Another race this weekend. I quite fancy having a decent race at this one so I am going to reshuffle my commutes slightly to let me recover a bit before Saturday.
So a rest day on Friday, and easier cycle commutes on Thursday to try and ramp down to the race.
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, 31 October 2016
Training Review - Week 44 - October 24 to 30
Monday I started with a commute to work. Having eliminated the noise from my drivetrain that had bothered me on and off last week and all of Sunday's ride (slight twist in rear derailleur) I had a lovely smooth ride to work, and a slightly tougher commute home as my legs started to complain about the shift to winter training volumes over the last couple of weeks. I went to swimming in the evening to find an awful lot of new people meant that there was a general reshuffling of lanes and quite a few had to move up. That put me into lane 4 for the first time in a while and the difference is noticeable. I was actually swimming quite well according to the clock but it felt like a hard day as I tried to avoid being lapped too often by the fastest swimmers. It turns out that this was also my longest pool swim session of the year. I am fairly happy with that, simply getting back to two swims a week is already making a clear difference. Missing out on trips to Knockburn this week has put a big dent in my swim progress and the only real positive this year has been in my turns, it would be good to get my swimming back on an upward trend before the year end.
Tuesday I started with a run to work. I made a mistake when downloading this week's Zombies, Run mission so I didn't have zombie chases for company, and it has now reached that point in the year where gloves are essential on every run so no Pokemon to play with either. They effectively cancelled out their pace effects and with slightly more traffic light stops than usual I arrived spot on the 1 hour mark. My legs are now in need of a decent rest though. Wednesday I have planned just a swim as I can take the car to work for the day. Then Thursday I will cycle commute and see if the single day of rest has eased my legs. Friday I have another cycle commute planned and I will have to make a decision to keep that and get my 100-mile cycling week or drop it and get a rest day before my heavy weekend.
Wednesday morning swimming reminded me of why I was never a junior swimmer. I find it uncomfortable to ride or run in the morning, but I can do them, with some application of willpower. Swimming on the other hand just doesn't work for me at that time of day. My lungs and shoulders take time to recover from sleeping and going straight to the pool in the morning means too much congestion and not enough freedom of rotation. By swimming in the morning I then am left with stiff shoulders and back for the rest of the day. Fine at a weekend or when I am out of work and I can stretch and recover through the day, but too much for a full day at work and an evening of sitting in the cinema. I did do a bit of stretching before bed, but barely enough to work out the worst of the aches.
Thursday I took my road bike to work but it was a struggle. I was completely empty and even at commuting speed there was nothing in the tank. Even before I arrived at work I had decided that Friday was going to be a train-commuting day and my 100-mile cycling week was not going to happen.
Friday I had an effective rest day but in the morning I managed to tweak something in my bag whilst putting my shoes on. In the evening I had planned weights core and yoga sessions but I only managed the yoga. It did loosen off the pain in my back and eased off some of the other aches and pains that are developing through the increase in miles.
Saturday I went through to Gordonstoun for the next race in the North District Cross-Country League. I started the first mile much too fast, paid the price for the next 4 and then had a half decent finish. One day off wasn't enough to recover properly from my current heavy training load, but it was enough for me to place around similar athletes to my run at Keith last month.
Sunday was the Deeside Falling Leaves ride. I volunteered to lead the slow group, as a cunning plan to ensure that I would get in the slow group. That did mean for a fairly slow ride but it was way out of my current range and I was empty before the end. As was the battery on my garmin, which frustratingly gave up at about 58 miles and lost my history for the ride in the process.
That means that despite missing out on my 100 mile week I still sneak over 2,000 bike miles for the year. I caught up some of the backlog on my swim miles, with a triple swim week coming next week. And I had a pretty good running race despite being in the midst of some really heavy training. Missing out on the core and weights was annoying but I can live with it when everything else is going so well.
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 office 7.2 miles in 36 mins.
Commute from office 7.0 miles in 38 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,400m in 54 mins.
