Ok so some of my US friends might call me weak and think that this is warm weather but I don't. And today is a swim day. :(
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
My bed is warm.
This is why it is so hard to get up and train in the mornings. Yes it is in Celsius.
Ok so some of my US friends might call me weak and think that this is warm weather but I don't. And today is a swim day. :(
Ok so some of my US friends might call me weak and think that this is warm weather but I don't. And today is a swim day. :(
Monday, 7 July 2014
34 weeks out
So another week down and 34 to go. My body is feeling better than I thought that it might. What I have found is that using a roller and stretching is important. I have fixed many pains that way. I have never been one to stretch much especially before sports so I find it hard to remember to do it.
Swimming has been good generally. Probably still the hardest to look forward to doing now that the cold has settled in. Its not great fun generally but putting on jumpers etc to go to a pool to swim is kind of wrong. Swim technique is not a bad session. I can leave that feeling relaxed but the race prep session is hard and is only getting harder. Lots of solid paced laps with timings to be within. I find I go out a little fast and have not found my happy pace yet. One day I am sure I will get it.
I got to have my first brick session of on the weekend. I had a 2hr zone 2 ride with a 15min zone 2 run. The ride was the fastest zone 2 ride I have ever done. I averaged 32.5km/h for the two hours. I even got back so early that I had to go around the block to make up the extra time I needed. Getting off the bike and running still gets me. The body likes to tell you that your done and you should sit down for a while. Then you realise that you are going to fast. Slowing to a normal pace feels like your almost walking but eventually everything gets back to normal. Something that did give me a chuckle at the end of the run was the icecream truck following me up and around a couple of streets. I must have looked like I was hungry. Well then again I probably always look like I am hungry and yes I can always eat if there is food around. This weekend I have a 2.5hr ride which has to include some hills so that will make it more interesting. Its not like my current path is flat but I guess it is not hilly enough.
The running is probably taking the biggest toll on the body. I sure do feel it after 1.5hrs on the go. I don't feel like I can't keep going its more when you stop the legs just kind of say "here feel this ya bugger and don't think about starting that again any time soon" as my legs feel heavy and done. :) Adam came up for the run this weekend. Its kind of nice to have someone to chat to while you run. I will enjoy it while I can as I know most of my training will be alone. He did comment that we had just completed the city2surf distance as a training run. That kind of got me thinking about when we did train for the first city2surf we did a few years back. We would do 5km runs as training and slowly build up to 10kms. If you did make it that far on a training run everyone would think your crazy. Ok back then most training was done in the pub so getting out for any training was a big deal.
So with five weeks completed of my actual ironman plan I have done the following.
Swim: 23.5km
Bike: 450.51km
Run: 151.78km
I think I need a sleep. :)
Swimming has been good generally. Probably still the hardest to look forward to doing now that the cold has settled in. Its not great fun generally but putting on jumpers etc to go to a pool to swim is kind of wrong. Swim technique is not a bad session. I can leave that feeling relaxed but the race prep session is hard and is only getting harder. Lots of solid paced laps with timings to be within. I find I go out a little fast and have not found my happy pace yet. One day I am sure I will get it.
I got to have my first brick session of on the weekend. I had a 2hr zone 2 ride with a 15min zone 2 run. The ride was the fastest zone 2 ride I have ever done. I averaged 32.5km/h for the two hours. I even got back so early that I had to go around the block to make up the extra time I needed. Getting off the bike and running still gets me. The body likes to tell you that your done and you should sit down for a while. Then you realise that you are going to fast. Slowing to a normal pace feels like your almost walking but eventually everything gets back to normal. Something that did give me a chuckle at the end of the run was the icecream truck following me up and around a couple of streets. I must have looked like I was hungry. Well then again I probably always look like I am hungry and yes I can always eat if there is food around. This weekend I have a 2.5hr ride which has to include some hills so that will make it more interesting. Its not like my current path is flat but I guess it is not hilly enough.
