Woodhall Spa cyclocross yesterday which was a much improved 2.2 mile course resulting in me not being lapped - a first I think, although not because I'm going any faster of course.
They split the seniors off from the Vets/Ladies, the aim being to reduce the chance of being lapped, and if it happened there would be less congestion. The main improvement though was the longer lap, although that presented a different challenge in that each hazard only occurred 4 times (for me) instead of 8-12 as it usually does, which was a good and bad thing in that I had less chance to improve things and conversely less chance of things going wrong. On balance, I think the longer lap is better.
Next week if Nettleham where a long lap will be very difficult to achieve given the limited space, but hopefully they will see the advantage of that and get more market tape out.
Monday, 10 November 2014
Monday, 3 November 2014
Dirty Boy.
Yesterday was cyclocross at Hubbards Hills. It had rained in the early hours, and didn't stop until just before the race at 12:15. This meant we had the most slip slidey race of the season where most of the slight rises were un-ridable resulting in lots of running resulting in being totally knackered and the bike was plastered with mud and grass.
Great stuff!
Great stuff!
Friday, 17 October 2014
Weekend warrior.
Still having a bit of motivational issues, but slowly improving. Had a good weekend, then followed up with rollers on Monday, 7 mile run on Tuesday so not too bad although nothing since (its now Friday) despite twice setting my alarm for an early run or rollers and turning ignoring it.
However, duathlon tomorrow at Clumber Park, then cyclocross on Sunday. The duathlon is off road - 5K, 18K, 3K so looking forward to doing well on the bike and average on the run, but last year I got a puncture within a mile of the bike so I hope for better than that. It was a snakebite puncture, so I've pumped them up more tan I should really, but a puncture would be bad news.
Cyclocross is at Sproxton near Grantham, which is basically a cow field on a hillside with nothing too scary except some off-camber sharp corners. Did Ok the last twice I've done it so lets hope I'm not too knackered after Saturday.
However, duathlon tomorrow at Clumber Park, then cyclocross on Sunday. The duathlon is off road - 5K, 18K, 3K so looking forward to doing well on the bike and average on the run, but last year I got a puncture within a mile of the bike so I hope for better than that. It was a snakebite puncture, so I've pumped them up more tan I should really, but a puncture would be bad news.
Cyclocross is at Sproxton near Grantham, which is basically a cow field on a hillside with nothing too scary except some off-camber sharp corners. Did Ok the last twice I've done it so lets hope I'm not too knackered after Saturday.
Monday, 13 October 2014
Just do it!
Its been a few days since my last entry here, and that's because motivation to do any training is sadly lacking at the moment.
Don't know if it's a Summer/Autumn thing as the warm days give way to the cold and dark, or me not having any specific goals, but whatever it is, it means that when I do get out to do a run/bike, I don't feel quite with it.
I did 7 mile son Saturday that should have been a breeze, but ended up feeling like I had done double that distance, and all attempts to get out early in the morning have floundered as I wake up bleary eyed and reset the alarm for a more amenable time of day.
The intention is to get out for a run when I get home from work tonight, so this means telling Mags so I don't get side-tracked by waiting food. If its raining I'll be on the rollers.
Don't know if it's a Summer/Autumn thing as the warm days give way to the cold and dark, or me not having any specific goals, but whatever it is, it means that when I do get out to do a run/bike, I don't feel quite with it.
I did 7 mile son Saturday that should have been a breeze, but ended up feeling like I had done double that distance, and all attempts to get out early in the morning have floundered as I wake up bleary eyed and reset the alarm for a more amenable time of day.
The intention is to get out for a run when I get home from work tonight, so this means telling Mags so I don't get side-tracked by waiting food. If its raining I'll be on the rollers.
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
Its the law!
Murphy's Law (or some other suitable Irish blokes's law) is that there is a fixed percentage of incompetent people in an organisation. This means that when those particular people leave/get sacked, then others' take their place to maintain the rule.
I think this rule applies to all sorts of places, government being one of them...and if its true, then I can talk myself into why I don't vote at elections any more.
Running last night, 7 miles at a decent pace and felt good. After suffering at Sunday's first cyclocross of the season I need to raise my game a bit. 10th in the Vet 50s is not good, in fact my worst ever result although there were a few new folk I had never raced against before.
Its South Ormsby on Sunday, one of my less liked courses (is that proppa English?), but has quite a few places where running is better for me who struggles getting over tree roots and other obstacles in one piece.
I think this rule applies to all sorts of places, government being one of them...and if its true, then I can talk myself into why I don't vote at elections any more.
Running last night, 7 miles at a decent pace and felt good. After suffering at Sunday's first cyclocross of the season I need to raise my game a bit. 10th in the Vet 50s is not good, in fact my worst ever result although there were a few new folk I had never raced against before.
Its South Ormsby on Sunday, one of my less liked courses (is that proppa English?), but has quite a few places where running is better for me who struggles getting over tree roots and other obstacles in one piece.
Monday, 29 September 2014
Spalding
1st cyclocross of the season yesterday at Spanlding. I had forgotten how hard an hour of full-on, may heart rate effort is.
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
Doubling Up
Since the Outlaw, I think I have had double helpings of breakfast every single day. That's 2 x bowls of my favourite mix of cereals (usually 3 or 4 different varieties).
When training, I would have a single bowl of porridge to see me through the day, but now I am doing less training, it's more breakfast.
Another observation is that although I am doing much less mileage than during the Outlaw training, I have more aches and pains.
Maybe I need to do more.
When training, I would have a single bowl of porridge to see me through the day, but now I am doing less training, it's more breakfast.
Another observation is that although I am doing much less mileage than during the Outlaw training, I have more aches and pains.
Maybe I need to do more.
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Brief Encouter.
50 miles on the bike Saturday, which is the longest since the Outlaw and took in the Trent via Brigg, returning through Kirton Lindsey and Brandy Wharf.
Yesterday, I ran 6 miles back from son-in-law #3's farm, and felt reasonably good, so all in all a good weekend's exercise.
Not much else to say here, so it's goodbye from me.
Yesterday, I ran 6 miles back from son-in-law #3's farm, and felt reasonably good, so all in all a good weekend's exercise.
Not much else to say here, so it's goodbye from me.
Thursday, 21 August 2014
Sole Provider
I'm not sure if it's a bruised foot, or something more sinister like Mortens Neuroma. It feels like a bruised foot, but I've never had it before so I'm automatically thinking it's worse than that.
It started towards the end of my 7 mile run on Tuesday and although it has eased off today (Thursday) it still bothers me a bit - physically and mentally.
Mortens Neuroma (or similar) is something to do with your bones not having enough to room in the shoe, and can be attributed to wearing high heels, but also from wearing ill-fitting running shoes. In my case, I'm fairly sure it's not the high heels and my shoes are definitely not squeezing my feet, so despite my pessimistic view it much be some sort of bruising/ache/pain.
It's slightly interesting how one's mind wanders on to 'worse case scenarios' in cases like these, but then rational self interjects and makes you sleep a bit better.
If it's not raining I plan on a bike ride tonight, keeping off the feet for a few days.
It started towards the end of my 7 mile run on Tuesday and although it has eased off today (Thursday) it still bothers me a bit - physically and mentally.
Mortens Neuroma (or similar) is something to do with your bones not having enough to room in the shoe, and can be attributed to wearing high heels, but also from wearing ill-fitting running shoes. In my case, I'm fairly sure it's not the high heels and my shoes are definitely not squeezing my feet, so despite my pessimistic view it much be some sort of bruising/ache/pain.
It's slightly interesting how one's mind wanders on to 'worse case scenarios' in cases like these, but then rational self interjects and makes you sleep a bit better.
If it's not raining I plan on a bike ride tonight, keeping off the feet for a few days.
Monday, 18 August 2014
Hunger pangs.
Is hunger all in the mind?
Bit of a silly question really, as all feelings are in the mind to a greater or lesser extent, but the question is really - what drives you to feel hungry? ..and I'm not sure of that one.
Since the Outlaw I seem to have eaten much more than I used to, and worse than that, a great deal of it is the rubbish, processed, unhealthy stuff that any self-respecting athlete should avoid.
That said, I have now acknowledged the fact, so I should be on my way now to a more healthy approach. Its been 3 weeks since the Outlaw so I should have replenished my glycogen reserves etc by now. I read an article on iron distance recovery that calculated (after inputting some arbitrary data) that my recovery time would be about 44 days, so I'm half way there.
Did a good 90 minute cyclocross stint yesterday in what were quite windy conditions. Nothing too difficult, but a few miles of it was along part of the Ancholme that I have never explored before, and now I've been there, I won't be rushing back until they have cut the nettles. My shins are still tingling.
Bit of a silly question really, as all feelings are in the mind to a greater or lesser extent, but the question is really - what drives you to feel hungry? ..and I'm not sure of that one.
Since the Outlaw I seem to have eaten much more than I used to, and worse than that, a great deal of it is the rubbish, processed, unhealthy stuff that any self-respecting athlete should avoid.
That said, I have now acknowledged the fact, so I should be on my way now to a more healthy approach. Its been 3 weeks since the Outlaw so I should have replenished my glycogen reserves etc by now. I read an article on iron distance recovery that calculated (after inputting some arbitrary data) that my recovery time would be about 44 days, so I'm half way there.
Did a good 90 minute cyclocross stint yesterday in what were quite windy conditions. Nothing too difficult, but a few miles of it was along part of the Ancholme that I have never explored before, and now I've been there, I won't be rushing back until they have cut the nettles. My shins are still tingling.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Letters hope Bertha has gone away.
