With the decision made a week ago, the last 7 days has been a mix already! Firstly, we had to get the magnificent Swim Ireland ‘Swim for a mile’ out of the way. It was swim for a mile that got me thinking I was able to consider moving from sprint to olympic distance for TriAthy. Over the last few weeks I was fairly comfortably covering 8k in the pool over 4 sessions – but that’s a 20m pool, generally on my own, it was heated, it was covered and there was always the security of being able to stand if I needed to. So, perfect replication of an olympic distance tri swim! 

Added to this, I’m just kicking into run training after being off injured with a bad case of plantar fasciitis and a torn achilles, this is beginners training type stuff, I’m having battles with the pyhsio to let me run more than 50m at a go! We’ve settled on some 400m laps at 50% pace concentrating on form rather than speed which is fine for me – I’m having a complete run re-education, learning to stride properly again, trying to lose a strong heel strike and reintroduce some momentum with an arm swing. It’s all about knees, elbows, hips and ankles, its working, but, its difficult. There are so many things to remember that the distance has passed before I realise I’m even half way through my lap! I’m using the concert field in Marlay Pk as my course, it measures a little more than I’m allowed (650m, sorry Barry) but it provides a natural course for me to stick to, the start is uphill which isn’t good for the mind when reaching lap 5 or 6. But I’m getting there.

Finally, the last thing I’m battling with is a small historical disc / nerve issue, I had a car crash many years ago and recently things have been ‘acting up’ perhaps it is just me being over 40, but this affects a nerve going down my right leg and can hurt everything from putting on socks to getting a full stretch on the leg, unusually, my running isn’t affected by it, but the motivation to get running is certainly affected if it’s very sore getting out of a chair!

That’s a lot of sticking tape holding me together, but there’s a weeks training under the belt, I’m happy with the progress, remember, the aim is to finish, but I’d be annoyed if I didn’t give it my best and that means getting to the start line in the best shape possible. Its up to me to train to the best of my ability, if that is affected by injury, so be it, I’ll adapt.

Sunday 30/03

• Bike Turbo session. 1hr40mins following the pacing set by a ‘Sufferfest‘ training video. This was my first time completing the full session, it was tough!
• Stretching – I have a 15 minute stretching routing I complete before bed.Monday 31/03

Monday 31/03

• Rest
• Stretching

Tuesday 01/04

• Swim. 100 lengths, race conditions. (I train in a 20m pool, so that’s 2,000 meters)
• Stretching

Wednesday 02/04

• Swim. 80 lengths, 70% effort (1600m / 1 mile)
• Stretching

Thursday 03/04

• Interval run – 6 x 650m w/ 250m walk. averaged about 8min mile pace which is waaaaay more than 50% pace. I’ll get into trouble for that. (Garmin Data HERE)
  Swim lesson. 50 lengths easy, concentrating on technique
• Stretching

Friday 04/04

• Swim for a Mile challenge. National Aquatic Centre. 32 lengths in a 50m pool, race conditions. Time – 36:07, just outside target of 35 mins.
• Stretching

Saturday 05/04

• Volunteer at park run. Lead bike, 5k at winners 5k pace. A million times faster than I would ever run!
• Interval run – 6 x 650 w/ 250m walk. Too fast again, somewhere a little north of 8.10pace. The result of which was 24hrs of soreness and fear I’d screwed up all my recovery. (Garmin data HERE)

So basically, it was a swim taper week and tentative ‘back to running’ week. The achilles is a little sore (to be expected), the back is a little sore (not expected). I think my plan will evolve but I hope I don’t end up working hard on building up some injury free running, neglecting the bike and just maintaining the swimming. Only time will tell…

This weeks stats…
Plantar Fasciitis Pain: <0
Achilles pain: <4
Back/Nerve pain: <4
Bodyweight: 210lbs
Other: Nothing of any consequence.

NOTE: Despite having it for over a year, I’m still getting used to the Garmin stuff, bear with me if the data is a little off, sometimes I randomly press buttons.