January

HUSBAND, FATHER, WRITER, PAINTER and ageing athlete who hasn’t quite hung up the lycra.

Week 1 (3 days)

Day 1 Jan 1st.

Weight 73.4kg

3 Hour turbo session.
Av 267Watt.
Cadence Av. 77rpm.

Temp 23ºC
Mid morning start.
Drank 3 bottles of water.

Even effort throughout. First two and half hours relative easy and comfortable. Last half hour tough. Could have probably done with some food.

Still feeling the effects of a December chest infection but pleased with effort and how it went. Will be a lot of turbo sessions logged over winter. Don’t think my bike is even road worthy at the moment.

Evening Run.
1 hour treadmill session.

6% gradient. 6km per hour.
30º Temp. I bottle of water.
20kg extra baggage.

Tough slow session. Ground it out. I do this session occasionally for many reasons. It might seem a bit daft or extreme but I always feel I get a lot from it. It does burn a good few calories too, something I need to do after Christmas. Its not one I would recommend jumping straight into. If anyone is tempted to try it – introduce the weight slowly and be conscious of how your back is holding up to the extra stress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgtAxj_IYNY&feature=youtu.be

Total 4 hours.

Jan 2nd Sat Day 2

Lunch time hilly run.

15.5k Av. 5:08min km pace. 1:20hrs

Slow easy run.  Floods forced me down unfamiliar roads and dead ends.

Negative split felt OK. A little stiff from yesterday to start. Pushed a bit on hills and  finished last 3k in low 4min pace just to end strongly.

No food or drink.

Sat. evening 8pm

45min turbo.

15min warm up.

5x2min intervals hard 1min rest between intervals. First 3 OK all above 400watt. Died for last two.  Should be able to do ten of these.  Again room hot but didn’t have the legs or lungs for it.

15min easy spinning and single leg drills just to kill time really and cool down.

Total 2hrs

Sun 3rd Jan. Day 3

1hr treadmill

No incline.

15 min warm up.

15min at 14kmph

30min at 15kmph.

A little tougher than it should have been but felt fine.

Total 1hr

Week 2

Mon 4th Jan Day 4

Early morning 1hr Turbo.

Easy effort listening to radio. No music. Av 220watt first half hour 240watt last 30min.

Still getting use to early starts again. If I don’t use music any turbo session will always turn into a “recovery session”.

Evening Club Swim session 1hr.

First swim since before Christmas.  Much needed.

Total 2hrs

Tuesday 5th Jan. Day 5

Had hoped to train today but other stuff was done instead.

Total 0

Wednesday 6th  Day 6

1hr Early morning turbo.

Wasn’t feeling too well to start.

First 15min big gear steady effort to warm up. Cadence Av. Low 60’s Watts low 200’s.

Upped effort and cadence for next fifteen to 70 cadence and 270watt’s.

Last 30min cadence 80 and Av. 315Watts.

Felt ok once I got going. Last 30min 315watt effort was relatively easy. Good comfortable relaxed rhythm going.

9:30am (2hrs post turbo)  29k Out and back steady run, 2:19 hrs. Flattish course.

Av 4:57 min K’s. 3min negative split.

Finished strongly feeling better than I thought I would.  No aches and pains running.

No food and drink on run.  Only realised after the run that I had forgotten to take on any fluids or foods post turbo. (Had a small early breakfast and one bottle of water on turbo).

Took a long call post run and got cold. Had an easy 30min swim after a short sauna to warm up. One bottle of coke to pick myself up before the swim helped.

Total 3:50 hrs.

 

Thursday 7th Jan Day 7

Early morning v.easy turbo 1hr.

Cadence Av 82 rpm. Didn’t look at power. Just a warm up really.

10am 1hr turbo.

