I have no idea what I'm du-ing

pointer28

Saturday 11/1/14

Run

21.6k with 7k at HM Pace

Plan was for 5k Easy, 2k HM, 2k Easy, 3k HM, 2k Easy, 2k HM, 5k Easy

Actual session:

4.97k @ 5:23 min/km
2k @ 4:13 min/km
2.11k @ 5:14 min/km
3k @ 4:14 min/km
2.38k @ 5:20 min/km
2k @ 4:13 min/km
5.11k @ 5:21 min/km

I use a lovely section of canal path for these intervals which is about 5k from home. It's flat, pretty sheltered and has a lovely, smooth gravel surface which is perfectly safe in nearly all weathers, specifically when it's icy, but the 5k run out was treacherous in parts and took real concentration to pick every footstep and to land gently. In one way it did me the world of good and forced me to take it easy and conserve my energy for the important intervals. These are starting to feel a lot easier now and I got home feeling really strong and could have kept going. A touch over HM distance in 1:47, mad to think that this time last year my race PB for a HM was 1:54. Training really does pay off.

Really enjoyed training this week, tough at times, but every workout achievable and recovered strongly each day. Day off tomorrow and looking forward to another solid week to come.

pointer28

Monday 13/1/14

Run

13k with 24 x 35 secs at 5k Pace

These intervals were meant to be at 3:40 - 3:50 pace but all bar one or two of them were under the 3:40 mark. Felt easy enough for all but the last 2/3 when I started to slow a little bit.

Strength & Conditioning

5 x 5 reps Romanian Deadlift
5 x 5 reps Shoulder Press
5 x 5 reps Glute Bridge
6 x 4 reps Barbell Lunge (alternating sides)

pointer28

Tuesday 14/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - The Thumb - 90 mins

3 sets of 3x3-minute VO2max repeats @ 110-120%FTP (with an extra 105%‘er to kick things off & tack on a few extra TSS points) with 4-minute recoveries between intervals & sets of intervals. Try to settle on a repeatable power output such that you finish each interval...barely. If you complete a set of 3, see if you can handle the next wattage increase. If you get to a point where you simply can’t complete the intervals, down-adjust the “Workout Intensity” as necessary, but make each one of these mean something, make them HURT! And don’t drop your watts lower than 110% FTP.

Goals

By working at very high percentages of pVO2max (power at peak aerobic uptake) which is well above FTP, riders will see tremendous improvements in both aerobic & anaerobic power - all in very little time. Not only can VO2max repeats improve VO2max itself, they have positive effects on muscle endurance and most importantly aerobic endurance capabilities which is especially important for riders working on a very limited amount of weekly training hours. In far less time than that required by traditional base training, riders can develop aerobic capabilities on par with those gained via long hours of long, slow distance. Little time, high stress, comparable adaptation. Try to keep your cadence high, 110+rpm if you can control that much leg speed without bouncing, and do your best to keep that quick spin even as you fatigue, shift gears when necessary to keep your leg speed high. Try to pedal quickly in a light gear to prevent cooking your muscles any sooner than necessary.

By Christ did that hurt. Very nearly fell apart for the last two intervals but managed to pull myself together and get them done. I fell back into my habit of lower cadence for the earlier sets and I cooked my legs too much leaving nothing to work with when I needed the extra power at the end. Anyway, lesson learned and I promise I'll be good in future.

pointer28

Wednesday 15/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Future Days

5 sets of (3 mins @ 95%, 2 mins @ 100%, 1 min @ 105% FTP). 1 min RBI, 2 mins RBS.

I did all of these in the same gear therfore forcing myself to increase my cadence rather than just clicking up a gear. Legs tired from yesterday but felt a bit better by the time I finished.

Run

8.3k @ 5:13 min/km

Legs tired but no pain or injury so out the door and got a run under the belt. I made sure I kept within my easy pace as I have a habit of picking it up too much when I'm not paying attention. I do my hard days as hard as I can and their purpose is to increase speed and aerobic endurance. These easy days have a completely different purpose, one of which is to get used to running on tired legs. I really wish I had a HR for these easy runs but I gave up on them when the 3rd one died, and didn't even bother trying to get it fixed or replaced. Even when it did work, it didn't bloody work with spikes etc. Rumour has it though that the latest Garmin HR actually does work so I might press the order button one of these days.

pointer28

Thursday 16/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Donner

3x12-minute Steady State (95-99% FTP) repeats where riders spend as much time as possible in an aero position; 6-minute recoveries. Work intervals are spent very close to FTP/FTHR without exceeding it. These intervals will bring you just short of the effort level where your muscles flood to the point you’re forced to back off.

Goals

To increase work capability at a given heart rate. Over time, the ability to work harder without accumulating high levels of blood-lactate will increase and HR at all work levels will decrease due to improved ability to deliver oxygen & shuttle lactate to the working muscles - less burn, higher sustainable power; improve ability to sustain power in an aerodynamic position en route to finding the optimal balance between power production & aerodynamic body positioning. Try to keep your cadence in the 85-95rpm range, even as high as 105rpm if you spin well at high cadences while in an aero tuck.

This one wasn't too bad, plenty of hard work but I can manage these endurance style sessions far better than the V02 max stuff which just leave my legs feeling useless. Good news - more V02 max tomorrow :-(

Run

8k @ 5:13 min/km

Usual route, and nothing major to report, legs a bit fatigued but not as bad as yesterday, the fast spinny sessions on the turbo seem to improve them.

pointer28

Friday 17/1/14

Bike

49.22k with 5k TT effort

Trainer Road session on the schedule again for today but the weather isn't bad and I've been stuck indoors on the turbo for the last three days, so I thought feck the schedule, I'm going for a real bike ride.

I felt dreadful at the start and took forever to warm up, even considering turning for home at the 15 k mark. A quick pit stop for a bar of chocolate and it pepped me right up. I threw in a 5k TT style effort at the 35 k mark just to give me some kind of a target to be working on for the future. This is a regular route so I'll hopefully be able to gauge progress based on this.

On a happier note, I'm definitely a stronger (in relative terms) cyclist than I've ever been before. My trousers are getting tight around the quads and loose on the waist, my arse aches less, I'm riding my bike a cog or two higher than I used to for the same effort and my average speed has increased nicely, even with feeling like crap for the first 20 k.

So far I've done about 400 kms since the start of January (17 days). In 2013 I did a total of 1868 kms for the whole year! It turns out that actually riding your bike will make you go faster! Who knew!

pointer28

Monday 20/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Black

6 intervals decreasing in length while increasing in intensity, 10 mins @ 90%, 8 min @ 95%, 6 mins @ 100%, 4 mins @ 105%, 2 mins @ 110% and 1 min @ 115%, 2 mins RBI.

No training since last Friday which is two complete days of rest. I've had a small niggle now and again in my lower right calf but never while training and never lasting more than a few minutes. Saturday morning it was at me when I woke up and continued through the day. The old me would have ignored it and trained through it, the old me also DNS's at DCM last year, losing a month's training and the entry fee! The new me cancelled Saturday's LSR, made an appointment with my PT and rested and iced my leg over the weekend. Luckily it was nothing major just some small scar tissue that needed to be worked on, she also pointed out some other imbalances and gave me lots to work on. Because of this new intelligent approach to training, I only lost one day and feel better all over after a good massage. I really should get these more often just as maintenance if nothing else.

pointer28

Tuesday 21/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Jepson

4x8-minute intervals @ 95-99% FTP with 5-second neuromuscular tags ranging at 150% FTP with 4 minutes of recovery between each interval.

Goals

The bulk of these intervals targets muscular endurance by training you to push the pedals hard for sustained periods of time, but about every 2 minutes the emphasis very briefly shifts to improving muscle fiber recruitment, i.e. how much of your existing muscle mass contributes to turning the pedals.


These short bursts of high power also serve to break up the monotony of the intervals while cultivating the ability to quickly and forcefully change speeds and then abruptly return to a high, sustained power output.


Shoot for a spin above 85rpm during the sustained segments and a cadence well above 100rpm during the brief bursts.


Another day, another turbo session, the FTP sections were OK, getting a lot more doable these days, but the 150% sections really flooded the legs and had to concentrate to get straight back into a rhythm afterwards. No fear of not getting them done though.

