My next competition is now just 2 weeks away which means I'll need to switch some of my training to shorter sessions that match the requirements on the day. The Duathlon is a 2 mile, 10 mile, 2 mile dash and it's a repeat of my first Duathlon back in November. It will be a good chance for me to get an idea on how much , if any, progress I've made since I started my training this year. I suppose the fact that no two events are identical makes it hard to get a good handle on how you're doing. Next Sunday will be good as long it isn't too cold.
Okay that's next week, but that means the London marathon is now less than 10 weeks in the future, crap it's getting here fast. 15.5 miles is due on Sunday and that's a thick end of 2.5 hours of running. Just mapping it out on the computer took forever, my youngest son did suggest using the bike, but I'm not sure I can pull that one off on the day. We are definitely getting into the realms of creams and balms, I'm currently suffering from chafing caused by my running tights last Sunday. Doesn't chafing mean you are doing something the body isn't designed for? Does that make this running lark un-Christian, perhaps I'm consigning my soul to eternal damnation and that's going to sting more than my sore balls.
Week 7
How things have changed, I actually looked forward to my Monday rest day this week and at no point did I even consider any exercise. 14 miles is a seriously long way, but only constitutes just over half the marathon distance. All the training schedules say to only increase your distance by about 10% each week, which on the face of it sounds quite reasonable, but 15.4 miles still sounds a bloody long way too.
Tuesday saw my body starting to return to normal which was nice, so I started the day with a 45 minutes spin class. Cycling in the warm with loud music is always better than freezing rain and freezing my arse off. Received an email from the cricket club today with all the kids cricket fixtures, looks like the 27th May is a free day so it seems like this will be my first Triathlon. Better start getting in the pool again. I don't want to drown, that might spoil the day.
Wednesday is swim day and yet again I'm off on my travels, sunny Solihull this week and guess what, no chance to swim, not much chance to do much of anything to be honest. It's a 3 hour drive home so I wasn't feeling that hopeful, but a combination of school half term, good weather and the reasonable finish time to the meeting meant I was home before 8pm. Time for a quick something to eat and a late night turbo in front of the telly. Now I know Blade Runner is a cult movie, but the final directors' stretch it out cut or what ever it was called wasn't much cop, but it did fill the two hours required and as a bonus by butt was feeling a lot less raw as well, happy days.
Thursday as usual started off with the obligatory spin class, always a good start and this was no ordinary Thursday. I'd managed to secure some evening babysitting, thanks Mum, so I headed off to the gym with all the other grown up men of working age. Now the plan was to do an 8km run, that's what the colour coded schedule said, but this was too good a chance to spend some quality time at the gym and there was an hour spin class at 7 o'clock. So I swapped my water for Maxifuel go faster juice, took an extra towel and set off. 3 hours and 7 pints of sweat later I returned home showered, completely knackered but with an hour on the bike and 45 minutes running under my belt. Good job
Now Friday was my rest day, but I've moved it to Saturday at the moment to allow for my cricket nets and as I managed 3 sessions on Thursday I didn't need to squeeze in anything extra on Friday morning, so I didn't bother. Also I was still a bit drained for Triple Thursday so I comforted myself with some light reading (both Triathlon and non sport), a liberal dose of gaming time and a little cricket. Next.
Rest day proper, but still plenty to do, I have a Triathlon to find, a 15 plus mile run to map out and a trip to the Triathlon Show 2012 to sort out. I've outrun my usual routes so to get in the distance I need I basically need to run around the whole of the Southend on Sea area taking in the sea front, casino, sports centre, airport and hospital. The route comes to 15.35 miles, that's close enough for me. Looks like I'll go to the Tri-show on the Saturday although I still need to arrange a baby sitter. I also think I've managed to find a sprint triathlon that is less than an hours drive away, reasonably priced and with a slightly sensible start time. Why do they all start so early, doesn't anyone enjoy lie-ins.
Queue the drum roll. Sunday morning is here, fade in the epic movie music and 15 plus miles awaits me out there, dun-dun-da. All I will say on the run is it hurt, I didn't like it and it wasn't fun. Not one bit. Why, why o why?
Training this week
Swimming 0 hours
Cycling 4.25 hours
Running 3.5 hours
Cross training 1 hour
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