Training Review - Week 31 - July 29 to August 4

Monday I went to work during the day then headed off on my holiday. Went to Dundee at night. Did an easy core and stretching session.
Tuesday I went to Aberfeldy for a ride round the bike course.

Was a bit stressed before I started since my phone die on Monday night. Was ok once I got moving but that course is absolutely shit. It is by far the worst course I have ever ridden on a bike. The road surface is terrible, the climbs go on for ever, the descents are massively technical and ridiculously dangerous. There was loose gravel on all the tight corners on the way out, all the descent corners on both sides are blind so you don't know what is coming the other way or how tight the corner is going to get. I don't get how people that I know are bad descenders even manage to get round that course without dying.

I got to about 19 miles to where you start round Loch Rannoch and that was it. There was no way I was going to make it round that loop and then back over the hill so I had to turn back. I ended up over 3 hours for just 37 miles and there is no way I could have ridden another 20, nevermind trying to swim or run as well. The pace I was riding at won't even make the bike cut off and I had nothing left in the tank just trying to get round that. I would be nearly 6 hours just to get to the end of the bike. That has totally wrecked my confidence. I don't think I can even get round that course.

I can't even blame the bike and do a switch because the brakes on my road bike simlpy aren't good enough for those sort of descents.

Wednesday, I went hill walking over Ben Lomond with my holiday friends. I am going to claim the 8 miles against my run total for the week as it was pretty hard going.

Then we went for a swim in the Loch. Got suited up and swam 1k. Then getting out I stood on a sharp stone and cut my foot. Stupid!

Thursday, I started the morning digging around the cut in my foot with a safety pin. Found a chunk of stone inside it. Once I removed that it was much less painful. Then we went to the Burrell collection and the Glasgow Science Museum for the rest of the day. No points for guessing which of those I preferred.

Friday we went to Edinburgh Zoo. Didn't get to see the infamous pandas but everything else was good. Still pretty stiff from hill walking and was struggling a bit on the hills.

Saturday I decided to stick with a rest day and did some easy rollering and stretching to try and ease off some of the remaining tightness from Wednesday. Cleaned the bike and prepped all my race kit for Sunday. Except my goggles, which I loaned out to someone and need to remember to get back on my way to the race.

Sunday was Knockburn Standard. It is going to get a race report all to itself tomorrow. Then I did a stretching session and a short core session to finish off the week.

So targets for last week (Week 31) were:

Target totals - Swim >1 miles. Bike >75 miles. Run >10 miles. 2 short core and 2 short stretching sessions. 

Actuals were:

Monday - Core session.

Tuesday -  Holiday - Bike 37 miles, 3hours 5mins.

Wednesday - Holiday - Hill walking 8.1 miles in 5 hours 31mins. Swim 1,000m in 20mins.

Thursday - Holiday - Museuming in Glasgow.

Friday - Holiday - Edinburgh Zoo.

Saturday - Rollering and stretching.

Sunday -  Knockburn Standard triathlon. Swim 1,500m, 28:14. Bike 25.9 miles, 1hr 22:30. Run 6 miles, 54:37.

Result - 

Swim 1.6 miles (2,500 m). Bike 63.2 miles. Run 14.1 miles. 0 runs over 10 miles. 2 core and 2 stretching sessions.