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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Weekly Weigh In = Gain

This week I have gained 3/4 lb (0.3 Kg) and my % body is up 0.5%.

I maintained my exercise level this week but perhaps the cake and biscuits run was not a good idea.

Double Run Session with Biscuits and Cakes

This week I did an double run session with a few miles of cycling either side of the last run.


It all started before 6:30am (before breakfast) with a short 1/2 mile run to the meeting point. Then we did a 10km (a bit longer at 6.25 miles) I did it in under 54 minutes and then a quick 1/2 mile back to get breakfast. The last 2 miles of that run I was starting to feel the effects of no breakfast.

Then before the evening run I did 50 minutes of cycling around the north of the town which required more acceleration points due to traffic lights and general road layouts.

I then did a fartlek session over 5 miles with the speed sections lasting about 1/4 mile including up hills. In the rest phase I was practising some nutrition for the ironman run and was eating 2 tuc biscuits. These are something different than all the gels and sports drinks I will be having plus they have some salt. When we got back there was even chocolate cake as it was this club's first anniversary, it would have been rude not have a large piece.

I decided against doing a warm down run lap due to the cake but I did a few miles on my bike instead of taking the direct route back.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Weekly Update

This week I did 12 hours of exercise which was made up the following by % of time.

40%    Cross Training
22%    Running
19%    Cycling
13%    Walking
  6%    Swimming

The cross training was mostly the two football matches at the weekend.

The running included a couple of sessions including yet another parkrun pb.

The cycling was a couple of short (20 miles) rides one of which was in the heat.

The swimming was just one session but was my longest swim of the year and it was in a lake. I also got some practice in for T1.

A Tale of Two Football Matches

At the weekend I was involved with two football matches both on hot days of 28c (82 F).

The first day was for a Guinness World Record endurance football match. They where planing to do 41 hours, I refereed for 2 hours 5 hours in to the event. It was on an astroturf pitch which made it a bit easier on the body but the heat and endurance element was already starting to show on the players. When I woke up the next morning I had a message that they had to stop the attempt due to the heat and injuries after 18 hours. That was quite impressive considering the conditions. That was 12 matches worth they had done.

Then the following day in the even hotter conditions I was an assistant referee in a regional cup final. Being the junior person I was on the far side which meant I was face the sun all the way through, I was glad I put on my factor 30 sun lotion and took an isotonic sports drink with me even though it got warm on the side. Typically in the conditions the game went to extra time but not penalties. At least I got 2 hours of exercise in the heat in instead of the planned longer time.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Yet another Parkrun 5km PB

This week I set yet another Parkrun 5km PB at Eastleigh, this week by 9 seconds. It was helped as there was no steam train or ducks on the route. It was a hot and sunny morning which would have slightly slowed me down. I had also done a longer lake swim before hand, this week I dried myself of a bit so my muscles were not that cold.

Not sure if the motivation was to get to the cafe quicker but it worked, a suitable recovery food was had, an omelette which happened to come with chips :-)

Friday, May 21, 2010

Weekly Weigh-in = Loss

This week I have lost 2lb 10oz (1.2 Kg) with my % body fat increased by 1%.

Not sure why there was a big weight decrease this week as the start of the week I did very little exercise and I had not done any (I should do) long distance training sessions.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Weekly Update

This week I have done over 12 hours of training which was made of the following percentages by time.

46% Walking
20% Running
16% Cycling
10% Cross Training
7% Swimming

The walking was mostly made up from the long charity walk.

The running included various session plus some time on treadmill. Including another Parkrun 5km PB, a 5km run part of an Aquathon and 4 mile run in the sprint triathlon.

The cycling include some cycling in a gym including a spin session. The main session was in the sprint triathlon.

The swimming was a low percentage of time but did include a OW swim in race conditions and a pool based triathlon.

The main areas I need to develop are longer cycle rides and longer swims "preferably" open water (lake) based.

Charity Walk for Meningitis

In the afternoon I joined the every second counts walk to raise awareness and funds for Meningitis research.

This was a 21 mile walk between Southampton General Hospital and Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. By the time I got there from the triathlon they were nearly up to half way but there was still 12 miles and plenty of hills to walk.

