A quick update on the weekend

Boxing Day (26th Dec for those not British!!)

Good easy 7.5km ankles a bit sore but seemed okay after a warm up....but wow was it icy!! speed was right down as every step was a voyage into the unknown....would I fall over and break my leg or not - thankfully not!

Today
Not icy (first time in two weeks),  but to fit in with family timelines I had to do 1:45 on the turbo and then jump on the bike for the remaining 1:15....I really enjoy watching 24 on the computer when I am on the turbo but I am starting to get cabin fever when I am on it for over an hour - it was great to get out in the open air and hit the road....it was v wet and muddy with melted snow (not so melted in some sheltered areas) and v cold....but I managed 3hrs and I even managed to do alternate hills siting standing all the way through....the last hill (13%) is a pig and doing that sitting down was hard work....managed it tho :-)

Later
I.

A week of trying to train in the snow!!

Well it has bee a funny sort of week with the UK locked in a scary thing called winter....

All the roads around us are covered in packed ice (no one is gritting them...) and this has limited training....basically at the moment all cycling is being done in the garage on the turbo and running is challenging (trying to grab a quick run when the roads thaw around midday)...swimming and gym sessions are almost unnaffected (well unless the 20mins it took for me to defrost the car and the 25mins it took to drive there this morning counted! It was -10 degrees this morning!!)

Anyway today's session was in the gym, looking at the reps I seem to be improving!

Warmup OK 10mins easy on the bike
Scissors 2x20 per leg
Dips to fatigue 33x/22x
Lunges (with 15kg barbell) 2x30 per leg
Alt Lunges (with 10kg barbel - by the end I was almost in tears!) 2x30 per leg
L/Fr/R Planks - 3x30s on each
Squats 30x2 (with 20kg barbell)

Press ups - 28 Narrow/20 Wide
Cool Down 10mins at 140-145bpm on bike


Good set - meant to be doing a 30min recovery run at lunchtime but ice and work (my annual appraisal) might mean this becomes a 30min ses on the turbo instead!!


Later 
I.

continued!!

I did make it to the gym after all!!

What I managed - after forgetting my printout of the training program at home!!

Warmup OK 10mins easy on the bike
Squats 30x2 (with 20kg barbell)
Scissors 17 on right leg 16 on left (before fatigue kicked in...)
Dips 30x/20x
Lunges (with 10kg barbell)
Alt Lunges (with 10kg barbel - wow this hurt the glutes more!!)
L/Fr/R Planks - Easy/Med/Hard on each set
Press ups - 24 Narrow/16 Wide
20 mins at 140-145bpm on bike

First exercise in a few days and boy can I tell now!!

I.

Wednesday - Back to reality...almost

I am really struggling with the jetlag....my body currently thinks it is 4am...I am shattered....

I have really struggled with doing any phys since leaving for the States last week. Firtly the travelling had an impact and then developing torticollis (v v painful) and finally the last two days have been very work intensive (National Sales Training meeting)...

Hopefully I will post another entry highlighting I have done my daily exercise later - I would have loved to have gone to the gym earlier today (it is a Strength session today) but for me it was somewhere around 1am (around the mid-west I think!!) and I could not get up.....

Lets hope the melatonin helps soon!

I.

No training :-(

OMG my neck hurts - I have had wry neck/torticollis for the past three days (in fact just after getting to LV) and so it looks like any form of running etc is very unlikely :-(((

It is soooo sore and has ruined the past couple of days - I have only had a couple of hours of sleep...very bad few days....

Later
I.

What day is it???

Jetlagged to hell - I am currently in Las Vegas on a business trip...I am struggling with trying to work out what time of day it is let alone wether I am up to training!! Thankfully Mike made it a rest week :-)

I cannot believe that the Bellagio (one of the most expensive hotels in LV) where we are staying charge $25 to use the gym - for one session :-O

I think a run might be more likely!! Although the over 2000ft altitude might make that interesting!!

Meant to be a gym session tomorrow - not sure but will see what happend.....at least the helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon today was amazing!!

Later
I.

More turbo!!

The turbo is getting some serious use at the moment!! a really fun session today trying to work on my cycling technique:


10 minute easy spin
INTO
Pedaling drills:
10 seconds of high rpm (90-95), 10 seconds higher rpm (95-100), 10 seconds max rpm (100+) x 3 followed by 60 seconds rest.
Then 30 seconds left and 30 seconds right-leg dominant pedaling (other leg loafs).
x 3 straight through folloed by 60 seconds rest.
Repeat above

For the remainder of the session stay HR Zone 70-75% turning your legs at 90 RPM.
I would love to say I completed the 60mins set by Mike but I had to go and get the girls from school so I had to ditch it at 37mins :-(

Good chat with Mike tonight about training/power etc - might see if I can find a PowerTap in the US....

