Falling across two weeks of my Kona build I think it’s worth giving my time in Lanzarote its own analysis. Hopefully my last post showed what a big week I’ve had, but what does that mean in numbers and more importantly impact on fitness? We’ll start with some top level numbers, but dig a little further.

The numbers

Bear in mind that this covers an eight day period of training in Club La Santa due to flight timings. Even so it averages out at over five hours training a day and on arrival I only trained for an hour and a half.

Swimming

It’s hard to meaningfully analyse the swim, but I felt it needed mentioning at the least. I am working to improve my swimming so the trip was good in terms of providing facilities and time to train well. That said I never felt at my best and would say if anything I felt slower than the last time I was in that pool! Not really what you want to be thinking.

I didn’t do enough hard swimming to really judge if my pace was actually lower. To an extent swimming was something I slogged through with fatigue. Running always was the priority and I am better at pushing myself on the bike when I need to. I was pleased to do at least one 6km set, something of a staple of my New Zealand build. I need to get back into that habit as part of my general Kona build.

Cycling

Lanzarote is great for cycling so I was always in the position that I wanted to emphasise my running, but doing some good biking was so appealing. As it was the general intensity of any ride was higher than it had been at home and this was whilst running more. Roger provided a couple of good sessions with real quality work in towards the end which helped as well.

As the performance management chart shows though I didn’t apply the same large boost to my fitness (CTL) that I have on previous trips out here. I simply wasn’t doing the very long riding I’ve done before. Four or five hours was the maximum with some specific sections of harder work or deliberately hard climbing.

I still achieved a Training Stress Score (TSS) of 950 over the 8 days, enough to cause this more gradual rise in fitness. I arrived in La Santa having let my bike CTL drop to around 88 with some easy days. I left with a bike CTL of 97 so in reality a reasonable shift. That said with some very necessary easy days following the camp CTL is dropping to only 1 or 2 points higher than when I left.

This more gradual gain is entirely what I hoped for though. I could never reasonably expect to make massive growth of bike fitness whilst pushing so much on the running. To make an overall steady climb from this region in the nineties seems ideal. Worth noting is that whilst this year I’ve twice managed to maintain a CTL around 120 in the lead up to races (and biked well) last year I never went over 100 in my run up to Roth, UK or Kona.

I was doing much better work on my running back then too so perhaps the kind of work required to develop my run well will preclude such hard bike work. Slow growth in cycling fitness with the potential to raise CTL further later is perfect if it’s going to allow major growth in my run. I certainly can’t complain and recent experiences have cemented a number of more structured session plans into my week.

I think I’d like to carry a CTL around 95-100 into ITU Long Distance Worlds. After that race keep active on the bike for recovery and perhaps increase my bike emphasis in the final Kona build. Clearly the balance between cycling and running will need to be monitored closely to ensure I’m making positive progress in at least one at any time.

Running

An amazing week for running. I really enjoy the running around Club La Santa and don’t seem to grow tired of any of the roads and trails. It can be quite challenging with hills or you can pick easier paths. I was clearly running a lot to build up 99 miles in 8 days. With my 100 mile run challenge starting on Monday it’s a confidence boost to see how close I was. I’m glad I wasn’t tracking numbers so closely that I felt obliged to go for it early

It’s a different story in the performance management chart here with CTL rocketing up from 36 on arrival to 53 on departure. Once again the mass of fatigue I’ve built up is seeing the CTL fall a little, but we’re still in very solid territory. For comparison 50 is the peak CTL I held before either Roth or Kona. Good runs have come off the back of building to this number.

I’ve been pleased to discover I can handle such a rapid build in running and just keep going. Even more significant were the one or two higher quality sessions I achieved in the middle of this massive build. A tough half-marathon run at a reasonable pace and at least one fast run chasing Roger. The right motivation could pull me through some tough times and get me moving. This is something to remember out on the race course.

Next week the 100 mile run challenge begins on Monday. The aim is to complete a Lydiard style 100 mile run week and see how it feels. Of course I’m making it more of a challenge by still biking and swimming. I will at least be holding back on the load from the other two to boost the chances of finishing. Exactly what my chart will look like after that training will be interesting to see, also the question of whether I can maintain it!

