Sportive Bike Ride

For those of you not aware I am running a sportive bike ride in aid of the charity Atrial Fibrillation Association. http://www.afa.org.uk
  
Places are starting to fill up. The forecast looks good for the week ahead http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/yh/yh_forecast_weather.html so get your entries in now!

Please support my event, or tell your friends. All entry fees will go to charity and you can enter online at http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/77122/Atrial-Fibrillation-Sportive

Thanks

Martin

What Happened to January?

How time flies when you’re having fun! It’s goodbye ‘Base Phase’ (Hurray!) and welcome Build Phase.  Historically I’ve not been a big fan of the boring and monotonous Base Phase training, however, Chris has structured my training well over the winter to make sure I’ve had adequate base training so that I get the gains that I need but he has also included some higher tempo work and brick sessions which have made the sessions much more interesting and fun.  Chris has clearly got my number and understands exactly what I need to remain motivated.  He is one talented Trainer and has achieved a thorough understanding of me so quickly that I know he will keep me on track with his training plans and variety of sessions.

The last 3-weeks have seen my training sessions intensifying as I get nearer to the start of the Build Phase. This involves increasing intensity and efforts over short periods in order to get my body ready for the transition into the new phase.  I have also undertaken a series of time trials and tests over the period to evaluate my progress and pick up on weak areas. 

The swim trials measure completion time rather than technique and the results were very pleasing.  The run and bike trials are slightly different (and particularly gruesome!), as they measure my performance from a threshold perspective rather than completion time.  This is to establish at what intensity by Heart Rate my body can work for a sustained period of time before falling over!  When training at any time the body produces lactic acid in the muscles.  There is a point at which the body cannot process this any more and by pushing myself as hard and long as possible I can gauge what my individual threshold is. The bike test itself lasts about 45-minutes from start to finish and is extremely painful and in no way enjoyable.  During the entire period, I have to push myself as hard as I can. Every leg muscle is screaming and/or cramping and feel like they have been filled with cement. That is when the mental toughness comes into play.  At that point every nerve is telling you to stop because it hurts so much and that is when you have to be able to override what the brain is telling you and keep on pushing those legs….Chris of course is standing alongside me during this complete with clipboard, stopwatch & pen telling me to keep going meanwhile I’m panting like a dog and dead on my feet! No pain no gain so they say!

If you have any doubt as to how much a threshold test hurts then join me on my next one & you can see it first hand. Pleasingly if not surprisingly, the results have been much better than last year and the bike training is ticking over nicely. 

I have been focussed on improving my running technique and stamina in particular, and after 12-weeks of hard winter training, the final winter threshold tests completed last week resulted in a personal best on the 10k pace. This was an unexpected result as the purpose of the test was to run as fast as I could for 30-minutes to gauge the heart rate threshold so not only does it demonstrate an improvement in my running technique but also my running fitness has got better.  Bottom line: All the winter work has paid off!

Just enjoyed a recovery week (well it would have been if I hadn’t have had to move office!) and the Euro championship is only 10-weeks away………….YIKES! Training now gets really interesting as I can get my TT bike out and get my body     re-acquainted with the world renowned most uncomfortable TT bike position!

Add to that my favourite, the introduction of track sessions for running alongside some faster paced work in the pool and you have the perfect fun training recipe. 

I’m looking forward to getting my teeth into this phase which will be very hard but highly enjoyable.

Catch you soon.

Racing into 2012

Happy New Year loyal readers…..

Good….That’s Xmas & the New Year celebrations over and done with.  Kept up with my training though (even on Xmas day!) but still found time to enjoy the usual Christmas goodies and treats. Got 12-days off work and really enjoyed the opportunity to relax and really switch off from the daily grind. I had thought that I might really push the boat out and have a few more beers than usual and generally stuff myself silly… In reality, my body is clearly not cut out for the indulgent lifestyle we look forward to at this time of year and by day 4 it’s back to my stringent athlete diet..Never mind – maybe next year! As for training on Xmas day the jury’s still out…!

Anyway, time flies and its back to the grind (I mean work). I got up this morning and it dawned on me……Only 15-weeks to go before the European Champs – YIKES!!!! How did that happen – it was ages away last month and now it’s just round the corner…Panic mode here I come.

It’s ok though, Chris (my coach) is way ahead of me.  He’s prepared me a training schedule that starts next Monday that would be better suited to an Olympic Champion than a mere amateur like me..Still, it’s good to know he has the faith!

So what’s the next phase?

I get to train solidly for 2-weeks, with just one rest day and a set of pretty tough sessions to get through.  There is one good thing though….now I’m moving into this new phase I get to complete sessions that are much more interesting than just boring old base-work (not my favourite as you well know by now!)

