Training Plan - Week 39 - September 21 to 27

Last Triathlon of the year is this Sunday in Huntly. Only my second Olympic / Standard distance race of the year. So the rest of the week is just based around getting to the start line without any problems, as well rested as possible.  

Revised plan. Start new job, survive till Huntly, try and juggle anything else to fit.

Monday - Yoga.
Start new job.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.

Tuesday - Easy ride or run.
Yoga.

Wednesday - Fartlek run. 
Weights and core sessions.

Thursday - Easy ride.
Stretching session.

Friday - Easy jog.

Saturday - Rest day.
Yoga and stretching.

Sunday - Huntly Standard Triathlon.

Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 45.0 miles. Run 14.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 38 - Sept 14 to 20

Monday morning I had to go and sign-on so I took the opportunity to run home from town. That gets me over half my weekly run miles in one go. Now that the targets have started to creep up again I will need a long run every week. Three (or even four) short runs just don't get me the distance. 

In the evening I did my yoga session and then went to swimming but I was exhausted before I got anywhere near the pool. Fortunately lanes 3 and 4 were both busy while lane 2 was almost empty so I was able to move down and just coast through the session at my own pace. 

Tuesday I had such a busy day of appointments, interviews, accepting a job offer, and going to the cinema, that I simply couldn't fit anything else in. By the time I realised I hadn't done my yoga session I was much too tired for it. I did log 10,000 steps for the day to mark off my gympact for the day. 

Wednesday I did a yoga session in the morning and then I was at a job fayre at the Beach Ballroom for most of the day. I had a bit of a rush in the afternoon as I tried to set up my limited company so I can start work as a contractor next week. In the evening I managed to get out for the fartlek run with TPT but only did one lap this week. 

Thursday I had a headache when I woke up. I thought about going out on the bike but after wasting the morning filling out stupid forms for accountants, tax men, insurers and agents I had a full blown migraine. One day in and I am already hating being a contractor even more than I expected. I spent most of the afternoon curled up on the sofa with a blanket over my head. This also meant I missed another day of yoga.

Friday morning I started early with a double yoga session. Fortunately 2 short sessions so effectively the same length as a single day. Then I had to go into town for yet more form filling and contracting paperwork nonsense. I did also make the time to try and sign-off as well though. Turns out they want to make that ridiculously hard. No wonder people abuse the system when you turn them away for trying to get off benefits!

As we were planning a trip to Elgin for an event on Saturday night I took the opportunity to join in a ride to recce the Huntly bike course for next weekend. Having ridden the course half a dozen times before I know it pretty well anyway, but it never hurts to have a refresher. Three of us rode round it at a pretty quick pace. 

Saturday morning I did another double yoga session. This puts me back on course for completing the 30 days of yoga programme within the 30 days. In between those I went to the track to do a session with Moray Road Runners. The mile rep was ok, the two 800m reps were fin, the first 400m wasn't too bad and the other 3x400m were a disaster. Working out from the watch as I pass the 200m mark that once upon a time I could have finished a whole 400m by now is somewhat distressing. 

Then in the evening we went to the club's 30th birthday party. I had a chance to meet up with my original coach and a handful of other "old timers" from when I started running 25 years ago. It was really great to meet up with them as well as the current crop of members.

On Sunday I had a slight hangover (nothing too severe, I was fairly sensible). I started the morning with day 28 of the yoga. Then we headed back to Aberdeen via a wedding show. We have now settled on a date. Unfortunately not quite the day we wanted, but the right weekend and the right venue, so pretty close to perfect. Shade in Friday August 19th 2016 in your diary if you are expecting an invite.  

Overall the numbers this week look pretty poor, especially as this is the last week I have to really go nuts before starting work again. I am still happy enough though. I am staying ahead of my overall targets, even if I am losing ground on the big leads I had over them. I feel the lighter week and the rest days has given me a much better lead into starting work and getting through to Huntly.

Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 45.0 miles. Run 14.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Monday - Run from town 7.5 miles in 64 mins. 
Yoga session 32 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,650m in 49 mins.

Tuesday - Rest day

Wednesday - Yoga session 25 mins.
Fartlek session 2.8 miles in 25 mins. 

Thursday - Migraine / Rest Day.

