Park run yesterday morning. This time both Achilles decided to have a little grumble after I did a slow 30 minutes yesterday. I ran the first half with Wheezy junior to get warmed up a bit before pushing on to record a 21:15 for my 10th park run finish. I think I can now get my first Parkrun club t-shirt. :-) Good fun, although the weather decided to turn a bit grotty after the glorious sunshine we had earlier in the week.
On Thursday I got back into a K2 for the first time in 18 months or so; maybe longer? Jamie and I decided to meet up and have a little splash about for old times sake. At the boathouse we came across our old Discovery that we used in the 2010 race and it still had our race number on it. We contemplated taking it out as Jamie seemed to think I would have him in but we decided on a Condor instead. It was a beautiful morning, really warm and pleasant but we paddled no more than 2.5 miles over a 40 minute period. Blimey. And we've done this for 24 hours before? How did we do that? I was very sore at the end, my right shoulder was particularly feeling it. We stayed dry, had a bit of fun and ended up spending a lot longer chatting over a coffee. I have really noticed my lack of core strength recently and maybe a regular paddle now and again might be a good way of getting some of that back. We are going to try to meet up for a paddle more regularly and see if we can get our old bodies back into some kind of condition and if we have a decent summer then we can get a few miles under our belts.
Today was a lumpy 40 mile ride with Simon taking in Newlands, Coombe Bottom, Crocknorth and Pebble Hill. Felt pretty good. Steady if not spectacular It's a 25 TT next week which should give me a better indication of where my cycling is at the moment and if a sub 1 hour is doable in the next couple of months.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Monday, 6 April 2015
Hot cross buns equals...
.....the DW.
It's always the case that at this time of year, my blog, which I estimate is read by about 4 people, gets a significant surge in traffic. The reason for this is down to the DW. I have to admit to getting fairly misty eyed about it myself and as I watch the tracker being updated, following the couple of crews that I am usually aware of, I have to admit to pangs of envy and the feeling that I would like to do it again. There is always a small flurry of texts or some Facebook banter between Jamie, Adam and myself, almost trying to goad each other into committing towards another year of training. Sometimes, I even get back into a kayak and do a paddle or two. I really would love to do it again one day. It still stands as the hardest and most rewarding thing I have done and while it is a cheesy line, it is true that anyone who finishes the DW is a winner.
My DW Race 2010
My DW Race 2011
My DW Race 2012
That said, I have been pretty busy doing other things. A lovely week walking in the Lakes was preceded by my 9th Park run (19:36). A solid run with no running in the two weeks before owing to a cold, but my left Achilles got very sore half way round, so I'm going to have to get stretching again and probably take it a little easy for a few weeks while it eases off.
On the same day I went with the Phoenix to the London Velodrome to have my first ever go at track riding. It was absolutely brilliant, made even more special by having Wheezy Junior having a go too. With 32 of us going it worked out at just over £10 each for an hour's riding, with coaching and including the hire of the Condor fixed wheel bikes. They split the group into two, basically those of the club who had ridden on a track before and those of us who had not. We were taken from doing basic laps around the cote (that's the blue band at the bottom of the track) and by the end of it most of us were circulating up round the top of the banking. It is very steep! I loved it and we are hopefully going back in the autumn so that we can progress through the levels. If you get a chance, then go.
So I got out for a gentle 50 miler yesterday while the sun started to shine; my first long bike ride in a few weeks. As ever, too late in trying to get some base bike miles in but the hills were not too painful and I spent a pleasant 3 hours in my own company. This week's going to be about getting a few more bike miles under my belt while the weather is pretty good and I am still on holibobs.
It's always the case that at this time of year, my blog, which I estimate is read by about 4 people, gets a significant surge in traffic. The reason for this is down to the DW. I have to admit to getting fairly misty eyed about it myself and as I watch the tracker being updated, following the couple of crews that I am usually aware of, I have to admit to pangs of envy and the feeling that I would like to do it again. There is always a small flurry of texts or some Facebook banter between Jamie, Adam and myself, almost trying to goad each other into committing towards another year of training. Sometimes, I even get back into a kayak and do a paddle or two. I really would love to do it again one day. It still stands as the hardest and most rewarding thing I have done and while it is a cheesy line, it is true that anyone who finishes the DW is a winner.
