No pool = no swim

Ive been rowing instead of swimming of my xmas break. Yesterday I did a 30min row and then set out to complete some conditioning exercises.

3x30 squats
3x30 squats holding for 5 secs
3x30 squats jumping

Then the same with lunges. Unfortunately, I only managed the 3x30 squats before incredible cramp set in on my thighs, no amount of stretching or rubbing could cure it and had to give it a rest.

Hello Granny...

I went to do some hill training. I found a nice hill, or so I thought... I did a little loop of 5km with some spinning and (attempted) single leg drills (not easy away from the turbo). I head to this hill and aimed to climb up it at a steady pace with a controlled pedalling motion. I hoped to get up in 39x23 but ended up in 39x25 (my granny gear).
I underestimated the hill, or overestimated my hill climbing ability, and steady went out the window. 2/3 from the top I had to stand otherwise I may have come to a complete stop and just tumbled over... once at the top I felt like my lungs were going to come out of my mouth. I did it one more time but was hoping to complete at least 3 reps but I felt if I did another I would see my breakfast again.

I then went and did a lap of 7km at steady pace, a cool down pace, spinning my way back.

Once back I did a few calcs and found the hill average is 14% but I reckon the final 50m are at least 25%. Maybe my calcs are wrong... Ill double check the hill and check my garmin again, maybe tomorrow, maybe day after.

Long Ride

Went on my long ride yesterday, 2.5 hours. Great weather now and a great ride. Barely any cars or other people. All up hill out and back on the same route. No hairy moments like the last ride.

Here is the profile of the ride http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21028445


The Col took me 50 mins today.
Before the end of my holiday here I will really hammer it up the Col and see if I can beat my PB of 44mins.

Today was a steady 45 min run, trying to keep HR down but with the hills around here my HR did rise a bit high at times.... Its another beautiful day and soon be heading out for a walk with my gorgeous wife and doggy.

No Swim

Due to the fact there is no pool for me to swim in I have taken to rowing as my main swim type workout over xmas. Today was a steady 45 mins at 13800/hr pace. My PB is 15000 for 1 hour.
I now have blisters on my hands, need to wear gloves next time.

Hopefully the weather will get better, I really want a good ride!

Lazy day - its nearly xmas

Nothing today, I was going to go into the gym and do an hour on the rower and some weights but have ended up sitting on the sofa all day.

Tomorrow Ill be doing some cycling, low intensity, then Thurs Ill fit in the rowing with some more gym work.

I spent today researching Planet X bikes as these have taken my fancy. Really like the look of both the Stealth and SL Pro Carbon.... I can wish.

Also, looking forward to 2010 cycling season and seeing the new Livestrong/RadioShack team and how the roll.

Col de Ice and Snow

I brought my bike over to the South of France with me hoping to get some good long hilly and beneficial rides in. Yesterday I went for a long ride, my normal route from home to St Paul de Vence, up to Vence and then climb the Col de Vence. I would normally go over the Col and carry on for another 30km before doubling back. Yesterday the temp was about 10 Deg C and raining, in my eyes thats nice weather for riding. I headed out up to Vence and up the Col de Vence, 2km from the top the temperature dropped dramatically and snow began to fall and settle on the road.... oh shit. Getting back down was fun.... ermm.... hair raising. I headed down slowly, the further I came down the lighter the snow became and 4km from the bottom the roads were clear and it was more rain than snow, it was still ice cold though... and my feet, fingers, face, ears and nuts were numb. Got home safe and sound and showered for 10 mins to thaw myself out.

Hopefully weather will improve and I can make it to the top of the Col de Vence!

Long, hilly run

In France now, arrived yesterday and fortunately had no problems with traveling!!!

I had a 3 hour bike planned today but due to freakish weather for the South of France (snow and ice) I decided it would be a safer option to run instead.

I ran up to Vence, this includes a 500m elevation change... its a long way up but very nice to cruise all the way back down. Total of 17km, 1hr 42 min, average of 6min/km which for the route I'm quite happy with.

