6th week of base: 25 weeks to IM Austria

So another week at trying to keep to a simple plan!

The scheduled training is as follows:

Mon - Brick session: 45 mins on turbo Z2 / 15 mins run Z2 (1 hour in total)
Tue - Bike: 2 hours commute Z1-2 + 1 hour swim (3 hours in total)
Wed - Busy at work so rest day but foam roller masterclass in evening (strength work)
Thu - Run: 1 hour Z2
Fri - Turbo bike session: 1 hour Z1-2 (100+ RPM)
Sat - Club swim - coached (1 hour)
Sun - Run: 2 hours Z1-Z2

Total for week 5: 2hr swim; 3 hr 45 mins bike; 3 hr 15 mins run - total of 9 hours.

Still as per Don Fink's Competitive Program for the time being. I have now booked in some time for proper testing (heart rate / Vo2 / lactate threshold) in late January - more details to follow.

A good week for volume - bad for keeping to the plan

Another week of training completed:

6 hours 15 mins on the bike

2 hours 30 mins swim

1 hour run

Total 9 hours 45 mins (compared to 8.5 hours on the plan).

So success as far as the volume but yet another week where I have not followed the plan - so why have one?

Well, I know that if I want to get any better at this sport I need to focus on more specific sessions, especially as the season progresses and I move from base to build training. Otherwise I know that I am just going to plateau with the training and end up doing too many sessions in my normal comfort zone. If the volume is maintained then I still expect to be fit enough to complete the Ironman, however I am more likely to hit 13-14 hours than 12-13, which is my ultimate goal.

So I am going to persevere with the plan and as previously highlighted get some professional help to ensure that first it is the right plan and second that I keep to it.

Anyway, back to today's activity. I was planning a run but at the last minute an opportunity came up to ride with a few of the boys from the Tri Club - too good an offer to turn down. Most of the ride was zone 1-2 although there was a bit of zone 3-4 on the hills. My heart rate remains pretty low on the bike - average 119 bpm today (average zone 2.4) - the data and route can be found on the Garmin link below:

Sunday ride - Tri Club by dbpegler at Garmin Connect - Details

Once I have had some testing I can double check my HR zones are correct.

Because.... I will be an Ironman

So since the turbo session on Tuesday evening I have completed an hour run along Brighton seafront (yesterday morning), had a gruelling swim session (1.5 hours last night) and cycled into work this morning - all to plan!

I must agree there have been a couple of times when I have thought - Why? But then I remember the words - Because... I will be an Ironman.

For those who haven't seen this You Tube video I thoroughly recommend it - very funny

You Tube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B03dFMG8nR4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

One last observation before I sign off and get on with some work: Last night's swim was hard (lots of timed intervals over 50m, 75m and 100m with very little rest) with the Coach shouting at me to increase the arm cadence and go harder. On a previous post I highlighted that too many of my training sessions are within a narrow comfortable intensity range. I still need to practice going very hard and very easy. I expect there will be a lot more of this once I get some professional coaching.

The good old turbo to the rescue!

I received a message that the Coach was ill and the track session was cancelled. Given the nasty weather conditions I headed for the garage to hit the turbo trainer.

On went 'The Hunted' video (downloaded to my iPad) - details can be found on

http://www.thesufferfest.com

The plan was to ride for 45 mins with an average cadence at 100 RPM. To make the session a little less boring I decided to mix some high cadence sets with some recovery periods riding my fixed speed bike (i.e. the intensity was increased by change in cadence / speed and not using gearing). My turbo trainer (Tacx Flow) gives me all kind of data - for the 45 mins I averaged 200 watts of power (max 280), cadence of 98 (max 128), and speed 29.8km/h (max 40.4km/h) all at the top of zone 2 (around 140-5 beats per minute).

Tomorrow morning I will run - whatever the weather!

5th week of base: 26 weeks to IM Austria

My goodness - a month passed already and into 2012 for week 5

So if all goes to plan this week the training will be as follows:

Mon - Recovery [Done - quite good at doing this activity]
Tue - Run: Club track session - coached (1 hour)
Wed - Run: 45 mins Z2 + Club swim - coached (1.5 hours). In total 2 hours 15 mins
Thu - Bike: commute 45 mins (100+ RPM) / 75 mins Z2 (2 hours)
Fri - Brick session: 30 mins on turbo Z2 / 15 mins run Z2 (45 mins in total)
Sat - Club swim - coached (1 hour) / 30 mins bike on turbo Z2 (1 hour 30 mins in total)
Sun - Run: 1 hour Z1-Z2

Total for week 5: 2.5hr swim; 3 hr bike; 3 hr run - total of 8.5 hours. Still as per Don Fink's Competitive Program for the time being.

Need to book in time for proper testing (heart rate / Vo2 / lactate threshold) and then follow up with a suitable professional training schedule produced by a qualified coach. More details to follow.

Bucking Bronco

Today's ride was on the Specialized Langster but with a slight difference - I flipped the back wheel over to the fixed cog. It certainly felt like I was much more connected to the bike - no major problems on the flat or uphill, you just need to remember to keep pedalling. The challenge was on the downhill and coming to a junction. On the steeper downhill sections of today's ride I am sure my cadence was 120+, it is very hard to stop the habit of free-wheeling, which is simply not possible with a fixed cog connected directly to the pedals. The result was quite a lot of fighting with the bike, akin to a bucking bronco.

More practice is needed!

A sum up of the week and a look ahead to 2012

Well considering all the festive fun I am pleased that the training has been completed as planned, although I did end up going over a bit. A total of 2.5 hr swim, 3.25 hr bike and 3 hr run, 8 hour 45 mins for the week (the plan was 7.5 hours). This was mostly due to me be on holiday and having a bit more time available together with a desire to burn off some of the thousands of calories I have consumed over the last fortnight. To be honest I have actually managed to remain about my pre-Christmas weight of just under 12 stone, which is quite pleasing.

As for the training plan, it is going OK, however I am worried that I stray too easily away from the schedule. In theory, last week should have been a recovery period but I ended up doing more than in previous weeks, albeit that it was all relatively easy zone 1-2 work. My mind is pretty made up in that I will employ the services of our Tri Club Coach to keep me on the right path, at least for the next few months. It is a relatively small investment to make but I now doubt that I will be able to improve my performance unless I obtain some professional help in the lead up to Ironman Austria. I also think I will learn a lot from the whole experience, which is something I certainly will get a buzz from.

With the New Year in mind I have some ideas for future posts, i.e.

- Cyclefit experience

- VO2 testing

- Charity work

- Recommended training books

- Tri kit

- 'B' races for 2012 ('A' race being IM Austria)

- Weight and diet