Week 2 of 3: Bike Focus 25/11/07

Goal this week.
My goals this week are to start my strength phase on the bike. This will include alot more BG in the 50-80rpm range and my HR will lie between Aet +10-15bpm. I'll continue to aim for around 3.5 to 4hrs of running in preparation for my 30day run challenge to start on the 1/1/08. In the run challenge the goal is to run 30times in 30days. The minimum run has to be 30minutes. Your allowed 1 day off PW but you have to do a double run day the previous day. I'm looking forward to do this challenge with Kirk, David and Eric, plus whoever else would like to join us. You get 1point for as 30minute run, 2points for a 60minute run and 3points for a 1.5hr run.

The pictures below are from the Tokyo bike expo. There were some awesome looking machines to be seen, touched and drooled on. I'll try and post 2-3 pictures each day.




Monday
Run: (51min), 10km, 128bpm
10min easy
10min fartlek
10min @135bpm
10min strides
10min @140bpm
Not sure if my HR monitor is working properly. I was flying tonight. PB'd this course by 2min with an a hr below 130bpm.

Tuesday
Bike: (2hrs), 54km, 118bpm
Rode 1hr easy then I did 1 x 20min effort @ lower steady (130-135bpm). cold, dark and wet this morning
Bike: (1.5hrs), 39.4km, 114bpm.
50 easy
40min @ Aet (135-140bpm)
Feeling good. Pushing out some good numbers in and around Aet

Wednesday
Bike: (1.5hrs), 114bpm, 40km.
Easy 1hr spin.
20min BG work, 53/12, sitting on around 42-44kph @150bpm.
Run: (31:43), 6km, 131bpm.
Probably ran a little harder then what I should have for a recovery run. Feeling super at the moment but need to control my ego!
Feet are okay, mild discomfort
Massage: (1hr)

Thursday
Ride: (40min), 16km.
Easy spin
Run: (50min), 9.3km, 131bpm
A little heavy in the legs today. Had to really focus on holding good form.
Swim: (65min), 3km
20min straight free. LSD
10min drill focusing on the kick
100 free, 2x50 hard
200 free, 2x50 hard
300 free, 2x50 hard
200 free, 2x50 hard
Toe challenge start at the swam end as Noel. I went 1st and then we both had to swim as hard as we could until I caught him. I managed to catch him in 200m (ie 2:50)

Friday
Run: (32min), 6.1km, 132bpm
recovery run on a reocvery day. Took it easy even though I felt great and wanted to hit it harder. Control, control, control. Keep doing what I know is working

Saturday
Bike: (3:15), 92km, 118bpm.
easy 1hr
1hr high cadence +110rpm. Sat on aorund 34-36kph. This was difficult to do for a whole hr.
Run: (24min), 4.8km, 144bpm
worked the two short hills hard. Built up to threshold in the last 5minutes. My threshold pace is very poor
Swim: (1hr), 2.5km
10-15min w/u
1500 TT building each 500m, Everything was mucked up by not being able to overtake. Not sure of time I think I did first 500 in around 8min.
15min drills

Sunday
Bike: (4.5hrs), 117km, 119bpm
Felt terrible this mroning. Aching all over. Had no energy and a very sore throat. Didn't do any efforts. Turned around after 2hrs and headed back home. It just wasn't happening today.

Swim 2:05
Bike 13:25
Run 3:09
Other 1:00

Total 18:39

This was a really good week for me until I got to Sunday. I've picked up a virus amd I'm now suffering horribly here at home. I need to rest for a couple of days before I can resume training.

fluro
Summary

Week 1 of 3: Run Focus 18th November

Here I am at the front of our 4man team TT group. We ended up averaging 42kph and we came 4th overall in very wet and slippery conditions.

At some points I felt like I was riding one of these when Eric, David and Alain came past on their Felt DA and Scott Plasma.

Check us out all decked out in our speed suits.

A good feed the night before always helps
Monday
Run: (36;36), 134bpm, 7km
9min on 1min off.
left foot was sore tonight.
Pace is feeling really good. Definitely sitting under 5min/k's along the flats. Crossing roads, stairs, and endless corner knocks my overall pace to over 5min/k's. Will do the 8k test when my left foot feels better.

Tuesday
Bike: (1:53), 48km, 111bpm
1hr easy then two laps around short circuit which has two climbs about 200m long. Rode first lap seated and second lap standing working the hills hard.
TT for 10min BG (53/14)
Run: (37:14), 7.1km, 132bpm.
Marked out a 1k loop on the canal.
3 x 1k efforts, easy jog back
1. 4:50 (134bpm)
2. 4:28 (148bpm)
3. 4:46 (146bpm)
Pace and RPE are all over the place. First structured interval session in 6mths. Felt good running. need to dial into some consistent efforts/RPE

Wednesday
Bike: (1:54), 47km, 102bpm
recovery ride. Easy spin around town.
Run: (53:31), 10km, 128bpm.
easy to Aet run. My running strength and endurance is coming back in leaps and bounds. M left foot is right on edge. Just managing it. I wish I could get it to 100% instead of having it around 80% injury free

Thursday
Swim: (1hr), 2.5km.
20min straight free.
4-50 fist
4-50 counting strokes
4-50 negative split (45, 40, 35, 32)
4-50 finger drag
4-50 catch up
100 hard (1:15).
200 easy

Friday
Run: (1:03), 12.1km, av hr 141bpm.
12min W/U
1. 4:39 (137bpm)
2. 4:53 (145bpm)
3. 4:55 (145bpm)
4. 4:49 (146bpm)
Aet +10bpm
1. 4:20 (156bpm)
2. 4:29 (159bpm)
3. 4:30 (158bpm)
4. 4:21 (159bpm)

Very happy with the result. I have my Aet back down below 5:00min/k again.