8x7min “intervals”. Building each time from easy to a full on sprint.  Continous effort in that you are increasing effort right from the start. No steady state recovery time. I do this session to the song “You cant always get what you want… by The Stones. Its one I enjoy and when I am feeling good and do it the way I want my Av. Watts are have been pretty close to what my FTP has been. Not to day I struggled through the eight. Still got it done. I need to reassess my FTP and will do a few FTP type sessions in the coming weeks to set things right in my head.

1hr steady treadmill run off the turbo.

2% Incline/ 11kmph.

Could have pushed a lot harder and will soon but not just yet.

Total 3hrs

7 Day Total 15.5hrs

A fairly haphazard start to the seven days. Still settling back into things.  Not quite over a chest infection but nearly there.  The body will need a bit of time to get back up to speed but I am hopeful.

I should settle into a routine now with the schools back and the few more opportunities to train that allows me. Much of my training will be done early and mid mornings. Afternoons and evenings will be taken up with family and trying to earn a crust. If time permits I will try and sneak in the occasional evening session should an opening arise.

Most of the bike will be done indoors for a while yet. I hope to introduce some track interval run sessions soon. I have never used a track before so looking forward to giving it a go.  The council? have built a fancy new 400m track in Enniscorthy next door to my old house. It’s been open a couple of years but I have stayed away from it until now. I waited until I felt my achillies was able to withstand a good speed session – I think it is, so a few 1k repeats and a bit of puking might be on the cards.  Might even discover I really am a 100m runner. Access to a swimming pool will be very limited for a good while. I may have to rig something up and add some land based swim sessions.

I haven’t had a biscuit, bar of chocolate, sweet, cake or Ice-cream in seven days.  Feeling smug but I don’t think I have lost any weight yet though.

I must work out a clearer way of posting this stuff in time too.

Friday 8th

30 min “Track Session”
Got involved in conversation so only had 30min in the end. First time ever training on a track. Impressive new facility in Enniscorthy. First time up close to a steeple Chase water jump – doubt I could get over it. Anyway farted about getting my bearings. Ran about 5k including two 3:40 1k intervals at the end before had to go for a swim.

30min morning swim. Pool busy and no lane up so again just swam for thirty minutes before a school took over. Should have stayed at track.

1 he Evening treadmill run. 2% Incline. 23 degree C.
15 min warm up.
Steadily increasing pace. Finished at 15kph. Felt good. Controlled and relaxed. 12.6k

Total 2hrs

Saturday 9th

4hr early morning turbo.

Easy/steady turbo. Not watching Watts.
Need a different saddle. Everything else felt fine.
4 Bottles. 1 banana.

Total 4hrs

Sunday 10th

1h:30 Interval Hilly mostly forrest trail run.

15min warm up run to hill. 3 intervals. Its about 1k steep hill climb. Will stick up actual distance and elevation when I upload the Garmin. Always enjoy this run. Its tough and I have gone a lot quicker in the past but felt OK today.

Total 1:30 hrs

Week 2 Total 16:20 hrs

Week 3

Monday 11th

Turbo 6:30am 1hr

Steady spin. Picking up effort for second half. Done on feel.

Turbo 10:30 1:30hr 

15warm up. Intervals 3 sets of 5 two minute max efforts one min easy. 5min easy between sets. Tough stuck it out but couldn’t hold it above 400watt after the first. Should be able to for most. The five minutes easy between sets was a late addition too – otherwise I would have got off.
15min steady effort c.250 Watt to finish.

1hr comfortable treadmill run off bike. 2 % incline.

Felt fine and ran relaxed and concentrated on what I perceive as good form. 11k

Two water bottles for turbo and a couple of sips during run.

Swim evening 8pm.

1hr nice fast interval club swim. Felt good throughout.

Total 4:30 hrs

Tuesday 12th

Mid morning treadmill run. 1.5 hr, 16k 2%incline.

Started slowly and increased speed steadily. Good relaxed effort. Comfortable and finished strong but comfortable.

8pm 30min turbo.

10 warm up. 310watts for remainder. Sprint finished.

