This mornings duathlon was affected by the weather. The wind meant the bike element was cancelled and we decided to run a 10 km in the wind and the rain. It was a hilly 10 km and the wind made it tougher - it was "fine" rain, the sort that seems wetter! But we made the most of the event.Back home, hot shower and some chocolate milk to help with the recovery. Turned on the telly and guess what was on? Lanzarote Ironman, the event I will be doing on May 19th. It looked hot and hilly on the bike course and in 222 days time it will be me on that course. Watching the age groupers finishing the race made me feel very emotion.
The conditions couldn't have been more different from today and the conditions I'll be training in over the winter which is why in March I will be travelling to Lanzarote to get a weeks training in the heat, on those hills, fighting with the wind which can destroy you. But my real training starts tomorrow and there will be plenty of wet and windy weather to contend with so I'd better get used to.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
I have my focus
Met with my coach this afternoon to go over my training plan for Lanzarote Ironman. Ignoring Sundays duathlon the "base level" training starts on Monday. It's 9.5 hours per week of swim, bike, run, gym & core work! This is just to get my body used to "regular" exercise before the really hard stuff!
Having been through Ironman training before I know that this is only going to increase. What is great is having this plan to focus on. It will determine my life / work pattern for the next 7 months and there will be a lot of changes going on in my body during that time especially with the gym and core work. I'm not going to put on a lot of muscle as that would mean I have to carry it around but I will certainly "shape up"!
However tonight I am going to forget my training regime and enjoy quite a few beers at the Piping Hot Charity Ball as this will be a rarity in the coming months. Remember my motto that "a goal without a plan is just a wish" so now I have my plan I just need to execute it and enjoy the journey.
Having been through Ironman training before I know that this is only going to increase. What is great is having this plan to focus on. It will determine my life / work pattern for the next 7 months and there will be a lot of changes going on in my body during that time especially with the gym and core work. I'm not going to put on a lot of muscle as that would mean I have to carry it around but I will certainly "shape up"!
However tonight I am going to forget my training regime and enjoy quite a few beers at the Piping Hot Charity Ball as this will be a rarity in the coming months. Remember my motto that "a goal without a plan is just a wish" so now I have my plan I just need to execute it and enjoy the journey.
The early bird gets the worm!
On my own in the pool today as the rest of my pals made all sorts of excuses - understandable in a way as they have no event ot focus on. So 2,000m of drills and sprints and back to the office for 8.45 to enjoy my chocolate milk and banana - great way of helping the body recover.
It will be a long day with a charity dinner tonight raising money for my favourite charity (Maggie's Cancer caring Centres) so won't be doing much tomorrow before the duathlon on Sunday.
In the meantime, back to work as I've a busy day ahead but its amazing what you can achieve if you just get up an hour earlier.
It will be a long day with a charity dinner tonight raising money for my favourite charity (Maggie's Cancer caring Centres) so won't be doing much tomorrow before the duathlon on Sunday.
In the meantime, back to work as I've a busy day ahead but its amazing what you can achieve if you just get up an hour earlier.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Running in the moonlight!
I was down south today and when I got back I felt I needed to run. Just a short run but it needed to be fast as I have a duathlon on Sunday (5km run/20km bike/5km run). The duathlon is extremely tough as you go full out leaving nothing "in the tank" which means the 2nd run is hell.
I left the house just before dust and was only gone 25 minutes but returned in darkness except for the light of the moon - at 7.30pm! This also means I am going to need to invest in a head lamp as I'll be doing many more miles in the dark.
I will be swimming in the morning and following Tuesday nights session I hope that I am starting to return to some form, but there's still a long way to go. I'm also meeting with my coach tomorrow to discuss the plan for the next 225 days which I'm excited about.
I left the house just before dust and was only gone 25 minutes but returned in darkness except for the light of the moon - at 7.30pm! This also means I am going to need to invest in a head lamp as I'll be doing many more miles in the dark.
