Here is my race report from 2014 and here is my race preview from 2014.
The weather for Sunday looks pretty good as I write this, but that could easily change.
On the swim, the extended loch and reverse direction make the course slower than previous years. I can counter some of that by being faster than previous years, but I don't think I can make up the two minutes I would need to in order to reach my annual target of a 26 minute 1500m swim. A more realistic target would be to take a minute off last years time and be out of the water in 27 minutes.
On the bike I feel like I am riding better than last year but for some reason it isn't really telling in races. Over this distance I am hoping that my general fitness will pay off and I can make my better cycling training pay off. The road surface has a temporary coating on a long section where normally I am fairly aggressive and I simply won't be able to attack it as I would like. This is going to cost me a chunk of time. Ideally the wind direction is currently predicted to be a headwind for that section which should slow everyone down and cancel out the surface conditions a little.
Last year I rode 1 hour 22 and missed the target I had set of going under 1 hour 20. I am going to put that 1 hour 20 target back in again this year, but after the race I am going to look at the breakdown of sections and possibly make an allowance for any lost time to the poorly surfaced sections.
The run may be a completely different course this year. As I type the course map still says that the race will be held on the traditional course so I am going to base my plan on that. The rumour-mill says that will change between now and Sunday to a completely new course. If that happens I won't be able to put any sort of sensible prediction on my time.
So on the traditional course I have run 58 mins, 54 mins, 53 mins for the last 3 attempts. All of these are terrible. I am probably not running any better than last year, but hopefully I can avoid some of the other problems I had during last years run section. I should be able to get round in 50 minutes on this route. I should be able to do that easily on any revised route. Edit - The race manual is out and the run route has changed. Completely new route soon idea how my time will compare.
Last year I set a target total time of 2 hrs 45 and actually did 2 hrs 46. I am going to stick in the 2 hrs 45 target again. If I was to actually hit each of the other targets, and allowing about 3 minutes for transitions I should actually be in somewhere close to 2 hrs 40 mins so an overall 2:45 gives me nearly 5 minutes of wiggle room to allow for things like weather and road surfaces.
Targets
Swim < 27 mins
Bike < 1 hr 20 mins
Run < 50 mins
Total < 2 hrs 45 mins
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Monday, 27 July 2015
Training Plan - Week 31 - July 27 to Aug 2
First Standard distance race of the year this week, and first/only open water race. It is also the most local TT race on a course I regularly train on, so I feel like I can't really miss that on the Tuesday night. The course is similarly lumpy to Sunday so will be good practice of climbing and a rolling course on the TT bike.
With the longer race at the weekend getting all the miles totalled will be easy enough. I will probably drop the Thursday night session into something less savage, or go along but coast round for a steady ride instead.
Monday - Core session.
Long run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - DTCC TT 9.5 miles.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run.
Swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session.
Easy run.
Saturday - Stretching session.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Knockburn Standard Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.6 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
With the longer race at the weekend getting all the miles totalled will be easy enough. I will probably drop the Thursday night session into something less savage, or go along but coast round for a steady ride instead.
Monday - Core session.
Long run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - DTCC TT 9.5 miles.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Reps run.
Swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session.
Easy run.
Saturday - Stretching session.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Knockburn Standard Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.6 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 30 - July 20 to 26
Monday I did a decent yoga session in the morning then completely failed to go out for a run in the afternoon. I did manage to annoy myself by looking at the qualifying for next years European Age-group champs and finding that you have to qualify 14 months before the race! So it looks like I won't be getting a trip to Lisbon to race as an age-grouper next year after all, and I will have to start looking for qualifying races early next season to get into 2017 events.
In the evening I went to swimming. It was patchy from the start as I missed bits of the warm-up, but then there was a section with flippers which went badly and from there the whole session was pretty terrible, for no discernible reason. I tried stretching out the usual problems but none of them seemed to be tight. Just generally I was swimming badly.
Tuesday was a lovely sunny day so I took my bike out. Unfortunately the drivetrain problems that I thought I had sorted when I changed my chain are actually down to a failure of the freehub. This only really became apparent as I tried a little climb and my legs were spinning away as I freewheeled along with no drive. After getting rescued and driven home I had to disassemble the whole wheel to find the fault was in the freehub which will need to be replaced and it turns out it could use new bearings as well.
I then went out for a short run to make up for some of the missed bike miles. I went to the park and did a set of 4 x 600m reps and did my light weights session.
Wednesday I started by taking an easy jog in the morning before going in to town to get replacement parts and rebuilding my rear wheel. Then in the evening I went out to Knockburn and did just three laps. One easy, one fast, one easy. I still don't like going anti-clockwise round the loch, it is definitely slower in that direction; even for a flat out lap I am 30 seconds slower than an early season cruise around the clockwise direction.
Thursday I did my core session in the morning and then had a fairly lazy day of scouting wedding venues. In the evening I went out with the Kintore group for a planned easy session. I didn't want to do anything too serious before racing at the weekend. That turned into a fairly savage session (Average HR Zone 4.4 / 5). Wheel rebuild went pretty well, but I should have done a quick check ride so that I would have noticed that the indexing on the gears is now slightly out and needs adjustment.
