A quick update.

Not a lot to report as far as training or racing go over the last few weeks since the North Norfolk Tri, I've blown the dust off the turbo trainer, and done a couple of 6 mile runs just to keep myself ticking over, the Thursday night rides are still happening and are planned to continue until the clocks change.

Last Sunday saw the start of my endurance training begin with a 101 mile sportive ride around Rutland, The Rock estate endurance team consisted of the Asher brothers, Liam, Lee, Mike, Mathew, chris and myself. The weather was pretty grim all day heavy rain and about 25 mph wind.
The jovial mood of the team lasted for about 4 miles, and by mile 10 I was beginning to wonder if I would make it round the route, hills are not something I train on regularly and the first 10 miles were considerably harder than I was expecting, I soon realised I have got lot's of work to do before I could consider challenging for the king of the mountains jersey. Simon had a puncture after about 6 miles but the main group didn't wait to help we carried on at a slow pace.
By the 40-50 mile point I was feeling drained and was having thoughts about slowing down and riding on my own, after a quick motivational speech from Liam I put those thoughts from my mind and carried on.
By mile 80 I was starting to wish the ride would end especially when we came across more hills and I started to get dropped from the front a bit, although once the road flattened out a bit did manage to catch up again.
In the end decided that it was a great ride despite the weather, with good company and must have done the legs some good, 5hrs 18 mins riding time gave an average speed of 19mph although our total time was 5hrs 33 mins allowing for a minor crash and another puncture

Now need to keep the long rides going to build a good endurance base over the winter.

The last Tri of 2010

The run up to the North Norfolk Triathlon I was planning a nice easy week, Monday was a rest day after the Waveney Tri.
Tuesday started with a gentle 3 mile x country run, then after work I went to Fritton for a swim session, covered about 1100m.
Wednesday I went for another gentle X country run in the morning.
Thursday did a version of the river hundred route with the Rock estate which I covered about 27 miles on the road bike all done nice and easy apart from a couple of sessions trying to keep up with Liam and Joe when they were doing 30 miles an hour on mountain bikes.
Friday was a rest day, had a few beers and relaxed
Saturday Gaff, Liam and myself left after lunch to travel up to Wells which would give us enough time to get registered and sus out the course for Sunday, We did a rece of the swim, transition area and did a lap of the bike route, we pedaled round nice and steady covering about 25 miles in total. Then out for a good pub meal and a couple of pints to ensure fully hydrated and get some carbs in.

Sunday Morning and not the best nights sleep I've ever had partly due to the huge meal, and the noise from the fish tank making me need a pee. Up and off to the event for 7am. Ahead of us was a 1500m swim in wells harbour which proved to be more challenging than it looked due to the tide still running at quite a rate. The bike route we believe ended up being about 26 miles in total for the 2 laps, it was harder on the day than I had anticipated from our rece the day before, the hills seemed a bit bigger with a swim in the legs and a reasonable head wind for the first 4-5 miles of the lap, the transition area was surrounded with crowds of people and supporters shouting and cheering which gave a great atmosphere and gave a good boost to enthusiasm for the run, I think I probably got a bit carried away and went off too fast onto the 6 mile run, off the bike I was up to third position overall but didn't know how far behind 4th place was, the leader and Liam had a good lead on me on the run and when they came back towards the finish on the out and back course I knew there would be little chance of catching them as they booth looked stronger than I was feeling, around the turnaround I only had about 400m over 4th place and speed felt like it was fading fast, When I made it onto the final straight into the finish, which was about a mile long, I would have loved to have slowed down, I daren't look back and just kept telling myself to relax and save a bit for a sprint finish if needed, as it was I had maintained my lead over 4th place and finished well, at the end of the swim I had felt the velcro on the timing chip coming loose and then fall off so I didn't get any split times for the event but was given an overall finish time of 2hrs.19.55 This was enough to give Liam an anxious few minutes until we knew the results as he had started in the first wave 5 minutes ahead of me, in the end he had only beaten me by 3 seconds which must have been a bit of a downer for him as he would usually be at least 5-6 minutes ahead. I think I took about 2mins.30seconds out of Liam's swim time due to an old windsurfing trick of hugging the bank when going up tide which gave me a better than usual swim time in comparison with better swimmers who stayed in the deeper channel.
After the dramas of the day a great event was enjoyed brilliant support, great venue, good organisation and two podium places for the Rock Estate team to finish the season on a high, bring on the winter training.

A good result

The run up to the waveney 2 triathlon started on Monday 30th with an easy bike ride out to Somerleyton with Joe.
Tuesday I biked to work and back steady on the way there and pushed on the way home then went for a swim at Fritton did about 2000m concentrating on relaxing and swimming as efficiently as I know how to.
Wednesday got up early and went for a gentle 3 mile X country run.
Thursday The Rock Estate bike ride was an easy 27 mile ride at a steady pace with Joe along for his birthday ride.

Friday and Saturday I didn't do anything

Sunday morning was an early start off to Bungay I ended up starting in a wave with Liam and Jimbo which was good but could have gone horribly wrong if Jimbo had come out of the water before me on his first triathlon, as it was he wasn't far behind but Liam wasn't far ahead after swimming 2 extra lengths again! not a startling swim time 6.44 for the 400m onto the bike and felt comfortable all the way around, I had no expectations of doing well in this event but wanted to do the best effort that I could, Ive been feeling tired recently so wasn't sure how I would go. I was pleased with my bike time of 31.54. then onto the run felt good for the first 1/2 mile then started to slow, managed to maintain a reasonable pace although didn't feel fast, completed the 2 miles in 13.01.
Another good event well organised and great weather the Rock estate race team put in good performances across the board all coming in under the hour, my time of 51.39 was good enough for 3rd place over all which was a good result for me, although a way off the leader and Liam who put in an excellent bike time and finished 2nd over all.

A gentle week to come before the last Olympic distance event of the season at North Norfolk, It would be nice to finish the season with another good time!!

August has been a bad month!

The last couple of weeks have been pretty much disastrous as far as training goes but enjoyable as far as eating and drinking go, I have managed the usual Thursday night rides and done a bit of swimming at Fritton, haven't done any running at all apart from the 2 mile run at the final Fritton aquathlon, which was actually a good result for me finishing in third place overall.
With 1 week to go before the Bungay 2 triathlon and only 2 weeks before the North Norfolk Olympic distance tri I need to get in a few quality sessions to sharpen up and sort out my diet for a couple of weeks, my focus now will be on completing the North Norfolk tri in as good a time as possible to end a good season on a high.

Training starts again.

Manual labour training

Monday 2nd August, Decided to go for a run round the 2 bridges to see where my running was at, did the 5.9 miles in 39.04 which is an average pace of 6.39 mins/mile, quite happy with that as haven't run properly for a few weeks, the winters base training must be working.

Tuesday went to Earsham to have a go at a 2 up 10 mile time trial, Rode with Mark Nowell of Tri Anglia, we started well if not a bit quick for me to sustain for the distance, for the first 5 miles I just about did my share on the front but by half way I was slowing up and couldn't hold the speed on the front for long, by 7 miles I was struggling to stay on the back and draft, but managed one last quick session on the front to give Mark a quick break from dragging me round, we finished in a time of 22.18 averaging 26.9 mph, this was for me a really hard effort legs and lungs were both screaming at the end, but enjoyable and good to ride with somebody as you can't slow down as you'll let them down.

Wednesday was a rest day

Thursday did the Reedham bike route a total of 42.5 miles, started off feeling strong but after about 30 miles started to fade, I didn't have any power left in the legs.

Friday didn't get to do any training other than moving about a mile of timber decking, good core strength work!!