Just a reasonably quick 5 miler round the village last night. It decided to rain quite hard half way round but I dried off soon after due to the wind. The weather has not been so good the last few days with momentous rain at the weekend and high winds due to the remnants of hurricane Bertha. Given that every hurricane is named alphabetically throughout the season, then this must be quite an early one.
I wonder if they ever run out of letters?
I wonder if they ever run out of letters?
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Decision, decisions...
Training since the Outlaw:
1 x 26 mile road bike (no probs)
1 x 7 mile run (painful)
1 x 10 mile CX bike (no probs)
1 x 5 mile run (no probs)
And another 5 miler planned for this evening, so I think I can start moving on now - it was just over 2 weeks ago so just have to watch the distance.
The debate I'm having with myself though, is what to target for next year? They don't get much bigger than the iron distance, at least not without some serious running distances (and they're not for me I'm sure) so do I do some quality shorter ones? I can understand why people keep entering iron distance though, it gives you a real focus a long way off. Shorter distances need less preparation and therefore I wouldn't have one big target, but a few smaller ones.
I probably just need to get my head round it, get some entered and plan accordingly.
The cyclocross season starts towards the end of September, so that will keep me occupied until Christmas, and there's 3 x off-road duathlons I could enter if I find a few quid (they are £40 each!), and that even leads me into wondering if to try a few duathlons instead of triathlons. That would alleviate the swimming pressure.
..and then there's the Olympic distance triathlons that would probably suit me quite well now that my cycling is up to speed.
Watch this space.
1 x 26 mile road bike (no probs)
1 x 7 mile run (painful)
1 x 10 mile CX bike (no probs)
1 x 5 mile run (no probs)
And another 5 miler planned for this evening, so I think I can start moving on now - it was just over 2 weeks ago so just have to watch the distance.
The debate I'm having with myself though, is what to target for next year? They don't get much bigger than the iron distance, at least not without some serious running distances (and they're not for me I'm sure) so do I do some quality shorter ones? I can understand why people keep entering iron distance though, it gives you a real focus a long way off. Shorter distances need less preparation and therefore I wouldn't have one big target, but a few smaller ones.
I probably just need to get my head round it, get some entered and plan accordingly.
The cyclocross season starts towards the end of September, so that will keep me occupied until Christmas, and there's 3 x off-road duathlons I could enter if I find a few quid (they are £40 each!), and that even leads me into wondering if to try a few duathlons instead of triathlons. That would alleviate the swimming pressure.
..and then there's the Olympic distance triathlons that would probably suit me quite well now that my cycling is up to speed.
Watch this space.
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Ouch
5 miles run last night - not a very pleasant experience. My left thigh felt like it had been dead-legged and was as stiff as a lump of wood whilst the rest of my lower limbs were not impressed with having to move.
When I had finished, the knee also started to complain and the remainder of the evening was quite uncomfortable. However, today everything seems to be back to some sort of normality but I'll not be trying that again until the weekend.
When I had finished, the knee also started to complain and the remainder of the evening was quite uncomfortable. However, today everything seems to be back to some sort of normality but I'll not be trying that again until the weekend.
Monday, 4 August 2014
The End.
11hrs 41mins - I never predicted that except in one of my dreams. It earned me 3rd in the 55-59 age group, 240th overall including 30 teams, so distinctly above average.
Last year that would have got me 1st age grouper, but I'm not complaining, I still got a nice bit of Outlawized Perspex for the mantelpiece.
I haven't done any exercise of course since Sunday, and I have eaten quite a lot of junk without going too over the top. I'm planning an hour on the bike at the weekend then I might venture out for a jog on Tuesday or Wednesday. I even got a bit of gardening done last night.
The swim, as you might expect, was bedlam at the start. 1200 wet-suited swimmers all vying for a fairly narrow channel and I was knocked and buffeted for at least half an hour before clear water started to appear in front. It was only when I turned the buoy at the half way point that I would say I had some space.
I emerged from the water in 1:14, at least 5 minutes better than my best expectations, although I didn't get my time until I had finished, I really had no idea how fast/slow I was and with the argy-bargy at the start I assumed it was fairly slow.
Towards the end of the swim, I began to feel quite emotional. Good job I was wearing goggles.
The best think about finishing the swim though was not feeling tired. My plan was to exit the water as if I hadn't done it, and it worked.
Transition 1 was not as quick as I would have liked. I didn't like all my kit being stuffed in a bag, and getting socks on despite a dry off with a towel was not easy. However, I emerged after about 5 minutes which was nowhere near the fastest, but I reckon some people showered they were so long.
There was a bit of a back wind for the first 15 miles or so on the bike, and my planned 'keep in HR zone 2' was easily maintained whilst managing a much faster than expected 20+mph. I hit a maximum average of 21.3mph towards the end of the first 35 mile loop, and thereafter bounced up and down from 20 - 20.9mph.
There was a nice bit of downhill as the Northern loop joined up with the Southern, and I got back up to 21mph again although I was starting to stray into zone 3 for quite a lot of the time. Anything above zone 2 is eating into reserves, so in theory I should stay out of zone 3.
The 15 miles or so back to Holme Pierrepont was into what was now a fresh breeze, so I finished at 19.7mph average for a time of 5:47.
Getting going on the run took a while to kick in, and after the first mile or so I settled into what was far too quick a pace at around 8 mins/mile. My HR was also far too high so I had to consciously slow down and relax to try and bring things under control. It was only as I was well past 5 miles that I felt like I was going the right pace, but by then it was probably too late.
As I passed by the finish at the half way point the winner was arriving, but I trudged on, getting slower and slower.
At around 16 miles I was approaching 'survival shuffle' stage and I knew that dropping into that was worse (efficiency-wise) than walking, whereupon I started what was to become a continuous walk/run for the remaining 10 miles.
I had some decent running spells, but there seemed to be nothing in the tank and a brisk(ish) walk every half mile or so seemed to perk me up a bit and kept me going.
The final finishing straight was greeted with a broad smile, and some relief as the marathon ended at 4:31. Not such a bad time considering what preceded it, but I was hoping for nearer 4hrs.
So, all in all quite a successful day and didn't feel too bad at the end. No collapsing in a heap, and able to negotiate going down stairs quite easily.
I will not be trying it again in 2015, but I'm not saying never again. Watch this space.
Last year that would have got me 1st age grouper, but I'm not complaining, I still got a nice bit of Outlawized Perspex for the mantelpiece.
I haven't done any exercise of course since Sunday, and I have eaten quite a lot of junk without going too over the top. I'm planning an hour on the bike at the weekend then I might venture out for a jog on Tuesday or Wednesday. I even got a bit of gardening done last night.
The swim, as you might expect, was bedlam at the start. 1200 wet-suited swimmers all vying for a fairly narrow channel and I was knocked and buffeted for at least half an hour before clear water started to appear in front. It was only when I turned the buoy at the half way point that I would say I had some space.
I emerged from the water in 1:14, at least 5 minutes better than my best expectations, although I didn't get my time until I had finished, I really had no idea how fast/slow I was and with the argy-bargy at the start I assumed it was fairly slow.
Towards the end of the swim, I began to feel quite emotional. Good job I was wearing goggles.
The best think about finishing the swim though was not feeling tired. My plan was to exit the water as if I hadn't done it, and it worked.
Transition 1 was not as quick as I would have liked. I didn't like all my kit being stuffed in a bag, and getting socks on despite a dry off with a towel was not easy. However, I emerged after about 5 minutes which was nowhere near the fastest, but I reckon some people showered they were so long.
There was a bit of a back wind for the first 15 miles or so on the bike, and my planned 'keep in HR zone 2' was easily maintained whilst managing a much faster than expected 20+mph. I hit a maximum average of 21.3mph towards the end of the first 35 mile loop, and thereafter bounced up and down from 20 - 20.9mph.
There was a nice bit of downhill as the Northern loop joined up with the Southern, and I got back up to 21mph again although I was starting to stray into zone 3 for quite a lot of the time. Anything above zone 2 is eating into reserves, so in theory I should stay out of zone 3.
The 15 miles or so back to Holme Pierrepont was into what was now a fresh breeze, so I finished at 19.7mph average for a time of 5:47.
Getting going on the run took a while to kick in, and after the first mile or so I settled into what was far too quick a pace at around 8 mins/mile. My HR was also far too high so I had to consciously slow down and relax to try and bring things under control. It was only as I was well past 5 miles that I felt like I was going the right pace, but by then it was probably too late.
As I passed by the finish at the half way point the winner was arriving, but I trudged on, getting slower and slower.
At around 16 miles I was approaching 'survival shuffle' stage and I knew that dropping into that was worse (efficiency-wise) than walking, whereupon I started what was to become a continuous walk/run for the remaining 10 miles.
I had some decent running spells, but there seemed to be nothing in the tank and a brisk(ish) walk every half mile or so seemed to perk me up a bit and kept me going.
The final finishing straight was greeted with a broad smile, and some relief as the marathon ended at 4:31. Not such a bad time considering what preceded it, but I was hoping for nearer 4hrs.
So, all in all quite a successful day and didn't feel too bad at the end. No collapsing in a heap, and able to negotiate going down stairs quite easily.
I will not be trying it again in 2015, but I'm not saying never again. Watch this space.
Friday, 25 July 2014
Lies, damn Lies, and running statistics
Since I started running, I have always been fascinated by statistics. In the 80s, when I first decided that running was a reasonably sensible leisure activity to do, I kept an A4 sheet of paper taped to my locker at work where I meticulously recorded my daily mileage, adding up the weekly, monthly and annual totals.
Mileage was everything in those days with a few fartlek/strides sessions thrown in to get your speed work going for good measure but if I wasn't hitting my X miles per week, I was disappointed. I really wish I had kept those sheets of paper, they were the forerunner to the spreadsheet and online version I use now, but needed a whole lot more work. What I would have given back then for someone to invent spreadsheets - maybe he/she was a runner!
One of the major drawbacks to the manual log was the potential for inaccuracies. A great deal of rounding up occurred, although I always convinced myself I was being fair and reasonable when I was probably just making myself look/feel good. I always remember one of my older running colleagues telling me (on more than one occasion) that .."the easiest person to fool is yourself" and with running logs there was never a truer word said.
However, with the introduction of GPS tracking, all that guesswork and invention is a thing of the past, and there's an amazing array of different views of essentially the same data but with a different perspective. More importantly, the only thing you have to cough up for is the tracking device itself - a suitable GPS enabled watch or phone. All the websites I am aware of offer a free version as well as some enhanced features for a monthly fee. I use a Garmin watch which comes complete with a www.garminconnect.com account, but synchronize the activities with Strava.com and Fetcheveryone.com, the latter being completely free.
Fectcheveryone started life as a running site, but has expanded reasonably well to include cyclists, swimmers and triathletes. This seems to be visited by lots of different types of users, from joggers to Olympic racers and 5K Park Runners to ultra runners.
Strava has a cycling background (I think) but also incorporates running and swimming to a degree and is aimed at the more competitive loggers who register 'segments' where they can compare themselves to everyone else as well as providing good statistics on totals, targets etc. The premium version calculates 'suffer score' based on heart rate, age, weight, speed etc. just to see how much you can suffer compared to other ordinary mortals. Strava has the advantage of also having an iPhone and Android app that logs the run/ride and uploads accordingly without needing a GPS watch.
Because I can, I also automatically synchronize activities with Runkeeper, but only because I found a 3rd a party website that did it easily. I haven't logged onto Runkeeper for ages so don't know if it's improved or not but it was pretty basic stats when I used it as an app on my iPhone.
The other website of note is Trainingpeaks.com which was started by a couple coaches and former professional triathletes. This allows you to log absolutely everything about your training - the basic GPS data, meals (inc. calories, protein levels etc etc), feelings, weather etc. as well as providing a comprehensive planning tool for activities and meals. In my opinion, it's over the top for 99% of people, but given my recent iron distance training experience, it's not too over the top it just depends how much of your life the training takes over. In my case, quite a lot, but not completely.
Here's a quick overview of my training stats since 1st Jan when my official iron distance plan started.
Swim: 63.1 miles
Biked : 3173 miles
Run: 841 miles
Total time: 339hrs, that's just over 14 days continuous training.
It should have been more, having reduced the planned swim hours by 1 session per week and sometimes not even doing as much as the plan some days, so if anyone stuck to the plan in it's entirety that's an awful lot of training.
Anyway, the big day is on Sunday and I've gathered most of my gear together and packed the caravan. There's quite a bit to do on Saturday to get ready, and I need some time set aside to worry about what I have forgotten to bring/do.
So that's it. The last short bike ride tonight to make sure nothing falls off and everything moves in the right direction then leave for Holme Pierrepont tomorrow morning.
I'm told to smile all the way round because Channel 4 are filming. I'm sure that one of those will be difficult towards the end of the day.
13hrs should be within 'easy' reach, so 12hrs is my stretch target. Reality will probably be somewhere in between.
Mileage was everything in those days with a few fartlek/strides sessions thrown in to get your speed work going for good measure but if I wasn't hitting my X miles per week, I was disappointed. I really wish I had kept those sheets of paper, they were the forerunner to the spreadsheet and online version I use now, but needed a whole lot more work. What I would have given back then for someone to invent spreadsheets - maybe he/she was a runner!
One of the major drawbacks to the manual log was the potential for inaccuracies. A great deal of rounding up occurred, although I always convinced myself I was being fair and reasonable when I was probably just making myself look/feel good. I always remember one of my older running colleagues telling me (on more than one occasion) that .."the easiest person to fool is yourself" and with running logs there was never a truer word said.
However, with the introduction of GPS tracking, all that guesswork and invention is a thing of the past, and there's an amazing array of different views of essentially the same data but with a different perspective. More importantly, the only thing you have to cough up for is the tracking device itself - a suitable GPS enabled watch or phone. All the websites I am aware of offer a free version as well as some enhanced features for a monthly fee. I use a Garmin watch which comes complete with a www.garminconnect.com account, but synchronize the activities with Strava.com and Fetcheveryone.com, the latter being completely free.
Fectcheveryone started life as a running site, but has expanded reasonably well to include cyclists, swimmers and triathletes. This seems to be visited by lots of different types of users, from joggers to Olympic racers and 5K Park Runners to ultra runners.
Strava has a cycling background (I think) but also incorporates running and swimming to a degree and is aimed at the more competitive loggers who register 'segments' where they can compare themselves to everyone else as well as providing good statistics on totals, targets etc. The premium version calculates 'suffer score' based on heart rate, age, weight, speed etc. just to see how much you can suffer compared to other ordinary mortals. Strava has the advantage of also having an iPhone and Android app that logs the run/ride and uploads accordingly without needing a GPS watch.
Because I can, I also automatically synchronize activities with Runkeeper, but only because I found a 3rd a party website that did it easily. I haven't logged onto Runkeeper for ages so don't know if it's improved or not but it was pretty basic stats when I used it as an app on my iPhone.
The other website of note is Trainingpeaks.com which was started by a couple coaches and former professional triathletes. This allows you to log absolutely everything about your training - the basic GPS data, meals (inc. calories, protein levels etc etc), feelings, weather etc. as well as providing a comprehensive planning tool for activities and meals. In my opinion, it's over the top for 99% of people, but given my recent iron distance training experience, it's not too over the top it just depends how much of your life the training takes over. In my case, quite a lot, but not completely.
Here's a quick overview of my training stats since 1st Jan when my official iron distance plan started.
Swim: 63.1 miles
Biked : 3173 miles
Run: 841 miles
Total time: 339hrs, that's just over 14 days continuous training.
It should have been more, having reduced the planned swim hours by 1 session per week and sometimes not even doing as much as the plan some days, so if anyone stuck to the plan in it's entirety that's an awful lot of training.
Anyway, the big day is on Sunday and I've gathered most of my gear together and packed the caravan. There's quite a bit to do on Saturday to get ready, and I need some time set aside to worry about what I have forgotten to bring/do.
I'm told to smile all the way round because Channel 4 are filming. I'm sure that one of those will be difficult towards the end of the day.
13hrs should be within 'easy' reach, so 12hrs is my stretch target. Reality will probably be somewhere in between.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Picklist
Rest day on Monday, just an hour on the bike yesterday with 2 decent night's sleep so far this week.
When I say 'decent' I mean not having to set my alarm for 4:30.
Mind you, the dog woke me on Monday morning around 5:30 wanting to go out, but I was able to get back off again.
I'll be doing my last swim tonight in the lake, a short run tomorrow and probably short bike on Friday.
I'm travelling first thing Saturday morning with the caravan + spouse with a plan to get to pick up my numbers etc. late morning, then attend the briefing after lunch. I then have until 5 to get my gear in the right bags for the transitions, bike in it's allocated spot and the rest of the day worrying about what I've forgotten.
I have a list that I keep perusing, and it's getting quite long, mainly with contingency items that does not (as of today) include the proverbial kitchen sink, but there's time yet.
When I say 'decent' I mean not having to set my alarm for 4:30.
Mind you, the dog woke me on Monday morning around 5:30 wanting to go out, but I was able to get back off again.
I'll be doing my last swim tonight in the lake, a short run tomorrow and probably short bike on Friday.
I'm travelling first thing Saturday morning with the caravan + spouse with a plan to get to pick up my numbers etc. late morning, then attend the briefing after lunch. I then have until 5 to get my gear in the right bags for the transitions, bike in it's allocated spot and the rest of the day worrying about what I've forgotten.
I have a list that I keep perusing, and it's getting quite long, mainly with contingency items that does not (as of today) include the proverbial kitchen sink, but there's time yet.
Monday, 21 July 2014
Sicko
It's Monday, with less than a week to go to the main event.
This means that the taper is getting thinner with only 5 hours planned for this week. That excludes the race, obviously.
I did my last 'long' bike ride yesterday, only it wasn't really long, just the longest of the week at 42 miles. Worryingly, I felt more niggles with my knee, hamstring and shin than I have done all year, but I can only assume that this is some psychological effect as the date gets nearer. Even as I sit here I can feel an abductor straining, and don't get me started about the sore throat that's been threatening all week.
People say I'm suffering from hypochondria - I'm sick of hearing it.
The doctor prescribed anti-hypochondria tablets, but I'm worried about the side effects.
This means that the taper is getting thinner with only 5 hours planned for this week. That excludes the race, obviously.
I did my last 'long' bike ride yesterday, only it wasn't really long, just the longest of the week at 42 miles. Worryingly, I felt more niggles with my knee, hamstring and shin than I have done all year, but I can only assume that this is some psychological effect as the date gets nearer. Even as I sit here I can feel an abductor straining, and don't get me started about the sore throat that's been threatening all week.
People say I'm suffering from hypochondria - I'm sick of hearing it.
The doctor prescribed anti-hypochondria tablets, but I'm worried about the side effects.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Twit.
Just 3 laps of the lake last night, which is about 2.4k. It was quite warm and really clear, so much so that I was distracted by assorted fish feeding at the bottom. There's also seems to be a large number of smaller species swimming near the surface, about 30mm long and probably stickleback sort of size which we used to fish for with jam jars in the local dyke. If we were luck we would catch a newt, probably making that species even more rare.
You have to swim straight through these smaller fish, who appear to be unaffected by swimmers and never seem to try and get out of the way. I've never stopped to inspect them, maybe they're bits of weed. This reminds me of the owl we had perched on a telegraph post that I could see from the house. After a couple of days of it being there and me telling a few people about our own personal owl, I looked a little closer and realised it was a plastic bag.
You have to swim straight through these smaller fish, who appear to be unaffected by swimmers and never seem to try and get out of the way. I've never stopped to inspect them, maybe they're bits of weed. This reminds me of the owl we had perched on a telegraph post that I could see from the house. After a couple of days of it being there and me telling a few people about our own personal owl, I looked a little closer and realised it was a plastic bag.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Tapering off
I'm not 100% sure if I'm doing the right thing, but I'm keeping the frequency up and reducing volume as per the accepted wisdom for this taper period. There's some debate about 2 week v. 3 week taper, and some even say to back off at 4 weeks to go. So what does a beginner like me do? Take the middle 3 week option knowing that it can't all go Pete Tong at this stage. ...Can it?
I hope not, but my 8 mile run last night was hampered by my knee shouting at 6 miles. I was hoping that as the miles reduced then the knee would respond favourably and last longer, but it just seems to have these random spasms of giving me grief. I was going a reasonable pace for me, around 8 mins/mile rather then race pace of 8:30s so I'm hoping that was the root cause of it. If not, I'm in for a long 26 miles.
Tried out my new corporate race kit on the run, and it felt perfectly OK. The shorts had a bit of 'have I got a nappy on?' feel to them, akin to 'does my bum look big in this' but I'm hoping that was just because I've been used to normal running shorts.
It was good to get out on the bike for 26 miles this morning at the start of a beautiful day, the sun rising over Caistor top as I headed for home. Average of 20.1 mph and felt like I could do it all day. Well, for another hour at least.
I hope not, but my 8 mile run last night was hampered by my knee shouting at 6 miles. I was hoping that as the miles reduced then the knee would respond favourably and last longer, but it just seems to have these random spasms of giving me grief. I was going a reasonable pace for me, around 8 mins/mile rather then race pace of 8:30s so I'm hoping that was the root cause of it. If not, I'm in for a long 26 miles.
Tried out my new corporate race kit on the run, and it felt perfectly OK. The shorts had a bit of 'have I got a nappy on?' feel to them, akin to 'does my bum look big in this' but I'm hoping that was just because I've been used to normal running shorts.
It was good to get out on the bike for 26 miles this morning at the start of a beautiful day, the sun rising over Caistor top as I headed for home. Average of 20.1 mph and felt like I could do it all day. Well, for another hour at least.
Monday, 14 July 2014
Reduced Fat.
It s a good job the training volume was greatly reduced last week, because my available time was even less, resulting in 6 hours less than the plan.
However, I had a reasonable swim in the lake, did a comfortable 10 miler around Castle Howard estate and rounded off the weekend with a fairly swift Caistor 10K 'Sting in the Tail' race on Sunday. 1 minute faster than last year and felt good even when I'd finished, keeping a good pace up the hills (the sting) and about 7:15 pace on the flat.
To make amends for the reduced week, I have foregone today's rest day and did an early 6 miles round the village and back. 9:35 is the planned total for this week, so I'm aiming for a bit over that to compensate for last week. Don't know if that's a sensible decision, but wouldn't be surprised if I don't make the 9:35 either!
However, I had a reasonable swim in the lake, did a comfortable 10 miler around Castle Howard estate and rounded off the weekend with a fairly swift Caistor 10K 'Sting in the Tail' race on Sunday. 1 minute faster than last year and felt good even when I'd finished, keeping a good pace up the hills (the sting) and about 7:15 pace on the flat.
To make amends for the reduced week, I have foregone today's rest day and did an early 6 miles round the village and back. 9:35 is the planned total for this week, so I'm aiming for a bit over that to compensate for last week. Don't know if that's a sensible decision, but wouldn't be surprised if I don't make the 9:35 either!
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Wet
I'm quite comfortable with this tapering phase - the theory is to reduce volume whilst keeping the frequency with a bit of intensity thrown in. At the moment I'm reducing all 3.
The starting numbers were published yesterday, I'm 1131 out of 1160. The numbers start at the youngest age group, so there's obviously not many older than me. Can't wait till I'm 65, there's only 6 in that category.
3 laps of the lake last night which was a bit choppy in a fairly strong wind resulting in unplanned mouthfuls of water at certain stages. Intended to do 4 laps, but needed a pitstop and couldn't bear the thought of washing my wetsuit out.
This could be me...
The starting numbers were published yesterday, I'm 1131 out of 1160. The numbers start at the youngest age group, so there's obviously not many older than me. Can't wait till I'm 65, there's only 6 in that category.
3 laps of the lake last night which was a bit choppy in a fairly strong wind resulting in unplanned mouthfuls of water at certain stages. Intended to do 4 laps, but needed a pitstop and couldn't bear the thought of washing my wetsuit out.
This could be me...
But probably more like this..
Monday, 7 July 2014
That's a big one..
A mammoth 122 miles on Friday as I went round the 1st stage of the TdF. The rain came just after half way which was a bit of a dampener, but I survived intact and followed up with a 2 hour run on Sunday. This put me up to 17:45 for the week against a plan of 17:20 so as well as just going over the planned total, I also got a good long ride in which the lack of has been bugging me for a couple of weeks.
So, the 3 week taper starts here, reducing to 13hrs for this week, 9 the week after. This means I might be less tired and less hungry, although unfortunately this has not kicked in yet.
So, the 3 week taper starts here, reducing to 13hrs for this week, 9 the week after. This means I might be less tired and less hungry, although unfortunately this has not kicked in yet.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Barking Mad.
Getting out of bed this morning was made easier by the dog barking to be let out. She must have known that I forgot to set my alarm because it was spot on 4:30.
Not that it was mentally any easier, it was just that the barking spurred me on to do something about it, which was her aim I suppose.
Anyway, seeing as that I was up and about I decided to get a run in. Not as nice a day as yesterday, but still warm enough for it not to feel like too much hard work, and I did almost 8 miles in just over an hour.
I noticed a stiff neck as I set off, probably a result of yesterday's swim in the lake and made me ponder what it (the neck) will feel like getting on the bike straight afterwards. As it turned out, the stiff neck discussion with myself didn't materialise into much and I forgot about it after a couple of hundred yards.
4 laps of the lake yesterday (about 2 miles) in 1hr 10mins, so that's about par for me. If I really try hard I can knock a few minutes off it, so what's the point of that given the scale of the event?
Not that it was mentally any easier, it was just that the barking spurred me on to do something about it, which was her aim I suppose.
Anyway, seeing as that I was up and about I decided to get a run in. Not as nice a day as yesterday, but still warm enough for it not to feel like too much hard work, and I did almost 8 miles in just over an hour.
I noticed a stiff neck as I set off, probably a result of yesterday's swim in the lake and made me ponder what it (the neck) will feel like getting on the bike straight afterwards. As it turned out, the stiff neck discussion with myself didn't materialise into much and I forgot about it after a couple of hundred yards.
4 laps of the lake yesterday (about 2 miles) in 1hr 10mins, so that's about par for me. If I really try hard I can knock a few minutes off it, so what's the point of that given the scale of the event?
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
I, Robot.
My legs are gradually seizing up, or at least that's what it feels like.
They're not, of course, but as I'm running along it seems like they are almost 'automated' in that they move in a fairly rigid fashion without much prompting from me as if they are disconnected from the rest of my body. ..or it could be my imagination.
They probably have a fair amount of lactic acid squishing about in them as the amount of training hits the peak, but I'm hoping this is temporary and I'll get back to some sort of normal feeling before the big day.
10 mile run this morning, and it was bright, warm and sunny which made it much easier to do. A planned 2 mile swim in the lake after work will keep me on schedule although I'm going to struggle to meet the target for the weekend due to a trip to watch the TdF on Fri/Sat.
Monday sees the start of the 3 week taper so if I need to get any more training it, it's too late.
They're not, of course, but as I'm running along it seems like they are almost 'automated' in that they move in a fairly rigid fashion without much prompting from me as if they are disconnected from the rest of my body. ..or it could be my imagination.
They probably have a fair amount of lactic acid squishing about in them as the amount of training hits the peak, but I'm hoping this is temporary and I'll get back to some sort of normal feeling before the big day.
10 mile run this morning, and it was bright, warm and sunny which made it much easier to do. A planned 2 mile swim in the lake after work will keep me on schedule although I'm going to struggle to meet the target for the weekend due to a trip to watch the TdF on Fri/Sat.
Monday sees the start of the 3 week taper so if I need to get any more training it, it's too late.
Monday, 30 June 2014
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way.
The weekend did not go at all to plan.
Friday was OK - planned 2hr run became 2:10 for a 15 miler, although I got soaked and resulted in a red stain running down my chest from my right hand side nipple. Nice.
Saturday's 4hr bike ended up at 2:50.
Sunday's 4hr brick session was curtailed (bad rain stopped play) but managed a 1:15 10 mile run in the evening.
Should I have gone out in the rain? Maybe.
So that left me just over 4hrs down for the week - not good given there's only 4 weeks to go, so the rest day is off the agenda today and I've already done 7 miles this morning with a bike ride planned tonight.
This week is the biggest of the lot - 17:20 and with a trip to watch the TdF on Friday/Saturday I need to get as much in early this week as possible.
On a positive note, my running feels solid and my knee seems to have realised it needs to last out 26 miles and has stopped complaining quite as much. Whether this is permanent or not I will find out soon enough, but this week has been my best week for running, and total for the month is about 150 miles.
Friday was OK - planned 2hr run became 2:10 for a 15 miler, although I got soaked and resulted in a red stain running down my chest from my right hand side nipple. Nice.
Saturday's 4hr bike ended up at 2:50.
Sunday's 4hr brick session was curtailed (bad rain stopped play) but managed a 1:15 10 mile run in the evening.
Should I have gone out in the rain? Maybe.
So that left me just over 4hrs down for the week - not good given there's only 4 weeks to go, so the rest day is off the agenda today and I've already done 7 miles this morning with a bike ride planned tonight.
This week is the biggest of the lot - 17:20 and with a trip to watch the TdF on Friday/Saturday I need to get as much in early this week as possible.
On a positive note, my running feels solid and my knee seems to have realised it needs to last out 26 miles and has stopped complaining quite as much. Whether this is permanent or not I will find out soon enough, but this week has been my best week for running, and total for the month is about 150 miles.
Friday, 27 June 2014
Good intentions.
My intention is to put down here what I intend to do at the weekend. That's the intention anyway.
The theory is that if you write it down you are more likely to do it - and supposedly that applies to most things. However, I don't fully subscribe to that e.g. if I state "will run a mile in 4 minutes" it's highly unlikely. I guess the 'reasonable' word has to be used here.
So, my reasonable intentions are:
1. Run this evening straight after work (despite the expected rain) for about 2hrs.
2. Get on my bike for about 3hrs tomorrow morning.
3. Do a ride/run brick on Sunday of 4hrs at least.
That will still leave me 1.5hrs down on the weekly plan, so I need to extend 1 or more of the above.
Probably the Sunday, but more rain is forecast so it might mean an earlier Saturday morning to get more in. I'm babysitting from lunchtime onwards tomorrow so a good long session might help me through the rest of the day - I will be less likely to think the day has been wasted.
I have most of Sunday to myself, so it might be easier to squeeze in a bit more, but what about the weather? Hmmm.
Anyway, only 4 more weeks to worry about it.
The theory is that if you write it down you are more likely to do it - and supposedly that applies to most things. However, I don't fully subscribe to that e.g. if I state "will run a mile in 4 minutes" it's highly unlikely. I guess the 'reasonable' word has to be used here.
So, my reasonable intentions are:
1. Run this evening straight after work (despite the expected rain) for about 2hrs.
2. Get on my bike for about 3hrs tomorrow morning.
3. Do a ride/run brick on Sunday of 4hrs at least.
That will still leave me 1.5hrs down on the weekly plan, so I need to extend 1 or more of the above.
Probably the Sunday, but more rain is forecast so it might mean an earlier Saturday morning to get more in. I'm babysitting from lunchtime onwards tomorrow so a good long session might help me through the rest of the day - I will be less likely to think the day has been wasted.
I have most of Sunday to myself, so it might be easier to squeeze in a bit more, but what about the weather? Hmmm.
Anyway, only 4 more weeks to worry about it.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Snooze Time.
It took 3 snoozes of the alarm before I pushed myself out of bed, donned my summer running gear and ventured out into what was a really bright, sunny morning at 10 to 5 today. My legs felt really heavy, and did not feel like running at all.
As it was, by the time I had got to Badger Bend (about half a mile) the sun had worked it's magic and I was flying along quite happily well rid of all those negative thoughts. It was a little bit colder than its been of late, but was perfectly acceptable even in a lightweight t-shirt and shorts. I even had a couple of strides to get the heart pumping. Almost 8 miles in just over an hour.
4 laps of the lake last night was my swim for the week. There was a 24hr sponsored swim going on at the same time, so loads more spectators than usual, and as I waded out, they were expectantly waiting for some to finish. They were probably disappointed it was me, and I felt quite embarrassed as I sheepishly pushed through them. 24 hours?? I would be bored stiff. 1 hour 9 minutes for me was enough.
As it was, by the time I had got to Badger Bend (about half a mile) the sun had worked it's magic and I was flying along quite happily well rid of all those negative thoughts. It was a little bit colder than its been of late, but was perfectly acceptable even in a lightweight t-shirt and shorts. I even had a couple of strides to get the heart pumping. Almost 8 miles in just over an hour.
4 laps of the lake last night was my swim for the week. There was a 24hr sponsored swim going on at the same time, so loads more spectators than usual, and as I waded out, they were expectantly waiting for some to finish. They were probably disappointed it was me, and I felt quite embarrassed as I sheepishly pushed through them. 24 hours?? I would be bored stiff. 1 hour 9 minutes for me was enough.
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
And....rest.
The plan said rest day on Monday, and I wasn't going to argue with that. Earlier in the training schedule I didn't take many rest days, going 5 or 6 weeks without a day off. However, now that the longer rides/runs are scheduled it seems the best thing to do. I suppose it depends on the level you started at - I was already doing a bit so found the earlier weeks quite easy in comparison to now.
I decided to do a bit of running yesterday - 13 miles in the evening which meant I had a good 24hrs + after the big ride at the weekend. Didn't feel too bad and averaged 8:35 for the 13 so I'm happy with that, and also felt good and strong at the end. My legs ached a bit afterwards as well as when I woke up this morning, but I did a quickish 26 mile loop round by Brigg to start the day right and I feel OK now. Planning on a swim after work in the lake, but I hear there's a 24hr event on so I'll have to check it out first.
I decided to do a bit of running yesterday - 13 miles in the evening which meant I had a good 24hrs + after the big ride at the weekend. Didn't feel too bad and averaged 8:35 for the 13 so I'm happy with that, and also felt good and strong at the end. My legs ached a bit afterwards as well as when I woke up this morning, but I did a quickish 26 mile loop round by Brigg to start the day right and I feel OK now. Planning on a swim after work in the lake, but I hear there's a 24hr event on so I'll have to check it out first.
Monday, 23 June 2014
Bridge the gap.
An 'interesting' long bike ride yesterday, with a solid brick session on Saturday resulted in a massive 22:47 week against a plan of 16:25 just at the right time in the schedule. The extra time is all down to biking, but it is the area I felt was lacking of late, so I'm as confident as I have been about the swim and bike, with just the run that will depend if the knee behaves or not.
With 5 weeks to go, these last couple and next week are key to overall endurance (if I use my old marathon training as experience), so although I was slightly under plan last week, the previous and this week more than make up for it. I just need a good one this week and I'll be well satisfied with that. In my marathon running days, the worst races were those where I had missed the long sessions and the best were those where I had put the long runs in at the right time a few weeks out.
Saturday was a nip round the Brigg loop at a good pace followed by a 10 mile run. I caught up with son-in-law #3 on the bike which means I was definitely going a reasonable pace (he's much faster than me, but to be fair he did have a race the following day so was not overcooking it). I then did a quickish transition for a 10 miler at average 8:10 pace without hardly any knee discomfort.
Sunday was a planned 90 mile bike round the Humber (Humber Bridge, Goole, Gunness) to get the long bike in which has been missing (although I had been getting 40 miles each way biking to work).
I created a route in MayMyRide, and to make sure I kept on track avoiding the traffic on the fiddly Melton to Howden stretch I downloaded the route to my phone so I could follow it.
Unfortunately, because I started the route in the village (not at my house) it seemed to wipe the route and just start logging a ride meaning I was relying on memory for the actual route.
To cut a very long story short, I ended up in Selby way off my plan (thanks to asking a local cyclist the best way to Goole); had 2 punctures; walked into Goole for about a mile; found a shop selling puncture repair kit; spent about 40 minutes finding/fixing and finding/fixing the puncture again; using all my money on the repair kit and not being able to buy a drink.
On the plus side, I did do 119 miles at a reasonable pace (if I exclude stopped time) and didn't feel too bad at all when I finished. My new saddle had arrived on Friday and was bit wary of using for such a long way, but I needn't have worried, it's much more comfy than the old one with only a slight abductor discomfort to show for it.
With 5 weeks to go, these last couple and next week are key to overall endurance (if I use my old marathon training as experience), so although I was slightly under plan last week, the previous and this week more than make up for it. I just need a good one this week and I'll be well satisfied with that. In my marathon running days, the worst races were those where I had missed the long sessions and the best were those where I had put the long runs in at the right time a few weeks out.
Saturday was a nip round the Brigg loop at a good pace followed by a 10 mile run. I caught up with son-in-law #3 on the bike which means I was definitely going a reasonable pace (he's much faster than me, but to be fair he did have a race the following day so was not overcooking it). I then did a quickish transition for a 10 miler at average 8:10 pace without hardly any knee discomfort.
Sunday was a planned 90 mile bike round the Humber (Humber Bridge, Goole, Gunness) to get the long bike in which has been missing (although I had been getting 40 miles each way biking to work).
I created a route in MayMyRide, and to make sure I kept on track avoiding the traffic on the fiddly Melton to Howden stretch I downloaded the route to my phone so I could follow it.
Unfortunately, because I started the route in the village (not at my house) it seemed to wipe the route and just start logging a ride meaning I was relying on memory for the actual route.
To cut a very long story short, I ended up in Selby way off my plan (thanks to asking a local cyclist the best way to Goole); had 2 punctures; walked into Goole for about a mile; found a shop selling puncture repair kit; spent about 40 minutes finding/fixing and finding/fixing the puncture again; using all my money on the repair kit and not being able to buy a drink.
On the plus side, I did do 119 miles at a reasonable pace (if I exclude stopped time) and didn't feel too bad at all when I finished. My new saddle had arrived on Friday and was bit wary of using for such a long way, but I needn't have worried, it's much more comfy than the old one with only a slight abductor discomfort to show for it.
Friday, 20 June 2014
Can you give me directions to Zen please?
Sometimes, whether it's swimming, biking or running, you get into 'The Zone'. The Zone is a place where time stands still, you cover huge distances without realising it and your body is working at it's optimum capacity. And it doesn't happen very often at all.
However, this morning I was in The Zone biking to work and the 2 hours flew by at an average speed of almost 19mph. Not quick by some standards, but given the 10 mile run I did last night and my overall level of knackeredness, it was much quicker than I would have expected. I'll be surprised to feel like that on the way home.
The experts tell you to get in The Zone in an Ironman race - to switch off from your surroundings and just do it, thereby relieving the boredom by not being bored. Another theory is to disassociate your thoughts from the specific activity i.e. don't think about running when you're running.
Difficult I reckon when all your physical efforts are geared towards that one thing.
However, this morning I was in The Zone biking to work and the 2 hours flew by at an average speed of almost 19mph. Not quick by some standards, but given the 10 mile run I did last night and my overall level of knackeredness, it was much quicker than I would have expected. I'll be surprised to feel like that on the way home.
The experts tell you to get in The Zone in an Ironman race - to switch off from your surroundings and just do it, thereby relieving the boredom by not being bored. Another theory is to disassociate your thoughts from the specific activity i.e. don't think about running when you're running.
Difficult I reckon when all your physical efforts are geared towards that one thing.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Education, education, education.
4 laps of the lake yesterday evening. That's about 2 miles if my conversions are correct, although I have rounded up - more like 1.988 but I didn't count the first 50m so I'm not losing sleep about that.
I half intended to do 5 laps, but had other things to do last night and what made my mind up was when I raced another swimmer for the last 250m. He had been gradually creeping up on me for the whole lap, and overtook me at the far end of the lake but didn't really get in front, so I decided to put a bit of an acceleration on, overtook him, got severe cramp in my calves where I had to keep my ankles at 90 degrees, let him get past me again and I limped back to the jetty as my calves settled down.
So, a few lessons learned there:
1. I can go faster if I want to
2. When I go faster, I risk cramping up and slowing down
3. When I get bad cramps, I can carry on swimming albeit a bit slower and recover
I half intended to do 5 laps, but had other things to do last night and what made my mind up was when I raced another swimmer for the last 250m. He had been gradually creeping up on me for the whole lap, and overtook me at the far end of the lake but didn't really get in front, so I decided to put a bit of an acceleration on, overtook him, got severe cramp in my calves where I had to keep my ankles at 90 degrees, let him get past me again and I limped back to the jetty as my calves settled down.
So, a few lessons learned there:
1. I can go faster if I want to
2. When I go faster, I risk cramping up and slowing down
3. When I get bad cramps, I can carry on swimming albeit a bit slower and recover
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Its a heartache, nothing but a...
Just 5 miles this morning with no knee probs evident, so Sunday's issues were only temporary. This leads me to think I can run through any similar grief on the day.
I decided to do my local 26 mile loop heading through Brigg and returning via Brandy Wharf. This is nice and flat, and is a good indicator of form if I time trial it, like I did last night. This goes against the ironman training rule of '90% zone 1 and 2, 10% zone 4-5. I kept around the zone 3 mark all the way round, thereby keeping out of the 'fat burning' zones 1 and 2 and only occasionally reaching the upper lactate threshold of zone 4. Zone numbers referring to heart rate zones of course.
Still, I enjoyed it, setting an average speed of 20.6 which is the quickest this year and not too far off my record of 21.1.
Lake swim straight after work and the big question is 3, 4 or 5 laps? All will be revealed tomorrow.
I decided to do my local 26 mile loop heading through Brigg and returning via Brandy Wharf. This is nice and flat, and is a good indicator of form if I time trial it, like I did last night. This goes against the ironman training rule of '90% zone 1 and 2, 10% zone 4-5. I kept around the zone 3 mark all the way round, thereby keeping out of the 'fat burning' zones 1 and 2 and only occasionally reaching the upper lactate threshold of zone 4. Zone numbers referring to heart rate zones of course.
Still, I enjoyed it, setting an average speed of 20.6 which is the quickest this year and not too far off my record of 21.1.
Lake swim straight after work and the big question is 3, 4 or 5 laps? All will be revealed tomorrow.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Misty Mountain Top.
Saturday saw an early 70 miler with son-in-law #2 with a trip over the Humber Bridge taking in South Cave and other Yorkshire sights before heading home. The weather forecast was looking reasonable, but we had some mist and light rain for most of the way. Called off in Barton on the way back for a coffee and teacake which went down well.
Sunday started with trying to recover from Saturday night's 30th birthday party for daughter #2. I didn't drink much at all, but it was busy getting everything ready, a late night and the early 6:30 start (see above) caught up on me. As the afternoon wore on I decided to try a run, and managed 13 miles over to Searby and Owmby. I was fine until around 10 miles, then my knee really started to shout at me with the lower knee and upper shin area feeling quite sore and slowed me down quite a bit. Interestingly, there was no pain after I had stopped so my theory (I have at least 1 per week) is that this is mainly down to overuse and will be fine come race day when I've had a bit of a rest. The thing that worries me at the moment is that if it gets worse them my training will be curtailed. If it was the race, all I have to do is finish so (I hope) in the race the pain will be easier to handle.
All this meant that I was down on the weekly plan by 2hrs 30mins, with only one swim session and 2hrs less running than I should have done.
A bike to work and back yesterday means I start this week on the right foot, or pedal. This is a 17hr week, so there's no let up with 6 weeks to go, 3 weeks before the taper starts.
Sunday started with trying to recover from Saturday night's 30th birthday party for daughter #2. I didn't drink much at all, but it was busy getting everything ready, a late night and the early 6:30 start (see above) caught up on me. As the afternoon wore on I decided to try a run, and managed 13 miles over to Searby and Owmby. I was fine until around 10 miles, then my knee really started to shout at me with the lower knee and upper shin area feeling quite sore and slowed me down quite a bit. Interestingly, there was no pain after I had stopped so my theory (I have at least 1 per week) is that this is mainly down to overuse and will be fine come race day when I've had a bit of a rest. The thing that worries me at the moment is that if it gets worse them my training will be curtailed. If it was the race, all I have to do is finish so (I hope) in the race the pain will be easier to handle.
All this meant that I was down on the weekly plan by 2hrs 30mins, with only one swim session and 2hrs less running than I should have done.
A bike to work and back yesterday means I start this week on the right foot, or pedal. This is a 17hr week, so there's no let up with 6 weeks to go, 3 weeks before the taper starts.
Friday, 13 June 2014
At your leisure.
100 lengths of Brigg Leisure Centre pool last night, which was pretty mundane compared with the lake. I was tempted to miss it and go to the lake on Sunday, but I have a lot on at the weekend so time will be at a premium.
The plan calls for a 5hr bike ride sometime in the next 2 days, and that will be difficult to fit in so I'm hoping to get a couple of hours in tonight (if the threatened thunderstorms do not materialise) and the remainder tomorrow morning. This will leave me Sunday to do a 2hr run when I hope it does rain.
I spotted an amusing error in an article in the Guardian online this morning and it's still there now. Do they still have editor's?
The plan calls for a 5hr bike ride sometime in the next 2 days, and that will be difficult to fit in so I'm hoping to get a couple of hours in tonight (if the threatened thunderstorms do not materialise) and the remainder tomorrow morning. This will leave me Sunday to do a 2hr run when I hope it does rain.
I spotted an amusing error in an article in the Guardian online this morning and it's still there now. Do they still have editor's?
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Me, myself, I.
I suppose I had better write something interesting now that this might be read by someone else other than me. That's a challenge.
Up until now, I've been writing for myself about myself only being read by myself and I although I sometimes find myself quite difficult to live with, I usually agree with what I've written about me.
I wonder if anyone has a blog written by a ghost writer? I suppose someone like Katy Price might, fulfilling the 'I've got a blog, look at me' requirements of any celebrity worth their salt, and also has the opportunity to turn it into book/film/TV series or similar to satisfy the seemingly endless appetite for dross on the TV.
Anyway, biked home in the sun yesterday evening, managing to get a 2nd place on a segment known as 'Don Quixote's gallop' - a 2 mile long straight from Hemswell village. I have no idea if Mr Quixote did gallop on this road (unlikely, given that he was fictional) but it's the sort of road quite suited to a good gallop I would imagine. Segments are setup on Strava.com, an online community where you log your runs/rides/swims etc and can compare your performances with others who use the same routes. I was only 5 seconds off top spot, so I'm hoping for a stronger back wind next time.
I got out for an 11 mile run this morning in glorious sunshine at 5 o'clock. It wasn't long ago that it was dark, damp and cold and I couldn't help feel, as I started to overheat, that there's a lot to be said for those Winter mornings!
