Monday, 29 August 2016

Training Plan - Week 36 - August 29 to September 2

Yes, I did get the dates right. This week I am only going to cover Monday to Friday as we are off on our honeymoon on Saturday and I will give that a blog to itself when I get back. In the meantime this week is just commuting and Monday evening swimming. 



Monday - 
Cycle commute both ways.

TPT Swim session.

Tuesday - 
Cycle commute both ways.

Short run.

Wednesday - 
Cycle commute both ways.

Thursday - 
Run commute in. 


Friday - Cycle commute both ways.


Saturday / Sunday - Honeymoon!


Target totals - Swim 1.9 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 35 - August 22 to 28 (and Alford Triathlon report)

Monday I felt a bit ill in the morning but I was already committed to cycle commuting. I seem to have caught a cold or flu bug. I survived a day in the office and the ride home and actually felt a bit better after dinner so I headed to swimming as well. While I managed to trawl through the session it was again a complete mish-mash of form with my easy warm-up being close to race speed and the rest being all over the place. 

Tuesday I woke feeling even worse. While I had planned again to commute on the bike I had left myself enough time to shift to the train and as I rolled out of bed and nearly coughed up a lung the choice was made. I just about survived another day at work with the help of copious amounts of coffee and paracetamol. I did manage to take a longer walk home to get my 10,000 steps in for the day, but that was it before I collapsed on the sofa.

Wednesday I was prepped to cycle again. And had to bin that again for the cold/flu. 

Thursday I thought about running to the office, knowing that I was getting a lift home in the evening but I haven't made any progress in fighting off the bug that has been bothering me all week. 

Friday was no better. And Saturday might actually have been worse and I barely managed a rollering session before bed. But by now I had committed to at least taking part at Alford on Sunday  so I packed everything and arrived at the start line feeling suitably awful.

I actually had a good day apart from the race. That was horrible. Within the first few lengths of the swim I started to get a blinding headache. I think that it was still from my crash-injured shoulder. All the muscles around it tighten up and pull everything out of line and normally that makes me stop. But being a race I carried on and so it continued to get worse and pulled my neck and head until it caused me a really serious headache. That, the overtakes from everyone else in my lane swimming faster than me, and generally swimming like a donkey meant I was out over a minute down on where I should have been. 7:23 is a particularly appalling swim given that I was under that twice during Monday night's swim session. 

Transition was a disaster as I took two attempts to put my helmet on. But I  did still pass people and get out on the bike fast enough. Then I struggled a bit on the bike. I made a few places against some of the kids and a couple of ladies but once we turned uphill I lost one of those again. I was in a terrible state by the end of the bike and my headache was interrupting my thinking and I forgot to get out of my shoes. At the very last second I managed to sort one of them but was much too late to get the second one and had to do a dead stop and unclip and then remove the other shoe before I could run through transition. I then fluffed that one again as I struggled to get my running shoes on and watched both ladies get out in front of me on to the run. 

My run was similarly terrible. I took forever to catch the ladies and then couldn't get away from them. My headache was coming and going and my heart rate was through the roof again despite struggling to break 7min/mile pace. 

I fluked a 1st Vet prize by 3 seconds despite my horrible race. 

Another terrible week. I can blame the cold this time though so at least there is a good reason. 

Target totals - Swim 1.9 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.


Monday - Commute to work 7.0 miles in 36 mins.

Commute from work 7.0 miles in 38 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,000m in 53 mins.

Tuesday -
 Sick.

Wednesday - 
Sick.

Thursday - 
Sick.

Friday - 
Sick.

Saturday - Sick.

Sunday - Alford Novice Triathlon

Swim 400m 7 mins 23.
Bike 8.3 miles in 27 mins 55.
Run 1.7 miles in 12 mins 20.

Actuals - Swim 1.5 miles (2,450 m). Bike 22.3 miles. Run 1.7 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga 

Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]

S 66.4  (70.0)  [80.5],
B 1492.7  (1432.8)  [1791.0],
R 508.2  (502.7)  [568.1].

Monday, 22 August 2016

Training Plan - Week 35 - August 22 to 28


I am back to work for a couple of weeks before we go on honeymoon. That means some cycle commuting again. As the Time Trial series is finished for the year my Tuesday night's are free again. I am going to keep that evening as a training night though and try to put in a short run after I get home from work.

I am also going to try and put my second swim in to Saturday morning and try to get my swimming back on track. That will mostly depend on how my shoulder deals with the rest of the week though. It is still bothering me since I landed on it during my bike crash. 

I have decided to basically end my competitive season now and start work on just base fitness for next year. I am still going to take part in Alford Novice and Huntly Standard but just on the basis of them being fun races.



Monday - 
Cycle commute both ways.
TPT Swim session.

Tuesday - 
Cycle commute both ways.
Short run.

Wednesday - 
Cycle commute both ways.

Thursday - 
Run commute in. 

Friday - Cycle commute both ways.

Saturday - Easy swim at ASV or Bucksburn.


Sunday - Alford Novice.


Target totals - Swim 1.9 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 34 - August 15 to 21

The only thing that really matters this week is our wedding on Friday. But next week I will care about the numbers again, so I had better keep a track on them as I go.

