Since the week commencing Monday 21st March, my “ideal”
training schedule, as outlined last week, has been “disrupted” by trips to
Northern Ireland and Belgium. Admittedly, these trips were by choice, as
opposed to various business trips I have been on this year. I did manage to get
some good, tough training done on the hills and beaches of northern Northern Ireland,
and the sole purpose of going to Belgium was to ride almost 100 miles. Both
were good trips, but at the end of last week I had been “looking forward to”
what I thought would be a few uninterrupted weeks of training. I also hope to resume blogging on a Sunday evening - this has been disrupted by circumstance over the past few weeks as well.
The ideal training schedule I have put together for myself is as good a balance as I can strike between tough training and adequate recovery, and between balancing tough days with easier days, while also giving myself enough time to do the essentials like working, cooking, eating, cleaning and sleeping. It really is a rigorously-managed schedule. If anything happens to disrupt this schedule, then it has a knock-on effect for days and even weeks to come. The Tour of Flanders was two weeks ago and it’s only today that I have managed to get everything back on track in the aftermath. A gel that I was carrying in my frame pouch in Flanders leaked all over my bike and dripped down onto my shoes. These gels, if they leak and get onto anything, are like superglue. My bike and shoes were a sticky mess. Steve, my housemate and an absolute hero, cleaned my bike last week when he was cleaning his, but my shoes had been sitting glued to the inside of a plastic bag for the past two weeks and it’s only this weekend that I’ve found a free half hour to clean them. I’ve also had a backlog of washing and dishes to do. It’s not an exaggeration when I say “I have no time.”
Totals: Swim 7.2km, Bike 160 miles, Run 28 miles
The ideal training schedule I have put together for myself is as good a balance as I can strike between tough training and adequate recovery, and between balancing tough days with easier days, while also giving myself enough time to do the essentials like working, cooking, eating, cleaning and sleeping. It really is a rigorously-managed schedule. If anything happens to disrupt this schedule, then it has a knock-on effect for days and even weeks to come. The Tour of Flanders was two weeks ago and it’s only today that I have managed to get everything back on track in the aftermath. A gel that I was carrying in my frame pouch in Flanders leaked all over my bike and dripped down onto my shoes. These gels, if they leak and get onto anything, are like superglue. My bike and shoes were a sticky mess. Steve, my housemate and an absolute hero, cleaned my bike last week when he was cleaning his, but my shoes had been sitting glued to the inside of a plastic bag for the past two weeks and it’s only this weekend that I’ve found a free half hour to clean them. I’ve also had a backlog of washing and dishes to do. It’s not an exaggeration when I say “I have no time.”
A successful, fun Friday night:
Food for a few nights made, dishes done
Food for a few nights made, dishes done
Anyway, my thoughts of a solid, uninterrupted, “ideal” block
of a couple of weeks of training were ruined before the block had even started,
with a seriously short-notice work trip, a hastily arranged osteopath
appointment, and the swimming pools’ opening hours being curtailed by the
Easter weekend. Fortunately the work trip was only a day trip to the Midlands, but it
necessitated getting up 45 minutes earlier, forcing myself to take the disgusting
underground (no choice really), getting home late, and still fitting in some
training. When I went to the osteopath, I went through the usual London
rigmarole of a 30 minute appointment taking almost 3 hours inclusive of travel
and waiting time. These, combined with the swimming pool opening hours being restricted,
meant there was nothing else for it but to make the best of it and rearrange my
training week.
I did a tough run on Saturday, an 80 minute continuous effort, which took in 10 laps of approximately a mile in the local park. Slightly more than half a mile of this lap was uphill, and it was these uphill sections that I really pushed hard on, almost flat-out. By the end of this run, I was seriously fatigued. I had already swam a fast 4km in the pool a few hours before this run, and I knew that the following day would be a long, tough bike followed by an easy 4-5 mile run.
Usually at the weekend, I would do my long bike on the Saturday, followed by a swim and my long run on the Sunday. This is because I find it easier to recover from a long bike than a long run, and in doing the long run on Sunday, I know that I have the Monday off, with no training, which maximises my recovery time. However, the forced re-jig of my training week meant I did my long run on Saturday, followed by a long bike on the Sunday. Another osteopath appointment next Tuesday means I won’t have the Monday off either and I’ll have to train, so I am very much looking forward to my delayed rest day on Wednesday.
