back on track...

Getting back into a routine certainly has helped the training. With my local swim squad back in action (pool re-opened), it is just a matter of getting up, and going there and doing it. It is a good environment to get good training done! It just seamed to make the other sessions fall in place as well. I did take it a little easier, as there was a little de-training effect after 3 weeks of no real swim training! But I think the mental side of being back on track, and ticking off sessions also made life a little less "anxious" - life is better with ticks in boxes!
It was straight back into a 4km swim session on Monday morning - bit of a shock to the system, and definitely a little slower than 3 weeks ago. Oh well, such is life. I tried to repeat my "steady state aerobic test run" again this week. I did this early on, and thought it would be a good indication of my basic aerobic running fitness, rather than the top end from time trials. I have felt that the top end is getting a little better, I am a little faster and feel more in control (ie can go faster if I want to), and the top heart rates are getting back to where they should be (170-ish). The plan was to do a 6km circuit at a steady HR (155 was the number I chose), and hopefully this became faster as I got fitter. Back in March I did this 6km in 24:15, average HR 155, and average cadence 85. This week I repeated it, and did it in 24:14, average HR 155, and average cadence 88! So what does that mean?? I am no fitter? Or the test idea is a load of crap?? I might need to do a time trial to confirm - but I suspect I am no fitter! To be fair, I have not really advanced the run training very much in the last 2 months, and possibly a couple of easy weeks have not actually freshened me up (I have gone past that stage...). And I guess the other major factor might well be my iron status, as I am just trying to get that back on track, so might have to re-test in a couple of weeks to see if that has made a difference. Well at least I am not under an illusion that I am progressing at a great rate! Darn it!! The other training session session of note was the long ride. Having not been out on the road for a while, and no real long ride (ie over 3 hours) for several months now (gulp - time is tick ticking away!), I was keen to get out there this week. I could see the stars in the sky when I went to check the weather on Sunday morning at breakfast time- so the ride was on. The sky looked decidedly gray as we set off (all 4 of us), then spit... spit.... Oh dear. 20 minutes into the ride and I am soaked. I don't do riding in the rain if I have a choice. Little Katie was keen to head for home and the warmth of the garage and the trainer, but she got a "If I am doing this ride so are you" from me. I figured I would gut out at least an hour 30min, and do the other half on the trainer if need be. But the weather cleared a little, and we were OK for the rest of the ride. The next down pour came, just as I got into the car - great timing!! Not quite 3 hours, but got a tick in a box! 
I got a pile of research papers last week, and have been going through a few. No startling revelations, but I guess a couple of interesting tid-bits in some of the details. One was a summary of research on drafting in swimming, cycling and running. Nothing too startling in the fact that if you draft you get a benefit - either less effort at the same speed, or you can go faster at the same effort. I guess the interesting bit is how much you can save. It is well known in cycling that drafting can result in 40-60% less effort, but swimming and running is somewhat less. And that is quantified at more of a 6-8% decrease. The major catch is the actual drafting affect is significantly affected by the skill of drafting! So learning to draft effectively is an important skill, that can save a significant amount of time and/or effort.
On a similar vein, there were a few bits on the effect of run times on different bike efforts, and the effect on bike times from different swim efforts. 100% effort of best swim time trial efforts had a significant effect on the bike times. Doing the swim at 80% of you best time trial pace (not effort) resulted in a significantly faster bike - making up for more than what was lost in going slower in the swim. Drafting and/or lapping on the bike (alternating drafting/leading) also affect the run leg. Probably the big thing here is you need to know what affect different strategies are going to have, and perhaps try a few scenarios in training to find what works and what does not!
The tour de France is becoming one of the most exciting races in modern history! 68 hours of racing so far and 5 and a half minutes separate the top 10! Amazing...