Steady stuff

A good 60 minute run this morning. With no real intention of going quicker, I managed to reach last weeks 1 hour marker with a minute to spare at precisely the same average heart rate. Yippee.

Was passed by a chap who steamed past me and I felt very inadequate, although once past me he didn’t pull away and I kept him 20 yards ahead without too much difficulty. I wish I didn’t rise to the bait. It’s my run not anyone else’s.

With all of the reading about running form today I was concentrating on:

– Head up looking 200 yards ahead

– Arms with elbows at 90degreees but relaxed shoulders

– Foot striking more towards my toes rather than my heal

I experimented with shifting the foot strike more towards the heel it felt heavier and potentially more painful, it definitely made more noise.

It will be interesting to see how this affects me tomorrow. I am guessing that my calves will ache and perhaps my feet. Finished of the day with some free weights, nothing Arnie, just maintenance really.
Tidy

Rolling around with Uma

90 minutes on the bike on the rollers to day with "Kill Bill" in the background and a bit of a breakthrough. I managed to take one hand off the handlebars at a time and maintain reasonable balance. Now this might not sound like much but three weeks ago it would have ended in disaster. This helped because it allowed me to rest the heals of my hands which previously had been giving me some pain. The extra handlebar tape that I put on before the ride probably also helped. The only downside today was the development of some lower back pain after an hour or so. Not terrible but definitely there and so something that I need to pay attention to. Perhaps some lower back exercises will help. I left Uma and Lucy Lui in the snow taking swipes at each other and headed off for a stretch, a glass of water and a couple digestives. Very High Performance Food!!

Ordered the fins for swimming today, hopefully they will arrive before the next swim lesson on Thursday. I like a new gadget to play with.

Pateint heal thyself

It was a petty straight forward, but enjoyable, day today. No juggling times or early starts. A simple 45 minute run at lunchtime with a couple of guys from work made training for the ironman seem no different from training for a marathons or 10k etc. It bought a kind of normality to the preparation which I find quite comforting but also worrying. Am I doing enough? Only time will tell. Perhaps, the evidence is that I was able to run fairly easily today despite having trained twice within the past 18 hours and that I felt I could have carried on for the same amount of time again. My only issue today was having 2 near misses with cars pulling out of drives, despite it being daytime, wearing a high viz waterproof jacket and being 90kg and 6'2"" tall. I am hardly difficult to spot.

On a more niggley note one of the ongoing issues I have is the on and off pain in my ankle when I wake up in the morning and often when stand up after sitting down for extended periods. I am wondering if it is linked to the inflexible feet that my swim coach was referring to. So with the wonders of the WWW I looked at the image of the muscles etc in the foot to try a bit of self diagnosis. Ah ha. I can see that it maybe the “Inferior Extensor Retinacalum” that may be causing the issue.

“Well spotted doctor, and your recommendation for treatment”
“I haven’t a clue”
“Maybe rest, ice, massage, stretching, heat, give it a few weeks and see what happens?”
Sounds reasonable.......or not

Stiff ankles.......how very dare you?

I jumped on the bike as soon as I arrived home today as I needed to knock out a 30 minute spin on the rollers before heading of to the pool for a swim lesson at 9:15. Very pleased because although I didn’t manage to hit the 100+ cadence, I was close, averaging at about 92. A few more weeks and I think I might be hitting the 100!

A couple of hours later I was in the pool. Crikey what a session! An emphasis on kicking legs (my least favourite exercise) and after having consumed a substantial amount of pool water I was left feeling faint and very sick.

Feedback from the coach is that I have stiff ankles and that I need to relax them . Considering every muscle and tendon from my hips to my toes are as tight as banjo strings I am not surprised. Never mind, it is something to work on. I might even invest in a pair of the short fins to see if that helps, another toy to add to the collection!

Very tired, I need a good nights sleep.

