Sunday, March 20, 2011

Week 7 - Week in Review

The week begins on Monday March 14, 2011 with a morning of rest and reflection on the training past and the journey ahead.

"A race is an exercise in leaving others behind" -Lance Armstrong



There is a time where enough is enough........when an IM athlete decides that it's no longer about making up the numbers in the age group.....this is where I'm at!

Monday:
The morning was about taking it easy.

In the PM more core and then off for a massage. I will have to say that this massage was one of the worst ones for me squirming on the table. I would think that the ride yesterday had a bit to do with that. Was a bit slack with the recovery after yesterdays ride and now suffering for it on the massage table.

Tuesday:

The run this morning was again long....but today it was to be a commitment to the cause. The course was to be flat and working to a strategy of 10 on and 1 off for 2h30min. The average pace for the 5:09m/k.

The nutritional strategy wasn't the best. I only had a couple of gel left and I needed at least 4 for the run and only had 2 along with 4 fuel belt bottles.

Final stats for the run: 2h33min - 29.5km (5:09m/k)

Swim was 3.5km of strength. Solid session. Completed in about 1h05min.

Wednesday:
Back to my home away from home.....Mt Cootha.
Same session...different week.
The legs are feeling good...they are eating up the hill. I am really starting to feel the benefits of my weekly strength session on the bike.

Wednesday bike stats: 72km - 3h13m


Thursday:
Morning of coaching then off to work.
Did a cross country session this morning 6km of strength and core work.

PM session into the pool for another 3.5km strength session. Happy with the swimming at the moment.

Friday:
This morning is was over to the crit track for a 20km TT on the bike. It has been a while since I have done a bike TT and I was looking forward to the session.

The legs were feeling tired but after a good warm up they were moving okay. Once I was started things feel into place and I working into a solid rhythm. I crossed the 20km mark in a time of 30:04 this was a 45sec PB I was wrapped. The training is certainly paying off.

Saturday:
The body and mind lost a little of its mojo over the last 12-18 hours and the body was just tired and feeling very fatigue. So based on the session ahead tomorrow I just needed an opportunity to do nothing and enjoy a sleep in. Well earned I believe.

The PM session I managed to drag my sorry butt out of the house for a easy 60min run. A good session in the rain and it managed to get my motivation back and going again. The stats were 12km in 1h05m.

Sunday:
It was Sunday Session time......Long ride
It was to be an early start....and it still hadn't stopped raining. I have recognised that these ride are critical in achieving a good bike time.

It was the same session as last week. 2.5hr easy, 1hr moderate, 1hr hard, then the rest of the ride easy.
It was again the same route as last weekend relatively flat but with the rain there was caution given to the ride.
The pacing was again a little too hard early. The rain was continual but I still kept at it try to push the body. It very much about conditioning the body to be able to 'go hard' for the bike leg. It's also about getting the nutrition right. This week it was again the 20min strategy. It work well until I had miscalculate the requirements for the ride and was one 'solid' food portion short. This through the strategy out and I had to go with every 30min.
The 1 hour hard was a real challenge this week. Again I had a head wind to contend with along with the rain...it was hard work and the average for this section of the ride was lower then last week.
The ride was going well. I had survived the rain. It stopped raining about 5hrs into the ride. It was at this point where I found the bitumen, only a minor scrap but I came off at around the mid 20's. Bit of knee and forearm damage but nothing too serious, both are very swollen and bruised.
After taking a few minutes to compose myself I was back on the road with a easy ride home.

Weekly Stats:

Swim: 7km (2h15)
Bike: 291km (10h41m)
Run: 47km (4h5min)
Core Strength: 30m
Maintenance: 1hr

Total: 18hr30min

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