I can't believe that it is a week out from winter and I am wearing shorts and t-shirts around. 26deg for the last few weeks and some reports say that it will continue. I am not going to complain. Makes it a lot easier to get out and about.
Training on the bike has been nonexistent the last two weeks. Sickness last week and then my 40th party this week made sure I didn't get on the bike. Yes 40 years old now. People keep saying happy birthday old man. Hmm old man. I guess I am. hehe. I know the body feels older especially after Saturday night. I have not stayed up till 3:30am in a long time. Was a great night. Friends, drinks and a fire. How could it go wrong. Well last time I tried to cut my finder off with a saw while cutting wood so this time I had a lot of wood already prepared.
I still have been out training. Swimming laps, weight sessions and easy runs has been the name of the game. We have made it to swimming technique session 4 of 8. So far I have learned that I need to keep my head lower, pull directly backwards through the water in a single motion and I can reach a bit deeper with my stroke. I feel that some of what I have been told is how I used to swim previously. Over the last year I have been reading and told so much that I think I changed my normal swimming style a lot in a effort to get better. Now with actually lessons some of what I have changed is being changes back. Not all of it which is good but some key points. Its been mentioned we will get videoed this week so I will get to see how I look underwater etc. I think this will be good as I don't really know for sure what I am doing under the water. I assume that I am getting it right but who knows. If I get an efficient stroke happening then I know it will just be strength work which will make me faster. But then no one wins a tri in the swim.
After swimming on Saturday morning I came home and went for a 2hr run. I knew I would sleeping Sunday after the party so I wanted to get something in. I was happy that I did it. I feel pretty good running about this long. Usually I make it to 20km or so in that time. But is that my limit. Near the end I start to think can I do that again right now. Hmm no is always the answer and that's when I started off fresh. Damn the 42kms is going to be hard but that's something to worry about later. lol
Well I guess I am off to continue the usual swim, bike, run and weights routine. The real plan starts next week with the prep phase. This is the first 4 weeks. I don't know what it involves but I am sure I will find out soon. Probably more of the same. :)
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
291 days
Its been a busy week. Apart from work which is normal to be busy the training has been pretty much constant. Always the usual swim, bike, run, repeat as per the plan. I have been taking the training easy as the coach has told me so I don't overdo it.
On Thursday Jetstar had a big birthday sale with cheap flights to different locations. I read the sale email and it mentioned cheap flights to New Zealand but not landing in Auckland so I was a bit bummed about that. I ignored it for a while until one of the guys at work was checking it out and said they had Auckland listed on the sales webpage even though it was not supposed to be part of the sale. The best part about it was the sale was for the dates of the NZ ironman. I jumped on and found a few dates that worked for our trip. I ended up getting flights for $200 return per person which I think is a nice little win. So now the flights are taken care of. It looks like we just need to find one nights accommodation in Auckland and car hire and I think our travel plans will be complete.
As part of my usual training I need to do some weight sessions so I took myself down to the gym and signed up for a membership. I have never been a gym person. I don't know what it is. Maybe because when I have been there is always a bunch of blokes trying to strut their stuff around acting like they own the place. I am not into the body building thing. Well since I don't have gym equipment at home and don't live in the forest where I can cut down a tree and carry it around rocky style I had to sign up. It looks like they have a few quiet times so I am going to hit the gym then.
Unfortunately I got a bit of a cold on Thursday night so by Sunday I didn't do my usual long ride. Instead I headed to the gym and did my first workout. It was ok. I bumbled my way through the machines reading all the instruction labels to make sure I was doing it right. It must have done something as I was feeling it afterwards. A few weeks of this and the pain will go away.
With the gym membership I get all the classes for free so knowing I need to work on my core and also get more flexibility. I decided that since I was not swimming on Monday I would do an yoga class that evening. I don't know anything about yoga apart from what I have read on the net about it being relaxing and good for flexibility. Well I headed into the room and as I suspected there was not another bloke in sight. A couple of older ladies, a couple of middle aged ladies, a young girl and then me. It seemed they all had their favorite spots on the floor so I was directed by one of the ladies as to where I can place myself. I grabbed a mat, put it in my spot and waited. Soon the instructor came and we were off. Well they say its relaxing. I don't know. For the next 50 minutes I bent and stretched and reached for the stars. Twisted myself into knots. Held poses and stood on my head. I don't know why but I looked around and I seemed to be the only one sweating. I had to towel myself off a couple of times and here these ladies are doing the same thing but obviously better and not even looking like they had warmed up. Crap I thought this is no good. But then the last 10 minutes was relax time. We got to lay there and feel the goodness of the workout. Well yeah I guess I did feel good after all. I still have to see what Pilates is like as I read that's good for you also and they have a body balance class which is a mix of yoga and Pilates. Once I have tried them all I will decide whats best for me.
On Thursday Jetstar had a big birthday sale with cheap flights to different locations. I read the sale email and it mentioned cheap flights to New Zealand but not landing in Auckland so I was a bit bummed about that. I ignored it for a while until one of the guys at work was checking it out and said they had Auckland listed on the sales webpage even though it was not supposed to be part of the sale. The best part about it was the sale was for the dates of the NZ ironman. I jumped on and found a few dates that worked for our trip. I ended up getting flights for $200 return per person which I think is a nice little win. So now the flights are taken care of. It looks like we just need to find one nights accommodation in Auckland and car hire and I think our travel plans will be complete.