The running is probably taking the biggest toll on the body. I sure do feel it after 1.5hrs on the go. I don't feel like I can't keep going its more when you stop the legs just kind of say "here feel this ya bugger and don't think about starting that again any time soon" as my legs feel heavy and done. :) Adam came up for the run this weekend. Its kind of nice to have someone to chat to while you run. I will enjoy it while I can as I know most of my training will be alone. He did comment that we had just completed the city2surf distance as a training run. That kind of got me thinking about when we did train for the first city2surf we did a few years back. We would do 5km runs as training and slowly build up to 10kms. If you did make it that far on a training run everyone would think your crazy. Ok back then most training was done in the pub so getting out for any training was a big deal.
So with five weeks completed of my actual ironman plan I have done the following.
Swim: 23.5km
Bike: 450.51km
Run: 151.78km
I think I need a sleep. :)
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Prep stage is over
So the first four weeks of training is over and with that we see the end of the prep stage. Next twelve weeks will be the base stage. Three sets of four week plans that get increasingly longer. Looks like I am going to start to have to put in some long days. Also it seems that my optional bike session will no longer be optional.
So what did I learn from the first section of training. Well I know that I am always a little tired. Nothing crazy. I feel good but not 100%. Anyway its all good. I also found that I am running faster in zone 2 now than I did at the start. Also to get to zone 3 I have a reasonably fast pace. So I hope I can use that later as I race.
My swim training sessions have also ended. They were ok. I didn't like the early starts and having to get in an outdoor pool during winter but I got it done. I have a few things that I need to work on. Head position is probably the main thing. Making sure I don't cross over in my arm stroke and pulling directly back and not across my body are probably the other big things I got out of it. If I get that right the rest will be strength.
This weekend we got to have our first group training session with the coach. We worked on run technique and drills. Boy was that hard work. I was questioning if I would make it to the end of that session but I dragged myself through it. We had a lot of short sprinter type drills which will be incorporated into our weekly plans. This is to help get a little more speed into our stride. One thing I do like about training with our coach early Saturday morning is the breakfast his wife makes us. Hmm pancakes and fruit salad. What I nice way to end a training session.
We hope to do a group bike training session soon which should be good. My rides of late have not been that bad but there has been some issues. Stupid Samsung S4 stopping my music after 30min, blowing a tyre but not just a puncture but slicing a nice hole in it and some annoying wind today that just didn't seem to ever be behind me. It always seemed to be a head or cross wind. No matter which way the road turned even when it should have been behind me it wasn't. I guess it was a character build wind. :)
So more fun times ahead. Woohoo.
So what did I learn from the first section of training. Well I know that I am always a little tired. Nothing crazy. I feel good but not 100%. Anyway its all good. I also found that I am running faster in zone 2 now than I did at the start. Also to get to zone 3 I have a reasonably fast pace. So I hope I can use that later as I race.
My swim training sessions have also ended. They were ok. I didn't like the early starts and having to get in an outdoor pool during winter but I got it done. I have a few things that I need to work on. Head position is probably the main thing. Making sure I don't cross over in my arm stroke and pulling directly back and not across my body are probably the other big things I got out of it. If I get that right the rest will be strength.
This weekend we got to have our first group training session with the coach. We worked on run technique and drills. Boy was that hard work. I was questioning if I would make it to the end of that session but I dragged myself through it. We had a lot of short sprinter type drills which will be incorporated into our weekly plans. This is to help get a little more speed into our stride. One thing I do like about training with our coach early Saturday morning is the breakfast his wife makes us. Hmm pancakes and fruit salad. What I nice way to end a training session.
We hope to do a group bike training session soon which should be good. My rides of late have not been that bad but there has been some issues. Stupid Samsung S4 stopping my music after 30min, blowing a tyre but not just a puncture but slicing a nice hole in it and some annoying wind today that just didn't seem to ever be behind me. It always seemed to be a head or cross wind. No matter which way the road turned even when it should have been behind me it wasn't. I guess it was a character build wind. :)
So more fun times ahead. Woohoo.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Plan week 2
So the plan has been going rather well. Not easy but not over the top. Being the easier of all the weeks I am glad that it is not over the top right now.
