Ironman Training Diary: Week 5 – clean house or social life!

Training Plan

Day10IW*HumangoIntentionActual
MondayRest Bike 75 mins optionalRestRest but bike to work and back (approx. 34 mins)Bike: total 33:42
TuesdaySwim: 2,500m Run: 30-40 mins optionalBike: 1:13 Strength: 31 minBike 36 mins Run with 10IWBike: 36:36 Run: 29:32  
WednesdayBike: 85 minsSwim: 2,500m  Swim with group (2,500m approx.) Bike to work and back (approx. 40 mins)Swim: 1,825m (not accurate as switched watch off to toilet and then left off for some of swim) Bike: 42:43
ThursdayRun: 50m StrengthRun: 1:30Run: 1:30Run: 1:21:46
FridaySwim: 2,400mSwim: 40mins Bike: 36 minsBike with 10IWBike Zwift: 1:13:15
SaturdayBike : 75-90 mins Strength optionalBike: 5:20 ROTB: 42 minsBike: 5 hoursBike: 5:01:12
SundayRun: 75-90 mins Swim: 2,450m optionalRun: 2:56 Swim: 1:28Run: 90 mins approx. with 10IWRun: 1:47:51 Vinyasa Flow: 1:00:16

*10 Ironwomen training plan provided by Celia Boothman, lovetheraincoaching

Fatigue and cycling

Writing this a bit late, ie halfway through week six so memory not great. However, I do recall I was far too tired by Friday to be able to get up and be at Regent’s Park by 6:45am. I made a last-minute change to my training intention and cycled indoors later in the day.

Shame to have missed that. I keep intending to go to Regent’s Park and cycle laps as it is a popular cycling spot. I have, however, been lulled into the security of my turbo and Zwift. With the days getting longer and spring imminent, this will have to change. I also aim to find time to go looking at new bikes. This has been on my mind for some time. My bike is old. Although I have only owned it for about 4 years, I bought it second hand so not sure just how old it is. It works so this doesn’t necessarily matter but I have been told that disk brakes feel safer, especially downhill. Given my fear of downhill, could be good.

I will get outside soon and start getting used to cycling downhill though.

Back to week 5!

Weekday training

Ran with 10IW on Tuesday morning and that felt a little easier than the first time. I ran a bit longer at the end and after coffee just to make it 5k. This was the first early morning of the week (ie a 7am meet). It was three early mornings in a row that contributed to my fatigue by the time Friday came along.

I was late on Wednesday for swimming so that was a little less distance than usual. Nothing more to say about that.

Really enjoyed Thursday’s run which was a tempo session with some threshold intervals. To be more precise, after a 10-minute easy warmup, was 5 minutes alternating between 30s threshold and 30s walk. This was followed by 20 minutes tempo, 10 minutes easy, twice and then 5 minutes of 30s threshold, 30s walk. The run should have ended with 10 minutes cool down. Yet again, I failed to leave home early enough so managed a little less than 2 minutes of the cool down.

Term is coming to an end so I have only three more weeks to try and make sure I leave the house early enough to finish my scheduled run.

End of week fatigue

I don’t finish work until 8pm on Thursday, after a pre 9am start. This means I am usually shattered by the end of the day. Not sure how I ever imagined I would wake up by 5:30am on Friday to cycle to Regent’s Park by 6:45am. I decided to sleep in (well until 7 anyway). Typically, I was awake at about 4am. It did cross my mind, very briefly, to stay awake and go to the park. That thought stayed with me for as long as it took me to fall straight back to sleep. I woke at 8am refreshed and ready to take on the day.

Friday was a fairly easy training day and a productive workday. I spent the allotted time on Zwift and that was my only training for the day. I like to go to a vinyasa flow yoga class on a Friday when I can but as I was going out with Anne on Friday evening there was no time to do that.

Long weekend sessions

The bike ride, housework and social life

I decided to spend some of Saturday morning cleaning some of the house. Then start my bike session late morning . This was partially so that Geraint (my son), wouldn’t be woken by the sound of the turbo and Netflix. I also knew Anne and I would have a few drinks so an early start would not be great.

My plan worked. At least I managed to clean the kitchen. I spend so many hours training that time to carry out domestic chores is very short. This is especially so during busier work time. This means I end up with a home that is not quite as clean as I would like. However, since I can’t justify the cost of a cleaner, this is the reality for the next few months as I prioritise sleep and some kind of social life over dusting surfaces!

