Last weekends over doing it hit me harder than I wold have liked as I have been ill for all of the past week. I tried to go out for a gentle spin on the bike on Tuesday just to see how I felt and that confirmed that I felt pretty average! I've therefore continued to rest up and try and get rid of the illness before getting back into it. A bit frustrating but there is nothing that i can do about it and I know that trying to train through it is not the best idea.
I've had a couple of good nights sleep in the last 2 days so am feeling a lot better today, may go out for a short bike ride or run again just to see how my body feels, and then hopefully get back into it next week.
I don't think all the eating over Christmas and no training has helped my physical condition but looking at the 6 months I have planned in the run up to Austria don't think that will be a major concern!
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Monday, 22 December 2008
Finding my limits!
Didn't have the best week of training last week, had to miss a couple of sessions due to being busy at work and us taking Monday to do all of our Christmas shopping. Was all ready to go for a big weekend though and with the weather forecast to be an unseasonally mild 12 degrees I was quite looking forward to both my long ride and long run.
The general philosophy that I've been trying to follow with my training is that you push your body pretty hard and then give it time to recover, hopefully it builds itself back stronger than it started. The problem with this is that there is a bit of a balancing act between not tearing yourself to bits. So far I've been pretty good, this weekend however I failed miserably!!
I think I pushed just a bit beyond my boundaries and that resulted in me feeling absolutely terrible on Sunday night and this morning. I knew I was struggling when I was reduced to a real shuffle at the end of my long run and had to come home and eat most of a box of cadbury heroes that Erika had whilst collapsed on the stairs, I needed some sugar!
I'll try and put this one down to experience, hopefully I can learn to recognise the signs that it is all coming undone a bit sooner next time! Am having a complete rest day today and hopefully with a bit more sleep I should feel ok again tomorrow.
I'm now off work for 3 weeks over Christmas, am hoping that I do not suffer any longer term effects from this weekend.
I have a massage booked for this afternoon and I have a feeling that my legs could be a bit sore, although hopefully that will help to remove some of the waste in my muscles.
The general philosophy that I've been trying to follow with my training is that you push your body pretty hard and then give it time to recover, hopefully it builds itself back stronger than it started. The problem with this is that there is a bit of a balancing act between not tearing yourself to bits. So far I've been pretty good, this weekend however I failed miserably!!
I think I pushed just a bit beyond my boundaries and that resulted in me feeling absolutely terrible on Sunday night and this morning. I knew I was struggling when I was reduced to a real shuffle at the end of my long run and had to come home and eat most of a box of cadbury heroes that Erika had whilst collapsed on the stairs, I needed some sugar!
I'll try and put this one down to experience, hopefully I can learn to recognise the signs that it is all coming undone a bit sooner next time! Am having a complete rest day today and hopefully with a bit more sleep I should feel ok again tomorrow.
I'm now off work for 3 weeks over Christmas, am hoping that I do not suffer any longer term effects from this weekend.
I have a massage booked for this afternoon and I have a feeling that my legs could be a bit sore, although hopefully that will help to remove some of the waste in my muscles.
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Annoying cold
I've not felt too great for the last couple of days, I ran home from work on Thursday which was ok but I could tell that I was not quite right. Did a short weights session in the gym before work on Friday followed by a swim but didn't feel any better for the rest of the day.
Same story on Saturday morning so with the forecast set for heavy rain for the day and only 6 degrees, I didn't think that spending 5.5 hours out on the bike was the most sensible idea. I did contemplate doing a long session on the indoor trainer but decided that my body could probably benefit from the rest. I'll see how I feel tomorrow before deciding on whether to do my run or not.
Tried to be productive today and put some Christmas lights up, its amazing how much time you have on your hands when you don't spend 6 hours training on a Saturday.
As if I'm not doing enough training, I found something on-line that Erika and I are having a go at, check out http://www.hundredpushups.com both Erika and I are up to Week 3 day 3 this evening. I did 3 more than her on the initial test but she seems to be doing better at the training programs doing more than me on the last set each time. I'm hoping that this is a function of not being well, but I think in reality it is a function of my weedy arms after all of this running and cycling!
Same story on Saturday morning so with the forecast set for heavy rain for the day and only 6 degrees, I didn't think that spending 5.5 hours out on the bike was the most sensible idea. I did contemplate doing a long session on the indoor trainer but decided that my body could probably benefit from the rest. I'll see how I feel tomorrow before deciding on whether to do my run or not.
Tried to be productive today and put some Christmas lights up, its amazing how much time you have on your hands when you don't spend 6 hours training on a Saturday.
