It's Time To Burn

Tuesday 17th September, 2013

Swim

2 x 100m Warm Up
8 x 200m
1 x 200m Hard

Total 2,000m

Feet started to cramp at the end so just stopped, was planning to do a bit more but was a bit stuck for time too. The clock was broke in the pool so just put in good effort on the 200m sets and kept the breaks in between to a minimum.

Not sure what i am going to do when my membership runs out in a few days. Will see what they offer me and make my mind up then. Will look into what pool sessions tri clubs are running too as an alternative as i really only use the membership for swimming at the minute.

Got the turbo trainer and a gps watch / sensors ordered for a very good deal imo. Looking forward to getting them next week and setting them up. Think it will help with my bike a lot and with weight loss which i am kinda focused on a bit now too.

Thursday 19th September, 2013

Swim

1500m Block
2 x 100m sprint
1 x 75m Warm Down

Total 1,775m

The pool was epic last night went about 7pm and there was only one other person in it with myself. Water was clear and lovely temperature. Couldn't ask for more really, had a lane to myself.

Decided before I went in that I would try swim one large distance to see how i fared. It went well, i felt fairly good towards the end of the block but technique was definitely starting to fall off. I didn't have anything to time it with but id say it was swimming at 80% effort.

Done two 100m sprints afterwards to just check what time i would do as a matter of interest. Effort was 95%, considering i just swam 1500m i was happy with this. 1st - 1:29 / 2nd - 1:31. Id say i could shave a good few seconds off these if i done them at the start and if i knew how to kick turn which i must learn to do.

Monday 23rd September, 2013

Turbo Trainer

Total Time: 40:00

Got home and even though it was a lovely evening i decided to set the turbo up and give it a go. Didn't take long at all after double checking a few things.

The sensors haven't arrived yet so was doing it completely blind. I can see why you need something to record your progress / measure your effort as i planned to do a 15 minute section at a good pace and after what seemed like a decent amount of time i looked at the watch and only 4 minutes had passed :rolleyes:.

Moved the trainer around then to face the computer screen and watched something for about 25 minutes. I done 40 minutes in total and wasn't wrecked at the end but at the same time i felt like i had worked hard at something. It was a strange feeling. Took me a while to feel comfortable on it too. The main thing that struck me was the amount i sweated in the 40 minutes even with a couple of breaks. My t-shirt was completely saturated at the end like i was in the shower or something. Looking forward to getting everything set up properly now and will definitely try trainer road for the free month they offer.

shansey wrote: »

Hey! Seems your in a similar position to me.. From Donegal, live in Dublin, surfing background and big ambitions for triathlon next season.. Did a few races this year and dropped some excess pounds too.. If you ever need a training partner give me a shout

Thanks, PM Sent

Wednesday 25thth September, 2013

Run

Distance:7.63K
Time: 46:14
Average Speed : 9.9Km/h
Average Pace: 6:03 min/Km

Plan was to do a longer run that i normally do (5km). Really happy with what i managed here and more so how i felt throughout. This is the longest distance i have ever run and i finished strong and felt great. I tried to keep the pace slow at the start and it really helped. Normally i tear off and am wrecked after a couple of kilometers. Also only looked at the watch for the first time at 30 minutes.

This is first time i feel like i have seen a significant improvement in my fitness since i started a few weeks ago. Gives me a lot of encouragement to keep going. Already thinking about aiming for 10k for the next longer run or maybe the one after that.

Friday 27th September, 2013

Travelling back to Donegal. Would have liked to do something in the morning but body was very tired on Thursday night and Friday morning so just left it.

Saturday & Sunday 28th & 29th September, 2013

Another weekend at home and no training to show for it. I wanted to do something on Saturday but just didn't manage it, no excuses here really should have done something in the morning. There were no waves for surfing so decided to go out wake boarding. Had great craic trying to do it and messing about.

I was planning to do a run on Sunday but decided it was best not too as my body was sore from the activities of Saturday and my chest was at me almost like i was coming down with something. Feel better today so i think it was the right decision.

Plan for this week is to step up the training a bit, train on both days at the weekend. One long run and one long cycle would be good.

Haha had asked my self the same question but I'm pretty sure I'm not. The fact that i was able to post the lack of training up here is a good sign. Its also been the same every weekend since i started so it not like its falling off just haven't managed to step it up yet.

I had started a similar project late last year but i got very sick with a chest infection that i couldn't shake for a month even with antibiotics. It basically ended my training and any plans i had. I'm probably over cautious now when it comes to putting my body under too much strain but i don't want a repeat of last year.

roseybear wrote: »

I gt ya! I've started running or on the turbo trainer before work in the morns, up at 6am, on the road to work by 7.20 and home by 20.50... dunno how long I'll be able to keep it up before getting a dose though

Fair play to ya. That's the next step for me alright. Might have a go at it some day this week. Are you doing anything in evening then? Still swimming in DCU?

