Just a short report for this one.
This week I did more of a warm up than before as I pedalled out a couple of miles before the start.
I started off fine but within 100 metres of the start it was clear that there was another headwind this week. Nowhere near as severe as last week but still not good.
I turned in a few seconds under 15 minutes (average spot on 20mph). As with last week I was horrified and disappointed at the half way time, but as with last week it only took a few pedal turns to be sure that the return trip was going to be a different story.
With the wind now behind I was flying on the return journey. I spotted quite a few people close behind me at the turn and I expected to get passed by maybe 3 or 4 on the way back. But then it wasn't until after the 7-mile mark that the first one passed me. He came past quite quickly but then he didn't seem to be going away anything like I expected. And he was the only one that passed me.
So the second 5 miles in about 11:40, averaging 25.6 mph for the return leg.
I was working hard the whole way but I think I still must have some of the weekend still in my legs. Heart rate never got past 168 and my lungs were going flat out.
Still waiting for the official results to see how I compared but looks like I am gaining on the faster guys.
New PB for 10-miles on the bike, but that isn't a surprise since it was my first 10-mile TT.
Also I am now going to officially cross the 'race a TT' target off my annual targets. I could have done that last week but I wasn't all that happy with how that race went, it was just a fast-ish bike ride. This week I am happy to say that I properly raced this one.
Thursday, 28 May 2015
Monday, 25 May 2015
Race Review - North District Championships
Friday I looked at the entry list and had the pleasant surprise that I only had to finish the hurdles to pick up a winners medal. That still wasn't a guarantee though. I was reminded of two things from hurdling with the MRR Juniors on Thursday night. Firstly that I can still hurdle, and secondly that the sprint hurdles are very high. So getting over 10 of them and collecting that medal was by no means nailed on.
Disappointingly, the race I should probably have done the 400m Hurdles that I was title holder of for so long, had no entries at all. I could have strolled round it, along with the much shorter hurdles and reclaimed my title.
Because the timetable has the Hammer throw starting first to try and get them out of the way before everyone else arrives I had to be up and on the road very early in the morning.
I got there in plenty of time to warm-up and had a couple of practice throws which both went really well. I took my first real throw fairly easy just to feel out my timing and try a single spin and got out to a comfortable 18.41m.
Then I started to get carried away and actually tried to put some speed and power into things. So the next couple throws were pretty terrible. I engaged my brain for round 4 and tried another gentle and sensible one, but clipped the cage and went out of the sector. And then I turned my brain off again and finished with two terrible off balance attempts to just power out a distance. So eventually ended up with my first throw being my best. Not quite what I had hoped for, but better than I feared. Enough to get 2nd place and a silver medal though, so happy enough with that.
Then I had nearly 3 hours until the 5k. I wandered round a bit and tried to do a bit of stretching. I watched some of the other races and had some breakfast.
I started fairly well, but even by the end of the first lap my legs were feeling a bit heavy. I expected to get lapped after about 4 and 8 laps. And right on queue at the 4 lap mark the two leaders cruised past. I still felt like I was going ok at this point and the times on the lap clock looked to be close to what I was expecting. 90 second laps was going to take me under 19 minutes. Even at the 3k point when the leaders passed me again (ahead of schedule) I was still only a few seconds off my planned pace. Through in 11:20 against a target of 11:15. But from there something must have gone horribly wrong as I ended up finishing almost a minute off my target. Time 19:37.6.
I can't see accurately how the pace changed because my garmin is still not uploading to their shitty software.
I did run a PB, taking a handful of seconds off the time I set back in 2008. And I did run well inside my annual target of 21:30 which seemed sensible when I wrote it in January. So I should be happy, but I am really not. I thought I would go about a minute faster than that. I am going to put my positive hat on and finish that with the realisation that I am unhappy about running over 10% faster than I thought I could even hope for at Xmas. Shows just how much better I am running that I consider a PB and 2 minutes under my annual target to be a 'bad' race.
Edit - I now have the Garmin output for laps so here is a more complete breakdown. Ignoring the first 200m, the first full lap was about 10 seconds too fast at 1:24. Then I run perfectly even 1:34 laps for the next 7 in a row. Then for some reason I dropped to 1:44, 1:40, 1:43 before picking back up at the end to 1:36 and 1:29. Those 3 slow laps cost me somewhere in the region of 26 seconds, which was basically the difference between a time I would really have been happy with and what I actually did. The rest to what I would have considered a perfect time leaked away at about 1-2 seconds a lap, which I can just put down to the wind as much as anything else.
Then I had to go straight to the hurdles. I did get a chance to do some warming up on the full height hurdles and I was managing to get over them safely enough. All I had to do from there was get to them and get between them. I had a couple of runs from the start just to try and figure out which way round I was going to start. Turns out my stride length is drastically shorter than last time I did the hurdles so I had to add a stride and switch my start round.
I only had one opponent and he was in a different age-group so he had shorter hurdles than I did. When the gun went I was yard ahead going into the first hurdle. Then I realised very quickly that my stride length was going to force me to a 5-stride pattern. That was still quick enough to keep me ahead of the Under-20 until I really battered hurdle 7 with my trail leg. Killed what momentum I did have and allowed him to pull past me. I managed to close that gap over the last three hurdles but not quite enough to get back into the lead. But finishing at all was enough to get my title back and a nice little medal for my collection.
Turns out I ran 22.00 secs. Considering that was into a -2.9m/s headwind and was only 3 seconds off a wind-assisted PB, I am really happy with that.
Then I started to get carried away and actually tried to put some speed and power into things. So the next couple throws were pretty terrible. I engaged my brain for round 4 and tried another gentle and sensible one, but clipped the cage and went out of the sector. And then I turned my brain off again and finished with two terrible off balance attempts to just power out a distance. So eventually ended up with my first throw being my best. Not quite what I had hoped for, but better than I feared. Enough to get 2nd place and a silver medal though, so happy enough with that.
Then I had nearly 3 hours until the 5k. I wandered round a bit and tried to do a bit of stretching. I watched some of the other races and had some breakfast.
I started fairly well, but even by the end of the first lap my legs were feeling a bit heavy. I expected to get lapped after about 4 and 8 laps. And right on queue at the 4 lap mark the two leaders cruised past. I still felt like I was going ok at this point and the times on the lap clock looked to be close to what I was expecting. 90 second laps was going to take me under 19 minutes. Even at the 3k point when the leaders passed me again (ahead of schedule) I was still only a few seconds off my planned pace. Through in 11:20 against a target of 11:15. But from there something must have gone horribly wrong as I ended up finishing almost a minute off my target. Time 19:37.6.
I can't see accurately how the pace changed because my garmin is still not uploading to their shitty software.
I did run a PB, taking a handful of seconds off the time I set back in 2008. And I did run well inside my annual target of 21:30 which seemed sensible when I wrote it in January. So I should be happy, but I am really not. I thought I would go about a minute faster than that. I am going to put my positive hat on and finish that with the realisation that I am unhappy about running over 10% faster than I thought I could even hope for at Xmas. Shows just how much better I am running that I consider a PB and 2 minutes under my annual target to be a 'bad' race.
