Age Catching Up with Me?

Here I am during my recent brick session! Gone is the power running of previous years - replaced now by a shuffle and vigorous arm swinging 8-( I am coming to the end of a 3 week volume period of training and I am feeling tired. Having never ending illness in the family doesn't help as sleep is continually disturbed. It's amazing that I have not been ill, as everyone else has in the family!

It can't be all bad though! I completed my 10 mile run yesterday - including 5 x 1 mile increase in pace (won't call them efforts because they were too slow!). I had an easy 25 mile spin on the bike planned for today and a swim drill set. The drill set was reduced to 30 mins because the pool was closed. Mark Hutch came with me for the bike ride and he was feeling quite perky. He was a different person to the guy who did the brick session with me last week. I ended up going slightly faster than I wanted, averaging 18.2mph for the entire ride. It was quite windy today and the legs just weren't working well. Let's hope that they improve for the sportif on Sunday. I plan to swim tomorrow morning and do a tempo brick session later in the day - same as last week but with an extra brick added! However, if I am feeling fatigued, I may adjust the session accordingly!

Goodbye from Blog land! Did you know that the term 'blog' comes from the term Web Log? Remarkable!

Training Update

Ref the post below about fish that ride bikes well ........... they can run fast too!! We're all doomed! (said in a Dad's Army voice!)

I successfully ran 7.2 miles on monday! Yippee! Ok, it was slow but my legs are gradually getting back to normal. Yesterday was a big training day: 30 miles EZ into work (never feels EZ at 0600). 3k swim set as 30 x 100m on 2:10 nice and relaxed. 30 miles home as 3 mins effort 5 mins steady. Quite tired after that day. Today is another test on the legs: 10 miles with 5 - 6 1 mile efforts (not flat out but brisk). Update to follow.

Fish-like Triathletes

Ever heard the saying '..... like a fish riding a bike, it just doesn't happen!'. That saying often applies to triathlon. I am finding swimming frustrating........just like I have for the last 4 years! people say 'it's ok, you can bike and run well.' So how many triathletes out there can swim like a fish and take their fishlike qualities onto the bike and ride like Lance Armstrong? Seemingly loads!! Judging the way this little guy rides, they don't need saddles either!!

Where are They Now??

As the race season approaches, I was thinking, where are those guys that were pounding the race circuit a few years ago?

Steve Cruttenden: Fast man and RAF representative. Cool biker, with the most aero position that I have ever seen! Man, he used to be prone on his cross bar! He may have left the service?

Si Bellamy: About to undertake Staff College. Good coach and good triathlete also! Entered for the London Marathon for 2008 but pulled out due to injury.

Chris Moult: The quiet man of RAF Triathlon. Super vet (far better than me). Ran like the wind! I think he has left the Service (not to sell double glazing - that is Ted Moult for all you oldies out there who remember who that is!) and taken up a reclusive existence in a mountain hut in France.

John Crewe (JC): Quality triathlete who decided to go long and just kept going! Did IM France and not competed since. He has the legs of a 90 year old and the lungs of a 30 year old - he keeps breaking! Was meant to be doing London Marathon but his legs broke......again. He posts on the RAF Tri forum now and again so we may be able to entice him back into Tri. Last seen pretending to work at Cranwell.

Al Gill: An Armourer with no neck. Good swimmer, reasonable cyclist, doesn't particularly like running. However, on form, he could challenge the best. Last seen instructing at Cosford and about 3 stone over his racing weight. Knows far too many jokes - good guy to have on tour.

Dave Richardson: Good runner and was really progressing in triathlon. Disappeared a couple of years ago. Spotted at the Honington Road Relays looking relaxed and stating that he could not find the time to train for triathlon.

Steve Warner: Thanks for reminding me about Steve Debs! Steve was great fun and a good triathlete; if I remember, he was not a running fan but loved biking. Great sense of humour and, like Al Gill, the man to have on tour! Suffered some funny 'turns' as he got older! Had to be dragged from the water at the finish pontoon of a triathlon as his legs had gone floppy - I thought that was normal for all triathlon swims! Last seen at Lyneham dabbling in mountain biking.

Secret Training Method - Bounce Training!

The secret is out! Here I am with my new coach - CJ. I rode 63 miles this morning with Mick; however, that training was just a red herring. The real training took place when I got home. Bounce training is about to take off as the best triathlon training method available. Notice the technique required: a stupid look on the face and flapping the arms as if attempting to fly. My coach gave me a fine demonstration and here she is showing a much better flapping action than me - note that I have a dropped elbow, which is a common mistake in both swimming and bouncing.

For those that are not yet aware, Turbo Man (Mick Pullin) now has his own blog! Nice one T Man. No doubt there will soon be links from the RAF Tri Website to all these blogs. The big Cycle Sportif on 11 May is nearly here - 82 miles of hilly riding in bunches of 'real' cyclists! I have to remove my tri-bars for the ride.......oh how will I cope! The plan is to ride very slowly for the first 50 miles and enjoy the countryside. The quandary is, when setting off with 20 other riders, does one go with the bunch and attempt to draft for an easy ride, or should one back off so as not to go too fast to early........mmmmmmm, I feel a poll coming on! Enjoy the Bank Hol folks.

Brick Session

My first brick session of the season completed today. I didn't go 'full bore' as I still don't know how my legs have recovered from the FLM. I managed to drag a wannabe triathlete, Mark, out with me as well!

The session was 3 miles tempo on the bike and then straight into 1k run. Aim was to maintain bike effort and increase the run speed on each rep.

Results: Run 1 - 3:54. Run 2 - 3:45. Run 3 - 3:25 (ok, I went a bit fast!). Run 4 - 3:16. I am quite pleased with this as I felt quite perky on the run! True, the bike was not full on, but happy enough to finish reasonably fresh. Mark canned the session after the third rep due to nausea - but well done for even attempting what is quite a hard session. Next time it will be 5 build bricks but I will have to maintain a smaller increase in run speed or I will hit terminal velocity! Also did a relaxing 40 min swim session earlier today. The Bank Holiday training will be based around a long bike with stick man Pullin and maybe a venture into double figure mileage for an easy run...............but before Mick pipes up with "Where is your rest?!" Monday is a day off. Train smart peeps.................just like me!......yeh right!

Hard Bike Session!

Yesterday was a very hard session on the bike - my first real sustained effort session of the year! I did a 2-up 10 mile Time Trial with Mick - twice! Now Mick says that he is getting close to his racing weight; as you can see from the above pic of Mick (taken just prior to starting the first 10 mile run), he can't afford to lose much more weight! No wonder he is riding well!

I cycled to the race start - a nice and easy 10 miles. We went off first, as we were going to finish the first 10 mile TT and then join the queue and go again (we are hard!). It was great fun and the effort when tucked in behind Mick was significantly reduced due to the drafting effect - even with Mick now super skinny! The course is an out and back loop. The wind on the return leg made it very tough indeed, as it was smack in our faces. We pretty much went full on for that first effort and I knew that we would be facing a world of pain on the second run! I was right; boy that second run was hard! The course is not fast and there are some real drags and fly-overs to negotiate (and 7 roundabouts to contend with!).

Results: 24:20 and 25:00 - not official! Not great times but everyone seemed to be slower yesterday due to the wind and cold. I had not finished and as I set off for the 10 miles home I set myself the target of averaging 20mph. I just dipped in at 29:54. The head wind and one severe climb just about killed me off and I am now officially pooped! I was impressed with Mick; his riding is far ahead of where he was this time last year. Nearly time to swim, so ttfn.