Rest

Day with family and preparing for the 10km swim tomorrow.

Swim

2km mainly drill with one 330m race pace effort.

Gym
Some basic leg and shoulder exercises.

Track

8x800m on 60-90sec rest. Just below anaerobic threshold.

Laps of the nearby cricket pitch for the first time. It's about 370m around. I did notice

clockwise was harder than anticlockwise. The fitness is there but biomechanics issues are the main limiting factor now. 

Finally managed to get the computer to make the watt changes on the turbo trainer with a bit internet research.

Turbo

10 x 15sec x 500W on 90 sec recovery - getting easier

Bought a big fan at last.

I'm trying to fix up an old laptop to make switch the wattage on and off without me having to do anything - it's proving difficult. I'll have another go tomorrow.

Run

Fantastic weather - did the 10km scenic course I planned yesterday. My biggest problem was negotiating a heard of bulls that didn't look very friendly. Some kids swimming in the river shouted "they're not lions"

Two thirds was off road which i've lacked in London. Hopefully it'll be good for my technique - I felt very asymmetrical today, so a little daunted by the prospect of rebuilding the running towards something respectable.

More on Chrissie Wellington's book - you can see from her back ground a few physiological things that have contributed to her success. An early life on bulimia (not to be recommended) that has made her a big fat burner. Working in Nepal and mountain bike racing there - altitude training.

Turbo

Tempo session - 51min at 250W 85rpm

51min because I had to quickly jump off and adjust the fan so it's really 50min

My motivation for this was low but kicked in after a few minutes which made for a great session. Deep down I think I was going for 60min, last time I did 40min so i'm happy. I could have ground out another 10mins but I think i'm starting to learn a few things;

The sweet spot for me heart rate wise is somewhere between 137 and 154bpm give or take a bit. This apparently gives a good training response without risking overtraining and allows you to do something the following day. I've noticed at heart rates above this my technique starts to suffer which is probably part of the explanation. 

I also made a few adjustments to the position - saddle as far forward as it will go. I've always wanted to try this as it opens the hip angle up which should make running easier. It was now or never seeing as there's 9 weeks to go. The left leg didn't like it but the right did.

Also checked out a nearby cricket pitch that people use as a 400m track and put a 10km trail route into the garmin.

Reading Chrissie Wellington's autobiography - extreme. 

9 weeks to go

Swim

5km - my best long distance swim so far. Held my technique and felt strong right to the end. This time next week it'll be the 10km! the news is that the temperature will be cold. It'll also be the first wear of the wetsuit this year so that side of things could be interesting. I've ordered a wetsuit cap and gloves as the organisers have recommended it.

Jumped on the scales today - first time for 2-3 weeks. I thought it'd be bad news but was surprised to find it bang on 70kg. With 9 weeks to go it's time to start thinking about loosing a Kg or 2 so at least there's not as much as I thought to do.