Cyclists will tell you there are no short cuts to improving performance. It's all about time in the saddle. Following my training in Majorca I took the rest of the week to recover and I'm pleased I did. On Saturday when I headed out I could feel some fatigue in my legs. But I enjoyed 72km "in the saddle" while climbing 800m and increasing my average speed. Incremental improvements is the name of the game and my average speed had improved from before my training in Majorca. Also my "mental" approach to hills had improved as well. I was attacking them rather than preparing myself for pain!
This morning I headed out with my coach Genevieve and her husband Colin for a "short quality ride". Colin's road bike had been written off in an accident so he was out on a cx bike with thicker (slower) tyres - didn't seem to make too much difference to him, probably wouldn't have seen him for dust on a road bike! We kept a steady pace for 50km while climbing 563m and when I looked at the data, again my average speed had improved - marginally.
The highlight of the day however was talking to Genevieve (while eating cake and drinking coffee)about my plan for the next 9 months. My Ironman training officially starts on 1 October and I am so excited to have a plan to follow. I know from my Lanzarote Ironman how she meticulously prepares the plan specifically for me. It will start with building my core strength in preparation for what's to come along with "base level" training - building a solid foundation on which to build. We've already decided that I will be entering the Swashbuckler half ironman on 16 May 2016 as a way of testing my fitness and rehearsing in a race my transitions between the swim bike and bike run which are so important. Just getting this detail in the calendar is starting to make it real. Bring on 1 October! I hope you enjoy following my transformation from a weekend warrior to an Ironman! Thank you for your continued support.
Sunday, 27 September 2015
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
What goes on on tour....
I'm just back from 4 days training in Mallorca. Fantastic. 30 degrees +, good road surfaces and car drivers and cyclists living in perfect harmony. This couldn't be further removed from cycling in the UK and loved it!
There were just 4 of us ride and our leader (they will debate who that was but it certainly wasn't me!) had planned it well. In the first day we had a few hours to ride and we didn't waste anytime. We battered in 33 miles and 755m of hills and the heat made me realise it was going to be a hard slog. Listening to Elvis, thought he was dead, that night was enough to send us for an early night! Day 2 started with a 600m sea swim as our "domestique" (Wilson) is doing his first Ironman and wanted some sea swim experience. Then we hit the hills and 73 miles later I was busted. Despite our domestique taking the brunt of the work at the front 1,230 m of climbing isn't easy, especially in that heat - it was great. A few pints in the evening and another early night however we were planning an easy day tomorrow.
Thank goodness for a rest day. 1,800m swim, 26 mile ride with a 452 m climb and lunch at a fabulous restaurant at a beach and then a 3km run the end. This was a life saver as without it I wouldn't have made the best day's riding of my life.
Day 4 was brutal. The warm up was a 1,900 m swim which was unbelievable in the warm salt water. The bike involved 81 miles and 2 big climbs, one of them a Cat 1 climb (big bugger in pros language!). The big climb took 1hr 15 min but it was worth every pint of sweat for the views and the descent. Technical and fast but our domestique decided towards the end to "rip the legs" off us. I hid behind him and chewed the handlebars while trying to stay on his back wheel. Along the flat road we did the last 5km in 8min 30 secs. It hurt like hell but what a buzz.
Every day my max heart rate reduced which showed my fitness was improving and I pushed myself as hard as I could. Ironman Frankfurt may be in July 2016 but there is a lot of work to be done between now and then. I'll build on this training over the winter but in the meantime it's back to training in best the Scottish Winter has to offer. My thanks go the Kenny (the real leader), Wilson (the domestique) and Donny (my hill climbing partner).
There were just 4 of us ride and our leader (they will debate who that was but it certainly wasn't me!) had planned it well. In the first day we had a few hours to ride and we didn't waste anytime. We battered in 33 miles and 755m of hills and the heat made me realise it was going to be a hard slog. Listening to Elvis, thought he was dead, that night was enough to send us for an early night! Day 2 started with a 600m sea swim as our "domestique" (Wilson) is doing his first Ironman and wanted some sea swim experience. Then we hit the hills and 73 miles later I was busted. Despite our domestique taking the brunt of the work at the front 1,230 m of climbing isn't easy, especially in that heat - it was great. A few pints in the evening and another early night however we were planning an easy day tomorrow.