Took a selfie of my shadow on the way home (is that still a 'selfie'?) which make me look like a cockney barrow boy wearing a flat cap and wellies.
Up until now, I've been writing for myself about myself only being read by myself and I although I sometimes find myself quite difficult to live with, I usually agree with what I've written about me.
I wonder if anyone has a blog written by a ghost writer? I suppose someone like Katy Price might, fulfilling the 'I've got a blog, look at me' requirements of any celebrity worth their salt, and also has the opportunity to turn it into book/film/TV series or similar to satisfy the seemingly endless appetite for dross on the TV.
Anyway, biked home in the sun yesterday evening, managing to get a 2nd place on a segment known as 'Don Quixote's gallop' - a 2 mile long straight from Hemswell village. I have no idea if Mr Quixote did gallop on this road (unlikely, given that he was fictional) but it's the sort of road quite suited to a good gallop I would imagine. Segments are setup on Strava.com, an online community where you log your runs/rides/swims etc and can compare your performances with others who use the same routes. I was only 5 seconds off top spot, so I'm hoping for a stronger back wind next time.
I got out for an 11 mile run this morning in glorious sunshine at 5 o'clock. It wasn't long ago that it was dark, damp and cold and I couldn't help feel, as I started to overheat, that there's a lot to be said for those Winter mornings!
Took a selfie of my shadow on the way home (is that still a 'selfie'?) which make me look like a cockney barrow boy wearing a flat cap and wellies.
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Will this never end?
Permanently hungry, permanently tired. I think that sums me up for the last few weeks (and probably the next few as well) - especially after a longer bike ride. All I can assume is that I expend more energy biking than anything else, although I have always thought that biking is about half the effort of running. Anyway, suffice to say I have the appetite of a large American without being the size of one (thankfully).
Biked into work this morning, which was definitely warmer than last week, so shorts were the order of the day + a couple of cycling tops to keep the wind out. I'll ditch one top for the ride home, that's sure to make me faster.
I used my 'best bike' today, mainly because there looked to be no chance of rain, but also because I plan on using it for the race so need to get used to it - it's only slightly bigger than my old Trek but feels totally different.
I'm still looking for another saddle, and my eBay searches are concentrating on tri or TT specific models (although many of them state they are also OK for MTBs). Missed out on one by a pound at the weekend, but I have a few that are coming up over the next couple of days so I hope there is less of a market during the week.
Lincoln was surprisingly clean this morning, most of the students must have stayed indoors.
Biked into work this morning, which was definitely warmer than last week, so shorts were the order of the day + a couple of cycling tops to keep the wind out. I'll ditch one top for the ride home, that's sure to make me faster.
I used my 'best bike' today, mainly because there looked to be no chance of rain, but also because I plan on using it for the race so need to get used to it - it's only slightly bigger than my old Trek but feels totally different.
I'm still looking for another saddle, and my eBay searches are concentrating on tri or TT specific models (although many of them state they are also OK for MTBs). Missed out on one by a pound at the weekend, but I have a few that are coming up over the next couple of days so I hope there is less of a market during the week.
Lincoln was surprisingly clean this morning, most of the students must have stayed indoors.
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Cometh the hour...
Tuesday today, so I'm a bit behind with my updates.
Saturday was cats and dogs until late afternoon, so I squeezed in an hour's run before some friends came over for a snack. It was a bit of a test on the knee, but felt perfectly OK for the whole run.
Sunday morning saw me at the lake, and after 3 laps I decided to bang out a couple more to get the 4000 metres done in about 1hr 26mins, a full minute quicker than Wednesday. Doing these 2 x long swim sessions has made me feel much more confident about the swim, so much so that in my head I feel that I can back off the swimming now. The more sensible part of my head is telling me to not let up, you plonker.
Anyway, after a hearty MacDonalds wrap and latte and a bit of gardening I decided to go for another run just as the temperature was rising. I set off at a good pace (for me), about 7:30/min, and felt like I could go on all day. By the time I got round to Hibaldstow at the 10 mile mark the 'go on all day' was replaced with 'can I stop now please'. Desperate for water, I called in at the church to look for a tap but as usual I left the church unfulfilled. How do they keep the flowers for that long? Then I called in at one of the son-in-law's friend's house but he wasn't in, so 4 miles later I arrived home dehydrated, hot, sweaty and generally the worse for wear.
I hope this was all due to lack of water, not lack of fitness, but I'm not so sure. The dodgy knee was also some concern, playing up for those last miles, but that was probably because my form slipped completely as I battled home.
So, Monday was rest day and it did the trick in that I went to bed last night feeling much more rested and did a reasonably 'normal' 7 miles this morning at 5 just under the hour.
Despite doing less running last week, the total hours was around 1hr over plan so I'm happy with that. These next few weeks are key to the race day (less than 7 weeks now) so I need to keep to the plan if I'm not to be found collapsed in a heap half way through the run.
Saturday was cats and dogs until late afternoon, so I squeezed in an hour's run before some friends came over for a snack. It was a bit of a test on the knee, but felt perfectly OK for the whole run.
Sunday morning saw me at the lake, and after 3 laps I decided to bang out a couple more to get the 4000 metres done in about 1hr 26mins, a full minute quicker than Wednesday. Doing these 2 x long swim sessions has made me feel much more confident about the swim, so much so that in my head I feel that I can back off the swimming now. The more sensible part of my head is telling me to not let up, you plonker.
Anyway, after a hearty MacDonalds wrap and latte and a bit of gardening I decided to go for another run just as the temperature was rising. I set off at a good pace (for me), about 7:30/min, and felt like I could go on all day. By the time I got round to Hibaldstow at the 10 mile mark the 'go on all day' was replaced with 'can I stop now please'. Desperate for water, I called in at the church to look for a tap but as usual I left the church unfulfilled. How do they keep the flowers for that long? Then I called in at one of the son-in-law's friend's house but he wasn't in, so 4 miles later I arrived home dehydrated, hot, sweaty and generally the worse for wear.
I hope this was all due to lack of water, not lack of fitness, but I'm not so sure. The dodgy knee was also some concern, playing up for those last miles, but that was probably because my form slipped completely as I battled home.
So, Monday was rest day and it did the trick in that I went to bed last night feeling much more rested and did a reasonably 'normal' 7 miles this morning at 5 just under the hour.
Despite doing less running last week, the total hours was around 1hr over plan so I'm happy with that. These next few weeks are key to the race day (less than 7 weeks now) so I need to keep to the plan if I'm not to be found collapsed in a heap half way through the run.
Friday, 6 June 2014
A good cause.
I reckon I've got my sponsorship info etc sorted out. The justgiving.com page is set up along with the Guess My Finish Time spreadsheet, which I've made public on Onedrive. The only issue I can see is how people contact me without putting my email address on the justgiving page, and although I'm not too bothered about that I know there's some clever Chinese geeky youth who is probably running an internet trawl of email addresses looking for any string with @ in it. That's what I'd do anyway if I had no life.
I looked at putting the spreadsheet on this blog, but viewing it looked rubbish, and I didn't want to spoil the professional look of this (ha ha!).
Biked into work this morning which is sunny and dry albeit quite cold. My toes had lost most of their feeling by the time I arrived and had turned quite red. Its looking like it will be much warmer this afternoon biking home so my long cycling trousers will not be a good choice.
Running is going to be down on plan this week, I've only done one run of 45mins so far and my plan is 6hrs for the week (2hrs of it on Sunday). The upper shin just under my knee is quite sore, and with my knee giving me some grief last weekend I'll hopefully get the time in on the bike to compensate. Biking doesn't seem to make the knee any worse, although it did this time last year so don't know why that is, maybe the additional biking is making that more 'natural' and not affecting me as much.
I'm only 1hr down on plan for the bike so far, so unless I'm really busy at the weekend I should get the prescribed weekly total of 15hrs 50mins in by Sunday night.
I looked at putting the spreadsheet on this blog, but viewing it looked rubbish, and I didn't want to spoil the professional look of this (ha ha!).
Biked into work this morning which is sunny and dry albeit quite cold. My toes had lost most of their feeling by the time I arrived and had turned quite red. Its looking like it will be much warmer this afternoon biking home so my long cycling trousers will not be a good choice.
Running is going to be down on plan this week, I've only done one run of 45mins so far and my plan is 6hrs for the week (2hrs of it on Sunday). The upper shin just under my knee is quite sore, and with my knee giving me some grief last weekend I'll hopefully get the time in on the bike to compensate. Biking doesn't seem to make the knee any worse, although it did this time last year so don't know why that is, maybe the additional biking is making that more 'natural' and not affecting me as much.
I'm only 1hr down on plan for the bike so far, so unless I'm really busy at the weekend I should get the prescribed weekly total of 15hrs 50mins in by Sunday night.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
It's all going swimmingly well.
5 laps of the lake last night, that's quite an achievement for me - about 4,000m. It's the furthest I've swam ever and is even more than I'll be doing in July so quite chuffed about that. The only issue (?) is that it took me almost 1 and a half hours, so based on 2013 results that's a mid-point time but well behind last year's first 55-59 finisher at 1hr 18mins. I'll just have to make sure I bike faster.
I invested in some new running shoes yesterday and tried them out with a quick 5 miler this morning. They seem OK, and didn't aggravate the knee so that's a good thing. Had to beat myself up to get out this morning, just didn't feel like doing anything at 5 o'clock. Part of it was the weather (dull and misty), part was the fear of more knee issues with the new shoes. As it was, the knee issue was fine, but the mist turned to heavy rain and I got soaked. Better that way round.
