Today is a good day

Well this week was a pretty good week all told. According to Training Peaks this week was all green and yellow, not only is this pretty to look at but it suggests that I am getting somewhere close to the amount of training I was supposed to be doing.......Brownie points all round! Ok so this is not quite true, there was a bit of tinkering throughout the week to make stuff fit and I called time on Sunday's training as I was dying on my feet, no sleep for 36+ hours will do that too you.

However all told I am happy with the week and I learnt a couple of new things:

1. I can fit in 15+ hours worth of training a week
2. the training is fun and I am feeling good about it.
3. I am not loving nights (told you I'd come back to that)
4. I must do more swimming, both time and distance.

This week I am again on 7 nights so training is limited to 10 hours, a lot of that is being made up with the commute to work so a bit of a bike heavy week but that's not all bad as it will be the bike where I pick up any major time gains I thinks. Also I am putting in 3 x swim sets to try and bump that up.

Finally, there is a trail marathon next year I think I might sign up for it. There would be no time targets or what have you, it would just be for fun and I think a training run of marathon distance would be good. I suppose if i start at midnight i could do a full dry run for the swim and bike legs too.

Other than that, this week has been fairly quiet on a Jim front so I shall keep this post quick.

See you next time

Say goodnight

I think I missed the point



I am slightly worried today. Well by today I mean this week. As normal I missed a good proportion of my training, this will come as no surprise to anyone who reads this but today is different. I am not worried that I missed all session from Tuesday to today (there is still some of Sunday to go and I might get out still), though this is bad, what worried me was that I wasn’t worried about it. This week I managed 2 out of 11 hours training and this time last week I was all focused and ready to go where as now as I write at 01:30 on a Sunday morning I am calm and relaxed that only 20% of my training load has been completed.

So what has made me worry about my lack of worrying? I think the biggest problem is that I am currently resigned to being on nights from now until the end of time and as such I have accepted that my training when I am on nights is going to be hit and miss at best and at worse none existent.  This acceptance is in itself a good thing I think, this is because there is nothing I can do about my rota, I have requested more days and been told that I’ll get what I get (politely). So this week I am thinking about how to best make use of not seeing daylight.

• Think about non-training training, by this I mean counting my 20 min ride to work each day as a session, it isn’t great but its something.
• Accept that on nights that I will not get a lot done during the week so fit what I can in on those days, even if it’s a specific rest day. Then look at the time between the nights either before and  after  if it’s the mid-week shifts or in the 3 days in the middle.
• Train smarter not harder when on nights.
• Most importantly, not to panic if I am not hitting the sessions I need to when on nights, I think that the positive mental attitude I had last week (it only lasted a little while fortunately) is of more benefit that a few half arsed sessions.

Having been all positive for a minute, I also have to realise that I am not signed up for a 10k plod round your local flat town (though the route does look pretty flat, 100m of climbing over 44km) I need to find that happy balance between calm acceptance of not getting all my training aims and goals met and blind panic that I won’t get race I want if I don’t train for it.

So again it comes back to goal settings. I think my goals for nights need to be about weight and diet rather than miles on the bike or in the pool, to this end I would be taking control of the situation rather than being reactive to events that I do not have control over. This feels like a more positive and proactive (possible other P words too) way to focus my training, and you never know I might get my Monday Friday 9-5 job soon.



See you next time.

Results day

Helvellyn  15km 
50th of 467
1:20:00

Ulswater  14km 
14th of 170 or 45th of 400
1:20:58

Now thats a Dirty weekend.

This week I am going to keep it short, well shortish. The reason for my brevity is not a desire to skimp on details or to because there is a lack of exciting things to tell you from this week but due to the fun and games of the last racing weekend of the year.

Last weeks training was a fine mix of bang on target and about as likely to hit the target as a stormtrooper. It all started so well with a good sweaty session on the bike and a cheeky cross training on monday, tuesday was fun and a nice cruise on the bike to a hard hill set both of which filled me with joy, well kind of, its hard to get excited about hill reps. The less said about the middle of the week the better, 3 sessions, 3 failed to starts. 

