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Thursday 31 March 2011

Off Road Duathlon in Wareham Forest

Check Purbeck Tri Club's website for more info. I will be there, having a little run out and a social. Nowhere near race fit but it is a lovely venue to race and should be good fun! http://www.tripurbeck.com/blog/race-details-sika-wood-duathlon-10th-april/

Latest News

70 minutes of running today!!! Woo-hoo!!! Ankle is much much better and I am moving almost 100% freely now. Still a little cautious on rough terrain, but I ran a good mix of on and ooff-road today at a very sedentary 8 min mile pace, and altough it felt like hard work, it;' a very positive step on the road back to full training. So since my last update I rode a 28 mile time trial last Sunday, and finished a solid 3rd, with a course PB. Very pleased, I felt ok, not great, but then again, not rubbish either. A lot of strength in my legs, but noticing 2 things. 1. I have not got enough miles in my legs and 2. my ankle is still not allowing me to pull-through at the top of the pedal stroke. So, when I can get these two things right, then I expect some quick times this year, and a big improvement. Will set me up nicely for a return to triathlon racing next season. I am looking ahead to 2012, and a shot at a really good Ironman finish and then beyond that. Maybe another trip to a 70.3 world champs in Las Vegas, or maybe even Hawaii in 2 years' time. Who knows? I know I am in very good shape at the moment. I continue to do some very good workouts involving boxing and kettlebells and throwing heavy logs around! I am back in the pool twice a week and am getting back some feel for the water. I am leaner and am getting in some regular daily riding on the bike now. All in all if I can just keep some consistency, remain injury free and enjoy what I'm doing then I think the future of racing for Mr. B looks very positive. More news to follow.

Sunday 20 March 2011

Peanut butter and raisin cookies

Lovin these little beauties I have just made from scratch.
Flour, egg, butter, sugar, raisins, peanut butter, baking powder, salt. Mix it all in, then stick in oven in little balls and 15 minutes later out they come. Let em cool, happy eating!
Healthy snack. For energy bars I will just add some oats. Tasty!!!!

Saturday 19 March 2011

Weekend

Great day of training today. 2 Forest Fit circuit sessions, putting the guys and gals through their paces and getting involved with the log fest! Still not running freely and taking it easy, but conscious of my ankle and not doing any more damage. Very much on the mend, so still massage and stretch and trying to wokr the scar tissue out.
This afternoon I rode out hard for 12 miles to Weymouth CC 10 mile time trial, on a tricky day, very bright and sunny but windy and cold. I couldn't get my shoes in my pedals for the first 500m, and was faffing around. There was noone to hold up the riders at the start, so start with a foot down. So not the best of starts and cost me 20 seconds or so. But had a solid ride, again not feeling great but not feeling bad either. A 23' 42" in the end, so not so bad. 4th place behind 3 strong riders, http://ccweymouth.co.uk/results.html
Looking good for when I start to up the training and my ankle gets stronger so I can drive through properly at the top of the pedal stroke. I then rode home on very tired legs and am now very very tired, but well fed and watered, and ready for lots of sleep!

Friday 18 March 2011

Kettlebells

Loving these things at the moment. Using them with some clients and training with them myself as a bit of practice.
Wikipedia has great info on them if you want to find out what they are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettlebell

For all over strength and conditioning and a damn tough workout they are superb.

I did this the other day for 5 minutes with only a 16kg bell. Aching all over for 2 days after!!
Do this set twice.
1. 20 single arm kettlebell swings (10 each arm)
Rest for 20 seconds
2. 20 single arm kettlebell pull ups ( 10 each arm)
Rest for 20 seconds
3. 20 single arm kettlebell snatches ( 10 each arm)
Rest for 20 seconds

