Training Review - Week 43 - October 21 to 27

I expect work to screw up this week, but let us see what happens.

Monday, I had to be home for Tesco delivery so I couldn't go to my normal swim session. Did try to go to the pool at Bucksburn for a while though. Arrived to find they had made a last minute change to their timetable and cancelled the evening session. Very annoying. So we went to McDonalds instead. Good idea at the time but not helping my weight target.

Tuesday, as predicted, got screwed by work. Didn't get home till 7 and was flat out exhausted. 

Wednesday, as predicted, worked screwed me again. Was after 7 before I got home and after 8 by the time I was fed.

Thursday, went mountain biking at Scolty... in the dark. That was an interesting experience. Especially on a load of routes that I didn't know. Were 10 of us to start with but we quickly split into two groups. Even then I was dragging along at the back of the slow group. It was a bit stop-start as I tried to cope with the mud and the dark and the roots. Was pretty good fun but hard work. Did whack my shoulder of a tree in one of the medium speed bits, but it was just a glancing blow on the way past. Good confirmation that my pinned shoulder can take as much abuse as the normal one now.

Friday, Another day off and a trip to the cinema. Ender's Game is wholly predictable and pretty poor. If Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley weren't in it, it wouldn't have been made.

Saturday, I did manage to drag myself out of bed for an early swim. Was pretty terrible though. Back and shoulders were tight from not sleeping well and thursday's mountain biking. Once I got them loosened off a bit I did a few 200m efforts, but couldn't even get up to my 800m pace. 

Sunday, I went out for an easy run. Under 4 miles and pretty slow, and my knee still didn't like it much. But then when I got home I also threw in nearly an hour of wii yoga and aerobic games, and a light weights session.


Diet has been slightly healthier than normal this week. By accident more than design. But the end result is my weight is back down to 79kg. Biking for the week was under target miles but it was over 2 hours of hard work mountain biking, which is about equivalent to 30 miles of road biking effort, so I am actually going to claim that as complete. So my only real miss for this week was lack of running miles and resting the knee probably isn't a bad idea.

So targets for last week (Week 43) were: 

Swim something. Bike >30 miles. Run >10 miles. Weight under 80kg

Actuals were:

Monday - Nothing

Tuesday - Nothing

Wednesday - Nothing

Thursday - MTB at Scolty. 10.6 miles in 2 hours 14mins.

Friday - Rest Day. Cinema - Enders Game.

Saturday - Swim. 1,000m.

Sunday -  Jog 3.8 miles in 34mins.

Result - Swim 0.6 miles (1,000 m). Bike 10.6 miles. Run 3.8 miles. 0 short core, 1 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 66 mins of wii yoga. 
Weight - 79 kg.

Training Plan - Week 44 - October 28 to November 3

Still really struggling to get motivated to plan. At last managing to throw in occassional sessions, but nothing like as much as I need to be doing. 

Wednesday night my parents are coming through so that is limited. Thursday I am out to the cinema to watch a play of Frankenstien with Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. 

Saturday I am racing the Kings Aquathon. I am not really in the shape for racing but it is quite a fun event so will go along and see how it goes. Looks to be only 2 entrants that aren't in as students, so I should get second. (The other one is a kid that swims like a fish and runs about 2 minutes under my 5k PB, so might let him hang on to his title).


Monday - Swim with TPT.

Tuesday -  Easy run or road bike. (Rain dependent).

Wednesday - Easy run.

Thursday - Rest day. Cinema. 

Friday - Stretching and race prep, wii yoga.

Saturday - Kings Aquathon.

Sunday - Long ride.


Target totals - Swim >1 miles. Bike >50 miles. Run >8 miles. 1 short core, 1 short light weights and 1 short stretching sessions. 30mins of wii yoga. Keep weight under 80kg.

Training Review - Week 42 - October 14 to 20

And we are off for another week. 

After Sunday's wii yoga exploits I decided to run through it again, just to confirm that the results weren't a fluke. Definitely not. My flexibility and imbalance are ridiculous but my core is great. Another 30 minutes of that and I am already feeling the difference. I could feel the difference at swimming as well. It was much less forced at the start and I could gradually feel my side tightening up as I went. Eventually got some minor cramp in my right foot but it went away again almost immediately, as compared to previous weeks where it would be there for the rest of the session. Was also managing to do some work on my turns, the good ones are not improving much but I can at least survive the really bad ones now without almost drowning. 

