'A wash out week' in terms of both weather and training volume

So looking back at last week a bit of a wash out in terms of both weather and training volume. It was probably one of the lowest volume weeks since I started on the program back in December, in all about 7 hours. Most of that was spent in the garage with little time on the road. The good news is that I was able to spend lots of quality time with my son and quite a bit of R&R.

Over the weekend, and despite the awful weather conditions, I did manage an off-road run and a game of touch rugby (taking it nice and easy).

This week has started well with 3 hours already completed. I scheduled in an extra 2 hour easy ride (commute to work), although this morning it was quite tough cycling into the wind. This evening I was in the pool with the main set consisting of 4x 600m with paddles and pull-buoys.

Tomorrow is an hour off-road run
Wednesday: cycle / swim
Thursday: run / open-water swim
Friday: cycle
Saturday: swim / long run
Sunday - long cycle

If all goes to plan it will be a 15 hour week so double last week's effort.

Thursday's open water swim should be interesting - the first of the season. Hopefully I can get in the lake otherwise it will have to be the sea, subject to weather conditions.

The following week gets even more interesting with more test sets and over 7 hours of training in one day (swim, bike and run) - more detail to follow.

A word about Coaching

I have already indicated this week is a little unusual in that I have some father-son time planned and am away this weekend at the Isle of Wight for an U10 rugby tournament. I have been struggling a bit to get all the biking in before I go away, which has been made even more difficult by the recent poor weather. However, the Coach has certainly considered my family commitments and made every effort to build my plan around them.

I was sent an e-mail this morning from one of my 'London 2 Paris 2011' team mates, who is getting into his cycling big time, asking the following question...

Is getting a personal Coach worth it?

It was a question that I asked myself a few months ago, however I now feel qualified to answer.

In summary I do think it is worth it, especially if you have a goal or future ‘A’ race in mind and want to really get the best out of your training. I did consider a cheaper generic one size fits all plan but when you hire a personal coach, you get someone who can modify your plan when something disrupts your schedule. You also get a sounding board, and someone who knows when to tell you to back off some and when to push yourself.

My first recommendation would be to join a local cycling / triathlon Club because you obtain a lot of great free information and are motivated by simply being around driven like-minded individuals. You might also get lucky (like me) and find the Club Coach also provides tailored-made personal coaching for a limited number of athletes. If you regularly go to Club training, events etc. you get to see your Coach in person quite often. You are also likely to get a slightly better deal on the costs because he/she may even discount the fees for Club members. It would be a good question when selecting a local Club – have they a Coach and does he/she provide personal coaching? If so, you may investigate if they have a website and more importantly testimonials / recommendations from happy clients. Be prepared to pay £40-£80 per month. Also ask if they recommend some initial testing (VO2 Max, lactate threshold, etc.) to establish zones. They should also employ the use of some decent training software for creating your plan, i.e. Training Peaks making it easy for you to keep a record of your progress.

Now at least half way through my training I really am seeing the benefits of a structured program, varied sessions, test sets and regular feedback from my Coach. So much so I am thinking I might even commit to some 'B' and 'C' races later in the year and continue with the coaching beyond July. I think there is a real risk of 'Ironman Blues' and it might be worthwhile to think about the next challenge. Even though I have some family plans and some R&R time scheduled for the summer months it would be a bit of a waste to lose the fitness I have worked so hard to build.

Anyway, more on my future plans later!

Rain, rain go away!

Late night session in the 'Cave of Pain' yesterday - managed 1:10 on the turbo, which included 10x 2mins in Z4 with 2 mins recovery each set, mostly all in aero position. Then I jumped on the treadmill for 20 mins - rolling profile. Should have done a little more but started late and ran out of time.

The session was made a little easier because my 10 year old son was working out with me for the first 20-30 mins. He was wearing his compression top I bought him for rugby and was doing a basic circuit using the treadmill for up to 5 mins and then doing some sit-ups and push-ups in between - great to see. I also tried to add a bit of entertainment by watching the IM Austria 2006 DVD, which one of the guys from the Club kindly allowed me to borrow. It was in German (not sure if I can change the language settings) but still gave me a great feel for the race and route, which I understand will be very similar for this year.

After my workout last night I grabbed a protein shake and prepared all my gear for my easy morning ride and commute into work.

Unfortunately I woke up to very heavy rain and winds and my wife talked me out of using the bike. I am rather glad she did because conditions were awful. Near Shoreham a rather stupid lorry driver going way too fast hardly saw me in my Mini and nearly crashed into me so what chance would I have had on the bike.

