Wednesday Training Time

Another good day today, a lot of effort expended so it will be a nice easy day tomorrow.
Lunchtime swim, 40 minutes of continuous swimming, but in amongst that were 3 lots of 200m really hard efforts. In fact at one stage, even though only for a length I kept pace with my 'swim coach' and was even pushing to go passed, but I couldn't keep that level of effort going for any longer, so just swam easy for a bit of a rest. Swimming is really improving since I got my kick going well and am better balanced and more streamlined in the water.

Bike ride this evening, and it was a good one. Very hard effort, took in 3 long climbs, first from Wool to Lulworth Castle, via Newtown Hill, not so steep the gradient, but a good 4 mile uphill effort which got my legs working hard. And before I forget, before that climb I was on a slight uphill straight stretch of 6 miles into a strong headwind. 2nd climb was just under 2 miles, from Lulworth Castle onto the top of the firing range. Much steeper this climb, but by this time my legs were working well and I felt very strong and powered my way up the climb, seated all the way and recovered almost immediately once over the top. 3rd climb was my old favourite from Swanage up to Kingston via Langton Matravers. Took this one nice and steady, and again finished strong at the top. I started to tire on my way back down to Corfe Castle, at around 34 miles. Reason being is I only lef thome with 2 Power Gels, a bottle of water and a bottle of Electrolyte energy drink. Not enough. I was sweating a lot in the warm evening air and I actually cramped up a little during the ride as well. I stopped in Corfe Castle at a pub where they kindly filled my drinks bottle with water! Yes, water, not beer!!! And I had a can of Red Bull, just to give me a lift for the remaining 8 miles home. I pushed very hard on the way back, shouting at myself to push harder and telling myself I was not feeling enough pain!! Obviously the Red Bull was working, and I powered home into a headwind at a really good pace, shattered but feeling great.
Stats:
time - 2 hours 30 minutes and 23 seconds
distance - 68.6km ( 42.6 miles)
Average speed - 29.4 kph (18.3 mph)
max speed - 58.3 kph (36.2 mph)
no heart rate as I forgot my monitor!
no cadence as done on Scott S30, which is riding really well at the moment. Need a new chain though in the next couple of weeks.
I think I will use this bike for Half Ironman, as the bike course is very hilly, and put my Easton wheels on it, as they are super light, ideal for climbing.
At the moment, I'm well on course to go under 3 hours for Half Ironman UK, 90km bike leg, as long as I get my nutrition right. That's the key.

Tuesday lunchtime run

What a lovely sunny and warm day. Out for an 8 mile run. 1 hour and 4 minutes. Felt very good, well hydrated and full of running. Much prefer these new Asics running shoes, very happy with them. Weather was lovely, and after 4 miles i had to take my top off as the wind dropped and it was very warm. Ran down by Sandbanks in Poole, the water did look rather inviting the further I went.
Good recovery, legs in good shape, even after heavy sessions today. Rode home from work on bike as well. So in all, I done 3 hours of training today. Feel good but a little tired so an early night for me to recover well, and swim and bike tomorrow. Have only 11 days now of hard training before I start 2 week taper up to June 17th. Getting to the point now where I just want the race to start and am fighting to keep up the training at the moment. But even though I'm mentally a little jaded I'm still getting out there and working hard. I'm sure it will all pay off in the end.

Tuesday morning bike ride

Well, las night I got on the turbo and after less than 10 minutes I got off! I just felt too tired. I have had 3 nights of rubbish sleep, my little boy has not been so well and waking up in the night, and I have still not shaken this cold off.
So Iafter a reasonable night I left home early and did a 1.5 hour ride to work, in lovely sunshine. And a good ride it was. But it does take me a good 40 minutes for my legs to get working hard. My recovery over the climbs is excellent at the moment as well. The short steep stff I'm powering my way over and then accelerating away over the top. This is very positive and bodes well for the bike course at Half Ironman. The climb from Swanage over to Studland is a nice long one which rises steeply towards the end, and I rode this steadily, well within myself and had lots left to push it up a couople of gears towards the end and power over the top.
This was a good ride and has got me back into riding as the last 2 weeks I've been a bit negative about my cycling ability and worrying that my fitness level is not whaty it should be. But I think once this cold has finally gone (and I left most of it on the road from Wareham to Swanage!!) I'll be a lot stronger and will have no trouble riding hard for 3 hours.