For those who care, here is the Garmin Connect link - Click Me

Its an inspiringly beautiful run which I highly enjoy. I'm here for 3 weeks so there will be many more rides and runs to come.

3 more work days then 3 weeks off... nice

Last run session of 2009 for me as I'm off to le Sud de France on Saturday. I was up at 5am and cycled to the session for 6am, well 6:07am actually, so I was a bit late! Last week on LT this week. We did 4 laps, starting with 50 strides at LT then remainder active recovery, then 50 strides with short recovery and a further 50 strides and finishing, and the final 2 laps were 100 strides, short recovery and strides till end of lap. A gentle lap to cool down and stretching.
A decent session but it was nut freezingly cold and even with the amount of layers I had on my fingers, toes and nuts were cold! All in the name of dedication.

This weekend

A couple of decent sessions this weekend.

Saturday - A Tri London group ride saw us heading 70km north to Westmill where there is a small cafe that makes delicious cakes (and bacon buttys apparently, but I resisted on having one) and well deserved coffees. The ride up there was nice, for most of it it stayed dry, a few drops of rain but nothing to cry about. The pace was steady, a nice chatting pace of about 23kph. A couple of mad drivers pipping their horns with impatience and odd hand and mouth signals were seen during the day too.
On the way back it was much harder, after being in a warm cosy little cafe it was bloody hard to get back on the bike when it was pretty god damn cold outside, obviously we had to, we were in the middle of nowhere. We did about 25-30km back to Hertford and this is where myself and another decided to get the train; due to freezing weather and having an appointment to make I thought it would be quicker, but after talking to the other riders today about what time they got home it turns out it was about the same! doh! Also, just after we had split from the 15 or so group we upset an angry driver, this saw him getting out of his car at the train station and yelling in my face and threatening with with a right hook. Oh well, you can't have everything.

Today, Sunday - Tri London hold a winter 5k series, it consists of a race once a month around Regents park. This morning we had a decent turn out of about 10. I ran there, this is near enough 5.5km, and then posted a 5km time of 22:06 and the ran/walked back. The 5k took it out of me and my legs now feel like lead - tomorrow at work won't be fun! All in all today 15km running.
I'm not supposed to be doing any high intensity work at the moment but the 5k series is also a good way to socialise so I thought it wouldn't hurt. I managed to max my HR today at 199bpm.
I have attached the route, it was 2 lap.

Rest and Turbo days...

Rest day on Wednesday, well received too as I was feeling pretty tired due to not enough sleep. I slept in till 730am and felt revived!

Thursday I was up at 6am, on the turbo by 630am. I followed my plan word for word as set out by my coach.

WU - 10 mins spinning with no hands riding and single leg drills

The following 10 time:

2 mins 60/65% HR
2mins 80/85% HR

80/85% should be LT, so this workout is to push the LT and in time increase my LT. I hammered it and felt good, its been a while since I have been on the turbo. Only thing I would say is when I'm on the turbo I find my bits go numb, dont know if this is due to the seat or just because I'm out and out pedalling for an hour solid.

Friday I was up and at the pool for 630am just to find out it is closed. I should have gone to the gym but was tempted back home by a warm bed for an extra 45mins kip.

To go faster you must go slower

Run session today at Millfields Park. I always enjoy this session, it's run by my coach and the session is always challenging and a bit different too.

Today I decided to cycle rather than run there, give the legs a little break and set me up for the week to come.

The session was again working on Lactate tolerance, this included 6x1k laps, starting out easy with 'X' number of strides in the middle and as the intervals go on the amount of strides get larger. We started out with 50 strides, then 70, 100, 170, 200 and finally 250. 250 strides covered just about the entire 1k. The strides were done at LT level.

Towards the end of the intervals I could feel the lactic acid building so these workouts are excellent for my tolerance of this.

An excellent session, just wish the weather was better!

Monday

Last week was a bit of a slack one. I have 9-11hrs listed on my training plan and I only did 3.5hrs. So this week I'm pushing to do every morning session and fitting in the conditioning sessions also in the evenings.

