After time constraints last week I wanted to go all out this week and keep going even with Christmas falling right in the middle of it. Off I set on my Tuesday morning run. My plan was to 6km done in the 30 mins. I put in some nice speed work. As I finished up the run I walked back to the car and my back decided to seize up. My hope was that it was just because of the cold but it took me sometime to drive to work and then have my shower. I knew it wasn’t good. A quick history lesson will get you up to date with my back issues. I have had 3 incidents with my back that have kept me grounded for a least a week. All were during my days of playing football. But it wasn’t a huge hit that did it but a sharp turn or a quick sprint. The first time it happened I can remember the pain. I drove home and decided I’d lie down and fell asleep. When I work up I knew things weren’t right. With the bathroom about 10 steps away it took me about 10 mins to get to it. When I got back into my room I couldn’t get back up on the bed so lay down on the ground. Luck would have it that my phone was on the locker and I couldn’t reach it. From there I had to scream the house down and eventually Olivia heard me and came up. Doctor was called and injection was given. I was on anti-inflammatory for the next week and painkillers. It kept me out of sport for a couple of weeks. The next 2 times were similar but this time I knew how to manage it. I was hoping it wouldn’t keep me out too long.
I was looking forward to a birthday work out on the 23rd but that wasn’t to be. I then wanted to copy my Christmas Eve cycle of last year but again that was a no go. I did manage a 1km swim, just to keep me sane. And now the big one. For the last 4 years Damian and I went on our Christmas Day run. And to show the condition I was in I couldn’t do it. I was really disappointed about that. Out of all runs this was one I didn’t want to miss. But I couldn’t take a short term risk that could affect the long term goal. St Stephens day was next p and same story nothing was going to be done today. What made things even worse was the amount of food I’ve been eating. Chocolate, turkey, ham and fizzy drinks. Whenever I do go back I’ll be carrying an extra few pounds. But sure it will keep me warm.

 

Finally on the 27th I was feeling confident I could get out. So got the bike together and threw the gear on. The weather was to be good in the morning so I got out to make sure I got the best of the day. It was  chilly, damp and there was a bit of a breeze. I felt a bit tired and legs were heavy straight away. I still managed to have a good cycle until I turned around. It was easy because there was a nice breeze on my back. Heading back was going to that bit harder It was wind in my face the whole way back. This slowed down my average pace and I could feel the lack of mileage in my legs. I couldn’t wait to finish.

So week 4 consisted of 1 good run, 1 short swim and one slow cycle. Not a good week at all. I have a lot of catching up to do but I’m not going to overdo it either. I booked physio in for Tuesday. I think that will help out a lot.

Breakdown

Mon – Off
Tues – 30 min run
Wednesday – none
Thursday – 1km swim
Friday – none
Saturday – none
Sunday – 32km cycle

Week 5 plan looks like this:

Mon – Swim
Tues – 45 min run
Wednesday – 30 min cycle (Indoor), 15 min run
Thursday – 45 min cycle(Turbo)
Friday – 1 hour run
Saturday –  1 hour 45 mins cycle
Sunday –  1 hour run

Now that is the plan. It may not work out that way due to low mileage over the last week but I will see what happens at physio and how my body feels. I have to keep the head up and be confident I will meet my goal. But this one bad week need to be forgotten about and I will come back stronger for it. Now to burn off the turkey and chocolate

Week 3 will be the 1st of many where I don’t meet my targets for the week. Work, weather, broken shower and other distractions get in the way. There will be weeks like this and it is mainly the cycle will be affected due to the lovely Irish weather. Its just so hard to get long turbo sessions in.

The week started off with an early morning 45 mins run from work. My headlamp getting great use. Very quiet around and I was happy to keep to a nice steady speed.  I got in just over 8km. A good start to the week. I did have to really kick myself to get out of bed though. I really have to put my phone away at night as soon as I get to bed or there is no hope I’ll be able to get up in the mornings in the middle of the tough sessions. I was half tempted to do my swim session tonight but once I got home there was only one thing to do and that was crash on the couch. There is always tomorrow.

