Week 6 ended with the 2 coldest days for outdoor training weve had so far. The forscast for Saturday was rain in the morning & drying out in the afternoon, so the plan was to do the long ride Saturday afternoon, in the dry.
I awoke Saturday morning to the sound of silence, no sound of water trickling off roofs, no sound of rain lashing windows. Hmmm things are looking up maybe I can get a dry ride in this morning? I threw back the curtains to be met with the glare of bright white snow on the ground and thick snow falling heavily & constantly.
Hey ho, train hard, fight easy and all that. On with the thermals & out on the hybrid for 2 hours off & on road, even up and over Walbury Hill. The added weight of the hybrid & the extra width of the tyres made progress slower than normal, the biting wind & snow made the ride rather uncomfortable, but it was done & I had the rest of the day to do other stuff.
Sunday I was up early, it's my birthday but I'm out doing my long run at 8am, back home by 10 past 9 from the sub zero conditions in time for a family breakfast & presents including 2 Triathlon books & a Garmin cadence & speed sensor, how thoughtful of my family!
Lunch out with parents & sisters family, the rest of Sunday was spent vegetating in front of the TV with a movie, log burner on full & a few glasses of wine.
There has to be an end to this weather, sadly it doesn't look to be coming soon, the icy grip looks set to remain for at least another 10 days, spoiling yet another holiday weekend coming up.
Monday 25 March 2013
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Week 6
Monday was the usual rest day.
Tuesday started off well after dropping kids at school I headed to the pool for the swim session which just seemed to fly by, I also felt stronger in the water again, it's strange but I swear I could feel the water better today and was able to glide easier rather than fight the water, weird.
Tuesdays swim was as follows.
300m warm up
5 x 100m Drills
12 x 100 @ 20 secs
5 x 100m Drills
200m cool down
2500 metres total.
In the afternoon an hour run in HR zone 2 on Greenham Common.
Wednesday was spent in London and upon arriving home I got the turbo trainer out of the garage and sat in the kitchen in front of the best of Red Nose Day on BBC iPlayer for 45 minutes in HR Zone 2 followed by a quick change and out for 15 minutes running on Greenham Common, loving all this outdoor stuff and it was still daylight just.
Slight worry about the fact I have either started going down with a cold or maybe an allergy, will see what develops....................
Tuesday started off well after dropping kids at school I headed to the pool for the swim session which just seemed to fly by, I also felt stronger in the water again, it's strange but I swear I could feel the water better today and was able to glide easier rather than fight the water, weird.
Tuesdays swim was as follows.
300m warm up
5 x 100m Drills
12 x 100 @ 20 secs
5 x 100m Drills
200m cool down
2500 metres total.
In the afternoon an hour run in HR zone 2 on Greenham Common.
Wednesday was spent in London and upon arriving home I got the turbo trainer out of the garage and sat in the kitchen in front of the best of Red Nose Day on BBC iPlayer for 45 minutes in HR Zone 2 followed by a quick change and out for 15 minutes running on Greenham Common, loving all this outdoor stuff and it was still daylight just.
Slight worry about the fact I have either started going down with a cold or maybe an allergy, will see what develops....................
Sunday 17 March 2013
End of Week 5
So Friday was a straightforward enough day, 1 hour run in HR Zone 2, duly completed out on Greenham Common in the miserable drizzle that's arrived, cold as well. Soaked to the skin it was an uneventful afternoon with the relief of central heating to come back to.
Saturday was a busy family day, my son was playing Judo in a national judo competition in High Wycombe (he won a Bronze Medal to go with last years Silver), my daughter needed taking to a ballet lesson, so opted to do the latter & stuck the bike in the boot. The weather was dreadful to start with, torrential rain but no wind & I needed to put in 1 hour 45 minutes in HR Zone 2. A completely unknown route for me, I just picked my way across country & ended up in Streetly which is famous for it's hill, which today I avoided. By the time I headed for home, the wind was up & the sun was out & it had stopped raining, several places along the road near Pangbourne were completely flooded & I needed to unclip from pedal & freewheel through the giant puddles to try & keep my feet dry. The slog back along the A4 from Theale was all into a strong headwind which meant controlling heart rate was tough along with trying to maintain a decent forward speed.
5 minutes from home & I have a puncture, I timed myself, this was in the rear tyre & it took me 4 minutes to be up & riding again. Job done, 1hr 45 minutes ride time covering 28 miles through Berkshire.
Sunday, up early get the run out of the way, 1 hour in HR Zone 2, within moments of leaving home it's snowing, heavily & it keeps on snowing throughout the hour I'm running, in fact it only stopped snowing as I write this at around 4pm. Soaked to the skin & very cold it's good to be home again for a decent breakfast & the day is still ahead of me.
Week 5 done, so 1/2 way through the Base phase. Totals to date.
Swim - 25,840 metres so just over 25 km & over 10 hours in the pool
Cycle - 233 miles & 14 hours in the saddle
Run - 106 miles in 15 hours
Saturday was a busy family day, my son was playing Judo in a national judo competition in High Wycombe (he won a Bronze Medal to go with last years Silver), my daughter needed taking to a ballet lesson, so opted to do the latter & stuck the bike in the boot. The weather was dreadful to start with, torrential rain but no wind & I needed to put in 1 hour 45 minutes in HR Zone 2. A completely unknown route for me, I just picked my way across country & ended up in Streetly which is famous for it's hill, which today I avoided. By the time I headed for home, the wind was up & the sun was out & it had stopped raining, several places along the road near Pangbourne were completely flooded & I needed to unclip from pedal & freewheel through the giant puddles to try & keep my feet dry. The slog back along the A4 from Theale was all into a strong headwind which meant controlling heart rate was tough along with trying to maintain a decent forward speed.
5 minutes from home & I have a puncture, I timed myself, this was in the rear tyre & it took me 4 minutes to be up & riding again. Job done, 1hr 45 minutes ride time covering 28 miles through Berkshire.
Sunday, up early get the run out of the way, 1 hour in HR Zone 2, within moments of leaving home it's snowing, heavily & it keeps on snowing throughout the hour I'm running, in fact it only stopped snowing as I write this at around 4pm. Soaked to the skin & very cold it's good to be home again for a decent breakfast & the day is still ahead of me.
Week 5 done, so 1/2 way through the Base phase. Totals to date.
Swim - 25,840 metres so just over 25 km & over 10 hours in the pool
Cycle - 233 miles & 14 hours in the saddle
Run - 106 miles in 15 hours
Wednesday 13 March 2013
Day 30 & 31 Mash up
Tuesday was back to the pool, a quite enjoyable session to be fair, the main set was straightforward & I enjoyed the whole swim, pool temp is still on the high side for my liking but I guess you need to cater for families and young kids in a private health club, if you want cooler water, head for the municipal baths. Or to quote the Comic Strip Presents a Fistfull Of Travellers Cheques.............
Miguel: [complaining to hotel manager] How come there's no soft toilet paper?
Mr. Bastardos: This is the "Hotel Bastardos"! You want the soft toilet paper? You go to the Hotel Gayboy!
Todays swim session looks like this.
300m warm up
8 x 50m drills
1 x 300m @40secs
3 x 200m @30secs
1 x 300m @40secs
8 x 50m drills
200m cooldown
Job done.
A run in the afternoon on Greenham Common, yay outdoors again, beautiful day, to look at, bitterly cold East wind meant temperature barely above freezing with wind chill dragging it down to probably around -5c.
Wednesday, should have been a brick day cycle & run but I need to be in London Thursday so moved Thursdays session to Wednesday & Wednesday to Thursday, it can't hurt at this stage.
Swim was easy to remember, 2500 metres non stop at 75% max effort, job done in 53 minutes.
That leaves the little matter of a 45 minute session at 100+ rpm to be done this evening, maybe in the garage, maybe if I ask nicely my wife will let me do it in the kitchen in front of the iMac with a movie on!
Miguel: [complaining to hotel manager] How come there's no soft toilet paper?
Mr. Bastardos: This is the "Hotel Bastardos"! You want the soft toilet paper? You go to the Hotel Gayboy!
