Swims, Bricks and Aerobic Threshold

Last nights structured swim was a good work out with a focus on improving speed endurance as I would like to get my Ironman swim down to under 1:10. The set looked like: - 250m warm Up 500m Drills ( 2 x (50m Catch up, 100m 1-arm, 100m finger drag)) 1000m hard (4 x 250m : RI 15sec) 500m Flat out (10 x 50m :RI 10 secs) 250m warm down focusing on swimming long and smooth And the above set left my shoulders and upper back feeling suitably drained.

Today I decided to do a brick session, that is a bike ride immediately followed by a run, and the focus of this brick session was on my base aerobic fitness and my run to bike transition, I am quite a good runner off the bike but there is always room for improvement. The session was made up of a 27mile ride followed by a 4mile run and what became immediately evident was the difference in my Aerobic Threshold on my bike to my Aerobic Threshold on the run, with the bike being way .. way under that of my run (about 20+bpm). This could be what is at the route of why I am crap on a bike ... so over the next few weeks In need to improve this .

Les Mills RPM

I have discussed spinnervals on here before, they are DVDs to do your turbo training to, well a few weeks back some gave me a few workout DVDs, a couple were Les Mills RPM ‘s.

Les Mills RPM is a spinning work out to be done on a spinning bike; well I have my own spinning bike so i’ve been giving these a try out. Today I did RMP 39 which is a 1hr spinning class to a range of music (much better music than spinnervals) and this DVD fairly gets the hear racing, leaving puddles of sweat on the floor.

For me the DVD is not quiet long enough so I normally repeat a number of the working tracks but that isn’t a problem a quick flick of the remote and I continue uninterrupted, all-in-all a great alternative when looking for options for indoor cycling.

W/E : 24/01/2009 (Week 3)

This week saw a big week for me, probably to big considering its only week 3 and after having so long out of training, but i may as well capitalize on having the time due to being in between contracts - almost 14hrs, this is what it looked like: -

MON	AM	03:05:00	BIKE: Spinnervals 13 - Tough Love
TUE	AM	00:20:00	RUN: Run to pool
TUE	AM	00:45:00	SWIM: 5 x 400m
TUE	AM	00:20:00	RUN: Ran back from pool
TUE	PM	00:42:00	RUN: Hilly run with Mrs
WED	AM	00:48:00	BIKE: Spinervals 8: Recovery and Technique
WED	PM	01:20:00	SWIM: Structured session
THU	AM	01:15:00	RUN: Run with dog
THU	PM	00:55:00	BIKE: Spinning (RPM 26)
FRI	AM	02:17:00	BIKE: MTB'ing
FRI	PM	00:43:00	RUN: Hilly run with Mrs and Lynne
SAT	__	__	REST DAY
SUN	AM	01:22:00	RUN: Long easy paced run with Mrs

SWIM:	02:05
BIKE:	07:05
RUN:	04:42
TOTAL	13:52

So looking back at how my progression looks, i think this graph best illustrates quite a steep ramp up, On reflection I may have a slightly easier week this week coming, as i don't want to end up ill through over training, which is always a worry when you get carried away:

Wind, Rain, Fog and a MTB

Today saw my first ‘real’ bike ride since August, Scotty (my occasional training partner and a trainee for IMDE) and myself ventured out on our Mountain Bikes and it was hard work, although we were on MTBs we road on the road for about 30-35miles, the weather was rather bad, it rained (cold rain) on and off for most the ride, it was windy for the whole ride with half of it being head on and it was foggy, half of the ride very foggy ... BUT I enjoyed it, it made a change from sitting on the turbo staring at coach Troy or some other such DVD coach.

I struggled, I’ll not deny that I am crap on a bike and think that i always will be but i enjoy my cycling and want to spend more time in the saddle ... just because you are not very good at something doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it ... so have fun out there

Structured Sessions

Yesterday saw me do a couple of training sessions, as seems to be the norm at the moment.

In the morning I did a short (45min) turbo session as means of recovery as my left hamstring is a bit on the tight side, probably from the long turbo session earlier in the week. For this session I worked out to Spinervals 8 (recovery &  technique) this is made up mainly of drills and high speed spinning  ...  a good way to flush my legs.