Laters
I.

Rest day....and some free money from Wiggle!!

Rest day today - still have to take my RHR but a nice email from wiggle.co.uk arrived today (courtesy of being an affiliate and having their ad on my page!!) - if you click through either of the ads on the right hand side of my webpage and use the codes below you get money off - that simple!!

Enjoy!
I.


UK:
£5 off £25 code: afree-5pnds
£15 off £75 code: afree-15pn
USA:

$10 off $50 code: afree-10USD

$30 off $150 code: afree-30USD

Euro:

5 euro off 25 euro code: 1free-5euro

15 euro off 75 euro code: 1free-15eur

AUS:

$10 off $50 code: afree-10AUD

$30 off $150 code: afree-30AUD

Japan:

1000 JPY off 5000 JPY euro code: 1free-1KJPY

3000 JPY off 15000 JPY euro code: 1free-3KJPY

Tuesday turbo

A good session - this time I programmed the turbo with the HR zones etc and it made it much easier - althoughit took me a lot longer than I thought it would with Z2 spins b/t efforts...must count the time next time!

8minutes w/u @ 65% HRmax
INTO 4 X 30 seocnds spin ups (RPE 13-14) RPM 100+ with equal recovery in b/t
25, 20, 15mins @ 75, 75, 75% HRmax
5minutes easy spin in between @ 65% HRmax
5min easy cool down

Updates to the web page

Oops forgot to save this blog entry last time - try 2!

Well I finally managed to update my contact button above (yes now if you click it you can email me :-)) and also my About button which now takes you to my LinkedIn public profile (something I update more frequently than my Blogger About me page!).

Also I have joined the Wiggle affiliate scheme to see if I can support my triathlon efforts a bit - if you need ANY cycling/swimming/running kit please come here and click through the banner on the right as I will get a small amount of cash from wiggle each time you do this!! I all helps and if it exceeds my costs of going from IMCH next year I will send it straight through to charity...

Please help a bit - have a look at their Xmas offers - they are very good

Later
I.

Some great clips!

and another



and one more

Friday - morning swim set

A nice relaxing (if hard) technique session in the pool early this morning. After a few more relaxing days it was nice to stretch out the arms! No sign of calf tenderness and the twinge I had in my right shoulder (front of deltoid) seems to have gone too.


200m. (3 lengths front 1 length back repeat x 2)
4 x 100m (1L catch-up, 1L single arm, 1L single arm, 1L count strokes)
3 x 100m @ RPE 12-14, maintain stroke count off 2:00mins.

1 x 100 (1L count strokes, 1L catch up, 1 1/2 lengths finger trail into normal swimming)

2 x 200 @ (1L easy long stroke "best stroke count", 1L strong effort "maintain stroke count" repeat for 200m)
200m choice (1L fly/1L f/s;1Lb/s 1L f/s x2)
50m f/c


Found I an focusing more on stetching forward and opening my stroke up, also getting better at grabbing the watch on the catch. On the last 200s I found it less of a problem to breathe than three weeks ago and interestingly I was doing about 1/2 a stroke less on the hard length and the long easy length..

Tomorrow is a rest day :-) a lie in at the weekend - how rare! - :-))

I.

Finally managed to upload the GPS file for Saturday's ride!!

All 3:13 and 62kms of it - shame about the 15min break for the puncture near Sherston...

Rest day

Another rest day - I love these rest weeks!! RHR 57bpm....not too bad...

Wow this Half distance looks awesome - AXTRI

I hope this one gets off the ground - looks to be on a par with the Norseman for difficulty...2011 - what am I doing then....hmmmm



BWs
I.

Lunchtime turbo

A good interval turbo set today - planned 60mins but took 1:25 with warm up and cool down....

10minutes easy - INTO 5 x 30s @ spin ups (90-100RPM), 30s easy in b/t
3 x 10mins, 1 x 15mins @ 80-85% MHR. 5mins very easy in between.
10 min easy spin and stretch

The intervals here were slightly above race pace - done mostly from the aero position - played around with saddle height - I dropped it about 5mm and found it reduce power so I have upped it about 5mm above old position and this seems to have improved it - I will change the angle when I manage to find my long allen keys.....

Rest week :-)

Well here it is - my first rest week...been a while since I had one of these and I am looking forward to the lie in on Saturday :-))))

Today was a fairly leisurely swim set focusing on technique


200m w/u 75m f/c, 25m fly
2 x 150m (1L catch-up, 1L single arm, 1L single arm, 1L catch-up, 1L finger trail)
4 x 100m bilateral breathing (breathing every 3 strokes)
4 x 50m breathing every 5 strokes
2 x 100 (1L fists, 1L catch up, 1L finger trail, 1L normal swimming (AIM for low stroke count)
200m c/d

Went really well - unfortunately the knee is still sore from the bike on Saturday (think I pulled a couple of muscles in the area behind the knee at the top of my calf....but atleast pushing off the wall was not too bad (Mike told me to take it a bit easier)

Tomorrow is either a turbo session or a run...probably a turbo looking at the weather...then Wednesday is a strength and torture session, Thursday a swim (not sure how that will work with work.....) and Friday/Saturday off before a 2hr endurance bike on Sunday...