For those interested it took a TSS of 885 to run almost 100 miles. That’s more TSS than I log on the bike some weeks! I at least know what to expect on that side of things from next week. I also know I need to run more than 10km a day in order to maintain my CTL around the 50 mark. I guess I’ve got some work cut out for me.

Aftermath

One thing I can tell you plans of falling straight back in to hard training have fallen to the wayside. Friday I was so tired and sore from travel I couldn’t manage anything more than a massage from The Tri Touch. A painful experience which I think is doing good, but today the lethargy continued with a splash in the lake and an easy run. Tomorrow I hope to do just a bit more.

With serendipitous timing Chuckie V posted an article about getting over training camps. I think it helped filter into my mind and remind me that I’d just done the equivalent of an Epic Camp and need to recover. Smashing out a distance or time goal this week isn’t the priority, but being ready for the next big block of work is.

That block of work is imminent to. Starting Monday and ending a few days before the Long Distance Worlds I’ll be pushing once again. The aim is a 100 mile run week followed by a more balanced week still with a high volume of running. For the ‘taper’ week I’ll start with one or two tougher days based on intensity not volume then properly ease up to hopefully race well.

Beyond that race I’ve not made detailed training plans yet, but it’s on the long to do list. I know running will still be the focus, but I also know I want to push on the bike a little bit more. My training camp and some recent discussions have inspired me and given me new sessions to try. As well of plenty of solid riding there’s going to be some hard sessions in there in all disciplines.

I’ll have the fitness to support it and I’ve got the drive too. Knowing I’m already in my 2009 Kona shape is encouraging that I can genuinely work to make Ironman Hawaii 2010 an even better race.

I’ve been on Lanzarote and in La Santa enough to know how good it is for training. I was even willing to ease up a little before heading out. A concentrated training camp can do wonders for fitness, but you have to be careful not to over do things in the lead in or aftermath. The full benefits come from serious overload followed by recovery.

I’m afraid this post is epic in size you may need to set aside some time!

Day 0 – Thursday – 1.5km Swim, 0km Bike, 11km Run

I’d booked an early flight to give plenty of time for training on arrival. It almost worked, but I failed to factor in how tiring the journey and night spent in Gatwick would be. I had fantasies of logging several hours right then and there, but a short run and swim were all I felt up to.

Day 1 – Friday – 6km Swim, 107km Bike, 22.5km Run

Fortunately I made up for lost sleep on the first night and woke feeling refreshed. A good job as I’d big plans for the day. I had ideas for structuring the week and thought I’d see how they overlapped with Roger’s plans. Having a training partner makes a big difference if you’re both pushing each other and I know Roger and I are well matched in this respect.

With a Gold medal at European Long Distance Champs only a few days in the past Roger’s plans involved less training than I intended. Having just taken on a Torbjorn Sindballe as a coach Roger was unsurprisingly keen to stick to the recovery sessions.

We headed to the pool just after 7am and got stuck in to our respective swim sets. I must admit I wasn’t feeling it and found the swimming frustrating. Once I was out the water it was off for the first run of the day around my favourite trail from La Santa. A little bit hilly to start, but beyond the first 3km it rolls on quiet roads.

Run done and brekkie eaten (scrambled eggs with ham and cheese my daily staple out there) Roger and I headed off for a ride. With recovery his focus Roger needed half the ride I’d planned so we parted ways and I went South for a circuit of El Golfo. To stop me slacking Roger reminded me he didn’t expect to see me before 4 hours of riding was up.

With my run focus when I got back it was out on the roads for the second and longer run of the day. Nothing too fast at this point, just logging the distance. This was my first time discovering the pleasure of the lagoon loops I dread to think of how many times I’ve circled that now!

Clearly well motivated I finished with a second swim racking up some serious hours of training. I wondered how long I could keep that volume up though.

Day 2 – Saturday – 3km Swim, 101km Bike, 31km Run

The plan for day two was effectively repeat day one. Not very imaginative, but it would let me notch up run mileage and keep biking ticking along. Much as it wasn’t a priority when you have the roads of Lanzarote to hand it seems a crime not to use them.

Mostly things did go to plan I just got a bit carried away running and went further than intended in both morning and afternoon sessions. Enough that I didn’t fancy the idea of another double swim day so made do with just the morning set.