Saturday biked over to Fritton for a swim, I did a 400m lap in a wetsuit in 7.20 then did another 400m lap without the wetsuit in 8.45. I was trying to decide if I was best off wearing a wetsuit for the next aquathlon, I decided that I would be wearing the wetsuit as it only takes about 15 seconds to remove, will need to get back in the pool and sort out my swimming!

Sunday did an easy brick session with Joe, consisting of a 4.2 mile bike ride and then 3/4 mile run round the block we did this twice.(easy for me not so easy for Joe!!)

A good week of training will try to up the intensity next week.

an easy couple of weeks!!

The week beginning Monday 19th July I was planning not to do too much at all. Tuesday I swam at fritton, did 1.5 miles nice and steady, then on Wednesday went to do the Lotus Bike racing, this was a Handicap race so I got to do plenty of pedalling on the front of the pack for the first 25 mins.
Thursday we biked round the island then paddled the dragon boat up the river, not a good move for me as I twinged a muscle in my back, I am now well aware that I am a three trick pony only fit to swim, bike or run, I can't do much else.
The rest of the week I didn't do any training with the exception of a gentle 18 mile bike ride with Joe on Sunday.

The week beginning Monday 26th I was feeling better the niggles on my ankle and back were fixed, but I am building an extension on the house so plenty of time taken up doing that, not training.
Tuesday I swam at Fritton, Thursday we did a 60 mile bike ride out to Aldeburgh and back, this was a good ride averaging 20 MPH on mountain bikes, a total time of 2 hr 59.08.
Saturday went for swim again, then Sunday did a bike ride round the island on the road bike, I did a total of 27.5 miles in 1 hr 17.15. An average speed of 21.4 mph. this was encouraging as felt comfortable all the way round, my heart rate average was 128 bpm with a max of 168 which is 91% of maximum.

Another month gone, I now need to get back into training properly, I haven't run for a couple of weeks, but in July I biked about 340 miles. The waveney tri is only about 5 weeks away so I have time for 3 or 4 weeks hard training and an easy week before the event, I would like to put in a good time as will have some stiff competition from a strong Rock Estate entry to the event.

tired legs!

Monday 12th July, after doing 3 races in 2 weeks legs are feeling heavy so planning to have an easy week or two, today was a rest day.

Tuesday I biked out to Fritton for a mile swim then biked home, all done at a nice easy pace, a total of 18 miles on the bike.

Wednesday, due to rain just before I was about to leave I decided to give Lotus a miss and go for a run instead, I did 8.3 miles at an average pace of 7.11 mpm didn't feel strong just had a good plod round.

Thursday, Rock Estate bike ride was out to Bungay for a quick dip in the river, I must have twisted my ankle slightly when jumping into the river,continued on the ride at a nice easy pace all night, we did a total of 37.5 miles, heart rate average 159 bpm I'm still not sure about heart rate data as my max on the night was apparently 225 bpm!

Friday was another rest day, slightly swollen ankle so using the Ice pack regularly.

Saturday went back to Fritton for a swim, I did 2 laps of the course, the first lap in 13.44 and the 2nd in 14.04. I need to work on bi lateral breathing as I swerve of to the left, obviously not a well balanced stroke.

Sunday I went out for a gentle bike ride to Wrentham with son Joe, a total of 18 miles at very easy pace,

My ankle is recovering well no serious damage done, I will not do anything too hard for a few more days, just try to maintain some easy training sessions, I don't want to burn myself out, my plan is to have an easy couple of weeks then back to hard training for about 3 weeks in preparation for the next event at bungay on 5th September, I may do one more Olympic distance event at the North Norfolk Tri before the season ends.

Heavy legs.

Monday 5th July, Heavy legs today so had a rest day and did some light stretching.

Tuesday, Did a gentle bike to work. Then after work biked straight out to Fritton for a swim session, swam about a mile, then biked home, I did a total of 26 miles on the bike all at an easy pace as legs were still tired.

Wednesday, Went over to the Lotus road race, the race time was 1 hr 05 mins and a total distance of 28.9 miles, quite a quick pace all night with a good effort needed out of the corners to keep with the pack, average speed was 26.4 mph. with the warm up covered a total of 35 miles, another good training session on the bike.

Thursday, Biked over to Fritton for the 3rd aquathlon, a course change this week including a 2 mile 2 lap run course, I decided to change tactics this week and go steady for the swim and come out of the water in better shape, previously in a race situation I've been trying too hard in the swim which then slows me down for the first mile of the run while I try to catch my breath. I think the tactic worked, I enjoyed the swim more and achieved the quickest run time of the night to finish in 2nd place overall.We then finished the night with a ride round the island, did a total of 30 miles for the night.

Friday and Saturday I didn't do anything, decided to miss the scores and rest my legs.

Sunday I was part of the Rock Estate team along with Chris Drake and Liam Gentry competing in the Eastern region relay championships, a 750m non wetsuit swim, 20k bike and 5k run, we all achieved good times in the event finishing in 20th place overall, I was happy with my bike and run times, 34.25 for the bike and 20.05 for the run, the swim was not so good 13.51.
A good fun event well worth another go next year.
Another good week more rest days than usual but some quality sessions included, now back to training as no more events now until Waveney 2 in September, swim training without the wetsuit is required and some speed work included in the run training are target areas.

The week up to Norwich

Planning not to do to much this week as the Norwich Tri is on Sunday!!

Monday 28th, Liam Came up with a great call, down to the beach for a sea swim, we went from just below the school up to the south pier and back, the sea was calm and we had a slack tide, perfect conditions for a swim, Lee Bircham estimated the swim to be about 2500m in total, then when I got home I did a 30 min session on the turbo trainer and did some core strength work.

Tuesday went out for an easy ride out round Henstead and back, did a total of 16.2 miles at an avg. of 20 mph. nice and easy spinning the legs.

Wednesday, Rode to Beccles and back to watch Joe at athletics, a total of 18.5 miles at an average speed of 21.5 mph, had a good push on the way home but rode easy out, warm weather conditions.

Thursday, the plan was to ride out to Caister and on to California, then cut across to Acle and on to the Reedham ferry, We arrived at Reedham after completing 35 miles, to find the ferry was broken, after hanging around for about 45 mins we decided to try and catch the train but after a couple of minutes waiting Mike Davies decided to cycle home, the group with the exception of three decided to follow, a jolly jaunt down the Acle straight and 59 miles later we arrived back at the Commodore, I had a good push on the front and was feeling good, so much for a nice easy ride, an average speed of just over 19 mph on mountain bikes, not bad pace by anyones standard.

Friday I gave the scores a miss after a hard night Thursday had a rest day, drank some wine and relaxed.

Saturday morning I went for a quick swim at Fritton, I only did about 1200m in total.

Sunday was up early for a good breakfast, Then off to Norwich, all set up in transition and feeling relaxed, was going to be a warm day, clear skies and about 26-28 degrees. The course had changed from last year so I would not be able to compare my times from last year, the swim was longer and so was the run route.
I had a good swim kept out of trouble and felt comfortable all the way, I wasn't knackered when I came out of the water, time was 27.13.(27.08 in 2009) first bonus point! then transition went well onto the bike and straight into pedaling and no cramp, second bonus point!! had a good bike ride although was passed by one other rider but did pass lots of others myself which always feels good, the only slight issue I had was loosing my drinks bottle from the cage behind my seat that had my energy gels inside, not to worry still had about 700ml of lucozade in the aero bottle to use, quite a stiff head wind on the outward leg of the bike which combined with the undulating route made it feel like hard work, but in the end put in a good time of 1.02.49, much better than last year. (1.07.32 in 2009) Transitions were quicker as well and felt good straight off the bike and onto the run, although the heat and the hills in the first part of the run route soon slowed me down, not to worry only 2 laps to do so just keep running, plenty of people to pass which makes it easier, the run took me 48.24 which I wasn't to happy with but then I think the distance must have been 7 miles, (I did the run in 41.18 last year)
A total time of 2.20.01 good enough for 10th place overall, a big improvement on my 28th place last year, I'm pleased with my performance in this event especially with my bike time at last I have put in a good performance on the bike, a bit more training and hopefully I'll be contending for the silverware in the future!!!!