Looks like a good week
Later
I.

Update from the past few days....

What can I say - I try and keep things up to date and then life gets in the way!!

Yesterday was a loooong ride - I was intending to do about 3hrs but the weather was horrific (think Perfect Storm....) and by 2:30 I was ready to sack it, unfortunately I got a puncture so as it was I took over 3hrs (of which I rode 2:45ish). When I got home I was shattered and spent most of the day trying not to fall asleep - had a couple of glasses of wine and watched the Scotland/Australia rugby - awesome game 9-8 to Scotland, first time in 27 years Scotland have beaten them :-)



Today was a great day of running - nice pace, good tempo felt great bar the pain in my right leg from the muscle I tweaked yesterday....

WU 10mins easy jog (include 5 x 30 seconds @ HRZ4 efforts in the after 5mins easy jog in b/t)

MS 20min @ upper HRZ 2 - 15min @ lower HRZ 3 - 10min Upper HRZ 3 - 5min @ lower HRZ 4

Used these HR zones for the training

HRZ 1     125-144 (Recovery (Run/bike/swim))

HRZ 2     144-154 (Long)

HRZ 3     154-164 (Race Pace)

HRZ 4     164-173 (Threshold)

HRZ 5     173-183 (Intervals)

HRZ 6     183+ (Intervals)

Weekend training

Hopefully I will get a chance to update this tomorrow as I ran out of time today....needless to say busy weekend - 50min run on Saturday and a 2hr bike + 10min run today....will update tomorrow!

I.

Swimming yesterday

Today is a rest day  so I only had to measure my Resting HR - 55 (big improvement over a couple of weeks ago!!!)

Yesterday was a swim set - same as the previous week and just as hard but for different reasons! I had to contend with a reaction to my H1N1 jab and also aching triceps from the gym session. Anyway the set looked like this

400m. (3 lengths front 1 length back repeat x 4)
5 x 100m (1L catch-up, 1L single arm, 1L single arm, 1L count strokes)
6 x 100m @ RPE 12-14, maintain stroke count off 2:00mins.
1 x 100 (1L count strokes, 1L catch up, 1 1/2 lengths finger trail into normal swimming for remaining 1/2 length)

2 x 200 @ (1L easy long stroke "best stroke count", 1L strong effort "maintain stroke count" repeat for 200m)
200m c/d.
TOTAL 2.2km

Focusing on executing the drills as well as possible.



I maintaned 18/19 stroke/length on the RPE12 set and on the 200m set I was holding 16 strokes/length

Turbo set from last night

Possibly the hardest set I have done on a turbo ever......thank God tomorrow is a rest....


WU: 10minutes easy - INTO 5 x 30s @ spin ups (90-100RPM), 30s easy in b/t

MS: 4 x 10mins @ 80-85% MHR
5mins very easy in between.

CD: 10 min easy spin and stretch

the 10mins efforts were v v hard.....

Strengthening and Conditioning Torture

Well today was my first "Strengthening and Conditioning set" and OMG how hard was it.....especially the planks - I admit it I am a weakling in my core muscle dept.... completed it though :-)

1. Warm-up 10 minutes cycling

2. Squat

Explosive UPWARD phase

Slow controlled DOWNWARD phase

Maximal knee angle should reflect maximal knee angle when cycling (~100 degrees)

3. Sissors

Contract your lower abdominals

Maintain your spinal alignment as you alternately lift one leg up to table top (90 degrees) and back down.

2 x 15 reps.

4. Dips

Elbows never higher than shoulders

Control the downward movement

Push up fast squeezing through your triceps

2 sets to fatigue.

5. Lunges

Explosive UPWARD phase

Slow controlled DOWNWARD phase

Maximal knee angle should reflect maximal knee angle when cycling (~100 degrees)

6. Step up

Step large enough to create desired knee angle

Place foot on step

Add dumbbells or barbell as able

As above - slow down fast up.

7. Front and side plank

Engage your core muscles and hold each position for 30 seconds x 3

8. Press-ups

2 x to fatigue.