Today I was up at 5am, off to Cally pool again for a Tri London swim session. I'm working on my technique, taking in all the tips that the swim coach is giving and hopefully see my times drop. Feels a little uncomfortable but over time I'm sure definite improvements will be seen.

This mornings session was;

1.5mile jog out

7x50m - Even 50's doing single arm drill and odd 50's doing a catchup drill.

Main Set - 200m, 100m, 50m, 50m, 100m, 200m... all this repeated 3 times. Also this was off 2:00 for 100m. A nice steady pace, something I can keep up for a decent period of time.

1.5mile jog back home.

Run session tomorrow!

Friday Cally Swim

Tri London swim session today, 6-730am at Cally Pool. I was up at 5am after 5.5 hrs sleep, a piece of toast to get me going and I'm out jogging to Cally (about 1.5 miles) at 540am. It must have been near zero temperature because even with all my layers I had on I was freezing!

The session was excellent and I got a few pointers on my stroke. Apparently my front end is a bit all over the place and I need to imagine I'm swimming through a small hoop and keep the resistance down. I followed what the coach told me to do, felt unnatural but did feel faster.... probably wasn't but Ill grasp at anything.

The set was;

7x50m - Odd 50's clipping side with thumb, even 50's swimming with fists

Main Set

500m with pull buoy
1x100m fast

400m with pull buoy
2x100m fast

300m with pull buoy
3x100m fast

200m with pull buoy
4x100m fast

100m with pull buoy
5x100m fast

It was a great set, tiring but felt good!

Ice Ice baby...

Tuesday run session today. This is a 4k run out, session, 4k run back.

I was up at 5am, headed out at 530am to get there for 6am (a very steady pace). The session was based on lactate threshold and sustaining it for a distance then doubling and trebling the distance to see if the pace at LT stayed the same. My LT is at a pace of about 4:40/km, this equates to a 46/47 min 10k, need to work on it!

It was so bloody freezing but I had prepared for it, I had some running tights and 2 pairs of shorts, a base layer t shirt, a running jacket and a bright yellow wind jacket which keeps the heat in, gloves and 2 pairs of socks.... there was no way I was getting cold.

Also, I have found that Jelly Babies are excellent run nutrition, I carry a little bag in back pocket and it keeps me topped up on sugars. If I ever feel drained or 'hit the wall' these sweets are an instant boost. Try it.

27 days till Christmas

Today was a cycling session day held by my coach but for the tri club. He holds it in Finsbury Park, he does it about once a month but only two of us turned up!! Although it was bloody freezing.

We started with some single leg drills on a slight incline then some bike handling skills, this consisted of learning to turn in small places, also passing a bottle across the three of us.... I learnt that I have poor handling skills, ooops. Need to work on that!
Then we head off towards Crouch Hill, Alexandra Palace and Muswell Hill, using these hills for repeats which was a nice way to warm myself up and get some blood flowing.

It was so bloody cold!

Swim - First TT20

I had a Time Trial listed for this morning, 20 minutes all out, see how far I can go. Its to set a bench mark and to look for improvements over the coming months.
I was up at 6am to get to pool for 630am, didn't feel like it though as I was so tired, still, I dragged myself up had a nibble and headed out into the FREEZING dark morning.... why oh why do I do this to myself??? The pool was busy and people just don't get the hell out of your way and swim bloody slow in the FAST lane... pricks.

Overall it went well, covered 1050m in 20 mins, about what I had expected. Hopefully next time I will improve on it otherwise Ill be bummed.

As can be seen from the countdown on the right of this page my main aim for next year is Monaco Half Ironman, but there is a massive possibility there might not be one. This info is all from the net, nothing concrete but there isn't smoke without fire.....
However, silver lining is that it does say that a triathlon will take place but it may not be an 'Ironman' related event, hopefully it will still be the same distance though.

Fecking Winter

Very simple turbo session, nothing special and nothing to report. Out.