The philosophy Train hard race harder must be working.

Long & strong

Monday 21st June, Had a good fun core strength session, went water skiing, this was my first ski of the year, arms ached, legs ached was not in good shape, but had a good time.

Tuesday, went to Fritton after work for a swim, I did 1500m trying to concentrate on getting my stroke long and strong, previously in the aquathlon events I have come out of the water after 400m knackered, the swim was killing me, so I think I need to change my stroke and slow it down, conserve energy and come out of the water in better shape.

Wednesday, did an easy bike to and from work, total of 20 miles, then in the evening went round the island, I rode the first 3-4 miles as a warm up then did alternate miles easy and then hard, the hard effort I tried to maintain a speed above 24mph, I kept this up for 6 hard efforts before I was getting tired, trying to vary my pace and get my legs used to pushing harder, I need to find more sustained speed on the bike.

Thursday, we went out for a ride to Bungay and round the saints, the total distance was 39 miles and took 1 hr 59 mins, a good ride for me, felt strong all night and did plenty of riding on the front of the pack, the average speed was 19.6 mph, pretty good for a ride out on MTB's

Friday, ran the scores did the run in 32.44, legs were heavy so did the run with hard efforts up the hills and easy down, weather conditions were hot and humid.

Saturday, went to Fritton again to do another 1500m, did the swim in 25.31, still concentrating on swimming with a long and strong stroke.

Sunday didn't do any exercise, but did drink plenty of wine in the evening!

I need more time!!

Monday 14th, I didn't do any training but did clean and service my bikes.

Tuesday, went for a swim at Fritton lake on the way home from work, did about a mile, then when I got home went out for a ride around the town on the MTB, did about 9 miles at easy pace.

Wednesday went to Lotus for the road race, did 1hr 13 mins in total at an average speed 25.2 mph total distance covered was about 42.8 miles including the warm up.
another good training session done still a hard ride for me the pace is much quicker than I am used to.

Thursday, we biked out to Somerleyton to do the 10 mile TT, I think my time was about 26.56 mins, slightly disappointing I would have liked to have been a minute quicker, we then did the round the island route, this was much easier as I was on the road bike, which was nice, a total distance of about 42.8 miles.

Friday, did the scores run, time was 31.20, a slow start had a big head wind along the sea front, legs were heavy and didn't really feel good on the run. must have been the previous couple of nights on the bike.

Saturday, went for another swim at Fritton, did a hard 750m and an easy 400m with Annabelle.

Sunday, another rest day from exercise, but did some core strength work at home working on the extension.

Not a bad week, good for cycling about 81 miles in total, not so good for running only 4.2 miles and not to bad for swimming 2 good open water sessions. Didn't get to practice swim to bike transition and not to much time left before the Norwich tri, could be another good dose of cramp again!!

A good week

With time to reflect on the fritton tri result I am reasonably happy with my result, I was disappointed with my bike time, this is something I will focus my training on.

So this week started on Monday with a session on the turbo trainer for half an hours solid work then straight off the bike and out for a run around the block, this was run as hard as I could go. This went well I am now quite comfortable running off the bike, I just need to sort out the swim to bike transition.

Tuesday I went for a X country run after work, did 4.5 miles in 32.57 which is an average pace of 7.18/ mile, felt good, running well again.

Wednesday night went to the Lotus road race again, another enjoyable night on the bike, Rock estate numbers are steadily growing at this event, We covered 30.54 miles at an average speed of 25.2mph, didn't get away with the winning break but rode well in the main peleton and even had a couple of quick goes on the front just to show willing. Confidence is starting to grow at these events now and I feel more confident that I can have a go at riding with some of the quicker breaks and hold on for a while, although I'm not sure how long I'll last.

Thursday was the second fritton aquathlon,(pooly represented by the Rock estate boys only 3 entries) had a bad swim, I didn't sight well and went off to fast, was knackered by the time I came out of the water, run wasn't to bad after the first mile and my legs came back. We then went for a bike ride round the island, not sure of the distance or speed but felt good, not to tired from the race on Wednesday.

Friday missed the scores run but did find time for a 2.8 miler round the block, started quite slowly and went faster through the run, last mile run at 6.03 pace.

Saturday we took Joe to compete in the north Norfolk junior tri, had a good day but unfortunately no prizes, I may need to up Joe's training schedule and enforce some form of punishment if he refuses to comply!!!!

Sunday, went out for a ride round the island on the time trial bike, did the 23.9 miles in 1.03.14 which is an average speed of 22.7 mph was quite a hard ride with a good head wind out to Beccles but the made good time from Beccles back home avg speeds of about 26 mph for the last 6 miles.
Then in the afternoon went out for a gentle ride on the MTB with the boys we rode over to Somerleyton and even stopped for a quiet pint.

All in all a good week for training, need to get some swim to bike training in, will try and start that next Saturday.

Tired Legs

The week after the Fritton Tri I have been struggling to get my legs to go at all,
Monday was a bank holiday so had a rest day and enjoyed a few beers and a glass of wine, legs didn't feel to bad.
Tuesday did a x country run with brother Chris, we did 4.5 miles in 32 mins, generally easy but included a couple of efforts at a good pace to try and stretch the legs a bit.
Wednesday Chris turned up with a shiny new road bike, so with local legend Mike Davies we went for "an easy ride round the island" 1hr 3mins later we had covered the 23.5 miles, (avg speed 22.1 mph) the easy ride seemed to go out the window, my legs felt tired but not to bad, I didn't want to push to hard and kill myself completely but enjoyed taking a turn and maintaining a reasonable pace on such a lovely evening.
Thursday was the Southwold beach ride, some of the boys had gone to have a go at the Gt Yarmouth CC time trial so numbers were a little down, the beach run was interrupted slightly by the need for a bit of running across the collapsed cliff face that was now forming a slippery clay shelf on the beach, (good transition training)
We had a great ride, covering about 41 miles, the average speed was relatively slow overall 16.9mph, but didn't do me any harm, my legs still didn't feel to good but kept going for the distance and even put in a sprint finish, although I had spent most of the night hiding in the pack.
Friday was another rest day.
Saturday I went to do a bit of open water swimming with my daughter Annabelle, we went over to fritton lake and had very enjoyable swim around the lake, didn't do a huge distance but had a good swim focusing on trying to develop technique.
Sunday started with the two bridges 6 mile run, didn't feel comfortable in the first mile but then started to feel a bit easier, not a very quick run but OK, avg pace 6.53 mins/mile, total time for the run was 40.34.
then went for a nice gentle ride on the bike out to Somerleyton for a quiet pint with the boys.

next week training will resume in earnest again, The Norwich triathlon is not far away, need to be in good shape to achieve a PB on this course.

Race week

This week is a tapering week before the fritton lake Olympic distance tri on Sunday 30th.
Monday was a rest day, Tuesday I did an early morning 2.5 mile X country run, very easy pace.
Wednesday I biked to work and back, this is a total of 18 miles all at an easy pace.I decided to give the Lotus race a miss as at the moment the effort needed for the racing kills my legs.
Thursday went out on the usual ride, I had planned to sit at the back and have an easy night, but ended up doing 39.5 miles and putting in a fair effort.
Friday took the kids for a quick swim, only did about 500m in total.
Saturday I went to Marshall at the fritton sprint events, biked over with Joe, all nice and easy, a total of about 16.5 miles.

