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Dilbert75

Neady83 wrote: »

Don't be so hard on yourself C, you can only do what life will allow at that moment in time and the above training isn't too shabby at all. I bet having a plan will help loads though

Dory Dory wrote: »

I agree with Needy, you're honestly not doing a bad job at all. Really. And the addition of a plan is brilliant! It will give you structure and some focus. Just make sure the plan isn't too ambitious...keep it realistic and don't be hard on yourself if life gets in the way.

Thank you both for trying to be encouraging but 2-3 meandering sessions a week is not going to get me anywhere. I'm not terribly ambitious but I need to start remembering that an hour of training is about 4% of a day. Surely I can manage that.

mossym

Plan is an important first step. know the sessions you have to do each day.

second bit is figure out in the day where they fit, before work, lunchtime, after work. then figure out what might stop them happening, for example at lunchtime have your lunch packed with you so you've no excuse that you had to go get something. have the running gear all ready before you go to bed, swimming gear already in the car, that sort of thing.

half the time the planning and preparing to train is as much work as the actual sessions

i'm struggling with this myself at the moment, but if you don't do it, as you've found, then none of the sessions get done

mossym

Plan is an important first step. know the sessions you have to do each day.

second bit is figure out in the day where they fit, before work, lunchtime, after work. then figure out what might stop them happening, for example at lunchtime have your lunch packed with you so you've no excuse that you had to go get something. have the running gear all ready before you go to bed, swimming gear already in the car, that sort of thing.

half the time the planning and preparing to train is as much work as the actual sessions

i'm struggling with this myself at the moment, but if you don't do it, as you've found, then none of the sessions get done

Dilbert75

Great advice Mossy thanks.

Dilbert75

Fist 3 days of The Plan. Like every good plan, there's a rest day and it was the first day (well the plan ACTUALLY says swim Monday, run and gym Tuesday and rest Wednesday but I've club swim on Tuesday and I'd never survive it with tired arms and shoulders so I've adjusted it).

Anyhoo I achieved my plan on Monday. Tús maith leath na hoibre.

Tuesday was club swim. Was late eating due to my first monthly project presentation to The Board (I survived without brandy). So i had a much fuller stomach than I'd have liked and I was worrying about the possibility of spinach leaves floating around the pool.

Total distance for me was 1750m and included sets where three of us in the novice lane took turns leading out. I normally avoid this but Coach said... And the other two guys are fairly new additions to the lane and they're much more evenly paced with me than my previous lane-mates. So I was pushed much harder to keep going. I managed not to share my spinach leaves but it felt close on several occasions. On the upside I couldn't have nearly done this four months ago. Back then I couldn't even have done the warm up without stopping for a rest. Progress.

Wednesday
Run: 10 mins warm up in heart rate zone 2. 6x20s hill sprints with jog back breaks. 15 mins at HR below 80% of max, 5 mins gentle to cool down. Went grand but low HR sections were much slower than I'd normally run. Maybe that's good. 7k in 40 mins.

Gym: My Day 1 routine. 3x sets of weights exercises followed by 3x sets of core exercises. Had to deal with small groups of guys monopolising several machines for maybe 15 mins at a time but worked around them and got it done. I suspect my abs are going to hurt as much for the next two days as they did after the last gym session. On the other hand it tells me there are some muscles still in there somewhere! Even apart from waiting for machines there were breaks but i finished it all. Total 45 mins.

The first disturbances to my training have reared their heads though. Off to Dublin on Fri pm till Sunday with lots of driving on Saturday (I'm split between Mrs D's first ultra in Donadea and Master D running Leinster indoors in Athlone; it'll be some mess if he qualifies for the final). So I've yet to work out how that's going to work.

However I think I've dodged a 5-day trip to the States the week after next. Would have been North Carolina for a day, Minnesota for two days and Michigan for a day. Dunno how I'd get any training done with a schedule like that.

career move

Good luck to all the family at the weekend. Sounds like you might need a time turner on Saturday

Neady83

Nice going with your swimming, it's worth putting in the work when you can see the improvements

Good luck to Mrs. and Master D at the weekend, you have your work cut out for you

Dilbert75

Bag packed for the gym going to work. Just about 7pm when I got out and ready to eat the steering wheel. Home for dinner, chill out and up on the turbo. 10 min warmup, 10x(60s high cadence + 60s easy), 10 mins cooldown. Aimed the cadence at 90-100 but should probably have moved that window up a bit - but I'd the Garmin programmed so it'd only have been nagging me. Done now though. 100% of something is better than 0% of something bigger.