While trying to recover in the evening I completed another of my online edx courses. I am still about a week behind on a couple of the courses I am registered on but nearly caught up, and with several others finishing over the next couple of weeks that should free up some time to focus on the ones that I have been struggling to keep up with.
Friday I went for an early swim at Bucksburn and then jogged home. I expected to be suffering a bit after working too hard on Thursday nights ride but wasn't too bad. I did try to take it easy and just clear things out before racing on Sunday.
Saturday I had a proper rest day. I did a short bit of stretching while watching the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Alpe D'Huez.
Sunday I started with my pre-race yoga session and then Inverurie Triathlon which will get a report to itself. In the evening I finished off my core session for the week.
Staying well above my totals for the year and covering everything for the week despite Tuesday's bike failure. Four swims is probably a bit much but Monday and Wednesday were both shorter than normal and the easy opportunity to fit Friday in with a run was too good to miss. I was through the plan before I even got to the start line on Sunday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Yoga session 30 mins.
Swim with TPT 0.8 miles (1,350m) in 50 mins.
Tuesday - Bike 6.7 miles in 25 mins.
Run reps 3.5 miles in 31 mins. (4 x 600m in 2:31 - 2:40)
Weights session
Wednesday - Jog 3.5 miles in 32 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 1.5 miles in 43 mins.
Kintore Thursday 30.5 miles in 1 hr 55 mins.
Friday - Swim at Bucksburn 1,100m in 30 mins.
Easy run home 3.4 miles in 27 mins.
Stretching and rollering.
Saturday - Rest day.
Stretching session
Sunday - Yoga session 30 mins.
Inverurie Triathlon.
Swim 750m in 12:35. (and 50 warm-up).
Bike 17.9 miles in 57:23.
Run 2.8 miles in 19:33.
Core session.
Actuals - Swim 3.5 miles (5,550 m). Bike 55.1 miles. Run 13.2 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 61.0 (54.0) [59.0],
B 1508.7 (1279.3) [1471.4],
R 481.9 (383.7) [471.8].
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Race Review - Inverurie Triathlon
Full results are here.
I should be happy with this one, but I am not really that pleased with how this race turned out.
The swim went pretty well. I started well and managed to get into a good position to draft the guy in front for the first 200m before I decided I could probably go a little faster in front. So I tapped him and went past. I managed to hold the same speed until the 300m mark where the fastest swimmer in the lane came round to lap me. I was able to stay on his feet for about the next 250m then the guy I had passed early on decided he wanted to go back in front and the fourth guy from our lane came round to lap us. As I let them both past we all lost out on the tow from the leader and then a length later they decided to swap themselves around and that held us up again. From there it was a straight swim to the finish and I thought it was actually a decent swim performance.
I did manage to keep the tumble turns in for most of the race. I think I did about 6 touch turns and three of those were for the overtaking moves.
The finish time on my Garmin is 12:35. So equalling my PB but missing my target. The official time, which includes getting out of the pool and along to transition is 12:52. A tiny bit quicker than last year, but a tiny bit slower than I wanted and, despite the much better drafting conditions and tumble turns, no better than Peterhead. A bit disappointing really.
The bike was a bit of a mash-up of some good sections time trailing on the flat, some decent climbing, some bad climbing, and some very nervous descending. Starting with the descending, early on in the race there is a very fast straight descent. I caught someone just going over the crest of the hill but couldn't pass him and then he was quite nervous in the crosswinds on the descent, which in turn made me nervous about being behind him. Halfway down another cyclist was sitting on the verge (looked like just a mechanical rather than a crash) which didn't help either of our descending confidence.
From there is a straight section where I passed the nervous descender, only for him to become a shadow for the whole of the rest of the race. This is how I know when I was climbing badly and when I was climbing well. On a couple of the ascents he eased past me and moved away, but as soon as we crested or went on to a descent he was back behind me again, and drafting very close. I tried a few times to drop him but he was always there, sucking my wheel for the next 12 miles until a short sharp climb into town gave me a chance to open a small gap.
I passed a lot of other people on the bike (I think 9 including the mechanical) but because a lot of the better cyclists were in Heat 6 the results actually show me losing an overall place (and 4 senior male places!) on the bike. I had expected to make a chunk of time on the bike compared to last year just because the weather last year was terrible. I then expected to make another chunk of time because I am in much better biking form. I ended up only going a minute faster which was actually a bit disappointing.
The run was completely unspectacular. I didn't really expect much but then I thought since the bike had been easier I might have had enough in my legs to put in either a faster or more comfortable run and I just couldn't find either. I passed another handful of people out on the run but it is difficult to tell who was in which heat or on the same lap and again the results suggest that I only made one male place and that was against an age-grouper.
Overall 1hr 32 mins 29. Under almost all of my pre-race targets, PBs for every section of the race, but still I get the feeling that there should have been another couple of minutes somewhere.
I should be happy with this one, but I am not really that pleased with how this race turned out.
