A look back on April

A bit late with this post, but I have been a bit busy sorting the move to a new contract position which I start next week. 

April turned out not to be as good as I planned, the aim was to up my cycling, do at least on cycling hill rep session per week and to stay consistent … that all went to the wall half way through the month when something in the right side of my back when twang during a hill rep session.

I was just finishing an 8 x 5min seated hill set and a felt a sharp pain, but it seem to ease so I finished off with a few sprints and then an hours run. The next morning I swam an it felt sore but OK and I went for e recovery MTB ride, but the first time I stood to apply pressure to the peddles for a sharp clime .. back came the pain but a lot more intense.

I ended up having to visit the physio for 2 x deep tissue massage session, 2 lots of acupuncture and 1 lot of manipulation ... plus my training was restricted to slow easy run/walks and swims …although a couple of dips in the icy North sea seamed to help a lot.

The month came in at Just under 44hr, way off target

The splits for my training

Training month on month

My aim for May is to get back into it, and finally get in some proper cycling!

Let there be BRICK!

Last night i did one of the many Brick sessions that are in my trainng plan

Brick training session are sessions where you train for two of the disciplines back-to-back, traditionally a brick session is BIKE then RUN but can also be SWIM then BIKE or any other combination that you can think of, (but some people mat call them something else).

They all have there place in training some more than others, generically any training session made up of two discipline will help your body prepare for doing more than one thing in a race, so transitions from one discipline to another will not be a big shock to the system, as Triathlon is a sport in itself and not just a sum of its parts. Plus it is also a way of helping you get all those required sessions fitted into a weeks training

Swim to Run training is normally done as part of open water training (on my part) where I will have a long OW swim followed by a short tempo run to loosed up afterwards, this type of training can also be useful for Aquathalons.

Running then cycling, this is mores specific for those that take part in duathlons that are often Run-Bike-run

Swimming then Cycling gives us the chance to practice T1 (which can take some time), getting out of our wetsuit and off onto the bike, many people have problems with dizziness and nausea when moving from the prone position of the swim to the upright position and if you are like this, this is a very useful session

Cycling then running, this session is the most popular although (IMO) a lot of training plans do not introduce them early enough. Firstly the prepare you for the ‘jelly leg’ felling of moving from Bike to run, next they help you more quickly improve your generic endurance as Bike-run brick session can be longer earlier in the season as doing two different disciplines does not place the same stress on the body as would just a long bike or long run and I would do one of these Brick sessions most weeks These bricks and can be approached different ways

A steady/easy bike followed by steady/easy run, used to help build overall endurance and train the body for the transition

A hard structured bike followed by steady/easy run, this is a bike focussed brick session that will leave our legs feeling like they belong to someone else when you start the run, great fun, and great preparation due to the fact that you will be most likely giving it all on you bike before you start you run in a race

A steady/easy bike followed by hard (and/or) structured run, this one is run focussed and helps the body to adapt to getting up to speed on the run as quick as possible.

A hard Bike followed by a hard run, is simply what it say s on the tin and is race specific and lets you try out back to back in race simulated conditions, but (for me) this would probably normally be a shorter session so not to risk injury.

Bricks do not have to be the same every time, be creative and mix them up, for me last nite was a Bike focused brick and took the form of: -

BIKE (2:10 total)

• 20-30mins warm up, mixed HR
• 8 x 5 min seated climbs at VO2max
• 8 x 1 min hill sprints, flat out
• Mixed cadence work to finish

RUN

• 1 hour trail run

So get out there and brick

WW

Doubts and Fears

From time to time as you work towards your Ironman goal, you mind will start working overtime and allsorts of doubts and fears will creep in, trying to derail you a knock you off stride, these doubt and fears can take many forms :-

• What if I’m not training enough?
• Am I training too much?
• I’m carrying to much weight
• I swim like a drowning rat?
• Joe Blogs seems to be so much further on than me
• I’m to slow on XXX discipline
• Etc etc …

Well for me these doubt and fears are always focussed around one main area, yes I know I didn’t do even half the training I should have last year, but my doubt and fears are always focused around the BIKE.

I am a week cyclists and see it as my biggest limiter, I am poor on the climbs, I am slow, my knees ache, my back struggles with the time I’m on the bike and my muscles pump out to quickly and so on…

But when I look at it rationally, I am training and following a plan, my plan includes endurance, strength and skills elements, I have spent the off season focussing on improving my core and generic strength. So I know I am doing what is required of me to improve and there for I should not worry, I know my training plan is balanced in away to give enough focus to this weakness but not overly sacrifice my training else where.