West Hill

Tuesdays are normally reserved for the run session with Tri London but unfortunately the coach who takes that session is away, I decided that I would venture to new areas for something different. London isn't famous for its hills, there are not many and those that there are are pretty poor, I know of 3 decent hills; the first being East Heath Road hill which is on the west side of Hampstead heath, I haven't been there but I hear it is ok, the second being Muswell Hill, this I have both run and cycled up, it is a short hill of about 500m but is quite steep and would be ideal for reps, cycling or running, and finally there is Highgate West Hill, this is where my pavement pounding took me this morning and apparently was used in the Tour of Britain cycle race.

I was up at 545am and out for 615, I stayed at a steady pace keeping the HR very aerobic. Unfortunately the path to West Hill takes me up Holloway road and Tufnell Park road, both of which are uninspiring, especially when there is traffic. Following my google map I found the hill and steadily conquered it, as this is the closest of the 3 hills I feel I will be re-visiting more frequently. All in all I covered about 11k in just over an hour (very slow) with a decent hill in the middle.

West Hill profile

Back to life

It's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I have been super busy and very ill, I had flu and I have only just got over it.

At one point I felt as rough as this guy --->

This morning I dragged myself up at 5.45 and went to the pool, this week is listed as a recovery week but as I haven't worked out for nigh on 2 weeks I was considering swapping it with a non recovery week but advice from my coach is to leave it as it is and use it as a steady introduction back to working out and allowing me to get back to 100% health.

So today was just 30 mins steady swimming with a few drills, nothing special but a nice gentle way back.

Le Sud De France

My wife and I arrived here on Sat for a long weekend. The weather is colder than expected but at least it isn't bloody raining as it does all year round in London.

Yesterday went for my long run, 16km in 1hr 32mins. I did keep it at a steady pace with a steady HR but the biggest reason for the slower than normal pace is the fact it was all up hill for the first 10km and when I say up hill I mean up hill..... on the plus side, it was all down hill for the last 6km. Once I'm back in the UK I will try and attach the profile of the run.

Leeds won this weekend too, all in all pretty good.

Finally Friday.

I went to the Tri London swim session this morning, a nice 5am get up for the 6am session. Its held at Cally pool which is nice because its a warm pool unlike Highbury pool which is always cold, everytime I get out of I'm shivering.

I ran there, only about 1.5miles so a nice little warm-up before I have even got in the pool. I also ran back afterwards.

The swim session was excellent, is a while since I have been to one. Started off with7x50m of drills, fists and running finger up side, then a main set of 600m w/ pull buoy followed by 6x100m with 20seconds rest in between at 400m pace, 400m w/ pull buoy followed by 4x100m with 20seconds rest in between at 400m pace, it did go further than this but I had to go at 7:10 to get to work early. I didn't push it and kept it slow and steady. All in all, including the warm-up I covered about 2800m.

They have a coach there who gave me a few pointers about my stroke, hopefully with a bit of work I can improve my technique and improve my times.... swimming is all about technique.

Its getting darker...

Yesterday I did a turbo session, I started off with single leg drills and some high cadence (100/110rpm) for warm-up then just did 45mins at a aerobic HR followed by 5 mins spinning for cool down. Nothing too glamourous or strenuous.

Today I had a long day at work and jut want to eat and sleep.... and maybe watch some Lost season 5, which, by the way, is a bit crap.

Going to Nice for a long weekend though (Early Saturday to late Tuesday), so that will be nice. Get some nice running in. Also going for 3 weeks at xmas... can I be arsed to take my bike? They bloody well charge you on BA now... the cheek.

Dimanche, Lundi et Mardi

Sunday - Long run day today. Aiming for a straight run steady pace with a average aerobic HR for 1 hour. I started out with 10 mins on drills to get warmed up. The drills consisted of lunges, high cadence and knees up, get some funny looks in the park when doing some of these. I did 1 hour of steady running, I felt like I could have kept going for a good 30 mins or more.

Monday - I took a rest day, wasn't feeling up to anything.