Sunday was up early to have breakfast in good time, raining first thing in the morning, not really what I wanted, registered and set up in transition in good time, starting in the second wave, felt good, well prepared the only slight issue was a very snotty nose, the swim started well, I found clear water and avoided the scrum at the start, I was happy with a swim time of 25.33, for the 1500m about 2 mins quicker than Norwich last year, felt comfortable all the way.
1st transition was OK no dramas, quite a long run with the bike to the mount line, once onto the bike started trying to push hard straight away but cramp on the inside of both thighs stopped me putting in to much effort, and a few people came past me, not a good start to the bike leg, it took about 4-5 miles before my legs started to work properly, then I was feeling good and passed the people that had passed me and several more, the second lap I felt good and was riding much better, although I did have 2 riders come past me at a speed I couldn't get near.
2nd transition was OK through in good time, then onto the run, this was a X country run, pretty flat but quite muddy and a bit slippery in places due to the rain, a 2 lap course, Started well felt good straight off the bike and plenty of other runners to chase down, I started to tire on the second lap, probably should have used another gel at the end of the bike leg, I had only used 1 gel about half way through the bike.
I was happy with my time considering the cramp and a tough run course, added to the fact this was only my second Olympic distance event.
split times were, 1500m swim - 25.33, 40k bike - 1.08.38, 10k run - 40.29, the total time including transitions was 2:16:43 to give me 15th place overall in the individual event. I achieved my target top 20 place but feel that I could have gone much quicker on the bike, swim to bike transition training is now high on the priority list in preparation for Norwich.

Another good week

Monday 17th May, the start of another week with bright sunshine and reasonably warm temperatures, I was up early, keen to get the week underway with a x country run, a nice 4.4 mile easy run, in the evening I did a turbo session for 40 mins with a 3/4 mile run straight off the bike as hard as I could, I still struggle to get the blood flow to the right muscles quickly so need to practice more.

Tuesday enforced rest as had to work late.

Wednesday started with another x country run,only 3 miles but very enjoyable, then in the evening went to the lotus road race again, had another good night and even got a bit more confident and tried to chase down a break, after about 400m on the front decided my legs would not cope with to much of that kind of effort so hid back in the pack, have decided there are plenty of sand baggers in the pack so I am determined to try and do more on the front each week to build my speed and endurance.

Thursday went to race the fritton lake aquathlon, which is a 400m swim and 2.5k run, was pleased with my time. although I'm not entirely happy about being outrun by a young whipper snapper of a boy of only 14 years old, but overall not to bad. We then did a 25 mile bike ride, I didn't do to much near the front until the end, the road racing seems to drain my legs at the moment.

Friday did the scores run, running seems to have taken a back seat at present, this week I've only run 13 miles in total, so the scores run seems very valuable in keeping some run power, did a reasonable effort round the course and came in in 30.51 which I'm happy with on the back of a reasonably hard few days, and with a very serious cold (probably flu) hampering my breathing and causing considerable snot stains on my arm and T shirt.

Saturday rest day.

Sunday started with a bike ride round the fritton bike course, maintained an avg. speed of 20 mph without to much effort, this was a 30 mile ride by the time I made it home again, then in the afternoon went for a 1/2 mile swim in the broads, very aware that I haven't done any swimming properly for the last couple of weeks, with the exception of the aquathlon.

Another good week for training, still injury free and apart from the flu, feeling good,I've biked just over 100 miles this week, now an easy week planned before the Fritton lake Triathlon on Sunday, although guaranteed a course PB would like to make a good showing and be in the top 20.

it's been a while!

Going back in time to monday 3rd May this was the week leading up to the Waveney Tri on sunday so a relatively easy week planned, monday and tuesday were easy with a little running and some transition training, then the usual swim session wednesday, thursday was the Rock estate bike ride, 32 miles in total I didn't do much on the front trying to save my legs, friday and saturday were rest days carbo loading and a bit more transition training with Liam trying to sus out how to get feet into shoes while clipped onto the pedals, I've seen all the pros do so didn't think it would be to difficult, decided that more practice is needed!!
Sunday was race day up in good time nice breakfast ready to go, registered in good time so didn't have to long to wait, swim was OK not startling 6.48mins for the 400m which is about what I did last time, then out onto the bike, made a mess of getting my feet in but was at least moving, did a better bike time 32.45mins for the 12 miles, felt good cruising along nicely, then onto the run which didn't go entirely to plan, I didn't find my running legs until after the first mile which when the run is only 2 miles long is not good, my run time was 13.34mins I was hoping to be about a minute quicker.
Overall a good event for me and all the Rock Estate team that entered my total time was 52.52mins which gave me a 5th place overall and first in age group, just need to find another 3 mins and I'll be competitive, but very happy with progress, I'm getting older and faster!

The next week started off easy with a recovery run and Gym session, then on wednesday I went over to have my first attempt at a road race at the Lotus track, this was a nerve racking experience worrying about being dropped on the first lap.
I managed to hold onto the main group which was being dragged along by Simon Asher, Liam Gentry, Nick Esser Of team rock estate elite road division! and one or two others, after an hour of racing at an average speed of just over 24mph I had managed to stay with the lead group and came over the line in about 11-12 place, although I must confess I didn't go anywhere near the front and spent the night hiding out of the wind at the back, but happy to have kept up anyway.
The road race was followed on thursday by another bike ride of 41 miles on the mountain bikes, my legs were pretty much knackered and didn't feel strong all night but another good training session in the bank.
Then Friday capped the week off with a run round the scores route in 32.40mins slow start and hard finish, rewarded myself with a few beers friday night, before a enforced rest weekend due to family commitments and taking Joe to a triathlon on Sunday.
All in all a good couple of weeks, fritton Lake olympic distance is the next event, not to far away now.

really must start interval sessions!!

Monday 26th, I went out to try out the beach ride from Pakefield to Southwold on the MTB, I managed to get down onto the beach at pakefield and travelled about 1/4 of a mile before I was knackered and couldn't go any further, the tide was high and the sand very soft progress to Southwold would have meant an overnight trip, so I went back up to the road and went for a pedal round the roads, only did about 10.5 miles in total.

Tuesday, went for a ride after work with Mike Davies out to watch the Bungay TT, we rode a long route home out around small roads through the countryside using the setting sun as guidance, I think we did some small circles but didn't get to lost, had a lovely bike ride and covered 41.5 miles in 2hr 7 mins.

Wednesday, Rode to work and back, a total distance of 21 miles, easy ride there and a good push home. Missed swimming again, does not bode well for the upcoming waveney tri swim time.

Thursday, The Rock estate bike ride was the Southwold beach ride, fortunately the tide was out but the going was still tough in places where the sand was soft, we had a great ride crossing the river and then moving inland, covered 37 miles in 2hrs 20 mins which gives an average speed of 19mph which includes the session on the beach which was about 5 miles at 12mph.

Friday went and did the scores run after work with Liam, the plan was to run reasonably easy for the first half then go hard to the finish, after doing the first 2 miles in 12 minutes we slowed the pace for the middle section of the run then pushed hard again for the last 5 minutes, always a hard run no matter what pace you run at but enjoyable and great training.

Saturday was a rest day, did some painting and drank some beer, possibly to much beer, I never actually made it to bed, had an uncomfortable night on the sofa.

Sunday did a gentle 3.5 mile cross country run didn't even use a watch.

This week I've covered 110 miles on the bike but only run 8.2 and not been near a swimming pool, as for the speed work another week gone and none done, really must develop a training plan and try a stick to it!!

Still havn't started hard efforts!!

Monday,19th April, after a hard effort on Sunday at the tri, woke up early and went for a gentle 3 mile run out on the marshes, just to ease my legs out a little, didn't feel to stiff so generally happy.

