Swim and physio exercises

Swim - due to the shoulder injury (supraspinatus) I have been taking it easy. Today was the first time I was able to swim pain free but like the running I hope to build it up slowly
250m warm up
250m swimming on side - 6 lengths 1arm in front 4 lengths no arms in front (takes some getting used to)
250m single arm drill
250m breathing every 5 strokes
250m closed fists
250m normal freestyle

I have been seen by the lovely people at Marylebone Physiotherapy http://www.marylebonephysio.com/ and can't recommend them enough. We are tackling some of my injuries i've picked up over the years. I have a little routine that i'm doing every day on the following areas
1. Thoracic spine movement
2. Achilles strength
3. Glutes etc,

PARK RUN www.parkrun.com
This was my third park run. For the first one I pushed George round in the buggy. On the second I arrived late (we take George to disabled swimming on Saturday's) and ran too fast to try and make up time - I pulled my left achilles as a result.

This has taught me to be a bit more patient when returning from a break. There will always be more races.

So today was an exercise in sticking to the plan - run slowly with friends. Which I am happy to say I achieved.

Time to start writing - 33 Weeks to go before the UK Ironman (22nd July 2012)

As I split training into 11 week blocks now is a good time to start.

Its been two months since Hawaii, giving me some time to "reflect" (an overused word!) and put on some weight.

I've continued to train, whilst cutting back dramatically on the volume. In so doing i've made quite a few mistakes. 

The bottom line is i've picked up a few injuries - Left shoulder (swimming too fast), Left achilles (running too fast) and a dodgy right leg (cause???) more about all that later.

I was pleased with my training over the winter/spring of the last season. What worked well was a focus on "break-through" sessions. This involves a steady progression in the difficulty of workouts, away from a focus on the "amount" of training. This brings with it a bigger awareness of recovery - if you are unable to progress you haven't recovered sufficiently from the previous session. Without knowing it I had come across a way of training that is gaining a wider following.

TURBO
It has been a long held ambition of mine to do 5 x 5min x 300W with 3mins recovery.
Today I made a little progress towards that illusive goal.
3 x 5min x 300W x 90rpm with 5min recovery and a 4th set of 2.5min. In the summer I could just about do 5mins once.

Heart rates over 160 on the bike has taken some getting used to!

We received a lovely letter from Chrissie Wellington this week.

For those of you who don't know she won the women's race (for the 4th time!) and holds the world record for the fastest time ever. She crossed the finish line with our flag and returned it to us signed, and also a signed photo for George.

We will be auctioning the flag for George's charity "cri du chat"

Thought i'd make a quick note - it's a common question to be asked _ "how long does it take to recover". Well today I feel back to normal (that's 8days). Recovery is a complicated subject and true recovery/adaptation both physical and mental may take far longer. However the aches, pains, energy levels and appetite are back to normal.

Jet lagged children this morning

Just arrived back in the UK, race report to follow. We are all very jet lagged - I think I have night time duty for the kids as Ella is on a course tomorrow.