Todays swim session looks like this.
300m warm up
8 x 50m drills
1 x 300m @40secs
3 x 200m @30secs
1 x 300m @40secs
8 x 50m drills
200m cooldown
Job done.
A run in the afternoon on Greenham Common, yay outdoors again, beautiful day, to look at, bitterly cold East wind meant temperature barely above freezing with wind chill dragging it down to probably around -5c.
Wednesday, should have been a brick day cycle & run but I need to be in London Thursday so moved Thursdays session to Wednesday & Wednesday to Thursday, it can't hurt at this stage.
Swim was easy to remember, 2500 metres non stop at 75% max effort, job done in 53 minutes.
That leaves the little matter of a 45 minute session at 100+ rpm to be done this evening, maybe in the garage, maybe if I ask nicely my wife will let me do it in the kitchen in front of the iMac with a movie on!
Monday 11 March 2013
Day 26, 27, 28 & 29
Fridays run that I promised would be outdoors, wasn't, it was miserable all day so I opted for the comfort of the gym and the treadmill, 30 minutes, job done plus a bit of strength training with some free weights.
Saturdays ride was cold, very cold, last weeks glimpse of Spring has well and truly gone away, roads were horrible, wet, muddle and slippery so reverted to the old bike or winter bike as it will now forever be known.
Sunday up early and out running outdoors on Greenham Common, yay! Except it was Arctic out there, barely hovering above zero and with a wind chill of about -10c, lovely. Still 45 minutes in HR Zone 2, job done, home showered and off to Twickenham for the day for England v Italy. Way too many Guiness consumed!
Monday back to work but a rest day, what with going out early Sunday it feels like 2 days off which is great, gives my body lots of chance to recover, repair and grow stronger for the week ahead. Snow for tonight maybe even 6cm being forecast, luckily it's a swim and run session tomorrow so could do the run indoors if need be.
Saturdays ride was cold, very cold, last weeks glimpse of Spring has well and truly gone away, roads were horrible, wet, muddle and slippery so reverted to the old bike or winter bike as it will now forever be known.
Sunday up early and out running outdoors on Greenham Common, yay! Except it was Arctic out there, barely hovering above zero and with a wind chill of about -10c, lovely. Still 45 minutes in HR Zone 2, job done, home showered and off to Twickenham for the day for England v Italy. Way too many Guiness consumed!
Monday back to work but a rest day, what with going out early Sunday it feels like 2 days off which is great, gives my body lots of chance to recover, repair and grow stronger for the week ahead. Snow for tonight maybe even 6cm being forecast, luckily it's a swim and run session tomorrow so could do the run indoors if need be.
Thursday 7 March 2013
Day 24 & 25 Spinning, Running, Swimming & Spinning
Couple of busy days hence no updates.
Yesterday was a gym trip for a 30 minute cycle in HR Zone 2 followed by a 15 minute run on the treadmill in HR Zone 2. I'm looking forward to being able to do the outside on the road & in the light when the daylight comes back our way as we head into Spring, for the forseeable though, this session will be an indoor one. Not a lot to add really, cycling on your own amongst a row of spinning bikes isn't exactly fun, nor is the treadmill but it's all time in the zone that counts.
This morning was a trip to the pool after the school run for a session with drills & a main set of some 1200 metres and covering 2500 metres overall. My left shoulder started to get sore on Tuesday evening, so much so that it woke me in the early hours of Wednesday morning with a dull ache. All seemed OK this morning albeit a little stiff to start with, fingers crossed no long term damage.
Swim done back home to work, then at lunchtime a break and 30 minutes on the turbo trainer spinning at 100+ rpm in HR Zone 1.
Now 3 relatively easy days ahead, a run tomorrow, outside at least, whatever the weather, a ride Saturday for a few hours & running again Sunday before heading to Twickenham for England v Italy.
Some new kit arrived this morning as well, it's all good for morale.
More new toys hopefully arriving in the next few days.............................................
