Week 23

Week 23

Sometimes training is easy, it’s just some thing you do. The hardest bit is finding your running shoes and before you know it you’re out the door. Other times getting out the front door feels like the hardest thing in the world. This week was quite a bit of both.

This week I was mostly in Minnesota and was feeling pretty chuffed with myself last weekend for getting organised enough to complete my cycle and long run and doing it on the back of travelling. The week continued like that really. I get pretty bad jet lag and my sleep pattern never really recovers to normal. Usually I find this highly annoying, this time it worked for me because I was getting up at 5:30 to do my training all week. I love cycling in new places, you really get to explore, so I found some interesting places and really enjoyed it.

The running was fine too all week, there are some pretty nice lake routes near the hotel and a nature reserve too. I knew it’d be pretty tough, when away I always eat too much and when you go out for food you always have a drink or two, but every night I was done in by about 9:30pm and each morning I was out the door by 6am. By the time I travelled home I was feeling pretty smug with myself!

I was pretty confident I’d get out running on Saturday but when I sat down in the flat I was so tired it just wasn’t going to happen. I texted my training help friends (Nic and Viv) and they both suggested resting. Viv came up with a plan to do a 4hr ride on Sunday and tie it with a 1hr run. It sounded good to me. Sunday rolled around but before I could get going we had some allotment business to take care of, so combined with lunch I didn’t get out on the bike until 3pm. This made me grumpy and I really wasn’t feeling the ride at all. As is always the case when things are going badly they got a bit worse in the form of two punctures. Party because I ran out of inner tubes, partly because my heart wasn’t in it and partly because I arranged to go running with Viv at 7pm, I cut my ride to 3hrs 15. Grumpy grumpy grumpy.

The run with Viv was ace though, without company I probably wouldn’t have gone back out, with company it made it a really good run and time flew by. I’m a bit annoyed I cut my training short, but it’s a sign of my shifted expectations that a 4hr10 brick session is now a bad weekend! Many thanks to Viv for getting me through it!

This weekend has really shown how crazy this training now is, there is not a lot of time to fit in the things we do and it’s going to get worse over the next few weeks…. but really it is only the next few weeks. I have a half ironman a week on Sunday which is really my longest training day, then two more weeks of hard stuff before hitting my taper. Now I just need to hang onto the last few weeks of my plan and just keep going. It’s so close!

[table]Day,Type,Time,Details
Monday,Rest,,
Tuesday,Swim,0:30:00,#13
Tuesday,Running,1:15:00,Z1 to Z2
Wednesday,Cycling,0:45:00,Z2 (QC)
Wednesday,Running,0:30:00,Z2
Thursday,Swim,0:40:00,#14
Thursday,Cycling,1:15:00,Z2
Friday,Running,0:45:00,Z2
Sunday,Cycling,3:15:00,Z2 (QC)
Sunday,Running,0:55:00,Z1 to Z2[/table]

Week 22

Week 22

A few weeks ago I got told I needed to be in the US in may. I love coming over with work for lots of reasons, it makes my job simultaneously more interesting and more useful, I meet lots of new people and I get to spend time with friends and colleagues here. This time though, well this time I was t looking forward to it. Why?
Training….
Week 22 was busy. I had to fit around my regular training with travel which is not easy. Yeah, running is fine, but cycling? Swimming? And the general motivation to get stuff done changes when your away too. So much so I often think training whilst away counts double!
I’m pretty please then with how the week went. Friday was my travel day which meant I missed a day running (ahh sligh white lie, I missed it because I met up with a colleague to get the bike which I borrowed, which led to some beers), but I’m not beating myself up for missing one session on a 16 hour travel day! I had prepped pretty well for the bike ride before I left, I got a borrowed bike lined up (thanks Brian), I planned a ride and uploaded the course to my garmin. Saturday I pretty much just devoted to the ride and a swim. The ride took in some really lovely Minnesotan countryside – I don’t have many pictures do to the other main feature of the day – the 45kph wind which was a constant companion. It was a nice ride out though, I got to see places that very few people would get to see on their travels and got to ride a pretty nice bike too. Loved it!
I ran a 15.5 mile run on the Sunday too. If training whilst away counts double, then training on your birthday counts extra too, with being done by 9am thanks to jet lag counting extra still I treated myself to the prize when I got back – a huge breakfast!
To complete the set even further I walked about 11 miles on Sunday afternoon, so I covered over a marathon on my feet on my birthday 🙂
A couple of weeks ago I thought that last week, this week and next week would be critical to my training, if I could get through those with everything I have going on, I’d be all set. Well, it’s happening.
Week 21

Week 21

Phew, what a week. Last week I talked about how tired I was and I was pretty worried about where my training would go this week. Turns out, I had a pretty fun week.

My mid week sessions all went to plan really, but due to some other commitments I couldn’t make all my swim sessions. I still hit all the other sessions and didn’t find them as hard as the previous week, my turbo session especially went very quickly, which is a huge positive. I knew the coming three weeks would be challenging, not least because my training ramps up but because of general other stuff. Now that one of them is out of the way I feel much more positive!

llamas

My ace inspirational running friend Viv had recommended a race to me last year, the Saddleworth Cake Race. This is a brilliant idea – it’s a fell run but if you bring a cake you race for free. There are prizes not just for winning the race but also for the cakes too. Best of all, once you are done you get to eat as much cake as you like. I don’t know why all runs are not like this. The run itself was pretty fun, through some varied terrain across a couple of what felt like pretty big hills. I don’t have good fitting trail running shoes so finished with some pretty big blisters. I can now call myself a fell runner, which is getting added to my ‘fun stuff I’ve done for the first time in 2013′. Next item on that list – ‘Do an Ironman’.

On Sunday Viv and Jerry took me out cycling, it was actually the first time in all of my training that I’ve cycled with anyone else. It’s way more fun! Although their idea of an easy Sunday ride must be somewhat different to mine… it was probably the hardest ride I’ve done so far. It came in at about 60 miles but took in about 6000ft of climbing. The descents made it more than worthwhile though, having someone to follow gave me a huge lift, my thought process must have been something along the lines of ‘well if they haven’t fallen off, I’m not going to’. The route was all through the forest of bowland which is really very very beautiful, it seems especially built for cycling too. I learnt some lessons too:

  • I need to carry more than one inner tube
  • I need to carry more than one CO2 can
  • I get very hungry, need more food

[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/activity_308389172.gpx”]

 

The distance is wrong in that summary, caused my taking the car to the start, it was around about 65 miles I guess.

I had my first puncture, caused by hitting a pot hole very hard at the bottom of a descent. It was very much an instant thing, the noise it made was pretty incredible.

neil bike

I was supposed to be organising an afternoon on the real ale trail with some friends but arrived late for that as the route we took was a little longer than planned, very much leaving a friend to sort it all out. I got quite a lot of grief on the trip for that bit of planning! So it’s been a very tiring but very fun week. Next week is going to be interesting too as my next long run and ride will take place in Minnesota, wish me luck!

 

The run down of what I did this week is:

[table]Day ,Type ,Time ,Details
Monday ,Rest ,,
Tuesday ,Swim ,0:45:00 ,#15
Tuesday ,Running ,1:15:00 ,Z2 (at 0:10, insert 3 x 6 min Z4 @ 2 min Jog)
Wednesday ,Cycling ,0:45:00 ,Z2 (QC)
Wednesday ,Running ,0:30:00 ,Z2
Thursday ,Running ,1:15:00 ,Z2 (at 1:00 insert 10 min Z4)
Friday ,Cycling ,1:30:00 ,Z2 (at 0:15, insert 4 x 7 min Z4 @ 4 min spin)
Saturday ,Running ,1:35:00 ,Z1 to Z2
Sunday ,Cycling ,5:00:00 ,Z2 (QC)[/table]

Week 20

Week 20

Grrr. I apologise in advance because this is one moany grumpy mardy post.