Another brick in the wall

Fell asleep on the train on the way back from London following a late coaching session with a client, training felt like a million miles away. I had to order myself to start the session as soon as I arrived home. Sitting down on the sofa would have seen today's training straight out of the window. Another brick session, 30 mins on the bike followed by a 15 minute run. Not a big deal. Had to do the bike indoors on rollers then a quick transition (in the hall) which took a bit longer owing to all of the clobber needed with the chilly evening outside. It's weird, as I was running today I was thinking I really dont feel that fit and the 26 miles following the bike and swim seems like a very big challenge. I wonder if I have underestimated it?

A quickie at lunch time........I think not

I woke up this morning with the question of the week. Cold still hanging around, do I swim? I was working from home today so decided to postpone the decision until lunchtime. The pool has a adult lane session from 12-2 and so if I felt up to it I could nip down for 45 minutes. Felt good all morning so I dashed down to the pool expecting to put in a steady 45mins. What I hadn’t anticipated was the fast lane full of people (who I am sure are very nice) doing breaststroke, slowly. I tried to disguise my annoyance as  picked my way through the other swimmers, but altogether it was very frustrating. I try to be understanding but there were other lanes with hardly any people in them at all, doing even slower breaststroke. Arghhhh
The second session of the day was a short run (30 mins) which felt good. This week’s sessions deliberately eases off for a week to allow for active recovery which seems to be the right thing to do.
I finished the day off with an hours climbing with Aimee (our eldest) at our local climbing wall. Great fun and a good way to work on balance and arm and back strength

Well rested...........

Monday is rest day, and very welcome. I am feeling good despite still having a cold, hopefully I am over the worst and that it is on its way out. (Or is this wishful thinking because I am due to swim first thing in the morning?) I have also had an “ironman free evening” which has also contributed to my restfulness. An old friend from college (also a guitarist) came round and we played and sang a few songs and generally had a laugh. I didn’t mention the ironman to him and it felt good to not think or talk about it for a while and to just enjoy the moment. Perhaps to keep some perspective in future I could ensure that rest days are exactly that, and not only stop exercising on that day but also thinking, reading, scheming and planning, exercise and triathlon . Maybe this mental as well as physical rest will help. .......Who knows but it is worth a try.

End of week 3

A full social day today meant that it was important to get my training in early. One thing that I have learned through this is: get the session in early or things just get in the way. This is even more important at the weekend when the pressure might be family or social. So this morning I hit the road at 7am, still dark, but not too cold. A full 60 minutes running maintaining a low heart rate. I was pleased to come in exactly the same time and heart rate as Friday, which suggests that my cold isn’t affecting my performance and that it was the right decision to train. The run today finishes on a hill that 12 months ago I used to have to walk up, so that feels like progress.

Another reason for getting the run in early is to maximize my rest day tomorrow. My next session is a swim on Tuesday at 6am, so by having the rest of today and having all of Monday without training gives me over 40 hours rest.

All in all l am pleased with this weeks training despite having a busy week travelling and with clients I have managed to complete all of the sessions despite having to shift one swim and catching a cold. My aches and pains are ok and feel as if they are to be expected considering the level of activity.

Should I stay or should I go?

Woke this morning with a cold and for rest of the day I was asking myself "should I train or not?" Referring to my various books for the answer (since I wanted to blame the decision on someone else) I followed the "above the neck rule" My cold is snotty and upper throaty so, it’s ok to train. Today’s session is 1:45 on the bike and with the cold I thought it best to stick indoors on the rollers (then should I feel awful halfway then I could simply get off and go and have a cup of tea and go to bed). I found it hard. Not because of the duration of the ride but because of the less than comfy saddle and the achy neck and hands. I definitely need to get my bike set up to ensure that I am not doing more harm than good.

What is the "new normal"?

After missing yesterdays swim I thought I would try to add it today’s schedule and so I was in the pool at 6am for just under an hour. I then went straight out for a 60 minute run to make sure that I stayed on the programme and didn’t have to do more catching up over the weekend. This worked quite well (despite the very wet weather) although I am not sure I think it is sensible to be catching up. Perhaps in future I need to foregt the missed session and let it go. However, I was quite pleased that despite the nearly 2 hr session my energy level throughout the day has been ok.