The next 6 > 8 weeks are critical because in this period I will move into the Build Phase. This is the point where I move out of the base phase and continue building towards peak/race ready fitness levels.

I will of course let you know how I’m getting on but for now it’s goodbye Turkey, Tinsel & hangovers and hello to more serious stuff like work and training et tal YIPPEE!

Things are Coming Together

Fundraising update…..

It’s been nearly 3 months since I started my AFA (www.afa.org.uk) fundraising campaign and the last few weeks have seen me sowing a significant number of fund raising seeds and making approaches to the people and Companies that I think can help me reach my £10k target. There have been some very pleasing developments as a result of these contacts and I am very happy with progress to date. 

I have to admit to being somewhat frustrated at the lack of response at times, although of course I fully appreciate it’s not easy in the current financial climate and fundraising for a charity is even more difficult as we approach Xmas.

I also understand how tight money is for everyone, businesses as well as individuals.

So my challenge for 2012 is to come up with different fundraising efforts that mean I can give something back. Rather than simply accept a donation I would like to give something back in return by maybe doing an event or assisting in other ways.  I will be focusing on this a little more next year. I have a few ideas currently ‘on the back burner’, but I will divulge a little more detail once things get finalised. Watch this space though for further details.  Look out for a Sportive ride planned for early 2012 – sure to be an extra special ride!

Training Update……………

On the training front last week has been a little easier in terms of volume. It was a recovery week as we prepare to transition into another phase. Over the last week Chris has had me doing lots of tests on each discipline to see where I am at. The volume goes down in terms of hours, but the tests are done at quite a high intensity as if I was racing, so these take quite a lot out of me. Because of my condition I need quite a bit of time to recover after a race, so doing the tests at near race pace is quite tough for me and recovery is not quick. I need to make sure I look after myself by ensuring I rest and recover well, eat properly and stay well hydrated. I find that if become overly tired, or get dehydrated this brings on my AF, so I need to be very careful about that. Chris was feeling nice though and gave me 2 DAYS off last week and one of them was even on a weekend - that is just unheard of. Whilst that was great, the payback will be coming!

I am currently being convinced that Xmas day is a training day and that a run will most likely be scheduled……EEEK! I have never trained on Xmas day, but I am told (by not just Chris) that training on Xmas day has to be done and is good for the soul. I’m up for trying it this year and I’ll let you know if I agree. It will be done early though otherwise I won’t get it done once that first glass of fizz goes down! I’m very dedicated to what I do and my sport, but even I enjoy myself on Xmas day!

I digress - back to the tests……

The results of the tests we do are very important as they will tell Chris & I how the last phase of training has gone. We will know this by comparing the tests done against the ones we did last time, which was 4-6 weeks ago. Over the last week I have done a swim time trial test, a bike time trial test and also a run test. The tests were very positive and I have made some good improvements in all 3 disciplines. I was especially happy with my swim & run tests. I am new to swimming (about 2 years) and only learnt to do the crawl about 2 years ago by teaching myself. So until Chris started coaching me I have never had any swim coaching at all, so it is all new to me. It’s similar with the running. Whilst I have done lots of running in my previous sport football, this is totally different. Up until last year I had never run a 10k in my life! So the results I achieved over this last week are all very encouraging signs for me at this time of year.

Chris always tells me that adaptation to training takes the body about 12 weeks, and once again he is right as it is about 12 weeks into training at this point. In this last week it just feels like everything is clicking into place and I have my Tri Mojo back!

However, by improving and getting better results on the test does have a downside, the training gets harder!!!!! LOL…..I love it really

That’s the 2^nd point of the tests - Chris can now plan the training based around the results for the phase we are about to move into and what speeds and intensities I need to be training.

All that said, it’s been a good week on all fronts and it feels like things are really starting to come together.

Martin

A Balancing Act

Well this is becoming a regular pattern blogging on my rest day! Maybe I should get Chris to add this into my training plan J

So what I have been up to since I last blogged?

Well training has been very similar to the previous week in terms of the sessions I have done. We are still base training, so it is still all about building the engine and just plodding through it with the occasional conditioning and technique sets thrown in to keep me interested. That’s important for me and something Chris & I have discussed. He is really good at keeping my sessions varied enough to keep me interested, but at the same time getting the base training into me that I desperately need.

