This week I’m coming to the end of my base block of training. For nearly 3 months I’ve been building my training load by increasing volume and workout intensity bit by bit, with an easier week every 4 weeks to allow myself to recover. Most of that work has been aerobic, but more recently some faster paced stuff has been added. My fitness has been building nicely, I’m feeling strong, movement in the water feels good, running is going well (touch wood, cross fingers) and the biking seems to be going well with a higher functional threshold power output than last year.
I am tired. That’s normal right now and a good sign, but I’m looking forward to some easy days and some more testing next week. And a lie in or two.
This week has been a bit nuts with a lot of work, blocks of my timetable taken up by various things and training getting squeezed out into early mornings as the sessions have been a bit longer. I swam a 5km session this week too which is the biggest single swim I’ve done, and swimming makes me sleepy. Up early and in the gym this morning I was already tired, and I had more than 4km to swim later in the morning with a bunch of 400m reps at threshold pace. It went rather well though. A good sign!
My right calf has been a little tight this week, so I skipped the box jumps to help everything recover a little for tomorrow’s long run. I’m running 5 days a week so I need to be a bit careful.
Speaking of tomorrow’s run, here’s an example of fitting training in with working and family. I did a set of hill reps on the bike first thing in the morning yesterday and rode back past my house to pick up my bag on the way to work. I had planned to run in the afternoon and then ride home, but my last meeting was rather long so instead I ran home (with a little extra loop to make up the volume). Once home my day was done & I could eat with the family and put the kids to bed without having to go out again. But of course that left my bike in work and I needed to get into the gym early this morning. Drive? Nah. I rode another bike in this morning, gym, work, swim, work, cycle home, leaving some warm cycling kit in my office and a couple of quid. Why? Tomorrow I’ll do my long run from home, over about 20km by the sea to work. I’ll get rid of my wet kit, spend the cash in the vending machines and grab a snack, put on the warm cycling stuff and ride the other bike home. Job done!
Jack’s got a laser tag birthday party in the afternoon, so I can give myself plenty of time to help with that. Then all I’ll have left to do is a long, 5 hour(ish) ride on Sunday with a little bricked run off the bike. I hope it’s not too wet and cold – the weather has turned again. Wish me luck.