Friday - Yoga session 19 mins.
Second yoga session 12 mins.
Huntly bike recce 22.5 miles in 1 hour 16 mins.

Saturday - Yoga session 17 mins.
MRR Reps session 1600m, 2x800m, 4x400m. 5.6 miles in 43 mins. 
Yoga session 23 mins.
MRR 30th Birthday party.

Sunday - Yoga session 19 mins.


Actuals - Swim 1.0  miles (1,650 m). Bike 22.5 miles. Run 15.9 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 147 mins of yoga.

Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 78.2  (70.7)  [75.7], 
B 1781.8  (1569.3)  [1761.4], 
R 599.8  (480.3)  [568.4].

Training Plan - Week 38 - Sept 14 to 20

New targets this week as I shift back to winter training but also a strange week to plan for as I am busy both weekend days and I have other appointments through he week as well. 

Only one real race left this year, Huntly next Sunday. Nothing I do now is going to make a major positive change to that race so my main aim this week is to take it steady and try to shift into steady winter training miles.

I am also going to start looking at plans for 2016. I could just do the same sort of local races that I have for the last few years or go for a change. Other options include trying to qualify for the European (or World) age-group champs, or going back for a second attempt at the marathon or half-ironman, or I could even think about a new challenge like an ironman. 

Actually I have thought about an ironman, or more likely an iron-distance since I object to the extortionate fees for the brand name version. I think the swim would be easy enough. I have been doing longer swims in the pool without any real trouble. But that is where the serious consideration ends. I don't think I could sit on the bike for the 112 miles and the marathon at the end still feels like a huge ask on it's own. I also suspect that trying to sell an ironman plan in the same year as a wedding might not go down too well. So I can cross that off the list now. The other options are all in for serious consideration though.

Monday - Yoga.
Easy run.
Core session.
Swim with TPT.

Tuesday - Easy run.
Yoga.

Wednesday - Yoga.
Swim at ASV. 
Weights and core sessions.

Thursday - Yoga.
Easy ride.
Stretching session.

Friday - Yoga
Easy jog.

Saturday - Rest day.
Yoga.

Sunday - Yoga.
Easy run.

Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 45.0 miles. Run 14.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 37 - September 7 to 13

Monday I was suffering in the morning. I tried the yoga session but my quads were much too stiff. I gave up about half way through it having done almost none of it. I thought maybe an easy jog round the block might help to loosen my legs off so I went out for a half hour jog. That was a struggle but did at least help a little. 

Tuesday I did my yoga session before going to Offshore Europe for the day. When I got home I was too knackered to even think about going out to train. 

Wednesday I had an earlier start at Offshore Europe but I got up in time to do my yoga session before going. That fell apart fairly quickly as I am still suffering from Sunday's race. I managed about halfway but it was even more untidy than Monday.  In the evening it was the first TPT Fartlek session. I managed it but there were chunks where I was really struggling. I should have given in to a rollering session by now but I doubt I could handle the pain levels to do enough useful work.

Thursday was another early start at the exhibition and a long day. I got up early so I could do my yoga session before I went. I got In the evening I went out for another easy run. My legs have still not recovered from Sunday. Although I am not really giving them a fair chance for a rest. 

Friday I was at Offshore Europe again in the morning. So early this time that I didn't get time for yoga before going. I did go for a swim on the way home though. I had planned 4 x 400m. I went 6:59, 7:24, 7:26 and decided to skip the fourth one as I felt I wasn't benefitting from working so hard for such a slow pace. It is a sign of how far my swimming has come that these would have been decent race times in 2013 but are disappointing rep times now. 

In the evening we went to see the Maze Runner Scorch Trials. 

Saturday was the annual KTbikerun charity ride in Alford. It is a nice calm sportive type event that I have done the last few years. I am going to count it as a 'proper' sportive so that I can tick off that box on my annual targets list. It was a bit of a windy day, this meant we were through the first 10 miles in 30 minutes. That is pretty close to Time Trial pace, yet we were sitting in a nice chatty group. That changed as we turned into the first climb as the group of 7 was suddenly a group of two and the rest of us strung out down the hill. From there the next 20 miles was pretty much solo riding. Occasionally grouping up into pairs and taking turns but that never last long. Nice day out, definitely recommended as a nice race on a decent course. Even with the serious headwind on the way back it was still a good ride, and I took about 5 minutes off last year's time. 

