As always, and to keep things tidy I am going to move to a new blog address for the new year.
So the new one can be found at
www.kevinmorice2016.blogspot.com
And if you want to find previous years or my non training blog you can get them at:
kevinmorice2014.blogspot.com
kevinmorice2013.blogspot.com
kevinmorice2012.blogspot.com
day-13.blogspot.com
Not about training blog (mostly film reviews since I never seem to find the time to fill it with anything else. kevinjmorice.blogspot.com
Saturday 2 January 2016
End of Year Review - Part 2
From Part 1.
Original target, Revised target, Actuals. (Previous highest year ever).
Swim 92.6 miles. 97.7 miles. 102.3 miles. (86.2)
Bike 2,268 miles. 2,477 miles. 2194 miles. (2130)
Run 688 miles. 773 miles. 842 miles. (780)
So having reviewed the year as a stand alone I also feel this is such a good year that it bears review against the previous data that I have.
I only converted from paper to spreadsheets in 2007 so I don't have the data from when I was a more 'serious' track and field athlete, but since that was based on much shorter distances it isn't really going to be comparable against the measures I am going to use here anyway.
Swimming
I charged past my longest year ever, my original target, my revised target, 100 miles and the only reason I didn't go more is that the 5k race I was planning to take part in during December wasn't organised.
Apparently I did 85 swim sessions in 2015. That actually surprises me. I expected the 50 TPT swim sessions but I didn't realise that I had done another 35 swim sessions.
10% over my initial target for the year, and I have to be happy with that. It looks even more impressive on the graph than it does in the numbers.
Cycling
Somehow I managed to fit in 99 bike sessions in 2015. That is a lot more than I realised. Again I thought the Sunday Kintore every week would give me about 45, then about a dozen Time Trials and triathlons, and another half dozen trips to the gym in Q1 and three spin classes. Apparently there are another 30+ days when I have taken the bike out.
I missed my target for the year, despite being almost 200 miles ahead of it in mid-year. I still had my biggest cycling year ever though so I can't be too upset. Losing out on access to the exercise bike in the gym really hurt the numbers and I haven't really come up with a proper plan to make up for that yet. Like it or not the turbo trainer will have to take up some of that slack.
Despite missing my targets and dropping off a bit during the last few months I have still ridden a record number of miles this year. When the big increases in the other two sports are considered it is actually really impressive to have also done my longest cycling year ever as well.
Running
Less surprising is that I did 167 running sessions during 2015. I knew I was running a lot. I didn't notice that it was almost every second day.
842 miles is a huge year for me. I generally ignore the 2011 line on the chart. I was training for a marathon for the first half of the year and then barely ran at all in the second half or the whole of the following year so it is pretty meaningless. When you consider it was also a year where I only swam 43 and cycled 262 miles it is hardly a fair comparison against this year.
And once you ignore the 2011 number this becomes an even more impressive graph than even the swimming one. No other year have I ever run more than 700 miles so the 842 from this year is 20% higher than I have ever done before and 20% above my original target.
So that is pretty outstanding, even given that I was out of work for 6 months that is still a huge difference.
Overall
A pretty awesome year all round really. I would have liked to make the bike target and posted a slightly faster 400m swim time just for completeness, but even without them it has been a great year. It sets me up really well for 2016. I am probably fitter than I ever have been going into a new training year.
Original target, Revised target, Actuals. (Previous highest year ever).
Swim 92.6 miles. 97.7 miles. 102.3 miles. (86.2)
Bike 2,268 miles. 2,477 miles. 2194 miles. (2130)
Run 688 miles. 773 miles. 842 miles. (780)
So having reviewed the year as a stand alone I also feel this is such a good year that it bears review against the previous data that I have.
I only converted from paper to spreadsheets in 2007 so I don't have the data from when I was a more 'serious' track and field athlete, but since that was based on much shorter distances it isn't really going to be comparable against the measures I am going to use here anyway.
