Limousin Training

Well, I'm back from France. Picture below shows me training for the heat in Rhodes (wearing a number of layers) on the one warm day (out of 6) that we got in France. The rest of the time the weather was cold and damp which wasn't great from an acclimatisation point of view.

That said however, I got some decent, hard training done, though this may have been offset by the number of croissants and baguettes I consumed!

Got today to get everything packed for Rhodes because I'm off tomorrow. If I can I'll spot a cyber-cafe and update whilst the Games is going on.

Canne wait.

-AC

Au revoir!

Just a quick note to say that I'm going off the radar to the rural seat of France, the Limousin region. Hopefully I'll get some decent training done and get some nice rest in too. Will post again next Thurs.

-AC

Turbo!

Turbo training during Sunday's tri-session. T'was very hot.

Bike is set up now but I'm not feeling too good; thick green gunk coming out of me! So training not going too well at the moment. Better to get it out of the way now then have it in two weeks time.

-AC

Review of week 31 (04-06 to 10-06)

Periodisation: Build 2

Weekly aims were:

1. Complete Sunday's triathlon in under 2:08hrs. It's tricky to set a time limit on this because it depends on the weather (esp. the wind strength) but anywhere around the 2:00-2:15 will be a very decent workout.
2. Get bike set up with new aero-equipment before end of week (otherwise I won't be doing Sunday's session!
3. Sit on a hedge in the sun and watch a TT race drinking water and eating salad with my mates (whilst they drink beer and eat cake, hotdogs, and other lovely stuff!)

Didn't get aim 2 done because my stuff didn't arrive. Didn't stop me doing the triathlon session on Sunday - just used turbo trainer next to lake (good for heat training if anything!). Was pleased with the sess: posted a quick 22.14 for the swim (in perfect conditions) then cycled 57min on turbo then a 10.8k run in just under 40mins. Good workout.

As for 3, achieved that and loved it!

Physiological stats

Average Weight (kg) in morning: Sod this, not doing it anymore, suffice to say: "Who ate all the pies?!"

Average Heart Rate (bpm) in morning: Stayed about the same as last week

No worries here!

Preview of week 32: 11-06 to 17-06

Periodisation: Build 2

Putting more emphasis on the transition between bike and run this week to get used to it mentally and physically.

Weekly aims:

1. Research heat acclimatisation.
2. Complete 3 bike-run sessions.
3. Complete park run around 21:00-22:00
4. Get bike fitted with aero kit (it's all arrived now)

-AC

Pink Band update

I have just got back from an Island Games Team get-together where with a little help from my friends (our team Dr Frank Vaughan was a legend!) I sold a load of pink bands. Just totalled it up and so far I've raised well over £280 which is awesome!

Hopefully I'll be able to get to the £500 mark by the end of the Games.

Thank you so much to everyone who has gave cash to this worthwhile cause.

-AC

Bugger!

After coming up with the bike course for Sunday's Olympic-distance session, I'm not actually going to be able to ride it! My bike won't be ready so I'll be on the turbo trainer by the side of the lake instead!

-AC

TT

A few pics taken on our lovely sunny bike-mad Island!

Darren, Phil and Mikey trying to be trees, apparently.

Some mad buggers tanking it around the TT course on a sidecar. Phil summed it up nicely when he said, " to be a sidecar passenger you need two things: small brains and big nuts!" Estimated speed around 120-140mph.

And some more mad b******* - the famous Purple Helmets renowned for their mad-cap biking antics, performing on Douglas Promenade. Wed night. Great fun.

-AC

Solid week

Review of week 30 (28-05 to 03-06)

Periodisation: Build 2

Weekly aims were:

1. Swim Mooragh in under 23 mins. Faster than last week. Hopefully this will be part of a Swim-Bike-Run brick sequence on Sat morning.
2. Complete run speed session on Thurs.
3. Get rough idea about what's best to eat!
   

Didn't manage aim 1 - posted a 23:21 in the lake on Sat's session. Considerably slower than hoped. The choppy water didn't help though and it slowed everyone up I think. I'll crack it this week I hope. Got a great run speed session done on Thursday along Ramsey's north beach at low tide on the sand banks: seven 80-second efforts with the final effort lasting 3 mins (was gasping for breath at the end!). In terms of food I'm trying to limit the amount saturated fat in diet e.g. eating cottage cheese (instead of cheddar), and drinking low fat milk etc. I still get to scoff a bacon butty at the weekend though! All in all a pleasing week.

Physiological stats

Average Weight (kg) in morning: 73.9 (down 0.1)

Average Heart Rate (bpm) in morning: 46 (down 0.4)

No worries here.

Preview of week 31: 04-06 to 10-06

Periodisation: Build 2

Again, there will be more race-specific sessions (on Sunday we're doing an Olympic-distance session). I've also just bought a new turbo trainer for my bike so I'll be looking at sessions I can do on that.

Weekly aims:

1. Complete Sunday's triathlon in under 2:08hrs. It's tricky to set a time limit on this because it depends on the weather (esp. the wind strength) but anywhere around the 2:00-2:15 will be a very decent workout.
2. Get bike set up with new aero-equipment before end of week (otherwise I won't be doing Sunday's session!)
3. Sit on a hedge in the sun and watch a TT race drinking water and eating salad with my mates (whilst they drink beer and eat cake, hotdogs, and other lovely stuff!)

32 days to go until Rhodes Triathlon!

-AC