Set 1 Narrow

Set 2 Wide

9. Cycling

10mins cycling 75% HRmax at 100-110 RPM


Squats - easy with no weight - will add a barbell next time
Scissors - OW! really hard at top of the quads but completed
Dips - set 1 30 dips and set 2 20 dips
Lunges - hard but good (assuming I did them right)
Step up - used 2x 17.5kg dumbbells found it hard in last 5 (I counted one step as a step up with right then left leg leading)
Planks - the single most difficult thing....I was shaking by 30 sec but I completed them (I put 30sec rest between efforts)
Press Ups - narrow 20 completed/wide 16 completed
Cycling - I ran out of time so had to reduce it to 10mins (from 15mins)

Target HR

These are the HR Zones (from http://www.sportscoach.netmx.co.uk) I used at the weekend - I am waiting for Mike to confirm these are the correct ones to use!

This is a standard heart rate zone calculator.  It calculates your pulse rates for a variety of standard runs.   The calculator uses both the Karhonen heart rate reserve as well as straight percentages.  I have avoided going further and varying the zone based on the distance run as it all gets a bit academic without more information about a runners response to training. (eg lactate threshold)  Entry of information is easy.  Just fill in the fields you can then click 'Zones' and your zone data will appear below.  The minimum entry to be useful would be your age and sex.

Age:         Sex: Male Female

Resting Pulse:        Maximum Pulse: Tested: not tested this year last year 2-3 years ago 4-5 years ago a long time ago

Years Training: 0 1 2 3 4 5 many

More Details
Easy runs are for recovery and should be quite slow.  The danger is going too fast.  Set your HRM upper alarm at the top end of the zone and slow down every time it goes off.  Long runs are for aerobic conditioning and endurance.  They are little harder than easy runs but should be below you anaerobic threshold (AT).  Your AT percentage increases with as you get more trained so only use the HR zone as a guide.  You will probably need to be near the easy/long crossover if you are untrained and near the long/threshold crossover if you have been training for a few years. Threshold runs are designed to be around your anaerobic threshold.  This value (and even its existence) is debated by exersize physiologists but a good guide is where conversation becomes difficult and your breathing pattern changes somewhat.  Your AT percent increases with training so you should move to the upper end of the zone over time.  Intervals are run quite hard.  Don't do the whole session in the zone!  Intervals consist of a series of work/rest periods.  During the work period you should be in the zone and during the rest period you should recover.  Make sure you do an 'easy' zone warmup before and after the intervals.

Monday a swim and a turbo set

A drill oriented session today focussing on bilat breathing

200m w/u
4 x 150m (1L catch-up, 1L single arm, 1L single arm, 1L finger trail, 2L f/s)
5 x 100m bilateral breathing (breathing every 3 strokes)
5 x 50m breathing every 5 strokes
3 x 100 (1L fists, 1L catch up, 1L finger trail, 1L normal swimming (AIM for low stroke count)
200m c/d


Oh how I love bilat breathing! I tend to breathe to my left so I always find this hard but a really good session today.

On the low stroke count is was 15 strokes/length

I had to shorten the w/u by 200m to fit the swim in before the session ended! (Anja and Jules took forever to get to school this morning...)

Hopefully will fit the turbo session in between work and putting the girls to bed!

Later
I.

Sunday's Aerobic Run

Excellent work out. I used the Karhonen HR Zones - not sure if this is right (Z2 156-169 & Z3 169-182)

I found the first few hundred metres tight on the hamstrings but this eased up after they had warmed up. I really struggled to get my HR into Z3 let alone Z4 in the 30s efforts.

During the building main set I concentrated on keeping tall when running and foot strike under the body (I mid/fore foot run). I found Z2 work a good easy LD pace Z3 was uncomfortable to maintain esp at the high end....

Rest day

A day off :-)

RHR 65 this morning - not feeling 100% - Lizzie feels a bit off too maybe it was the curry last night...hmmm

Good news though I had my lipids checked and the statins seem to have worked - TC 5.2 (LDL 2.8mmol/L HDL 1.7mmol/L) :-)

Thursday - my first double session of the new training regime!

Well today was a swim and a repeat of the Cooper Test...


400m. (3 lengths front 1 length back repeat x 4)
5 x 100m (1L catch-up, 1L single arm, 1L single arm, 1L count strokes)
6 x 100m @ RPE 12-14, maintain stroke count off 2:00mins.
1 x 100 (1L count strokes, 1L catch up, 1 1/2 lengths finger trail into normal swimming for remaining 1/2 length)

2 x 200 @ (1L easy long stroke "best stroke count", 1L strong effort "maintain stroke count" repeat for 200m)
200m c/d.
TOTAL 2.2km

Focusing on executing the drills as well as possible.


The set went really well but was hard on the deltoids....on the long count lengths I maintained about 16 strokes - when I up'd the speed I kept to 16-18 for an extended period but on the last 200m set I found that the hard lengths I was doing 16-18 but on the long counting lengths I was doing 18-20strokes - I think I pushed too hard on the hard ones!

For all of the 100m set I maintained 18strokes/length.

