Redcar Half Marathon

This is a race that I try to do every year, I like to start my season with a Half Marathon and Redcar is my PB course.

This year, instead of the first glimpses of spring we were more like enthralled in the heart of winter with snow and a strong icy wind – so no shorts and vest for me this year instead I raced in longs, hat and gloves.

I stood at the start of the race with my legs still very tired from the previous days hard 75-mile Bike Ride wondering if it had been a good idea, but that had always been the plan, a Big bike ride on the Saturday followed by the Half Marathon on the Sunday … all about improving my confidence for Ironman Germany in June.

I had made the conscious decision to take it easy at the Race – for me it was all about getting around. The claxon went and off we went, I had started near the rear of the field so not to hold anyone up but even at a conversational pace I soon found myself passing other runners but I maintained my plan and chatted to my training partner all the way round.

At 5miles my left hamstring started feeling tight and at 8 just as we hit the see front complete with its ‘bracing’ wind a sharp pain made me temporarily sag at the knees. I took this as a bit of a warning and slowed a bit more, allowing my now very tight hamstring to loosen off.

Going through 10 miles I noted that I had managed to average 8:30s, which for me is very good especially after a long ride as I would normally taper for a half marathon (but not this time)

On to the seafront with 2 miles to go my I decided to do the last couple of miles fartlek style to add a bit of pace work into now tired legs, so down the seafront my training partner and myself took turns to call “Easy”, “Medium” & “Pace” random lamppost intervals – making the last 2 miles the fastest 2 of the race

I completed the Half Marathon in 1:50 which is 3-4mins down on my PB which considering the conditions and all the clothes I was wearing, I was very pleased with …. But more importantly I had done the Half Marathon with very heavy tired legs and gotten through it …… A GREAT BOOST IN MY IRONMAN TRAINING

Training Week T – 21

Morning all

A good week and a bad week for me this week, a good week in as far as I had a nice solid week of training which totalled out to be my biggest week so far, a bad week in that I didn’t get enough time on the bike.

It is my aim to address this over the next couple of weeks with a couple of big weekend rides, the plan is to do a very hilly 60-70mile on Saturday the around the 100mile the following Saturday – these rides represent a big jump forward for me so a may not have as much training thru the week but I feel that I need to do this as my cycling is my weakest discipline.


So this is what the week looked like

MON	AM	00:45	SWIM	2.2k including a 1500m Time trail from cold. Managed to swim a PB 0f 25:57 but it left me wiped out as the rest of the session was hard work
TUE	AM	01:10	RUN	Took my better half and her mate out for a trainings session, so an easy run for me…. Followed by some stretching
WED	AM	01:00	BIKE	A spinning session on the gym bike
WED	AM	00:31	GYM	Bike session was followed by 30mins of circuit training (weights)
WED	PM	02:35	RUN	Long run of 15mile including 400m of climbing, it was a hard run on top of the 1:30 I'd already done and my joins started too feel it in the latter stages of the run. I did manage to pick up the pace for the last3 or 4 miles so the run time was 2:27 followed by some stretching CORE SESSION RUN
THU	AM	01:16	BRICK	Gym brick session of 5 x (10mins Bike, 5mins Treadmill)
THU	PM	02:00	SWIM	Masters session. Shared my lane with 2 swimming instructors and a swimming coach so was a good session - including a bit of a lesson towards the end in Breast & Back strokes (i only do front crawl) CORE SESSION SWIM
FRI	PM	02:47	RUN	Run Home from work about 11-12miles with plenty of climbing so a hard 2nd long run of the week
SAT	PM	02:32	BIKE	2:15 on the Turbo Trainer followed by 15mins floor work
SUN	PM	02:34	BRICK	2hrs on the road bike followed by 30mins run

SWIM – 2:45
BIKE – 6:24
RUN – 7:27

OTHER - 0:31

TOTAL 17:08

Have fun out there

Swim 1500m PB

At the start of each 4 week period I have started doing test sessions to help monitor my improvement. Yesterday it was the turn of the swim test and for me that involves a from cold 1500m Time Trial.

Well last weeks down week must have done me a lot of good because yesterday I swam a PB for 1500m in 25:57 that is even faster than I’ve ever managed in a race … so I’m real chuffed

The TT took a lot out of me as I followed it by a few 50m sprints and struggled then finished with a few drills to help rebuild my stroke

The Month Ahead (March)

Just a short post to out line the basis of my plan for the next month and get a few of my ideas noted down

