Christmas Week

Hello Bloggers. Well, I am back home from Stoke. Overall, we had a good Christmas. Watching my daughters falling about whilst playing on the new Wii was most amusing! The mood was upbeat, despite Ron, Julie's Dad going into hospital a couple of days before Christmas for Chemotherapy. He is doing ok and has finished his first bout of the treatment. However, the worst bit is the body's reaction to the very powerful drugs and he has started to feel rough today. Julie has come home with me but will return to Stoke on Sunday to help raise her Dad's spirits.

I managed to get some training in whilst away; the highlight was a long ride with Jase Walkley. He took me on a very well known route across the peak District National Park and the famous Cat and Fiddle climb (named after the pub at the summit). There are numerous other climbs on the route, which is a shade under 60 miles I think. However, the Cat and Fiddle is by far the longest at 6 miles. It is steep in places but not outrageously so - BUT! the wind was blowing a hooly and it was smack in our faces for most of the climb. It made progress very slow and Jase registered that we hit 5mph at one point! I still enjoyed the ride immensely and so want to go and ride some big alpine routes now! After the first hour or so I felt quite strong. This is normal for me as it takes a while to get the aging legs working well!

The Tea Shop near the summit is REALLY nice! Turbo Man would just love it! I even sampled the home made cake (Turbo man will tell you that that is not like me!). Here are some pics of the lovely scenery and a smiley Jase (still smiling even grinding away on his 39/23 whilst I tootled along on my granny ring):

I have not managed much swimming as the pool here is closed for Christmas. But I had an excellent Swim Shack session on the 22 Dec. Boy, am I excited about swimming faster in 2009!

Must dash. More news soon!

Bad News

Hello Bloggers. A few days ago my family had some bad news. Julie's father has been diagnosed withe a very aggressive form of Leukaemia. Hence for the last few days I have been juggling trips between my home in Cambridgeshire and Stoke-on-Trent, where Julie's parents live. Today, Ron went into hospital to commence 6 weeks of chemotherapy - not a great Christmas present for him. It was hoped that he could keep his Christmas plans of coming to stay with us at Wyton and go into hospital in the new year; however, treatment was needed immediately.

Julie is up in Stoke at the moment and I will join her tomorrow. I have not got access to the internet in Stoke so there will be a few blank days in this blog. That said, Jase Walkley lives near Julie's parents and I plan to get some training completed with him. Maybe he will let me use his computer to blog. Anyway, training has taken a back seat for a while whilst we all try and support Ron - your prayers for his recovery would be most welcome, thank you.

On the training front, I did manage to squeeze my next Swimshack coaching session in today. It was a good one, and we took another big step into changing my swim stroke entirely. I now have a 2 month period to work on some key aspects. I am very pleased with the progress so far but I am now working on changing my arm recovery. Changing an established muscle memory can be harder than learning a new technique so I must focus hard on the drills and continue to limit my full stroke swimming. The quest for fishlike swimming continues!

I doubt that I will get a blog completed prior to Christmas; so, everyone out there have a very merry Christmas. Train hard and recover well. Can't wait for the 2009 race season to get going.

Do we Really Need Skin?

Training update: Completed conditioning session on Monday with Paul Fullalove. I enjoyed this session and it was nice to have company. I substituted tabata intervals after the squats for low cadence hill simulations on the turbo. This meant that the session was not quite as intense! With a cross country race on Wednesday ahead of me I didn't want to burn myself out . . . again! That said, I was very stiff and sore on Tuesday. Come Wednesday's cross country race I did not feel that much better. However, I have accepted that I will be arriving at the cross country races tired; hence I do not expect any great performances.




I ran with Nige Porter (fellow RAF Triathlete) for much of the race. Nige's running has improved immensely and he was going well on the hills. On the 3rd lap of 3 I put a dig in to try and catch Clive Wintrip ahead of me. By doing this I managed to drop Nige, but it won't be long before he is leaving me behind. I did catch Clive just before the finish line but I had to work for it!



When I had finished I felt a stinging sensation on my heel. Mmmmm, I thought. i may have a little blister there. Upon looking down, this is what I saw. . . .


So bloggers, do we really need skin?!

I managed to get my bike shoes on today but will I be able to run tomorrow?


I have my 5th swim session at swimshack on Monday. I am looking forward to this as my drills have been going really well. The anticipation of getting faster in the H2O is something that I have not really experienced before. Full report to follow.

Blown Legs and Mud

What was I saying in my last post about completing the turbo short intervals to assess my return to health? Oh dear! The session did not go well. When healthy a few weeks ago I completed the 4 x 6 mins efforts at 305W. I tried to do the same on Friday. The first set smarted but was ok. The second set my legs blew and i struggled to hold 270W. This is not good and I am obviously not firing on all cylinders. I attempted a 3rd set but the numbers were worse still, so I did not start the 4th set. I jumped off and went into my short run efforts that I normally do after the turbo. I took it easy to begin with but felt ok. I did 6 x 400m with 1 min recovery. The first rep was 1:28 and I gradually eased into the reps, getting faster with each one until I finished with 1:19. I am confused now; why was my bike so bad but run ok. It seems that the top end efforts are not possible at the moment.

Today I completed the St Ives CC club ride of about 65 miles. I felt ok but it was very muddy! I even managed to put a few digs in without blowing up. Oh well, mustn't get too hung up with this effort stuff - it is only December. I have my first cross country race on Wednesday in the Lincs Services League. I am not expecting much at this event as I intend to complete a full conditioning session either Monday or Tuesday.

Train well Bloggers

Blog Layout and Other Stuff

Does anyone know how I can embed a pdf file so bloggers can read it from my Blog? I am trying to create a link to Triangles, which is in PDF format. Try as I might I cannot sort this out. It seems that everything is web based.

So how is training going for me? I am feeling better but my training is indicating that I am not yet back to full strength. I completed my conditioning session last Tuesday and the turbo tabata intervals were much harder than pre-illness. I have some 6 min turbo efforts scheduled for tomorrow, so let's see if the strength is back! I have been building the effort intensity back slowly so I am hopeful of feeling 100% soon.