Longest ever Zwift session

Five hours on the turbo, 125km is a crazy amount of time to bike indoors. Mentally it must be good for me and I do get to binge watch Netflix. I make sure to have some tasty snacks. As the rise was so long, I had a bread roll, one side with halloumi on and the other with an egg, a banana and pecan muffin (homemade), some dates, plenty of water, one bottle with training mix and half a gel. Unsurprisingly there was something in that food that didn’t quite agree as I felt a bit weird towards the end, not quite nauseous, maybe indigestion. I wouldn’t normally consider a sandwich, especially one with cheese and egg but I need to find out what works for me as I don’t want to cycle 180k on gels or even just sweet food.

Apart from the expected sore backside from so long on the bike with no respite and feeling my leg muscles, the ride was not that bad. At some points I’ll make calculations as to how far through I am for example, after an hour, already 20% of my way through, 40% and so on. I don’t mind so long cycling indoors but I really must get outside more soon. I may try to ride to Richmond Park and do circuits clockwise instead of anti-clockwise which is what I usually do. If I ride clockwise I will climb rather than scare myself cycling downhill!

Long run in Richmond Park

Richmond Park is in my mind because I joined some other 10IW for a long run around the park. Weather was a little drizzly and the district line had its usual weekend disruptions, so it was a long way to travel for a run (about 1.5 hours each way) and I did contemplate running locally. Glad I made the effort though. Adding a social element to the training is a must for me now. So much triathlon training is quite solitary, at least for me it is so some group rides or runs keep the motivation up. I also find I push myself a bit more when in a group.

Richmond Park is a great place to run and cycle. It was lovely to be amongst so much green. I love running in London. There are so many parks, rivers and canals that it’s quite possible to run for many miles without having to encounter traffic.

As it was mother’s day, my son cooked me a delicious meal. This gave me chance to go to a vinyasa flow yoga session late afternoon, while he was preparing the meal. A luxury and as I didn’t manage my strength session on Tuesday, an opportunity to get in some strength work.

All in all, despite getting tired mid-week and only fitting in one swim, this was a very good training week.

Ironman Training Diary: Week 4 – Long Zwift sessions

Training plan

Day10IWHumangoIntentionActual
MondayRest, half hour bike optionalRestRest but bike to work and back (approx. 34 mins)Bike: 35:36 total
Tuesday30 min optional runRestBike to work and back (approx. 34 mins) and restorative yoga: 1 hourBike: 34:12 Yoga: 1:01:58
WednesdayBike: 60 minsSwim: 2,750m  Swim with group (2,500m approx.) Bike to work and back (approx. 40 mins)Swim: 2,275m Bike: 41:20
ThursdayRun: 30-40 mins, strengthRun: 1:15Run: 1:15Run: 1:10:05
FridaySwim 1,800mSwim: 38 mins Bike: 39 minsSwim: 1,800m  Swim: 1,700m
SaturdayBike 1-hour optional strengthBike: 5:20 ROTB: 32 minsBike: approx. 4 hoursBike: 4:04:24
SundayRun: 45 minsRun: 1:47  Run: 1:47Run: 1:47:04 Restorative flow yoga: 59:44

*10 Ironwomen training plan provided by Celia Boothman, lovetheraincoaching

Crazy work weeks and training

Quite a contrast to last week. My craziest work week for a long time. I volunteered for overtime to was in centre every day this week. This meant a bit more commuter cycling and a busier schedule.

The beginning of the week was fine as I had two rest days, as far as that was possible. I’m never sure how to class the commutes to work but since they are rather stop start and not very far, I guess it counts as rest. The yoga on Tuesday actually did feel restorative.

Wednesday’s swim was fine. A good workout and not as hard as the previous week.

I actually managed to get out of the house a bit earlier on Thursday and complete 1 hour 10 minutes of a scheduled 1 hour 15-minute run. I am determined to get up earlier next week so that I complete the full scheduled run. This week’s session was a mixed tempo and threshold session with 15 minutes of warm up and then 5 times 4 minutes tempo, 4 minutes threshold, 2 minutes recovery with a 10-minute cool down. Owing to time my cool down was shortened to 5 minutes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run. The weather was ideal, cool and no rain. A good session to Westminster along the North side of the river and then to Waterloo on the South side. I am very lucky to have some great run routes on my doorstep. It is also easier now that the morning’s are getting lighter and I know it will be light when I get the canal by Wapping Woods.

Thursday is my long workday and I teach from 9am until 8pm. However, as I usually work from home on a Friday I tend to sleep until about 7am. This Friday I was teaching in Holborn at 9am and going out after work so I had to fit in a swim before this. I certainly felt the training by Friday morning.