But I do, I still worry: -

• I’m to slow on the bike
• I’m going to show myself up on the hill climbs
• I’m not spending enough time in the saddle

But I need to squash these fears and doubts, focus on the positives and take strength and resolve in what I know I am doing.

So if you too, suffer doubt and fears on you path towards Ironman, take heart in the knowledge you are not alone.

Onwards and upwards

WW

A look back on March

March for me was always intended to be a breakthrough month, it was to have a focus on pushing myself and moving my training on to the level I believe is needed for me to better my Ironman PB time.

To do this I set myself the challenge of training every day of the month, I know that there is a need for rest and recovery, I know that this is not something that can be maintained due to the risk of overtraining an injury, BUT it can be done for a month, after all I have a desk job and spend most of the time sat down and I aimed to utilise active recovery instead of rest, such as sub 2k swims etc.

In total I managed to train almost 55hours in March

I thought training every day would see the weight fall off me but I actually put on 2lbs … I get hungry when I train a lot .. but I did see my body fat drop significantly to 17.5% the lowest since Ironman Germany 2006

March also saw a number of other personal barriers pushed through for me …

• I manage to break 300pts in the training point league for the first time ever beating my form PB by about 60pts
• I also did my longest swim since 2006 … 7000m

So all-in-all a good month onward and upward

The following pie chat shows how my training was split for the month

This graph shows my monthly training my time (hours) with a significant jump in March

WW

Goals & Objectives

… and activities

Firstly a bit on what I am talking about, a GOAL is a broad statement of what we want to accomplish, in my world this year my GOAL is to race an Ironman PB in Regensburg in Germany this summer and finish before the clock turns 13hours.

To get there I am setting a number of interim OBJECTIVES to achieve this GOAL (which I will come onto in a moment)

ACTIVITIES are the actual things I do in working towards the OBJECTIVES, but it also needs to be noted that OBJECTIVES are not just a bunch of ACTIVITIES, they actually need to challenge in a way that they will help achieve the overall GOAL.

So far I have had a couple interim OBJECTIVES each one month in duration …

THE FIRST was to loose weight, I was weighing in at over 210lbwhich is to heavy for me, so my first objective was to loose weigh, to get back to around 200lb and into a ‘teen’ body fat, this will aid my overall objective by being lighter and in better condition when I race, lighter for the hill climbs and hopefully faster on the bike, Activities for this task involved keeping a food diary, replacing various foods for healthier alternative and training in a way to aid fat loss but maintain muscle

THE SECOND and current, is to improve my consistency in training, and although this is contentious I decided to aim to train every day this month, to use active recovery instead of rest, ensure I slept correctly, maintain a health diet and monitor key indicators of training/overtraining within my body. In the past I have often been guilty of not being consistent enough in training and therefore this kick up the backside will help deliver a more solid base to this years training and therefore i'll be in a better place when i start the build.

NEXT month the objective will be run based, as my Ironman Marathons in the past have always been well below my actual marathon capabilities and I am looking to fix that, I am not sure on the nature of the objective(s) yet, but watch this space

To achieve the GOAL, we need both resolute and flexible. When difficulties and unexpected problems present we need to HTFU and JFDI (see post)and stick to our goals. But always stay flexible with your objectives and activities. If the way you do things now does not work, try another way. Keep trying until you find the one that works.

This approach is probably not for everyone …but I am giving it a go

WW

HTFU & JFDI

This post is based on a thread that I kicked off on one of the forums that I frequent and a thread that resulted in a wide range of feedback.

My point is that we (including me) are all guilty of taking the easy path, and ditching the odd session, when we have a head cold, feeling a bit weary, jaded after a hard day at work. We loose sight of our ultimate goal we look for acknowledgement of our wish to drop a session by posting on forums or face book in the hope that someone comes along and says…

“It’s ok have the day off training. It'll do no harm”

But quite often it’s not ok, it can become a pattern in our training, missing session during base training it can weaken the foundation that we are seeking to build on, missing sessions in later phases could mean that we are not as fast, strong or as sharp as we could have been. 

This is Ironman and it’s not meant to be easy!

