Back to school days, mind games and anatomy

As I stepped out in shorts and a waterproof running top today I was instantly taken back to cross county at school. Biting wind stinging rain on bare legs etc etc and hating it. Also hating Jock McCabe who used to make us do it . However a significant difference is that today I enjoyed it and after a few minutes forgot all about the wind and rain. A short 45 minute sessions with 3 x 3 minute Z4 heart rate intervals 10 minutes in. It felt like hard work which was good. Jock would be proud of me.

Then later a brick session of 45 mins on the bike followed by a fifteen minute run, the wind was evil but good experience.

What is interesting is how I am feeling about all of this. There is no doubt when I look back at all of the training I have completed I am proud but I have these waves of feeling unfit and slow. That maybe I am not trying hard enough. I am worried about not having an aerobic base and therefore blowing up halfway round. At the other end of the spectrum being so slow that I barely finish in 17 hours. The other concern is the shear volume of training I have yet to do and the effect on my life and my family. I have been lucky so far and managed to meld the two together, but the most crucial time is yet to come, if it is tough at 12 hours, how will I cope at 20 hours? Perhaps my planning ahead has worked so far and maybe I need to look at every week between now and August and set things up.

The good news is that the hematoma appears to be deflating, about time too. Finally on the more anatomical front (don’t call me a sado now) following on from the revelation that my left leg is stronger than my right I did a bit of discovery myself with a tape measure and there is quite a difference. My calves thighs and the part just above my knee are substantially unequal in girth, definitely some work to do there. However going round corners is easier.

A spot of good news...and an opportuntiy

A good swim this morning with the normal routine of alternating 10 lengths with and without the pull buoy. The last 20 however was without and I was pleased to be maintaining a good a good rhythm despite the extra effort of kicking. Perhaps over the next few weeks I will increase the number of lengths without the pull buoy until eventually I am able to complete the full 120, this will give me confidence should I ever face a triathlon where wet suits are not allowed!!
This evening I visited a chap I know who has set up a triathlon coaching business and had a bike fit session. Over the past few weeks my biggest concern was if I should change my bike. The verdict however is that the bike is fine and with some attention to adjusting the saddle forward and some adjustment to the cleat on my right cycle shoe. The other discovery was the weakness of my right pedal stroke compared to the left. On occasions 60% of the power was coming from the left. This ties in with the weakness of my right gluteus which I have been working on. So as a priority I am now going to introduce some exercises to strengthen my right leg overall. This is a great opportunity because it means that simply by correcting this I an increase my efficiency on the bike
I was due run this evening but with the bike fit this was no longer viable, I will make up for it over the next few days

Are those my calves? Surely not!

A recovery day when I am not feeling absolutely exhausted and it feels good. Today has given me an opportunity to reflect on a couple of things. I need to make my mind up about the bike I am going to use. If I am to buy a tri specific bike it need to happen in the next 3 weeks to enable me to become familiar with it before the half ironman. On Saturday I was taken by the increase in speed when in the aero position so it is an important consideration. Linked to this may be the second consideration which is the pain in my neck when biking. This evening I visited my friendly sadistic sports therapist for 30 minutes of torture focussing on back and neck. If the knots that she ground away are anything to go by then it is no wonder that I have been having issues on the bike. The question is are they the cause of the pain or a result of poor posture on the bike and accumulated swimming tension. Fortunately a tri-coach has offered a proper bike fit and so fairly shortly I should have the answer. I also had a bit of a shock today when seated in a positiion where I could observe my own calves, (enough said).They didnt look like mine at all. I have always had rather puney calves but these looked like someone elses!! No wonder my socks have started to dig in!