This week, as always, I’ve been as careful as I can to recover as well as possible, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a training session. My post-training routine involves the following: Finish training. Do a short easy jog. Lie down with legs elevated to drain the lactic acid. Eat a banana, spinach and have a milk/protein drink. Stretch gently. Take a shower with “cold water treatment”, spraying my legs alternatively with cold and hot water. Eat my dinner and dietary supplements. Go to bed. All this recovery takes effort, but it seems to work better than coming back and flopping in front of the TV in a depleted state, not eating or eating poorly, and getting cold. I believe that what you do in the 30 minutes immediately after training has a big impact on how well you recover, and therefore how well you will ultimately perform.
I did a tough run on Saturday, an 80 minute continuous effort, which took in 10 laps of approximately a mile in the local park. Slightly more than half a mile of this lap was uphill, and it was these uphill sections that I really pushed hard on, almost flat-out. By the end of this run, I was seriously fatigued. I had already swam a fast 4km in the pool a few hours before this run, and I knew that the following day would be a long, tough bike followed by an easy 4-5 mile run.
Usually at the weekend, I would do my long bike on the Saturday, followed by a swim and my long run on the Sunday. This is because I find it easier to recover from a long bike than a long run, and in doing the long run on Sunday, I know that I have the Monday off, with no training, which maximises my recovery time. However, the forced re-jig of my training week meant I did my long run on Saturday, followed by a long bike on the Sunday. Another osteopath appointment next Tuesday means I won’t have the Monday off either and I’ll have to train, so I am very much looking forward to my delayed rest day on Wednesday.
This week, as always, I’ve been as careful as I can to recover as well as possible, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a training session. My post-training routine involves the following: Finish training. Do a short easy jog. Lie down with legs elevated to drain the lactic acid. Eat a banana, spinach and have a milk/protein drink. Stretch gently. Take a shower with “cold water treatment”, spraying my legs alternatively with cold and hot water. Eat my dinner and dietary supplements. Go to bed. All this recovery takes effort, but it seems to work better than coming back and flopping in front of the TV in a depleted state, not eating or eating poorly, and getting cold. I believe that what you do in the 30 minutes immediately after training has a big impact on how well you recover, and therefore how well you will ultimately perform.
The aftermath of a tough turbo session
Another couple of running-associated challenges that were
evident, particularly on Saturday in the park, are as follows: one is that I
try to do all my hard running on a soft surface, ideally smooth, non-bumpy
grass. This is because running on grass, or even trails, take less of a toll on
my body and I find it easier to recover. Running frequently on a hard surface like
pavement risks injury, and I’ve done enough tough sessions on the
road/pavements, and had enough injuries, to know that (for me anyway), frequent
hard road running will ultimately lead to injury.
However, running off-road also has its risks. Particularly with my biomechanics, and the angle at which my foot strikes the ground, I am more prone than most to rolling my ankle if I hit a bump. In my final year at university, the week before a trip to Aberdeen to have a crack at winning the Garioch 10K for the 3rd time in a row, I was out on a training run. I ran over an innocuous-looking section of grass and rolled my ankle. I thought I had broken it and went to hospital, my foot hanging at a horrifically unnatural angle. Following an X-ray I was told it was a bad sprain. I’d say it was worse than a bad sprain, it was a horrific sprain: my entire foot turned black and swelled up to twice its normal size. It took about a year before I could run normally again and not feel any pain.
So, for this reason, I am always reluctant to run off road, but I’m also reluctant to run on-road too as the last thing I can afford is an injury. So, without neglecting my running completely, I try to do my running training so that I’ll get maximum returns for minimal input and I only run hard once a week. I trust that cycling fitness will transfer, and I’ve learned that it does. I’ve learned to look at the bigger picture, and have realised that training for an Ironman marathon is very different to training for a standalone marathon. I also make sure that my running shoes aren’t too worn-out, to ensure they provide adequate cushioning.