Saturday
Bike: (3hrs), 79km, 115bpm.
2hrs easy to Aet. BG set 53/13 from Adiaba all the way to the pool(20min effort).
Ridng really well
Run: (22min), 3.8km, 134bpm
Legs felt good after the strength session on the bike. Tried to keep cadence up and stay light on my feet. Feet felt good.
Swim: (50min), 2km
200-300m warmup
3x100 on 1:45 (1st one fast 1:22, next 2 tempo 1:28)
200 buoy. Repeated this cycle 3 times through. Shoulders were knackered at the end.
100 paddle gloves. These feel good. Will buy some.

Sunday
Bike: (3.5hrs), 94.69, av hr 121bpm.
2.5hrs of easy riding
30min of TTing Aet
10min BG (60-80rpm), HR Aet +10-15bpm.
I was feeling quite tired this morning. Had to really work the BG set hard and was feeling good towards the end

Swim 1:50
Bike 10:12
Run 3:31
Other 1:30

Total 17:03
Summary
The 8km run test I did on Thursday was the biggest surprise for me. I didn't expect to make that much of an improvement in only 4 weeks. I guess the high frequency run plan I have been doing has really given me some good gains in and around Aet and also Aet +10bpm. The funny thing is though I haven't done a single run over Aet effort. below are my results and comments
Test Date: 17th October 2007
2km W/U
4km @ Aet, (av sp 5:05, av hr 144bpm)
1. 4:54, 141bpm
2. 5:11, 145bpm
3. 5:05, 146bpm
4. 5:09, 146bpm
4km @ Aet +10bpm (av sp 4:43, av hr 156bpm
5. 4:35, 155bpm
6. 4:48, 157bpm
7. 4:46, 157bpm
8. 4:46, 156bpm
Test Date: 16th November 2007
2km W/U
4km @Aet (av sp 4:49min/k, av hr 143bpm)
1. 4:39 (137bpm)
2. 4:53 (145bpm)
3. 4:55 (145bpm)
4. 4:49 (146bpm)
4km @Aet +10bpm (av sp 4:25min/k, av hr 158bpm)
1. 4:20 (156bpm)
2. 4:29 (159bpm)
3. 4:30 (158bpm)
4. 4:21 (159bpm)

Very happy with these results. The test were completed 4 weeks apart. My Aet pace was 5:05min/k (144bpm) and is now 4:49min/k (143bpm). I’ve made an improvement of 16sec per km with an av hr 1bpm lower.
My pace at Aet +10bpm was 4:43min/k (156bpm) and is now 4:25min/k (158bpm). This is an improvement of 18sec per km. However, my av hr was 2bpm higher.
This is basically what I did over the last 4 weeks to achieve these improvements.
1. I focused mainly on frequency. I made every effort to try and run at least 5 times each week.
2. All my runs were in the 30-50minute range. I wanted to ensure that my form was good and would not break down as I became tired. I feel like I’m not ready yet to run up over an hour. I can still feel small changes in my running economy and efficiency when I start running beyond 40minutes. For that reason I was only doing maybe an extra 10minutes to extend myself.
3. I use the 9minute on and 1minite off run protocol. This means that no matter how good I feel. I will always walk 1minute after every 9minutes of running. This has really help with my recovery and it actually allows me to run a lot faster at lower HR’s. I can keep resetting myself and I feel fresh each time I start my new 9minute block. I feel lighter on my feet and I am able to hold my good running form for longer. Therefore, I’m not letting bad habits become part of my running routine.
4. I do all my runs on soft surfaces. This is hard in Tokyo but it has really help me stay in the game and keep those tired legs from becoming unnecessarily too tired and run down.
5. I stretch and ice after every run for at least 20mintues. I’ve had to do this to work around the foot problems I’m experiencing. I’ll also add that I have a lower body massage once PW.
6. I carry fluids with me on every run. I always run with a fuel belt now and make sure I’m drinking every 10-15minutes to try and give myself every chance not to break down. It’s good to train the body to handle good fatigue. Dehydration is bad fatigue.
7. Low HR running. I do about 80% of my weekly volume consists of running at around 130bpm. This is a good 10-15bpm below my Aet. I’ll do about 10% at and around my lower steady zone (ie 140-145bpm) and then I’ll do around 5-10% at my Max staeady state (150-155bpm). This is mostly in the form of strides and fartlek runs.
8. I’m not going to do any Intensity (ie tempo runs, intervals) until I hit a plateau. If I don’t ht a plateau I keep going with the protocol outlined above. Once I enter my specific preps for a race then you’ll start seeing my doing a lot of running between Aet and Aet +10bpm. This would mean long tempo runs and intervals runs in between 4:20-4:45min/k.
I hope that helps
fluro

week 3 of 3: Recovery week/testing

Photo
I was forced to carry Katrina up Mt Fuji. She thought it would be good strength training for me. I think she scammed me

Photo
Alison and her Naan

Photo
This was riding along Route 20. It starts at the Imperial palace and takes us all the way to Mt Fuji

Photo
Night life around the local village we were staying at.

Photo
I ordered some Naan and boy did I get some Naan
Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Swim
Bike
Run
Other

Total
Summary