One thing that I have been thinking about is: what is to be expected with regard to aches and pains in my joints and muscles? Between sessions I do have them but they soon subside once I start running, swimming or biking. So is that ok? How will I know if these are leading to more serious injuries? With this level of activity am I to expect this as the “new normal”?

The dropped session

A full agenda at work today followed by a flight home from Zurich challenged me to complete both the swim and the bike sessions that were planned for today. By the time I finally arrived home (about 8:30 this evening) I had to make a choice and so went for the bike session. So it was back on the rollers trying to spin for 45 mins at a cadence of over 100. I am really struggling with this. I can’t seem to get the pedal stroke smooth enough to enable the pedal speed to reach over 90 consistently, as soon as I get near the bike starts to bounce and becomes very unstable. If I cannot improve over the next few weeks I will drop back onto the turbo for the spin sessions. The other issue I have is the pain in the heel of my hands where I am leaning on the handle bars, I am going to try get some advise on this as it is getting very painful.

Just in the nick of time

Lots more energy today, a good night’s sleep and a proper day of food I think has helped. A full work day followed by an early dinner with the group gave me a very small window to complete today’s session (45 minute brick session). The gym attached to the hotel only opens between 8am and 10pm which makes training before work impossible. However I managed to get into the gym, to use one of the spinning bikes followed by a 15 minute run, just before it closed. I have changed my mind regading these short sessions. I am now framing them as active recovery sessions that maintain fitness whilst hopefully improving form. Legs right the way down to the soles of my feet are feeling tight and achy, I think I need to get to see Janis (sports masseur) as well as continuing to be doing as much stretching as I can. .

Training whilst doing the day job

Today is a great example of trying to maintain a work schedule whilst keeping up with the training programme. The early pick up to the airport was just a little too early to get a swim in and so I have had to do both training sessions this evening. I am not sure it was very wise but I ran first (45 mins) and then had a swim (60 mins) which felt like really hard work. I am wondering if my day off yesterday was enough. Also today I don’t think that I have fueled properly which left me short on resources and just generally weary. As I was swimming I could feel the doubts creeping in as to whether I can even swim the distance. Focusing on the processes helped in the moment but the nagging doubt has sat with me for the rest of the evening. I aim to have a good long sleep tonight and see how I am in the morning. A question that has been bothering me for a few days now is the implications of making the pursuit of this goal public. Is it an act of self publicity or being courageous in publicly risking failure? Or is it both? After all if I hadn’t told anyone I could fail and never breathe a word about it. Maybe more on this when I am not so tired
On a positive note I did finish the “Master the Art of Running” book on the plane which has left me with some really interesting ideas of adapting my running style, but more of that as I try to put it into place.

And,,,,,,,,,,relax

Rest day… thank goodness. Week 2 felt like a good week despite having to cope with a couple of hurdles (like Tom Cruise jinxing my treadmill and me nearly getting run over). However, I am feeling pretty exhausted and have various aches which I am hoping will have eased by tomorrow when the week starts off again. This next week will be a true test of my ability to be flexible in my training as I am travelling to Zurich on business and will have to fit it in around client work. So today is all about stretching and resting which I am very grateful for.

A pleasant surprise was opening the latest copy of “Triathlon 220” only to see the Merrall Mudman race (that I took part in at the end of last year) featured in the photography section, and there I am in the back ground (actually you can only see half my head and a eye but it is definitely me!). So fame at last, it’s not the front page but it is a start

End of week 2

I managed the resist the temptation to go to the pool this morning. Instead I thought it would be good to get my run out of the way early leaving the rest of the day free. (One of the issues that I am facing with this challenge is the potential for me to become obsessive and disruptive to family activity). So I headed out to a bright morning and actually ran outside!! It was great to see the paths clear of ice and slush. Just before I left I was reading Master the Art of Running (Using the Alexander technique) by Malcolm Balk and Andrew Shields,  so I was particularly paying attention to my posture and footfall, not heel striking and trying to lean a little further forward. I also didn’t take an iPod in an attempt to be more aware of the micro feeling in legs, back etc as I was running. I am not sure I have reached far enough into the book to gain any real benefit (not sure you can gain much from a book without some hands on coaching anyway, but let’s see). Finished the 80 minutes feeling I could do more, but perhaps that it the benefit of keeping to the low heart rate. Knees are feeling a little tender this evening.