Tuesday I dragged myself out for a run. Posture was hugely different from the last few months. Need to dig into my training diary to investigate why I stopped the wii yoga when it clearly makes a major difference. 

Looked it up. Stopped the regular wii-ing in early 2010, nothing I can specifically blame. Looks like it could have been just that the girlfriend I had at the time was taking more of my attention or was using my tv so I wasn't fitting it in. There are random single days after that but nothing that constitutes a real effort to use it.

Fairly relaxed Wednesday. Was busy at work so needed a nap when I got home. Then just did another easy half hour of wii yoga.

Thursday was a trip to the pool. Started ok and got managed to weave a bit around the traffic and put in an easy 8min 400m. Then it was getting busy so I was having to grab 50 at a time in gaps. Gave up after a few of those. 

Friday was a movie. Escape Plan. Not Arnie or Sly's best work, but not too bad.

Saturday was going to be a bike day but the weather was terrible. Did get invited for a very slow run ahich was enough to close out my run miles for the week. Weather was rotten and ended up soaked through 4 layers, including a waterproof. Was just under 8 miles, but struggling along at 10minutes/mile downhill. Another movie in. Captain Phillips. Not Tom Hanks best work, but still pretty good. 

Sunday my planned group ride got cancelled so I went out for a ride on my own instead. Had to go for all my winter gear to deal with the weather. That seemed like a genius idea for the first 6 miles, I was really struggling with empty legs, but was at least dealing with the weather. I decided early on that I wasn't going to make 30 miles on my own so I took it easy to 7 and turned back. The way back my legs were working in patches, but not for anything more than a minute or two at a time before going back to the empty feeling. The sun did come out though so it was lovely and warm as I struggled to drag myself home. Every little bump in the road feels like a munro. The extra weight is part of that but there seems to be a huge whole in my basic fitness. Stuck in another 30mins of he wii yoga as well.

On the whole weight thing. That is turning out to be a lot harder to fix than I wanted it to be. When I feel fat, I get unhappy, when I get unhappy, I get hungry and I comfort eat junk food. Will need to get some longer sessions back in, but that in turn means fixing my knee and my fitness. Things are not going so well. 

So targets for last week (Week 42) were: 

Swim something. Bike >30 miles. Run >10 miles. Weight under 80kg

Actuals were:

Monday - 30mins of wii yoga. Swim with TPT. 1,900m in 44mins.

Tuesday - Run 3.5 miles in 27mins.

Wednesday - 30 mins of wii yoga.

Thursday - Easy swim 600m, 22mins.

Friday - Day off.

Saturday - Run 7.8 miles, 1hr 15mins.

Sunday -  Road bike 13.6miles, 56mins. 30 mins of wii yoga.

Result - Swim 1.6 miles (2,500 m). Bike 13.6 miles. Run 11.3 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions. 90 mins of wii yoga. 
Weight - 81kg.

Training Plan - Week 43 - October 21 to 27 - Edit

Finally back in the frame of mind to write a proper plan. But screwed by work this week. Tuesday and Wednesday I have to stay late at work, so both of those are out. So Monday will be a swim day, and between Thursday and Sunday will be 10 miles of running, 30 on the bike, and hopefully a second swim if I can squeeze it in.

Edit - 
Failed to get my weight target from last week. Probably because I was out for dinner twice and did no real long sessions all week.  So the 80kg target stays in for another week.

Training Review - Week 41 - October 7 to 13

Crappy start to the week. Went to swimming but didn't make it half way through the session.

Tuesday, I should have gone for a run. I couldn't work up enough willpower though. I did get back on with the DIY. The office is now finished. So I went back to wiring up the last of the garden lights, painting the decking, clearing the blocked drain. 

Wednesday, I should have gone for a run. I didn't even get on with the DIY this time. Have been really struggling for sleep this week. This is leaving me too tired and unmotivated for training. That means I get a bit depressed. And then I don't sleep. 

Thursday, I should have gone for a run. Failed again, but did get back on the DIY. Second coat done on the decking, leaves swept up, bike tool box sorted out. I think I have just about reached the stage of being so exhausted that I might get a good night's sleep.

Friday, I should have gone for a run. But actually I knew this one wasn't going to happen as I had a works night out to go to instead.

Saturday, I should have gone for a run. I did manage to go out with a friend for an hour on the TT bike. She was out for her first ride on her new TT bike so it was fairly sedate and nervous but was at least good to be out doing something. 