Tuesday - Went to the run session today, horrible weather and I got soaked. Today it consisted of a 4k run out, stretching and lower body work. The lower body work consisted single leg work like hopping around cones, lunges and explosive lunges, this left me with aching legs and it was just the bloody warm-up! We then ran 4 loops of 1k looking at high cadence, trying to up our cadence for more efficient running. Generally a cadence of 180-190 steps/min is recommended, mine was at around 175, so a bit low. High cadence gives better technique and promotes mid-foot and fore-foot striking rather than heel striking which can be bad for the joints and also gives a 'braking' effect. Following all this it was a 4k run back, needless to say it was a slow run back as my legs felt a bit punished!

Slow long ride - Boxhill, Surrey.

Today was the first of the Tri London winter rides, it was led by a very competent Triathlete in the club call Steven Lord. We set off from Blackfriars bridge at 7.30am and head south to Box Hill. Box Hill is used for many triathlons and is probably one of the best hills in the area (although doesn't compare to those I have ridden in the South of France) so it was nice to travel down there and experience it, no doubt I will be heading down there when my full Ironman training starts for long rides and some hill repeats.

The weather was ok when I set off at 7am but when I had got to the bridge it was slightly raining. We all met there, there was 12 of us so quite a big group... nice to meet some new people and put some names to faces.

It took us about 2 hours to get out of the busy roads and traffic of London but once we had got to Box Hill it was a nice place, did a couple of loops around which is good climbing experience for Monaco 70.3. I doubt I will look forward to riding down there n the future. At the top of Box Hill is a nice little cafe, the other riders got a coffee and big slices of cake but I kept my discipline and resisted..... they did look sooo nice though!

Couldn't face riding back through all the busy traffic back to London so I let the train take the strain and followed a couple of guys to Dorking station and got a train back to London.

All in all I was out for 5 hours+ and didnt cover a massive distance (about 65km) but it was nice to get out and meet some new people. I was very nice to get home though! 3000 cals burned, nice slice of cake??

Here is the route CLICK ME!

I also want to make a quick comment on SKINS. I have a pair of leggings and they are brilliant... BRILLIANT. Nuff said.

TFI Friday

Slept horriiiibbbblllyyy last night so enjoyed a sleep in till 730. Went to the gym tonight and did another steady row (to replace the missed swim) for 30 mins followed by lower body/legs weights. Nothing exciting.....

Thursday turbo

After being away for a couple of days up north for a family matter and wasn't able to train Im now back to it.
Was up at 6am this morning on the turbo by 630 and did an hour. I concentrated on technique and did a few drills too.

Single leg drills, 20 revs on each leg, 5 times.

High cadence with arms out concentrating on whole stroke and core strength

Remaining time I did high cadence aerobic work, no high itensity work for me!

Tonight, after work, I headed to the gym to work on some upper body stuff. 30 mins rowing at steady pace = 7100m and some weights work on chest, back, shoulders and arms.

I should be able to put a list of my races up here soon, just need to finalise a few things.

oooooh 50 views so far.

Yet another turbo Sunday

I was going to head out on the bike today, just a 2 hour steady ride with my coach but he had to bail last minute so I stuck the bike on the turbo and did a steady hour keeping HR with zone 2. This will probably, depending on the weather, be the last time I use the turbo on a sunday for a while. I think my future weekend rides will be out on the road getting the miles in at a low intensity.




Looking forward to xmas, I'm heading to France for xmas with my in-laws. Also get to see our beautiful Golden Retriever, Toffee. He is a massive boy now. He gets his balls lopped off this week too....

C'est pas tes oignons

Went on my 'long run' today although not too long, just an hour at a steady pace which I can hold for the whole duration without slowing. This is about 5:35/km. Starting next week I will be following my new plan.

Is anyone reading this blog?

Lazy days

I haven't posted for a few days, that's because I haven't done anything! Unfortunately some bad news knocked me this week and lost my concentration. Also, I started a new job so less time in the day too... need to get a routine back!

On the bright side though I have received my first week plan from my coach and will start that next week. He is still gathering all the info he needs about me but the first plan is a good start.

