What have the Romans ever done for us.........

Week 4, and a rest'n'test week. Pretty much stuck to the plan, missed one bike at the weekend, as the weather was poxy. Mid week felt great, MTB on tuesday felt strong, solid spin and some great trails over Devils Glenn and Carrick.

The rest of the sessions were done on the Lemond Trainer... i'm enjoying the indoor sessions so much more since Santa delivered it. A couple of steady easy high cadence sessions mid week, and an FTP test at the weekend. Numbers were lower than i'd hoped, but at least now i have a benchmark to improve on!

CP5@300W, CP20@223W

You can see my pacing for both 5min and 20min intervals was way off, ideally HR and PWR lines should be parrallel, there is significant de-coupling here. Had i paced the first 5min interval better i might have also had a bit more in the legs for the 20min interval! Lesson learned for next time :-)
 
Finally i got my MRI scan done on Saturday, so am waiting for the results as i type!

Next week, Base2 Week 1 - 10.5hrs planned, lets hope the snow/ice doesn't interuprt the training too much!

Playing the waiting game...

So week 3 of 2012 down, and another solid week of training. The back hasnt hindered me too much this week, just working within my limits!

8.5 hrs on the bike, and 3hrs of strength/stretching and yoga, made for the best week of the year so far (doesnt really say much tho!)

For those who follow/understand the principles of TSS (Training Stress Score), i'm looking to hit around 500TSS per week for the bike, last week 412, so a little low.

also following the principle of periodisation, i'm on my first rest'n'test week this week. This weeks target is 6hrs on the bike, and an hour of strength/stretching. no yoga this week, and am having my MRI on saturday, so that should help me identify whats causing this nerve problem and set me on the right path to fix it!

Also planning on doing my first FTP (Functional Threshold Power, i.e. the power you can hold for a 1hr TT) test on saturday afternoon, havent done one of these in a long while, but with the new indoor trainer and my trusty Ergomo, i'll aim to get a benchmark as to where i am right now.... i'm guessing around 230-240 FTP!

The test itself is from Coggans Power book, and is a 20min all out TT in controlled conditions, then with a bit of simple maths, works out your FTP.

so for now, signing off, this time next week, i hope to have data galore - MRI and FTP!!!

so RSVP..... TTFN......

:-)

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.....

Week 2, and a mixed bag this week. Made the decision mid week to see the GP and get a referral for an MRI. Long overdue, but progress on the back just isnt moving fast enough. So MRI now booked for the 28th, and a months worth of strong painkillers to keep me from grumbling too much!

on the training front, managed few solid sessions, 4 spins adding up to 6.5hrs on the bike, a couple of strength and stretching sessions, and my first ever Yoga session!

have to say, really enjoyed it. Felt like a twat for the first few mins, then got into it! Could do most of the exercises, a few i was really restricted with, but am really hoping this will help address the muscle imbalanace issues that are impeeding recovery for my back!

Saturday's spin was a bit of a write off, and probably will be for the next few weeks, as the Yoga is on a Friday night, so will be aching and sore on saturdays for a while, but hey, if it leads to progress!

still trying to stick to a plan of sorts, which will get me to the Wicklow 200! Target for more solid hours this week, try and get the saddle time up to close to 10hrs, but we'll see!

Humble Pie and being on the recieving end!

Well week 1 over, and i finished up a reasonable week with my tail between my legs and feeling very sorry for myself!

The week ended with a 3hr fast(ish) paced club spin on Sunday. we had a solid group of 10 or so in the group, and rode a steady pace from Ashford to Aughrim. From there the pace picked up as we descended down the valley and back to Avoca. From Avoca the climb to Shelton had me shelled out the back pretty quickly on the steeper sections at the beginning, i just tapped out a rhythmn, around 175bpm and as the gradient eased the group came back into sight, and even managed to sneak past them to the top of the climb.

Was feeling ok at this stage, tho i knew that i was low on fuel, no brekkie, and only an Oat bar to keep me company, i was fearing the dreaded bonk at some stage. This came at 2km out from home, the final dig up the new road from wicklow to rathnew, the gasket blew, and i was left with my granny and large dose of humble pie!

Great spin, first spin with the "big boys n gals" in around 3 months, so happy to have almost survived


The rest of the week was ok, a tough MTB spin on tuesday night, with a 3km - 24% climb cleaned the lungs out. Managed only one indoor session on wedesday and a 2hr spin sat pm, so just over 7hrs on the bike.

Was at the osteo Tuesday morning, progress is slow with the back, i'm having most of my pain in my left glute now, the back pain itself seems to be dissipating. The glute pain is quite uncomfortable to be honest, i need to get to work on the strength sessions for my back and glute muscles over the next month.

so far so good, nothing spectacular for the first week, but a solid start.

4 bikes, 1 swim (which hurt), 3 stretching sessions and 9hrs total.

This week, Base 1, Week 2 target is 10hrs on the bike, 2hrs Strength and Conditioining!

2012 - the next chapter

So 2011 is done, and I've closed the chapter on a year of injury and false dawns.

Im still not fully fit, but am moving in the right direction.

this time last year, i was starting my preparation for my 2nd Ironman, felling strong and ready for a great season of racing. It's amazing what 12 months can do both physically and mentally.

Triathlon is all about dealing with challenges, and last year was no different in that respect. The challenges were with my body rather that against the clock.

I've certainly become a stonger person in being able to deal with the injuries and also the potential longer term challenges i will have with managing them.

From now on, i will have to stretch every day, and make sure that Strength and Conditioing become part of my weekly routine whether in a programme or not.

I haven't raced a triathlon in anger since 2009 (i did a 1/2 IM half heartedly in 2010!).

so my goals for 2012.....

1. Regain my fitness and get my back ready for full time training - End of February
2. Focus primarily on the bike for H1 - looking at Wicklow 200, Leinster Loop and some Sprint time trials
3. complete a triathlon by the end of the season.

not the most lofty of goals, but i have to be realistic!

Lifes too short to be sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself!