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Sunday 10 March 2013

Ironman UK Training Week 9

Tough week this one, probably been the toughest so far. Busy work week, distances and training continue to increase at the same time as the weather severely deteriorated. Wind, snow, icy rain, flooded roads & boggy paths have been the order of the week, particularly so this weekend. Despite this added annoyance, week 9 training has been nailed with no missed sessions or injuries.

Training

Calories burnt for the year = 79,002

Training hours this week = 10 hours 56 minutes

Monday

Coached Swim Session 1 hour

350m warm up. 100m kicking, 100m lateral kicking, 100m catch up drill, 3 x 200m CSS swim.

Swam the CSS sections at 5.16, 5.21 & 5.41. Aiming for 5.40.

Did 50 metres with a pull buoy to try and stop me bending my knees when i kick. Then Matt filmed me for 50m to show me what my legs were doing. They were ridiculous & are obviously having little effect at moving me forwards.

So, i now need to make my pull stronger so I'll need to do more pull buoy sessions to try & help this.

Tuesday

Bike 45 minutes/Run 15 minutes Brick Session

Bit of a tri-bar, aero drink bottle try out tonight. Think i may have chopped the drinks bottle straw a bit short as it was a bit of a stretch trying to get on it. However, i kept sliding forwards on the bars & they seem a bit close together, so some minor adjustments needed there. This will probably raise the bottle to a more accessible height as well.

Out and back run again, nothing exciting, felt a bit quicker than usual.

Wednesday

Run 1 hour

Been interviewing at work this week so meant i had to stay till 5pm tonight. I normally leave at 3.30pm on a Wednesday so i can get my 1 hour run in before the swim

So, up at 6am to do it otherwise i wouldn't have got it in today. Felt horrible, legs ached & were quite stiff. Took about 20 minutes for my legs to warm up and then we were OK. Still, didn't enjoy it. No more early morning runs for me if i can help it.

Swim 1 hour

85 lengths done tonight. Lost track of exactly what i did. Forgot the pull buoy so couldn't do the intended drills, although Wednesday session probably isn't ideal as its fairly busy.

Did some alternate 250m's 2 stroke & 3 strokes between breaths. Did a few 4 strokes. Even did. Couple of 8 strokes before taking a breath. Had travelled half a length doing that.

Did a few lengths of breaststroke for a change as well

Thursday

Bike 1 hour 2 minutes http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/240892220

Did the Trianglia sprint cycle course in reverse. Aero bars and bottle in a lot better position today. Definitely chopped the bloody straw too short though, Muppet. Might look at adapting it to use the tube from my hydration pack.

Ride was OK though. Held a decent average, 15.8mph. Got hooted at by lots of clowns in cars for holding them up by a millisecond. Same ol.

Friday

Rest day

Saturday

Park run 21:59 New PB

Fancied going for another PB as was sure i had a sub 22 after last weeks run. Unfortunately Norwich had experienced a monsoon overnight and so Eaton park was as usual, flooded in numerous places & boggy round the boating lake.

Started nearer the front so i didn't get as held up as usual & took off in a mad sprint (didn't expect that)from the start. Snuck in behind Will & Kate from Trianglia as i knew they run really well, so tried to keep at their pace.
They had started to pull away by the end of the first lap but the fact they were still in my sights meant i must be doing OK. Couldn't pace myself for the first mile from the Garmin as the GPS hadn't started straight away.

Was a bit of a mare, hopping over and running through deep puddles every few seconds, disrupts any kind of relaxed or consistent running pace you try to achieve. Anyway, managed to come in under 22 minutes, just. Fourth park run in a row with a PB. Definitely more time to come off in better conditions. Although i doubt i will see such dramatic drops as previous weeks.

Bike 2 hours 16 minutes http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/241485720

Rained all morning and turned into snow by mid afternoon. Definitely the worst cycle ride I've been on. I was soaked and freezing after 40 minutes. Had to talk myself out of binning the ride numerous times. It's times like these that it pays me to have my strong will or my plain stubbornness.

