The start of a training plan and goals today

Well I thought whilst on gardening leave I would have plenty of surplus time for training, blogging, resting etc.

So far, it hasn't really worked out like that! I am a little bit like a 'fish out of water' and somehow filling up my days with stuff - I think mostly productive, however certainly time-consuming and the days just fly pass.

There has been a gradual increase in training but I worry that unless I have a plan my beloved fitness regime is going to pushed further down my busy 'to do' list. Also, with the loss of my morning commute, there is a danger that my total hours swimming, biking and running are just not going to end up at the numbers I would like.

So time for some structure and increased focus!

My training plan starts this week. The first 9 weeks to just after Christmas I have labelled as my 'Base', working on a 3 week cycle: 2 weeks increasing in volume and 1 week lower. So week 1-3  is 8-9-8 (hours), week 4-6 is 9-10-8, and week 7-9 is 10-11-8 - hope that makes sense. Each week will have at least one easy/recovery day. During this base period the focus is simply getting the hours in, having some fun and enjoying the experience - I call it 'getting my head in the game'. Saying that, I do have some sub-goals of improving my core strength (additional gym work - not included in hours above) and doing more off-road training in preparation for my 'A' race in April 2015. For those that have not been following previous blog posts that is the Centurion South Downs Way 50 mile ultra race.

After the 'Base' period comes 5 weeks of 'Build' when I will attempt to improve my strength and speed with more interval sets and hill reps. Following the 'Build' is 7 weeks of 'Peak' training when I try to put all the training together and the volume (becoming more specific in nature) increases up to 14 hours a week. Then a 2-week taper before the the SDW50.

Simple!

I really will try and publish more blog posts - it is certainly good for the soul - and I think shorter, more regular posts are of more interest for any subscribers out there.

So goals (training-related) for today:

- Easy cycle to gym (approx. 12 miles each way)
- 30 min core and strength work plus chill out in steam room / jacuzzi (well I am on gardening leave)
- 1:30 Club swim
- Start tidying up the garage and create better space for turbo trainer

Report back soon - promise x

What's new Tri Hard Dave?

And I'm back!!

It has been a while since my success at Challenge Vichy when I logged another ironman-distance race in my training/event diary.

Since then my training has been light (around 5-8 hours per week) as my focus has switched to recovery mode. It has also given me a bit of time to work on other tasks both at home and work, which is no bad thing and makes for a more balanced lifestyle.

On Sunday I managed to get in a longer trail run (20km plus) and now feel that I am ready to up the training volume once again in preparation for the challenges ahead.

So what events have I got coming up and what are my goals for the months ahead.

Goals for the coming months:

• Gym / strength work in off-season to improve core - consider crossfit or joining a gym, take some fitness classes
• 'A' race - Centurion South Downs Way 50 mile ultra-distance run (target time - under 12 hours). Scheduled for April 2015
• Complete Level 1 British Triathlon Federation (BTF) coaching course - start in Nov 2014
• Shorter distance cross-country races - improve on 5km and 10km times
• 'B' race(s) - 70.3 triathlon (half-ironman distance) - yet to be decided
• Club races - try to participate in the majority of the Club's races in 2015

Other non-triathlon related goals for the coming months:

• Learn to ride a motorcycle - already passed CBT (125cc legal), progression to direct access
• Create a more decluttered and training-friendly garage (or 'cave of pain')

Some other news that is worth mentioning - I have been placed on gardening leave for the next 6 months (long story and not worthy of discussion in this training blog). This does present me with an opportunity to increase my training volume to levels that would have been difficult to maintain when I was working full-time. Hopefully this will help me in my preparation to my 'A' race and building up the miles off-road.

Now I am back online with more time on my hands I also plan to publish more blog posts to keep you informed of my progress and any tips I can provide on training, nutrition, health, productivity and general fitness.

Over the next few days I will be working on a training plan, taking the above goals into consideration, which will likely be bias to run training over the winter months.

Glad to be back!