I went to Oasis, near Covent Garden so that I could go by tube and be close to work. I didn’t have as early a start as Wednesdays and the decision to swim central rather than the usual Wednesdays at Mile End was the right one. However, the pool at Oasis is an outdoor pool and the weather was cold, rainy and windy. I was supposed to do various intervals and drills with short rests. It was far too cold to stop, even for 10s between intervals. I felt like I was swimming through treacle, reflected in it taking me 46 minutes to swim only 1,700 metres. Slow even by my standards.

It could have been because it was a ‘normal’ training week and an abnormally busy work week or the weather may have contributed, either way, I was glad to get out of the pool and drink the coffee I had brought with me from home.

I have been trying to spend less money this week on snacks and coffee related to my training. I generally buy coffee and breakfast after my run on a Thursday and would have done the same after today’s swim. However, I managed to take breakfast in on both days and take coffee on Friday.

Triathlon is such an expensive sport, any savings are welcome!

Weekend training, Netflix and the long run

I hadn’t completed a long bike for a few weeks, so Saturday was a bit of a shock to the system. It didn’t help that I had a few glasses of wine on Friday night. I will at some point have to make a decision to more or less stop drinking until the Ironman is over but I’m not quite ready to do this yet.

I cycled just over 4 hours while binge watching Netflix. It was not my fastest 4 hours and my average watts was lower than it has been – apparently only 89 watts. My legs felt tired quite early on and after half hour I did wonder why on earth I was training for an Ironman instead of having a relaxing breakfast after a lie in. But I got through it, managed 104km and felt pretty good about it in the end.

My Sunday run was great. It was cold but dry and there was even some sun to be seen at times! The session was another tempo and threshold one with 10 minutes warm up, 3 times 20 minutes tempo, 5 minutes recovery run (walk/run) 2 minutes threshold and 3 minutes recovery run with a 7-minute cool down. I ran the scheduled 1 hour 47 minutes from home to the canal, up to Victoria Park, through the park and then along the canal beyond Hackney Wick before making my way back to the park, the canal and home. Another great but busy route on a Sunday morning.

I finished off my week of exercise with some yoga, a restorative flow for 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes Yin and relaxation.

I end each week feeling physically tired and pleased to have completed my training. This week I am especially content with the training given how busy my workload was.

Next week’s training is a little more intense but also more social.

Ironman Training Diary: Week 3 – a 10k Personal Best

Training plan

Day10IW*HumangoIntentionActual
MondayRest, 1 hour bike optionalRestYoga (yin, Yang)Yoga (Yin, Yang)
TuesdaySwim:2,200m optional run 45 -50 minsBike: 1:33 Strength: 31 minsBike: 1:33 Run: 4 to 5kBike: 1:34:58 Run: 4.09k
WednesdayBike: 70 minsSwim: 2,750m Strength: 31 mins swapped from TuesdaySwim with group (2,500m or more)Swim: 3,325m  
ThursdayRun 45 mins, strengthRestYoga: 1:00  Run: 1:02:12
FridaySwim 2,300mRun: 27 minsSwim: 2,300m  Run: 27:02 Yoga: 1:01:28
SaturdayBike 1 to 1:15, optional strengthRun: 25 minsBike: 75 minsRun: 25:01
SundayRun: 50 mins to 1hour, optional swim 2,000m, optional reset (stretch)Run: 10k race  Run: 10kRun: 59:21 10k

*10 Ironwomen training plan provided by Celia Boothman, lovetheraincoaching

Social runs and race category

A week with a day working from home and the rest of the week off. This made training easier to fit in and gave me the opportunity to fit in more yoga than usual. It also gave me chance to join 10IW for a social 5k.

I hadn’t intended to run on Tuesday morning, at least not with certainty but as I irritatingly woke at 5.30am. I had, since December, been meaning to join the group on a Tuesday morning, it was a good week for a first. Also, the days are getting longer so it wasn’t dark when I arrived at Victoria Park. The run was shorter than 5k but certainly faster than my social pace.

I have been fearful of joining group runs in the past, due to my ‘slower’ pace. However, I am slowly getting over that and was glad to have joined them. Besides, one of my favourite ways to start the day is exercise followed by coffee.

Another different thing about this week’s training was that I amended the category of my 10k race on Sunday from C to B. This completely changed the plan from a ‘normal’ training week with a 5 hour bike ride the day before the race, to a plan with a two rest days and short runs with some intensity on Friday and Saturday.

The taper worked and I finally got my 10k race time below an hour. I last managed that in my early thirties. Admittedly, at that time, I managed sub hour with little training. Not so now but a 59-minute 10k in my fifties is relatively faster than the same 20 years earlier!