Stalking the ederly

A spin for 30 minutes on the bike followed by a 1hr run. With the clocks going forward last night I took advantage of being up early and took the bike out for 30 minutes on the road with the intention of hitting a cadence of above 100. In the past I have only done this session on the rollers or on a stationary bike in a gym. Today was a real revelation, it is so much easier on the road. Despite being really cold, the session was great, short and sweet and hitting the numbers with no problem. Then home for a not so quick change into running shoes and off for the run. With slightly achy joints I took it dead easy and kept a very steady heart rate of not over 138 unless on hills. (In future I am going to set up a way of transitioning outside to get in some practice. That should give the neighbours a laugh). For part of the run I caught with a chap who I guess was in his 60’s, (a veteran of several marathons with a PB of 3:08). I wasn’t sure if he wanted company or not but I felt that once we had started I couldn’t just run off. He didnt say much but that might have been a breathing thing. Eventually he turned off and I went back to my ipod. It did make me think about running etiquette though, I wondered if he arrived home and moaned about a bloke of wouldn’t leave him alone. Ho hum, I enjoyed it.

Trusting the process

Out on the bike today for 2.5 hours followed by a 15 minute run. I should have set off early before the traffic but wanted to make the most of my sleep, this was a mistake as the traffic was awful. However, I averaged at around 16.5mph and completed part of the Winsor Triathlon bike course which I have to say was in awful shape. The winter has really done some damage to the roads and I think I am going to spend a bit of time on practice runs to ensure that I am familiar with some of the more lethal pot holes. It is a good course with some open stretches that could be windy coupled with some long but gently ascending parts. I may try to incorporate the whole course into my standard bike ride. Overall the ride was fine with the weather warming up and a few spots of rain but nothing terrible, altogether it was a pleasure to be out and about. Once again the run was hard and the first few minutes after transitioning painfully slow. At the moment doing 26 miles after a ride 3 times that distance seems like a million miles away. Still I am not even halfway through the training and I live in hope. I am going to follow the process and trust it, what is the worst that can happen? Went climging this evening with Aimee and her boyfriend to the climging wall , it was great to do something different, we laughed lots, especially trussing Mike into his harness, they are not flatering at all!!!

Wet swim..wet run

Lazy swim today, 2.5 k but steady enough. I am not too concerned about the swim. Last year I took part in a 3k and hit 55 mins and I have been hitting similar times ever since in the pool (taking into account the turnarounds, wetsuit advantage etc). From my reading of my latest book, which tells all sorts of ironman stories, the swim seems to be of the least concern. This evening I ran late for me, 8pm for an hour in the rain. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light and sometimes nothing at all. It is strange that looking outside from indoors the prospect of running in the rain is a bit depressing, but when I am out there it doesn’t seem to make any difference, I don’t even notice when it has stopped.

I think I have also solved two mysteries: Firstly my body weight: weighed myself late and it was down to 89.6 kg. Now my hypothesis is that it is down to hydration. Yesterday I didn’t particularly hydrate well. So tomorrow I will drink gallons and see what happens to my weight. Secondly is to do with my heart rate. In the final few minutes of my run this evening I picked up the pace going uphill and maintained it for about 4 minutes. At the top my heart rate hit 164, which I am guessing is my maximum. I will monitor this over the next few runs but use this rate as my benchmark from now on.

Confusing times

Last day in Zurich and thanks to a gap in my schedule I managed to get 1hr in on the bike at lunchtime. This coupled with yesterdays swim leaves me a free evening after I get home from the airport. The bike ride was in the gym listening to my new favourite band, '30 Seconds to Mars'. I dont know the name of the album but the lead singer's shouting made me go faster. I still haven't got to grips with my heart rate, but I am determined to get it right. No point in wasting junk miles if it isn't contributing anything. The haemotoma on my hip is still as present as ever and shows no sign of deflating, its ugly and a bit depredding.. Also I cannot believe that I have gained 3kgs in weight!!! How has that happened! I will be lugging around the equivalent of 3 extra bags of sugar. All in all it's very confusing!