Tuesday - Commute run 6.9 miles in 60 mins.
Wednesday - Swim at Bucksburn 1,350m in 33 mins.
Stretching and rollering.
Thursday - Commute to office 7.2 miles in 36 mins.
Commute from office 7.0 miles in 38 mins.
Friday - Rest Day.
Yoga 33 mins.
Saturday - Warm-up 1.0 miles in 9 mins.
NDXCL Gordonstoun 6.4 miles in 46min 54.
Sunday - Deeside Falling Leaves 66.5 miles in 4 hours.Stretching and rollering.
Thursday - Commute to office 7.2 miles in 36 mins.
Commute from office 7.0 miles in 38 mins.
Friday - Rest Day.
Yoga 33 mins.
Saturday - Warm-up 1.0 miles in 9 mins.
NDXCL Gordonstoun 6.4 miles in 46min 54.
Actuals - Swim 2.3 miles (3,750 m). Bike 94.8 miles. Run 14.3 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 33 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 81.3 (87.3) [100.3],
B 2,000.3 (1,760.8) [2,200.9],
R 635.2 (627.9) [709.5].
Monday, 24 October 2016
Training Plan - Week 44 - October 24 to 30
This week is actually a bit crazy. I have events planned for both Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday is a cross-country race at Gordonstoun. I haven't raced there for over a decade (maybe even 2?) but from what I remember it is quite a fast flat course, which should suit me.
Sunday is just a relaxed cycling event, the Deeside Thistle Falling Leaves Sportive. 100km on the bike in a group. This is way out of my range at the minute so I need to find a slow group that I can hide in.
I miss Wednesday's commute as I need to take the car to go to a training course. That still leaves me 4 commutes and hopefully 2 swims. One of those has to be pre-commute though so might be a struggle to fit it in. All that means the planned numbers below are meaningless for the most part. If I manage Sunday's event this should be my first, and only, hundred mile bike week for this year.
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.
Saturday is a cross-country race at Gordonstoun. I haven't raced there for over a decade (maybe even 2?) but from what I remember it is quite a fast flat course, which should suit me.
Sunday is just a relaxed cycling event, the Deeside Thistle Falling Leaves Sportive. 100km on the bike in a group. This is way out of my range at the minute so I need to find a slow group that I can hide in.
I miss Wednesday's commute as I need to take the car to go to a training course. That still leaves me 4 commutes and hopefully 2 swims. One of those has to be pre-commute though so might be a struggle to fit it in. All that means the planned numbers below are meaningless for the most part. If I manage Sunday's event this should be my first, and only, hundred mile bike week for this year.
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 43 - October 17 to 23
I started with the standard road bike commute on the way in but on the way home it was a nice day and I decided to take advantage of the failing daylight and hooked in an extra mile at the end and did a quick recce of my planned start location for Sundays group ride.
I went to swimming in the evening but due to a lack of coaches I was spending more time coaching than I did swimming. I managed to squeeze in about half the set.
Tuesday started with a horrible commute in the dark, cold rain. And with limited space to dry out my clothes at work it meant for cold and damp gear to ride home in. Fortunately the weather turned during the day and within a couple of miles of my ride home I was actually warm and relatively comfortable. By the time I got as far as Dyce I was even enjoying the autumn sun and decided to add a loop round the block.
Wednesday I struggled with a run to work after a poor nights sleep. By evening I was hardly managing to stay awake but I did drag myself out to the pool for a planned set of 4 x 400m. The first couple of reps went fine, and the third actually wasn't bad but did go 50m too far. I then shifted to a combination of strokes to cool down for the remaining 350m.
Thursday I rode to work and then had a cinema trip in the evening so I left my bike at work. Friday I ran in to the office and rode home. My legs were pretty empty by the time I got home and it took a soak in the bath and a long stretching and rollering session to ease my legs off.
Saturday I had planned to swim again but slept in for a second week in a row. I did at least manage to get out for a haircut.
