Back in structured training

Well a good week this week, thanks to Ian Murphy's training plan.  It felt good to be doing something which was much more structured - also much less chance of copping out knowing that I have to report what I have/haven't done!  Although no one session was particularly hard, I did feel quite tired by the last session: the final swim session took some strength of character.  What seems apparent is that I still have some base fitness, but lack any level of speed or ability to work at higher HR at the moment.  These things aren't so important for a long distance event, but there is some value in doing higher intensity work later in the schedule.  Totals for the week were 10K swim, 195K bike and 34K run.  These work out as 26%/11%/8% of the Deca distance respectively, so lots to go at still!  

Other things this week.  Got my first saddle sore, ever!  (I think it was probably down to a new saddle).  A bit of research and advice from friends has helped inform me about treatment and prevention.  I am very aware that it is going to be 'wear and tear' injuries that I will need to guard against, so this was a good opportunity to explore one specific area (no pun intended).   The general rule is that prevention is better than cure, so the old adage of rehearsing in training what you plan to do in the race is never truer.  Equipment selection, nutrition, hydration, recovery, strength and conditioning etc are all things that can be tried and tested during training.

For the saddle sore most of the advice I'd heard before, but I was interested to read about the benefits of pedalling while standing as a way of avoiding sores.   I've been recommended something called Assos cream for future rides, but in the short term Vaseline was my friend this week.  I already use it for preventing chaffing during longer swims, and also for the occasional 'joggers' nipple' so I'm considering setting up a sponsorship deal!  I also started my research into nutrition and the effects of sleep deprivation, both throwing up some interesting information.  More later...