Edit - I now have the Garmin output for laps so here is a more complete breakdown. Ignoring the first 200m, the first full lap was about 10 seconds too fast at 1:24. Then I run perfectly even 1:34 laps for the next 7 in a row. Then for some reason I dropped to 1:44, 1:40, 1:43 before picking back up at the end to 1:36 and 1:29. Those 3 slow laps cost me somewhere in the region of 26 seconds, which was basically the difference between a time I would really have been happy with and what I actually did. The rest to what I would have considered a perfect time leaked away at about 1-2 seconds a lap, which I can just put down to the wind as much as anything else.
Then I had to go straight to the hurdles. I did get a chance to do some warming up on the full height hurdles and I was managing to get over them safely enough. All I had to do from there was get to them and get between them. I had a couple of runs from the start just to try and figure out which way round I was going to start. Turns out my stride length is drastically shorter than last time I did the hurdles so I had to add a stride and switch my start round.
I only had one opponent and he was in a different age-group so he had shorter hurdles than I did. When the gun went I was yard ahead going into the first hurdle. Then I realised very quickly that my stride length was going to force me to a 5-stride pattern. That was still quick enough to keep me ahead of the Under-20 until I really battered hurdle 7 with my trail leg. Killed what momentum I did have and allowed him to pull past me. I managed to close that gap over the last three hurdles but not quite enough to get back into the lead. But finishing at all was enough to get my title back and a nice little medal for my collection.
Turns out I ran 22.00 secs. Considering that was into a -2.9m/s headwind and was only 3 seconds off a wind-assisted PB, I am really happy with that.
Training Plan - Week 22 - May 25 to 31
No 'serious' races this week. There is another Deeside Time Trial on Tuesday night but I am not counting that as it is basically just a very fast and technical TT bike training session. It would be good to put in a decent 10-mile time, but I will be happy with a slower time as a future target if the weather is not great.
The lack of races means I can just crack on with a huge training week instead. Should double my bike target this week and be well over run and swim miles as well.
Monday - Reps run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Deeside Thistle 10-mile Time Trial.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Easy run or bike.
Longer swim at Knockburn. 3 laps?
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday.
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy jog.
Yoga session.
Saturday - Rest day?
Sunday - Kintore Sunday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 21 - May 18 to 24 (corrected)
Monday I started with an easy stretching session before I went out for a run. I changed my plan and went to do a fairly fast rep session to try and balance out my week and allow me to do easier sessions late in the week before racing on Saturday. As I arrived in the park to do my reps the school break bell went and a few hundred primary children spilled out onto my planned route. So I had to adapt. I changed the session to doing a set of 200m with walk recovery on the grass track. I planned 10, I only managed 6 and the last two of those were ridiculously slow. Bit disappointing really.
At the swim session in the evening I put in 2 x 50m PBs right at the end of an already fast session. Couple of minor cramp attacks from trying to swim on the same day as a fast run session. And some really terrible turns as my back and right side were really tight.
Tuesday was Deeside Thistle 15-mile Time Trial which gets a report to itself, here. I also did some stretching and a yoga session.
Wednesday I went out for an easy jog in the morning. Trying to get my garmin to upload my time trial data and then the run data wasn't working. And was getting really frustrating. I can see all the data is there in the history on the watch, I just can't access it.
Then in the evening I went for my first trip to Knockburn for this year. It was freezing. I managed 2 laps but I was struggling with the cold. The time was surprisingly quick though. About 27mins for a cold and easy 1,500m.
Thursday I travelled through to Elgin for racing at the weekend. Then in the evening I went along to a Junior track session to do some hurdles coaching. I had hoped to rack up enough steps or activity doing this that I could skip a proper session today but it turn out coaching technical events doesn't actually have much physical effort involved so I then had to go out and do another run as well.
Friday I had an easy day. I went out for a jog in the morning but it was basically just a very long warm up before I did a yoga session.
Saturday was the North District Championships in Inverness but that gets a review all to itself.
Sunday I was limping a little bit on my bruised ankle but that did;t seem to be a problem on the bike. The big group were going 80 miles on an ice cream trip to Portsoy but that was out of my range so I started with them and peeled off at the 15 mile mark to head back. I hadn't quite realised how strong the wind was hitting the group as we went out at 15mph, then when I turned round I flew back solo with the wind at my back. Cruising the return 15 miles came in faster than Tuesday's 15-mile time trial.
I also eventually managed to fix my garmin, and then had to spend about an hour ripping up my Strava for the week for duplications.The cumulative totals are all but meaningless at this point. I am so far ahead of the targets at the start of every week. I will revise some of them at the end of June, but for now the only thing is to watch that I am staying as far ahead of them.
For weekly totals I am about 100m short on swimming but that was due to a slightly shorter Monday session than I expected and my first trip to Knockburn being too cold to do a third lap. Should be back to over distance next week. Running I am way over again. And biking on Sunday took me way past for another week.
And another two of my annual targets ticked off this week. Running a 5k in under 21:30 and my optional target to run in a championship race. Bonus point for coming out of one of them as District Champion.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Stretching session.
Reps run 3.2 miles in 31 mins. (6 x 200m in 33-46 secs).
Swim with TPT 2,200m in 56 mins.
Tuesday - Yoga session 27 mins.
Stretching session.
Deeside 15-mile Time Trial, 44mins 20.
3.1 miles of warm-up/down in 12 mins.
Wednesday - Dyce home loop 3.6 miles in 32 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 2 laps (1,500m) in 27 mins.
Thursday - Hurdles technical session.
Easy run 3.7 miles in 31 mins.
Friday - Easy jog 3.8 miles in 38 mins.
Yoga session 20 mins.
Saturday - North District Champs
Hammer throw - 18.41m
5,000m - 19:37.59
110m Hurdles
(plus some warming up / down)
Sunday - Kintore Sunday 30.30 miles in 1 hour 45mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.3 miles (3,700m). Bike 48.4 miles. Run 17.9 miles. short core, short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 47 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 35.3 (32.4) , B1071.9 (964.3), R 334.2 (282.1).
S 35.3 (32.4) , B 1102.2 (964.3), R 342.2 (282.1). Corrected.
At the swim session in the evening I put in 2 x 50m PBs right at the end of an already fast session. Couple of minor cramp attacks from trying to swim on the same day as a fast run session. And some really terrible turns as my back and right side were really tight.
Tuesday was Deeside Thistle 15-mile Time Trial which gets a report to itself, here. I also did some stretching and a yoga session.
Wednesday I went out for an easy jog in the morning. Trying to get my garmin to upload my time trial data and then the run data wasn't working. And was getting really frustrating. I can see all the data is there in the history on the watch, I just can't access it.
Then in the evening I went for my first trip to Knockburn for this year. It was freezing. I managed 2 laps but I was struggling with the cold. The time was surprisingly quick though. About 27mins for a cold and easy 1,500m.
Thursday I travelled through to Elgin for racing at the weekend. Then in the evening I went along to a Junior track session to do some hurdles coaching. I had hoped to rack up enough steps or activity doing this that I could skip a proper session today but it turn out coaching technical events doesn't actually have much physical effort involved so I then had to go out and do another run as well.
Friday I had an easy day. I went out for a jog in the morning but it was basically just a very long warm up before I did a yoga session.
Saturday was the North District Championships in Inverness but that gets a review all to itself.