Yesterday was a gym trip for a 30 minute cycle in HR Zone 2 followed by a 15 minute run on the treadmill in HR Zone 2. I'm looking forward to being able to do the outside on the road & in the light when the daylight comes back our way as we head into Spring, for the forseeable though, this session will be an indoor one. Not a lot to add really, cycling on your own amongst a row of spinning bikes isn't exactly fun, nor is the treadmill but it's all time in the zone that counts.
This morning was a trip to the pool after the school run for a session with drills & a main set of some 1200 metres and covering 2500 metres overall. My left shoulder started to get sore on Tuesday evening, so much so that it woke me in the early hours of Wednesday morning with a dull ache. All seemed OK this morning albeit a little stiff to start with, fingers crossed no long term damage.
Swim done back home to work, then at lunchtime a break and 30 minutes on the turbo trainer spinning at 100+ rpm in HR Zone 1.
Now 3 relatively easy days ahead, a run tomorrow, outside at least, whatever the weather, a ride Saturday for a few hours & running again Sunday before heading to Twickenham for England v Italy.
Some new kit arrived this morning as well, it's all good for morale.
SRAM Quick View Mount for Garmin 800 GPS
More new toys hopefully arriving in the next few days.............................................
Tuesday 5 March 2013
Day 23 Swim & Run
Yesterday was a rest day & I took full advantage of it as I was feeling a bit jaded after the Half Marathon on Sunday.
Up early this morning & swimming by 0640 at Nuffield, todays session was the longest so far, 3000 metres in just over the hour. Felt really tired & lethargic to begin with but the last 20 minutes or so I fely much more powerful & my strokes really felt good through the water.
Back home & drop my daughter at school before going back home again to work.
Lunchtime & it's time for a 30 minute run in HR zone 2, it's such a beautiful day out on Greenham Common, no hat, no gloves, probably could & should have run in shorts & a T-Shirt. Another day done.
Up early this morning & swimming by 0640 at Nuffield, todays session was the longest so far, 3000 metres in just over the hour. Felt really tired & lethargic to begin with but the last 20 minutes or so I fely much more powerful & my strokes really felt good through the water.
Back home & drop my daughter at school before going back home again to work.
Lunchtime & it's time for a 30 minute run in HR zone 2, it's such a beautiful day out on Greenham Common, no hat, no gloves, probably could & should have run in shorts & a T-Shirt. Another day done.
Monday 4 March 2013
Day 21 Bath Half Marathon
Early start to get into Bath & parked up before the start of the race, actually turned out pretty easy going, parked up a mile from the race village in the end, the downside being the £8.50 parking charge.
Team Jackie members met up on the Royal Crescent at around 0845 for press interviews & photographs with local press, word was that the team had raised around £75,000 to date, incredible.
It was cold today, even Bath residents were commenting on the fact that Bath rarely has a frost & this morning there was a frost and a temperature of around -2 c.
Race start time was 11am so the main effort now was staying warm before the race started.
Bags dropped off, last minute potty visit & I'm on the start grid for my predicted time of 1:45.
The gun goes off and I'm over the start line withing 2 or 3 minutes & into my stride quickly, the first 3 miles flew by quickly, lots of spectators, lots of noise.
Mile 4.5 and a Lucozade drinks station, grab a bottle down half of it & crack on for the 10km time check 46:22, well ahead of schedule.
Into the second loop and I maintain a good pace passing many runners who are running out of steam at the 10 mile mark. Into the final mile & I can't get the elusive 1:30 but I still cross the line in 1:34:27.
Today Monday is a rest day, legs & hips are a little tight but overall feeling good.
Team Jackie members met up on the Royal Crescent at around 0845 for press interviews & photographs with local press, word was that the team had raised around £75,000 to date, incredible.
It was cold today, even Bath residents were commenting on the fact that Bath rarely has a frost & this morning there was a frost and a temperature of around -2 c.
Race start time was 11am so the main effort now was staying warm before the race started.
Bags dropped off, last minute potty visit & I'm on the start grid for my predicted time of 1:45.
The gun goes off and I'm over the start line withing 2 or 3 minutes & into my stride quickly, the first 3 miles flew by quickly, lots of spectators, lots of noise.