Everyone else was out this evening so I thought I would finish the week 2 with some free weights. “To stabilize my front crawl stroke” I am told. I went through the usual suspects only to be embarrassed by my overhand chin ups of which I only managed 3 x 3!!! (it far worse when I tried a wide grip, I could only do one of them!!!). So maybe that is telling me something, I am either too heavy or too weak, so something has to give and at the moment it is my ego!!

An elecit swim

• 6:00 am I am wide awake. Don’t need to get up. No swimming today, no work it’s Saturday. Need to stick to the plan. Try and doze.
• 6:20.I wonder why only 2 swim sessions a week?
• 6:30 The plan says no swimming on the weekend, stick to the plan
• 6:40 Perhaps it’s ok if you do extra swims and focus only on technique and only half the normal full hour.
• 6:45 on my way to the pool, it will be fine as long as I only do half an hour and don’t push it too hard.

 So started my day, perhaps it was the wrong thing to do but it felt right and there are plenty of days when I will stick to the plan I am sure.

After lunch finished the book “what I talk about when I talk about running” by Haruki Murakami, great book and a very inspiring guy in a gentle unimposing way.

For the second session of the day I am onto the bike, indoors again and I opt for rollers with the plan of doing as a long as I can then swapping over to the turbo when I have had enough. At 60 minutes I decide to see if I can do the full 90. Neck, bum bones and heals of my hands aching but manage to go the distance. It has been such a long time since I have ridden on the road I have no idea how I will do, have I improved? I filppin hope so. The second half of War of the Worlds helps me through the distance (although I wasn’t able to watch much, mostly listening because when I glance at the screen I wobble all over the place and risk catapulting myself into the wall). One small victory, I managed to wipe a drip of sweat off my face without crashing so perhaps my balance is improving. Best not get too used to only being able to cycle when wathcing DVDs, not sure they are allowed in the race.

 

Kinda spooky

It couldn’t have been a more straightforward days training, a run for 45 minutes at a steady pace. So after work I pick out “War of the worlds” to watch on the TV as I pound the treadmill (streets still covered in slush). I have seen the film before but was enjoying myself until it gets to the part where the alien storm makes all of the electrical appliances go wrong just before the long legged tripods start to vaporise people (At that very moment I was wondering if the adrenalin caused by watching the film was having a favourable effect on my performance). I then become aware of a very strange noise and I realise that it is the running machine making it. It then stops and there is both Tom Cruise and I looking at our electrical appliances wondering why they aren’t working, spooky.

Shaking myself free of my amazement I grabbed a black winter running jersey and headed outside to complete the run (20 mins to go). After all conditions outside can’t be that bad. I was wrong, they were. Our road is dark and the pavements were covered in the most awful mush peppered with ice so I decided to run on the road, dressed almost entirely in dark colours with the exception on my pale cold legs. After I had been verbally abused by several understandably narked drivers who had nearly run me over, I hit the town centre where the paths were reassuringly gritty and clear underfoot. It was then that I passed a shop selling day-glow running jerseys. Mental note to self, get one tomorrow it will be cheaper than replacing the running machine.

A challenging day

Today’s sessions were bike and swim. The bike session was is a 30 minute spin (100+ rpm), the idea being that you cycle at above 100 rpm for 30 mins. I decided to do this one the rollers rather than the turbo because I am really trying to achieve a smooth pedal stroke even at a high cadence. This may have been a mistake because I was only able to achieve an average of 90 rpm. Occasionally I could hit the 100 but the lumpiness of my pedal stroke made it difficult so sustain. However, my belief is that if I increase that by only 2% per session then I will hit the 100 within the next few weeks and the improvement in smoothness. I will stick with it but if I can't hit the magic hundred within the next 3/4 weeks I may have to think again.

