what is it about swim training for tri's that truly vexes me? i have spent quite a fair bit of time invested in the pool to build aerobic fitness. This week was a 1000 m x 2 swim keeping mainly in the aerobic range on monday followed by a speed session on friday of 10 x 100 m swims. On sunday tho when i was supposed to have quite a breeze swimming the 750 m, i was surprised( horrified!) that i was faced with the same problem as previous open water outings. I was tired, wheezing and struggled as i sputtered through the swim. I was so thankful at the halfway point to be out of the water to catch my breath if actually for just that short moment. My swim time was pretty decent actually, about 16 min which was an improvement from last year but that brought me scant relief.
Halfway through the swim i really had second thoughts about the aviva swim. i am starting to think that i would really struggle and may not make the cut-of 1:10.
Of course saturday's bike crash where pk ended up with a fractured clavicle didn't help. on sunday i had to get into the race with the right side of my body covered with abrasions and a badly swollen right hand. not being able to move my middle and ring finger and hence not pulling effectively really did not help my cause.
with my hand all swollen today and increasingly painful, i am actually worried i may have had a worse injury with my writs. i had better do an x ray to sort that out.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Another milestone week.
well i did 15 hours on the trot last week. With the new year holidays firmly behind us, I had a number of long cases lined up and i was rather concerned about whether I would have the time or energy to keep training. In fact, I did a very slow swim of 50 odd laps on wednesday; on thusday, I was in the pool this time for a fast half hour swim before doing a 3 and a half loop up rifle range route lasting an hour and then doing a quick brick running 5 km. I was so tired on friday i had to take a break and on saturday, I did a 117 km bike ride with ch. Just the 2 of us, me starting at 330 doing a single Mandai loop before meeting him at 5 am for the rest.On sunday i did another mid morning running and managed to cover 16 km of undulating hills before calling it.
This week would be a bit less in terms of hours but i am sure higher in terms of intensity!
This week would be a bit less in terms of hours but i am sure higher in terms of intensity!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A New Week and a New Challenge
After 3 days of enforced rest, I was all ready to re-start my sputtering campaign. I was due to ride 120 km with the FOTR gang and a reunion dinner beforehand certainly helped in the carbo laoding but this was undone by some alcohol ingestion( definitely not so clever) although I tried to do so moderately. I had just finished my antibiotic course and was beginning to feel a little better.
I woke up at 2:30 am and was ready for SE and PK at 330 am to do the 4 loops of CCR and selarang. Forgot i was on call and on the first loop had a number of calls and issues to sort out causing me to miss the turn on the road to the climb. Met the second wave guys( CH, SY, JN, WL) at 530 am for the remaining 3 loops.
By the 4th loop, I was feeling tired, and could not get comfortable whether it was riding aero or straight up on the saddle. there was a niggling tug at the insertion of my hamstrings but we kept at a speed of 31 km/h. I told myself to dig deep mentally and focused on deep controlled breathing.
There was a quiet air of achievement as we crossed 125 km, of breaking through the pain barrier. One of the things about training a race like this was personally redefining for myself what was possible and reconsidering my own limits and that the improbability was really an obstacle of the mind and not of the body.
I had the niggling discomfort all the day long but went out on a run( 15 km) on the hills of clementi and nus at 1030 which went well. My HR though was going at 160 throughout and i perspired bucketloads but finished strong.
On Tuesday, FOTR's gathered again this time on a 80 km ride through Mandai, Neo Tiew and Buroh, Keppel, this time a t a slower average speed of 25-26 km/h.
Its down to the last month of training now; and I think the aerobic base training would shift into a different gear into more race specific training and taper for the last 4 weeks for me.
Target times for the Aviva 70.3:
Swim 740-840( 60 minutes swim)
Bike 840-1155( 3 hrs 15 minutes)
Run 1155-1410( 2hr 15 min)
overall: 6:30
I woke up at 2:30 am and was ready for SE and PK at 330 am to do the 4 loops of CCR and selarang. Forgot i was on call and on the first loop had a number of calls and issues to sort out causing me to miss the turn on the road to the climb. Met the second wave guys( CH, SY, JN, WL) at 530 am for the remaining 3 loops.
By the 4th loop, I was feeling tired, and could not get comfortable whether it was riding aero or straight up on the saddle. there was a niggling tug at the insertion of my hamstrings but we kept at a speed of 31 km/h. I told myself to dig deep mentally and focused on deep controlled breathing.
There was a quiet air of achievement as we crossed 125 km, of breaking through the pain barrier. One of the things about training a race like this was personally redefining for myself what was possible and reconsidering my own limits and that the improbability was really an obstacle of the mind and not of the body.
I had the niggling discomfort all the day long but went out on a run( 15 km) on the hills of clementi and nus at 1030 which went well. My HR though was going at 160 throughout and i perspired bucketloads but finished strong.
On Tuesday, FOTR's gathered again this time on a 80 km ride through Mandai, Neo Tiew and Buroh, Keppel, this time a t a slower average speed of 25-26 km/h.