My DW Race 2010
My DW Race 2011
My DW Race 2012
That said, I have been pretty busy doing other things. A lovely week walking in the Lakes was preceded by my 9th Park run (19:36). A solid run with no running in the two weeks before owing to a cold, but my left Achilles got very sore half way round, so I'm going to have to get stretching again and probably take it a little easy for a few weeks while it eases off.
 |
| I felt fast; I was slow. |
So I got out for a gentle 50 miler yesterday while the sun started to shine; my first long bike ride in a few weeks. As ever, too late in trying to get some base bike miles in but the hills were not too painful and I spent a pleasant 3 hours in my own company. This week's going to be about getting a few more bike miles under my belt while the weather is pretty good and I am still on holibobs.
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Back in the saddle
It was my first tt of the season and it was the SCCU Sporting 21, which I rode last year. A two lap affair with a fast bumpy descent over a couple of miles followed by a much longer drag back for the rest of the lap. I hadn't looked at the weather forecast and didn't realise it was due to be so cold. I therefore sat in the car park at the HQ with my heated car seats on trying to delay the inevitable, but with 10 minutes to go I had to make my way to the start.
The first lap was really horrible and a rider who started 2 minutes behind me caught me after about a third of the lap. Unlike last year I was riding my road bike as I just felt it would give me a more comfortable ride. I just didn't fancy this course on a tt bike. After negotiating the descent we turned back northwards to the start and it was into the eye of a very cold northerly wind while ascending all the time. My speed dropped even further and at the first large hill my minute man went past me like I was standing still.
After that it was a change of mentality and I just thought about riding steadily to the finish and my second lap was actually much better, particularly on the climbs. I think I had warmed up a bit by then although I still couldn't find my feet. I ended up riding almost three minutes faster than last year despite not being on the argon. An improvement of sorts.
I have not done a park run for a couple of weeks. Out of nowhere, on a very gentle run my left Achilles started to get very sore so I have cut right back on the running. At the moment I am just fitting in some training as and when I can which I suppose keeps thing interesting.
The first lap was really horrible and a rider who started 2 minutes behind me caught me after about a third of the lap. Unlike last year I was riding my road bike as I just felt it would give me a more comfortable ride. I just didn't fancy this course on a tt bike. After negotiating the descent we turned back northwards to the start and it was into the eye of a very cold northerly wind while ascending all the time. My speed dropped even further and at the first large hill my minute man went past me like I was standing still.
After that it was a change of mentality and I just thought about riding steadily to the finish and my second lap was actually much better, particularly on the climbs. I think I had warmed up a bit by then although I still couldn't find my feet. I ended up riding almost three minutes faster than last year despite not being on the argon. An improvement of sorts.
I have not done a park run for a couple of weeks. Out of nowhere, on a very gentle run my left Achilles started to get very sore so I have cut right back on the running. At the moment I am just fitting in some training as and when I can which I suppose keeps thing interesting.
Monday, 2 March 2015
Parkrun #7
19:18 34/994
No stupidly long warm up this time. Just a quick 800 m jog and then straight to the start. I put myself much nearer the front and found myself galloping along at my usual pace much more quickly, although my legs were a bit heavy initially. It was a pretty windy day so the middle leg felt quite slow (my Garmin has decided not to send any data to my laptop so I don't have any pace info at all), but I was still overtaking a few people in the last kilometre. I started my sprint too early and got overhauled on the line by a whipper snapper. Still it was a comeback pb, so pretty pleased. Wheezy Junior did his second Parkrun and set a new pb by over 30 seconds as well, so that was a great effort. I think he'll be going sub 22 before too long.
Other than that. not a lot to report. Running is going ok but no real long runs but I am keeping the faster running going. I've got to get some time in the saddle at some point as my first Sporting tt is this weekend and it's going to be a horrible one. 27 hilly miles on no real training whatsoever. It's going to hurt. A lot.
No stupidly long warm up this time. Just a quick 800 m jog and then straight to the start. I put myself much nearer the front and found myself galloping along at my usual pace much more quickly, although my legs were a bit heavy initially. It was a pretty windy day so the middle leg felt quite slow (my Garmin has decided not to send any data to my laptop so I don't have any pace info at all), but I was still overtaking a few people in the last kilometre. I started my sprint too early and got overhauled on the line by a whipper snapper. Still it was a comeback pb, so pretty pleased. Wheezy Junior did his second Parkrun and set a new pb by over 30 seconds as well, so that was a great effort. I think he'll be going sub 22 before too long.
