Underachievers Please Try Harder

RJM85

Monday
Morning lie in - had a swim in the plan but Connor slept through the night for the first time in a good while and he was still sound asleep when the alarm went off at 5. Rolled over and took an extra hour in bed and will catch the swim up later in the week.

Bike - 40 mins easy spinning recovery.

Tuesday
Swim - 1.5k. (The one in the plan from Monday) Aerobic stuff. Feel for the water is definitely coming back.

Bike - 45 min - Aerobic test. Warm up followed by 10 minutes @ 157hr - 261w avg, and 10 minutes @ 164hr - 282w avg. Spin down easy.

Wednesday
Run - 45 mins - aerobic test. Warm up followed by 10 minutes @ 161hr - 4:24/km, and 10 minutes @ 170hr - 4:11/km.

Swim - 2km - Vo2 Max session - lots of fast 50s. Horrible.

RJM85

Thursday

Weights session - 40 mins. Body weight stuff and lunges. Seeing some progress here, although it's generally leaving me fairly sore afterwards. (30 mins easy running to and from the gym also).

Turbo - 1 hour with shorter intervals. Tough enough little set but mercifully short.

Run 15 mins with HR capped straight off the bike. The pace on these runs is starting to noticably improve.

Friday
Long bike - 2 hrs - done on the turbo.
Run - 15 mins with HR capped straight off the bike. Moving well. Happy with this one.

RJM85

Saturday

Run - 1hr - 30 mins @ 145/150 HR, 30 mins @ 155/60. Happy enough with the paces for this. 4:56/km on the way out and 4:21 /km on the way back. 155/60 is top of zone 2, lower zone 3 for me.

Swim - 30 mins - easy

Sunday

Run - 30 mins - very short, very horrible intervals. Went well.

Swim - 1hr - straigh swim. bit distracted and not happy with the focus but got anhour / 3.3k done either way.

Totals:
Run - 3hrs 16
Bike - 4hrs 26
Swim - 2hrs 28
S&C - 40 mins
Total ~ 11hrs.

First recovery week done. Next block will likely be arguably the toughest in that I'm still not fit enough to really be fully recovered going into next week I think. That said - there have been a few signs this week that there's light at the end of the tunnel and that I'm actually moving towards it. Going to try make a concerted effort with weight from tomorrow - as in actually weighing myself on a regular basis and keeping the pressure on that front. It /has/ been moving in the right direction (my clothes and mirror can tell me that), but I think I could do with a jump start on it.

RJM85

Saturday

Run - 1hr - 30 mins @ 145/150 HR, 30 mins @ 155/60. Happy enough with the paces for this. 4:56/km on the way out and 4:21 /km on the way back. 155/60 is top of zone 2, lower zone 3 for me.

Swim - 30 mins - easy

Sunday

Run - 30 mins - very short, very horrible intervals. Went well.

Swim - 1hr - straigh swim. bit distracted and not happy with the focus but got anhour / 3.3k done either way.

Totals:
Run - 3hrs 16
Bike - 4hrs 26
Swim - 2hrs 28
S&C - 40 mins
Total ~ 11hrs.

First recovery week done. Next block will likely be arguably the toughest in that I'm still not fit enough to really be fully recovered going into next week I think. That said - there have been a few signs this week that there's light at the end of the tunnel and that I'm actually moving towards it. Going to try make a concerted effort with weight from tomorrow - as in actually weighing myself on a regular basis and keeping the pressure on that front. It /has/ been moving in the right direction (my clothes and mirror can tell me that), but I think I could do with a jump start on it.

RJM85

Monday

Swim – 1hr – 3.2k. Main set of 100’s on 1.35 with pads, band, buoy, and some IM stuff. Going well.

Bike – 1hr - easy spinning

Rub – 20 mins easy off the bike.



Tuesday

S&C – 45 mins – lunges and bodyweight things – still making progress, albeit slow

Run – 30 mins – easy to and from the gym

Bike – 90mins – standing hill reps – hard session but happy with it.



Wednesday

Swim – 1hr - 3.2k – longer intervals of 300m

Run – 50min – moderate effort – Z3 running by HR – coming in about 4.15/km



Thursday

Swim – 40mins (1hr planned) – 2.25k (3k planned) – had to be cut a bit short as my bus had me in Dublin a bit late and the pool closed at 8.30. Main set was some MAX effort 50’s. Horrible.