Monday was a simple commute to and from work on the mountain bike and then a trip to swimming in the evening. My shoulder wasn't happy about any of it but I managed to tick off the minimum numbers.

Tuesday's TT I was down to marshall rather than race so I took the opportunity to just cycle to work and then out to the race, a couple of hours of helping out and then a ride home. That meant for a long day and a lot of miles on the bike. Tuesday alone I put more training time in than I did the whole of last week. My right shoulder was still bothering me whenever I got out of the saddle or tried to do a bit of an aero tuck. It is still improving but feels like it will need another couple of weeks before it will be back to normal. 

Wednesday I took the slightly safer option of taking the mountain bike for my commute again. Both rides included detours that added to the times a little but it still felt like pretty tough going both ways and let me add miles to my week. 

Thursday was just an easy jog in the morning before I got into wedding mode and started on all the last minute jobs like collecting granny and delivering things to the venue. Then a lovely family dinner and giving out some great presents. Then I stole Dexter to keep me company on my last night as a bachelor and went home to watch Bolt in the Olympic 200m. 
Friday morning I obviously had better things to do in the afternoon but Dexter and I had to go out in the morning to burn off some nervous energy. We just did half a lap of Dyce with a detour through Asda to pick up a couple of last minute things for people who had forgotten essentials.Then off to Pittodrie House Hotel to get married. I also passed 500 run miles for the year. 

The whole day was awesome. I did consider a blog post about how everything went, just as a reminder to my future self as much as anything else. But instead I will just say that it was an amazing day and I am hugely appreciative of everyone who was involved in organising, helping and attending our special day. Thank you so much to everyone. 

Saturday we had a quiet family barbecue as we tried to chill out after a hectic few weeks. 

And Sunday I was back on it. I have plenty of bike time in this week and planned for next week so I decided to just do an easy run on Sunday. My shoulder is still giving me problems when I run. .

60 miles on the bike this week puts it amongst my longest of the year. While that is good in terms of this week, it is actually a poor show for the rest of the year that just 60 miles of mainly commuting makes this a long week. 

And through 500 miles running for the year. I am happy enough with that but my run volume has dropped a lot since I started my new job and the pace of the miles that I am doing is terrible. I should really stop playing pokemon during runs.



Target totals - 1 Wedding


Monday - Commute to office mtb 6.9 miles in 36 mins.

Commute from office mtb 7.5 miles in 52 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,600m in 38 mins. 

Tuesday -
 Commute to office 7.0 in 29 mins.
Office to Garlogie 12.9 miles in 1 hour 21 mins. 
Garlogie to home 12.2 miles in 46 mins. 

Wednesday - Commute to office mtb 7.0 miles in 37 mins.

Commute from office mtb 7.0 miles in 37 mins.

Thursday - Easy run 3.0 miles in 26 mins.


Friday - Easy run with Dexter 2.9 miles in 30 minutes.

1 Wedding.

Saturday - Rest day

Sunday - Short run 3.9 miles in 37 mins.


Actuals - Swim 1.0 miles (1,600 m). Bike 60.8 miles. Run 9.8 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga. 1 Wedding.

Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]

S 64.9  (68.1)  [78.3],
B 1470.4  (1396.4)  [1745.5],
R 506.5  (488.8)  [552.4].

Monday, 15 August 2016

Training Plan - Week 34 - August 15 to 21



I could write the numbers down for running, swimming and biking this week but they don't really matter.


Target totals - 1 Wedding.

Training Review - Week 33 - August 8 to 14

Monday I was on my survival during the day and then went to swimming in the evening. Not a great session but got through most of it, despite bending my thumbnail back trying to practice pool exits. 

Tuesday I went to do my last TT for the year. That was going pretty well until some twat in a tractor decided he didn't want to share the road and I was left trying to shed 25 mph with no space. I managed to detour down a skinny verge, dragging my left shoulder along a harled wall in the process, and shed enough speed so that the final crash over the bars onto the other shoulder wasn't too serious. Lost a significant amount of skin (decided against posting the photos), and will have some nasty bruises, but nothing more serious. Tractor driver didn't even stop to check if I was alive. 

Wednesday to Friday I was sensible about the damage. It is primarily cosmetic, a lot of missing skin on my left shoulder, arm and knuckles, but my right shoulder took the brunt of the landing and is still aching a bit. By Friday my exercise withdrawal was messing around with my hormone and endorphin levels and I was starting to have problems with my depression again. I considered a short run in the evening but instead I settled for a bit of a walk to get my 10,000 steps.

Saturday I had a lot of wedding planning to do but I managed to sneak in a short run in the morning. 

Sunday I planned to go out on the bike and do the rest of my miles for the week but the morning came with more of an ache in my right shoulder and I decided not to risk the bike yet. I have to pedal to work three times next week so I will easily make enough bike miles next week to keep me on track. Instead I went out for longer run planning to put myself through 500 running miles for the year in the same week that I went through 1400 bike miles. My shoulder still doesn't like the bouncing impact of running though so I cut that short. Dexter should take me through 500 miles on wedding day.

