Braunton 10, or was it 20???

I'm going mad, my training totals are going through the roof and I don't actually seem to be doing that much. Admittedly much of this (over 10hrs) is gym work which is maybe why it seems so odd. The gym work's not aerobic exercise so I don't find myself tired out after it as I would when biking or running, this is why I feel a bit of a fraud claiming it as training hours. I can't see how it's going to make me faster, but if it's going to stop me getting injured and help my back out when I'm putting the long bike hours in then it will be improving my performance in its own way.
This week's been another biggie with 12 hours done, most of it this weekend which has been a bit of an epic.

Down to the list then...........
Monday - 1h30m gym session followed by an evil 40min run.
Tuesday - A nice steady 1h35m run with 8x60sec efforts up a small climb to bang up the HR.
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 50mins of running, just squeaking under 7min/mile pace.
Friday - Awesome swim session
800m Warm up.
800m T/T @ 10:45
100m steady
400m T/T @ 5:19
100m steady
200m T/T @ 2:34
50m steady
100m T/T @ 1:34
50m T/T @ 32s
2 x 4 x 100m IM
200m warm down
Total - 3000m.
Saturday - 1h10m gym session followed by a 3hr bike ride with a couple of the lads
Sunday - 20mile run in 2:14:24 (6:48min/mile pace)

The weekend has been quite interesting. On yesterdays bike ride I tried as hard as I could to do as little as humanly possible because I'd got a race today. This worked well for the first 2 hours while my training partners were fresh, but in the last hour I found myself on the front more and more. We hit the descent back into town and it was time for me to tuck in and rest my legs a bit. My winter hybrid bike just hasn't got the gears to go downhill like the other two with their road bikes so I just grab a wheel and hold on. There was an 'interesting' altercation when a woman pulled out from a side road right in front of us while we were bombing towards her at close to 30mph. Luckily there was nothing coming the other way and we shot up the outside of her suggesting she buy some glasses to which she and her passenger suggested we stick our bikes somewhere very uncomfortable. After a couple of minutes of 'banter' she finally drove off with us all 'waving' at each other. It brightened the day up no end, and probably raised my HR a beat or two aswell. First 50mile bike ride of the year all done and dusted.

Today was race day and a phone call yesterday from my planned 2nd loop running partner (an International Ultra Runner) had changed my plans. The idea was that we'd race and then do another 10mile after for training. Unfortunatly work/kids/family had scuppered her plans and she couldn't do the second lap so I was on my own. The training lap now got moved forwards as I haven't got the mentality to get out there alone after a race, I'd need to do it first which is actually my prefered option as it meant I'd have company during the miles that would hurt the most.

I rocked up at race HQ at 9:30am and quickly registered before dumping my gear and heading out on the 'warm up' lap at 9:45, this gave me 1:15:00 to get round before the race started. The aim was to get round both laps inside 2:20:00 which would be 7min/mile pace, that would give me a Marathon time of just over 3hrs at the end of a tough fortnight of training. Anything under 2:20:00 would be a bonus, over the time didn't bear thinking about, but it would all depend on the circumstances as to how I'd feel. Early on I was struggling as yesterdays bike ride plagued my legs but I kept chugging along and the Garmin was great as it inspired confidence when it kept telling me I was ahead of schedule. Warm up lap out of the way in 1:08:00 and I was happy, that gave me 1:12:00 to get around the 2nd lap. I was certain to be slower, but how much slower, that was the question!!

I missed the race start by a few seconds as I was sorting a change of clothes but that didn't matter, I dragged the start out a bit longer by chatting to the start official who I know through my running club. Once started I soon caught up with the back markers and started picking my way through them, this was quite nice as it kept a check on my early pace and stopped me pushing to hard to make up for lost time. 3 miles in 20mins and I was on target, there's a killer hill up to the 4 mile marker and I knew it was going to cost me a minute which had me hitting 4miles at exactly 7min/mile pace. As the race went on I started to feel a bit more confident, the steady pace gradually rose and I started creaping ahead of my warm up lap time, then there was 'almost' disaster. After the 2nd good climb and descent I noticed a pal of mine about 30secs ahead. 3.5 miles to go............. he was mine, I was taking him down! I raised the pace and set off after my quarry. This lasted until the 8 mile point where I very nearly blew a gasket. Suddenly I developed 'pins and needles', I went very cold and started to shake, I've been here before and it's not good. I was very close to catching my prey but I knew that I needed to ease off or I'd end up walking to the finish line. I backed off the pace and grunted to myself as he eased away from me, next time he's mine!!!