As if I'm not doing enough training, I found something on-line that Erika and I are having a go at, check out http://www.hundredpushups.com both Erika and I are up to Week 3 day 3 this evening. I did 3 more than her on the initial test but she seems to be doing better at the training programs doing more than me on the last set each time. I'm hoping that this is a function of not being well, but I think in reality it is a function of my weedy arms after all of this running and cycling!
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
30 Weeks to go - The Countdown begins
Today marks day 1 of my official 30 week training plan to get me ready for Ironman Austria 2009. I've obviously put in plenty of training to get to this point and very much enjoyed my week of complete rest last week but am now eager to get going again.
My first bit of training was my commute into work, after suffering on the trains with all the miserable, rude and ill people last week I was not even put off by the thicl frost that greeted me this morning.
However, I hope this is not a sign of things to come as I got a puncture a couple of miles away form the office!! You have to take the positives out of these things I suppose, so I tried to look at that as a bit of practice at changing a tube. I was on my single speed bike so no quick release wheels which slowed me down a bit but managed to change the tube (and remove the offending bit of grit from the tyre) and be back on my way within 10 minutes, amazed a few people at the bus stop with the CO2 cannister to pump the tyre back up again!!
I'm going to wait until after Christmas to push my sponsorship harder but thought I would also say that I have set up a sponsorship page online for people to donate to my chosen charity should they want to. I've set myself a goal of raising £3,000, I have no idea if this is even remotely possible but thought I may as well aim high!
the website is http://www.justgiving.com/robgrummitt feel free to pass on the details to anyone that you know. As I said, I will send out an email in the new year to try and drum up some support.
My first bit of training was my commute into work, after suffering on the trains with all the miserable, rude and ill people last week I was not even put off by the thicl frost that greeted me this morning.
However, I hope this is not a sign of things to come as I got a puncture a couple of miles away form the office!! You have to take the positives out of these things I suppose, so I tried to look at that as a bit of practice at changing a tube. I was on my single speed bike so no quick release wheels which slowed me down a bit but managed to change the tube (and remove the offending bit of grit from the tyre) and be back on my way within 10 minutes, amazed a few people at the bus stop with the CO2 cannister to pump the tyre back up again!!
I'm going to wait until after Christmas to push my sponsorship harder but thought I would also say that I have set up a sponsorship page online for people to donate to my chosen charity should they want to. I've set myself a goal of raising £3,000, I have no idea if this is even remotely possible but thought I may as well aim high!
the website is http://www.justgiving.com/robgrummitt feel free to pass on the details to anyone that you know. As I said, I will send out an email in the new year to try and drum up some support.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Swim Video Analysis
I did a swim video analysis in an endless pool last week. As I don't get the chance to train with a squad or get any coaching over here, I thought it would be a good idea to get a few pointers to help me improve my efficiency.
I know that I am fit enough to cover the Ironman swim distance but I am certainly not very fast! So the aim was to try and get a few key things to work on that would mean that I go as fast for less effort or faster for the same effort. Given that the swim only accounts for about 10% of the Ironman race, the main goal for me is to climb out of the water feeling nice and fresh, not like I have just had to fight my way round.
Here are a couple of videos that they took, the first was my swimming when I turned up the second one is at the end of the session. Not vastly different but I definitely got what I wanted out of the session, plenty of tips to try and make me glide through the water rather than sink like a brick!
The key things I am going to take away and work on are my kick which was going much to deep into the pool and therefore meaning that I was dragging my legs along a bit and also the tiing of my stroke which is much better in the second clip than the first. Really enjoyed the session though, is pretty weird watching yourself swimming (they have a mirror in the bottom of the pool!)
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
November Training
Totals for this month were as follows:
Swim - 25.1km (15.7miles) 9 Hours 35 min
Bike - 1053.4km (658.4 miles) 41 Hours 22 mins
Run - 223.6km (140 miles) 19 Hours 8 mins
Total training time in month 70 hours 7 minutes
Total training since I entered Ironman Austria =
Swim - 82.9km (51.8miles) 31 Hours 43 min
Bike - 3,854.8km (2,409.3 miles) 144 Hours 58 mins
Run - 926.4km (579 miles) 79 Hours 44 mins
Swim - 25.1km (15.7miles) 9 Hours 35 min
Bike - 1053.4km (658.4 miles) 41 Hours 22 mins
Run - 223.6km (140 miles) 19 Hours 8 mins
Total training time in month 70 hours 7 minutes
Total training since I entered Ironman Austria =
Swim - 82.9km (51.8miles) 31 Hours 43 min
Bike - 3,854.8km (2,409.3 miles) 144 Hours 58 mins
Run - 926.4km (579 miles) 79 Hours 44 mins
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