I am hoping that under better conditions I may be able to extend my cycle tomorrow to get the miles in - let's hope the rain goes away!

A week of 2 halves

Just to bring you up to date with the training after my rest day last Friday - I was back in the pool Saturday morning for quite a tough hour long session and then hit the tarmac for a 1:30 easy run in the afternoon. Sunday morning consisted of a 3:30 bike across a rolling to hilly route taking in some of the South Downs and Sussex coastline.

This week is a little bit of an odd one and can be best described as a week of 2 halves. I am off on a rugby tour this weekend in the Isle of Wight with my son and the Pulborough U10s - U12s Club. I asked the Coach to bias the bike and swim training to the first half of the week leaving any running training for the weekend as I hope to have a few spare hours to get my trainers on and explore the island by foot. The Coach has kindly taken my request into consideration and come up with the following:

Mon: Easy run + intervals (0:45) / Club swim incl. 1,500m test again (1:00)
Tue: Z2-3 cycle with intervals (1:30) + transition run (0:30)
Wed: Easy cycle (2:00) / Club swim (1:30)
Thu: Strength Z3 cycle - aero ride position (2:00)
Fri: 4 mile run at above race pace (0:45)
Sat: Optional short recovery run (0:15) or complete rest day
Sun: Half-marathon distance run (1:45)

In total 5:30 bike, 4:00 run and 2:30 swim. If completed as planned 12 hours in the bank.

The Coach has already loaded up some sessions for the next 2-3 weeks and it includes some open water swimming (first time this season with the wetsuit) and some full race preparation (5:15 test brick - all 3 events)!

In the 'Cave of Pain' for another 'Hurt Session'

More commitment...

In the 'Cave of Pain' for another 'Hurt Session'. This time on the turbo trainer for a 1 hour bike session consisting of a relatively hard warm up (20 mins), 5x 1 min hard / 1 min recovery, and then 30 mins tempo getting up to the top of zone 4. After the first 10 mins of the main set I was instructed to press the lap button and then record my average HR for the last 20 mins of work. I recorded a HR of 144bpm which was lower than the controlled VO2 test I did with the Coach when he calculated my LTHR at 150bpm. I was convinced I was working hard enough as over the whole hour session, including the warm up, I recorded an average speed of 36.7km/h and 250watts - not bad.

After doing the hour bike set I jumped off the turbo, quickly transitioned into my running shoes and got on the treadmill for a relatively steady run for 20 mins to complete the workout.

Quick shower, then bed.

Rest day tomorrow and I am going to take it!

Commit!!

Another long swim last night - The Coach asked me to jump into lane 1 yet again to swim with all the athletes in the Club that have entered an Ironman this year. He set us off with a 1,000m warm up mixing in some breakstroke and backstoke. Thereafter it was 10x 50m, 10x 100m and 5x 200m - the first 5x of the 50m and 100m was normal front crawl (FC) all the rest including the 200m sets was with paddles and pull-buoys.

As with previous IM distance swims like this it wasn't long before the faster swimmers were lapping me but I kept a decent enough pace and hung on to the back. By the time the fastest swimmers had completed the 3 sets and warm-up totalling 3.5km I was nearer to 3.2-3.3km (to be honest I lost count a little).

What I was pleased about was that with some 15-20 minutes left the Coach then instructed us to complete 5x 100m (50m fast - head down, smaller number of breaths - anaerobic stuff; followed by a very slow 50m). His last words to us before we set off was 'I want you to really commit to the first 50'.

With the thoughts of my previous blog in my mind about not going hard enough I decided to 'Commit to the 50'. In fact before each of the fast 50m sets I would shout out 'Commit', which helped me to get in the right zone and work hard.

Anyway, it all felt good. With a 100m cool-down at the end I expect I managed another pool session of 3.8km, so getting use to the distance I need to complete on the 1st July.

Have the next workout tonight - 1 hour on the bike (turbo time) then a 20 min transition run. the main part of the session is a 30 min test at 'Lactate Threshold' again - another opportunity to 'Commit'.

Friday - rest day!

Not hard enough!

An interesting couple of sessions to start the 'Test' week.

Last night I was in the pool - a 800m warm up was followed by a 1,500m continuous swim at above IM race pace. I pressed my lap button every 500m and recorded 8:56, 9:11 and 9:13 for a total time of just over 27mins. Unfortunately a little slower than last time I completed the test, which was disappointing because I had plenty of energy left at the end and obviously got my pace wrong. The good news is that I definitely found the test easier than last time. I simply need to push myself and do these hard sessions - harder! (I have said that before).

