Jog On...

I'm sat here on the train, writing my 1st blog post reviewing my first block of training for Staffs 70.3 and I'm in a funny place with it if I'm honest: 1) Do I think I should have done more.. YES 2) Am I happy with progress - YES & NO 3) Do I need to work harder for the next phase - YES 4) Do I feel guilty about missing the sessions - YES 5) Am I worried about it - NO 6) What do I need to change for the next phase? Its been a tough 4 weeks on the training committing front, which I knew it was going to be, with working away from my training base and Vicki opening her new sports clinic (www.vickisportsmassage.co.uk - check them out) I knew I was going to be needed elsewhere. I missed sessions due to both, but then... I didn't have any down time or was I just being lazy as there were times where I just sat on my arse, but i wasn't getting any time out from work or home so it was just good to sit on the sofa in the evenings. ...

Week 1 - 4 - Building A Routine  So the countdown to race day has started and day one has been and gone and I'm now at the end of my first block of 20 weeks training for Ironman Wales 2016. If I'm honest I've really enjoyed getting back into multi-sport, after concentrating on marathons last year its been great to get back in the pool and on the bike, and I'm full of enthusiasm currently so actually doing the sessions hasn't been a chore (I know I'm only 4 weeks in) but when marathon running some/most of the runs were done with the mentality of "Have I really got to do this, for this far". Back to the training, week 1 was a nice gentle reminder to triathlon training. I missed no sessions and clocked in a 7/7 that week, same for week 2, zero sessions missed, week 3 I missed my 1st session and it was a bike effort and I felt so guilty, but people tell me don't force the training to catch up on what you missed, just put it to bed and move on...

Well that's it I've done my training train, the past 12 weeks has finished... Was it hard, was it easy, was it long enough, was it focused in the right areas...? I ran Brighton Marathon in April, it was my 1st marathon "only" race, (I did Long Course weekend which was the Wales Marathon)  and I learned a lot from the day. The biggest lesson I learned is that it hurt, I wasn't conditioned enough for the race after 14 miles so the last 12 miles hurt... a lot! I could go out an run 8/10/12/14 miles with no issues and often my shortest runs would be in the 8-12 mile space. I needed to plan my time better, as this was the main reason I didn't get over the 14 mile marker as I had other commitments to the family, work etc, so when I entered my next marathon I knew I had to get the planning sorted. I did enter the Wales marathon but due to a family emergency 4 weeks out I knew I wouldn't get to the start line, so I took my foot off the gas and eased up on ...

February has been a great month for me on the training front and the diet from, I've lost 22lbs since eating cleans and getting back into training. I'm still on 3 sessions a week, but trying to get that 4th one in when and where ever possible. My official training plan started this month for my main race of the year, Long Course Weekend (LCW) raced on the Ironman Wales course over 3 days. I must say I'm really looking forward to the race in July, It takes me that step closer to becoming an Ironman. Session Reviews 04/02/14 - Spin Session I've been a member of the gym for about 6 months now so I have decided to take up some of the free classes I get with the membership. One of them was intermediate spin so I thought I'd give it a go. Its up to you how hard you work but the instructor does shout at the class a lot to work hard so I do find myself getting a good work out. Its only 55 minutes but I get a cracking sweat on and I do feel it in the legs the follo...

At the start of the year I have decided to update the blog with all my months training in one sitting, I'm creating a plan to cope with my planned races this year and my main race for the year will be the Long Course Weekend (Iron distance) which is raced on the Ironman Wales course and is raced over 3 days. The idea for January training was to build up the sessions per week, starting with 3 and then try and juggle family life to fit more session in. It was also to loose the Christmas indulgence, I set my self a target race weight of 168lbs and I was currently 198lbs so a massive 30lbs to loose, I planned to track my calorie intake to a minimum so I can complete some sort of training and not "bonk" when out on sessions. When I plan to do more than 3 sessions a week I'll eat more calories so I can cope with the extra demands. I will track everything in My Fitness Pal, a decent app so worth checking out! I'm not putting any structure in my training yet, I jus...

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 ...

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...

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...

29/10/12 - Rest Day 30/10/12 - Turbo Session Final turbo session before #Turbovember kicks off, and it was hard work to get out on the bike after a long day in work and eating dinner so late I just wanted to drop in my bed but the bike was calling. A very light and lack luster performance on the cadence front! Session Details Duration 00 35 04 Distance 10.27 Max HR 135 BPM Average HR 112 BPM Max Cadence 78 RPM Average Cadence 88 RPM   31/10/12 - Rest Day 01/11/12 - Turbo Session Typical that may battery has passed away on my cadence monitor on my Garmin so I'm just training via the heart rate this evening. I had to make an effort for the 1st day of #Turbovember and clocked in a 45 minute session. Its cold in the garage, but I thought if I work hard I'll soon warm up and the quicker I do the session the quicker I can get back into the warm house. A simple session, peddle fast for 45 minutes in a high to middle gear, find that rhythm and sta...

19/03/12 - Swimming (Penlan Leisure Centre) First session of my training plan and I'm in the pool, I feel great and cant wait to get started. Simple set of 1600 meters, and I broke it down in 400's. I completed two sets with fins and two with out. I was lucky enough to have a lane to myself so my first training session was an uninterrupted one. Session Details 4 x 400 meters = 1600 meters 20/03/12 - Interval Run Session (Treadmill) This was a interval session run, with a mixture of 6 minute mile pace, and a recovery pace of 10 minute mile pace. This was hard going on the treadmill as you never get a break from a constant pace, when your out running on the road you can choose to slow down but the treadmill doesn't give that option otherwise you'll end up taking a tumble and have the whole gym having a chuckle at your expense. Session Details Duration 00 40 00 Distance 5 Miles 21/03/12 - Rest Day 22/03/12 - Swimming (Penlan Leisure Centre) I know pe...