I managed to test my Endura lobster gloves out last Sunday on the Club ride. they were great. It was seriously cold with ice and frost everywhere. We still had a group of 18 heading out at 0900 on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, a couple of guys crashed on ice. The weather was warming up and that can make you think that all is ok. However, the shady parts on the road can hide some ice......wham! Down they went. They were ok but there was some bike damage - a broken rear mech meant that there had to be some chain shortening to create a single speed bike. I so hope that the roads are in a less slippy condition this Sunday!

Swimming is going very well. The balance drills feel very natural now and full stroke swimming feels smooooooooth! All I need to do is work on the swim fitness whilst not falling back into bad habits!! Easier said than done!!

Slowly Does It...

After more than 10 days mixing really light training with rest days, I am starting to feel better - still not firing on all cylinders but glad to be active again. I hope to join St Ives CC on Sunday for the weekly club ride. I could really do with some decent weather to aid my recovery; and a nice relaxed pace would go down well too.

Next week's training will be disrupted as I am away with work for the first part of the week. This is probably a good thing as I will not beast my self too much trying to make up for lost training - which is always a pointless exercise!

I managed to finalise 'Triangles' this week, the news magazine of RAF Triathlon that I now publish. It has been distributed across the RAF Triathlon community and beyond and I will try and get a link placed here on my Blog this weekend. It was great fun creating and I have already started to create the next edition. Any bloggers out there who wish to submit an article please email me at deputychairman@raftri.org.uk It would be great to receive anything! Topics such as training articles, equipment reviews, experiences...etc are all needed!

Have a great weekend training!

Still sick 8-(

Well, I didn’t make the St Ives CC Club Run on Sunday. I prepared my kit on Saturday evening whilst feeling lousy. As optimistic as ever, I thought that I would feel ok the next morning. This was not the case and I probably felt worse on the Sunday morning. Hence the past week has been a very slack week training. I know that if I pushed through the illness I would just risk totally breaking down. However, my frustration has increased!!! I completed a very light gym session yesterday and an easy swim drill session. This morning I ran with the dog for an easy 5 miles. During this run I seemed to empty the contents of my sinus tubes all over Cambridgeshire – things are not quite back to normal yet. I am delaying my planned turbo efforts until I am 100% recovered. Strange, though, how one easy week with plenty of rest makes me feel as though I have lost all fitness! No matter what I do I cannot remove this mentality from my mind-set - this is why I do not taper well! Oh well, at least I enjoy feeling wiped out from training!

All the rain we have been having has seen me create a true winter training bike for the first time. I have managed to get my Giant OCR 3 back on the road. It needed new cables, a new front ring shifter and bar tape – as well as some tlc on all moving parts! I also fitted some race blade mudguards; I am very impressed with these. The only thing I don’t like is the lack of aero bars! However, the St Ives roadies don’t like me using them, even when they suck my wheel for miles!

Christmas is coming!! What will Santa bring you bloggers? I am hoping for some nice new Endura overboots.

Train well

Frustration!

I am a frustrated man! I ran and completed some swim drills on Monday of this week but since then I have not been well. I can't seem to shift the flu-like symptoms that I have at the moment. I have managed a couple of swim drill sessions since Monday, but that is all I have done. I don't want to train when feeling rotten as I know that my body will react in a very bad way. However, mentally, when I can't train, I am not a happy bunny! My frustration grows day by day and my bike sits in the garage ..............unused and ready to go, complete with new race blade mud guards to fend off the ever present rain.

I am posted back to RAF Wyton on Monday. This means that I will have to re-work my training routine. This should not be too difficult and the change will probably do me good. I will, however, maintain the short and sharp methods.

i hope to make the Sunday ride with the club but if I am not 100% I will join the more leisurely group to ensure that I do not push myself too hard.

Train well bloggers

Frostbite? Not Any More!

After my finger numbing frost bite ride last Sunday, I am trying these serious winter gloves!

Pincertastic!!! report to follow ............................

Weather Blues!

Wow! The weather was so bad yesterday - long ride day. I peered out of the window at 0730 and there was a thin covering of snow and a brisk wind blowing. Undeterred, I prepared for my 3 mile spin into St Ives to meet the rest of the St Ives CC members. I have joined the club now and can call my new cycling buddies team members! The weather didn't improve much as I gingerly rode onto the rather slippery roads. The snow did stop. However, sleet and rain soon replaced the snow. The wind was very icy and I was numb before I arrived at the meeting point!

I recharged my enthusiasm by thinking of how many competitors may skip training due to the weather. Off we set. I can honestly say that the conditions were the worst that I have ridden in. There was a coffee stop planned at 33 miles but it seemed to be taking an age to get there - it was slow going! We started off as a group of 14. We were down to 6 by the time we stopped at the Little Chef (they do a nice cappuccino.....but any hot drink would have tased great!). The other guys turned round way before the stop, and that left 6 of us to crawl into the Little Chef to cry as our hands thawed out - that was painful. My hands were so cold I could not change gear; even breaking became difficult. After the stop the weather did improve and the sun even came out! Even so, I was tired and the 65 miles in total seemed far harder than the 73 of the previous week. Does anyone make a glove for cycling that is actually half water proof and keep your hands warm! I bought some dhb gloves for £16 and they are no better than my Aldi gloves that cost me £2.50!

Well that was 2 paragraphs of whinging! No sympathy required, as it was all self inflicted - that's what I tell Julie and she happily agrees with me!

Friday's training was ok(ish). My legs were still too sore from the conditioning session I did on Wdnesday to complete a decent 2 x 20 min turbo session. So I selected the same Wattage of 270W and completed 2 min effort and 1 min recovery continuous. After that I did 3 x 1 mile in cold and windy conditions. I eased into these and opened up on the last rep - 6:08, 6:00, 5:41.

Now that I seem to be struggling to recover within the limitations of a single week, I am discarding the number 7 from my training week! No more squeezing everything into a week. I will now complete the scheduled workout when I feel that I am completely rested. This should avoid this fatigue that I have started to wake up to!

Later bloggers.

Conditioning

I'm not talking about hair treatment here!

