My wife brought me a cup of tea in bed after a short lie in this morning. She'd sorted the kids out for school and was just about to walk them there. I'd normally take them on a Friday morning, but she offered me a lie in in preparation for the race. I think she wants me to come and support at parkrun tomorrow, but I won't be up early if I can get away with it :)
Something I've observed recently, with me doing some early morning training is that our mornings have been a bit more relaxed. I'd make lunches the night before and aim to get back from my training by 7am. This is instead of aiming to get up at 7 and not actually making it out of bed until 7:30. I think there has also been a bit more give and take with training since She started to attend the local running club, and I schedule my training around hers.
PowermanUK published their startlist, and the stalking of AG competitors was duly completed. After that I went out for a 40 minute easy run in the wind, then packed my kit for Sunday. I'll be off to Sherborne after Mrs A has run parkrun tomorrow.
I just need to decide how much slack I need to include in the 2hr drive. Once there I need to check in at the B&B, register for the race, check the bike and test ride it to ensure it travelled OK. Then attend the athlete briefing, find somewhere to eat dinner.
There are a few unknowns - whether the B&B will do an early breakfast or give me access to the kitchen for a brew and porridge or tinned rice pud. No point in sweating the small stuff.
Like the weather. It is likely to be wet or windy, or maybe both. But I can run and cycle in the wind and rain. They're not ideal but they affect everyone.
I've been reading Charlie Spedding's From First to Last: How I Became a Marathon Champion recently. It has some great positive thinking in it, and it was quite a timely reminder for me. So ask me how I am, and I'll no longer say I'm not bad, but I'll say I'm good, great!
So along those lines, I'm going to have a great race on Sunday. See you then!
Showing posts with label PowermanUK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PowermanUK. Show all posts
Friday, 9 May 2014
Monday, 5 May 2014
Weekend round-up
I've spent the past few parkrundays volunteering. It's always nice to get out there and help. However this Saturday was different. After a bike TT last week to test bike fitness and health under pressure it was time to test my run fitness.
To cut a long story short I'm about 1:30 away from my December PB. Let's say that's similar to where I was when I came back from an Achilles injury in October. I know how much I improved over 2 months from that point so I'm hopeful of good things over the next few months.
What I have found strange is doing things slowly. Ignoring the TT and parkrun, all my runs and bikes have been at a low HR. My speed has been improving over time. Run wise I'm up to 6min/km (~10min/mi) not setting the world on fire, but capable of an average 5km time.
Easter was busy with some good training and plenty of time with the family. Both kids are really enjoying their cycling and running, as is my wife.
Today she ran the Shinfield 10km, taking 5mins off her PB. I went with the kids on the U10s 2.1km race, which was a bit of a muddy cross country event. Other than that it was a rest time in preparation for PowermanUK on Sunday.
After being unsure whether I'd go or not, I'm really looking forward to it!
To cut a long story short I'm about 1:30 away from my December PB. Let's say that's similar to where I was when I came back from an Achilles injury in October. I know how much I improved over 2 months from that point so I'm hopeful of good things over the next few months.
What I have found strange is doing things slowly. Ignoring the TT and parkrun, all my runs and bikes have been at a low HR. My speed has been improving over time. Run wise I'm up to 6min/km (~10min/mi) not setting the world on fire, but capable of an average 5km time.
Easter was busy with some good training and plenty of time with the family. Both kids are really enjoying their cycling and running, as is my wife.
Today she ran the Shinfield 10km, taking 5mins off her PB. I went with the kids on the U10s 2.1km race, which was a bit of a muddy cross country event. Other than that it was a rest time in preparation for PowermanUK on Sunday.
After being unsure whether I'd go or not, I'm really looking forward to it!
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
The come-back kid
My last post was back in February after finding out I had pneumonia.
The 3 weeks off work gave me some time to reflect on what I'd done, and where I could go. Initially I was angry at missing out on an early season goal (Wokingham HM) and future goals. I moved on to acceptance, trying to work out how soon I could get back out there. Then I stopped caring about training and focused on getting better. Kuebler-Ross at her finest.
I'll admit I started back too early. I ran about 6km easy one Tuesday, then followed it up with an easy 10km club run the Thursday after. Plus some MTBing. Looking back I can see that this lengthened the recovery. It's hard to sit around doing nothing!