There was plenty of support from those driving past bibbing there car and bike horns and seven some stopped to give donations. For the last 6 or so miles I was walking with some people who had dressed up as Spiderman, Sponge Bob Square Pants and a duck. Walking down one of the high streets Spiderman and Sponge Bob got asked to sing happy birthday in a restaurant for somebody's 21st birthday!!

At the end of the walk which finished up another incline there was a welcoming finish area various banners and balloons, a band and some food and drink supplied by a local supermarket. At the point everybody had finished was seating on the grass until the gingerly got up with various muscles aching.

Salisbury Sprint Triathlon

This weekend I did the Salisbury Sprint Triathlon which was 400m pool swim, 19 mile cycle ride and a 4 mile run. The day did not start of well as I had to be up really early!!

Once over that shock it took a while I was on the way to venue, surprisingly there was only a few cars on the road that early on a Sunday morning. Instead of following my satnav on the quickest route I decided to take a different route further along the road which I thought was part of the cycle route.When I was driving it I hoped it would not be as it was quite hilly.

Once I got their it started to rain, luckily I had brought various extra layers with me. However in my haste in leaving I only had one of the thicker "winter" cycle socks with me, so I had to use my running socks and hoped they did not get too wet on the cycle.

The swim was 16 lengths of the 25m pool (400m), with all eight lanes in use so that meant there was only two others in my lane in the wave start time. They staggered the start within the lane by 10 seconds to avoid any clashes, I was the last to start in our lane. To my shock within 8 lengths I had overtaken them both. I was going fast but I did not feel a massive effort to maintain the pace, perhaps I should have gone faster.

According to my stopwatch I did the swim in 7:58 which was a minute quicker than expected.

However it must have taken me a minute to get out of the pool. At the end of the lane the ledge was higher up and I could not get enough force or grip to lift myself out (must have gone faster than thought with my arms), so I had to go to the edge of the pool and crawl out there as they had taken the steps off as well!!

It was a bit of a run to the transition area on the grass next to the athletics track which at first I went past my bike. I had laid out a thicker long sleeve cycle top, however as I was still wet from the pool and light rain it was hard to get on as was getting caught up. I then put on base layer skull cap and buff scarf, which I was glad I had with me, plus sunglasses even tough it was raining. The cycling shoes I had already put the covers on them before I started the race which made it quicker in T1. Once I had my race number belt on and helmet I started to run to the T1 exit while putting on my winter cycle gloves. My T1 time from my watch was 5:51 which was longer than normal but was from when I reach the end of the swim and the various attempts to get out of the pool, the run to T1, getting ready and exiting T1.

The cycle did not start off good as my cadence sensor was not working and one of my cycle shoe covers was not done up properly. So within the first mile stopped to try and sort them out, however the cadence was still not working so I decided not to waste any more time and just use my own effort and judgement on my cadence. I still had time, distance and speed information on my GPS device plus temperature on my other cycle computer. To my shock the out leg was the section I drove along on the way in, so there was plenty of undulations in the wet and cold 9c (not count the windchill). Going through one of town's I thought the mayor was out to cheer people on or could have been waiting to go somewhere else in his mayoral robe and chains.

Then on the far section of the course we went past Stonehenge, with yet more hills. Then we turned back to Salisbury with another hilly 7 or so miles. It was about 1 or 2 miles from the end when you could see Salisbury Cathedral Spire. I tried some solid food on the bike in the fast half with an isotonic drink but no gels and nutritionally I felt ok. I managed the 18.5 miles in 65 minutes which was a but under 17 mph average. I was pleased with this due to the cold and undulating course, I think the speed was helped by the occasionally downhill but not as much as normally as they were too wet for me to go fast.

T2 we had to take our bike around the edge of transition (to even out the distance for everybody) and rack the bike before getting ready for the run. When I got there I changed my mind about what to wear, as my cycling top was not that wet I decided to keep that on instead putting a long sleeve running top on but I did my Meningitis Trust top on, as well as a Ironman cap and gloves. As there was no drinks stations on the route I took an isotonic sports drink with me, I decided to try without any gels. My T2 time including run round with the bike to leaving was 3:45.

