It’s been another good month and I feel that I am getting stronger,mentally & physically with each week. 1 significant factor this year is that I feel much more relaxed about my training. I’m definitely not getting as uptight if I miss sessions. This is one way that I have learned to manage stress and in so doing I’m sleeping better and generally feel more relaxed.
I’m also experimenting with hard days & easy days. This means that on some days I have 2 or 3 quite hard sessions and then the next day is really quite easy or even a rest day. I’m seeing the big picture; quality sessions need quality recovery and sometimes that means really backing off so that I can give it full effort when required.
There’s another thing too. I know that many older triathletes (OK I’m 45 so I include myself in this group) still plan to and then try to train as if they were 25. Now this gets full marks for PMA…but the reality is (for me and others) is that I have a body which has been active in sport for 35 years. That’s a lot of miles in the legs and so it no wonder that it takes a bit longer to recover. Hence the importance of a) being careful with the volume & intensity of training, b) achieving consistency by being sensible and getting good recovery and c) understanding my limitations and not setting unrealistic training goals.
Here’s my summary of the month
Swimming – the goal was to aim for 9-10k a week and I have managed to do this every week. I’m now swimming 4 days per week and the increased frequency is definitely helping my feel for the water. I’m still having the odd bad session but I can still hold my target time of sub 1m30s per 100.
Bike – The trip to Lanzarote at the beginning of the month showed that I still have good endurance as I managed the 5hr ride comfortably. Since coming back I have started my weekly hilly ride. This is 2hrs max at the moment but does include 6 climbs of 12-20% grade. Initially i climb them anyhow but as I get stronger the first goal is to be able to ride them all seated. Once I have reached that level then I start to use a bigger gear. That will come in a couple of weeks! I’ve also been doing a lot more work on the Velotron. Not really high intensity work but more like sustained efforts of 240-250w for approx 45-50 mins. This year I’ve decided to limit the high intensity work and work more on the sustained efforts and strength that will need for Norseman
Run – I’ve been happiest with my running progress in the last 3 months. Not because I am getting that much faster but because I’m maintaining good consistency. I’ve not really had any Achilles problems but it is a constant battle to keep my calf muscles in good shape. Since I have changed my running technique to a mid-foot strike my calves get much tighter and so I have to stretch and use the foam roller most days. Once again it’s about being nice to my body.
Overall – averaging about 12-13 hrs of training per week and feeling confident that i can build from here in the next 16 weeks