Sunday, I should have gone for a run. But I really just can't be bothered. I did manage to drag myself off the sofa to do about half an hour of wii yoga. First time I have had the wii on since my shoulder.  This has taught me some lessons. The stretching I was doing all year has been less than useless and my left-right imbalance is huge. I knew my right side was a bit weak and tight, it always has been so I have been ignoring the niggles and blaming the plate in my shoulder, but the current difference is massive. It is no wonder I am having knee problems on my left side, I must be carrying 70-80% of my weight and balance on it when I run. The current stretching regime is getting binned in favour of wii yoga for a while. But on the plus side the core sessions I have been doing all year have been great. My six-pack isn't showing, but whatever is tucked away under my slightly flabby belly is certainly working.

So targets for last week (Week 41) were: 

Get weight back under 81.5kg. 

Actuals were:

Monday - Aborted swim with TPT. 900m in 38 mins.

Tuesday - Fail.

Wednesday - Fail.

Thursday - Fail.

Friday - Rest day.

Saturday - TT bike 13.5, 1 hr 4 mins.

Sunday -  30mins of wii yoga.

Result - Swim 0.5 miles (900m). Bike 13.5 miles. Run 0 miles. 0 short core, 1 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions, but a bit of wii yoga.

Weight - 80.5kg.

Training Plan - Week 42 - October 14 to 20

Completely forgot to even write a plan for this week. Not having a plan or any targets is leading to me not doing anything. 

So I am going to go swimming on Monday night, but depending on the set session I might just go to Bucksburn on my own. Don't want to get into the same rut as I did last year where I didn't finish sessions for weeks in a row. 

I have races coming, but none I care about enough. I am going to do the Kings Aquathon on November 2nd, but I will just be taking part rather than racing. I will swim better than I have before and should clock a 400m swim PB but my running form is so erratic that I could run anything from 19 minutes to 25. I DNF-ed and then marshalled for their two races in 2012 and 2011 I did their longer race in March but not the short one in Autumn. 

There are then a few run-only race options and a duathlon I could do in November. Again nothing I care enough about to reset my training plans and aim at. 

Despite doing almost no exercise I made last week's weight target fairly easily. But still feeling like a fatty and might as well use the off-season to mess around with my weight a little. Will look to trim it under 80kg this week. 

Going to write in "run 10 miles" and "bike 30 miles" just to try and encourage myself to do something through the week.

Target totals - Swim something. Bike >30 miles. Run >10 miles. Weight under 80kg.

Training Review - Week 40 - Sept 30 to Oct 6

Ok, so resting is done with. Back on it this week.

Monday started with a move to lane 4 for swimming. Not entirely by choice, but this time it was almost empty in lane 4, and busy in lane 3 so I moved up. Was a tough session. 4x150m warm-up and then 8x2x100m aiming for under 1,500m pace. Clocking 2,250m is my longest ever pool session. I have gone (very slightly) further at Knockburn, but that was in a wet suit, for a long steady swim with no breaks. It was really pleasing, but it was also a reality check, the one serious guy in lane 4 was in a completely different class. Did his 16 rep before I finished my 13th. Nearly 20% faster than me, and didn't look like he was working at all. 

Tuesday I was meant to run, but it got cancelled. So I went back to the DIY. And somehow managed to blow out the lights to my back garden, my kitchen and my office, without blowing a fuse in the fuse box. It is likely that fixing this will mean accessing under the floor. Which in turn means lifting the laminate for the entire kitchen. My guess, or maybe hope, is that the either the extension builders or the previous owner (professional sparky but you couldn't fucking tell from the mess he made of the electrics throughout the house) fitted a second fuse box for the extension somewhere under the kitchen floor and then looped these lights from it rather than off the main light circuit. 

Wednesday I got the mountain bike out, and rolled round to Kirkhill with a friend. Was pretty leisurely, but somehow managed to take a King of the Mountain on Strava by accident and move a few places up a much tougher Strava leaderboard on purpose.

Thursday was all about work and driving to Troon for my cousin's wedding. Was a long way from a rest day. Was exhausted by the time we arrived.

Friday and Saturday I got out for short runs with Dexter along a cycle path in Troon. It was hard to tell which of us was struggling most, but am going to let him claim it as he only had his stitches out midweek. 

Not going to cover the wedding. It was good as weddings go. But I am still not able to deal to well with crowds, even when half of them are family.

