Over the last two weeks my weight increased by 1/2 lb (0.2Kg) and my % body fat decreased. However the body fat percentage may be affected by just doing some cycling beforehand.
With bigger races entered I need to another push to lose more weight while distance training, it will be interesting.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Weekly Update
This week I did nearly 15 hours of training, tis was mainly just 2 days of the week. With the breakdown in % by time as.
Bike 47%
Run 17%
Swim 14%
Cross 12%
Walk 10%
I was pleased with the increase in total time again this week. The cycle % of time is good although it is mostly indoors at the gym, hopefully I will be able to do more cycling outdoors.
The run was only a few short runs and a 10 mile race. The swim's were in pool and a aqua jog session.
This week it is about the right mixture of areas just need to increase the distances and time do some more long outdoor cycle rides and open water swims.
Bike 47%
Run 17%
Swim 14%
Cross 12%
Walk 10%
I was pleased with the increase in total time again this week. The cycle % of time is good although it is mostly indoors at the gym, hopefully I will be able to do more cycling outdoors.
The run was only a few short runs and a 10 mile race. The swim's were in pool and a aqua jog session.
This week it is about the right mixture of areas just need to increase the distances and time do some more long outdoor cycle rides and open water swims.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Hook 10 Mile Race Report
Today I did the Hook 10 mile race, there are also 2.5 and 6 mile races as well as a children's fun run. It is always a nice friendly atmosphere there with a small fete and stalls on the grass.
Instead of the warm up of a couple of hours of cycling like I did last year this year I decided on a short swim (pool) followed by 1 hour of gym workout before heading of to the race. I did a few weights but kept the cardio light resistance and did a few more stretches than normal, as I left the gym I felt the best before any race.
After the short drive I meet up with some work colleagues who were doing the shorter distances as their first race, they were a bit anxious but also excited. I gave them a few last minute tips before I went to the 10 mile start which was leaving minutes before their races. It was a cool 13c with slight chill in the breeze.
As I stood in the starting area for the race I tried to relax and focus on the next 90 minutes or so. The gun went of and I felt I went off a bit too fast in the first 100m's so I slowed down a bit as did not want to get carried away with my pace this early and settled in to a nice rhythm.
Luckily we had done a practice run of the loop around the town so I had recently done most of the route leaving the rest to my memory from previous races. After about 1 miles there was along steady slope which luckily I knew was there and that we would do it again in the last mile and a bit, so I went at my steady pace but not too much more effort.
Then we crossed the main road (A30) and headed towards Reading along a nice down hill. I remembered the sting in the tail, as there biggest hill on the course was next it even had a few S bends. It then went on to some country roads which still seem to have some inclines with occasional down hill section but I don't think there was equal amount of ups and downs.
After about another mile we reached the furtherest north part of the course which was along the main street in a village which was all up a steady incline with 2 pubs along it, one of them had an official water station point but I had my own stuff with me.
The next mile seemed to have all the down hill sections maybe due to being next to a golf course?
As we went a bit past the 6 mile marker we then joined the same route as those who were doing the 6 mile race. The was along the main road which was straight and a slight incline which also had a pub and a water stop half mile up the road at the turning point. This was a long steady pace section which I was starting to overtake more people. This was the furtherest west so you were no heading back to the finish!!
We then turned left along another road were you could see the next turn in the distance but this felt it was slightly downhill. At this point 7 miles in I was felling strong and was still overtaking people, at which point I decided to slightly step up the pace a bit.
At 8 miles we joined the loop that we did at the start missing about 1/5th of the loop out. Time for another push around the business park as the runners were starting to thin out more now. The last slope at 9 miles felt tougher but I was able to keep pace with another runner and went past him near the top.
There was just under a mile to go, time for another injection of pace and a last few sips of my sports drink. I gave myself a few seconds to recover from the hill before increasing the effort. At this point you could here the finish line announcer which was about a few 100m's behind the trees but we had to run the half mile on the roads to get there.
With about half mile to go the Turbo Booster button was pressed and I kicked for the finish and was overtaking more people even in the finish straight. I just had enough energy maintain my form and speed to the finish line, luckily it was slightly down hill.
In the end I finished under 82 minutes (from my watch) which I think was 20-30 seconds quicker than last year.
Nutrition Analysis
For the race I had decided to take one sports drink with me and 2 isotonic gels this was about right for me on the colder day which I did not need any of the supplied water. I stuck with my timed gels and drinks method which was a loop timer and not based on distance or water stations. Plus I tried a new pre race caffeinated drink which luckily was ok for me and my digestion.