Sunday I was limping a little bit on my bruised ankle but that did;t seem to be a problem on the bike. The big group were going 80 miles on an ice cream trip to Portsoy but that was out of my range so I started with them and peeled off at the 15 mile mark to head back. I hadn't quite realised how strong the wind was hitting the group as we went out at 15mph, then when I turned round I flew back solo with the wind at my back. Cruising the return 15 miles came in faster than Tuesday's 15-mile time trial.
I also eventually managed to fix my garmin, and then had to spend about an hour ripping up my Strava for the week for duplications.The cumulative totals are all but meaningless at this point. I am so far ahead of the targets at the start of every week. I will revise some of them at the end of June, but for now the only thing is to watch that I am staying as far ahead of them.
For weekly totals I am about 100m short on swimming but that was due to a slightly shorter Monday session than I expected and my first trip to Knockburn being too cold to do a third lap. Should be back to over distance next week. Running I am way over again. And biking on Sunday took me way past for another week.
And another two of my annual targets ticked off this week. Running a 5k in under 21:30 and my optional target to run in a championship race. Bonus point for coming out of one of them as District Champion.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Stretching session.
Reps run 3.2 miles in 31 mins. (6 x 200m in 33-46 secs).
Swim with TPT 2,200m in 56 mins.
Tuesday - Yoga session 27 mins.
Stretching session.
Deeside 15-mile Time Trial, 44mins 20.
3.1 miles of warm-up/down in 12 mins.
Wednesday - Dyce home loop 3.6 miles in 32 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 2 laps (1,500m) in 27 mins.
Easy run 3.7 miles in 31 mins.
Friday - Easy jog 3.8 miles in 38 mins.
Yoga session 20 mins.
Saturday - North District Champs
Hammer throw - 18.41m
5,000m - 19:37.59
110m Hurdles
(plus some warming up / down)
Sunday - Kintore Sunday 30.30 miles in 1 hour 45mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.3 miles (3,700m). Bike 48.4 miles. Run 17.9 miles. short core, short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 47 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 35.3 (32.4) , B
S 35.3 (32.4) , B 1102.2 (964.3), R 342.2 (282.1). Corrected.
Thursday, 21 May 2015
Race Review - Deeside Thistle 15-mile TT
This was only my second ever Time Trial.
I spent the day prepping for it as well as I could. I did a yoga session in the morning and made sure I ate a decent lunch.
I checked over the TT bike and removed the aero water bottle. It was certainly a contributor to the crosswind problems I had at Peterhead and I am not going to be stopping for a drink during such a short TT. In fact the only 2 races this year where I might drink are my two standard races so I am inclined to leave the bottle off all year and try and find a better hydration solution for those two races.
I put on my heart rate monitor and the most aero outfit that I can still cycle in. Then added jacket because it was too cold for just lycra. I put my garmin on the bike rather than on my arm, just so I could get some sort of information as I was pedalling. I thought about switching it from the usual "time / ave speed / distance" settings to showing something that might be more useful but I don't actually have enough data for heart rate or cadence to be particularly useful so I just left it alone.
My registered start time was 18:47. I headed out in time to register and then realised that I had signed up to be second starter while all the serious boys had put themselves down for going as late as possible. I suspect I have made a tactical error here but the temperature was forecast to be 2 degrees colder for them and the wind wasn't going to drop for them until after the rain had started so I was happy enough with my choice to get out and get it over with. I also knew none of the five riders behind me were likely to make up their time gaps on me. A couple might do similar times, times but they shouldn't be able to make back whole minutes. I didn't recognise the name of the one guy in front.
What the list of names did give me though was an idea of who to check off after the turn to see the time gaps. So I knew each of the 4 riders behind me and the guys at 10, 17, 22 and 38 minutes. So I could work out roughly how things were going from what the clock said as I passed them on my return trip.
I arrived quite tight for time so by the time I got ready I didn't have much hanging about to do. I pedalled out to the start just to get a short warm-up.
The drizzly rain was off again by the time I started and the breeze didn't seem as bad. I set up, started my garmin as the timekeeper gave me my 10 second warning. And then I was off. The first mile was ok, but it was clear that the headwind was actually fairly strong. I tried to ignore it and just keep my head down and push on. And that worked fine as long as I kept my eyes off the clock. But every time I looked down the times got scarier. Over 9 minutes and only at 2.5 miles.
Through to mile 5 it was all I could do to just keep tucked in and pedalling, then at 5 miles there is an uphill. I hadn't realised quite how tough it would be. I felt like I was going backwards as I sat up and tried to grind over my lowest gear into the headwind.
A mile before the half way it levels over but by this point I felt terrible. I passed cyclist number 1 and realised he must be 6 minutes ahead of me, meaning he had made 5 mins on me in 7.5 miles! Surely it was a matter of time till the chasers started to pass me. I got to the turn and the watch said 28 mins. That meant if I did the same on the return leg I was going to be nearly 56 minutes!
The inward trip was a completely different story though. From the first pedal turn the following wind was obvious. I was actually spending a lot of time spinning my legs without actually adding any extra speed. Pretty much the first 3 miles after the turn were coasting downhill with the wind and trying to hold safe but fast lines through the corners.
After the turn it was only 30 seconds until I passed the cyclist who started 2 mins behind me. That meant she had made up half her gap. Then one of the super serious guys was behind her, he must have come from about 8th. But the rest of the people who started close behind me were at least where they should be if not further back and now I was properly motoring. At the 10-mile mark it flattens out, so now I was having to keep my legs turning to keep things moving but I had been getting such a good rest from 7-10 that now I was able to really open up and pour on the speed with the wind still pushing me along nicely.
I was flying through the miles at this point so much faster that I was having to concentrate totally on the road. I couldn't check the watch and I wasn't even managing to make out which riders were coming the other way on their outbound journey. As I passed registration I knew there was a mile to go from there to the finish line and I tried to keep pushing but I was struggling to add any more pace. It was only at this point that I realised no-one had actually caught up to me on the return leg and I was still the second finisher.
So a 16:30-ish inbound trip. That was more like what I had expected.
I think I am really happy with the race as a whole. If my garmin ever syncs I will get a chance to look at the underlying numbers and see how happy I should actually be.Total time 44 mins 20.
What the list of names did give me though was an idea of who to check off after the turn to see the time gaps. So I knew each of the 4 riders behind me and the guys at 10, 17, 22 and 38 minutes. So I could work out roughly how things were going from what the clock said as I passed them on my return trip.
I arrived quite tight for time so by the time I got ready I didn't have much hanging about to do. I pedalled out to the start just to get a short warm-up.
The drizzly rain was off again by the time I started and the breeze didn't seem as bad. I set up, started my garmin as the timekeeper gave me my 10 second warning. And then I was off. The first mile was ok, but it was clear that the headwind was actually fairly strong. I tried to ignore it and just keep my head down and push on. And that worked fine as long as I kept my eyes off the clock. But every time I looked down the times got scarier. Over 9 minutes and only at 2.5 miles.
Through to mile 5 it was all I could do to just keep tucked in and pedalling, then at 5 miles there is an uphill. I hadn't realised quite how tough it would be. I felt like I was going backwards as I sat up and tried to grind over my lowest gear into the headwind.
A mile before the half way it levels over but by this point I felt terrible. I passed cyclist number 1 and realised he must be 6 minutes ahead of me, meaning he had made 5 mins on me in 7.5 miles! Surely it was a matter of time till the chasers started to pass me. I got to the turn and the watch said 28 mins. That meant if I did the same on the return leg I was going to be nearly 56 minutes!