The swim session was a real eye opener. I have been a great deal of steady swim training but this evening I decided to go back to my old swimming class. The session was a real killer with a real focus on drills and technique, especially kicking (my least favorite drill) and "long dogs" (don't ask). It was an eye opener because all of the training over the past few weeks has been at a steady low heart rate. This session pushed me hard for relatively short periods and it felt very uncomfortable. I think on balance provided that I ensure that I am getting the long sessions in as well as the lessons things should work out ok. On balance it was a good day but it felt hard and I am not sure that I have fuelled myself properly, something I definitely need to pay attention to.

A positive spin on it

I have always preferred getting out of bed as soon as I wake up which is often before 6 and so getting training sessions in first thing before work isn't too much of a struggle. This is fine when the roads are clear and the sun is up as I can get out of the house for a run. However, with the dark mornings and ice on the pavements I have to train indoors which isn’t popular with the family at 6am. So today I took advantage of the fact that my local gym have introduced early morning spin sessions and so I kicked off the day off with a spinning session followed by a short burst on the running machine to complete a brick session. Legs felt fine and I was pleased that, despite some challenging routines during spinning, I was able to keep my heart rate in the target zone.

One of the things that I am trying to is to be creative in my training and that includes taking advantage of the situations that present themselves. This evening I had taken my son to his evening class and had a couple of hours to spare until I collected him again. Rather than kicking my heals I hunted out a gym near by and thanks to a kind receptionist managed to blag my way in without having to go through the dreaded induction process. It was great to work my way through some free weights, abbs and to use the leg press etc (slightly concerned that one leg is stronger than the other so this is helpful). Re-visited the fit ball again which is something that I have let lapse recently, must add it in to the programme

A great start to the week

Thank goodness, the pool is open again. At 6am it was very quiet with only perhaps half a dozen swimmers. A great opportunity to have a solid session to kick off week 2. After a 250 warm up I completed a pyramid of 4x4 2x6 1x8 then back down again, finished off with 250 arms only with a pull buoy. Very happy with the swim. This evening a 30 minute run and with the pavement still covered in snow it was back on the treadmill. Nothing much else to report., A solid day. One of around 200 before the event, but I have more like this then it feels do-able.

Toughest day of the week

Today is a rest day and I find this the toughest day of the week. In the past I have sometimes ignored this day and carried on training only to find myslef exhausted and having to take an enforced break. However, I am trying to stick to the plan and so have taken today out. I have spent an hour stretching, working my way through  the exercises outlined in "The Anatomy of Stretching"  after having a 10 minute warm up walk on the treadmill.

The good news is that the pool will be open at 6am tomorrow meaning that I can get a swim in early provided there is no fresh fall of snow. Here is hoping.

In thinking about what I am doing one of the things I find difficult is knowing how much effort to put into the training. I understand the principle of volume and frequency, the challenge is the gauging intensity. The guide that I am using is heart rate and maintaining it at the approriate level, but as I have mentioed before this doesnt feel particularly stretching. I guess I have to stick with it and trust that the work that I am doing is laying a firm foundation and that it is worth while.

Final session of week 1

I cant believe that the snow is still playing havoc. The pool is closed early in the morning throwing out my hope to get an early session in before the rest of the family are out of bed. I did manage a 45 minutes easy session in the pool at lunchtime but it was within "general swim time" so I had to navigate all sorts of obstacles. The lack of other serious swimmers definitely had an effect on my motivation. However, it was good opportunity to focus on technique.

This evening I completed a one hour run on the treadmill which was pretty uneventful but made easier by watching the first half of "The Bourne Supremacy". Compared to running outside it is tedious and claustrophobic but I am grateful that I have the resources at home to be able to stick to the programme. I am sure it will make running outside even more rewarding once the ice and snow have cleared. One bonus is the ability to stick religiously to the heart rate.