Monday swims are race prep so they are reasonably hard. trying to swim over race pace is not easy. I usual get out of the pool with sore arms and wishing I could have a nap. By the time I get home at night its hard to get on the wind trainer to do the 45min ride that's needed. But I have managed to motivate myself enough to get it done. Wind trainers are not the most exciting things. Yes you get to watch TV while you do it but still its not the most fun way to ride a bike. :) I think it also hurts a bit more as I have just come off my long weekend run and ride so my legs are not as fresh as they could be.
Tuesday runs are going well so far. Basically a zone two run with a group of six strides in the middle. It breaks up the run and I find I run faster after the strides in zone two than I did at the start of the run. Strange but that's good. Its all in there to get some pace into my running while keeping the heart rate down so it looks like it could be working.
I have been meaning to go Tuesday night to the gym for a weight session but its pretty busy until 8pm so I have been heading down at 5am Wednesday. Its not a bad time to go. Not many people around and you get it out of the way before really starting the day. You just have to remember that if you are following some form of session in an app on your phone that you might want to keep the phone away from the gym equipment. I didn't do this and found that balancing a calf extension machine on the corner of the phone does not end well. I would like to blame Samsung for not labeling the phone with "Not to be used as a leveling device" or something similar. Other products get crazy warnings. How was I to know that mobile phones are so delicate. :P Anyway the rest of the Wednesday is for swim technique which is not hard but necessary.
Thursday runs have been the same as Tuesdays for the first two weeks but this week they have changed and I will be introduced to extended zone three running it seems followed by the usual wind trainer session. There is a bit of single leg work on the bike to make sure I am peddling correctly and I am going to need a lot of practice at that after a lifetime of stomping on the peddles.
With Friday being the rest day I definitely have a rosier outlook on that day. It might be that or just the end of the work week. Either way its a good day.
This week will be the final week of "swim school". The eight week early morning swim training will be over. Yay. Not that I have not liked it but its getting cold. What have I learned.. Hmm probably more than I can think of right now. I don't know how far off from having a good stroke I was when I started but I have had more things explained to me about what should be done so as long as I can remember all the parts I should be able to work on it. I know I have to keep my head further down than I am used to. It weird changing that part. I don't get to see what I am about to hit. My head wasn't that up at the start but now I have been told to look directly down. I am sure I will get used to it but for now its hard. Swimming is not an easy thing to do for us land based animals. I find thinking about my head position will cause my arms to cross over or do something else silly. So you think correct the arms and the head or hips or something else goes funny. I will have to figure out a chant that will remind me to check everything all the time.
After the swim session Adam and I have been doing 1.5hrs of running along the paths that are parallel to the beaches of Wollongong. Its a good run. Nice view means I am not thinking about much else and before you know it the run is done. I see the pace picking up while keeping in the correct zone which is good.
Sunday rides usually hard. I think I might have to change the run day to Sunday and the ride day to Saturday. At the start of the ride my legs are tired and I think that if I run Sunday then they might feel a little better but that's something to try next week not this one.
Now since I have not named any posts like this for a while all I can say is 264 days to go..... Woohoo...
Monday swims are race prep so they are reasonably hard. trying to swim over race pace is not easy. I usual get out of the pool with sore arms and wishing I could have a nap. By the time I get home at night its hard to get on the wind trainer to do the 45min ride that's needed. But I have managed to motivate myself enough to get it done. Wind trainers are not the most exciting things. Yes you get to watch TV while you do it but still its not the most fun way to ride a bike. :) I think it also hurts a bit more as I have just come off my long weekend run and ride so my legs are not as fresh as they could be.