The inward trip was a completely different story though. From the first pedal turn the following wind was obvious. I was actually spending a lot of time spinning my legs without actually adding any extra speed. Pretty much the first 3 miles after the turn were coasting downhill with the wind and trying to hold safe but fast lines through the corners.
After the turn it was only 30 seconds until I passed the cyclist who started 2 mins behind me. That meant she had made up half her gap. Then one of the super serious guys was behind her, he must have come from about 8th. But the rest of the people who started close behind me were at least where they should be if not further back and now I was properly motoring. At the 10-mile mark it flattens out, so now I was having to keep my legs turning to keep things moving but I had been getting such a good rest from 7-10 that now I was able to really open up and pour on the speed with the wind still pushing me along nicely.
I was flying through the miles at this point so much faster that I was having to concentrate totally on the road. I couldn't check the watch and I wasn't even managing to make out which riders were coming the other way on their outbound journey. As I passed registration I knew there was a mile to go from there to the finish line and I tried to keep pushing but I was struggling to add any more pace. It was only at this point that I realised no-one had actually caught up to me on the return leg and I was still the second finisher.
So a 16:30-ish inbound trip. That was more like what I had expected.
I think I am really happy with the race as a whole. If my garmin ever syncs I will get a chance to look at the underlying numbers and see how happy I should actually be.Total time 44 mins 20.
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
Race Preview - North District Championships
I put in my goals for the year that I wanted to compete in a Championship race. At the time I really meant the North 10k (or maybe 10-mile or half marathon) road championships. I wasn't sure how my head would cope with those though so I left it as an optional target.
Then when I rejoined my running club at the start of the year they automatically registered me as an athlete with ScottishAthletics Limited. In previous years I have objected to that charge and have only registered as a coach. Which was meant to carry the same benefits but SAL gradually cut them back to try and squeeze more money out of people and eventually I didn't even bother registering.
This means though that I can compete in the North District Track and Field Championships.
I am still record holder for the 100m Hurdles at this event. I also went 12 years in a row as 400m Hurdles champion and 15 years in a row as champion of at least one hurdles event (often both). So it seems fitting to go back and take part in that since I am eligible. But I know I haven't trained for that so I am not likely to be competitive. I may not even be able to get over the big hurdles.
I do have the legs to run a decent 5k though so I have entered that as well.
And since I am there anyway I figured I might try throwing the hammer, on the grounds that it is mostly a technical event, and I am probably upper-body stronger, even with the metal plate in my collar bone, than I ever was when I was throwing it regularly.
Targets, just because I like to give myself something to aim at.
Hammer throw. I would like to throw over 20 meters. That may be a big ask off no practice. If I can even get to the stage of rotating with my throw and getting it out of the cage that will be a decent day out.
5,000m. PB is 19:45 so anything under that will be good. I think that is possible. Technically anything under 21:30 completes my annual running race target. So I will leave those as the real targets but really I want to be going very close to 19 minutes, and maybe even sneak under it if the weather is really good.
110m Hurdles. - Don't die!
Ok, fatality isn't really a risk but I could do some major damage if I get the hurdles wrong. I am not racing it hard, Monday's 'speed' session reminded me just how little sprinting power I have in my legs these days. I am just taking part and testing out my flexibility and technical muscle memory. It would be really great if I could get down somewhere near the 20 second mark, but if it takes 25 to get through it without hurting anything then I will be happy enough with that.
Then when I rejoined my running club at the start of the year they automatically registered me as an athlete with ScottishAthletics Limited. In previous years I have objected to that charge and have only registered as a coach. Which was meant to carry the same benefits but SAL gradually cut them back to try and squeeze more money out of people and eventually I didn't even bother registering.
This means though that I can compete in the North District Track and Field Championships.
I am still record holder for the 100m Hurdles at this event. I also went 12 years in a row as 400m Hurdles champion and 15 years in a row as champion of at least one hurdles event (often both). So it seems fitting to go back and take part in that since I am eligible. But I know I haven't trained for that so I am not likely to be competitive. I may not even be able to get over the big hurdles.
I do have the legs to run a decent 5k though so I have entered that as well.
And since I am there anyway I figured I might try throwing the hammer, on the grounds that it is mostly a technical event, and I am probably upper-body stronger, even with the metal plate in my collar bone, than I ever was when I was throwing it regularly.
Targets, just because I like to give myself something to aim at.
Hammer throw. I would like to throw over 20 meters. That may be a big ask off no practice. If I can even get to the stage of rotating with my throw and getting it out of the cage that will be a decent day out.
5,000m. PB is 19:45 so anything under that will be good. I think that is possible. Technically anything under 21:30 completes my annual running race target. So I will leave those as the real targets but really I want to be going very close to 19 minutes, and maybe even sneak under it if the weather is really good.
110m Hurdles. - Don't die!
Ok, fatality isn't really a risk but I could do some major damage if I get the hurdles wrong. I am not racing it hard, Monday's 'speed' session reminded me just how little sprinting power I have in my legs these days. I am just taking part and testing out my flexibility and technical muscle memory. It would be really great if I could get down somewhere near the 20 second mark, but if it takes 25 to get through it without hurting anything then I will be happy enough with that.
Monday, 18 May 2015
Race Preview - Deeside Thistle 15-mile TT
After the first Deeside TT being cancelled for weather, and then missing the second one due to an Energy Institute presentation I still haven't managed to race a Time Trial yet this year. I did preview the 10-mile race already.
So basically the new version is this but for 15 miles total (7.5 out, 7.5 back) and with a little bit of a bump on the extension.
Training Plan - Week 21 - May 18 to 24
Back on the races this weekend but another strange one as I am going to Inverness to run at the North of Scotland Track and Field Champs. Primarily I am going to go and run a 5k just to see how my current running form really relates to how I used to run. But since I am there anyway I thought I would do another couple of events. I know I don't have the speed or strength to be in any way competitive on the track these days, so I am going to gamble a bit on almost 20 years of technical training not having been lost in the 8 years since I last tried to clear a flight of hurdles or throw a hammer.
I might go to Knockburn for my second swim this week. I could do another fast pool session instead. I will probably decide that based just on the weather on Wednesday.
Depending on talking someone else into going I could also pedal out to Knockburn to get some extra bike miles in.
Monday - Easy run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Deeside Thistle 15-mile Time Trial.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run or bike.
Longer swim. Knockburn?
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Track session with MRR. (Maybe even some hurdles?).
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy jog.
Yoga session.
Saturday - North District Championships.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
I might go to Knockburn for my second swim this week. I could do another fast pool session instead. I will probably decide that based just on the weather on Wednesday.
Depending on talking someone else into going I could also pedal out to Knockburn to get some extra bike miles in.
Monday - Easy run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Deeside Thistle 15-mile Time Trial.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run or bike.
Longer swim. Knockburn?
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Track session with MRR. (Maybe even some hurdles?).
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy jog.
Yoga session.
Saturday - North District Championships.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 20 - May 11 to 17
Monday I had to go in to town to sign-on, so I jogged back from there. Only after I was home did I realise that this was the longest run I have done this year. I probably need to add a few longer runs before I get to racing standards later in the year.