As part of my usual training I need to do some weight sessions so I took myself down to the gym and signed up for a membership. I have never been a gym person. I don't know what it is. Maybe because when I have been there is always a bunch of blokes trying to strut their stuff around acting like they own the place. I am not into the body building thing. Well since I don't have gym equipment at home and don't live in the forest where I can cut down a tree and carry it around rocky style I had to sign up. It looks like they have a few quiet times so I am going to hit the gym then.
Unfortunately I got a bit of a cold on Thursday night so by Sunday I didn't do my usual long ride. Instead I headed to the gym and did my first workout. It was ok. I bumbled my way through the machines reading all the instruction labels to make sure I was doing it right. It must have done something as I was feeling it afterwards. A few weeks of this and the pain will go away.
With the gym membership I get all the classes for free so knowing I need to work on my core and also get more flexibility. I decided that since I was not swimming on Monday I would do an yoga class that evening. I don't know anything about yoga apart from what I have read on the net about it being relaxing and good for flexibility. Well I headed into the room and as I suspected there was not another bloke in sight. A couple of older ladies, a couple of middle aged ladies, a young girl and then me. It seemed they all had their favorite spots on the floor so I was directed by one of the ladies as to where I can place myself. I grabbed a mat, put it in my spot and waited. Soon the instructor came and we were off. Well they say its relaxing. I don't know. For the next 50 minutes I bent and stretched and reached for the stars. Twisted myself into knots. Held poses and stood on my head. I don't know why but I looked around and I seemed to be the only one sweating. I had to towel myself off a couple of times and here these ladies are doing the same thing but obviously better and not even looking like they had warmed up. Crap I thought this is no good. But then the last 10 minutes was relax time. We got to lay there and feel the goodness of the workout. Well yeah I guess I did feel good after all. I still have to see what Pilates is like as I read that's good for you also and they have a body balance class which is a mix of yoga and Pilates. Once I have tried them all I will decide whats best for me.
Monday, 12 May 2014
299 days
Wow I have less than 300 days to go now. Hmm doesn't seem like long at all. My coach called me last night to talk about a few things and mentioned that it was almost 6 months out from the 70.3. That's not a long time.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been taking it easy. Trying to slow the training down and do more work in zone 2. Its hard to do really. I don't feel like I am doing enough but I know that I can go longer and I am not that much slower so I think its a bonus. I will just have to get used to it. I know that the hurt is coming in training soon so I should be happy with what I get away with right now.
The last few weekends have been filled with rides and runs. I was involved in a ride around the lake in Wollongong to raise money for homeless kids. While it was not a race it was good to cross the line in front with Adam. Now I am famous as we made the local paper. :)
Mike suggested that I only finished so fast as there was an ice cream shop at the end. when I found one I took a photo and sent it to him. In all honesty it was Adams fault. I started the ride nice and slow. Staying with the family. Then I thought I would ride up to meet Adam who I thought was just up ahead. Little did I know he had taken off. By the time I caught up with him I couldn't be bothered stopping for everyone else so I just kept going. Apart from the cold and rain it was a good ride. Even Julian made it the 40kms. I also started my swim training. I get asked if it helped. I don't really know how to answer yet. It has only been one 1hr session. I don't know how much I can take away from that. Maybe in a couple of weeks I can answer it better. I remember all the things that the instructor told us but I don't know if I am doing it right. I think I am but who knows. Hopefully she will bring her camera in that she talked about and video what I am doing under the water.
So my week looks like it will be something like this for a while. They call it building a base. Well since i am in the basement its a good place to start.
Over the last couple of weeks I have been taking it easy. Trying to slow the training down and do more work in zone 2. Its hard to do really. I don't feel like I am doing enough but I know that I can go longer and I am not that much slower so I think its a bonus. I will just have to get used to it. I know that the hurt is coming in training soon so I should be happy with what I get away with right now.
The last few weekends have been filled with rides and runs. I was involved in a ride around the lake in Wollongong to raise money for homeless kids. While it was not a race it was good to cross the line in front with Adam. Now I am famous as we made the local paper. :)
Mike suggested that I only finished so fast as there was an ice cream shop at the end. when I found one I took a photo and sent it to him. In all honesty it was Adams fault. I started the ride nice and slow. Staying with the family. Then I thought I would ride up to meet Adam who I thought was just up ahead. Little did I know he had taken off. By the time I caught up with him I couldn't be bothered stopping for everyone else so I just kept going. Apart from the cold and rain it was a good ride. Even Julian made it the 40kms. I also started my swim training. I get asked if it helped. I don't really know how to answer yet. It has only been one 1hr session. I don't know how much I can take away from that. Maybe in a couple of weeks I can answer it better. I remember all the things that the instructor told us but I don't know if I am doing it right. I think I am but who knows. Hopefully she will bring her camera in that she talked about and video what I am doing under the water.
So my week looks like it will be something like this for a while. They call it building a base. Well since i am in the basement its a good place to start.
·
2 Swim Sessions
o One
steady swim for 30mins
o One
swim session for 45mins - with some slightly faster intervals included (say
4x100m or 2x200m with 30sec rest)
·
2 Bike Sessions
o One
longer ride for 2 – 3 hours
o One
ride or wind trainer session for 45-60mins
·
2 Run Sessions
o One
longish run between 1 – 2 hours
o One
moderate length run for 30 – 60mins
·
Try to include 1 or 2 x 30-40 minute gym workouts focusing on muscular
strength work
·
1 easy day or complete rest day
Sounds like fun.. Yay... oh yeah the weather is getting colder.
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