A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

RedB

catweazle wrote: »

Ha you will get there yet Red my young Padawan, my back is still fecked so all I could do today was cycle. Mrs Cat rings me later and asks if I went to the gym today, "yes I did but all I did was sit in the jacussi and try and work the tension out of it".

I have now been given the green light to go to the gym for another Jacussi session after work so I will hit the exercise bike for another hour while she cooks the dinner

It appears you have gone to the Dark Side, Master! Sins of omission are one thing but an outright false statement is surely too much :eek:.

Meanwhile I put in a decent speed session down at the track this evening for my sins. Same as last week with 6 x 80secs with 1 min recovery, 4 x 80secs with 0.5 min recovery and 4 x fast strides following a 5 min jog plus warm up / down + stretching. I even ran 15mins to get to the session as my own warm up. Speed improving and finished ahead of my buddy BB on the last 2-3.

kevin7

Hey RedB,

Fascinating log! You may know me as the cyclist who kept up with you for a while at the Sean Kelly this year before you finally burned me off after the second food stop. (Those food stops were the biz!).
As I hobbled back the short flat route to Dungarvan a broken man, you were busy getting in the face of the serious climbs of Mahon Falls.
Had to respect that ability, specially for one with alleged haphazard training!

I find your log and plans and reports of actual training to be inspiring, cos I'm at that lull of midwinter, kinda training, but with no specific goals. No particular events in mind for next year, so very hard to focus the training.

I may well start one of these logs myself - seems like an excellent idea for setting the goals and keeping honest!

Good luck with yours and hope you reach your 2010 goals.

RedB

Hey back Kevin7,

Ah yes, that guy whose bright idea it was to upgrade from the 100km Sean Kelly cycle to the 160km circuit on the day itself whilst basking in the glow of the first food stop (Yes, they really were the biz). (Have I mentioned previously in this log my tendancy to undertraining? This was another example :rolleyes:) The guy who I said I'd follow seeing as he must know what he was talking about. Surely another 60km can't be all that hard, he said. Sure we're halfway round the 100km circuit and its pretty handy, he said. The guy who slipped away home approaching the second serious climb unknownst to me as I struggled on to my doom and the inevitable Walk Of Shame up the final stretch of Mahon Falls. The guy who was hitting the showers as I struggled up the Mama Road in the wind and rain. (Mental note to self - 60km additional cycling is completely different from 60km up mountains....especially on your own!). Oh yeah, that guy! Hi Kev - how's it going ? No more lurking here. Get your act together and sign up for one of those Great Limerick runs or something. The welcoming world of training logs awaits!

Meanwhile, back in the real world, I managed my first lunchtime run today. Bit of a wobbly start. Slow out of the starting blocks meant I only hit the road at 1.10pm and then did a handy 30min exactly run keeping the HR to an average of 150. Plan on repeating the exercise and extending the distance within the same time/hr. Meant a 10min walk back which probably helped with warmdown. Wash hand basin splash a bit messy but J+J wipes ok. Time involved meant I ended up munching healthy snack food at desk rather than a proper lunch in canteen. Oh well, we live and learn. I'll have to work on my transition phases .

RedB

Day 37 Wed 2/12 - My lunchtime run was followed that evening by a 30min indoor cycle while perched in front of the TV. I'd meant to do some weights as well but the tv hypnotised me and I just ended up watching it . Didn't go to bed early enough either, didn't sleep well and feel a bit fuzzyheaded today as a result. Moral of the story - don't leave the sessions too late, avoid the TV and practice proper sleep hygiene (my new phrase for the day ). I lifted the following from Wikipedia so I'll be reminded of it:
"Common sleep hygiene tips and rationale

