Weds Update

Not too much to report since Sunday training wise, as this week is pretty easy and flexible.

Monday - Day Off

Tuesday - Just a 45 min very easy run on treadmill. 12k/h  - 1.5% inc.  Hr 115-119. Hr strong.  Left achilles bit sore, but managing it daily.

Weds - 4km swim - all focused on drills & good technique swimming.  Low HR throughout. + 60 mins turbo - 215-230W - Hr 110-120Hr.

Weds - 76.5kg

Generally fatigued this week, still recovering from volume in la santa, will just keep training to how I feel and keep Hr very low.  Weight has dropped quite a bit over last 2-3 weeks so I need to level this now to keep strong and well, don't want to to lose too much weight this early in the year. Hope to grab a massage this week to clear legs.

Kids and Adults run clubs very busy this evening which is great, lots of new faces.  Kids group has some great runners. Techniques coming on a lot in all of them.

sleep time.

Back in UK

First post since arriving back in the UK.

Travelling home went well, back at home by 8pm.

Shock to the system standing in the Polegrove coaching run club sat morning, 8am - 3 degrees! 22 degrees colder than the day before.
Nice to have the weekend to catch up on everything before Monday comes.

Training wise - sat morning I jogged about a total of 2 miles with various people just to move
Sunday - swim session building in more of the technique work picked up while away, and a nice cycle out with SC and SK, kept HR below 130. we were out for just under 3 hrs.

Next week will be really relaxed to make sure I am rested after La Santa.

I have the 1st marathon coaching day on sunday, looking forward to that and as always a little nervous.

Looked into some lactate testing to get to know important aerobic threshold on bike and run. Hope to get a group of the club Ironman gang involved as it is essential to correctly train for endurance sports.

Few Pics from Holiday:

Past few Days

Not been able to get online for the past few days so below is my diary since last post.  Today will be a chill day, a little swim then playing on beach. Got some great pictures this week on our rides round the island, will post these once back in UK.

Monday Diary –

Becci’s camp had a trip organised to island of La Graciosa. After a short coach journey we caught the Ferry from Orzola near Mirador over to the island.  A tiny peaceful island. The runners did a 15-17km run around the island which apparently turned out to be very hot, hilly and tough!

I stayed on the beach with JW, Dad and H.

I did get in he pool before we went only for 15 mins, my legs were so thick and heavy I wanted to do something light to flush them. Left Achilles was bit tender last night and legs very tired,  Today was a welcome day off, as the past weeks training has definitely caught up with me.  I hope that with the rest and icing etc I am able to get in a few more decent miles on the bike and running before we leave on Friday.

Tomorrow I plan to get back out on the bike for 3-4 hours hopefully with a short run off, plus another decent swim session later in the day.

Wednesday Diary –

Yesterday I got in my planned sessions.  A 100k ride with Dad, this included the other tough climb on the Island, fermes.  This climb has a long grind for a few km then the final climb is short and steep, very steep! We then worked hard together towards the end of the ride into Famara.  Due to my Achilles being a little sore I did my run on the track off this bike in case I needed to stop. Ran 1 mile very very easy to clear legs then 10 x 400m at a comfortable 1:45min pace with 100m walk and a cool down to give me around 7k in total.  Hr was low under 140 throughout.

I then got a 1500m-2k swim in the lagoon later in the day. First time I have worn my wetsuit for a few months, really enjoy the open water swimming,

Today ( weds), Becci’s camp had their last big set of the week. A long run of 24k split into 8km loops, with an aim to get quicker each split.  I had hoped to join in this but decided that as my Achilles was still sore this morning that it is not worth the risk.  Becci did well on her run capping off a solid week for her, I went to the pool and did a 4k swim. Also grabbed some time with Stefan Vuckovic on poolside who gave me some great advice on my swimming, I am also getting some time with him tomorrow to pick his brains about ironman training.  This guy was a silver medallist at Sydney Olympics, 2^nd 2009 Ironman Lanzarote running 2:46 off the bike! One of the top 10 Ironman Athletes in the world, the advice will be invaluable.

Also got some diagnosis on my Achilles from a lady doing a PHD on Achilles! Perfect.  No issue, just a bit of RICE for a few days then build back.

So I have pretty much done my training. May get a swim in tomorrow but that will be it. Overall good volume, a little bit off my bike and run targets that I set due to not running or biking these last 1-2 days but,

17km swimming,

460km biking,

50km running 

30 hrs of training

This is the most volume I have done in this space of time, really pleased and it will give me a great base to build from.

JW has loved it here, grown up loads, confident around the water and eaten loads! He and uncle H know everyone in La Santa.

Flying home to the wet and cold on Friday.  Looking forward to building in the lessons learnt for my-self, Becci and the people in the club.

Saturday morning.

Couple of days since last update.

Great weather here, why can’t the UK have this weather. I am sure the UK population would be a much happier, healthier nation if we did.

