Trains, Travels

Having got my act in order and picked up some momentum last time I’ve started to wonder how my fitness now compares with last year. Truth be told my running is still lacking much impetus, but the rest goes well. Another truth is this is a data analysis post, so expect charts to follow.

I will write something about life in Busselton soon, but if that’s what you want, check Steven’s blog. Steven and Jo arrived in town earlier in the week. Despite our travels we often end up in the same places outside the UK. I’ll also take the opportunity to promote my new blog on Triathlete Europe! Quite excited to be writing for their website, will hopefully get something in most weeks and can promise no number crunching there.

As a race builds up subtle insecurities sneak into the back of your mind. Have I done enough? Have I done too much? Am I too tired? Why am I so unfit? Am I light enough? The list could go on, but I’ll spare you. When this happens I start to look for reassuring signs. Whether this takes the form of a great training session or more likely fiddling with all my training data till I find something good.

In my opinion I’ve had some good sessions the past week or two. Despite that I spent a Saturday afternoon watching Neighbours and working in WKO+ and Excel! The inspiration came during today’s group ride. As I desperately tried to hang on the bunch whilst the guy on the front ramped up the pace. I know the past few weeks I’ve been working harder on the bike, but I wondered how it compared with last year’s race build up.

What was key was the fact that I had good data for the final weeks of build before the race in 2008 and of course this year too. A couple of things to note in this comparison though. I’m comparing from five weeks to two weeks before the race. Obviously I don’t have data for the next two weeks and last year I’ve no power data for the final two weeks. Both of which are good reasons not to compare them! You can consider the following two weeks to be roughly a taper.

Which comes to the second point last year I tapered for three weeks, this year I’ll be tapering for roughly ten days. So the final week of the three week block I’m comparing had different purposes. It might skew the data a little. As a positive the fact this year’s taper is shorter should be read as a sign I’m fitter!

Performance Management Comparison

Some very broad figures to look at. With the unorthodox build period for this race I thought I’d consider how my fitness compares. So the first things to compare is the CTL (fitness), ATL (fatigue) and TSB (form). Here’s the usual reminder to read this WKO+ guide for those unfamiliar with the terms.

I’m actually surprised to find that the CTL values are that close at the end of the week three. The difference being in 2008 I was dropping rapidly to that value from a first week of taper whilst this year I’m still building up. Based on that the result should be that this year I will be fitter come race day. The main concern will be ensuring my form is good and there’s not too much fatigue either.

A big taper in 2008 left me very rested and the race went very well. Had I good data for the taper I suspect the CTL/ATL/TSB values wouldn’t correspond with what I’d associate with good racing. I wonder if with what I know now I could have been better prepared on race day last year?

I’ll never know of course. For this year’s final weeks I’m taking the model that worked for Kona and reapplying it. This should get the fitness a little bit higher and then allow me to reduce the fatigue and build more form. We shall see of course. I’ll be looking at the taper later in the week when I’ll be doing some proper planning.

Training Stress Comparison

Keeping it simple I’m comparing the overall training stress for the three week blocks. Both the overall and the values split for bike and run.

I think it’s pretty obvious the overall stress has been slightly higher this year, mostly coming from the bike. Whilst I’ve complained this race prep hasn’t gone well it clearly involved a bit more work. What’s also clear is I’m not getting back on track with my running yet. I can only hold my hands up and admit to that!

One of the things that has changed from a year of training is I’m able to sustain higher training stresses than last year. I’m pretty sure I was pushing myself hard just before my taper last year. I know I’m pushing hard again this year, though not quite with the intensity I had for Kona.

To be honest all this chart really achieves is reassuring me that I’m not slacking off too much. I may think I’m not doing enough, but the reality is I’m working well. Okay, except perhaps with the running. I have had some good run sessions though so I’ll draw my positive from that.

Power Distribution Comparison

I hope you’re impressed by the 3D graph! I also hope it doesn’t make the data unreadable! As with the previous chart green is 2008 and red 2009. Again I’m considering the three weeks together. Looking at the amount of time spent at different wattages.

This is actually the comparison I first thought to look at. I wanted more reassurance that I was riding harder this year than last. All that despite a few weeks lazing about after Kona and a relatively short time coming back into fitness. I’m pleased that it achieved my aim!

You can clearly see that this year I’m riding more at higher power levels. Perhaps a product of the way I’m focussing my training now compared to last year. Also though I suspect an indication that my ability as a rider has changed. It’s interesting that whilst fitness according to WKO+ is lower than it was at this point last year my riding is better. Of course the reasoning behind this can come from the fact that training stress is relative to my threshold. As I become a stronger cyclist I have to work harder to stress myself the same amount.

So that’s my simplistic little comparison to reassure me that things are coming together. I’m increasingly optimistic that I can come to race day in good shape. I think my bike is stronger this year and so is my run. If I worry about anything it’s the swim!

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Given I started writing first thing this morning and only got as far as a title perhaps it’s not the best choice? It balances out the last post though. I’ve gone from a sluggish struggle to get myself going to settling into a routine. Routine is key after all. Once in place it’s much easier to stick to the training plan. Not that it’s perfect, but it’s doing the job and I feel I’m back on track for a good race.

Signs are there! Some very solid rides in the past week. Not just the odd one, but backed up with more of the same the following day. I’ve managed to do some very focussed work which I’m very pleased with. Race pace up and down Tuart Drive is good for confidence and once warmed up it felt pretty good. Even with short sprint bursts to get past the bloody Magpie on Tuart Drive roundabout!