1. Up my core long Run to 16miles or 2:30 over the month, since I am still doing my long run during the week this will mean trying to get out about 5:30 to allow me to sleep afterwards
2. Look at the logistics of getting a 2nd Run of over 10 mile in more regularly – I am going to try to run home from work once per week to achieve this, it will be a tough run as its 11mile+ all up hill
3. I need to up my Bike mileage and look at being able to comfortably cover 60-70miles, it is quite hilly where I live so this will be a good session on the bike
4. With my Swim I am just looking to maintain my current levels, as trying to breakthrough to the next level on all three disciplines may be overdoing it a bit
5. I am also looking to up my volume over this month with a couple of big weeks
6. Also looking forward to the Triathlon Training Weekend in the Lake District at the end of the month :o)

So there it is, my plan for March – I know it is not a detailed plan saying what I’ll do on what day and for how long but it is a guide and will allow me to adapt as real life gets in the way – which it inevitably does

Fingers Crossed

WW

Training Week T – 22

A very poor week for me, this week was scheduled to be a recovery week for me but I ended up doing a lot less than I intended due to business needs, having to have new central heating fitted and then feeling rather under the weather towards the end of the week

MON	AM	00:45	SWIM	A continuous 2k plus drilld in a rather busy pool total time for the 2k swim was 39mins so quite pleased put would like to get this closer to 36mins
MON	PM	00:55	RUN	Run with my better half and her mateas I am training them up for their first half marathon
TUE	AM	01:00	BIKE	Had a good session on the gym bike at lunch time, did 60mins as 3 x ( - 2:30 min spin, - 2:30 right leg only, - 2:30 min spin, - 2:30 left leg only ) 5 x ( - 1min spin @ 85-90rpm, - 1min fast spin @ 110-120rpm, - 1min spin @ 85-90rpm - 1min out the saddle @ 65-70rpm, - 1min fast spin @ 110-120rpm ) 5mins warm down starting at 120rpm and dropping 10rpm each min Felt the session in my legs when I got off too
WED	__	__	__	REST (away on business)
THU	PM	01:30	RUN	Run distance was down this week as it was a recovery week - just did 9.5mile plus some strides, found it quite easy CORE SESSION RUN
FRI	__	__	__	REST
SAT	__	__	__	REST
SUN	__	__	__	REST

TOTAL 4:10

Things will improve next week as it’s scheduled to be a big breakthrough week

Training Week T – 23

Not a bad week last week considering the amount of DIY I needed to do would have liked to gotten an extra ride in on Sunday but my legs were shredded from the cumulative affect of Friday evening Tempo hill run and Saturdays Hilly strength endurance ride. So I took it as a rest day

MON	__	__	__	REST Day (away on business)
TUE	AM	01:05	BIKE GYM	Did 30mins spinning on the Bike but knees were still sore from the weekends efforts. Followed by 30mins core strength work (as I'm a firm believer in improving core strength)
TUE	PM	00:55	RUN	An easy run with my better half and her mate, as I'm training them up from scratch to do there first half marathon
WED	PM	02:15	RUN	Long run of 12miles followed by some stretching felt really strong towards the end of this run, even in the bad weather with the fastest 2 miles being the last 2 miles CORE SESSION RUN
THU	PM	02:00	SWIM	Swim with the masters group 4 x 200m warm up 8 x 25m build 1 x 200m easy 12 x 100m hard 3 x 200m steady 8 x 25m racing sprints 1 x 200m easy 4 x 200m pull buoy & paddles 1 x 500m swim down Felt good, but I could feel it in my shoulders the next morning CORE SESSION SWIM
FRI	AM	01:01	BIKE	Had a good session on the gym bike at lunch time, did 60mins as 3 x ( - 5min spin, - 2:30 right leg only, - 2:30 left leg only ) 5 x ( - 1min spin @ 85-90rpm, - 1min fast spin @ 110-120rpm, - 1min spin @ 85-90rpm - 1min out the saddle @ 65-70rpm, - 1min fast spin @ 110-120rpm ) 5mins warm down starting at 120rpm and dropping 10rpm each min Felt the session in my legs when I got off too
FRI	PM	00:45	RUN	Temp run over a hilly route - my first real tempo run of the year - speed isn't really there at the moment but felt strong
SAT	PM	03:00	BIKE	A hilly ride was only 40 miles but with almost 1000m of climbing CORE SESSION BIKE
SUN	__	__	__	REST DAY

SWIM - 02:00
BIKE - 04:35
RUN - 03:55
OTHER - 00:30

TOTAL -11:00

This next week is down as a recovery week so the aim is about 9hrs in total

Training Week T – 24

A big week for me this week, but still took 2 full days off – felt great through all the training sessions and enjoyed getting out on the bike at the weekend…