Swimming
I charged past my longest year ever, my original target, my revised target, 100 miles and the only reason I didn't go more is that the 5k race I was planning to take part in during December wasn't organised.
Apparently I did 85 swim sessions in 2015. That actually surprises me. I expected the 50 TPT swim sessions but I didn't realise that I had done another 35 swim sessions.
10% over my initial target for the year, and I have to be happy with that. It looks even more impressive on the graph than it does in the numbers.
Cycling
Somehow I managed to fit in 99 bike sessions in 2015. That is a lot more than I realised. Again I thought the Sunday Kintore every week would give me about 45, then about a dozen Time Trials and triathlons, and another half dozen trips to the gym in Q1 and three spin classes. Apparently there are another 30+ days when I have taken the bike out.
I missed my target for the year, despite being almost 200 miles ahead of it in mid-year. I still had my biggest cycling year ever though so I can't be too upset. Losing out on access to the exercise bike in the gym really hurt the numbers and I haven't really come up with a proper plan to make up for that yet. Like it or not the turbo trainer will have to take up some of that slack.
Despite missing my targets and dropping off a bit during the last few months I have still ridden a record number of miles this year. When the big increases in the other two sports are considered it is actually really impressive to have also done my longest cycling year ever as well.
Running
Less surprising is that I did 167 running sessions during 2015. I knew I was running a lot. I didn't notice that it was almost every second day.
842 miles is a huge year for me. I generally ignore the 2011 line on the chart. I was training for a marathon for the first half of the year and then barely ran at all in the second half or the whole of the following year so it is pretty meaningless. When you consider it was also a year where I only swam 43 and cycled 262 miles it is hardly a fair comparison against this year.
And once you ignore the 2011 number this becomes an even more impressive graph than even the swimming one. No other year have I ever run more than 700 miles so the 842 from this year is 20% higher than I have ever done before and 20% above my original target.
So that is pretty outstanding, even given that I was out of work for 6 months that is still a huge difference.
Overall
A pretty awesome year all round really. I would have liked to make the bike target and posted a slightly faster 400m swim time just for completeness, but even without them it has been a great year. It sets me up really well for 2016. I am probably fitter than I ever have been going into a new training year.
Friday 1 January 2016
End of Year Review - Part 1
2015 has been pretty awesome. Despite being out of work for 6 months I have had a very good year. Getting engaged probably has to go down as the highlight of the year. Followed somewhere by starting my own company and getting a new job. But none of that was down on the list for this blog so here is a tighter review of the year just focusing on the training and targets that I set way back in January.
So here are the basic numbers with the targets in black, revised targets from June in blue and the actual results in red or green.
Swim 92.6 miles. 97.7 miles. 102.3 miles.
Bike 2,268 miles. 2,477 miles. 2194 miles.
Run 688 miles. 773 miles. 842 miles.
Swim race 400m under 6 mins. 6:32 at Alford Novice.
Swim race 750m under 12 mins 30. 12:28 at Westhill Sprint.
Swim race 1500m under 26 mins. 25:15 at Knockburn.
Optional - Swim race 5k under 1 hour 35mins. Not attempted.
Bike race - Any time trial. Started 8, completed 6.
Bike race - Any sportive. KT Bike run.
Run race - 5k under 21:30 or 10k under 44 or Half Marathon under 1hr 48.
Run another race - 5k under 21:30 or 10k under 44 or Half Marathon under 1hr 48.
Optional - Run a championship race.
North Champs 5k in 19:37.
Elgin 10k in 42:19.
Moray 10 in 41:41.
North XC Champs.
I am going to split the analysis into two separate posts. The pure mileage targets I am going to cover in a separate post and this one is going to cover the rest.