One should try to keep a regular sleep schedule seven days a week by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every night/morning. – The body’s circadian rhythm that runs the sleep/wake schedule is sensitive to time changes; an erratic schedule can interfere with it.[3]
Avoiding napping – For people having trouble sleeping at night, giving the body rest during the day may hinder sleep later. Any naps should be kept to no more than 30-45 minutes to avoid entering deeper stages of sleep.[3]
An environment conducive to sleeping is important. – A good sleep environment is quiet, cool and dark, and has a comfortable bed and pillows.[3]
Staying away from stimulants late in the day – Caffeine’s half-life varies with the individual and various metabolic factors, but caffeine can affect your ability to sleep for up to 12 hours or more. Nicotine will linger for about six hours in the body.[3]
Dinner should be eaten at least two hours before bedtime - The body raises its core temperature to digest food, making it difficult to sleep well as sleep is accompanied by a drop in core body temperature.[3][4]
No alcohol near bedtime – Alcohol can reduce sleep latency. However, it severely fragments sleep as it metabolizes. It takes an hour or more to metabolize each shot (1 oz) of liquor or single beer or glass of wine.[3]
Regular exercise – Not only is exercise good for reducing stress, it facilitates better sleep so long as it is completed a few hours before bedtime, giving the body time to cool down again.[3]
Keeping a journal or note pad next to the bed – For people who can’t "shut the brain off" and are afraid of forgetting something important, writing it all down can help. A plan for the following day can, for example, be written early in the evening and be available bedside for jotting down thoughts just before sleep. This is a common practice in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).[3]
A relaxing routine before bedtime – Being engaged and excited, for example by the news or an action film on television, in the last hour before bedtime will often make it difficult to get to sleep. Reading, or a warm bath, is often relaxing.[3]"

Day 38 Thurs 3/12 Feeling a bit weary from combination of training and not enough proper sleep but did a swim session at lunchtime. 1000m with breathing every 2nd stroke. Just trying to get back into the swing of it again and be aware of every part of the stroke, etc. Looking back on Tues session I must have made a mistake on the count as no way was it 750m. Probably only half that. Feeling a bit tired now but the 7km UL Race series awaits this evening so I'll have to get there early, warm up properly and get my head in the game. They haven't been that big but this'll be my third day with double sessions so its gonna take a while to adapt to proper training.

metamorphosis

Best of luck in 2010 redb. Looking forward to limerick marathon?

RedB

ULstudent wrote: »

Best of luck in 2010 redb. Looking forward to limerick marathon?

Thanks ULstudent. I forgot to note here that I did actually sign up for the Limerick Marathon during the week. I met MarieC last night at the UL 7km race and she's on a similar path to me with the Half in Connemara.
You might know the answer to do this question. How do you manage your training plan when it conflicts with races? In particular my training plan calls for a 22miler when I'll be doing the Half so do I do a very extended warm up and down or just scrap it. I actually picked the plan because of the 22miler as I want to ensure I have the proper endurance.

RedB

Day 38 Race Report - 7k UL race series. Another negative split: 16:30 @ turnaround, 32:42 finish. Thought I went off fast enough and felt I was fading on the return leg but I somehow kept picking off runners ahead of me. I thought they were just fading faster than me so I kept pushing on to move up a position. Was mystified at the end to see the time with the neg split as I didn't feel it. Shaved 20+secs off prev week so happy with that. Kevin7 was there for the first time and himself and BB motored off at the start and weren't seen again till after the finish line. A few other familiar faces also. Good chat with MarieC and the lads after in the clubhouse with hot tea, mince pies and biscuits. Went down v. well. Happy with the run and still improving so that's encouraging. No more UL races till the new year.

Day 39 Fri 04/12 Rest day

Day 40 Sat 05/12 LSR - 13KM 70mins Avg HR 150.
Just what I wanted to do . Thought the HR might've been lower but the incline from CPH to past the Golf Club must have taken a small bit more out of me than intended. Nice mild morning when I set out with little wind and only slightly cool but it worsened over the last 3km with cold showers and a touch more wind. Happy to have clocked it up reasonably comfortably compared to 2 weeks ago. Discomfort in the back of the calves was followed by pains in the shins for a half hour spell from about 15mins in but faded towards the end.