Then run was a single loop with some of it being the Salisbury 10 mile in reverse that I had done earlier in the year. I went off at a fast but maintable pace and thought I would see how long that would last.
The first mile was on the out bound section of the bike course so I knew about the hills on that section. We then turn off the road across a field where their was a marshal directing us. What they did not say that the field was full of sheep, they where too busy in the grass to notice. At the end we had to go up a turnstile which was a bit interesting on tired legs. The next few miles where the same as the 10 mile race until we carried on a bit further before turning back towards the track and the finish. There was about 100m around the edge of the track before there was 300m on the track. At the point I had enough energy left for a sprint and caught up about 100m on the person ahead of me but he still finished 50m ahead of me.

My run time was a bit over 32 minutes so for the 4 and bit mile average out at just under 8 minute/mile pace. I was suprised that I was able to maintain this pace after the cycle. I was glad I head the sports drink with me but did not need any gels.

Overall my time was 1:55 which I was pleased with due to the conditions and the course.

However things that could be improved are pool exit and transition times. The pool exit should not be a problem for lake swims but means I should check out before starting the event.

Check my kit and gadgets are working when I get on site and not wait until the race. I had just checked they had got a satellite signal not checked for the cadence sensor.

Transition times in general could be improved by drying myself a bit if putting another layer on, it was not helped by being wet so cut wet grass was all over my feet which I dried as did not want to get a blister on the run and the towel I laid out was already wet.

After I had got all my kit back in my car I tried a new powder version of For Goodness Shakes. They are easier to carry around in kit and just require water to be added. I added slightly more water (50ml extra) then they suggested but tasted ok but not as creamy as their bottled version that uses a type of milk.

Another week and another parkrun pb

Yet another week and I have set another Parkrun PB by just the 59 seconds.


It would possibly would have been even more if I did not have to wait for a steam train again but at least I got a bit of a breather after going off at a bit too fast pace. The second lap there was some ducks and ducklings waddling across the course to a lake which only was a brief detour round them.

After another fast run a visit to the cafe was well deserved.
Just before the finish
At Half way

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Weekly Weigh In = Gain

This week I gained 3/4 lb (0.3 Kg) but my % body fat decreased by 3%.

With my waist measurement also decreasing it seems the weight increase was due to extra muscle.

Another Open Water Swim at an Aquathon

Tonight I did another open water swim at an Aquathon. That makes two lake swims in less than a week and they were both at different venues.

The swim was 600m and was a triangle shape with an extra lap of the far diagonal line. This was at the far side of this lake where I have swam a few times. The lake was cold again about 12c at most.

For the first leg I was pretty much on course to the buoy and was on target for being on course for the whole route. However about half way through I started to veer off to the right but I think this may have been caused by the waves made by the water ski boat on the other side of the lake. The swim was comfortable pace and I think my sighting has improved a bit. My swim time on my watch was 13:58 from the start until I was on the lakeside.

For the transition I was trying to improve my performance as I normally a while in this. The wet suit took a but more effort to get off then at the weekend but better the most times. As it was cold I took a bit extra time putting on my charity t-shirt for the Meningitis Trust, a cap and gloves. Overall this took me 2:46 from reaching the lakeside to running away.

The run had a bit extra uneven grass, gravel and stone section from the far side of the lake to where I have normally done this race from. This made the distance about 5.4km (based on mapping web site) and was an out and back course along mostly a gravel footpath. I went off at fairly fast pace but concentrating on the uneven surface for the first few hundred meters. After this I gradually picked up the pace a bit and was able to maintain it throughout the rest of the race. I saw the leader about 500m from the turn around point, so this gave me extra incentive to carry on at the hard pace. I was on the way back before the next person was along about 200m from me. On the way back I was aware of the uneven surface for the last 200m but maintained the high pace. I was glad of the extra layers I put on as I was still wet from the swim (only dried my feet a bit) and it was a cool evening. I did the run in 23:55 according to my watch.

There was surprisingly a lot flies about for the temperature and little light but still managed to get bitten on my ankle at some point.

Overall my time from my watch was 40:38, which I was pleased with. Even better was I finished 2nd , although there was only 3 people doing the aquathon I still had to put in the hard effort.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Weekly Update

This week I did a but under 10 hours of training, which did include a couple of double sessions. Below is the breakdown by time.

35%  Cross Training
32%  Cycling
16%  Running
  9%  Walking
  8%  Swimming


The cross training included a few long gym sessions and gym classes.