Before I began working with Chris 8 months ago, I never really did proper base training as it’s just not interesting enough for me and I am new to the sport. I find that because I am not working hard enough to demand full effort from me that my mind starts to drift and I lose focus on what I should be doing. As a footballer, the training we did was always short sharp efforts, so base training is something I have to adapt to. It is something I am getting better at now Chris has me training properly, but I still need to work on it. I would still rather have 12 x 400m at flat out pace though J

It has been a frustrating week for a number of reasons as I did not manage to complete all the sessions I had planned. As you will know by now, I don’t handle that very well! Sadly we had a family bereavement recently and the funeral was held last week so the end of the week was very emotional and took a lot out of me. This had an impact on my ability to train and meant I missed my hilly run session. At the time I was ok as having experienced the family funeral it puts life into perspective and what is really important……and missing trainings sessions is not really it.

Anyway, my plan was to do the run session after my swim on Saturday. Unfortunately I was decorating the bathroom, which took longer than anticipated and the run went by the wayside yet again. I felt very frustrated by that and it irritated me! Not a good combo for me………and I fell foul of my old tricks!

Chris had put my plan into our diary on Saturday and I logged on to have a look (whilst frustrated and agitated) and I noticed that I had 1 run session less to do for the coming week (not a problem). Until at the same time I also noticed that because I had missed a run session it meant that by the time I next run it will be a week since I’ve run….PANIC!!!!!!! DUH!!!!

I then did what I am trying to learn not to do and that is chase lost sessions!! I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I decided to email Chris and ask whether we could put another run session in! I knew as soon as I had sent it how stupid it was and that I was falling into my old habits! Chris’s response was great, very diplomatic and kind, but was really saying ‘don’t be so stupid and stop fretting’. He just reminded me that we are still base training and it’s not a problem. I did respond saying ‘just ignore me I had a moment of madness’. I knew all that, but still did it…..old habits die hard I guess.

I felt much better on the Sunday and on a positive side I did have my 2^nd winter brick session and it went really well. It was also my birthday and I got a nice new waterproof cycling jacket to try out on my bike. I have also decided that I am now getting old (39) as birthdays just seem like any other day…….

The session was really tough as the wind was relentless. I went up onto the Wolds and it was sooooo windy. I had to ride in the middle of the road at times as the wind kept blowing me off to the side. I had to lean my bike slightly to the right as the wind kept coming at me from the side. It was like my race at Bala last year all over again, just without the rain. It doesn’t seem to matter what sport you do, wind always seems to spoil the enjoyment of it. It was the same with football and it is the same on the bike. I can tolerate any weather other than the wind. I guess it’s because it makes 10 times harder! It did however provide me with a good hard training session on the bike. I remember riding back into my village thinking ‘my quads are burning, this is gonna be a crap run’, but guess what………..it wasn’t! I had a great run of the bike and was holding a pace faster than any race last year. Although it was a short run at this time of year that bodes well and I am very happy with how training is going.

The last week has reminded me how difficult it can be at times being involved in this sport. At the level I am trying to get to as an amateur takes a lot of dedication and commitment and at times things do not go to plan. Things impact on you, both physically and mentally and at times life throws you a few curved balls that mean you have to drop one or two others in order to deal with it. I am learning that you just have to accept that the odd training session might go by the wayside and things will come along and knock you of course. Me as an individual can find that very frustrating and at times can make the problem worse for me. In the scheme of things after the week I have it is nothing really and life as an amateur Triathlete is definitely a ‘Balancing Act’…

Martin

Ticking Along Nicely

Thank god today is rest day! Not just because my body needs it, but it also gives me the opportunity to sit down and write about the past week’s training. Every morning when I get to work I always write my ‘to do’ list for the day ahead over a cup of coffee. This normally starts with the items that were not completed from the day before followed by all the rest! Anyway, every couple of days updating my training blog has been on the list, but has never seemed to make it to the top…..until today.

The last week has been very hectic what with training and working hard on the fundraising for the charity as well as fitting everything else in like work & sleeping.

So how has the training gone?

Well since I last spoke to you I have had my first winter brick session! This was planned for Sunday, but I had looked ahead at the weather forecast and it was not pleasant. So, the plan was revised - I would swap around Saturday & Sunday’s training so I could do the brick session on the Saturday instead as the weather was going to be nice. However, I forgot one vital thing…….the Friday beer night that was planned! This was a delayed end of season blowout of beer followed by a curry with my mate and huh hmm our coach! Needles to say, Saturday as a training day ‘went to the dogs’ and I will just leave it there I think. The only training I did on Saturday was a few ‘step up’ exercises up the stairs after I crawled back to bed! What a lightweight!

