Time To Focus

It’s been a funny past couple of weeks and I have had to exercise flexibility and patience with my training. Things have come up at short notice so I have found myself doing a little less work on the bike and more running and swimming as they are the two things that are easiest to continue fitting in, even when away from home. All I need is my goggles and a pair of running shoes and I can still get in quality sessions wherever I am.

There is just 3 weeks left until Geelong 70.3 and I have revised my training to ensure I get in the necessary work before race week. Instead of starting to back off the volume of training two weeks before the race, I will train hard until 7 days before and then drop the volume by at least 50% to freshen up for the race.

I am relatively happy with where my swimming and running is at the moment but I don’t feel strong enough on the bike. To rectify this, I know that all I need is to get in my 3 main rides and one solid weights session each week.

My 3 rides are:-

Ø  Tuesday – Strength ride with 5 x 20 minute hard efforts in a big gear pushing a low cadence.

Ø  Thursday – Single leg work followed by high cadence efforts on the indoor trainer. This will precede my weights session consisting of dead lifts, single-leg squat jumps, Swiss Ball hamstring curls, step-ups and calf raises.

Ø  Saturday – 4 to 5 hour ride with some sharp hill and race pace, time trial efforts.

Ø  I will attempt to fit in easy 60 minute rides on other days for active recovery and a warm-up to run sessions, as well.

I must, also, focus very hard on my diet in these final 3 weeks. I am still holding a couple of kilos more than what I would like and I haven’t been eating enough meat, fish and vegetables in the past couple of weeks.

I am feeling very motivated to put in a massive performance in Geelong to continue my pursuit of, hopefully one day, being fast enough to compete as a professional. However, there are simple things I can do in these final 3 weeks to give myself the best possible chance of having a great performance and I will be getting very strict on myself.

I will be getting some chiropractic and massage treatment a couple of times each in these final weeks. It’s something I have neglected in the past 2 months and I have found it catching up with me through tight muscles and aggravated joints. I am looking forward to some Chiro treatment from Dave at Holistique Health and Spa - http://www.holistiquehealth.com.au/ - https://www.facebook.com/HolistiqueHealthSpa/info - as it really straightens me out so that I am not over compensating as much for things like my misaligned pelvis which can play havoc with my glutes, quads and cause knee and hip discomfort. Getting this sorted out makes a huge difference to my power output on the bike and run which can easily make a difference of 5 or more minutes to my race time.

There’s no time left for complacency. I must make the most of these final training days to get what I want out of this event.

Fresh Start To 2014

The past 10 days have seen me decrease my training load and take several full rest days in order to freshen up the body to prepare for my final 3 week build towards the Geelong 70.3.

I had been feeling run down prior to Christmas after some big days at work combined with a heavy training block. So, from Christmas Eve until now, I had made it my rest phase and it has done its job. I am now feeling in great shape to tackle a massive 3 weeks of hard work to give me the best possible chance to do something special in Geelong.

I will be extremely focused on honing my race pace and technique over the next 3 weeks until Australia Day. I want to ensure I am extremely comfortable with the pace I plan to push on race day. Therefore, I will do key race pace sessions in each discipline throughout each week.

My sessions in each discipline, for the next 3 weeks starting Monday 6^th Jan, will be broken down as follows,

4 Swim sessions:-

Ø  Monday – 5km strength swim with hand paddles and an ankle band used for most efforts.

Ø  Tuesday – 2km of technique drills.

Ø  Wednesday – 3km of mixed work using fins. Focusing on kicking and fast arm turn-over.

Ø  Friday – 4km. Warm-up will be followed by 25 – 30 reps of 100 metres at race pace. I will also incorporate a lot of sighting in this session.

Friday is the key race pace swim session and the others are to cover various facets of the stroke and necessary specific strength.

6 Bike sessions:-

Ø  Tuesday – 2 hours big gear strength work. 2 hours 30 minutes during week 3. Can do on indoor trainer or on the road.

Ø  Wednesday – 60 minutes easy ride.

Ø  Thursday – 2 hours on indoor trainer. 30 minutes of alternating single leg work and the rest done as a Fartlek cadence session.

Ø  Friday – 60 minutes easy ride.

Ø  Saturday – 4 or 5 hour endurance ride. Some extended efforts at race pace and a few sharp hill climbs will be in there.

Ø  Sunday – 60 minutes easy ride.

Saturday provides the endurance so I will be able to handle the 90km distance on race day easily and combines the race pace practice with some hill work as Geelong is an undulating course. Tuesday and Thursday provide other fitness aspects of strength and high cadence which will both be needed at some stage on that course.

6 Run sessions:-

Ø  Monday – 30 minutes of drills and technique work.

Ø  Tuesday – 30 minutes at race pace on the treadmill after my strength ride.

Ø  Wednesday – Long run of 2 hours done on a hilly course below race pace but consistent.

Ø  Friday – 45 minute tempo run at race pace or slightly above.

Ø  Saturday – 30 to 45 minute steady run, on the treadmill, off my long ride.

Ø  Sunday – 75 minute Fartlek run.

Wednesday gets me used to running the necessary distance, plus a little more. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday helps to hone in race pace off the bike. Sunday trains the legs for changes of pace which will happen on the up and down run course in Geelong and Monday ensures I have a good range of movement and sound technique.

I will do core exercises on Monday and Thursday with Thursday being accompanied by a short, lower body weights session.

The third of the 3 weeks in this training phase will be slightly higher volume than the first 2 weeks with completing sessions to their maximum specification, ie: 5 hour ride and 45 minute run on Saturday. I will also take slightly less rest between reps in the pool to increase intensity.

Seeing it all written down makes it seem like a lot but my aim is on frequency, in this last phase, as much as anything. I want to train my neuromuscular system to be completely used to all of these movements and the pace needed to perform well on race day. It’s going to be a big ask and, as always, it will be difficult to complete all sessions without neglecting the other important parts of life but I will simply try my very best. If I miss the odd shorter session here and there, I will not be worried, as long as I am completing my long sessions each week and performing all sessions to the best of my ability and to the specifications required.

This will be the largest volume of training I have ever undertaken but I am confident in my ability to cope with the stresses associated with it. Nutrition will be as important as ever and that is something I have worked hard on in the past to find what works for me. I am confident my nutrition plan will provide me with the energy and recovery elements necessary while assisting in getting me to my desired race weight of 72 – 73kg, as I am currently hovering around 75kg.

2014 is going to be an amazing year.

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you are also having an exciting fresh start to 2014.