Anyway since Tuesday have got some good training in, all gone to plan.

Thurs I planned my long bike. Solo 4:45mins ride, taking in 2 big climbs on the island, Haria and Mirador.  About 120km in total, good mental training to be out on my own for that long.  Mirador, along with El Golfo is my favourite part of the island, stunning view over the island of La Graciosa.

Later did an easy 1500m recovery swim.

Becci started her marathon course today.  I fit in a track set with dad, main set 3 x 1 miles at a comfortable pace with good warm up and cool downs.  My knees took a long time to warm up and seemed a bit tight after the long bike on thurs! Iced the knees after the run set and they seem better. Then did my longest swim set so far of 3k. Have swum each day so far and the fluid feeling is coming back.  Not doing hard efforts here just trying to bank some miles on all three disciplines.

Today Becci marathon course is lighter so I am getting out on the bike with dad for a long 5-7 hour bike on the ironman course.

JW spent quite a bit of time in the pool today, which was great. I had him kicking and getting confident in the Olympic pool then he was in the play pool with H. He is shattered!

Got 2 key runs planned over the next few days, one long run maybe with Dad then joining Becci Marathon camp for a 24km run set.  Need to look after legs to get these sets in.

Energy levels high at the moment and recovering well from sessions,  good sign of training within myself. Long way to go until IMW.

First Lanzarote Update

Weds morning now, setting to go out on a longer bike. update from yesterday..

Tues – our flight was at 7:50am which meant a 5am start. Flight was early so we landed at 11:40am and was in our room and unpacked by 1pm.  Great weather and sat in pool bar for lunch.

Tues afternoon we looked around and showed JW both swim pools, run track, play park etc. Becci had an easy stretch out in the gym and I did a 2k swim to lossen off after travelling. Walked up into La Santa village to pick up my road bike which I have hired for the trip, a very nice Time bike. Plus grabbed some food shopping in the local supermarket as it is so much cheaper than the resort supermarket. Everyone very tired so we ate in the room and crashed out.

Weds, woke up to clear skies which remained all day, lovely weather.

Becci’s marathon camp starts on Friday so she is doing some light training till then, which today was an early morning 1 hr run.  JW and Me joined in the morning stretch by poolside at 8am which was good fun, then after quick check on emails I headed out on my first ride.  Decided to head over to El Golfo, a stunning part of the island. An ideal first ride with some long climbs over Timanfaya fire mountains, and with a slight detour this clocked up as 78km, 2 hrs 45 mins.

Afternoon was spent on the beach with JW and Bec. I then joined the Green Team 5:10pm 12km off-road run, steady average pace and felt good. After finishing I jumped into the pool for an easy 1500m swim set. An amazing feeling swimming as the sun set and finished the session in a floodlit pool….

Good day all round for everyone, JW watched the Guest show tonight and he is shattered!

Right knee niggling tonight, I think from the downhill of the run, have to keep an eye on this, but tomorrow I plan a longer ride and a swim so no running which will give me the chance to ice tomorrow evening.

Dad, and gang arrive back here tomorrow.

We all love it here, each time I come back I realise how great it is.  Two major differences, no work and warm weather, and these two things make so much difference to training!!

Lost & Found!

Good weekend. ( pic is on Sussex Marathon route in country lanes)

Saturday.  Both Adults and Kids run sessions were busy today, club sessions geared towards Hastings half marathon now as most will be doing a half around that time. Kids are coming on so much, each season the kids really grow up and their approach to training is maturing which is the most important thing.
SC and I decided to head over to the Sussex Marathon Route to get our long run in plus do some further recci on the course.  We had planned a 90 mins section but due to a couple of wrong turns this ended up being 2hrs 35 mins and just over 18 miles, on a very hilly route!
Not ideal, but have taken lots from the run. 
Reality check of what this IM event is about..Endurance, and also that my conditioning on the running is in a good place this far away from race day. SC super strong all weekend. Good to run on the marathon course to get a feel of what the event will feel like for the competitors.
Rest and icing of the knees as precaution sat evening, seemed to do the trick.
Sever chafing on my back from a certain top I wore, vital lesson!

Today early morning swim, did 5 x 200m as main set with the other SC! swim / pull / medley / swim  / pull. better than last two swims this week.

Then out on bike at 9:30am.  Bit icy in the lanes so we kept to main roads.  Came across a car accident that had just happened, luckily everyone OK but could have been a lot worse.
Great group today, 5 of us, all doing IM Wales.  Ended up doing 85km including some climbing up over beachy head. Clear blue skies, crisp day and good athletes! We all appreciated being out training on the bike again.

Plan to have a recovery day tomorrow, lots to do before heading to Becci parents tomorrow evening as we fly very early tues. Hopefully sneak in an easy run/ turbo and stretch but no biggy if I do nothing, got 10 days of training time in La Santa.

All super excited about Tues. JH super excited that he has his own seat on the plane for the first time!

