March - the month that was...

The training month or March is pretty much done. Here are the main points for the month that was:

• March was a good start to my semi-focused build-up. I got stuck into weights (not overboard, but consistent), got into reasonably regular swimming, made progress on the running front, and did not appear to go too far backward on the bike! I made the 40km swimming for the month, got two runs in over 1hr30min, and one over 1:45 (just), and I think this week will be 5 hours of running (have not added it up yet, but should be a little over). On the down side the legs do feel a little more fragile running at the end of the month than at the beginning - but not at snapping stage yet (I hope). Cycling has been low priority - no long rides this month! A hour and a half windtrainer is about the longest. Did try for a little longer, but a puncture at 1:15 and it being 7:30 at night sort of took the wind out of that sail.
• I still have a fair way to go on sorting a good routine out. I got a little out of whack mid-way through one week, and did let it upset the week - which annoyed me. A couple of disjointed and busy-not-achieving-much days got to me, and I sort of let the training go out the door. I really should have got back on track after the hiccups, rather than let it get to me. The idea of making monthly goals, rather than weekly was to try to help avoid this...
• I had my first "bad" training session this month. One of those, "OK, this is not going to be flash", and it wasn't! Now I have had a few fairly depressing sessions - but they have just been due to lack of fitness (like finishing a set of 1km running reps on the Friday interval session, and realizing I had run a marathon at the end of an Ironman faster than my "efforts"). Anyway - the warm-up for this "bad swim session" was OK, and it was only ever going to be an easy session, but once I started the main set - I just felt awful! A combination of tired (muscle soreness and wanting to be back in bed tired), and hypoglycemic - the tank pretty much completely empty - probably due to a steady day the day before and not eating well enough that day. The first goal was to get to 1500m, as that would get me 40km for the month, and I got there, but not before a few dark moments of really just wanting to get out and go home! Then it was 500m to finish the set we were doing, so I got through that, but really the only thing keeping me going was that I was actually swimming OK for feeling so bad (doing 1:25's on the 1:45 for 12x100 - with a bit of a draft). The next set was a strength set - with a heap of "bands only". Now I swim well (relatively) doing pull, but bands-only are really my arch enemy, second only to hypoxic swimming. So that was not going to happen. To resurrect something out of the session I decided to do a kick set (same set, just kick), and managed a 1km kick set in the end, including a few 25's on the 25. So the session sort of ended up a success (3km including 1km of kick - no fins!) after being doubtful about making 1.5km initially!
• What I am now finding is that I can do the occasional good session (swim, bike and run), but no way can I back up sessions. If I have a good day, the next day must be quite easy. Even two relatively achievable sessions of the same discipline on consecutive days is hard work at the moment. General nutrition has been quite good, better than in general for the last year or two! I am feeling a little low in Iron, and anaemia has been an issue for me over the years. So with a bit more running on the cards, I will need to be careful with that.

Goals for the next month:

• I want to be conscious of not doing too much too soon - and being in the shape of my life in August, and a gibbering wreck by December. I am contemplating a few races over winter, which I had not really got my head around until this point. In the back of my mind I know I probably should front up to a few things along the way - just to get back to racing mode...
• Weight training is still the higher priority. Just keep with the consistency, and with the basic program I have (which only takes about 30min). In the second half of the month I may add in a couple of bigger upper-body sessions, but that is only an option. If I feel I am plateau-ing a little, I will do a couple of sessions of alternative exercises - just for a change. The big thing to add into this block is more core strength (start!) and more stretching (have done a couple - and realized I need to do more). I will quantify this somehow - maybe that is a goal!
• The 40km goal for total swim mileage worked well for last month, so I will make this month 50km as the target. Two swims of 4.5km would also be good - this should not be too hard either, as half my swims are around 4km anyway.
• Running is higher priority, and I do just want to be consistent - without over doing it. Two runs of at least 1hr45min would be good, and the target is one long run to be 1hr50min. One week to have at least 5hr 30min of running in it. I think the better plan is to increase the frequency at the moment - so just add in a couple of 20-30min runs in a couple of the weeks. I may do a 6km time trial at the end of the month, or it may roll into next month. I think I need to also make sure there is an easy run week in the month as well - back off before I need to!
• Cycling - that can just tick along. I expect there will be some degree of de-training, as I have not done a long ride for over a month. There is a 25km Time trial coming up in training, so I will probably have a go at that. I will not really go for my best time, Just a ride to see where I am at. If it is within 2minutes of my best time, that will be a good result.

Back into training mode - mostly.

There have been a few hiccups in the last week, and public holidays (Easter) disrupt the routines and sometimes make it harder, rather than easier to train. I don't really have more time to train on holidays, so that advantage is gone!

The weight training is going well, and I am sort of regretting not getting back into it sooner. I have done weight training pretty regularly since I was around 15 and until I moved to Auckland (bit over 5 years ago). I was not really training seriously at any point since moving up here, and just was not a priority. I knew it was going to be a shock to the system, and started out very conservatively. However, I was still surprised at how much strength I had lost. But the strength is improving rapidly, with last week being the first session in 3 weeks where there has not been an improvement (in either weight or reps done), and then the following session was a gain as well. I have started with a basic set of exercises, mostly focused on the legs, and when I feel I have started to plateau out a little, then I will mix the sessions up a little. So while I have sore muscles much of the time - the ITB has settle settle down, and I am actually feeling gains in the other training too. Now I just need to stretch more so I don't end up with muscles even shorter than they currently are!

