Week 6 - Make the final week of holiday count!

Well where on earth has my summer hi days gone! Disappeared and just vanished! Miles in my legs and we now approach races, I have signed up to my next three races and am very excited to get racing again. The season will be done by October and I will be well I. For a rest so can't wait to race my but off and earn the rest!

With a lot of help recently I have been able to really get some structure and millage into my legs, weight, strength and mentality are all on track and as I approach getting back into work I still need to keep on top of all this because I have loved living almost like a pro, not quite the financial help or actual training hours but I am getting there! 

Monday 

Am - 12mile run (last 3k hard)

Tuesday-

Am- 7mile easy run/ 1.5k swim. 

Pm -  10m tt WSJ (30mile Total)

Wednesday 

Am- 15x15 sec 40milw ride 

Pm - 7 mile run easy - TRX 

Sushi fun with my girl! 

Thursday - 

Am - 6x1mile efforts - TRX 

Pm- 40mile ride

Friday - 

Am - 40mile bike (10x30sec reps) 3mile run off. 

Pm - 2k swim 

Sat-park run 5k -15mile tt effort. (25mile total)

Sunday-am WSJ morning ride 60miles

Pm- TRX 

Total:

Run - 30miles

Bike - 240miles

Swim - 3.5k 

Week 5 - where has the summer gone!

Well it's week 5 of 6 out of the summer Holidays and I have literally no idea where is has gone! It's madness. And the sun and warmth has completely evaded us all, cold morning and chilly evenings are not back. Watching the velta is the only thing that keeps me warm! 

Back in the uk and really building thins towards the British champs, 8 weeks to go and things are steadily progressing. Feeling happy with the work and effort I am putting in and really trying to get the balance right between hard work and rest. Although I only have 1 more week left before work commences again and that is not so cool! 

Another very enjoyable training week, just a shame I can't stay and train in Spain all summer, heat was amazing. And the downtime spent with my amazing girlfriend is fantastic! 

Monday - Spain

Am - 10mile run

Pm - 50mile hilly ride 

Tuesday - travelling day 

Pm - 10m tt 5 miles there and 5 miles back. 

Wednesday - 

Am - 50mile ride 

Pm - 7mile run - TRX 

Thursday - 

Am - 4x2mile 

Pm - 40mile easy ride 

Friday 

Am - 25mile easy ride

Pm - 2k easy swim 

Sat 

Am - 5mile run --- 1.5k swim

Pm - 25mile tt (58.58pb)

Sun

Am - 10mile run - TRX 

Pm - 20mile ride easy 

Oh and a new fancy coffee machine! 

Total:

Run - 39miles 

Bike - 240miles 

Swim - 3.5k 

Week 4 - Spain - hot hot hot

This week I have had the amazing pleasure to be able to train in Espainia! It's been hot hot hot. But oh so much fun, it's hard to train when it's so hot and my body is trying its hardest to acclimatise but with it being 15 degrees hotter it's almost impossible to do that. 

The views when riding are stunning and I would love to just be out on the bike all day and explore the Spanish mountains.

Monday uk -

Am - bike 80miles. 

Pm - TRX 

Tuesday - Spain 

REST

Wednesday - Spain 

Am - run 1x6mile reps

Pm - 40m bike (plus a huge mountain) 

What a ready....every cycling should read this book! 

Thursday - Spain 

Am - run 3m hard, 6x800m 8x60m

Pm - 30mile hilly ride

Friday - Spain 

Am - 9mile run

Pm - 50 mile hilly ride 

Sat - rest day - 

Sunday - Spain 

Am - 7 mile easy run

Pm - 50mile hilly ride 

Monday - Spain

Am - 9mile hilly run

Pm - 50mile hilly ride https://www.strava.com/activities/181362374

Totals 

Run - 42miles 

Bike - 320miles

Swim - 

WEEK 3 - NEW PROGRAM NEW GOALS

Week 3 is the start of a new program with a huge focus of making me run and cycle fast...simple really. Sort out mile splints, repeat and make them consistently fast. How can you expect to run and target time if u have never ran the speed you want to in training. Train to run and cycle faster repetitively and you will go fast! 

Monday

Am - 70mile group ride, hilly and and challenging route. 

Pm - run 10miles tempo. 

Tueaday 

Am - 7mile easy run - TRX 30mins

Pm - 30mile easy bike

Wednesday 

Am - swim 3k easy

Pm - Castle Combe Duathlon 2-10-2

Thursday 

Am - 60mile bike - 20miles changing pace

Pm - 8mile run (worc AC) changing paces. 

Friday (rest day)

Am - 2k swim

Pm - rest 

Sat - 

Am - 2mx3 max effort - 15 tt bike - 1m easy run off 

Pm - rest 

Sunday - 100m tt day!

Drive to Monmouth - didnt do it, due to impossible conditions, I'm sure you all had similar days! 

Am - 3k easy swim 

Pm - 7mile easy run 

Not quite the end of the week as I had planned, it was meant to end in a huge time trail and a crack at my local clubs team record! But hay ho that's the way things go sometimes! 