Quite tired at the end. Had a 750ml High5 4:1 drink to recover - needed it!

The Cooper Run test was the same route as yesterday...but....Oh my God that was hard after yesterday and the swim this morning!

I felt the max effort went better even if I did slightly less on the distance (2.11km - still average...) - it felt more in control (probably getting my running head back on!) - by the time I got back the legs were v tired - glad I had my 2XU compression tights on (FYI I tend to use these on running training since my decompression surgery as it reduces muscle vibration quite a lot).

REST DAY TOMORROW :-)))) (and I am only on week 1.....)

Cooper 12 minute Run test

Well today was fairly challenging - first a work meeting overan so I was delayed starting my lunchtime run (which meant I was starrving!) then just as I was about to step out of the door the heavens opened I pondered about putting of the run until later but I had to take the girls to their swimming lessons so I got soaked - it stopped raining just as I got home :-(


The session consisted of:


10min warm up - 7mins easy then 3x40sec build/20sec easy
12min MAX effort
10min cool down


This is the Cooper 12 minute assessment it is a surrogate way of identifying VO2max - it is meant to be conducted on a flat running track - I did it on a course which gained a fair amount of height (I started the assessment up a 5% hill....) and managed 2200m in 12 min which makes me average as an athlete for my age - not bad but I wonder what my distance would have been on the flat....

The following table rates performance for athletes:

Age	Excellent	Above Average	Average	Below Average	Poor
Male 20-29	>2800m	2400-2800m	2200-2399m	1600-2199m	<1600m
Females 20-29	>2700m	2200-2700m	1800-2199m	1500-1799m	<1500m
Males 30-39	>2700m	2300-2700m	1900-2299m	1500-1999m	<1500m
Females 30-39	>2500m	2000-2500m	1700-1999m	1400-1699m	<1400m
Males 40-49	>2500m	2100-2500m	1700-2099m	1400-1699m	<1400m
Females 40-49	>2300m	1900-2300m	1500-1899m	1200-1499m	<1200m
Males >50	>2400m	2000-2400m	1600-1999m	1300-1599m	<1300m
Females >50	>2200m	1700-2200m	1400-1699m	1100-1399m	<1100m

VO2 max

An estimate of your VO2 max can be calculated as follows:

• (Distance covered in metres - 504.9) ÷ 44.73

My VO2max was 37.9mls/kg/min (which makes me average)


From Wiki:


Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) is widely accepted as the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power. Absolute values of VO₂max are typically 40-60% higher in men than in women.”^[1] Clearly, then, VO₂max varies considerably in the population, with sex being a primary determining factor in this variability.

The average young untrained male will have a VO₂ max of approximately 3.5 litres/minute and 45 ml/kg/min.^[2] The average young untrained female will score a VO₂ max of approximately 2.0 litres/minute and 38 ml/kg/min.^{[citation needed]} These scores can improve with training and decrease with age, though the degree of trainability also varies very widely: conditioning may double VO₂max in some individuals, and will never improve it at all in others.^[3][4]

In sports where endurance is an important component in performance, such as cycling, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming and running, world class athletes typically have high VO₂ maximums. World class male athletes, cyclists and cross-country skiers typically exceed 75 ml/kg/min and a rare few may exceed 85 ml/kg/min for men and 70 ml/kg/min for women.^{[citation needed]} Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain is reported to have had a VO₂ max of 88.0 at his peak [1], while cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie measured at an astounding 96 ml/kg/min.^[5] Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute peak. By comparison a competitive club athlete might achieve a VO₂ max of around 70 ml/kg/min.^[2]World class rowers are physically very large endurance athletes and typically do not score as high on a per weight basis, but often score exceptionally high in absolute terms. Male rowers typically score VO₂ maximums over 6 litres/minute, and some exceptional individuals have exceeded 8 l/min.

To put this into perspective, thoroughbred horses have a VO₂ max of around 180 ml/kg/min. Siberian dogs running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race sled race have VO₂ values as high as 240 ml/kg/min.^[6]

At some point I will get it check properly with my lactate levels and I am sure it will probably be a bit higher - plus I am probably going to start taking Singulair for the old exercise induced asthma (had a persistent cough for 3months on exercise) which might make a difference....

Anyway
Later
I.

Beginning of a new training year....

Well its official training for IMCH 2010 started today!

I received my first training program block from Mike (at thetrilife.com) and have started it properly today.

Today was my first proper session back in the pool for a while (I have been doing a little here and there but nothing of importance) so it was a shock to the system to do the following session:


WU: 2 x 200 easy
Drills 2 x 200 (choice)
1 x 100 building: Length 1 @ 75%, 2 @ 80%, 3 @ 85%, 4 @ 90%
(Maintain your stroke count).