Its down to the last month of training now; and I think the aerobic base training would shift into a different gear into more race specific training and taper for the last 4 weeks for me.
Target times for the Aviva 70.3:
Swim 740-840( 60 minutes swim)
Bike 840-1155( 3 hrs 15 minutes)
Run 1155-1410( 2hr 15 min)
overall: 6:30
Friday, February 12, 2010
Enforced Rest
After last week workouts, i was feeling good and thought I should be able to rack up more time with decent workouts. I rested on Monday and on tuesday hit the pool and did 60 laps( 10 x 6 ) completing it in 1:35( minus the rest). I was really feeling good and was thinking of joining the joyriders for a mid-week ride followed by another brick run. By the evening however, I was n't feeling too well and the back of my throat felt raspy and it got more sore as the hours wore on. In the early hours of the morning, I had a full blown URTI and had to start medicating myself. WL was surprised, remarking that that was the first time I have taken meds for a flu in our 14 years of marriage. " Must be the thought of the Aviva" she quipped. I was forced to agree sheepishly. I wanted to get back into shape as soon as possible as there is a 120 km ride on saturday, one i would be most disappointed to miss. I must admit I am not 100% but I feel after 3 days of enforced rest, I am in morbid fear of my aerobic fitness ebbing away through this bout of illness. PK felt I was over-training and I probably was. I am not in my twenties and I should have been more cognizant of that.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Why all the Swimming?
I am weak in swimming, biking and running and the logical structure of any training program would be to focus more on a weak section. On my end i should be the bike or swim but i have subconsciously been more worried about my swimming. My workouts over the last 2 months will reveal that i spend a disproportionate time in the pool. I spent 1 hour 45 minutes in the pool today doing 6 sets of 10 laps each at rpe 5. I was working on coordinating my kicking and keeping my body horizontal in the water. I was paying attention to the position of my hands as it entered the water. I averaged a slow 15 minutes per set but felt good as i left the pool.
Why is there a personal effort to logged the laps then over cycling or running? Well I have never been much of a swimmer and as I may have mentioned before I have never managed more than 2 laps in the pool of front crawl until the grand old age of 42. As such I needed to get up to speed so i can do justice to any multisport event i participate in.
In the last open water events, I was anxious and probably hyperventilated. The mask was too tight, water too choppy, I was too winded and i was swimming all over the place, situations that did not help my timing at all. But that was not on my mind when I was in the water. I remembered my first event and prayed before i hit the water:" God don"t let me drown!" i think that must be the most fearful thing to happen. the choking and the water in your nose and all the fearful things.
That must be the subliminal message i am sending to myself that motivates me to swim harder in the pool; to improve my aerobic fitness to minimise that phobia footprint from being anything more than a baby size one. Will I be ever rid of that? probably not but I am glad I am facing it. I can change what I am afraid of and face it not in a foolhardy way but to make proper preparations to deal effectively with it.
Why is there a personal effort to logged the laps then over cycling or running? Well I have never been much of a swimmer and as I may have mentioned before I have never managed more than 2 laps in the pool of front crawl until the grand old age of 42. As such I needed to get up to speed so i can do justice to any multisport event i participate in.
In the last open water events, I was anxious and probably hyperventilated. The mask was too tight, water too choppy, I was too winded and i was swimming all over the place, situations that did not help my timing at all. But that was not on my mind when I was in the water. I remembered my first event and prayed before i hit the water:" God don"t let me drown!" i think that must be the most fearful thing to happen. the choking and the water in your nose and all the fearful things.
That must be the subliminal message i am sending to myself that motivates me to swim harder in the pool; to improve my aerobic fitness to minimise that phobia footprint from being anything more than a baby size one. Will I be ever rid of that? probably not but I am glad I am facing it. I can change what I am afraid of and face it not in a foolhardy way but to make proper preparations to deal effectively with it.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Been a While but I haven't been slacking
Its has been a bit before my last entry. During this time I have put a fair bit of time; after the success of the last week ( and entry), i only mananged 6 sessions( 2 each) but managed the following:
S 4.5 km( 2.15)
B 143 kmk( 5:15)
R 18.5 km( 1:30)
The highlight would have to be the century ride with SE, starting at 3:30 am completing 3 loops of CCR- Selarang. Also a workout was a wednesday workout with Jr followed by a 8 km brick running the hills of Clementi.
This week, I increased my time and clocked 12:13( 10 workouts with 4 bikes, 3 swims and 3 runs). I put quite a bit of time in the pool building aerobic fitness( and did a total of 130 laps). Was feeling a little sluggish but scapped myself off the floor and went to the pool to do 60 laps.
Bike mileage was a little lesser. It included a wednesday JR session where i was dropped on the first hill of Mandai; I was holding a decent speed of 33 km/h when I suddenly ran out of gas at the first hill and slithered to an incredible 18 km/h. Was second last into the Shell station which was sobering. Not withstanding I did a run and did 10 km on hills of Clementi and Buona Vista which partially ameliorated my bruised ego!( haha!)