Sunday I went out with a group for the Deeside Falling Leaves ride. Was 65 tough miles. Actually it wasn't really that tough. I have ridden pretty much all of it before on other rides. But from about 50 miles on I was really struggling. I would go really well on flats and downhills, but even the slightest little up-slope and I was straight out the back of the pack. On one of them I was down to less than 3 miles/hour for a fairly mediocre climb. 65 miles makes it my third longest ride this year though, so happy to even get round it on no form. 

Have had a check on the scales this evening, on the assumption that burning over 4500 calories today would be measurable. No wonder I was struggling on the hills. I am the wrong side of 13 stone / 82.5kg. I don't track weight on my training spreadsheet but I am fairly confident that this is the heaviest I have ever been. No wonder my kilt was a bit tight on Friday.

So this actually totals out as quite a big week again, but mostly because Sunday was pretty extreme for a first week back.

So targets for last week (Week 40) were: 

Nothing. 

Actuals were:

Monday - Swim with TPT. 2,250m in 56mins.

Tuesday - Rest day.

Wednesday - MTB 10.9 miles, 1 hr 27 mins.

Thursday - Rest day.

Friday - Jog 6 miles in 61 mins.

Saturday - Jog 2.5 miles in 30 mins.

Sunday -  Falling Leaves sportive. 4 hours 55mins (including a 30 minute bacon roll stop in Ballater).

Result - Swim 1.4 miles (2,250m). Bike 75.9 miles. Run 8.5 miles. 0 short core, 0 short light weights and 0 short stretching sessions.

Training Plan - Week 41 - October 7 to 13 - Edit

Still no proper plans for this week again.
Will swim on Monday and take everything else from there. 

Enjoyed being out on the mountain bike for a change so will probably try and fit that in again somewhere. 

Need to be doing more running if I am going to race some cross-country events over winter. Still getting problems from my left knee though. 


Edit - Just been on the scales. I am now officially a fatty. Target for this week is to lose at least 1kg to get me under 81.5kg, and to be back under 80kg by the end of October.

Annual Target Review - End of Q3

At the End of Q2 I was here.

2013 Annual Targets are:

Swim 75 miles and learn to tumble turn.

Bike 1612 miles. - Updated at end of Q1 to 1820 miles.

Run 520 miles.

Do 250 sessions.

Do a Half Ironman (August).

Run a running race. - Completed in Q1

Keep weight over 73kg and aim for 80kg.

Added Q2 Targets

That means at three-quarters of the way through the year I should have done somewhere in the region of:

Swim 57 miles and be doing some turns.

Bike 1365 miles.

Run 390 miles.

Do 188 sessions.

Do a Half Ironman.

Keep weight over 73kg.

And the actuals to date are:
Swum 63 miles and trying to do some turns.
Biked 1760 miles.
Run 551 miles.

Done 247 sessions.

Did Aberfeldy Half Ironman.
Kept my weight over 76kg and now up to 80kg. 

So I got through Aberfeldy Half Ironman. That crosses another one off the list. 

Also passed the end of year run target, and almost at the new bike target, with 3 months still to go. And only 3 more sessions to make the total sessions target (and the counter doesn't include all the bits and pieces of stretching, weights or core). 

Changes to targets

So what changes to make with 3 months to go?

Swim target is just about on schedule. From now it gets harder to do two sessions a week as it is too cold to swim outdoors and getting a sensible pool session to fit in around having a job and doing big weekend sessions is tough. If I was just to stick to the single session a week I will be very close to the target so it is going to stay at 75. And try and do lots more work on the turns!

The bike target should probably be reset again. In Q1 I thought about moving it to 2080 (40 miles a week). If I stayed on the same schedule as I have done I might get to 2,346. But I am not going to stay on the same schedule. I am intending to do more running and some mountain biking, so the 40 miles a week average is probably going to slip a little. So 2,080 is the new and sensible target.

The run target definitely needs resetting. Already 30 miles past my target for the whole year. If I kept my current schedule I would get to 730 or thereabouts. 700 would be my second highest year ever, it takes 780 to be my longest running year ever. I am going to stick with 700 as the new target. 700 is achievable, and without radically upping my mileage in the potentially worsening weather. 

Number of sessions was never a real target so not going to rest that one. 

Weight, I am not going to mess with but would be good to lose some of the extra that I am carrying at the minute. 80kg would be ok for racing if it was all useful, but I know at least 5 of them are just sitting on my belly and ruining my six-pack. No rush to drop it, but aiming to get to the end of the year somewhere between 75 and 78.