Half Term Training - 271 days to go!

It's half term and with the extra time I find myself having available to train, I've completed two sessions in one day. The first being a lovely little swim session that I cut short to 45 minutes and the second being a 45 minute indoor cycle.

Whilst swimming I was really trying to focus on my pull in order to make it more efficient. I started with a 400m warm up that I completed in just under 10 minutes. A 100m sculling drill was next after which I did another 400m but this time focussed on pushing my arm all the way to the end of the stroke to result with it flicking out the water. I really don't know if this is a good technique or not (especially as it took me just over 10 minutes) but I wouldn't mind to keep experimenting with it in the future as I need to really get my stroke rate down and to be more efficient. My average stroke rate during this set was 14spl and 19spm. Apparently my best rates were 11spl and 27spm. Up until this point I'd always thought the stroke rate is more efficient the lower it is, but looking at the data I'm now guessing that if I have a high 'stroke per minute' yet a low 'stroke per length' then that is optimum. Time to get back in the pool, because when I completed another 400m it then took me over 11 minutes... I need to get my stamina up.

On a slightly different matter, there are 271 days until "Operation Ironman" and, even though there are still two months until I will officially start my training, I'm feeling the pressure. I know it is going to be a hard journey and that IMUK-Day is going to be even harder, but this no-mans-land of  time/training is just plain strange. I'm feeling that I should be doing more to get to a good level of fitness prior to the 'Base Phase' of my training yet I also feel that if I do too much training I will suffer some sort of burn-out and end up not putting in the full effort needed to complete the training.

Thinking about it, the only way forward is to be proactive. At home we're in the process of redesigning the house, so many hours have been spent tidying, moving and redecorating. The office is pretty much done now so my next step is to also look at my training schedule for December and work up to that level of training whilst still trying too enjoy it.

Be Brave, Be Strong, Be Bold. See you later.

New Bike Routes

The morning started off lovely at just gone 7am with a nice coating of sun lotion as it just looked too good outside not to put something like that on. After all, the last colour I'd want to be tomorrow is red.

I'd decided to take a different route today that would take me over to Dedham. It seemed quite far on the map and fairly straightforward to get to, I just hoped that it wouldn't be too quick a ride or that I'd get lost again. That should have been the least of my worries though as the heavens absolutely opened when I eventually arrived at the furthest point of my route from home.

The rain was actually quite cooling, which was just as well as with it being a new route I had to stop to check the route a few times which in turn made me forget about refueling every 20 minutes. Obviously I wasn't quite as on the ball with it as I thought I was, because by the time I hit the 35 mile mark my legs were pretty tired.

The main thing though, is that I've now got another bike route I can use and won't get as bored during these longer rides.

Only 42 days to go till the race now. Wish me luck.

Work:Home:Triathlon

People often talk about getting the work:home life balance correct but for some time now I've thought it is actually a three object juggling act as I think the 'home' section needs to also have a balance between  family and personal.

It is without doubt that there needs to be a focus on family life but what about yourself as an individual? I believe that more time needs to be given to the 'family' but time definitely needs to be given to the 'self' in order to grow as a person, to understand the importance of 'family' and to focus on your own goals across your entire life.

Getting the balance right is always going to be tricky and everyone is going to be different as for some 'work' IS their life while others can be very selfish and just focus on themselves.

For me, the 'self' is triathlon and during training runs, rides and swims I get a certain amount of clarity in my life. It actually gives me a chance to think about my life in terms of my goals and where I want to be. These goals are not just selfish ones though, it gives me a chance to think about the children in my class, the other adults I work with, the house Siân and I have just bought and, of course, my family.

I know I need to balance these three areas in order to have a good life but it will always be the 'triathlon' that will fall by the wayside as the other two are just too important. This has happened fairly recently, I had three weeks of no training because work pressure was piling up and there were tasks I needed to complete. At least these three weeks occurred now and not just before the main event (the Monster Middle)  but next year I must plan better, I must preempt this busy time at work and plan to spread it out, plan to get ahead of the game.

General update

So, due to a spider bite in June of 2014 I had to pull out of the half ironman triathlon last year. It was a major shame but it meant that I had 3 weeks off training due to the pain and then another 6 weeks off due to it causing soft tissue damage as well. To say I was gutted would be an under statement but at least I managed to defer it with only losing 25% of the entry fee.

Now I'm in the build phase of the same event again and this time it's 2015. A new year and a new start.

As long as I survive this one, I'm still hoping to do a full ironman before I'm 40. Wish me luck.

They say... - Day 9 of 233 - RUN

Unfortunately I didn't go for a run in Paris but still managed one today after a few hours sleep in my own bed. It wasn't particularly that long, or even fast, but it was nice to get out along the usual route round the back of Halstead. 

It starts off my running mileage for the year and where it was fairly slow it reminded me of something "they say" about training. They say..... your ideal running pace is one where you can keep a conversation without getting out of breath. I wonder what other sayings there are out there that can help you train?

Stair Climbing - Day 6 of 233 - Paris

I know that I said I would be have a few rest days but being in Paris has turned out to include a bit of training anyway.

Today is our first day here in the French capital and, although we have only been sightseeing, I believe I may have done a little training. Namely climbing up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. The queue for the lift was way too long so we decided to take the stairs instead which turned out to be a bit of a quad burner, if that is the right muscle group and term to be used. I must have jogged up about a hundred or so steps before I could really feel it and that is with the occasional walk due to catching up with others. Either way,I kinda liked it.

I ended up packing some running kit anyway and hopefully I'll get the chance to head out tomorrow at some stage.

Day 4 of 233 - BIKE

Once again I woke up before my alarm today but this time I had planned to complete an extra swim session this morning. After deciding that this wasn't going to happen and that I actually wanted a couple more hours in bed I turned it off and didn't wake up until 8:30am, I love the school holidays sometimes.

Anyway, after getting the train tickets for Rosy's birthday surprise (we're heading to Paris on the EuroStar to visit DisneyLand, the Eiffel Tower and lots of good food) there was just enough time for my planned bike ride. I decided that it would be better to use my Claud Butler hybrid, which I decided to call Kate, as it is still wet outside and I'm sure somebody once told me it's good to train on on that while race on the roadie. Unfortunately though, I left the ride a little too late and had to cut it slightly shorter due to lack of sunlight. It was still worth going out and it was nice to get the legs spinning again while trying to keep the heartrate within zone 2 (131-149BPM).

End results
Distance - 8.05 miles
Time - 43:33.87
Avg HR - 149
Avg pace - 5:25

It's not totally bad but it's also not where I really want to be at the moment.