RedB

Day 41 Sun 6/12

A few local lads and I had made an arrangement to go for a Sunday morning cycle at 8.15am. A change to my own plans involved me having to cut short the cycle to be home for 9.30am so I then planned on heading out earlier and doing an hour before meeting the lads. Alarm goes at 7am, up and out and hop on the bike at 7.15am. Darkness - ah, so that's why the plan was 8.15am. After a few seconds cycling I realised the back tire was a bit soft so I hopped off and went to remedy it. Long story short I'm still there 30mins later with an assortment of pumps and 2 flat tyres. Throw Put the road bike back and grab the mountain bike complete with carrier and lock. Do a quick 25mins before meeting the lad and proceed to delay them for the next 40mins while I struggle to even make 20kph in places. I veer off home and let them away. It was a bit cool and sunny earlier but the wind and showers arrived near the end. Net result between 7.15-9.30am = 37km. Actual wheeling time probably 1.5hrs so nearly 25kph. Felt really tough also as I had only cycled once (to work) in 12 weeks. Annoyed with myself for not sorting the bike the night before. Feeling like a plonker delaying the lads. Passed a peleton (from Limerick Cycling Club?) later heading out of Adare and they were clocking about 38kph.
Realising that I need to do some serious time on the bike but can't see many slots until after Xmas due to other commitments. I want to keep my main focus on the running over the winter and start to get the swimming going too so the cycling is probably going to have to wait a bit. My endurance in all events is pretty limited so its a question of priorities and opportunities. My main Tri events are in June and Sept so I'm thinking now that I'll wait till March to focus on bike training. It'll be brighter and hopefully my running will be solid by then in the lead into the Connemara Half and the Limerick Marathon. Maybe a 16 week buildup to HOTW with a push on the bike side of things then will help but I'm also concious of the importance of the bike stage in Tri and that its where most time is spent. The indoor bike isn't probably much use and I haven't used it enough either so I'll have to find a better routine that involves more cycling . I can definitely manage more long cycles from June-Sept with minimal family impact.
Oh yeah - cycling is a pain in the ar$e, literally. Really sore left cheek where muscle (hamstring?) ends. Not a happy bunny with the mornings performance.

Day 42 Mon 7/12

Travelling late with work, a bit tired and still sore from cycling so decide its best overall to just rest.

Day 43 Tues 8/12

Track session - 3km time trial. Big crowd of approx 60 out on a surprisingly mild evening. Kevin7 and BB are there and while they head out faster than me, I manage to pass Kevin on the last bend and nearly reel in BB at the finish. Yippee!!......except... its... not... the... finish...:o. Miscounted the laps and take a few seconds walking and gasping to realise this and then have to kick off again. Finished (the second time) in about 13mins. Running in lane 2 and am gonna deduct 10 secs from my time due to that and mixup with lap count to give myself a time of 12:50:P. Its not pretty but its mine. Did the usual warmup / stretching / warmdown also.

Day 44 Wed 9/12

1000m swim with all the grace and elegence of a tractor pulling a slurry tanker through a flood. Arms felt tired from the start, followed by the side muscles(?). Ground it out but not good.

MCOS

Good crowd down alright. Well done on the 5km. Are you going to do the duathlons?

RedB

MCOS wrote: »

Are you going to do the duathlons?

Thanks - ya, I plan on doing the first two but I don't think I'll make the last one. That's where I started this year so it'll be interesting to see how they go. I'd hope to shave several minutes off anyway . I presume you'll be there yourself?

RedB

Day 45 Thurs 10/12

Did a 7am run training session with the Lim Tri Club this morning and feeling pretty good as a result. There were 5 of us at the start and a 6th arrived soon after.