Tuesday runs are going well so far. Basically a zone two run with a group of six strides in the middle. It breaks up the run and I find I run faster after the strides in zone two than I did at the start of the run. Strange but that's good. Its all in there to get some pace into my running while keeping the heart rate down so it looks like it could be working.
I have been meaning to go Tuesday night to the gym for a weight session but its pretty busy until 8pm so I have been heading down at 5am Wednesday. Its not a bad time to go. Not many people around and you get it out of the way before really starting the day. You just have to remember that if you are following some form of session in an app on your phone that you might want to keep the phone away from the gym equipment. I didn't do this and found that balancing a calf extension machine on the corner of the phone does not end well. I would like to blame Samsung for not labeling the phone with "Not to be used as a leveling device" or something similar. Other products get crazy warnings. How was I to know that mobile phones are so delicate. :P Anyway the rest of the Wednesday is for swim technique which is not hard but necessary.
Thursday runs have been the same as Tuesdays for the first two weeks but this week they have changed and I will be introduced to extended zone three running it seems followed by the usual wind trainer session. There is a bit of single leg work on the bike to make sure I am peddling correctly and I am going to need a lot of practice at that after a lifetime of stomping on the peddles.
With Friday being the rest day I definitely have a rosier outlook on that day. It might be that or just the end of the work week. Either way its a good day.
This week will be the final week of "swim school". The eight week early morning swim training will be over. Yay. Not that I have not liked it but its getting cold. What have I learned.. Hmm probably more than I can think of right now. I don't know how far off from having a good stroke I was when I started but I have had more things explained to me about what should be done so as long as I can remember all the parts I should be able to work on it. I know I have to keep my head further down than I am used to. It weird changing that part. I don't get to see what I am about to hit. My head wasn't that up at the start but now I have been told to look directly down. I am sure I will get used to it but for now its hard. Swimming is not an easy thing to do for us land based animals. I find thinking about my head position will cause my arms to cross over or do something else silly. So you think correct the arms and the head or hips or something else goes funny. I will have to figure out a chant that will remind me to check everything all the time.
After the swim session Adam and I have been doing 1.5hrs of running along the paths that are parallel to the beaches of Wollongong. Its a good run. Nice view means I am not thinking about much else and before you know it the run is done. I see the pace picking up while keeping in the correct zone which is good.
Sunday rides usually hard. I think I might have to change the run day to Sunday and the ride day to Saturday. At the start of the ride my legs are tired and I think that if I run Sunday then they might feel a little better but that's something to try next week not this one.
Now since I have not named any posts like this for a while all I can say is 264 days to go..... Woohoo...
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
The plan has started
Had a long chat over the weekend to plan my life to be with my coach. We looked at how many hours I have and how much training will increase before the big event. Just talking about it makes me start to think its going to get hard. But in a sick way I am looking forward to it. I have a belief that if I just do what I have to at the start the longer days will just work themselves out. Its not like I am going into the longer days from day one.
On Sunday I received the first week of the official plan. This is the preparation stage. Looks like I have 9hrs of swim, bike, run plus I need to add some weight sessions. Not a bad start. More than I have done before but not a lot more. Two swim sessions totaling 3km's, two 45min wind trainer sessions, one 60km ride and three run sessions making up about 35kms. Then I am still doing a few more weeks of swim technique lessons.
So day ones workout has been ticked and I am about to head out for day two's run. Yay for me not missing anything yet. haha. Already looking ahead to the Friday rest day.
On Sunday I received the first week of the official plan. This is the preparation stage. Looks like I have 9hrs of swim, bike, run plus I need to add some weight sessions. Not a bad start. More than I have done before but not a lot more. Two swim sessions totaling 3km's, two 45min wind trainer sessions, one 60km ride and three run sessions making up about 35kms. Then I am still doing a few more weeks of swim technique lessons.
So day ones workout has been ticked and I am about to head out for day two's run. Yay for me not missing anything yet. haha. Already looking ahead to the Friday rest day.
Thursday, 29 May 2014
40 is just another number
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. :)
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. :)
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.
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