and what a beautiful day it has been, it never fails to amaze me how much a difference great weather makes to how everyone feels.....the world is better a place when the sun is shining!
Keeping with the cheery vibe, its been a great week of decent training and an even better recovery week is on the way!
I mentioned last week about the chesty cough & congestion i've been struggling to get rid of, well it seems to be clearing but I am still experiencing some congestion upon raising my intensity levels. Therefore, this last week I decided to step off the running and look to manage the HR. This has definitely helped move things along, although ideally I wouldn't have missed my run sessions, I'm not concerned as my legs were pretty well battered anyways!
My swimming has picked up this week, back to previous quality levels, and we have been hitting some strong volumes - smacking out 4.2k on both Tuesday & Thursday - with some big sets within the session. I really enjoy the bigger sets as they allow me to settle into holding a consistent pace for a longer period whilst maintaining focus. I must admit to practicing race simulation during these sets, imagining myself leading the pack at Kona for example!
The bike was my key focus this week, especially with no runs, so I was pleased to hit every session as per my plan. With Saturdays bike session being my key goal for the week, it was important I stuck to the planned weekly sessions, hitting target HR and efforts, which I did. I have found this discipline difficult in the past, so I am taking this as a good sign of both mental & physical progress.
That discipline was actually my key goal to take into Saturdays long bike. Given that my chest still isn't 100%, it was vital that I kept my HR under control but not lose any benefit by backing off too much. I was really pleased with how the ride went, it wasn't an easy route nor easy conditions with a strong headwind turning into a cross-wind on the way home (explain that one to me?!) So I held the effort levels bang on plan and the HR stuck to where I would expect to see it for those levels of effort.
Another factor which I wished to step up my discipline on was my on-bike nutrition. I was chatting to a multiple-Ironman friend during the week and his key piece of advice was to make sure I get my nutrition dialled-in. Now, I've read this and heard it many times before but must admit to being poor at implementing this discipline in the past.
So, I gave myself the target of consuming 300 cals per hour during the ride. I ate every 30 mins and drank every 15 mins. This made a world of difference to how I felt throughout the ride, although still hurting (due to the effort levels), I never felt weak or depleted and it also gave me a sense of "being in control".
I was really pleased with the nutrition I used. I rotated my foods between Clif Bars and Clif Blok Shots. Both of these equal 300 cals, so I would take half a pack of each every 30 mins. This helped break up any monotony of eating the same thing time & time again. The bars were great, really tasty, easy to digest and didn't sit heavy in the stomach. The Shot Bloks were my alternative to gels, as they are a far healthy option and much more palatable. They are like little jelly cubes, so are really easy to consume and again do not cause any digestive distress, which I have incurred when using lots of gels in the past.
If you are looking for a healthy, organic nutrition option I'd really recommend checking out both the Clif Bars & Clif Shot Bloks. They're available via lots of online retailers, in loads of really tasty flavours, including an awesome Chocolate Chip flavour!
Ok, enough eulogizing about nutrition products (hey, I enjoy it!) and back to whats ahead this week.
A decent week of R&R is the plan. After my first 3 weeks of strong volume, I'm looking forward to allowing the mind & body to absorb the good work which has gone on. Knowing this in the plan gives me comfort that this is helping me progress & prepare for the weeks ahead.
Well, I thought this would be a short post tonight but I've ended up spewing out loads!
Just before I go, I wished to give out shout to my buddies Jono & Loz, who tied the knot over in Sydney on Saturday. Congratulations guys! Can't wait to catch up when you're back on these sunny shores.
Have great weeks guys, enjoy the sunshine, keep healthy & happy.
Sparky
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