Day 3 – Sunday – 6.1km Swim, 0km Bike, 23km Run

I’d planned my long run for today and chosen a nice hilly route from La Santa to Tinajo via side roads. Before I could do that it was back in the pool at 7am when it’s normally nice and quiet. I took the time to have breakfast before hitting the roads. Fatigue was already setting in it wasn’t time to be going short.

I’d run this route in the lead in to the Ironman and forgotten how challenging it is. There’s a lot of climbing to the roundabout in Tinajo and once there it’s a long down hill. Easy on the aerobic system, not so kind on the legs! To make up more time I threw in another lap round the lagoon for good measure. By the end my legs were shattered and pace dropped.

Thoughts of a recovery ride went out the window. I was tired and riding from La Santa means climbing straight from the door. Hard to ride easy when you’re either going up hill or into the wind. I popped into the gym for a bit of core and weight work then took another dip in the pool to ensure I made the most of my time!

Day 4 – Monday – 3km Swim, 108km Bike, 21km Run

Roger’s program was starting to ramp up so I was keen to join him. We were out early for a four hour ride with 45 minutes of intensity to finish. Both nervous about the session and a little uncertainty how it would go. I wasn’t expecting much from my now quite sore legs.

Despite that fear when the interval started things picked up. I surprised myself riding increasingly strongly and by the end I was right where I wanted to be and felt I still had more. A great session that showed how you can push beyond what you think.

The hard work wasn’t over when we returned it was straight out for a short run at a tough pace for fatigued legs. Roger guided by his Polar immediately hit the 4:30 minute/kilometre pace. I took time to warm-up and after he’d gapped me was working hard to hold him at 50m. A bit of determination kicked in and in the final kilometre I put in a spurt surging past him up the short rise to the La Santa roundabout.

Whilst Roger was mostly done for the day I’d more to go. We went for a swim session and then I threw in another run to up the mileage. A much easier pace than the first effort. By this point I’d found I could settle in and sustain around 5 minutes/km indefinitely.

Day 5 – Tuesday – 0km Swim, 0km Bike, 31.1km Run

Throughout the week Club La Santa offers lots of events and it would be a shame not to join in with at least one. I talked myself into running the Tuesday Half-marathon. A hilly course reversing a lot of Sunday’s long run route. It was soon apparent I wasn’t going to be the fastest guy there. Three people put 100m into me in the first kilometre and I had no response.

I toughed it out and even though this was training found the nominal ‘race’ was enough to give me an extra push. That said by halfway I was in pain and glad to meet Roger for the final few kilometres. He helped me focus and maintain a comfortable sub 4:30 minute/km pace. I was surprised to be running this well as I notched up my 100th kilometre since arriving in Lanza.

Race done and I was gone! Again plans for an easy ride vanished and it was another case of a gym trip along with a very easy 10km run. Much as I was tired I needed to notch up miles on route to the weekly goal.

Day 6 – Wednesday – 3.7km Swim, 129km Bike, 9.5km Run

Another big day in Roger’s schedule. Despite being shattered I was willing to play along. We were at the pool for seven prompt to knock out 4km. As usual I started slowly and struggled to keep pace with Roger until about 1km in.

Eventually I got moving and was really getting into a rhythm when the mini-tri started. In fact they didn’t wait for me to finish a set and I suddenly collided with one of the triathletes pounding down the lane. At least given him a taste of what a swim start could really be like! Frustratingly 300m short of the target, but no time to hang around I got out and went for second breakfast.

Today’s bike was a larger version of Monday’s – five hours with a full hour at intensity to finish. Monday had reassured me that the session was manageable, but the way my legs felt was worrying. The next three and a half hours passed painfully, but neither of us vocalised our thoughts of bailing. When we hit the bottom of Timanfaya it was time to go.

It’s funny how fast an hour of pain passes. We pushed as hard as we could despite protestations from our legs. Once again I was surprised with what I achieved. I liked the session a lot and can see it becoming a regular along with the weekly threshold set. Job done it was an easy roll back to La Santa for another transition run.

I made no attempt to hold a good pace my legs were totally shot and the hilly route I’d agreed proved agonising! Roger kindly waited for me at a couple of points and reassured me it was impressive enough after all the running I’d done. I was having far more negative thoughts even annoyed with Roger for ‘making’ me have to try to keep up!