Another running-related challenge is dealing with dogs that aren’t on leads. There aren’t many dogs about when I’m running on the roads/pavements, but in the parks they are seemingly in almost unlimited supply. In my opinion, any dog in a park should be on a lead, but unfortunately, more often than not, dogs in parks are running free. It scares the life out of me when I’m out running and a dog bounds after me, barking and leaping up with teeth bared. It really antagonises me when the owner shouts after the dog, or shouts to me that their barking, snarling, frantic dog won’t touch me. My strategy for dealing with this is to yell at the dog (which sometimes startles it enough to make it slink off with its tail between its legs), and tell the owner that their dog should be on a lead. More often than not, the owners get ratty, as if it’s somehow my fault that their dog is out of control. My strategy for dealing with this is not to lower myself to their level and not to get ratty, but to tell them that they are really irresponsible. Usually, one of two things happens here: either they’ll get even more ratty and I will run on, or they will be stunned into silence. Either way, I hope it makes them think.
I’m fast moving into racing season, with my first event of the year in four weeks. I’ve been thinking hard about how to find non-training gains, particularly with my equipment. However, I don’t have an infinite budget. I think two of the best ways I can improve my bike speed are to buy a proper aerodynamic, skin-tight top, and to remove all the bottle cages from the frame of my bike, relying instead on my aero bottle mounted between the aero bars, and also on my two bottle cages mounted behind my saddle. Both of these will clean up the airflow and hopefully save me some time. I’m currently deciding between the following three tops: the Adidas Adistar top, the Castelli Stealth top and the Fusion Speed top, as shown below:
However, running off-road also has its risks. Particularly with my biomechanics, and the angle at which my foot strikes the ground, I am more prone than most to rolling my ankle if I hit a bump. In my final year at university, the week before a trip to Aberdeen to have a crack at winning the Garioch 10K for the 3rd time in a row, I was out on a training run. I ran over an innocuous-looking section of grass and rolled my ankle. I thought I had broken it and went to hospital, my foot hanging at a horrifically unnatural angle. Following an X-ray I was told it was a bad sprain. I’d say it was worse than a bad sprain, it was a horrific sprain: my entire foot turned black and swelled up to twice its normal size. It took about a year before I could run normally again and not feel any pain.
So, for this reason, I am always reluctant to run off road, but I’m also reluctant to run on-road too as the last thing I can afford is an injury. So, without neglecting my running completely, I try to do my running training so that I’ll get maximum returns for minimal input and I only run hard once a week. I trust that cycling fitness will transfer, and I’ve learned that it does. I’ve learned to look at the bigger picture, and have realised that training for an Ironman marathon is very different to training for a standalone marathon. I also make sure that my running shoes aren’t too worn-out, to ensure they provide adequate cushioning.
Another running-related challenge is dealing with dogs that aren’t on leads. There aren’t many dogs about when I’m running on the roads/pavements, but in the parks they are seemingly in almost unlimited supply. In my opinion, any dog in a park should be on a lead, but unfortunately, more often than not, dogs in parks are running free. It scares the life out of me when I’m out running and a dog bounds after me, barking and leaping up with teeth bared. It really antagonises me when the owner shouts after the dog, or shouts to me that their barking, snarling, frantic dog won’t touch me. My strategy for dealing with this is to yell at the dog (which sometimes startles it enough to make it slink off with its tail between its legs), and tell the owner that their dog should be on a lead. More often than not, the owners get ratty, as if it’s somehow my fault that their dog is out of control. My strategy for dealing with this is not to lower myself to their level and not to get ratty, but to tell them that they are really irresponsible. Usually, one of two things happens here: either they’ll get even more ratty and I will run on, or they will be stunned into silence. Either way, I hope it makes them think.
I’m fast moving into racing season, with my first event of the year in four weeks. I’ve been thinking hard about how to find non-training gains, particularly with my equipment. However, I don’t have an infinite budget. I think two of the best ways I can improve my bike speed are to buy a proper aerodynamic, skin-tight top, and to remove all the bottle cages from the frame of my bike, relying instead on my aero bottle mounted between the aero bars, and also on my two bottle cages mounted behind my saddle. Both of these will clean up the airflow and hopefully save me some time. I’m currently deciding between the following three tops: the Adidas Adistar top, the Castelli Stealth top and the Fusion Speed top, as shown below:
I will probably buy all three of them, in different sizes,
via mail order, try them on and compare them, choose the best one, and return
all the others. A full-length zip is almost essential because I don’t wear my
top under my wetsuit. Instead, I put it on in the first transition area, and this is
much easier to do with a full-length zip. Also, I can have the top's rear pockets filled with
gels and energy bars, which wouldn’t be possible if I was swimming with it on.