I think I am ahead

Sill in Zurich and conveniently working in a hotel with a full gym and pool attached. So as soon as I finished work I was straight to the gym before meeting clients for dinner. With flying home tomorrow I was concerned that I wouldn’t get tomorrows swim and bike in and so decided to get ahead of the game and swim today. The pool was almost empty which was great, my performance however wasn’t great. I swam for the full hour but I don’t believe it was my best. I lost count of laps altogether was a little distracted. Following that I hit one of the spinning bikes for 45 minutes, the room was very warm and they didn’t have the air-con on which made it s bit arduous. After 45 minutes I climbed onto one of the running machines to finish off with a 15 minute run. At the back of my min has been my maximum heart rate. I had been assuming that it was: 172 which is (220- my age 48 = 172). This would mean that my working rage should be 78-85% of that or 134 to 146 bpm However, I pushed myself today and only managed to hit 163 bpm which would suggest that I should be operating in the range of 127-138 bpm. This I find a bit strange since in the past I know that I have managed to hit 172!! Very confusing. I will investigate further but in the man time maybe I should be training at the lower rate to ensure staying within the aerobic threshold.

Have I got my sums wrong?

An early flight to Zurich today meant getting up at 4am so throughout the day I have been fighting off fatigue. When I arrived at the hotel I was able to get straight to the pool for a pretty solid hours swim. Then this evening out for a 45 minute run with the intention of inserting a 5 mins period at zone4. However I really struggled to get my heart rate above 162. By my calculations I should be able to get to around 170. If however, my max heart rate is 162 then I need to be bringing down the average heart rate I am working at during the aerobic sessions. I will re-test tomorrow and see what I can achieve then take a view on it. Legs are a little tired after the half marathon on Sunday which I am not surprised about.

Very alive

Recovery day today and I celebrated with a visit to the sports masseur. It wasn’t too painful at all, a few nasty knots and tight IT bands but after a little attention they soon loosened off. Overall I am very pleased with last weeks training. It started quite poorly with me feeling very tired, but then things turned around and by Thursday I felt good and the weekend was great. This week is a recovery week so the total hours drops to 11 from 12 last week. My confidence has lifted and I am feeling that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One day at a time, but it is good to have several good day a row. All in all I feel very alive.

Bisham Half Marathon

Today’s training should have been a 30 minute spin session on the bike followed by a 1hr 15 minute run. However, I delighted to say that I didn’t do that!!. Instead I took part in the Bisham half Marathon with a whole bunch of chums from work. It was fantastic. There were about 8 of us all with varying speeds and goals, the weather was superb, the course was pretty flat as it ran along the banks of the Thames.

My goals for the day had been to: to complete the half in sub 2 hours at a reasonable heart rate, to be able to complete training in the week following the event, to really enjoy myself.

My time was around approx 1:52 which I am pretty pleased with considering the volume of training that I have completed this week. Also I was able to maintain a reasonable heart rate and although it was slightly higher that I would have hoped (149 which should have been 147). The other thing I am pleased about is how I felt after the run. Following my last half marathon my legs and especially my hips were in terrible shape however I feel pretty good. This means that I am very confident to be able to continue to train next week. However, the biggest think about today was the opportunity to train with some great people.

So Naive

Long bike today, it was intended to be 2hrs and 30 minutes So I decided to get out early to avoid the traffic which coincided with some really duff weather. On the bike by 5:15am, still dark but the roads were quiet which made a massive difference. I hadn’t had very good nights sleep and so I was not on best form. The rain was persistent but not so heavy to create problems. The time really flew by, the first hour is on a gradual downward slope and so fast enough. The second hour is tougher as I climb out of the Thames Valley. My calculations were way out and the ride and it actually took nearly 3 hours. When I made it home there was still a 15 minute run to do. I hadn’t taken this seriously, how hard could it be to run for 15 minutes? How wrong could I be? After 3 hours on the bike my legs were in pretty bad shape for running and I really struggled. I have been used to doing 45 minutes to an hour or so followed by a half hour run which wasn’t too bad, so I was really surprised that the extra time on the bike made so much difference. How naïve could I be?

An emotional day today

Today was the funeral of my friend and so it wasn’t difficult to get down to the pool to take my mind off things, a good steady session (3k) at 6am. This is the first week that the third swim has been incorporated into the schedule.