MS: 1 x 400, 2mins rest and 25-50 easy swim in b/t ,1 x 50
@ fastest sustainable pace.


200 cool down

TOTAL 1550m

I managed the 400m in 5:56:13 and the 50m in 35s - Depressingly slow after my season high of 5:35 in training and and my last timed 400m (in a race) at Highworth of 5:46:07 - my have had too many pies and glasses of wine in the month off! Also it was HARD after 100m the muscles were burning and by 300m I felt like I was swimming in treacle....remind me why did I take time off training again....oh yes to recover and to have a life!

Later
I.

An interesting fact from doing my Annual Review

I cam 7th in my age group in the swim at UK HIM....I never looked at age group positions before...not sure why....

Image from the Highworth Tri

Me coming into the finish chute for the Highworth Tri - no a bad piccie I thought...

Another week of rest

I cracked again this morning - I could take the inactivity no more!! On Sunday I did an hour on the turbo and today was my only other exercise - a swim set:

200m w/u
10x100m in on 1:30 go on 2min
200m drills (25m catch up/ 25 fists/25m right c up/ 25 fists/25m left c up/ 25 fists/ 25m long pull/ 25 fists)
200m kick with fins (50m b/fly/50 right side/50 left side/50 sprint)
100m c/d (25 b/s /25 f/c)

A nice simple set to start the day!

My attempt at a rest period continues

Well the lack of phys is doing my head in - I have done almost no exercise in a week - today I cracked! I went to the pool and thrashed out:

200m w/u
200m kick (50m b/fly, 50m right side, 50m left side, 25m back, 25m front) with fins
200m fists (one finger increase per 50m) and fins
2x100m long strokes
50m c/d

felt soooo good but this no exercise has repercussions - I went out at lunch and bought a new car - swapping the Jag saloon for an A6 Avant - wayhay I can now get to events without nicking Liz's 4x4

Later
I.

Twitter button now working!!

You can now follow me on Twitter by pressing the button above!

This morning

Another chilled pool session - similar to one done on Moday - yes I am trying to have a break but it is hard!!!

200m w/u
200m kick w fins (on sides/arms out/arms back)
3x (200m as 50m catchup/50m fists/50m outstretched fingers/50m long pulls)
100m c/d

Off to Berlin now (just sitting at the airport) back Friday

Later
I.

Smaller versions of my bike pictures

Recovery....

No time to train yesterday so first chance to get back in the pool was today - no idea how far I went but it was about 20mins...sore shoulders and tight quads (oh and the pulled muscle in my back is still there - three weeks on...)

Nice to swim again....but really not sure how I am going to manage being off training for 4 weeks - yes I am going to take a break from all things tri for a while...starting the end of this week :-O

I.

Highworth Tri - 20 Sept 09

It was a fun day - nice small friendly tri with a mildly challenging bike and run. I struggled with the race a bit as I swim quickly and as such most of the people in my wave came in the top 10-15 so I lost them all after about the second hill on the bike :-(


Splits


Swim - 5:47:7 (3rd) 
T1 - 1:10.1 
Bike - 43:56.4 (66th) 
T2 - 1:19.1 
Run - 33:29.6 (95th)  


Swim - okay but the guy front Nigel Evans (came in 11th) held me up - he was just going fast enough to make overtaking hard but just slow enough I caught him on every length...but at least I top 3'd for the swim  


T1 - all went wrong - I could not get my Garmin on - (need a w'proof HRM I think) and then I unracked my bike and realised I had not got my helmet on - I reracked my bike put on bone dome and then tried again - as I looked up the marshall was looking directly at me so I grinned and headed off - lucky not to have been penalised...  


Bike - fairly hilly and despite saying in an earlier post it was a road bike course I think it would be faster on my Aerotic...it just rfelt easier last week when I did the recce (plus it was 3mins quicker:frown:)  


T2 - horrible run in from the road and then I could not get my socks on - I know I should run without them but I just cannot seem to do it!!  


Run - completely demolished me. Firstly I normally road run, secondly I use Newtons so for the grass route I had to swap to my heavy trainers - OMG my legs felt sooo heavy....Andy Shipton laped me on the first loop at a huge speed too which was pretty demoralising as I came through T1 at the same time as him...


Overall though good fun - limited goody bag but hey it was only £25 to enter (and the bottle of beer brewed/labeled for the race was a nice treat!) bit stiff today and glad it is the end of the season as I need a break - have been racing since May and keeping that momentum going has been hard....  


Later I.

...and another in the evening

I decided not to go to the evening swim session as I have strained a muscle in my back - getting Julia in and out of the car I think.....

So rather than miss the opportunity I decided to do a quick session on the turbo instead - the first 15 or so kms of the Paris to Roublais classic...nice and easy

I.

