qwerty goes oly

[kfjatek]

OK, it's taken a while, but I finally found some time (on the train to work) to type this up.

Long story short, this season we're going Oly.

Events planned & objectives for each are:

- 11 May - Ocean Lake Sprint Tri - Opening race of the season, and a benchmark to last summer's form. This course was the first tri in my life, so objective is (obviously) to try and beat that time (1:28) - although last year I did it much later in the season, so a lot depends on whether my base form is high enough. Might as well turn into a study in exactly how much slower I am now.

- 16 June - Brett Ashford Tri - my first Olympic distance race. Objective: finish and set expectations for London Tri the following month.

- 11 July - Standard Chartered Great City Race - Just a humble 5k, but start/finish line is less than a minute from where I work and there will be about 40 people from my office taking part, plus another 100 or so supporting. So I've decided to make this my 5k PB attempt. Currently at 22:46, so plenty of room for improvement, wouldn't you say?

- 28 July - Virgin London Tri - the single A race for me this season. Objective: get as close to 2:30 as possible. Achieving 2:30 is highly unlikely, but with some tail wind I'm hoping to be in the late 2:30s, which I'd definitely be chuffed about. So maybe let's call it "beat 2:40". Much depends on the result of the previoius race - so this objective might (will?) get modified.

- 6 October - New Forest Sportive - closing off the events season. Objectives: have fun (first) and finish the long route in one piece (second).

So that's today's view. One more event (10k run?) might get squeezed into the big Aug/Sep hole, but family holiday takes priority there, and we haven't quite figured these out yet.

As for training, plan is for:

Mondays - long run + swim
Tuesdays - interval run
Wednesdays - swim
Thursdays - rest (+ turbo option if another day drops)
Fridays - bike/brick
Saturdays - any sport (depends on Mrs. kfjatek's choice)
Sundays - long bike

It remains to be seen whether I manage to keep this schedule. I realise the sports aren’t necessarily spread out evenly across the week, but that’s the best set up I can afford. Mon/Tue/Wed/Sun (and possible turbo on Thu) are all Kingfisher sessions; in this way I’m hoping for high success in terms of attendance.

Training logs to follow - feel free to fire advice / pick holes / take a piss / etc.

[jonathon.e]

A man with a plan

Do you have a fall back incase of the New Forest sportive not going ahead ( again ),

[kfjatek]

A man with a plan

Do you have a fall back incase of the New Forest sportive not going ahead ( again ),

Right. Let's see how much of that plan actually gets put into practice. Hopefully life won't get in the way too much.

Re New Forest - guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it; been thinking about this one too: http://www.giantscausewaycoastsportive.com/, but it might fall right in the middle of my holiday.

[scibby]

You could also do a late season Oly - Hever Castle or something! It's not for PB-ing but it's a great race, superbly organised... I think there may be some BCTTTers there.

[kfjatek]

You could also do a late season Oly - Hever Castle or something! It's not for PB-ing but it's a great race, superbly organised... I think there may be some BCTTTers there.

That's a possibility too - very much depends on how the season goes..

[Kevy427]

been thinking about this one too: http://www.giantscausewaycoastsportive.com/

Stunning countryside but if it's bad weather then it would be brutal. Some proper nasty climbs too...Was out there last year. #mmmcake on the feed stations was good

[kfjatek]

been thinking about this one too: http://www.giantscausewaycoastsportive.com/

Stunning countryside but if it's bad weather then it would be brutal. Some proper nasty climbs too...Was out there last year. #mmmcake on the feed stations was good

Yeah I think it could be quite hit-and-miss, and making the trip over with the bike/gear might not be worth it. That's the main reason why it's on the "reserve" list. I'd love to do it, but I'm not sure it would be time/money well spent.

[kfjatek]

20/04/2013

Bike: 32.4km
Time (moving): 1:26:07
Avg speed: 22.6 km/h
Calories: 1152
Avg cadence: 57
Avg HR: 134

Richmond Park ride with Mrs. Kfjatek. One lap easy together, then one lap hard on my own (while Mrs. Kfjatek sipped her beverage at the cafe), and closing off with an easy half-lap together again. All looking good on the fast lap, although got a bit annoyed at one very slow car that kept me from keeping the speed up on the Robin Hood / Roehampton gates flat. Spent plenty of time in the drops (after the bike fit it's MUCH more comfortable than it used to be) and absolutely loving the new wheels too.

Bad news in the running department - read up on symptoms etc. and it's definitely ITBS. Going to a GP later today (hopefully they'll find a free slot for me) to get a physio referral letter. In the meantime, all run workouts are suspended - have to get rid the bloody thing first.

[kfjatek]

22/04/2013

Swim: 1350m
Includes: 400m + 200m time trial
Calories: 388

What a CRAP swim. I know I've put on a little bit of weight. And I know I had quite a heavy dinner not so long before. But honestly, I haven't felt this heavy in the pool for a VERY LONG TIME.

Stop watch doesn't lie:

400m TT: 7:01 (100m splits: 1:36, 1:45, 1:52, 1:49)
200m TT: 3:27 (100m splits: 1:42, 1:45)

P1$$ed off.

Oh, and it also turns out the new GP practice I had to register at (haven't been to a GP in four years or so, so didn't even bother registering when we moved to Kingston) takes a WEEK to do it. So I need to wait another week before I get referred to a physio. Fantastico.

[kfjatek]

24/04/2013

Swim: 2484m
Includes: warm-up, a few 70m builds, then main set - 3 x 400m (100m catch-up, 100m pull, 200 FC @ 80%)
Calories: 720

Managed to bounce after the disastrous Monday TT. Felt pretty solid throughout, which is good.


26/04/2013

Bike: 57.9km
Time (moving): 2:11:08
Avg speed: 26.5 km/h
Calories: 1860
Avg cadence: 67
Avg HR: 147

Nice long loop into Surrey (Kingston - Esher - Cobham - Staple Lane - Green Dene - Effingham - Cobham - Esher - Kingston). Four seasons in two hours too (sun, wind, rain, you name it - I was almost expecting snow). I haven't done a long, lonely ride for a while now - nearly forgot how much fun it was. A few hills thrown in the way, so quite happy with the avg speed overall. Seems like I'm getting faster on the flats - not sure why, must be placebo effect from the new wheelset.

On the less positive note, the knee started playing up somewhere around 50km, which isn't great. Until now I thought only running was out, but if cycling is flaring it up, I might need to cut down on that too. Let's see what the physio says (when I finally manage to organise all the formalities).

Starting to wonder if I shouldn't pull out of the first race on my list, or postpone my entry to a later one (they run them roughly every 4 weeks or so). Being fit/healthy for France and the race two weeks later is more important. We'll see.