Part 2: Bike / Run
Biking is perhaps the discipline where there’s the most time to be made currently. With really only 3 years on the bike, there’s a lot of miles I need to make up in order to get good. So base this year also focussed on increasing my weekly bike volume. This was the sole aim – pace and specific sessions were set aside in favour of bike time. Epic as an incentive definitely made me get out on the roads a lot more! (motivator: FEAR!).
Whilst my times in races didn’t show much improvement, my ability to run closer to my potential off the bike has definitely shown some improvement.
Aims for next year: consistent work on the bike, focusing on zones of effort as well as base volume. What I didn’t do this year was spend much base time above easy heart rates. Some testing in NZ prior to Epic showed I’d been spending most of my ride time below a heart rate that should have been base training. Oops. But my riding has improved to the point where now I probably am more capable of training in zones on demand! Target bike volumes: average 400kms+ a week in base. Get some decent advice on bike training too – a return to Epic NZ in January should be good for this.
Running has had some ups and downs. Epic certainly taught me to bite the bullet and get out there and run – no excuses! Have put together some decent blocks of 80 – 100+ km weeks, which I was pleased with. 3 years ago I went off running a bit after being plagued by injury (I had to have 2 months off running going into IMAustria ’05 and still had problems going into IMGermany ’06, despite another 3 months off running over the winter, physios and orthotics etc etc). This year has been a good one for consistency (since Epic, anyhow!). Note: ALL my running has been nice and slow!
For the coming year: I’m going to try to put some more speedwork in (like 1km reps etc) at the end of off season and see if it works for me. This may well just dissolve into tempo runs if it fits better with ongoing volume training. Obvious goal for next season is a sub-3 hour marathon.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Sunday, 2 September 2007
Year Review Part 1
Part 1: Swim
This has definitely been a good year for swimming. I committed back in October to increasing my weekly swim volume and getting some technique help. This started in New Zealand, where I had access to a pool that was practically empty on a permanent basis. I wanted to have several blocks of 20+ kms a week in the pool, through base (Oct-Feb) just working on technique. I had a couple of endless pool sessions with Tony Lambdon (of HBTriStudios near Napier in New Zealand) which were invaluable in sorting out some of the major problems with my stroke. The improvements showed up by IMOz where I came out of the water in 55 minutes – a big improvement on 59:30 (IMAustria 2005) and 1:02 (IMGermany 2006 – non wetsuit). But by the time I returned to the UK, the volume of swimming and a period without coaching had meant that my technique had gone to pot again. By the time I was training in Italy in May, some video analysis with Dan showed my swimming to be shocking again. So back in the UK I signed up with Andrew Potter (of T3 Performance Coaching – http://www.t3performance.com/) for some one on one coaching sessions. The results speak for themselves – within a few weeks I swam 53minutes at IMAustria, and then swam 49:47 at IMUK to finish off the season (ok, so the swim was probably a little short!). Andrew’s coaching is HIGHLY recommended (for any level)… he’s got stroke analysis down to a fine art and shows you step-wise how – and why - to change your stroke.
The increase in swim volume (still only averaging 16kms a week) did have a noticeable effect on my swim endurance. I can put at lot more effort into a race without affecting my race later in the day. The new wetsuit probably deserves some credit too – Sailfish ONE – awesome piece of kit.
Aims for next year: to consistently be near or sub-50 minutes, and maintain competitive IM swim positions. Maintain solid swim volume (near 20km/week) with regular technique checks/improvements. More masters swimming.
This has definitely been a good year for swimming. I committed back in October to increasing my weekly swim volume and getting some technique help. This started in New Zealand, where I had access to a pool that was practically empty on a permanent basis. I wanted to have several blocks of 20+ kms a week in the pool, through base (Oct-Feb) just working on technique. I had a couple of endless pool sessions with Tony Lambdon (of HBTriStudios near Napier in New Zealand) which were invaluable in sorting out some of the major problems with my stroke. The improvements showed up by IMOz where I came out of the water in 55 minutes – a big improvement on 59:30 (IMAustria 2005) and 1:02 (IMGermany 2006 – non wetsuit). But by the time I returned to the UK, the volume of swimming and a period without coaching had meant that my technique had gone to pot again. By the time I was training in Italy in May, some video analysis with Dan showed my swimming to be shocking again. So back in the UK I signed up with Andrew Potter (of T3 Performance Coaching – http://www.t3performance.com/) for some one on one coaching sessions. The results speak for themselves – within a few weeks I swam 53minutes at IMAustria, and then swam 49:47 at IMUK to finish off the season (ok, so the swim was probably a little short!). Andrew’s coaching is HIGHLY recommended (for any level)… he’s got stroke analysis down to a fine art and shows you step-wise how – and why - to change your stroke.
The increase in swim volume (still only averaging 16kms a week) did have a noticeable effect on my swim endurance. I can put at lot more effort into a race without affecting my race later in the day. The new wetsuit probably deserves some credit too – Sailfish ONE – awesome piece of kit.
Aims for next year: to consistently be near or sub-50 minutes, and maintain competitive IM swim positions. Maintain solid swim volume (near 20km/week) with regular technique checks/improvements. More masters swimming.
Friday, 24 August 2007
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Monday, 20 August 2007
IMUK Race report
What a weekend! I was in two minds about racing at all before the weekend. On the train down I had pretty much convinced myself that the season had ended at Austria and that I'd not get above training pace on sunday. Arriving in Sherbourne picked me up a bit: the sun was shining, the town was beautiful - it seemed an ideal place to race. The atmosphere at the expo and in the school where I was staying with a host of other athletes was infectious. But the weather deteriorated on friday and saturday until by saturday night, Sherbourne had been turned into a mud pit. The rain was pouring, the wind blowing, I was feeling tired and I seriously needed to catch up on some sleep.
Sunday morning rolls around. Up at 3 - a little earlier than anticipated but the cubicle room I was in wasn't very sound-proof, so once someone in the dorm decided to get up, there was no point in trying to sleep any longer. Used to a 4:30 wake up for a 7am start, I found the 6am start time a bit of a surprise (only realising the day before!), and being out of bed before 4 seemed wrong! Having eaten enough to feed a small country over the last few days, I stuffed down the usual pre-race meal and got a lift to the start with Scott, the eventual race winner. Still pitch black, I was relieved that the rain had stopped by the time we reached transition. The wind seemed to have died down too. Getting ready I wasn't too nervous - I had given myself enough sensible reasons to pull out at any time, all based around the fact that my little 'recovery' experiment was turning out the way most people had suggested it would. I was mildly concerned about some GI problems I was experiencing - one of the bagels was not sitting happily. O well, if it reappears on the swim, that's life. And then the sun came up and suddenly we were trudging through the mud to the swim start. Into the water, swim 200m to the start line. And wait. And wait. And wait. At about 6:20 we finally start, numb hands and all. I'd positioned right on the start line, with a couple of female pros on my left and a couple of male pros to my right. After the initial charge, I settled in. The 20 minute stall had settled my stomach and the swim seemed easy. A few bursts to keep make sure the pack I was with didn't drop me, and two laps later it was time to get out, albeit with a bit of cramping in my inner thigh. I just thought: won't need that on the bike, right? I knew the swim had been quick as I had been sticking with two pink caps (women pros) who I figured might be Bella Comerford and if I was lucky Hillary Biscay (turned out to be Yvette Grice) - so if I was right I was guessing at a swim somewhere in the range 52-54. Got hauled out and checked the watch on the run to T1 - it was reading 50 something. Good work!!!!
T1 turned out to be a casual affair, a bit of banter with the crew, and a tough time getting on my arm warmers, which wouldn't go past my elbows, so that's where they stayed for the rest of the race. Already I my mind had worked out that my PB swim could only be validated if I finished the race. Otherwise it was just a straight 3.8km, and it'd never stick. So running out to find my bike, I heard someone shout my name followed by "you're with the pros!". Let's see how long I can stay there.