A bit of a crap week, but after Tuesday's crash that isn't really a big surprise. A little unfortunate with another short week coming next week but it could have been an awful lot worse. 


Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.


Monday - Swim with TPT 2,000m in 55 mins. 


Tuesday -
 Warm-up for TT 6.2 miles in 26 mins.
Floras TT 9.5 miles in 34 mins.

Wednesday - Crash recovery.


Thursday - Crash recovery.


Friday - 
Crash recovery.

Saturday - Easy jog 3.6 miles in 43 mins.

Sunday - Easy jog 

Actuals - Swim 1.2 miles (2,000 m). Bike 15.7 miles. Run 3.6 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga 

Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]

S 63.9  (66.2)  [76.1],
B 1405.9  (1359.9)  [1699.9],
R 496.7  (474.9)  [536.7].

Monday, 8 August 2016

Training Plan - Week 33 - August 8 to 14


A last full week as a legal bachelor. And I should have had plenty of time this week but instead I have been booked on my offshore survival training at the start of this week. Some genius in the HR department of my new employer thought that booking me on the wrong side of town rather than any of the three alternatives I can actually see from my house was a good idea. So not only can I not easily mix my training with commuting this week but I also have to spend the best part of 8 hours sat in traffic which is going to kill any real chance of training Monday or Wednesday other than my late swim session.

Tuesday I also have to try and figure out how to get from the course to my TT.

Unfortunately I am going to miss Bert's Triathlon this year. I like to support Bert's events but I just can't fit this one in. 

This is also the last week to finish off any little things that need to be tidied up for the wedding. I don't think there can possibly be anything left to arrange but every time I think that someone asks me about one more thing. 

In order to try and make my targets for this week I probably have to pile in a fairly huge weekend but the way things are going a the minute I have no idea what would be the point of that. 



Monday - 
TPT Swim session.

Tuesday - 
DTCC TT 9-mile.


Wednesday - 


Thursday - 
Run commute in. 

Friday - Cycle commute both ways.

Saturday - 


Sunday - 

Stag night.

Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.

Training Review - Week 32 - August 1 to 7


Monday I started with commutes to and from the office on the mountain bike. Despite the quiet traffic for the holidays they were pretty average in both directions. A bunch of aches and pains nearly put me off swimming but I decided to drag myself along and try to take it easy. I also found out that I had somehow missed out on registering for a slot in the Tuesday TT. 

Tuesday I managed to get a late space in the TT. I felt ok for the first 3 miles and then my minute-man went whizzing by and I realised that I was actually working hard but making little progress. I couldn't get my heart rate up over 160bpm and I was sitting three gears below where I should be in order to keep my cadence up in the 90's. I tried an upshift and a bit more pressure on the pedals but my cadence dropped down to 70 and all I was doing was burning my legs without actually going any faster. At the turn my time wasn't horrible, but I was already a minute behind where I wanted to be with a headwind to come on the return leg. Really disappointed to only clock 27:50. Missing my target for the year by nearly 2 minutes.

Wednesday I woke up planning to run to work but was just too knackered and opted for the train instead. I then convinced myself that I would run in the evening but I ended up canning that in favour of a rest day. I did take the time to enter Westhill sprint try on Sunday.

Thursday I took the mountain bike to commute but it was tough going. Especially on the way home. It feels like something is dragging all the time. The brakes seem to be ok and the new rear wheel bearings are definitely smoother but there is still something not right about it. I tried a bit of stretching and rollering to take away the worst of the tight muscles that are still hanging around from Tuesday's TT.

Friday I just took an easy run to work in the morning. And somehow I am back again to just being exhausted. Carrying the rucksack and stopping for traffic lights doesn't help my pace but struggling to stay under 10 min/mile is pretty terrible. 

Saturday I started with a bit of yoga and took an easy jog around Dyce. Took the opportunity to visit some pokegyms and just move my miles for the week so that Sunday's triathlon will get me over the target for the week.  

Sunday's Westhill Triathlon will get a post to itself. 


Target totals - Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 36.4 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30 mins of yoga.


Monday - Commute to office mtb 7.1 miles in 32 mins.

Commute from office 7.3 miles in 38 mins. 
Swim with TPT 1,800m in 54 mins. 

Tuesday -
 DTCC TT 10 miles in 27:50.
Warm-up and cool down 5.3 miles in 22 mins.

Wednesday - Rest day.


Thursday - Commute to office mtb 6.9 miles in 31 mins.

Commute from office 7.1 miles in 44 mins.
Stretching and rollering.

Friday - Run commute 6.9 miles in 68 mins. 


Saturday - Easy jog 3.2 miles in 51 mins. 

Yoga 12 mins.
Rollering session.

Sunday -  Westhill Sprint Triathlon
Swim 750m in 13:12.
Bike 4.8 miles in 22 mins.
Run nothing.

Actuals - Swim 1.7 miles (2,600 m). Bike 48.5 miles. Run 10.1 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 12 mins of yoga 

Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]

S 62.7  (63.8)  [73.3],
B 1394.2  (1323.5)  [1654.4],
R 489.0  (461.0)  [521.0].