At Monday evening's swim session I expected to have problems with cramp, especially as it was a heavy kick session with fins. I survived without too many problems though. Some minor foot cramps but nothing bad enough to stop me
Tuesday I had a busy day but I managed to squeeze a reps session in to the afternoon. I went to the park and did 5 short reps of the park. Legs were really heavy but I still managed to put in similar times to last month when I did 4 short reps with longer recovery.
Wednesday I went to ASV with the intention of doing 4x400m reps. However, the fast lane was busier than normal and the slower traffic was getting in my way too much. I did the full 1,600m in 30 mins as planned but with more than half of that just as a steady swim dues to the traffic. In the evening I went for a jog with a friend as well. Puts me over my run miles for the week already with probably one, and possibly two, more run sessions still to fit in.
Thursday I did a yoga session in the morning, then spent the day studying before cycling in the evening. Another fast session with the Kintore group. The brutal effort levels of this session are really challenging my cycling skills and at the same time are doing me a huge amount of good in terms of cycling development and speed. I still need to transition that across to the TT bike though.
Friday morning I took an easy lap around Dyce just to try and ease my legs off. Didn't work very well. The fast bike sessions really are tough to recover from. In the afternoon I did a stretching session before we went out to see Pitch Perfect 2.
Saturday I went to do some marshalling at the Alford King of the Mountain Sportive in the morning, then went to see Mad Max: Fury Road in the afternoon.
Sunday I had my Granny's 95th birthday lunch to go to so I had to fit in an early bike ride around that. I did a route I have done before over Kirkhill and
Another good week on the running front. And an ok week of swimming. A bit disappointing on the bike, over the target but I really thought I would be up around 65-70 this week.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Recovery run 7.6 miles in 65 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,200m in 57 mins.
Tuesday - Reps run 3.7 miles in 30 mins. (5 x 600m, 1 min rec).
Spooks: The Greater Good.
Light weights session.
Wednesday - Stretching session.
Swim at ASV 1,600m in 30 mins.
Run 3.8 miles in 32 mins.
Kintore Thursday 24.3 miles in 1 hour 20 mins.
Friday - Jog 3.9 miles in 33 mins.
Pitch Perfect 2
Saturday - Marshall at KOM Sportive.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Stretching session.
Sunday - Ride 19.7 miles in 1 hour 16 mins.
Yoga 22 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.4 miles (3,800m). Bike 44.0 miles. Run 19.0 miles. short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 52 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 33.1 (30.0) , B 1053.8 (929.3), R 323.5 (269.1).
Monday, 11 May 2015
Training Plan - Week 20 - May 11 to 17
Saturday I am doing another marshalling job. This time for the King of the Mountain 100-mile sportive. That should give me a rest day.
Tuesday I am going to miss the Deeside Time Trial as it clashes with an Energy Institute presentation. So I have left it as a bike or run day depending on the weather.
The rest of the week is fairly standard. I have overloaded it again, partly to allow for any cancellations for weather, or interviews, but partly just because I should be doing more with all my free time.
No speed biking target this week. Speed swimming is coming in though. I want to do the same 4x400m session as last week but get in under 30 minutes this time. And a run speed target needs to come in here somewhere. I haven't decided which reps session to do, so any of my previous sessions but with faster reps will do as a target for this week. I need to do some speed work before doing a track event next weekend.
Monday - Easy run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy bike or run, depends on weather.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run.
Longer swim.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Midweek.
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy run.
Wedding.
Saturday - Marshalling at KOM Sportive
Yoga session and stretching session.
Sunday - Kintore Sunday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 19 - May 4 to 10
Started the week with core and stretching sessions before going out for a 10k run in the morning. Then swim session in the evening. Nothing spectacular about any of it, but within the swim session there were some faster sections with good turns in.
Tuesday I tried to stay as lazy as possible through the day. I did an easy stretching session in the morning and then a yoga session late in the afternoon, both with a view to prepping for the Deeside TT in the evening. Unfortunately the weather meant that was cancelled. I considered going out for a solo bike to stay on plan for the week but Thursday nights ride is going to get me all the miles I need so I decided to go out for a run instead. Did a steady but accidentally fast lap around the block in the rain. First training session averaging under 7 mins / mile since May 2011 and it didn't even feel like I was pushing hard. Also takes me through 300 miles running for the year.
Wednesday I thought about chasing the missed bike miles in place of my planned run, since I had covered the run on Tuesday instead. The weather was still rotten though so I decided to go and swim in the morning. I went to ASV and did 4x400m, all in around 7 mins. My fastest rep was 6:51.
With just over 4 weeks to go until racing at Forres I have to find 51 seconds to hit my target of a 6 minute 400m this year. Going from 4 reps to a single effort I can maybe push about 10 seconds quicker, long course to short course gets me 10 more, the tri-suit and the razor maybe get me another 10, race adrenaline and a bit of a tow (hopefully no overtaking) another 10, all of that leaves me with 11 or so seconds still to find somewhere. Double swims for the next few weeks should help. I may keep them in the pool rather than go to Knockburn though.
Somehow I have managed to spin a 31 minute session into 3 paragraphs even though it was by far the laziest day I have done in months. I racked up a total of 1,288 steps for the day. Not even enough to get from here to the railway station, never mind back again. Purely because I was so appalled by that number I added in a light weights session before bed.
Thursday I rode out to meet the guys from the Kintore Thursday group. Another brutal session. Two laps of one of the Deeside Time Trial courses, a 9.5 mile loop with some pretty lumpy sections in it. We split into groups of 4 and headed off at a fast pace, on the first lap I beat every one of my Strava PRs for the route. On the second lap we rode into a hailstorm so it wasn't quite as quick, but plenty of 2nd fastest times. These are definitely doing exactly what I need. The pace is very close to my flat out race pace. Possibly even above race pace in some sections.
Friday I planned a short run before going to my cousin's wedding in the afternoon. But my morning had to be rearranged to fit in an interview so it ended up as a lost day. Can't even claim it as a rest day as weddings are hard work, even though most of the time is spent sitting.
Saturday I had a proper rest day. Although this was down to a hangover, even though I only had a single pint of shandy at the wedding, I felt absolutely crap all day. I did a stretching session late in the evening.
Sunday was Peterhead Triathlon which will get a report all to itself.
The last couple of weeks I have been barely scraping over my planned numbers. I have countered this by improving he pace a lot. With all the time I have at the minute I should be doing more though. For the first couple of months off work I was doing 8-9 hours of the three main sports, the last couple of weeks I have been barely scraping 6.
Overall this week has been numerically good anyway, but it has also taken me through 30 miles swimming, 1,000 miles cycling and 300 miles running for the year.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Stretching session.
Core session.
Run 6.3 miles in 50 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,200m in 54mins.
Tuesday - Stretching session.
Yoga session 30 mins.
Run 4.5 in 31 mins.
Wednesday - Swim session at ASV 1,600m in 31 mins.
(4 x 400m, 1 min rec).
Light weights.
(with 14 mins of waiting).
Friday - Cousin's wedding.
Saturday - Rest day.
Stretching session.
Sunday - Peterhead Sprint Triathlon
Swim 750m in 12:40.0
Bike 14.0 miles in 43 mins.
Run 2.9 miles in 19 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.9 miles (4,650 m). Bike 47.5 miles. Run 13.7 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 3 short stretching sessions. 42 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 30.8 (27.6) , B 1009.8 (894.3), R 304.5 (256.1).