Luchtime hills session

Just in case I don't go swimming this evening I thought I would put in a few mins on hills on the turbo - 45mins

This evening

Just done the Highworth tri route on the i-magic - now in two minds whether to use the Aerotic or protopulse.....not sure..... :-) 41:38...if only I could do that in real life!!

This morning's swim

Just a quick dip this morning - focusing on technique

200m f/s
200m paddles
200m kick (front/side/b'fly/front)
3x400m fins on 6min go on 6:30
1x400m (fins 25m b'fly/75m f/s)
200m 25m b/s/25m f/s

Last night/today

Last night was a quick swim in the pool


200m w/u
200m kick
200m pull
2x (25m RPE3/125m RPE4/100m RPE6/75m RPE8)
100m (25m fly/25m f/c)
100m c/d (25m b/s/25m f/c)

and today ended up being an abortive turbo session (as the computer crashed but it was about 35mins (18km+/-2kms...not sure was not looking) on the 40km Time trial route

Later
I.

Highs and Lows

Okay today's high was finding out I had a place out the Highworth tri..the low my front derailieur decided to undo itself whilst i was on the turbo...time to take a trip to see Jasone...the cable tension is all over the place and I managed to pull the crimped end off the gear cable...doh!!

Having a bad day...
I.

On the plus side waterbabies was okay with Jules and we are going out to watch Ice Age 3 later :-))

IM CH Date change!

Due to building works and something called the Zurich Feast IM Ch has moved to 25th July 2010 - am I glad I had not booked accommodation!

I.

An awful weekend

Well after a terrible weekend from a personal perspective (having to take my wife into hospital to have urgent surgery) I have found a little time to update my blog. Since last Wednesday I have done a few sessions on the turbo - practicing the IM CH route see piccies - when I upload them) and a longish run (about 8.51km (I think - need to check the Garmin when I download it)

Today I finally managed to get in the pool and do a long swim - 2km in around 29:15 - not bad, still thinking of doing a 3.8km swim before the end of the season - maybe the HfH one at lake 32 on 8th Sept...will have to see...

Later I.

A quick ride on the Protosonic

Managed to get out at lunchtime for a quick blast on the Proto-Sonic - how light :-O

Hills are soooo easy on it - big chain ring and mid way through the cassette (50-16) up stuff which would have had me on the small ring and the top of the cassette (34-27) before...very easy!

Only downside is the SRAM Force kit needs some playing with - the front derailieur doesn't want to change gear and the rear holds onto the chain too long - by the end of about 12km I was starting to get comfy with it though :-)

I.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Well I managed to do about 2hrs of the IM CH course on the Tacx I-Magic last night. Hard going but very interesting - I attached the Aerotic to the TT and it was realy comfortable, I might have to take it over to Highworth and do a dry run of the course to see if I could use it for that tri - anyway 2hrs of IMCH done - I have now had a go at "The Beast" the first of two large hills - quite a challenge...

Today was a pool session but I might take the protosonic out for a quick road spin to see what it is like :-)

200m w/u

200m kick w fins (50m one arm out/50m on side)

200m drills (25 fists/25 OK/25 open hand/25 f/s)

4x25 sprint RPE 9 on 60s

2x 325m (25m RPE3/125m RPE4-5/100m RPE5-6/75m RPE8-9)

4x25 sprint RPE 9 on 60s

100m b/s c/d

Later

I.

The weekend

A fun weekend - a little light training and time to play with my new toys!

Saturday

Turbo brick time - weather was average, roads a bit damp so I opted for the safety of the turbo with my Isaac road frame (hereafter known as the protosonic). SRAM Force takes a bit of getting used to and the front derailieur is not to happy to change on the turbo....but I did the 20km Highworth tri route and finished the 3rd series of 24.

Off the bike and our for a circular 5km brick run, felt quite good but it has been a while and now the legs are a little sore!

Sunday

First chance to really play on the Isaac Joule-Aerotic - OMFG - what a bike!

Soooo fast and stable at speed - no judder or twitchiness as you push past 40kph - amazing and a really comfy ride too! Despite having an 11-23 chainset (I am used to 12-27) I managed to make it around a 39.29km route in 1:25:24 - not the fastest but it is pretty hilly with a couple of 12% hills and fairly undulating - buy I managed to exceed 40% >25kph and 28% >32kph - maxing at over 48kph (I reckon the GPS flattened this out as I managed to get the 40mph sign to swich on in Tetbury :-)) )

I would love to change the cockpit in the future but at the moment the one I have is fine - just need to dial in the positiona a bit more....

Monday

Recovery swim - stiff legs from yesterday and needed just to do some no clock recovery

300m w/u fins

200m fins kick

200m (25m fists/25m catch up) fins

200m cath/pull focus

100m b/s

Later

I.