Yes if you in bed ill with flu then don’t even think about training if you have gone beyond being tired and are truly on the verge of over training then you body will need to be rested but feeling a bit tired from time to time can be expected, afterall this is Ironman Training, the mental exhaustion from a hard day of work can often be replaced with a feeling of contentment when we get out there and train.

Where our forefathers had highly physical jobs down mines and in shipyards, we largely have it easy with a large proportion of the modern workforce working in offices and similar, we are not as physically exhausted at the end of the day as we think … it is indeed a mental exhaustion that we feel  and misinterpret, get your kit on and get out there, give it a try, ease into it … if then you cant rise to it’ call it a day on the session at least you did HTFU &JFDI afte all a lot if ironman training needs to be in Zones 1 & 2 anyway

As I have said there are often times when we HAVE to miss a session but what I am saying is learn the differences between HAVE and WANT

WW

 

A look back on February

The second month of the year and the shortest at that now done and dusted and I’ve moved the game on from January with increases across all Tri-specific training, which I am pleased at :  -

• SWIM : up 40% by time and 64% by volume
• BIKE : up 53% by time and 48% by volume
• RUN : up 29% by time and 29% by volume

So a good second month of base training

I had a couple of bouts of cold through the month, it’s that time of year but managed to rearrange things so again, I can’t complain too much  and I am beginning to feel fit again :)

I am looking at making March a big month training wise, with the aim of doing ‘something’ every day … well that’s the plan.

The following pie chat shows how my training was split for the month.

This graph shows my monthly training my time (hours)

WW

Run, Run/Walk, Walk

Whichever way you look at it the Ironman marathon is both a challenge and a joy, you will have the swim and the bike behind you and you will be thinking more of the finish line but you will also be hurting, you will be tired and aching and you insides may be doing summersaults (think portaloos).

Unless you are a one of the very speedy types walking will probably pay part of your race. You will see many posts on various forums from those macho types belittling those who walk, but in truth many find themselves walking at sometime during the marathon.

You may have a strategy of run 9 walk 1 or similar or walk the aid stations and ramps and run the rest or you may just be playing it by ear.  In Switzerland I ran the first lap quite fast, then i switched to 9/1 and by the end it was more like 2/1 but I got round in a reasonable time.

The key to this is (IMHO) to know that walking in a race is not a stroll, you need to know how to pace you walk, In my first Ironman in Germany 2006 I walked most the marathon as I'd overcooked it on the bike, but I was passing others who were running and i finished strong. if you think about it, if you walk at 7kph you can cover a marathon in close to 6hrs

A good place to practice pace walking is on a treadmill, maybe as part as an indoor brick session, a typical session may look like ...

• Spinning class
• Then Treadmill set the incline to somewhere between 1% and 5% and start at 5kph
• Each minute up the pace  by  0.5 kph until you are at 7kph 
• then alternate 5min intervals at 7.0kph and 7.5kph for up to 1hour

The purpose of 7.5kph interval is to make the target pace of 7kph feel 'easier'

Also when you're out and about think walk not stroll

All this will hopefully help you not slow down too much in your Ironman marathon when you walk ... remember WALK DON'T STROLL 

WW

Running Drills

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will note that once per week I finish of my running with a session of drills / strides (I use the phrase interchangeable) , a number of runners I train with put them down other think they are good, I, basically just enjoy doing them, so if they help by running that will be a bonus

I believe running drills help build strength and flexibility in your legs and they help increase your stride length and frequency making you a faster runner.

When it comes down to it Running speed = Stride Length x Cadence so improving either (or both) can have a positive effect on your running

I normally finish my run with a 2 to 4 sets of the following

BUM KICK DRILL

Using a short stride, on your toes, raise your heels as high as possible behind your body, as if you were trying to bounce your heels off of your buttocks. Most of the movement should be with the lower leg. The upper leg should not move very much. Concentrate on raising your heels as high as possible. Repeat for 20 to 30 meters.

You will feel this in your hamstrings so it is good to stretch them slightly.

SIDEWAYS RUN (NO CROSS OVER)

Run sideways bringing your feet together, but not crossing over each other, almost like a sideways skip Repeat for 20 to 30 meters, then come back with the opposite leg leading.

HIGH KNEE DRILL

Using a short stride, on your toes again, raise your knees as high as possible on each stride, aiming to get your knees as high as possible. 20 to 30 meters

SIDEWAYS RUN (WITH CROSS OVER)

Like the previous sideways run but this time you cross over and rotate your hips/shoulders as the left leg moves in front and then behind the right leg. Think fast feet on this one.  Repeat for 20 to 30 meters, then come back with the opposite leg leading.

