Monday 26 September 2011

Home & Away

A weekend trip to Scotland was required to visit family. I was just outside Aberdeen and had amazing weather.

Saturday morning I managed a quick 5 mile loop round the outskirts of the town. The roads were quiet and the scenery was great.

That was it apart from my brother managing to raise my heart rate. He's got a few driving qualifications so don't be trying this at home. But I've never felt quite so sick since a roller coaster in the USA.  Thrashing around the lanes at 60-90 is not my idea of fun. Although in retrospect he knew what he was doing.

This evening I did a quick lap of the 10k circuit. I decided to make it a fartlek session and aimed to do the effort on the uphill section. I thought it was 1min on, 2 off but it turned out to be 1 mile on, 2 mins off. Yikes. It did work well though as the main efforts came at the hilly section and I was pleased to push on those with something in the tank. In the end the 4 miles were at just about 7min pace.

I managed a lunchtime swim session today as well. I think there might have been a breakthrough with my front crawl finally being quicker than my breast stroke! I know, pathetic but a breakthrough all the same.

The next few days are going to be busy. I'm down in Somerset for an announcement which will cause a bit of angst and no doubt be in the news. Anyway, the shoes and trunks are coming so I can escape when the job's been done.

Friday 23 September 2011

Swim sessions

So I'm 3 weeks into the new swimming regime. It's hard work. I am so rubbish at swimming!

Drills and reps galore. Worst of all has got to be 4 x 25m legs only. I am so slow its untrue.
I'm fine on my back, I kick away and off I go. But on my front, I might actually be going backwards.

There are signs of green shoots though.  I'm finding the arm drills helping my stroke efficiency which means less strokes to complete a length. And, I suppose my confidence is improving and I'm not a out of breath as much as I was 3 weeks ago.

The session is, 12 x 25 warm up, 4 x 25 legs, 2 x breathing right, 2 x breathing left, 4 x high elbows, 8 x 50 flat out. Then a warm down.

At the moment I'm managing 2-3 sessions a week. So surely there's got to be some improvement!

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Airport Slog, 6.5miles

I had a car to drop off at the Airport and was delighted Anthony could join for the run home.

It's dark before 8pm now so we've resorted to the use of head torches for the run home. The writing was on the wall though when I found one of Olivia's teddy bears in the hire car and had to carry it home. Then Anthony's new head torch didn't work.

I was still feeling the effects of Sunday's reps when we started running. My calves were aching and I had very little bounce. Anyway, the darkness forced the pace down, especially on the off-track sections.

We took the route down passed the sewage works and up Cooters End Lane. All in all 6.5 slow hard miles.

Hopefully the recovery will start tomorrow.

Monday 19 September 2011

Herts 10k Splits

So this is now definitely an annual event. The 3rd outing of the Sunday morning troupe for the Herts10k route in 3x2.08miles with 3 minute recovery.
Paul Savage and myself have done all 3, Anthony and Big Paul have done 2 and today we were joined by Rob, Ben & Viddy.
The general rule is to push as hard as possible, take the mick out of your running mates and hope not to die in the process. We've come close in previous year's but not this time.
It was pretty cold this morning, 6-7c, and so a few of the guys were in their leggings and jackets.
We met at the George and headed up to the start line. Ben was late so had to scamper to catch us up. That didn't slow him down as he and Viddy set a blistering pace on the first leg. The rest of us were strung out with myself and Rob making sure no one fell behind. Anthony was looking strong and holding Paul's pace, while Big Paul pushed along behind Ben & Viddy.

At the first stop we regrouped and then too off again after the 3 min recovery. My legs were shot to bits. I was really struggling but tried to keep Rob's pace. He was running the second leg very strongly after the shock of the first. Up the hill was steady and then the long drag back to Roundwood where wee stopped and again regrouped. Ben & Viddy had once more set off like hares!

We lost Paul at this point. His biannual need to rush to a bog seems to align with these reps.

The 3rd leg takes us back down the Nicky Line and over the fields. Rob was on form and Anthony was cruising. I, on the other hand was whimpering like a git. The energy was gone. A bit of running, 3 swim sessions and a track session on the bike probably caught up with me. However I dug in and somehow came in with a reasonable final set.

So the 2011 splits were: 7:05, 7:10, 7:08.
Compared with 2009:  6:30, 7:03, 6:58 and 2010: 6:54, 7:37, 7:46.

So I was pretty happy with those in all honesty. There's still a few weeks to go and with a proper taper I might get close to the 2009 time which was a bit over 41mins.