Data Analysis
From my GPS data I have doen the following analysis.
My average pace was 8:13/mile which only mile 5 (downhill section) was faster apart from the last 3 miles. With the last mile split being 1:15/mile quicker than average. The last half mile pace was 2 minutes/mile pace quicker than the average, not a bad kick. Excluding the last few miles the average pace was around 8:25/mile but the last few miles help lower this average down.
I even achieved a negative split by 1:30.
If you discount my kick at the end I think this would came about on target for each mile so my pacing for this distance and race was spot on.
Race Summary
This is always a great local race and a some community support around parts of the course. I was pleased with my time but more importantly that I felt in control at the pace all the way round. Also that my nutritional planing worked out, I love it when a plan comes together!!
Instead of the warm up of a couple of hours of cycling like I did last year this year I decided on a short swim (pool) followed by 1 hour of gym workout before heading of to the race. I did a few weights but kept the cardio light resistance and did a few more stretches than normal, as I left the gym I felt the best before any race.
After the short drive I meet up with some work colleagues who were doing the shorter distances as their first race, they were a bit anxious but also excited. I gave them a few last minute tips before I went to the 10 mile start which was leaving minutes before their races. It was a cool 13c with slight chill in the breeze.
As I stood in the starting area for the race I tried to relax and focus on the next 90 minutes or so. The gun went of and I felt I went off a bit too fast in the first 100m's so I slowed down a bit as did not want to get carried away with my pace this early and settled in to a nice rhythm.
Luckily we had done a practice run of the loop around the town so I had recently done most of the route leaving the rest to my memory from previous races. After about 1 miles there was along steady slope which luckily I knew was there and that we would do it again in the last mile and a bit, so I went at my steady pace but not too much more effort.
Then we crossed the main road (A30) and headed towards Reading along a nice down hill. I remembered the sting in the tail, as there biggest hill on the course was next it even had a few S bends. It then went on to some country roads which still seem to have some inclines with occasional down hill section but I don't think there was equal amount of ups and downs.
After about another mile we reached the furtherest north part of the course which was along the main street in a village which was all up a steady incline with 2 pubs along it, one of them had an official water station point but I had my own stuff with me.
The next mile seemed to have all the down hill sections maybe due to being next to a golf course?
As we went a bit past the 6 mile marker we then joined the same route as those who were doing the 6 mile race. The was along the main road which was straight and a slight incline which also had a pub and a water stop half mile up the road at the turning point. This was a long steady pace section which I was starting to overtake more people. This was the furtherest west so you were no heading back to the finish!!
We then turned left along another road were you could see the next turn in the distance but this felt it was slightly downhill. At this point 7 miles in I was felling strong and was still overtaking people, at which point I decided to slightly step up the pace a bit.
At 8 miles we joined the loop that we did at the start missing about 1/5th of the loop out. Time for another push around the business park as the runners were starting to thin out more now. The last slope at 9 miles felt tougher but I was able to keep pace with another runner and went past him near the top.
There was just under a mile to go, time for another injection of pace and a last few sips of my sports drink. I gave myself a few seconds to recover from the hill before increasing the effort. At this point you could here the finish line announcer which was about a few 100m's behind the trees but we had to run the half mile on the roads to get there.
With about half mile to go the Turbo Booster button was pressed and I kicked for the finish and was overtaking more people even in the finish straight. I just had enough energy maintain my form and speed to the finish line, luckily it was slightly down hill.
In the end I finished under 82 minutes (from my watch) which I think was 20-30 seconds quicker than last year.
Nutrition Analysis
For the race I had decided to take one sports drink with me and 2 isotonic gels this was about right for me on the colder day which I did not need any of the supplied water. I stuck with my timed gels and drinks method which was a loop timer and not based on distance or water stations. Plus I tried a new pre race caffeinated drink which luckily was ok for me and my digestion.
Data Analysis
From my GPS data I have doen the following analysis.
My average pace was 8:13/mile which only mile 5 (downhill section) was faster apart from the last 3 miles. With the last mile split being 1:15/mile quicker than average. The last half mile pace was 2 minutes/mile pace quicker than the average, not a bad kick. Excluding the last few miles the average pace was around 8:25/mile but the last few miles help lower this average down.
I even achieved a negative split by 1:30.
If you discount my kick at the end I think this would came about on target for each mile so my pacing for this distance and race was spot on.