Dory Dory

Good luck to everyone at the weekend!!

Dilbert75

Today was to be a swim for 30-45 mins but, with the travelling over the weekend, I decided to do tomorrow's gym session too. So just under an hour of that (weights + core) then 15 mins of leg foam rolling. Then into the pool for 30 mins and 1250m of fc and bs including 100 with paddles and pb. Would have stayed longer except dinner was calling (no lunch had) and the rest of the pool apart from my lane was full of swimming lessons; complete with bored kids encroaching on the lane while waiting their turn to go.:mad:

Dilbert75

As predicted no time for training today. 12 hours on the road / at AIT now ending with food. Successful day though - Master D got through to the 800m final, though he's more comfortable at longer diatances, and ultimately finished outside the medals. And Mrs. D finished 3rd in Donadea on her ultra debut.

Dilbert75

Yesterday's run was to be 40 mins off road. Being stuck in Dublin the best I could manage this morning was 45 mins (8.45k) over to, around and back from Bushy Park. Cold, including hailstones, but I felt better for doing it.

Dilbert75

Last week's numbers vs plan:
Swim 100%
Bike 38% (missed hour on Sunday)
Run 103%
Gym 175%

I'm trying to be a little flexible on timing of sessions but am not going to hide a missed session. That said, I did that hour on the bike this evening and took a 30 for 30 penalty - 30 watts extra for 30 mins. So avg 180W for 30 mins and 150W min for the other 30 mins. Total was 34.6km in an hour, 168W average. I'm sure I'll pay for it at club swim tomorrow.

Edit: according to the wattbike I have pretty well balanced pedalling. It's very much figure of 8 rather than perfect circle but neither leg appears to be doing much more work than the other. So I guess that's good.

Dilbert75

Club swim
Mixture of drills and sets of decreasing length/increasing pace. Total 2000m (my first 2km club swim / any swim in an hour). This went really well - I didn't feel out of my depth. Couple of pointers from Coach on persistent problems in my stroke but also some words of encouragement that progress is being made. And it is. And I love making progress.

Dory Dory

^^^ Well done you!!!

Steroo

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Club swim
Mixture of drills and sets of decreasing length/increasing pace. Total 2000m (my first 2km club swim / any swim in an hour). This went really well - I didn't feel out of my depth. Couple of pointers from Coach on persistent problems in my stroke but also some words of encouragement that progress is being made. And it is. And I love making progress.

Great buzz

Dilbert75

Today was very similar to last Wednesday, just with 2 extra hill repeats in the run.

Run: 10 mins warm up in heart rate zone 2. 8x20s hill sprints with jog back breaks. 15 mins at HR below 80% of max, 5 mins gentle to cool down. It was freezing and when I went outside my hr instantly went into zone 4 - I guess my skin sent the "more heat" signal and that was the result so I ended up slowing even further than last week to keep in the desired hr zone. Eventually warmed up when I was well into my hill repeats. That'll teach me to leave gloves and leggings at home when it's 2.5°C. c.7.5k in c.43 mins.

Gym: My Day 1 routine. 3x sets of weights exercises followed by 3x sets of core exercises. Upped these from 10-12 reps. Again had to deal with small groups of guys and a few individual gurls monopolising machines or specific weights for maybe 15 mins at a time but worked around them and got it done. One of the offending girls was throwing all sorts of weights around before giving a demonatration of a cross between pilates and pole dancing using only a bench. I'd say she wasn't even born the last time I could see my abs but it was mighty impressive nonetheless. Total 50 mins.

MojoMaker

Dilbert75 wrote: »

One of the offending girls was throwing all sorts of weights around before giving a demonatration of a cross between pilates and pole dancing using only a bench. I'd say she wasn't even born the last time I could see my abs but it was mighty impressive nonetheless. Total 50 mins.