There was no more training that day.

Day 7 – Thursday – 6.3km Swim, 46km Bike, 10km Run

I woke ravenous after yesterday’s efforts. If nothing else this week made big in-roads towards race weight! We rode out extra early to grab breakfast in Teguise and be back with time to pack. It proved too early for the cafes of Teguise and we ended up back in Famara where we breakfasted on what was apparently six portions of tortilla (tiny portions it seems).

All packed for my late flight I still had ten hours to kill, plenty of time to train. The first stop was the gym where I hoped serious effort with the foam roller would loosen off my tight glutes, hamstrings, ITBs etc! I think it worked, certainly when I ran that evening things felt a bit better.

Despite lethargy and low motivation I pushed through a 6.3km swim set without interruptions. Pleased to have that done and starving again I quickly had something to eat before even contemplating the run. Once more a motivational hurdle had to be overcome to get out there for those last few lagoon laps.

I’d promised myself a trip to the Atlantico buffet to finish the week. Things seemed to have been scaled back since my last visit. Disappointing at first then I discovered that a leaner me couldn’t manage half what I’d previously eaten there. I ensured I got my money’s worth in steak and other paleo treats of course. Uncomfortable full it was enough to get me home without the need to snack. A miracle when normally airports are an endless excuse to eat.

So back home in the UK recounting this epic tale! I’ll save any analysis of data for another time it’s long enough already!

Obviously not me especially when in the fortunate position that I can drop things at a moments notice to fly off to warmer climes. Thanks have to go to Roger for the unexpected invite, hopefully we’ll get some good work done together this week. Also thanks to the guys at Tri2O Centre who had no problem managing without me (should I be worried!) Not that I’ve been slacking at home, but I intend to make the most of the next seven days.

Even after two years of it I forget how tiring travel is. Especially when your budget precludes staying in a hotel over night at Gatwick. I killed time drinking badly made coffee in Costa. I have been very disappointed by the standard of barista back home. Milk is poured into the espresso for most coffees, latte macchiato is the only exception that comes to mind. It’s just lazy and thoughtless to do it any other way! Sorry, I digress, but these things matter.

Following a lot of training last week I decided I should be careful not to push things too hard before arriving here. Better to come into a training camp with the energy to make the most of it. Of course trying to balance this with other goals proves more challenging. After all I can’t completely slack off running if I want to hit around 110km this week.

Sometimes it’s more important to listen to your body than focus on distance goals. Monday was easy, Tuesday contained a particularly hard session and Wednesday should have been easy, but long. When Steven sent me a text to bail on the long ride I wasn’t disappointed, I felt knackered! With relief my plans for Tuesday grew easier and easier until all I did was a 9K run shortly before leaving for the airport.

Even then the level of fatigue I felt at that point was remarkable. I’d gone to bed a bit later than I should, slept very well, but still needed more. Definitely not moving in the right direction recovery-wise which was a little concerning with the impending camp. I have to admit I ran for two reasons the desire not to log a zero day and the need to keep on top of the run target.

I couldn’t quite let that one go! My legs really didn’t enjoy it for the first four or five kilometres and it took resolve to resist taking a shortcut. Right on cue, twenty-five minutes into the run I started to feel good. Enough that it seemed absurd I’d wanted to call things short in fact I could do more if I liked. On a good run day I feel great straight out the door, on a bad run day I still seem to come good in the end. Admittedly it did require a proper easy pace a good ten to twenty seconds per kilometre slower than usual.

I’m still in the run game, but have a challenge in front of me with 75km more to do in the next three days. I know I can manage that, but have to factor in that I’m at La Santa and have all these wonderful facilities for swimming and biking. I want to achieve that mileage whilst training hard in the other sports as well. You’ll find out how that one goes by the end of the week.

Skimming the plan for the next seven days is quite exciting. I’m not sure how well I will handle this load, but it’s such a great opportunity to test myself and push just a little bit harder. I really feel I’m working towards being in my best racing shape yet.

I went into the race with far more nerves and trepidation than I’m used to. Probably focussed around my ability to perform more than anything else. Even before the gun had fired I was having to push doubts about performance to the back of my mind. I was calm about the process, but nervous about the outcome and how much it would hurt to deliver.