For next week 

• mix of swimming and running with a little riding thrown in for balance.
• The worrying thing is that this week is where the base for next year really starts. I think that I will need to try to hit all the targets even if its only for my head, if I cannot get 10 hours in how will I manage 20?

Ok, so now for the bit you have all been waiting for, you may not have known that you were waiting for it but you were!

The Dirty Double weekend is the last two races in the Lakeland trail series. one takes you up Helvellyn and the other takes you on a cheeky little slog along the banks of ulswater.

So Saturday dawned wet, windy and not exactly toasty, great trail running weather. The start of the run is mainly up hill towards the top of the valley between Sheffield peak and Birkhouse Moor. we then scooted round Birkhouse Moor and headed towards Neathermost Pike before turning back through a bog towards a hard packed trail and then raod to the start/finish line. All in all 368m of climbing and 361m of controlled falling down hills. The run was 14km and I covered it in 1:20:07, I’m not sure how this compares to everyonee else yet, the results will appear in the next day or so, but for me it was a fun race and I think it was a nice start to a tough weekend. The high point was that I didn’t bonk. I think this was inpart due to a full english 2 hours prior to racing but more importantly getting some planning in place which meant I was ready to go and there for in better shape to run.

Sunday: Was a bit of a mixed bag as far as weather went, it looked good then bad then mediocor. it finally settled as perfect runnning weather except for the head wind. Whilst a shorter and flatter course, though we climbed 431m and desended 436m, none were as big as the first climb on saturday so therefore its flatter, I continued to focus on consistancy and completed it in 1:20:58. I cannot deside whether this is good or bad yet, but it makes me smile that the times for two very different races were so close. The race it self skirts the Lake with a fairly messy technical wooded area where if the roots don’t break your ankel the rocks will, not that you’d know which was the culprit as all is covered in slimey leaves.

However, it was a beautiful day and it was just fun to be out in the wilds. 

Anyway next week its back to moaning about training and lack of consistency. 

see you all then

So i'm having a period........isation

Again I plan and again it's not all it is cracked up to be, however my year is now periodised. But before I witter on about that I shall let you know about last week and next weeks plans.

This week I have mostly been training and sticking to my plan, I know I was shocked too but whilst it was not 100% accurate I want to claim points for effort.
where it didn't go to plan:

• 1 x long run was cropped so I could go out with the Girl.
• 1 x brick session, it was late and I was hungry.
• 1x swim got shortened. no real reason just lazy (ooops)
• sadly the cafe ride got knocked on the head, I cannot remember why but it was a good reason.

Next week (though in the spirit of being transparent, it is this week as I am late writing again):

• Spin and meta fit on Monday
• Tuesday I have a hill set with Mark (I will talk about Mark another day)
• Wednesday, I am going to try out the whole swimming before work thing (short endurance set)
• Thursday again to the pool but this time for speed.
• Friday a nice little rest
• Saturday and Sunday will be filled with the last two races of the season.

All of this sounds like a very good plan and as it is a lightweight week I am optimistic of a 50% compliance rate.

More importantly this week marks the end of the race season for me, this threw up a issue of did i take November off or learn from last year and work through November and take December off instead? I have learnt and grown as a person and so am going to stay focused in November then relax it down for christmas and then dive in again come the new year. 

The very nice people at EPOC training have come up with an ATP for this year which is going to provide the basis for my year. As you'd expect its base and build then a two week peak to Ironman Norway (70.4) then a short base and build again to Peak again for Ironman Maryland.

For the initial period it works out at 6 training sessions a week, 2 x run, 2 x swim and guess what 2 x rides.  All sports get one endurance set and one speed initially and work out at between 8 and 14 hours a week. so this could signal the end of my life. Add to this the Girl has demanded that we have a date night once a week.

Whilst its still early in the year, 4 weeks to be exact, I am feeling pretty optimistic and seeing how the weeks are panning out  is helping. One thing that keeps getting organised is the fuelling for the event, I really do need to choose a Gel brand that I can take and get used to it and also look at what I am going to do about real food for the ride (I find it better than gels). but a bit of reading and shopping about will sort this. What I am thinking is by a couple of each brand and use them for trainig during the base then choose and stick to that one.

All in all a good week but on to bigger and better things next/this week.