In the evening I went for a longish swim, which consisted of : -

Warm up
- 200m as 200 Swim
- 400m as (50 Catch up, 100 1-armed, 50 Finger Drag) x 2
Main Set
- 1000m as 400,300,200,100 Pace: RI 20secs
- 400m as 2 x 200 fast
Endurance Set
- 1000m as 1000 easy swim

3k in total  it was scheduled to be 4k (another main set and a warm down) but my training partner didn’t feel too well so we cut it short

History and Targets

I’ m sitting here considering my targets for this years Ironman and want to keep it realistic but on the other hand I really feel I can get close to 12:30 so I thought id. Look at IMDE in 2006 and IMCH in 2009, my first Ironman and last year where i had next to no training, this gives me this: -

	SWIM	BIKE	RUN	T1+T2	TOTAL
IMDE 2006	01:28	06:26	05:23	00:15	13:33
IMCH 2009	01:14	07:11	05:07	00:10	13:42
BEST OF BOTH	01:14	06:26	05:07	00:10	12:58

As you can see if I match the best for each element of the race from the to IM’s it would give me a sub 13hr Ironman .... but as I said I feel I can get close to 12:30 ... so this is what I will aim for: -

TARGET	01:12	06:12	04:55	00:10	12:29
AVERAGES	1:54/100m	18.1mph	11.25m/m

So that’s my targets for Ironman Germany 2010

Swim with a bit of running

Today I did something I have never done before ... I ran to the pool and back for my swim, its only 2 miles either way but I enjoyed it.

At the pool I decided to do 5 x 400m intervals ... and is it me being over competitive, but for the first 2 intervals there was a good swimmer in the next lane which caused me to swim my first 2 400s in under 7:30s then i settled into a steadier couple of intervals focusing on my style, then someone else go in next to me so another hard effort for the last 400m

... so all in all a good swim ... tomorrow should be my long swim (about 2hrs)

... and I’m running with my wife later

Tough Love

Well today saw my first big bike session of the year an my IMDE training campaign, indoor cycling this time for over 3hours and for a total of 57miles.

To keep things going I did a Turbo Trainer DVD called Spinervals 13 – Tough Love .... and TOUGH is an understatement to say the least.

The cover shows it to be a 3hour Interval Session with a difficulty rating of 9.9 out of 10, it s specifically intended to improve your endurance and aerobic capacity, which you'll certainly need if you're going to do an Ironman. As it's all one long s

ession, the workout in is more balanced than what you'd get by playing a shorter Spinervals workout several times or doing a number of other Spinerval sessions back-to-back. Coach Troy Jacobson specifically addresses the different conditions of a really lengthy workout by pointing out your requirements for calorie and water consumption

during the ride well as cautioning participants to pace themselves. He also points out, quite correctly, that Tough Love is not a workout for beginners: in order to tackle this program, you should be at a good condition already.

One thing i will say is though ... I wished i'd wore cycling shorts.

W/E : 17/01/2009 (Week 2)

A steady week this week, no big or impressive sessions but a good solid base week, still only one swim but it was a good effort for 2nd week of training (Almost 9hrs).

Here are the Stats: -

MON	AM	01:10:00	BIKE: 24Mile - Spinervals 21 (Aero Base)
TUE	AM	00:43:00	RUN: 4.1Mile Off Road
TUE	PM	00:47:00	BIKE: 15Mile Spinning (RPM 33)
WED	AM	01:05:00	SWIM: 3000m easy non stop
WED	PM	00:48:00	RUN: 4.5mile Easy
THU	AM	01:07:00	RUN: 6.5mile Easy
THU	PM	01:15:00	BIKE: 21Mile Spinning (RPM 39)
FRI	PM	00:36:00	RUN: 3.5Mile With Dog
SAT	AM	00:35:00	RUN: 3Mile easey with Mrs
SUN	AM	00:48:00	RUN: 4.5Mile in Icy condition

SWIM:	01:05
BIKE:	03:12
RUN:	04:37
TOTAL	08:54

Averages

Looking at my training log last night and I noticed I have trained 19 times in the first 14 days of the year, delving a bit deeper my training actually equates to : -

• An Average of 1.35 Training Sessions Per Day
• An Average of 50mins Training Per Session
• An Average of 68mins Training Per Day

The Questions are:-

• How long can I maintain training frequency?