All those concerns about tight ITBs are vanishing as my run comes back together. Not quite there and I backed off a little with the hammering I’m taking on the bike. Session like today’s endurance run finished with over half an hour at above race pace though. Not only that it felt good to work that hard! Ok up until I stopped! Felt pretty shattered after that, but nothing a couple of hours napping on the sofa couldn’t fix.

I’m even pretty happy in the water. I may not be at my fastest yet, but for a change I have direction and know what to do. A couple of trips a week up to the 50m pool in Bunbury gives me an opportunity to do proper threshold work. Really this has been missing from my training. There’d be a small amount each week, but nowhere near enough. Not anymore, hard sets are becoming a frequent feature of my swims. Thanks to the Wetronome I’m even able to motivate myself despite swimming alone.

Here’s the interesting thing with all these positives. I still feel a bit like I’m slacking off and taking things too easy! When I look at my WKO+ files though the reality is this week and last week were actually largely on track. Partly it’s a habit of inflating the quality of historical training. Convinced previous build ups have gone much better and this time it’s going wrong. Ambitious goals come with increased nerves and it takes a little more to keep confidence up.

Another factor is the higher quality of many of my sessions. Duration is lower, but the work done has been significant. It wasn’t entirely deliberate, but it’s a very positive change. Some of this came from riding with the local group. They don’t ride too far, but they like to hurt each other out there! My sessions with them throw in much higher intensity efforts. Then I’ve thrown in more interval work on my own. Trying to be more focussed on developing the power I race at.

I think I may have mentioned the Justin Daerr articles on Xtri before? I’m not going to check, far too lazy for that! They’re worth a read as an insight in the transformation from a typical age grouper to a Pro Ironman. I consider myself to be roughly on the second stage of his transformation. His example bike training is very relevant for me. I don’t lack in endurance and I have a good ability to ride hard at low heart rates. I want to take it up a level though and that means a lot more work on the bike. Plenty of riding still, but more focus in my sessions.

A week of increased quality work has seen slightly lower hours than I typically do. Surprisingly not by all that much though. It’s also seen a lot more fatigue and tiredness. Not helped much by an erratic approach to sleep at the moment. Need to get that sorted especially when you tend to start so early here. Fortunately the sofa here is pretty good for napping on.

That drop off in overall hours leads to my perception that I’m not doing enough. I don’t feel as busy as back in the UK. If I look at the TSS (Training Stress Score) for the week in WKO+ it’s actually right up there with a typical week. So a slight change in training approach has skewed my perception, but the reality is I’m working well. Nothing to worry about for race day!

Looking forward to the next race (and I already am). I know with a lot more time to prepare for the build up to Ironman New Zealand I can work at this approach. It’s a balance of volume and intensity. Increasing my ability to tolerate hard work within a large training week. Then working at increasing how hard that work is. Slowly uping the game. Just as I worked to tolerate increased training volumes now I’m working to tolerate harder work in that volume.

Well this ended up far more focussed on training than planned! I’ll post again soon about when roads aren’t roads, the I spy of road kill, odd signs and vicious local wildlife. Momentum is building. As are the positive feelings about the race. This could go well.

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“This tendency for motion (or for rest) to maintain itself steadily unless made to do otherwise by some interfering force can be viewed as a kind of ‘laziness’, a kind of unwillingness to make a change.” — Isaac Asimov

It’s a beautiful day outside. Clear blue skies, the sun is shining and the winds aren’t that strong. Yet I’m indoors writing up a blog post. If only I could claim it was out of a sense of loyalty to those who read this. It’s not even guilt over failing to post for a few days.

Instead I’ve come to the end of an odd week. A week that’s hard to analyse on the one hand I’ve had one or two great training sessions. On the other I’ve fallen far short of my training goals, struggling to get back into a routine. What was supposed to be week one of my Ironman Western Australia build felt more like a transition week. With less than four weeks to race day I’m starting to get nervous about fitness.

Take today as an example. Like I said it’s beautiful out there, just the kind of day I came all the way to Oz for. Perfect for training. So with half of it already gone I’ve done nothing.

In fact I had a lie in, got up and ate a bowl of berries, nuts and yoghurt. A light breakfast before I headed out on my run. Then just felt tired and went back to bed for an hour. I got up again and cooked myself an omelette, my main breakfast planned for after the run. I still felt tired and after a while went back to bed for an hour! Now I’m up again and thinking I’ll have some lunch shortly and do that run this afternoon.

Had I stuck to my plan I would have gone on that run. Then after brekkie I’d have headed to the gym for a weights session. The day would have finished off with an easy ride out on the race course. All in perfect weather and none of it too hard either.

What makes this particularly frustrating is it’s a pattern that seems to have repeated all week. I’ve dropped more workouts than in the final week of a taper! I can’t even give a good reason why. The motivation hasn’t been entirely there. Perhaps it’s settling in to a new location and routine. Or maybe residual fatigue, certainly I’ve felt more tired than usual at this point. Or maybe there’s been too much intensity in my first week back?

Either way I’ve twenty-eight days to my race and that gives me roughly eighteen good training days to go. It’s time to get on top of this and start things properly moving. No more excuse, no more fatigue. Attitude and behaviour need adjusting to get myself ready to race. I’m not looking to build fitness, just get myself back into race shape and ready to go. I should be able to get back to that Kona shape.

Two big weeks of training to follow. All set in a fantastic venue with some good people to train with. It’s not exactly a tough life is it? I shouldn’t be sitting here wondering what to do. I should be out there training to my plan!

Apologies for the brief, whiney post. I wanted something up on the site even if it was this! Next week I’ll report back with some positives and progress I promise. I still have that 9:00 mark in my sights. In fact I chatted to a guy at Bunbury Pool who did a 9:47 in Kona followed by a 8:59 in Busselton a couple of years back. Certainly can be done.

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