Felt reasonable.  Busy with other stuff so only had 30mins

Total 2hrs

Wednesday 13th

Lunchtime turbo. 40mins

Tabatha short intense interval session. 10min warm up.  3sets (8x20seconds max efforts 10seconds rest) 3mins recovery between sets. Tough but always enjoyable. A nice change and good when time available short.

Evening 20mins core and some weights.  Need to strengthen the shoulders a bit and going to incorporate some weights (other than the running with weights) for a while.

Total 1hr

Thursday 14th Jan

Evening. 30min weights and core work before swim.

1hr continuous swim. Shoulders sore from previous night and took a while to loosen out. Good strong effort though.  Didn’t check pace but my “perception” of speed and stroke holding together was good.

Total 1:30

Friday 15th

Morning interval run. Track. 1hr15min.

15min warm up jog to track and a few laps.

5X1k repeats with 200m recovery in between. 3:48, 3:50, 3:51, 3:51, 3:45

Felt heavy, all the clothes, wind and cold didn’t help. Fairly consistent effort though and look forward to knocking a good bit off those times and some longer sets when time permits.

Jog back to pool to warm down.

Post run swim. 45mins.

Quick warm up.  Drills and paddles.  Thought long and hard about my technique. Feels like everything breaks down and I sink when I turn to breath.  Must get the camera out.

Finished off with 5×100’s off 1:45 (wasn’t coming in much earlier) and 5X50m plus a warm down.

 

Total 2hrs

Saturday 16th Jan.

1hr morning run treadmill. 2%incline. 12.8kph

Shoulders still very sore.  Thought they might annoy me running. Started slow and steady for first 30mins. Second half quicker increasing speed to finish. Reluctant to put the machine up to its max speed of 18kph.  I don’t think it would take the pounding any more as there are a few cracks in it but I was cursing along at 16.5kph to finish. That’s a good effort on my treadmill but probably doesn’t equate to the same speed on the ground. – (no momentum etc!).

Evening turbo. 2hrs easy.

Had planned the first 5hr of the year but canned it after 2.  I was planning to take it easy, the aim was just to get my head into the idea of a long turbo again but straight away I didn’t feel good.  I was going through the water even though the room was cooler than usual and the effort was low. Pretty soon I had severe cramps in the gut and had to get off.  I need to try a different saddle too my current one is killing me.

Total 3hrs

Sunday 17th Jan

Long hilly run. 2hrs23min 29k

Still had a pain in the gut from yesterday and debated staying in bed instead.

Started slowly but once warmed up I felt OK. Average pace was slow. 5:13 per k for the first 14k. I pushed harder for the remainder and brought the overall average down to 4:58 per k by the finish. Pleased with how I felt at the finish especially how I managed the hills. Some big hills in there.

Total 2:20

Week 3 Total 16:20                   

Not a big week hours wise.  I have a few other things on at the moment and knocking off the Saturday turbo early didn’t help.  Still pleased with how some of the runs are going, particularly finishing strongly.  The club swim is going well to. I need more effort and time in the pool on my own sessions. I do need to sort out my turbo training and my power back up to a reasonable level for the time of year and get some longer ones in too.

Have only managed to shift about a kilo since the first.  I am still avoiding the crap but my portion sizes need addressing and being home a lot I am constantly grazing the healthier snacks.

Week 4

Monday 18th Jan

1hr Lunch time turbo. Big Gear, Av. Cadence 70, Av. Watts 255.

Felt weak. Not feeling good on turbo lately.  Last years cycling was done at a higher cadence to previous years as concentrating on bike racing and trying to work on acceleration etc. and I probably lost some of my overall strength as a result. Even so strength seems well down on pre Christmas training too and needs attention.