And

• Can I increase the average training time per day and training time per session?

I suppose only time will tell, but for now I am touching wood ;o)

My 4 Legged Training Partner

I just thought i’d take this opportunity to introduce one of my Training Partners ... 4 legged this time, this is Nea (Pronounced Knee-Ya) she’s young on full of enthusiasm and, at the moment, loving running in the Snow.

Her energy is boundless, something i can only dream of :)

The Big Thaw ...

Well after snow, snow, snow there has to be a big thaw and its arrived with vengeance here in the North East of England . Gone has the lushness of the deep white and now when out running off road all there is is the grey, the grey of snow compacted underfoot to ice, the grey and wet of slush that soaks your feet and chills you to your core ... apart from the odd patch that seems to hang on to glory of white, to the glory of snow, snow, snow ...

Today’s run, Just over 4 miles, was more than just a run ... it felt like it was also a major ‘core’ workout maintaining balance with the conditions under foot as described above ... but i gout out there with my dog .... and she enjoyed it.

So that’s the first run of the week out the way and hopefully i’ll get a short spinning session in latter today.

Have fun out there and take care.

W/E : 10/01/2009 (Week 1)

A good first weeks training for me and im glad to be back into it, the weeks training looks like

MON	_	_	REST DAY
TUE	AM	00:40:00	RUN: 4 Mile Easy Paced
TUE	PM	00:30:00	BIKES: 9Miles Spinning (RPM31)
TUE	PM	00:30:00	RUN: 3miles Brick after spinning
WED	AM	01:10:00	RUN: 6.5miles in deep snow with Scotty and dog
WED	PM	00:35:00	BIKE: 10.5miles Spinning (RPM31)
THU	AM	01:02:00	BIKE: 19.5miles Spinning (RPM 31 & 34)
THU	PM	00:30:00	RUN: 3miles Snowy off road night run
FRI	AM	00:45:00	SWIM: 2000m easy paced
FRI	PM	00:52:00	BIKE: 15.1 Miles Spinning (RPM34)
SAT	_	_	REST DAY
SUN	AM	01:01:00	RUN: 6miles off road with my Wife an the dog

SWIM:	00:45
BIKE:	02:49
RUN:	03:51
TOTAL	07:35

On top of this i have also lost 6.5lbs this week and now weigh in at 14St 7.5 lb

Snow, Snow, Snow

As the country is gripped in the ‘big freeze’, as the media would have us believe, the big question is always do i go out to train ... or not?




Well for me it has to be ‘get out there and do it’ or (JFDI) ... but all within reason ... there is no open water swimming at this time of year and the snow covered roads are far too bad for cycling, so that leaves running. In the past week I have managed to get out for a few runs and the photo above, from my sitting room window, shows the sort of conditions that greeted me.

The main thing is not to get to caught up on things and adjust your training appropriately.... if you are running in knee deep snow; you can’t expect to do long fast runs, but you can still work hard ... and believe me, running in knee deep snow is hard work.

Back Again ...Again

Hi

I am going to have another go at Blogging my progress towards an Ironman, this year Ironman Germany in Frankfurt. The reas

on last years blogging came to an end was the web policies of my place of work.

Last year turned out o be a complete shambles as far as my training went – November, December, January and February I ended up working an average of just over 82hours/week, so got ZERO training done in that time.

Training was crammed – i did London marathon on 6 week training, I ended up just running round with my wife in a time of just over 5hrs ... Then another 10weeks training saw me to Ironman Switzerland where I struggled around in 13hrs 40mis or so I especial struggled on the bike ... but I still finished and was happy with that.

So...

This year I will again try and get my backside into gear and go for another Ironman with a target of under 13hrs ... Ironman Germany here I come ...