The swim went pretty well. I started well and managed to get into a good position to draft the guy in front for the first 200m before I decided I could probably go a little faster in front. So I tapped him and went past. I managed to hold the same speed until the 300m mark where the fastest swimmer in the lane came round to lap me. I was able to stay on his feet for about the next 250m then the guy I had passed early on decided he wanted to go back in front and the fourth guy from our lane came round to lap us. As I let them both past we all lost out on the tow from the leader and then a length later they decided to swap themselves around and that held us up again. From there it was a straight swim to the finish and I thought it was actually a decent swim performance.
I did manage to keep the tumble turns in for most of the race. I think I did about 6 touch turns and three of those were for the overtaking moves.
The finish time on my Garmin is 12:35. So equalling my PB but missing my target. The official time, which includes getting out of the pool and along to transition is 12:52. A tiny bit quicker than last year, but a tiny bit slower than I wanted and, despite the much better drafting conditions and tumble turns, no better than Peterhead. A bit disappointing really.
The bike was a bit of a mash-up of some good sections time trailing on the flat, some decent climbing, some bad climbing, and some very nervous descending. Starting with the descending, early on in the race there is a very fast straight descent. I caught someone just going over the crest of the hill but couldn't pass him and then he was quite nervous in the crosswinds on the descent, which in turn made me nervous about being behind him. Halfway down another cyclist was sitting on the verge (looked like just a mechanical rather than a crash) which didn't help either of our descending confidence.
From there is a straight section where I passed the nervous descender, only for him to become a shadow for the whole of the rest of the race. This is how I know when I was climbing badly and when I was climbing well. On a couple of the ascents he eased past me and moved away, but as soon as we crested or went on to a descent he was back behind me again, and drafting very close. I tried a few times to drop him but he was always there, sucking my wheel for the next 12 miles until a short sharp climb into town gave me a chance to open a small gap.
I passed a lot of other people on the bike (I think 9 including the mechanical) but because a lot of the better cyclists were in Heat 6 the results actually show me losing an overall place (and 4 senior male places!) on the bike. I had expected to make a chunk of time on the bike compared to last year just because the weather last year was terrible. I then expected to make another chunk of time because I am in much better biking form. I ended up only going a minute faster which was actually a bit disappointing.
The run was completely unspectacular. I didn't really expect much but then I thought since the bike had been easier I might have had enough in my legs to put in either a faster or more comfortable run and I just couldn't find either. I passed another handful of people out on the run but it is difficult to tell who was in which heat or on the same lap and again the results suggest that I only made one male place and that was against an age-grouper.
Overall 1hr 32 mins 29. Under almost all of my pre-race targets, PBs for every section of the race, but still I get the feeling that there should have been another couple of minutes somewhere.
| Split times | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total time | Pos. male | Senior | Speed | Pace | Split time | Speed split time | Pace split time | |
Friday, 24 July 2015
Race Preview - Inverurie Sprint Triathlon
Here is my race report from 2014.
And here are my results from previous attempts at this race.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
| Swim | 15:44 | 14:11 | 14:01 | 13:21 | 13:08 |
| Bike | 01:05:06* | 01:09:29 | 01:05:36 | Cancelled** | 00:58:59 |
| Run | 20:24 | 21:19 | 22:24 | 20:58 | 19:43 |
| Total (approx) | 01:41:14 | 01:44:59 | 01:42:01 | 00:34:19 | 01:35:14 |
| *Short bike **Rain |
Inverurie is effectively my home race as I train in that pool every week and the ride is built entirely out of sections that I must ride 3 or 4 times a year.
The bike course is not my favourite. It has some fast sections, but it also has some climbing and some of the descents are a bit too technical for me to really attack them on the TT bike. I have taken big chunks of time off it in the past, and the weather last year was not great for setting a fast time so it should be an easily beatable target if the weather is anything less than torrential. The current forecast is dry, cloudy, light breeze but when I checked earlier in the week it was lightning and 40mph winds.
The run I don't actually expect to beat my previous times. Anything around the 20 minute mark would be a decent run.
So my basic target is just to beat my 1:35 from last year, and also to set faster swim and bike splits. The stretch swim target is 12:30 but I maybe have a better shot of that at Westhill in a couple of weeks so I won't be upset if I am somewhere just under 13.
Last year I was 12th overall. It would be good to get in the top-10, but that is entirely dependent on who turns up.
Monday, 20 July 2015
Training Plan - Week 30 - July 20 to 26
Back to racing properly this week, and for three Sundays in a row. Inverurie Sprint this week, then Knockburn Standard and Westhill Sprint to follow.
I have rebalanced my week slightly to try and fit everything in. I should be well past all my targets before the weekend if I can stick to it this week.
Monday - Core session.
Reps run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy bike.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Long run.
Longer swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session.
Easy run.
Saturday - Stretching session.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Inverurie Sprint Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
I have rebalanced my week slightly to try and fit everything in. I should be well past all my targets before the weekend if I can stick to it this week.
Monday - Core session.
Reps run.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy bike.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Long run.
Longer swim at Knockburn.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session.
Easy run.
Saturday - Stretching session.
Yoga session.
Sunday - Inverurie Sprint Triathlon.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 29 - July 13 to 19
Monday I started with an easy 25 mins of yoga. In the evening I was covering the swim coach's holiday and I didn't plan my time well enough to get in a swim session for myself as well.
