Pelz's Triathlon Page

Feb 2010 -Back Training & back Blogging

2010-02-21T04:19:00.000-08:00

Well it seems an age since I last blogged. In this time I have completed the 09 season which saw my best result of 33rd overall at The Woody and my worst of DNF at Weymouth and a big crash at the Cowman. So a mixed season say the least!

Since then, I have begun training again and completed in South Africa 70.3. This was won by Fraser Cartmel in very hot and humid conditions. For me it did not go so well, having missed so much biking due to the snow and Ice in the UK winter. Anyway I had cramps and vomiting on the run which put an end to any serious chance of getting a Clearwater slot. Not unsurprising having left -6 to arrive in +30 and a day to sort myself out! Never the less, a great trip and a great race, I hope to get there again soon.

Now, I am back in training in the build up to Lanzarote. I have set a very ambitious training plan and just hope the weather begins to become a bit milder, otherwise it will be tough on those long rides!!

So this week:

Monday AM Swim PM Weights
Tuesday AM Swim PM endurance run 75 mins plus
Wednesday AM Swim PM Turbo (1hour) to 5km tempo run
Thursday Restday
Friday AM swim PM X country run 75 mins
Saturday AM ride 2 hours PM weights
Sunday 3 hour ride to 5km Run
15 hours

Work Versus Triathlon

2009-04-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

This is the age old conundrum!
In the last 10 day I have trained less than 5 times
It has been the quarter end for the company I work for and lots of late nights
little training therefore.

Well I have all but made my decision for Bolton ..... I have not done the base work and will end up crawling road the course which is not my gig

I will train my nuts off this week end and see how I fair but I fear it will be ugly

Hey ho

Injured Again

2009-04-26T02:52:00.001-07:00

Well this week has been a disaster, primarily due to work eroding my time to train, net result when I train I go too hard hence my injury again.
This week I have managed to train for 5 hours, have worked to 11pm twice this week and am well knackered.
The company has made people redundant and loaded more accounts on to me and due to us being a heavily processed business, I just do not have time in a normal working day to complete every thing, hence the late nights & no training.

Well, my knee injury is an old one which I damaged when I was slalom training a few years back, I hooked a slalom pole and ripped a couple of ligaments and the in balance has remained ever since. Net result it locks sometimes, when it does I'm buggered and cant do a thing.

So we will have to see how It looks for uk 70.3, let alone the UK IM which are now at risk, I'm just not getting the base work in.

I will have to make a decision soon as to whether i race as I have no intention of going to these races to make the numbers up.

To be honest this is bollox.

Businesses in this economic don't give a fuck about their staff and just bury you. The first fuck up and you are made redundant. The fear in my business is paralysing people's life's at present.You life on a quarterly cycle, hit your target live another day, miss it and you are fucked...... not much fun.The vibe at my business is horrible and I dread going into the office most days, hence why I work at home most of the time.

UK training Regime is back

2009-04-17T02:02:00.001-07:00

Well back in training either side of Work now, not such good fun!
Sticking to my regime of

3-4 swims a week a mix of drills & endurance, so about 10 Km a week.
3 Cycle sessions focusing on short & Sharp at the mo 20-30 Miles either speed or hills.
3 run sessions all 10km-15km just working on maintaining a sub 8 minute on hilly xcountry running with the beloved Skippy doo daa! the terrier from hell!

Also I have just got my new training frame a Cervelo S1, I'm building it up now from my bits box, it is the nuts...

I have ceramic BB FSA slk chainset, & Durace Mechs, it's way to good to just be a training bike, so I'm going to enter some local criterion races on it.

Race calendar this year to date is

Tonbridge Sprint 4th May
East Grinstead 14th May
Sussex/Urban Race sprint 31st May
Weymouth Middle Distance &th June
IM 70.3 UK 14th June

IM UK Bolton August

Vitruvian

I'M Back!!!!

2009-04-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

Well Dudes I'm back online in blogger world

I did my training week in Gran Canaria, during the last week of March, miles better than Lanzarote, warmer, not so windy & better cycling, having said that I love Lanzarote and for me, it is the real Iron Man course and the only one I really want to do along with Kona.

During that week I ran 70Km & Swan 20KM Plus, so really happy with the what I did. Swam each morning, ran every evening. But the running is hilly..really hilly!From Amadores beach you climb 450 meters vertical in 1.3 miles I know this as my Garmin showed it, plus my lungs told me.

I did not bother cycling as I just focused on my running & swimming. plus the beach was to inviting.

My old Orca wetsuit lives to fight another day.. all the arms were splitting so I just cut them off with a pair of scissors! now a perfect warmer water suit.

So a great weeks holiday with the misses but now training in the wet & cold of the UK which is pants!!!!

WOW! What a BIke!! Shame about the rider!