Other than that. not a lot to report. Running is going ok but no real long runs but I am keeping the faster running going. I've got to get some time in the saddle at some point as my first Sporting tt is this weekend and it's going to be a horrible one. 27 hilly miles on no real training whatsoever. It's going to hurt. A lot.
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Parkrun #6
22:34mins. 127/907
A disappointing end to the week in this morning's Parkrun. This also constituted my long run for #Jantastic so I had to get 12 miles under my belt. A steady 3 laps to start with which I began at 7:30am felt ok although my Achilles tendons were particularly tight at the start. I got swallowed up at the start of the ParkRun proper and as a result pushed too hard the opening 2 kms. It had rained all night and it was very slippy underfoot and the first kilometre was very boggy and I found it very hard to get into any form of rhythm. By the time we got onto the gravel path things were a bit better and I could see that I was in my usual place at around 30th ish position. Normally by the time we get to halfway I am feeling strong and start to overtake quite a few people but I really noticed that I was going the other way and struggling. I had had a busy week's training and had got 7 sessions in and I was beginning to pay for this. As we ran past the playground I could feel my pace tailing off but I was hanging onto the group that I was with.
Only the final tight left hand turn to negotiate around the playground so I deftly avoided the large muddy puddle on the bend and planted my foot firmly on what remained of the path, only to find my leg skidding beneath me on loose gravel. I was down before I even registered that I had lost my footing and took the full impact on my left knee and hip. To add insult to injury I also found myself in the puddle that I had been trying to avoid in the first place. I've come off my bike a fair few times but I have to say that this was the most painful accident that I have ever had training or racing. I have left a lot of skin in bushy Park.
I have just looked at my Strava log for the event and I had blown pretty badly before then. The first 3 kms had all been around 4 minutes, but my 4th one was 4:12! I've been doing a lot of speed work and some turbo sessions but I have not been recovering enough. I don't think the 15kms I ran beforehand had as much to do with it as the training during the week. It looks like that next week will be an enforced recovery week anyway as I am finding it hard to bend my leg at the moment. Sub-optimal. Lesson learnt.
A disappointing end to the week in this morning's Parkrun. This also constituted my long run for #Jantastic so I had to get 12 miles under my belt. A steady 3 laps to start with which I began at 7:30am felt ok although my Achilles tendons were particularly tight at the start. I got swallowed up at the start of the ParkRun proper and as a result pushed too hard the opening 2 kms. It had rained all night and it was very slippy underfoot and the first kilometre was very boggy and I found it very hard to get into any form of rhythm. By the time we got onto the gravel path things were a bit better and I could see that I was in my usual place at around 30th ish position. Normally by the time we get to halfway I am feeling strong and start to overtake quite a few people but I really noticed that I was going the other way and struggling. I had had a busy week's training and had got 7 sessions in and I was beginning to pay for this. As we ran past the playground I could feel my pace tailing off but I was hanging onto the group that I was with.
Only the final tight left hand turn to negotiate around the playground so I deftly avoided the large muddy puddle on the bend and planted my foot firmly on what remained of the path, only to find my leg skidding beneath me on loose gravel. I was down before I even registered that I had lost my footing and took the full impact on my left knee and hip. To add insult to injury I also found myself in the puddle that I had been trying to avoid in the first place. I've come off my bike a fair few times but I have to say that this was the most painful accident that I have ever had training or racing. I have left a lot of skin in bushy Park.
I have just looked at my Strava log for the event and I had blown pretty badly before then. The first 3 kms had all been around 4 minutes, but my 4th one was 4:12! I've been doing a lot of speed work and some turbo sessions but I have not been recovering enough. I don't think the 15kms I ran beforehand had as much to do with it as the training during the week. It looks like that next week will be an enforced recovery week anyway as I am finding it hard to bend my leg at the moment. Sub-optimal. Lesson learnt.
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Parkrun #5
22:37 234/1079
Somewhat slower, but this was a blast. It was Wheezy Junior's first Parkrun so we spent the first 4km together. he did brilliantly and really enjoyed it, and unlike me when I was his age, he didn't sprint the first 400 metres then end up walking. (The number of times I used to do that....). Just a really solid, consistent pace throughout. We has run the first 1km and last kilometre as a warm up so that he would have a good idea of what to expect and to recognise a few landmarks in the last kilometre. When we got to the playground I pushed on and ended up overtaking 35 other runners but Wheezy Junior was only 30 seconds behind. A top effort.
