Not the start to the season I wanted......

On Easter Monday I went out for a social bike ride with the members of Doncaster Triathlon Club.

I decided to ride the first 5 miles to the meeting point solo at race effort to see how my hours and hours sat on the Wattbike have affected my outdoor riding speed.

I was flying along and after I reached the meeting place, checked my average speed. For the 4.96 miles, I averaged 21mph including stopping for one junction and 4 roundabouts. I also managed 3 Strava 2015 KOM's and 2 2nd places. In a word the hours spent on my Wattbike have had a good effect on my outdoor speed. And all of this on my roadie with my standard wheels

I was buoyed with a new sense of confidence for the coming season.

We set off on the ride and I was taking it steady on the flats but putting in some efforts uphill and downhill.

The hills didn't seem any easier than last year but I definitely felt quicker.

After we stopped at Gringley on the Hill to regroup, we set off on a downhill section. As I reached the bottom of the descent I kept checking back for the other riders.

And then disaster struck. While checking back, I accidentally turned my bars and went flying over the handlebars.

After eating tarmac, picking myself up and dusting myself I noticed an unnatural ache in my left arm (well that and numerous scrapes). I rode on for another 10 miles before my adrenalin wore off. After that I could't continue. The pain in my arm had got significantly worse.

Cue a trip to A&E. My prognosis. One broken left radial neck. A minimum of six weeks off and having to cancel three races.

So now I find myself acting like a bear with a sore head because my preparation for this season was going so well but now the plans for the season have to change. I couldn't wait to put into practice everything that I have been working on since starting with my new coach.

The races I had to cancel were

Southwell Sprint
St Neots Sprint (A GB qualifier (I didn't expect to qualify but wanted to see by how much I needed to improve))
Epworth Sprint

Thankfully two of the race organisers have allowed me to either transfer to another of their races or given me a partial credit for another race.

Now the start of my season looks like this.

Askern 10k (I felt I needed a race post injury to test my fitness)
Nottingham Sprint (assuming I am able to race)

This is far from the start I wanted, I wanted to have raced three triathlons before Nottingham.

I realise I am cutting it fine trying to get race ready for Nottingham given it is only 54 days after my crash, but I need something to help keep me focussed.

I am trying to keep motivated by using my Wattbike but even this is difficult as I am not able to get into my correct riding position.

I am unable to run or swim at present unfortunately and I realise the 10k at Askern will really hurt as I will have only just started running again. My next check up at the fracture clinic is on Wednesday and I am hoping for some good news about the bone healing or even being able to drive.

Now I have been moping about my arm for two weeks. It is time to knuckle back down. I hope to complete 4/5 sessions on my Wattbike each week until I am able to partake in other training. If I can't be swim and run fit, I am going to do my damnedest to be bike fit.

Onwards and upwards,

Michael

Lactate training has changed my life

In November 2013, I booked in for my first lactate test at Blizard Physio.

Since then I have been training consistently to my HR zones.

When I went for that first test. My long steady runs were at around 11:00 min/mi. And I was struggling to keep my HR steady. Yes I know I have got (a lot) fitter in the past 16 months but my running has been rejuvenated and has improved a lot.

My 5km PB was 26:48, now it stands at 22:48.
My 10km PB was 59:58, now it stands at 50:20 and will be beaten this weekend at Gainsborough

The only thing that changed was running to HR and having someone who encouraged me. David Tune of Blizard Physio has been a guiding force in this turnaround. He encourages me relentlessly. When I'm feeling low, he picks up on it and takes time out of his busy life to talk to me. I can't ask for anything more from someone who I respect as a coach and friend. I can't recommend his lactate testing service enough. It has changed my outlook on running.

I'm not going to pretend I enjoy running but..... I now consider myself a runner. I'd still rather go for a swim or on my bike if I'm honest but I am getting better at the necessary evil that is running.

Before I get too maudlin, back to the point of the post.

Yesterday I went for a steady run and breezed through 5km in 24:58. A sub 25 5k on a steady run at an average of 8:02 min/mi.

A year ago I had only just managed to dip under the magic 25 minutes on an all out run with a pacer and felt awful at the finish line.

Thats a 27% improvement in my steady run pace in 16 months. The scale of this improvement astounds me.