Swimming
Starting with the red number, my 400m time from this year was a bit disappointing. Not only was neither attempt anywhere near my target, I was actually slower than 2014. It is also a bit of a fudge to claim the 1500m swim time from Knockburn Standard as it was unlikely to have been the right distance, and my other 1500m at Huntly Standard was slower than 2014. However, both standard races I came out of the water in good shape and went on to fast bike and run sections so I am probably swimming more efficiently if not obviously faster.
The 750m time which I am safe to claim was only a scrape under my target at the fourth attempt. it was a tough target when I set it. Almost a second a length faster than my 2014 PB.
I have plenty to be happy with on the swimming front though. Despite the technicalities I did get two of those three racing targets. I also now have a working tumble turn, which could still do with some tidying up, but is a huge improvement on previous years. In training, and for spells in races, I have the pure speed to go much faster, I just have to tie together enough of those fast laps into one race. Consistency and speed endurance are areas for me to work on in 2016.
Cycling
Still my weakest sport, by a margin. And because of that I set my targets to just take part in a Time Trial and a Sportive. This was just to push me to take the bike a little more seriously than I have in the past. They were very easy targets so it is almost meaningless to have beaten them. I set the Time Trial target on the basis that I would be able to do a single Deeside Thistle race as a 'guest'. I then joined the club to get access to the whole series. I started 8 of them, got lost twice, and finished 6.
I also knew that the KT sportive was a definite as it is one of my favourite fun events. No pressure and a nice course.
2016 cycling targets will come with times attached.
Running
Probably the most sensible set of targets, but that is little wonder as I have 20 extra years of running experience when I am setting them. I set these to be fairly tough, and then I had plenty of extra time to run this year so I beat them all by a decent chunk.
I picked Elgin 10k in March partly because it is one of my favourite races and it does also happen to be quite a fast course. But I also picked it so I could do a straight comparison against 2014, only for them to change the course again and render that comparison invalid. I ran my fourth fastest 10k ever almost by accident.
I entered the North District Champs with a view to getting a decent 5k run on the track and just set a time for comparison. And to have some fun trying to get over the sprint hurdles. I had hoped to go close to 19 minutes and at the time I wasn't entirely happy with 19:37. Against my target though it is almost 2 minutes under so with a bit of perspective I am really pleased with that.
And that meant by May I was already done with running race targets, even the optional ones. So the additional run at Moray 10k which produced my third fastest ever 10k and running at the North XC Champs just added a lot more icing and a handful of cherries to an already nice cake.
Triathlon
I didn't actually set any triathlon targets as I cut everything up too small and didn't even think about the bigger picture, trusting that it would take care of itself. In effect it did take care of itself as I regularly raced faster and placed higher than previous years. Just relying on that as a product of the sections is not smart enough though. Particularly when it completely ignores the transitions, which I have done a decent amount of work on this year and have improved significantly.
So in 2016 there are some try-specific targets to be added. Although the variability of courses and conditions makes those very hard to write in a S.M.A.R.T fashion.
To Part 2.
Bike 2,268 miles. 2,477 miles. 2194 miles.
Run 688 miles. 773 miles. 842 miles.
Swim race 400m under 6 mins. 6:32 at Alford Novice.
Swim race 750m under 12 mins 30. 12:28 at Westhill Sprint.
Swim race 1500m under 26 mins. 25:15 at Knockburn.
Optional - Swim race 5k under 1 hour 35mins. Not attempted.
Bike race - Any time trial. Started 8, completed 6.
Bike race - Any sportive. KT Bike run.
Run race - 5k under 21:30 or 10k under 44 or Half Marathon under 1hr 48.
Run another race - 5k under 21:30 or 10k under 44 or Half Marathon under 1hr 48.
Optional - Run a championship race.
North Champs 5k in 19:37.
Elgin 10k in 42:19.
Moray 10 in 41:41.
North XC Champs.
I am going to split the analysis into two separate posts. The pure mileage targets I am going to cover in a separate post and this one is going to cover the rest.