2009-03-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this with the world
My bike all done and ready to Race
How cool!!!!
Bike Bling .......we love it!

Training update

2009-03-20T03:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! spring is here!
Training has gone well this week again.

Monday 1500 meter Swim, evening Turbo (1 hour) & Core session
Tuesday 10Km run (hills)
Wednesday Turbo session (1hour)followed by Temp run(5km)
Thursday weights
Friday 1500 meter Swim & 10 KM
Saturday Swim & run
Sunday long ride followed by 5KM run (tempo)

Next week I'm off to Grand Canaria (taking the wetsuit!) so lots of sea Swimming & running. Not taking the bike, I might hire one for a couple of days, I will take my shoes etc.

The race bike is fully set up now and rocking!!

so all is good! As the days grow a bit longer, the evening training sessions become longer, can't wait to get those 2 hour mid week evening sessions in.

I have to review my training programme soon

Catch you all later

BIke Bling

2009-03-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hey this weeks training is going really well

wicked hill sessions last night around Oxted, Westerham & Titsey
this was 90 minutes of running up and down hills
Loved it!

After last weekend I have decided to train on my own for a while.
Can't be bothered with what happened during the ride, my training time is so precious, that every, session, hour, minute and second has to count if I'm to achieve my goals in this sport.

I will see how I feel closer to the season but at the mo I can train on my own happily, once the open water season starts, I will review my relationship with the team.
It's a 2 way thing & my comments about said incident may make unwelcome but I'm happy with my behavior.

Anyway, I have purchased some Bike Bling of Mr T scale, pic attached.

will it make me go faster.....maybe
Does it look cool......fully!
Does it make me happy......yes!

so was it worth it????
probably not but that's the point it makes me happy and I love riding my bike!!

Anyway just a core session tonight

Thursday is a swim session in the morning (Skills & Drills)
Evening is Turbo session 1 hour with 1 min efforts at max power followed by 5Km tempo run.

Friday weights and core ........ glass of beer & crisps!

Saturday Endurance swim AM
Afternoon X country run with Skip (6-8 miles)

Sunday 60+ mile ride on the bike
PM weights and curry!

Cycling with My mates, PAS!

2009-03-09T02:36:00.001-07:00

well this is my rant of the month
It's not often I get to cycle with my team mates due to where I live. so my expectations for these sessions is high. so it can be frustrating if a the goals of the session are not outlined.

Also cycling in the South East is a frustrating process for Cyclists and Motorist's alike, due to narrow roads, terrible pot holed surfaces and both cyclists and motorists not knowing the frustration of each others toil!

However, just because a motorist is driving badly and trying to wide up my teams mates should not lead to the farce that unfolded this weekend in Kemsing. Brawling, kicking in a car panel and generally being pathetic: the only people at fault here were us!

I was ashamed to be part of this and no wonder people become frustrated with cyclists. The commuter eco warrior cyclist attitude, cyclist are always right and motorists wrong has no place in our sport.

When we are on the bikes we have to be disciplined and think of our goals and not be duped into petty, squabbles, violence and criminal damage.

Yes the motorist was one of the most horrible people mankind has created but no need to drop to his level and I was disappointed with what my team mates got involved in.

In my mind you have to let these things pass, concentrate on training/riding/session goals and portray our sport in a positive manner. We know our end game, so never deviate from our target.

A wasted afternoon for me which left a bad taste in my mouth, making me realise that if I'm to achieve my goals in this sport I will largely have to train on my own.

This is a a terrible shame as the team ethos is so important for moral, pushing people on and developing performance. Something I relied on heavily in a previous life.

A lesson well learnt

Cycling with Rocky

2009-03-09T02:10:00.000-07:00

well I have not blogged for a while but much to catch up on.

Injury 1 "The Calf" is much better now though still tight at times. I'm beginning to get my confidence back running, doing a hill session 2-3 times a week for an hour near Oxted and the north downs. It feels slow but the strength is returning.

I have built a gym in the garage with a weight bench, core area turbo etc, so doing quite alot of strength work as well at the mo which I hope will pay dividends in the longer races.

Injury 2 "The Broken Big Toe" what a stupid injury! but it is not holding me back now, it was nearly a month ago I did it, it does look horrible but with no impact on my training I'm glad to say!!

Training this week just gone,

2 swim sessions, Both skills and drills each at 1500 meters
3 strength sessions including core
Cycling 88 miles mixed Turbo and Road sessions
Running 3 sessions
1 tempo session off the bike 2 miles flat out
1 endurance session (hills) 9 miles
1 break out run 6 miles

so not a bad week if a little disjointed

Targets for this week

3 sessions of each

which include
2 drills and skills swim plus one endurance swim (Saturday)
2 Turbo sessions plus 1 60 mile+ ride on Sunday
3 run sessions to include, (tempo 5K), (Endurance, Hills 1 hour+), (Break out X country run: with Skip! 6-8 miles)

2 strength sessions

That's should be enough, then I'm off to gran Canaria for some training at the end of March as the water/weather is warmer than Lanzarote.