The last 2 miles were steady but also on very easy terrain with a good descent as part of the last mile and nobody close enough to worry me it was a relative cruise to the finish. Amazingly I finished 90secs quicker than the first lap in 1:06:24 which gave me a combined time of 1:14:24 for the 20mile run, over 5mins quicker than planned and better still comfortably on target for a sub 3hr Marathon. Happy Days! All that at the end of two consecutive 12hr training weeks.

For now I'm happy, it'll go all pear shaped soon though. I promise.

Until next time :)

Iain

Brought to you by Coach Troys Spinervals....

...... more precisely by this little session as this has been this weeks session of choice (3.5 times).

Warm up 10 minutes easy
4 x 30sec 53x15 @ 30 sr (Seconds Rest = easy spin)
1 minute easy spin 42x15
Repeat both below sets 2 times
10 x 30sec 42x15 superspin (10sec 100rpm, 10sec 110rpm, 10sec 120rpm) @ 30sr
1min rest
6 x 60sec 42x21 superspin (20sec 100rpm, 20sec 110rpm, 20sec 120rpm) @ 30sr
1min rest
cooldown to the hour

It's been a big week, perhaps the doom and gloom of last weeks post was a bit presumptious of me. Here's how the week's gone (training wise of course).

Monday - 1h30m gym, 1hr run, 1hr turbo.
Tuesday - Rained off
Wednesday - 1hr turbo
Thursday - 1h30m run
Friday - 1hr swim
Saturday - 45min run, 1h30m gym
Sunday - 30min turbo, 1h40m run, 1hr turbo.
Over 12hrs total, during January. WOW!!!!!!

The question is, when I do all my geeky number crunching and comparing this years training with previous years should I actually include the gym session? They're not something I've ever done before and although they're obviously there to perfom a role (general strength and core stability stuff) the fact that I don't finish my session gasping for breath makes it seem a bit of a cop out. There's nothing even slightly working my aerobic capacity once the warm up is over. I'm also slightly concerned that maybe I'm doing to much to early and am risking injury or burn out, but my work is going to be changing around April time and that could well throw a spanner in the works of a good section of my weekly training so I guess I may as well get some time in the bag while I can.

I need to get my turbo bike into my LBS for a once over, the gears have started playing up today, hence the 30min session this morning when I lost the plot because I couldn't get my shifters to move. Popped in there yesterday to sort some bikes out that my Tri Club own and one of the shop staff had just had his new bike in............ a FELT DA (google it Sis). Damn it was nice, I'm stuffed if it's going to be coming past me at any time this year though, my old beat up TREK is still going to smash him (I hope).

That's it for now. Nothing exciting to report I'm afraid, it's a dull old life down here in Devon. I've got a 10mile road race next weekend though so that'll give me something to spout on about.

TTFN ;)

Slacking already.

It's been over a week (damn I'm slacking already). I've added a little bit at the side to keep a track of my training totals after I discovered that last year I was 60hrs down on both 2005 and 2006's bike totals and I've already started skipping the bike sessions a week after starting them.
The big news of the week is that we've booked our flights for IMFl. For some reason Shell checked on the internet last weekend and the flights had dropped in price by almost £200 each, so we booked them. Things got better when we checked the credit card a couple of days later and found that the booking company had only taken £7!!!! Unfortunatly they've since realised that they'd dropped a ricket and taken the full amount. So flights are booked, accomodation is pretty much sorted as we'll be staying at the same complex we've stayed at before which is great, just the car to sort then and a little matter of training of course.
So last Sundays swim/bike combo got scrapped in favour of a 3hr bike which was good but left me feeling the after effects on Monday when I ended up scrapping my 2hr gym session after an hour because I simply had no strength at all. Wednesdays session also got scrapped but I managed to fit in two decent runs on Tuesday and Thursday (1h35m & 1h40m). Friday I'd turbo sessions and runs lined up in my head but just swam instead (slacker!!!) and the weekend was even worse. I headed to the gym on Saturday morning for 1h45m, but that was it for the day and Sunday was just a vegative day. Today I really REALLY must train!!!!!! I need to get some sessions in the bag.
291 days to go, the clock's ticking!!!!!