Saturday 10 September 2011

Swim, Bike, Run.

It's been a fun week with me starting novice sessions on both swimming & cycling.

I've decided to go back to the drawing board on the swimming. My cardio fitness is good but my technique and efficiency in the water is abysmal. So on Tuesday I was back in the pool getting one-to-one lessons and using the teddy bear floats the kids use. Not very ironman but it has to be done.
The good news is I can be rebuilt but it is going to be hard. I've core exercises to do every day, stroke, balance & breathing drills to do when in the pool. Oh well it's nearly winter so I might as well spend it in the pool.

Today was my second session over with Welwyn Wheelers who run some novice sessions on the race track. Using a fixed wheel bike with no breaks is quite an experience. Getting on and off is tricky but I think mastered now! The coaching has been all about building basic skills and not about fitness, although I think 2 hours on the bike is good for anyone. The drill include drafting on the wheel of the rider in front,  using the slopes to move from front to back and snaking your way through a throng of riders.

As well as the bike and swimming I've managed 3 shorter runs. The focus is turning towards the Herts10k so I've cut volume and building the speed work. Hopefully I'll stay clear of injury.

I'm hoping to get out on Sunday morning's from now through the winter and it looks like a good group will be at the George tomorrow at 7am. The weather looks wet and windy so that'll separate the men from the boys!

Sunday 4 September 2011

A few miles covered, 17 sessions, 17,000 calories burned.

A few weeks holidays but no let up in the training. 17 sessions captured on the Garmin and a few others which slipped through the net when the Garmin battery died.

Week 1 was in Crieff where I set about riding a few hills and adding on a hilly run. These sessions were very tough but the scenery helped distract from the lactic acid build up on the hills.
One of the highlights was dinner with DocRoddy my cycling guru. Roddy's training for a week in the Pyrenees and completed a gruelling 100mile ride on Sunday.
A few morning swims kept me on track and overall the week in Crieff was excellent.
We headed to Aberdeenshire next and had a great day in Strathdon with university friends. Somehow I sneaked in a decent sunday morning run which involved a climb, red squirrels, deer and a ride in a Land Rover. That afternoon we did a cycle round the Strathdon area and saw all the preparation for the Lonach Gathering, one of Scotland's most famous Highland Games, with Billy Connolly now assuming the role of Highland Chief.
After Aberdeenshire we set off for Lewis and Harris. The weather was kind with very little rain and temperatures between 17-19c, described by my Uncle as "scorching!"
Harris was amazing and I managed a few sea swims one with some Porpoises showing a bit of interest and circling me. I wasn't worried, honest!

As well as the swimming the cycling was incredible. The terrain is very hilly, so you get steep climbs and monstrous winding descents. My performance on the downhills was very Andy Schleck, but that was mainly due to the presence of hundreds of sheep who have a tendency to walk out into the road without a care in the world.

The scenery in Harris was breathtaking. Sea lochs, blue skies, hills, beaches and hardly a car, it was a pleasure to enjoy the place at its best. 
I managed a couple of hilly runs to make up the trip and overall I was pretty happy with what I completed.

Friday 12 August 2011

Recovery, 10miler on the bike

Well it's nearly 10 miles and with a wee bit of tweaking I can see it being a good 10 mile tester.

It was a recovery day after yesterday's session. The legs felt reasonably ok so I picked up the pace on parts of the ride home.

It did have a scary moment where two cars decided to skid alongside me in a bid to take over. I wasn't too happy about that and made a few squeaky sounds myself.

Long drive tomorrow so the legs will have another easy day.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Lunchtime Reps and Evening Cycle, 19miles

Excellent session with the elite Grid boys at lunchtime. Will, John, Rob and a new lad Rob made up the numbers for 20x30s on/30s off.
The first few were pretty straightforward. I'd decided to pace off Will who normally leaves me for dust, but he was off form and it was the new lad who was blasting. On rep 7 I decided to keep up with him. Bad mistake. It was downhill from there and when someone said that's 12 done I nearly cried.
13-19 were painful but somehow I hung on and finished strongly on rep 20. For some strange reason the Garmin only saved my heart rate so I've no idea how fast things were and how they deteriorated.
In the evening Susan and I took off for a 19 mile loop round Markyate and Flamstead on the bikes. The pace was easy after a tough day but very enjoyable.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Whoops! Bonk! 6 miles

Oh dear oh dear. Major bonk on a short 6 mile slow run this evening.
No lunch, no fluids and a hot day conspired to finish me off down by Redbourn Golf Club.
I was going slow but started to wobble badly. Managed to scavenge some blackberries to give me a bit of a boost and see me home.
Good reminder to get the basics right even if it is just a short one.
Hopefully I'll be feeling better by lunchtime tomorrow when I've reps planned with the Grid elite.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Run, spin and a herd of deer.