Swimming
Starting with the red number, my 400m time from this year was a bit disappointing. Not only was neither attempt anywhere near my target, I was actually slower than 2014. It is also a bit of a fudge to claim the 1500m swim time from Knockburn Standard as it was unlikely to have been the right distance, and my other 1500m at Huntly Standard was slower than 2014. However, both standard races I came out of the water in good shape and went on to fast bike and run sections so I am probably swimming more efficiently if not obviously faster.
The 750m time which I am safe to claim was only a scrape under my target at the fourth attempt. it was a tough target when I set it. Almost a second a length faster than my 2014 PB.
I have plenty to be happy with on the swimming front though. Despite the technicalities I did get two of those three racing targets. I also now have a working tumble turn, which could still do with some tidying up, but is a huge improvement on previous years. In training, and for spells in races, I have the pure speed to go much faster, I just have to tie together enough of those fast laps into one race. Consistency and speed endurance are areas for me to work on in 2016.
Cycling
Still my weakest sport, by a margin. And because of that I set my targets to just take part in a Time Trial and a Sportive. This was just to push me to take the bike a little more seriously than I have in the past. They were very easy targets so it is almost meaningless to have beaten them. I set the Time Trial target on the basis that I would be able to do a single Deeside Thistle race as a 'guest'. I then joined the club to get access to the whole series. I started 8 of them, got lost twice, and finished 6.
I also knew that the KT sportive was a definite as it is one of my favourite fun events. No pressure and a nice course.
2016 cycling targets will come with times attached.
Running
Probably the most sensible set of targets, but that is little wonder as I have 20 extra years of running experience when I am setting them. I set these to be fairly tough, and then I had plenty of extra time to run this year so I beat them all by a decent chunk.
I picked Elgin 10k in March partly because it is one of my favourite races and it does also happen to be quite a fast course. But I also picked it so I could do a straight comparison against 2014, only for them to change the course again and render that comparison invalid. I ran my fourth fastest 10k ever almost by accident.
I entered the North District Champs with a view to getting a decent 5k run on the track and just set a time for comparison. And to have some fun trying to get over the sprint hurdles. I had hoped to go close to 19 minutes and at the time I wasn't entirely happy with 19:37. Against my target though it is almost 2 minutes under so with a bit of perspective I am really pleased with that.
And that meant by May I was already done with running race targets, even the optional ones. So the additional run at Moray 10k which produced my third fastest ever 10k and running at the North XC Champs just added a lot more icing and a handful of cherries to an already nice cake.
Triathlon
I didn't actually set any triathlon targets as I cut everything up too small and didn't even think about the bigger picture, trusting that it would take care of itself. In effect it did take care of itself as I regularly raced faster and placed higher than previous years. Just relying on that as a product of the sections is not smart enough though. Particularly when it completely ignores the transitions, which I have done a decent amount of work on this year and have improved significantly.
So in 2016 there are some try-specific targets to be added. Although the variability of courses and conditions makes those very hard to write in a S.M.A.R.T fashion.
To Part 2.
Training Review - Week 53 - Dec 28 to 31
Monday I was awake much too early for Dexter so I decided to go to Bucksburn for a quick swim while he finished snoring. I planned to just do a steady 1k swim but after the first 100m I changed that to 100m easy, 50m fast for the same 1k distance. That felt surprisingly easy but got me out of the water under 19 minutes. Much better than the disappointing swim from last Thursday.
Then I took Dexter out for a run round Dyce, but he was being a total dick about it so it was very slow.
Tuesday I took dexter out for he same loop again, and he was being even more of a dick about it so we ended up cutting half a mile off and still taking longer than yesterday. I am going to give him a rest day on Wednesday.
Wednesday the Club run was cancelled so I planned just to do a long solo run and leave Dexter at home after his bad behaviour for the last two runs. Instead I woke up to the find Storm Frank had arrived. I forced myself out for a half hour run but it was a fight against the wind and the rain and I had to stop and walk in places to avoid being blown over.