First Garmin glitch...........

.........(other than when it locked up after its first download).

Tonight I went for a night time run on the beach with the pup. We ran the full length of Saunton Sands, nipped over the dunes to do a loop around Crow Point and ran back. Total distance 8.8miles, total time 1h03m...... fine so far? TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN 1244ft............ on a beach?????? I guess maybe the signals get a bit screwed when you hit the beach and it things you're at the bottom of the sea ;). My Polar always used to lose altitude as I warmed up because it picked up the heat and stuff (however they work) off my wrist, but what the Garmin's playing at I've no idea. I've measured beach routes manually before using Sanoodi and they've always come out pan flat. Do I take this as a glitch or do I now have to take the altitude reading on every run I do with a pich of salt?

Enought whining anyways........ the run was a killer, it all seemed so easy on the way out and after 4 miles I'd averaged 6m30 pace. I realised why though when I turned round and I had a full on headwind most of the way back. At times I was struggling to keep 8min/mile pace, it was a real struggle to get back.
Yesterday and today have marked my return to work after the Christmas holidays :( so after a solid 15hr day I decided to have a rest day (from training) yesterday. I cracked yet another 2hr gym session on Thursday though (wearing my Christmas "In training for IM Florida Tee shirt), heck I hope they're worth it beacuse I'd rather be out 'proper' training.

For some reason the flight prices to PCB have dropped considerably in the last week which means we could well be booking up this weekend. It feels like you're gambling with the prices, why can't they just be simple and fixed rather than bouncing up and down. I'm sure it'll be a no win situation, book them and they'll fall further, don't book them and they'll rise again (grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!).

Swim and bike tomorrow morning (weather permitting) I may even be tempted to sneak a run in during the afternoon or evening, can I call that a self supported Triathlon???

Happy New Year!!!!!

It's goodbye to 2007 and Hiya to 2008. It's also Shell's boys birthday, Happy Birthday David you little toerag :)

Today I did my first bike ride of the year, which was actually my first bike ride since October!!!! Damn it was windy out there, so much so that it made for a very odd ride. It's a well used 20mile loop where the first 3miles and the last mile are flat inbetween which there's 8miles of climbing followed by 8miles of descending. Today the climbing was easier than the descending as that's where the wind was at my back. There was one point where I was struggling to keep double figures on the flat. It was tough going and combined with my lack of fitness and my training hybrid bike it meant I was over 20mins slower than I was last July. Plenty of time for improvement though.
Last Friday I hit the gym for a couple of hours (this is becoming a bit of a habit!!!) in the morning, then in the evening I headed off to drive the 14miles to my squad swim session. The main road was closed after an accident so I battled my way through the traffic and back roads finally arriving there a couple of minutes late only to discover that the pool had reduced opening hours over the festive period and was closed (grrrrrrrrrr!!!) so I had to fight my way back through the traffic to get home again.
Saturday I had several sessions lined up in the back of my head and in the end I did..........erm...........nothing at all.
On Sunday morning I ventured out to my Tri Club swim session for a nice steady technique based swim. A lunchtime phonecall then lined up a nice 10.5mile off road run for me (and the pup) which was great, especially when Rosie found a flock of sheep had escaped their field and were on the track we were using. She soon had them back in their field although this was purely down to luck and nothing to do with judgement by either of us.
Monday I had a shortened 90min gym session (due to the gym closing early for New Years Eve) then it was off to see some friends, drink a bit and almost miss seeing in the New Year because we were playing 'Singstar' on the PS2 (ooops).
After crawling into a borrowed bed at around 3am my alarm kicked in at 8am to wake me for out annual Run/Sea 'dip'/Fry-up at Woolacombe Bay.

A small group of hardy souls met at 10am for a 5mile looped run (with Rosie of course) coming back along the beach, then anybody lacking in brain matter stripped off and charged into the sea for a 'refreshing' dip (happily there was no repeat of last years hail storms) followed by a full English Breakfast in the beachside cafe. Fantastic!!!!!
The weather on New Years Day was so mild that by midday the place was packed. I've seen the beach less crouded in mid summer. The things people will do to work off that hangover.
That's about it for now I think.
Being off work has led to me doing some daft things like looking into new kitchens, bathrooms and even houses. None of them will ever happen though. The sooner I'm back at work and back to reality the better I think.
Until next time. Happy New Year all.