This has been a good 'hard week' and I came through it unscathed! Which is nice.
Last Monday, my long ride had to be in the gym on the turbo as the winds were up again (there's a shock!). Three hours on the turbo is a bit of a slog but on the advice of Turbo man, I broke it up a bit by sprinting or 'climbing' every 15 mins. It certainly helped to lessen the boredom factor...that and 'people watching' in the gym. That evening I blasted 'the core' and did loads of stretching.
Tuesday morning was swim drills and the afternoon was a bike/run brick. I did an hour of high intensity short sharp intervals on the turbo then hopped on the treadmill for a 30 min run, starting at 10mph and building to 12.5mph by the end.
Wednesday was an early swim (0600) consisting of a main set of 6 x 400m on 7 min 30. This was a bit of a killer but the large breakfast of porridge, poached eggs on toast and fruit and yoghurt, made up for the pain! Second session that day was a steady 90 min turbo ride with some single leg and spin ups (110+ rpm) chucked in.
Thursday was a treadmill session, 5 mins hard with 2 and a half mins steady, repeated 6 times, building to a max speed of 12mph on each hard effort.
Friday was back on the turbo for a strength workout. 4 x 15 min hard gear at 50-55rpm, with 3 min spinning at 95-100rpm. I'm feeling a bit stronger on these sessions now and am able to crunch bigger gears which is good for keeping the motivation high. I think I'll up the time spent in the big gears next time.
Saturday morning was a high intensity swim session. 10 x 100m on 20 sec rest, 2 lengths EZ then another 10 x 100m on 20 secs. I was really tired on this workout, right from the off! I pushed through it despite my arms feeling like lead, but my times were inevitably slowing towards the last few intervals.
Did a turbo ride of 90 mins in the evening. Started with an easy gear at 90-95rpm and moved down a gear every 5 mins until I could no longer maintain at least 90rpm - I lasted 45 mins and the last 5 mins were painful (in a good way!) and I could hardly catch my breath. The next 45mins were spent at a moderate effort with 30 seconds of max effort every 5 mins. A hard but enjoyable day.
Yesterday was a long hilly run over Pleasant Peak. From the base of the Peak, to the top takes me about 12 mins and this time, on reaching the top, I turned and headed back to the bottom, before turning around and trudging up again, only this time I went over the top and down the other side before returning back over it and back to camp. It took about 2 hours, with the last 20 mins ran as if I was in a race because I was being caught by another couple of runners who appeared just behind me from a converging path. When that competitive button gets pushed you just have to respond!
Later that afternoon I went for a dip in the pool for a steady 2.5 km, averaging about 5 min 50 per 10 lengths (33.3m pool). I felt surprisingly good considering the training I'd put in last week.
This week is all about recovery. I was on nights last night and I feel shattered today so I think a slow ride and a bit of core work is on the cards for later.
Train smart.
And where was the rest or recovery in that seven day slog ... I know, no one wants to hear this, but that kind of load is just what I was doing that lead to being over-trainined. Go read this link http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-endurance-training/ and consider, is this really a programme for peak performance or something else? Please don't encourage newbies to think this is a good training regime for them.
ReplyDeleteRecovery week, so off nights (which stresses all the body's systems you are still doing a ride even though you say you are very tired?
Take a step back and actually consider what you are doing before you end up where I did, it isn't pretty. And, I bet you are mainlining carbohydrates?
Kelda
Kelda, Thanks for your advice, and yes, this was a hard week without a day off, but I felt good so trained all week. I've been following your comments on the RAF Tri forum about adequate/appropriate recovery and the 'carbs' argument! I have been experimenting with 'less is more' as far as certain carbs go, and I do feel better and have shed a couple of kilos without trying. As for recovery, all my sessions in the recovery week are taken easy. I believe they help me to recover quicker and are stress free! I always listen to my body; if I'm too tired I'll change my plans, on the other hand I will push on when the going is good! Regarding giving advice to newbies, I would never say 'do as I do' coz believe it or not I do realise the importance of proper R and R, and that the wonderful world of tri needs to be taken steadily from a novices perspective. I haven't read the Primal Blueprint yet, but I will...promise!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, nice to hear you are experimenting with less carbs - quite a few guys are, and I think are quite surprised at the results.
ReplyDeleteChronic Cardio as PB puts it (all the 80-90% of mhr typical threshold sets) stuff is where the fatigue/stress comes, working at 75% (80% if well trained) and under and then doing the proper short hard sessions at 95% plus seems to be working well for me now I'm recovered. And I'm getting quicker and more efficient but without the burn out.
Good luck with it all and come back uninjured and well LOL!