Run

8k @ 5:13 min/km

Wet, blustery and miserable but surprisingly warm out. I hate that kind of weather, it doesn't know whether it's one thing or another. First day out for new Kinvaras, few tight spots but nothing to worry about, just need to loosen the laces a bit. My last pair of Saucony's took a while to break in as well, while every pair of Mizuno I own have all been perfect straight from the box. I wonder is it a Saucony thing or should I give up on them and stick to Mizuno in the future?

pointer28

Wednesday 22/1/14

Run

10.3k with 3.3k at 10k Pace

This was meant to be a 75% duration version of McMillan's Ultimate 10k session but I ended up quitting 900m into the second interval. I didn't want to do this all day, I knew I wasn't feeling great but I told myself to just HTFU and get on with it. Bad idea, no pains, no niggles just not enough energy to keep the legs turning over at faster than 4:00 pace.

My current PB's are 44:30 for 10k and 1:37:04 for the HM. The goals times I was working towards were sub 40 for the 10k and sun 1:30 for the HM. I've been having a few issues finishing sessions for a few weeks now and I think it's time to re-evaluate my goals and admit that what I had in mind for the short term is just not practical and only likely to end in injury. I still hope to reach the sub 40 and sub 1:30 and maybe even do it this year but for the races I had planned in April I'm just going to split the difference and target sub 42 and sub 1:33. After April I will enjoy my races over the summer and try again in the Autumn for the loftier goals.

As well as my goal times being unrealistic I also looked back over my TP log and realise that my rest week every 4th is just not easy enough. I usually train about 10 hours a week at the moment and my rest weeks have been about 9 hours. The intensity was lower but I still don't think it was enough. I knew after my last rest week I didn't feel great and this hasn't improved in the last fortnight. If you're not feeling fresh after a rest week, then it wasn't a rest week. I also think I need to invest in a new HR strap as I run my easy runs by pace which means they also might not be as easy as they should.

Anyway, tomorrow will be a full rest day and then I'll get back into it on Friday and over the weekend.

mossym

sounds like a good plan, never going to work if the mojo is missing. get back to enjoying it and see where it goes

pointer28

Saturday 25/1/14

Bike - 31kms

The club have the spins at 7am on a Saturday morning but as I work late on Friday nights I never make them and usually do all my cycling on my own. Today however, the had an introductory/beginners spin at 9am so I decided to tag along just to get out of the house and meet some people. I did it for social reasons rather than fitness to be honest.

The frickin' weather was unreal, gale force winds, monsoon rains, the whole shebang. How we even stayed upright is beyond me. The spin was only 25k as everyone voted to go home at that stage and then another 6k tagged on commuting to the start point and back. Speed was irrelevant as we always waited for the slowest riders but it didn't bother me in the least. I actually enjoyed the spin in a twisted kind of way and I'll have to make more effort to get out on these in the future. Legs felt good, no pains or niggles.

pointer28

Monday 27/1/14

Run

7.8k @ 5:12 min/km

My legs took a few minutes to warm up as I hadn't run in 5 days but once I did the pace felt really, really easy, which it should. Glad to be back running, I could take or leave cycling (and I have done, numerous times) but if I go more than a few days without running I get really antsy. No pains or niggles of any kind.

Tuesday 28/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Galena 90 mins

3x20-minute Sweet Spot (88-94% FTP) efforts with 4 minutes of recovery between intervals. This pace is well below FTP but still requires a high level of focus to remain on target.

Goals

Further aerobic efficiency via Sweet Spot efforts by improving glycogen storage capacity, fat utilization, and the capacity for more intense workouts later on while increasing power output at moderate intensities.

Another good session, legs felt strong throughout, but the hardest part was keeping focused for the 20 minutes intervals. In all honesty because I'm such a geek and a number freak, I probably would have given up through boredom if I hadn't my little line to keep up with the TR graph. Odd as it may seem at least it motivates me in some way to do the work.

OCD? Moi?

joey100

Glad to be back running, I could take or leave cycling

It's funny because from following your log I would have thought it was the cycling you preferred, seem to be very consistent on the cycling and seeing good improvements.