Monday 30th September, 2013

Turbo Trainer

Time: 1:00:00
Distance: 18.5km
Average Speed: 18.6km/h
Max Heart Rate: 178bpm
Average Heart Rate: 147bpm
Average Cadence: 83

Done the 8 minute test on trainer road. Found it a bit strange. Wasn't sure how fast to go during the recovery between sprints that's why the figures were a bit low as i just took it easy to properly recover. If i was doing it again id make a better effort at it as it took me a while to figure out what was going on and how to follow it.

First impressions of trainer road are maybe not as high as other people were making it out to be. I'll pick a training plan and try it for the month anyway to give it a proper chance.

Tuesday 1st October, 2013

Run

Distance: 5k
Time: 27:47
Average Speed : 10.8k/h
Average Pace: 5:33 min/Km
Average Heart Rate: 167bpm
Max Heart Rate: 182bpm

Swim

Time: 12:40
Average Pace: 1:44 /100m

1 x 200m Warm Up
5 x 100m
1 x 25m Warm Down

Total 725m

Done a 5km run on the treadmill in the gym. Tried to up pace a decent bit from recent road runs. Upped pace every kilometer and downed it for last one. Felt good at end.

Went for quick swim after cause was pushed for time. Mainly wanted to try out new watch. It worked perfectly and recorded everything the way i hoped it would. Have a new stat called SWOLF now that i must look into a bit more.

Wednesday 2nd October, 2013

Turbo Trainer

Time: 1:00:00
Distance: 18.45km
Average Speed: 18.4km/h
Max Heart Rate: 177bpm
Average Heart Rate: 152bpm
Average Cadence: 84

Was in too much of a rush last time using trainer road and never set up the virtual power properly. Had a bit of time yesterday evening so went out and synced my new speed / cadence sensor to my garmin. Checked what speeds i travel at in certain gears / cadence as this is something which i never knew.

Got back and done the 8 minute test again with the virtual power set up correctly. Workout made a lot more sense this time round :rolleyes:. It changed me training plans too from before i done it so i say i will see advantages of it in a few weeks.

FTP worked out as 153 so that's the number i have to improve on. The resistance on the turbo wouldn't be in line with the resistance of road cycling. On a flat road I can sustain a much higher speed on the road than on the turbo. It doesn't really matter, just means there is no real point in cycling a certain distance on the turbo as it will take much longer than on the road.

Friday 4th October, 2013

Nothing (Rest Day)

Set the alarm for 6am to get up and do a turbo session. As it turns out this is more difficult than i had imagined, that extra hour of sleep makes a big difference to how tired you are in the morning. I gave it a miss. Will try again soon. Decided to make up for it at the weekend.

Saturday 5th October, 2013

Surfing 2.5hrs

Went to Tullan, Waves were small but enjoyable. A massive pack of body boarders kinda ruined it when they arrived towards the end. Would put me off going to Tullan at the weekend again.

Cycle

Time: 1:41:00
Distance: 33.3km
Average Speed: 19.8km/h
Max Heart Rate: 175bpm
Average Heart Rate: 152bpm
Average Cadence: 62

Plan was to do a long cycle and not worry about speed, try a few hills for a bit of a challenge but take it very easy over all. It was a lovely day and i really enjoyed this. There were plenty of hill on the route and it made me realise that i am hopeless on them. Something to improve on, i've gotten used to cycling around north county Dublin where its basically flat.


Sunday 6th October, 2013

Run / Jog

Distance: 10.0k
Time: 1:06:00
Average Speed : 9.1k/h
Average Pace: 6:31 min/Km
Average Heart Rate: 167bpm
Max Heart Rate: 182bpm

This started of as a very easy jog just get out and do maybe 5/6k. As i got to 2.5k and the point i was supposed to turn around i decided to keep going as i was really enjoying it and it was an amazing day. As i got closer to being 5k away from the house i decided to keep going so i could complete my first ever 10k distance. It wasn't too testing as i was taking it very easy.

The heart rate generally kept getting higher and higher as i went along. I could keep it between 155 and 165 for the first 5/6k but after that it was between 165 and 175. Maybe this is normal but i feel like i was putting in the same effort. Feel fine today apart from my knees being a bit tender.

Anyway very happy to have run this distance for the first time

Tuesday 8th October, 2013

Turbo Trainer - Gayley

Time: 1:00:00
Distance: 17.7km
Average Speed: 17.7km/h
Max Heart Rate: 167bpm
Average Heart Rate: 144bpm
Average Cadence: 82

This was the first session after completing my FTP test so the workout was based around that. It had 4 x 07:45 sections in it at my FTP (153). It felt easy enough to begin with but i soon realised after the second tough section that it was going to be very difficult. Will keep at it anyway, hopefully see major improvements over the winter with 2/3 of these a week.