On thursday I did a easy 20 lap pool session in 30 minutes, then did 2.5 loops at RRR and then a 30 minute brick run of 4.5 km.( This came at the back of one craniofacial tumour and an aneurysm clipping). Friday was a mental toughness day where I did intervals of 14 laps x 3; completing in 65 minutes and then had to go back and do a brainstem tumour case which i must confess felt easier than the week had been!
Saturday was supposed to be another century ride but SE had a fever and I copped out, meeting JN to do a 70 km. Traffic was especially heavy at Jln Boon Lay and we had to contend with a lot of heavy vehicles. When we reached Clementi road, we caught a wiff of the most amazing aroma of roti prata curry and I suggested we take a break to stuff our faces. JN was no resistance( thank God!) and we happily tucked into roti pratas before tackling Clementi road.
Today was a special treat CH joined us and we decided to do a 40 km recovery ride especially as SE had a fever only yesterday and we had done 70 km yesterday. It was CH 's call that was the catalyst to do the ride today. The rallying call meant we did a 40 km ride through Mandai and we went up clementi road bridge- commonwealth road. CH had a close shave with an errant SBS bus that came to close for comfort. I heard a wail behind coming from him before feeling the bus brush pass me very shortly thereafter. Well if it was a near miss, CH certainly hit the jackpot hitting the road when he couldn't get his clips off the pedal on time, all fault is mine though! I decided not to beat the traffic light at the last moment and CH thought otherwise. I turned around and saw him in a heap. He got up unscathed but not before he some abuse on me. Sorry CH!
went for a quick ward round and then thought i should do a short run up 6 th avenue at 11 am to simulate race conditions( i am sure it will be blazing that day!). Did 8.5 km in 50 minutes( about 6/km) and saw my heart race go up to 160 and averaging 150-155 throughout.
so all in all a great week!
Total 12:13
Swim 6.5 km( 3:14) 3 sessions
Bike 165 km( 6:20) 4 sessions
Run 34.05 km( 2:55) 3 sessions
S 4.5 km( 2.15)
B 143 kmk( 5:15)
R 18.5 km( 1:30)
The highlight would have to be the century ride with SE, starting at 3:30 am completing 3 loops of CCR- Selarang. Also a workout was a wednesday workout with Jr followed by a 8 km brick running the hills of Clementi.
This week, I increased my time and clocked 12:13( 10 workouts with 4 bikes, 3 swims and 3 runs). I put quite a bit of time in the pool building aerobic fitness( and did a total of 130 laps). Was feeling a little sluggish but scapped myself off the floor and went to the pool to do 60 laps.
Bike mileage was a little lesser. It included a wednesday JR session where i was dropped on the first hill of Mandai; I was holding a decent speed of 33 km/h when I suddenly ran out of gas at the first hill and slithered to an incredible 18 km/h. Was second last into the Shell station which was sobering. Not withstanding I did a run and did 10 km on hills of Clementi and Buona Vista which partially ameliorated my bruised ego!( haha!)
On thursday I did a easy 20 lap pool session in 30 minutes, then did 2.5 loops at RRR and then a 30 minute brick run of 4.5 km.( This came at the back of one craniofacial tumour and an aneurysm clipping). Friday was a mental toughness day where I did intervals of 14 laps x 3; completing in 65 minutes and then had to go back and do a brainstem tumour case which i must confess felt easier than the week had been!
Saturday was supposed to be another century ride but SE had a fever and I copped out, meeting JN to do a 70 km. Traffic was especially heavy at Jln Boon Lay and we had to contend with a lot of heavy vehicles. When we reached Clementi road, we caught a wiff of the most amazing aroma of roti prata curry and I suggested we take a break to stuff our faces. JN was no resistance( thank God!) and we happily tucked into roti pratas before tackling Clementi road.
Today was a special treat CH joined us and we decided to do a 40 km recovery ride especially as SE had a fever only yesterday and we had done 70 km yesterday. It was CH 's call that was the catalyst to do the ride today. The rallying call meant we did a 40 km ride through Mandai and we went up clementi road bridge- commonwealth road. CH had a close shave with an errant SBS bus that came to close for comfort. I heard a wail behind coming from him before feeling the bus brush pass me very shortly thereafter. Well if it was a near miss, CH certainly hit the jackpot hitting the road when he couldn't get his clips off the pedal on time, all fault is mine though! I decided not to beat the traffic light at the last moment and CH thought otherwise. I turned around and saw him in a heap. He got up unscathed but not before he some abuse on me. Sorry CH!
went for a quick ward round and then thought i should do a short run up 6 th avenue at 11 am to simulate race conditions( i am sure it will be blazing that day!). Did 8.5 km in 50 minutes( about 6/km) and saw my heart race go up to 160 and averaging 150-155 throughout.
so all in all a great week!
Total 12:13
Swim 6.5 km( 3:14) 3 sessions
Bike 165 km( 6:20) 4 sessions
Run 34.05 km( 2:55) 3 sessions
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