This year feels different. I’ve been really enjoying lifting in the gym this winter, setting new personal bests in the back squat and deadlift, and both at weights that I’ve been trying to lift for a few years. I’m heavier this winter, which might help, and it looks like I might be heavier all year if I can maintain my lean mass. It’s tricky to keep it when I get close to and into race season when my body seems to change shape to fit triathlon better. A calorie restricted diet makes it difficult to maintain lean mass too. Last winter I was recovering from a broken clavicle so it was a while before the shoulder was strong enough to lift really heavy things, and that put my usual maximum strength development phase out of phase with the rest of my training.
The first training block of 2014 went well, even with the tough weather. At least it wasn’t icy. I haven’t been to see Gareth at Swansea Health Solutions yet just because I’ve been so healthy. Strengthening my hip flexors in the gym has helped the rest of my running robustness I think, and all the muddy cross country running probably set me up well too. I’m going to have to go in for a massage just to catch up and have a chat.
Swimming is going to take on the focus of my training this year, probably at the expense of cycling. I’ve made some changes for the first few months of the year to my running training, and it looks more similar to how I trained for the Dublin Marathon in 2009 when I was at my fastest. I’m swimming with the Swansea Masters and learning a lot, which is transferring to the rest of my swim training. If I could spend more evenings with them I would, but I try to get all my training done by the time I get home from work so I can see the family and chill out a bit. If I train in the evenings too we’ll be communicating by text message.
Swimming has been feeling pretty good so far. It’s not great but I’m getting a good feel at times. I wonder if I can swim 750,000m in 2014; that would a really big target to try and hit. The Welsh Masters Champs are in March so I’ll get an entry in for the long course 1500m. That’s a scary proposition and gives me a bit of immediate focus.
Urban Cyclery are sorting me out with a new race bike (and have moved to a new shop around the corner from me so they’re now my local bike shop), and I haven’t decided whether to enter some duathlons or not. The Mumbles duathlon is very early, in March, but the Welsh champs are in April, and hey, I am a vet now so maybe I should have a crack at a top 3 trophy. It might be a good prep race for the main season. The insurance company have been very quick at helping me with my smashed race bike, while I’ve been very slow. I’d better crack on and get the new bits together and rebuild it.
I entered XTERRA England, keen to do some cross country triathlon but the race has been cancelled this week. There’s a real paucity of cross triathlon in the UK this year and I was hoping to get a new mountain bike for racing and do something different. Is there any racing out there that I’ve missed? There’s a fair bit in Scotland but that’s too far to go for a weekend without my own private jet.
I’ve got a bit more testing to do this week (and the results are up from the baseline) and then I’ll be into the second block next week. I hope the weather gets a bit better!