The next day I met up with Simon for a very lumpy 3 hour ride, taking in Coldharbour Lane, Leith Hill and Whitedown. I have to say that considering my complete lack of base miles I felt pretty good. Simon was having a tough time as he just has not been able to get out on the bike at all in the last few months and he kept getting dropped. Once we start racing I'm sure his fitness will return and I'll be eating his dust as usual, but it seems that his metaphoric hill is a larger one to climb at the moment.
I seem to have found a pretty good pattern to my weekly training. 3-4 runs, with nearly all of them including some form of speed work or faster running, even if just a few fartlek efforts. My commute cycling, again, with some form of hard effort at some point, and finally a longish ride to burn a few calories. I don't think I'll be setting the TT world alight in the early season but I do feel like some form of fitness is creeping in. It will be interesting to see how go in the next few parkruns and whether any meaningful chunks of time will be shaved off. It would be nice to think that I can dip under 19:30 and start to think about sub 19 in the next 6 weeks or so. Just the small matter of staying injury free.
Somewhat slower, but this was a blast. It was Wheezy Junior's first Parkrun so we spent the first 4km together. he did brilliantly and really enjoyed it, and unlike me when I was his age, he didn't sprint the first 400 metres then end up walking. (The number of times I used to do that....). Just a really solid, consistent pace throughout. We has run the first 1km and last kilometre as a warm up so that he would have a good idea of what to expect and to recognise a few landmarks in the last kilometre. When we got to the playground I pushed on and ended up overtaking 35 other runners but Wheezy Junior was only 30 seconds behind. A top effort.
The next day I met up with Simon for a very lumpy 3 hour ride, taking in Coldharbour Lane, Leith Hill and Whitedown. I have to say that considering my complete lack of base miles I felt pretty good. Simon was having a tough time as he just has not been able to get out on the bike at all in the last few months and he kept getting dropped. Once we start racing I'm sure his fitness will return and I'll be eating his dust as usual, but it seems that his metaphoric hill is a larger one to climb at the moment.
I seem to have found a pretty good pattern to my weekly training. 3-4 runs, with nearly all of them including some form of speed work or faster running, even if just a few fartlek efforts. My commute cycling, again, with some form of hard effort at some point, and finally a longish ride to burn a few calories. I don't think I'll be setting the TT world alight in the early season but I do feel like some form of fitness is creeping in. It will be interesting to see how go in the next few parkruns and whether any meaningful chunks of time will be shaved off. It would be nice to think that I can dip under 19:30 and start to think about sub 19 in the next 6 weeks or so. Just the small matter of staying injury free.
Monday, 2 February 2015
Parkrun #3 and #4
#3 19:31 41/1154
#4 19:45 29/844 8th MV40-45
Once again a gradual decline due to not enough training. A bonkers couple of weeks at work left me doing a very minimal amount of training. Both these runs were bulked out to 6.5 miles by running a slow warm up lap. Saturday's run was very wet and slippy underfoot with lots of sleet making it squinty and difficult to see. The last few hundred metres I really blew up and got overtaken by a couple of other runners. The plan is to get back to running four times per week and getting a quality interval session in.
Yesterday I went for a slow bimble with Simon, covering 11.5 miles in just over 90 minutes and it was my longest run in quite a while. The hills were a struggle but no major worries and it was good to get a few miles under my belt.
#4 19:45 29/844 8th MV40-45
Once again a gradual decline due to not enough training. A bonkers couple of weeks at work left me doing a very minimal amount of training. Both these runs were bulked out to 6.5 miles by running a slow warm up lap. Saturday's run was very wet and slippy underfoot with lots of sleet making it squinty and difficult to see. The last few hundred metres I really blew up and got overtaken by a couple of other runners. The plan is to get back to running four times per week and getting a quality interval session in.
Yesterday I went for a slow bimble with Simon, covering 11.5 miles in just over 90 minutes and it was my longest run in quite a while. The hills were a struggle but no major worries and it was good to get a few miles under my belt.