The grand plan was to smash out the HM, then work with an as-yet-unidentified coach towards PowermanUK. Obviously the plan had to change, but by how much? I knew from past experiences that I had an idea of what training I should do, but scheduling it was always a problem, frequently ending up injured. I likened myself to a 2-stroke race engine; running at high revs and needing frequent rebuilding. I could see from my premature return to exercise that I needed someone to curb my enthusiasm. I set out to find a coach with a two-fold purpose; control my return to fitness and get me fit enough for some form of attendance at PowermanUK.
During the latter week of illness and the subsequent weeks I had researched who was available, how recommended they were, and what the styles of coaching were. After some digging, I narrowed down and made my choice.
It was strange to begin with, devolving most of the decision making to someone else. I questioned a lot; Is that really the HR limit? Turbo or outdoors? I like to question, I like to understand the whys and wherefores. I'm probably quite annoying. However the aim was to return slowly, and not over do things, and that is what is happening.
I'm doing HR based training, which is something I don't think I've done since I started to run, some years ago. More recently I was doing paced-based running and power-based cycling. HR training was odd to begin with, but I can now see my average pace increasing for a given HR cap over a given course. Proof of something working at least.
Quarterly data:
Bike: 390km, 22h12
Run: 173km, 20h38
March alone:
Bike: 302km, 16h16
Run: 108km, 11h55
Last week was my biggest week back with longest duration and furthest distance run & bike since illness. If you believe in ATL and CTL then they're still shadows of their former selves, but also at a post-illness peak!
So just under 5 weeks until PMUK. I'm not where I wanted to be. I had an early season planned, plenty of TTs and longer sportives, some running, some shorter duathlons. However you only get the hand you're dealt, and it's up to me to make the most of it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, etc
So I'll be there on the start line at 7am on the 11th of May. I may have to hold something back when the horn goes off, and it's going to hurt. But I'll be there, and that's what counts.
The 3 weeks off work gave me some time to reflect on what I'd done, and where I could go. Initially I was angry at missing out on an early season goal (Wokingham HM) and future goals. I moved on to acceptance, trying to work out how soon I could get back out there. Then I stopped caring about training and focused on getting better. Kuebler-Ross at her finest.
I'll admit I started back too early. I ran about 6km easy one Tuesday, then followed it up with an easy 10km club run the Thursday after. Plus some MTBing. Looking back I can see that this lengthened the recovery. It's hard to sit around doing nothing!
The grand plan was to smash out the HM, then work with an as-yet-unidentified coach towards PowermanUK. Obviously the plan had to change, but by how much? I knew from past experiences that I had an idea of what training I should do, but scheduling it was always a problem, frequently ending up injured. I likened myself to a 2-stroke race engine; running at high revs and needing frequent rebuilding. I could see from my premature return to exercise that I needed someone to curb my enthusiasm. I set out to find a coach with a two-fold purpose; control my return to fitness and get me fit enough for some form of attendance at PowermanUK.
During the latter week of illness and the subsequent weeks I had researched who was available, how recommended they were, and what the styles of coaching were. After some digging, I narrowed down and made my choice.
It was strange to begin with, devolving most of the decision making to someone else. I questioned a lot; Is that really the HR limit? Turbo or outdoors? I like to question, I like to understand the whys and wherefores. I'm probably quite annoying. However the aim was to return slowly, and not over do things, and that is what is happening.
I'm doing HR based training, which is something I don't think I've done since I started to run, some years ago. More recently I was doing paced-based running and power-based cycling. HR training was odd to begin with, but I can now see my average pace increasing for a given HR cap over a given course. Proof of something working at least.
Quarterly data:
Bike: 390km, 22h12
Run: 173km, 20h38
March alone:
Bike: 302km, 16h16
Run: 108km, 11h55
Last week was my biggest week back with longest duration and furthest distance run & bike since illness. If you believe in ATL and CTL then they're still shadows of their former selves, but also at a post-illness peak!
So just under 5 weeks until PMUK. I'm not where I wanted to be. I had an early season planned, plenty of TTs and longer sportives, some running, some shorter duathlons. However you only get the hand you're dealt, and it's up to me to make the most of it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, etc
So I'll be there on the start line at 7am on the 11th of May. I may have to hold something back when the horn goes off, and it's going to hurt. But I'll be there, and that's what counts.
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