Tuesday I had a bit of a sore throat so I started with an easy run in the morning and then changed the chain on my road bike before going out for afternoon tea with granny.
Wednesday I started with easy weights and stretching sessions while I waited for the roads to dry a bit. That didn't really work as I just waited myself into a rain shower instead as I took an easy lap around Dyce to check that I had fitted my new chain and aligned the gears properly. In the evening I went out to Knockburn and did 5 laps.
I also decided that I am not going to race at the weekend. I can't really justify the travel expense, especially with local races the following 3 weeks.
Thursday was a trip to the Kemnay triangle with the Kintore group. Has been a few weeks since this session has been on and the pace was as savage as ever.
Friday the weather was pretty shocking so I decided not to go out for a run in the morning. I did a longer yoga session in the morning and then caught up with some studying. I dragged myself out for a run after lunch but was really struggling so I cut it short. This means I will have to run again over the weekend to get my miles for the week.
Saturday I started with core and stretching sessions to try and round out my week. Then I went out to get the rest of my run miles for the week.
Sunday I slept in. I did my core session to finish off my week, then spent the rest of the day thinking up excuses not to go out on the bike. I did at least manage a studying binge to catch up on most of my courses.
While I got through the plan this week it has been pretty terrible. I have scraped over some pretty low targets. With a series of races coming the next few weeks this was probably not the week I needed.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Yoga session 25 mins.
Tuesday - Easy run 3.7 miles in 31 mins.
Wednesday - Light weights session.
Stretching session.
Easy ride 7.7 miles in 31 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 2.5 miles in 1 hr 11 mins.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday 28.6 miles in 1 hr 40 mins.
Friday - Yoga 35 mins.
Jog 4.5 miles in 40 mins.
Saturday - Core session.
Stretching session.
Run 3.8 miles in 33 mins.
Sunday - Core session.
Actuals - Swim 2.5 miles (4,000 m). Bike 36.3 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 57.5 (51.6) [56.6],
B 1453.6 (1244.3) [1436.4],
R 468.7 (373.7) [461.8].
Tuesday I had a bit of a sore throat so I started with an easy run in the morning and then changed the chain on my road bike before going out for afternoon tea with granny.
Wednesday I started with easy weights and stretching sessions while I waited for the roads to dry a bit. That didn't really work as I just waited myself into a rain shower instead as I took an easy lap around Dyce to check that I had fitted my new chain and aligned the gears properly. In the evening I went out to Knockburn and did 5 laps.
I also decided that I am not going to race at the weekend. I can't really justify the travel expense, especially with local races the following 3 weeks.
Thursday was a trip to the Kemnay triangle with the Kintore group. Has been a few weeks since this session has been on and the pace was as savage as ever.
Friday the weather was pretty shocking so I decided not to go out for a run in the morning. I did a longer yoga session in the morning and then caught up with some studying. I dragged myself out for a run after lunch but was really struggling so I cut it short. This means I will have to run again over the weekend to get my miles for the week.
Saturday I started with core and stretching sessions to try and round out my week. Then I went out to get the rest of my run miles for the week.
Sunday I slept in. I did my core session to finish off my week, then spent the rest of the day thinking up excuses not to go out on the bike. I did at least manage a studying binge to catch up on most of my courses.
While I got through the plan this week it has been pretty terrible. I have scraped over some pretty low targets. With a series of races coming the next few weeks this was probably not the week I needed.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Yoga session 25 mins.
Tuesday - Easy run 3.7 miles in 31 mins.
Wednesday - Light weights session.
Stretching session.
Easy ride 7.7 miles in 31 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 2.5 miles in 1 hr 11 mins.
Friday - Yoga 35 mins.
Jog 4.5 miles in 40 mins.
Saturday - Core session.
Stretching session.
Run 3.8 miles in 33 mins.
Sunday - Core session.
Actuals - Swim 2.5 miles (4,000 m). Bike 36.3 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 57.5 (51.6) [56.6],
B 1453.6 (1244.3) [1436.4],
R 468.7 (373.7) [461.8].
Monday, 13 July 2015
Training Plan - Week 29 - July 13 to 19
Some changes this week. Monday I am stepping in to cover the coach at swimming and we are scouting wedding venues during the day so I am going to be limited with what I can fit in.
This may in turn leave me needing a big swim on Wednesday to get my whole week of swim miles in.
Sunday I have a hatful of options. I could go up to race at Speyside or do a sportive from Ballater to Methlick or just go for a training ride with the Kintore group. Initially I have planned it in as just a training ride and then built the rest of the week for that. If I change my mind to one of the events then the latter half of the week would all need to be adjusted.
Monday - Core session.
Swim?
Coaching swimming with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Run reps.
Longer swim at Knockburn. 5 laps (or more?).
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session
Long run
Saturday - Stretching session
Rest Day
Sunday - Speyside Duathlon?
Ballater to Methlick 100k?
Kintore Sunday?
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
This may in turn leave me needing a big swim on Wednesday to get my whole week of swim miles in.