I’m knackered.

There, I’ve said it. I’m bloody, flipping knackered. This weekend, for the first time in 24 weeks, I missed my long run at the weekend. To tell the truth, I’m a little struggling for motivation right now. Week 19 was so good, maybe it had to happen. My mid-week sessions were ok, although I had to fight lazy Neil a little (as written about here). By Friday I just plain didn’t want to go out running which really doesn’t happen very often. I still did it, I still felt great afterwards, but before I just didn’t want to go. I spent way too long getting ready all the time thinking ‘I don’t want to, I’ll just skip this one’ then I moved to ‘well, I’ll just get going’ then ‘well, I’ll do 30 minutes’. I did the whole thing as usual once I get going I almost never stop. (Neil, remember this; the first step outside is the hardest of the whole run).

I really was looking forward to Saturday’s ride, I thought I’d do the same route as last week which was lovely. Well, this week it wasn’t so fun. I failed to take proper notice of the weather and despite feeling pretty cold after the first half hour thought I’d plough on and get warm. I didn’t. After getting into the hills, my favourite descent was a wind-and-rain-in-your-face-hands-freezing affair. I decided to pack it in. I usually love being on the bike but the ride back into Manchester having quit too early was horrid. Cold, wet, failed. Grrr. Imagine how I felt then when I got back up to the flat to realise I had forgotten my key, which was currently on the way to Prestwich. A 45 minute round trip away. A few choice words were involved.

We had a birthday party in the evening which was ace, but I had a few beers and was generally feeling pretty unwell. Maybe I came down with a bug or something, maybe I was just knackered (FYI, the party had a silent disco. Silent disco’s are incredible), whatever it was I just couldn’t get out on Sunday for the run. I made the decision early and stayed in bed a bit longer. I’m still annoyed I did this – if I’d just put my shoes on I’m sure I would have gone, but I didn’t.

The weekend was rounded off beautifully by the swim session. I was looking forward to it because a) it was the last one and b) we got to wear our wetsuits. Great! Or it would have been had I not busted the zip as I was putting it on. Grr. They had a couple of spares I could use so it wasn’t all bad it just means another expense and another bump up the grumpy Neil scale. As it was the last session I’m now a bit concerned about my swimming plus I’m going to miss my swim friends but I’m sure I’ll bump into them over the summer open water season. Or more likely, they’ll swim past me.

So here I am. Bit grumpy. Mostly knackered and feeling like the last 10 weeks of training feels like a lifetime.

And yet…

And yet, deep down, I’m still very very excited about the 7th July. Maybe more than ever. I have a really busy few weeks with work (which involves a week away) and I’m going to get through this period and storm the last few weeks. I knew it would get hard at some points and so far I’m really very lucky to have got so far without feeling worn out or injured.

This is just a phase; let’s call it mental toughness training.

…… although if you have any motivational tips I’d love to see them :)

 

As usual, the details are here, and the run down of what I did this week is:

[table]Day,Type,Time,Details
Monday,Rest, ,
Tuesday,Swim,0:40:00,#12
Tuesday,Running,1:00:00,Z2 (at 0:10, insert 4 x 4.5 min Z4 @ 1.5 min jog)
Wednesday,Cycling,0:45:00,Z2 (QC)
Wednesday,Running,0:30:00,Z2
Thursday,Cycling,1:30:00,Z2 (at 0:15, insert 8 x 4 min Z4 @ 2 min spin)
Friday,Running,1:15:00,Z2 (at 1:00, insert 10 min Z4)
Saturday,Cycling,3:40:00,Z2 (QC)
Sunday,Swim,2:00:00,Masters[/table]

The turbo session

The turbo session

It’s probably a little too early to start reminiscing about my training, but I wanted to remember what happens to me in a turbo session. I love being on the bike – outside, I do not like being on the bike inside. This is about the training session here. Here goes.

