Ups and downs

Mmm... a bit of a strange month so far and not in a way that I would have wanted.  A week's holiday in the Alps was a welcome change from the normal training routine, where I spent most of my training time running in stunning scenery or cross-country skiing on our local tracks.  (Highlight of the week was the high level route between two small mountain villages).  Also, I had put my heart monitor in for repair I could train without any added pressure and for the sheer enjoyment of it.  (I did need to train though, as French alpine diet consists of cheese, ham and pastries, so plenty of excess calories to be burned off!).  On the downside, the week before and the week after the holiday were more or less a wash-out as far as structured training was concerned.  This was mainly due to work commitments but I don't want to use that as an excuse.  Consequently, I am well down on my planned swim and bike targets for the month.   I'm supposed to have a rest week this week with only easy training sessions, but instead I've decided to repeat the sessions that I missed this week (of which there were many).  My coach, Ian, always says, 'Don't go chasing training sessions!' but in this case I think it's the right thing to do, as I didn't train on 3 days last week, so feel quite rested.  I did manage two test sessions this week, one of which went well (a 100mile easy bike over rolling terrain - felt I could have done more) and one that didn't.  This was a 10Km swim set (my first).  I got to 7Km and had to stop.  The reason I had to stop was not one that I would have predicted.  I broke my ankle in 1996 in a skiing accident and since then I have to be careful with how much impact work I do as it can sometimes cause me pain.  For the first time I experienced this during a swim.  I think it was the constant extension of the ankle during the leg kick, so by 5 Km every time I kicked I got a shooting pain down my right leg.  I think it may have been weakened by the previous week's running and skiing (a bit too much jumping while snowboarding didn't help either!).  I've not felt the injury this week and it was OK on yesterday's 2 hour trail run, so I'm going to have another go at the 10Km swim tomorrow and see how it goes.  I'll finish this time, even if it means doing breast stroke to get the distance in!  Grrr....

Going public

A recovery week this week, so relatively quiet, with low intensity work only.  The first few days of spring too, so it was actually a pleasure to be out on the bike!  (I even treated myself to an outing on my 'posh' bike, which I never like to get wet!).  Biggest highlight of the week was undoubtedly getting permission from Ribby Hall to use their pool for the swim.  I now just need to get some lifeguards for cover during the night.  It's amazing how many people will step up to help you out when you decide to commit to your goal.  Going public makes it all a bit real, which has the dual effect of making this whole adventure very exciting, but also can lead to added pressure.  I just need to stick to Ian's plans, do the work and build gradually.  I received Ian's next 4 week block  of training last night - looks tough, with a few test sessions thrown in so we can chart progress.  A bit of variety too, as I'm off to the French Alps for a week to do a bit of XC skiing.  What a fantastic sport that is.  If you want a sport to raise your pulse and one which takes place in stunning scenery so you can take your mind off the pain, this is it - if only I wasn't so rubbish at it!

It's attitude that counts

Colin Kershaw of Ribby Hall is a legend!  Within 24 hours of my request he's got back to me to confirm that Ribby Hall will let me use their pool.  Just a few things to sort out, mainly due to risk assessment, but what a relief to have met such a 'can do' bloke.  All behaviour starts with belief - if you think the world is a friendly or unfriendly place, you will find what you believe.  Likewise, if you take an optimistic view and believe in the possible, not what might stop you, great things can happen.  Thanks Colin!

Good news

Fantastic bit of news today.  I think I have found a venue for the swim section of the Deca.  The problem with finding a pool is one of insurance and security; most commercial venues won't entertain the idea of someone swimming out of hours.  So what a delight to meet the manager of the sports centre at Ribby Hall, Colin, whose instant reaction was, 'Yes, how can we help?'  It's great to meet someone with a 'can do' attitude, who really gets what you are trying to do.  I haven't received too many knock-backs so far, as I plan this event, but it's just easier for people to say 'No' rather than 'Yes' if it's going to cause them extra work.  I still need to get final confirmation, but so far, this feels like real progress.  (Although it's now getting a bit real!).  You can find more about the Ribby Hall Leisure Village at:


http://www.ribbyhall.co.uk/


It's also the home of the Ribby Triathlon, one of a series of three along the Fylde coast.  I acted as marshal there last year and it looks like a great event.  Also while there, I had a good conversation with the dealer at Sweat Shop about the right running shoes and socks for the run section.  Now planning to get my gait analysed.  Question: is it possible to be excited and afraid at the same time?

February stats

Finished the month with total of 56 hours training, 45km swim, 464 Km bike and 137Km running.  These equate to 118%, 25.8% and 32.5% of the Deca distances.  I feel a bit light on the bike distances at the moment, but see earlier posts for reasons why this has happened.  Running is coming on steadily and I'm most pleased with progress on the swim.  Just need to stuff it all into two weeks and learn to do successive days of long efforts.