Packing starts tonight so I thought I'd share my packing list;
Tri Shorts
Top
Wetsuit
Plastic shopping bag (used to make getting into wetsuit easier)
Swim hat
Goggles
Ear plugs
Body Glide
Running Shoes (used for cycling as well as I don't have clipless peddles)
Watch
3 sports drinks (one for pre race, one for bike, one for run)
2 SIS gels (one for pre race, one for 10-15 mins into bike)
1 bottle of water
1 drink bottle
1 SIS Rego recovery powder
1 SIS Go Bar (post race carb snack)
Helmet
Shades
Clear glasses (in case of rain)
Spare contact lenses
Number belt
Race pack (stickers, number, security band)
Safety pins
Socks
Bike
Towel
Change of clothes (including fleece if cold)
Change of trainers (in case wet)
BTF Card
Passport (for registration ID)
Box (to keep the above in at transition)
Track pump
Bike GPS
AAA batteries
Suncream (in vain hope of a nice day!)
Black bag (for wet kit)
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Monday, 27 July 2009
It's been a while... pt 2.
So, June's grand plan to do a few big posts to bring the blog up to date didn't go too well. It's been almost 2 months since my last post and due to a very high workload, working up to and over 15 hours a day some days as well as working most weekends left me very little time to do anything else. Thankfully I managed to keep training in the time I had but updating the blog fell by the way side. But now, with 5 days to go before London Triathlon, and spurred on by knowing that someone is actually reading my drivel (thanks Delphine!) it's time for an update!
Firstly - I am now a triathlete :) I competed in the Terrapin Novice triathlon (500m swim, 21km ride, 3k run), coming a semi-respectable 22nd out of 32. This was after 4 hours sleep, and not being in the best of conditions after a tough couple of weeks previously including recovering from a suspected case of swine flu! I achieved my main goals of a) completing it, b) not being last, and c) not being last out of the water (albeit only just!). The swim was pretty nasty, especially as it was only the 2nd time I'd been in open water, and I had to go on my back to breathe and recover a few times. I came out in 28th place. The bike leg was much better and I finished that in 14th place, less than 5 minutes out of the top 5 places, which I was happy with as I was on slick tired mountain bike, as opposed to a race bike. Finally, the run leg was hard work and I had to stop to walk a few times as my fitness and (enforced) lack of preparation took it's toll. It was pretty gutting to see some of the people I'd overtaken on the bike leg ease past me on the run. Even so, the cheers and encouragement of the spectating crowd spurred me on and I managed a sprint finish, finishing in 1hr26, more than 10 minutes faster than the 1hr40 I expected. Overall it was a great event and really gave me a taste for Triathlons, and very useful experience ahead of London.
Since then I've increased my training volume; thankfully as I work most of the time from home I can nip out early morning or lunch time and fit in training sessions. I've also got used to doing 2 sessions a day as often as possible, and most importantly got down to the local open water swim sessions as often as possible, which has resulted in tangible improvements with each session culminating in a 16 minute ~750 metre swim last week. I also did my final brick session before London last Friday, matching the event distance of 20k bike and 5k run, finishing in a time of 1h09m, suggesting that a sub 1hr 30 time for London is looking possible. Fingers crossed!
So, how do I feel in the run up to Saturday? Excited, and nervous. The main source of nerves is the thought of getting into Victoria Docks with 379 other people at the same time! However the recent improvements in my swimming technique has helped enormously with that. I'm still not expecting to be anywhere near the front, but I'm hoping I can stay on the edge of the scrum and set a fairly reasonable time. I've got a "well behaved" week planned out, with some short but intense final training sessions, with Friday off to drive down to London and check into the hotel. It'll be an alcohol and junk food free week which will hopefully leave me feeling great on Saturday. I'll be servicing my bike this week, and packing for the weekend well in advance to try and keep the pre-race nerves to a minimum - knowing that everything's sorted will help.
And after London, what next? Well, the following Sunday I'm entered into another local Sprint Triathlon with a friend who I've been training with and convinced him to give it a try, followed by Tatton Park Triathlon in September, and I'm excited about each of those (and less nervous as the swims won't be in a deep dock!). I'm now treating Tatton as my "A Race" for this year and hope to have my best performance there with the benefit of another 7 weeks training, healthier eating and also race day experience.
Also, due to lack of time I haven't even begun to do any fundraising. I'm still committed to doing it, but don't have time to give it justice so I'm going to either push it back to Tatton or even to my first Olympic Distance race (1500m swim, 40k ride, 10k run), which I plan to do early in the season next year. I'll make a decision on this after London.