That said when my rear tube apparently punctured as I inflated it in transition I was remarkably calm about the whole thing. A quick change over and it’s all good. I figured I’d have to be really unlucky to puncture a second time so if anything that made it a positive!

Last year I’d ended up way back in the starting pen which did nothing to help me have a good swim. So this year I skipped a proper warm-up and ensured I got myself up front and over to the right. Putting myself almost exactly where I wanted and then just relaxing till the start.

It seemed to work well. When the gun went everyone stumbled forward in as much of a run as could be managed in the throng. I was able to quickly find clear water and avoided any rough swimming. At the same time there was a nice big draft to follow and I was comfortable cruising round the course at a good pace. It felt far easier than any of my training swims out there.

Lap one was completed in a pleasing sub-30 minute time which meant I got back in the water knowing if I could maintain pace I should break the hour. Things had thinned out so the draft wasn’t quite as impressive, but I was still sure I was making good time. In fact I was quite surprised to find myself overtaking one or two male pros. Not sure what they were doing back here!

I’m pretty sure the conditions were very kind this year. Even so I’m happy to have got out the water in under the hour. It’s slowly working to build up my confidence both in the race and that I’m heading down the right track with my swim training.

Out onto the bike and things weren’t so much fun. They started well enough though it felt like a lot of hard work to maintain a reasonable pace. My left calf and ITB felt pretty tight too a couple of times I was worried it was about to cramp up. Not usually a major issue for me, it was a little frustrating to start.

It wasn’t long before the odd cyclist would overtake me. Actually the number of cyclists blasting past me was alarming! I wished I had the reassurance of a power meter and the absolute measure of workit gives. Without it I relied on perceived effort and heart rate. The former was definitely telling me I was working whilst the latter was more ambiguous.

I didn’t feel I could do any more so had to let people go reminding myself that they were probably over doing it and I’d see them again. Of course I also recalled that last year lots of athletes went by and I never saw them again. At least this time I could actually sit on the bike. I had a fighting chance.

This pattern continued all the way to the bottom of Haria. I was getting some seriously negative thoughts about the race and doubts about how things were going to go. Then all of a sudden I picked up and was moving forwards through the field. Finally I overtook people on a climb and from then on there was no looking back.

I realised I’d hit Mirador del Rio at a ride time of 3:50 which based on experience meant I could go 5:30 for the bike here. Sub 10 hours might be on the cards today despite what I’d thought was a weak start. The last section of the bike course is fast and more importantly plays to my strengths.

Apart from nearly wiping myself out by clipping the kerb on the descent off del Rio the rest of the ride was perfect. Once on the highway I was in full time trial mode and pushed all the way to Tahiche leaving plenty of athletes in my wake. Now I started to catch those cyclists who’d stormed by early on. I pushed up to Teguise, the final piece of real work, then it was back to time trialling all the way to Conil.

The final descent was a pleasure, knowing I’d taken so many places back and made up for the slow start. All the early doubts were gone as was the pain in my legs. All I needed to do was to run a sub 3:20 marathon and that should be a piece of cake!

Heading out onto the run I felt good, but I wanted to hold back a little after going out too hard and suffering in New Zealand. With no distance markers on the course this would prove a bit difficult. I had a rough idea of distances to certain landmarks, but didn’t bother to closely track pace. I went out quickly and sustained this for the whole of the longer first lap.

From then on the race was all about suffering. I can’t remember hurting that much whilst running or at least previous occasions have been wiped from my memory (hopefully the same will happen here). What was most disappointing was how little return I was getting for the effort. I’ll be honest I knew the lack of training in the run of late would make me pay here, but I’d hoped for more.

There was a lot of negativity during the second lap in particular, but I pushed through doing my best to maintain what pace I had. My stomach was acting up a little too making me hesitant to take on more gels. I stuck to the minimum I felt I could get away with to keep me going.

The third and final lap was where I would hope to pick things up, but it wasn’t happening today. I didn’t have the willingness or strength to push any harder and just slogged on slower than a training run. Out at the far turn around having been overtaken by Cat Morisson I tried to push again.

I was joined by another age grouper and I did my best to surge and convince him he couldn’t stick to my pace. Unfortunately he was more comfortable than I was and it wasn’t long before I was the one left behind. A vague idea that I might still be able to sneak under 10 hours evaporated as a bit of mental maths convinced me I couldn’t cover the last 3km at under 4 minute/km pace!