 

Wednesday was my 1st day of fitting all legs in. Started the morning off with a 30 min session on the bike in work followed by a 3km run. Again I was lucky with the weather and it was an enjoyable stroll. Most memorable thing about this session was the fact I forgot to put my insoles in my runners. I was lucky it was a short run and I might as well have went barefoot. I won’t be forgetting that for a long time. That evening I got my motivation back and decided I’d head to the pool. It was the 1st big session, 2.5km straight through. I had done a number at that distance recently but not without a break during drills. It took 55 mins 16 seconds. I had to stop for about 30 seconds in the middle as I got cramp at the end of my foot but I didn’t feel tired after the session. I believe I could definitely have broken 3k if I wanted but that is for another day.

Thursday was my longest session on the turbo so far. 45 mins session makes it perfect to fit in an episode of “Better Call Saul”. Only 2 more episodes to go in the series so I’ll soon have to find something else. It’d be great if there was a tv series about triathletes, that would definitely keep me going.  It doesn’t matter how many windows I open the heat is intense. Definitely makes you work harder. I can’t wait for the time where I get back out on the road in the evenings.

So far so good with the training for the week but then work got in the way. My plan for an hour run were cut short as we had an engineer coming on site to check on an issue. This meant I just squeezed in 50 mins as my phone was ringing to see where I was. I was really enjoying the session as I had decided to take the extra time in bed and go on an evening run. Running past the lines of traffic as they were stuck going no where and I was feeling good. I bit of a drizzle made it nice to run in as well.

Saturday has turned into the bad weather day. It should be cycle day but never ends up being it due the wind and rain. The shower also decided to break so now I had to decide how I could work my day. I decided on an hour run before heading to Garryvoe for a swim. So the run took me on a road I had never went before. I always passed it but never took the turn down as it was dark and a small down hill. Little did I know after about 500m it brightens up is a quiet country road with rolling hills. Looking on the map later it eventually hits a dead end but there are turn off that bring you to Churchtown South etc so I’ll be mapping a nice route around there in future for my longer runs to keep things interesting. After I finished the run it was off to the pool for 2.5km with drills. It was enjoyable and I knew I’d earn my pizza afterwards.

 

Sunday was a write off. I woke up all set to cycle to work so I could have a shower there before heading to town. The rain was bucketing down and the wind was howling. I probably shouldn’t have been a coward and just went for it but I chose to skip it. Saying to myself I’ll do some on the turbo later. Of course that was never going to happen. I ended up in town doing some Christmas shopping, got some lunch and enjoy the day with Martha. The wind died down and it became nice and dry but at that stage it was too late to get out. I decided a 2 day rest would benefit me in the long run and I’ll get back to it on Tuesday. I’ll have a few days off over Christmas that will mean I can get a bit more time to get out on the bike so I’ll catch up on missed sessions without interfering in my plan. Even though I never had set plans for the weekend so technically I didn’t go too far off the plan so maybe I shouldn’t feel too bad

Breakdown
Mon – Off
Tues – 45 min run
Wednesday – 30 min cycle (Indoor), 16 min run, 2.km swim
Thursday – 45 min cycle(turbo), 2.1km swim
Friday – 50 min run
Saturday – 1 hour run, 2.5km swim
Sunday – Off

2.5km Swim session
Straight through

2.5km Swim session
Warm Up
300m FS

Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B with fins; 4 x 25m with PB; 4 x 25m with fists

Main Set
12 x 100m 20 second break in between

Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B with fins;
1 x 25m for BR every 4, BL every 4, both sides every 3,  both sides every 5
2 x 25m with legs tied, legs tied, 2 x 25m with legs tied, legs tied with PB

Cool Down
200m FS

Week Four looks like this

Mon – Off
Tues – 30 min run in Z2, Swim
Wednesday – 30 min cycle (Indoor), 15 min run
Thursday – 30 min cycle(Turbo)
Friday – 45 min run
Saturday –  1 hour 30 mins cycle
Sunday –  1 hour run

Who made this plan? Why am I training during the worst months of the year? Why did I sign up for this? All the things that go through my head when the alarm goes off at 6:01am each morning of training. Why 6:01am? I really don’t know, I set it wrong the 1st time and never bothered changing it. Now it is part of my ritual and who am I to change a winning combo. Week two follows very similar pattern to week one except I have no club swimming session this time around. I started off the week with my Tuesday morning run. Trying to keep the heart rate down but it was helped my a small niggle in my calf. I took it nice and steady but once I warmed up the niggle went. The week ahead is set to be bad but as mornings go this wasn’t so bad. As I was driving out it down poured but by the time I parked up I missed the worst of it and the worst stayed away for my run. The new headlamp is getting great use each morning now. A ended up being a 30 min run with a few random sprints to get the body moving.

