Outlaw training part one

Sorry for not blogging recently. It's been a hectic couple of weeks now that I have started training for the Outlaw, which is only just over 15 weeks away. In fact I'm sitting here and to be honest I should be training tonight. But I felt like a night off.

Week 1

Since my last post I have been super busy. My training started in eanest on Monday 18th February with a rest day. What is not to like when day one is a rest day. The rest of the first week was not quite as relaxing. Unfortunately during week 1 I missed two training sessions. I missed my 5 mile run on Wednesday and my 1000m endurance swim on Sunday. I'm not so bothered about missing the occasional swim session. I upped the ante on my bike ride though as I was feeling strong and completed 48 mile instead of the prescribed 25 miles.

Week 2

During week 2 I again did not manage to complete all my sessions. This is due to the fact I work approx 11 hours a day and lose track of time. This week I missed Tuesday's cycle and Sunday's swim. Due to the fact I worked on Saturday I rejigged the training and completed my first brick session of 2013 on the Sunday of a 30 mile bike ride with a 2.5km run afterwards.

Unfortunately towards the end of the week I managed to tweak my neck and my muscle went into spasm. I then aggravated this on my bike ride on Sunday.

Week 3

This week I missed all my planned sessions as I was injured, my neck was really not well. Normally I would have presevered but I had a training week planned in Mallorca for the following week and I needed to be better for this.

Week 4 - Mallorca training camp with RG Active

Before I left London I was training with RG Active and decided to join them on their annual training camp to Mallorca. Me and the Mrs flew out on the Sunday and the weather was bliss. I could not wait for the training camp to start. I had no idea what to expect from this camp as the only training I had done with RG Active was swimming where I swam in the second quickest lane.

RG Active are a triathlon club based in London and have two bases, they have a group form East London and Essex and a group from South West London and Surrey. I trained with the SW London group while I was in London.

After reassembling my bike on the Sunday I awaited the arrival of my club mates from South West London. They flew in really late so I didn't get to see them on the Sunday.

Monday

I finally met up with my old training buddies from SW London and we all had a briefing after breakfast. The plan for Monday was a ride out to Formentor. This was sold as a steady 40km bike ride. This was it the first time I had ridden in a group. I was really nervous when we set off but quickly settled into a rhythm. One thing I learnt early on is that the group moved a lot quicker than I was used to.

The easy 40km ride actually turned into a 58 km ride with a total ascent of just under half a mile. Given I live in one of the flatter parts of the country, this amount of climbing was a culture shock. I even joked that I climbed like an elephant on roller-skates. I learnt so much during these early climbs and am so glad of the coaching I received. On arriving at the lighthouse at Formentor I took a photo.

The ride was exhilarating and thoroughly enjoyable. In the afternoon we went for a sea swim. The sea in Mallorca was erm.......... FREEZING but I was thrilled that I finally got to try out my new Huub Aerious wetsuit. It fit superbly and really lifted my legs. I found swimming in my wetsuit a lot less restrictive than swimming in my Foor Classic wetsuit from last year. We completed two laps of just under 1/4 of a mile but I developed cramp on my second lap.

Tuesday

Tuesday was the day where we planned to complete the 90km bike ride from the Ironman 70.3 course in Mallorca. Given I will complete this race in May, this was superb experience. We didn't uite manage the complete loop due to time constraints but the 49 mile ride with a climb of just under half a mile was cracking experience. We then bricked this bike ride with an hours run. I was on empty at the start of the run and only managed 25 minutes but that is still 25 minutes.

Wednesday

The weather on Wednesday was atrocious, we were planning on completing a brick session but due to the forecasted weather we changed our plans. We completed a running workshop in the morning. I really enjoyed this and was even used an example of an efficient runner. Me at just over 15 stones an efficient runner. Everyone commented on the fact that I made the running look easy. After the running session we had a bike maintenance lesson which was invaluable. The weather had really set in now and  was awful. Some people in other groups came back from their rides with hypothermia. I am so glad my coaches decided to cancel our planned rides.

Because of my efficient running style I got voted the "athlete of the day" by the coaches from RG Active. Me an athlete. I was ecstatic about this.

Thursday

On Thursday we completed out planned brick session, I completed one lap of the run (2.5km), 2 laps of the bike (27km), one lap of the run (2.5km), one lap of the bike (14km) and two laps of the run (5km) in a time of 2 hours and 46 minutes. In the afternoon we completed a two lap ocean swim.

Friday

On Friday we had a long ride planned. We were planning on completing 100km. After the first 40km I was on empty, I had nothing left so had to retire to the transport to recover. After about an hour I perked up and decided to ride again. I  completed a further 48km on the bike and set some new records. I completed 5km in a new PB time of 06:38 which is an average speed of 28mph. This was on a descent and I love descending at speed.