This morning is was out in the wind and rain and a tempo run along Brighton seafront. After a 10 min warm up the plan was to run for 30 mins at above race pace (quite hard) pressing the lap button after 10 mins. The last 20 mins is normally a good indicator of your 'Lactate Threshold' for the run. When I did this test previously (about 2 months ago) my lactate threshold HR was 154bpm. This morning it was definitely lower than that level - I need to download the data to review but I expect it to be nearer to 148-150bpm. Does this mean I did not go hard enough (again)? Well it felt quite fast with a high cadence and decent pace. Despite the strong wind and rain I really did feel my running had improved. Of course I will have to compare the data against my previous effort. If it turns out that the pace is higher with a lower LTHR then I will consider that I am certainly getting fitter. Alternatively I will be disappointed if the pace on the test before is higher than today and I have once again failed in 'going hard'.

On Thursday I have another chance to push myself, this time on the bike turbo. Let's make it count!

UPDATE - just downloaded the run data to Training Peaks and am relatively pleased. Back in February I did the same 30 min tempo test. For the last 20 minutes my LTHR was 154, cadence of 85 and average pace of 4:57mins per km. Today's run - last 20 minutes: LTHR was 148, cadence of 91 and average pace of 4:36. Looks good - however, would it have been better still if I pushed harder?

Short on the volume

Yesterday started with a decent morning swim (1:00) and then later in the afternoon I was out on the Downs for a steady 2 hour off-road run, which I enjoyed. This morning I was on the TT bike for another 3 hour Z1-2 session, most of which was completed in the aero position.

So 6 hours in the last 2 days but still light on the total week, I think by about 3 hours (11 hours rather than the planned 14). The missed sessions including the 1:30 Club swim, a big gear set on the turbo and a strength session. In addition some of the sessions that I did do were cut a bit short.

The reason was simple - family and work commitments got in the way and I came up short this week. Tomorrow I am going to confess to the Coach - I doubt he will change my schedule to try and incorporate the missed sessions but I do expect him to encourage me to complete this week's test sets to the very best of my ability - more on that later.

With 11 weeks to go to the big event I cannot afford too many days when I go off plan or worse still simply ignore key sessions.

Onwards and upwards !

The 'Cave of Pain'

My last 2 sessions have been in the 'Cave of Pain' (the garage) and involved a steady run on the treadmill and a cadence ladder set on the turbo trainer. It always feels more intense in the garage or 'Cave of Pain'- certainly not as enjoyable as being on the road but sometimes it is simply the most convenient and productive way to get a session done.

The cadence ladder involved a 10 min warm up then 5x (0:15 100+ cadence / 0:15 recovery). Thereafter the cadence ladder consisted of:

5 min at 85 rpm

5 min at 90 rpm

5 min at 95 rpm

5 min at 100 rpm

5 min at 105 rpm

5 min at 85 rpm

Then a cool down (below 85 rpm) followed by some stretching.

I worked up quite a sweat but completed the set as instructed.

Tomorrow is back to the running and some stride work.

Countdown - 12 weeks to go

Even the Coach is counting down the weeks when he enters my program on Training Peaks. This week starts with '12 weeks to IM Austria'.

I have just completed the 'Big Bike' week. I missed a couple of sessions but then extended a couple of the rides. All in all it was a 14 hour week with over 10 on the bike. None was full on time trial, high intensity or big gears - mostly quality time in the saddle focussing on good technique and keeping in Z1-2.

This week is more the standard plan with 1-2 sessions each day finishing at the weekend with the Club swim, long endurance run (1:50) and ride of 4 hours. I expect to have to miss the long Wednesday Club swim as I have a couple of relaxing days away with the other half, although I will be taking my running shoes and seeking out a few trails.

Another 14 hours plus in total. Then I think the Coach has planned a test week - shorter in duration but some key sessions to complete.

Yet another Ironman distance swim

After commuting home on the TT bike (another 55mins in the saddle) I quickly got down some food and an hour later was in the pool. Given the 'Big Bike' week I was hoping for an easy swim but discovered the Coach had other plans. The set was as follows:

100m, 200m, 300m, 400m

2x 100m, 2x 200m, 2x 300m, 2x 400m

100m, 200m, 300m, 400m

4km in total. 20 second rest between each set. Fortunately it was at IM pace - I was doing about 1:45 on the 100s going up to 7:15 - 7:20 on 400s, so pretty consistent. I still have to try really hard on the hand entry, not letting the hand point up putting the brakes on. Also I would like to increase the cadence (arm tempo). I have been successful improving the cadence in my running but the Coach confirmed it is a lot harder to do it in the swim - more practice needed!