Race Review - Peterhead Sprint Triathlon
Looking at the weather forecast the night before was not encouraging. The BBC had 25 mph crosswinds and rain.
Race preview here.
Updated Results here.
I was drawn in the same lane as two guys I raced at Turriff and two others with similar swim times. I hate Peterhead pool, it has funny undercurrents and the walls are not particularly grippy for turns, and the shallow end is very shallow. Compared to Turriff the same two guys didn't lap me this time. This was partly me going faster, but I think partly them going slower as well. Again I abandoned the tumble turns quite early. Still need to work on them at full pace. I got passed by the guy behind me, but I then managed to drop the last guy in our lane, and I managed to keep enough ahead of the three in front that they didn't get round to lap me. Swim time 12:36, not as fast as I wanted, but inside my predicted time of 12:40 and faster than Turriff, so going in the right direction. Edit: This was actually a 750m swim PB but I hadn't even noticed because I think I should be going even faster.
T1 was pretty shocking. I went through everything in order, but doing gloves and socks cost me too much time. They were necessary for the cold though.
It turned out the BBC had the weather pretty much spot on. The rain had eased while we were in the pool but the road surface was still damp and the wind was pretty strong. I decided to go with the TT helmet, which in hindsight was the wrong choice. I started off ok, I caught a couple of places on the way out, but I was using a lot of the road to fight the wind. At one point there is a small stone bridge and I had to go into it angling to crash over the side and then let the wind carry me over. That was right on the line of what I felt was safe behaviour.
Trying to ride into the crosswind being blown to the verge was tough, bordering on dangerous. In a couple of places I was pushed onto the verge, fortunately they were both quite smooth and I was able to steer back onto the road without a problem. But this shredded my confidence and I had to back off and just try to handle the bike rather than ride it fast. This actually made things worse as the TT bike is very unstable when it isn't going fast so slowing made things worse rather than better.
In a couple of places I was getting so frustrated I even took to swearing at the wind as if that might help. I was very tempted just to climb off the bike, but it was too cold and too far to walk it back. So I would have just had to climb back on it after I had a strop so I stayed on it.
On the return leg of the bike my heart rate actually dropped by 20bpm as I was simply trying to keep the bike on the road rather than push it along at anything approaching race pace. Bike time 42:45.
T2 was very slick. Despite chatting away to the organiser about how dodgy the bike course was in the wind I was still in and out in 26 seconds. Equal fastest time through T2.
Onto the run I felt quite good. As usual on triathlon runs my stride length was terrible, but my turnover was good and the pace was better than I expected. I had seen one of my targets leave transition just as I arrived and I set off to chase him. I got out through the first mile before seeing any of the leaders coming back. This meant I was within a mile of the winner. I figured I was probably about 11th at this point but as I passed people coming back in it turned out there were only 7 ahead of me. That meant catching one more would get me the same place as last year.
After the turn though I spotted two guys behind me who were going faster than me and I had to worry about them catching me as well. I pushed on as hard as I could but I couldn't make any inroads into the guys in front, and I had to start checking over my shoulder. Run time 19:02.
Time overall was 1:16:55. About 3 minutes slower than I wanted, but the bike alone was 3 minutes slower. And all of the cyclists were slower. Comparatively I actually did better than usual against most of them. The better bike handlers (or better equipped for the crosswinds, I didn't get a chance to check their bike set-ups) still went a few minutes quicker than me, but a few of the others were around my time or slower.
Finished 8th against a much stronger field than last year. Pretty happy all round, just the bike wasn't particularly enjoyable.
Race preview here.
Updated Results here.
I was drawn in the same lane as two guys I raced at Turriff and two others with similar swim times. I hate Peterhead pool, it has funny undercurrents and the walls are not particularly grippy for turns, and the shallow end is very shallow. Compared to Turriff the same two guys didn't lap me this time. This was partly me going faster, but I think partly them going slower as well. Again I abandoned the tumble turns quite early. Still need to work on them at full pace. I got passed by the guy behind me, but I then managed to drop the last guy in our lane, and I managed to keep enough ahead of the three in front that they didn't get round to lap me. Swim time 12:36, not as fast as I wanted, but inside my predicted time of 12:40 and faster than Turriff, so going in the right direction. Edit: This was actually a 750m swim PB but I hadn't even noticed because I think I should be going even faster.
T1 was pretty shocking. I went through everything in order, but doing gloves and socks cost me too much time. They were necessary for the cold though.
It turned out the BBC had the weather pretty much spot on. The rain had eased while we were in the pool but the road surface was still damp and the wind was pretty strong. I decided to go with the TT helmet, which in hindsight was the wrong choice. I started off ok, I caught a couple of places on the way out, but I was using a lot of the road to fight the wind. At one point there is a small stone bridge and I had to go into it angling to crash over the side and then let the wind carry me over. That was right on the line of what I felt was safe behaviour.
Trying to ride into the crosswind being blown to the verge was tough, bordering on dangerous. In a couple of places I was pushed onto the verge, fortunately they were both quite smooth and I was able to steer back onto the road without a problem. But this shredded my confidence and I had to back off and just try to handle the bike rather than ride it fast. This actually made things worse as the TT bike is very unstable when it isn't going fast so slowing made things worse rather than better.
In a couple of places I was getting so frustrated I even took to swearing at the wind as if that might help. I was very tempted just to climb off the bike, but it was too cold and too far to walk it back. So I would have just had to climb back on it after I had a strop so I stayed on it.
On the return leg of the bike my heart rate actually dropped by 20bpm as I was simply trying to keep the bike on the road rather than push it along at anything approaching race pace. Bike time 42:45.
T2 was very slick. Despite chatting away to the organiser about how dodgy the bike course was in the wind I was still in and out in 26 seconds. Equal fastest time through T2.
Onto the run I felt quite good. As usual on triathlon runs my stride length was terrible, but my turnover was good and the pace was better than I expected. I had seen one of my targets leave transition just as I arrived and I set off to chase him. I got out through the first mile before seeing any of the leaders coming back. This meant I was within a mile of the winner. I figured I was probably about 11th at this point but as I passed people coming back in it turned out there were only 7 ahead of me. That meant catching one more would get me the same place as last year.
After the turn though I spotted two guys behind me who were going faster than me and I had to worry about them catching me as well. I pushed on as hard as I could but I couldn't make any inroads into the guys in front, and I had to start checking over my shoulder. Run time 19:02.
Time overall was 1:16:55. About 3 minutes slower than I wanted, but the bike alone was 3 minutes slower. And all of the cyclists were slower. Comparatively I actually did better than usual against most of them. The better bike handlers (or better equipped for the crosswinds, I didn't get a chance to check their bike set-ups) still went a few minutes quicker than me, but a few of the others were around my time or slower.
Finished 8th against a much stronger field than last year. Pretty happy all round, just the bike wasn't particularly enjoyable.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Race Preview - Peterhead Triathlon
Here are my preview and my review from the 2014 Peterhead Sprint Triathlon.
This year is a very different story.
The race was put on the calendar early and knowing the course suits me I had it in my calendar very early.
The swim is unlikely to be as fast as last year as the chances of getting tapped out of the water two lengths early for a second year running are beyond remote. I should be looking at going a very similar time to last years preview target though, 12:30 - 12:50. Anything under that would need to be a very clean lane with some fairly equal swimmers.