Out onto the bike course I quickly realised that my chain wouldn't change down to the small ring. Don't panic. Just get up the first hill out of town, then there'll be a downhill section, and I can sort it out there. So my heart rate went up, and I was overtaking a couple of people within 2 km of T1. Not ideal, but I was mashing, so what can you do? About 6km in stop to fiddle with the front derailleur. No joy. Bella passes me. A few other guys do too. Back on the bike, I figure I'll just change it down manually at the bottom of every hill. I try this once. Stopping, changing and restarting bites, and the accelaration seems to be just as bad as pushing a bigger gear than I'd like. And plus I start thinking about the number of times I'd have to go through this process on a 3 lap undulating course. I do the maths: I'm stuck with the big ring. I completely give up all hope of fixing it after the a second aid station answers 'no idea' when quizzed about the whereabouts of any course mechanics.
But the cup is always half full: its all an experiment... let's see what happens if I don't have any fall back gears to spin up the hills with. For the first lap this seems bearable. The course seems empty, and other athletes are few and far between. Pushing through the hilly section I pass the two leading women - I hadn't noticed Hillary pass me on one of my stops as well (EDIT: that's because she got out of the water ahead of me... of course!). Lap two comes and goes - I keep expecting a pack to blaze past, but instead I just exchange places with a handful of other athletes - a few pros, a few age groupers - back and forth. I see a few of the same people a few times as we each flag at different stages then get back on after a bit of a regroup or some extra calories. Eat. Eat. Eat. Drink. Drink. Drink. The wind started to pick up, and by lap 3 it was a pain in the ass. And the legs. And my gearing situation was not helping matters. That MUST have screwed my run. O well... we'll find out soon. The last 20miles really dragged - undulating and into a headwind. And cold.
T2 was a welcome relief. Chatting to the volunteers, it seemed that me and the pro who'd got in just before me were around the 20th mark. Brief disbelief ... but then my swim had been good, and, unbelievably, no packs had rolled past. Guess my 5:15 bike split must have seen me right. Now for the fun bit. Unlike the bike, which we'd driven the day before, I had no idea about the run course. And I'm glad about that. This was going to hurt whatever - not knowing how hilly the course was turned out to be a blessing. The first 5 miles my shins were tight, I kept the pace down, and actually enjoyed the mud on the Castle laps. Only one pro passed me there - the guy who'd got into T2 ahead of me had been slow getting out - and he cramped round the corner. So I'm still in the top 20. But I'm running slow. Even if I hold on for a 3:15 somehow (I'd have to speed up and deal with hills) the pro's are going to start rolling past fairly soon. Second lap of the Castle grounds Paul Perry (a Serpie) blazes past me just starting his run. Like MAN he was flying. I figured it couldn't last too long, but the difference in our paces alarmed me slightly. I really seemed to be fading and was only 5 miles in. But it all got a bit easier. I was eating a gel at every other aid station, trying desperately to keep smiling at all the great supporters, and was faintly amused by the predicament I'd got myself into. There was NO WAY I could do anything but run my ass off at this point. There would have to be a pretty good reason for me to be at survival pace when I'm 5 miles into a marathon and somehow in the top 20. So I speed up a bit. After the second lap of the Castle loop, where it had been getting busy again as more and more athletes were starting the run, I was out onto the other half of the run section - including a horrific out and back rolling dual carriageway section, with a monster uphill into a headwind. Ouch. But on the first lap of it I got to count the runners ahead. 17. 17?!! Holy smokes! And then the fear - having hit the turn around, I knew I was being counted by the guys behind me - very close behind me. I think that's when I really sped up. I don't think I was overtaken on that loop, I can't really remember. But I do remember overtaking two more athletes - including the race's earlier leader, Rhodes, who's calf had blown and was walking his way to the finish. And then it was time to head home. In my mind there was a pack of people waiting behind with strong finishes, and I was just praying that I wouldn't cramp of my legs fail before the finish.
