4th week of base: 27 weeks to IM Austria

So with a couple of sessions already banked this is what te rest of the week should look like

Mon - Run: 45 min Z2 [Done]

Tue - Brick session: 30 mins on turbo Z2 / 15 mins run Z2 (45 mins in total) [Done]

Wed - Club swim - coached (1.5 hours)

Thu - Bike: 2 hours Z1-2 (possibly mountain biking)

Fri - Run: 30 mins Z2

Sat - Club swim - coached (1 hour)

Sun - New Year Day's Run: 1 hour Z1-2

Total for week 4: 2.5 hr swim; 2.5 hr bike; 2.5 hr run - total of 7.5 hours

This is supposed to be a rest week and the volume has dropped a little. In practice it will end up looking like last week (issue with missed sessions). There is also the possibility of an even higher volume week as I am on holiday and may get drawn into some group rides with the boys from the Club. Whatever happens my aim is to record the detail and try to make some sense of it all!

And I'm back - a fantastic Christmas break

Christmas was amazing this year - a real family affair leaving me with very fond memories.

Of course there was quite a lot of indulgent behaviour with plenty of food and drink. Fortunately, although I return home a little heavier, not much damage was done and I even got a couple of training sessions in!

In the lead up to the big day I did miss a couple of shorter sessions - about hour on the bike and 15 mins run in total. Disappointing because it has been the only sessions that I have missed since starting the programme, although it is probably not going to be my last and if I am really honest with myself it has certainly not derailed my plans.

I was however pleased to get a nice easy 1 hour run in on Christmas Day afternoon and another 45 mins on Boxing Day morning. Both along Bournemouth seafront and one with some family members, which made it all the more enjoyable.

The intention was to complete a 45 mins brick session tonight. I almost talked myself out of it but seeing my training partner, neighbour and good friend (Chris) running around town it motivated me to get in done.

So despite a busy festive week I am pleased I still have some momentum to keep the training going, albeit mostly relatively easy and short sessions.

The power of music when running

Yesterday morning I completed another run session. As like earlier sessions in the week the legs remained a little sore although the swim on Wednesday certainly helped to relieve some of the pain.

After 50 mins of relatively easy zone 2 running I decided to put on a couple of my favourite running tracks for the last 10 mins of training. I was amazed at the difference some music makes, my pace went from around 5:30 mins per km to nearer 4:45 mins, without much considerable change in my heart rate - result!

On this occasion the 2 tracks were:

1. Infinity 2008 (Klaas Vocal Edit) - Guru Josh Project
2. Mr Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan

I associate Infinity with Ironman and the triathlon sport in general, as I have heard it at a number of events. My favourite all-time You Tube video is Ironman Hawaii World Championship 2008 set to the Infinity them tune.

Please check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckFvoGRPiCU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Mr Saxobeat, a more recent edition, is simply a great upbeat tempo song and great for running.

A mad Christmas swim session

Our Coach was in a festive mood this evening so the swim session had a Christmas theme. We had 12 sets of 50m listed (i.e. front crawl, FC drill, backstroke, breast, various number of breaths 3-9, etc.)

The plan was simple - use the list like the 12 Days of Christmas. Start with set 1, then 2 and 1, then 3,2 and 1 until you reach 12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. Between each 50m set was 5-8 seconds rest. Sounds easy! Well it was certainly long - I think we managed about 3,500m in my lane in 1.5 hours.

The last set of 12 was made all the more entertaining as we also had to sing lines of the carol each 50m at the top of our voices. If the Coach felt you were too quiet then you were told to get out the pool, give him 20 press-ups, jump back in and carry on.

I am running tomorrow, hoping to do a little better than this morning, when I felt like I was simply going through the motion - my legs not really working as they should do - still fatigued from Sunday.

Today's tally - another 2 hours 15 mins in the bank

The beauty of cross-training

Woke up this morning with tired legs (no change since Sunday) - definitely not up for running.

Not to worry... The plan was a 2 hour bike ride (commute to Brighton).

Despite having sore legs I felt pretty good on the bike - the beauty of cross-training. On the hour journey into work I managed to include 3x intervals (approx. 8-10 mins each) of fast tempo (RPM 90-100; average speed above 30km/h) broken up by 5 mins of recovery - much more like a proper training session rather than a simple commute.

Then a re-scheduled meeting (Tue to Thu) immediately through the training plan out of kilter. However, thinking this good happen I was adequately prepared with swimming gear at the ready. So this lunchtime I headed down to the local public pool (Prince Regent in Brighton) for a 45 min session. I lost count a little but think I managed around 1,600m. The main set was 8x 100m front-crawl with increasing speed (slow - easy - steady - fast) within each 4 lengths. 30 seconds rest, then repeat. Beforehand I completed a 400m warm up and after a number of 25m sprints followed by a cool down.

Back on the bike for the return leg home later today. Probably just steady in zone 2. Hopefully the legs will be ready for a little running action tomorrow, with the first of the run sessions of the week.

3rd week of base: 28 weeks to IM Austria

It's going to be another week of squeezing in the training as Christmas approaches. Not only that but my rather stupid decision to play rugby yesterday has left me with rather sore legs - just like a day or two after I have ran a marathon. So if all goes to plan the training will be as follows:

Mon - Recovery

Tue - Bike: commute 30mins (100+ RPM) / 90 mins Z2 (2 hours)

Wed - Run: 45 min Z2 + Club swim - coached (1.5 hours). In total 2 hours 15 mins

Thu - Run: 1 hour Z2 + Swim: 30 mins. In total 1 hour 30 mins

Fri - Brick session: 30 mins on turbo Z2 / 15 mins run Z2 (45 mins in total)

Sat - Bike: 30mins (100+ RPM)

Sun - Christmas Day easy run: 1 hour Z1-Z2

Total for week 3: 2hr swim; 3 hr bike; 3 hr run - total of 8 hours

As per Don Fink's Competitive Program.

In any normal week it would be OK, however quite ambitious for the week running into Christmas and the main volume is concentrated over 3 days.

A slight change in plans

Well I managed to get home on the bike Friday evening without too much problem.

Saturday morning training was the normal Club Swim (1 hour). Our Coach was absent but as always we had a detailed session to complete. Without the normal discussion around each set or drill there was more time for swimming so quite a tough session on balance.

Struggling a bit Saturday afternoon so no training but after a decent sleep was up for a 1.5 hour off-road easy run on the Downs on Sunday at 7:30am. Kept it to zone 1-2, which meant walking up one steep hill. Finished with plenty of energy and time to take my son to rugby.

As it was the last rugby game before Christmas the coaches thought it would be fun to get the parents involved. So you guessed it... a good 1 to 1.5 hours of 'Touch Rugby' for me! I thought I was generally quite fit but playing a different sport with sudden acceleration and a bit of contact was a recipe for disaster and it wasn't long before I had a bit of a fall and an injured left leg - not too bad but enough to be painful, especially when walking up and down stairs.

Anyway, this second week of base training has been quite challenging with me having to change my plans a number of times. I just about got the hours in but worry that some have been banked in the 'junk miles' box. Anyway, still early base training so I am not going to beat myself up. Will publish next week's schedule tomorrow.