I'm not a number freak at all but that trainerroad graph does seem to have power over people on the turbo, works as well as having someone shouting in your ear.

pointer28

Hi Joey100,

Last year I ran about 2200 kms and cycled about 1700 kms. That's definitely the wrong way round!

Since 1 Jan this year I've done over 500 kms on the bike.

I made a conscious effort this year to get stuck into the bike so I joined Trainer Road and bought a dedicated trainer wheel and tyre so that I have no excuses. I really find TR a great motivational tool, I have a structured plan to follow, and more importantly, it tells me the purpose of each session so I understand why I'm doing it rather than justly blindly doing what I'm told. I was a nightmare to teach in school, always asking "but why" and taking stuff apart to see how they worked.

I'm really enjoying the training this year though and keeping an eye on myself as I've injured myself in the past ignoring injuries and not taking enough rest days.

pointer28

Wednesday 30/1/14

Run

17.7k with 2 x 2k @ HM Pace

Headwind for the two intervals so felt a little harder than they should have. Other than that, pretty tired after yesterday's hard turbo session. I'm really bad at scheduling my week and often end up doing hard sessions two days in a row. I'll have to work on this as although there was nothing particularly wrong with this session, I would have to liked to have felt fresher going into it.

pointer28

Friday 31/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Free Ride 90 minutes

I was meant to do a solid hour session with 4 x 10 minutes at 95-99% FTP. I've done these intervals before and I'm well able to hit the numbers but today I just couldn't sustain any power at all for even a minute or two. So I scrapped the session and rather than waste the day I did 90 minutes watching the TV alternating between 10 minutes easy, 10 minutes endurance.

Nothing of any consequence but it's better than sitting on the sofa and eating biscuits.

Really pissed off now, I have no idea what's wrong with me. I can run easy, I can ride easy but any solid effort at all I just can't maintain. I have to do a medical shortly for my driving licence so I'm going to mention it to the Doc as I think I might be low in Iron or something. I might be coming down with something either but I don't feel any symptoms other than lethargy.

pointer28

Saturday 1/2/14

Run

9.4k at 6:01min/km

My running has been going really badly for the last while so I just wanted to go for a really, really easy one tonight. All I wanted to do was get out for a few kms and come home not having failed in a session and not feeling dejected. If I felt like my RPE was going over about 5 I backed it off and I hardly even broke a sweat. I felt like I could have kept going all night but quit while I was ahead and finished happy. There might just be a light at the end of the tunnel.

These late night easy runs around the town in the cold and dark used to be a staple for me and I'd forgotten how much I really liked them, they're just so peaceful and really help me sleep.

pointer28

Sunday 2/2/14

Bike

35.8k Easy

I went for a good walk in the woods this morning with lots of hills and as the day was so nice I decided to go for a quick spin when I got home. After 3:30pm when I started so fighting daylight all the time. Bit stiff starting off but loosened up and felt great after that, would have loved to have gone a lot longer if I was properly equipped. I have a decent flashing rear light but my front one died and I haven't gotten round to replacing it yet.

Just another little reminder to myself that bikes can actually be ridden outdoors and not just on the turbo.

pointer28

Monday 3/2/14

Run

21.11k Easy

Probably the slowest HM I've done since I started running but I don't care. I got a new HR strap this morning and ran the entirely by HR rather than pace. It's quite a lumpy route and windy in spots so I'm not worried about the pace. This is the first time in months that I've ran a straightforward LSR not worrying about pushing an avg pace or adding in HMP intervals, which I now think could be the reason for a lot of the problems I'm having. I really think I way overdid the intensity over the winter but hopefully I'm on top of it now before doing more serious harm. Finished this feeling good and I think I'll do more like it in the future.

pointer28

Tuesday 4/2/14

Run

6k @ 6.00 min/km AHR 140

Recovery run today, strictly by HR rather than pace. While it felt embarrassingly slow, it actually did what it was meant to do and I came back feeling better than when I started. A couple of weeks ago I was coming back knackered from a supposed recovery run. In future I'm going to do all my easy run by HR and my hard sessions by pace.