Another great thing about being on leave this week was that I could swim with group until 8am time and then go for coffee. I usually have to get out 15 minutes early, cycle home, change bags, cycle to work, eat something and then teach trusts for a couple of hours.

Not much else to say about this week of training. I had a light week and was on leave. Finished the week feeling rested and happy with my race result.

Ironman Training Journey: Week 2

W/b 12 February 2024

I decided to spend my rest day catching up with some writing and sorting out the training plan for the week. This week’s training is as follows:

Day10IWHumangoIntentionActual
MondayRest, 1 hour bike optionalRestRest with bike to work (approx. 34 mins total)Rest plus commute to work (31:55)
TuesdaySwim:2,200m optional run 45 -50 minsBike: 51 minsBike: 51 mins and commute to work Run with LFTC 45 to 50minsBike: 52:02 and commute to work and back (33:58) LFTC: 35:30
WednesdayBike: 50 minsSwim: 2,750m Strength: 31 mins swapped from TuesdaySwim with group (2,500m or more) plus commute to work and back and 31min strengthSwim: missed plus commute to work and back (30:27) Yoga: 46:22
ThursdayRun 40-45 mins, strengthRun: 1:30Run: 1:30Run: 1:00:03
FridaySwim 2,300mSwim: 20 mins, bike: 39 minsSwim: 2,300m Vinyasa flowSwim: 2,450m
SaturdayBike 1 to 1:15, optional strength and conditioningBike: 4:30 ROTB: 45 minsBike: 4:30Bike: 2:08:39
SundayRun: 50 mins to 1hour, optional swim 2,000m, optional reset (stretch)Run: 1:58 Swim:40 minRun: 1:58 Maybe yin yogaRun: 2:24:14 – half marathon social run with 10Iw

Half marathon goals

I am using Humango and 10IW together to plan my week. London Landmarks half-marathon is on 7 April and I’m hoping for a PB (personal best) again – having got a PB in my last half marathon in October. I am going to qualify this by stressing, I am a slow runner and so my October PB was at the 2-hour 24-minute mark. That may be slow for some, but I was very happy with that time, over 7 minutes faster than my previous PB. I am hoping to get my time down by a few minutes at London Landmarks in April.

Feeling tired

That aside, this week’s training did not go as planned. By Tuesday evening I felt so tired I wasn’t sure I would have the energy to make it to the track and run for nearly an hour. I went anyway but stopped after a little over 35 minutes as I felt shattered. It is rare for me to stop a run without finishing so knew something wasn’t right. I have been training for triathlons long enough that I mostly know when to listen to my body and back off. Tuesday evening was one of those days.

This extended into Wednesday as I overslept, waking at 6:08am. Had I felt more dynamic, I could have rushed and made it to the swim session a few minutes late. Instead, I decided to take my time and attend a morning flow yoga session on the way to work. I don’t like to miss my Wednesday swim sessions, but it felt like the right thing to do. The yoga was gentle enough to be a little restorative and to wake me up a little.

I take note of my resting heartrate and it was up a few beats a minute from its norm so  I am pretty sure I did the right thing.

Thursday’s run was good. I wish I had got up half an hour earlier. I got to about 50 minutes in to the run and really wanted to be able to finish the whole session. However, had left it to late and had to get to work. My goal for the next Thursday run to work is to leave home in time to finish the session.

I went to a Vinyasa flow class on Friday, different teacher to usual. The session was very dynamic. I believe this was an effective strength session, as evidenced by some aches the next day!

On Saturday morning while part way through my Zwift session, I decided to change the priority of next week’s 10k race from C to B. I want to try for a PB, or at least best since my mid-thirties. This meant the AI changed my training from Saturday until the Tuesday after the race. The result was that it removed my Saturday training session. Suddenly my AI prescribed bike session went from 5:20 to zero. I was over an hour in at this point. I didn’t want to reduce my session to the 60 to 75 minutes prescribed by 10IW so completed 50k.

This freed up my Saturday a bit. I managed some chores (food shopping(, pretty important as I am trying to ensure I fuel properly.

Social run with 10IW

I went on a social run with 10IW group on Sunday. It was a 21k run from Dalston around North London to finish at a coffee shop near Clissold Park. Most of the women were in the 5:40 to 6:00 min per km. If only I could run that speed for 21k while chatting and running mostly in zone 2.

Fortunately, four of us ran at the slower pace of 6:30 to 6:50 min per km. I have always been quite reluctant to join group runs as I run on the slower end of the scale. Towards the end of last year, I decided to stop myself from avoiding group runs and joined 10IW on a social run. The main group was faster but there were 3 of us in the more chilled pace group. I enjoyed that session so decided to give it a go more often. Very glad I did. My running seems to have improved and it always feels easier when talking to others.