In the afternoon I caught up with Friday's yoga session and then Saturday's yoga session as well.

Sunday I went out with the Kintore group but I was pretty empty from a heavy week on top of a heavy season. Also that group has improved in fitness and gradually distilled down in quality to the point where they were easily rolling along at 17.5mph. That is right at the top of my speed for 30 miles, nevermind 50 on the day after a sportive, so I decided to be sensible and get off the train at the 10 mile mark and head back on my own.

In the afternoon I did my yoga session, and in the evening I did my weights session. 

Considering the addition of Offshore Europe on top of a full week I have to be pleased to get through as much as I did this week. I am very deep into a long season and days like Sunday really show that up.


Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Monday - Yoga session 15 mins.
Recovery run 3.1 miles in 30 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,350m in 45 mins.

Tuesday - Yoga session 15 mins.

Wednesday - Yoga session 16 mins. 
Fartlek 5.8 miles in 53 mins.

Thursday - Yoga session 22 mins.
Run 3.3 miles in 31 mins.

Friday - Swim at ASV 1,200m in 25 mins. 

Saturday - KTBikeRun ride 29.3 miles in 1 hour 43 mins. 
Yoga session 21 mins
Another yoga session 27 mins.

Sunday - Kintore Sunday ride 17.2 miles in 1 hr 04 mins.
Yoga session 32 mins.


Actuals - Swim 1.6 miles (2,550 m). Bike 46.5 miles. Run 12.2 miles. 0 short core, 1 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 148 mins of yoga.

Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 76.5  (69.2)  [74.2], 
B 1759.3  (1524.3)  [1716.4], 
R 583.9  (466.3)  [554.4].

Training Plan - Week 37 - September 7 to 13

Offshore Europe takes up most of this week.

I am planning to go to a lot of the conference sessions which I have never been to before. I have also volunteered to assist on one of the stands for half a day. Since I have the free time, I am planning to spend most of the week at the show. So much so, that it looks like it will pretty much be an equivalent week to being in full time work. This could rip up all my training plans for the week, so I will just have to see what I can still fit in.

In particular Wednesday, I have three good options but it is pretty unlikely that I will manage more than one of them and possible that I won't make any.

Way back when I wrote my plan for the year I did expect this to be a busy week. So the plan says I can cut my swim miles from this week to just 1.5 miles a week through to the end of the year. Then from next week the run and bike miles start to ramp back up.

Saturday is my planned sportive to tick off that target for the year. 


Monday - Yoga
Core session.
Swim with TPT.

Tuesday - Easy run.
Yoga.

Wednesday - Yoga.
Swim at ASV. 3km swim?
and / or Bennachie Hill race recce or TPT run reps session?
Weights and core sessions.

Thursday - Yoga.
Kintore Thursday session?
Stretching session.

Friday - Yoga
Easy jog.

Saturday - KT Bikerun.
Yoga.

Sunday - Yoga.
Kintore Sunday - Lite version.

Target totals - Swim 1.5 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 36 - Aug 31 to Sept 6

Monday's 30 days of Yoga session was my least favourite of the 30. So I skipped some bits of it, taking 22 minutes to get through what should have been a 28 minute session. Then I went out for a steady run along the railway line before lunch. That turned out to be not so steady, and actually a bit fast. Good practice for Sunday's race though.

At swimming I was really struggling. I managed to complete the session but I was empty by the end of the warm up and everything from there was just a slog to the end trying to draft as much as I could.

Tuesday I just about managed the yoga session in the morning. Then I was out all day. In the evening I got dragged out for a jog round the block. I think I might have a cold coming on. Either that or I have a huge dose of allergies or hay fever.

Wednesday I did my yoga session before going out for an appointment in the morning. Then on the way back I went to ASV for a swim. My plan was 3k or an hour but as I went through the 1k mark I realised I was just too tired to make it. I decided instead to just go to 2k or 40 minutes. I actually hit 2k in 38 mins so the pace was good despite being empty. The laps are all in between 54.5 and 57.4 and pretty steady even as I felt more tired in the second half. 