Race Summary
This is always a great local race and a some community support around parts of the course. I was pleased with my time but more importantly that I felt in control at the pace all the way round. Also that my nutritional planing worked out, I love it when a plan comes together!!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Weekly Update
This week I did over 13 hours and over 100 miles of training which is good effort but still needs to be more, with most of it at the weekend. Below is a breakdown of percentage by time.
On the plus side my cycling time has increased a lot which included fast and longer rides outside as well as some gym based sessions. The longer rides still need to increase though.
The cross training had increased to a reasonable amount with the walk reduced as well.
The only issue was the amount of time swimming which was all pool based.
The target this week is more training but with tired legs at the start and a race at the end it will be tough to get this amount of training in this week but I am up for a challenge.
| Cycle | 43% |
| Cross | 28% |
| Run | 12% |
| Walk | 12% |
| Swim | 6% |
On the plus side my cycling time has increased a lot which included fast and longer rides outside as well as some gym based sessions. The longer rides still need to increase though.
The cross training had increased to a reasonable amount with the walk reduced as well.
The only issue was the amount of time swimming which was all pool based.
The target this week is more training but with tired legs at the start and a race at the end it will be tough to get this amount of training in this week but I am up for a challenge.
Busy Weekend Training
This weekend I had a busy weekend training.
On Saturday I cycled to the local swimming pool and done a short swim, then cycled to the local parkrun with a slightly longer cycle home as it was a nice day.
Then Sunday I cycled 2 hours before doing an hour run around a race route that I will be doing next week with a few people from work. I then had a nice faster 30 minutes cycle home.
After some food and watching the last football games of the season I went to the gym for a 2 1/2 hour set of weights and the last 2 hours as cardio. To cool down I then did a 30 minute swim which was tough with tired muscles.
So Sunday was just the 6 hours of exercise.
On Saturday I cycled to the local swimming pool and done a short swim, then cycled to the local parkrun with a slightly longer cycle home as it was a nice day.
Then Sunday I cycled 2 hours before doing an hour run around a race route that I will be doing next week with a few people from work. I then had a nice faster 30 minutes cycle home.
After some food and watching the last football games of the season I went to the gym for a 2 1/2 hour set of weights and the last 2 hours as cardio. To cool down I then did a 30 minute swim which was tough with tired muscles.
So Sunday was just the 6 hours of exercise.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Weigh in
In this 2 week section my weight stayed the same with my % body fat increased.
The weight is better than expected due to the lack of training volume but was high intensity and the last few days of eating more. My nutrition should be back to normal and hopefully I will increase my training volume without impacting on the quality of the training sessions.
The weight is better than expected due to the lack of training volume but was high intensity and the last few days of eating more. My nutrition should be back to normal and hopefully I will increase my training volume without impacting on the quality of the training sessions.
Weekly Update
This week I only did 10 hours of exercise, this was limited by the weather and not feeing that well for the first part of the bank holiday weekend after doing a Parkrun. Below is a breakdown of the time.
Cycling 33%
Cross Training 29%
Running 22%
Walking 10%
Swimming 7%
The time was boosted by the 6 hours of training I did on one day with a massive 3 1/4 hour spin.
In addition to the amount of time that needs to be increased the Swimming also needs to be increased with the Cross Training and Walking reduced. At least this week I got some of each training done, just need to work on the volume.
Cycling 33%
Cross Training 29%
Running 22%
Walking 10%
Swimming 7%
The time was boosted by the 6 hours of training I did on one day with a massive 3 1/4 hour spin.
In addition to the amount of time that needs to be increased the Swimming also needs to be increased with the Cross Training and Walking reduced. At least this week I got some of each training done, just need to work on the volume.
Fritton Lake Parkrun
On Saturday I took part in the inaugural Fritton Lake Parkrun.
For some reason I put on a short sleeve top and not hat, despite the maximum temperature being 8c not taking in to account the wind-chill which I think made it 4c. Normally I would have had multiple layers on.
So at the start I decided to go of fast to keep warm. The course was two laps and was a multi-terrain course which had been made a lot muddy by the recent rain and a horse that appeared to have recently been though the course.
The start was on some gravel path until going over some grass to the edge of the lake that followed the path back for 1.5km before joining a the gravel path for a few 100m's back to the start and then repeat it.
However the route was now a bit more muddy in places and the section near the end was also slippery so I did not have enough traction for a sprint finish. However I was pleased with my time and position.