Sunday was a long ride on the road bike through the some rain showers. It was fairly gentle for a group ride but a good tester for the 60-mile sportive I have planned for next weekend. Lesson re-learned about cycling in the cold rain though, keep your feet dry and warm! Cold and wet toes seemed ok when I got back and jumped in the shower but the blood rushing back to my toes made my feet swell and caused horrible itching to start with before swelling up all the joints in my feet.
Late in the evening I was still feeling a bit stiff so I got back on the roller to loosen of the worst of it.
A big week on the bike with more than double my planned cycling miles, and an above target (just) week for running and biking. Missing lots of the smaller sessions this week though.
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 office 7.2 miles in 37 mins.
Commute from office 8.0 miles in 42 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,500m in 50 mins.
Tuesday - Commute to office 7.1 miles in 33 mins.
Commute from office 9.6 miles in 46 mins.
Wednesday - Commute run 6.9 miles in 64 mins.
Swim at Bucksburn 1,600m in 35 mins.
Thursday - Commute ride 7.3 miles in 33 mins.
Friday - Commute run in 7.0 miles in 65 mins.
Commute ride in 7.0 miles in 34 mins.
Stretching and rollering session.
Saturday - Rest day.
Sunday - TPT road ride 43.6 miles in 3 hours 26 mins. Swim at Bucksburn 1,600m in 35 mins.
Thursday - Commute ride 7.3 miles in 33 mins.
Friday - Commute run in 7.0 miles in 65 mins.
Commute ride in 7.0 miles in 34 mins.
Stretching and rollering session.
Saturday - Rest day.
Stretching and rollering session.
Actuals - Swim 1.9 miles (3,100 m). Bike 89.6 miles. Run 13.9 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 79.0 (85.3) [98.1],
B 1905.5 (1724.3) [2155.4],
R 620.9 (614.0) [693.8].
Monday, 17 October 2016
Training Plan - Week 43 - October 17 to 23
A bit of an untidy week as we are going to see the new Jack Reacher movie on Thursday and that makes my commutes a bit messy. I have managed to juggle commuting plans a bit and I will try the same plan as last week to crunch my whole planned mileage in by Friday and then I have the whole weekend spare.
The next three weekends I have events that will interfere with each week, although I am already considering dropping some of them, and also I am going for a trip offshore at the start of next month that will interrupt that week.
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.
The next three weekends I have events that will interfere with each week, although I am already considering dropping some of them, and also I am going for a trip offshore at the start of next month that will interrupt that week.
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 42 - October 10 to 16
Despite my continued levels of tiredness I have front-loaded my week again with everything on the plan scheduled to be completed by Friday morning. Anything I do over the weekend would then be a complete bonus.
After enjoying the mountain bike so much at the weekend I decided to take it to work, and to aim for the little off-road section I can ride through on the way. Then on the way home I did a bit of exploring by taking that off-road section and taking a bit of a detour to check out the route through the new Mugiemoss housing estate. It looks like it might be a nice route if they ever finish it.
In the evening I really struggled at swimming. I was shattered and just wanted to fall asleep for about the first 40 minutes. I skipped chunks of the warm-up and the first set. Then once I finally woke up and got moving I actually felt fine.
Tuesday I planned the same mountain bike route but arrived at the off-road section to find the council had moved in and dug a big chunk out of it. I stayed on my standard road route instead. By the return journey I was exhausted and took the shortest possible route home.
Wednesday I ran in to work in the morning. It was the first time I have had to properly run in the dark, which was not particularly enjoyable and definitely colder. In the evening I went for my second swim of the week and ticked off the rest of my planned miles. That was meant to be a set of fast(-ish) reps but was difficult to fit around the other people in the lane so turned into a steady swim and a bit of breast-stroke to cool down.
Thursday I went back to the winterised road bike for commuting. The first proper day of riding in the rain was less horrible than it might have been. The wider, treaded tyres definitely helped with handling and subsequently confidence in the rain. That takes me through 1800 bike miles for the year.
In the evening I did a weights session.
Friday I ran to the office again, including a little detour at the end to ensure I got the rest of my planned run miles for the week. The storms through the night meant I didn't sleep well and I decided to go with my largest and most waterproof jacket. That turned out to be a mistake as the rain stopped just long enough for my run, and was replaced by a huge headwind instead and my jacket acted as a parachute for the entire run. On the positive side that takes me through 600 run miles for the year.
Saturday I planned an early swim but changed my plans to have a lie in instead. that then turned into a complete rest day.
Sunday I started the morning with a trip to Kirkhill on the mountain bike. It has been fun to get out on the mountain bike the last two weekends, maybe not the best use of time in terms of training benefits, but enjoying being out on the bike is worth it.
Another solid week on the numbers. A few of the ancillary sessions crammed in at the last minute to round out the week and a missed chance to catch up some of my swim backlog.
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 office mtb 7.1 miles in 34 mins.
Commute from office mtb 7.1 miles in 42 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,800m in 52 mins.
Tuesday - Commute to office mtb 7.4 miles in 35 mins.
Commute from office mtb 7.1 miles in 40 mins.
Core session.
Yoga session 30 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.0 miles (3,200 m). Bike 51.8 miles. Run 14.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 30 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 77.1 (83.4) [95.9],
B 1815.9 (1687.9) [2109.8],
R 607.0 (600.1) [678.1].
After enjoying the mountain bike so much at the weekend I decided to take it to work, and to aim for the little off-road section I can ride through on the way. Then on the way home I did a bit of exploring by taking that off-road section and taking a bit of a detour to check out the route through the new Mugiemoss housing estate. It looks like it might be a nice route if they ever finish it.
In the evening I really struggled at swimming. I was shattered and just wanted to fall asleep for about the first 40 minutes. I skipped chunks of the warm-up and the first set. Then once I finally woke up and got moving I actually felt fine.
Tuesday I planned the same mountain bike route but arrived at the off-road section to find the council had moved in and dug a big chunk out of it. I stayed on my standard road route instead. By the return journey I was exhausted and took the shortest possible route home.
Wednesday I ran in to work in the morning. It was the first time I have had to properly run in the dark, which was not particularly enjoyable and definitely colder. In the evening I went for my second swim of the week and ticked off the rest of my planned miles. That was meant to be a set of fast(-ish) reps but was difficult to fit around the other people in the lane so turned into a steady swim and a bit of breast-stroke to cool down.
Thursday I went back to the winterised road bike for commuting. The first proper day of riding in the rain was less horrible than it might have been. The wider, treaded tyres definitely helped with handling and subsequently confidence in the rain. That takes me through 1800 bike miles for the year.
In the evening I did a weights session.
Friday I ran to the office again, including a little detour at the end to ensure I got the rest of my planned run miles for the week. The storms through the night meant I didn't sleep well and I decided to go with my largest and most waterproof jacket. That turned out to be a mistake as the rain stopped just long enough for my run, and was replaced by a huge headwind instead and my jacket acted as a parachute for the entire run. On the positive side that takes me through 600 run miles for the year.
Saturday I planned an early swim but changed my plans to have a lie in instead. that then turned into a complete rest day.
Sunday I started the morning with a trip to Kirkhill on the mountain bike. It has been fun to get out on the mountain bike the last two weekends, maybe not the best use of time in terms of training benefits, but enjoying being out on the bike is worth it.
Another solid week on the numbers. A few of the ancillary sessions crammed in at the last minute to round out the week and a missed chance to catch up some of my swim backlog.
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 office mtb 7.1 miles in 34 mins.
Commute from office mtb 7.1 miles in 42 mins.
Swim with TPT 1,800m in 52 mins.
Tuesday - Commute to office mtb 7.4 miles in 35 mins.
Commute from office mtb 7.1 miles in 40 mins.
Wednesday - Commute run to office 6.9 miles in 63 mins.
Swim at Bucksburn 1,400m in 28 mins.
Thursday - Commute to office 7.1 miles in 35 mins.