Still a hugely successful training week, and very happy with how the new program has turned out and made me focus on things! 

Total:

Run - 37miles

Bike - 180miles

Swim - 5k

Pulsin bar review

I have recently had the pleasure of working with Pulsin and been receiving and trialling their range of nutritional bars that they have to offer. They are all natural , and made with completely natural ingredients. They are soya, gluten and dairy free and promote a wide range of pre and post exercise bars.

I have been testing how these bars can withstand the heat of a 20hours training week and aid pre and post exercise nutrition.

The bars I have been able to try to date are the three types of Pulsin protein bars, maple and whey crisp, vanilla choc chip, maple and peanut (post training protein bars) and I have also tested the almond and raisin (pre training).

PROTEIN BARS (POST EXERCISE)

Maple and Whey crisp:

This bar is great, it is very easy on the stomach,  doesn't repeat on you and the taste is really good. The bar isn't too sweet and has the added crisp of little bits inside to give you that little extra interest when eating. This is my favourite post exercise bar out of the three that Pulsin offer, its tasty and very easy to digest.




Maple and Peanut:

This bar is very tasty, the smell is great and for anyone who likes that peanut butter smell and
flavour this comes very close. It doesn't repeat on you and is very simply digested after exercise. If I am honest I would imagine it would be most peoples choice if it was open to a public taste test, but for me the maple and whey crisp just pips it.




Vanilla and chop chip:

For those who like a little choc (not real choc) flavour then this is the one for you! I found the taste to hang around a little in the mouth and wasn't quite as easy to digest as the two above. It is a tasty bar but for me the other two are much more palatable and easy to digest after a workout.




Pre exercise or snack bars:

I have really enjoyed the almond and raisin bar, this is a tasty and simple bar to eat pre exercise or for a snack at any time of the day. It is more carbed  based than the above so if perfect for pre exercise and fuel for training. It is by far the best tasting bar and I actually have to stop myself eating more they are that good. A perfect bar to take cycling if you are on a long ride or just fuelling yourself about an 60-90mins pre exercise! The chunks of almonds in the bar are a real treat!

Choc, cashew nut cookie sandwiches.

Ingredients:

Dry-

2 cups ground almonds 

2 table spoons flax seeds

3 tablespoons 70% coco powder 

1/4 cup coconut oil (do not melt) 

Wet-

3 tea spoons Vanilla extract 

1 egg (whisked) 

Cashew nut butter (To stick biscuits together)

Set oven to 180. In a bowl combine wet ingredients and mix well. Add the dry ingredients (but not the coconut oil) to a mixing bowl and combine. Then add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and the coconut oil. Mix all together well with a wooden spoon, some little bits of coconut oil will still be visible, don't worry. 

Once all combined it will make a wetish dough, then take a baking try and put some baking paper on top. Roll small balls (depends how big u want the biscuits) and pop them onto the baking sheet. Once u have them on the baking sheet (i put 9 on one and then did another batch) get a bowl of boiling water and dip a fork into it, use the wet fork to squashy down and make a biscuit. 

Pop them into the oven for 8-10 mins. They will come out looking a little white because of the coconut oil, not to worry. Leave to cook for 10 mins and then transfer to baking tray. 

Then use cashew butter (or whatever kind of peanut butter you fancy) to stick the biscuits together! HEAVEN! 

Week 2 - 4 man TTT, solo 100m tt training and coffee.

Monday morning and this can only mean that I have got 13 days till my 100m time trial. That meant I need to hammer in a killer session, a solo time trial at around 70miles, more so to see if I can actually sit in the saddle for the period of time required to finnish the race! The race will be an experience and character building at best, strangely looking forward to it, but know that I need to get this session done far enough away so that it can sink in. The race is just adding to my base ready for a few duathlons coming up in the next few months. I have lots of room to improve on the bike, so riding more is only going to help. 

Monday 

Am - 65 mile tt (not fast due to mega mega head wind, but happy)

Pm - 40min easy run 5 miles- 30mins TRX 

Tuesday 

Am - 7 mile run with efforts

Pm - 5 mile there and back. 10m time trial (actually went surprisingly well) 

Wednesday

Am - 25 mile ride (glorious pre 7am coffee stop) 

Pm - 7 mile run - 30mins effort. 

Thursday 

Am - 7mile run - 2k swim 

Pm - 60min bike 20miles - 9mile run (steady with worc AC) 

Friday 

Am - 20mile easy ride

Pm - 2k swim

Sat 

Am - 2.5k swim 

17mile hilly open tt (13th - happy with speed and effort)

Pm - 30min very light run 4miles

Sunday 

Am - 4 up TTT - 30miles (9th) crazy wind!

Pm - 45 min easy run 5miles

The week was a very old successful training week, happy with effort and the base building for the 100m tt. Trying to keep things going, then once 100m tt is done, move onto running pace! Enjoyed week two, but unhappy it is going so fast!

Roll on week 3.....and a new training program! 

Total:

Run - 35miles

Bike - 182miles 

Swim - 6k