Sunday, 18 January 2015
Parkrun #2 17/01/15
19:28 36/1219 7th MV40-45
An odd one, this time. I was going to start nearer the front but with about two minutes to go to the start I suddenly found about another 150 people in front of me. Where did they come from? There were also pacers this time and once the starter set us off I saw the 20 minute pacer almost 100 metres in front of me as I dodged and weaved to try to find some open space to run in. It was well over a kilometre into the run before I got near him and cruised at the back of the pack until halfway, before pushing on a bit. Like last week, by the time I got to the playground I was barely hanging on but |I managed to hold off a couple of fast finishers for 36th place and a failry solid sub 20 time. There were quite a few more MV 40-45 runners so I got pushed a bit further down, but a good run, nonetheless. I think with a clear run in the first kilo that there might be a free 10 seconds to be had but I think that it's going to be fairly mediocre gains (if at all) for a few weeks.
Cycling has been very limited. My short commute rides on Monday and Tuesday, a 45 minute turbo last night and another one tonight. Small gains but its something.
An odd one, this time. I was going to start nearer the front but with about two minutes to go to the start I suddenly found about another 150 people in front of me. Where did they come from? There were also pacers this time and once the starter set us off I saw the 20 minute pacer almost 100 metres in front of me as I dodged and weaved to try to find some open space to run in. It was well over a kilometre into the run before I got near him and cruised at the back of the pack until halfway, before pushing on a bit. Like last week, by the time I got to the playground I was barely hanging on but |I managed to hold off a couple of fast finishers for 36th place and a failry solid sub 20 time. There were quite a few more MV 40-45 runners so I got pushed a bit further down, but a good run, nonetheless. I think with a clear run in the first kilo that there might be a free 10 seconds to be had but I think that it's going to be fairly mediocre gains (if at all) for a few weeks.
Cycling has been very limited. My short commute rides on Monday and Tuesday, a 45 minute turbo last night and another one tonight. Small gains but its something.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Parkrun #1 10.01
20:06 33rd 4th MV
A great start considering I've done no speed or conditioning work for a very long time. I did a slow warm up lap to try to get my legs firing before the off. It was dry but very windy, with a nice tailwind in the 2nd km and a headwind in the 4th. The usual cavalry charge down the first straight when I left everyone burn off and by the first turn I was overtaking a steady stream of runners. I felt great through the first 3kms and knowing the wind was going to be in my face very soon I worked hard to get in a pack of 10 runners about 10 metres ahead. Instead of sitting tight for a bit I kept going and so found myself pretty exposed afterwards. The last km was just about hanging on. I was exactly a minute slower than my last parkrun, but in the circumstances it was great start to the year.
I've ridden a couple of 1 hour rides home from work and a couple of other runs for the week, so steady if unspectacular week of training.
A great start considering I've done no speed or conditioning work for a very long time. I did a slow warm up lap to try to get my legs firing before the off. It was dry but very windy, with a nice tailwind in the 2nd km and a headwind in the 4th. The usual cavalry charge down the first straight when I left everyone burn off and by the first turn I was overtaking a steady stream of runners. I felt great through the first 3kms and knowing the wind was going to be in my face very soon I worked hard to get in a pack of 10 runners about 10 metres ahead. Instead of sitting tight for a bit I kept going and so found myself pretty exposed afterwards. The last km was just about hanging on. I was exactly a minute slower than my last parkrun, but in the circumstances it was great start to the year.
I've ridden a couple of 1 hour rides home from work and a couple of other runs for the week, so steady if unspectacular week of training.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Muppet
So I got everything organised last night to go and do my first ParkRun of the year. Printed off my barcode, charged my Garmin, got my kit ready, set my alarm. A great night's sleep and I woke myself up at 7am. Only it wasn't 7am. It was 8:50am. My alarm clock had decided to have a wobbly owing to some duff batteries so yes, I missed the start of the ParkRun which starts at 9am precisely. Vexed doesn't begin to cover it. Anyway, a gentle 5mile plod at 8:10 miling instead so not all bad.
Onwards.
Onwards.
Thursday, 1 January 2015
2015
I suppose that I should look back at the year and write a load of posts about the mileage and time that I have spent training, but I can't be bothered. :-)
The last 8 weeks have seen very little going on with my training and hence the lack of blog posts. I've been doing a couple of runs a week but nothing structured and cycling has been even more random and sporadic. My Van Nic lies broken in the garage after I managed to decimate one of my shifters owing to a very inconveniently sheared gear cable. So even if I wanted to get out and ride it, I couldn't. I have attempted a couple of very half-hearted turbo sessions as a compromise with mixed success. The turbo dungeon has been a particularly dreadful place to be this winter.