I have come close to dipping under this target several times over the last three months, missing out by  a mere 20s on Christmas Day  but I was so pleased to complete it yesterday. It has been a constant itch and now that it has been done, I feel relaxed. Who knows what's next. I don't but I can't wait to find out.

Thanks for reading,

Michael (a runner)

3 months in......

5 months or so ago I was approached by the Head Coach of Doncaster Triathlon Club as he needed to coach an athlete on a 1 to 1 basis for his BTF Level 3 coaching award. 

I was thrilled that he asked me. We sat down to discuss when the coaching would start and what form it would take. 

We decided that the coaching would start in December after my last race of 2014 at Leeds Abbey Dash. 

To start things off in November we gathered some baseline data on my current swim bike and run ability. 

In November my performances were as follows

Swim - 400m time - 6:22

Bike - 3 minute test result - 351W average and 3.68w/kg

Run - 5km - 23:37

Now we are three months into the coaching partnership it was time for some retests across all disciplines. 

The last three months have been heavily centred around my bike and run. Any swimming I managed was an added bonus as it wasn't part of the plan. 

The training has consisted of (work and life depending) a minimum of three bike sessions a week and a minimum of three run sessions a week with one strength and conditioning thrown in for good measure. I've found it tough to manage my time but feel my training has been fairly consistent. Yes I've missed sessions but life is life and sport is something we do for fun so there is no point berating ourselves for those missed sessions. 

My weeks now boil down to

Monday - strength and conditioning and bike

Tuesday - track and bonus swim if not coaching

Wednesday - bike

Thursday - run

Friday - rest day or catch up on missed sessions

Saturday - long run or bike

Sunday - bike or long run

Given I am only doing sprints this year. My long runs are a maximum of 90 minutes in duration which is a lot different than last year where the duration had to increase if I was going to make the finish line in Klagenfurt. 

But I think the consistency is helping with my belief in myself. Last year I was making my runs and bike rides longer to cope with the fact I was doing an ironman. This year however I can concentrate on quality sessions. 

We scheduled last week as a rest and test week. 

The plan was for me to complete tests across all three disciplines and have a running lactate test at Blizard Physio all within one week. 

Monday - this consisted of my usual strength and conditioning class at Blizard Physio. Afterwards I went to the DTC committee meeting. 

Tuesday - I had my lactate threshold run test at Blizard Physio and now have some new heart rates to run at. Not a major change from what I was doing but threshold running just became 4bpm harder. I then followed this up with a timed 400m and 200m at the pool in the DTC swim. 

Wednesday - time to see how much 4bpm hurt? In a word they do. My average pace for the 45 min run was 8:08/mi. Now I know that is not quick by some people's standards but let's look where I have come from. This was a steady run. One that was not meant to put any lasting strain on my body. 18 months ago my pace for that sort of run was around 11:00/mi. 12 months ago I had only just gone under 25 minutes for 5km and nearly threw up after. Here I was nearly replicating it on a steady run. 

Thursday - given I was racing (myself) on Saturday at parkrun Scunthorpe, this was a bonus rest day. 

Friday - ahead of my PB attempt at Scunthorpe I went for a warm up and some strides. 

Saturday - I drove over to Scunthorpe and arranged to meet a friend who was going to pace me around the course. I went for a warm up lap and some strides before making my way to the start line. The plan was simple. Run at 7:00/mi for the duration of the race to hopefully get me home in 21:XX. During my lactate at Blizard Towers I ran 5 mins at this pace and according to the data it should have been achievable. The first lap was tough but we got round in 11:02 which was on pace. About a third of the way into the second lap, my head told me I couldn't do it, that I couldn't cope with the pain. On the uphill section I was in a bad way and told my friend it was a waste of time. He nursed me home encouraging me all the way with an 11:46 second lap to get me home in a new PB time of 22:48. I was thrilled to bits that I PB'd but can't help thinking what might have been possible if my head hadn't got involved. 

Sunday - steady bike ahead of my 3 minute test on the Wattbike on Monday. 

Monday - strength and conditioning followed by 180 seconds of suffering. 

180 seconds doesn't sound a lot but when you are putting everything you have through those pedals in an all out effort. It just hurts. There were several guttural animalistic screams which escaped from me in that 180 seconds. I'm amazed a neighbour didn't call the police. 

So there we go. One rest and test week (well 8 days but who's counting) completed. 

The results are in. 