So it is the end of the first week of the programme. I have completed around 6 hours training but to be honest this is less than I have been doing recently and it doesn't feel particularly challenging. However, I am going to trust that this moderate start will allow my body to adapt to the volume. When I reflect on the fact that the actual race is likely to be well over 12 hours, it puts the challenge into some sort of perspective.

A full 60 on rollers

This morning I had an hour with some work colleagues on a sponsored relay swim, it was great to be sprinting for 50 meters every few minutes and getting feedback on my stroke from some very experienced swimmers. However, the main focus for today was a bike ride for an hour this afternoon.`With the bad weather continuing it has to be indoor training. So I took to the rollers with the intention of doing maybe half on the rollers then half on the turbo. After 30 minutes I decided to try to keep going on the rollers for as much of the hour as I could. It takes a great deal of concentration but I was very pleased to complete the full hour. I am hoping that this will help with core stability, balance and a smooth pedal stroke. Every once in a while I could feel my pedal stroke hit a sweet spot, the after a few minutes I lose it again. Those glimpses I hope will expand to become the way I pedal. A bit of time on abbs and I was done for the day ready for a curry!!!

Short but sweet

Today's schedule dictated a 30 minute run at zone 2 in preparation for the longer sessions over the weekend. However it turned out to be a great run. It was along the towpath by the Thames, there was still a great deal of snow and the sun was just coming up. The combination of the sun and snow created a blue tint in the air, it was fantastic. The perfect set up for the day.

Bricking and spinning

Bit frustrating today because the pool is closed owing to the poor weather conditions, will have to try to get a swim in over the weekend. This world of triathlon has the potential to be very complex. There is a whole new language to get to grips with as well as everything else. Today's addition is doing a "Brick training session ". I believe this involves a session on the bike followed quickly by a run. I think it gets its name from the way your legs feel when you make the transition and start to run. This was my session today with a 30 min bike session followed by a 15 min run. Within the bike session I also tried out a couple of minutes spin 100+. This involves peddling at over 100 rpm at a very low resistance, I cant believe how hard this is. I am supposed to be including a 30 minute session every week building to 1hr 15min by week 10!!! Can't wait (not).

On the bike

For the next 10 weeks I will training at the "Base Phase" meaning that my heart rate should exceed 137 on the bike and 146 running. The idea being that you train your body to fuel itself aerobically which can be sustained over a longer period of time. This I find tough since it doesn't feel like I am training hard enough. I have to trust the theory though and so will stick to it. On the bike today albeit indoors. Trying to get to grip with the rollers. I managed about half an hour but nearly came off so many times. I am still not sure what happens if you do but I am sure it isn't pretty and is bound to be painful. I stare at the same mark on the wall focusing hard so that the front wheel doesn't come of the front roller. I can't believe some people are able to do it no hands, I am hoping that if I persevere my balance and smoothness of my pedal stroke will improve. Second half of the session on the turbo which is much easier even able to watch a bit of the Bourne Identity to while away the minutes.

Its Snow Joke

My first full day training was going so well I managed to get out of bed just before 6 to spend an hour in the pool (I am still focussing on my kick). I upped the pyramid so that the base is 4 x 4 lengths peaking at 8. My plan was to have a run this evening to complete my first full day of the 30 week training programme.
Then it started to snow and Jennie's car broke down. As we sat in the freezing cold waiting for the recovery truck to turn up, my plans unlike the snow seemed to be melting away. We finally stomped the snow of our boots at nearly 9pm.
Thank goodness that I had rescued my old running machine from the shed a couple of weeks ago. After a few minutes thawing my feet at a brisk walk I managed to complete the run at the appropriate heart rate which really lifted my spirits . Its not nice running indoors but it did allow me to keep to my schedule. Cant wait to see what obstacles will be thrown at me tomorrow!!

The first day of the first week of 30

Hi out there, this is all new to me so please be patient. This blog will hopefully serve as a diary for me and an update for anyone who is interested in my road to completing the UK Ironman in August 2010. I will try to do my best to record my thoughts as I work my way through the regime.