My club mates completed 130km whereas I completed 86km. This in itself taught me an important lesson in how to listen to my body.

Saturday

Saturday was the day of the RG Active relay triathlon.

We were put into teams of three. I was teamed with Karen from RunwithKaren who was my run coach and Brett from the East side of RG Active.

The relays consisted of two races.

In the first race the idea was to complete the distance in your worst discipline to develop a handicap time over the race which would then determine your start time for the second race. The second race was a staggered race using the handicaps from the first race where you should complete in your best discipline.

For race 1 my team decided that Brett should swim, Karen should bike and I should run. The idea being that you work as hard as you can to complete the course in as slow a time a possible. We completed the course in third, this was not according to plan. It transpired that the runners who left before me ran too far. I completed the run leg of 2.5km in 12 minutes. Me running a 12 minutes 2.5km is unheard of. I had no idea my body could do this.

Because we finished third it meant we were the penultimate team to leave in the second race.

For the second race we decided that  I should swim, Brett should bike and Karen should run.

Each playing to their strengths. I set off 3 minutes and 19 seconds behind the race leader. The swim leg was 400m long and the seas was immensely choppy. This played to my strengths as choopy seas have never bothered me. I started to reel people in and despite my 199 second deficit I managed to overtake 4 people during the swim. Had t not been for a few teething problems  getting my new wetsuit off I would have had the second quickest swim time of the day but got overtaken in transition by two swimmers. This was another key learning point for me. I must practice removing my wetsuit.

After the activities had been completed we had a few celebratory beers to cap off a hard week of training. Given I couldn't train the week before I was amazed I completed as much as i did in Mallorca.

A summary of Mallorca is

Days - 6
Training sessions - 11 Miles travelled - 177.86 Kcal burnt - 11805 Time exercising - 14 hours 32 minutes

And I had a bloody amazing time and would recommend the trip to anyone.

When we arrived in Mallorca I joked that I hoped we wouldn't have to climb some of the hills we saw on the coach. I even posted the picture to Twitter.

It transpires that we did climb some of the hills in the photo. Oh how wrong I was.

Week 5

Week 5 started okay with me completing a 2km endurance swim in 37:30 on Tuesday followed by a 5km run on Wednesday but I have so far missed three activities this week. I have missed Tuesdays bike and both the bike and the swim from today. The coaches advised us to treat this week as a rest week anyway so I don't feel so guilty about missing todays training.

I am planning on completing all my activities over the weekend but the weather in Doncaster  may not mean this is possible. There is snow forecast for Saturday. I hope I can manage my 40 mile bike ride and 9 mile run.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Heart Rates. What a confusing thing they are

Right I've been worried about how high my heart rate (HR) goes when I'm running.

Now the question is should I be worried or is it just me. Let me explain.

According to t'internet your max HR can be worked out using the formula of 220bpm (beats per minute) minus your age.

For me this would equate to 189bpm given I am 31 years young.

Also about t'internet are estimations on what bpm your HR should be.

Using the following page. http://www.sarkproducts.com/targetzonecalculator.htm my HR zones should be as below.

Zone 1 (40-52%) - 108 - 124 bpm
which is described as healthy heart and could be apparently achieved by walking briskly

Zone 2 (52 - 64%) - 124 - 141 bpm
which is described as easy and could apparently be achieved by jogging

Zone 3 (64 - 76%) - 141 - 157 bpm
which is described as aerobic and could apparently be achieved by running

Zone 4 (76 - 88%) - 157 - 173 bpm
which is described as anaerobic threshold and could apparently be achieved by going hard

Zone 5 (88 - 100%) - 173 - 190 bpm
which is described as VO2 max and could apparently be achieved by going all out

Now using the above data when I go for my 10km runs I would expect my HR to be mostly be between 124 and 157 bpm which are the zones which cover "jogging" and "running". However if we compare my last three long runs of 10k using the data from my Garmin my HR's have been as follows.

17/02/13 - Distance 7.02 miles in 01:19:31, where my average HR was 161bpm and my maximum HR was 174bpm

10/02/13 - Distance 6.22 miles in 01:07:57, where my average HR was 155bpm and my maximum HR was 173bpm

02/02/13 - Distance 6.58 miles in 01:10:56, where my average HR was 163bpm and my maximum HR was 176bpm

As you can see the above puts me on the boundary between zones 3 and 4, which should mean I am being anaerobic. Now from my understanding anaerobic exercise should only be able to be maintained for a duration of about 2 minutes comfortably.

