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Sunday 2 December 2012

Training bits and bobs

Well my blog post last week was received very well. I can't believe the support my honesty got. If you missed it you can read it here.

http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-hardest-thing-i-have-ever-written.html

I am a little shocked that I haven't blogged since the 5th November about my training. It's been going okay apart from the fact that my knee is a little painful today although that could be as a result of 8 training sessions in 8 days.

I've been steadily improving in my swimming and my running. And finally I don't have an excuse not to go out on my bike during the winter.

Swimming

Since the 5th November I have been swimming a total of 5 times and have accumulated over 4 miles in the pool. I really do find that swimming helps me forget the stresses of work. I've been concentrating on both technique and speed this month. I've also set myself a target of being able to complete 1500m non stop in the pool in a time of 00:27:30. My best time to date has been 00:29:30 so I have some work to do but I think it will be achievable.

One of my Twitfriends commented on how well my swimming has been going and as a result I am now signed up to the Leeds Triathlon as part of a relay. I will be completing the swimming leg with @thebaldygit completing the bike leg and  @nicolaclarefox completing the run. We have named the relay team "The Twitter Trio" as we have all met on Twitter and not in real life.

Cycling

My cycling workouts since my last post have totalled 38.55 miles split over two workouts. I've been struggling to find the time to train at weekends as I have been busy. The other reason behind my lack of training has been my nervousness over crashing on my Trek Madone during winter.

I formulated a plan for this with the help of my friends and family. I debated getting a second bike using the Governments Bike to Work Scheme but decided against this. I debated buying a second cheaper bike but in the end I decided to take my 1996 GT Tempest mountain bike to a local bike shop to see how much it would cost to repair and turn into a winter training bike. This was the cheapest option and I really don't know why I didn't do this sooner. I picked my refurbed bike up today and took it out on two rides. It's definitely not as quick as my road bike but at least if I crash, it should be cheaper to repair.

My refurbed training bike
This month has also seen me purchase my race wheels for 2013. I decided on some Planet X 60mm carbon clinchers and I can't wait to try them out in Mallorca in March.

My new wheels
The turbo chamber has also been outfitted with a telly to make my sessions less tedious, this training in winter lark is a lot different to training during summer.

The latest addition to the Turbo "Torture" Chamber
Running

This month I've mostly been concentrating on increasing my run distance in weekly increments with the aim being to be able to complete most of my runs without walking next season. This has been going very well until yesterday when I seem to have tweaked something in my right knee. Yesterday was my first trail run since I was 14 and (apart form the pain today) I really enjoyed it which was a shock in itself.

My muddy trainers
My Newton trainers have been a really good purchase and I'm really glad the ran the BOGOF offer. Two pairs for £120. They really suit my forefoot strike. I think I prefer the Sir Isaac to the Terra Momentus but this is probably due to the fact I ave worn them more.

In total since the 5th November I have run 11.37 miles and set a new PB for 1km. 5 minutes and 33 seconds. Who knows maybe there is a runner hidden in me somewhere. I'm not gonna lie I was knackered after this but at least I set a new PB.

The other interesting thing I have learnt about my running this month is I appear to not be using my glutes when running. I think this is the case as I am getting a lot of pain in my quads when running. I need to remedy this as my legs are beginning to look like Robert Forstemann's. They are bordering on ridiculous. I would put a pic up but instead you'll have to make do with the aforementioned sprint cyclists.


I resorted to Twitter and think I have a plan to make my glutes start firing but if this doesn't work I am sure the wonders of Google can come to the rescue.

Other bits and bobs

Centurions Triathlon has moved on in the last month or so. I met with the bloke who's brainchild it is and should be attending my first training session this week (knee pain depending). I've been given a Centurions Triathlon hoodie as thanks for my help in getting things moving. The trisuit design has been finalised by Quest Sportswear and it largely replicates my initial design and is looking really good.

Centurions Triathlon trisuit
Also this month I have ordered a mug to provide motivation with regards to the London Triathlon next year. I am still annoyed I missed my target by 2 minutes and 57 seconds.

My daily motivation and reminder
Just so you all know I finally managed to beat my sponsorship target for Cancer Research. In total I raised £1025. Thank you all for your support.

November in numbers

Training sessions - 15
Training days - 15
Non training days - 15
Swimming miles - 4.06
Cycling miles - 47.48
Running miles - 12.57
Average speed - 7.63 mph
Total calories burnt - 5173

Remember you can sponsor me for next season by clicking on this link. It is for a great cause (Help Harry Help Others) and your sponsorship could make a huge difference to someone.

Thats all from me folks. Thanks for reading.

Michael (30 days without a cigarette and going strong)

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