Bike – 90 mins – LT intervals 3 x 15 minutes. Happy with the effort on this, and starting to see some improvement on power figures too.

Run – 20 mins easy off the bike coming in 4.40/km pace. As I’m doing these runs off the bike on the same course twice a week, it’s nice to look back and see the pace slowly creeping up for the same effort.



Friday

S&C – 45mins – bit of everything – lifts, core work, lunges. Feeling it now.

My legs were a bit dead this morning after yesterday’s sessions – I just walked briskly to and from the gym this morning instead.



All going pretty well so far this week. Yesterday’s swim session is annoying me on TP seeing it coloured amber instead of green! Have my first race of the year on Sunday at the Sportsmans Duathlon – it won’t be pretty, and I’m not expecting much from myself tbh. But it will be interesting to see where I am on a course I know well at this stage.

pgibbo

Best of luck with the duathlon. Good solid training going on. You might surprise yourself!!!

Bambaata

Best of luck Sunday. How many hours do you spend commuting each week? Ive had to commute the past few months and it has me zonked by Friday. Early Saturday rides are a non-runner with how tired i do be!!

RJM85

Bambaata wrote: »

Best of luck Sunday. How many hours do you spend commuting each week? Ive had to commute the past few months and it has me zonked by Friday. Early Saturday rides are a non-runner with how tired i do be!!

Commute is about 3 hours a day total on average. I'm usually zonked on a Friday alright - I'm commuting by bus though as opposed to car, so I can usually manage 20 winks. Driving is much worse.

Kurt_Godel

What did you do the 50m MAX in, and what sort of recovery?

(good luck in the duathlon, no swimming so no pressure )

Bambaata

Yeah im about the same but am driving. I dont have the bus option as my wife is also with me.

RJM85

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

What did you do the 50m MAX in, and what sort of recovery?

(good luck in the duathlon, no swimming so no pressure )

High 30s and drifted down to 42 by the last one. Swim sprints are not my forte by any measure.

RJM85

Bambaata wrote: »

Yeah im about the same but am driving. I dont have the bus option as my wife is also with me.

Are you able to split the driving duties? Its amazing how tiring it can actually be.

Kurt_Godel

RJM85 wrote: »

High 30s and drifted down to 42 by the last one. Swim sprints are not my forte by any measure.

I think you can learn a lot from how you swim sprint, for triathlon (a lot more useful than how you run sprint, for instance).

10*50m sub 40 consistent (off say 60) is a lot better that 7<40 plus 3>40, I think.

The more I understand about swimming the more I see that how you swim going fast, feeds into how you swim going long. Head down, ass up; but consistent all the way.

RJM85

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

I think you can learn a lot from how you swim sprint, for triathlon (a lot more useful than how you run sprint, for instance).

10*50m sub 40 consistent (off say 60) is a lot better that 7<40 plus 3>40, I think.

The more I understand about swimming the more I see that how you swim going fast, feeds into how you swim going long. Head down, ass up; but consistent all the way.

To a certain extent it depends how much of a sprint the 50s are. The plan for that set said MAX so I busted myself on the first one and each subsequent one, but one obviously can't keep hitting the same MAX over and over again in a short space of time so the Times dropped off. I had a hard time standing at the end of the lane by the last one. If the instruction was hard (note - no caps ) I'd say I could have managed a much more consistent effort.

Kurt_Godel

RJM85 wrote: »

To a certain extent it depends how much of a sprint the 50s are. The plan for that set said MAX so I busted myself on the first one and each subsequent one, but one obviously can't keep hitting the same MAX over and over again in a short space of time so the Times dropped off. I had a hard time standing at the end of the lane by the last one. If the instruction was hard (note - no caps ) I'd say I could have managed a much more consistent effort.

Good point- big difference between Max and MAX

RJM85

Saturday

Bike - 3.5hrs - into a headwind for the first ~2hrs. Solo spin - felt the lack of endurance the last 45 minutes or so.

Run - 15 mins off the bike with 5*20 second sprints.

*getting excuses in early*

A good training day but I was seeing stars by the end of the run. Just a coffee for breakfast and water in the bidon. I can't for the life of me figure out why I thought that was a good idea with a race tomorrow. Early night tonight and tomorrow will be interesting.