So I pushed as hard as I could which hurt, but was no faster than I’d managed on lap two. Still I kept it up to the end, took a couple more places in the final few hundred metres and got the job done. Glad it was over, happy that my performance wasn’t a complete disaster and just a little frustrated that my legs had failed me on the run.

I’m going to come back and look at my training and fitness levels coming into this race in another post. Also talk about the plans to deal with the issues before my next couple of races. From this point on in the focus is preparation for Kona. For once I’ve the luxury of a long block of training and a good level of fitness to work from.

All that’s left between now and race day is checking my bike in. Aiming for three on the dot to get it done and out the way. There’s the risk of ending up in a queue, but I like to get the job done and just be able to chill out for the remaining hours of the day. Whatever helps you stay calm and relaxed.

As mentioned I really don’t know what to expect from this race. My preparation has been unusual way more of a break than planned and a relatively short span of hard training. I feel like I’ve put a band aid over the cracks and am hoping it’ll hold out. That said I have a simple race strategy in mind – go hard till the line.

It’s hard to predict times and last year’s race gives me little to go by. I swam just under a 1:04 here last year which wasn’t very good. The target is to swim an hour on what seems to be a slower swim course than some of the others. My first step to my goal is getting myself well placed in the swim start. That’s going to mean getting in the starting line earlier and being up front. I’ll be going out to the right hand side so there’s a little more choice in avoiding the throng at the start.

Once out into the water it’s going to be a matter of settling into a solid, working pace. Not getting carried away early on and tiring myself, but pushing just enough. There should be plenty of feet to swim on so once I’m in a good draft it’s a matter of keeping going and making sure I don’t let things flag. I’m definitely swimming better than I was this time last year so at the very least beating 1:04 shouldn’t be a problem.

They’ll be no powermeter to help guide me on the bike course this time round. I’m going with my Zipp 404s instead as I don’t fancy using a heavy training wheel or covering it up as a disc. So my primary guide is perceived effort along with my heart rate. I’ve spent some time plotting heart rate and power from all my training out here so I’ve a fair idea of the sort of effort I’m considering.

As with New Zealand I’ll aim to hold at around 140-145BPM for the entire bike. The reality is I’ll come out the swim and through transition to start with my heart going in the 150s. It always happens and my currently feeling it you’re best just to go with it for the first half hour or so. It will settle you just have to watch you don’t cook things at this point.

There’s a few bits of minor climbing early on in the race and one of my few memories of last year is athletes pounding there way up them. I’ll be conservative and hold a steady effort looking to pick things up a lot later in the ride. My best races have started out feeling far too slow, but ended hard.

One key focus will be nutrition on this ride. Typically I find I dip a little in the mid-portion of the bike and come back towards the end. I distinctly noted this in Taupo where a bit of Powerbar seemed to pick me up and once I kept on top of feeding I was able to push the whole of the second half. I’ve a tendency to hold out on eating in the earlier half, drop in energy, ease up and eat more and then finally pick up. I’ll be starting on my gels and bars sooner and conscientiously eating on a regular basis. Hopefully this will keep a more consistent strong effort throughout the day.

Winds are forecast to be lighter than usual which is a little disappointing to be honest. I’ve been here a month and experienced a range of conditions. High winds won’t make for a fast day, but they’ll test and split the field more and I think would work to my favour. Whatever comes though it’s about riding a consistently high and sustainable pace that can carry me through to a decent run. As for a time, on this course I really couldn’t say, but I’d expect to be last year’s saddle sore induced 6:20!

If I think I’m underprepared in any area of this race it’s the run. My run training is at a particular low in the cycle at the moment and whilst it is picking up the race has come too soon to take advantage of that. I don’t think it’ll be a real weakness, but it won’t be the strength it could be.

Light winds mean hot conditions which could work in my favour. I know the focus will be on keeping myself cool. Taking any ice at aid stations or at the least dousing myself with water as much as possible. Temperature and nutrition will be the key to maintaining a good run pace. On the food side I’ll be following the usual gel routine alternating with aid stations between gels and water or just a little energy drink.