Crossing the finish came quickly. I was pretty sure I was somewhere around the 20th mark, but didn't dare hope for 15th. I'd been assuming that I would get taken before the finish so I hadn't got my hopes up. But there it was. A minute faster than Austria on a much tougher course... also unexpected: my watch had only been giving me section times, not totals.
Awesome. So, a few personal limiters removed: I had been riding too conservatively at Austria; I can run near 3 hours already. I can swim sub-50 already. Good news: I'm ahead of schedule. That's a couple of next year's targets already met - the top 20 finish being one of them too.
So did the experiment work? On balance, yes. I was verging on overdoing it with the high vol fortnight but its what I needed at the time to keep me happy, and it got me mentally relaxed enough to just go out and have some fun.
Awesome.
Sunday morning rolls around. Up at 3 - a little earlier than anticipated but the cubicle room I was in wasn't very sound-proof, so once someone in the dorm decided to get up, there was no point in trying to sleep any longer. Used to a 4:30 wake up for a 7am start, I found the 6am start time a bit of a surprise (only realising the day before!), and being out of bed before 4 seemed wrong! Having eaten enough to feed a small country over the last few days, I stuffed down the usual pre-race meal and got a lift to the start with Scott, the eventual race winner. Still pitch black, I was relieved that the rain had stopped by the time we reached transition. The wind seemed to have died down too. Getting ready I wasn't too nervous - I had given myself enough sensible reasons to pull out at any time, all based around the fact that my little 'recovery' experiment was turning out the way most people had suggested it would. I was mildly concerned about some GI problems I was experiencing - one of the bagels was not sitting happily. O well, if it reappears on the swim, that's life. And then the sun came up and suddenly we were trudging through the mud to the swim start. Into the water, swim 200m to the start line. And wait. And wait. And wait. At about 6:20 we finally start, numb hands and all. I'd positioned right on the start line, with a couple of female pros on my left and a couple of male pros to my right. After the initial charge, I settled in. The 20 minute stall had settled my stomach and the swim seemed easy. A few bursts to keep make sure the pack I was with didn't drop me, and two laps later it was time to get out, albeit with a bit of cramping in my inner thigh. I just thought: won't need that on the bike, right? I knew the swim had been quick as I had been sticking with two pink caps (women pros) who I figured might be Bella Comerford and if I was lucky Hillary Biscay (turned out to be Yvette Grice) - so if I was right I was guessing at a swim somewhere in the range 52-54. Got hauled out and checked the watch on the run to T1 - it was reading 50 something. Good work!!!!
T1 turned out to be a casual affair, a bit of banter with the crew, and a tough time getting on my arm warmers, which wouldn't go past my elbows, so that's where they stayed for the rest of the race. Already I my mind had worked out that my PB swim could only be validated if I finished the race. Otherwise it was just a straight 3.8km, and it'd never stick. So running out to find my bike, I heard someone shout my name followed by "you're with the pros!". Let's see how long I can stay there.
Out onto the bike course I quickly realised that my chain wouldn't change down to the small ring. Don't panic. Just get up the first hill out of town, then there'll be a downhill section, and I can sort it out there. So my heart rate went up, and I was overtaking a couple of people within 2 km of T1. Not ideal, but I was mashing, so what can you do? About 6km in stop to fiddle with the front derailleur. No joy. Bella passes me. A few other guys do too. Back on the bike, I figure I'll just change it down manually at the bottom of every hill. I try this once. Stopping, changing and restarting bites, and the accelaration seems to be just as bad as pushing a bigger gear than I'd like. And plus I start thinking about the number of times I'd have to go through this process on a 3 lap undulating course. I do the maths: I'm stuck with the big ring. I completely give up all hope of fixing it after the a second aid station answers 'no idea' when quizzed about the whereabouts of any course mechanics.