I will be swimming in the morning and following Tuesday nights session I hope that I am starting to return to some form, but there's still a long way to go. I'm also meeting with my coach tomorrow to discuss the plan for the next 225 days which I'm excited about.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Shattered
Yesterdays swim session plus my late night waiting for my son's return means today I am shattered. My legs are almost fully recovered from Sundays long run but I am happily taking the night off as I have a 4.45am start to catch a flight to London tomorrow and need to catch up on some sleep. I won't be training when I get back but will be swimming at 7am on Friday so again will need an early night.
Sleep is a major part of the training regime as you must allow your body to recover from the training. I have to plan my sleeping pattern around what I am doing at work or my life otherwise when I do train I'll be too tired.
Friday will be a 20 hour day because having got up early to swim I am hosting a table at a charity dinner in the evening which finishes at 1am. I'll take it easy on the Saturday with probably a longer session on the Sunday. All the time I will be eating the right food to give me the fuel necessary for perform.
Sleep is a major part of the training regime as you must allow your body to recover from the training. I have to plan my sleeping pattern around what I am doing at work or my life otherwise when I do train I'll be too tired.
Friday will be a 20 hour day because having got up early to swim I am hosting a table at a charity dinner in the evening which finishes at 1am. I'll take it easy on the Saturday with probably a longer session on the Sunday. All the time I will be eating the right food to give me the fuel necessary for perform.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Resistance to change
Tonight in the pool I was aware I had a bad attitude to some of the drills - my coach will certainly confirm that. Funnily enough they were the drills I wasn't very good at. Unfortunately in life if you need to make changes then generally you have to go through a period of discomfort while the changes are being implemented.
In a business meeting the other week I was listening to someone who had said they needed to change but everything else that came out of his mouth, and his body language, indicated he wasn't prepared to do the hard work.
I will continue to persevere with the changes required in my swimming and the encouragement I receive from my fellow athletes is always helpful. As I left the pool feeling I had worked hard but refreshed I was encouraged to see an excellent runner and cyclist, who are starting their swimming "careers", saying how tired they felt - maybe the changes are working for me!
In a business meeting the other week I was listening to someone who had said they needed to change but everything else that came out of his mouth, and his body language, indicated he wasn't prepared to do the hard work.
I will continue to persevere with the changes required in my swimming and the encouragement I receive from my fellow athletes is always helpful. As I left the pool feeling I had worked hard but refreshed I was encouraged to see an excellent runner and cyclist, who are starting their swimming "careers", saying how tired they felt - maybe the changes are working for me!
Monday, 3 October 2011
It's not 3 individual discilines
I was reminded at the weekend that triathlon is not 3 individual disciplines. As you know I find swimming a challenge but now know that with hard work I can get myself through the required 2.4 miles. My flexibility holds me back in one way but helps in another. You see I have inflexible ankles (as well as ham strings and shoulders!) which doesn't allow me to point my toes away when I swim therefore my feet act like anchors!
However one of the swimmers in the group was explaining that she finds the running difficult as she has stability issues when she runs due to having flexible ankles! So you may win in some aspects and lose in others.
But the key is being able to pace yourself throughout the race getting the balance between trying to get a good time yet not "blowing up" in the race. This is where your training comes in and shortly I will be starting my ironman programme which will continually be measured against my heart rate. In business you may be good at one discipline but "one trick pony's" rarely succeed. You need to combine different disciplines and continually put in the hard work to improve you skills while measuring against relevant benchmarks. Funny how triathlon and business are so closely linked!
However one of the swimmers in the group was explaining that she finds the running difficult as she has stability issues when she runs due to having flexible ankles! So you may win in some aspects and lose in others.
But the key is being able to pace yourself throughout the race getting the balance between trying to get a good time yet not "blowing up" in the race. This is where your training comes in and shortly I will be starting my ironman programme which will continually be measured against my heart rate. In business you may be good at one discipline but "one trick pony's" rarely succeed. You need to combine different disciplines and continually put in the hard work to improve you skills while measuring against relevant benchmarks. Funny how triathlon and business are so closely linked!
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