I will hopefully get myself out for a run tomorrow...

I thought I'd attach a couple of the bikes I drool over..... mmm Felt

We have the Felt AR3 and Felt B2, unfortunately both are out of my budget.... at the moment! My father-in-law has one and he loves it, so thats good enough for me. Not to mention they look the business.

Fell Running

Im up home this weekend which means getting some fell running in. I went for an 8k run today, all up hill out and all down hill back. My trails took me to Top Withens, made famous by the Bronte's in Wuthering Heights. A beautifully quiet run and a massive contrast to the city that is London.

Ill go out again tomorrow.....

It's getting colder...

Up at 5am today to go to the weekly run session. As always its a 4k run out, do the session followed by a 4k run back, well, it was more of a run/walk back as I hard a crippling stitch and couldn't run it off.

The session consisted again of running a 1km loop doing 'x' amount of 'strides' then doing some circuit training in the middle of these loops.

The circuit training exercises are aimed at strengthening the core muscles by doing step up exercises, plank exercise and explosive jumping exercises.
The session was a lot harder today, harder circuits and harder running, but all very worthwhile.

Also, the temperature has taken a nose dive. I don't know what the temp was but it was very cold; at one point I could see steam coming off my head and face. Winter is coming.

4k run out

Run/Circuit Training Session

4k run/walk back

Didn't write yesterday because I didn't do anything..... weigh in though - no change, 77.3kg - thats depressing.

Turbo day tomorrow and heading up north so will get some trail running in whilst I'm up there.

Turbo Sunday

Did a turbo session following a Chrissie Wellington favourite that was in 220 mag a while back.

Its a pyramid session, totalling an hour, aimed at strengthening the legs.

10 min spin W/U
4 x 1 min in big gear at 50-60rpm - 1 min rest spin
3 x 2 min at 60-70rpm - 1 min rest spin
2 x 3 min at 70rpm - 1 min rest spin
1 x 5 min at 75-80 rpm - 1 min rest spin
1 x 10 min at 80+ rpm - 1 min rest spin
1 x 5 min at 75-80 rpm
10 min spin W/D

Hers is a bit longer though.....

Talking of Chrissie Wellington, she won at Kona....again! 3 times in a row, World Ironman Champion! She won with a time of 8:54:02, beating the previous record held by Paula Newby-Fraser.

Philip Graves fought hard and finished in 9:16:02, a brave effort. He had an excellent swim then led the whole race up until about 60km, then, I think, the heat got to him.... he finished 41st.

Maybe one day Ill make it to Kona.....

Ironman Saturday

Saturday = long run day.

12.5km run today. I ran along the canal side which is very nice but full of people who walk 4 people wide so you can't get passed... considered dumping a couple of them into the canal but didn't think the ducks would like it so I just yell and grunt so they move... oh, it took me 1hr 15mins.
The purpose of my long runs over the winter is to increase the time I can run, and to keep the heart rate low to teach the body to use fat as fuel, so 6min/km is what I pace myself at. Apparently, sometimes you have to go slower to go faster....

Had the Ipod in, Fake Blood Essential Mix from Radio 1... absolutely brilliant.

Its the Ironman World Championships today in Hawaii, it will start about 5pm-6pm BST. Im hoping Chrissie Wellington can make it 3 years on the trot, that Philip Graves, the 20 year old from York who won Ironman UK this year, will surprise everybody and possibly take the win?! He is a powerhouse on the bike so I wouldn't put it past him - the conditions in Hawaii are slightly different to Yorkshire though, and finally that the members from Tri London who are competing there have excellent races.


There has been news that Lance will be competing in Ironman next year and hopes to do Ironman Kona. I think he will be a force to be reckoned with, he has a history in triathlon before his cycling career and his time trialling is second to none.... watch this space.

Coach

I had a nice long chat with my prospective coach today, I think with him on board I will make some significant improvements. He should have some sort of plan drawn up before end of next week and the real training can start - exciting. This is all assuming I can afford him, I hope so.