It’s also essential that the rear pockets are big and roomy. I prefer tops with
shoulder covering and longer sleeves because it’s possible to get very
sunburned or very cold when doing an Ironman in a triathlon vest.
I’m also looking at buying a Garmin cycle computer with a heart rate monitor, which will remove the airflow-spoiling sensors from my front fork and wheel, and will also give me some good heart rate data to work with for Ironman race day. It’ll also allow me to go and do some of the climbs in Kent, Surrey, Northern Ireland and hopefully the French Alps as well, and upload my data to Strava, so I’ll get an idea of where my bike performance is relative to others. I gather that Strava gets quite competitive...
To get me through to race day in July I also need two new pairs of swimming goggles, a new pair of swimming shorts, new cycling shorts, new swimming earplugs, new tyres, two new chains, an endless supply of energy gels, bars and electrolyte tablets, lots of earplugs for sleeping, and three new pairs of running shoes. Ideally I’d also like to buy a disc wheel, a power meter, a new aero helmet, new pedals and a new wetsuit, but lines have to be drawn somewhere…
Despite the challenges of this week, I’m pleased to have adapted and I have got through it. I’ve managed to get the training done, and I’ve recorded some of my biggest mileages so far.
Training done this week was as follows:
Monday 14th April 2014: 1:10 turbo (1 hour hard), 25 minute run
Tuesday 15th April 2014: 30 minute fartlek run
Wed 16th April 2014: 1:30 turbo (15 x 3 mins easy, 3 mins hard), 25 minute run
Thurs 17th April 2014: Swim 3.1km (300m normal, 600m paddles x 3), 1:10 turbo (single leg drills: 20 x 1min left, 1 min right, 1 min both)
Friday 18th April 2014: Rest
Saturday 19th April 2014: Swim 4.1km (16:40/km), 80 minute run (with 10 x 900m uphill: 3:05, 3:04, 3:00, 3:01, 3:01, 2:59, 3:01, 3:01, 2:58, 2:56)
Sunday 20th April 2014: 3:30 turbo, 30 min run
I’m also looking at buying a Garmin cycle computer with a heart rate monitor, which will remove the airflow-spoiling sensors from my front fork and wheel, and will also give me some good heart rate data to work with for Ironman race day. It’ll also allow me to go and do some of the climbs in Kent, Surrey, Northern Ireland and hopefully the French Alps as well, and upload my data to Strava, so I’ll get an idea of where my bike performance is relative to others. I gather that Strava gets quite competitive...
To get me through to race day in July I also need two new pairs of swimming goggles, a new pair of swimming shorts, new cycling shorts, new swimming earplugs, new tyres, two new chains, an endless supply of energy gels, bars and electrolyte tablets, lots of earplugs for sleeping, and three new pairs of running shoes. Ideally I’d also like to buy a disc wheel, a power meter, a new aero helmet, new pedals and a new wetsuit, but lines have to be drawn somewhere…
Despite the challenges of this week, I’m pleased to have adapted and I have got through it. I’ve managed to get the training done, and I’ve recorded some of my biggest mileages so far.
Training done this week was as follows:
Monday 14th April 2014: 1:10 turbo (1 hour hard), 25 minute run
Tuesday 15th April 2014: 30 minute fartlek run
Wed 16th April 2014: 1:30 turbo (15 x 3 mins easy, 3 mins hard), 25 minute run
Thurs 17th April 2014: Swim 3.1km (300m normal, 600m paddles x 3), 1:10 turbo (single leg drills: 20 x 1min left, 1 min right, 1 min both)
Friday 18th April 2014: Rest
Saturday 19th April 2014: Swim 4.1km (16:40/km), 80 minute run (with 10 x 900m uphill: 3:05, 3:04, 3:00, 3:01, 3:01, 2:59, 3:01, 3:01, 2:58, 2:56)
Sunday 20th April 2014: 3:30 turbo, 30 min run
Totals: Swim 7.2km, Bike 160 miles, Run 28 miles
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