Thank goodness for a rest day. 1,800m swim, 26 mile ride with a 452 m climb and lunch at a fabulous restaurant at a beach and then a 3km run the end. This was a life saver as without it I wouldn't have made the best day's riding of my life.
Day 4 was brutal. The warm up was a 1,900 m swim which was unbelievable in the warm salt water. The bike involved 81 miles and 2 big climbs, one of them a Cat 1 climb (big bugger in pros language!). The big climb took 1hr 15 min but it was worth every pint of sweat for the views and the descent. Technical and fast but our domestique decided towards the end to "rip the legs" off us. I hid behind him and chewed the handlebars while trying to stay on his back wheel. Along the flat road we did the last 5km in 8min 30 secs. It hurt like hell but what a buzz.
Every day my max heart rate reduced which showed my fitness was improving and I pushed myself as hard as I could. Ironman Frankfurt may be in July 2016 but there is a lot of work to be done between now and then. I'll build on this training over the winter but in the meantime it's back to training in best the Scottish Winter has to offer. My thanks go the Kenny (the real leader), Wilson (the domestique) and Donny (my hill climbing partner).
Monday, 14 September 2015
Experience prevails, eventually!
On Tuesday I headed back to the pool with the equivalent of "flipper" as my swim partner. We worked on a set and while I didn't lose sight of her in the first 50 metres, I was lucky she hadn't lapped me by 400m. Try as I might, every set we did I was a lot slower and was breathing out my bum! Unfortunately any technique I had went out the "port hole" and it felt like I was wading through treacle. When I went back on Friday I was all on my own. So I decided to take it easy and continuously swim 1,600m - the most I had swam without a breather was 400m. What a difference. It was much easier for two reasons; 1 - I was going at a comfortable pace and not chasing anyone and 2 - I had set my mind that it was 1,600m without a break. This doesn't mean I won't be swimming fast 100's in the next 9 months. My programme starting in October will make sure of that, but I do need to keep my heart rate in check and maintain my form.
It's an identical story with my cycling on Saturday and Sunday. Despite a blue van trying to wipe me out on a roundabout, I had to try and control a skid in the wet and jump the kerb to stay upright, I met up with the boys. I knew it would be tough but was maxing out on my heart rate for 60 km while still keeping them waiting at the top of the hills. It was holding them back and killing me so I cut the ride short at 60km so I could fight another day.
The following day I went out on my own for a different 60km with some tasty hills. I kept a reasonable pace and monitored my heart rate to make sure I was in or as close to zone 2 as possible. What a difference. I enjoyed it, didn't breath out my bum and had the same average speed with a much lower heart rate than the day before - result! This is something I have known that to get fit and improve your endurance train in zone 2 on the long rides. Looks like I'll have some lonely rides over the winter until I can improve my bike fitness.
Next weekend should be different as I head to Majorca for 4 days of cycling in the sun. In preparation I've booked a sports massage tomorrow which will be a regular part of my training to keep my legs working. It's not a pleasurable experience but to make it easier I'll be shaving my hairy legs tonight which will make the massage less painful. The lengths I'll go to for Ironman! At least the cyclists won't look disapprovingly at my legs anymore although I know what my wife's reaction will be! I'll report back next week after some training in the sun.
It's an identical story with my cycling on Saturday and Sunday. Despite a blue van trying to wipe me out on a roundabout, I had to try and control a skid in the wet and jump the kerb to stay upright, I met up with the boys. I knew it would be tough but was maxing out on my heart rate for 60 km while still keeping them waiting at the top of the hills. It was holding them back and killing me so I cut the ride short at 60km so I could fight another day.
The following day I went out on my own for a different 60km with some tasty hills. I kept a reasonable pace and monitored my heart rate to make sure I was in or as close to zone 2 as possible. What a difference. I enjoyed it, didn't breath out my bum and had the same average speed with a much lower heart rate than the day before - result! This is something I have known that to get fit and improve your endurance train in zone 2 on the long rides. Looks like I'll have some lonely rides over the winter until I can improve my bike fitness.
