Tag: week 12

End of Week 12, Start of week 13, Midweek update!

I am running late… again!

So last Thursday I already had run, and said in my midweek update that I wanted to go swimming. Well that thought didn’t stay in my head for too long, because by the time I got home, I didn’t want to swim anymore! I was a bit tired so took the evening off. On Friday I did my long run straight after work. Without the stomach problems that had plagued my last 2 long runs, I managed a 32km run with 10x 1km marathon pace/1km easier pace in the middle. There were some hard uphill intervals which I pushed through to keep marathon pace up, and one in Zornheim where a 4:15km wasn’t happening, not up a 7% hill!

I felt fine after my run, and on Saturday I wanted to cycle a bit and swim. I ordered a new cassette and chain for my road bike, so decided to put them on my bike. Now I am not the world’s best mechanic, but I was happy to get the cassette off easily and get the new one on, no problems.. Then the chain. I opened the old one, took it off, put the new one on and went to close it, except that I had to wide links facing each other. I couldn’t take another link out, because then it would be too short, so I tried to re-add links in. After a bit of a fiddle I managed to snap the chain tool, so I couldn’t ride my road bike. I was really really peed off, so ended up doing nothing all day Saturday!

On Sunday I cycled my TT bike to Undenheim to meet up with Dimi for a long ride. The weather was a bit chilly and breezy, but not bad. I was happy to be able to stop in Undenheim before he got there, as my bike was so badly set up for me it was hardly rideable! With the saddle about 4cm further back and 15degrees higher, and the back brake closed(!!) I was good to go. We cycled south over quite hilly terrain near Rockenhausen, with the wind, before turning back towards Mainz, against the wind. The last hour and a half were hard work, but sharing the work we managed it quite well. Dimi was fast on the hills again, occasionally putting me in difficulty, but by the end of the day it was pretty level, I tried to drop him on the Wolfsheim climb, but couldn’t quite manage it, damn! End result was 125km at 28.9km/h, a good ride.

Embarrassingly, I didn’t swim at all this week. I really couldn’t bring myself to do it, I need to get back into it somehow, but it was a bad week for swimming.

Running 74.8km (667.1km YTD)
Cycling 125km (1083km YTD)
Swimming 0km (24,25km YTD)

So as I am writing this on Wednesday 25.03, I am already well into the training week of week 13.
On Monday I did my 7x1km intervals on the treadmill. I felt great and my HR was lower than normal, so I increased the speed to 16km/h. I also did the last 1,5km as one interval. I was feeling very happy with myself, but then I clicked on the gradient and am now not sure if I was running at 0% or at my normal 1%. If it was 0% then it wasn’t so great, at 1% it was a great workout!

Last night I cycled to swimming! I swam 2km, all not crazy fast, but it wasn’t too bad really. I will try to get to the pool again sometime this week, though as I am going to Hamburg from Friday to Sunday for a stag-do, it could be difficult.
I am planning on doing more track intervals tonight. I haven’t decided what exactly, I think maybe the 1-2-3-2-1 pyramid that I did a couple of weeks ago. Tomorrow I might cycle, otherwise I won’t be cycling at all this week. That wouldn’t be great, but the clocks change this weekend!! WOOHOO, then I can actually ride in the evenings. I am really looking forward to it. I want to kick start my cycling season with some 250km weeks, I hardly managed any last year, so getting them in early this year would be good.

Friday I will run before going to Hamburg. Saturday I hope to be able to sneak away and either swim or go to the gym, same on Sunday, though I get back at about 5pm, so I could go when I get home.

I entered Bonn marathon, it’s only 3.5 weeks away now. I want to find a race on Easter weekend, but I can’t find anything that I can get to and from easily… If not I will try for a big cycling weekend over easter, maybe with a running time-trial to keep me ticking over. 3 hours is looking on, and last year 3h would have been 2nd best man in my age group, so I would have won 100€, that would be awesome, I’d basically be a pro!

Back on Sunday!

Midweek update – week 12 and random thoughts and plans

I have been quite busy this week so far, so I thought I would write a little midweek update 🙂
On Monday, I went to the gym did some leg strength work and did a hilly run on the treadmill for 45 minutes. As always the 6% and 7% parts are quite tough, but I think it has got a touch easier than last time I did it a month or so ago, so that was a good thing. I think I will try it at 11.5km/h next time out.