The day itself was emotional and seeing the people you love upset was tiring, However, later in the afternoon after arriving home I was able to get out for a 1hr run in some pretty miserable rain. I was grateful for the opportunity to focus on some physical discomfort, a great distraction.

What an idiot!!!

Swim and bike today. So down to pool lunchtime for a steady hour (3k). It felt good, there was a good bunch of people in the fast lane some quicker some slower but there seemed to be a great atmosphere of acceptance and encouragement. It was all very polite and I was able to tuck in behind a faster swimmer to pick up my pace and overtake a slower without fuss. T

his evening was another story. I had 75 mins on the bike to do and it was a real struggle. Somehow it didn’t go well, energy was very low. After the freedom of being outside on Saturday, sitting on the rollers felt like a real burden. Also I couldn’t work out why I was performing so badly. However, when I thought about it and clicked through the day I realized that I hadn’t eaten at all well. Breakfast then two marmite sandwiches for lunch is hardly high performance food. What an idiot. On the bright side though after several failed attempts I was able to keep going while taking my water bottle from the cage have a drink and then replace it without falling off. So there is a bonus. Yipee

Raw rump

Bit of a squeeze to get any training in today. After a full day in London at a conference and then taking my son to his evening class I just had enough time to squeeze in a brick session (45m Bike 30m run) before picking him up again. A very average session. My rump is still very saw after the bike crash and I am wondering if I should be running at all. I will review tomorrow.

Here we go again.....

Swim this morning (3k), then a 1hr run this evening, pretty steady. Bored with saying this but I am really tired.

The begining of the build phase

I can’t believe that I have completed the first 10 weeks of the programme and there is still 20 weeks to go. Although I was exercising before the start of the programme, I didn’t train with the same intensity or consistency and today I am absolutely exhausted. I am wondering if one nights sleep will be enough to recover in order to complete the run and swim scheduled for tomorrow.

As I look through the schedule for the coming weeks, the volume and intensity increases and the sheer relentlessness of it seems like a massive challenge. All I can do is take one day at a time.

A painful end to the base phase....and very tired

I woke up this morning with a very achy hip, neck and shoulder from yesterday’s collision and very tired. I decided to allow my body to wake up before running today. I wasn’t sure how much the pain would wear off so I thought I had better give it some time. I was still tired from yesterdays ride and was suffering from a headache. I couldn’t work out if that was de-hydration or the effects of hitting the tarmac, so I spent a bit of time taking on board fluids. I took the bike down to the cycle shop for a once over and to check for damage from yesteday. Later in the afternoon things improved a little so headed out of the door for a planned 90 minute run. The first 60 minutes were fine and reasonable quick, then things became difficult. Running downhill jarred my hip and glute which became very painful. I lost energy I the final 15 minutes and struggled to hit 9 minute miles. The hilly terrain contributed to a degree but as I reflect I think it was more likely that I was running at a lightly too higher heart rate and that the previous days events had taken a great deal out of me. In the end it took 90 minutes to barely cover 9.5 miles. Very slow.

Crunch!........Oh, I think that was me hitting that car door

A 3hr bike ride was on the schedule today. The weather was brightening up and the pace slightly up on last week. I was feeling good and had carefully negotiated my way around all of the busy roads. 2 hrs in I decided to take a B road through a quiet village where there was hardly any traffic. As I was passing a 4 wheel drive there was a loud bang which was me colliding with the rear passenger door as it swung open, I tried to avoid it but ended up hitting it with my left shoulder and was thrown over the handlebars landing on my hip and then head. Ouch. After a few minutes I staggered to my feet only to discover that apart from a couple of scuffs the bike was ride-able. I didn’t feel sick (I guessed that I wasn't concussed) and so after a conversation with the driver of the vehicle I tentatively rode on. Despite some very achy parts of my body I managed to finish the ride and completed 50 miles in 3 hrs 3 minutes. Not lightening fast but all things considered an ok outcome.

Tough day

Swam this morning, came home to the sad news that one of my closest and dearest friends died last night after a long battle with cancer. Ran this evening, didn't really know what else to do.