The session involved:
10 min warmup
6 min base HR run
2 min base HR+10 BPM
2 min base HR+15 BPM
(Repeat the above 3 five times)
10 min warmdown.
Total 70min

I'm guessing thats a tempo run. I knew when I arrived that I was the slowest guy there and I drifted back even in the warmup! I had my doubts about the 70mins as thats the duration of my current LSR so I wasn't sure how I'd manage with the fast sections added in. A group of the first 4 lads went ahead during the first split and another guy (NK) was left between me and them, so he waited on for me and it really was the making of the session. He's actually a neighbour who I had seen around and at the Tues night track sessions. I had even introduced myself to him during the Lost Sheep cycle but we both had a lot going on that day so hadn't said much. I don't know what my base HR is so I'm guesstimating 135-140. In the end it wasn't that critical as we ended up doing 6 mins handy running, 2 mins quick and 2 mins quicker . We had a decent pace going that I was happy with and the fast sections felt awesome as we were clipping along, knowing that the recovery section was only a few mins away. It was good having someone else there as I was more inclined to push it. I also really felt well connected with some of the fast sections with good strides and rhythm. Happy days, and home to help with the morning routine as well. Win/Win.

Going to the Munster game tomorrow evening and up to Dublin the following morning for the rest of the weekend so won't get too much done then. Will do a swim at lunch tomorrow and hoping to squeeze in a recovery run somewhere else in the day. Will bring the runners to Dub and maybe sneak a run in there also.:cool:

MCOS

RedB wrote: »

Thanks - ya, I plan on doing the first two but I don't think I'll make the last one. That's where I started this year so it'll be interesting to see how they go. I'd hope to shave several minutes off anyway . I presume you'll be there yourself?

Yep thats where I started this year too, so I'll be back to try and shave a bit off there. It was the first time I'd run off the bike too, I pushed way to hard on the bike and the jelly cramping legs on the ssecond run was not fun!

Good little group running there on thursday mornings. I didn't go this morning as calf still sore, but hopefully will be back next week

RedB

Day 46 Fri 11/12.

1250m swim. Increase in distance a good thing but don't know how MCOS and others can swim 25m or 5/7 strokes on one breath while I'm chugging along on a breath every 2 strokes :eek:.

MCOS

RedB wrote: »

Day 46 Fri 11/12.

1250m swim. Increase in distance a good thing but don't know how MCOS and others can swim 25m or 5/7 strokes on one breath while I'm chugging along on a breath every 2 strokes :eek:.

Its all about being relaxed. If I try and swim 25m with one or no breath when my heart rate is up then I will inevitably fail and usually swallow a mouthful of water and arrive at the deck coughing and sputtering with a red face to boot. First get the hand of bi-lateral breathing. This has been the key thing to improve my stroke this year as I now tend to roll from side to side and more importantly in OW when there are waves hitting you from the side I can change the direction I turn my head if I need to. With the bilateral breathing down you will swim a lot more relaxed and thus your heart lungs are not under so much pressure to rush blood around your system. If you stick with it consistantly and learn to bilaterally breathe with comfort I'll bet you can cover 25m on one breath by Kilkee

Izoard

Nice work on the distance!

Everyone is different, but I breathe on every 4 strokes and only on my left.

Probably not recommended and I've tried to change this a few times, but to be honest, my goal is to reach the end of the IM swim with as little effort as possible.

I just hope it is a course with left turns:-)

RedB

Day 47 - 50 Sat 12/12-Tues 15/12

Really dropped training down the agenda for the last few days as busy with family, work and a bit of socialising. Its going to be like that for the next 7-10 days so I'm just going to roll with it, try to maintain where I am and not do the dog on it too much. I'll spare the log the gory details of pints, santa trains, shopping, late nights and work travel and cut to the chase. Nothing to report except the UL track session last night.

12 x 35 secs (@3km pace?) with 35 secs recovery along with the usual warm up/down + stretching.

Afterwards I discussed what our training plan for the Limerick Marathon will be with my training buddy BB given that we're planning on starting it w/c 28/12 with an 18 week lead in. Given our lack of proper training for the DCM we're going to try and push ourselves so the current plan we decided on is to train for a 3:45-3:50 target time. The idea being that we finish under 4 hours but don't cut it too fine. The slight issue of shaving an hour off my DCM time is foremost on my mind at the moment but I believe the training plans work so its just a matter of sticking to the plan . Having that goal is hopefully going to help to take it easy on the eating and drinking over the holiday period but I am a sucker for a good time so a slight internal conflict to be resolved there!