*nerves*

zico10

RJM85 wrote: »

Just a coffee for breakfast and water in the bidon. I can't for the life of me figure out why I thought that was a good idea with a race tomorrow.

I often do this. I wouldn't really worry about whether it impacts on your race tomorrow. Really how important is it in grand scheme of things? Knowing you can get through 4 hours of training on water alone isn't a bad thing to discover about yourself. Just have a can of Red Bull and a few Wine Gums before the race tomorrow, and you might surprise yourself.

RJM85

Sportsmans Duathlon 1

4th overall 52:29. I'm relatively happy with everything, and more than a bit surprised at how well some of it went given where I thought my fitness was.

Good to get a dry run of night before race - checking over bike, leaving things ready etc. Everything went as smoothly as could be expected with a toddler in the house! First race of the year always has me quite nervous and I managed to work myself up a bit a couple of times last year - everything was nice and calm and had 'good nerves' and a bit of excitement this morning. Was expecting to suffer a bit given best part of 4 hours done yesterday, but once I got on the bike this morning everything felt pretty good.

First run went well - felt like I paced myself well, not going off with the mad sprint at the start and then slowly working my way up the field from the turn to Ravensdale on.

Came into T1 in about 8th. My brake lever managed to get caught in the back wheel of the bike beside me and it took what felt like an age to get it free - I'm guessing it lost me about 20 - 30 seconds in reality. Lost about 8 or so places before getting out on the bike.

Bike went really well. Happy that I felt good in sitting aero (I thought it might get uncomfortable since I'm still working off Christmas!), and surprised ad how well I was passing people. Power numbers (306 avg, I think) higher than the last Sportsmans I did which was April last year when I was a solid 5 months into training. Was 2nd coming into T2.

Probably noticed the "work in progress" fitness most on the second run. Could feel calves cramping up a little, and I found it harder than I normally do to run 'fast' out of T2 and felt a bit like a car stuck in high gear or something if that makes sense. Running off the bike in shorter races is something I normally find I'm decent at. Having said that it's possible I went a bit too hard on the bike. Passed by 2nd and 3rd on the run. I was a bit miffed at the end given 3rd only came in 10 seconds ahead of me and I lost time in T1, but it's neither here nor there really.

Happy that I went full gas - I couldn't stand at the end, so there wasn't much left in the tank!

Onwards and upwards!

RJM85

Sportsmans Duathlon 1

4th overall 52:29. I'm relatively happy with everything, and more than a bit surprised at how well some of it went given where I thought my fitness was.

Good to get a dry run of night before race - checking over bike, leaving things ready etc. Everything went as smoothly as could be expected with a toddler in the house! First race of the year always has me quite nervous and I managed to work myself up a bit a couple of times last year - everything was nice and calm and had 'good nerves' and a bit of excitement this morning. Was expecting to suffer a bit given best part of 4 hours done yesterday, but once I got on the bike this morning everything felt pretty good.

First run went well - felt like I paced myself well, not going off with the mad sprint at the start and then slowly working my way up the field from the turn to Ravensdale on.

Came into T1 in about 8th. My brake lever managed to get caught in the back wheel of the bike beside me and it took what felt like an age to get it free - I'm guessing it lost me about 20 - 30 seconds in reality. Lost about 8 or so places before getting out on the bike.

Bike went really well. Happy that I felt good in sitting aero (I thought it might get uncomfortable since I'm still working off Christmas!), and surprised ad how well I was passing people. Power numbers (306 avg, I think) higher than the last Sportsmans I did which was April last year when I was a solid 5 months into training. Was 2nd coming into T2.

Probably noticed the "work in progress" fitness most on the second run. Could feel calves cramping up a little, and I found it harder than I normally do to run 'fast' out of T2 and felt a bit like a car stuck in high gear or something if that makes sense. Running off the bike in shorter races is something I normally find I'm decent at. Having said that it's possible I went a bit too hard on the bike. Passed by 2nd and 3rd on the run. I was a bit miffed at the end given 3rd only came in 10 seconds ahead of me and I lost time in T1, but it's neither here nor there really.

Happy that I went full gas - I couldn't stand at the end, so there wasn't much left in the tank!

Onwards and upwards!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Good hit out by the sounds of it. Is it on the same course? Had heard rumours the course was changing.