Thursday I did my yoga session in the morning, then looked out the window and decided I didn't want to go out biking in the wind and rain. I did my light weights session in the morning while I waited to see if he weather would improve. The rain did stop but the wind was getting up so I decided against biking. I have been especially lazy on the bike since TT season finished. I will need to sort that soon but with a running race this weekend  and that might be a struggle. At least I have a sportive next Saturday to force me onto the bike.

At lunchtime I decided to brave the wind and go for a run. I planned reps in the park but the wind was going to ruin any benefit from that so I abandoned it and just went for an easy lap around Dyce. 

In the afternoon I somehow managed to complete the last of the online courses I was doing. I have a few weeks until the next one starts, and with Offshore Europe next week to keep me busy I am in no rush to try and squeeze in another one. 

Friday I started with my yoga session. Then I decide to brave the wind and go out on the bike. I put on about half of my winter training gear and went out for a planned 20 mile loop. By the time I reached the turn to go over Kirkhill and into the teeth of the wind I realised I was a bit short of short of clothing and lot short on motivation. I decided to switch to my easy 10 mile loop and just get round it.

Saturday I stuck to my plan for an easy day. I did 2 yoga sessions since I won't get time on Sunday. I dug up the rest of the potatoes from my garden. Packed everything I need for racing. Then I sat down to watch TV for the afternoon.

Sunday was Glen Moray 10k and I will give it a report to itself. 

A disappointing week for bike miles and everything else was pretty average. While the swim and run actuals are way above targets, they aren't actually big weeks. I am going to claim the excess yoga balances out the missed stretching and core sessions again. 

I am happy enough though. A good race at Glen Moray has made it a decent week altogether.


Target totals - Swim 1.6 miles. Bike 35.0 miles. Run 12.0 miles. 2 short core, 1 short light weights and 2 short stretching sessions. 60 mins of yoga.

Monday - Yoga 22 mins. 
Steady run 6.2 miles in 48 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,250m in 59 mins.

Tuesday - Yoga 26 mins.
Run 3.4 miles in 30 mins.

Wednesday - Yoga 10 mins.
Swim 2,000m in 38 mins.

Thursday - Yoga 23 mins. 
Light weights session.
Run reps session 4.0 miles in 34 mins.

Friday - Yoga 18 mins.
Easy bike 10.0 miles in 46 mins. 

Saturday - Yoga 26 mins.
More yoga 17 mins.

Sunday - Stretching session.
Glen Moray 10k in 41:41.


Actuals - Swim 2.6 miles (4,250 m). Bike 10.0 miles. Run 19.8 miles. 0 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 124 mins of yoga.

Cumulative (Original cumulative target) [New cumulative target]
S 75.0  (66.0)  [71.0], 
B 1712.8  (1489.3)  [1681.4], 
R 571.7  (454.3)  [542.4].

Race Review - Glen Moray 10k

Pre race

I have never run this course before. It changed last year along with a change of sponsors. It has moved on to quieter roads but retains the format of a 10k, Half Marathon and Marathon all on the same day. 

Despite my parents living less than a mile from the start line I also managed to avoid ever running on these roads at all. So coming in to the race I had little idea of the course profile. I had a quick check on Strava and found someone's race track from last year, along with what looks like a massive cliff between 3 and 3.5 miles. That then looks to be given back gradually over the next 2 miles. So my plan going in is to work quite hard up the hill and use the following downhill to recover. 

Race day

Normally for a race in Elgin I would go through the day before so I could have a lie in and a decent breakfast. This time though I was giving lifts to a couple of other people so it was an early start and just a couple of butteries for breakfast. 

I picked up a couple of team-mates on the drive through and we were there in plenty of time to register, but just missed the start of the marathon. Fortunately at this point I realised my garmin had lost it's charge overnight, despite being switched off. So I plugged it in to the car and hoped to harvest enough electrons to get me round the race. 

We got registered and warmed-up and I got my 30%-charged garmin. I decided against a baselayer as the sun was now out and the wind had died down. I also decided to try different trainers this time. The K-Swiss Ironman trainers I used to reserve for treadmills but have recently been using more outside. They are a slightly wider fit and I figured on such a warm day there was a chance of a little feet swelling which can get uncomfortable in my new balance shoes.

I got to the start in plenty of time for the briefing and took a place near-ish to the front. 