RedB

Day 51 - 57 Wed 16/12 - Tues 22/12

Another v. busy spell at work followed by family commitments and another bit of sociallising has me a week further into the log but not a lot of progress. In fact I get the distinct impression I'm going slip sliding backwards at the moment. I was quite tired by Sunday from everything going on and a bit of burning the candle at both ends with inadequate rest. So much so that when I did manage to get an early night that night, I woke at 5.15am Mon with a guilty consciense. Tossed and turned for a hour before getting up and doing 45mins on Indoor Bike and 15mins of 'core' work i.e. 3 x 15 sit ups and 3 x 5 pushups :eek:. Dear, oh dear. We do have a long way to go .

Izoard wrote: »

Nice work on the distance!

Everyone is different, but I breathe on every 4 strokes and only on my left.

Probably not recommended and I've tried to change this a few times, but to be honest, my goal is to reach the end of the IM swim with as little effort as possible.

I just hope it is a course with left turns:-)

I've been dragging my swimming gearbag around with me for the last week and only got there today. I generally just plough up and down the lane until its time to go or I tire but I tried putting a bit more structure on it today :rolleyes:.
Did 400m warmup trying to breath every four strokes as per Izorad (I'm a rightie BTW). Could only manage it in spots so it became a mixture of 2/4 strokes per breath but it was generally oxygen deficient! I then tried a couple of 50m 'sprints'. The first one took 60 secs and I went again after 15 secs. Same time for the second but I needed 30 secs after it. Ditto for the third with 45 sec rest and the fourth took approx 65 secs and I was done! It took a lot out of me and I was even aching from my 'core workout' yesterday so that's a fairly sad reflection on the current state of affairs. ROLL ON 2010!! I weant back to my standard 2 stroke easy glide style and did another 500m.

My ambition to complete the 2010 HOTW sub 3 hrs (2009 3:26) is currently aiming at a rough split of:

1500m OW Swim - :30 mins.
T1- 2.5 mins
40+KM Cycle - 1:30 mins
T2 - 2.5 mins
10km Run - :50 mins

Trying to get out of the water under 30mins is going to involve 30 of those 50m sprints back to back. 6 months to go. Hmmmmmm. I managed it this year in 41mins as a complete newbie. I think I'll just have to do the best I can and maybe hit 35mins. My Lost Sheep 1900m swim was 39mins but there was probably a bit of tidal influence there as well. I guess I'll just have to work harder on the bike as well :cool:.

RedB

Day 58 Wed 23/12

Did an early morning run as an attempt to get back on track. Its fair icy around where I live and I thought I might just do a small circuit. I geared up to the max with long thermals, long sleeve base layer, long sleeve running top, cycling jacket, tracksuit bottoms, gloves and hat and they worked a treat. It was -3C when I got in the car later but I was toastie on the run. The paths were dodgy so I went on the roads for most of it as the traffic was quiet. I was quite happy cruising along with HR around 147 and in the 150's uphills. I was just about turning for home to make it a 6miler when I decided to push on and extend the circuit to an 8miler as I was feeling so comfortable and I'm not sure exactly when I'll get out again. Time of 72mins put it spot on the 9min mile pace and I was a happy bunny again with an avg HR of 152.

MCOS

Fair play getting out on those icy roads I used to breathe every 4 to my left also a while back. Even now every 2 sends my heart rate racing. In fact I would hazard a guess that bilateral breathing is easier to develop from every 4 than from every 2!