I invested in some new running shoes yesterday and tried them out with a quick 5 miler this morning. They seem OK, and didn't aggravate the knee so that's a good thing. Had to beat myself up to get out this morning, just didn't feel like doing anything at 5 o'clock. Part of it was the weather (dull and misty), part was the fear of more knee issues with the new shoes. As it was, the knee issue was fine, but the mist turned to heavy rain and I got soaked. Better that way round.
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Take the long way home (Supertramp).
Just over 50 miles back home from work yesterday, taking the long route via Brigg. I went on a few roads I have never been on before either by car or bike as I headed in a northerly direction as far as Messingham before turning east to Scawby and Brigg. Theses new roads make it a bit more interesting, but at one point I thought about turning round because I seemed to be going in the wrong direction, but fortunately it eventually brought me out in a location which was there or thereabouts where I thought I was.
Swimming in the lake straight from work is the plan for today and although it's raining pretty hard at the moment it's not so cold. Hopefully do at least 3 laps (800m per lap), possibly 4 if I can talk myself into it. I dragged my old Timex Ironman watch out a drawer this morning to check if it was waterproof or not, and it is (or at least says it is), so I'll be able to time myself properly.
Swimming in the lake straight from work is the plan for today and although it's raining pretty hard at the moment it's not so cold. Hopefully do at least 3 laps (800m per lap), possibly 4 if I can talk myself into it. I dragged my old Timex Ironman watch out a drawer this morning to check if it was waterproof or not, and it is (or at least says it is), so I'll be able to time myself properly.
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Commuting.
I forced myself to have a day off training yesterday - the first since May 3rd. Not that I needed much forcing, I was well knackered.
However, its back to the schedule today and I set the alarm early for a ride into work. 4 snoozes later I dragged myself out of bed, decided it was too cold for shorts, got my winter kit on and set off.
I arrived 2 hours later without incident. Well, apart from nearly getting run over by a car at the top of Lincoln whose driver decided that indicators were not required when turning in front of me. I felt a bit mean shouting at him really, because I've also been known to be too lazy to indicate.
Anyway, nothing too dramatic and I bet he had a good laugh at a whinging old bloke in lycra.
The 36 miles seems very short compared with recent activities.
However, its back to the schedule today and I set the alarm early for a ride into work. 4 snoozes later I dragged myself out of bed, decided it was too cold for shorts, got my winter kit on and set off.
I arrived 2 hours later without incident. Well, apart from nearly getting run over by a car at the top of Lincoln whose driver decided that indicators were not required when turning in front of me. I felt a bit mean shouting at him really, because I've also been known to be too lazy to indicate.
Anyway, nothing too dramatic and I bet he had a good laugh at a whinging old bloke in lycra.
The 36 miles seems very short compared with recent activities.
Monday, 2 June 2014
Weekend Exertions.
I'm feeling it in my legs today after a 4 hour ride round by Barton, Winterton and Gainsborough on Saturday, then my own mini-triathlon yesterday.
Saturday's ride was probably a bit too much given Sunday's planned 'private' triathlon, but a bit of stress is not a bad thing at this stage of the training. 8 weeks to go as yesterday.
I got the usual sore bits, but not enough to put me off Sunday's plan.
Sunday saw me at Activities Away lake for a 3 lap (2.4k) swim, followed by a 56 mile bike skirting round Lincoln, then a 9 mile run. The original plan was aiming more towards a half marathon to finish, but with the heat and forgetting to take my water bottle, 9 miles was probably about right. As it was, my dodgy knee didn't last too long before it needed some attention so that put me off doing any more anyway.
Funnily enough, I find that the more I stretch out my stride, the less the knee hurts..... but, the more I get tired so not really an option unless I go for a run/walk/run strategy. I guess it's always an option on the day.
It's a rest day today (Monday), the first one I'm taking for a month.
Saturday's ride was probably a bit too much given Sunday's planned 'private' triathlon, but a bit of stress is not a bad thing at this stage of the training. 8 weeks to go as yesterday.
I got the usual sore bits, but not enough to put me off Sunday's plan.
Sunday saw me at Activities Away lake for a 3 lap (2.4k) swim, followed by a 56 mile bike skirting round Lincoln, then a 9 mile run. The original plan was aiming more towards a half marathon to finish, but with the heat and forgetting to take my water bottle, 9 miles was probably about right. As it was, my dodgy knee didn't last too long before it needed some attention so that put me off doing any more anyway.
Funnily enough, I find that the more I stretch out my stride, the less the knee hurts..... but, the more I get tired so not really an option unless I go for a run/walk/run strategy. I guess it's always an option on the day.
It's a rest day today (Monday), the first one I'm taking for a month.
Saturday, 31 May 2014
Loopy
A steady(ish) 76 miles yesterday, taking in the sights of Barton, Winteringham, and Gainsborough. Just over 4 hours and felt reasonable OK throughout, except for my sitting area. Not sure what to do about that - a new saddle might help, but what if it doesn't? That would be a waste of money. I'll see what there is on eBay first before I splash out.
Friday, 30 May 2014
Chinese Rolls.
Almost 1 hour on the rollers last night whilst my better half finished off a visiting errand and returned with a healthy Chinese just before the hour was up. Hopefully the calories expended were equal to the mushroom foo yung, followed by bakewell tart and custard.
Calorie intake was a bit disrupted yesterday due to a planned hour at the dentist at 10 o'clock to sort out a troublesome tooth. This meant that eating was curtailed until feeling was restored to my mouth, so I only had an apple, banana and an eccles cake until the aforementioned takeaway materialised. I like to think that this does not constitute a 'meal' and explains why I was very hungry come 5 o'clock.
I'm a regular listener to IMTalk, a New Zealand based podcast that covers anything to do with ironman racing, and this week had an interview with an American professor explaining why keeping your 'nutritional balance' throughout the day was very important. He seemed to make a lot of sense, and if he's right, my calorie intake yesterday was as bad as it gets. Hopefully odd days like that won't make too much difference.
I got out for 10 miles this morning, taking in the sights of Kelsey Moor and then returning by the public footpath that goes into South Kelsey. This was a mistake, due to the excessive rain we have had, and the uneven ground did not do my knee any good resulting in a bit of knee pain nearer home.
Note to self: keep on tarmac.
To make it worse, my Garmin appears to have lost this morning's run. Luckily I glanced at the end result (9.94miles, 1hr 29mins) so I was able to add a manual entry, but I'm not impressed with losing the data.
Calorie intake was a bit disrupted yesterday due to a planned hour at the dentist at 10 o'clock to sort out a troublesome tooth. This meant that eating was curtailed until feeling was restored to my mouth, so I only had an apple, banana and an eccles cake until the aforementioned takeaway materialised. I like to think that this does not constitute a 'meal' and explains why I was very hungry come 5 o'clock.
I'm a regular listener to IMTalk, a New Zealand based podcast that covers anything to do with ironman racing, and this week had an interview with an American professor explaining why keeping your 'nutritional balance' throughout the day was very important. He seemed to make a lot of sense, and if he's right, my calorie intake yesterday was as bad as it gets. Hopefully odd days like that won't make too much difference.
I got out for 10 miles this morning, taking in the sights of Kelsey Moor and then returning by the public footpath that goes into South Kelsey. This was a mistake, due to the excessive rain we have had, and the uneven ground did not do my knee any good resulting in a bit of knee pain nearer home.
Note to self: keep on tarmac.
To make it worse, my Garmin appears to have lost this morning's run. Luckily I glanced at the end result (9.94miles, 1hr 29mins) so I was able to add a manual entry, but I'm not impressed with losing the data.
Thursday, 29 May 2014
On reflection...
Lake swimming last night - felt a bit colder than last week but didn't affect my slow progress until I got back in the car and I couldn't feel my feet.
I wore my Garmin to find out how far each lap was - which was a waste of time because the data was all over the show (see below), it even stopped the timing at the opposite end to where I actually stopped. I can only assume it doesn't like the back and forward action of the arm and (I guess) there must be some reflective action on the GPS signal when it's under water. It thought I had stopped for about 20 minutes and although I'm slow I don't think I stopped other than to stop the watch.
It did measure my time in the water accurately though, so my estimate of 800m per lap seems about right for my pace.
I wore my Garmin to find out how far each lap was - which was a waste of time because the data was all over the show (see below), it even stopped the timing at the opposite end to where I actually stopped. I can only assume it doesn't like the back and forward action of the arm and (I guess) there must be some reflective action on the GPS signal when it's under water. It thought I had stopped for about 20 minutes and although I'm slow I don't think I stopped other than to stop the watch.
It did measure my time in the water accurately though, so my estimate of 800m per lap seems about right for my pace.
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Lapping at the shore.
It's been raining since yesterday morning, and there's no let up so far. Nothing too heavy, but enough to put me off a run this morning. I got the rollers out again last night for an hour, setting myself 3 x 10 minute Z4 reps to pass the time. I just managed to get to the hour without standing up too much.
It's lake swimming straight after work, and even though it's raining, it's not cold so shouldn't make much difference. Not sure whether to do 3 or 4 laps, but I have my Garmin with me so I'll see exactly how far round it is. The estimate is 800m.
Watch this space.
It's lake swimming straight after work, and even though it's raining, it's not cold so shouldn't make much difference. Not sure whether to do 3 or 4 laps, but I have my Garmin with me so I'll see exactly how far round it is. The estimate is 800m.
Watch this space.
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