Short sharp swim

Just time for a quick lunchtime session, repeating Wednesday's warmup and then doing 2 lots of 400m, with 4 lengths easy in the middle and another 6 to cool down. Timed myself properly this time: 9:23 and 9:35. Tired at the end of each one but not exhausted. Looks good for the tri, anyway.

I seem to have reached a point where more effort does not necessarily lead to a fast time! It's all technique from here on in. However, it's amazing to think that barely 2 months ago I struggled to do 2 lengths of freestyle in succession...

More grass-track efforts

Over to the track, then 15 x 200m with 1min recovery, then back via the Broad (route). I've done this session before on 45 sec recoveries, and survived (thought it was only 12x until I checked back) - so maybe I could have gone faster on 1 minute. We were starting each as a group, and I was towards the front (of the back group, I hasten to add!), so I tended to get more than a minute rest as it was timed so as not to short-change the back-markers. Regardless, I had a good sprint finish on the last one :)

400m time

This was the first swim session where I've had a good crack at 400m - I managed 9:30 as far as I can tell (peering at a tiny clock through goggles), which I'm pretty pleased with. Still getting calf cramp twinges though :(

Warmup: 100m FC, 50 kick, 50 FC, 50 pull, 50 FC, 50 kick, 50 FC
Main: 2 x (400 FC, 20 secs, 4 x (50 fast, 20 secs), 150 easy, 20 secs)
Cool down: 200 easy

Total 2100m

Transition training next week - could be amusing!

Steady run

An hour's steady run with Hannah (just back off hols) and Ann (who I'd not met before). Just around Keswick and back - a good stretch for the legs but not too taxing.

I've been slack...

Not done anything else this weekend since the bike ride. All sorts of good intentions relating to a swim but they didn't amount to anything. 2 weeks to go and I think that now needs to be my focus.

Mon: beginners' run, plus to UEA and back
Tue: club run
Wed: swim session
Thu: club efforts
Fri: swim session (own)
Sat: working at FD?
Sun: bike ride, maybe swim too

Tonight was good - 36:50 total for the run to UEA and back although the one there stopped halfway along Cow Drive due to stitch (didn't really warm up properly). In the middle was 30 mins with the beginners - they've all done so well, I'm looking forward to seeing them continue and improve! I stuck at the back, but they still did nearly 2.5 miles, with some hills in there too.

...the big one!

A tour of the rolling countryside of high Norfolk with Trish - 104.6 miles. Aiming for 112 (to mimic her Ironman bike distance), we couldn't face finding an extra 8 miles (the Gmaps route shows 102.5 but that's because digitising every turn in the road would have driven me dotty!). Tired at the end (really?!) but I enjoyed it all, even the dull drizzly start and the hills. I owe it all to the bike (what I really owe it is a damn good clean!).

Shipdham - Dereham - Aylsham - Blickling - Holt - Thursford - Wells - Holkham - Burnham Market - Ringstead - Sedgeford - Docking - Fakenham (edge) - Whissonsett - East Bilney - Dereham - Shipdham.

Nothing today...

...resting after the 5k and saving myself for...

Sub-25 5k...

Well, 24:33 was what it said on my watch, no doubt the official time will be longer, about 24:41 I would guess (edit: 24:44, and 183rd out of 265 finishers). Splits were 4:57, 4:41, 5:14, 5:04, 4:37. Going by my watch time, that's 35 secs off my PB and a full minute off the previous race in the series. Wahey!

Next challenge - new 10k PB (51:49 currently)...

Bring back summer!

No swim - too busy at work. Beginners' run (20 + 2 + 20) around Eaton Park very good - but what a miserable day! Felt like October, drizzly and grey, and dark very early. Yuk!

Three weeks to go - this week's plan

Monday - swim at lunch, beginners' run
Tuesday - wherry crewing
Wednesday - Wroxham 5k series, race 3
Thursday - club effort session
Friday - swim or gym
Saturday - working - maybe squeeze in a bike ride?
Sunday - Round Norfolk Relay recce trip

Two out of three ain't bad

A double bill this morning - 15 miles (Ketteringham loop) on the bike with Clare (7am start, please note...), and then a run of just under 3.5 miles "around the block". Great to have company again on the bike ride. Less great for my front derraileur to stick (on the larger ring) after about 3 miles, but I completed the ride in the upper range and then took the bike down to All-Lite where Geoff fixed it in a matter of seconds with an allen key (stuck cable, probably due to me shifting up instead of down - oops). Thanks! Average speed was over 16mph so I'm pleased with that. If I was to pick out one obvious thing to learn from Clare it's take more advantage of the downhills and stop being a scaredy cat!