Swim - 400m time - 6:11 an 11 second improvement off about 6 swims since November. 

Bike - 3 minute test result - 388W average and 4.17w/kg a 37w (10.5%) improvement 

Run - 5km - 22:48 a 49 second improvement. 

I'm pleased as punch. If you'd told me 3 years ago that I would be capable of these sort of times I'd have called you a bare faced liar. But do you know what?

Anything is possible and I don't know what the future holds. But I can't wait to find out. 

Thanks for reading,

Michael

#shakeandbake 

My new love

Over the past couple of weeks I have found a new love................

Pacing.

What a joy it is. I have paced some of the members of Doncaster Triathlon Club to new PB's at parkrun.

The first week, the plan was to pace three members to sub 28 times. Knowing the course at Doncaster, I had to speed up on the tarmac section as I knew the grass section (complete with section reminiscent of a paddy field) would cause the pace to slow.

I tried to keep the mood upbeat and encourage the runners all the way round. After 1.3 miles, one of the runners had to pull out. So now there were just two ad they were keeping with me stride for stride. By the start of the third lap one of them had dropped from me by about 10m. A quick check of my watch and the average pace was 9:04/mi which meant we would just miss out on the sub 28. We picked it up for the last half a lap and they stayed with me.

They crossed the line in 27:19 and 27:30 respectively.

One of the runners said after "When you said only 3 more minutes of hard work... I wanted to tell you to f*ck off I am working hard"

There is something amazingly satisfying about helping people achieve new PB's

So on to another week and I had another parkrun PB attempt with someone. This runner wanted a sub 30:00

After two laps of Scunthorpe including some swearing and lots of encouragement, she crossed the line in 29:56.

I was so thrilled for this runner as they have been chasing this target for a long time. With a bit of motivation and help, they did it. Like I said it is amazingly satisfying helping someone achieve PB's.

So pacing is the new thing I really enjoy. Now I just need someone to pace me to a PB next weekend. LOL.

Michael

One month with my Wattbike

So one month ago. My Wattbike arrived. In that month I have completed around 17 hours of training on it. Here is the lowdown of the last month

I have upgraded my #mancave by moving a larger TV out to the garage and creating a motivation board. The board is blackboard paint and as such can be constantly altered.

I bought a smart Blu Ray player to enable me to watch the YouTube playlists I have created like  Motivation 2 I do find that the likes of Eric Thomas do help keep me motivated when I am on my Wattbike.

But enough about the peripheral things which make my sessions enjoyable and keep me focussed. What about the nitty gritty.

The Wattbike. I absolutely love it. It is superb. It is just like riding a bike, I love the fact it even freewheels like a bike. I can't believe I have ridden over 350 miles in a month indoors. And I haven't been bored once. Because of the fact the Wattbike is so consistent, it is really easy to monitor things like power across different sessions and know that it is accurate and repeatable.

The sessions I have been completing have been painful at times but have been getting easier as the month has gone on. Because the sessions I am completing are based on reaching a certain wattage at a certain rpm, I can only assume I am getting fitter as the sessions are becoming easier to complete. At the end of my first session I was a shadow of my former self (from a mere 90 minutes before)  (first Wattbike blogpost) but the last time I completed the same session I found it a bit easier. It really wasn't easy though as can be seen in this Vine, just a bit easier on my heart and lungs.  My legs were still jelly after the 9th rep of 3 minutes.



I have been completing three types of session.

An endurance session where I hold my FTP (functional threshold power) for periods of up to 45 minutes at 90 rpm.

A "threshold" session where I hold a wattage above my FTP for 9 periods of 3 minutes at 90 rpm with a 2 minute rest between reps, where I gulp down oxygen like it is the most important thing in the World.

A strength session where I hold a wattage above for my FTP for 9 periods of 2 minutes at 70 rpm with a 3 minute rest period between reps where my quivering legs get some feeling back.

Even though I have done each session a minimum of 4 times in the last month, I have not found it boring at all.

In fact I am thrilled that in December I completed more miles than I ever have done previously.

I am sure the next month will see my coach schedule another 3 minute test which will mean the wattages I need to reach will most likely increase. This means the sessions will get even harder.

One half of me is looking forward to this but the other half of me is petrified.

I am even starting to get used to being in my new TT position following my bike fit the other month.

Thanks for reading,

Michael