Dilbert75

Wattbike:
10 mins warmup
12x(1 min high cadence, low gear <75% max hr; 1 min recovery)
11 mins cooldown

The Grid:
15 mins foam rolling - 2 mins per quad, 2 mins per hamstring, 2 mins per calf, 1.5 mins per shin

Dilbert75

Plan today called for 30-45 mins of swimming focussing on technique. Completed just over 37 1/2 minutes, 1500m, trying to pay attention to stretching out, body position, head position and catch. Not simultaneously, obviously, cos I'm male and can't multitask.

Neady83

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Not simultaneously, obviously, cos I'm male and can't multitask.

I have to object to this, I'm a girl and I'm finding this coordination business tough too

You're really doing a great job with this training plan, fair play.

Dilbert75

Thanks S.

Today the plan called for 45 mins of easy trail running and 30 mins of gym. But....

Mrs, Master & Miss D were all doing JFK Parkrun so I did too. And, despite my intentions of easy running, I pelted it around, finishing in 20:15 (which I reckon is ok on a hilly course-http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1056686846). Heart rate was in zone 5 for much of it and I hadn't much else to give. Jogged back about a k to meet Mrs & Miss D and back to finish at a more reasonable pace.

Made up the difference with 3.5k of rolling hills in 20 mins on the treadmill. Then on to my day 2 routine with core - about 50 mins (still too much of it being spent lying groaning between exercises).

Entered my first two races, both with Master D - Mondello Duathlon (standard) in April and Loughrea Sprint tri in July. Really looking forward to Mondello - I spent a lot of time there in my 20s with one of my friends; helping him get his car ready, checking his belts and minding his will while he was racing. Thankfully I always got to give it back to him on the same day. Really looking forward to Loughrea too - I've a couple of friends doing it with me (and a couple more are sitting on the fence!). I guess it's the first of my two A goal races for the year, the other being Tri the Hook on August 20th. I'll enter that when the Visa bill rolls over!

Dory Dory

JFK?? John F. Kennedy???

And well done on your run...and way cool on your events!

Dilbert75

Dory Dory wrote: »

JFK?? John F. Kennedy???

Yep. He was a local so there's an inordinate amount of stuff called after him around here. That Parkrun takes place in an arboretum named after him.

Dilbert75

Today the plan called for a 70 min easy cycle, so myself and Master D headed out. I was up against the clock for a dog walk and an afternoon arrangement in Wexford. So i found a route on MapMyRide and out with us. Was windy but dry. That was fine with me but not so much Master D - young, fit and fast though he is, his legs struggle for power on hills and against wind (well he is only 13). It quickly became apparent that I'd have to find a way other than speed to get value out of it. So it became a low cadence spin. Ended up doing 30.28 in just under 80 mins.

The round up for the week vs. plan is:
Swim 113%
Bike 177% (by virtue of having one of last week's cycles in this week)
Run 113%
Gym 167%

Neady83

I'll be in Loughrea to cheer you on from the fence It's good motivation to have them A goals written down.

You've a nice week of training done, how's the body holding up after it?

Dilbert75

Neady83 wrote: »

I'll be in Loughrea to cheer you on from the fence It's good motivation to have them A goals written down.

You've a nice week of training done, how's the body holding up after it?

I hear ya! Body is mostly grand, apart from a strange soreness on the top of my left foot. It could be that I had my runner too tight on Sat but it's persisting today, despite having been ok on the bike. No running till Wednesday so hopefully it'll clear up.

Dilbert75

Club swim. Mostly 100m fc sprints. 1350m in total - ended with another goddamn calf cramp. It can't be magnesium deficiency - I'm taking supplements every day and eating fresh spinach 4 days a week. I also made Monday my rest day so I wouldn't be going into swim night fatigued. Bloody frustrating.

Dory Dory

Potassium?? Do you eat bananas??

Dilbert75

Dory Dory wrote: »

Potassium?? Do you eat bananas??

One a day pretty much every day.

Fwiw two of the last three incidents have been during something nonstandard; the previous time we were sprinting and jumping straight out of the pool onto the deck; last night we'd just done lengths of seal (3x strokes fc, 3x strokes BC, repeated) and then went into massed sprints with fast changes of direction. But I'm the only one limping to the side of the pool in each case.