Thursday 17 March 2011

A week gone by

It's about a week since last post and I've not really had much time or the inclination to sit down and write anything constructive.
So here goes. Last Sunday's time trial went ok, 25 mile, and I rode a 59' 03", which on the day was 3rd quickest. I felt ok, not brilliant, but not bad, and never really got into it. It was very much like a training ride, which is pleasing in itself as I know there is much more to come once I start putting some work in. Next one is in 10 days, 28 mile sporting course, which I won last year, and rode well. So I'm hoping to do the same again. As we a lot of these things, it's as much in the head as in the legs, and if I can get myself focussed then I should ride it well.
My ankle contnues to mend, but I'm still not doing any running of any note. I have done a couple of workouts in the gym, kettlebells and some boxing and I have worked muscles in different ways which has left me aching! But in a good way. I also managed to drag myself to the pool last night for a swim workout. My god, how slow am I??!!! I have lost my feel for the water, so I am going to make a concerted effort to swim more and claw back some speed in the water, before I lose it forever!
More PT today with some of my clients and a bike workout later this evening. Forgot to mention I managed to lose my Garmin Edge 305 bike computer somwehere in Wareham Forest at the weekend, so I am having to make do with a cheap alternative, which is ok, but I miss it on the turbo for doing structured workouts with heartrate monitor. Oh well, I'll have to start saving again!
And one more thing, I shovelled 2 x 1 tonne bags of gravel yesterday into our garden. Great strength workout, my back and arms are really achy this morning!
Onwards and upwards!

Friday 11 March 2011

Body Fat

Just thought I would share a couple of interesting facts I have discovered about fat burning and weight management.

1. A good balanced diet with reduced sugars and good quality fats.
2. Short intense workouts.
3. A high metabolic rate.
4. Fuel is in abundance in our bodies as fat stores.
5. Reduction in bodyfat and slimmer shape.

1 + 2 = 3
3 + 4 = 5

This works. I am walking proof of this. I have had to change the way I train over the last few weeks because of ankle injury and lack of time, so my workouts have become shorter but more intense. I have cut lots of sugar from my diet and have only low GI and low GL carbs. Loads of dairy, milk, butter, eggs, red meat and nuts, seeds, dried fruit. Things like oatcakes and peanut butter. I eat little and often and don't go long periods without food. Last year I was training 17-20 hours a week and my bodyfat % was about 12%, and I was consuming a vast amount of food. At the moment, I train between 5 and 7 hours a week. My bodyfat 8 weeks ago was 16%, it is now at 13%. And is dropping, and will continue to drop when I eventually add some endurance training in there. My weight has gone up, but this is due to muscle gain of about 5 kilos over the last 3 months. Core strength and arms and shoulders, and also legs. I am leaner than I have been before and have more strength. It will be very interesting to see how I get on next season when I return to long distance racing. This year, it's shorter stuff, mainly time trialing on the bike.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Mrs B runs London!

37 days to go til Tracey takes on 26.2 miles round the City of London.

She is doing fantastic, and her husband is chief coach, trainer, masseur and motivational coach!
Tracey's first attempt at this distance, she is on schedule to do a great rae.

Please give what you can towards and really worthy cause.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/TraceyBirtwistle

Friday 4 March 2011

Panic Over

Great Physio session last night and the result is that the ankle sprain is not as bad as first thought. So recovery is well under way and I'll keep working it and massage, ice, heat, stretch and massage and exercise, and I'll back off the running. Can get straight back to cycling, albeit a week of less intense efforts. And I should be well on the road to full fitness in a few weeks' time. Again, I've said it before, 24 hours is a long time!

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Ankle Sprain info

Great website on ankle sprains for runners.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/245555-running-after-an-ankle-sprain/

Groundhog day

So, fighting fit, raring to go. Forest Fit session to do, followed by bike and swim tonight. Feeling good.
Out of the car, jog through car park, ankle, turn, snap. On the floor again! And so it happens. Nothing I could do, another piece of bad luck and another few weeks of recovery. It was all going so well. Trying desperately to remain positive but incredibly difficult. Basically, 2011 triathlon season is over before it started. Thankfully I am fairly upbeat about my cycling and at least I can focus on that. Just means that my running will have to be put on hold for a while. 2 weeks before I can realistically pedal with any force and then another couple of weeks before I can tumble turn in the pool. A bit of a setback but onwards and upwards, least I know what to do and I'm getting early treatment on it tomorrow from physio.
Leg up, 48 hours RICE and then mobilise it slowly. Deja Vu.

Return to training

Well, I decided to don the running shoes for a proper run out for the first time in 7 weeks. 45 minutes later and I returned home very pleased, but a bit tired! Slow and still tight in the calf over the ankle, but at least I am now confident of going out and running without the risk of further injury. Will keep it easy for the next 2 weeks and hopefully by the end of the month I should be getting back some run fitness and speed.
I also got back in the pool for a decent swimset last night. Feel for the water not as bad as I thought, just a bit slow, to be expected. But I'll settle for that. This year is just about keeping myself there or thereabouts and focussing on bike riding. Must find a race of some sort to do soon, otherwise I won't do anything all season as races get booked up so fast thesed days.
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