Over the past 2 years I have attempted to complete a full winter of conditioning - strength training to work those neglected body parts for overall conditioning. However, I have always ceased strength work before Christmas because it got in the way of training! I was either too sore to run or felt like I was missing out on biking! This winter I want it to be different. So, I have incorporated running and biking into my conditioning routine! No excuses to stop conditioning before Christmas now!

The routine follows a small circuit that is repeated with no rest apart from changing bike shes etc:

10 mins warm up on turbo

Stretch

20 rep squats

3 mins tabata intervals on turbo

5 min run as 30 sec fast feet/30 sec jog

Press ups

Abs

Lat pull downs

Abs

I make sure that I use high reps for all exercises. Weight is added slowly. For squats, a key exercise, I am nearing body weight so it is getting harder. But it is the combination of squat/tabata/run that is really lung busting. I maintain 30mph for the tabata intervals but increase the squat weight. Many years ago I used to be big into weight lifting (you can tell eh!) and squatting comes quite naturally to me when I get back to pumping iron. I have squatted 140kg for 20 reps but I am not going to get any where near that at my present bodyweight! Anything beyond bodyweight is decent lifting for 20 reps, especially when completing 2 sets with tabata intervals inbetween! anyone else doing strength stuff?

So, again, I am doing something different in the hope of stimulating speed gains. Each week I am running off the bike at least twice after hard bike stuff. If I can't get into my running quickly in races after this winter, then it will never happen!

Changed the structure of the blog slightly over on the right of the page. My training buddies have all left me so they are history - sorry guys; it was good while it lasted but I have new buddies now 8-)

Also, check out the link to Calvary Chapel Cambridge. if you are in the Cambridge area check in with Joey. There must be few people with gifts that this guy has when it comes to understanding God!

Catch you later bloggers

Eureka Moments

Ever heard of Eureka moments? It's that moment when things come together and suddenly 'click'! At my Swimshack session today I had my very first Eureka moment - way to go! The session started by checking previous drills and balance work. I had brought in a couple of bad habits that were soon rectified but boy did mastering these tweaks make a difference! That wasn't the Eureka moment though. That came as I moved onto skating drills - this is the position shown in the water on my previous post. It's not as easy as it looks; maintaining balance is the key. The next move is to rotate and switch to the opposite side by utilising your core (not by pulling through with a swim stroke). The arm that is hanging out in front does stroke as per a normal swim action but it does so gently, not as an anchor to pull the body. Sounds weird eh?! However, it is the first step to bringing a new swim stroke. It felt smooth and balanced and I have so many focus points that I can't list them here! Five more months and I am much more confident that I will make improvements over a 1500m swim.

Yesterday I rode with St Ives CC again and covered 72 miles. The ride out was quite sedate and I found it difficult to keep warm. On the return leg a few guys were keen to liven things up a bit. Initially, I let them go, not wanting to ride to hard myself. After a while I decided to test the legs but be mindful of not going mad. I was able to cruise the hills whilst the guys around me were blowing rather more vigorously! This is good and shows that I am on track. What I need to do is not push myself too hard and hold back sufficiently so as to ensure recovery takes place. I am really enjoying these rides, despite the bad weather recently!

Suppose I had better get some running done! I sometimes wish there were 28 hours in a day and 10 days in a week!

On a different topic, I was speaking to a Christian friend of mine, David, who had visited my Blog. He is interested in ultra racing. The concept of ultra racing is totally crazy to me; however, it is fascinating to see what these guys go through. David recounted the fact that his son believes that running should be barefoot! Respect! I can't climb out of the bath without my feet hurting! Suffering during ultra racing seems to be at opposite ends of the body - feet and mentally! I would like to hear more about ultra racing and I know that Phil McNeil and Russ Watson have moved in this direction. Anyone out there happy to recount their experiences? I suppose Ironman Triathlon counts as ultra racing in my book!!

Must go - too many things to do!!

Training Moves On!

It's been a while since I detailed my training; so here is an update with the experiment! if you remember, I was attempting to train short and sharp and make small incremental improvements throughout the winter. This approach is different to what I have done in recent years, where I completed a base endurance phase bla bla..... the normal routine! The experiment may work, or it may make me over-trained and stale come race time next May!

Swimming

I attend my 4th Swimshack session on Monday. So far my balance drills are going well. However, I have deliberately reduced my fullstroke swimming to bare minimum; the idea being that I learn a new stroke. I just don't want to fall back into the old habits. So, I will continue to drill 25m, swim 25m until my Swimshack course ends in Jan 09. Then I will slowly build the distance and swim fitness back. The plan sounds logical! However, I worry that I am now unable to swim more than 100m without feeling wiped out! Time will tell whether I will be faster but I sure hope so! When i swim back the 25m I feel much better balanced and my legs are in a better position - get rid of that scissor kick when I turn to breath!

Biking

My biking seems to be going ok. I ride every Sunday with the local bike club, covering a consistent 70 miles. I do need to learn to not get sucked into race mode during these rides though! there have been some very hard rides that have wiped me out. I do one turbo interval sessions per week, alternating long and short efforts. I am up to 2 x 20 mins at 260W for long efforts and 4 x 60 mins at 305W - just completed this session today....ouch! i always run of the bike. If it is a long effort on the turbo then it is long efforts on the road; anything from 1k efforts to 1 mile. Today was short efforts on the turbo, so short efforts on the running of 6 x 400m with 1 min recovery. With a wind in one direction I covered the runs in 1:26, 1:20, 1:24, 1:19, 1:20, 1:15. I include 6 mins worth of turbo tabata intervals in my conditioning session...... 6 mins is enough......very hard!

Running

I am slightly concerned about my running as I am not doing that much. I run up to an hour steady on Monday and include some fast feet work in my conditioning programme. Then there's the run efforts off the turbo session and that is about it. i do plan to squeeze some cross country races in on Wednesdays when the Lincs Services Cross country League starts.

Conditioning

I continue with my conditioning and core work, but only once a week. It is a hard session, particularly the 20 rep squats/tabata turbo/fast feet run combo with zilch rest.

that just about summarizes the training. the key is to make small gains on the strength work in the conditioning, and small gains in power on the turbo efforts. Hopefully the short sharp run efforts will be enough to give me a decent run come race time.