The bike I think I can trim a bit off. Last year I wasted some time when I wasn't confident about a turn and stopped to wait for the next rider for confirmation. And I wasn't sure of the course so I didn't work hard enough in places. On top of that my new bike fitness should put me in a better place to push the bike. I think there is potential here to go under the 40 minute mark.
The run should also be quicker. My times at the minute are about 1 minute faster for 5k. 20:12 is definitely a beatable run time. I would at least like to get under 20 minutes.
I think there is an opportunity to go close to 1 hr 14 mins for this course. But it could be very weather dependent. Cold or windy could make the time target very tough, but will hurt everyone equally so I can always do a comparative time.
In terms of places I was quite lucky to get 4th Senior and 7th overall as 2014 was a fairly weak field. It is likely to be much tougher this year.
This year is a very different story.
The race was put on the calendar early and knowing the course suits me I had it in my calendar very early.
The swim is unlikely to be as fast as last year as the chances of getting tapped out of the water two lengths early for a second year running are beyond remote. I should be looking at going a very similar time to last years preview target though, 12:30 - 12:50. Anything under that would need to be a very clean lane with some fairly equal swimmers.
The bike I think I can trim a bit off. Last year I wasted some time when I wasn't confident about a turn and stopped to wait for the next rider for confirmation. And I wasn't sure of the course so I didn't work hard enough in places. On top of that my new bike fitness should put me in a better place to push the bike. I think there is potential here to go under the 40 minute mark.
The run should also be quicker. My times at the minute are about 1 minute faster for 5k. 20:12 is definitely a beatable run time. I would at least like to get under 20 minutes.
I think there is an opportunity to go close to 1 hr 14 mins for this course. But it could be very weather dependent. Cold or windy could make the time target very tough, but will hurt everyone equally so I can always do a comparative time.
In terms of places I was quite lucky to get 4th Senior and 7th overall as 2014 was a fairly weak field. It is likely to be much tougher this year.
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Race Review - Deeside 10-mile TT
Cancelled for weather.
Good decision by the organisers. I think quite a few of us would have braved it if it hadn't been cancelled but the risks were probably just on the wrong side of the line for it to go ahead safely. You never know what potholes are hiding in puddles,what the drivers behind will do if you pull out for a puddle, how bad the wave will get if you hit one that is deeper than it looks, and so on.
Good decision by the organisers. I think quite a few of us would have braved it if it hadn't been cancelled but the risks were probably just on the wrong side of the line for it to go ahead safely. You never know what potholes are hiding in puddles,what the drivers behind will do if you pull out for a puddle, how bad the wave will get if you hit one that is deeper than it looks, and so on.
Monday, 4 May 2015
Training Plan - Week 19 - May 4 to 10
Another very strange week to plan through. So much so that I am going to use it as an example of how I plan my weeks.
In order of importance;
Friday I have my cousin's wedding to go to. That effectively takes it out as a heavy training day, but means that I have to do an early morning session to try and burn enough adrenalin so that I can deal with the crowds in the afternoon and evening. So an easy run around the block in the morning.
Then Sunday is Peterhead Triathlon. This should be one of my best races of the year as the course really suits me. It is a dead flat bike, so is a pure test of power with no bike-handling or climbing to think about. And the run is pretty much the same. I placed in the top-10 last year, and am looking to do the same again this year. This takes out Saturday as a heavy training day, as I have to take it as a rest day with maybe some minor stretching and yoga sessions.
Then I also have the first of the Deeside Thistle Evening League time trials. That is on Tuesday evening. This effectively takes out Tuesday night as a heavy training day as well. Also gives me a good chance to go flat out on the TT bike on a similarly flat course to Sunday.
Then Kintore Midweek and TPT swim sessions drop in to their slots on Thursday and Monday evenings respectively.
So that now leaves me having covered my bike miles (10 at TT, 14 at Peterhead and at least the remaining 11 at Kintore) and if I get to 38 on the bike I will also be through 1,000 miles for the year. For the rest I am somewhere about 7 miles of running and 1.2 of swimming. So I am still looking to fit in another 6 and 1.2 respectively.
I possibly have an interview on Monday, because it is only a possible it didn't make it into the priority list. I am going to pencil in an easy run but may drop it. Wednesday is now the only day left so the second swim and a reps run go in there.
Scatter in the remaining yoga / stretching / core / weights at random and here is what my week looks like below.
I have missed off my speed targets again from this weeks plan. I really have them covered this week under my previews for the Deeside TT and Peterhead Sprint Triathlon.
Monday - Easy run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Deeside 10-mile Time Trial.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run.
Longer swim.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Midweek.
Stretching session.
Friday - Easy run.
Wedding.
Saturday - Yoga session and stretching session.
Sunday - Peterhead Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 13.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 18 - Apr 27 to May 3
Monday I started with core and light weights sessions before I went into town for appointments. Then in the afternoon I took an easy run round Dyce to ease my legs off and get some easy miles in.
Looks like a heavy start to the week with 4 sessions in one day but the first 3 were all fairly light. Swim set was tough, but did include some super-fast 25m efforts. Also had a lot of turns with paddles which I can't normally get to work, and a few turns at pace when tired which are a better indication that I can use them in races.
Tuesday I had an interview in the afternoon so I had to train early and keep it fairly short and sensible. I took the road bike round an easy 10-mile loop of Dyce. It was a bit cold and windy so I had my full winter gear on. I also took it far too easily the first half so no huge surprise that I was five minutes slower than last month. The side effect of that is that I felt pretty good in the afternoon and decided to go out and do a rep session as well.
My plan was to use the track to do 10 x 200m with 200m jog recovery. But the council was cutting the grass on the track and a junior football team had set up their pitch to cover half of one bend. So I adapted the session to be 10 x 1min rep, 1 min recovery on the path around the track. That worked out really well, felt good and was going fast on the reps. This reminded me that I have dropped speed targets out of my plans for the week, and that they need to go back in.
Wednesday I switched my sessions as it worked out to be convenient for me to get an extra swim. I started the morning with a yoga session. Then in the afternoon went to ASV 50m pool to swim. I initially planned to do a similar 3 x 400m session to last week but faster. As I came up to the 400m mark I realised I was only on the same pace so I decided to stretch that rep to a 750m instead. Somewhere in the 350m or the minute rest I realised that I hadn't allowed for the pool being long course, flat calm etc so I had actually been working harder than last time I did this session even thought the clock wasn't showing it. So I went back to another 400m in just under 7 mins and then did the last 50 m just to take the session up to the same total distance.
Thursday was the first of the Kintore Thursday sessions. Definitely higher pace than the Sunday sessions. I very quickly got an answer to the question of how long can I live with the fast guys. Answer turns out to be about two corners. I think I had more in the tank it I really buried myself but it seemed like a more sensible approach to drop to the trailing group and complete the full session properly rather than burn myself out in the first half.
Friday I did yoga session and then took an easy loop around Dyce to try and ease my legs off a little. Then back to the cinema for a second viewing of Avengers Age of Ultron.
Saturday I went out for a slightly longer but slower run.
Sunday was nominally a rest day, so obviously I spent the whole day at a race. Deeside Duathlon / Triathlon, I was acting as crew for two friends who were brave enough to tackle the weather and the 60 mile duathlon version.