MON	AM	00:45	SWIM	A continuous 2k with the first 1000m done at an easy effort then upping the pace for the next 1000m - total time for the swim was 38mins so very pleased with that this early in the year
MON	PM	01:20	BIKE	Turbo training session focusing on spinning rather than power - felt good
TUE	AM	00:45	BIKE GYM	35mins recovery spinning on the Gym bike Followed by 10mins of core work
TUE	PM	01:50	RUN	Long run of just over 11-miles in 1:45 plus a few strides to warm down - it was wet and windy but I felt good CORE RUN SESSION
WED	__	__	__	REST DAY
THU	PM	02:00	SWIM	Masters session, a good work out this week done as 4 x 200m wu 8 x 25 build 7 x 200 hard 1 x 200 easy 4 x ( 100m IM + 100m fs ) 8 x 25 CU drill 1 x 300 wd. Plus i found out the 2 people i was sharing a lane with are swimming instructors ---- that’s handy CORE SESSION SWIM
FRI	__	__	__	REST DAY
SAT	AM	03:50	BIKE	A verry cold day with temperatures down to freezing but managed a long ride and big hills, including a 7mile hill with a few nasty kick-ups at the end of the ride CORE SESSION BIKE
SUN	AM	01:00	SWIM	1000m warm up, drills then an easy swim down
SUN	AM	02:05	BIKE	After getting out the pool went for another ride, Warmer than the previous day but rained all the way round - with an aim of stressing my cycling capabilities with decent back-to-back rides. Finished with the same 7mile climb

SWIM – 3:45
BIKE – 8:00
RUN – 1:50

TOTALLING 13:35

:o)


I'll not get nearly as much training done next week as i have building work to do in preparation for getting a new central heating system installed

:o(

Training Week T – 25

Ay up all, I forgot to post the details of last weeks training, as you can see not enough cycling but I’m hoping to rectify this but in all it’s a good week’s work as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t have time for a long ride at the weekend due to family commitments so I substituted the long ride for a hilly ride as a strength endurance session.

MON	AM	00:40	SWIM	non stop 1.8k plus drills
TUE	AM	00:35	BIKE	Spinning session in a short lunch break
TUE	PM	01:45	RUN	Long run 10.5mile plus strides CORE RUN SESSION
WED	PM	00:40	RUN	Easy short run
THU	AM	01:05	BIKE	spinning session on the gym bike focusing on maintaining a steady HR
THU	PM	01:35	SWIM	Masters session, 3k as :- - 4 x 200 on 4:30 - 8 x 25 in 0:25 RI 0:20 - 24 x 50 in 0:55 RI 0:15 - 10 x 50 drills - 1 x 300 w/d CORE SWIM SESSION
FRI	PM	00:40	RUN	Easy run
SAT	__	__	__	REST DAY
SUN	AM	00:30	RUN	easy run
SUN	PM	01:50	BIKE	Hilly strength endurance session CORE BIKE SESSION

SWIM – 2:15
BIKE - 3:30
RUN – 3:35

TOTAL 9:20

Turbo Sessions and DVD’s

Just spent the last 75mins on the Turbo Trainer and watched a DVD to pass the time. Yes I’ve got DVD’s such as Spinnervals and the like but sometimes I get board with them, so tonight I watched Meatloaf Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which included the tracks :-

• Life is a lemon
• Mercury Blues
• Dead Ringer for Love
• Testify
• All Revved Up
• You took the words …
• I couldn’t have said it better
• Two out of Three …
• Out of the frying pan
• For Crying out Loud
• Paradise by the dashboard light
• I’d do anything for love
• Bat out of hell

There are other concerts I like to watch while on the Turbo … Pink Floyd – The Wall and Prince - 1999/Purple Rain

Any one else have have DVDs they like to watch while on the Turbo?

Training Week T-26

A bit of a recovery week this week for me, as both my neck and my PF are still playing up .. I didn’t want to over stress myself this early in my training programme. Also had another visit to the physio to help with said injuries.

This is haw the week shaped up …

MON	AM	01:00	BIKE	A steady spinning session on the bike - set to 70%MHR and spun at 100-110RPM
TUE	AM	00:35	SWIM	Steady continuous swim -1.6km Still no tumbles or hard pulling due to neck tho
TUE	PM	01:37	RUN	long run session 8.5mile in the icy cold - kept it to a conversational pace (10mm) and felt very good which I’m very happy with due to not getting any real running done CORE SESSION RUN
WED	__	__	__	REST DAY (away on business)
THU	PM	01:20	SWIM	Session with the masters group - 28km as - - 1000m steady - 10 x 50m kick - 7 x 200m hard (No tumbles etc) CORE SESSION SWIM
FRI	AM	01:00	BIKE	Spinning session at the gym focusing on high cadence work and 1 legged drills
SAT	__	__	__	REST DAY (arranging wedding stuff)
SUN	AM	02:45	BIKE	40mile out doors was frozen cold and very early, my self and my training partner took out a few novices - I had planned to do another 15 but I suffered from mechanical problems and called it a day CORE SESSION BIKE

Totals


SWIM = 01:55
BIKE = 04:45
RUN = 01:37

TOTAL = 08:17