However I can maintain a "zone 4" HR for a period of longer than 2 minutes. I did maintain a "zone 4" HR for period of over 23 minutes today.

Thus the only conclusion I can make is that my zones are not as estimated by various sources on t'internet. I believe that my trigger HR between aerobic and anaerobic is 170bpm ish. I can carry on running for periods of 20+ minutes as long as my HR does not breach my 170bpm threshold. This makes estimating my other zones extremely difficult.

Joe Friel agrees on his blog (http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/03/high-heart-rate-questions.html) with my estimations above and his esteemed colleague John Post MD states in this blog post that

"1)     No two of us are the same.

2)     No two of us fit the exact same formula/parameters relating heart rate to training."

Now if I throw in the bike things become even more complicated. I have no idea what my zones on the bike are which means that training in zones when running or cycling is difficult for me. I just have to learn to listen to my body and what it tells me. I know when I need to walk to lower my HR. I'm even debating ditching the HR monitor strap and

Who knew when I took up this triathlon lark that I would get so confused and involved with training and HR zones.

Sorry for the boring post but this whole HR mumbo jumbo has been on my mind for a few months. Remember I am doing this for charity, if you feel like sponsoring me you can do by going to  http://www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry

Thanks for reading.

Michael

I am a runner

Well January was an interesting month for me.

January was the month which saw me finally start to get to grips with running. I needed to make some changes to my footwear but with the help of Sweatshop in Meadowhall, I think I have finally found some trainers which

• don't give me blisters
• suit me forefoot running style

and

• are immensely comfy

After having a gait analysis done for the third time (hopefully this one will be more successful than the last two) I decided on a pair of Asics Gel Fuji trainers for my offroad exploits and a pair of Asics Gel Lyte 33 trainers for my road pounding sessions.

As usual with my trainer choice, they are incredibly understated.

A combination of the trainers, my PT sessions and my own stubbornness and determination has seen me set 9 running PB's in the month of January.

• 1km in 04:16 an improvement of 34 seconds
• 1.5km in 07:07 an improvement of 91 seconds
• 2km in10:37 an improvement of 63 seconds
• 2.5km in 13:30 an improvement of 75 seconds
• 3km in 17:23 an improvement of 110 seconds
• 1 mile in 7:42 an improvement of 85 seconds
• 2 miles in 18:50 an improvement of 31 seconds
• 3 miles in 28:25 an improvement of 199 seconds

And the one I am most proud of

• 5km in 29:29, an improvement of 216 seconds and something I have been chasing for what seems like an eternity. A sub 30 minute 5km.

9 PB's. The most amazing thing about this is they were completed in the space of 3 runs. I think I might finally be getting the hang of this running lark.

On Saturday I also completed only my third 10km run in my life. It was a struggle running on my own but I set a new PB for 10km. I only need to shave another 6 minutes off my time and I will have gone sub 1 hour. The 10k in question was completed in 1 hour and 6 minutes.

These are all steps in the right direction with regards my running and I am starting to enjoy it. I even contemplated carrying on with my run on Saturday but given I have injured myself by doing too much too soon previously,  I decided against it. I was feeling really strong and half of me was sorely tempted to continue with my run.

Sunday saw me complete my first outside bike ride of 2013 on my road bike. Oh how I have missed the Madone. It is so much comfier and more responsive than my hybrid mountain bike. I pushed myself and completed 32 miles. The headwind was atrocious but as the weather is something I have no control over I decided to MTFU and go for a long(ish) ride. My average speed was 15.9mph which is above the requireemnts of Outlaw.

At the Outlaw I must maintain a speed of 13.7 mph to complete the bike course in 08:10, whereas if I could maintain the speed from Sunday I could complete the bike course in approximately 7 hours.

January also me finally break my target of 27:30 for a 1500m endurance swim, when I completed the distance in 27:09.

I have also taken up training with Adwick Masters Swim club on a Tuesday night and have been struggling through these sessions. In the first session I was the slowest swimmer in the slow lane. This was a culture shock to me when I have been lapping people in my gym's swimming pool.

All in all you could say that the month of January has been a good month for me and I'd have to agree.

I am also 95 days cigarette free and this is the best decision I have ever made. I am not missing them at all.

Bring on February and all the improvements that will bring. February will also see me start my 20 week iron distance training plan.

Remember you can sponsor me by clicking on the following link www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Running and me

Those who don't follow me on Twitter and are new to this blog may not realise how much I detest running.

A brief history about me and running.

I have never been a runner. I used to despise cross country at high school. I didn't see the point in punishing myself as I have always been a big lump of a lad and running hurt.