On another positive note, I recce'd a new route for my interval sets as the spot I usually use is very exposed and therefore wind is nearly always a problem. Fortunately, Waterways Ireland have improved the canal path heading towards Dublin and the even better news is that it's really sheltered and has a beautiful fine gravel surface which also means it should be runnable in all except the most severe frost.

Bike

Trainer Road - Keeler Needle

With a total of 14 Power Ramps ranging from 115-150% FTP, each set of ramps includes different recovery durations depending on the intensity of the ramps. The key here is to maintain target watts with a steady - and if possible, low - cadence.

Goals

Whether attempting to covert “gym-strength” to on-the-bike strength or simply seeking to develop greater leg strength & control while riding, force ramps help develop the ability to maintain power at low to normal cadences. Some riders can do this in bigger gears than others, but target wattage is the primary aim, low cadence comes second. So perform each set of ramps at a lower-than-usual cadence if possible (pain-free), but spin only as slowly as you can while holding your goals watts keeping in mind that your power output ONLY increases over the duration of each ramp. Whether you spin at 50rpm (advanced), 90rpm (recommended), or anywhere in between, hold your watts and pay attention to any hints of joint pain which mean you’re not quite ready for such strenuous force work, at least not at such low cadences - increase cadence and/or reduce the Workout Intensity. Cadence can range WIDELY. Riders who have done force work in the past and feel safe turning out high wattage very slowly can spin even lower than 60rpm while most riders are better off playing it safely and completing this workout above 80rpm.

Well that was different. The first time I've done a workout anything like that and I certainly never had time to get bored which is my biggest problem on the turbo. In fact, the session was nearly over before I realised I'd forgotten to switch on any music. Regardless, I totally nailed the session and finished it feeling strong and pleased with the work I did. My new mantra of easy sessions easy and hard sessions hard seems to really suit my body.

Overall, I'm back to feeling really positive about my training and while I can't believe how stupid I've been for the past few weeks, I'm glad I copped myself on before I did some real damage.

pointer28

Wednesday 5/2/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Powell 90 minutes

4 sets of 3x3-minute VO2max repeats @ 110-125%FTP (with an extra 105%?er to kick things off & tack on a few extra TSS points) with short, 2-minute recoveries between intervals & sets of intervals.

Goals

By working at very high percentages of pVO2max (power at peak aerobic uptake) which is well above FTP, riders will see tremendous improvements in both aerobic & anaerobic power - all in very little time.

Not only can VO2max repeats improve VO2max itself, they have positive effects on muscle endurance and most importantly aerobic endurance capabilities which is especially important for riders working on a very limited amount of weekly training hours. In far less time than that required by traditional base training, riders can develop aerobic capabilities on par with those gained via long hours of long, slow distance. Little time, high stress, comparable adaptation.

That was the toughest turbo session I have ever done. In terms of AHR, NP, TSS and any other metric you want to use it was the hardest I've ever done and f'ing horrible. I barely managed the last 3 intervals, and when I was finished I felt light headed and nauseous so all in all a really great session and glad I toughed it out and got it done. Looking at the workout beforehand I was genuinely concerned if I would actually be able to finish it at all. I must be getting fitter!

As horrible as it may have been I always get a great sense of accomplishment when I nail a really sadistic interval session whether bike or run. I'd really love a real power meter to be able to do some decent work on outdoor rides.

pointer28

Thursday 27/2/14

Run

12.2k with 4k at HM Pace

Once again doing my easy pace capped by HR and embarrassingly slow, so after 4k easy and then 5 x 20 sec strides I did a solid 4k at HM pace and I must say I felt stronger than I have done in the past for these, the first 2k felt tough but then the discomfort sort of plateaud and it seemed to get easier from there. I could have kept going and done another couple of kms but I have a Duathlon on Sunday and want to stay fresh for that. As for how that will go is anyone's guess, never done one before so I think I'll just do the first run at a steady pace, steady again on the bike and if I'm able I'll push on for the second run. Odd distance of 5k / 20k / 5k, theres also a 3k / 10k / 3k and I had thought about doing the shorter one but think I'll just dive in and go for the longer one.

