The week ahead

With the exception of the weekend just gone when my training was a big fat zero, the few days beforehand didn't look too bad and I completed nearly all of the sessions I listed in my previous blog post.

The key weekend slots throughout November are looking a lot less busy than my October schedule, so now is the time to really move it up a gear.

This coming weekend I am planning a long run and review of my new Salomon trail backpack. I also intend to dust off the turbo-trainer and set up my racing (Tri/TT) bike on it, ready for action. Other weekly goals include buying a new pair of trail shoes and some new swim goggles.

Today I re-jigged some of my life assurance to include a Prudential Vitality plan where I hope to earn lots of rewards for my training (Garmin link to Vitality account). Included as partners of Vitality are Garmin, Sweatshop and Evans Cycles - some deals provide Vitality members with as much as 50% off.

I plan to start by getting 50% off my trail shoes from Sweatshop - all looks relatively simple. I am likely to purchase another pair of Asics trail shoes with Goretex, however I also wish to try the Salomon shoes before making a final decision. I can see another equipment review blog post coming up! If anyone reading this would like to know about Vitality and their rewards scheme then please let me know - I get some useful John Lewis vouchers if I can make an introduction.

Anyway, on to the week ahead:

Mon: 2:45 bike commute + 1:00 club swim
Tue: 0:45 run + 0:15 strength work
Wed: 1:30 run + 1:30 club swim
Thu: 0:45 bike turbo + 0:15 strength work
Fri: 2:45 bike commute
Sat: recovery/coaching
Sun: 2:30 easy trail run

In summary, bike: 6:15; run: 4:45; swim 2:30; strength: 0:30. Grand total: 14:00. A big step up from recent weeks. The key will be completing the long run on Sunday and committing to the extra club swim tonight.

I feel in need for a run commute to help with the big mileage targets but that may have to wait until next week - one step at a time.