Jog On...

This week was all about the 1 session, get 6km in the bank and take the rest of the week off to be chuffed about it. Two main things about this session, the first I hit 4000 miles in total training since 2011, Now I know that's not a lot in 2013 but its a milestone I wanted to hit this year so I know I was cutting it fine for 2013 objective. The second was a new distance on my way back to recovery. 03/12/13 - Run Session It was a few degrees warmer outside, so I decided to wear short, my new Tribesports gear was tested and it felt really comfortable, I'd recommend it to anyone. I'll get some snaps up when I get some time. Lights on and off I went, I wanted to make this a long run, further than previous runs and enough to reach another boundary in my head I think more than my knee. I really enjoyed this session, I'm only ticking over at 80% MRH but that's fine, I'm not aiming to go all out, I'm just after a quality session. I knew when I got home I...

The week was completed with 2 sessions again, but more importantly they were run sessions. I was so happy to get out there and get a run, after all the things that have happened to my knee in the past 40 weeks I was a great feeling. It was cold so donned my hat and gloves combo and off out I went for a pitch black run... I like to add I looked like a Christmas tree with all my lights on. No one was going to miss me! 25/11/13 - Run Session I knew no land speed records were going to be broken today, I just wanted to get out and get home without any tweaks, niggles or pains. It felt great, the cold air in my lungs, the open round in front of me (even though it was pitch black) I had my new running lights on and there was no stopping me. I stopped my mind playing tricks with me as there we no ghosts of zombies changing me I found my rhythm and off I went. Session Details 28/11/12 - Run Session Another dark nights run and I really enjoyed it, hat and gloves in tow and off ...

It's officially started, I'm back training hard-ish and best of all I'm recording the sessions on my Garmin. I bloody love stats. I only planned to do 3 or possibly 4 sessions but due to a cold and cough I was stuck on 2, but 2 is better than none. 18/11/13 - Turbo Session This was just a simple session, spin the legs out and finish strong. I decided to put a DVD on to help with the pain, well this was really frustrating as the machine kept on freezing and skipping so I ended up getting off the bike twice so that's the dips in the graphs. It makes me mad when I have to do this as it disrupts the whole session and I need to find the rhythm again. Session Details 19/11/13 - Turbo Session Another simple session, but I managed to sort out the DVD player this time so no interruptions and I even had time to laugh on the turbo at the film (Wedding Crashers) so I obviously wasn't working hard enough. I started the session with an easy peddle out for 20 ...

2 weeks back in training and I feel great... even more importantly my knee feel great! I the last 14 days I've turbo trained 9 sessions and all have been more intense than the last. I've gone from 20 minutes to 45 minutes and gone from a minor/none resistance to the top ring with a cheeky mid resistance. I'm happy to start recording my training sessions from now on so I've dug out my brand new Garmin 910 XT that I had for my 30th birthday in April and get testing it out. I'm also going to invest in trainer road software to see what kind of wattage / power I'm pushing on the bike. It looks like something good to invest my money in as I love stats. Other Good / Bad news is that Ironman Wales has now been fully booked up so there are no spaces left for me to enter. Its good news that I wont over train and feel that "inch" to enter and cut corners with my training, but bad news as I have to wait till 2015 definitely now! Looks like another event wit...

I'm nearly there, my knee seems to be coming back to normal well I mean pre op before injury I can't remember what it's like having a normal knee, no niggles, no Sharpe pains, no swelling... Don't get me wrong I'm far from my A game but I'm constantly improving and I'm ready to commit to training again, only light duties for now but enough to get my HR up and in that fat burning zone. It's been a massive 27 weeks since I was injured and 17 weeks since my op. I've been giving the all clean from the surgeon last week but the physio doesn't want me running just yet.  To top it off I've put weight on since my surgery, I've tried my best to calorie manage while I was off my feet but the past 4 weeks since my new daughter was born that "calorie management" has gone out the window. I've put on a staggering 11 lbs in 27 weeks of no training which I'm happy with but also disappointed with. I suppose it will make ...

I've been lucky enough to be sent some lovely new thick yogurts from Danone to test out and report back. I do eat a lot of yogurts, everything from the very healthy ones to assist with a calories controlled diets to calorific ones for a special treat. I tend to buy certain yogurts and everything comes down to taste but I'm always ready to give all foods a try. I tested all the 6 flavors available in my local supermarket, these included cherry, strawberry, blueberry, peach, raspberry and passion fruit. My favorite had to be cherry, it tasted great and as all the yogurts have no artificial sweeteners, flavors or preservatives it actually tasted like really cherries. The yogurts are like your normal thin flavored yogurts, the Danio pots are full of thick 100% natural yogurt on the top and the fruit at the bottom. I liked mixing the fruit up with the yogurt and making a mess so you have a lovely taste of the yogurt and the fruit all in one hit. I wasn't to keen on t...

