Sunday, 29 May 2011
Week Twenty One
Swam 252
Biked 180 km
Ran 21 km
As the big day gets closer I thought that I would try the distance of two of the events on consecutive days to see how my body would cope with the punishment. So on Friday evening I went to the Lido and completed the 3.8km swim. I am now consistently finishing the distance around the 70 minute mark but feel I could go faster.
Went down to the New Forest the next day for a 180km bike ride with my friend Marc, who is also training to be an Iron Man and will be competing in the UK Iron Man in July. With both of us not yet completing the 180km distance, we set off at a steady pace and kept that going. 7 hrs later we had made it home, minus the time it takes to change three punctures, one for me and two for Marc. We made the terrible mistake of earlier in the day saying "I've been so lucky Marc, not had a puncture whilst training yet." "Me neither." Oops! Without meaning to sound obvious, 7 hrs on a bike is an extremely long time, and I certainly wouldn't do it as a regular training exercise, but Marc and I kept the banter going and the miles flew by. After the ride I thought that it was about time I treated my muscles to a massage to cure any unwanted muscle aches, but it wasn't the relaxing massage you would imagine. I was slightly worried that Becky the masseuse seemed to be enjoying the cries and yelps far too much as she pushed her thumb hard into my calf muscles. So a big thank you to Becks for giving me a good beating! A hard day but not the end, come race day ONLY a marathon to run and the medal to collect, till next week roll on pain!
Week Twenty
Swam 200 lengths
Biked 147km
Ran 31km
I hit the outdoor pool at Brockwell Lido for a couple of sessions with the wetsuit on, the pool is a 50m pool and so it is a lot easier to get into a rythmn and just concentrate on your technique. I'm reaching the pinnacle of my trainning now with longer sessions in all disciplines. Went for an amaizing ride in Devon whilst visiting Mum, Dad and Fin; I rode from Mary Tavy to Totnes and back, hill after hill and strong winds made it extremely tough but the views were amazing! With all the training I have now lost 8kg and am down to a lean 83kg which certainly has helped my running, and although still not super quick, I ran a personal best: 21km in 1hour 40.
Until next week roll on pain!
Monday, 2 May 2011
Week Nineteen
Swam 150 lengths
Biked 46 km
Ran 15 km
Competed in the New Forest Triathlon Swam 1.1km, Cycled 36km, Ran 10km
My Results = Swim 26:27, Bike 1:10:42 Run, 50:08 Total 2:27:19 Place 164th out of 320
I completed my first triathlon this weekend and absolutely loved it! With my trusty support team behind me, Cinny, Mum, Dad, oh and not to forget the woofers Lily and Fin, I made it on time to the to the New Forest Tri. It was an early start and by seven thirty I had donned my wetsuit, Tommy Turbo had given me some last minute tips, and we were on the start line. The swim was a bit frantic at the start and with the culmination of the excitement, cold water, tight wetsuit and the fact I started quicker than I should have, I found myself having a little panic about 100m into the swim. By 150m I had calmed down and found my stroke. From then on I really started to enjoy the swim. The extra buoyancy in my suit helped me to keep my body position a lot flatter, enabling me to me to glide more easily through the water. Lack of experience meant that my transition times were pretty average spending 5 mins before I was on the bike. The bike went well and transition two onto the run went a lot more smoothly. The run was tough in places with numerous hills through the forest to master but I managed to pace myself well and even had a little in left in the tank for a sprint finish which topped off a really enjoyable race. A great way to put into practice the training I have done and to focus my mind on the larger task ahead: my Nice Iron Man 2011.
Big congrats to Tommy Turbo for coming 26th! He was flying :)
A massive thank you to Char, my sister, and her flatmates for accommodating the troops, Mum and Dad for getting up at 3 am to support another one of their son’s crazy sports, and to Cinny for her continuous support and editing my triathlon video and making me look cool haha. Till next week… roll on pain!
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