The only time I have enjoyed running was when there was a point to it such as when I was playing a team sport like football or ultimate frisbee.

I played football through school and ultimate through university.

I graduated from university in 2002 and have barely played ultimate since, which means I had barely run in 10 years before I started this quest.

Pre quest the last time I ran was in 2006.

Fast forward 6 years and I decided to take up triathlon after giving up smoking.

I always knew the running would be the hardest discipline in triathlon for me as it is something I have never enjoyed, but the challenge had been set.

Running and triathlon 

My triathlon running career hardly got off to the greatest of starts. I managed a full three runs before injury, which saw me unable to run between 7th Feb 2012 and 22nd April 2012 as I had achilles tendinitis.

So here I sit in January 2013 with my running career under 9 months old and I thought it prudent to compose this post.

Given my team sport background I was a forefoot striker but some bad advice that I received from numerous people told me transition to heel striking.

I persevered with this until after the London Triathlon after a running coach advised me to run how my body wanted to run which was forefoot striking.

It took me a long time to get my head into running and I was so unfit. I tried the usual couch to 5k programmes with no success. I used to run walk to different number of lampposts to assist me with running.

My team sport background means I was used to sprinting for short periods of time and then recovering by walking before sprinting again. When I started run training I couldn't get my head around lowering my pace to enable me to run longer and honestly it is only since September that I have learnt to pace myself.

If we compare two of my speed graphs there is a vast difference.

First we have a run from May 2012 where you can clearly see the run walk strategy I was used to using. The distance of this run was 2.08 miles at an average pace of 14:46/mile.

Then we have my run from today where I have learnt to pace myself, I manmaged to run for a total of 49 minutes with one minute of walking and shock horror I even started to enjoy some of the running today. My distance today was 4.72 miles at an average pace of 10:30/mile.

You can clearly see I have learnt to pace, the peaks and troughs have disappeared. This is a huge achievement for me given my relative infancy when it comes to running.

I also managed to reduce my average pace by 29%.

I couldn't be happier that I have learnt to pace and because of this I can increase the distances I run. I know I bitch and moan about running but I am starting to enjoy it and in nine months I have come a bloody long way through my own hard work and determination.

One of the challenges I blogged about earlier (http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/2012-retrospective-look-at-year-which.html) has seen me turn a corner with regards to running and that is the #12runsofchristmas. During the 12 days from boxing day I ran everyday with varying distances. I set PB's for 1km, 1 mile and 2.5km. I reached a milestone by completing 2.5km in under 15 minutes.

This challenge was the brainchild of Karen Weir (www.runwithkaren.com) and I would like to thank Karen for a lot of help she has given me for it was Karen who told me to listen to my body and forefoot strike when I was at a low in my running (three weeks before the London Triathlon), it was because of Karen boosting my confidence that I managed to complete my first 5km constant run.

If you are struggling with your running in any respect, I could not recommend a better running coach than Karen. The only problem being she is based in London but if you're down that way, look her up.

There are a few issues with running that I have to sort such as I am getting blisters and the fact that over the next 25 weeks I have to increase the distance I can run by 550% so that I can complete the Outlaw but honestly I am over the moon tonight as I am starting to enjoy running.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Most popular posts from 2012

Just thought I'd do a quick link to my most popular blog posts from last year for those that are new to me blogging exploits. Who knows you may read something useful in these gems (and thats those as viewed by my discerning readers i.e. you)

I'll also include a brief summary of the blog post to save you reading them all unless you really want to.

And starting the countdown of at

Number 5 - http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/i-have-officially-left-reservation-four.html

This blogpost detailed four days of training on the bounce and how I had reached 60 days nicotine free. I even got a comment from the Worldwide Director of Allen Carr.

Number 4 - http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/and-on-seventh-day-god-created-rain.html

This blogpost detailed my exploits at the London Triathlon in the most horrendous weather I have had the misfortune of being stuck outside for. A total of 3 hours and 32 minuts later I crossed the finish line. This triathlon was the main aim for 2012 and I was proud to complete.

Number 3 - http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/where-has-time-gone.html

This post detailed the gems of wisdom that were taught to me by two of my coaches at swimming and running. Things which I still use to this day

Number 2 - http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/training-or-lack-thereof-update.html

This post was one of the first I ever wrote and I can only think it had so many views because it was mentioned by Jonny Brownlee on Twitter. Not just a RT but an actual mention.

And at Number 1 - http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/im-not-virgin.html

This blogpost detailed my first ever triathlon and if any future triathletes find it useful then I'm glad I was of some assistance.

Thanks for reading,

Michael