Tuesday, another early morning run covered 3.6 miles nice and easy, then in the evening after working late went for a run out to Carlton marshes, did a fartlek session, with 4 x 1/2 mile efforts at about 6 min mile pace, did a total of 6 miles in 42 mins.

Wednesday biked to and from work which is a total of 21 miles, went to work reasonably easy and then pushed hard home, 10.5 miles in 28.20 not startling but ok with a rucksack and getting stuck at traffic lights, then did the swim session which I found hard after missing a couple of weeks, covered 2100m mostly 400m sets.

Thursday, the bike ride was the Reedham ferry route, again a few punctures and a lost Marine kept the pace down but we covered a distance of about 40 miles, finished strong with a good push from Haddiscoe.

Friday and Saturday were taken as rest days, still working hard on the house!

Sunday, after doing more work at home did make time for a quick run, went out with joe for 3 miles nice and steady, then went out on my own for another 6 miles, did a reasonably hard run round the ski lane X country run, the route is quite hard and uneven now and beginning to get overgrown, managed about 7.30mins /mile.

Waveney triathlon is not far away now, must try and improve on last years performance.

The race season has started,

Monday 12th April, After doing a few time trials, I decided that I need to up the mileage on the bike, so with cracking weather went for a 20 mile ride out to Wrentham and back during my tea break from roofing at home, all done at a nice easy pace.

Tuesday rode over to Bungay to have another go at the 10 mile TT a testing evening as far as weather goes, plenty of rock estate boys riding and supporting, I did the 10 miles in 25.09 mins a new PB by a 1 second margin, consistent if not startlingly speedy, then rode home to give a total ride distance of 45.5 miles, another good session in the bank.

Wednesday, had a rest day.

Thursday the bike ride was round the Breydon route, after a slow start and a few punctures within the fleet, we set off at a reasonable pace from Fritton round the island, with some of the quick cyclists having an easy night this gave me a chance to take my turn on the front when it came around, I was planning to have a reasonably easy night as the first triathlon of the year was coming up on Sunday, That idea went out the window when the pace picked up and he sprint for home started, was knackered when we got back to the Commodore, a total of 39 miles covered, including the off road sections. It was nice to be able to do a bit on the front again.

Friday Did an hours Canoeing with Joe for a bit of cross training, and to rest the legs.

Saturday rested ready for the East coast triathlon.

Sunday started early up at 5.30 to start my race rituals, start fueling for the day and complete numerous visits to the WC to expel the nervous energy starting to build up, This was the first chance to see if my winters training was going to pay off, last year I finished 3rd in this event with a time of 49.48. This year I am hoping to be quicker on all fronts, investment in training and equipment should pay dividends now, If my bike time is slower this year I will not be a happy chap,
all through the event I felt good, didn't kill myself on the swim, felt good on the bike and comfortable on the run although came close to cramping in the first few minutes of the run, but then loosened up and finished strong,
I beat last years time by 3.43 so well chuffed, quicker on all points, beat the bike time by 2 mins 19 seconds, I didn't have a clue what time I had done or position I had finished in, but looking around at all the bike bling and speedy kit in use didn't expect to be in the running for a top 3 place, was very surprised to have finished 2nd overall,
A good start to the season for me and the other Rock Estate entrants, Chris, Tim and Mark, all putting in good times, Chris Knights put in the 3rd quickest swim time of the day. A good confidence boost for the rest of the season, Must up the training intensity.

Hard Graft!!

Monday 5th April, went for a run out along the river bank, weather is brilliant, It,s so nice to be able to run out in shorts and T shirt, Did the 7 miles in 54.08, avg pace of 7.43/mile, nice and steady just enjoying the scenery.

Tuesday went over to Bungay to have a go at the 10 mile time trial, another evening with a breeze blowing into your face for the first 5 miles, I think I must have pushed to hard for the first half, got to about 7 miles and was knackered, completed the 10 miles in 25.11 mins, slightly disappointing when looking at the average speed for the 25 mile of 23.5mph and the speed of the 10 miler of 23.8 mph. will have another go next week, I'm sure I can do better.

Wednesday, I didn't do anything as far as training goes but I have been doing hard manual labour all week working at home, didn't fancy swimming as fell asleep. I used to be able to do a days work without thinking about it, but unfortunately now it kills me!!

Thursday 8th, after my easy day Wednesday, woke up early so took the dog for a 3 mile run out on the marshes, all nice and easy.
Then in the evening the Rock estate ride, a total of about 27.5miles nice and steady for me all the way around, a good social ride.

Friday, went for bike ride with son joe and my dad, we went out to Somerleyton so that Joe could have a go at the 10 mile TT route, he did well posting a time of 38 mins, we covered a total of 23.3 miles at a nice easy speed.

Saturday, went for a run down the sea front, did a total of 7.8 miles at 6.41 pace, this was very encouraging as didn't feel uncomfortable at all, If I can do some speed work now and not get injured should post some good run times in races. all seems much easier when the sun's out,

Sunday 11th, went out for a bike ride round the Bungay Tri route, did a total of 41 miles in 2hr 04 mins, a good head wind on the way home, need to do some better bike training to improve the time trials, Then with stiff legs had to go for a quick run with the family, fortunately we only went 2.2 miles which eased my legs up a treat, should do recovery runs more often.

Another good week as far as training goes, and is so nice having time off work to fart about at home, teaching isn't so bad after all!

Race season is getting closer

Monday 29th March, did another session on the turbo trainer, I enjoyed this session only did about 35 mins with a few sprint efforts thrown in, but was happy in the knowledge that I will not be using this thing for much longer, well until next winter anyway,

Tuesday, managed to get away from work a bit earlier so went for a run, did 8.35 miles in 58.19 which is an average pace of 6.59 mins/mile felt comfortable all the way around, started slow and finished strong, happy with my running at present, have been injury free all winter so had consistent training right through, not to fast but feeling comfortable, need to start the mile reps to build some pace.

wednesday 31st March, swim session, covering longer distances at the moment trying to build some swim stamina, I think we covered over 2500m but by the end of the session was to knackered to pay much attension to the board and add it all up.

Thursday 1st April, The long awaited first Rock estate thursday night ride, as agreed the first and second sessions are to be easy sessions not pushing the pace or distance to far, we had a good turnout of about 18 riders, some faces missing but hopefully they will turn out shortly, covered 26.22 miles in 1hr 30 mins average speed was 17.4 mph, actual time around the route was longer due to a couple of pub stops and a couple of punctures. full marks to the Commodore pub for supplying high protien Salmon Burgers for the post ride nutrition essentials, beats crisps when I get home.

Friday, went for a quick run round the block, total distance is only 2.8 miles, first mile was easy warming up 7.15 pace second mile was harder 6.22 pace then pushed on to the finish last 0.8 mile at 5.58 pace, total time 18.20. A good little session to try and build some race pace into the legs.

Saturday and sunday didn't train as had to start work at home, will use it as core strength work.

2 weeks to first triathlon, 2 weeks off work, life is good!!

It's officially summer

Monday 22nd, up early so took the dog for a gentle X country run, total distance of 4.5 miles, then did the evening turbo session total of 50 mins generally easy with a few efforts for a couple of minutes at a time.

Tuesday, went for another early morning X country run, this time only about 3 miles, all very easy pace.

Wednesday, yet another early morning run for about 3 miles, then in the evening a hard swim session, I think we covered over 3000m in total, 400m warm up, 1x 800m 2x 400m 4x 200m 4x 100m then I was to knackered to worry about anything else.

Thursday, Went round the island on bikes as a warm up for the final circuit session of the winter, Bike ride was good I'm feeling ok on a bike at the moment hopefully a good winters training will pay off, Circuit session was another killer, started with press up's doing 100 then 75, 50 ,25, felt surprisingly good up until about the first 60-65 then was down to sets of about 20-30 for the rest of the session, had stiff chest and shoulders next day. Thanks to Steve for keeping us entertained with great sessions through the winter.

