Daz Does Tri

It's that time of year where running becomes a bit of a blur and merges into a heavy Christmas filled booze / food / film / cheese state. No real race plans now. Bunty 10 on 30th is likely and I'll probably hammer a Parkrun on the 23rd as I'll have aged a year. The plan is to get through the Crimbo minefield with some decent base training banked and not ill or injured. Battersea Debrief So the dust has settled. 16.33 is a bit outside where I wanted to be however it was probably the worst I could have raced so that said it's not actually horrible. My legs just didn't have any zip in them, lack of race conditioning was crucial. I'd say that better pacing would have gotten a low 16.20 range so it's not a million miles off. Better conditions would have helped and all of a sudden now we are talking. Nothing critical to fix I just need to keep doing what I am doing. It's all positive in the big scheme of things. No need to panic, just some patience required. I...

OK, definitely feels like I am pumping this up a bit now !! Still coming in to this week off a cold and not quite 100% BUT feel OK enough. Little achey and less return thatn I wanted from last week but doesn't change the fact it's all progress and in the name of a bigger picture later this winter. Key now is to get healthy and on the start line in decent shape ready to fdo the best I can on the day. Still going to be VERY dissapointed if I don't go under 16.30 and pretty dissapointed if I don't run in the years range (16.00-16.22) Still feel par would be 16.1x. Big range I know but I am in good shape and I can't always be a pussy. Monday - up and busy. Legs feel OK after yesterday but just a little fatigue from this cold. BJJ tonight and I'll probably run something low volume with some strides in there to kick the legs into action. Slept awkwardly and back is tight ... again. Fucksake. Upper back and neck solid. Get this every few weeks now. No running. Went BJ...

Finished my cut back week by bashing my head on the garage door and near knocking myself out. Massive gash in head so Ange took me to A&E. After 4 1/2 hours waiting in small injuries clinic with just 2 people left was told it was now shutting and return to main A&E. The NHS folks, not fit for purpose. Couldn't see last 2 people (I only needed glue stitches) and couldn't tell us much earlier the situation (they sent 2 under 16s back there at minnight). Not one for bashing the NHS but FFS really, is this the best we can do. One poor guy had been in a car accident and was there lot longer than us. Told them he was sick, overheard nurse saying he should have been in trauma rather than here but nobody wanted to do anything about it. Useless. Anyways... Back on the harder training now, 2 weeks solid them taper for Battersea test event. Key for this week is just to roll through everything and stay on top of the good habbits. Monday - am) gym. Up to 45 kg chest, leg extension, ...

First cut back week since starting back. Aim of this is to really start to take on adaptions and feel faster and (slightly) recovered going into 2 hard weeks pre-race week. This week the plan is to just strip back any excess so quality remains but everything is about getting it done economically. Will roughly be 35-40 miles. Not had too many of these in the past without racing so interested to see how it affects mental & physical state next week. Monday - rest. Total rest, no BJJ Tuesday - am) mobility at gym. Real focus on stretching out hips and back. pm) Eddington session. Warm up - Garmin brain fart as it misses first 0.12 miles of warm up. 2.56 miles @ 7.55/mm. Main set - 6:00 tempo [90] 2:00 [90] 3:00  [90] 4:00 [90] 3:00   [90] 2:00   [90] 6 mins tempo 6:00 @ 5.32/mm @ 154 bpm 2:00 @ 4.46/mm @ 160 bpm 3:00 @ 4.51/mm @ 162 bpm 4:00 @ 5.12/mm @ 165 bpm 3:00 @ 4.55/mm @ 165 bpm 2:00 @ 4.52/mm @ 163 bpm 6:00 @ 5.36/mm @ 162 bpm 1.85 mile cool down @ 8.36/mm 10.13 m...

Hmm, I think I'm making too much of this with these posts. Note to self - lots of racing in December but ALL of it is fitness testing and on very small tapers and will be back on it immediately after !! This is not a serious race block but it would be nice to get some good numbers on the doors. Battersea 5k - main one. Want to be close to last summer range (16.00-16.22) because if I am getting there off winter work then things are very positive. 16.30 would be pretty obvious target that says I am there. Sub 17 minimum just to check that box again. Battersea 5 miles - just a chance to see if the longer reps pay off. The plan is to feel cruisy on this. Interesting to compare to 2010/12 fitness where I was high 26 low 27. I would say just knocking out anything under 27.30 without tapering is very positive sign that I have more strength than I have for many years. Buntingford 10 - glorified training run just to break 60 on po10. This one is more fun, chance of a BMAF medal maybe and ...

That's it, I finally have no barriers in the way to getting properly fit. Stag doo was a blast but messy. Managed to get a couple of runs in but the acid test was always going to be escaping without illness or injury !! Plan for this week is to establish some good habbits, start from a position that I can increase effort and get consistency across all the main areas I need to address. Next race will be British Masters 5k at Battersea. I will use it as a fitness test so will not treat it as an A race BUT I will taper in properly just to see how I go. From where I am now it would be amazing if I could go close to the range my races were in last summer (16.00 - 16.22) but close to 16.30 would be the target. Not having races in the legs may be the only  hindrance as I will likely be race rusty. Tuesday - I know, I know but I already blogged about Monday and that was purely recovery. Hit Eddington with John M for C&C training. Watching the amount of BLT guys training is insane....

It's been a month since I last blogged. The plan was to get fit and lean and be ready to rock and roll. As ever things haven't quite worked out like that! I'm no fitter or thinner BUT there has been a lot going on. I think I have been ill twice and I have let my hair down on the diet a bit. I have a stag doo in 2 weeks that's going to be messy (no way around that) but after that there is no interruption to training! Until then the plan is just try and keep getting 2 x sessions and 1 x long run in per week and just add as much as I can around that. Currently 10 st 7 lbs (absolute top end of respectability), I have just had a coeliac attack and I seem to have a sore throat from weekend away watching Ryder Cup. Have building work going on for new porch which is making timings for running difficult. Week 1 Monday - 1.5 easy miles around hotel in Rome, 6am. Very tired but 15 mins is better than zero mins. Travel home, no evening run.  Tuesday - Road session with Group at Edd...

Wow, after what feels like months of doing bits and bobs with no structure and no motivation the time has come to start cracking back into a training plan. Obviously the only thing that's been consistent in the past month has been weight training, and away on holiday doing some hills I really found the benefit of the little I have done thus far. So here is the master plan for 2024. Big, BIG changes lined up. If you want to make extraordinary progress you have to make extraordinary changes. Motivation This was my biggest concern at the end of track season. I had no mojo. I could run quick but I couldn't be arsed to flog myself. Now I have had a break, the glass is full and brimming at the top.  Keeping on top of motivation is critical, this shit is hard . I have to check in with myself and life outside running needs to be sound otherwise it'll all cave in. The game has moved on Wow, when I returned to just running as a V40 moving to V45 age group 17 mins was quick enough to ...