I have set myself one goal for the year and that's to do 30 Park Runs. My Saturday mornings are usually free and if I can commit to one 25 minute session per week then that's better than nothing. Yes, I want to ride a sub 60 25 tt and a few other things but I will worry about those things as and when and running is just a lot easier to do at the moment.
If anyone finds my mojo then please return it as soon as possible. Thank you.
The last 8 weeks have seen very little going on with my training and hence the lack of blog posts. I've been doing a couple of runs a week but nothing structured and cycling has been even more random and sporadic. My Van Nic lies broken in the garage after I managed to decimate one of my shifters owing to a very inconveniently sheared gear cable. So even if I wanted to get out and ride it, I couldn't. I have attempted a couple of very half-hearted turbo sessions as a compromise with mixed success. The turbo dungeon has been a particularly dreadful place to be this winter.
I have set myself one goal for the year and that's to do 30 Park Runs. My Saturday mornings are usually free and if I can commit to one 25 minute session per week then that's better than nothing. Yes, I want to ride a sub 60 25 tt and a few other things but I will worry about those things as and when and running is just a lot easier to do at the moment.
If anyone finds my mojo then please return it as soon as possible. Thank you.
Saturday, 1 November 2014
Minimal Ironman training
Up until a few weeks ago I was doing very little exercise and I was really missing it. When I did bimble out for a run to ride it really helped me to de-stress and I remembered what I have been missing, but when time's tight it's easy to take the easy option and junk the planned run or ride in favour of something else. I tend to dislike the threads that I see on various triathlon forums that are titled 'What's the least amount of training I can get away with and still get around an Ironman?' It just seems all wrong to me. Shouldn't it be 'What's the most I can do in the time I have available and get around an Ironman?' That said, I have been paying a lot more attention to these ideas and training methods if I am to go long again at any time in the future.
Then again, there's the question, 'If I want to go sub(17/16/15/14/13/12/11/10) hours, what's the minimum amount of training I will need to do?' I know that I cannot set aside 20+ hours per week to train and to be honest, I don't want to anyway, as there are too many other factors in my life which are important to me. But, I would like to race long again and work towards a time goal, sub 12 as a minimum and sub 11 hours as a bit more of a stretch target. But how can I do that on the limited time that I have? I've read Fink from cover to cover and while there's some good advice in there the thought of following a 30 week schedule with a lot of early doors long aerobic work is not for me. I just don't think I have the dedication to follow something like that so religiously for so long.
So I started looking around for other ways of approaching Ironman training and I hunted around the tinterweb for some advice. 'My Secret Sauce' by Sami Inkinen, a Kona qualifier with a sub 9 personal best discusses some points which turns a lot of conventional IM training wisdom on its head and makes really interesting. This blogpost came up with some really useful stuff too.
The common threads are a) biking on a turbo trainer, b) no brick workouts and c) no long runs.
While I'm cycling everyday to work, it's a very congested and short ride so just not suitable for specific cycle training. Now it's winter my Argon is bolted to the turbo so I can jump on and do a 45-90 minute specific turbo session which is a lot more time efficient than trying to get out on the bike.
I found a couple of posts, like the one here written by the excellent Coach Cox that also gave some pointers on time crunched Ironman training. 7-10 hours per week is considered minimal, so just over an hour per day and when you factor in a weekend bike of 2-3 hours that's only 4-6 hours of training during the rest of the week. The other key factor here which would really help me is only one session per day, rather than trying to squeeze in two per day. This means getting an early session in before work is potentially doable, particularly if it's a turbo session in the garage.
So, my thinking for the next few months is this;
1. No swim training at all. Forget it. I can swim and when I get nearer to the event then I'll stick my wetsuit on. At the moment it just isn't time efficient. If I were to do two swim sessions per week it might make me 10-15 minutes faster over an IM race; in the grand scheme of things this is not worth my time.
2. Turbo twice per week. One long interval session (based around 2x20 intervals) and one short interval session (based on 8-10 repeats of 2-5 minute efforts.)
3. One long ride per week; this might be an hour on the way home or a 2-3 hour Sunday ride.
4. A long run, no longer than 90 minutes in duration. I will put some fartlek efforts in their to add some variability and speed.
5. One 30-40 minute run with intervals.
This will give approximately 7 hours per week, which in anyone's book is minimal Ironman training. The last three weeks have seen me start the process of adopting the above strategies. The turbo sessions have been hard work but they have already started to pay dividends. I went on a slow ride with Simon yesterday, just to catch up and have a coffee, but we climbed Crocknorth Road, one of my favourite hills and I felt pretty good the whole way up, even getting to the bridge before Simon, which has not happened in over a year. This year's season has given me the impetus to kick on next year and go long again. Let's see how little I can do to do it.