Finally, what of the future of my blog? I'm going to make more of an effort to update it, but I doubt that I'll be updating it as much as I was earlier this year when I tried to put something up every other day. Quality over quantity... in theory anyway ;) I do have a twitter feed that I post training related comments on (as well as non triathlon related posts), and that will be updated more often than the blog.
Firstly - I am now a triathlete :) I competed in the Terrapin Novice triathlon (500m swim, 21km ride, 3k run), coming a semi-respectable 22nd out of 32. This was after 4 hours sleep, and not being in the best of conditions after a tough couple of weeks previously including recovering from a suspected case of swine flu! I achieved my main goals of a) completing it, b) not being last, and c) not being last out of the water (albeit only just!). The swim was pretty nasty, especially as it was only the 2nd time I'd been in open water, and I had to go on my back to breathe and recover a few times. I came out in 28th place. The bike leg was much better and I finished that in 14th place, less than 5 minutes out of the top 5 places, which I was happy with as I was on slick tired mountain bike, as opposed to a race bike. Finally, the run leg was hard work and I had to stop to walk a few times as my fitness and (enforced) lack of preparation took it's toll. It was pretty gutting to see some of the people I'd overtaken on the bike leg ease past me on the run. Even so, the cheers and encouragement of the spectating crowd spurred me on and I managed a sprint finish, finishing in 1hr26, more than 10 minutes faster than the 1hr40 I expected. Overall it was a great event and really gave me a taste for Triathlons, and very useful experience ahead of London.
Since then I've increased my training volume; thankfully as I work most of the time from home I can nip out early morning or lunch time and fit in training sessions. I've also got used to doing 2 sessions a day as often as possible, and most importantly got down to the local open water swim sessions as often as possible, which has resulted in tangible improvements with each session culminating in a 16 minute ~750 metre swim last week. I also did my final brick session before London last Friday, matching the event distance of 20k bike and 5k run, finishing in a time of 1h09m, suggesting that a sub 1hr 30 time for London is looking possible. Fingers crossed!
So, how do I feel in the run up to Saturday? Excited, and nervous. The main source of nerves is the thought of getting into Victoria Docks with 379 other people at the same time! However the recent improvements in my swimming technique has helped enormously with that. I'm still not expecting to be anywhere near the front, but I'm hoping I can stay on the edge of the scrum and set a fairly reasonable time. I've got a "well behaved" week planned out, with some short but intense final training sessions, with Friday off to drive down to London and check into the hotel. It'll be an alcohol and junk food free week which will hopefully leave me feeling great on Saturday. I'll be servicing my bike this week, and packing for the weekend well in advance to try and keep the pre-race nerves to a minimum - knowing that everything's sorted will help.
And after London, what next? Well, the following Sunday I'm entered into another local Sprint Triathlon with a friend who I've been training with and convinced him to give it a try, followed by Tatton Park Triathlon in September, and I'm excited about each of those (and less nervous as the swims won't be in a deep dock!). I'm now treating Tatton as my "A Race" for this year and hope to have my best performance there with the benefit of another 7 weeks training, healthier eating and also race day experience.
Also, due to lack of time I haven't even begun to do any fundraising. I'm still committed to doing it, but don't have time to give it justice so I'm going to either push it back to Tatton or even to my first Olympic Distance race (1500m swim, 40k ride, 10k run), which I plan to do early in the season next year. I'll make a decision on this after London.
Finally, what of the future of my blog? I'm going to make more of an effort to update it, but I doubt that I'll be updating it as much as I was earlier this year when I tried to put something up every other day. Quality over quantity... in theory anyway ;) I do have a twitter feed that I post training related comments on (as well as non triathlon related posts), and that will be updated more often than the blog.
Monday, 1 June 2009
May review: Swimming
As I said in the earlier post, i'll be writing a series of posts regarding how I've been getting on over the past month with my training. The first 3 posts will each cover the Triathlon disciplines, and I'll follow that up with some other training and event related posts.
So first up, in the order of execution, is swimming. I've always made it clear that this is my weakest area and that's not changed but my ability over the last month has really accelerated, thanks to Debbie, my swim teacher, watching Total Immersion DVDs Happy Laps & Freestyle Made Easy, and raising the training volume.