Commute from office 7.0 miles in in 31 mins.
Light weights and stretching.
Friday - Commute run to office 7.1 miles in 1 hour 11 mins.
Saturday - Rest day.
Sunday - Mtb at Kirkhill 9.0 miles in 1 hour 15 mins.Swim at Bucksburn 1,400m in 28 mins.
Thursday - Commute to office 7.1 miles in 35 mins.
Commute from office 7.0 miles in in 31 mins.
Light weights and stretching.
Friday - Commute run to office 7.1 miles in 1 hour 11 mins.
Saturday - Rest day.
Core session.
Yoga session 30 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.0 miles (3,200 m). Bike 51.8 miles. Run 14.0 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 30 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 77.1 (83.4) [95.9],
B 1815.9 (1687.9) [2109.8],
R 607.0 (600.1) [678.1].
Monday, 10 October 2016
Training Review - Week 41 - Oct 3 to 9
Monday I started with a simple commute. In the evening I went to swimming but I knew early on that I would cramp if I even tried the heavy kick session that was on the plan. I managed to adapt the set by moving up a lane and just swimming straight through their drill sets.
Tuesday I took another simple commute. The newly winterised bike is pretty good in the current weather conditions but is developing something wrong with the left pedal that I will have to address soon. In the evening I put in my core and weights sessions as I try to get in to a regular habit with them. Then I also did a bit of stretching before bed.
Since I am mountain biking at the weekend I decided to take the mountain bike for Wednesday's commute. This also gave me a slightly easier ride before a hectic evening. I took Dexter to his first proper Canicross training session. Then I went for a swim at Bucksburn as well. Sticking in 2 x 400m reps inside my Alford race time
That has made for a hugely front-loaded week already with one run, all of my bike and and swim miles, core, weights and stretching done by Wednesday. And four sessions in one day meant a price to pay on the Thursday. I dropped the bike for the day and dragged myself to the train instead. In the evening I was mostly cuddling Dexter but I did manage to drag myself to do a bit of stretching and rollering.
Friday I ran to work and Dexter's holiday week started to pay as my lungs objected the whole way. Fortunately for my allergies he went home in the afternoon.
Saturday morning I was up early for a yoga session and then a short run to finish off my miles for the week. This is the fourth week in a row that I have done all my planned miles and the second week that I have done everything on the plan.
Sunday I managed to squeeze in a short bit of yoga before going to Glenlivet for a day of mountain biking. Shame it is quite so far away as it was awesome fun. A great balance of steady climbs and fun descents. One minor spd-fail left me with a couple of bruises and after a fourth heavy week I am pretty shattered.
More important was that this week of training has been fun. A couple of times through the week I have arrived at work and just wanted to go straight out on the bike or to run again. I have done the weights and core sessions that I have been missing for so long. I did 4 sessions on Wednesday and I could have easily made an excuse to drop any of them and didn't. My first proper mountain biking trip on my new mountain bike was great fun as well. Winter is coming, and I know the less enjoyable weather is coming so it is good to be enjoying as much as I can going into winter training.
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 7.1 miles in 36 mins.
Commute from work 6.9 miles in 32 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,100m in 53 mins.
Tuesday - Commute to work 7.1 miles in 33 mins.
Commute from work 6.9 miles in 32 mins.
Weights, core and stretching sessions.
Sunday - Stag day mountain biking 13.7 miles in 2 hours 11 mins.
Yoga 11 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.1 miles (3,300 m). Bike 42.3 miles. Run 14.1 miles. 1 short core, 2 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 31 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 75.1 (81.5) [93.7],
B 1764.1 (1651.4) [2064.3],
R 593.0 (586.2) [662.4].
Tuesday I took another simple commute. The newly winterised bike is pretty good in the current weather conditions but is developing something wrong with the left pedal that I will have to address soon. In the evening I put in my core and weights sessions as I try to get in to a regular habit with them. Then I also did a bit of stretching before bed.