Today is my longest session on the turbo so far. I think from now they don’t increase in length anymore. They get more intense, but time wise this is the max. It’s 90 minutes long. Just 90 minutes training for something I really want to do, but it’s been playing on my mind all day. I have a late conference call and so can only get on at 6:45. I’m hungry, I’m really not in the mood. My legs are a little sore from yesterday, I’m trying to convince myself I don’t really have to do this. But jeez, I really do. My biking is not where I want it to be and if I miss this session well, next weeks just gets harder. Right then, faff around, get changed and get on.

Philippa helps a lot at this point, she’s watching tv in the front room with me and literally in the second minute she says ‘you’re doing really well’. I don’t feel like I’m doing well, my thighs are burning already. I know from experience as I warm up, this will go but right now another 88 minutes seems too hard.

7 minutes in, feeling a bit better. I look over to my plan on the chair next to me. For this ride after 15 minutes I have to ride hard for 4 minutes and have a 2 minutes rest, which I’ll repeat 8 times. Riding hard is well into that ‘aaaargh my legs burn!’ Zone. It’s not a fun place to be but the intervals do make the time go faster.

Pilla tells me she’s proud of me and that there isn’t long to go.

15 minutes, I ride hard. It hurts. Breathing hard by the end of it and the sweating is literally pouring off me. I can’t do another 7 of those. 2 minutes rest, feeling ok, lets just get the next 4 minutes done. After this one I’ll be a quarter of the way there on the intervals.

As much as I want to ‘be in the moment’ and I enjoy what I’m doing I spend most of the time looking at my garmin. 20 minutes down, 70 to go. The intervals come and go, I get to 4. Halfway. I have a towel but it’s drenched. There’s a puddle on the floor.

Another interval. Legs burn. 2 minutes of gentle spinning to recover. 5 down, for the first time I think I’m going to complete this interval set, then I know there only 29 minutes of cool down cycling after it. Ace! Pilla is now telling me frequently how well I’m doing. It helps, but I don’t say much if she says it during the intervals, I feel like if I stop concentrating I’ll stop.

Why don’t I stop? I could just get off bike. I could literally just stop pedalling and this would be over. I know I’ll beat myself up if I do, let’s just get this done. I only get the chocolate milk at the end if I finish the session properly.

Into the last interval, quite enjoying the discomfort now that I know it’s my last one of the night, get this done then its just 29 minutes of regular cycling. I get it done.

Pilla tells me I’m doing well. Again.

I’m drenched, not long left, two thirds of the distance done. Why do I keep breaking everything up into segments? Doesn’t matter, just keep going. 18 minutes left, 80% done. 10 minutes, Pilla does a little ‘well done dance’. Love it, love her. 5 minutes, 4, 3, 120 seconds, 90 seconds less than a minute. Done.

Pilla cheers.

Sit on the bike for a minute. Feel awesome. Bring on tomorrow!

Week 19

Week 19

I’m writing this while absolutely knackered, but it’s been such a fun weekend of training. The plan I’m following seems to have a real knack for making me feel like I cannot do any more right at the point I hit my rest day.

Why has it been fun? Well I had a lovely ride out on Saturday morning through the peak district. I decided to push a little further than the plan suggested and went on a 4 and a half hour bike ride. I also decided it was time to hit the hills again which is pretty much my favourite, despite the fact I get pretty frightened on the descents and the ascents are leg burning. As I write that, neither of those sound fun but for some reason I love them! My favourite ascents are the long, less steep ones and my least favourite are the super steep ones, handily this ride had both, including one I had to get off and walk up last time. On Saturday there was no stopping me!