The run was quite tough as there were a number of hills in Highgate and Alexander Palace. However, some of it involved trail running in Highgate woods and other places which I really enjoyed. Have fancied doing some trail running for a while and would like to do some more in the future.

At least one takeaway from the route was, I really need to do more hill training. I was very slow on the hills, either jogging or walking.

Finished with coffee and pastry and then headed home with sore legs but a great morning of running and company.

Work/life balance – gone wrong!

My son and I spent a lot of the afternoon cleaning the flat. Has to be done and with a full-time job and a lot of training I find cleaning slips down the list of priorities.

There is a lot to think about when training for endurance races, especially for an Ironman. I tend to prioritise the training and my food (after work). With all this, a number of things have slipped my mind recently as we realised on Sunday afternoon that we had missed seeing Ralph Fiennes’ Macbeth in Canary Wharf the previous night.

A big shame as my son’s best friend from Uni was in the cast and we were looking forward to seeing him in his first role after drama school. I have never forgot a planned evening so will need to rethink and be more particular about documenting these things. I did the same about book club which is supposed to be on Friday – I booked tickets to a women in triathlon event and then realised.

A mixed training week on the whole.

Ironman Training Journey : Week 1

W/b 5 February 2024

Training plan: my thoughts and tweaks

After months of base training, the start of Kalmar 2024 Ironman training has arrived. I am part excited and part a little scared. I was excited to be only 28 weeks away and scared to be only 28 weeks away. We have an overall idea of the plan for the next three months. 10 Ironwomen will be posting the plan on Instagram on Monday mornings. 10 Ironwomen (10ironwomen.com) have provided 3 options, a beginner, intermediate and a 70.3 plan. I intend to follow the intermediate plan with some of my own tweaks. This should suit my life and where I left off with my base plan.

I still have a prescription to an AI App called Humango (humango.ai). I am enjoying using this and may continue to use. However, nothing quite like following a plan where there’s chance to train with others. I have been doing long bike rides and runs during my base training. I will therefore make the weekend long rides longer than the 10IW and see how I go.

At breakfast this morning, I checked out the weeks training. I was aware that Monday is a rest day with optional 1 hour bike. Since my current rest is Monday that works pretty well. I cycle to work on a Monday, about 20 minutes each way. So I decided to miss the optional bike ride but replaced it with commuting.

It feels a little odd to start a plan with a day off. But it did give me time to input the plan to Training Peaks and make the necessary tweaks. I am swapping Tuesday’s swim with Wednesday’s bike and vice versa to fit in with my Wednesday group swims. I will also swap Thursday’s strength to Tuesday. Thursday is a long workday so I only have time for a run.

I am not sure how much to change though as my current plan has set a 90-minute run on Thursday but the 10IW one has set only 45 minutes. Saturday’s ride would be 4 hours 50 minutes and the new plan is between 1 hour 15.

I find the short swims in the Humango App very inconvenient. They use quite a lot of time for a small amount of training so I will adopt the 10IW swim distances.

Looking at the training plan from 10IW, two things come to mind. This race is accessible for most people to train for. I will have to work out how I adapt it to suit my current fitness without doing too much and getting tired too soon.

My plan

Day10IWHumangoIntentionActual
MondayRest, 1 hour bike optionalRestRest with bike to work (approx. 34 mins total)Rest plus commute to work (33:50)
TuesdaySwim:2,200m optional run 45 minsBike: 1:40, strength 20 minsBike: 1:30 to 1:40 plus strength (20 mins) or Pilates (45 mins) and commute to workBike: 1:10 plus Pilates (45 mins) and commute to work and back
WednesdayBike: 50 minsSwim: 2,750mSwim with group (2,500m or more) plus commute to work and backSwim: 2,500m plus commute to work and back
ThursdayRun 40-45 mins, strengthRun: 1:30Run: 1:30Run: 1:06
FridaySwim 2,000mSwim: 37 mins, bike: 32  minsSwim: 2,000m Vinyasa flowSwim: 2,150m Vinyasa Flow
SaturdayBike 1 to 1:15, optional strength and conditioningBike: 5:10 ROTB: 40 minsRun: 5k Bike: between 3:30 and 4:50Run: 5k Bike: 4 hours (107km)
SundayRun: 50 mins to 1hour, optional swim 2,000m, optional reset (stretch)Run: 1:28Run: 1:28 Maybe yin yoga 

The training

Tuesday’s bike session went quite well. I had to go into work when I normally work from home. This prompted me to do my bike on Zwift in the morning after waking up rather than putting it off until later in the day. Always feel better for exercising early. However, I wasn’t up quite early enough so managed 1 hour and 11. minutes. However, with the ride to work and back came to more than 1:40. Am never sure how useful the commute is in terms of counting towards fitness.