C'mon bloggers, lets see what you have been up to!

Henlow 10

Today was the RAF Henlow 10 Mile Road Race. I have competed in this race for the last 2 years but this year I was organising the event. With 250 runners participating I knew that the task was not going to be easy. Oh how right I was! I now have a renewed appreciation for any race organiser! In fact, I would say it is easier to physically race in the event than organise it!

Thankfully, the event went well and everyone seemed to be happy with the race. The weather was sunny and cool, with a light wind. There were loads of RAF Triathletes running but I had little chance to catch up with anyone. I did mange to see Daz 'fast man' Sharpe finish in the top ten. I also saw Mike Masters come tearing round the final bend having a sprint finish with a female runner. It was neck and neck for about 70 metres and then Mike pulled ahead. Suddenly he remembered that he was a gentleman and he pulled up to let the lady finish in front of him - nice gesture Mike. Also in attendance were Jamie 'I'm not podgy' Elliot, Doug Malcolm, Simon Almond and Kelda Spratt. Si Almond was a great triathlon find a couple of years ago. He now seems to be in form and ready for a comeback. Also, Kelda raced well to grab second female overall. Sorry if I have missed anyone!

Must dash now. The pic shows Daz 'fast man' Sharpe (I call him that because I know that he hates it!) looking quite fresh after his sub-hour 10 miles! He obviously didn't try hard enough!

Cadence is Slow!

Completed 2 x 20 mins effort on my turbo today; followed that with 4 x 1k run efforts at ‘tempo’ speed. I am at 260W for the 20 min efforts. During the summer I was doing these at 290W. So I have some progress to make over the winter to hit at least 300W by race time. The 260W did hurt but getting into a groove is the key.

In a previous post I mentioned that I have taken to pushing a bigger gear at a low cadence. Today was the same. I felt much better pushing out 85 rpm in a bigger gear. Not sure if this is good or bad. Maybe by the summer I will need a larger chain ring! Incidentally, did anyone else see the article in last week’s Cycling Weekly about the guy who uses a 72 tooth chain ring!! His bike must look like it is carrying a spare wheel on the side! Anyway, I am now in search of a 55 tooth chain set for my race bike ……………..lovely!

My run efforts were ok but my legs are still aching from the conditioning session last Wednesday. I was consistent with 3:42 per kilometre which is ok since I had just stumbled off the bike. I feel nice and ‘worked’ now and ready for a rest day tomorrow before hitting the St Ives CC clubrun on Sunday – another 70 miles coming up.

Next Wednesday is the Henlow 10 mile road race. I have competed in this for the last 2 years but somehow I got roped into organising this years’ event! Hence I will not be running this year but I will be dashing around with my head on fire making sure all runs smoothly! Hope to see some of you bloggers at Henlow on the 12 November.

Train well. Blog well.

Why do we Like to Hurt Ourselves?!

It looks painful doesn't it? That's because it is. But why do we perversely enjoy it?! Is it the challenge of overcoming the race? who knows! I just know that I feel better if I hurt myself! That seems to cross over into training, where I am continually telling myself that I am weak. I completed my conditioning session yesterday and am slightly.....er.....ok.....very stiff today. This is wierd because I only increased the weights for squats slightly and kept the turbo efforts the same as previous weeks. Either way I can be satisfied that I hurt myself and I will adapt and be stronger!

What drives you bloggers to dip into the hurt zone....to pull funny faces in pain.....to dive into the hurt box?!! I'll let you into a secret. My motivation at the moment is improving enough to challenge:

a. Team Reardon. with all the high tech training approach young Andy has (not to mention the expense!), I would love to be at least close to him using my experimental, illogical over training methods!

b. Mat Stephenson as he makes a comeback attempt (though with all Mat's problems I would be more than happy to see him back to his best....where I would be no where near him!).

c. Beat......ok, realism....... get close to Daz 'fast man' Sharpe.

d. My aging process!

If I think that I am wimping out in a session, you guys are on my mind. Scary thought eh!

Bye!

The Lurgy!

Well, what was I saying about how things can change quickly when going well! I spent most of last week recovering from a flu type lurgy that my kids generously decided to share with me! I managed a run on Monday but knew that all was not well. I had to take Tuesday off work, which is very unlike me. needless to say, I had to rest the training also. So, with just a very easy session on Thursday, I returned today to ride with St Ives CC. I bagged another 70 miles and stuck to my plan of taking it easy. Lucky for me nobody else felt like putting in any big digs in and I was able to complete a relaxed ride.

Hopefully, I can get back to normal training this week. That said, I will have to concentrate on wrapping stuff up at work because I am posted back to Wyton in a few weeks. Not having to commute to Henlow will be nice but I will have to see how that land lies with training. I may have to rely on some early morning sessions to begin with. Swimming will be back at Huntingdon so no more personal pool time, like I had at Henlow! More news on the power levels during my bike sessions coming up.......

Train well bloggers

Remember the Hurt Box?

A recent post of mine described the concept of the hurt box – remember? Well today I did a session where I was expecting to dust off the hurt box and delve inside. Indeed, a previous episode of this session had me going far too deep into the hurt box and had me worried! This was because the session was based on set power levels and the levels I was aiming at should not have hurt so much! I have moved on a bit since that session, so today’s session was actually more taxing when looking at power levels – hence why I was expecting to open the hurt box today.

So it was a pleasant surprise when I completed the first 6 min effort at a certain power level (I won’t say exactly what level) and I felt much more comfortable ……yippee, I exclaimed as I placed the hurt box back on the shelf – won’t be needing you today, box of pain! Interestingly, I was maintaining a slightly slower cadence than normal. This slower cadence felt good and I was ‘at one’ with my bike. Once the 4 reps of 6 mins was completed I hot footed it outside and completed 4 x 800m with 1 min recovery. I consider that my running is taking a back seat at the moment, so, despite a strong wind blowing in one direction I was pleased to cruise 800m times of 3:10, 2:54, 2:58, 2:42.

