The Norwich Junior Triathlon 2013

Ironman UK training week 24

Due to my worst week of training since I began the 30 week Ironman training plan, there isn't really much to write about this week regarding me.

In fact I won't even list the training days as it only involved cycling to work for the week & doing a 28 minute open water swim.

I had intended doing a 2400m open water swim on Wednesday, but after a couple of hundred metres my ankle was so painful & I struggled to get round one 800m loop let alone three.  Off the back of that & the slow progress of my injury improving I've decided to bin any training till my tendonites has fully cleared up. Still 6 weeks till the Ironman event.

Calorie burn January = 29,160
Calorie burn February = 34,932
Calorie burn for March = 47,799
Calorie burn for April = 28,453
Calorie burn for May = 23,131
Calorie burn for June = 23,339

Training time - 2 hrs 4 minutes

Open water swim 28 minutes
Bike 1 hr 37 minutes - http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/309519287


Best thing that has happened in Baxter triathlon world this week was my daughter completing her first triathlon at the Norwich Junior Tri.

Weather wasn't great for her. Rain had made the ground really soft which would prove difficult for the bike section as half of this was on grass, plus we had strong winds.

Kids had to set up there own stuff in transition, no adult help was allowed for any part of the race.
We were surprised at some of the kids kit, half of them had better bikes than me, let alone Arleyas £30 ebay special.

Set up

The seriousness of some of the parents was also a surprise. One mother discussing with her son what tyre combination to put on his bike was quite funny. Shocked at the way some parents were yelling at their children to go harder etc, it was relentless in a couple of cases & all quite embarrassing. We all want our kids to do well & theres nothing wrong with shouting encouragement, but seriously, some need to have a word with themselves.

Swim waves began at 4 minute intervals, Arleya kicked off at 12.20pm. I've always considered Arleya to be a good swimmer, she has always done well in school events etc. This was a different league though. Her group set off & within a couple of lengths Arleya was already being lapped.

She had a quick T1 even with slipping on some shorts over her swim costume. She even went with no socks, something i haven't done yet.

T1

Bike was 6 x 1km laps. Half of each lap was on tarmac, other half was on grass. Arleya couldn't
change gear so was stuck in the same one for the whole ride.

Coming into T2

T2

 Run course was 4 x 600m loops on grass

First lap

Finish in sight



First Triathlon medal

Overall Arleya really enjoyed the event and now wants to get some proper triathlon training so
she can keep improving. Guess that's the end of me using her volunteer vouchers she gets after helping out with Trianglia events.
We'll also look for a more suitable race bike once i get my redundancy money.

Attending this event has also sparked a new business idea that i will be looking into, so I may well be  heading down the self employed route once my Aviva job comes to an end.

That's it for this week. I may not do an update next week as I'm unlikely to do any training again.

cheers

Andy

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

Donate to The Royal Anglian Benevolent fund

http://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Baxter1

The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter

http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog

http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey

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http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP

Pearl Izumi Tour Series 2013

Ironman UK training Week 23

Couldn't think of a great deal of positiveness this week & struggled for a post title.
Decided to go with the recent Tour series as this was probably the highlight of the week due to it coming to one of our market towns for the first time. Aylsham in Norfolk. http://www.tourseries.co.uk/home.php

The reality of the my redundancy came with the announcement on Thursday that my department in Norwich, that i had been a part of for the past 12 years, would cease to exist between now & Q1 2014. Sad times, the end of a special & important era in my life. Trying to stay focussed on training whilst wondering what the future has in stall for my family & me is certainly trying. But life goes on as they say.

Training

Calorie burn January = 29,160
Calorie burn February = 34,932
Calorie burn for March = 47,799
Calorie burn for April = 28,453
Calorie burn for May = 23,131
Calorie burn for June = 22,221

Training time - 8 hours 49 minutes

 

 

Monday

 

Bike 25 minutes

 

Tuesday

 

Bike 42 minutes

 

Wednesday

 

Run 34 minutes.

 

Longest run i had done since the marathon. Felt a bit awkward but i was pleased

to think i was now able to begin run training again.

 

Bike 31 minutes

 

Saturday

 

Open water Swim - 47 minutes

 

Swam 1600 metres, was a bit choppy due to windy conditions. Good for training though.

 

Run - 55 minutes.

 

This was a club run, 10k at 10am, just after our open water swim. It was on the new 10k route

that will be used in the upcoming Norwich Triathlon.

Obviously i was a bit cautious of this. It would be my longest non stop run since my calf & tendonites

issues after the London Marathon.

Just before we started the heavens opened & we were bombarded with big lumps of hail.

Cover was sought in the flint barn. Five minutes later the sun was shining & it was time to go??

English summers.

 

Was a bit weird running down wintry looking tracks in the middle of summer. The run went better

than expected & i even managed a PB for my 10k distance. Calf's were a bit stiff & my right ankle had

started hurting again. Felt like the tendonites I'd had in the left ankle.

 

 

 

I had to go pick up a greenhouse from Diss this same afternoon which included dismantling it. This

also turned into a nightmare due to ceased up bolts, a good drenching &  my ankle swelling up like

a balloon & giving me a great deal of pain.

 

Sunday

 

Bike 4 hours 55 minutes.

 

Although i was struggling to walk I'm pleased that my cycling is still ok.

Managed a 72 mile ride. Was nice weather, a bit windy at times. I did end up on a 3 mile stretch

of off road cycling round Stanton training area which I'm sure hasn't done my bike a great deal of good.

 

Although i took the same amount of gels & food with me, stuck to one a nhour I had a turn around the

60 mile mark. Felt really faint & got the sweats big time. Luckily i still had a pack of breakfast biscuits

and a couple of ISO gels which i quickly consumed. Two miles later i was fine. Not sure what happened

but i guess i will need to be eating something every 45 minutes now.

 

 

 

I also binned the tri bars due to the issues i had had with my lower back at The Grafman. Seemed to

do the trick as i had no lower back issues at all on this ride. Tri bars are toast!

 

 

Change of plan

 

My training plan has now dramatically changed. I would pull out fof IMUK or this year if it wasn't

for the fact I'd lose around £700 for the event & the accommodation I've paid for.

Running is totally out of my training for the foreseeable future. Plan for the Ironman now is just finish.

Even this is likely to be a challenge based on my difficulty at even walking today. It will now be a case

of swimming & cycling as hard as i can & walking most of the marathon.

Who knows though, maybe if i give my leg enough recovery time I will be able to run a good portion

of it. Time will tell.

 

Photos from The Grafman

 

 

 

yeah yeah, pink hat

Photos from Tour Series

 

 

 Other

 

Fatman to Ironman Tour de France fantasy cycling league set up for anyone wanting to join. Heres the link & league details

http://www.velogames.com/tour-de-france/2013/index.php 

 

League Name: Fatman to Ironman

League Code: 15203047

 

Cheers

Andy

Follow me on Twitter @clearseaz

Donate to The Royal Anglian Benevolent fund

http://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Baxter1

The Cycling Norfolk Church Spotter

http://thecyclingnorfolkchurchspotter.blogspot.co.uk/

The allotment Journey Blog

http://allotmentjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Join the Facebook Group - The Ironman Journey

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/287319678021088/

Say hello on the Fatman to Ironman forum

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=&UTN=191464&last=1&V=1&SP