Need to shed those Christmas pounds

So after a nice Christmas break and time with the family I have been picking up the training once again as my big ultra distance event is fast approaching.

I certainly am in need of some serious exercise as after a long 25km run yesterday and a decent pace swim tonight I just weighed myself to find myself still a good 6 pounds over my healthy bodyweight and probably nearer a stone off my race weight and what I should be aiming for in April.

I have set out a basic plan to run 3 times a week. 2 shorter distance (5 to 10km) as strides, hill reps, intervals or tempo and one long distance run. For recovery and cross - training I will build in swimming, cycling (mostly turbo / MTB) and some strength work at the gym.

A typical week should be as follows:

Mon - swim
Tue - strides run set
Wed - bike turbo / swim
Thu - tempo run
Fri - gym / spin class
Sat - swim
Sun - ĺong run

I need to pushing back up to 10 hours by mid January and 12-14 during Feb / Mar.

My long runs need to increase to 30km - 50km in distance and over 4 hours on my feet. Most of these long easy runs should be off - road and include plenty of hill work.

I cannot completely disregard my cycling as I have entered the classic Liege - Bastogne cycle sportive in late April.

It's all go!

A little run in Morzine

Back in Morzine for a few days skiing before Christmas - very lucky!

There isn't much snow around but we luckily found a few pistes open so got a few solid hours of activity in over the last three days.

Yesterday after we came off the slopes I managed an easy run around town and a short loop of the town, finding the scenic river bed, oudoor swimming pools, ice rink and high suspension bridge over the valley.

Gower Peninsula MTB weekend

Well what a weekend of cycling!

A very early start on Saturday morning meant I joined the boys at breakfast and well in advance of their proposed start time. The weather looked good so we saddled up and headed for those hills.

To be honest we were already pretty high up so almost immediately benefited from the amazing views of the surrounding countryside and picturesque beaches - it was simply breathtaking. I have been privileged to have cycled in some great places: South Downs (home), French Alpes and Spain but none were as dramatic as the trails and views of the Gower peninsula.

We were very fortunate as over the 2 days the weather was also very well behaved and I would even go to say pretty hot on the Sunday, however that aside the views was really what won the day.

Throw in some great company, good food, decent enough accommodation,  a few beers and Joe's ice - cream (a local favourite) this was an amazing way to relax and spend some much needed time on the bike.

If anyone is thinking of a weekend away on the bike I thoroughly recommend this part of the country, although it does help to have a local guide (in our case a friend from the Club sharing his favourite cycle routes) - thanks Sean.

Off to the World Cycling Track event in London (Olympic velo park) tomorrow, which should be fun.

Life turned upside down

Sometimes in life you are thrown a curve ball and before you know it everything is out of sink.

Unfortunately I lost my Dad 10 days ago and so you would not be surprised to hear that my focus on training has been somewhat lacking. I was very close to my Dad and he will leave a very big hole, however he has left me with many magical memories. He also would have wanted me to get right back on that horse and live my life to the full.

So here I am again, trying to cling on to some kind of normality and keen to get back to my beloved training.

I last left you with a brief post confirming a bit of an adventure and an off-road MTB ride covering the route I will run in April 2015 (Centurion 50-mile ultra event from Worthing to Eastbourne over the South Downs Way). I did start that ride and despite the wet and muddy conditions got to around the Firle-Alfriston area before being picked up. No disasters I just underestimated the time it would take and had arranged to meet me wife for lunch. I rode for around 5:30 hours but reckon that I needed another 1-2 hours to get to Eastbourne. The going was slow and some parts of the route were almost impossible to ride. However, I was pleased that for the most part I kept on going and my legs were able to carry me up each and every ascent. As a result of the ride I need to reconsider my goal time of 10-12 hours for the ultra 50-mile run, maybe 12-14 hours would be more realistic (certainly in current muddy conditions).

My swimming has certainly suffered over the last 2-3 weeks of inactivity with me typically only attending 1-2 sessions over the whole period. That certainly needs to be addressed. The cycling hasn't been much better although I have managed a couple of spin classes at the gym and another leisurely off-road ride with the boys from the Club.

Fortunately I have arranged a 2-day MTB ride in Wales (Gower peninsula) for this coming weekend, which is exactly what I need to get back on track. Hopefully I will back to report on that soon.

A bit of an adventure

Tomorrow I plan to cycle to Eastbourne on my mountain bike via the South Downs Way. It will be a perfect opportunity to check out the route and all the 'ups and downs' in preparation for the South Downs Way 50 mile run.

Full report to follow.

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!