Paris is the "spin" time

Still in Paris. A spin session on the indoor bike in the hotel first thing this morning. 75 minutes and for the majority of the time well in excess of the 100 rpm. The stability of the indoor bike definitely allows for higher spin speeds, maxed out at 160 for about 3 seconds. Evening flight home and decided not to do the evening swim in as I was back from the airport a bit late and wanted to spend time with the family. Its no big deal as I know that I can slot it in tomorrow or Sunday.

Is it normal?

An extended brick session today, 45 mins on the bike (a quite reasonable one in the gym, good saddle) then 30 mins of the treadmill. Not a bad session, but it did seem like hard work. The thought that I pondered on the bike, as a sat overlooking the most uninspiring view of Paris was:


“Does it feel like hard work because I am always training at a point where I am likely to be tired by design, or am I simply getting worse, not fuelling properly etc etc?”

Maybe I should ask around a few chums who are in the know!

"The bells the bells, I wish I was made of stone?”

Still tired this morning and also from a family perspective it would have been inappropriate to swim, so I left it until lunchtime. What a mistake, despite the pool being divided into slow medium and fast lanes I struggled to see the difference. I did my best to crack on but soon became disillusioned with having to dodge through as sea (or pool) of bodies that on occasions didn’t appear to be moving.. I did an hour of various drills etc but it didn’t feel satisfying, perhaps I am more driven by numbers than I thought. The appeal of being able to say to myself 120 “non stop” is pretty strong. Perhaps I am over tired and need more recovery time or maybe I need some familiar (if not friendly) faces to compete against. I sometimes wonder how much of this is about proving something to others as well as myself. This afternoon I flew to Paris for work and so this evening, after checking in, I hit the streets for a 1hr run. It was great. Very cold and breezy but it was wonderful to be running past. such iconic landmarks. The highlight was running past the Notre Dame, all floodlit and magnificent. Unfortunately the writing on the map I had with me was so small I couldn’t make out road names so the run went on a little longer than I had anticipated. I went straight into the gym when I made it back to the hotel to continue my efforts to shore up my glutes. All in all not a bad day!

Here we go again

Another welcome recovery day. As I travelled home from work today, I was struck by the relentless nature of this training. I should be back in the pool again toimorrow but I am wondering if I will make it. Very tired indeed. 

A steady close to the week

I woke bright and early this morning thinking that it would be good to get in an unscheduled swim, maybe half an hour or so. So at 7am I entered the pool exactly one hour before the adult lane session finished. My last swim was 120 lengths split into 2 x 60s, and I didn’t feel that I would be able to replicate that so I set of with the intent of doing maybe 60 then get out and go to the gym to work on my glutes. The swim felt good and as I built up the lengths I wondered if I could maybe stretch it to 80. 80 turned to 100 and eventually I climbed out doing the full 120 non stop within the hour. Amazing what I can do when I don’t put my mind to it.

The sun was out all day and despite feeling very tired managed to get out for mid afternoon run. Colder than expected but a steady 1.25 hours. Trying to focus on keeping head high and to not heal strike, which is tougher than it sounds. Towards the hour mark I realized that I have a tendency to run with a straight lead leg. I tried to bend it slightly and despite feeling like I was “comedy running” it did seem to shift the strike to more mid foot, overall the run felt solid.

Following some stretching I did some squats to try to even up my glutes which is something I think is important to pay attention to. The video footage from podiatrist was quite alarming showing how my back goes out of line when I plant my right foot. I am sure this will affect my hip and everything south.

On balance I am pleased with the way the week has evolved. I didn’t expect to be back to running and the swim and bike are coming along. I have surprised myself a couple of times and although the bike and run are pretty slow my hope is that speed will pick up in the next phase.