Thursday I started with a quick rollering session and then took Dexter out to Kirkhill and let him pick half the route. Every second junction we came to I let him choose, I chose at the alternate ones just to make sure we didn't get completely lost or end up running 20 miles. He was in a completely different mood today and ran the whole way, often in front of me and pushing the pace along. On some of the off-trail sections he was making full advantage of his four-paw-drive system to leave me behind.
A good finish to a great year.
Target totals - Swim 1 miles. Bike 40.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
Monday - Swim at Bucksburn 1,000m in 19 mins.
Slow jog 3.3 miles in 35 mins.
Tuesday - Very slow jog 2.8 miles in 36 mins.
Wednesday - Easy run 3.9 miles in 35 mins.
Thursday - Rollering session.
Kirkhill with Dexter 4.6 miles in 55 mins.
Actuals - Swim 0.6 miles (1,000 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 14.6 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 0 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 102.3 (92.5) [98.2],
B 2194.2 (2269.3) [2461.4],
R 842.4 (688.7) [776.8].
Then I took Dexter out for a run round Dyce, but he was being a total dick about it so it was very slow.
Tuesday I took dexter out for he same loop again, and he was being even more of a dick about it so we ended up cutting half a mile off and still taking longer than yesterday. I am going to give him a rest day on Wednesday.
Wednesday the Club run was cancelled so I planned just to do a long solo run and leave Dexter at home after his bad behaviour for the last two runs. Instead I woke up to the find Storm Frank had arrived. I forced myself out for a half hour run but it was a fight against the wind and the rain and I had to stop and walk in places to avoid being blown over.
Thursday I started with a quick rollering session and then took Dexter out to Kirkhill and let him pick half the route. Every second junction we came to I let him choose, I chose at the alternate ones just to make sure we didn't get completely lost or end up running 20 miles. He was in a completely different mood today and ran the whole way, often in front of me and pushing the pace along. On some of the off-trail sections he was making full advantage of his four-paw-drive system to leave me behind.
A good finish to a great year.
Target totals - Swim 1 miles. Bike 40.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
Monday - Swim at Bucksburn 1,000m in 19 mins.
Slow jog 3.3 miles in 35 mins.
Tuesday - Very slow jog 2.8 miles in 36 mins.
Wednesday - Easy run 3.9 miles in 35 mins.
Kirkhill with Dexter 4.6 miles in 55 mins.
Actuals - Swim 0.6 miles (1,000 m). Bike 0 miles. Run 14.6 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 0 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 102.3 (92.5) [98.2],
B 2194.2 (2269.3) [2461.4],
R 842.4 (688.7) [776.8].
Monday 28 December 2015
Training Plan - Week 53? - Dec 28 to 31
Last 4 days of the year but no time to switch off. Dexter is still on holiday so it is out to run with him every day for starters.
I also want to try and find a swim somewhere. And if I can fit in a couple of hours on the bike that would round off the year nicely.
Monday - Easy run with Dexter.
Tuesday - Easy run with Dexter.
Yoga session
Wednesday - Short swim.
Fartlek run.
Thursday - Easy run with Dexter.
Easy ride.
Core session
Target totals - Swim 1 miles. Bike 40.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
I also want to try and find a swim somewhere. And if I can fit in a couple of hours on the bike that would round off the year nicely.
Monday - Easy run with Dexter.
Tuesday - Easy run with Dexter.
Yoga session
Wednesday - Short swim.
Fartlek run.
Weights and stretching sessions.
Thursday - Easy run with Dexter.
Easy ride.
Core session
Target totals - Swim 1 miles. Bike 40.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 52 - Dec 21 to 27
Monday I did an easy jog round Dyce before the last club swimming session of the year. Swimming was the last club session of the year. This normally means it is just a play session but instead we were given a xmas treat of a solid session to finish the year on.