Overall pacing will be to hold steady for the first 30K or so and then pick things up for the final lap. How I feel my dictate my ability to do this of course, but what I do want to avoid is going out as hard as I did in New Zealand. This time if the pace seems too hot I won’t just give it a go I’ll be a little more controlled. I had a big dip during the mid-section of Taupo and I’d like to avoid that here.

Once again last year presents me with what should be an easy target to beat a 4:20 marathon. My slowest and longest run ever! This time round I’ll be aiming to go 3:15 or better with a proper strong finish to my race.

Way back I had goals of getting on the podium here and whilst I’ll keep that in mind I really don’t know now. I’ll go into the race with the mentality that I can do it, but will take what my current fitness gives me on the day. I think breaking into the top 10 in my age group is certainly within my reach, how far is the question.

Both physically and mentally there were times when I felt I was close to the edge. Right at the limit needed to make the desired improvements, but verging on crashing down in exhaustion. A grand way to say that at times I felt shattered.

There were mornings when I struggled to drag myself out of bed and days when the legs did nothing, but ache as I rode. I ran up and down trails that left me struggling with the hotel stairs then went back for more. I swam up and down La Santa pool until it felt like my arms would fall off (well on one occasion at least).

Fortunately Aurelie from The Tri Touch was also staying at Club La Santa. A couple of massages helped bring the legs back round. There were no knots or problems with my muscles all the soreness and pain came from fatigue. On the one hand good news as all the hard training had done no damage, but it meant I could expect more pain to come!

Except the body does adapt and things progressively got easier. Not necessarily in pace or perceived effort, but the physical impact slowly changed. Hotel stairs became less of a challenge after further undulating trail run. Pushing up hills and into the wind was less of a grind on the bike. It was a clear demonstration of how training produces adaptation and fitness (I do have charts to back this up, but I’ll spare you).

Having worked through this I’m now enjoying the taper for Ironman Lanzarote. A lot less activity and hopefully daily recovery that will put me in great race shape on Saturday. In comparison to the last few weeks the empty days drag by. My already easy pace of life slows dramatically.

A few Spanish cappuccinos and some long chats in cafes have helped fill time. A little bit of work as I build a proper website to promote my coaching (more to come on that soon). Then the obligatory over-analysis of Powertap data to try and determine how the race will go. Comparing heart rate and power then trying to judge what my pace could be.

I’m a little nervous, probably because of the disastrous race here last year. It gives me an easy time to beat, but that’s a small part of the game. I want to be up there in my age group and posting a good time. Will three weeks of working near my limit have got me ready for that?

The truth is I don’t know! I do know I’ll approach the race just as I did in New Zealand – get in there, work hard, hurt as much as I can and hope it doesn’t last more than ten hours! I know how important it is not to succumb to doubts or concerns at this point. Approach the race assuming you’re a top age grouper, race hard and let the result follow.

I feel underprepared. Another two months of this hard training would be great unfortunately the race is in less than three days!

Whilst the cheap hotels of Puerto del Carmen may not be designed for athletes they do have some useful facilities. That’s me and Mark Racher cooling our legs in the kid’s paddling pool after another long ride. Much needed as the wattage and effort have remained high. In contrast I’m now staying at Club La Santa for some final Ironman preparation.

Mark has headed back to the UK, but (un)fortunately there’s still plenty of people ready to push me on the bike. It’s been good training with one of my athletes and seeing how they’re going first hand. Mark’s in great shape and I’m expecting big results in his coming races (no pressure!) It’s encouraging and I’m excited about planning the final months leading into Ironman UK.

I’d promised Mark a proper long ride and we managed to fit one in with four of us riding out for a 200km round the island trip. Mostly the Ironman route with a few extra hills and headwinds thrown in for good measure. As with the best of plans a mix up saw some of us climb Mirador del Rio twice, once from each side. It was a long and pretty epic day, but very rewarding.

An easier ride was planned for the following day, but Mark couldn’t resist pushing the pace up the hills. Then opting to take a longer route to La Santa via Femarer. When I picked up an anonymous rider on my wheel time trial mode kicked in. Despite tired legs I pushed the pace till I’d lost the unwanted guest and then Mark! I don’t like it when people don’t have the decency to say ‘hello’ before jumping on my wheel. It’s a sure fire way to get me to up the pace.