Mile 4.5 and a Lucozade drinks station, grab a bottle down half of it & crack on for the 10km time check 46:22, well ahead of schedule.
Into the second loop and I maintain a good pace passing many runners who are running out of steam at the 10 mile mark. Into the final mile & I can't get the elusive 1:30 but I still cross the line in 1:34:27.
Today Monday is a rest day, legs & hips are a little tight but overall feeling good.
Saturday 2 March 2013
Day 20 Cycle
Out on the Venge for the first time, really noticeable difference between the Venge & my Felt Z6, the Venge just wants to be smashed all day long, it climbs effortlessly on the big ring on hills I'm normally on the small ring for, average speed is up about 2 mph on similar routes, so far, love it, big thumbs up. Plus other cyclists do double takes, it really is a stunning looking machine.
Did a 2 hour ride, should have been 1:45 but hey ho, it was pleasant enough, dry & sunny at times, covered about 34 miles through the Berkshire countryside.
Bike washed & dried, kit bag packed & race kit sorted for Bath Half Marathon tomorrow. The only thing I'm worried about tomorrow is parking in or at this rate somewhere near to the City Of Bath. Bath is a pain in the ass on the best of days and tomorrow there are 12,000 runners + their families & assorted hangers on. Early start as well, up at 6, away and on the road by 0630.
Did a 2 hour ride, should have been 1:45 but hey ho, it was pleasant enough, dry & sunny at times, covered about 34 miles through the Berkshire countryside.
Bike washed & dried, kit bag packed & race kit sorted for Bath Half Marathon tomorrow. The only thing I'm worried about tomorrow is parking in or at this rate somewhere near to the City Of Bath. Bath is a pain in the ass on the best of days and tomorrow there are 12,000 runners + their families & assorted hangers on. Early start as well, up at 6, away and on the road by 0630.
Day 18 & 19 Swimming, Running, Spinning
As expected Thursday was a challenge to get a 1 hour swim & a 45 minute spin session in before having to drive to Kingston again. It didn't happen, I swam the 2500 metres with drills at the pool then had to dash home, pack & drive to Kingston for meetings all day & an overnighter as well.
Thursday evening we had a wine tasting with Graham Mitchell - The Wine Explorer
http://www.thewineexplorer.co.uk
15 of us sat around a table trying some fantastic wines and of course with a tasting you don't actually drink that much.
Friday morning up early & out running in Richmond Park, at 7am most of the traffic gates are still locked shut so the park is quiet apart from cyclists & runners, most of the cyclists seemed to be on nice TT bikes, saw a few Cervelo's whizz by & a few Felt DA's, most if not all of the runners were in their 70s, apart from me of course. As nice as it was at 7am, the weather had other ideas, a thick grey heavy sky let forth a cold penetrating rain that went straight through clothing and sat on your chest reminding you it's not Spring yet.
An hour later I'm back eating a hearty breakfast before more meetings & eventually managing to get away early to beat the traffic & the Kingston one way system.
Back home, I set up the turbo in the kitchen to do my 100+ rpm session for 45 minutes that I missed on Thursday.
Thursday evening we had a wine tasting with Graham Mitchell - The Wine Explorer
http://www.thewineexplorer.co.uk
15 of us sat around a table trying some fantastic wines and of course with a tasting you don't actually drink that much.
Friday morning up early & out running in Richmond Park, at 7am most of the traffic gates are still locked shut so the park is quiet apart from cyclists & runners, most of the cyclists seemed to be on nice TT bikes, saw a few Cervelo's whizz by & a few Felt DA's, most if not all of the runners were in their 70s, apart from me of course. As nice as it was at 7am, the weather had other ideas, a thick grey heavy sky let forth a cold penetrating rain that went straight through clothing and sat on your chest reminding you it's not Spring yet.
An hour later I'm back eating a hearty breakfast before more meetings & eventually managing to get away early to beat the traffic & the Kingston one way system.
Back home, I set up the turbo in the kitchen to do my 100+ rpm session for 45 minutes that I missed on Thursday.
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