Short 3 mile run this morning after dropping Louis at nursery. Took it steady and just wanted to get the legs going.

This evening I was out with Susan for the loop round Preston. 25 mile-ish and over the last 2 months she's really improved. Tonight her average was 13.5mph, in June it was 11.7. She's still not happy.

We saw an amazing site over by Brockett Hall. A heard of deer, probably 20 or so, in the road ahead of us. Luckily they ran into a field and then ran parallel with us for about 40-50 yards before diving across the road ahead. Could've been scarier but there was a bit of distance between us.

Cracking evening and a

Monday 8 August 2011

Catch up, swim, bike, run.

Monday after a really good weekend. Yesterday was an opportunity to see world class triathletes close up at the London ITU world championship event in Hyde Park. It was a dress rehearsal for next year's olympics and a huge success for Team GB. Alistair Brownlee won, followed by brother Jonny in 3rd.

The pace of the athletes was unbelievable and a true inspiration.

So last week I finished off with a tempo run on Friday evening. 3x2.08miles in zone 3.
That was followed by 48miles on the bike on Saturday, split between morning and evening. Sunday was a rest day and the world championships.

Tonight was a swim session and I must admit I'm knackered after it. Feeling very tire and although I'd planned a 5k loop, I'm not sure I'll make it out.

Thursday 4 August 2011

It's been a while but the building has begun.

Ok, so its been a bit hit and miss. No blogging for ages and a few false starts on the rebuilding.
But the last few weeks have been decent and so I think its safe to start the regular blogging and to set a few targets.

The building phase has begun for the NewForest Half Ironman in September. I completed it last year but failed to get under 6 hours, mainly because my run fell to pieces. That can be fixed.

I'm also keen to get the pace back into my running. I've let the reps drop out of the schedule and this is the time to get them back. I did 6x800m last night as a start . The week will have two quality run sessions included from now.

Tonight was an easy 5 miles in zone 1 & 2 along the Herts 10k route. Lovely evening for a run.

Saturday 7 May 2011

Back to work, 46.8miles

Not a bad week. Out 6 days and a tad over 46 miles completed.

Sunday with Paul and Anthony started the week off well even if it was a bit painful. Monday I took an easy loop with Anthony and added an extra loop which took it to 11 miles. Tuesday was a newish route over the fields and down passed Redbourn Golf course before picking up the 10k route home.
Thursday was epic. Anthony's first set of lung busting reps. 6 x 800m and his performance was really strong, pulling away from me on the last rep. Brilliant.
Friday I managed a cheeky loop involving the fields and Nicky line again, I threw in a loop round Park Avenue to get a nice 4 miler.
Saturday I was down Redbourn, the Redbournbury mill, Childwickbury, West Common and home across the fields. A snitch under 10 miles but another nice route.

So that's two weeks of building. I need to keep the routine going and get the reps done every week. Probably time to put a few races in the diary to give me some focus.

Monday 2 May 2011

Fatboy Run, 11.8miles

Paul had been to Florida for 2 weeks. No running, American portions, all-inclusive etc, we hoped that he'd be a fatboy and trundle along at our pace. However, who comes back from that sort of trip lighter?

So the fatboys were Anthony and me. We struggled to keep up with Paul, who struggled to keep the pace near 9min miles. There wasn't much to blame for the lack of pace but we tried, the heat, the gale force wind, the steep hills/mountains. Nope none of them really helped make the sorry state of affairs in any way credible.

Still, it was a good laugh and we did get into double figures for the run.

Saturday 30 April 2011

Wedding Week, 36miles

Ok, so its been a bit of a while since I've been on the blog. Moving house and a mad period at work meant running was on the back burner with absolutely no regular running.

This week went much better as both house and work are under control.

Anthony made the call for a run on Sunday and we managed an easy loop around Wheathampstead.

Monday we were out again and this time did the Herts 10k route in 3 sections of just over 2 miles. Tuesday joined me for an easy run over to the airport and so the miles were clocking up nicely.

I've followed that lot by a run home from the airport with a rucksack full of work gear. That was a bit tougher than I expected!

This morning I went round the Herts10k route again which looks like replacing Wheato as my regular run.

A nice solid week. Same again next week I hope.