Monday training

Monday lunch and back in the pool for 33 minutes of swimming. Would have been longer but my left shoulder is a bit niggly. Nothing severe but enough soreness when extending it to warrant me not wanting me to swim any longer. I don't think I've injured it in any way, I've not knocked it, or I've not overdone the swimming. In fact, I probably haven't done enough swimming! I think maybe my shoulders aren't quite as flexible as they should be and I need to get warmed up more in the pool. I'll take it reasonably easy for the next few swims and see how my shoulder gets on.
I will be back on the turbo trainer tonight as the weather has turned nasty and I need 2 hours on the bike.

Even healthy people get ill !

Well, I've had sniffles and a bit of a dragging on cold and catarrh for the pasted 10 days, and it is only just showing signs of going now! In fact this morning it was worse than ever, but as Sunday passes me by it's eased off and I feel loads better, just a little tired.
]I have had the last 3 days off, and I decided to go out running today, trying out my two new pairs of shoes. 1 is a pair of Asics GT 220s, or something like that, for all round training and long distance, and the 2nd pair is a pair of Brooks ST-Racers. Can't miss them, bright yellow!! Took them out today for 2 miles in each pair, a nice little loop near where I live. And it is nice to run in new shoes! 13 minutes 46 for the first 2 miles and then I switched to the Brooks - 14 minutes 15 for the second 2 miles. Finished with plenty to spare. Feeling good about my running at the moment, and improving all the time. Goal is to break 20 minutes for 5km by October and run under 42 minutes for 10km. Next year I want to go sub 40 minutes for 10k. I know I have to do that to be competitive at age-group level with the triathlon racing, but I know I can do it with some good training over the winter.
I now have less than 4 weeks to Half Ironman UK!!! 2 weeks of hard training left and then 2 weeks of tapering. I will be hammering it on the bike for the next 2 weeks, and getting at least 4 brick sessions in there, with some easier ones when I taper. I am riding the bike course next weekend, so I'll be able to get a feel for how to ride it come race day. Itching to get going on it now! 40 minute pool sessions from now on, all about going the distance on the swim, working hard on the bike and steady as she goes on the run. Bring it on!!

Thursday afternoon Bike ride

Well, I was full of cold and felt lowsy but I justhad to get out of the house and get some fresh air on my bike. And glad I did, lovely warm sunny day, but still very windy. Did a 28 mile loop in 1 hour and 30 minutes, very hilly and nasty crosswind sections. Did this ride on my Plasma, and oh how I love those Easton wheels, such a joy to ride. Only thing I found was on the hills as I powered down the cranks my back wheel was lifting ever so slightly and I didn't seem to get the traction I needed. But small price to pay for what is a most enjoyable ride. Despite feeling below par, my legs were strong and I could have ridden at that pace for a lot longer. Average speed was 18.2 mph, not that fast, but if I can maintain that over the Half Ironman distance I will be pleased. Any more is a bonus. I know I can go a lot faster but I need to save something for the run.
I'm having two days off training this weekend, save a nice leisurely swim on Saturday. I think at this stage, a lot of the hard work is done, and I don't want to overdo it, with only 30 days to go. But I will still have 2 weeks with some long sessions in there, so not easing off too much just yet!

Wednesday Lunchtime Run

just short of 10 miles today. Good run, starting off at easy pace and building throughout. 1 hour and 18 minutes. Legs in good shape, good recovery, feel reasonably fresh. Felt good to do a long run, and will be doing a few more of these before June 17th. Another run on Friday, which will be a short one(5km) and then a long run on Sunday, about 9 miles.
Will spend an hour on the turbo trainer tonight, just turning my legs over, active recovery session, keep em fresh!

Back to it

Was in the pool yesterday for a leisurely recovery swim, got me feeling much better, any aches and pains from Sunday's exertions faded away!
Back in the pool again today for 30 minutes of swimming. I am stroking so much better now and have better body position in the water, and my kick has improved, keeping me better balanced and body is straighter. Will do two long swims later this week.
Back on the turbo this evening, as weather and light not good. 1 hour 20 minutes of sustained effort, adding a couple of time trial effort intervals into the mix. Good structured session, and felt good to do a proper bike workout. I'm not able to ride to work mon, tue and wed, and I feel my bike endurance has just dipped a little, but hopefully will get that back by the end of next week, and really push on to be strong for 17th June.