I enjoyed this parkrun despite it having more mud than our XC races this year.
It was too cold for me to do a lake swim but other times it will be a good option to add to the training. Also did not go on the swings and slides :-(
For some reason I put on a short sleeve top and not hat, despite the maximum temperature being 8c not taking in to account the wind-chill which I think made it 4c. Normally I would have had multiple layers on.
So at the start I decided to go of fast to keep warm. The course was two laps and was a multi-terrain course which had been made a lot muddy by the recent rain and a horse that appeared to have recently been though the course.
The start was on some gravel path until going over some grass to the edge of the lake that followed the path back for 1.5km before joining a the gravel path for a few 100m's back to the start and then repeat it.
However the route was now a bit more muddy in places and the section near the end was also slippery so I did not have enough traction for a sprint finish. However I was pleased with my time and position.
I enjoyed this parkrun despite it having more mud than our XC races this year.
It was too cold for me to do a lake swim but other times it will be a good option to add to the training. Also did not go on the swings and slides :-(
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Busy Training Day
Today I was using some of the ideas from the training camp I went on a couple of months ago.
The day started with a nice 1km pool swim followed by a 3 1/4 hour spin session in the gym. Being a far weather cyclist I did not fancy going for a ride today it was a bit murky and I thought there would be a lot more debris on the countryside roads and therefore my likely to get a puncture. On the plus side it was good mental training to be able to do that length of time in the gym and some good speed work. Luckily I am not going to any spin classes at the gym this week.
Then for a late lunch I had a large meat pizza :-) It hard plenty of carbs, protein, fats and sodium, although unlike on "holiday" I did not have any beer with it or eating it out in the sunshine.
Then this evening I ran over 11 miles with the first 6 miles being at a steady pace and the last 5 miles being a group fartlek session. Surprisingly I felt ok at the end and even had a sprint finish.
It was a good 6 hours of training today :-)
Then for evening meal I had less than normal as I had a bigger lunch, normally that would have not stopped me and I would have the regular (large) size.
I also doubled up my iron(ing)man training by ironing 8 shirts as well.
The day started with a nice 1km pool swim followed by a 3 1/4 hour spin session in the gym. Being a far weather cyclist I did not fancy going for a ride today it was a bit murky and I thought there would be a lot more debris on the countryside roads and therefore my likely to get a puncture. On the plus side it was good mental training to be able to do that length of time in the gym and some good speed work. Luckily I am not going to any spin classes at the gym this week.
Then for a late lunch I had a large meat pizza :-) It hard plenty of carbs, protein, fats and sodium, although unlike on "holiday" I did not have any beer with it or eating it out in the sunshine.
Then this evening I ran over 11 miles with the first 6 miles being at a steady pace and the last 5 miles being a group fartlek session. Surprisingly I felt ok at the end and even had a sprint finish.
It was a good 6 hours of training today :-)
Then for evening meal I had less than normal as I had a bigger lunch, normally that would have not stopped me and I would have the regular (large) size.
I also doubled up my iron(ing)man training by ironing 8 shirts as well.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Sponsorship for The Meningitis Trust
For the 3 Ironman distance events I am doing this year you can now sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ironman for The Meningitis Trust.
Weekly exercise
This week I did over 12 hours of exercise. Below is the breakdown by percentage of time.
From this my run was lower than normal but had made up with a lot more cycling including a fast loop and more cross training. This included some brick sessions with my only swim at the end of the week.
So along with increasing the total time I also need to increase my number of swims.
| Run | 10% |
| Swim | 4% |
| Cycle | 42% |
| Walk | 18% |
| Cross Train | 26% |
From this my run was lower than normal but had made up with a lot more cycling including a fast loop and more cross training. This included some brick sessions with my only swim at the end of the week.
So along with increasing the total time I also need to increase my number of swims.
Weekend's Training
Last weekend it was a tale of two halves.
Saturday I woke up and was suprised that is was raining. That did not stop me cycling to my local parkrun 5km and completing that which was muddy in places. The cycle back was slow, cold and wet.
Then Sunday evening I did a 3 hour brick session followed by a 30 minute swim. The swim was a bit interesting with tired legs but I made it.
Saturday I woke up and was suprised that is was raining. That did not stop me cycling to my local parkrun 5km and completing that which was muddy in places. The cycle back was slow, cold and wet.
Then Sunday evening I did a 3 hour brick session followed by a 30 minute swim. The swim was a bit interesting with tired legs but I made it.
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