Thursday 16 July 2015

Extracts from the training diary..

So its getting near time to head over to Norway for the NXTRI, Celtman seems like ages ago, even though it was only just over 2 weeks. Time flies when you are having fun, training hard and looking forward to the next race.

Thought it might be interesting to add as little update on recovery and training after a big race like Celtman. Last year I had a bit of rest and change of focus after, this year has been a little different and I was unsure how it would go. Two plans, the first one to recover and just tick over, this was the plan I thought most likely would be used. Plan 2 was recover quickly and be able to push for 3 weeks before a rest week and race.



After a quick recovery (Pretty sure CurraNZ had alot to do with this, what would I do without them!), glad to say I made plan number two, there is enough time in 3 weeks to make a difference and some adaptions. I have gone for a big change in the approach I used leading into Celtman to help force some adaptions and keep the body guessing. I have kept a close eye on my recovery from sessions and resting HR, so far so good and pretty sure I still have some gains to make.

The week following Celtman looked like this-

Mon- Easy open water swim, 30mins

Tues- Rest

Weds- AM, easy run, flat, road, 30mins PM, easy bike, 50mins and pool swim, 45mins, 20x50 max
effort

Thurs- AM, pool swim, 45mins, steady 300m reps and bike, 45mins, easy PM run, 30mins, easy, flat road

Fri- Bike, 1hr45, easy pace, high cadence

Sat- AM, easy run, trail, 1hr PM, open water swim, easy, 30mins

Around 9hrs, nearly all easy apart from a couple of pool sessions

The 'Pool', ideal place for an easy swim in the VicD

An easy week, the idea was to keep the legs turning over but not tax the system, I found by the end of the week the easy runs felt better, but legs still a little dead.

The next few weeks will be looking something like this-

Mon- AM, pool swim, 1hr30+ PM, long bike, 2hr30-4hrs

Tues- Rest

Wed- AM, run, 1hr, road, flat, steady/easy pace PM, bike, 45mins, steady and pool swim, 1hr

Thurs- AM, pool swim, 45mins and bike 45mins PM, Turbo, VO2max intervals, 1hr

Fri- AM, open water swim, easy, PM, run, hard, 15min IM race pace, 15min Tempo, 15min Uphill

Sat- Bike, 1hr45, tempo/race pace staedy effort, rolling course

Sunday- AM, pool swim, 1hr+, PM Turbo, threshold, 3-4x10min or similar, 1hr+ and run 1hr30+ with a good chunk at target race pace, flat

Celtman Vs MTB :)

So 15-20hrs total per week, peaking 1 week before the race then plan is to really cut back quickly, retain some efforts to stay sharp and freshen up. Very different to the 3 week taper I used going into Celtman. For more detail on the session check out my Suunto MovesCount page.

The main changes to training sessions are going back onto the turbo for some more intense efforts (VO2max efforts have become a fave, 5x3min), keeping the sessions shorter to avoid fatigue and heading back onto the road for most of the running as this is how it will be in Norway. The hard run of the week is designed to replicate the Norseman course, with a flat steady effort, as I hope to race, an above pace effort to hit the legs then an uphill run at goal effort level, all over 10% in an attempt to prepare for Zombie Hill. Lucky I like running uphill! So far so good and feeling better already, lets see what we can wring out in the next few weeks without over doing it!

Blair has been working me pretty hard in the pool, with a few 5km sets in the bag and more to come, the swimming is improving nicely and I am feeling strong.

I also paid a visit to the guys over at Eleven Sprocket, glad to say my bike issues at Celtman have been solved thanks to some sound advice from Rich Dean, a top time trialist who really knows his stuff. The result is more comfort, more power and more aerodynamic! Cheers lads, the bike is going like a dream now. Also had a little race, Celtman vs MTB, uphill only, guess who won, the picture gives a clue ;). It was close fought thought and I have agreed to give Matt 'Tea Boy' B a rematch when hes race fit :).

Next stop Eidfjord and NXTRI!




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