Week ahead - more focus on running

Enjoyed a long off-road run on Sunday morning up on the South Downs - the great weather helped. I kept the pace easy on the flat (Z1-2) but it rose to Z4-5 on the main climp up to Chanctonbury ring (pictured). Also an opportunity to catch up on some of my favourite triathlon podcasts (Zen and the Art of Triathlon and Training Bible Coaching). Got home and was really juiced for the rest of the day.

Last week I logged about 40km of running. As I get closer to my next 'B' race - Barns Green Half-Marathon where I desperately wish to beat my time last year (and ideally my PB on the course) I will continue to focus on the running - adding in cycling and swimming for cross-training and recovery benefits. In previous years I have simply turned up on the start line for Barns Green and gone through the motion (typical 'end of season' event) - as a result my race times have got slower. This year I am determined to at least give it a go and train accordingly. The race is on the 30th September so not long to go.

Played around with the Annual Training Plan on Training Peaks last night, entering some potential goals for races for 2012/3 season. I need a bit more fine tuning and will report back once perfected. Meanwhile, post Barns Green I am considering building a base over the winter months in preparation for my 'A' races next year - Brighton marathon in April and a 70.3 triathlon event (race yet to be decided) in the summer of 2013.

This week I have booked in 10 hours of training to look something like the following:

Mon - 0:30 run (Z1-2 recovery + 5x intervals) / 0:30 strength
Tue - 0:50 run (base building, mostly Z1-2)
Wed - 1:00 timed 10km run / 1:30 Club Swim
Thu - 2:00 Easy bike Z1-2
Fri - 0:30 run (high cadence) / 0:30 strength
Sat - 1:00 Club Swim / 0:30 (Z1-2 recovery + 5x intervals)
Sun - 1:10 Club Aquathon event - 1000m swim + 10km run

Let's see how close I get to the plan!