I was supposed to go on a 45 minute run after but my legs were burning so I decided not to push it. I’m following the ‘competitive’ plan in the book I got, but in reality with the missed sessions it’s really more like the intermediate plan. I’m really ok with that. For my first (or last) ironman it would be rude to try and win the thing 😉

[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/activity_300419082.gpx”]

 

On Sunday I got up to watch the start of the London Marathon. I’ve mentioned it before but last year was a bit of a shocker for me and I’ve beaten myself up over it since. Sunday was really the first day since that I just got really excited about it. It’s a ridiculous race, the crowd is something else. One of my friends told me on Friday that she signed up at least partly because of me banging on about how amazing the support was, so I spent a lot of Sunday checking how she, and a few others runners I knew, were doing (more on that later).

A little inspired by that, I pushed my planned run a little longer and went for a half marathon distance. Despite the fact my legs were, shall we say, a little tender from the ride the day before, I got round in a pretty relaxed 1:46 and really enjoyed it. It was a nice day, in fact I think it might have been my first run minus a base layer-to me that equals one thing – less washing!

I finally figured out how to do a graph with pace, so I cross referenced it with my weekly running miles (this is my total miles against my average pace for all runs):

 

 

Several things collided to make me sign up for this event-one of my friends signing up, reading a couple of books, one of my colleagues (the Iron Colleague!) doing a few of them. The first book I read about it was by Chrissie Wellington. Actually it didn’t so much inspire me at the time, some of her accounts are pretty graphic but over time it started to get to me. I only mention this because the aforementioned friend, Viv, managed to bump into Chrissie at the VLM expo resulting in one of my favourite pictures ever (Viv playing it cool, Chrissie being over-excited):

VivChrissie

Not only that but I think Viv managed to tell her that her book had got at least two of her friends into these ridiculous Ironman events (although Viv herself has had a large part in that too). If you follow me on Twitter I got a bit excited tracking Viv round the course on Sunday morning. It really was the first time my memories of the day shifted from ‘urgh what a let-down I was’ to ‘wow, I did this last year and it was amazing’. The only slight issue was the number of times Pilla had to say ‘don’t cry Neil, don’t cry’. I get pretty emotional with sports now for some reason, god knows what I’ll be like in July. Viv absolutely smashed it with a 3:01, but I really wanted to hear that she’d enjoyed it so when I got a text saying she thought it was amazing it was honestly like a weight I’ve had for 12 months was lifted. As crazy as it sounds, I was on a bigger high yesterday than when I did it!

This must have followed through into my swimming because for some reason on Sunday night everything clicked into place. I felt really strong swimming, to the point where I had to keep moving up in my lane. We did a set near the end that went:

  • timed 400m
  • halve the time and beat it at 200m
  • halve the time and beat it at 100m
  • beat it at 100m again
  • halve it and beat it at 50m but in pairs, racing
  • 50m race again

By the time we got to the 100m I was at the front of the group, hitting the times and winning my races. I get pretty competitive so loved this approach! I’m not sure if it was the extra lesson, the video, doing some extra sessions but whatever it is, I’m definitely faster and I feel a lot better in the water. Bring on July!

This post is dedicated to the number of titles Man Utd have currently won as I write it. Next weeks will be dedicated to the same! This is my training this week. As usual, the other details are here.

[table]Day,Type,Time,Details
Monday,Rest,,
Tuesday,Swim,0:40:00,#10
Tuesday,Running,1:00:00,”Z2 (at 0:10, insert 4 x 4.5 min Z4 @ 1.5 min jog)”
Wednesday,Cycling,0:45:00,Z2 (QC)
Wednesday,Running,0:30:00,Z2
Thursday,Cycling,1:15:00,”Z2 (at 0:10, insert 6 x 5 min Z4 @ 3 min Spin)”
Friday,Running,1:15:00,”Z2 (at 1:00, insert 10 min Z4)”
Saturday,Cycling,4:30:00,Z2 (QC)
Sunday,Running,1:45:00,Z1 to Z2
Sunday,Swim,2:00:00,Masters[/table]

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