Sunday I have a hatful of options. I could go up to race at Speyside or do a sportive from Ballater to Methlick or just go for a training ride with the Kintore group. Initially I have planned it in as just a training ride and then built the rest of the week for that. If I change my mind to one of the events then the latter half of the week would all need to be adjusted.
Monday - Core session.
Swim?
Coaching swimming with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Run reps.
Longer swim at Knockburn. 5 laps (or more?).
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Yoga session
Long run
Saturday - Stretching session
Rest Day
Sunday - Speyside Duathlon?
Ballater to Methlick 100k?
Kintore Sunday?
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 28 - July 6 to 12
Happy Birthday to me. After cards and presents I had to go into town to sign on but I took the opportunity to run home via granny's house. Bit of a hot and stuffy day but a nice steady run anyway. Then I sat down to watch some exciting Tour De France crashes in the afternoon before having an awesome birthday cake with dinner. Then I went to swimming in the evening. It was quite a fast set, but my pace was all over the place and I can only partly blame that on traffic in the lane.Tuesday I had to put my car to Kwik Fit for a quick fix to one of the valves, which appears to have been tampered with, but I also had an appointment in town. So I took the opportunity to do the same as Monday and take the train in to town and run home. Then in the evening we went to see Ted 2.
Wednesday I did my light weights and yoga sessions in the morning and then tried to catch up on some studying. Then we went to see Magic Mike XXL and visit my granny who has been taken in to hospital for a few days. Then in the evening I went out to Knockburn to swim. Still seem to take nearly two minutes longer to go anti-clockwise laps than the clockwise version. partly still learning to navigate the best route round the reversed lap but I am convinced the current is also having an effect.
Thursday I had to try and get all of my bike miles in for the week. I went out with a plan to ride a random but lumpy 35 miles, but started a bit fast. I decided I was enjoying the speed and I should really be going faster at this point in the season so I flattened out the route a little bit as I went. This finished off all my miles for the week and leaves me with just the smaller sessions that I should be able to do on holiday.
I am also falling behind on a few of my courses and I didn't expect to get any time or internet access at the weekend to catch up so I did some extra work on them.
Friday we were away for a long weekend to go to a friend's wedding so we went out to Lochnagar for a walk. And got engaged.Saturday was my friend's wedding so no 'proper' training, but a good hour of ceilidh dancing in the evening made up for that.
Sunday I had a bit of a hangover but still managed out for a jog in the morning. Struggled a bit but getting out at all was more than I had planned for.
Overall a pretty average week on the training front but a fantastic week for everything else.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Run from town 6.6 miles in 53 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,250m in 55 mins.
Tuesday - Run from town 6 miles in 52 mins.
Wednesday - Light weights session.
Yoga session 15 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 3 laps, 1.5 miles in 43 mins.
Friday - Walk at Lochnagar
Saturday - Wedding.
Sunday - Hungover jog 2.6 miles in 34mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.9 miles (4,625 m). Bike 35.0 miles. Run 15.2 miles. short core, 1 short light weights and short stretching sessions. 15 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 55.0 (49.2) [54.2],
B 1417.3 (1209.3) [1401.4],
R 456.7 (363.7) [451.8].
Monday, 6 July 2015
Training Plan - Week 28 - July 6 to 12
So, the first full week in Q3, and a revised plan to follow, so the first thing I am going to do is tear that up for a week.
I have a busy week this week. Among other things I have a friend's wedding on Saturday, and post-wedding Barbecue on the Sunday, maybe options for short runs both those days. And big plans to go hillwalking on the Friday, so that is out.
Oh and it is my birthday on Monday.
Monday - Birthday - 39.
Long run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run or bike.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Run reps.
Longer swim at Knockburn. 5 laps.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Hillwalking at Lochnagar
Saturday - Wedding
Sunday - Barbecue
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
I have a busy week this week. Among other things I have a friend's wedding on Saturday, and post-wedding Barbecue on the Sunday, maybe options for short runs both those days. And big plans to go hillwalking on the Friday, so that is out.
Oh and it is my birthday on Monday.
Monday - Birthday - 39.
Long run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.
Tuesday - Easy run or bike.
Yoga session.
Wednesday - Run reps.
Longer swim at Knockburn. 5 laps.
Weights and core sessions.
Thursday - Kintore Thursday session.
Stretching session.
Friday - Hillwalking at Lochnagar
Saturday - Wedding
Sunday - Barbecue
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Training Review - Week 27 - June 29 to July 5
Not a great start to the week as I was exhausted on Monday morning and had a headache all day. Seems like hayfever is taking a strong lead as the most likely reason the last month has not shown as much of an improvement as predicted. I did less than 1,500 steps all day. I did go to swimming though, and that session went really well. I also came out of it without the headache I took in.
Tuesday I knew I was racing in the evening so I planned to take the day as easily as possible. I did an easy core session and half a yoga session in the morning. Then checked over the bike, fiddled with the rear brakes (again!) and reinstalled a temporary bottle cage. The weather today is too warm and the race too long to gamble on going without it. Somehow I managed to get lost AGAIN! When I got back to Dyce I did an easy run loop around Dyce. Then I got home to find Dexter had come to visit for a few days.