Run Run Run

Today I was up at 5am, no sleeping in for me. I headed out at 530am, 4k run to Millfields park for the run session, 6am-7am. The session included explosive stretches and a harder circuit training course than last week. It comprised of a 1km loop with stops around it for core work, different exercises at each station. Then a 4k run back where I got soaking wet through as the heavens opened.

4k run out

Run Session

4k run back

Where has the sun gone?

Miserable Weather

The weather was pretty good yesterday, some hard winds but pretty good. Me, being the lazy git that I am didn't take the opportunity to get out on the bike, I laid in bed until midday instead. So yesterday was a lazy day.

Ive had further emails with my potential coach, I should be meeting up with him this week to discuss whether we are compatible.

Today, I wake up and its wet, cold and all-round miserable - not conducive to train outdoors or getting up early. I slept very badly last night too, the flat was baking hot and we had the window open.... so I didn't get up for my early swim session. Bad boy. I jumped on the turbo this afternoon and did 1hr following a Spinervals (http://www.spinervals.com/products/item14.cfm) DVD I have. Its a good workout and at least I know I might be doing something correctly.

Weighed myself, not much joy. 77.3kg.

Slow and steady

Looking further into a coach and have been swapping a couple of emails, by next week or so I should have a proper training schedule split into mesocycles aiming towards the Monaco 70.3.

1 hr long run today. Carrying the extra weight slows me down... Ill have a weigh in on Monday to see if ive lost any. Covered about 11k, trying to keep heart rate down.

Break it down

No major news today. Its been a slow one.

Skipped the early start and decided I'd hit the turbo again instead of swimming. Jumped on for a steady continuous paced 1 hour session, keeping my heart rate around 160/165, just below my lactate threshold - I think.

Just a quick note, for those who don't know what an Ironman or any distance triathlon consists of I will list them below.

Super Sprint - 400m swim, 10km (or sometimes 20km) bike and a 5km run

Sprint - 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run

Olympic - 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run

Half Ironman/Middle - 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run (half marathon)

Ironman - 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42.2km run (marathon)

These distances may differ slightly depending on the race, but these are the standards.
So as you can see, it is no easy task... I need to be more disciplined with getting out of bed.

Virgin London Marathon....whatever

I had entered the ballot for the London Marathon for next year and just received the mail telling me I have been unsuccessful, bugger. They did give me a big red rain jacket with 'Virgin London Marathon' plastered on it, obviously I can't wear it as I haven't bloody done it. Maybe Ill find another way in. All the charity places want minimum amounts raised and they are normally around the £1500 to £2000 mark... doubt I could raise that. If not, Ill try again next year and maybe enter a less popular marathon instead.


Hopped on the turbo this morning and had a hard 1 hour session, I was planning on it being a steady 1.5 hour but once I was on there I notched it up a gear or 2.
I was hoping to go to circuit training tonight but when I reviewed the gyms class times I realised they don't even do it on a Thursday - what a dollop.

Ill have to change my weekly training plan, spin thurs and weds over as circuit training is on on a Wednesday.

DOMS

Not up to much today, got serious D.O.M.S issue. I think it is a combination of not running for 3 months (or exercising at all for that matter), the cold and the hard session.

I intended to get on the turbo for 1.5 hours but I guess not. Ill jump on the turbo in the morning then go to circuit training tomorrow night.

My wife and I have made some lovely looking burritos for tonights dinner.... mmmm

Swim Bike Run.... what else?

Thought I'd show you what gets me through my training and Tri's. My Kit.

















My Bike - a CSK beauty, Alu with Carbon forks kitted out with Shimano Ultegra. Not a bad ride a she does what she is told. As much as I love her I'm looking to upgrade to a full carbon hog when I get some cash together.... hopefully early next year. The orange tyre is just used for the turbo, I have another wheel I use for outdoor use.

Rudy Project helmet - comfy as hell and cool as f*ck. Need I say more.

Shimano R099 bike shoes - pretty cheap road shoes but they do the trick and I like 'em.