I suspect my turbo calibration is not being kind to me too. I must take the bike off the trainer and give it a clean.  The bottom bracket may be a bit rusty.  Obviously its not the most accurate power measurement around but after many years I do have an idea of what a particular watt reading on my turbo should feel like, and what a particular cadence resistance watt combination should feel like.  Sometimes it’s the other way around and I suspect the calibration is kind to me, I don’t complain about those times I know I am deluding myself but the positive feedback from high ftp tests etc at those times more than makes up in training mojo for any inaccuracy.

1hr Evening club swim.

Hard but swimming felt good for a change. Enjoyed it.

Tot 2hrs

Tuesday 19th Jan

Got up on treadmill for mid morning run.  Started slowly.  Wasn’t into it at all. Was considering just jogging for the hour but got off.  Plan was to try again in the evening and perhaps have a better go at it.

1hr Lunchtime Swim

Met up with a decent swimmer who was passing through town.  Had a good session and a fresh eye on my technique.  Nice to be pacing behind someone else for a change and be pulled along at a quicker pace than usual.

Swam for the hour not sure what we did as was just focussed on following, but there were some honest intervals in there.

Good swim and felt good.

1hr 8pm Evening treadmill run.

Got back on it.  This time though I had the 20kg weights secreted on my person again. Not quite as warm as the Jan 1st session, about 26 deg C and I managed a few 100m more.  Av.6kph 6%incline.  Very tough as usual, but I got through it holding reasonable form.  Back hurt a little bit towards the end.

Total 2

 

Wednesday 20th Jan.

Lunchtime

1hr treadmill.

Best run on that thing for quite some time Av.14.5kph 2% incline.

Bit of a spring in step straight away after last nights effort. Finished strongly with last 35mins over 15kph. Felt OK at end.

1hr Evening turbo.

Hard effort.  Big gear. Av 275Watts. Average low but I felt like I put in an honest hard effort. Still reckon the turbo is reading a bit low – must get around to cleaning everything.

Total 2hrs

 

Thursday 21st Jan

1hr Lunchtime swim with same chap as Tuesday.

Bit of a warm up and drills.

(4X100’s + 4X50’s sprints)x2

100’s off 1:30/35 coming in for 1:20. (made most but last 2 100’s a bit slower) 50’s felt v. good (for me)

A bit more mucking around and a swim down.

A good session felt good in the water great to be sucked along behind a faster swimmer. On my own I might manage 2 of the hundreds at that pace.

Evening

1hr turbo. Big gear 4% incline/resistance (Sprint/max cadence never above 95) “Stones” session. 8x7ish minutes continuous building to sprints. A couple of seconds rest as you build into the next one. Av. Watt 250.

Power down but felt I put in a decent honest effort to the finish.

Total 2hrs

 

Friday 22nd Jan

1hr morning treadmill run 2% incline Av. 12.5kph.

Steady comfortable run.

Sat 23rd Jan

Met up with a relative newcomer but fellow Ironman enthusiast for a steady few hours training and to have a look at the facilities in New Ross.

1hr watt bike session.

First time on one of these. Without clip in pedals (used runners) a proper saddle and a bit of time getting the fit right its hard to make a call on whether one of these things should move to the top of my fantasy wish list just yet. Certainly the  information on each pedal stroke it records is interesting.

Anyway did a bit of a warm up then a twenty minute test averaging 330Watt and then a steady spin for the remainder.

I wasn’t able to adjust the resistance to what I preferred so my Av. cadence of 95 rpm for the twenty minutes was higher that my preferred 82-5. But 330felt was a reasonably hard effort and confirmed my turbo is reading a bit low. It definitely, along with the bike needs a little spring clean.

1hr 10 treadmill.  Easy hilly virtual reality treadmill where I was running some nice American trails and along some impressive canyons.  Some nice geology too.

Easy 3k Swim. Mix of drills and some long sets. All done relatively easy and concentrating on form. (great facility 25m but wide with dedicated 2 public lanes all day. I hope to be using this place more in the future to pick up the swim volume)

Total: Overall 3:10 hours relatively easy/steady training –  apart from the 20min on the Watt bike.  Good relaxing enjoyable morning. Feeling fresh. Great facility will be back.