MINISTRY OF THE FUNNY WALKS

(For those old enough to remember the sketch)

This one is done slowly. And is a walk in the half lunge position, aiming for a long stride, you should feel this one stretch like a set of lunges. Repeat for 20 to 30 meters, stretch out to loosen back up then repeat on the way back

Well for what it was worth … that is what I do  when I say I finished with drills/Stride

WW

A Word of Warning

As I sit here, once again cursed with man-flu and about to miss my second training session of the week, a conversation I recently had with a friend and one time training partner comes to mind.

We had been talking about the long hall training plans that get us ready for Ironman, that may range from 17weeks to 30weeks in length and the relevant affect of dropping occasional sessions.

Quite often in a plan we will feel tired after work or lack motivation to get out the door when the weather is bad outside so may end up missing a session as there is ‘plenty of time to make it up’, this is especially so early in the plan, when in the UK it is normal the new year and the depths of winter.

But dropped sessions accumulate and early in the plan we are laying the foundation that need to be solid, without gaps, to support the build up of training as we progress towards our long distance goals.  So missing sessions weakens that foundation and what is missed is missed, it has passed us by and we can’t go back to that missed opportunity.

For me last year and Ironman Germany was a case in point of this effect, it was my worst Ironman race ever, I went into it not fully ready, I had dropped sessions through moving away to work, ending up at the other end of the country, having to make the most of my weekends with my family … and so on … but these, when it comes down to it are just a bunch of excuses and If you want Ironman you have to work at it, it take time, commitment and consistency, training is hard and long but it’s not supposed to be easy, its Ironman.  The above left me struggling, for the first time, to finish – It took me 14:45(ish) … the lack of training showed

It is normal to feel the accumulation of training, it is normal to feel the wariness of a hard day at work but you still need to train to follow the plan, to build the foundation of your race.  Just get out there (HTFU, JFDI etc) and train, you may quite often find it will revitalise you after a hard day at work.

BUT remember do be organised, do be structured and build recovery weeks (for me 1 in 4) and rest days into your schedule, these are what serve to keep you fresh and ready to train and prevent over training.

Don’t look for excuses not to train instead look of ways you can train and build the foundation to your perfect race

(JUST MY THOUGHTS)

WW

Indoor Training (Bricks)

During the winter, a lot of training moves in doors through necessity imposed by bad weather and dangerous conditions.  You do not want to end your season before it has even started because a care has knocked you off your bike in the dark or it has slipped away from you in the ice, so indoor it is…

Monday’s for me normally means a brick session, and these can be quite long, but long and indoors does not have to mean boring.  The following are examples of the bike and run segments I may do as part of the indoor brick …

BIKE

 

This may be (for me from 1:00 to 2:30)

Session 1

Warm Up 10 – 15mins

Main set
 # x (

- 3 mins seated climbs just below VO2max 

- 2 mins standing  climbs just above VO2max

- 1min lighter resistance speed spin trying to maintain VO2max

- 2min recovery

)

Warm down 10-20mins

Session 2

Warm Up 10 – 15mins

Main set

# x ( 

- 5-10 x (1min seated climb | 1 min recovery)
- 5-10 x (1min fast spin | 1 min recovery)
- 5-10 x (1min standing climb | 1 min recovery)

- 5-10 x (1min fast spin | 1 min recovery)

- 5 min Easy
)

Drills

- 5-10 x 1min (each) 1 legged drills
Warm down 5-15mins

RUN

When in the gym the run part I aim to keep to a maximum of 30mins or so and base my sets on my steady marathon pace of 10kph (the gym I use is in kph)

Session 3
5 mins building speed
Main set
- Intervals 5 mins of ‘ups’ @ 10.5 kph and downs fast walked @7.5kph
- Intervals 5 mins of ‘ups’ @ 11.0 kph and downs fast walked @7.5kph
- Intervals 5 mins of ‘ups’ @ 11.5 kph and downs fast walked @7.5kph
- Intervals 5 mins of ‘ups’ @ 12.0 kph and downs fast walked @7.5kph
- Intervals 5 mins of ‘ups’ @ 12.5 kph and downs fast walked @7.5kph
Warm down

Session 4
5 mins building speed
Main set
- 1 min 10.0kph | 1 min 9.5kph
- 1 min 10.5kph | 1 min 9.0kph
- 1 min 11.0kph | 1 min 8.5kph
- 1 min 11.5kph | 1 min 8.0kph
- 1 min 12.0kph | 1 min 7.5kph
- 1 min 12.5kph | 1 min 7.0kph
- 1 min 13.0kph | 1 min 6.5kph
- 1 min 13.5kph | 1 min 6.0kph
- 1 min 14.0kph | 1 min 5.5kph
Warm down

Have Fun

WW

A look back on January

Well, that's the first month of the year out of the way already, and I've come out of this side of it feeling quite good, which I am pleased at, considering the man flu and chest infection I started the month at which meant no training at the front end of the month.