I now need to make sure that I continue to make steady progress and not go berserk because I feel ok! I am acutely aware that all could come crashing down at any time. Another 70 mile ride with St Ives CC beckons on Sunday and I want to thank my wife for making it possible for me to ride on these Sunday mornings. The session really wipes out the entire morning, but the benefit is becoming plain to see. Hopefully, the reward will be awesome bike splits next year!

One problem that is bugging me at the moment is saddle sores! I have never suffered with these before and I am wondering if some quality shorts would help? I am loath to splash out on some Assos gear – no kit can warrant that ridiculous price tag! Maybe my £5.99 Aldi shorts are too far the opposite way! Oh well, out come the vaseline again!

Later bloggers

Over Training or Moving to a Higher Level?

It has been said to me that I may be over training, especially for this time of year. So where do we draw the line at training hard and training to destruction? I admit that I am training hard. However, this winter is a bit of an experiment. I am taking more rest between the hard sessions and trying to eliminate junk sessions. The idea is that I break through to a higher (faster) level next year.

For me, I love the feeling of hurting myself. But I must hurt myself in a constructive way! For example, my conditioning sessions see my weights increase but the turbo tabata intervals will remain at the same effort until January. I suppose that the tabata intervals are not truly tabata intervals because I aim to maintain 480W at the moment. I would consider true tabata intervals to give me a decreasing power output as I train absolutely flat out. It is this absolute flat out effort that will wait until next spring. My recent rides with St Ives CC have been quite intense but until I get dropped I do not consider it too hard! Last Sunday we were down to 5 riders. We rode for the last 1 hour 50 mins going through and off; all of us too breathless to chat - it was silent; none of us willing to show weakness and ask for the pace to ease off! I suppose I consider that I have not found my absolute flat out effort level! At my age I need to do things differently. if I enjoy it, then that is sufficient for me. If I get faster, then game on!

Back to the gym tomorrow and also a swim drill session. Today was a rest day ..........again! I am weak!

Hello Bloggers

G'day bloggers.......... sorry, just thinking of Australia then. Well, it was a busy week up in Yorkshire with work but I did get some key sessions completed. Also, I am back to normal running again after a week off to sort my calf problem.


I was pleased to fit my conditioning session in, although I have modified the content to include tabata intervals on the turbo. This is serious pain - hence I like it! With no rest, I do 20 rep squats followed by tabata intervals for 3 mins, followed by 5 mins fast feet on the treadmill. These 3 exercises are hard............. very hard! I finish the routine with press ups, pull downs and ab/core work. Then I repeat it all again!


I didn't get much swimming done whilst away. The pool was so tiny that I barely had the chance to do very simple balance drills. I plan to catch up on some swim sessions next week.








Today I went out with the local cycle club again. I torture myself and go out with the fast group (there are 3 groups). For the 3rd week we completed 70 miles and it was full on from the very start. I am now wasted......... very tired indeed! We averaged over 23mph for the first half and over 19mph into a mean wind on the return. This training will make me very fit or very ill! My intention is to train all winter with the club - something different that I have not done previously. The pic is me feeling very tired after the ride.



Still, no pain, no gain. Or is it train don't strain?

Riding With the Real Cyclists

Just a quick update before I leave for Yorkshire for a work duty. I rode with St Ives CC today, as I did last week. I covered 73 miles this time and the weather was far better! I felt less tired too, although there is no easy ride when these guys go out - average nearly 22 mph, with some phaff and waiting for dropped people on the hills! If I am going to continue to train with these guys I need to re-jig my training accordingly. I risk burn out if I try and pack so much effort into my week.

A quick mention about IM Hawaii. What another awesome performance from Chrissie Wellington! She stopped for 10 mins to sort a puncture and still wins by 15 mins with a 2:57 marathon! Amazing.

I will miss my blogging this week but will have an extra big update when I return next weekend. Hopefully, I will be running again. Train well. Blog lots!

Training Update

Despite my 'easy' week I am feeling quite tired. This is largely due to my doing more tabata intervals during my conditioning session yesterday - I know, I know! I just like doing them! I did my normal conditioning session but substituted my low cadence hill reps on the turbo with 3 mins of tabata intervals. After doing 20 rep squats the tabata intervals totally destroy me! I quite like this feeling but there is no way I can do 2 lots of conditioning and some threshold turbo work in a single week. I think I am going to drop a conditioning session but maintain the tabata intervals. This way I can actually make the Sunday ride with St Ives Cycle Club without feeling too tired.

My calf is getting better and I am continuing to wear my compression socks........as shown in this pick from the Wittering Road Relays:

I completed some easy fast feet during the conditioning session and I am hopeful of full recovery next week. Talking of next week, I am away with work and I will not have internet access. hence there will be a blog drought from Sags Tri life. Normal service shall resume as soon as I return.

Train well bloggers 8-)

Battered by Tabata!

This week is an easy recovery period, which is handy seeing as my calf started to bother me. It is improving but a few more days recuperation should see things back to normal. As I have done for the last 2 years, I commenced my aerobic ramp tests. I do these every month to monitor progress. The idea is that I ride on the turbo, starting at 13 mph, and every 3 mins I raise the speed by 2 mph and up the gear yet keep the same cadence. After each 3 mins I also log my heart rate. I go up to 25 mph and then stop - total of 21 mins. It should all be aerobic and just start to hurt at the 25 mph point. When I started this procedure over 2 years ago I topped out at a heart rate of 175 for the 3 mins at 25mph. Yesterday I topped out at a heart rate of 154. Quite an improvement. The pic is me with turbo set up outside Henlow Gym. It sort of looks like I am lurking within the bike sheds!

After doing the aerobic ramp test I decided to sample the Tabata intervals that I mentioned a few posts ago. Here I go flat out in the hardest gear for 20 secs then take a massive 10 sec rest! I then repeat this for 3 mins. Man, this destroys the legs and sends the heart rate sky high! As I was not running off the bike as I normally do, I was happy enough to dip into barf zone. These Tabata intervals will be good in the future!

Today was my 3rd Swim Shack visit. Oh dear! This visit really made me realise that I am not a good swimmer! The example shown to me on film made it all look so easy, whereas I was very bad at the new balance drills! Each session I attend takes me closer to full stroke swimming and I feel sure that by mastering the basic balance techniques I can improve. However, I need to be patient and take small steps. I have some funny DVD footage of me half drowning and I will see if I can load it on the blog!

A Slight Tweak 8-(

What was I saying about not having any calf pain! After quite a hard week last week I commenced my easy week today. A nice gentle easy run on grass followed by a reduced conditioning session in the gym should do me nicely, I thought. However, as I trotted along my calf started to 'twang' at about 3k into the run. In a typical denial way, I refused to admit that there was any pain! It eased off as I carried on running but it is slightly tender now, right in the Soleus. Best I rest it for a few days to be sure. The good thing about triathlon is that there is always something that can be trained if injured!

With Turbo Man now gone last Sunday looked to be a bleak training ride. The weather forecast was not good ........ unfortunately, the forecasters were actually right and it rained very heavily all morning. It's only water! Get out there and pedal! So I did! I linked up with the local Bike Club who displayed their lack of commitment as only 4 guys turned up for the traditional clubrun - normally they have 2 groups of at least 10 on the road. However, to be fair, they did have some guys away competing in a sportif...........did I say competing? ..........er........I meant participating! Anyway, it rained and we all got soaked but we covered 60 miles. Plenty of bursts up hills etc made for quite a hard ride. Thinking back, my calf is probably complaining because the entire day was full-on. After the ride it was shopping at Tesco, sorting the kids mess, making dinner, washing, cleaning car...... I know, boring stuff! I am just a bit tired!

I have another Swim Shack session on Thursday and I am looking forward to that. My conditioning work in the gym is going ok too. I will soon be up to body-weight for my squats - then the real work begins. The Gym here really need to sort out their treadmills though. I jump on the treadmill and do some fast feet running at 18kph straight after squats and low cadence bike work. Recently, the treadmills have taken to cutting out! This is very alarming! Not sure if anyone has ran off the front of a treadmill before!

I am off to elevate my calf and drink coffee. Train well bloggers.

Alternative Training Experiment Continues!

Wow! A week since my last entry! Time is flying by. I have been busy with various things, not least organising the Henlow 10 mile road race. The previous 2 Project Officers sloped shoulders so I agreed to help. It is a big task but a great race; so if you haven't entered yet, do it now!

My training has been going well and I am into my conditioning sessions properly - that means that I now have weight on the bar whilst doing squats! My balance drills in the pool feel good and I return yet again to Swim Shack next week. Maybe I will do some work on moving forwards! I am getting good at bobbing about in the pool, but some forward motion would be nice!

Today was the RAF Road Rely Champs at RAF Wittering. I joined Jamie Elliot and his Brize team, as I could not scrape a team up from Bra/Wyt/Hen. the event was great but not well attended. The course is good (no vehicles) and flat, if a little windy today! True to my training experiment, I took my turbo and completed my long rep session prior to running the last leg of 5k. I was happy with 18:10 but there were some fast boys out there today! Our team actually finished 3rd, thanks to some consistent running from all the Brize guys who were all well under 20 mins. However, as the team was a composite, we did not qualify for the prizes. Oh well, we know that we were 3rd! And yes, I wore my compression socks. And yes, I received abuse. And yes, I am impressed with them, as I have zilch calf pain what so ever - unusual for me.

Time to sleep now.....ZZZZzzzzz

Jaffa Cake Famine!!

Time flies when you are having fun! Today the worst of all worst things happened...........I forgot my Jaffa Cakes! This is a disaster of epic proportions! I am on duty tonight as well so that will be a full 36 hours of no JCs......sniff..........

Training is going ok and I am beginning to master the balance drills in the pool. Today I did an hour of 25m drill/25m swim. As I completed my 25m full stroke length I sort of fell into breathing every 4th stroke on my unnatural side (left). This is really weird for me; however, I was feeling smooth and relaxed, with minimal effort. I know that you cannot gauge much by alternate 25m swims after 25m drill, but I decided to time some of the 25m full stroke swimming. Keeping the effort the same, I clocked the 25m at 22 sec (22:05 to be exact). Not fast, but fast for me at that effort level. The next few timed 25m after a drill length were all between 21:5 and 22 sec. I was tempted to do a 200m time trial to see if I could maintain that pace; however, I decided that would not be wise and I carried on. It bodes well, though, that I am feeling ok in the water. Of course, it could all go wrong come April/May but let’s think positively and reach for the stars!

I dusted off the hurt box again for the weekly turbo/run session. It was short intervals this week: 3 x 6 mins at 300W. During the race season I was doing 6 x 6 mins at 330W, so 3 x 6 mins would be easy? Nope! I was tickling the hurt box again and thinking that the session should feel easier! After the turbo hurt it was out onto the road for 6 x 400m with 1 min recovery. After the initial wobbly leg feeling and a 1:30 effort, I settled into repeats of 1:19 – 1:23. This pace, I decided, was too fast and I would reduce the pace and increase the number of reps next time, as I need to leave myself room for gradual improvement. I will save the real gut-busting efforts for the spring.

Talking of gut-busting efforts, I read an article on the Tabata Protocol today – sounds like a drill to be adopted during a nuclear explosion or something! It’s all about very short and sharp efforts at max intensity, with short recovery periods. Here is an extract:

TAKE THE TABATA TEST
If you think you've got what it takes, here's the drill. First, do a five-minute warm-up by cycling at about 40% of your full effort. For the intervals, work on a stationary bike and alternate 20 seconds of activity at full effort with 10-second rest periods. Each sprint-rest combo counts as one interval. After the intense section, do a five-minute cool-down in the same way you warmed up. Try to do four intervals at first, then gradually work your way up to six. Repeat the workout three to four days a week.

I have done sessions like this before on my turbo and boy does it hurt! I don’t really fancy doing it 5 times a week! However, for peaking in the spring, it could be beneficial. Apparently, fatigue in the legs is minimal after you have recovered yet you feel like someone has set fire to your lungs. If my hurt box sessions remain hurtful, I may just do some of these to wake myself up

8-)

Swimming Update

Yesterday was my second swim session in the endless pool at Swim Shack. I have now completed 3 and a half hours of one to one swim coaching and we have not yet covered any technique associated with propulsion! All the work has been on position, breathing and balance. This is good! It means that I am learning something new. Yesterday I struggled to master the balance and rotation techniques being shown to me. I am shown how the technique should be completed on a big screen. Then I attempt it whilst being filmed......oh dear! the contrast is severe! The mistakes that I am making are pointed out to me, and then I attempt the technique again. And so it goes on, in an iterative manner.