Went to a Pilates class on the way home rather than doing a strength session at home. My core knew it had worked the following day. Attending a class meant I didn’t do some of the leg strength work set for me. I find classes easier to follow and stick to.

Wednesday comprised of my usual Swim for Tri group swim so not much to say there. I felt good and swam 2.5km, as intended.

On Thursday, I was supposed to run for 90 minutes. I still haven’t got my waking really early (5.30) two mornings in a row down so managed an hour and 6 minutes.

I run to work on Thursdays and need time to shower and eat breakfast before starting work just before 9. My goal is to leave the house in time to manage 1:30. I think this will become easier as the mornings get lighter and warmer.

This was my first run in the rain for a while. I wasn’t looking forward to that part of it. However, the run was better than expected, despite soaking my trainers within 10minutes. I had to work until 8pm twice this week so was glad to get most workouts done early. Despite finding it difficult to motivate myself to work out early unless I have to, it is definitely preferable as it leaves the rest of the day free (or for work!).

I didn’t want to get up early on Friday. Instead I did some chores done before starting work. Somehow, after 20 years living in my flat, some mice have taken up residence. Pest control came this afternoon so felt the need to tidy up and clean a bit.

This meant my swim was pushed until early evening, not a great time on Fridays in Mile end pool, in my experience. Luckily I managed to get there in time to be finished by around 6 and so  avoid being pushed to a lane with slow breast stroke swimmers. I’m not berating breast strokers just those who seem to fill Mile end on a Friday evening!

I managed to get to a vinyasa flow class during lunch. I should probably be doing specific strength workouts but enjoy yoga more plus to repeat my comments about the Pilates class on Tuesday, being in a class setting makes it easier to get the workout done.

Yoga has certainly has made me stronger – can now do multiple full push ups and don’t need to put my knees down during chataranga at all. However, from my reading on yoga for strength, it seems I should also be doing some specific strength work ie for triathletes. I do this sometimes, just prefer yoga. Will endeavour to fit the strength session in next week’s training.

I decided to join LFTC (London Fields Triathlon club) for a social run on Saturday morning. An 8am meet in Richmond for the long bike just didn’t appeal.

The run was great, a 5k from London Fields Lido to Victoria Park and back followed by coffee with club members. I decided I would make more effort to train with people this year as I tend to train alone too much and this has effected my motivation at times. I have also found that running with others makes me faster without feeling it. Was nice to see some people from track and meet new members. It can be reassuring speaking to others who have signed up for a full distance ironman. Makes my obsession with Training Peaks, Strava and training plans seem normal!

The long bike ride

I then had to bike between 1:15 and 5:10 (difference between my 10IW plan and Humango). In the end I completed 4 hours, 107k while binge watching Netflix. I am going to have to get the bike outside soon but for now Zwift works pretty well.

While it may not help in terms of bike handling or dealing with headwind and tailwind, I think the mental challenge of four hours on a turbo is mentally helpful, as it’s necessary to deal with the tedium of an indoor ride. It also means I can put real food on the windowsill to eat during the ride. This week, I bought a croissant and also ate 4 dates, some carbohydrate training mix and drank over 2 litres of water. At present I mostly only need to fuel my long rides. I find I need gel or electrolyte mix on some of the long runs too.

Allowing normality

I need to try to have some normality in my week while doing this long-distance training plan and so won’t refrain from the odd night out for the next few months. Perhaps I’ll be more restrained closer to the race. On Saturday night, Anne and I went out to eat in Spitalfields market, shared a bottle of prosecco followed by a double calvados. After waking in the morning I knew I would need to  rearrange my plans for Sunday and I decided to put my run off until the evening.

Winter runs

I am reluctant to leave my runs to the evening during the winter as I enjoy running along the canals or river and don’t feel safe to run along the canals when it’s dark. However, I left the flat in daylight and ran to St Katherine’s Dock and then the river.

I spent much of the 12k dodging tourists and other Sunday strollers but enjoyed my run and decided to run back along the small canal that runs from near the Dock to Shadwell basin. It was dark by then but there were plenty of other walkers and runners so it felt safe enough to do this. I am however glad that the nights are getting longer as it feels less restrictive, especially for running alone.

Conclusions on my first week

If I was completely new to this level of training, I may have some insightful things to say about how I felt with the structure of training 6 days a week and how it was to finish the first week of a full ironman training plan. However, I trained a relatively normal amount and so don’t feel any amazement at getting through the first week. I don’t feel any more or less tired either.