Headed out to where i used to live, a little village called Smallburgh. Hasn't changed much, still looks as boring as it did years ago. Probably been even less exciting since us Baxters left. Roads were pretty flooded near Smallburgh church. The water was so deep at points my feet were going completely underwater as i peddled through.

To top the days misery off, 40 minutes to go and i was busting for a pee as well. Couldn't be bothered to stop and do it as i couldn't feel my fingers, or anything else for that matter. Just wanted to get home. Did debate just letting it flow in my cycling gear whilst riding, i was drenched anyway, you'll probably be pleased to know i decided not too.

Finally got in, took me a couple of hours to stop shivering. Arleya had to help me get my gear off (good job i hadn't pissed in it) as i was that numb. Still, job done & another training ride completed.

Managed to get a couple of church pics on the first half of the ride. http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

Sunday

Run 2 hour 16 minutes  http://app.strava.com/activities/43844290

Longest and furthest run ever today. Runs are into uncharted territory every week now.

Snowed for the duration. Was cold but i felt a lot warmer & happier than the day before, also a lot more comfortable. Run went really well, minimal niggles which was a result.

After last weeks near pass out i took a couple of gels with me this week. Done one at an hour & that saw me through to the end. Did start to feel like i was ready for another one after 2 hours so next week i will probably do 2. Ties in with my normal nutrition intake of a gel an hour which does me fine.

Changed my planned route a little as i knew the river run round to UEA would be boggy and slippy. Went round Colney Lane then dropped down through Cringleford woods to the UEA lake. Very clever. Clever until i ran into the UEA woods and twatted over into a large mud bath. I was caked in mud & looked like some kind of Bog Monster running around. Certainly had a few strange looks on my way back home.

Apart from buggering over really enjoyed today's run.

Swim 1 hour

76 lengths today, legs were a bit shot from the mornings run, not that i use my legs much anyway. Remembered the pull buoy today. Lanes were pretty quiet. Arrived just as Speedo Stan was finishing off a swim session with his family. Had the lane to myself for a good 40 lengths so did a few drills as advised by Stewart & Matt from the Monday coached sessions.

Session involved:

50m lateral kicking, 50m kicking, 100m pull buoy held lower leg to isolate leg movement & hopefully increase my pull power.

Another Trianglia member, Jonathan was there as well just as i finished. He's a very good swimmer & had also noted my legs are quite wide apart when i swim. Hopefully will get this issue sorted through the drills I'm currently doing.

Other bits

Ordered a new pair of running shoes this week as i really need to get them broken in for the London Marathon. Decided against the Newtons for now as i don't think i have enough time for a full and safe transition to running in them before London. Have also been fancying a pair of Adidas Energy Boost shoes that have just come out. However, could be an expensive mistake if they turn out to be unsuitable for me.

So, i decided to get the same shoes as i had last time, i know they will be fine, Saucony Progrid Guide 5's. Had a search about and found a pair at 47% off. £49.99 from Sportsshoes.com http://www.sportsshoes.com/product/SAU1468/saucony-progrid-guide-5-running-shoes/

Theres also a bonus 10% cash back for us Aviva employees if you go through your Aviva extras portal! I paid £95 last time so happy days.

The Anglian - Norfolk's first iron distance Triathlon. The routes have now been published on the website for those interested in doing this. Must say, the routes look great & will offer participants some breathtaking scenery along the North Norfolk coast & countryside. If i hadn't been doing Ironman UK I would have been definitely doing this one.
http://www.theanglian.co.uk/route/

Lots of running about today. Up at 6am. Took wife to work, dropped Arleya off at the local TA centre for her to go to Waterbeach for the regional cross country championships. Unfortunately she had been suffering with a really bad cough all week which still hadn't gone. She still managed to finish 13th out of 50 though with breathing difficulty, so well done to her.

Now time to relax on the sofa and catch up with all the stuff i have on Sky +. In particular the 6 stages I've recorded of  Paris - Nice & Tirreno - Adriatico cycle comps.

Would also like to say thanks for all the support I've been receiving recently, in particular from my club friends & regulars on the various forums i post on. Definitely helps keep you going.

That's all for this week, good luck to everyone else with their training

cheers

Andy


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