Tuesday Dexter came to visit and we went out for the first training run of his Xmas training camp. It was a fairly steady run round Dyce for me but in my current form that meant it was pretty quick for Dex. He coped really well at the time but then once we were home he crashed out on the sofa and fell asleep for the rest of the night.
Wednesday the Club run was on so I decided to give Dexter an easy day while I went to that. We just did a steady run instead of the usual fartlek session.
Thursday I went for an early swim at Bucksburn. I planned a long steady swim but was really tired and just did an easy 25 minutes instead. Then in the afternoon I took Dexter for a run at Kirkhill.
Friday being Xmas Day I went through to Elgin as always and went for the tour of Elgin with the Xmas Sprint along the High Street and the Hill race up Lady Hill. With Dexter dragging behind me and not committing to the sprint I was only able to get second place, but the tactical nature of the sprint and the reduced pace meant I still had enough in my legs to win the race to the top of the hill. Although Dexter almost stole that from me himself.
Saturday I just took Dexter to Kirkhill for an easy loop. We did a reverse version of Thursday's run.
Sunday was my usual ride with the Kintore Sunday group. Still keeping it sensibly short I did 35 miles at a steady pace. That probably rounds out my bike miles for the year unless I get a stunning day in the next four, and Dexter has a serious grump about going running.
The running and swimming miles just keep ticking on as the record year continues. I end the year with my longest running week of the entire year and my first week over 25 miles. That was mostly due to Dexter visiting and being on holiday though. At first glance this is a terrible statistic, but with a bit of consideration it is actually further confirmation of how good a year I have had. I managed to run more this year but by doing it in lots of smaller (and often faster) pieces.
Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 55.0 miles. Run 15.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
Monday - Dyce easy loop 3.0 miles in 30 mins.
TPT Swim 2,200m in 54 mins.
Tuesday - Dyce loop with Dexter 3.6 miles in 34 mins.
Wednesday - TPT Steady run 5.7 miles in 52 mins.
Run at Kirkhill with Dexter 4.5 miles in 50 mins.
Friday - Xmas Sprint Elgin with Dexter 4.4 miles in 1hr 7 mins.
Saturday - Easy run with Dexter 4.6 miles in 50 mins.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday Lite ride 34.9 miles in 2 hrs 21 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.2 miles (3,400 m). Bike 34.9 miles. Run 21.2 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 0 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 101.7 (91.6) [97.3],
B 2194.2 (2237.9) [2430.0],
R 827.8 (680.1) [768.2].
Monday 21 December 2015
Training Plan - Week 52 - Dec 21 to 27
Last full week of the year and as always it is slightly strange.
As usual Dexter is coming for his Xmas holiday and I get time off work, both of which give me extra training time but mess up my usual planning process. Having already gone through 800 miles this year, against an original target of only 688, I am now going to pile on top of that with runs almost every day from now to the end of the year.
Monday - Core session.
Easy run.
Tuesday - Easy run.
Wednesday - Fartlek run.
Thursday - Easy run with Dexter.
Core session
Saturday - Easy run with Dexter.
Yoga session. Lunch at In-laws.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday ride.
Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 55.0 miles. Run 15.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
As usual Dexter is coming for his Xmas holiday and I get time off work, both of which give me extra training time but mess up my usual planning process. Having already gone through 800 miles this year, against an original target of only 688, I am now going to pile on top of that with runs almost every day from now to the end of the year.
Monday - Core session.
Easy run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run.
Wednesday - Fartlek run.
Weights and stretching sessions.
Thursday - Easy run with Dexter.
Core session
Friday - Xmas day run (inc Xmas Sprint and Lady Hill) with Dexter.
Santa.
Dinner at parents.
Santa.
Dinner at parents.
Saturday - Easy run with Dexter.
Yoga session. Lunch at In-laws.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday ride.
Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 55.0 miles. Run 15.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.
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