It's Friday

What is it about Friday's that makes us feel good?  It's not the end of the week for everyone but it is for me so the 5.40 am porridge tasted good.  The pool this morning was deserted of my normal training pals so I had the lane all to myself.  The drill was 2 x 1,000m (timed) which 4 weeks ago I couldn't have imagined.  But when you turn up with a plan in your head it's much easier to execute it than if you are uncertain about what to do.
Later today I have a 40 minute gym session before going off to watch my son play football.  The weekend will be full on with taxi duties to horse riding and football with training squeezed in between.  Hopefully a quiet night in on Saturday and a glass of wine with a nice meal with my wife and a family meal on Sunday.  Last week we all agreed that everyone was so busy we needed to have a manditory family meal so we could all catch up.  Bit like training really, you need to have targets in order to achieve certain tasks!

Testing times

Last night I was in a group of 10 people doing the same bike workout to measure our "functional threshold".  It was a hot and very sweaty session but what was interesting was that everyone was doing the same workout and putting in a similar amount of effort but with differing heart rate results.  Obviously there were differences of gender, age and level of fitness but it doesn't work in an expected pattern.  It is a great measure of your fitness and allows you to work out your heart rate zones which is so important to maximise your training.
To put this another way you can't work flat out all the time and if you do it will cause burn out.  It's about finding how to achieve optimal performance over a long period of time.  Before the session I went for a 30 min nap as the change in season seams to have affected my energy levels - this combined with my increase in exercise.  However this morning I took a long lie (6.45am) as it is a day off training and I feel the best I've felt in a couple of weeks.  Add to that last night my son has got his first job as a life guard starting next week, and there is a lot of positive energy in our household.  Back to training tomorrow.

Count your blessings

Every so often I get a wee reminder about how lucky I am to be fit and healthy which is something that is easy to take for granted.  But a few situations today reminded me that not everyone is so lucky so tomorrow when I get up I'm going to take some more time to smell the roses, metaphorically speaking, and appreciate what I have.
In the pool tonight it was a tough session, there were certain drills that I found almost impossible and once again my attitude could have been better - work to be done here.  But on reflection I have improved my swim fitness so much following my return that I know the hard work over the winter will pay off.  Swimming may be the shortest part of Ironman but if you get it wrong on the day it can finish your race so it deserves a lot of respect.  So if your healthy and perhaps fit, count your blessings.

Running on empty!

Early morning swim was almost missed due to the lack of petrol in my car!  Watching my computer tell me I had 0 miles of fuel when I had 3 miles to go was rather uncomfortable.  A lot of squirming in my seat as I cursed myself for not having filled up the day before but I had an excuse. I was soaking wet after my run and didn't want to scare anyone at the petrol station as I got out in my trisuit - looks ok in a race but not a petrol station!
I was 10 minutes late but completed my 1,800 m  swim and felt great - now to refuel myself.  1 litre of chocolate milk, a banana and 2 Frusli bars all to be washed down with a strong coffee.  Refuelling is essential as it helps repair the muscles after exercise.  Tonight I have a 40 min Gym session followed by a 40 min run so I'll need to have something in the "tank" before I start and something when I finish to replenish the system.  Ah the life of a wannabee athlete.

What a contrast!

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.

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.

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.