More Hard Work Then a Bit of Bird Spotting!

Last week was a planned recovery week but I decided to delay it a tad to get a few more hard sessions in, as I was feeling pretty strong.

The weather was good enough to get outside on the bike last Monday and I did 90 mins up and down the Mare Harbour road, working hard on the hills. In the evening I did 10 x 200m in the pool on 30 sec rest, with my last split being the fastest of 3 min 09. A fairly intense session.

Tuesdays run was 10 x 400's. I got up early intending to use the grass track but the weather got the better of me...snow had arrived! There wasn't much, but enough to make the track too slippy for any kind of pacey running. So the treadmill it was. It's not that easy doing this kind of workout on a treader, what with the 'time lag' when selecting the speeds and the rocking and rolling of the machine once it gets there! I just had to not start the clock until it had reached the required speed. I 'simulated' my 400m by selecting a 5 min mile pace and running for 80 secs, and then a minute of easy jogging. I increased the pace for the last few, up to 12.7 mph, but kept the efforts to 80 secs. It felt quite hard but I never seem to be able to work as hard on a treadmill as I would if I were outside, especially for speed intervals.

Wednesday was an intense bike workout. Total session lasted 1 hour, consisting of 30 and 60 sec sprints with same time recovery. Hard but good.

Rested Thursday. Friday was a tough bike/run brick. The bike was 10 min steady, 10 min big gear 'crunch' (50-55rpm), 10 min hard then a 15 min hard run. This was then repeated but the next time the run was at max effort. I felt this session! So much so, that the swim in the evening was cut short due to my quads starting to cramp up and my toes starting to spread apart! Ouch! It was supposed to be 4 x 500m at a moderate effort but I only managed 3 and called it a day while I could still use the steps to get out of the pool!

That was the end of the hard workouts. Saturday was a steady/easy ride with single legs and spin-ups followed by a bit of core stuff.

Sunday was a nature hike! I was lucky enough to get a heli trip to a nature reserve on one of the islands called New Island. We trekked up and around the island taking photos like Japanese tourists of various wildlife. We saw Black Browed Albatross, Rock Hopper penguins Fur Seals and the local 'hard men' birds of prey called Cara Cara. It's quite bizarre how close you can get to some of these creatures, as you can see from the snap!

Once I got back to camp I went for a 40 min easy fartlek run and finished with plenty of stretching.

Today, Monday, started with an easy swim, with drills, and this afternoon will be an easy bike. Tomorrow will be a rest day with stretching before my first 'race' of the season...a 9km x-country run on Wednesday. Looking forward to a bit of 'competition' pain!

Train smart.

I Like Hard Weeks...When They're Done!

It was Max, my youngest son's, 15th birthday last Monday and although it was great to speak to him, missing his birthday still put me in a bit of a 'sad' mood at the start the week. Being thousands of miles away and not getting the chance to partake in some of his quality homemade birthday cake just made things worse!!

So, what do triathletes do to get through a tough emotional time?...TRAIN HARDER!

One of my key sessions was on Tuesday. The weather was reasonable enough to get outside for a run session of 6 x 1 mile efforts with 2 min rest, on the rather lumpy grass track. It was a pretty windy day (there's a shock!) but I still managed to average 5 min 45 sec, which was hard but satisfying!

Saturday was a particularly good (aka hard!) day with a morning swim of a moderate effort 3.3km in 58 mins and then a high intensity turbo workout in the afternoon which, after a 10min warm up, went something like this:

30 sec hard/30 sec EZ x 4, 4 min rec,
60 sec hard/60 sec EZ x 3, 4 min rec,
30 sec hard/30 sec EZ x 4, 4 min rec,
60 sec hard/ 30 MAX/90 sec EZ x 2, 4 min rec,
30 sec race pace/20 sec hard/10 sec MAX x 5.

It was a true killer of a workout which left me gasping for breath and slumped across my tri bars! Just what you need!

This morning was a run up the Peak with my 'bike buddy'. But by the time we had finished our nightshift, there wasn't enough time to fit in a 2 hour run before breakfast, so I decided to push hard for 1 hr 30 with the incentive of getting up and back down from the Peak in time for a huge brekky! I effectively 'raced' the route...pushing hard up the hills and 'bounding' down without putting the breaks on! I finished it in a world record time (for me!) with my bike buddy not catching up with me until the last mile!

I have felt surprisingly good considering how hard I've worked this week. Some of my split times have come down a bit too which is always a bonus!

Next week is recovery week, and the week after I will be having a go at a cross country race which will be a good blast at a proper race effort!

Train smart.

Just One More For The Road...

