Reflections on the scale of the challenge

After a good nights’ sleep I thought that it would be useful to get an early swim in today. I am not sure how far it will be useful to run today and so a swim would keep me to my weekly training hours. It was a good one (3 sets of 40 lengths or 3k) however there was some very strange politics from the "Fast lane Mafia". I switched into "their lane" when the one I was using became over crowded with people doing breaststroke. This I thought was fair since for the past 15 minutes they had all been chatting at the wall. When I did so one individual followed me and raced past me at the end. As I hit the wall another exclaimed "he beat you", I replied that I wasn’t aware that I was racing and carried on. Did it bother me, it shouldn’t but I guess it did since I am writing about it now!

All this aside I was hit by the fact that I was really tired when I finished and I hadn’t even completed Ironman distance (3.8k). This made me think, the swim is going to be a real drain on my energy and afterwards I will be biking for another 6+ hours and then running a marathon. I am wondering how on earth is my body going to adapt to that over the next 20 or so weeks? My goal all along has been to get to the marathon fresh and able to run the full distance, I am wondering how realistic this actually is?

This evening my calf was feeling ok and so I ventured out thinking of a maximum of 30 minutes very gentle pace, 20 yards down the road and I could feel the specific area of my calf begin to complain. Like a sensible boy I stopped turned around and walked home. I can see this is going to take longer that I thought.

A bit of a lack of discipline

I started my Saturday very early at 6 am with a 2hr session on the rollers. Once again it would have been great to get outside but a combination of the whether and my day's schedule meant that it was indoors. I could really feel the effect of the late swim yesterday and I was very tired which affected my discipline. I didn’t do any intervals and had regularly to take on liquids as well as couple of biscuits, defiantly not enough sleep. However, my calf continues to improve. I went to see Janis for a sports massage and as usual the pain as she de-knotted various parts of my legs was quite something. She did a great job on my calf muscles and I feel pretty confident that maybe tomorrow I will be able to do short run. As I work my way through this programme I am beginning to think that it is the repetition that is the toughest element, again and again session after session, no heroics just sticking to the plan.   

Substitiute...run for swim

The calf is feeling good but I didn’t risk running today, it is still tight and I believe needs a few more days. I have booked a session with the sports therapist for tomorrow and will see how it is after that. Instead of the run I did a late swim. It took all my resolve to step out the door and head for the pool at gone 9pm, the temptation to stay in with the rest of the family was huge. However I just stopped thinking about it, packed my bag and jumped in the motor. It was quite and I was pleased to manage 114 lengths (the pool closed preventing me from hitting the 120). I completed sets of 10 lengths with and then without the pull buoy.

Bike and swim......tidy

My calf is still tight and painful to stretch but no worse than yesterday, which suggests that the yesterday’s bike ride didn’t make it any worse. So today I was back on the bike with the intention of an hour at a high cadence. The session was ok averaging at about 96 rpm, which is a bit short on the target, and it didn’t feel as good as last weeks session. I am putting this down to concern about my calf. My pedal stroke was definitely not as smooth as it has been which caused vibration that inhibited getting up to the high cadence.
The second question of the day was can I swim and more specifically kick? So this evening I went as usual to a swimming class and was very pleased to find that I had no issues. This means that for the rest of the week I will replace Fridays run with a swim, bike as normal Saturday and then see how it feels on Sunday. If all is well I might try a very gentle 20 mins on grass, no hills, if not then a swim session is on the cards.

So all in all not a bad day. Far better than I thought given the way I limped home Tuesday.

Two out of three won't be so bad

Woke up this morning and gingerly padded around the house wondering if the calf is totally knackered or just a moderately angry. It felt tight and knotty. Clearly no running today, and maybe even not for a couple of weeks. The big question is can I ride a bike. If I can’t then this will put a serious dent in my plans, and at 6:30am this was very feeling doubtful. A few months ago my GP had given me a nice big box of painkillers for a knee problem. His comment that I would probably need a big box considering the ironman at my age was spot on. So I dosed up on them and headed out to work.