I've only really had a handful of lessons with Debbie as she can't work at my local pool during school holidays and there's been a few weeks where I've not been able to get away during lunch time. But the lessons have given me a huge boost. I went from just about being able to swim 20 lengths in 30 minutes to 50 lengths (incorporating drills that slow me down and help me to work on my form) in 30 minutes, in the space of 6 lessons. Last week I did a drill-free session, 20 lengths (800m) to see how fast I had got, and I did it in 19 minutes more than 10 minutes faster than 2 months ago. That is something I never expected to be able to say! Today is my last lesson with Debbie as she'll be no longer working at the pool due to a change in circumstances, but she's given me a great boost which I'm very thankful for.
The Total Immersion DVDs teach a different method of swimming to the standard swim instructor way. Triathletes use it a lot as it concentrates almost solely on upper body work, which saves the legs for the bike and run disciplines, and also because it's about getting the best speed from minimum effort. I've not picked up too much from the DVDs yet as I've only watched them each once, but I've started using some of the individual elements (head positioning, leg kick style and lower strokes per length) and that's also been a big help in increasing the distance and speed I can swim. Highly recommended. I'd love to do one of their workshops, but unfortunately they're just too expensive and I can't justify it. Maybe next season!
And finally, sheer volume of training is obviously a huge help with stamina and fitness. Previously I aimed to do 3 sessions a week but averaged 2. For the last 2 weeks I've managed 3 per week, and from this month onwards I will do 4 sessions a week, including 1 open water session.
Ah yes, open water... I ordered my wetsuit at the start of last month, after agonising over which size to buy. My various combined measurements didn't really match one size, so I went with the one that matched my chest size, as that's the most important according to their size guide. When it arrived I was very concerned that it wouldn't fit, as was everyone else who saw it! It took me 2 weeks to get around to trying it on and thankfully it did fit, courtesy of this handy video, although getting it off is not too easy yet, although that will come with practice (and further weight loss!). The wetsuit has yet to be christened in the water, although I've been up to Bosworth Water Trust to check out my Triathlon Club's Open Water Swim training sessions (Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings), and they seem like a good bunch, helpful and full of advice. I may take the plunge (literally!) this Thursday evening.
And yes, there are photos of me in a wetsuit. But for the safety of everyone's appetite they won't be up on this site!
So first up, in the order of execution, is swimming. I've always made it clear that this is my weakest area and that's not changed but my ability over the last month has really accelerated, thanks to Debbie, my swim teacher, watching Total Immersion DVDs Happy Laps & Freestyle Made Easy, and raising the training volume.
I've only really had a handful of lessons with Debbie as she can't work at my local pool during school holidays and there's been a few weeks where I've not been able to get away during lunch time. But the lessons have given me a huge boost. I went from just about being able to swim 20 lengths in 30 minutes to 50 lengths (incorporating drills that slow me down and help me to work on my form) in 30 minutes, in the space of 6 lessons. Last week I did a drill-free session, 20 lengths (800m) to see how fast I had got, and I did it in 19 minutes more than 10 minutes faster than 2 months ago. That is something I never expected to be able to say! Today is my last lesson with Debbie as she'll be no longer working at the pool due to a change in circumstances, but she's given me a great boost which I'm very thankful for.
The Total Immersion DVDs teach a different method of swimming to the standard swim instructor way. Triathletes use it a lot as it concentrates almost solely on upper body work, which saves the legs for the bike and run disciplines, and also because it's about getting the best speed from minimum effort. I've not picked up too much from the DVDs yet as I've only watched them each once, but I've started using some of the individual elements (head positioning, leg kick style and lower strokes per length) and that's also been a big help in increasing the distance and speed I can swim. Highly recommended. I'd love to do one of their workshops, but unfortunately they're just too expensive and I can't justify it. Maybe next season!
And finally, sheer volume of training is obviously a huge help with stamina and fitness. Previously I aimed to do 3 sessions a week but averaged 2. For the last 2 weeks I've managed 3 per week, and from this month onwards I will do 4 sessions a week, including 1 open water session.
Ah yes, open water... I ordered my wetsuit at the start of last month, after agonising over which size to buy. My various combined measurements didn't really match one size, so I went with the one that matched my chest size, as that's the most important according to their size guide. When it arrived I was very concerned that it wouldn't fit, as was everyone else who saw it! It took me 2 weeks to get around to trying it on and thankfully it did fit, courtesy of this handy video, although getting it off is not too easy yet, although that will come with practice (and further weight loss!). The wetsuit has yet to be christened in the water, although I've been up to Bosworth Water Trust to check out my Triathlon Club's Open Water Swim training sessions (Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings), and they seem like a good bunch, helpful and full of advice. I may take the plunge (literally!) this Thursday evening.