Got my race kit for 17th June today, Orca 226 tri top and tri pants. I want a separate top and shorts rather than a suit, for long distances. Very comfortable, looking forward to racing in them. Top has 2 deep pockets for extra gels etc, which will come in handy for on the run leg. Will try it out on 3rd June when I do Poole 10k road race. I will do a swim and bike before and aim to get to the start line on time!!

Results from Stratford 220 Triathlon

http://www.fun2tri.co.uk/Stratford-new/results.htm

Surprisingly good, apart from a disastrous bike! Best swim yet over 400m and best 5km run time in a race so far - and that includes stopping to pee!!

Stratford 220 Triathlon

Well, I was up for this one, and feeling good when I arrived at 7am. Pool time was 8:45 so had lots of time to prepare and relax. In fact I was very relaxed for this one. Everyone was very friendly and chatty, and we all lined up for the swim , off in 15 second intervals. They had over 1000 people to get into the pool and out again!! Swim hats were provided for this one.
My swim was excellent, by my standards anyway. I have been working at a 2-beat kick, as used by USA Olympic swimmer Lindsay Benko, and focussing on that really helped to keep me nice and high in the water and more streamlined. Not sure what my time was for 400m, but it felt good and I passed a few swimmers. It was divided into 3 wide lanes, 4 lengths in each lane and then duck under each rope at end of 4. It was a 33.3 metre pool.
Exited the swim feeling great and got to bike. And it all went wrong from there on in!!!!
Bike fell off the rack, as I was getting my helmet on. Didn't hit the floor, I just managed to hold onto it, but it just threw my concentration a bit. Then I ran with bike to mount line and there was someone right infront stuck on the line and I tried to get on my bike befopre the line(without realising) and just managed to avoid a penalty by stopping quick. Then mounted and when I rounded the bend to the next straight, I couldn't get my right foot in my shoe! I forgot I hadn't opened the velcro fastening wide enough! So I had to stop to get it on. By this stage any hopes of a fast time seemed gone. That said, I got back on and started to ride hard. Now soemthing just did not feel right, and after 2 miles I thought I had a slow puncture.
I was coming up to slow bikers just too slow myself, whereas I'm usually flying past. It was a nice flat course, quite a blustery wind but I'm strong enough to get through the wind. But I just could not get the bike moving, and it was such hard work. I couldn't understand it. Not until mile 11 and a downhill section could I get any speed up. And then even on flat smooth surface I just couldn't get up to a decent speed. Something was not right. That said I persevered and got off the bike and was quick onto the run.
This was a well-organised event but this has to be the dullest run course ever!! Difficult to describe but it was a T shape loop, done twice. 5km. And what a nightmare I had to stop to pee!! I needed to go as soon as I started the swim, but just couldn't, and in the end I was that fed up with my performance so far I nipped behind a bush!! The run was all off-road, and a little wet and muddy underfoot. Brooks are not good in the wet and I was skidding around a fair bit.
That said, I ran at a reasonably good pace and tucked in behind someone. I didn't go hard and felt really fresh when I finished. 400m swim, 14 mile bike, 5km run - 1 hour 14 minutes. Slow! Felt like I could have gone a lot faster, but then again, we all have days like this one!
So I showered and refreshed and recovered well in the car and went to put my bike back into the car, when I at last discovered what had slowed me down on the bike. My rear brake block was tight against the rear wheel! Arrrgghhhhh!!!! And I must have taken off a fair amount of rubber, as there was a sizable chunk of it hanging off one end of the block!! No wonder I was so slow, and found it hard work! I felt somewhat relieved in a way because I thought it was my legs that were the problem. That said, I was the problem, because I should have noticed it before racking my bike, or at least one final check in transition! I reckon without a shadow of a doubt that's cost me about 5 minutes. On that course today I would have averaged around 25mph, and not the 20.8 that I did. Plus I would have been more positive on the run, and maybe shaved a couple of minutes off that time. Very disappointing as this was the last race before Half Ironman UK. But then again, good that it happened today and not on 17th June, because I would not like to cycle 90km with the same problem!!!
I'll put that down as good practice and a good training session.
It's all good experience, and I'll put down today's race firmly in that category.

Lesson of the day, double check and triple check bike!!