RJM85

Atticus Famous Salt wrote: »

Good hit out by the sounds of it. Is it on the same course? Had heard rumours the course was changing.

Yes same course. There were rumours alright but the back gate was open so same course as normal.

RJM85

Weekly totals:
Swim: 2hrs 50
Bike: 9hrs
Run: 3hrs
S&C: 1hr 30
Total: 16 hrs 20

Good week. Good signs. Progress being made on all fronts.

Kurt_Godel

You mentioned weight and keeping a food diary- it sounds successful so far. How much have you lost/ what foods have you sacrificed?

RJM85

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

You mentioned weight and keeping a food diary- it sounds successful so far. How much have you lost/ what foods have you sacrificed?

Hard to say what I've lost - I avoided going near the scales at Christmas time out of sheer terror. I'm about 78/9 kg now which is still 4-5kg heavier than August. Judging by clothes, trousers etc. I've lost an inch - an inch and a half around my waist. I've still plenty of work to do, but it's moving in the right direction.

No bread, sweets, junk, beer etc 6 days a week, a treat or two on a Friday, and counting calories. I've replaced my old 1 / 2 beers once a week with a non alcoholic beer as well as I've found that to be a slippery slope.

Normal day looks like this:
2 boiled eggs for breakfast - pre swim / gym
Porridge - post swim
Salad for lunch
Meat, 2 veg, sweet potato for dinner
Apple for desert
Rice cake, almond butter, banana and honey for pre bed snack

If it's a big training day and I'm particularly hungry I'll have natural yoghurt with berries between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. Or some fruit.

joey100

Well done on the race, great result for a race you didn't feel in top shape for. Sets you up well for the season ahead.

Diet looks very very similar to mine. Lots of sweet potato being eaten in our house at the moment. I've tried a new thing with the porridge, got it in a health food cafe place in skerries. Soak the porridge oats in milk overnight and then eat with a cut up apple. I eat it cold, lovely mid morning snack. Not to everyone's taste though.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Well done on the race, great result for a race you didn't feel in top shape for. Sets you up well for the season ahead.

Diet looks very very similar to mine. Lots of sweet potato being eaten in our house at the moment. I've tried a new thing with the porridge, got it in a health food cafe place in skerries. Soak the porridge oats in milk overnight and then eat with a cut up apple. I eat it cold, lovely mid morning snack. Not to everyone's taste though.

I'm always up for trying something new! I'll try that tomorrow!

mossym

RJM85 wrote: »

I'm always up for trying something new! I'll try that tomorrow!

soak the oats in 50:50 milk/greek yoghurt, add some honey and fruit(dried, mashed up banana or both) and stick in fridge overnight. another variation on what joey mentioned

zico10

mossym wrote: »

soak the oats in 50:50 milk/greek yoghurt, add some honey and fruit(dried, mashed up banana or both) and stick in fridge overnight. another variation on what joey mentioned

Then if you really want to lose weight, throw it in the bin and eat a grapefruit instead.

I very seldom eat anything before an a.m. session, and if I'm really keen to trim down, this is honestly what I'll do. When I'm really panicked, six hours might go by, between getting up, doing a 1½ swim and eating the grapefruit, before I'll eat any food of substance.

Once 'Tom Crean would volunteer to march alone into the Antarctic whiteness, on a solo trek of 35 miles. This effort came at the end of a 1,500 mile return march, hauling a sledge in harness, in the unforgiving and brutal Antarctic climate. Crean somehow completed the course in 18 hours.' And he did it in an already emaciated state, with only a bar of chocolate and a few biscuits for sustenance.

http://tomcreandiscovery.com/?p=1275

If Tom Crean could manage this, at 78-79kg, I imagine you have enough body fat reserves to get you through the odd training session, in what you might think is an under fueled state.

Final word to Kate Moss;
"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

I hope you (& mossym) take this in the spirit it is intended.

RJM85

I'm a fan of fasted training sessions tbh, but not necessarily from a weight loss perspective. At this stage I know I can do a 4-4.5hr bike on an empty stomach or a long run of up to about 2 hours depending on the pace. It's a good mental excersise if nothing else.

The danger I find especially for longer sessions is that I then overcompensate when I eventually do eat. Routine has worked well for me in the past - I know what I'll be eating and I know when.

RJM85

Also; at my current weight I'm fairly certain. I could get to Australia on my bike in a fasted state.