Wish me luck

My lack of consistency is the only constant.

Dear god, I swear it gets worse...... I know that I don't know all there is to know about training so I try to swat up and find out tip, trick and short cuts to get to the promised land and what I have learnt this week is that "consistency is King". Sadly this is not good news, as today's (it should have been yesterday's) title suggests this is not my strong point. I start with good intentions, my training is split evenly between the week,I plan my diet to be rich in good stuff and absent of all evil. By Tuesday i have missed a target, eaten cake (not on a ride either) and basically its all gone to hell.

What has inspired this rant I hear you call out, well for once it is not all my fault, well it is as if I had punched him in the face I could have done my session as planned. On Friday evening I went for a swim, 4x500m at about 2min/100m nice and simple and not stupidly fast. sadly we went early so the pool was 1/2 closed so kids could learn to swim (this is good for the child bad for my blood pressure). so there is only two lanes open, one for slow swimmers and one it appears for very slow swimmers. I went for the emptier lane 5 instead of 7 so ended up behind a guy who could not have swum out side for fear of harpooning (still a little grumpy) he is cruising up and down and so I go to pass and with someone coming towards me I drop in just in front of him on the heels of some other slow swimmer. This upsets him so to show his displeasure he tries to punch me in the chest, arm lock me as we pass and generally get in the way. I am then left with two or three choices, 1) punch him back, 2)explain to him calmly and rationally that this is silly and to pack it in or 3)get out of the pool as 1 and 2 are really not going to work well. So out I get and stomp off for a steam and a soak.
I know, I know, I shouldn't let little things like this worry me, I should just focus on my thing and let the rest wash over me but I really would have liked to hit him. But back to the point, this week has felt, like a few recently, that things are trying to conspire against me and that this goal is a long way off. However, the goal is a long way off, I should break it down a bit and not focus on the big goal yet but the steps I need to take to get there. So this is the plan for the next week, i will look at the build phase and the weight loss now,  plan from now till Christmas and see where we are come the new year for phase 2.

As promised a review of last weeks training. some good sessions and some weaker ones but it all helps and even on the weaker ones there is positives, I felt good on the swims (except the desire to kill) and whilst the rides weren't super fast or far they were fun and got me more miles in the legs.
This week I did:

• 2 Rides
• 2 Swims
• 1 Run
• 1 Weights
• 1 Core

Next week I shall:

• 3 Runs
• 2 Swims
• 2 Rides
• 1 Cross train
• 1 Core
• 1 Brick

Well best go for a run..... see you next time (I'll be late)

If I did it, I blog it?

So, I have been thinking about how best to use this whole glorious blogging thing and I suppose what I want to get out of it. I think I can rule out some narcissistic desire to be loved and worshipped as I kind of hope no one reads this. A book deal might be nice but I am not holding out much hope of that so I think the main aim is to focus my training and weight loss/body shape goals, as once its on the web I think its therefore ever.

So this being said the aim is:

1. post my weekly training plan and review the last weeks
2. Post my weekly sunday weigh in..... this maybe depressing.
3. Post race review (see previous blogs)
4. fairly evaluate how this journey to Ironman greatness is going.
5. Rant about stuff that may or may not have anything to do with this journey (in a reflective and productive way)

I also have a cunning plan to link my Strava/Training peaks accounts here so you can see them, though I don't know how yet so that is a work in progress.

So here we go

This weeks training

• 1x core/stretching session
• 2x Runs
• 1 x cross train
• 1x 25k bike ride
• also rode to and from work 8 times (can I count this as training?)

Ooops, this weeks training was a bit hit and miss. I was planning to get some serious time in the pool in but as normal that got dropped. its not my fault I have less desire to swim than a brick but there we go, I must sort this out. Got two runs in but were both a little slow and unfocused. The cross train session was good and brought out some good results both physically and mentally so I'm happy with that. The commute to work was cold and wet but it all adds up I guess.

Weight and Fat

• 95.4kg
• 23.2% fat

Plan for the week

• 1x core/stretch
• 1x weights
• 2x runs
• 2x swims
• 2x Bike
• lots of commuting

I shall now rant (I promised I would), the topic shall be night shifts. I have a feeling that this will be a topic I return to from time to time (mostly after nights), for this reason I will set out my case nice and early and I hope clearly.