I'm amazed to see the run distance as high as it is - completing it in 28:26 gives me an average speed of about 8:15 per mile. On tired legs... with the hills on Marston Lane, Ipswich Road and Church Lane... (OK, and corresponding downhills on Donkey Lane, Greenways and Marston Lane) I'm just gobsmacked! I'm desperately wondering if I could have accidentally stopped and started my watch, it really does seem quick.

Bodes well for the triathlon, though :) Three weeks tomorrow, and with a 12 mile bike and 2 mile run I'm not worried about doing the distance now. Just want to get out there and see what I can do. Bring it on :)

Slippery fish

A solitary swim session to try and put into practice the things I've been reading in Total Immersion, aiming to swim more like a "slippery fish" and less like a non-slippery human. I did a few lengths of the basic drills, finding my balance in the water, but to be honest I felt a bit daft doing "zen-like swimming" in the deep-water lanes when other people clearly wanted to find a lane and get on with their lengths. Nonetheless it did feel significantly different getting more horizontal, and particularly getting my head well down. I only did a little bit of the on-your-side, nose-down drill, but certainly felt the "swimming downhill" sensation the book mentioned whenever I got my head properly aligned.

Having read the emphasis on "fistgloves" in the book too, I did several lengths with closed fists, concentrating on a slow but powerful kick too, and was surprised to be getting 28-29 strokes per length. So, curious, I went over to open-handed swimming, and was absolutely amazed to be able to bring my total down to 24 s/l. It needs concentration - when I get tired, or distracted, it's up to 25-26 - and I think those lengths where I was down to 23 (and in once case 22) were down to a longer glide at the start.

But, to remind myself for next time, what seemed to be working was keeping my head down, rolling it (in alignment with my body) only as far as necessary when breathing, getting a good reach before pulling back, and always being mindful of the kick. Also it was good to be able to concentrate on one type of length over and over, rather than doing a length each of several different things and then repeating the set.

I did an hour, no real idea how many lengths, but probably around 60 due to the slow (er, zen-like) stuff at the start, and a few waits to synch with the other swimmer in my lane.

Park life

Off to Cromer Carnival fireworks tonight (I am truly part of the jet set), so lunchtime efforts up on Eaton Park with Lorraine - we thought the playing fields were still occupied by travellers, but the park is much more interesting anyway. School holidays, so lots of families, some sort of kids' activity session... it's just nice to be in a well-used park. We did a bit of a mixed session, totalling about 20 mins effort, some distance based but most time-based. We could trademark it as a "mixed up pyramid with extra bits", since we did do 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 minutes, just not in that order, and with some additional spurts. Stupidly the first one we did was a bit flat out, but we survived.

Total immersion here I come?

Different coach at swimming tonight, so a slightly different session - fewer lengths but maybe a bit more on technique. A lot focused on getting the elbow high on the recovery, which I don't think I have too much of a problem with. Also we did a few lengths looking at stroke count. Everyone else seemed to be around 20-22, while I'm up at 27-28 or so. I've tried lengthening as much as I can but I still stick around 25-26. Any longer and I am just "pausing" my arms, and only moving with my legs.

Having received my Total Immersion book this week I think that will help, as it covers stroke length a lot. I was trying to apply some of what I remembered from reading it, but really I need to start from the basics with balance. Maybe I can try that on Friday. I might try photocopying the drill sections and getting them laminated (since I can't afford the laminated drill cards TI sell!).

Crampy twitching returned this week. But the runny nose wasn't so bad. Some you win...

16 x 25m warm up
3 x (25m fists, 25m trailing fingers on recovery, 25m "chicken wings", 25m 3/4 catchup, 30s rest)
6 x (25m fast, 25m slow, 25m building, 25m steady, 30s rest)
4 x 25m pull
4 x 25m counting strokes
4 x 25m cool down

= 64 lengths, 1600m