My session this morning was much better and I was progressing. the picture below (the top slide of the cover shot) shows the position that you should be in with correct balance (arms by your side head down):

I believe that without the leading arm obtaining balance is harder! The idea is that you find your balance on your back. then rotate slightly to a semi side-on position with your head remaining locked looking towards the ceiling. then rotate to the position in the picture but maintain balance. That means hips not dropping and maintaining a fluid balanced kick - it is not as easy as you may think! Once you are balanced in the face down position, you rotate back to the semi-side position with your head looking at the ceiling - again, completed in perfect balance. Mastering this technique will be my focus for the next 3 weeks. I then have my third session at Swim Shack. You never know, I may do some swimming soon!

I just want to say that I have completed a self taught Total Immersion course from a video and book. This was way back in 2003 when I was learning to swim more than 2 lengths of freestyle. Since that time I have learnt to swim better! However, I had some negative thoughts about Total Immersion. I now see that the drills that I had learnt by myself were incorrectly learnt by myself! Hence the progress I made was limited. I still believe that I can make gains in my swim speed if I master these basic balance techniques. Having someone teach me the techniques is soooooooooooo different!

Where is Your Hurt Box?

Open up Google and search the term hurt box. You are bound to get a cycling reference. If you are serious about your cycling you have to find this mythical item – your hurt box! My winter training routine sees each Wednesday as a tough day. There is a swim drill session in the morning and then, in the afternoon, a turbo session consisting of long or short intervals followed by run intervals. Today was the second time I have completed Wednesday training but the first long interval day. It had reminded me that achieving my goals would not be easy! I dusted off my hurt box and tickled it today. As the winter progresses I am going to have to dig to the very bottom of the box!

I did 3 x 10 mins at 260W today. I peaked at 2 x 20 mins and 3 x 15 mins at 290W during the race season. So, so 3 x 10 mins at 260W should be ok? Tickle tickle…it still hurt but I concentrated on not actually opening the box! Then it was out with the Garmin and 3 x 1 mile with 2 min recoveries. These run repeats are tempo at this time of year; full on speed is not the aim just yet. I set my Garmin for 6:20 per mile pace. First rep 6:08, second 6:04………best ease back…….third rep 6:15. Considering I had just staggered off the turbo the running felt reasonably easy. I am sure, as the turbo sessions suck me into the hurt box, the running will not feel so easy!

My legs were slightly heavy from the vertical kick drills I had been doing in the pool yesterday! What a momentous day! The first time ever that I have had sore legs from swimming – not sure if that is good or bad! As I have recently turned ……. I mean had a birthday….. my kind mother in law bought me some compression calf lingerie. What she thinks I want them for, I am not so sure! Anyway, I ran in them today for the first time. It is not a good look! Not sure if they will keep my calves healthy but we’ll give it a go! I am just amazed that they make them small enough for my matchstick legs!

I have my second Swim Shack swim session tomorrow – really looking forward to that. I have spent the last week doing hardly any full stroke swimming. I have done loads of drills and have mastered the homework given to me last week; I just hope that I can reproduce the drills perfectly in the endless pool so the teacher gives me full marks and gives me more secret stuff to work on!
Good luck with finding your hurt box…….learn to love it……purrrrrrrrr!

More Bike and Training Stuff

Further to the last post and the comments from Daz 'fast man' Sharpe and Turbo Man, check out the pictures below taken at the recent National Time Trial Champs. The guys in these pics are all really fast - especially Doc Hutch! All these guys are forward (probably more so than Daz) on their saddle and lower than myself, in varying degrees. I know that everyone is different and we all function in different positions but it is worth playing around with our positions. I have completed a couple of sessions on the turbo with a lower position and a narrower elbow plant. I fells ok on the turbo for up to 6 mins! Interestingly, only with the narrower elbow plant are my knees, elbow and hips all in line.

The experiment continues!!

Training has been going well. My conditioning sessions are progressing and the weight training feels good. Swimming continues to take on new meaning now that I am under tuition! I have my next 90 min session on Thursday - I am excited by the prospect of maybe........just maybe.....after 4 years of fumbling around being able to bring my swimming up to the standard of my bike and run - time will tell...................

Bike Position

Now that the season has finished for me, I have been thinking of ways to gain speed for 2009. I have a plan for my swimming and biking. My running is taking a back seat this winter in the hope that I don't get slower! One aspect that I have not really given much attention over the years is my bike position. I just sort of go with what feels good.

Take a look at these 2 pics taken during the World Long Course Champs; one of Daz 'fast man' Sharpe (in the GB kit - not the black kit!) and the other of me:

Who looks more aero? I would say Daz. Now I know that there is a balance to be struck between getting aero and maintaining power, and getting too aero so that power actually reduces due to the position but I need to experiment! Hence I have adjusted my position to reduce my frontal area. This has meant getting lower and narrower! I have managed to hack my Profile Carbon X bars so the elbow pads are over an inch lower. This has been don without lowering the bars, in the hope that the feel of the bike handling remains the same.

Take a look at the pic below of the normal Carbon X bars that shows quite a drop under the elbow pads and a wide distance between elbow pads:

Here is a pic of my modified bars:

I have all winter to get used to it......

Swimming Master Plan

The swimming master plan started yesterday at Swim Shack. This is an Endless pool set up that has camera analysis, above and below the water. Ian, the coach, provides expert advise and has already started to transform me from struggling swimmer to streamlined torpedo!

I have a 10 hour course to complete and the first 2 hour session was all about starting from scratch. After seeing myself under water, I am amazed that I have managed to swim as fast as I have! Now this is not the first time that I have undergone this type of endless pool analysis. However, it will be the first time that I will have completed a consistent course of instruction over a number of months. I am convinced that continuity is key to making improvements. Previously, I had some analysis and returned some 6 months later for another session. By that time, any changes to technique had disappeared having not had the attention needed over a prolonged period.

Yesterday the focus was on body balance, leg kick and breathing. Now, I had convinced myself that I would never be able to kick. I had spent 4 years fruitlessly bobbing up and down in the water frantically trying to move forward whilst kicking but getting nowhere! This guy spent ages in the water physically placing my legs where they should be. Hey presto, I can kick! Today I was doing vertical kicking drills with my arms accross my chest. Previous attempts at this drill saw my making great friends with the tiles on the floor of the deep end of the pool. Breathing was all about CO2 trickle and emptying the lungs - something I was not doing.

I have my second session next week and I feel as though sorting the basics out will build a good foundation to gain speed come 2009. I will have a DVD catalogue of progress too, which should make interesting viewing at a training weekend........possibly great for a laugh!

Whilst the race season is over for me, Turbo man, Reg and Kelda will be competing in the Half Ireman.... that's in Ireland over half ironman distance. Now Reg will be hot to dip under 5 hours but not sure if the course is fast. He will, however, be out to beat Turbo Man, who will be slightly jaded after his 4:56 at The Vitruvian last week. Kelda may well fly round and beat them both if she has recovered from her 6th place performance at the World Long Course Champs - race well guys and, above all, enjoy the effort!

Lance to come back!?!

Velo News reports of a possible comeback from Lance Armstrong!! He obviously realised that he can't run marathons and misses his bike racing; I can understand that!! The extract below gives a few details:

Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement next year to compete in five road races with the Astana team, according to sources familiar with the developing situation.

Armstrong, who turns 37 this month, will compete in the Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphiné Libéré and the Tour de France — and will race for neither salary nor bonuses, the sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told VeloNews.

Armstrong's manager, Mark Higgins, did not respond to questions. And an Astana spokesman denied the report to The Associated Press.
"He is no part of our team," Astana team press officer Philippe Maertens told the AP in an e-mail. "Team Astana has no plans with him."
However, sources close to the story have told VeloNews that an exclusive article on the matter will be published in an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, expected later this month. Vanity Fair editors did not respond to requests for comment.

Training Commences.....

After a very easy week I am feeling a bit like greyhound ready to burst out of the starting pen. Hence last week will now count as my end of season break (as if I have ever had an end of season break!). The winter of 2008/09 will be an experimental year. In order to make gains at my……ah hemm….more senior time of life, I need to shock the body with new training and increased intensity. I need to ensure I keep the muscle mass (what little I have) as I move into the 45 – 49 age group in 2009. After reading some stuff by Chris Boardman, I am going to train shorter and more intensively over the winter; however, I am also going to take more rest. The details will become apparent as the weeks and months tick by. There will be lots of turbo training, which will be handy as my remaining bike training buddy, Turbo Man, is abandoning me…….a sad day…..sniff…… The following will form the basis of the plan up until the end of Jan 09:

Mon: Swim Technique. Conditioning.
Tues: Swim Technique
Wed: Bike/Run Brick Power (alt short and long efforts each week)
Thurs: Swim technique
Fri: Swim Technique. Conditioning.
Sat: Tempo Bike/Run

The conditioning involves supersets of high rep squats/low cadence turbo hill simulations/fast feet treadmill. Then it’s onto core and some upper body exercises. Hence, during the conditioning sessions I actually bike and run.

The key bike sessions are on Wednesdays and the aim is to raise my power threshold gradually throughout the winter at short and long intervals of 6 mins and 20 mins, respectively. Turbo Man, for your info, my targets are:

Basic:

Short Intervals: 360W
Long Intervals: 320W

Stretch:

Short Intervals: 380W
Long Intervals: 340W

If I reach any of those targets, it’s game on!! I have a 4 month coached swim period coming up. During this time I hope to make the changes to my technique that I need to improve my swim times. From Jan 09 I will join the local swim club again and get myself beasted with the 12 year olds that swim under 20 mins for 1500m!

My running will take a back seat and the majority of run sessions will be off the bike. That said, I intend to do a full cross country season during the winter but there will be no easing down for races and, invariably, I will have completed the turbo efforts earlier in the day prior to any cross country running……….that’s why I have lots of rest in the schedule!
The routine is totally made up by me and whether it seems good or not, I have no idea! I am sure that coach Roy will scoff at the bad planning! I do, however, know that I will enjoy the training and that will be good enough for me! I suppose at worst I would get no slower??

Today I did the first session of conditioning. For squats, I only used the bar to get the movement back into my legs………ouch, it is a heavy bar for a lightweight like me! I enjoyed the session immensely and it feels like I am training bits that have been neglected!

Feel free to ridicule etc but don’t be too hasty to do so…….you never know what the training may yield come next summer……

Until the next instalment…..
Disclaimer: This schedule is not endorsed to be productive for any blog readers. Should any blog readers incur bodily damage whilst attempting to replicate strange made up training sessions, Mark Sags does not bare any responsibility for said injuries.

Back to British Weather

There is no doubt that I am suffering from post-holiday blues! The weather in blighty is pants! Add to that returning to work, the deluge of race pics available from the World Champs in Holland that depicts the fantastic weather that we had and no more races lined up, then the daily grind seems gloomy indeed! Still, I suppose that just goes to show what a great time I had in Holland. The whole GB representation was so cool that I would really like to do it again! Next year the World Long Course Champs will be held over O2 distance. That distance is possibly best suited to my abilities. Add to that the fact that I will be moving up an age group, then there is an outside chance.....an aspiration.....a possibility if I can improve my swim.....maybe.... of a shot at a World Championship medal! The problem is that the event will be held in Perth Australia 8-( Funding such a venture is all but impossible

I am super eager to commence my winter training experiment; however, I need to avoid burn-out! I swam yesterday, nice and easy, and I cycled an easy hour on my single speed today....in the pouring rain - a real contrast to the sunny 28 degrees when I last rode my bike!!

It is the Inter-Services Long Course Champs on Sat. The weather forecast is really bad. best wishes to all the brave chaps (c'mon Turbo man!!) and chapesses competing at Rutland Water. I am recovering well and could probably race.............but I won't!!

Some World Champ Pics

Yes this a nice wetsuit rash!!