Yep, I know its Tuesday and not the planned Monday night download but better late than never.....well, I hope you think so.
Last week was a real rollercoaster of good, bad, ups & downs and everything in between.
Tiredness really kicked in last week but I felt fresh when it came to training, in fact I actually felt better whilst training than I did at any other time.
A couple of good swims, including a decent 4k set on Wednesday, and a really pleasing brick session led me into the final big weekend.
I had to try and juggle a few things around, as I had tickets to attend the Neil Young concert in Hyde Park on Saturday, which meant the long bike needed to be done on Friday.....well that was the plan....
With the annual leave booked, all week I had my eye on the weather forecast....it wasn't looking good. Still, needs must so just get out and get it down. Nutrition plan was down, start on solids (my trusty Clif Bars) move onto the energy drink (Infinit - 4 scoops) and bring in the Clif Blok Shots as necessary.
Fully loaded up, kit all working like a dream, legs feeling great I settled into my pacing strategy straight off the bat. An hour in and I was thinking how great I felt, then.....the sky emptied...and I mean emptied.....I plugged on but it got to the point of being bloody suicidal....I think it was when a tree branch came towards me in the stream pouring down the road!
I managed to take shelter under the skinniest tree in the Cotswolds, 20 minutes later I am freezing, shaking and turning blue. After much deliberation, a phone call to my buddy and a left home was sorted.
OK, so best laid plans are out of the window. Not a happy Sparky.
So what did this leave me with?
With a 2 hour run to be done, I decided to get this done later on the Friday. I went out, legs didn't feel great and my low mood (after bailing the bike) left me with a really unenjoyable run. However, the run was done at IM-pace (8.35 min/mile) without any dramas.
A short swim on Saturday and then a day of rest. This was pretty tough. My mates were out on the bikes, Neil Young was in Hyde Park and I was sat at home.....mmm, not an easy one to swallow.
However, this did get me pumped up for the long ride on Sunday. I got out on the road for 7am and it was already warming up.
The ride went really well, a nice comfortable pace especially as it did really heat up and everything felt pretty good. A bit of stiffness in the back but guess thats to be expected. A quick stop to take on-board some more water was a wise move as I started to feel pretty wiped after almost 3 hours.
Getting the hydration sorted made the world of difference and the nutrition planned worked well. Although taking on-board so much fluid did start to give me that bloated feeling on the way home but nothing to worry about.
So, six hours got done. This was a big weight off my shoulders as it had been playing on my mind. I got off the bike and felt really good. The last 30 minutes were really cruisey as my route came up a bit short so I needed to keep adding on some smaller parts which took me into the middle of Cheltenham and the heavy traffic.
Still, all things considered, I was really pleased with how I felt at the end of the ride. Definitely, the best I have felt after the 5 hour plus rides.
This left me feeling really pleased to have got to the end of the big weeks feeling like I've achieved all of the key sessions. Long bikes, big bricks and solid runs have all been done.
I'm feeling pretty good. The body is holding up. Roth is less than two weeks away now so its into the taper.
I've got a IM-distance open-water swim race on Sunday at which I wish to get a good start executed. This will help close down my demon from Bala. I need to get this sorted so I can approach Roth feeling confident about the swim.
I'll let you know how it all goes and my final thoughts before Roth in next weeks post.
Have great weeks, train well, stay healthy....
Sparky
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