Next weekend should be different as I head to Majorca for 4 days of cycling in the sun. In preparation I've booked a sports massage tomorrow which will be a regular part of my training to keep my legs working. It's not a pleasurable experience but to make it easier I'll be shaving my hairy legs tonight which will make the massage less painful. The lengths I'll go to for Ironman! At least the cyclists won't look disapprovingly at my legs anymore although I know what my wife's reaction will be! I'll report back next week after some training in the sun.
Sunday, 6 September 2015
AWOL
Sorry for the silence. My blog a few weeks ago disappeared even though I'm sure I'd written it. In summary it would have said two great bike rides. A long one on the Saturday and then out to start some hill rep training on the Sunday. In the 7 years I've been cycling hills have always been my weakness. I arrive at the bottom with the bunch and it's like someone has cut an elastic band and they disappear up the hill while I grind it out. So my hill climbing needs lots of work over the winter.
The following weekend I was away for my wife's birthday on a 3 day cruise with the family. Normally I'd be concerned about putting on weight which has happened in my previous two cruises. However this one seemed to be sponsored by weight watchers and I came off the boat the same weight I went on - straight home for a decent feed! Despite the shortage of food we had a great time and my exercise amounted to absolute zero! It was family time and we celebrated big style.
Back to work on Wednesday and with Thursday being "Cycle to work day" I headed off for the 26 mile return journey. If I did that 3 times a week that would be great training but the logistics of getting my clothes and laptop to the office doesn't always work. In addition winter isn't far away.
On Saturday I headed out for a 50 mile bike ride on Saturday with 4 others from the club. The big decision was what to wear and I was the only one in winter gear. That was fine at the start as it was cold but the sun shone and the heat built up so I was a sweaty mess by the end! We're all at different stages in our training cycle with 2 in the last 4 weeks before Ironman so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. As usual I paid for it on the hills and kept telling myself that in 8 months time I'd be performing better. I also reminded myself that Ironman was 4 disciplines; swimming, cycling, running and transition between the disciplines where a lot of time can be gained or lost. Running is my strength so on race day if I get left behind by the swimmers and the cyclists I know I can catch up on the run.
My legs were tired when I woke up this morning so I decided to test my foot and go a run. It must be 6 weeks since I've run and I wanted to know how it would feel. I managed 5km at a good pace and it was only when I stopped to talk to a friend did I notice any discomfort. Once I started running again it was fine. I'm getting some aches from the foot now so I'll leave it a day before trying the same again. It was great to be back running but I am going to have to be patient.
The following weekend I was away for my wife's birthday on a 3 day cruise with the family. Normally I'd be concerned about putting on weight which has happened in my previous two cruises. However this one seemed to be sponsored by weight watchers and I came off the boat the same weight I went on - straight home for a decent feed! Despite the shortage of food we had a great time and my exercise amounted to absolute zero! It was family time and we celebrated big style.
Back to work on Wednesday and with Thursday being "Cycle to work day" I headed off for the 26 mile return journey. If I did that 3 times a week that would be great training but the logistics of getting my clothes and laptop to the office doesn't always work. In addition winter isn't far away.
On Saturday I headed out for a 50 mile bike ride on Saturday with 4 others from the club. The big decision was what to wear and I was the only one in winter gear. That was fine at the start as it was cold but the sun shone and the heat built up so I was a sweaty mess by the end! We're all at different stages in our training cycle with 2 in the last 4 weeks before Ironman so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. As usual I paid for it on the hills and kept telling myself that in 8 months time I'd be performing better. I also reminded myself that Ironman was 4 disciplines; swimming, cycling, running and transition between the disciplines where a lot of time can be gained or lost. Running is my strength so on race day if I get left behind by the swimmers and the cyclists I know I can catch up on the run.
My legs were tired when I woke up this morning so I decided to test my foot and go a run. It must be 6 weeks since I've run and I wanted to know how it would feel. I managed 5km at a good pace and it was only when I stopped to talk to a friend did I notice any discomfort. Once I started running again it was fine. I'm getting some aches from the foot now so I'll leave it a day before trying the same again. It was great to be back running but I am going to have to be patient.
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