Week 3 Triathlon Training

My cold is much better now and I’m looking forward to a great week of training.

I’ve come to the realization that my training plan is going to be slightly dictated by the weather over the winter and might be a bit hit and miss. I don’t mind the cold but I really dislike those grey, wet winter days that can drag on for an age in the UK. They definitely effect my motivation to do anything other than hibernate so I am hoping that we don’t have too many of those type of days this winter.

I’m not sure that my swimming is getting any better or faster but I’ll keep plugging away, it’s still very early days and you can’t expect miracles to happen overnight. On the other hand though after 8 months of running I seem to be able to run 5km without my brain telling me to stop and walk for a “few seconds” every time I get to about 3.5km. This is a major break through and shows that running is just as much a mental battle as a physical one.

On Monday night we had a new Sweatshop beginners group start and had the customary photo taken. A few people have been chopped off the sides ……

The format of the run was different and the improvers were split into two groups, quicker than 10:30 and slower than 10:30. I’m right on the cut off so decided to see how I would go in the slower group. The pace at the start was too slow and I ended up running off the front of the group with a couple of others. I then think I ran too quickly to make up for the slow start ……… my pacing was all over the shop and when I got to the end I felt like I had worker really hard but my time wasn’t great! It just shows how a good even pace is important in achieving a good time.

Tuesday was a beautiful sunny and warm day so I made the most of it and went out on my road bike and did 27km. It couldn’t have been better.

Last night was the Sweatshop Halloween run.

My husband and I got into the spirit of things and got dressed up for the occasion, it obviously worked as I got a new PB for the route having run a nice steady pace for the 5km. My local Parkrun are also having a Halloween themed run at the weekend, hopefully the same magic will work there as well!

Week 1 Triathlon Training

I’ve bitten the bullet and joined my local DW Fitness so I can use the swimming pool. So far so good, it’s not the cleanest but it’s much better than the public swimming pool.

This week there are 6 training sessions timetabled for the first week all of which I think are achievable. Today is Wednesday and I’ve completed two swims and a run so far. My arms and elbows are aching from the swimming but I have quite enjoyed getting into the pool and doing a few laps. There isn’t another swim scheduled until next Monday so that will give me a few days to recover. Towards the end of my swim a couple started walking up and down in the swimming lane as I was trying to do my cool down ….. grrrrrrr …….one of my pet hates!

I did a 5k run in monsoon conditions with The Sweatshop Running Community on Monday evening, it was more like a swim in fact and I had to wring out my clothes when I got home but it was actually enjoyable.

Anyone out there who is thinking about starting running I highly recommend the SRC beginners group, it’s free and a great way to get into running. There are Sweatshops all over the country, have a look here : http://www.sweatshop.co.uk/stores

I’m hopefully going to go for another 5k run with the SRC social group tonight. I’ll let you know how that goes ……

The Wednesday night run was another wet one but despite this I achieved my quickest time for the route we ran. I think I just wanted to get out of the rain as fast as possible which made me run at warp speed (for me!).

I had a rest day on Thursday and did another swim on Friday. Saturday mornings these days generally involves going to Parkrun at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes and this week was no exception. Really enjoyed the run and as soon as I got home I went out for a sixty minute bike ride even though it was blowing a gale.

Sunday was another day of rest, naughty but nice 🙂

My Strava summary for the week was :-

Onwards and upwards 🙂

Following the Program

After our first couple of runs it became apparent that our trainers/sneakers that we had found in the back of the wardrobe were not really up to the job. We were both suffering with sore feet and knees!

Off we went to Sweatshop in Milton Keynes to get kitted out in some proper running shoes. After having our gaits analysed – the husband is a neutral runner and I under pronate apparently! We were given a selection of shoes to try, I opted for some Mizuno Wave Connects and the husband went for some Brooks Glycerin.

Yay, we had proper shoes and then the shop assistant told us about The Sweatshop Running Community, SRC. They run four times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. You register on-line and fill in a disclaimer in store the first time you run and off you go. We joined in with a beginners group who were about half way through a zero to 5k program. We were hooked from our very first outing with SRC, such a friendly bunch of people, we soon made friends.

Around about this time we decided that we needed a goal to aim for and a commitment we couldn’t renege on to insure we didn’t give up. Oh I thought, how about the London Duathlon for Macmillan Cancer Support on September 14th, we could opt for the Super Sprint distance of 5k run, 11k bike, 5k run. An achievable challenge if we put the training in and for a good cause as well.

We followed the Run Double program and got to the end of it, it works! Whoop, whoop, I’ve gone from staggering through a 60 second run to now being able to run 5ks, I never thought I would be able to do it and it just shows what a bit of perseverance can achieve. I’ve also graduated from the Sweatshop beginners group into the improvers group and have my free yellow Adidas Sweatshop Running Top which I am always proud to wear.

We have also added Parkrun to our weekly training schedule. http://www.parkrun.org.uk/

Parkrun organise free, weekly, 5km timed runs around the world. They are open to everyone, free, and are safe and easy to take part in.

These events take place in pleasant parkland surroundings and they encourage people of every ability to take part; from those taking their first steps in running to Olympians; from juniors to those with more experience; everyone is welcome.

Milton Keynes Parkrun takes place at 9am at Willen Lake on a Saturday. It’s free, well orgainised and super friendly. I like volunteering for it as much as I like running it.