7 weeks to Port

21.5 hrs of training last week is a big PB for me. I’ve recovered better then I hoped for and I’m looking forward to chasing another PB this week. My goal is to hit around 25hrs this week. I’ll aim for around 4 swims (5hrs), 4 bikes (12-15hrs) and 5 runs (6-8hrs). Once again I do for key sessions which will be;
1. long bike (180-200km)
2. long run (30km)
3. Ocean swim (4km)
4. Brick session (4/1)

I didn’t do my brick session last week as I was focusing more on just putting a big week of training without breaking down. I was unsure how my leg would hold up and it wasn’t until after my long run on Sunday that it did start to really tighten up and feel sore. I’ll address this by doing a lot more stretching this week.
Overall I think everything is moving along well. I feel strong on the bike and my swimming is improving. I’ve been able to put in some very consistent running training at the moment, however, I don’t think, at this stage, it will be enough for me to run near a 3:30 marathon. I feel like I’m running out of specific IM running training in order to achieve that goal this year. I just don’t think I’ve had enough time since my injury to really build up and consolidate some run fitness leading up to Port. Another 12 weeks would have been great and that would of given a better chance of running a 3:30 IM run. I’ll still give it a go. Who knows what might happen.

Monday
Run 10km 50min 9av hr 133bpm) light recovery run today. Suffering from some DOMS after yesterdays long run. Will need to stretch plenty before squad tonight. other then that body feels good.
Swim 4km 1:20. 4-150 (kick,drill, swim), 12-50 (1/3 hard, 2/3 hard, 50 hard, 50easy) on 50. main set 20-100 on the 1:30. (10 free, 10 buoy). This is the first time I have been able hold a 1:30 base in a long time. Worked very hard. Started out doing around 1:23-25 then by the end I was down to around 1:26-27. Pleased to make base but I think some linguring fatigue had me swimming a bit slower then I would of liked.
Tuesday
Bike 51.2km 1:36 (av hr 134bpm). was meant to be a 180km TT this morning but I got called out to work at 7.15am. Had to cut the ride short. Was feeling good on the bike. RPE and av hr was very low and av sp was continually rising. Started out very easy and was gradually building into the ride.
Run 10km 50min (av gr 134bpm). felt good running home from my massage today. Body is coping better through the hills now. Starting to find a little form on the way up and I have been pushing the pace a bit more on the decents to try and increase the durability in my legs.
Massage 1hr. needed some deep glut med and TFL work. peroneals have been flairing up again. need to watch this closely
Wednesday
Bike 15km 30min easy recovery spin to and from work.
Total day off. Double work day. teaching during the day and then club work that night. Probably need the rest anyway
Thursday
Bike 15km 30min easy recovery spin to and from work.
Run: 24.9km 2hrs (av hr 143). ran 30min easy at 5min k's. then did 6 sets of 9min on 1min off. My 2k splits for these were 9:24, 10:04, 10:02, 10:05, 9:41, 9:35. Very hilly course today, Stoked with my splits. A big breakthrough run today. Resting up for a couple of days really helped. Total ascent for the run was 220m.
Friday
Bike 15km 30min easy spin to and from work
Saturday
Bike 180km 5:33 (av hr 142bpm). Broke this ride up into 3 loops of 55km each. The goal was to ride easy/Impace/hold Impace with some mod hard. Av hr for each part was 136/143/144. Pick out a course that I thought would be harder then Port as I really wanted to test myself today. After speaking with people who did Port 1/2 they told me to ride to Stanwell park and back and that would be hilly then Port.
The ride went great. I felt very good at the end and my av hr was down around the 140bpm which is what I was hoping for. I consumed 10 bottles of fluid( 1 gatorade, 1 wattle each hr) and I had a bottle of coke and V at the 150km mark. I also had 3 powerbars. Based on last years 180k TT (flat course) in training I am now 12min quicker this year.
It was very comfortable to hold 36-38kph on the flats and I made sure i REALLY held back on the climbs (x 12 all up). My only concern was that my adductors were cramping up right at the end of the ride.
I didn't expect to ride a 5:33 today. I thought I was heading towards more of a 5:40-5:50. Todays sessions has been a real confidence booster.
Run: 8km 40min (RPE). Easy recovery run this afternoon. legs feel pretty tired after TT this morning.
Sunday
Club race: 400/14/3.6. time 53min. Had an absolute shocker today. My power on the bike was lower then yesterdays TT. HR was way low so decided not to flog myself into an injury. back it right off and completed the course.
Bike: 50km approx, 2hrs. Rode 1.5 hrs before the race and then an easy 30min home after the race. Legs are trashed. Will need a full reocvery day tomorrow. BT sessions are getting quite hard now. Time to focus much more and making sure I'm fully recovered between BT sessions. There is no point in flogging a dead horse at this stage.

fluro