2023 Approaching

It’s 31 December 2022. Another year ticked off. Not a great year of racing or performance really. COVID really did mess up my main goals. But let’s park the old and look forward. My winter training has been going well, focusing on strength to May a better foundation for racing in the summer. I’ve put together a decent 4 months of strength, cycling and running endurance. January will be upping the strength for bike and run to try and convert my gym work into specific activities. Then, in February, I aim to start track running and build some intensity into the bike too. The main goal is the Darley Moor Sprint   Duathlon on 28 May 22. This is a 2024 European Qualifier. And I’ll be shooting for a slit in the 60-64 age group! Sounds very old but that’s the fact - 2023 will be my last year in the 55-59 AG. 

I also want to test the run speed at 5 and 10k. It will be interesting to see if the strength work in the gym can turn the clock back a year or two! The Clayton 10k is a goal again. I ran 39:24 last May. Can I dip Uber 39 min in 2023?  As for the 5k I think I’ll test the speed at the local parkrun on The Wammy. But there is an option to try the Trentham parkrun too. This is a new course but not sure how fast it is. 

After May I am thinking of switching to a bike focus to aim for some 50 mile TTs down in Cambridge. I would prefer the local A50 TT course but the events seem to be drying up on this course.

Anyway, all looking ok at the moment. I need to stay healthy to hit any of these goals. So keeping injury at bay will be key. 

Deep Winter - Doing Things Differently

It’s been 6 weeks since my last post. I thought well not much going on; nothing to report. But actually, thinking deeper about this winter’s training build, this is the first time since . . . Er. . . Ever, that I have totally stopped hard efforts during the winter, dialled back the training intensity and volume and REALLY focused on strength and conditioning to set a strong base to build into the intensity later to peak for the summer. Last year I completed 2 Zwift Racing League seasons before and after Christmas. I was cycling really well but lots of run injury niggles. But by February I was over cooked and not feeling so great. The summer ended up being a washout, with an injury in and off and then a covid illness that lingered for 3 months. So the season never got started. 

Back to the present. So I spent 3 months building conditioning with my kettlebells and sandbags in my pain cave. I’ve just completed 3 months training at the local JD Gym focusing on compound lifts and single leg Plyometrics. As it stand now, I’m feeling strong, recovering from intense weight sessions quickly and looking forward to see how the conditioning benefits my run-bike-run racing. I’ve also consistently built up my running with strides incorporated whenever possible. Cycling volume has been lower than my normal but that’s ok - I’m doing things differently. 

Recent weather has been freezing and I’ve mostly ran treadmill indoors. And now I’m fighting off illness. Hope it’s nothing long lasting. After Christmas I intend to maintain the conditioning but start a phase of strength relating running and cycling. So some hill running and sweetspot cycling sessions. 

I posted that my evo2max had an updated cockpit. New bars and stem. The bars are narrower and the stem slammed. This is ready for draft legal Duathlon racing in May 23. After a few rides and some turbo sessions I’d definitely say the position is more aero. I tend to get some lower back aches if I ride above an hour. But that may be the ride on the turbo. I need more road rides to see if the position needs tweaking, especially when riding full gas.