And yes, there are photos of me in a wetsuit. But for the safety of everyone's appetite they won't be up on this site!
It's been a while...
Today marks a calendar month has passed since I last posted. Thankfully this wasn't due to me returning to couch potato status, slinking away like a failure and burying my head in between the sofa cushions, rather a lack of time due to a combination of a big hike in workload at work and a raise in training volume, and also boredom of writing the same old "I'm still drinking and smoking but will give up" crap every week.
I'm going to write a few big updates over the next few days to fill in the last lost month, and after that I'll probably change the format a bit, posting less often than I was, but making it worthwhile and more interesting. I may supplement this with twitter posts as well after some training sessions. And I also make sure that my training diary is kept up to date so you can always see what I'm up to there (the big gap last week was due to a business trip to Sweden, rather than laziness!)
Today also marks the 2 month countdown to the London Triathlon. It's very close now. The excitement and nerves are rising. I've got most of the kit I need (more details later this week), the hotel's booked, and training is generally going quite well apart from a 2 week layoff from running due to a foot injury (again, more later this week). I've also discovered a small scale "novice" triathlon which is being staged later this month and I think that will give me a useful experience before doing a full on Sprint Tri with 12,999 others in August.
I also need to pull my finger out and get the charity fundraising started. I've settled on who I want to raise money for and will sort out a justgiving.com page very soon.
Oh, and I'm still drinking and smoking, but I'm definitely giving up... ;)
I'm going to write a few big updates over the next few days to fill in the last lost month, and after that I'll probably change the format a bit, posting less often than I was, but making it worthwhile and more interesting. I may supplement this with twitter posts as well after some training sessions. And I also make sure that my training diary is kept up to date so you can always see what I'm up to there (the big gap last week was due to a business trip to Sweden, rather than laziness!)
Today also marks the 2 month countdown to the London Triathlon. It's very close now. The excitement and nerves are rising. I've got most of the kit I need (more details later this week), the hotel's booked, and training is generally going quite well apart from a 2 week layoff from running due to a foot injury (again, more later this week). I've also discovered a small scale "novice" triathlon which is being staged later this month and I think that will give me a useful experience before doing a full on Sprint Tri with 12,999 others in August.
I also need to pull my finger out and get the charity fundraising started. I've settled on who I want to raise money for and will sort out a justgiving.com page very soon.
Oh, and I'm still drinking and smoking, but I'm definitely giving up... ;)
Friday, 1 May 2009
Improvements in the pool
I went swimming during my lunch time yesterday and finally managed to fully fit in my new drill session; pool congestion's been ever present recently which has made it impossible to do all 40 lengths in the time I had available.
The new drills are;
10 lengths front crawl
6 lengths with float, kicking
6 lengths one handed with float (2 lengths right, 2 left, 2 switching between each stroke)
6 lengths with float, kicking
12 lengths front crawl.
I did the lot in 31 minutes. As I was doing the drills I was thinking how much I hated swimming (I've not been in any kind of swimming mood recently, my technique never feels natural or right, and I hate the drills), but after the drills were over and I went back to front crawl something seemed to click. I was swimming smoother and putting less effort in. I even managed to do the 12 lengths only stopping 2 or 3 times. It's still a long long way from feeling good, but I feel like this is the first time I've made progress in the pool in a good few weeks.
The new drills are;
10 lengths front crawl
6 lengths with float, kicking
6 lengths one handed with float (2 lengths right, 2 left, 2 switching between each stroke)
6 lengths with float, kicking
12 lengths front crawl.
I did the lot in 31 minutes. As I was doing the drills I was thinking how much I hated swimming (I've not been in any kind of swimming mood recently, my technique never feels natural or right, and I hate the drills), but after the drills were over and I went back to front crawl something seemed to click. I was swimming smoother and putting less effort in. I even managed to do the 12 lengths only stopping 2 or 3 times. It's still a long long way from feeling good, but I feel like this is the first time I've made progress in the pool in a good few weeks.
T minus 3 months and counting
Today marks the 3 month countdown to the London Triathlon. When I look back on my post 3 months ago, I know I've come quite a way. I'm definitely fitter, toned and generally more capable (exercise wise, at least!) than I was 'back then'.