Dory Dory

i've never done a duathlon, but I've been told when doing a triathlon to think of the swim as a warmup for the bike....and the bike a warmup for the run, so I imagine you can apply the same approach to the duathlon. Best of luck to you!! And enjoy it!!!!

pointer28

Friday 7/2/14

Bike

Trainer Road - Kaweah Queen

4x9-minute intervals in the 95-99% FTP range, rest between intervals is 4 minutes long.

Goals

Time at/near threshold is all about increasing your muscular endurance, i.e. pushing the pedals hard for reasonably long periods of time, and learning to tolerate both the physical and psychological distress that comes with working at this intensity.

As your body becomes accustomed to processing excess lactate and working through high levels of acidic accumulation, i.e. your aerobic fitness improves, your mind becomes familiar with this inherent discomfort in ways that allow you to work harder for longer, i.e. your pain tolerance increases.


Last decent session before the race on Sunday, I'll probably bring the bike for a quick spin and do a quick jog tomorrow, but nothing of any consequence. Not a bad session, got some decent work done but it didn't floor me and I think it's nearly time to revise my FTP upwards. 8 minute test next week so we'll see what happens. Not looking forward to it, but completely understand the point of and necessity of it.

pointer28

Saturday 8/2/14

Run

3.8k @ 6:06 min/km AHR 142

Quick recce of the course at a stupidly slow pace. Legs felt good, effort felt easy as intended. Nothing to worry about with the course either.

Bike

20.5k @ AHR 127

Another course recce but not so great this time. Very dodgy route, brutal surface in spots, lots of potholes but at least I now know the danger spots. The wind was brutal, gale force and hanging onto the bars just to stay upright. Forecast is for slightly less wind tomorrow but only slightly.

Anyway, looking forward to it now. The plan is steady first run, try not to crash because of wind/potholes/loose gravel on the bike and then go a bit harder on the second run (if I'm able).

pointer28

RACE REPORT

Sunday 9/2/14

Rosslare Duathlon

My first time doing one of these so a little nervous as I had no idea what to expect, how I should tackle the race or how my body would respond to the new mixed discipline seeing as I never actually got around to doing a brick session before race day.

Run 1 - 4.76km, 21:34, 4:32min/km, AHR 159

Plan in my head was to stick to 5:00min/km and see how that felt and get home in around 25 minutes conserving my energy for the bike and run to come. From the off I was immediately going faster than I wanted but if felt easy so I ignored the pace and just ran at what felt a nice tempo pace and did it 3 minutes quicker than planned but most importantly I didn't reach T1 in a blubbering mess.

T1 - 1:43

I intentionally took my time here as it was my first race and I didn't want to do something stupid like jump on the bike still wearing runners or without my helmet. Luckily I didn't do either and my HR dropped nicely in the minute or two that it took.

Bike - 21.69km, 44:12, 29.44km/h, AHR 161

I recce'd the bike course the day before and with the weather conditions I knew it was going to be pure torture. According to Met Eireann the winds were "Near Gale Force" but I'll stick to my own description of "Windy as F#ck". The course consisted of two loops of a triangular loop, first into a straight on headwind, then with a cross tailwind than across the bottom of the triangle sheltered from the wind but with a bad surface. For the headwind section I purposely kept my head down and spun a low gear conserving my energy for when I could put it to good use, I picked it up a lot with the tailwind keeping a good speed without killing myself and then on the sheltered road I went all out. I passed a good few on the bike and don't think anyone passed me so I think my tactics were good. This is the first time I've ever rode my bike with purpose and with a goal in mind. The goal was to average 30km/h and while it didn't happen, I'll take it as the wind was a killer.

T2 - 1:43

Same as T1, taking my time to make sure I didn't end up running the last section with my bike helmet on and letting my HR take a break. Legs felt a bit jelly like running through transition but nothing like some of the horror stories I'd heard about.