Friday, rest day, another bottle of wine and an excellent paella, all good preparation for Saturday.

Saturday 27th, Attempted my first official Time Trial on the course at Bungay, fortunately the rain held off but there was a reasonably breeze blowing, wasn't a direct head wind but not far off for the first half of the 2 lap course, I didn't really know what time I would set, was hoping I wouldn't be to far off 65-66 mins so was pleased with my official time of 1hr 4mins 6 seconds, unfortunately well off the pace of Liam and some of the other riders on course but not to bad, works out at an average speed of 23.4 mph. This I am sure I can beat with a bit more effort in the last half of the course and when I find a comfy saddle position on the bike, after about 15 miles I was bloody uncomfortable.

Sunday went for a X country run, the first half with all the family and the dog, yes kids and wife all out running, must be summer! then did the second half on my own and did a few short intervals putting in a good effort to try and speed up my legs.

It's officially summer, I'm sitting watching the rain out of the window, but it's about 7 in the evening and still plenty of daylight, roll on Thursday night.

summer's coming

Sunday 14th, march, went for a bike ride out to St Olaves to watch some of the rock estate boys doing a 25 mile time trial, ride for me was all very easy and relaxed my son Joe took the lead for much of the journey home and set a good pace, well done Joe,

Monday 15th, with the weather looking much more favourable decided to go out on the MTB for a spin rather than ride the turbo trainer, I got out towards Lound before it started to rain! carried on out to Yarmouth to try out a new route I may use when I start riding to work again shortly, did a total of about 20 miles, all quite easy.

Tuesday went to the gym after work for the usual run and bike session, finished off with a few lengths in the pool to cool down.

wednesday 17th, swim session did a total of 3000m some longer sets of 400m with a 20 second rest, nearly killed me, swimming is still such hard work, cardio vascular fitness can't make up for poor efficiency, must try harder!!

Thursday 18th, started with a spin out on the TT bike, went out to Wrentham and back, had a good head wind on the way out but was then blown home, a total of 18.9miles in 52.40mins avg speed of 21.5mph, lowered the seat about 10mm and seemed to be more comfortable this time out, either that or the extra vaseline used!
Then the Rock estate bike and run brick session, 2 lap bike course which seemed to string the boys out a little bit this time, the bike distance was 15.4 miles at an avg speed of 19.8 mph, this took 46.31 mins, then straight out for the 2 bridges run, I didn't feel good on the run, felt as if I was running slowly but was quite pleased to finish the 5.9 miles in 40 mins 20 seconds I feel I can run this much better with a few more practice sessions, avg pace was 6.51/m
The Rock Estate team seems to have a few walking wounded at the moment, must have been plenty of squirreling going on to obtain all these injuries.

Friday, saturday and sunday I have done the sort of things that normal people do, went shopping, had a pub lunch, sat in bloody big traffic jams for hours on end, fell asleep while watching the rugby, and watched Japanese tourists taking pointless photographs, was all very nice but will be glad to get back into some training again next week.

To rest or not to rest?

Saturday 6th, quick swim with the kids, did a total of about 600m.

Sunday 7th, did a bike ride to collect my car from the night before, I only left it 3 miles away but managed a total of 24.46 miles to collect it, took a route around the island, also a good way of clearing any remaining signs of alcohol poisoning, this took me 1.11.38 which is an avg. spd of 20.5mph, HR was steady at 125bpm avg and a max of 167. what a pleasure it is to be out on a bike and not fending off frost bite from the extremities.

Monday, rest day

Tuesday 9th, went to the gym after work did the usual run and bike session, good for instant weight loss as sweat buckets when working hard.

Wednesday 10th, swim session, did a total of about 2800m did a 10 min swim at the end of the session and managed 550m, not spectacular but I was happy to have got that far with tired arms.

Thursday another rest day, I wouldn't have gone out to train even if I was being paid, I wanted to stay in and cook dinner for the wife on her birthday, (I did manage to get out on the time trial bike in the afternoon and have a blast round the island, took me 1.04.35 to do 23.8 miles, an avg speed of 22.1 mph, feeling more confident on the bike now, but need to make more adjustments somewhere, first 12 miles were comfy but after that the seat felt a bit like a razor blade and was bloody uncomfortable)

Friday 12th, went for a quick run, 4.1 miles in 29 mins, slow start but managed to speed up a bit as I warmed up.

Saturday 13th, went for a x country run with the dog, did 6.26 miles very slowly avg pace was 8.41 mins / mile, felt knackered, very heavy legs didn't get going at all, so was happy to just go easy and look at the sights,

I don't think I've been overdoing it at all but will see how I feel over the next couple of days.

Weather is getting better!

Sunday 28th feb, Absolutely pissing down with rain again, so went out for a nice little cross country run with Jimbo, we did 8.57 miles in 1.06.40, nice and steady felt good (apart from the rain)
Did some totals for the month - I ran a total of 67.94 miles at an average pace of 8 min miles which is a total of 8 hours 31 mins, and biked for 82.54 miles avg speed 18.1mph total time of 4.27.24

Monday 1st March, spring time! did the usual evening turbo session, 45 mins nothing to taxing,

Tuesday 2nd, went to the gym on the way home from work did about 50 mins in total, 3 mile run in 20.21 then 10 miles on the bike sweating buckets.

Wednesday 3rd, swim session, as usual hard work did a total of about 2300m in an hour, distances on the sets going up through the session. Feeling slightly more comfortable swimming now but still not swimming quickly.

Thursday 4th, A monster session, started with a 19 mile ride on the TT Bike, felt slightly more confident this time but is going to need lots more practice yet ( may cause more conflict with home life) time was 53.15 avg speed 21.4 mph Hr avg 143 max 159.
Then the 6 mile run, started slow and got progressively quicker, split times were mile 1, 7.35 2, 6.57 3, 6.47 4, 7.01 5, 6.37 6, 6.12 Heart rate was again mental Avg 180 max 233 strap and watch were the same position etc for the bike and the run, unexplainable as yet!
Then on to Steve's Gym session a good 1/2 hour spinning then a killer 1/2 hour doing sit up's.

Friday, a well earned rest day, races are now getting closer.

fed up with getting wet,

Saturday & Sunday no exercise went away with the family for the weekend, took my trainers but didn't find the time to use them.

Monday 22nd, did 40 mins on the turbo trainer, getting a bit bored with riding in the garage now, even Miami vice is getting dull!

Tuesday 23rd, went to the gym on the way home from work, ( Mike Davies wasted no time getting back into the swing after his weeks altitude training) I did a 3 mile run in 18.40 then went onto the bike for a 5 mile ride, got very hot and didn't feel comfortable so went for a swim.

Wednesday 24th, had one of those eureka moments at 3.30am laid awake for an hour watching the ceiling trying to decide what to do Run or Bike? decided to run as this would cause less disruption getting out of the house without waking the wife. failed anyway. completed 7.5 miles out and along the sea front, Fog, drizzle not entirely pleasant, I hope the heart rate monitor is up the spout again otherwise I may be heading for a heart attack, I am aware I'm not a morning person, ran at a very slow pace and HR was still above 200bpm at times. I did a full and strenuous days work as usual and didn't fall asleep once, then went swimming for an hour, did 2250m, a good session but now need to do more to be able to come out of the water and not be completely knackered.

Thursday 25th, started with a 6 mile two bridges run,(pissing down again!) wanted to run a hard session to build some pace, mile splits were: mile 1, 7.25m/m, 2, 6.38m/m, 3, 6.24m/m, 4, 6.41, 5, 6.29, 6, 6.27m/m, total time was 39.58. Avg pace 6.41 mins/mile. all the rock estate boys were running well. Then on to Kirkley for another circuit session, I don't think these sessions will ever get any easier, finished off with a game of basketball/rugby mix with minimal skill levels involved excluding the odd moment of brilliance displayed by some.