January also marked the start of my 10 week base plan (see post) but due to being ill, I decided to adapt week 1 and do the main over 2 weeks, to ease back into things, after all ... a plan is just a guide.

What this means is that I have now have completed the first 3 weeks of my plan which have slowly grown from 5hrs in the first week to just short of 9hrs in the 3rd week, next week will be a slightly down / recovery week as, for me, every 4th week is a recovery week.

I happy with my long bike, which is up to 2hrs and my swim which is at a nice 3.6k level, but i am a little bit behind on my long run which is still only at 6.6 mile and i wanted to be up to 9miles by now, but on the plus side i have been getting in more runs than I thought and introduced strides into my run program once per week (post on strides to follow)

Also i am continuing with a weekly non sports specific strength / power training to help try an repare / improve my damaged back

The following graph shows my stats from week 1 (twice) through to 3 ..

WW

GEAR REVIEW : Speedo Aquabeat 1GB Waterproof MP3 Player

I have been after swimming MP3 player for some time so spent a lot of opportune moments hinting for Father Christmas to bring me one and to my you he did, a Speedo Aquabeat, complete with arm strap.

The Speedo Aquabeat is a basic, but waterproof MP3 player for swimming (or in the bath or shower …) The Aquabeat can be safely used up to a depth of 3 metres in the water so you can enjoy your favourite tracks when you're swimming! - ideal to break up the monotony of training in the pool. (or so it says) 

The Speedo Aquabeat comes with an extension for the headphones or you can keep them short if clipping the player to your goggles, which is what I did.  I thought it would irritate me clipped to the back of my goggles but once in place you can not feel it so a thumbs up on that front.

The ear phones come with a variety of sizes of buds included so its easy to find ones that fit and that is one of the hardest parts clipping the clips around your ears and inserting the ear buds correctly so they are far enough in to keep out water but not so far in that sound is muted.  It took me a few lengths to get this right but after a while I was happy.

The sound quality is quite good, not as good as your normal MP3 player but good enough considering you are in water.  From time to time you loose sound in one ear or the other when you push off the wall and water gets in your ear but its still OK and soon clears.

One thing I would say is not to use the same tracks, like I did, as you use for a hard core spin or run ,,, something more relaxed may be better.

Loading tracks and charging the device and loading tracks is as simple as plugging the provided USB to 3.5 cable into the same sockets as used for the headphone and into the USB port on your PC. The PC sees the device as an external storage device and you simply drag the tracks onto it.

The controls are basic and easy to use, wit a skip back/forward button which doubles as a pause play button and another button for volume all easy to fid by touch, but once I started swimming I just left It alone until I finished my sets over an hour later

All in all I like the Speedo Aquabeat and award it 8.5 out of 10

8.5 out of 10

The Techy Bit

• 3.5 mm headphone socket 
• Battery Life: 9 hours
• 1GB waterproof MP3 player
• Playtime up to 9 hours
• Waterproof compact design (can be used safely down to 3 meters)
• Waterproof earplugs
• Floats for easy retrieval

WW 

Man Flu and Over Indulgence

It started with a bit of a tight chest and a slight cough on the 16th December and by the 19th it was full blown man flu at its worst and for me that also meant a very poorly chest.  My training came to an absolute stand still and I struggled to get  out of bed and with Christmas coming not good.

Most of the symptoms have now lifted but I still have a tight chest and a bit of a cough but hope I can get back into even a bit of light training over the next few days as my base plan starts next week (see post) and my waistline has expanded somewhat over the festive period.

I am the sort of person that enjoys Christmas and New Year ... I like Food ... and I like drink, even when out of sorts, so I look like I have put on a few pounds.

I shall weigh in tomorrow to see what damage the over indulgence and lack of exercise has resulted in .. but I know it's going to be bad ...

WW