But the cup is always half full: its all an experiment... let's see what happens if I don't have any fall back gears to spin up the hills with. For the first lap this seems bearable. The course seems empty, and other athletes are few and far between. Pushing through the hilly section I pass the two leading women - I hadn't noticed Hillary pass me on one of my stops as well (EDIT: that's because she got out of the water ahead of me... of course!). Lap two comes and goes - I keep expecting a pack to blaze past, but instead I just exchange places with a handful of other athletes - a few pros, a few age groupers - back and forth. I see a few of the same people a few times as we each flag at different stages then get back on after a bit of a regroup or some extra calories. Eat. Eat. Eat. Drink. Drink. Drink. The wind started to pick up, and by lap 3 it was a pain in the ass. And the legs. And my gearing situation was not helping matters. That MUST have screwed my run. O well... we'll find out soon. The last 20miles really dragged - undulating and into a headwind. And cold.
T2 was a welcome relief. Chatting to the volunteers, it seemed that me and the pro who'd got in just before me were around the 20th mark. Brief disbelief ... but then my swim had been good, and, unbelievably, no packs had rolled past. Guess my 5:15 bike split must have seen me right. Now for the fun bit. Unlike the bike, which we'd driven the day before, I had no idea about the run course. And I'm glad about that. This was going to hurt whatever - not knowing how hilly the course was turned out to be a blessing. The first 5 miles my shins were tight, I kept the pace down, and actually enjoyed the mud on the Castle laps. Only one pro passed me there - the guy who'd got into T2 ahead of me had been slow getting out - and he cramped round the corner. So I'm still in the top 20. But I'm running slow. Even if I hold on for a 3:15 somehow (I'd have to speed up and deal with hills) the pro's are going to start rolling past fairly soon. Second lap of the Castle grounds Paul Perry (a Serpie) blazes past me just starting his run. Like MAN he was flying. I figured it couldn't last too long, but the difference in our paces alarmed me slightly. I really seemed to be fading and was only 5 miles in. But it all got a bit easier. I was eating a gel at every other aid station, trying desperately to keep smiling at all the great supporters, and was faintly amused by the predicament I'd got myself into. There was NO WAY I could do anything but run my ass off at this point. There would have to be a pretty good reason for me to be at survival pace when I'm 5 miles into a marathon and somehow in the top 20. So I speed up a bit. After the second lap of the Castle loop, where it had been getting busy again as more and more athletes were starting the run, I was out onto the other half of the run section - including a horrific out and back rolling dual carriageway section, with a monster uphill into a headwind. Ouch. But on the first lap of it I got to count the runners ahead. 17. 17?!! Holy smokes! And then the fear - having hit the turn around, I knew I was being counted by the guys behind me - very close behind me. I think that's when I really sped up. I don't think I was overtaken on that loop, I can't really remember. But I do remember overtaking two more athletes - including the race's earlier leader, Rhodes, who's calf had blown and was walking his way to the finish. And then it was time to head home. In my mind there was a pack of people waiting behind with strong finishes, and I was just praying that I wouldn't cramp of my legs fail before the finish.
Crossing the finish came quickly. I was pretty sure I was somewhere around the 20th mark, but didn't dare hope for 15th. I'd been assuming that I would get taken before the finish so I hadn't got my hopes up. But there it was. A minute faster than Austria on a much tougher course... also unexpected: my watch had only been giving me section times, not totals.
Awesome. So, a few personal limiters removed: I had been riding too conservatively at Austria; I can run near 3 hours already. I can swim sub-50 already. Good news: I'm ahead of schedule. That's a couple of next year's targets already met - the top 20 finish being one of them too.
So did the experiment work? On balance, yes. I was verging on overdoing it with the high vol fortnight but its what I needed at the time to keep me happy, and it got me mentally relaxed enough to just go out and have some fun.
Awesome.
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Here we go again!!
It is with some trepidation that I'm off to Dorset tomorrow for IMUK. Whilst I am beginning to get familiar with the arbitrary way you can feel during taper, and how often it can be quite uncorrelated to how you actually perform on race day, this time the rational side of my brain is telling me that I am feeling flat. This weekend may all go a little pear-shaped. 6 weeks?? Its not going to make sunday any easier!