Wednesday I started with another core session and then went out for an easy run with Dexter in the morning. It was a bit warm for him so we took it fairly slowly for half an hour. Then in the afternoon I went out to Knockburn to do some easy laps while he snored away on the sofa. The water was ridiculously choppy, possibly the worst waves I have ever swum in. With the waves and the plan to swim again on Thursday morning I cut my plan to 3 laps.
Thursday morning swim was fairly steady 10 x 100m. Not particularly fast, but for a third swim in 4 days it wasn't slow either. Then in the evening I went out for a solo ride. Was meant to be a group ride but with a lot of people changing plans last minute it was easier to just do a ride from home.
Friday I started with some light weights and then went out in the sun to do my yoga session. Then we took Dexter to Kirkhill for a couple of hours in the sun.
Saturday I did an easy jog in the morning with Dexter, and almost drowned in the rain.
Sunday I went out for a solo ride. Took a route along the next TT course to make sure I have no excuse for getting lost next time out.
So this week I was quite short on run miles, but enough to get over my weekly target. Over my bike target although I should have been closer to 100 if I had done 25, 28, and 45 instead of the 8, 20, and 21 that I did. And well over my swim target after putting in a third swim.
You might notice at the bottom I have added a new set of my revised cumulative targets. These are based on the actuals from the first half of the year and the original plan for the second half of the year. I have also kept the original targets on the plan for now. I am already ahead of the new bike and swim targets, and only behind the run target because Tuesday's miles counted in Q2 and Dexter made for shorter runs on Wednesday and Saturday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.6 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Swim with TPT 2,200m in 53 mins.
Tuesday - Core session.
Yoga session 10mins.
Not the DTCC 25-mile Time Trial. 8.4 miles in 28 mins.
Run 3.5 miles in 28 mins.
Wednesday - Core session.
Easy run with Dexter 3.7 miles in 36 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 3 laps (2,250m) in 45 mins.
Thursday - Swim at Bucksburn 1,000m in 40 mins.
Ride Kirkhill - Kintore - Hatton - Home 19.8 miles in 1 hr 16 mins.
Friday - Light weights session.
Yoga session 35 mins.
Saturday - Jog 3.1 miles in 32 mins.
Sunday - Bike 21.1 miles in 1 hour 15 mins.
Actuals - Swim 3.4 miles (5,450 m). Bike 49.3 miles. Run 10.3 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and short stretching sessions. 45 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 52.1 (46.8) [51.8],
B 1382.3 (1174.3) [1366.4],
R 441.5 (353.7) [441.8].
Tuesday I knew I was racing in the evening so I planned to take the day as easily as possible. I did an easy core session and half a yoga session in the morning. Then checked over the bike, fiddled with the rear brakes (again!) and reinstalled a temporary bottle cage. The weather today is too warm and the race too long to gamble on going without it. Somehow I managed to get lost AGAIN! When I got back to Dyce I did an easy run loop around Dyce. Then I got home to find Dexter had come to visit for a few days.
Wednesday I started with another core session and then went out for an easy run with Dexter in the morning. It was a bit warm for him so we took it fairly slowly for half an hour. Then in the afternoon I went out to Knockburn to do some easy laps while he snored away on the sofa. The water was ridiculously choppy, possibly the worst waves I have ever swum in. With the waves and the plan to swim again on Thursday morning I cut my plan to 3 laps.
Thursday morning swim was fairly steady 10 x 100m. Not particularly fast, but for a third swim in 4 days it wasn't slow either. Then in the evening I went out for a solo ride. Was meant to be a group ride but with a lot of people changing plans last minute it was easier to just do a ride from home.
Friday I started with some light weights and then went out in the sun to do my yoga session. Then we took Dexter to Kirkhill for a couple of hours in the sun.
Saturday I did an easy jog in the morning with Dexter, and almost drowned in the rain.
Sunday I went out for a solo ride. Took a route along the next TT course to make sure I have no excuse for getting lost next time out.
So this week I was quite short on run miles, but enough to get over my weekly target. Over my bike target although I should have been closer to 100 if I had done 25, 28, and 45 instead of the 8, 20, and 21 that I did. And well over my swim target after putting in a third swim.
You might notice at the bottom I have added a new set of my revised cumulative targets. These are based on the actuals from the first half of the year and the original plan for the second half of the year. I have also kept the original targets on the plan for now. I am already ahead of the new bike and swim targets, and only behind the run target because Tuesday's miles counted in Q2 and Dexter made for shorter runs on Wednesday and Saturday.
Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 10.6 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.
Monday - Swim with TPT 2,200m in 53 mins.
Tuesday - Core session.
Yoga session 10mins.
Not the DTCC 25-mile Time Trial. 8.4 miles in 28 mins.
Run 3.5 miles in 28 mins.
Wednesday - Core session.
Easy run with Dexter 3.7 miles in 36 mins.
Swim at Knockburn 3 laps (2,250m) in 45 mins.
Ride Kirkhill - Kintore - Hatton - Home 19.8 miles in 1 hr 16 mins.
Friday - Light weights session.
Yoga session 35 mins.
Saturday - Jog 3.1 miles in 32 mins.
Sunday - Bike 21.1 miles in 1 hour 15 mins.
