Swimming Hurts

For those who keep up with the international triathlon blogisphere this title is nicked from an article written by Brett Sutton (the team TBB coach) some time ago. In the last 10 days I've swum 35k. As someone who usually swim an absolute maximum of 14k to cover more than twice this with a few double sessions and functional strength has left me sore but I'm hoping when I recover (which will be when I can run/bike again, paradoxically) I'll be moving a little bit quicker.

AG triathletes, for the most part, cannot swim. We come to the sport late and whilst we can plug away on the bike and run the swim often eludes us. Many triathletes spend hundreds of pounds on different swim courses to improve form and aerodynamics under the premise that swimming quickly is all about technique. Sutton suggests that whilst technique has its place, swimming bloody hurts, just like running fast hurts and biking fast hurts. You've got to put in the hard yards (often with paddles to work the correct muscles and keep the elbows high) to make you fast, only when your arms, back and shoulders are burning, like your legs would on a hard bike or run, are you learning to swim faster.

As another blogger who I regularly read is so fond of saying... "there is no easy way."

3 Rs: Rest, recuperate and refocus

IMUK is now a no go. After 10 days of fighting niggles I've been diagnosed with patellar tendonitis, still a niggle but one that I don't plan on messing with as it could easily turn into something more serious and cause more long term issues.

I'm pissed off and didn't hide it well yesterday but today (with the knee feeling a little better) I suppose this was the wake up call I needed. I thought I'd made it through my last three heavy weeks unscathed but finishing sessions at 9pm and then neglecting to stretch and do my core, as well as eating really badly, was simply too much for my body to take whilst working a full time job. The next few days will be ultrasound, massage and physio plus double swim sessions and plenty of core and stretching to address to route cause of this problem.

I may head over to Bolton next week to complete the swim for experience but all being well I'll be training hard by next week... this time not neglecting the stretching and nutrition. It's boring but vital to remaining injury free!

A great start...

Well, it's 24 hours since I started my new "job" as a full time triathlete. (I'll be using the "" for the word job until I start making some money.) To be honest it's been a pretty crappy start but with two decisions which I think demonstrate the changed mindset I now must bring towards this sport.
First the cloud:

1. Lost my Oakleys! They ain't sponsoring me yet so that's four pairs in just under a year!
2. Niggles, lots of them. I've had to pull out of Bedford due to a tight Achilles which is not helping my IMUK prep.
3. I ended up leaving for my first ride as an athlete late and thus missed my time target.

Silver lining:

1. I made the decision not to race Bedford. Bedford is a C race, it doesn't matter in the scheme of things and if two/three days of running and a day or two off cycling are what it takes to be 100% then that is what NEEDS to happen. Consistency is key.
2. I've started a food diary. Everything I do now must be professional, that doesn't just include training but nutrition and recovery.

So the cloud still out weighs the silver lining but hopefully by the middle of next week the balance will start to shift.

Good luck to all the Hillingdon athletes competing at Bedford.

Off to Roth

First race of 2010 planned and it's Quelle Challenge Roth. Gunning for a time and the pressure is already on as I put myself in the sub 9:00 catergory... going to have to live up to that or I'm going to look like (more) of an arse.

Last big training is banked before IMUK. A huge 8:30 training day which as always resulted in me digging a bigger whole than I thought I had. Tuesday's run was attrotious and I'm now experiences niggles galore. Pretty standard then...

Bedford race report will be up by Monday. If I can break 2:00 I'll be a happy bunny.

Where I will be

Things are really hotting up in terms of triathlon related activity over the next three months. With less than 100 days until Kona and only 7 days (unreal) until I will have to refer to myself as a full time age-grouper it's no surprise. Two more races have been added to the calender, Bedford Classic on the 19th July and the Little Woody at the end of August. For those who care this is how the next 12 weeks is shaping up.

19th July - Bedford Classic
2nd August - IMUK
15th - 22nd August - Tri Topia training camp
29th August - The Little Woody
26th September - travel to Kona
10th October - Ford Ironman World Championships

It's shaping up to be a great few months and I'm really looking forward to seeing how my fast twitch muscles respond over the Olympic distance in what looks to be a very quality AG field.

Good luck to Lee @TriTopia who is racing Roth this weekend. I can't wait to head out there and experience the place for myself.

Happy training folks.

Priceless...

Food to get me round 107 miles and up and down 9000ft - £7
Petrol to drive me to the hills - ~£5
Remembering why I love cycling - PRICELESS!

I will soon be leaving London, on the 20th July my teaching contract ends and I will be heading back to God's own country (where you don't have to drive 30 miles to find hills). This coming weekend demanded a serious bike workout on the TT which invariably requires a measurable loop on a rolling course with as few stops as possible, ergo duel carriage ways for around 5 hours.
As a way of saying "goodbye" I chose to ride the Chiltern Cyclosportive gran fondo route... and what a route! There's practically no flat in all 107 miles and some of the climbs were brutal. I clocked 6:16, only 6 minutes shy of the gold standard so not too bad. More importantly, somewhere between Bison Hill and Great Missenden (excluding I remembered why I love cycling so much. It feels like I've spent two months in the aero position on dual carriage ways trying to hit a specific wattage and it was a refreshing change to just ride.

Training continues to plod along, I know now that I cannot handle 20+ hour weeks whilst teachingn and have come pretty close to the edge during high intentisty sessions, just had to listent to my body instead of ego... difficult at times.