Dad back yesterday for a few days then they fly back out to join us at La Santa.

Watching Robin Hood now, then off to bed. Pretty tired now.

Friday Post

Felt much better today for the day off yesterday. Swam this morning, not very well.  Even though I expect it to feel rough when I have not been in the water for 2 weeks it is always amazing how ugly it is for the first few swims.  Still felt Tuesdays swim in my arms, but did a 2.6k set, with some paddle work and the custom fly at the end! ( everything around 1:28-1:30 p/100m)

After work did my run set on the treadmill.  Felt really good. around 30 mins at 15km/h was easy and then put in a couple of 4 mins hill reps at 4%. 

Longer Run planned for tomorrow after coaching.  Swim + long bike planned for sunday, hopefully with some fellow club members, lets hope those plans come together!

Becci did her 15 mile run today, looking in good form! Her marathon pace has dropped to well under 8 min miling, bodes well.

Day Off Thursday

Had my day off training today and I needed it!

 Wednesday - always a long day for me work wise, plus the weeks previous training caught up and after running club I was shattered and needed to sleep.  Had a good solid week, and getting back in the pool was great. Also reminded me that if I expect to work, train and see my family I must get good rest and sleep! I know I need at least 8 hrs sleep to recover from the regular training and work. This will go nearer 9 hours when the training steps up.

Over Friday, Sat and Sunday should get a long run, long bike, 2 swims and a tempo run, having had the rest today I am looking forward to it.

Last night while standing in the wind and rain coaching I starting looking forward to flying to La Santa even more! Becci is excited about her marathon course and I think we have just about managed to sort out that we will both be able to get some decent training hours in plus have a great time as a family.

Only a few weeks until the Marathon training day we are hosting on January 30th.  Putting the structure together for the day, including the presentation on heart rate, conditioning session for running and nutrition info.  Have wanted to do a coaching day like this for a long time now, it will be great to wrap up all the info and advantages of heart rate training into a presentation for the athletes.

Good PT / coaching sessions today with 2 good athletes. One FTP wattage test and one Run hill session.

78.2kgs this morning.

Left Knee felt good today, seems it can take 2-3 days running on the bounce then need a rest.

Alan Bennett and Greg Cahill, both doing Ironman Wales from our club have blogs to record their journey.  Having such a good club and community of athletes in the town is really exciting plus it makes training so much easier having a big network of athletes to train and mix with.

http://albennettimwales.blogspot.com/
http://theroadtoim2011.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

Tuesday 4th

First day back to work after NY.  Good to be back, sometimes forget how much is going on, but good team around it all now.

Enjoyed training today as it was the first swim session for 2 weeks since we broke up before Xmas.  not a long one, 45 mins total, did just over 2k, inc 10 x 100m and some fly. It will take a few weeks to get the feel of the water back, but swimming each day in La Santa will sort that. Easy 45 mins spin on turbo this morning before work.

Couple of days of running ahead, plus longer swim early tomorrow.
Quite pleased legs are not sore from the hilly run, just bit fatigued from the past 3 days. Left knee specific point a bit bruised, have to keep an eye on this over the coming weeks and months.

Heard today the Ironman Wales bike course will be changing from prov course. might be slightly more hilly.  Plans being made with other club members to get to the course later in the year to check it out.

Mr JWH birthday tomorrow!

Crowborough Hills

Final day of the Christmas and New year holidays which seems to have lasted forever this year with all the  bank holidays.

Training wise today - steady hour on turbo this morning, could feel legs a little heavy from yesterdays ride.  Lovin our new use for our conservatory, it is a combined toy room and turbo / treadmill room.
Already since Boxing day heart rates and effort level has dropped at IM wattage, always a must to get the heart rate settled at low intensities before pushing on.

Also got out for a steady 60 min run ( av 143hr) up at crowborough from Becci parents. Forgot how hilly it is up there! also started snowing again whilst running.

Back to work tomorrow, always enjoyed my work but massively excited about next year.

7 days until La Santa, so lots to do before i go.

Little J birthday Wednesday, wow that 3 yrs has gone quick!

2nd jan 2011

Now into 2011. Really excited about the coming year, I know it will bring new challenges in all areas of my life.
On the training side of things, I now start the long consistent build up to the ironman and hopefully to the best shape I have been in.
After using news years day to recover from the nye party today was the 1st session of the new year.
Pool still closed so headed out on the bike for almost 3hrs with Simon and Jon.
Due to the cold weather I have not been outside on the bike for about a month

Felt good for the 3hrs so at least the running and turbo work have maintained some conditioning.

Tomorrow I should be able to get on turbo plus a run out with Richard in crow borough. Back to work Tuesday, be nice to get back to normal routine, good diet etc.
Becci, Joshua and I fly to lanzarote on 11th jan.

Bought fuel belt and new swim trunks today.

Some sad news in the family with Steve passing away new years eve.

Weight yesterday 79kgs. 5-7kgs above race weight