On Wednesday I decided to get my bike session done in the gym in work rather than waiting for the evening at home. A steady 30 min cycle followed by a quick change and and 16 min run around Mahon. It is always good to make the time in the mornings so that I can actually chill in the evenings. This evening however I had a GAA Club meeting so that meant I had no choice but to get it done. Anticipating being tired I took the opportunity to work from home on the Thursday. This meant I could get a lot of my work done without distractions and use my lunch break for a swim. Due to time constraints I only got in 2.1km. I had to leave the 2nds drills session out. But the session I got in was productive and throwing in those drills help keep things interesting. That evening I got on the turbo trainer at home and got 30 mins session in while catching up on Better Call Saul. I think that will be my go to series for now while on the turbo. I’ll have to find some sporting movies or documentaries as well to keep me motivated when the cycles get longer.

 

 

Friday was Christmas Party evening in work so to get around that I decided I’d get in a 30 min run by the office after work/before the party. This meant I actually got to stay in bed that bit later and not hang around waiting to go to the party. I could have done with the headlamp as I ran up and back to Blackrock castle. I never realised it was so dark in parts. I could now go to the Christmas Party happy knowing I got my work out in.

The weekend is where the fun is. The hard, longer sessions. For the second week in a row I had to move my sessions around. The driving wind and rain meant it wasn’t safe to get out on the bike on Saturday so it was a run instead. A 45 min run around Cloyne. Of course I only learned on Sunday that it should have been an hour but with those weather conditions the run was worth more than that 45 mins on the clock. I had been doing a lot of flat running up to now so threw in some elevation just to make sure I don’t forget how to run hills. Ballycotton in March won’t forgive me if I don’t practice those hills.

 

Just like last week Sunday was a better day for a cycle. It was great to get out. The turbo training is good for short work outs but you can’t beat getting up and facing the elements. Since Wanaka I had only done one cycle over 1 hour 30 mins so this was somewhat of a milestone. I ended up doing 1 hour 36 mins and fitted in 44km. I was happy with that. With the bike being the place I have to do more work it is good to know I’m at around the same level I was back at the start of the year. So far even though it is the part I dislike most I have enjoyed the 2 outdoor cycles so far. Of course there is more to come and when I start hitting the 2 hour mark and beyond the real challenge will commence. To round off the week I got in a 2.5km swim set.

In parts week two was tough. A lot going on and tired in parts but got it done. 28 weeks to go.

Breakdown
Mon – Off
Tues – 30min run
Wednesday – 30 min cycle (Indoor), 16 min run
Thursday – 30 min cycle(Indoor), 2.1km swim
Friday – 30 min run
Saturday – 45 min run
Sunday – 1hr 30min cycle (road), 2.5km swim.

2.1km Swim session
Warm Up
300m FS

Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B; 4 x 25m with PB; 4 x 25m with fists

Main Set
16 x 25m with 10 sec break between each
1 x 400m with 60 sec break between each
16 x 25m with 10 sec break between each

Cool Down
200m FS

2.5km Swim session

Warm Up
300m FS

Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B with fins; 4 x 25m with PB; 4 x 25m with fists

Main Set
1 x 300m with 40 sec break between each
3 x 200m with 30 sec break between each
1 x 300m with 30sec break between each

Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B with fins; 4 x 25m with PB; 4 x 25m with fists
1 x 25m for BR every 4, BL every 4, both sides every 3,  both sides every 5
2 x 25m with legs tied, legs tied with PB

Cool Down
200m FS

Week Three looks like this

Mon – Off
Tues – 45 min run in Z2, Swim
Wednesday – 30 min cycle (Indoor), 15 min run
Thursday – 45 min cycle(Turbo)
Friday – 1 hour min run
Saturday – Depends on weekend plans
Sunday – Depends on weekend plans

The weekend is currently up in the air so once plans are confirmed I will add in what I need. No doubt this won’t be the only week where things get a bit crazy and I can’t pencil in exactly what I need to do. Hopefully all will work out.