Injured Again!!

2009-02-19T03:47:00.000-08:00

Well I was training really well before I went skiing, back into my running, feeling strong and so forth!
Went, Skiing, did some wicked stuff, caught up with mates and family, watched the world Champs and generally loved it !

However, whilst weight training out there I managed to drop a 5Kg weight on my big toe.... no nail and bust it!! looks like a pink sausage now and is hurting like hell when I walk, cycle, run, swim, sleep, talk etc .... generally making me grumpy!

This weeks training has been rubbish

40 odd miles on the Bike
10 km running
3 km swimming
1 weight/core/stretch session.

Very very bad, if it continues like this IM will be a 24 hour experience!

happy days

H

A good week's Training

2009-02-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well this week has yielded well for my training log.

Swam 8KM in 3 sessions
Cycled/Turbo'd 110 miles
Ran 12KM (2 short sessions Friday & Saturday)
2 weight, Core & stretch sessions

The running is good news now that my calf is on the mend. Rode for 2 hours today then ran 6 KM loop with no break down on my calf.

Now off to Tignes to ski a bit ...... well alot .......and to drink some beer!! Happy days!

I CAN RUN!

2009-02-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

Finally I managed to get out and run last night without my damaged calf breaking down. I managed 6 KM happily with no pain or cramps, this is the first time in weeks since I damaged it.

I'm seriously behind on my run training now and need to really focus on this if the 70.3 & IM UK races are to be a success.

Anyway happy days!

I want to introduce my running partner

2009-02-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

Here's Skippy the coolest terrier on the planet. She runs with me loads, when I'm out running cross country....she loves it, gets the odd bunny for good measure and is hard to keep up with on the way home.

Every Triathlete should have one!

The Injury

2009-02-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Well yep I got injured!! my right hand calf muscle...I ripped or pulled about 20 minutes into a run session a couple of weeks back.

Well here is some advice, if it happens to you, don't be typical bloke and carry on running on it for an hour or so.....It just makes worse!!! I learnt this lesson.

Here's another piece of advice listen to the Physio and Masseuse as they know what they are talking about and don't try and rush back to training/running..... it makes recovery longer and makes the injury worse.

Well ummm I think I have learnt my lesson, kind off!!

Anyway:

I have started light running again with no tempo stuff and it is beginning to feel stronger. You cannot believe how frustrating it is, as cardio wise I feel really good at the mo. To be honest, I have always been rubbish at rehab, even when I was skiing, I tried rush back too soon.

This takes me back to when I was in Meribel suffering from a broken leg and wrist, both nearly heeled but not quite, so I went skiing with my mates on one ski!! no poles. At the time I could not understand why everything was hurting!!

So the leg is beginning to heel, I have some wicked stretching exercises to do which seem to be working, the Physio has given me this stretching ramp to work my calf's and hamstrings.....it works.

So today will be an endurance swim session with my weights and stretching/core stuff tonight.

I will do a run session off the turbo on Friday but very gently!!! Then a long ride on Saturday.

So that should all be good! After that I'm off skiing to Tignes to catch up with mates, watch the World Champs in Val and do a few swim sessions. This is so cool, as the pool in Tignes is great for training as is the gym which has loads of treadmills, what helps is that the village is at an altitude of 2100 meters above sea level, so it gets you puffing a bit!!

Catch you soon guys

My First Posting

2009-02-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well trianing has been going well todate

here is my winter training schedule which I'm focusing at the mo:

Monday AM: swim 45 Min's Skill & drills. PM Turbo session 45Min's - 60Min's skills & drills

Tuesday: Endurance Run 60-90 Min's

Wednesday:Turbo/Cycle for 60-90 Min's followed by transition to Tempo Run 15-20 Min's

Thursday AM: Endurance Swim 60-90Min's PM: Weights, Core & Stretch

Friday: REST DAY

Saturday AM: swim 45 Min's skills & drills. PM Endurance Run 60-90Min's

Sunday AM: Cycle 2-3 hours. PM: Weights, Core 7 Stretch.

This has been going well until I ripped my right calve muscle, have had treatment on it and am just starting to run okay. So many thanks to Erin who is a team member and a top sports Masseuse. I have had to replace my run sessions with a similar Turbo session whilst injured, plus an extra swim session.

Beginning to feel strong which is cool. By the end of Feb I will be training each morning in the pool followed by evening Turbo/run sessions.

My hot topic today

NEWTON RUN SHOES GOOD OR BAD.

FOREFOOT RUNNING OR HEEL STRIKE??

2009-02-04T06:46:00.000-08:00

well at the moment training is frustrating. I on a 12 hour week of training at the mo with 3 sessions of running, cycling swimming.