Where's My 'MOJO' Gone.....

I was told there would be weeks like this, but never really believed it would happen.  I felt the fittest I have ever been, indestructable, positively bulletproof until I got ill in Chicago!!

5 days off completely.............

Since getting back into training, until recently, I have been at an all time low, struggling to get the volume and intensity back up again.  Negative thoughts keep creeping in: 

I am not doing enough............
Must do more.
Will I be able to run the distance without collaping in a pile of mediocrity???

For the first time in the last couple of days the lighter mornings and evenings seem to be improving my state of mind.  So Saturday I ventured out on the bike in beautifull sunshine.  Having no group to keep up with I took my old heavy aluminium bike and headed for the hilliest route around Sussex villages I could find.  Three hours later and I was tired but 70km of hilly riding down (made harder with a heavy bike) - thank goodness my mojo seemed to be returning. 

The better weather also means time to start lifting volume by about 10%, so that means about 14 hours a week until my body gets used to it.  Looking forward tot he clocks changing and being able to ride the bike to and from work at least once a week, 110km round trip which can form a solid part of my training each week.  Also starting to try and do these distances with no gels or carb drinks (apparently training my body to use up fat reserves as it realises there is no sugar on tap)  This will stand me in good stead on race day when my body will need 12,000 calories plus.......  Must train my body to burn fat otherwise i will simply run out of energy.

A Tough Week

I knew there would be weeks like this...............

The week after mad jacks was good, might have been walking like a catholic choirboy, but spot on average training volume of 12 hours, culminating in a 'bastard' watt test on the Friday night (there was a time I would have been partying on a Friday night) - So 209 watts on the turbo over 20 minutes is not huge but given i apparently only weigh as much as a gerbil it fairs well for power to weight ratio.  I should also be able to build this in the next 9 months in the saddle.

Travelling again and all the challenges that brings, starting out in Toronto and after 5 minutes running around the lake on the first morning i realised why I was getting strange looks in shorts and a hoody.  The windchill was -15........So how relieved was I the following day when I asked the hotel staff about a local gym and they unveiled a cupboard containing a treadmill, bike and a few free weights "Pig in S***"  Needless to say the rest of my training in Toronto was done in the cupboard, but it did the trick and a good couple of hours a day kept me going.

Next stage - Chicago and meeting with the rest of the team in a wonderful hotel, great pool and fantastic gym, so Friday was a morning run and then a 4.5K evening set in the pool - not fast at about 1:30mins, but important to just go over distance and felt good boosting confidence.  Saturday morning I then met a friend at work who is also a triathlete.  The two of us did just over 2 hours on some impressive gym bikes followed by an hours run on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Good session BUT i wasnt feeling great towards the end and realised why that afternoon as sickness set in.  I was only telling Paul and JP last week how happy I was to have gone the whole winter without even a sniffle!!!!!

I now havn't trained for the last 4 days, back in the UK and hoping to pick it back up soon..........