So, like all good plans…….the brick session was back on the Sunday again and as predicted the weather was horrendous. I pulled back the curtains to thick fog! I had not bought my winter lights yet, so for safety reasons I confined myself to 2 hours on the turbo trainer in the ‘Elite Training Centre’ (shed). It took a hell of a lot of focus and some very good music to sit staring at a concrete wall for 2 hours whilst pushing round those pedals. Nothing can ever prepare you for that moment you ask your legs to run after riding the bike for 2 hours, but I had a good run off the bike and was happy with my pace for this time of year. The bike part of the session was a little annoying as my heart rate kept jumping 20 beats for no reason whatsoever Grrrrrrrr. It does this at times, which when you are trying to keep you HR in a certain target zone can be very frustrating as the stats are not really very much use to me as they are not consistent. That’s training with AF for you…… & a hangover!…….

As I am entering my next training phase I am starting to do 2 gym sessions a week to work on my strength and on Monday morning Chris had upped my gym session to include a few more strength exercises. I knew it was going to hurt as it involved muscles that have not been used directly for a while. After I finished I got to work knowing I had a run session to do at lunchtime and already my Quads & Hammys were tightening up after those single leg squats, jumps and leg weights! I decided to get out as early as possible before they locked up anymore. It was very tough, but I made the pace and managed to drag my body around the course and get back in one piece. Some good stretching and 30 mins of foam rollering those sore muscles helped take some of the morning soreness away……..err no it didn’t.

The 5.30am alarm woke me up feeling tired and sore from the day before. I sat drinking my morning coffee not wanting to get up and go swimming, but telling myself ‘just one more session then it is rest day’. I somehow managed to conjure up the motivation to go and I am glad I did. I got into the pool and I just know in the first 5 minutes if it is going to be a good session and surprisingly this one felt like it was going to be and it was! I had some time paced intervals to do with rest and I hit the target time on all 12 of them. I was knocking out times that I was just before my big race last year and to be doing that now at this time of year is a very good sign.

It was a great end to another good weeks training and I feel that right now I seem to be over my illness and am just….ticking along nicely!

In The Groove

Yes, I know…It’s been a few days….apologies for my silence, but then training has gone into overdrive and there doesn’t seem to be enough time to sit and record events…..

Since we spoke last all my training sessions have gone well with the exception of Wednesday.  I had a double session the day before and then gone onto a swim coaching session in the evening…I guess I overdid it a tad as when I woke up I felt really tired.  I had clearly not recovered properly, not eaten well and was on my feet for far too many hours than is good for the average male.  I had done my run in the evening (before swim coaching) which I have learnt (or not!) does not suit my body best.  Note to self:  “I really must plan my sessions better” J

Obviously……I went ahead and started Wednesday’s session anyway! I guess you’ll come to expect this kind of flawed decision making of me as it seems I am not a fast learner when it comes to deciding what’s best for my physical wellbeing…If I had spoken to Chris he would have advised against training and ordered me to rest that day…but that’s exactly why I didn’t let him know!

Needless to say, I sacked it off after 35-mins when it was clear that my heart was not going to behave and promptly went into arrhythmia which it often does when I’m tired. I knew by then that I should just stop. Strangely enough I didn’t feel too disappointed in myself because I knew it was the right decision.  I think this was because I had at least tried to do it.

I had a good nights sleep and woke up feeling much more refreshed.  Went off to do gym session (body weight and mobility exercises) which in layman’s terms is the base phase of gym work in preparation for the more exciting stuff! I was also due to swim but ran out of time to fit the session in (will do this on Friday) so I settled for a 15-minute espresso and chat with Chris in the Club lounge bar instead.

The remaining days consisted of more base training combined with a bike tempo time trial on Saturday.  This is when I cycle a set distance whilst maintaining a pre-determined heart rate.  We measure how fast I can complete it and in theory each time I do this I should get faster.  WTS!

On Sunday I cycled up to the Wolds for a 3-hour base ride (hard session).  It felt tougher than it should have because this is my first long ride for over 6-months and my body is not conditioned to it yet. This gets easier fingers crossed! The weather was absolutely miserable, it was wet, dull, damp and cold…Typical – had I gone out on Saturday I could have got a suntan it was so lovely.  On my return I had the most enormous appetite. I had burned off about 3000 calories over the 3-hours and needed to get some serious calorie intake and quickly.  Proceeded directly to the kitchen and made a fantastic Sunday roast, finished that off with a slab of Chocolate cake, a whole bag of Tortilla chips and a coupla beers.  Job done!

Enjoyed a nice lie in on Monday morning knowing that I could do my session in the evening as I have a rest day today.  It’s a quieter week as I’m in transition.  That’s code for calm before the storm! I’ll be heading towards phase 2 shortly so I think I’ll enjoy the moment while I can.

See you soon.