On Tuesday I ran before work, just faster than 5m/km pace and nice and easy. Not much to report.
I planned to swim straight after work, before going to the Irish pub for St Patrick’s Day, so at about 18:30 I went to Taubertsbergbad, only to find that only one double lane was open to the public. A quick glance inside revealed about 15 ‘swimmers’ in this lane, all swimming back and forth ‘breaststroke’. There was no chance I would actually be able to swim there, so I binned it.

After St Patrick was celebrated (I’m a lightweight nowadays, I only managed 3 Guinesses), I ran on Wednesday evening. I decided to go for simple 400m repeats, the first of which was in 73 seconds, then gradually slower down to about 80 seconds over the next 7 repeats. The toilet was calling and my calves were screaming, so I left after only 7 intervals and jogged out a just longer than 10km run. I need to work on my speed work in minimal shoes, my calves were not happy at all, and still aren’t now as I write!

This morning I got up at 6am and went for an easy run. I realised that that means I have run everyday this week, and I plan to do my long run tomorrow, so that will be 75km or so before the weekend, but the weekend will be very light on running, so I think that is ok. I didn’t fancy my normal loop this morning for some reason, so I cut back through the part of town where I live and did a slightly shorter 10.6km run.

Tonight I want to swim, I won’t lie, haying not been to a TCEC swimming practice for a long time, I am a bit worried about it, but I will go anyway. Then tomorrow I will run long after work. I am going to try to eat simple low fibre food until then, so hopefully I won’t have the stomach discomfort I have had during my last 2 long runs. The current plan is 5km normal to start with, 20km of 1km marathon pace, 1km easier, then 5-10km easy to end the run.

I’ve planned a long ride on Sunday, I plan to ride the Undenheim RTF route.
http://www.gpsies.com/map.do;jsessionid=D3CEAFDB8C941269908C3076FE020DEC?fileId=mjbeuzipodvejfon

It’s ‘only’ 110km, but Undenheim is 17km from home, so that would be 144km total. I have posted in the TCEC facebook group to see if I can get a group to ride, no positive replies yet! Dimi is in though.

On Saturday I want to keep it relaxed. A swim and a short cycle. There is important balcony work to be done, so I won’t fill my day too much with training!

To the random stuff: profile-design-fc25-hydration-system-17

I want me one of these bad boys, it has a GPS holder, is aero and holds a load of liquid. It would be good to have before Wasserstadt.
I need to get a torque wrench. By some sort of amazing coincidence, both of my bikes have the same bottom bracket and I can use my ordered powermeter on either, when it arrives. Apparently a torque wrench is pretty necessary if I want to not break the cranks, so I will get one before the power meter arrives.

I have been reading about ‘proper Ironman training’, the general consensus seems to be that running can be reduced to very little, as long as you’re fit and can cycle like the wind. I think this summer might be a big cycling summer!

One last thing, I have been looking at when the outdoor pools (Freibäder) open. Apparently it won’t be until at least late April, which sucks, I don’t see me getting in a big load of swimming until after that happens, and even then it is unlikely! The clocks change next weekend, then it is go time for evening cycling…. 300km weeks here we come!

Oh yeah, I weighed myself once and was 77.5kg, not great but not bad. 76kg for Bonn would be good.

Start of week 12

As I am writing this on Monday evening, I can accurately predict that I will do hill intervals at the gym on the treadmill on Monday after work! I also did some leg strength work.

Tomorrow’s plan is to run before work, then swim after work at Taubertsbergbad, before celebrating St Paddies Day at the Irish Pub. On Wednesday I would like to run before work again, and cycle after work. I feel like doing some short intervals on Thursday for some reason, I might do a pyramid again but 400-600-800-1000-800-600-400, the paces would be hard to work out as I have little idea! lets say now 1:15-1:55-2:40-3:30-2:40-1:55-1:15, is that reasonable? I really don’t know but lets find out!

Friday would ideally be long run day again with a good portion at race pace, followed by a Saturday swim and cycle and Sunday long cycle.

I pre-ordered myself a powermeter today, I am both excited and nervous about it! It is a 4iiii Precision, a new crank based powermeter that promises to be like stages but cheaper and more accurate. Fortunately they will be pre-assembled on the crank arm, not DIY like they first planned!
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I have never trained with power before, but I think it can only help for pacing the long distance and middle distance races I have planned this year 🙂 I have no idea when it will get here, but I am looking forward to it, I can plan some proper intervals too, it’s done wonders for my running, hopefully it’ll be the same for cycling…

5 weeks to Bonn marathon, oh yeah, I am not going to do the Tour of Flanders, too much effort, I would have to do it alone and I could better use the 4 day weekend training at home, sad but a good choice I feel.