Alleluia, here comes the sun

Bike today, 2.75 hours and the first time outside for ages and the sun actually came out (for about 10 minutes). Ever since I started on the rollers indoors I have been curious about how it will have affected my performance on the road. I was expecting a real lift to my speed. Silly me! On balance I guess it was ok to take a balanced view:

One the negative side:

• The ride was slow (average 16mph) which gives me 7hrs for the 112 miles. In fact slower than I was riding 6 months ago,
• I suffered towards the end with my neck and shoulders.
• I had a little lower back ache in the first hour

On the positive side

• When I had finished I felt that I could have carried on for another 30 minutes.
• The course is pretty hilly and I coped ok (big climb near the end)
• I felt that my handling of the bike was far improved
• On the flat sections I was averaging 18 mph plus
• I didn’t suffer from “saddle fatigue”

So on balance I guess it was a good ride and it feels good to have covered 45 miles which feels like touching distance of the 56 miles for the half iron in May. That at least now is feeling a little more doable. Next week the goal is 3 hrs and my hope is that I will get even closer to the magic halfway mark.

To be honest as I reflect on it..I feel quite proud.

Tales of the unexpected

If I live to be a hundred I will never understand my legs and feet. Over the past few days my ankle has been aching especially when I first walk after sitting or sleeping. This morning I had no idea what I was going to do for training today. I was due to run, but then I could have substituted the run for a swim if my calf/ankle was bad..... bah blah blah. However, when I was out this morning mid morning snack hunting I strolled in to pharmacist and bought a pair of orthotics. I figured that maybe the issue wasn't running that was causing the pain but everyday walking around in shoes. Now I have no doubt that a properly fitted pair will be infinitely better than an off the shelf pair, but I wanted to see if they affected my ankle pain. Surprisingly since I fitted them my ankle has calmed down and this evening I ran for an hour with no issue with ankle or calf. This is no long term solution and it was only one day so I will see how things are tomorrow.

A day of 3 halves

Following on from yesterdays very short run, I decided to push things a little this morning so headed out early for half an hour run. Calf felt fine however I am not so sure about my ankle which has been bothering me all day. It is fine when I run but when I sit for a while, standing up is pretty painful for the first few yards. Another challenge I guess.

This evening before going to my swim lesson I did a half hour on the bike which I think was a bit of a mistake. It left me tired and by the time it came to swim drills I am not sure I was able to give my best. I would usually stay on and do a further few lengths but tonight I couldn’t wait to get out of the pool and get home. It didn’t help that I hadn’t fueled well this afternoon so I may have run out of steam half way through the lesson.

Easy does it.....

Following an appointment this morning with a podiatrist I now know why I wasn’t born to run. The video footage of my stride pattern would have been funny if it wasn’t so tragic. However, I walked away with some exercises to correct:

– The lack of flexibility in my calf muscles

– The poor muscle tone of my right glute
– The fact that my big toes don’t bend as they should
And the possibility (or not) of spending a small fortune on orthotics

However, this evening I hit the rollers for 45 minutes with a view to finish off with a very easy run. The bike was great, I found the “average” setting on my speedo and was chuffed to average 20mph. Then with great trepidation I pulled on the running shoes and hit the road for a very gentle run. It was only 15 minutes, but enough to see how the calf was feeling. So far so good, I will see how it feels first thing in the morning and if it is ok may venture out for a slightly longer run.

A good start to the week.

Today I swam early and managed another good session, 120 lengths, 10 with then 10 without the swim buoy, broken into two sets of 60. I fell very pleased with the distances that I am achieving considering that I only really learned how to swim crawl properly 12 months ago. Out of the three disciplines the swim is the one that I feel most confident about.

This evening should have been a run, but instead I biked on the rollers for an hour. I was a pretty businesslike session. I managed to maintain 20mph for most of the time whilst keeping my heart rate within the target range. Nothing to report except that it felt a fairly easy session.

Planning for a run free week

The main goal for this week is to ensure that I can maintain and possibly build fitness in spite of not being able to run. For tomorrow I will substitute a bike session in the evening and if my calf is still causing issues on Friday and Sunday I will substitute swims for those. I am cautious about increasing either swimming or biking by too much, because I don’t want to pick up another injury that means I lose another discipline. I might drop into the gym to see if the elliptical trainer is an option, if it is then I can build that in as an alternative.