However, after last week when I took the weekend off to attend my mum’s 80th, it felt good to stick to my plan and see my fitness (on Training Peaks) increasing again after a small dip. I also feel that I need to stick to my plan almost completely from now until the race, which I didn’t feel as much during base training.

On the whole a good week and a good start to the training.

As a final takeaway, I appreciate I am lucky as my job is partially flexible and I have very few family commitments. My son is an adult and proud that I am attempting an ironman.

My first Sprint Triathlon: getting to the start line

Why Tri?

It was 2016, we were living in Khalifa City in Abu Dhabi. I was working exclusively from home and my exercise regime was sporadic, to say the least. Completion of a triathlon had been on my bucket list for years. I finally signed up for a sprint triathlon called Tri Yas. It took place in February 2017 on the Formula One racing track, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

I wanted to be more consistent with my exercise and for me, the only way to do this is to have a goal in mind. I had always enjoyed swimming, cycling to work and running.

This was it! I was 46 years old with zero athletic talent and about to embark on my first triathlon. I would be swimming 750m in the sea, cycling 20k and running 5k. This may not sound like much, or it may sound insurmountable. In truth it was a bit of both.

However, I could never have imagined the journey the sport would take me. From bike rides in the desert, 10 kilometres of non-stop climbing on a bike, hikes in the arid mountains of the UAE, travels to Sweden for a race and runs in France, Canada, Azerbaijan and Iceland to name but a few. This first triathlon may not have transformed my life at the time but the journey the sport has taken me has had a greater impact than I could ever have conceived.

Back to Tri Yas. To complete this race, I needed two things, the right equipment and a training plan.

Equipment

There is no doubt that triathlon can be a very expensive sport. Bikes range from hundreds of pounds to 5 figures. Wetsuits cost hundreds of pounds. Not to mention bike shoes, trisuits, aero helmets, training plans, swim lessons and many other potential expenses. But it needn’t be prohibitively expensive.

What did I need for my first triathlon?

A bike!

I hadn’t ridden a bike since leaving London for Dubai in August 2014. However, I was gifted a hybrid bike for my birthday in August 2016. My previous experience of cycling had been for commuting to work and I was used to riding hybrid bikes. So, I got a cheap hybrid bike, about £400 new. I now use it to commute to work in London and would not race in it. It is heavy and cumbersome. However, it got me around my first three sprint triathlons.

If you are considering entering your first triathlon, you don’t need an expensive triathlon bike and you don’t even need a road bike, as I know from my use of a hybrid. In fact, I saw someone riding a Brompton in an Olympic triathlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run) and have seen plenty of people using mountain bikes. Look out for second hand ones too. I completed a half ironman using a second-hand road bike and this is currently my only road bike so may have to get me around a full Ironman.

Bicycle helmet

This is a must. It has to comply with relevant rules (European Standard EN 1078 in Europe or the equivalent elsewhere). Again, you can spend huge amounts of money on an aero helmet. However, I bought one for a couple of hundred dirhams (about £40) from Adventure HQ. A similar quality helmet from Evans, Halfords etc would do the job.

Bike shoes

These are hard shoes that clip into special pedals option but, unless you’re already a keen cyclist, I would say it’s better to wait until you’re sure you want to continue in the sport. You would need special bike shoes (upwards of £50), cleats (£7 min) to attach to the shoe that then clip into special pedals (£35 min). Then you need to learn to ride again, as a fall is pretty much inevitable the first time you try to use clip in shoes. But that’s for another post.

Trainers

My only comment here is, get a run gait analysis. Running shops will carry this out, often for free if you purchase trainers from them. Even if you only train for one sprint triathlon, a well-fitted trainer will help avoid injury. I go to runners need – www.runnersneed.com.

Clothes to wear for the race and training

You can wear shorts/leggings for training and could wear swimming costume/trunks for the swim part of the race and then put your running kit on over the top. A couple of pointers here. My first triathlon was in a warm (well let’s be honest mostly incredibly hot) country and so wetsuits were not compulsory.  This meant I was able to swim all triathlon races (and outdoor swim sessions) without. If your first race is in the UK, Europe or any other colder clime, you are likely to need a wetsuit (more on that later).

Cycling distances in shorts or leggings may not be very comfortable either so cycling shorts/bibs will make your training more comfortable. I didn’t buy cycling bibs until after my first triathlon and trained in leggings. I had enough natural padding!

You may also want to consider buying a trisuit, to use for the whole race. This piece of kit has less padding than cycling shorts to make it easier to run in. I did purchase one of these and there are many trisuit manufacturers now so you can buy some reasonably priced suits for as little as £40. I had to pay more as there were less cheap options in the UAE at that time.