All day it gradually eased but was still painful if I stretched my calf. Finally I arrived home changed into my lucky bike shorts, pulled on my compression socks and climbed onto the bike. Gently as first then after 15 minutes with a little more gusto I peddled away waiting for a massive explosion as my calf swore at me and my stupidity.

What relief, no pain, I even managed to get up to 32 mph without falling off!

So provide that things don’t go horribly wrong after a nights sleep, I can at least train on the bike. Tomorrow I will swim to see if I can kick, (if I can’t then it is back to the pull buoy). This means that until my calf mends I could possible up the hours swimming to fill in when I should be running. That will give me 2 out of the 3 so at least my fitness shouldn’t suffer. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

That's torn it.........

The day started so well with a very business like swim first thing into a pretty crowded pool. 10 lengths alternating with and then without the pull buoy. Lost count but I believe around 2.5-3k altogether. I was feeling pretty pleased that I am now using my legs but am unsure about how this will play out wearing a wetsuit. I can wait for the lake to open in a couple of months time. All that was left was a 60 minute run this evening. However, half way round I felt a slight ache in my left calf, it felt like a cramp so I carried on for a bit. Then it steadily worsened until I had to stop and limp the rest of the way home. Now I can hardly walk on it so I am guessing something has torn, pulled or something. Will have to see how it is in the morning.

Recovery day......thank goodness

Very pleased it is a recovery day. Returned home from work very tired and am struggling to do anything but sit down and doze. I need a good nights sleep ready to start again with a swim tomorrow morning. For the past 7 weeks I have managed to cling to the programme but I am not sure how long I will be able to keep up, especially when the mid-week sessions become more intensive. I need to take one session at a time and not to be obsessive about hitting every single training session.

Danger danger....obsessive behaviour

In order to complete the full weeks training I needed to slot in an hours swim as well as the 75 min run today. So I hit the water early but not early enough. I was ejected from the pool after only 45 minutes (to accommodate kiddie lessons) leaving me 15 mins short. Now that is not much of a shortfall but it is enough to make me feel that I haven’t completed the full weeks training. So….

Final session of the week was the run and to be honest I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was very tired and falling asleep during lunch and at any other time I wasn’t standing up. However, after persuading myself that it is at times like this that I have to “just get on with it”, I coaxed myself out of the front door and 75minutes later arrived home after a steady run. Nothing to report, however, I couldn’t allow the 15 minute week’s deficit to stand so hopped onto the bike to rectify the shortfall. Now is that obsessive? I don’t think so.

So strictly speaking I overdid the bike and underdid the swim.
I will redress the balance next week

Never again

Bad planning on my part meant that I had to squeeze today’s bike session into a short space this afternoon. The sun was shining and it was a perfect opportunity to get outside. However, I was ill prepared I wasn't sure what time it would get dark, I had no lights for the bike and so ended up taking the not so easy option of going the distance on the rollers (the image of the bike on rollers is not me by the way). It is an issue because there is very little relief from boredom, a numb backside and taking a drink without stopping is almost impossible. All this being said I managed the target 2hrs 30 mins. So two lessons from today:

– Get out early and get the session done, because life will conspire against you
– Prepare your kit (i.e. the bike) the day before

Tomorrow it is down to the bike shop to find a light bracket so that next Saturday I will be prepared.

Playing catch up

Two sessions today, an early swim (1hr) then a run later (1hr 15mins). The swim was the catch up from Tuesday whilst away in Lyme. It was tough going for the first 20 mins I was struggling to swim more than two lengths without having to catch my breath. However, as I swam more I guess I warmed up and ended up swimming alternate 10 lengths with the pull buoy then full stroke including legs for another 10 for the remainder of the session.
This afternooons run was a delight as I was outside in the semi-sunshine. All of the way round I was battling to keep within the zone 2 parameters as my legs felt I could go faster. It was a slow run but no dramas. When I made it home I checked my calculations for zone 2 only to realise that I have been taking it too slow and that I can push it to around 145 (I have been using 139 as a maximum). My mistake is that I have been using the bike heart rate as a guide which is 5% lower than for running. Silly me. No worries I am sure that there is no harm done. 

And its PJH into the Pit lane

After my triumphant brick session last night I was ready to attack the spin session (1hour) with gusto this morning. As it is half term and I have taken some time off this should have been a pretty easy task. However, halfway through the rims of the back wheel are grounding on the rollers Agggghhh. I dismount only to find a slow puncture and a totally shredded back tyre. So hot foot to the bike shop for a new one and with very mucky fingers I am back on the bike. When I start up again I am amazed with the cadence that I am achieving . I hit 100 fairly easily and with real focus managed to maintain it for the remaining half an hour. Very happy!

I am also scheduled to do a one hour swim session which would normally have been achieved at my swimming class this evening. However, as it is half term we have a family outing this evening (and as someone who is trying not to be obsessive with my training) I have decided to push swimming to tomorrow. This means a very packed final few sessions of the week, 5 sessions in the next 3 days!

Pride comes before a fall

Back home today and this evening I hit the rollers for a brick session, 45 mins on the bike then a 15 minute run. It was great session, my legs felt good and my speed was better than previous sessions. I am not sure if this was because of the missed swim session yesterday. The highlight was on the bike when during one of the intervals I briefly hit 30mph. My excitement then overcame me, as I was slowing down I lost concentration and fell off the rollers. The front wheel slipped off the front roller and the bike fell sideways. Fortunately the cleat on my shoe released my foot and I was able to stop myself from a total wipeout. So, now I know what happens when you fall off, and it isn’t that bad.

In Bruges.........not!

So instead of Bruges I am in Lyme Regis, it is 7am and I am running up a very long hill in the rain. I have run out of path and am on the road in the half-light wondering if it is best to run facing the traffic so that I can dive into a hedge should I need to, or run with the traffic so that drivers can spot me by my high-viz jacket and my little blinking red light that attaches to the back of my jacket. I decide to do both depending upon the curve of the road. Despite this planning I am missed by inches by a builders van and a horsy type in a Land Rover. After 30 minutes of non-stop up hill. I turn around and come back down again, very chuffed. I definitely did a better job today than I would have a few months ago. Hills Schmills. It might be a different story after cycling 112 miles though!!! No swim today, will have to schedule for later in the week. 

Recovery day....

So today was supposed to be recovery and as we sat at Kings Cross International train terminal thinking of the few days away (I am working out how to get my training in without a bike or pool). We then hear that all trains to Brussels are cancelled owing to the rail crash and the sad news of the people who have lost their lives. Very sobering. We decide to abandon the trip, catch a train home and then drive down to the south coast for a few days. A better recovery day than some are facing.

End of week 6

I finished the week of with a 60minute run this evening. Still feeling a little jaded from the jet lag but the run went smoothly with a few aches and pains which may be a hangover from Saturdays ride on the rollers. Really weird things happening on with my heart rate monitor. For the first few minutes it was registering over 172 which couldn’t be right. It then settled to a normal rate for the remainder of the run, this is something I am going to have to keep an eye on.

I now feel that I am well into the training as I have passed the halfway mark on the base training phase. Next week ramps up a little with the Sunday bike going to 2hrs 30mns and the longest runs going to 1hr 15mins. I am not so concerned about the bike but the runs may be a different story. I the past the longer runs take more time to get over, especially in my hips. I am hoping that the miles put in over the week’s means that now I am better prepared.

Back home again

Back from Hong Kong on the overnight flight with a very broken nights sleep, I landed at 6am. I wasn't sure if the time change and the poor nights sleep would affect my training today. The 2 hour bike ride on the rollers was tough. Ideally I would have done this session outside but I need new tires (the turbo has removed all of the tread). I noticed that the middle 60 minutes were definitely the best. I was able to introduce some intervals. The final section found my balance suffering as I became more tired.
I have also been thinking about hydration so I checked my weight before and after the ride and discovered that I had lost 600 grammes over the 2 hours despite taking in 1300 grammes of fluid. This suggests approximately a litre per hour. I will check again on the run tomorrow.

A run with a view….and nice shiny legs!!!!!

