The week that was, the week ahead.

Right it's Sunday night and that means taking stock...

Review of week 25 (23-04 to 29-04)
Periodisation: Base Recovery Week

'Periodisation' refers to the period of training that I'm in with respect to my annual training plan. This week was essentially the last of my base training; the training you do each winter to train for racing in summer.

Weekly aims were:

1. Single high intensity session for each discipline; all other sessions at recovery intensity.
2. Push hard gears for 10MTT on Wed.
3. Sub 21:00 min for Park Run.
4. Planned number of hours = 10:45

Weekly aims achieved: get in there! Fell slightly short of planned hours (did 10:00) due to missing a swim session on Friday because of being tired due to work.

Physiological stats

Average Weight (kg) in morning: 71.6
Average Heart Rate (bpm) in morning: 41

Before getting up I take a resting heart rate whilst lying in bed. The reason being that an elevated HR (in beats per min) can point towards a potential problem e.g. fatigue, illness, tiredness etc. If it's between 40 and 42 I know I'm good; if it goes up to 50 or 60 I'll know something is up and think about taking it easy or taking day off training.

I also weigh myself (after a trip to loo) to check how dehydrated I am. I reckon my non-dehydrated weight is around 72kg. It's not uncommon for me to weigh less than 71kg of a morning which tells me that I need to get 500-1000ml of fluid in me before getting any serious training done.

Preview of week 26: 30-04 to 06-05
Periodisation: Build 1

Build 1 refers to the beginning of race-specific training. Basically this means a great proportion of my training will be of a higher intensity. The plan is to progressively build up to an 18 hour/wk peak around 2-3 weeks before the Island Games.

Weekly aims:

1. Two high intensity swim sessions (Tues & Sat)
2. High quality run session on track – 4/5 5 min intervals at race pace (Thurs)
3. Easy day Sunday – Peel 2 Douglas Run is on Mon 7th May.
4. Planned number of hours = 13

Ramsey Park Runs

Like the 10 mile cycle time trials I posted last night, I've done the same with the Ramsey Park Runs - a summer series that involves running just over 6km (3.8 miles) around the Mooragh Park lake in Ramsey (see picture).

I love doing them because Ramsey is my home town and it's a great workout; you always cross the line feeling like you've pushed it! Because I've done them for the past 3 years I've got a good record of 'where I'm at'.

Looking back:
2004 - Fastest time = 21:51 min
2005 - Inj
2006 - Fastest time =21:29 min
2007 - Fastest time = 20:32 min

This is obviously good news, especially when compared to my times of this time last year which at the end of May were nearly 2 minutes slower.

So another week and a another pair of shiny new PBs in both bike and run. Things are going the right way.

Here's a picture of a spring lamb, just to make my friends in NZ jealous. He's a manx native too - a Loaghtan (pronounced "Lock-tan"), ain't he cute?! Lovely weather were having at the moment guys!

-AC

Bike Time Trial results posted

I've began to add the results of my 10 mile time trial (cycling) results. We do them every Wednesday as part of a summer series (see www.manxroadclub.com for more details). Yesterday was the second one of the season and I got a personal best (PB) in a time of 24:33min.

Last year's best time was 24:58 min (set in June) so I'm theoretically in better shape!

They're a great way to increase your bike force because they simulate a race environment and make you go "eyeballs out"! Hopefully we'll see more incremental improvement as the season progresses.

-AC

Shropshire Triathlon

I've rather controversially decided that I won't be competing in the Shropshire/Ellesmere triathlon this year. I know many of my IG team mates are going to it as race preparation for the games over the standard distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run).

I won't be going because it's going to cost £300 minimum which is money I feel can be better spent on my first stationary turbo trainer and a new pair of pedals for my bike, which I feel I'll get more out of in the run up to Rhodes.

So, I'm planning my own Olympic-distance tri based at the Mooragh Park in Ramsey on the day of the Shrops tri - Sun 10th June. I'm calling anyone who is not doing Shrops and would like a decent workout to join me in this strictly unofficial triathlon/glorified training session. I've not worked out the bike or run routes yet but know that Olympic tris have been held at Mooragh in past so I'll find out the options.

Anyone who wishes to join me, or knows the IG 2001 route that was used in Ramsey, let me know: manxtriboy@hotmail.com.

-AC

Island Games Seminar

Been to a seminar tonight that rather helpfully addressed 'performing in the heat'. Picked up a lot of useful information but to summarise here's the 3 main points I took from it:

1. Sweat evaporation is the only method the body can use to regulate temperature when environmental temp goes into 30s (Rhodes max temps in July can get up to 34-36 deg celcius; significantly higher than IOM's!). For body to cool, sweat must be evaporated from the skin; the rate of which is affected by humidity in air (RH for Rhodes is 60-80% which is high). Clearly the conditions in Rhodes are going to be tricky to deal with compared to IOM, this means appropriate preparation is very important.

2. Climatic adaptation takes on average 7-14 days a requires workouts of moderate intensity lasting for 60-100 minutes. Adaptation results in lower body temperatures and decreased heart rates for a given workout intensity in the new conditions. It also results in greater amounts of sweat being produced over the period of adaptation. This is siginificant given that we will be arriving 7 days prior to the event: will this be long enough to adapt?

3. Unaddressed water loss due to sweating results not only in dehydration but also a loss in bodily salts. The combined effect eventually leads to heat-related illness. To overcome this issue just drinking water will not suffice as the salts need to be replaced. This requires some kind of sports drink to be consumed. Along with monitoring fluid loss during exercise I will need to start getting used to sports drinks.

There was also information on anti-doping policies in sport, the main thing to be taken from it: athletes have sole responsibility for what goes in their body and therefore strict liabilty lies with them and no one else if a drug test is found to be positive. The message therefore is to be very aware of what goes in!

Anyway, I'm sure if you've read this you're bored, but it's all relevant and will help contribute to training objective 3: learning to cope with heat!

-AC

Welcome...

...to my new blog.

To get to the point, it will track my training (along with other appropriate musings) from now until 'my big race' on Friday July 6th 2007: The Island Games Olympic Distance Triathlon.

Athletic background:

Early 2003: Embarked on quest for fitness (and sanity) due to job as trainee accountant. Lose some Nottingham Uni puppy fat (pizza & beer) by running, cycling and swimming (triathlon?). Begin dreaming about Island Games (IG) and representing my country: the Isle of Man!

Early 2004: early 2005: With Shetland 2005 IG in mind concentrate on running. Win '04 and '05 IOM Cross Country (XC) Championships (running).

Spring/summer 2005: Unable to convert XC prowess to the athletic track and due to knee injury miss out on Shetland competition. Not too happy.

7th May 2005: 17 year-old cousin Aalish killed tragically in road accident. Realise what is important in life: knee injury and running becomes insignificant so decide to enjoy life with mates (more beer and pizza!).

March 2006: Return from snowboarding jolly (and broken toe) in the French Alps. Decide enough is enough: time to bite the bullet and be all I can be in triathlon. Dare to dream again.

Summer 2006: Qualify for IG '07 after some decent results in UK triathlons notably at Salford and Bala. Winter 2006/2007: Leave for New Zealand on quest of discovery. See http://www.sweetabix.blogspot.com/ for further info!

Spring 2007: In arguably the best shape of my life steer final course for Rhodes 2007.

-AC