Asics Kayano runners - now these are the comfiest trainers I have ever worn and for long distance training wouldn't choose anything else.... well maybe some Newtons.

Orca Wetsuit - A gift from my new wife and fits like a glove. Modelled by me on the right of the page.

And finally, the Turbo Trainer - Cyclops Fluid 2, a trusty, solid, well made turbo that does exactly what it says on the tin. I would recommend to anyone.

I would show my beautiful carbon deep section race wheels but I don't have any so I can't....

Today's training was a run session in Millfields Park, Hackney. Its run by a Tri London member who is a triathlon coach who does it for the club, he is a clever guy and I really like these sessions. I ran down there, did the session and ran back.

4k run out

Run session - this consisted of explosive stretches and a circuit training style run around the park with stops at different areas for some other activities. Great work out. 6am - 7am.

4k run back

Its nice to be training again. Can feel the weight falling off.

First post on my fancy new blog.

This is my first entry on my brand new blog... don't really have a clue what to write but I'm sure something will come to me.

I have been into Tri for a couple of years now and this year (2009) is the first year I have competed. I did Skipton Sprint Triathlon, Eton Super-Sprint Triathlon and Coniston Standard Triathlon. Through these 3 tri's I learnt a lot, one of the main things I learnt was being knocked off your bike by a car bloody well hurts (which happened to me during the Coniston Tri). No, seriously though I have learnt a lot and I will add it all into my training and races for 2010 and make it a pretty good year. My future goal for the moment is to complete and Ironman, specifically Nice Ironman, I will do this in 2011 as 2010 is a little too soon and I have wayyyy too much going on. All my training and racing will be gearing me up for it though. 2010 is all about more Oly distance races and the Monaco 70.3 Half Ironman event, making it through these unscathed and building on it for the long distance. Thats pretty much everything, in a nutshell, about my triathlon 'career' so far.














A few other things about me......

Im 24, live in London with my beautiful new wife and we got married in the July just gone. My wife got in contact with Chrissie Wellington to see if she would send something wishing us congrats as a surprise for me - see the attachment below, pretty cool I thought.

I'm a member of a couple of clubs, my main one is Tri London (sorry BCTTT) and I'm also a member of the Bridgtown Cona Testa Triathlon Team (BCTTT), which is more of an online club but still excellent and is run by Darren Roberts (Conehead), author of 'How Triathlon Ruined My Life', which, by the way is an excellent read.

Tri London is based in north London and runs many training sessions through the week, mostly run by experienced members of the club. Its a great club with some extremely talented and knowledgeable triathletes who are happy to share their knowledge FOA!
So all in all, I'm pretty well set-up for a successful season (successful in my own standards - I ain't going to win nothing).

I've been out of the country and not training for the last 3 months so today is my first day back. I managed to gain a substantial amount of weight too. Goals to winter - Train hard and improve base fitness, lengthen my long run to up to 20-25k, work on cycling leg strength on turbo, all-round improve swim and LOSE WEIGHT!

Currently Im sitting at about 77.5 kg, thats 5.5kg more than 3 months ago. I want to be back to 72-73kg by Xmas.

My idea for my plan is going to be something like this (although I intend on forking out for a professional coach to organise me a proper structered training program for the year.

Mon - Club Swim - 6am-730am
Tue - Club Run Session - 6am-7am (with a 2.5mile run there and back also)
Wed - Turbo Session - 6am-7/730am
Thur - Circuit Training 7pm-8pm
Fri - Club Swim - 6am-730am
Sat - Long Run/Ride
Sun - Long Run/Ride

So today's training was in the pool, I didn't go to the club swim as I wanted to see where I stood with my swimming fitness.

100m WU
400m TT = 7m 54s (PB is 7m 25s)
1500m TT = 30m 54 (PB is 28m 10s)
100m WD

Total = 2000m

Im quite happy with that, not a bad starting point.

Sorry this post has been bloody long, they won't all be like this I assure you.
Tomorrow Ill post about my kit.....oh, and my training.