Friday Training....day of rest

This morning was to be a 30min run but after the core and particularly the run yesterday afternoon I have a bit of a 'niggle' in my left shin......hmmmm.....this could be a little concern. I am hoping its just a bit of a tight muscle and soreness which the Physio on Wednesday said to me this may happen with the issue still hanging around in my back. Will need to monitor this and get the massage and physio into it...along with the ice (which went on last night) and down the track a bit of heat.

Off to for a massage later this afternoon...this should help the cause!

Thursday Training

This morning started with coaching of the IM athletes they had a little less intense session but there was still the volume.

Warm up - 200m (every second 25m high elbow drill)

M/Set -
10 x 100m on 2min
500m pull
10 x 100m on 2min

Cooldown - 300m Pull

Then after coaching this session it was my turn with a similar set but it was only about 2km.
15 x 100m on 2min then 500m pull.

Found it really hard to get going this morning. Usually after a while I'm in the water I feel good, but not this morning the arms were heavy and the mind was wandering but I persevered and we go through the session with a little more hurt then what I would of expected from such a session.

In the afternoon it was a bit of core work:

15 x 5 pushups then 20sec prone hold then 20sec eddie the eagle then a 20min easy run
then
4 x 25 sec medicine ball rotations, 25sec raised leg crunches, 25sec side to side oblique crunches then 25sec bicycle crunches

Good session.....wow....that's 2 core session this week I'm surprising myself ;-) The mind and attitude must be improving.

Coached both squad session in the evening.

Wednesday Training

AM Session:
Coaching the main squad on the bike at Cootha....Great turn out this morning!
My ride was a 1.2 to 2hr ride, this was achieved by riding the session and back

Physio @ 11 am got him to work on a few niggle that I was having in the left glute and hamstring which he puts down to being related to the back injury still working itself out.

PM Session:
In the pool for a solid 2.5km session, worked hard and the arms were certainly working. The body position is improving and the swimming is getting back to 'what was'. Still need to work on that muscular endurance and reducing the fatigue in the longer sets.

Tuesday Training

AM Session
Setting up and doing drills with the IM Athletes (4 of us in total this morning)
A good solid session.

PM Session
Rest...nice...wow...not sure I know what it feels like not to go swimming on a Tuesday night.

Monday......this means CORE

Core strength earlier this afternoon:

15 x 5 push ups, 20sec prone hold, 20sec eddie the eagle

then

3 x 20sec medicine ball rotations, 20sec raised leg crunches, 20sec side to side oblique crunches, 20sec bicycle crunches.

then

20min extensive stretch.

Session Reflections:

• Worked hard at technique throughout, pulling in the belly button and squeezing the glutes.
• Part 1 - good effort, found it raised a sweat.
• Part 2 - struggled a little, but over time going to work up a rep each week.
• Part 3 - great stretch felt really good.

Weekly Totals

Weekly Totals

Run: 35km, 3h37min
Swim: 8.7km, 3hrs
Cycle: 181km, 8hr45min
Stretch: 40min
Core & Flexibility: 1hr
Recovery: 41min
Physio: 1hr

4.00am....I do remember.....

That's right it was the return of the very early mornings....for of course the long rides. And to tell you the truth it wasn't bad at all. It's very peaceful and thought provoking on the bike at this time in the morning...very enjoyable.....wow, that's deep!

Session Reflections:

• two words.....character building!
• It was hot and humid....and when the sun came out it was even worse...but it was good conditioning.
• Even when I left home at 4.30am it was quite hot and humid.
• The support hydration and nutrition for the ride was a proven setup with 3 bottles of liquids (2 sports drink and 1 water), gels on the half hour and endura energy bars or LCM's on the top of the hour with energy drink.
• The conditions (apart from the heat and humidity) were good, very little wind to speak of.
• The first 1.5 hours were by myself and I went out around the city and airport loop then back in to join the rest of the group for the remaining ride. Great group to ride with this morning. Everyone willing to 'put it in' up the front and plenty of encouragement and laughs along the way.
• The legs were coping well and like the run yesterday there were some signs that the legs were finding a little more strength and there was some response to my base....but patience is required.
• At the 80k mark I ran out of liquids so a stop at a service station. With the humidity it was important that I drank a little more and therefore I went through the liquid supplies a little quicker than I had first planned. With the long ride to sustain a consistent effort staying on top of my hydration is important and if it means I need an extra stop then it has to happen.
• At the end of the ride it was about 4h38m ride time with just under 125km.
• The recovery again was a 15min Ice bath and stretch.

Hills were alive...

This morning I was out for a 60-75min trail run.


Session Reflections:

• Typical Brisbane weather...humid, I would have a guess of about 80-90%
• There were a couple of goals I set for this run, the first one was not to walk and the second was to work on reducing my stride length.
• Both goals were achieved. By the end of the session I was nearly down to a 'Cliff Young shuffle' but I achieved the goals I set. I really focussed on taking smaller strides throughout the run, particularly on the down hill sections (which there were many) to reduce the pounding of the legs into the ground and again to preseve them further in preventing any recurring injuries.
• I worked hard up the hills throughout the session; and really felt that there was some strength returning to them legs. But I still have a bit to go.
• On my return it was into an Ice bath for 14min.....I am really finding this recovery technique very effective.

Happy New Year...2010.....63 days

Happy New Year!

What a great new year it is going to be!

As of today it is 63days until I embark on my 3rd IM and I am beginning to become quite excited, but in the same breath, I have a lot of hard training hours ahead. Bring it on!

This morning started with a renewed enthusiasm where I was out on the training paddock for an easy 45min run through the hills.


Session Reflections

• It was hot and humid.
• 8.30am is a little late for a run at this time of year, the sweat was happening early and the fatigue was setting in a little early. This was again particularly due to the fact that I hadn't eaten before the session.
• Really focused on the 'easy' part of the session but when you have continuous hills it is hard work and I began to feel that at times I was actually going back wards and the legs were becoming quite fatigued by the 30min mark, but I had a dose of reality (and a teaspoon of cement) and pushed on.
• These runs at this stage are really about setting small achievable goals to get my 'running' fitness back. I need to be patient, I need to remember that I had close to 3 months off running and the fitness is not just going to return with a 'swish' of a wand.
• Today's small achievable goals involved jogging up and 'through' the hills and if required taking a few walking moments to recover a little on the down side of the hill. This worked well in recovering the legs and minimised the pounding on the legs and back which is a part of descending the inclines.
• Home and it was straight into a 10min stretch then into a 12 min ice bath. The ice bath is something that really seems to reinvigorate the legs and assists in the recovery process.

The weekend ahead is a big one so the recovery of the legs is important with a 60-75min run through the C.Hills tomorrow and a 4 to 4.5hr ride on Sunday.