Monday was my usual swim session with TPT. Had to cheat the session as my shoulder wouldn't let me do big chunks of it. I have never liked sessions using hand paddles, so this may be partly psychosomatic, but my shoulder and back were aching after a single rep with them so I abandoned them and just did the whole session without. Still made the same distance as everyone else in lane 3. This looked to be just because any time I lost on the rep was made up by everyone else putting on or taking off the paddles but I eventually got round to the front of the queue and even bare-handed against the paddlers I was still matching their pace.
Tuesday was a tough 9-mile run. Shouldn't have been tough as it was flat and slow, but I am seriously short on proper rest days recently and racing twice last week coupled to a load of other short fast sessions and the mtb seat being set low has really taken it's toll on my legs.
Tuesday was a tough 9-mile run. Shouldn't have been tough as it was flat and slow, but I am seriously short on proper rest days recently and racing twice last week coupled to a load of other short fast sessions and the mtb seat being set low has really taken it's toll on my legs.
Wednesday I went to Knockburn for just a swim. Did 3 laps in 36 minutes. Last year a good one-off lap took me about 13 minutes, and I never did more than two laps in a session. Now I am putting 3 in, back-to-back, all under 12. As long as the water temperature at Aberfeldy is in double figures I am pretty confident that I can be out of the water under 40 minutes and be completely fresh, or out in 35 minutes having done some work.
Social life decided to intervene on Thursday and Friday, but both days I still had space to squeeze in good gym brick sessions.
Saturday I went out for my second long run of the week. Left the house thinking I need to do 9.5 miles to finish my week but was doing the maths in my head as I ran and worked out I only needed 8.5. I stuck with the plan to do 9.5 though. I have decided to try and do two long runs a week from now, stepping up half a mile with each run. The run is definitely going to be the toughest part for me, but it is also the part I know best how to fix.
Sunday I went out planning to do a group ride of 50 miles on my TT bike. Jacked it in after 5. Yet another fault. This time the bottom bracket is making a noise, and it feels like pedalling with the brakes on all the time. It is definitely a pedal/drive problem as it the wheels are rolling fine and there is no issue when it is just coasting along without pedalling.
This is the 18th fault I have found since I got the bike, but this is by far the worst one and it is beyond what I can diagnose or fix myself. This one has been the final straw and I have sent a complaint to Wiggle that I want a refund or a replacement. This is going to screw up my entire season and my Aberfeldy race plan, but there isn't any alternative. The bike is not completely unridable as it is, but it is much worse than my three year old £600 road bike. And it is mentally tough to ride when I know I spent over £4,000 and I am basically wasting masses of my energy trying to pedal over the faults. Just about every time I ride it I get upset about it.
Saturday I went out for my second long run of the week. Left the house thinking I need to do 9.5 miles to finish my week but was doing the maths in my head as I ran and worked out I only needed 8.5. I stuck with the plan to do 9.5 though. I have decided to try and do two long runs a week from now, stepping up half a mile with each run. The run is definitely going to be the toughest part for me, but it is also the part I know best how to fix.
Sunday I went out planning to do a group ride of 50 miles on my TT bike. Jacked it in after 5. Yet another fault. This time the bottom bracket is making a noise, and it feels like pedalling with the brakes on all the time. It is definitely a pedal/drive problem as it the wheels are rolling fine and there is no issue when it is just coasting along without pedalling.
This is the 18th fault I have found since I got the bike, but this is by far the worst one and it is beyond what I can diagnose or fix myself. This one has been the final straw and I have sent a complaint to Wiggle that I want a refund or a replacement. This is going to screw up my entire season and my Aberfeldy race plan, but there isn't any alternative. The bike is not completely unridable as it is, but it is much worse than my three year old £600 road bike. And it is mentally tough to ride when I know I spent over £4,000 and I am basically wasting masses of my energy trying to pedal over the faults. Just about every time I ride it I get upset about it.
So targets for last week (Week 26) were:
Swim >2 miles. Bike >50 miles. Run >25 miles. One run over 9 miles. 2 short core and 2 short stretching sessions.
Actuals were:
Monday - 2,100m in 55 mins.
Tuesday - 9.1 miles in 1 hr 17.
Wednesday - Knockburn 3 laps, 1,800m, 36 mins.
Thursday - Gym brick, bike 10.2 in 30 mins, treadmill 3.6 in 30 mins.
Friday - Gym brick, bike 10.2 in 30 mins, treadmill 3.8 in 30 mins.
Saturday - Long run, 9.5 miles in 1 hour 22. Core and stretching.
Sunday - Abandoned TT ride. 15.2, 1 hr.
Result -
Swim 2.4 miles (3,900 m). Bike 35.6 miles. Run 26 miles. 2 runs over 9 miles. 1 core and 1 stretching sessions.
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