I HATE NIGHTS!!

I hate everything about them and what they stand for. the reason for this is the way in which they just take everything out of me, both physically and emotionally. After a night at work I feel sluggish and drained of any motivation. Added to this I eat nothing but crap during the week so it adds to the whole nights = bad view as I normally bang on a KG or two. All of this means that they have a negative impact on my goal to become an ironman and strike fear into other racers.

If I was to be in a more reflective and self critical mood, I would maybe say that nights bring out the worst in me. I mean this in that I am not the most proactive triathlete when it comes to training at the best of times and the way in which nights affect me makes this a whole lot worse, a perfect recipe for missing swimming sessions for example.

I spoke to the boss (via email) asking if there was any chance of being provided a more regular shift pattern (Monday to Friday 9-5 was not likely but more earlies might be good and less nights better). I have no idea if this will happen, if it does then my excuse for my ½ arsed training will be gone so it will be time to crack on…….

Now on to the hoovering.

Time to pay the Piper

Ok, the money is gone and I am all good to go. I paid for the 70.4 and the 140 today. was actually a little worried when i clicked send as it all became a little more real and since there is no refunds i am kind of really commited now.

Planning remains the focus of the day and Lizzy and I spent some time this evening before work looking at the best way to get in everything we want to do next year. Our two options were 1 to make the year about 2 months longer or to try to ration what we do, since neither of these are realistic i guess we are just going to be busy.

I think that i will need to really keep in mind that there is a balance to be struck between training and having a life, and i suppose keeping lizzy happy too. We have blocked out holidays and training blocks etc and penned in key events for next year that i am not allowed to miss and have put in big letters the three weeks away after Maryland  so that is looking good.

so far training has been a little low key, one session a day with the odd day missed, i am riding to work daily which is good (though not very far) and its noce to beable to relax a little though with two races still to go, Helvellyn and Ulswater i mustn’t get to complacent. 

My aim for the last races dependant on distance is to have fun on Helvellyn and then try to end on a big high with a good result at Ulswater. I think a good result would be average pace of about 5-5:15/km so close to an hour though i think ulswater is about 12km so maybe a little over.

With those two in the bag i plan to finish the year with a little bit of weights and then take December off from training and just relax and really plan the early build session for 2015 and of course i shall share the plans here with you all 1st.

see you next time

I said I would so review I shall.

Note to self (and anyone reading), I said I would be positive about my achievements or some such nonsense, if I don’t sound super stoked about some part of the event, can we all just assume that I am being positive really?

Race 1:

Challenge Weymouth (the 1/2 version)

Times:

• Total - 6:21:25
• Swim - 48:27
• T1 - 06:15
• Bike -  3:16:29
• T2 - 02.24
• Run - 2:07:48

The Swim from hell.

Well, I think that really says all I want to say about the swim. It was bloody horrendous and just plain unpleasant. I have never swum in the sea for a race and have to admit I was kind of looking forward to it, just for the experience if nothing else, However the swell was unto 3-4 foot at times and sighting was a killer. In the end I was just happy to get out in one piece and be able to make amends on the bike. On a more positive note, my time was the same as last years and considering the  conditions I think that I count that as a win. It’s also important to note that it’s not just me saying that it was a rough swim, the Pros we not fans either, here is Nikki Bartlett's view of the swim.

So what did I learn? I need to look at what i am swimming in Lake, Sea, pool etc and make sure i have trained in it. i need to work on my sighting and finally i did to much breaststroke in this race and with a pace of 2.21/100m i really should have done better.

The ride

So the bike is where i saw the biggest improvement, not only was i quicker over all but i came off it feeling good. the ride it self was rolling with a few short sharp hills but noting that would offend. i kept and average speed of 27kph and cadence of 72rpm both of which are OK. i was hopping to average about 30kph but this was within my target range (2-2.15/km) so all was well.

Had a bit of fun racing a guy on a nice TT bike with a big ol’ disk on the back, he spanked me on the flats and descending ( i have to admit i’m a little upset about that but when it came to the climbs i out red him each time.