New bikes

The Isaac Joule-Aerotic :-))

The Isaac Sonic 2006 (in Impulse paint as it is the 2005 prototype)

Jason and the guys at The BigAdventure Store did a fantastic job building them for me. The Sonic weighs in at 868g for the frame and fully built with SRAM Force 2010 and heavyish wheels/stem/bars weighs a rather svelt 7.4kg (16.3lbs) I reckon with climbing wheels and carbon stem/bars it could get down to 15 and a bit lbs!

:-)

Happy Iain

Now to try and sell the Trek Equinox frame - ebay here we go!

I.

Swimming session last night

Yet again a cracking session from Caroline - Thursday evenings at Malmesbury swimming pool are always challenging!!

In summary:

200m f/s

200m b/s

100m pull

100m kick

4x100m pull (with ankle band) - really tough!

2x100m catchups (with rod)

200m f/s

6x25m kick w/fins on 40s

6x25m kick w/fins on 25s

4x25m kick no fins, descending

100m f/s

and keel over from lactate burn.....

The IM CH bike and run routes

This is what awaits me in Zurich next year -

the bike course has lost one hill in its revamp and the run is flat :-))) a bit different from Wimbleball!!

New bikes!!

Well no training as yet today (probably going to the coached swim session later) but I got to TBA to have a look at my bikes! I couldn't pick them up today as they would not fit in my car but :-)))))

The Isaac Sonic prototype (looks like an Impulse - but is much lighter) looks great with the SRAM Force kit on it :-) and the Aerotic looks amazing - when I pick them up tomorrow I will take some pictures.

Now to try and sell my Equinox frame!

I.

Wow it has been sometime!

Nearly three weeks since I last posted - work has just been uber insane!!

The Hayle Tri went okay - I came in at 2:51 not a great time but I was pretty happy as the weather was shocking - a SW gale and horizontal rain! My first salt-water swim (albeit in a closed in harbour) experience and the taste is horrible when racing....much prefer lakes! I did a fairly respectable time coming in with the top swimmers before doing my usual thing of loosing it on the bike.....there is a lesson to be learnt there! One kind of fun thing to note is that I met a chap called Sascha in transition who actually only lives about 5mins from me but most interestingly he came in about 35places ahead of me and only overtook me on the second half of the run - so maybe I should focus on the run not the bike....hmmm....

Anyway since then I have been busy with work and looking after Anja - school is out at the moment and it is a constant battle of trying to get parents/holiday club to cover her time off...

On the plus side she has now done her 50m swimming badge and really wants to take part in IRONKIDS (tadpoles class 50m swim /300m run) at the IM CH next year - soon we will have a family of triathletes!!

Apart from that I have had an Ebay frenzy recently buying ans Isaac Joule-Aerotic fram and the prototype for their Sonic frame - both have been built up by Jason@The Big Adventure Store and I look forward to seeing them soon!! (probably tomorrow) When I have both of them home I will have to Ebay my old red Trek Equinox and the Specialized Allez - a job I am not entirely looking forward to as it is something I have never done before....should be fun...

Anyway training...I have done lots on the Turbo recently as the weather has been shocking - yesterday I did a 40km TT over rolling hills and that took 1:10 dead...the legs still hurt today - I think I need to do more of that over winter but extend the length...

Also I have the IMCH route GPS on there and that looks good!

This morning I went swimming (partly to wake myself up - too much wine with Lizzie last night!) and covered

200m w/u

200m kick (drils)

200m pull (drills)

200m drill

200m paddles

4x100m build RPE 4-9 (1:15-1:20) go on 2:00

100m RPE 9 1:18

100m c/d (50m b/s, 50m f/s)

Must go now have to get Jules from nursery - need to try and update this more often...

Later

I.

Monday and Tuesday

Okay so Tapering.....

Monday - meant to be a swim, but due to a planning conflict with a TC I ended up doing a short road session on my bike at lunchtime. 11.44km in 24:44 - not bad but I was playing really with my setup I still think the seat needs to go a little higher maybe 5-10mm

Today - meant to tbe rest but I had time to do an early swim so:

200m w/u

200m pull

100m kick

2x(3x100m f/s) at pace with 20s rest (50m c/d b/s in between)

50m easy f/s

50m sprint

100m c/d (25m b/s:25m f/s)

Felt hard and like swimming in glue.....

later

I.

Sunday

Well I was greated by a lot of rain this morning so yet again another turbo day...I know -wimp!!

I changed bikes to my Trek and then spent 30mins mucking about with the setup....I droped the front end by 12mm and raised the saddle by about 12mm -seemed okay, no loss of power but better knee clearance....will have to see what it feels like on the road....

Session was:

10min warn up followed by 6x (3min hard/3min easy - shifting from 22 to 12 on the cassette) and then a warm down....

Tomorrow taper to Hayle begins...