Sunday 13 February 2011

New Balance, 22miles

It's been a better week, out 4 times for between 3.6 & 10.2 miles. Overall the week had a total just over 22miles.

New trainers purchased on Saturday have put a new bounce in my legs. Normally I'm an Asics or nike runner but New Balance won the day. Very nice and fit like a glove. So much so that I've done 15 miles in them already. Normally I'd wear them about the house for a week before running but these are nice.

Today's run was epic. 10 runners showed up. It got to the point where we started to look for Niall. Surely he'd not miss out on this one.

Spiersy had organised a 19 mile route so the hard core were out. Anthony and I had other plans, stick with them to Sandridge and then head back. It didn't go that well. By the time we'd reached Ayres End Lane the elite were gone. No idea which way they'd gone so we headed through Heartwood to Sandridge.

We got to Sandridge High Street and were about to hit the trail when he heard Spiersy shouting at us to stop! Quite a surprise. The rest of the group came pounding on and passed as they headed towards Welwyn. We made our apologies and took Rob with us for a loop towards Wheathamstead. We got a bit lost and ended up back in Sandridge before heading back via Nomansland common.

Just over 10 miles, most of it in the mud so I'm a bit sore and tired. And my new trainers are not looking so new.

Next week I'll try and get a few more miles in the tank and fit a reps session on Thursday.

Monday 7 February 2011

What week is it?

So I've missed a few weeks blogging. Work life balance has gone completely. It would be a lie to even suggest it was close.

Not sure how it happened but pants it is. I've even missed lunch a few days on the trot and that is very unusual.

Anyway, this is the week I claim it all back. I'm finishing at 5 no matter what. I'm having a sandwich and I'm going for a run, even if its a short one. Tonight was just 3.5miles.

So the last week was two 4 milers and then an 11 on Sunday. I missed the early start after my mate Dave came and stayed. A late night curry and some chit chat till the wee early hours put the kybosh on a morning run.

I did head out in the id afternoon though. It was a gale force wind so I headed to Redbourn and took the 3 Dumps route passed the watermill and back up Beeson End Lane. I was glad to have the wind behind for the hill.

So the plan for this week is to get out every day. I'll take what I can get and if I'm near a 30mile week I'll be delighted.

Cheers the noo.

Sunday 16 January 2011

Week 2, 27.7miles

A couple more miles this week but to be honest it was a bit of a shocker.

Work's just a bit busy so I couldn't find time to run on Tuesday or Wednesday which should have left me fresh for Thursday's reps. They, however, were a disaster. I've lost so much pace, endurance, determination in the last 3 months that I might as well realise its going to be a long hard road back to form.

The rep pace was poor and I caved for the last 3 or 4 of the session which was 10x2min, 1 min off.

I'm not panicking though and have resolved to get back with my running off heart rate. That's a shocker too with the pace well down in the 9/10mins. Woo. We'll see how long it takes for the 8's to return.

So next week. A bit of travelling planned but hopefully I'll maintain the mileage at or around 25. If I can slot in an extra that would be good.

Sunday 9 January 2011

The rebuild has begun, week 1, 25miles

Hello. It's been a few months since my last blog. Although I've been quiet it's been far from uneventful.

I did a run on October 3rd in prep for the Herts 10k but got a pretty bad chest infection which floored me for a few weeks. It was so bad I ended up having a chest x-ray, and that was so bad I had to go for another. Yep, the first x-ray suggested something suspicious and so I was sent back with my heart very firmly in my mouth.

Fortunately it was just a very bad infection but the evidence was it would be 4-6 weeks before I was fit, well that was November written off. Just when I was about to kick off in early December I got the next round of lurgy that hit everyone down here. So no running until after Christmas. Phew. Sorry about that lot but you might have wondered what's been going on.

Anyway. New Year, new start and time to rebuild the 1000 mile man. Ha ha.

It's been a bit harder than I hoped. The legs have been hurting, the heart pounding and the lungs wondering what's going on. And all at a snails pace.

To be fair, it's got easier and this morning as I set off in the dark to meet Anthony, I had no regrets about a 0645 wake up or running in the freezing cold. It was invigorating.

We managed a good 11 miles at chatting pace at just over 9min. Slow but this was the longest run for quite a few months.

The plan for this next week is to build the mileage, let's see if I can get 35miles in and add a rep session on Thursday. That should be fun.

I also need to get a few races in the diary so any ideas fire them my way. 2011 targets are a sub 40min 10k and a sub 1.30 half marathon. Not sure whether I'll manage a marathon but Loch Ness sounds tempting.