However, if you want to keep the costs down for your first race, after all you may hate it and never want to do another triathlon in your life, then you could use swim kit and running kit for the whole race. I would wear a sports bra under the swimsuit if you choose to do this to avoid a full change between the swim and the bike.

Swimming costume/trisuit, goggles and swim cap. Most races give you the swim cap, but you will need one to train in.

Wetsuit

You will almost certainly need a wetsuit for a race in the UK and also for some open water swim practice. A triathlon wetsuit is not the same as the ones used for surfing. Tri/swim wetsuits are thinner and designed, funnily enough, for swimming. You may be able to get a cheap suit for £40 to £50 or look out for a triathlete who is upgrading and buy second hand (same goes for the bike). Another option is to rent one for the race and for the week or two before to give you time to practice swimming in it.

Because of where I was living, I didn’t buy a wetsuit until a couple of years into my tri journey and only because I had registered for a half ironman race in Sweden (1.9k swim, 90k bike, 21k run). I spent a few hundred pounds on it but knew I would be using it until it fell apart. I’m still using it 4 years later and it has the patched rips to prove it!

Wetsuits come with sleeves or sleeveless, full length or short. Unless you will be training and racing in warmer water, you’ll probably want a full-length, long-sleeved suit. Make sure you try it on before renting/buying a whole skill in itself! The right size will take some time to get on and should feel like a second skin. You should be able to move easily in it though!

Nutrition

You’re unlikely to need any special nutrition for training and depending on your fitness and ability, nothing during the race. As a slower athlete, I used carb chews but at that stage I don’t remember using gels. This meant I needed some idea of whether the chew/gel would agree with me (eg give me no stomach issues). It may be worthwhile trying some different things on longer bike rides to make sure you get no stomach issues. However, I wouldn’t recommend spending much money on specialised nutrition at this stage. You could even take a banana or a couple of dates on the bike and that would get you through a sprint race.

You will need water!

Other kit needs

A small towel to dry your feet after the swim. Socks and water. Races usually give water out but check to make sure.

You will also want suncream and may want a visor for the run and sunglasses or cycling glasses if it’s sunny. Also useful to keep flies out of your eyes.

Training

A training plan

The great thing about entering a sprint triathlon is that the training need not take much time and a 12-week plan should be sufficient for most people. For that first race, I used a free 16-week plan which included 3 sessions of bike, run and swim each week. This may sound a lot, but the shortest run, swim and bike were 12 minutes, 12 minutes and 24 minutes the longest 39 minutes, 35 minutes and 70 minutes respectively. There are different ways of structuring this and 2 sessions per sport per week may be enough.

I remember feeling very proud of myself for training six days a week, even if some days this was for no more than 30 minutes. I was amazed the first time I cycled 20 km and loved the journey training for this event. The environment I trained was much different to training in the UK but that was part of the journey. I still find joy exploring during training, whether for a run or a bike ride. I would say this is one of the most important things about training. If you don’t enjoy, at least most, of the sessions, it will be very difficult to stay on track.

Long bike rides

My long rides in the UAE were usually around custom made cycle tracks. We were very lucky in that respect. I would drive out to the desert very early on a Friday morning, the first day of the UAE weekend and cycle around Al Wathba cycle track. This was an incredible space outside the city, literally in the desert with bike circuits of varying lengths (8, 16, 20, 24 and 30k), completely traffic free. This was a luxury I still miss nearly three years after returning back to the UK. Those bright, sunny mornings cycling with golden sand dunes surrounding me were glorious.

Brick sessions

The first brick sessions were not. As part of your training, you will need to complete a few of these. A session will usually be completed on long bike ride day where your ride will be immediately followed by a run. After all, you will be running off the bike in a triathlon, so this is supposed to get you ready for that. I can still recall my first brick.

After proudly completing a 16 or 20k bike ride, my longest to date. I felt great, I could conquer the world. The sun was shining, I was feeling strong, getting fitter and thought I had it all sussed. That is until I got off the bike and started to run. My legs barely moved. That first run off the bike was for 5 minutes, but I wasn’t sure I could keep my legs moving for 30 seconds. Each step felt like I was running through treacle while simultaneously having jelly legs. Very few runs, have felt quite as hard as that first 5-minute run off the bike.

But like most things the more often you do them, the easier they get. I won’t pretend that the first few minutes of the run after along bike rides becomes easy but they become easier and you really do get into a rhythm after a few minutes running.

With a training plan and the minimum equipment, you can make the start line to your first sprint triathlon. Give it a go. It may change your life too!

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