Woke up at 4am this morning as the jet lag kicked in. It was perfect timing to get a bit of work in before hitting the gym for a 60 minute run on the treadmill. My heart was doing the cha cha where it would shoot up to 164 only to drop to 132 the next minute. Not sure if this is the monitor or my heart. Sky was clear which gave a great view of the smog and cloud over HK harbor. (Unlike the image to your right). Legs felt good and my feet didn’t complain much. Over the past couple of evenings, before turning in, I have been on a “search and destroy mission” for the knots in the muscles in my legs and treating them to a bit of DIY knot busting. I am not sure if it is helping my legs, but my thumbs are getting stronger and the oil does give them a nice sheen. Move over Beyonce.

Tiny pool.....nasty bike.....but another day in the bag

Another swim in the puddle sized pool this morning at 6am on the roof of the hotel before a full day with clients. Focusing again on my kick although I am wondering how it is going to play out when I get into a wet suit on the lake. I am told that it will "stabilize my arm pull" but I am not sure if the effort and energy required is worth it. This evening I went straight up to the 17th floor and into the gym hoping that one of the nasty bikes was available. Managed to bag one for a 60 minutes spinning session. With the stability of the bike I was able to hit 100 rpm or over for the majority of the session although it took 10 mins or so to warm up to get there. Once again without the feedback from the rollers I am not sure it added much to the development of my cycle technique other than the miles. Still it is better than not having the facilities available so I am thankful for small mercies.

I never thought I would say this.....

Today’s session was straightforward enough. It was a brick session on a rather uncomfortable gym type exercise bike for 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute run on the treadmill. All of this overlooking Hong Kong harbor. Sounds idyllic but it wasn’t. I never thought I would hear myself say that I miss my razor type saddle and the rollers that keep threatening to hurl me across the room. Sitting on a static bike where I can, hunch and use appalling form isn’t training, it is going through the motions with no feedback. At least on the rollers if your lose concentration it shouts at you to pay attention, but this machine had a fat but uncomfortable saddle that dug into my thighs and felt about a much like a bike as a very unlike-a-bike thing. The designers clearly think that puting a saddle, handlebars and pedals within 24” of each other makes it a bike. They couldn’t be wronger.

Never mind I hit my numbers, (without style or grace)

Probably not much of an “Ironman attitude”
Note to self.
Do better next time !!!

Playing the banjo on my IT band

I managed a pretty long sleep last night so made it to the pool at 6am. When I first looked at the pool I thought that it was too small maybe (10m). I started to work out if I could fit this weeks swim sessions in over the weekend back in the UK. Was I trying to sabotage my training? Dismissing my negative thinking I just got on with the job mostly using fins, with plenty of focus on kick technique. It felt good to be swimming outside as the sun came up, even though the sky was an angry mix of black and dark grey.

Throughout the day my left ankle still playing up when I walk, nothing terrible just a niggle. What is going on? I spent lots of time walking around Hong Kong in work shoes so perhaps that is the issue. Or is it by IT band which is as tight as an overtightened banjo string.

After a full day with clients, and turning down a very tempting meal in a great restaurant, I managed to get to the gym by 9pm for an hour on the treadmill (overlooking Hong Kong harbor). Not the best in the world, sore feet but job done.

I have noticed that the quick change laces that I use in my shoes mean that the shoes are too loose, is that the issue? So many questions and I havent a clue!!!

Things that go bump....

Landed in HK at 7am HK time with no sleep on the plane, very bumpy flight. More or less the last 5 hours were a roller coaster of stomache lurching dips. Its a good job it is my recovery day today because I am so tired I don't think I would have been able to train today. The gym in the hotel looks good but the pool is very small and so I am going to have to be very creative about how I train.  I will get an early night tonight then hit the pool first thing before a full day with clients. Fun fun fun

And now for a short interval........

Off to Hong Kong today, so needed to be up early (again) to get an hours run in before the taxi arrived. Legs felt good after yesterdays massage. In the second half I started adding in a few short intervals. Running at around 138 bpm then increasing my pace until it reached 145 then slowing down again. My heart rate would continue to increase, peaking at 147, then slow down again to 138. This felt good at had the effect of lengthening the distance covered in one hour by a couple of hundred meters, whilst maintaining my average heart rate for the session at under the magic 147. Nice.

Back in the saddle... then a spot of healthy pain

Full day today so up early for a 1:45 on the rollers. Tough in the middle section but the second half flew by, no music or film to focus upon because all of the family were still in bed. Still having issues with the heels of my hands on the handlebars and ended the session with very numb bum. I am hoping the latter will improve once I get out on the roads and can stand up in the saddle to get the blood flowing again. Morning ended with a visit to Janis my sports masseaur. Although it was painful she busted up plenty of knots especially a nasty one in my right side glutes which has been niggling me for ages. It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow when I run.

Thngs are getting a little tense............in the leg department

Good run today, 60 minutes at 6am. It felt good and I was able to push a little without going over into a predominately anaerobic fuel system. My only concern is the tightening in my legs. I am doing plenty of stretching but still they are tightening up. Tomorrow I have a sports massage and I will see how they are following that. I come back to the question as to whether it is to be expected to have aching with the level of activity I am undertaking. There is no doubt that using the fins at swimming last night has used my calf muscles in a way that I have never experienced before so separating out that from normal recovery is tricky.

Gadget heaven.....

I had a spin on the bike for 45 mins today at lunch time with a goal of hitting the 100 rpm. I still didn’t quite make it, averaging at about 93, so still not quite there, maybe next time. My swim this evening was a lesson focussing on arms which I find quite straight forward. The exciting part was that afterwards I had the chance to try out my new fins that arrived today. Anyone who knows me reasonably well knows that I am a total sucker for a gadget, and today was gadget heaven. I hadn’t appreciated how they would put increased pressure on my achilles tendon and legs, but I am sure they are doing me good, flexing my foot and hopefully loosening them up a bit.

Not only that but a couple of days ago the zip on my high viz jacket broke and so I took it back to the shop. I changed it for a different model and as I was paying the difference I spotted a small flat light behind the counter. Upon enquiry the very helpful assistant explained that it was actually designed for my new jacket. It sticks by Velcro to the back of the jacket and flashes red. Wow. I can’t wait till 6am tomorrow to try it out on my run. I hope it doesn’t get light too early…..

An uneventful day

A simple brick session

• 30 minutes on the bike on the rollers
• Followed quickly by a
• 15 minute run
• Achy legs
• Need a massgae
• Time for bed.....

An early and a late.....

Woke up this morning at 4:45 and was out running 5 minutes later, with the words "Is this wise?" echoing between my ears. It was actually quite pleasant, plodding along in the silence, obviously still dark, light rain and very very few cars out and about. For the first 15 minutes I didn’t see anyone or anything moving save a bit of wildlife. It was a steady outing, nothing extraordinary but good to add to the bank. As I ran I concluded that it is only an obsession if the extraordinary becomes the ordinary and that somehow is damaging. How would I know it is damaging? So I devised a checklist:

I am losing my grip on what is reasonable when more than 3 of these happen:

1. Borderline obsessive things happen more than once in a week

2. My wife says "You are mad" in an angry rather than pitying way

3. I am unable to complete the planned sessions in the week through exhaustion

4. I am so tired that I cannot work/drive/be sociably effective or a good dad/husband

5. Training becomes a chore and not a pleasure

With this in mind I headed for the pool at 10:00pm. With the words “Is this wise?” ringing in my ears, I was relieved to see a few other people swimming up and down whilst the rest of the world was thinking about heading off to bed. It was great. My intention of doing half an hour turned into just under the hour as I mixed between arms only and full crawl, I had a lane all to myself and it felt just wonderful. This late swiming definately has its advantages and surely we can all be barking?

Is this obsession… and if so…does it matter?

Today is the start of week 5 and by Thursday I will be half way through the base phase. The past “active recovery” week has been useful and I know I have benefited from the rest, I feel ready to up the anti a little. The big question for me today is in planning the coming weeks training. Work wise I have a busy week, I am up to London tomorrow.  I could try to do both the run and the swim in the evening, but I am not keen on bot activities so close together so I am tempted to get up very early and run before catching a 6:45 train leaving the swim till late evening.

So the question is….if I manage to get up just before 5….and run for 45 minutes…..is that obsession? Or just good planning!