Since I am mountain biking at the weekend I decided to take the mountain bike for Wednesday's commute. This also gave me a slightly easier ride before a hectic evening. I took Dexter to his first proper Canicross training session. Then I went for a swim at Bucksburn as well. Sticking in 2 x 400m reps inside my Alford race time
That has made for a hugely front-loaded week already with one run, all of my bike and and swim miles, core, weights and stretching done by Wednesday. And four sessions in one day meant a price to pay on the Thursday. I dropped the bike for the day and dragged myself to the train instead. In the evening I was mostly cuddling Dexter but I did manage to drag myself to do a bit of stretching and rollering.
Friday I ran to work and Dexter's holiday week started to pay as my lungs objected the whole way. Fortunately for my allergies he went home in the afternoon.
Saturday morning I was up early for a yoga session and then a short run to finish off my miles for the week. This is the fourth week in a row that I have done all my planned miles and the second week that I have done everything on the plan.
Sunday I managed to squeeze in a short bit of yoga before going to Glenlivet for a day of mountain biking. Shame it is quite so far away as it was awesome fun. A great balance of steady climbs and fun descents. One minor spd-fail left me with a couple of bruises and after a fourth heavy week I am pretty shattered.
More important was that this week of training has been fun. A couple of times through the week I have arrived at work and just wanted to go straight out on the bike or to run again. I have done the weights and core sessions that I have been missing for so long. I did 4 sessions on Wednesday and I could have easily made an excuse to drop any of them and didn't. My first proper mountain biking trip on my new mountain bike was great fun as well. Winter is coming, and I know the less enjoyable weather is coming so it is good to be enjoying as much as I can going into winter training.
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 7.1 miles in 36 mins.
Commute from work 6.9 miles in 32 mins.
Swim with TPT 2,100m in 53 mins.
Tuesday - Commute to work 7.1 miles in 33 mins.
Commute from work 6.9 miles in 32 mins.
Weights, core and stretching sessions.
Wednesday - Commute to work mtb 7.1 miles in mins.
Commute from work mtb 6.9 miles in mins.
Thursday - Rest Day.
Easy stretching and rollering.
Friday - Commute run 6.9 miles in 63 mins.
Saturday - Yoga 20 mins.
Jog 4.1 miles in 35 mins.
Weights session.
Commute from work mtb 6.9 miles in mins.
Canicross run with Dexter 3.1 miles in 41 mins.
Swim at Bucksburn 1,200m in 24 mins.
Thursday - Rest Day.
Easy stretching and rollering.
Friday - Commute run 6.9 miles in 63 mins.
Saturday - Yoga 20 mins.
Jog 4.1 miles in 35 mins.
Weights session.
Sunday - Stag day mountain biking 13.7 miles in 2 hours 11 mins.
Yoga 11 mins.
Actuals - Swim 2.1 miles (3,300 m). Bike 42.3 miles. Run 14.1 miles. 1 short core, 2 short light weights and 1 stretching / rollering session. 31 mins of yoga
Cumulative (Cumulative target) [Cumulative Stretch target]
S 75.1 (81.5) [93.7],
B 1764.1 (1651.4) [2064.3],
R 593.0 (586.2) [662.4].
Saturday, 8 October 2016
Training Plan - Week 42 - October 10 to 16
After a month of hitting mileage targets it is starting to feel like I am making some progress.
I need to start planning for next year but for now I am just ticking off the miles and working on my fitness.
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.
I need to start planning for next year but for now I am just ticking off the miles and working on my fitness.
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.
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
End of Q3 Review
Well that was a bit of a rollercoaster 3 months. I am going to get to my conventional quarterly review but before that I am going to tack on a fairly major section for this quarter only as I fear that going straight into the numbers without context this time is just too confusing.
So within the last 3 months I have settled into (another) new job which is about 7 miles from my home and comes without a parking space. I have tried to use my commutes to train which means the numbers have changed slightly but the effects have been fairly major. I will cover them each in the following sections but basically it has meant; that I can’t get to Knockburn midweek for my summer open water swim sessions; that I get a lot of bike miles, but all in 7-mile stop-start chunks; and that I get more long runs, but almost no short runs.
