Training blitz day!

That was yesterday - I went over to Thrunton woods in the morning and did 6-7miles - very hilly, pretty steep, run - beautiful day.




Then before the club time trial, I biked 8ish miles - over the Alnwick Moor Road (A1 (Shilbottle Junction) - and straight over at cross roads and down Lemmington Bank, then right up a road I've never been up before, signed Applewick - goes steeply up to Broome Hill Farm, then undulates - steeply at times - up towards Brizlee RAF balls, meets up with the Alnwick - Rothbury road, drop down to Alnwick. Only just got to time trial in time - then somehow managed a PB for year, though was wilting for a bit on the stretch of road after Boulmer past the RAf station. Someone tried to overtake me at the top of the Quarry Hill, came level, then dropped off - didn't see them again til the road after Denwick dropping down to the river, before the gardens - at which point they went passed VERY fast - so how hey didn't go passed before i don't know! Then had to cycle home, which felt ok, surprisingly.

Sat 15th May 2010
Sat and watched the sea swim - very frustrating as it was a beautiful day - but my throat was sore again - had been since Thurs night after the lake swim. Good for motivation though!




Sun 16th May 2010 - run, 40mins
Having spent all morning marshalling Alnwick tri, I got out myself for a run at Warkworth beach - undulated, at times steeply, thru sand dunes for 10 mins to golf course, back along beach doing a bit of fartlek, 5 x hill repeat up the big sand dune (back of), up the hill back to car.

cyclo speed abs - 20mins

Monday 17th May 2010
Tri pool sesh - 1 hr
200m warm up - every other length backstroke - yuk - but was explained to me that reversing the direction of travel on the joint was good for it...so I persevered even though I find it exhausting as I'm so bad at it.
4x 50m finger trail drill
4x 50m alternating lengths of fist/full
4 x 100m with stroke count on 4th length
2 x 150m with stroke count on 6th length
4 x 25m, 1 min treading water no hands, sprint 25m back
cant remember what else - about 1500 altogether, felt good!

Tuesday 18th May 2010
1hr 25 hilly run, Thrunton Woods - 6-7 miles?
see above

bike - about 8-9 miles - actually, just checking the map, it was more like 11 miles - hilly ride to time trial (see above) about 1 hr, then
45 mins 51? pushing hard at time trial for 12 miles (just under?), then 4 miles mostly uphill home again. 27 miles altogether - warm down at home 15 mins.

Cool! - Semer Water, Yorkshire Dales

Semerwater in England

Just got this weird photo from the website for Wensleydale Tri - i'm still feeling dizzy from operating it!
Still haven't actually entered the triathlon....fully intend to - but might just wait til after a visit down that way at the end of the month...

impromptu run...

A friend texted at 3.30 suggesting a gentle pre-lake-swim run - wasn't going to as it's hard enough to get to the swim..but then I decided to make the effort, since I'll be occupied alot of weekend with helping at Alnwick tri...and time before Keswick's running out...so off I went at 5pm and off we trundled on 2 circuits of the lake with added spur up to road on one of laps...pleasant 'chatty' pace!

Worked harder than lately in the swim - struggled with the water at first - not cold so much as just a bit revolting - the sea's much nicer! Took it slowly with breaks up to the bouy, to allow time to acclimatise and calm my breathing - then headed off to Birdshit Island with a group of 5 - working hardish to stay with them. We decided to do it twice - so was a good workout pre-Keswick. About 1200m? felt better on the 2nd 'lap' - more settled into a rhythm. Would've preferred to have gone up the other end as last week, as it's less 'revolting'! And I find it easier to settle in to a rhythm - not sure why - heading away from sun, so easier to see maybe? But there's a psychological barrier for people who haven't done that end much...in fact, would've been a shorter swim than we did! Hope I didn't overdo/overstay the cold - have a bit of a sore throat again today.

Thursday 13th 2010
Run- 5.45pm - 45mins ish - 4 mile ish, gentle

Lake swim - Druridge - 7pm - 1200m

aaaghh again

Sore throat, fluey Mon...went to bed at 8pm - actually started feeling weird Sun night, which makes me wonder if it was a reaction to the yellow fields of rapeseed - a few of which I cycled past on Sun evening..

Tues - still off colour - didn't do the planned bike - 10k Les Allcorn event, which I was really frustrated about as it was a beautiful clear blue evening..had to make do with listening to coalition government forming, writing tri club minutes and an early night instead..

Wed - alot better - in fact, more or less fine..went to Warkworth beach and did a 20min slow and gentle warm up run - during which I felt really heavy and sluggish - then 6 x hill repeats up the back of the big sand dune...beautiful evening again..wondering whether to do a spin bike session..?? Don't want to push too hard - but also aware of how close I am to Keswick tri, and how undertrained I am...

Wed 12th may 2010

6pm - short gentle run, hill repeats - Warkworth Beach - along back to Amble pier and back along beach, then
6 x up steep high sand dune and back down a less steep way

9pm - cyclo zen strength and stretch - didn't spin in end, partly as living room full of son and his mountain bike bits

wow! Beautiful evening for a ride..