This week looks like a lazy biking week as I only just racked up the miles on the plan and did 2 hours instead of the 3-5 hours I have been putting in recently. It was above plan and the pace on the rides more than covers that though.
Looking at the overall times this week actually looks like a lazy week all over as I racked up less than 6 hours on the major sports. I was doing more than that when I was still working. Looking deeper though, the runs were all at decent pace, both swims and both rides were fast too.
The second swim was good, but I will need to do more in the coming weeks. The runs were all pretty solid as well. A month ago I was trying to get to 7:30 pace on fast sessions. This week that has felt fairly steady. Pace targets need to go back in next week though.
Target totals - Swim 1.8 miles. Bike 35 miles. Run 13 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 51 mins of yoga.
Monday - Core session.
Light weights session.
Run 4.1 miles in 32 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,050m in 54 mins.
Tuesday - Bike 10 miles in 40 mins.
Reps run 4.3 miles in 31 mins.
Wednesday - Yoga 30 mins.
Swim at ASV 1,200m in 23 mins.
Thursday - Stretching session.
Kintore Thursday 26.1 miles in 1 hour 27 mins.
Friday - Yoga 21 mins.
Easy run 4 miles in 30 mins.
Saturday - Easy run 5.0 miles in 40 mins.
Stretching.
Sunday - Crew at Deeside Duathlon.
Actuals - Swim 2.0 miles (3,250m). Bike 36.1 miles. Run 17.4 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 66 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 27.8 (25.2), B 962.3 (859.3), R 290.8 (243.1).
Looks like a heavy start to the week with 4 sessions in one day but the first 3 were all fairly light. Swim set was tough, but did include some super-fast 25m efforts. Also had a lot of turns with paddles which I can't normally get to work, and a few turns at pace when tired which are a better indication that I can use them in races.
Tuesday I had an interview in the afternoon so I had to train early and keep it fairly short and sensible. I took the road bike round an easy 10-mile loop of Dyce. It was a bit cold and windy so I had my full winter gear on. I also took it far too easily the first half so no huge surprise that I was five minutes slower than last month. The side effect of that is that I felt pretty good in the afternoon and decided to go out and do a rep session as well.
My plan was to use the track to do 10 x 200m with 200m jog recovery. But the council was cutting the grass on the track and a junior football team had set up their pitch to cover half of one bend. So I adapted the session to be 10 x 1min rep, 1 min recovery on the path around the track. That worked out really well, felt good and was going fast on the reps. This reminded me that I have dropped speed targets out of my plans for the week, and that they need to go back in.
Wednesday I switched my sessions as it worked out to be convenient for me to get an extra swim. I started the morning with a yoga session. Then in the afternoon went to ASV 50m pool to swim. I initially planned to do a similar 3 x 400m session to last week but faster. As I came up to the 400m mark I realised I was only on the same pace so I decided to stretch that rep to a 750m instead. Somewhere in the 350m or the minute rest I realised that I hadn't allowed for the pool being long course, flat calm etc so I had actually been working harder than last time I did this session even thought the clock wasn't showing it. So I went back to another 400m in just under 7 mins and then did the last 50 m just to take the session up to the same total distance.
Thursday was the first of the Kintore Thursday sessions. Definitely higher pace than the Sunday sessions. I very quickly got an answer to the question of how long can I live with the fast guys. Answer turns out to be about two corners. I think I had more in the tank it I really buried myself but it seemed like a more sensible approach to drop to the trailing group and complete the full session properly rather than burn myself out in the first half.
Friday I did yoga session and then took an easy loop around Dyce to try and ease my legs off a little. Then back to the cinema for a second viewing of Avengers Age of Ultron.
Saturday I went out for a slightly longer but slower run.
Sunday was nominally a rest day, so obviously I spent the whole day at a race. Deeside Duathlon / Triathlon, I was acting as crew for two friends who were brave enough to tackle the weather and the 60 mile duathlon version.
This week looks like a lazy biking week as I only just racked up the miles on the plan and did 2 hours instead of the 3-5 hours I have been putting in recently. It was above plan and the pace on the rides more than covers that though.
Looking at the overall times this week actually looks like a lazy week all over as I racked up less than 6 hours on the major sports. I was doing more than that when I was still working. Looking deeper though, the runs were all at decent pace, both swims and both rides were fast too.
The second swim was good, but I will need to do more in the coming weeks. The runs were all pretty solid as well. A month ago I was trying to get to 7:30 pace on fast sessions. This week that has felt fairly steady. Pace targets need to go back in next week though.
Target totals - Swim 1.8 miles. Bike 35 miles. Run 13 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 51 mins of yoga.
Monday - Core session.
Light weights session.
Run 4.1 miles in 32 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,050m in 54 mins.
Tuesday - Bike 10 miles in 40 mins.
Reps run 4.3 miles in 31 mins.
Wednesday - Yoga 30 mins.
Swim at ASV 1,200m in 23 mins.
Kintore Thursday 26.1 miles in 1 hour 27 mins.
Friday - Yoga 21 mins.
Easy run 4 miles in 30 mins.
Saturday - Easy run 5.0 miles in 40 mins.
Stretching.
Sunday - Crew at Deeside Duathlon.
Actuals - Swim 2.0 miles (3,250m). Bike 36.1 miles. Run 17.4 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 66 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Cumulative target)
S 27.8 (25.2), B 962.3 (859.3), R 290.8 (243.1).
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Race Preview - Deeside 10-mile TT
I have only done one pure bike Time Trial before.
Here is my review of that race.
As much as it hurt, it did give me some good insights into how hard I can ride my bike and I put that to good use in the following triathlons last year. Those lessons could use a refresher at the very least. On top of that I have had a very good winter on the bike and I want to see how well I am riding now.
Deeside Thistle have an Evening League Series that runs every Tuesday night all summer for their members. I got a one-off guest slot last year for a single race. This year I have joined them primarily to get access to the full race series this year.
So there could be a few of these coming over the next few months depending on how they fit in with the rest of my programme. In particular I want to do the same one that I tried last year so I get a straight test against myself from last year.
This one is 5 miles out, turn round a cone and 5 miles back. Elevation on the route can probably be measured in inches rather than feet. It should be very fast, depending on any wet and wind. I should be able to rack up an average over 20 mph for this one without any difficulty. It is a nasty U-turn though, so anything under 30 minutes I will be happy with. This course comes up again late in the year so I can have another comparison test against it later in the year.
Here is my review of that race.
As much as it hurt, it did give me some good insights into how hard I can ride my bike and I put that to good use in the following triathlons last year. Those lessons could use a refresher at the very least. On top of that I have had a very good winter on the bike and I want to see how well I am riding now.
Deeside Thistle have an Evening League Series that runs every Tuesday night all summer for their members. I got a one-off guest slot last year for a single race. This year I have joined them primarily to get access to the full race series this year.
So there could be a few of these coming over the next few months depending on how they fit in with the rest of my programme. In particular I want to do the same one that I tried last year so I get a straight test against myself from last year.
This one is 5 miles out, turn round a cone and 5 miles back. Elevation on the route can probably be measured in inches rather than feet. It should be very fast, depending on any wet and wind. I should be able to rack up an average over 20 mph for this one without any difficulty. It is a nasty U-turn though, so anything under 30 minutes I will be happy with. This course comes up again late in the year so I can have another comparison test against it later in the year.
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