Run 2 - 4.76km, 20:32, 4:18min/km, AHR 164

The plan was to start off really easy, see how the legs felt and then pick it up if I could. I left T2 at what felt like 6:00min/km pace ie really easy but the watch was telling me 4:20 pace which I just couldn't believe. I was actually swearing at the watch saying it couldn't possibly be right I'm barely jogging. I got to the first kilometre and it was consistent so I just accepted that the legs were better than expected and kept going running as I felt. Passed another few guys who looked spent after a difficult bike and didn't get passed by anybody so happy with my run. I tried to pick it up for the final kilometre and got closer to 4:00min/km but although my heart and lungs were gung ho for a finish line spring the legs just said "no way, that's as hard as we're going today".

Overall, I really loved this race and happy with my performance. I wasn't troubling the guys at the pointy end and in fact I met the leader half way round the run course while I was coming to the end of the bike. I doubt I ever will trouble them either and certainly not anytime soon, but at least I now have some idea what a duathlon entails and something to work from in the future.

A few practical issues: I have a normal Garmin running watch, rather than a tri watch so I recorded the entire thing as a run rather than multisport, (some pretty impressive 1:30min/km splits on that graph!) More importantly, I forgot to switch off auto pause and auto lap. My plan was to hit the lap button into and out of each transition therefore I'd get more accurate splits for each discipline but that's neither here nor there and I think I have them pretty right after some basic maths work. Also, elastic laces might help in the future, my hands and fingers were cold after the bike and it felt very slow and awkward to tie my laces. On the bike front, I have an aluminium sportive bike with a very relaxed geometry, 36 spoke wheels and 25mm tyres. Apart from spending a lot of money on new wheels or a new bike, I think flipping the stem and some new tyres will do a little for my average speed. I don't think I'll ever bother with new wheels for this bike, they're bombproof and perfect for training and I'll hold off until I can afford a whole new bike some time in the future. I did spot a gorgeous new model Cervelo P3 with Zipps and a Power2max and it was simply stunning, I've always loved TT bikes and this has to be one of the nicest around. No idea who owns but well wear!

To finish, although I always loved the idea of Duathlons and thought that I would enjoy them, this was the first one I've actually done and I absolutely loved it. The whole race took me 1:30 roughly and it just flew by. I can't wait to do the next one and now I'm really thinking about some of the foreign Powerman races. Austria looks lovely.

joey100

Well done pointer, the gf's dad done the shorter race down there and from what I've heard your description of the wind was bang on.

On the second run, it always feels slow when you leave T2. You have just been on the bike, probably averaging around 31/32kmph and then you start running around 13kmph. It feels slow but you just have to keep in your mind that it's not really. I find I have to pull back on the 1st kilometre or I'll blow up but from the sounds of it you paced it pretty well. Faster second run than first is always pretty good too, might show you had a bit more speed in the legs than you thought going into the race.

pointer28

Thanks Joey100,

TBH, it's not that I didn't have the speed it's more that I had no idea how to tackle the race, or what pace to run at.

Obviously you're not going to run your standalone 5k PB pace when you have a hard bike and another 5k coming after it but what pace should you run it at? But now I have some idea where I am I have something to improve on. It's so long since I ran a hard race that I don't know what my paces are, I think I might head to a parkrun one of the days and see how I get on just to lay some sort of foundation.

joey100

Duathlons wouldn't really be my thing but I'd say doing the park run would be a good idea, once you have an idea of your standalone time you can make a pretty good guess at what you can run reasonably comfortably.

pointer28

Monday 10/2/14

Rest day, thought about doing a turbo session and turn down the intensity but very tired and achy so took the day off. I've injured myself before by not allowing myself a day off after a race.

Tuesday 11/1/14

Bike

Trainer Road - 8 Minute Test

Words cannot describe how much I hate this session but I fully understand how important it is and why it has to be done so I just bit my tongue and got on with it. The good news is another 13.6% increase in my FTP (virtual) over the last test which is an increase of 29.5% over my first test. So while I hated started the session, I finished it feeling a lot better with myself.

Run

5k @ 5:42 min/km AHR 146

Not quite a brick as I hadn't planned on doing it straight off the bike so didn't have my gear laid out and ready to go. I also wanted to make sure I was properly dried off and well wrapped as I was heading out into the snow and could do without catching pneumonia.

Ran this by HR again and my pace at this easy HR is already starting to pick up a bit. Legs and everything else felt good but freezing cold out there

Productive day and happy with everything I did.