The main lessons from the bike were 1) get a TT bike, though avoid a big disk. 2)i work better at climbing out of the seat and attacking the climbs. in previous rides i have tried to get up the hills in a steady way, i think from now on i will just attack them and recover on the flat or descent. 3) i know i can go faster here.

The run

it was a flat and fast course so there is no excuse for a 2hour + run. I think I can go faster but i need to look at my tactics more and come up with a better fuelling plan as i seemed to struggle (this will include the bike leg as well). It was nice to come off the bike feeling good, which is a reflection of the training i have done looking at putting some serious suffering into the legs and still working.

So all in all what have i learnt in school today?

1. I did well, an hour and 20 knocked off heaver is a good day at the office
2. I need more structure to my training if i am subbing 6 hours and completing the big one.
3. Weight will make the difference
4. Physically i am in good shape so i need to maintain and build over the off season
5. Mentally i am feeling really strong and this is going to be key for next year.

Race 2

Lakeland Trails: Coniston 15km Challenge Just a quick look shows the climbing

Time - 1:26

It’s a nice route, starting at the old hall then a cinder path to a short road section. this is where is gets fun, there is about 4km of solid climbing to start this route. it does mean that negative splits are a given but it does take it out of you. once at the highest point there is a rolling section before you come back to the lake for the last 2km.

Ok, so I was feeling good and set off at a good pace (sub 5min/mile) i think that this turned out to be to fast or at least would hurt me later, i climbed well to the summit, bit of walking but only on the steepest points and this was planned rather than from suffering to much. once i hit the top things started to go wrong, i had totally fucked the fuelling up. once slice of toast is not enough to run a 15km on no matter how much reserve you have and so as the race progressed  really felt that i was dropping both the pace and the drive. the bit that worried me the most was the lack of kick when people past me on the final 2k, i normally would have tried to stick with them and fight for the places but i just couldn’t kick this time. Again i think this is due to the lack of food but a bit worrying that i lost energy and drive.

All in all two good races with a lot learnt form both. only two more to go this year before i get a break and then i have to hit the ground running (and swimming/biking)

Part II It's a cunning plan.........

As I may or may not have said last time, part of the reason for this blog is to crystallise my planning more than i have recently (past few years). with this in mind i first need to set some goals; my goals are pretty simple to start with then once you get into it they kind of become quite complex and multifaceted. Initially my goal is to complete an Ironman Triathlon by the end of 2015 (that would be next year as i write). that is all well and good but its not like signing up for a 10k jog round york. this is going to be messy. So to complete said race I need to train, fuel & generally give up on having a life outside of work or training for the next year or so.

My planning starts with looking at what time i have between now and then, basically I have a full year to get ready. My plan for the up coming year sees 2014-15 decided into a few blocks each with their own goals October 2014  to January 2015 is off season, February to April is prep, April to July is training for the 70.4 then august to October if focused solely on the big 140.6

I will go into the other parts of the year when i have a better idea of what i want to achieve and what the plan is looking like, i do however have a plan for the off season already in place with a few goals and ideas of what i want to achieve.

So Off season:

• Get weight & fat % to acceptable levels for the main goal (10% and 85kg)
• get to 1:45/100m in the pool
• plan structure and training for 2015
• focus on the transition from bike to run (achieve a time on the run that reflects my running ability)
• work on flexibility for bike leg
• Focus on holistic training
• Get diet right

All sounds quite smile really. I also put in place some more general goals for the season

• Stay focused on the details (once big picture is sorted)
• Get to know my body
• Be positive about goals and achievements.
• reflect on races and events to learn from what i did right or wrong.

Finally around my big race I want to complete a couple of others for training or fine tuning specific skills etc, so race goals for the season:

• sprints - 2
• Olympic - 1
• 1/2 Iron -1 
• Ironman - 1

OK so I think that's is about it for the day. I will be putting up a couple of race reviews from October and November and also a look at Challenge Weymouth (1/2) to see where i am and what i need to do next.

Thanks for reading

So it begins.......

Ok, so I plan to rock the world of long course triathlon next year (2015) and people seem to think that writing about it for people to watch/read about is a useful training tool.
Lets be honest any help i can get is going to be good so here we go.............