Friday, bottle of wine, Paella and an open fire, relaxation at it's best.

If anyone else wants to take on this blog before it kills me please feel free!!

1st time on a tt bike

Thursday 18th, started with a 3 mile X country run, early morning runs really don't agree with me, went out nice and easy, avg pace 8.32 mins/mile, my heart rate was mental avg 160 bpm with a max of 231 which when looking at the graph lasted for about the first 12 mins of the run before settling down slightly,
With the weather looking better I thought it would be a good opportunity to go for a ride on the time trial bike, slightly scary to start with but I think should cut my times down comfortably cruising at 22-24 mph on the flat not so confident round corners yet, stopped a few times to adjust settings and for traffic lights, went round the island in 1.06, avg speed of 21 mph the worst thing about the ride was that I've waited about 6 weeks to ride the bike because of the weather, when I was half way round the ride the heavens opened with sleet, hail, rain you name it, I was in for a huge cleaning session when I got home.
then the usual Rock Estate Thursday night session, 6 mile 2 bridges run, Avg Pace 7.18 mins/mile, then a new one for the Rock Estate courtesy of Nick Esser and Bannatynes gym, a 45 min spinning session, never done this before but really good fun, a hard session with Lot's of sweat on the floor, started to get cramp towards the end.
A good day all in all, miles in the bank.

Friday 19th started with another 3 mile run, not fast just to ease the legs, before sitting in the car for 2-3 hours on the way for a weekend in London with the family, no training planned!

struggling with tempo runs.

Sunday 14th, started the day with a 4.5 mile x country run, nice and steady avg pace 7.56/m this took 35mins 11sec.
Then went for a bike ride out to the Bungay pool with my brother in law Pants, nice and steady, first time on a road bike for him, 16.25 miles took 1hr 9 mins, once at the pool did a few lengths, probably a total of 400m but did some scores training running up the stairs to the top of the water slide with the kids, I then cycled home on my own in the rain, took a slightly shorter route, 14.5 miles took me 42.23 mins avg speed of 20.1mph

Total distances for the week were approx 16.2 miles running, 61 miles on a bike and a 2200m swim session.

Monday 15th, easy turbo session and a 3/4 mile jog round the block, to loosen up, only a half hour session in total.

Tuesday 16th, out for a steady run, 6.6 miles in the rain again, had planned to go further but wet and miserable conditions put me off, took 48.09mins avg pace 7.16 m/m nice and easy felt good.

Wednesday missed the swim session due to baby sitting Joe and his mates having a sleep over, a disturbed nights sleep as a bonus!

It's Still Cold

Monday 8th, Back in the garage on the Turbo, easy resistance but maintaining a high cadence of around 90-95 rpm, did a total of 58 mins.

Tuesday 9th, run round the block, trying to up my running pace, did a total of 3 miles, getting progressively quicker, mile 1- 6.33 mins/mile, mile 2- 6.26, mile 3- 6.14, total time was 18.38. a good base to work from.

Wednesday, swim session, 400m warm up, 2x 500m 30 sec RI, 3x 200m 30 sec rest interval, drills and warm down. a total of 2200m

Thursday 11th started with a 15.9 mile bike ride on the MTB nice and easy 52 mins, then 2 bridges 6 mile run, avg pace 7.29/m total time 44.59 nice and steady felt easy, then the killer circuits for an hour, finished off with 1/2 hour of basketball. all in all a good endurance session.

Friday, rest day,

Saturday morning, a nice easy 3 mile x country run to loosen all my stiff and aching muscles,

must get out on the bike.

Wednesday 3rd, Had to work late,(believe it or not) so missed the swim session.

Thursday 4th, did a 3.5 mile cross country run in Southwold late afternoon, would have been 3 miles but I didn't realise how many paths there are on those marshes and got slightly lost. then did a 6 mile 2 bridges run with the Rock estate boys, and a special appearance from local hotshot Polly Davies. avg pace 7.33/mile, avg HR 147 bpm. max HR 161 bpm. A nice steady run before going to the Gym for Boxercise, I cant believe hitting somebodies hand for 30 seconds is such hard work, arms and shoulders have been stiff for two days. finished off with another highly skillful game of basketball.

Friday 5th, rest day.

Saturday 6th, the weather was a bit better so went out on the road bike, did 29.6 miles in 1.29.26. generally nice and steady avg Hr was 135 BPM. max HR 149 bpm. did an extended round the island route, would have made an avg. speed of about 20mph but had to take a diversion through Beccles and got held up, (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) avg speed was 19.8 mph.
I was a bit fed up when I got home thinking I'd done really well to get out and do a reasonably long ride to find out Asher and Gentry had been out and done 106 miles just for fun!

Sunday 7th, went to Thetford with Joe, we biked round the black run for about an hour and a half, nice and easy for me but good fun playing about in the mud and up and down the hills.

I'm not dying after all!

Saturday 30th another rest day, lovely.

Sunday 31st, x country run, did the 7 mile loop fartlek style, a few hard efforts and some easy paced running, total time about 56 mins, 4 other rock estate boys out for this run making it very enjoyable.

Monday 1st February, (already) did a quick turbo session total of 13 miles did a 10 mile time trial in 22 mins, all done at a very low resistance but keeping a high cadence, must learn to put out more power at a lower cadence.

Tuesday 2nd, another lovely wet evening, so outside for a run did 8.14 miles in 57.48 mins, average pace 7.06 mins/mile, I also changed the battery in the heart rate monitor strap, heart rate was back to normal, avg HR 149bpm, max 162bpm (I didn't think 247 bpm was a reality) felt good on the run no aches or pains at present must try to stay injury free now that I'm trying to up the speed a little. Must keep up the training in order to try and keep up with the growing number of semi professional athletes in the Rock Estate team these days, afternoon gym sessions have never been so popular, at least they warm the seat up on the bike for Mike Davies to use in the evenings!!!

mind games

Sunday 24th, didn't do to much went for a 13 mile ride with Joe, very easy pace heart rate only just made 100 bpm.

Monday 25th, weather not to good again, wanted to go out on the bike and do 20 miles with 10 hard miles in the middle, after the first mile in the cold decided to cut that down to a blast around the town as hard as I could, when I looked at the watch when I got back a disappointing avg. Speed of 16.4 mph for the 10.6 miles covered, and I was still knackered!

Tuesday 26th, went to the gym for a quick session on the way home from work, did 10mins rowing, 10 mins running and 10 mins cycling, rowing was good managed 2720m.

Wednesday 27th, swim session, Mick put up a good session for us, total distance of about 2300m, main set was 400, 300, 200, 100 increasing pace for each set. More Rock Estate members back at swimming again was good to see.

Thursday 28th, 6 mile two bridges run from Gaff's, Local hotshot marathon man Potter, joined the run as part of his London preparation, he wanted to run at 6.45 mins/ mile pace,(his marathon target pace) and invited us to run with him for company, I managed to stay with him at that pace and hold a minimalist type of conversation, mostly he talked and I grunted, this was certainly the case after the 4 mile marker was past. Completed the 5.95 miles in 39.24 mins average pace 6.37 /mile. I will now give my heart rate readings, but think there may be a problem with my monitor, average HR 196 BPM with a max of 247 BPM I think in medical terms at my age I should be getting close to self combustion, must change a battery or something!
That was the warm up completed we were then off to the Gym for another killer circuit session, I was very slow at most of the exercises, cramp and general exhaustion mostly the problem, finished off with the usual demonstration of skills and killer technique on the basketball court, never mind a couple of pints was next on the activity list.

