Week 9

28.02.11 - 06.03.11


A GREAT WEEK! This was a week where I managed to tick off several goals/targets, I managed all my sessions and passed my target time by 15 minutes. I also dealt with a very painful dentist appointment and a busy week at work. A side-effect from all this exercise is that I now fit into medium t-shirts and size 36 jeans, which need a belt (I used to wear L t-shirts and my size 38 jeans were tight enough not to need a belt) and I still eat alot... yay.


Monday was, as always, my rest day and as I had been sick on the Sunday and didn't exercise I was going to go swimming however I felt that I should take it as a catch up day for all the chores that I missed while sleeping on the Sunday.


Tuesday and I was back in the sweaty game feeling relaxed and recovered and ready to go. I wanted to start extending my weekday runs and so I trimmed 10 minutes off my turbo session, for which my butt thanked me, and after 50 minutes and drenched in sweat I headed out the door. I headed into town and back out and ended up back home in the 40 minutes as planned. I had stayed in my Zone 2 HR and had managed a 5:54mins/km pace. I was really happy with that as previously I was always over 6mins/km. I am aiming for a 5mins/km pace especially over the shorter distances. I finished the run full of energy and for the first time actually feeling like a runner and not someone trying to run.


Wednesday is probably my favourite session. The session is hour and a half swim session at Radley College and the sets are pretty tough. The sets this week all added up to 3000m and I cracked it, this being the furthest I have ever swum before ever. I felt exhausted yet exhilarated and jut full of energy. I was singing all the way home in the car. I am still very very weak when it comes to just kicking drills and that is something I need to work on. My front crawl is strong and now all I need to work on is my speed. The IronMan swim is an additional 800m and I would like to do that in a good time as well as come out of the water feeling strong.


Thursday was a tough day at work and when I got home, the turbo growled at me from the corner and so I decided to skip it and just go for a run. I went out along the same route as Tuesday but added on an additional 5 minutes and that added up to a run of 7:64 kms which gave me a pace of 5:46mins/km. This meant that I ran longer, further and faster and still stayed in my Z2 HR. I am really feeling at peace with the road and I am getting better at listening to my body and making the changes to my pace before my HRM starts to beep at me.


Friday and that means hard swim session at Dragon School where we don't cover a great distance but you do hard sets concentrating on technique. It worked out to be 1900m for the hour but I was told that I needed to move up a lane as I had swum through the entire group in the lane I was in. I was also told that my upper body had 
great technique, but my legs were a little all over the place and that I needed to invest in a pool buoy. 


Saturdays are a little daunting these days as it is long ride day and my riding isn't great, its not bad, but its not great either. I have jumped away from the training program in a big way as I didn't feel that I was making any change to my riding ability with the times in the program. Last week was 3:15:00 so this week I set myself the target of 4 hours...GULP!! I planned out my route and it showed my 101kms... I hadn't ridden that distance for at least 10 years maybe even longer but I was determined and so off I set. Once again I was carefully monitoring my time and every 20 minutes I would consume something. I managed the ride in a reasonable 4:07:27, I was dead chuffed to have just ridden that long and to have covered that distance. I did sleep for the rest of the afternoon but I had ticked another box off. I have another 20 Saturdays to get up to 180kms and hopefully build some speed into the rides. My saddle seems to have broken in finally and the only discomfort is from sitting on it for 4 hours...


Sunday arrived and I did wake up with a little bit of tightness in my legs, mainly my hamstrings but after walking around for a while they loosened up and I was right as rain. The weather was brilliant as the sun had finally decided to show itself. I was able to go for my run in shorts and a t-shirt and needed my sunglasses. I had planned on running for 1:30 but once I got to an hour and noticed that I had passed 10kms a while back, I decided that today was going to be my first 10miler. I felt light on my feet, my breathing was easy and I was comfortably in the right zone, I even passed a couple of other runners. I was nearing the last mile when my legs start to mention to me that they were a little tired and could we stop, but as Jens Voight does, I just said "shut up legs!" Finally victory was mine, I had knocked off my first 10 miler (16kms) and had done it in a good time for me, 1:33:01 and that gave me a pace of 5:48mins/km, To say I was stoked is an understatement, I was over the moon but completely F***ed. I knocked back a recovery drink and slid into a bath where I silently dreamt of finish lines and victory...


...and so the boxes that got ticked this week were;
1. Swim 3000m in one session
2. Cycle 100kms in one session
3. Run 10 miles in one session


So with 21 weeks remaining here is this week in numbers


10:23:07 hours spent exercising
160.37 kms covered. (looking at that, I think I may have worked out some of my previous distance wrong...)
...and I survived so bring on week 10, the last week of the base training phase.


W.