As I thought my half ironman plans for 2013 are over... I've had my MRI results and its a cross between good and bad news, as I haven't torn my meniscus, but I've got some cartilage damage and I've got a 9mm piece of bone loose and floating around in my knee joint. This 9mm piece of bone is catching my knee joint and its locking the knee in place. I'm also getting more pain now even though I'm not training which is bizarre. Its been 11 weeks since I put a good training session in and I'm starting to get hungry again for training, which I was starting to loose after the house move. I've got my operation planned in for the middle of August and worst case it could be 6 weeks with light weight barring for me and best case I'll be back driving within 7 days after the operation. I'm tracking my current calorie intake so I don't gain weight while I'm not training, so I've gone on USN diet fuel which tastes great. I'll repor...

Its come to a head... I've been advised to stop training for 2 weeks to see if my knee can recover correctly before I am issued a consultant appointment. I have been taping my knee up thanks to  http://www.vickisportsmassage.co.uk/  so I hope this aids my recovery or eases some of the discomfort.

Once again the nice people at Compressport UK have sent me some more kit to test out and on first looks the kit looks amazing. I couldn't wait to test it out even though the weather has been so poor in the UK. As a triathlete I was really looking forward to using the first compression specific triathlon race kit on the market and as the previous product released by Compressport this had high standards to reach. I'm happy to say its another amazing piece of kit released by them. Triathlon Shorts Just like bib shorts, bit so much better than bib shorts.. I currently use the quad compression supplied by CS and I can only say how good they are and when I found out that same technology was going to be used in there shorts I couldn't wait to test them. I've used the shorts on the bike on the turbo most of the winter and they are unbelievably comfortable. There isn't to much padding on the rear of the shorts so there is no uncomfortab...

29/04/13 - Turbo Session Start week with a quality turbo session but a big but.. on the power reps I felt a "tweak" in my knee, not a good tweak either. It hurt and made me stop in my tracks, I could feel a niggle through the remainder of the session, I hadnt felt a pain like that since I ruptured my knee ligaments about 10 years ago. I hope its nothing to serious... The set was 15 warm up 15 Max reps (1 min on 1 min off) 5 warm down Session Details Duration 00:50:00 Distance 11 Miles 30/04/13 - Rest Day 01/05/13 - Rest Day 02/05/13 - Turbo Session Low resistance spin, as the knee still doesn't feel right after 2 days away from any strain. A simple 30 mins easy session Session Details Duration 00:30:00 Distance 5 Miles 03/05/13 - Rest Day 04/05/13 - Free Run A lovely day for a run, sun shining, Oakley on and the open road for a 50 minute run. I was fired up for this run session, I don't know why I just was and I se...

22/04/13 - Swim Session Back to Day 1 again with the 16 week training plan. The plan starts with a simple swim and I was lucky enough to have the pool to myself. A new pool for my training to since we have moved house, and its brand new too! 4 x 100 wu 2 x (16 x 25s) Sprint every 4th 2 x 100 wd I took it slow and steady, didn't smash the session out and keep it the same stroke speed throughout the session. Session Details Duration 00:45:00 Distance 1400 meters 23/04/13 - Turbo Session Simple spin on the bike, get the legs working and awake. I put the bike on a low to middle resistance and peddled for 45 minutes with the company of the British & Irish Lions tour 2005. I did this session without the Garmin, so flying solo. Session Details Duration 00:45:00 Distance 9 Miles 24/04/13 - Rest Day 25/04/13 - Turbo Session Same session as Tuesday and continued coverage of the Lions 2005 tour. I do miss my Garmin stats but gue...

After moving in, and being ill and just loosing all my training mojo I haven't trained for 3 weeks, I'm 8 weeks into my half Ironman training plan and I feel really down hearts and lacking in motivation to train. This has put a big spanner in the works for my main race this season the Cotswolds113, it was my A race last year and I've got a time to beat but I am really struggling to just get up early or get home late from work to go and train. Whats wrong with me..

No training planned this week as we are trying to move into our new house. I am a tad frustrated though as I've build my body up to handle the routine of training again, its going to be  a shame to not get any training in but I'd rather be moving house! Fingers crossed I'll get some training in next week

18/03/13 - Swim Session w/u: 4x100m easy (15sec rest after each) 3x the following [16x25m as First 3 are swum EASY (20sec rest) Every 4th 25m effort ALL OUT (20sec rest) After the 25’s, swim 200m ALL OUT Session Details Duration 00:55:00 Distance 2200 meters Average Stroke 12 19/03/13 - Turbo Session w/u: 20 mins 10 x Power Intervals CAD 75 1mins on / 1 mins off c/d:10 mins Session Details Duration 00:50:00 Distance 14 Miles 20/03/13 - Free Run 60 min Free Run (Treadmill) Session Details Duration 01:00:00 Distance 6.84 Miles 21/03/13 - Rest Day 22/03/13 - Swim Session SWIM w/u: 4x100m easy (15sec rest after each) 3x the following [16x25m as First 3 are swum EASY (20sec rest) Every 4th 25m effort ALL OUT (20sec rest) After the 25’s, swim 200m ALL OUT Session Details Duration 00:55:00 Distance 2200 meters Average Stroke 12 23/03/13 - House Packing 24/03/13 - House Packing Week 12 Totals Swimming - 4400 Meters Cycling - 14 Miles Run...