But on the other hand... just think Rebecca Preston. You never know! Well I guess I've got to see this experiment through - so off I go. If it is all going tits-up, then I'm more than happy to pull the plug and do what I maybe should have been doing for the last 5 weeks: rest. And I'll have learnt a valuable lesson. But then, there's always that faint hope that something might get pulled out of the bag....
But on the other hand... just think Rebecca Preston. You never know! Well I guess I've got to see this experiment through - so off I go. If it is all going tits-up, then I'm more than happy to pull the plug and do what I maybe should have been doing for the last 5 weeks: rest. And I'll have learnt a valuable lesson. But then, there's always that faint hope that something might get pulled out of the bag....
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Finally summer's arrived...
... and just in time to keep me motivated through a couple of hard weeks. So far, the experiment with 6 weeks between IMs is going to plan - the hard fortnight is now done. Totals for the fortnight came to 62 hours, with approx 42 k swimming, 950km riding and 200km running, with some decent key sessions met, including some intensity sessions. What was surprising was that the running was consistently of good quality - in part because I was running mainly in the mornings and not too much off the bike - but I only had one 'recovery run' where I was suffering and hitting survival pace the whole way round (at the end of the first week... I was quite tired that weekend!!). Had been concerned about generally sluggish riding since IMAustria, which I'd put down to a longer recovery for the bike (I had expected the running to take longer to come back), but the end of my 5 hour ride yesterday gave me a bit more confidence that I've come through that, finishing strongly. Only one run over 2 hours (2:30, last weekend) so relying on early season long distance to carry through.
Whether this is going to be good for IMUK, who knows... we'll find out. Mentally its been a good exercise for me just to know that the fitness is still there, and to keep me from idling through race season. Second, as Austria was my A race, I'm prepared to be a little more cavalier with preparation for UK. At the back of my mind I am considering ditching the marathon if the bike isn't going too well... which may be either due to lack of time since Austria or too heavy a schedule in between. Hopefully, of course, this block will have been just what the doctor ordered and I'll be in good shape come race day. Will be interesting to find out. Otherwise, there's always Vitruvian to finish the season with! ;)
Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow...
Whether this is going to be good for IMUK, who knows... we'll find out. Mentally its been a good exercise for me just to know that the fitness is still there, and to keep me from idling through race season. Second, as Austria was my A race, I'm prepared to be a little more cavalier with preparation for UK. At the back of my mind I am considering ditching the marathon if the bike isn't going too well... which may be either due to lack of time since Austria or too heavy a schedule in between. Hopefully, of course, this block will have been just what the doctor ordered and I'll be in good shape come race day. Will be interesting to find out. Otherwise, there's always Vitruvian to finish the season with! ;)
Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow...
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
time rolls on...
... and suddenly its under 4 weeks to IMUK. Thank god austria was a good result - means the pressure is off! And I'm glad about that. Two weeks might be OK for Rebecca Preston, but I think 6 weeks between IMs might be a struggle for me! I took the first week really easy, just scraping 5 hours of training, with 3 full rest days. Week 2 after austria (last week) was transition, so ramped up the number of sessions again, but limited the time allocated to each session, so longest ride was 2:30, longest run was 1:15. Hit 20 hours comfortably, just with a lot of laundry and showers for the hours of training involved! In theory this fortnight is high volume, shifting to high intensity next week before tapering again! It'll be an interesting experiment in recovery time. This time 2 years ago, what I'm doing now would have been inconceivable - I think I had at least a month really easy before getting back into training (more out of necessity than from plan)... so its good to see fitness improvements in other ways.
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Team Serpie
Team Serpentine on race morning... we had some time on our hands waiting for the bus to turn up to take us to race start.
From left to right:
Melik (9:50), Jenny (10:15), me (9:16), Bass (11:03), Ade Jones (9:43), Alex (10:58). There were some other outstanding serpie results that day, just not in this photo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