Actuals - Swim 3.4 miles (5,450 m). Bike 49.3 miles. Run 10.3 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and short stretching sessions. 45 mins of yoga.
Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 52.1 (46.8) [51.8],
B 1382.3 (1174.3) [1366.4],
R 441.5 (353.7) [441.8].
Thursday, 2 July 2015
End of Q2 Review
I originally wrote most of this at the start of June. Things have changed a little since then as June has been bit up and down, so I have gone through it doing edits. That process means that they may not all read sensibly now though.
Being out of work for all of Q2 has pretty much ruined any sense of this against my original plan, but I am going to stick with the review format I have used before, and then try and allow for the extra time I have had in the target resetting.
On the racing targets,
My 400m target is 6mins and at Forres Triathlon I managed a really disappointing 6:40. I still have a second chance at Alford in September. I may have to go and find another race or do a solo against the clock somewhere late in the year. This was always going to be a very tough target but I still think it is possible.
I nearly hit my 750m swim target at Peterhead without even noticing, so I have no doubt that I can take it soon. Unfortunately I miss my next opportunity to race 750m as I am at a wedding instead of Huntly Sprint, so Inverurie is my next chance, then Westhill.
On my first swim at Knockburn this year I got within a minute of my 1500m target in freezing cold water in an easy training session, and I have been knocking on the door of 26 minutes for two laps regularly since then. (Written before they changed the swim direction at Knockburn which is costing me 1min per lap somehow). So that could go as soon as I get into a race as well. First up is Knockburn Standard at the start of August, then Huntly Standard in September.
I may try a solo 5k at Knockburn or in the pool at some point but it is still just an optional.
On the bike I have done a few Time Trials already with more to come, next year that target will come with a time attached.
I haven't really done a Sportive yet this year.
I did Elgin 10k in 42:17 so well inside the 44 minute target and then I did the North of Scotland 5k champs in 19:37, almost 2 minutes inside the 21:30 target, clearing off both times and the optional target of running a championship race.
Analysis
Being out of work for all of Q2 has pretty much ruined any sense of this against my original plan, but I am going to stick with the review format I have used before, and then try and allow for the extra time I have had in the target resetting.
Original 2015 Annual Targets are:
Swim 92.6 miles.
Bike 2,268 miles.
Run 688 miles.
Swim race 400m under 6 mins.
Swim race 750m under 12 mins 30.
Swim race 1500m under 26 mins.
Optional - Swim race 5k under 1 hour 35mins.
Bike race - Any time trial.
Bike race - Any sportive.
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.
Bike 2,268 miles.
Run 688 miles.
Swim race 400m under 6 mins.
Swim race 750m under 12 mins 30.
Swim race 1500m under 26 mins.
Optional - Swim race 5k under 1 hour 35mins.
Bike race - Any time trial.
Bike race - Any sportive.
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.
But because I have S-curved the training plan for the year it is not quite as simple as halving the totals this year. Instead I have a more specific set of targets that should be complete by the end of June:
Swim 45.1 miles.
Bike 1149.3 miles.
Run 346.6 miles.
Green are complete or ahead of target. Red are still outstanding.
Green are complete or ahead of target. Red are still outstanding.
Actual miles to date are:
Swum 50.1 miles.
Biked 1341.4 miles.
Run 434.7 miles.
All ridiculously far ahead of target to this point.
All ridiculously far ahead of target to this point.
On the racing targets,
My 400m target is 6mins and at Forres Triathlon I managed a really disappointing 6:40. I still have a second chance at Alford in September. I may have to go and find another race or do a solo against the clock somewhere late in the year. This was always going to be a very tough target but I still think it is possible.
I nearly hit my 750m swim target at Peterhead without even noticing, so I have no doubt that I can take it soon. Unfortunately I miss my next opportunity to race 750m as I am at a wedding instead of Huntly Sprint, so Inverurie is my next chance, then Westhill.
On my first swim at Knockburn this year I got within a minute of my 1500m target in freezing cold water in an easy training session, and I have been knocking on the door of 26 minutes for two laps regularly since then. (Written before they changed the swim direction at Knockburn which is costing me 1min per lap somehow). So that could go as soon as I get into a race as well. First up is Knockburn Standard at the start of August, then Huntly Standard in September.
I may try a solo 5k at Knockburn or in the pool at some point but it is still just an optional.
On the bike I have done a few Time Trials already with more to come, next year that target will come with a time attached.
I haven't really done a Sportive yet this year.
I did Elgin 10k in 42:17 so well inside the 44 minute target and then I did the North of Scotland 5k champs in 19:37, almost 2 minutes inside the 21:30 target, clearing off both times and the optional target of running a championship race.
Analysis
So now comes the long rambling bit while I try to make sense of all of those numbers. Basically this year they don't make any real sense since I have had 4 months off work and plenty of time to train right over the top of them. The colours make it look like everything is going really well but I am not swimming fast enough, but they are misleading because I set the swim times to be really tough and then I haven't done many races to chase them yet.
Swimming
Swimming is definitely going well. I am going further than last year, which is not a huge surprise, I had planned for a big record swimming year, but I am also going much further than that plan, over 5 miles (~10%) ahead of the target I set for this point in the year.