RedB

Day 59 - 61
Thurs 24/12 - Sat 26/12

Rested Thurs and clocked up the brownie points to get out for the Christmas Day run

Fri was a cold morning and as soon as I stepped out the front door I went flying on the ice and did a Keystone Cops type slip sliding for a few secs before landing on my ar$e. I was to meet BB and arrange cars for the trip in/out of town but he was late due to the treacherous roads. I couldn't even get my car out of the driveway so I had to skate along the ice to the main road where I met him and we crawled into town. We missed the start of the race but joined in at Frank Hogans. The negative temperatures from the beginning of the week had lifted but there was a bit of rain and wind which made it feel much worse. The roads were still icy and slushy and it was a cruel run. The paths were out of bounds due to the ice so we had to run on the road and there was a small bit of traffic. The ice was treacherous but we clipped along as best we could. 3 of my brothers were doing it as well as another buddy (BO'S) but BB and I went ahead at our own pace and made decent progress. I had thrown on my new Garmin 305 (thanks Santa!) without reading the instructions but clocked 31 mins for the 3.75 miles we did which was good given the conditions. No hanging around for long after due to cold wet clothes but the Irish Coffee provided was yummie.

Sat was a slightly better day with higher temps but still ice around. I went to Caherdavin to try to do the 10mile race there but there was no sign of life. Heard on the radio that it'd been cancelled. Came home and went out on my own. Was geared up to the max again so the cold didn't bother me. I had hope to try for a 10miler but I must've had too much Turkey and so wrapped it up on the 8 mile mark in a time of 1:08:46 which was a decent pace for me (8:36/mile). I'm hoping to go below 80mins for 10 miles in 2010 as an intermediate goal so heading the right direction.

RedB

Day 62 - 65

Sun 27/12 - Wed 30/12

18 Weeks to Limerick Marathon so start of training plan. Goal for the week is 25miles running. Even writing that down gives me a shiver as I find it hard to keep to a plan.

Rested up Sun and Mon as was down to Kerry visiting family. Will be heading back down there again at the weekend. Have to figure out how to squeeze in my runs over the week.

Tues - 5M Run at pace. Was aiming at an 8min/mile pace but was able for more so skipped along at about 7:45 pace for the first few miles and then dropped back. 39:20 time meant it was a 7:52 average pace. Happy with that. Avg HR 156. Getting the hang of the Garmin and its great to have that kind of info in real time. Weather still cool but paths all clear now.

Weds - 5M easy run. Slightly different route. 44:18 time = 8:52 pace. Avg HR 152. Pints with buddies last night contribute to the feeling of sluggishness along with the excess food for the last week.

I've added on half a stone over the last few weeks so thats gonna have to come off again soon along with a bit more. I've been holding 90kg for a while now and at 188cm (6'2") thats not the worst but it should probably need to come down to 85kg so there'll be a push in that direction in the New Year. I don't think I'd like the weight to be any lower so the only other alternative is to get taller.

I hear the 10M road race postponed from St Stephens Day is now on New Years Day and down to an 8miler so I might be able to get out to that all going well. That leaves another few miles to squeeze in. Better get earning those brownie points!

RedB

Day 66 - 67

Thurs 31/12 - Fri 1/1

Hit the pool for a flying visit on Thurs with the family in toe so didn't clock any mentionable distance. However I did manage to start working on the alternate breathing which is worth recording. I had to slow right down and concentrate what I was doing on my right side breathing so as to replicate it on the left. Spluttered and coughed my way through several lengths with breaks at the end of each but started getting the hang of it in between lifeguard and play shark duties . Will have to work some more on it but I've started to improve slightly and am hopeful for the future.

Did the Limerick County Road Race on New Years Day but it was shortened from 10M to 8M due to the cold spell with some ice in parts. There was freezing fog but it was dry with no wind. Temp was -2 which resulted in Tom Crean lookalikes with frozen white eyebrows and hair. I went in shorts and my legs had white patches where the moisture in the fog had frozen. Very strange appearances through the fog at the finish line. Mary Celeste-like? I was aiming for 8min mile pace with my sub 80 min 10 mile target in mind and the Garmin was excellent for keeping me on that pace. So much so that I found myself going faster on the flat so that the average would balance out any of the slight inclines where my speed dipped. I found the pace ok to maintain and realised as it went on that I was able to maintain the faster pace. It was empowering to be able to hold it and I was even considering going on past the finish line to clock up 10miles but my family had actually come out as a surprise to cheer me on at the finish line so I just pulled up dead on the 8mile mark in 61.5min at an average pace of 7:42. Very very happy with that . The training over the last month or so is kicking in. Roll on the rest of 2010:).