The first mile I got a bit carried away, as everyone does at the start of a 10k. Especially one with a deceptive downhill start. I went through in 6:11, there is no way I can stay at that pace, so I eased off a touch. 

Mile 2 was out into a headwind but a group of about 8 Half Marathon runners came past me and sat nicely in front of me. I knew I was still working too hard trying to stay with them, but I decided that it was worth it for the shelter from the wind. If I dropped off this group and tried to run myself I would have to put the same effort in to go maybe 20-30 seconds / mile slower. Through mile 2 in 6:29, still fast but maybe sustainable.

I wondered about changing my watch to show my heart rate instead of speed and distance but decided the button pressing effort wasn't worth it.

Mile 3 three and another Moray Roadrunner comes past me. I know he is in the 10k and I know he will run somewhere in the 39-40 minute bracket. Regardless of wind, rain, mountains,... he is an absolute consistent just-under-40 runner. I tag onto his heels for a quarter mile or so but he starts to ease away a little and rather than run his race I let him go. In hindsight I might have been better to find him in mile 1 and use his pacing to even my race out a little. Through mile 3 in 6:59. That is the pace I actually planned to come out and run, and it feels pretty comfortable. 

Mile 4 is the supposed hill from Strava. It is actually a gentle rise which barely climbs 50 feet in half a mile. It is quite a long drag but is barely enough to class as a hill. There was a water stop at the top of the hill and I took a bottle and tried to wash some of the sweat off my face as it was stinging my eyes. There is a fairly sharp drop at this point and a guy with headphones in came past me on the descent. At the bottom of this hill the course splits and I could see about equal numbers going right for the Half Marathon as were going left for the 10k. Mr Headphones went left so he is in my race. 

Just after this turn is the sign for 2 miles to go and a glance at the watch shows 28 mins and the maths in my head starts in earnest. 6:00, 6:00 would get me under 40 minutes. Unlikely that I can finish faster than that super-quick mile at the start. How about 6:12s to get at my lifetime PB 40:24. That still seems unlikely, too tough. Annual target is 44:30 (actually 44 so my maths was wrong here) so I can coast in 8:15, 8:15. That is just lazy, find something more sensible. What did I run in May? 42 something (actually 42:19). That would be 7:00, 7:00. OK, that is what I am going to beat from here.

Miles 5 and 6 were probably wind assisted but I didn't really notice them. They should also have been slightly downhill but since the uphill was smaller than I expected the downhill was too. It is hard to even claim it as a false flat with less than 30 feet of drop over the two miles. Mr Headphones was see-sawing a bit in front of me as I slowly closed and then he moved away again. At mile 5 I glanced at the watch it said 6:34 for the mile. With the signs counting down to the finish and the watch counting up from the start they don't quite line up so I thought about trying to push a sub-6 last mile for a PB but I wasn't quite at the 1-mile to go mark. 

Then I really started to suffer. There was a little humpback bridge that emptied my legs and Mr Headphones started to ease away. There were a few supporters along this section that knew me by name and I was getting great encouragement as I tried to just keep the pace steady.

I turned the last corner just as the watch ticked through 40 minutes and looked up what suddenly seemed like a giant cliff to the finish. This explains some of the first mile split. I tried to dig in and chase Mr Headphones up the hill and closed a little but not enough to make him catchable.  

There was a cameraman and some very vocal support at this point, which was necessary as the short hill was hellish. I tried to smile at him but I was sweating into my eyes again so I could have pulled all sorts of scary faces at him. I managed to drag myself up and over the top and then coasted in the last 50m to the downhill finish. Then I sat down and tried not to drown in my own sweat for a while as I waited for my team-mates to finish. 

Finish time 41:41. A big Season's Best. About a minute off my PB of 40:24. I think my 4th fastest 10k ever. Place in the top-20 (16th, full results here).

Average HR 170 bpm, Max HR 177bpm. That puts me in Zone 5.1 out of 5. So not only could I not have worked any harder but the theory says I shouldn't have been able to work that hard for so long. If I take out the first mile where my heart rate climbs from 90-167 my average from there to the finish is 174bpm.

My target for the year was to run 2 races with a 10k under 44 minutes and / or a 5k under 21:30 as targets. And when I wrote those I thought they would be quite tough to get.

Instead I have run 2 x 10k's in 42:19 and 41:41, and a 5k in 19:37.