I was feeling very happy and full of life as I sailed down the hill from South Moor Farm towards Guyzance, sea stretched out for miles in front, sunny, and inspired and energised by a fantastic concert I just sung in with the Rock Festival Choir in Alnwick..hadn't planned a ride, but just felt like it..

Sun 9th May 2010, 1.30pm - Cyclospeed circuits 1, 2. (20mins). Then cycloloose in 5.

5.15pm - Bike - gentle, but hilly 2hrs - up out of Shilbottle, left towards South Moor `farm, Down towards river Coquet, but right (not left to Guyzance) - to A1 - cut across and up to Swarland, straight on to Longframlington, back on Old Swarland road to meet back up with crossroads at school then back down to A1 and across - Guyzance road, but turn left up to Hazon, and back to Shilbottle. About 30k/20 miles

Plan for week Mon May 10th - Sun May 16th
Mon - cyclozen strength/stretch
Tue - d.5.30 - cycle 1.5 hrs, then Les Allcorn 10k run event at Hulne Park, Alnwick
Wed - pool swim in evening
Thurs - Lake swim/gentle run
Fri - field circuits/abs/stretch
Sat - sea swim am/spin bike, evng

Spin and swim..

Decided couldn't face biking to lake for club swim - too much stuff to carry, and couldn't face the ride back being freezing....thought about driving down early and biking from there...but by time I'd got home it was 5ish and I decided there wasn't that much to be gained from being out on bike for just an hour - I've already done that this week...needed a gentle (ish) but longer ride. So I did spin session with Graeme online instead - it was one to boost metabolic rate - (number 9?) - so thought it would fit in well with trying to lose weight, even if it was a bit intensive having done pretty high intensity the last 2 nights..only did 3 out of the 4 sections, due to wanting to get to the lake.

Thursday 6th May 2010
Cycloclub Spin bike session 9 - boosting metabolic rate - 45 mins of it - involved starting on (my) middle cog, and increasing cadence from 85ish rpm upwards every 20 seconds for a minute, then slowing cadence and going down a cog on the back (ie harder), recover for couple mins, then repeating the increasing cadence every 20 secs over a min - the last 20 secs of each min being as fast as possible whilst still in control. This all repeated 6 times, then recover for 3 mins, then all repeated again on big one at front.

2nd set was 7 mins solid of going up cogs and increasing cadence each minute - stay samebut stand on 4th min (really hard - i struggle with standing - can't do a minute), then go one easier cog each min but keep increasing cadence - so ending up very high cadence.

Lake Swim - Druridge, went up to top end, rather than Birdshit island, so as to do 800m plus in lead up to Keswick...pleased, though hard to keep going continuously as so cold get breathless - was trying to do 100 stroke chunks.

Working hard

Feels like I might be pushing a bit too hard...needed more recovery after the long hilly effort on Sun, before the hard effort last night and tonight...but I'll not beable to do much at the weekend...and haven't done as much as I'd planned..need to try and get more disciplined about sleep though - was really dozy at work today, and nearly drifted off at lunch time.

Monday 3rd May

Lake Swim, Druridge - out to buoy, bird shit island, back to buoy, back to jetty - 600ish m?
Felt better than has done in lake this year so far - slightly warmer, despite there being a cold breeze, so not easy changing after..

Tues 4th May
Tri club bike time trial, tri route - 46mins 23sec (?)

Did 2-3 miles first, from Oaks pub to Lesbury roundabout and back to bridge over A1. Then the time trial, 12miles, undulating. Lots there tonight - I wasn't first off for once. Didn't catch up with the first off, and she was 20 secs or so quicker, and had a good ding dong battle with the second off - I eventually caught her in Boulmer on the bend - she retook me at the bottom of the quarry hill up out of Longhoughton - it was good to have someone to chase up the hill - but she gained a lot of ground and I couldn't see her by the time I was halfway down the other side...but she must've slowed up again coz I caught her going up towards Alnwick Gdns, only to be took back just before the turn - I then managed to not lose sight of her totally, and gradually reel her in after going past the Oaks, and make a sprint to catch her on the line. It was quite exciting! Can't imagine how I managed to go 4 mins faster last year - or how most of the others go so fast - amazing! Still, 3 mins faster than 2 weeks ago, and still quite stiff from Sun's run..

Wed 4th May
Run - Field circuits 8.30pm
8 x 1 circuit of footy field with 1 circuit recovery jog between each
Was pleased, because even though I was totally pooped after each pushing on hard circuit - could hardly jog - by half way round was back to jogging breathing in for 2 out for 3, and by two thirds round, in for 3 out for 4, and ready for next hard effort - probably 90% effort, if not more sometimes. Also, was pretty consistent for all 8:

1;26 1;34 1;32 1;29 1;28 1;32 1;29 1;25

Cyclocore bonus abs (20mins)
Cyclo core cool down (20 mins)