11/03/13 - Swim Session Same set as last Monday so a similar distance logged. w/u: 4x100m easy (15sec rest after each) 3x the following [16x25m as First 3 are swum EASY (20sec rest) Every 4th 25m effort ALL OUT (20sec rest) After the 25’s, swim 200m ALL OUT Really enjoying my pool sessions, but I cant wait to move home and get the 6am starts rather than the  9pm ones. Session Details Duration 00:55:00 Distance 2200 meters Average Stroke 12 12/03/13 - Spin Session I decided to do this workout after my new gym induction. I did this session on a spin/standard bike cross as it had an aero position option which I tried out. The main session was a power one, which involved, w/u: 20 mins 7 x Power Intervals CAD 60 Max Resistance 1mins on / 1 mins off c/d:10 mins Mission of this session was jelly legs = Mission accomplished Session Details Duration 00:45:00 Distance 13.43 Miles 13/03/13 - Missed Session - After a long day at wo...

04/03/13 - Swim Session This is the furthest I have swam to date on this plan, still not enough time in the evenings to swim the hole warm down as the pool closes at 10pm and I can only get in for 9pm. I need reduce the rest phases which I am and swim faster in the sets, which I am trying to do. It was great to have an empty pool apart from kids that were heavy petting or at least trying to in the corner of the shallow end, out my way. Session Details Duration 00:55:00 Distance 2300 meters Average Stroke 12 05/03/13 - No Training as it was my wife's birthday and she had my full attention all day, what a nice guy I am. Well she is only 30 once... 06/03/13 - Turbo Session This session was powered by birthday cakes, and what a nice birthday cake it was. I'm now moving into he power interval sessions, high resistance the maximum with a cadence of 60 RPM Warm up 20 mins 3 x Power Intervals 3mins on / 2 mins off Warm down 10 mins...

The first session has arrived and I'm really looking forward to my new training plan. I've decide to follow the Ironguides program, I wont go into to much detail in the plan otherwise people will just rip it off me and Ironguides wont make any money from my followers. I completed the Cotswolds 113 last year and the plan I followed was a lot lighter than this, this plan takes me straight into building a routine and conditioning my body for the race. I like it... I like it a lot... On a downer, I seem to have lost my Garmin watch... 25/02/13 - Swim Session A tough session to start with, I've been doing some of these the past month in and out of illness so I knew what was coming. I cut the warm up and warm down as I knew I wouldn't have enough time to complete everything in time and it its the 1st week the plan went easy on me and only gave me half a full session. 2x100m easy 2x the following 16x25m 1st 3 EASY 4th ALL OUT A...

The last 2 weeks I was quite ill and I've found out its singles... Stay away I should be back soon as my half Ironman plan starts the last week of February.

04/02/13 - Rest Day 05/02/13 - Rest Day 06/02/13 - Rest Day 07/02/13 - Swim Session After a great week training last week, I've only gone and got myself a cold. Not what I wanted by any means. As last session was so much fun, I decided to do it again. 40 x 50 m First 6 Warm Up Last 6 Warm Down Keep the rest the same speed and stroke. My stroke was just as bad, and I hurt just a little bit more. I was about 6 minutes quicker to but  that's  because I had less breaks after the 50's. Cheating I know! Session Details Duration 00:45:00 Distance 2000 meters Average Stroke 15 08/02/13 - Rest Day 09/02/13 - Turbo Session Back on the bike and another interval session, sticking with what I know and doing the simple 45 minute session, warm up, session of 1 min on, 1 min off and warm down. Its get to get the legs spinning and its helped clear my blocked nose too, slightly worried though as my heart rate is a little higher than the norm. Session Details Du...

28/01/13 - Rest Day 29/01/13 - Rest Day 30/01/13 - Turbo Session After last weeks hard session it feels like my metabolism has kicked into over drive, I've been really hungry and I seem to be wanting to eat everything. Just need to make sure its all the right stuff. Today's turbo session was another interval one, I'm really enjoying them and it seems to be making the session go a lot quicker and its definitely a lot sweatier too! I can really start to feel the difference in my legs in these session, and I've cranked up the resistance on the turbo trainer and I can start to see definition of muscle groups in my legs, I feel lighter on my legs which is great so there is less fatigue which is also good as my Ironman training plan is coming up in a few weeks. A simple turbo session of 45 minutes, which includes a warm up, warm down and a 1 minute on/off session. I'm tempted to investigate my wattage to see where I can gain i...