I also started this quarter off the back of a torn quadricep which took a good bit longer to heal than I had expected. That ate in to my running numbers for a while.
On the tech side, I got Pokemon Go and a fitbit, both of which encourage me to go out and walk around a lot. I am subsequently averaging almost 2,000 steps a day more than I was before, but I am doing them mostly at walking pace, and I am pausing (or even stopping) on my runs to catch and fight Pokemon. None of which is conducive to running faster.
I had my first proper holiday for about 5 years, (KLM have gotten really shit over those 5 years by the way). This meant trips back to Netherlands for the first time in at least a decade and Germany for the first time in 7 years and a fabulous week away.
Oh yeah, and I got married. That seems like it should just affect one day of my training blog, but I did actually get out for a run that morning. Instead it has been a major impact on my time, finances and particularly on my stress levels particularly during the last couple of months.
Here is the Q1 version of this review.
Here is the Q2 version of this review.
The graphs again come in two versions. One showing the whole year, and a zoomed in version showing just Q3.
Swimming
My new job is still stopping me from getting out to Knockburn and I haven't managed to replace that missing swim with a regular second swim yet. However, as winter nights close in I should hopefully get back in to my Q1 routine with a second swim either on a midweek evening or an early weekend.
In the first half of the year I swam twice inside my 750m race target, but both times in open water races. I don't really like to count them as the distances are not particularly accurate, and the wet suit helps too much.
Since then I have not swum well at all and having finished my racing season in the pool I have missed all three of my target swim times [open water swims excepted]. Huntly was better than I expected but still over a minute too slow. Alford was my only 400m swim this year and while the choppy new pool gives me a few seconds of excuse it doesn't give me the whole 68 seconds that I missed my planned swim time by.
I still have an open swim target to do 104 miles this year which is achievable if I get back into a regular pattern of 2 swims a week.
Biking
Biking miles have continued to improve during Q3. This is almost exclusively commuting though and the 7-mile / 30-min chunks are almost worthless as training. They are keeping my basic fitness and getting me to work on time but not really helping me cycle any faster. I am going to keep them in but I really need to reintroduce some weekend rides for proper training.
I had two cycling race targets for this year. 10-mile under 26 minutes and finish a 25-mile TT. My 26:53 from Drumoak was still my fastest of the year.
My overall bike miles target of 2,080 is well within range. 375 miles over the next 12 weeks is less than 32 miles / week and I can grind that out on the turbo if I don't get them from commuting or some weekend rides.
Running
Running has tailed off since June as well. The quad tear from the end of June put a dent into the numbers as did a rest week and a mostly bike week in August. However, once my numbers got close to falling behind target I got back to at least ticking over at target levels every week. Hence the yellow line disappears behind the black target line for pretty much all of September.
I had my race targets set for a 10k under 42 minutes, which I smashed, and then a second 10k under 42 minutes, or a 5k under 19:30, which I still need to get. I also had stretch targets to 'run my age' for 10k which I just missed at Elgin, and to run sub-40, which I have made.
I am also fairly well on target for my 750 miles a year, and now I can focus on getting my running back to where it was earlier in the year. Trying to find races might be the biggest difficulty in getting another fast time.
Triathlon
I have taken part in an ETU qualifying race so I can definitely tick that target off the list. I am pretty pleased with how I raced there as well. I need to wait till next week before I can tick off my qualification spot for next years ETU Age-group Sprint Champs.
I won't get a chance to qualify for the ETU Standard Champs as the qualifying dates are all too close to the wedding.
Other
I have a target to do 80 yoga sessions this year and I had done 60 by the end of Q2. Since then I have done only 3. This is almost certainly a direct correlation with my form. I need to get this back to at least weekly, and preferably much more regularly.
And I have a target to do 80 weights and core sessions and I have done just 19. Those now need to go to basically 3 a week if I want to hit that target.
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