Then again, there's the question, 'If I want to go sub(17/16/15/14/13/12/11/10) hours, what's the minimum amount of training I will need to do?' I know that I cannot set aside 20+ hours per week to train and to be honest, I don't want to anyway, as there are too many other factors in my life which are important to me. But, I would like to race long again and work towards a time goal, sub 12 as a minimum and sub 11 hours as a bit more of a stretch target. But how can I do that on the limited time that I have? I've read Fink from cover to cover and while there's some good advice in there the thought of following a 30 week schedule with a lot of early doors long aerobic work is not for me. I just don't think I have the dedication to follow something like that so religiously for so long.
So I started looking around for other ways of approaching Ironman training and I hunted around the tinterweb for some advice. 'My Secret Sauce' by Sami Inkinen, a Kona qualifier with a sub 9 personal best discusses some points which turns a lot of conventional IM training wisdom on its head and makes really interesting. This blogpost came up with some really useful stuff too.
The common threads are a) biking on a turbo trainer, b) no brick workouts and c) no long runs.
While I'm cycling everyday to work, it's a very congested and short ride so just not suitable for specific cycle training. Now it's winter my Argon is bolted to the turbo so I can jump on and do a 45-90 minute specific turbo session which is a lot more time efficient than trying to get out on the bike.
I found a couple of posts, like the one here written by the excellent Coach Cox that also gave some pointers on time crunched Ironman training. 7-10 hours per week is considered minimal, so just over an hour per day and when you factor in a weekend bike of 2-3 hours that's only 4-6 hours of training during the rest of the week. The other key factor here which would really help me is only one session per day, rather than trying to squeeze in two per day. This means getting an early session in before work is potentially doable, particularly if it's a turbo session in the garage.
So, my thinking for the next few months is this;
1. No swim training at all. Forget it. I can swim and when I get nearer to the event then I'll stick my wetsuit on. At the moment it just isn't time efficient. If I were to do two swim sessions per week it might make me 10-15 minutes faster over an IM race; in the grand scheme of things this is not worth my time.
2. Turbo twice per week. One long interval session (based around 2x20 intervals) and one short interval session (based on 8-10 repeats of 2-5 minute efforts.)
3. One long ride per week; this might be an hour on the way home or a 2-3 hour Sunday ride.
4. A long run, no longer than 90 minutes in duration. I will put some fartlek efforts in their to add some variability and speed.
5. One 30-40 minute run with intervals.
This will give approximately 7 hours per week, which in anyone's book is minimal Ironman training. The last three weeks have seen me start the process of adopting the above strategies. The turbo sessions have been hard work but they have already started to pay dividends. I went on a slow ride with Simon yesterday, just to catch up and have a coffee, but we climbed Crocknorth Road, one of my favourite hills and I felt pretty good the whole way up, even getting to the bridge before Simon, which has not happened in over a year. This year's season has given me the impetus to kick on next year and go long again. Let's see how little I can do to do it.
Saturday, 27 September 2014
cycling 10 times per week
That's the truth. I am. Which is really great, but unfortunately as it's only a two mile commute trip from work to home and back it doesn't really count as quality miles under my belt. I have a further confession to make. I bought myself an ebay special for the journey as I didn't want to use the Van Nic for it and I had sold my langster a few months back. The commute bike is a GT Nomad bought for £50. My confession is that I then went out and bought a rack and panniers to cart my stuff around in. I am a fully paid up cycle commuter which I feel very smug about. The traffic is heavy and my bike is perfect for it and it's downhill nearly all the way in the mornings. I am saving myself a fortune in petrol and feeling very smug. With a lack of racing and training I have got myself into a few commuter races, for example drafting off a rider in full OPQS team gear while I'm riding in a shirt and tie. A small and inconsequential win.
I've been doing no training at all except the odd hour here and there. I just don't have the headspace for it at the moment but I need to find some time for something. My target of 20 miles per day in my last post is now laughable in the extreme. 4 miles per day will have to do for now.
I've been doing no training at all except the odd hour here and there. I just don't have the headspace for it at the moment but I need to find some time for something. My target of 20 miles per day in my last post is now laughable in the extreme. 4 miles per day will have to do for now.
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