Sunday 24th Jan

Total 0

Had hoped to do a long run but never got a chance to get out.

Week 4 total 12hrs

Hours down.  It’s been a busy week. Had a design job to finish and herself was very busy in work too so was away a bit more. Still some good short sessions in there. Weight down a bit – around 71kg at the moment. Feeling some progress is being made particularly on the running and swimming front.

Planning to pick up the hours next week and need to get some long bike sessions in.

Week 5

 

Monday 25th

1hr Morning Turbo.

Felt good. Steady tempo effort for first 40min.  Last 20 an FTP’ish effort Av320 Watt for the last 20min. Cadence Av85.

1:30hr treadmill run off bike.

Steady/easy 18.5k comfortable run.

1hr evening club swim. Tough. Shoulders sore from increased swimming last week and morning efforts.

Total 3:30

Tuesday 26th Jan.

 

2hr lunchtime turbo session. Two bottles of water. 20 deg C.

Steady/hard effort. Lost power file as unplugged machine before saving – dont trust the reading at the moment anyway. Felt OK.

1hr Late night turbo.  24 deg.

Hard constant effort. Felt better than earlier.

Reading 250Watt Av but felt it was a considerably higher effort.  I could be fooling myself but I must check it out.  I probably need a new tyre. The one I am using is fairly battered but I haven’t had any flats with it so I am reluctant to change it.  I have use some that puncture all the time on the turbo – even the expensive ones. Specific turbo tyres aren’t much better and make a bit of a mess.  It might have something to do with heat dissipation – this old battered one doesn’t seem to get too hot.

Total 3hrs

Wednesday 27th

Lunchtime 30min easy warm up run on treadmill.

30 mins. weights and core.

Late evening 1hr treadmill. 9% incline. 7km, 25deg. 1 water bottle.

Used arm and leg weights but not vest.

Tough run.  Thought I would be a lot quicker without the weight vest. Wasn’t.  Felt the extra few degrees incline.

Total 2hrs

 

Thursday 28th

1hr Lunchtime treadmill run 2% incline. 14.8km 22deg C.

Was interested to see how I felt post weight run last night and how forking out a few quid to enter IM Maastricht would focus the mind. Got up to speed quickly and felt very good. Finish was a little tough but held pace and form. Best run on treadmill for many a year though.

Evening turbo 1hr. Very easy recovery spin.

 

Concentrated on technique and pedalling circles.  Included single leg drills.

Total 2hrs.

Friday 29th Jan

2hr Easy/steady mid morning treadmill run. Av.12kph. 24k

Felt very comfortable throughout.

1:30hr Evening swim. Continuous swim. Held a good steady pace throughout. Stroke seemed to hold together.

 

Total 3.5hrs

 

Sat 30th Jan

5hr Turbo.  23 deg C

 

Had a free house so wasn’t disturbing anyone.

Power reading nonsense, so done totally on feel. Steady honest effort and finished in good shape.  Cadence average 80rpm. Changed my saddle which helped a little but still quite sore.

Good session, good and bad for the head at the same time.

Total 5

 

Sun 31st Jan

2hr treadmill. 1% Incline. 24.5 deg c. 27.5 km. 1 bottle of water.

Started slowly but increased pace steadily.  Last 1:30 pace greater than 15kph.

 

Had planned a long run outside but needed to be near my computer. Really enjoyed this run though. Finished >16kph and feeling like I was running very well.  Don’t know if this will transfer to the road but enjoying the sensation of running well on the treadmill all the same. Still I need to get use to the pounding of the roads before considering a race.

 

Total 2hrs

 

Weekly total 21hrs.

 

Swim 2:30hrs (2 sessions)

Bike  10hrs (5 sessions)

Run 8hrs (6 sessions)

30mins S&C