The total mileage goal for swimming in a month was a good one - as it has been quite motivating. It has got me out of bed when I really did not feel like getting out of bed at least once, and I have finished a couple of swim sessions that I would have got out early previously (when the others in the lane leave it can be difficult not to follow suit!). I have missed a couple of swims (having to work at squad time), and realized that swimming in "public" lanes is fraught with danger (mainly slower swimmers not liking faster swimmers in the fast lane!). I should make the 40km for the month, although I will miss two swims next week (Easter Monday and working on another early morning). I will have to work out a not-squad time to swim, so that when I can't make squad sessions, I can actually get a useful swim in without tearing my hair out with breaststrokers in the fast lane...

The running is going well. Have made a couple of runs over 1hr30min, although might struggle with the total time goal - that has to be next week! I think the weights are definitely helping keep the niggles at bay. I did miss a couple of runs, due to not being able to walk after getting a little too enthusiastic with the calf raises!

The bike is on the very low priority list at the moment, and not too worried there. I thought I would take the bike intervals a little easier last week, but as it turned out the power output was not really that far off my best 5min in the last year or so. Perhaps another result from the weights... I have had a powertap for over 2 years now, and I am sure it value will come to the forefront in the middle of the year and onward. If I had a power meter when I raced as a pro, I am sure my results would have been significantly different. I was like the missing link when I first started using it. There are downsides, but once you sort out what you should be doing, and actually do that - it is a fantastic tool! For those that like numbers - when I was in pretty good shape, I did a 40km bike TT and a 10km run TT as part of a study at The university (in the lab!). I managed to average just under 400watts for the 40km TT, and at bike class this week my best 5 minute power output was just over 370 watts.

Overall things are going well. Not perfect, but I am getting into a routine, and meeting goals!

Tonys Ironman adventure 2009 begins

Well, it looks like everyone has signed me up for ironman NZ next year - whether I like it or not! I intend this Blog to show the reality of training for me, and perhaps a few examples along the way...

background info:

I did my first Ironman in 1989, after starting out in triathlons in around 1987! I didn't have a burning desire to do it - there was a fair amount of peer pressure from those a regularly trained with, and it was sort of expected, as a progression of my triathlon career. I really loved racing shorter distances though, and in those days I would race 12 times in 16 weeks - but you can do that when you race short distance!

2009 will be 20 years since that first ironman, and I have 9 finishes since (a couple of dnf's in there too), so might as well get the ten finishers T-shirt too... It will be a completely different scenario this time around - I am older, and probably a lot wiser - which should work for me, although probably not in all areas! I now know what I am in for and what I will need to do! My last IMNZ was 2003 - on very half-assed training, and I managed a 51min swim, 4:59 bike, and a 5:08 run. I don't want to go through that world of hurt again!

What do I want? I have come to the inner peace that I won't be as fast as I use to be. Not because I don't have the ability, but because I can't train with total disregard to everything else in my life - I have a mortgage! I think I can get fit enough to go somewhere between 9hr30min and 10hrs. But I am not too worried on the exact time at this point. I am keen to get back into a regular training routine though!

Each month I am going to set myself a few goal - and we will see how they progress. In the last few months I have done a few "test sessions" - just to see where I am at. I have done a couple of time trials on the trusty cateye wndtrainer - a 25km and a 90km. At the weekend I did a "steady state" 6km run - this was at around 155HR, which I thought would be a better indicator of my aerobic condition that a straight out TT - which would probably just be depressing! The aim is to run the same course at the same HR - and hopefully watch the times improve. This will (hopefully) show improved economy! From friday intervals I have a fair idea of where my run threshold is - so the TT's can wait.

Other goals/targets for March (sort of in order of priority):

• Swim 40km for the month. The swimming is going OK at the moment - and I just need to get in and swim consistently. This goal should achieve that. Having a monthly total also helps average out good and bad week - which have been a major issue!
• Two runs of over 1hr 30min, hopefully getting up to 1hr 45min as the longest. Running is my major issue for IM. I have been repeatedly injured for the last 4-5 years when ever I TRY to get back into regular running.
• One week with at least 4hr30min running, aiming for 5 hours total. Nothing spectacular, just getting in time running. A few of you training for Rotorua marathon may send me some harden up pills, after what I have sent you no doubt!
• Increase the percentage time easy training on the bike. My cycle training has pretty much been taking 2 spin classes, the fine weather only long ride (ie not much in winter!), and the occasional group training session on the road. While it keeps in in pretty good shape, my endurance is actually quite poor - and I just need more easy training - so there maybe some sand-bagging in spin classes (it is percentage time easy, not total time!)!
• If I feel the motivation, I may sneak in a 1km swim time trial. This is pretty low priority, as I have been swimming a couple of squad sessions per week, and Wednesday (one of my regular sessions) usually ahs a 1500m straight swim in it. However, Wednesday morning is not that long after Tuesday night, and Tuesday night is Tuesday bike class- hard intervals, which I usually do do pretty hard-out! As a consequence, I usually have to do the 1500m swim pull, as I get cramps in my calves/feet if I swim straight at a steady clip on a Wednesday morning. So I am happy with where my swimming is at, and I do sort of have a baseline there too...