Training Plan
| Day | 10IW* | Humango | Intention | Actual |
| Monday | Rest Bike 75 mins optional | Rest | Rest but bike to work and back (approx. 34 mins) | Bike: total 33:42 |
| Tuesday | Swim: 2,500m Run: 30-40 mins optional | Bike: 1:13 Strength: 31 min | Bike 36 mins Run with 10IW | Bike: 36:36 Run: 29:32 |
| Wednesday | Bike: 85 mins | Swim: 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 |
| Thursday | Run: 50m Strength | Run: 1:30 | Run: 1:30 | Run: 1:21:46 |
| Friday | Swim: 2,400m | Swim: 40mins Bike: 36 mins | Bike with 10IW | Bike Zwift: 1:13:15 |
| Saturday | Bike : 75-90 mins Strength optional | Bike: 5:20 ROTB: 42 mins | Bike: 5 hours | Bike: 5:01:12 |
| Sunday | Run: 75-90 mins Swim: 2,450m optional | Run: 2:56 Swim: 1:28 | Run: 90 mins approx. with 10IW | Run: 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.