Last week was a little bit disjointed. I had to rearrange my plans a couple of times as the week progressed. This was due to a couple of sleepless nights which left me too tired to train as hard as I had planned, and also a rather heavy 'social gathering' after work. My plans for this 'gathering' were supposed to be 1 or 2 bottles of beer before 'banging out' early so as not to impede on my early morning training the next day. I even had an agreement from a 'partner in crime' who also wanted to stay just for 1 or 2......we seemed to have quite a few 'for the road' and I lost count after 7 bottles...doh!
It may not sound a lot but it was enough for me to have to go very easy the following day, and needless to say the early morning session went right out the window, and it was all I could do to get on my turbo for a very steady 30 mins in the afternoon. Not great.
So I only managed a total of 11 hours last week, out of a planned 13. However, the highlight of the week was my long run up the Peak. I had company for a change, in the form of a 'mate on a bike', a bloke called Matt. Matt was using a borrowed mountain bike. This beast of a machine was a full suspension 'tank' of a bike which had definitely seen much better days! He rode along side me until we hit the base of the Peak, and then I left him to battle with gravity and the loose gravel! He caught up with me near the summit, along a flat bit. After a couple of dips and climbs on the other side of the peak, and a chain faff, we turned for home. This is where Matt let fly and enjoyed himself on the scary decent! He waited for me to catch up at the bottom and then rode with me for the last 25 mins, pushing me on, right to the end! It was a good run, no wind, lots of sun and a 'coach' to push me all the way! He's keen to ride out with me again, which is great. It's always easier to do long runs with a bit of company and Matt will get a good workout in to the bargain!
He also took a snap of me just before we hit the climbs which shows how nice the weather was. Spot the trees!




It's a 'hard week' this week which started this morning with a high intensity swim workout and after lunch today I'm off outside (yes, again!) for a long ride.

Train smart. Make the most of your sunny UK weather!

Easter Already...Nearly Half Way...

Happy Easter to one and all!

After the previous weeks recovery and (over) indulging in many of my guilty pleasures, namely cake and chocolate, I was 'chomping at the bit' to get back into some 'proper' training.
This was the first of another 3 weeks of building the hours and efforts, before another week of recovery in the 4th week.

Monday was a solid run interval session after work. 6 x 3 min hard / 2 min ez on the treadmill with the 'hard bits' at about 5 min 20 sec mile pace. This was a good blast and I felt quite strong.

Tuesday morning, nice and early before brekky, was a high intensity swim of 6 x 330m (10 lengths) on 6 mins. I was pretty knackered after this and found it pretty hard. I don't think I swim as well early morning on an empty stomach, as I do in the evenings after a day of fueling.
In the afternoon I played a game of squash with a guy who ran me ragged, all over the flipping court! A lesson in squash and no mistake! After my drubbing on the squash court I jumped straight on the turbo for an hour of steady riding including a few single leg drills, spin ups and sprints. I got through over 2 litres of water in 2 hours and still felt a bit dehydrated!

Wednesday morning, after a nightshift, was a long steady swim of 3km in just under 55 mins. At first, my shoulders were still a tad sore after the squash game but after a few lengths they felt fine.

Before going back into work for another nightshift, I hit the turbo for a tough strength session. The main part was 15 mins in a high gear at 50-55 rpm with 3 min easy spinning repeated 4 times. I quite like these workouts in a weird way, coz they seem to hit the right muscles, and hit them hard, and the time seems to go quickly. A 90 min session passes before you know it!

Thursday was a cracker, weather wise. However, the previous nightshift was a bit of a nasty one as we were pretty busy, meaning we had very little time for any 'shuteye', so I had to go to bed for the first half of the day. Once I was suitably rested, I took the opportunity to get outside on the bike for a steady 4 hour ride, up and down the usual route of Mare Harbour road. The sun shone initially but after a couple of hours it clouded over and the chilly wind picked up and it got very cool. I soon regretted the shorts and short sleeve jersey!! By the end of the ride, when I got to the main gate, my hands were so cold that I couldn't open the zip on my under seat saddle bag to get my I.D out! Embarrassing? you betcha!

Friday morning was an early swim again. A bit of high intensity stuff...8 x 100m on 2 min, 2 lengths ez, then 4 x 33m as fast as my little arms could propel me! A hard workout but the rewards were great...a massive breakfast...porridge, eggs, fruit...lovely jubbly!

Saturday was a day of work, so couldn't train till 8 pm, not ideal but needs must! So it was a short sharp turbo session of high intensity efforts:

30sec hard 30 ez x 4, 3 min recovery

60sec hard 60 ez x 3, 3 min recovery

30sec hard 30 ez x 4, 3 min recovery

90sec building to max effort in last 10 sec, 90sec ez

90sec building to max effort in last 10 sec.

I don't like these type of workouts. They are so painful but I know they are essential. I always feel good about myself once I've done them, but the thought of all that pain always leaves me dreading them!

Easter Sunday was rest day and eat chocolate day! A whole Easter egg, and a big one too! Those who witness my feat of chocolate endurance are always in awe of my natural ability to demolish such quantities! What can I say?...It's a gift!

Train smart and train well.