Blueskye

Nice one. Well done!

MCOS

well done RedB good running. nice start to the New Year. I didn't get my ass up out of bed for this one.... back to proper training this week though.

catweazle

A good start for the year Redb and double bonus points for resisting the temptation to ignore the family and keep running, that would have gone down like a lead balloon.

RedB

catweazle wrote: »

A good start for the year Redb and double bonus points for resisting the temptation to ignore the family and keep running, that would have gone down like a lead balloon.

Thanks for the interest ULstudent, Blueskye, MCOS & catweazle. Nice to know there's someone out there .

Trying to avoid the lead balloon moments as much as possible but still bringing the gear with me to Kerry today to try and squeeze in another few miles before tomorrow evening.;)

kevin7

RedB wrote: »

Day 66 - 67

Thurs 31/12 - Fri 1/1

so I just pulled up dead on the 8mile mark in 61.5min at an average pace of 7:42. Very very happy with that . The training over the last month or so is kicking in. Roll on the rest of 2010:).

Aw, thats a great time RedB! Looks like you really got some good Christmas runs in despite the weather. I can see why you're looking forward to 2010!

RedB

Day 68-69

Sat 2/1 - Sun 3/1

Rest day on Sat but squeezed an 8.35M run in Sun from Banna into Tralee. Took it nice and easy. Sort of a LSR but without an increase in distance. 73mins, Avg Pace 8:44, Avg HR 147 BPM. Glad to have got it in as it keeps my training plan on track. Well, it is Week 1 .

Total for the week = 26.35M (5/5/8/8.35).

The plan for next week is to increase in slightly (28M) and start swimming with the Tri Club on Thurs evenings if there's room.

Izoard

RedB wrote: »

My Lost Sheep 1900m swim was 39mins but there was probably a bit of tidal influence there as well. I guess I'll just have to work harder on the bike as well :cool:.

I'd bite your hand off for that time...took me 53mins to exit the water at Groomsport for Ireman in '08!

Good luck for 2010...sub 8min miles for the 8miler is a great start.

RedB

Day 70 -71

Mon 4/1 - Tues 5/1

Mon was a rest day on my marathon training plan but I got 2 separate calls from buddies looking to go for a run. Family circumstances and a desire to not mess with the plan meant I declined but it got me onto the whole plan issue. I went back to 'The Triathlete's Training Bible' and filled out "The Plan" for the year given that it was Week 1. :cool:. (see attached incl a blank template for anyone else so inclined).

Its ambitious in its aims and path to say the least but at least its a plan. It goes from a weekly total of 8.5hours during the Prep period to a max of 15hrs/wk at the end of base training. It is geared towards 500 annual hours training which is the minimum suggested for HIM. I'm taking it with a huge pinch of salt as I don't honestly think I can spare that amount of time due to other commitments. However, I am going to try to follow it as closely as I can. My basic problem at the moment is lack of endurance so I'm going to have to put in the hours to get that up. I see a lot of early morning and lunchtime sessions in the year ahead but so be it.

Tues - ran a circuit at lunchtime that ended up as 4.75M in 37mins. Avg pace 7:45. Avg HR 155.
A light snow shower last night and continuing cold temps meant it was a bit of a dodgy route with some icy patches and slush. Had to take it handy in places but was grand for most of it. I had hoped to hit 5M so I'll have to tweek the route next time. Hoping to do exercise bike and core work later this evening at home.

(Update - ended up doing 2 hours on the exercise bike. MrsB went out so dragged the bike into the sitting room, threw on the Blues Brothers DVD and spun along with increased pace during the music bits. Tried to aim for cadance of 90rpm but was probably 80 for most of the time and 100 for the music. Didn't think the DVD would be that long but it was worth doing compared to flopping down on the couch. Its not as good as a turbo or a outdoor cycle but at least its something on the bike front. My 'derrier' knew all about it towards the end!)