More importantly, I am going clearly faster than last year, but still not quite as fast I had aimed at, yet. The longer swim also seems to suit me better now which is a good sign that my technique is cleaner, and I am just missing some sprinting muscles. The tumble turns are now going well enough that I can use them all the time in training. That doesn't always translate to the slightly faster conditions of racing but is improving. I am also going much more quickly for longer swims without needing to push myself as hard aerobically. If swimming continues to improve through the second half of the year I am going to end up close to 100 miles for the year.
Cycling
Biking I am even further ahead of my big targets, by almost 200 miles (~17%), and getting in to the Tuesday night TT races and Thursday night group rides has made a big difference both to miles and pace. And I am over on miles without doing any regular 'long' rides. Just a lot of rides in the 25-40 mile range.
The speed compared to previous years is certainly noticeable. With the Thursday night sessions and the Time Trials I am treating it almost as a completely different sport to how I have trained in previous years. Sitting on the bike for hours at a time is still in sometimes, but much less often, and working hard on the bike for shorter blocks is definitely doing much more to help my riding.
Running
Swimming
Swimming is definitely going well. I am going further than last year, which is not a huge surprise, I had planned for a big record swimming year, but I am also going much further than that plan, over 5 miles (~10%) ahead of the target I set for this point in the year.
More importantly, I am going clearly faster than last year, but still not quite as fast I had aimed at, yet. The longer swim also seems to suit me better now which is a good sign that my technique is cleaner, and I am just missing some sprinting muscles. The tumble turns are now going well enough that I can use them all the time in training. That doesn't always translate to the slightly faster conditions of racing but is improving. I am also going much more quickly for longer swims without needing to push myself as hard aerobically. If swimming continues to improve through the second half of the year I am going to end up close to 100 miles for the year.
Cycling
Biking I am even further ahead of my big targets, by almost 200 miles (~17%), and getting in to the Tuesday night TT races and Thursday night group rides has made a big difference both to miles and pace. And I am over on miles without doing any regular 'long' rides. Just a lot of rides in the 25-40 mile range.
The speed compared to previous years is certainly noticeable. With the Thursday night sessions and the Time Trials I am treating it almost as a completely different sport to how I have trained in previous years. Sitting on the bike for hours at a time is still in sometimes, but much less often, and working hard on the bike for shorter blocks is definitely doing much more to help my riding.
Running
Running is even further ahead than biking, almost 2 months (~25%) ahead of target, and well on course for my highest run total ever. Even if I do get a job soon I am probably going to break 800 miles in a year for the first time ever. The only year I have run further by mid-year was 2011 when I had been prepping for a marathon and doing minimal swimming and biking. And the second half of 2011 was post marathon and post breakdown and was the only time on record that I have failed to break 100 miles in 6 months.
Also I am being a bit smarter about the sessions. Not as smart as I should be, there is still room to improve, but the reps sessions, the fast runs and the Kenyan progression sessions are all adding some speed to just the sheer weight of doing lots of miles.
Also I am being a bit smarter about the sessions. Not as smart as I should be, there is still room to improve, but the reps sessions, the fast runs and the Kenyan progression sessions are all adding some speed to just the sheer weight of doing lots of miles.
Changes to targets
So what changes to make with 6 months gone?
This is actually quite a hard question. At the end of Q1 I glossed over it as I expected to be back in work fairly quickly so I couldn't just up the targets in case I ended up with no time to chase them.
Four months, and a lots of miles, further on and I am still hoping to get a job rather than continue battering the training numbers. So what I have decided to do is keep my original plan for each week. I am going to take all the bonus miles that I have clocked and just use them to move my baseline point from today. Basically what that means is that I am going to take my first half-year actuals and my second half-year plan, and merge them together to create one new set of targets.
This gives me new end of year targets of swimming 97.7 miles, biking 2,476.6 miles and running 772.7 miles. Again slightly complicated by the S-curves I have fitted over this years training plan. This would be record swim and bike milages, neither of which is a surprise as the original plans were both for record numbers and the revised targets are higher still. The revised run target is only 8 miles short of a record for run miles as well.
Also they are all very close to nice round numbers, and I am still out of work so I will certainly be ahead of those in the short term. In all likelihood if I am on target towards the end of the year I will really be looking to get 100, 2500 and 800.
Four months, and a lots of miles, further on and I am still hoping to get a job rather than continue battering the training numbers. So what I have decided to do is keep my original plan for each week. I am going to take all the bonus miles that I have clocked and just use them to move my baseline point from today. Basically what that means is that I am going to take my first half-year actuals and my second half-year plan, and merge them together to create one new set of targets.
This gives me new end of year targets of swimming 97.7 miles, biking 2,476.6 miles and running 772.7 miles. Again slightly complicated by the S-curves I have fitted over this years training plan. This would be record swim and bike milages, neither of which is a surprise as the original plans were both for record numbers and the revised targets are higher still. The revised run target is only 8 miles short of a record for run miles as well.
Also they are all very close to nice round numbers, and I am still out of work so I will certainly be ahead of those in the short term. In all likelihood if I am on target towards the end of the year I will really be looking to get 100, 2500 and 800.
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