011
10th January
An hours bike this morning in the gym, steady state and 140bpm, the 2nd session planned this evening was killed when by boss said "lets go to hooters" - shooters at hooters and a birthday song thrown in (even though it was no-ones birthday) - maybe I will hold giving up the alcohol until back in the UK...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
January 9th - Week 1 Training - Vegas
There's some interesting sites running down Las Vegas strip at 5.45am. STILL the Mexican entourage tried to force me to take a card as I sprinted past them.
"It's Vegas baby" as I spot Elvis coming out of one of the Casinos! Not the best start to my Ironman training with Jetlag, enough alcohol to sink Amy Winehouse and a curious shuffle resulting from too many squats in the gym the day before.
Managed about 9 hours running and spinning, not sure its having the desired effect due to sleep deprivation but 90 minute runs and 3 hours bike are feeling good at the moment so not unhappy - every run this week though seems to be a recovery run if you know what I mean.
Swimming has been a challenge, the pool is outdoors, the heating had broken and its only just above freezing so there would have been a risk of body parts dropping off....
Flying over to Detroit now so the partying and long days on an exhibition stand will stop so hopefully some long runs in the snow may be on. Officially giving up drinking. Except for the next trip to USA in March (can't do the tradeshows without the alcohol crutch) oh, and a surfing trip at Easter.
"It's Vegas baby" as I spot Elvis coming out of one of the Casinos! Not the best start to my Ironman training with Jetlag, enough alcohol to sink Amy Winehouse and a curious shuffle resulting from too many squats in the gym the day before.
Managed about 9 hours running and spinning, not sure its having the desired effect due to sleep deprivation but 90 minute runs and 3 hours bike are feeling good at the moment so not unhappy - every run this week though seems to be a recovery run if you know what I mean.
Swimming has been a challenge, the pool is outdoors, the heating had broken and its only just above freezing so there would have been a risk of body parts dropping off....
Flying over to Detroit now so the partying and long days on an exhibition stand will stop so hopefully some long runs in the snow may be on. Officially giving up drinking. Except for the next trip to USA in March (can't do the tradeshows without the alcohol crutch) oh, and a surfing trip at Easter.
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