The good news is that I have completed 2 Ironman swims in the last fortnight.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy day - 50 min run - Ironman race pace.

Other good news - Matt (see blog entry below) is back home from hospital - an amazing recovery so far, albeit a few weeks of recovery required. I hope to go to visit him soon.

Out with the TT bike - aero position time!

So it is the 'Big Bike' week and since Monday I have already logged approx 4:45 hours in the saddle with a commute of 1 hour tonight to come. Unfortuately I missed the Monday swim and a brief transition run last night so it has really been all about the bike. However, my plan is to leave the office early enough tonight to get home (easy pace ride) and then attend the Wednesday Club 1:30 swim session.

Today's instructions from Coach MT was to maintain a Z2-3 effort in the aero position for at least 90mins. Route selection was key - I needed a relatively flat stretch of road but to save time tried to build it into my daily commute.

I opted to head for Worthing, via a little detour to Goring, and then along the Coast road to Brighton. Given the early start I could make good use of the cycle lanes, which are never that busy at 6-7am, and avoid some of the stop-start at traffic lights and roundabouts on the main road.

Out came the TT bike (my Omega titanium Stealth), which is my bike of choice for IM Austria. You always feel a little faster when riding the TT bike and today was no exception. I was quite happily cycling along at 30kmph plus, sometimes reaching 40kmph and probably averaging around 34kmph (have to check when I download to Training Peaks). I have been tweaking my position on the TT bike since raising the cockpit / aero bars to ensure a better headset fit. I am finding it easier to remain in the aero position for a greater length of time without too much discomfort, although at the moement this has been limited to rides of 1.5 to 2 hours. I expect Coach MT has a lot more specific and longer bike sessions planned for me on the TT bike over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed this morning's ride. I expect I will get a few funny looks on the way home if I decide to use the cycle lane along Brighton seafront. It is not that often you see a cyclist in the aero position - probably a bit risky pushing the speeds up on the busier commute home.

N.B. A few good cyclists out this morning. I did overtake a number but a couple managed to tuck in behind my back wheel - I hope they enjoyed the ride!

Get well soon - Matt Ryley

On Friday evening I got a nasty and unwelcomed shock when I found out that one of my good friends, Matt Ryley, from the Tri Club had been hit by a van during a training ride and had ended up in hospital with a broken back (in 2 places).

Matt and I started at Horsham Amphibians Triathlon (previously A2 Tri) at around the same time, some 3 years ago now. We both started swimming in Lane 6 but Matt moved up a bit faster than me; nowdays we swim regularly together in Lane 3. On the bike and run Matt is one of the strongest athletes in the Club and in his first Ironman 70.3 he finished in an amazing time of under 5 hours (Antwerp - see picture). The plan had been for us to compete in our first full Ironman together in Austria this July but now of course that seems a little unlikely.

My heart goes out to Matt, he is a real family man and also runs a successful local business. He always makes every effort to get his training in without it impacting his family time and this injury could not have come at a worse time. However, on the positive side Matt is already sitting up, he is a strong guy and it looks like the body is on the mend - I am confident that it will not be long before he is whipping me on the swim, bike and run once again.

All the guys from the Club wish him a speedy recovery - Get well soon mate

Update for the week and looking ahead

Not a bad week - about 13 hours in the bank.

Didn't spot today's transition run on Training Peaks (silly boy) so ended the week about 20 mins short but completed a good 90-95% as instructed. Legs don't feel too bad and ready for the 'Big Bike' week that the Coach has put in my schedule:

Mon - Easy bike Z1-2 (0:45) + Club swim (1:00)
Tue - Another easy bike (1:30) + Transition run (0:20)
Wed - Endurance bike - aero position (2:00) + optional Club swim (1:30)
Thu - Easy run Z1-2 (0:50)
Fri - Easy bike Z1-2 (0:45) + Strength work (0:40)
Sat: Club swim (1:00) + Yet another easy bike (1:30)
Sun: Hilly ride (4:00) + Transition run (0:20)

A lot of easy sets but some serious time in the saddle - 10.5 hours on the bike alone! Out with the chamois cream (bottom butter).