But... I'd like to say that I've got more energy as well, and at times I have had, but the past few weeks I've felt pretty drained, and more often than not it takes quite some effort to drag my sorry ass out of bed! Also, one of my original goals was to lose a decent chunk of weight. To date, I've lost somewhere between 8 and 10lbs which isn't bad going, but I'd like to improve on that and keep it off. I believe the key to both my weight and energy comes down, quite simply, to my diet. I do fairly well during the week, eating healthily a lot of the time, but all too often I find myself reaching for a quick sugar fix, or some other junk. And then at the weekend it tends to be beer and takeaways, washed down with more beer.
As the saying goes (sort of), if you put crap fuel into an engine, you get crap out of it.
I also need to structure my training more and make sure I do the disciplines I'm weakest in more often - and that means more swimming and running. And to accelerate my progress I need to mix up the session types - endurance, intervals, recovery, etc. If I just stick to running, riding and swimming and constant speeds I will get fitter, but progress will be slow and I'll most likely end up bored due to the lack of variety.
Over the next week I'm going to work out diet and training plans for the coming month. At the start of June I want to be looking back on this post and seeing that I made the right changes and feel better for it.
Standard disclaimer: I know I've said a lot of the above before, but this time I *really* mean it!
But... I'd like to say that I've got more energy as well, and at times I have had, but the past few weeks I've felt pretty drained, and more often than not it takes quite some effort to drag my sorry ass out of bed! Also, one of my original goals was to lose a decent chunk of weight. To date, I've lost somewhere between 8 and 10lbs which isn't bad going, but I'd like to improve on that and keep it off. I believe the key to both my weight and energy comes down, quite simply, to my diet. I do fairly well during the week, eating healthily a lot of the time, but all too often I find myself reaching for a quick sugar fix, or some other junk. And then at the weekend it tends to be beer and takeaways, washed down with more beer.
As the saying goes (sort of), if you put crap fuel into an engine, you get crap out of it.
I also need to structure my training more and make sure I do the disciplines I'm weakest in more often - and that means more swimming and running. And to accelerate my progress I need to mix up the session types - endurance, intervals, recovery, etc. If I just stick to running, riding and swimming and constant speeds I will get fitter, but progress will be slow and I'll most likely end up bored due to the lack of variety.
Over the next week I'm going to work out diet and training plans for the coming month. At the start of June I want to be looking back on this post and seeing that I made the right changes and feel better for it.
Standard disclaimer: I know I've said a lot of the above before, but this time I *really* mean it!
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Heart rate graph
For the first time in more than 2 weeks I made it to the gym for core and strength work yesterday. As promised yesterday I did attempt an extra core exercise, but it seems I need more balance to be able to pull of the side plank star, so I'll start with just a straight forward side plank next time and practice the side plank star at home!
I also wore the heart rate monitor to the gym for the first time. Since my cycle-swim-cycle brick session I've used it a few times on runs and cycles with more success, although the Garmin Training Centre software leaves a lot to be desired. There are alternatives, but they seem to be centred around GPS and the Forerunner 50 I've got doesn't have that, so I'll stick with the official software for the meantime.
The graph below was from yesterday's session, which had a 35 minute run and a kilometre on the rowing machine, plus weights and core exercises, as taken from my training diary, link on the right in the "About Me" box.
I also wore the heart rate monitor to the gym for the first time. Since my cycle-swim-cycle brick session I've used it a few times on runs and cycles with more success, although the Garmin Training Centre software leaves a lot to be desired. There are alternatives, but they seem to be centred around GPS and the Forerunner 50 I've got doesn't have that, so I'll stick with the official software for the meantime.
The graph below was from yesterday's session, which had a 35 minute run and a kilometre on the rowing machine, plus weights and core exercises, as taken from my training diary, link on the right in the "About Me" box.
It's quite interesting looking at the graph - for instance, 4 minutes into my warm up on the treadmill I got off to stretch, which is why my heart rate dips there, followed by getting back on it and cranking the pace up over the next 25 minutes, before hitting 184bpm during the 14kmh sprint. It then tails off as I cool down, and stretch, before getting on the rowing machine just after the 40 minute mark, where it peaks again just under 180bpm. The various weights and core exercises don't really push my heart as much, rather my muscles, with the various peaks and dips representing the sets and rests (I think!). Finally, you see the rate tail off as I did a 4 minute warm down on the cross trainer followed by further stretches.
Now I'm getting to grips with it I'll add in some heart rate intervals into some of my training, most likely the road runs as my stamina improves.
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