Friday 29th, good job I've done that core strength training, all that side splitting laughter watching local celebrity and thespian Liam Gentry and Sarah in pantomime, a good show I still can't believe how much Liam got into character, talk about in the zone, if he doesn't get an Oscar for that performance it'll be a travesty of justice.
The performance had a profound effect on the wife, Claire commented that Liam had a good singing voice, Praise indeed!! Personally I think she may be delusional.
Not good news for training came out to find more snow and Ice on the ground!

Not a good week

Not a good week for training, Saturday 16th went for a quick swim but nothing serious.
Sunday 17th, did the 7 mile x country route, not a fast pace, quite muddy and slippery under foot, not sure if the heart rate monitor is up the spout but heart rate apparently went up to 213bpm for a short period about 5 1/2 miles in, the other answer I thought of could be the very serious cold (Probably flu) that I've been fighting off.( I suspect probably would have hospitalised any normal person)

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday took as rest days with lemsip

Thursday 21st, did the rock estate duathlon, 16 mile bike 6 mile run, took it easy for the first 1 1/2 laps on the bike then had a push at the end to see how I was feeling, decided it's much harder pushing a bike round on the roads again rather than sitting in the garage, never mind cleared out the breathing tubes, felt ok on the run not a fast pace overall but pushed towards the end, only managed 7.01 mins / mile overall, would usually run at about 6.45mins /m, heart rate again peaked at 203bpm this was approaching 2 miles, then settled to around 150-160 still high for the pace I am running but not worryingly.

Friday rest day

Saturday cross training all day, had to dig a soakaway then shovel about 4 tons of rubble into and out of a trailer, I'm not fit for manual work any more!

It's Thawing!!

Monday 11th, Back on the turbo trainer again for another 40 min session, all quite easy apart from a couple of efforts for 2 mins at a high cadence and increased resistance, not what you would call fun but hopefully will pay dividends in the spring.

Tuesday 12th, A REST DAY, played with bike, cleaning, polishing and giving it a gentle talking too and encouraging it to go fast, (not madness just mental conditioning)

Wednesday 13th, swim session, had a good session covered just over 2000m in total, can't remember exactly what we did, will try and make notes in future, finished with a timed 400m warm down, took me 7.22 mins which I was quite happy with after a hard session. Swimming is still not my forte.

Thursday 14th, started with a 6 mile fartlek run, this took 45.42 mins at an average 7.36ish mins/mile generally easy but put effort into the quicker sections, then onto the bike to the gym for circuit training for an hour, as usual killed me, when will circuits get easier? finished off with a game of basketball for half an hour for some light relief. re hydrated with a couple of pints of Guinness in the usual fashion.

Friday is another rest day, relaxing by the fire with a bottle of wine,

snow still on the ground.

Saturday 9th. Weather was still not good for training outside so went to the gym for a quick session, fortunately local sporting celebrity and thespian Liam Gentry was also taking time out from rehearsals and helped to push the pace along, we did 3 miles on the tread mill in 19.48 mins including a warm up for the first mile, then did a 20 min bike ride at a reasonable effort, sweated buckets, I think they must have turned the heating up in the gym in view of the weather outside, finished off with a quick swim to cool down.

Sunday 10th, once again the rock estate came up with a great idea "lets do a cross country run" so in the snow with a brisk northerly wind off we set for a 7 miler, down onto the marshes out to fishers row, following the river bank towards somerleyton and then back along the waveney way, a lovely run, very enjoyable with good company, 7 rock estaters turning out, we did a total of 7 miles. I averaged 8.15 /mile in a time of 57.36. Heart rate average was 156 bpm with a max of 201, I thought my max was about 170 bpm at present so need to down load the run to look at the graph to see if it was a glitch or actual, either that or I had a mild heart attack at some point, could have been the alcohol from the night before! Mark Potter made the run look easy with Joe skipper not letting him get away. I started feeling OK but ran out of steam for the last two miles, need to start planning my training for the upcoming season now.

Still flippin cold!!

Wednesday 6th, Back to swimming this week, a very low turnout at the pool, probably the weather conditions, I had a good session not too hard for the first one back after Christmas, swam a total of about 2000m. need to focus more on swimming to be able to come out of the water with some energy left!!

Thursday 7th, 2 mile run in the snow to get to Circuit training, did a hard session following Steve, concentrating on doing sets properly rather than racing through. Must have done something right 2days on and my shoulders, stomach and legs are still aching! ended session with a 2 mile run home stopping at the Commodore at mid way for a swift half. Four members of the rock estate turned out for this one!!!

Friday 8th, went for a very gentle 30 min swim to try and loosen up my shoulders, didn't work still stiff!!

Have now started monitoring resting heart rate in the morning before ramping up the training for the summer, resting heart rate is currently about 43-45 bpm, I will use this to help monitor training intensity and give myself an excuse to rest if it goes up.

Insomnia inspired!!!

Saturday 2nd, One of those strange mornings when somebody hits the wide awake switch at 4.30am, laid for 30 mins thinking I'd go back to sleep, then for some reason had a great idea, I know I'll go and ride the bike in the garage, I'm just wasting time laying here, so out I went for 1hr 10 mins of steady pedaling while waiting for every one to wake up. It's times like this when I wonder what it must be like to be obsessed!

Sunday 3rd, cross country run with the dog, very cold with snow on the ground, did 6.15 miles in 49.12 mins. average pace 7.59/mile, nice steady heart rate avg. 148 bpm. Out on the marshes on a day like this is great, what a beautiful part of the world we live in.

Monday rest day. (couldn't be assed)

Tuesday 5th, again snow and ice put me off venturing out in the dark so another 45 mins on the poxy turbo trainer, steady session mostly, did two efforts to max effort, heart rate up to 171 bpm, avg 138 bpm, saving grace was that Crockett was on form in this episode!!

The last sessions in 2009.

The last training sessions of 2009,

Christmas eve was a good session, not a hard or fast session but sociable, a good turnout from the Rock Estate, who all enjoyed a ride around Somerleyton, Ashby, Corton and through the town back to the commodore, Joe Drake was out on his first rock Estate ride and rode well, hitting the front on a couple of occasions, the next generation will soon be catching and overtaking the current riders, This was how the rides started out all those years ago, not riding past watering holes but stopping for light refreshment and mickey taking from the start.
Saturday 26th had to go out for a quick 4.2 mile run round the block to help clear the turkey and general over indulgence, ran at a steady 6.52 mins/ mile.
Sunday 27th went out on the mountain bike for 1hr 11mins covered 21.4 miles (average 17.8mph) average heart rate 138bpm, encouraging to feel relaxed and still be travelling at a reasonable speed on a mountain bike.
Tuesday 29th 45 mins on the turbo trainer, in a strange way I am beginning to enjoy riding a bike in the garage going nowhere watching TV.
wednesday 30th went to the gym for a change of scenery, about 1 1/2 hours, cycling, rowing, core strength, finishing with a quick swim and a sauna.
New years eve, a run from Southwold pier to the Clearmont pier along the beach, there were 11 takers for the last session of the year, the temperature was about 3 deg. with rain and hail showers, also a 25-30mph northerly wind which held the tide up and ensured wet feet for all within the first mile, this was probably the hardest session of the year, 9.88 miles took 1hr 19mins 37 sec. it seemed much longer!( a couple of the boys running would usually complete this distance in 1hr or under) an average speed of just 7.4 mph and an average heart rate of 156bpm ( max heart rate at present is about 170bpm) by the end I was frozen, knackered and got a blackened toe nail for my efforts, well done to all that completed this session in harsh conditions.
Now need to get back on the scales,(completing the above sessions I still managed to put on 5lbs), cut down on alcohol consumption and get back on the speed and fitness campaign.
2009 completed, bring on 2010 and more enjoyable training and racing.