The cycling was a couple of rides including a brick session and spin classes.

The running included a 5km run (after a swim) and tempo run.

The swimming included a couple of long (for me) pool swims and my first lake swim of the year.

The only thing missing from this week was a long cycle ride, this was put on hold to due to the weather conditions at the weekend.

First Lake Swim of the year and a Run

This weekend I did my first Open Water (OW = Lake Swim) of the year, this was at a different lake. The lake was a 360m loop which was a clockwise loop with 4 buoys marking the route.

What concerned me as I was getting ready to go in people come back was saying it was cold. At the lake side I was told it was 12c (53F), I was glad I had my new thicker swim hat with me to try for the first time.

When I stepped in it was still a bit of a shock how cold it was. I got my body in the water few a few seconds before starting to swim keeping my head out of the water. After a few strokes I decided to put my face in the water which was cold. I used my breathing per stroke than normal to get my face used to the cold and cloudy water. By the time I got 20m from the start I was thinking about turning back as my hands and feet were really cold but my head was not (usually would have been).
However I carried on and by the time I got to the other end of the lake I was starting to feel a bit warmer and carried on round to complete a lap in about 8 minutes. I thought I would carry on for another lap, the extra heat source kicked in on the second lap and managed this lap in about 8 minutes as well. As I had time before the run I thought I would do another lap which was also 8 minutes.

For the swim I was glad of the extra thick swim cap and my pace was even and faster than in the pool. Also my sighting in the lake was a lot better than normal as I did not go that much off course. It was quite strange as while swimming you would sometimes see a aeroplane taking off for the nearby airport.

I then had a quick walk back to the club house to dry off a bit before getting ready to run. However as I kept my tri suit on that kept my legs a bit cold, so for the run I had to go fast just to keep my legs warm. I had a few layers and cap on so the rest of me was not that cold.

The parkrun 5km was a 2 lap around a country park on gravel footpaths, grass and crossed a mini steam railway track. You had to concentrate on your route as there was a few undulations and ruts in the route and places it narrowed done to one person wide.
I went off at a fast pace that I could maintain for the distance with my cold legs. When I was getting in to my stride at about 1km we had to wait for a mini steam train to go past before we could cross over !!! At least it gave us a breather before going off fast again, luckily none of the other crossing for the run we did not have to wait at. For the last 100m along the gravel path I was able to pick up my pace a bit but I was not able to over take the people in front of me. I managed it in a bit over 22 minutes which was about 30 seconds outside my other course PBs. There was even a cafe on site afterwards to post exercise "recovery" food.

I think I would be back again to do the swim and run later in the year.

Gym sessions

This week I did a few 2+ hour gym sessions !!

These either were long cardio sets or smaller main gym session with a spin or pilates classes. These classes felt tougher than the normal training, as they where at a higher intensity or using the different muscles for longer continuous time.

Weekly Weigh-in = Loss

This week I lost 1 3/4 lb (0.8 Kg) with my % body fat up 2%.

Not sure why the % body fat increased by that much. However I had been doing more higher intensity training included a couple of gym sessions which would explain the weight loss.

Brick Session with added Flies

During the week after work I did a short brick session, I cycled 11 miles and then ran 5 miles at tempo pace.

The cycle I used my B bike to provide extra resistance to the training. As it was not hot or sunny I though I would not need me sunglasses, how wrong that was. There seemed to be flies everywhere, I lost count how many I swallowed or got in my eyes.

My legs felt heavy at the start of the run but I was able to keep the higher than normal tempo pace.The 5 mile run had an easy 1/2 mile section near the end before a hard effort up a hill.

Overall this was a good combined session and I learnt to use sunglasses when out on any cycle ride in the summer months.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Weekly Update

This week I did over 10 hours of training which was over twice the amount of the previous week, below is the break down by time.

29%    Running
23%    Cross Training
18%    Cycling
17%    Walking
12%    Swimming

The running did include a long 11 mile run but no parkrun this week.

The cross training was a couple of gym sessions and also a Pilates session to help with core strength.

The cycling had a fast 23 mile a midweek cycle and a couple cycling sets in a gym.

The swimming was a couple of session including today's long swim pool swim of 1.5km but still no lake swim yet.

I need to get some long cycle rides and lake swims but this is subject to the weather conditions.