Having failed to take it easier I wanted to use the day we moved to La Santa to rest up. The logistics were more time consuming than imagined involving a lot more driving, a bit of shopping and the nightmare of parking in Puerto del Carmen. I finished the day with a ride across the island back to Club La Santa. For the first twenty minutes my legs protested, but eventually gave in. Somewhere in the lava fields they came to life and I found myself pushing hard to get to my new home.

So here I am in Club La Santa. I’d heard about it from friends who’ve stayed here. I’ve never stayed here myself and my initial impression last year was it’s a little weird. There’s this constant sense that everyone is checking each other out trying to gauge fitness. Kit up and roll your bike through the complex and it feels like everyone’s eyes are on you.

Where La Santa excels is the sports facilities with way more than a paddling pool for cooling off the legs on offer. The cost of living is more expensive especially for the budget conscious athlete (read poor!) However spending out on the evening buffet has proved worthwhile. It’s the most paleo I’ve been in a while, not just in terms of the lack of high carb food, but the sheer amount of meat I consumed! I’ve only outdone it at a buffet breakfast in Kona. I’m looking forward to days of hard training followed by big, big meals.

Determined not to put too much stress on my already tired legs I spent the first day here familiarising myself with the pool. Three trips to swim 15.1km overall and meet Mark’s challenge. A triple swim day for 15km was something he’d have done as a swimmer. Given I’d made him ride 200km round Lanzarote I thought it only fair I gave it a shot.

Besides an open air, 50m pool is always a pleasure to swim in. Fewer turns and more importantly the chance to work on the tan. I’m going for the minimalist tan lines I used to have on the Gold Coast. Not that it was all fun, three big sessions saw plenty of work done and some very tired shoulders. On my final session I died somewhere in the last part of the set. With a busy pool and my strength gone I eased up and swam down to get to 15.1km

Whilst doing such a big swim day was a challenge I’d set myself a secondary goal of ensuring I swam the next day too. I didn’t want to do all that swimming then be unable to get into the water for the rest of the week. I dragged myself back to the pool this morning after a heavy nights sleep. Just 3km (I am tempted to go back later this afternoon for more), but they didn’t feel bad. I’ve been faster a set of 100m saw me hitting the wall on 1:30 with plenty of rest between. Okay for now I’m hoping I can get into the swing of things over the next week.

I wish I could be as positive about my ride. It’s not that it was too easy or weak, at least the power file reassures me of that, but my legs felt so sore. I’m not sure they’ve ached like that in a long while. They put up a protest all the way to Femes, but seemed to come back to life somewhere around El Golfo. Despite feeling better I called the ride short at three hours when we passed La Santa. I’d rather they felt stronger than over do things on another long ride.

Just a run to squeeze in somewhere now and then that monster buffet. My hunger is returning so I’m ready to load up on meat once more.

No I’ve not got a proper job, but I’m training like I should be and enjoying it. A week on Lanzarote has seen some big days backed up against each other and a lot of work on the bike. This is a place where easy riding doesn’t really happen if you’re not going up a hill there’s a headwind to hammer you instead. Usually you’re dealing with both.

I spent the first half of the week chasing after Steven on the bike. I like to remind myself what good training it is just me into the wind constantly motivated to try to catch up. Usually I’m reliant on him stopping on the top of a climb for that to happen, but I did have my moment on the highway back from Mirador Del Rio the other day!

The second half of the week has been spent chasing both Steven and Mark Racher. I’ve been coaching Mark for a while now and it’s great to actually train with him. Apart from an amazing swim pedigree he’s strong on the bike. Here I am with tired legs and someone new comes along to put the hurt into me! I can’t complain as it’s a good sign he’ll be in great shape come Ironman UK. I’m probably coaching someone to beat me at Kona this year!

After three days of long, tough rides it was time for an easy day. Easy translating into double runs. I’d have been happy to do two one hour runs, but Mark enjoyed the first one so much he was keen for two hours in the afternoon! It was another trip down to Playa Quemada along the coastal trail and up the hill to the pylon. If he was going to have me running for three hours I’m was going to make him run up the steep hill!

With the luxury of such a casual day’s training we’ll be back out for another three days of solid riding. More hills, more wind and more hours in the saddle. I’ll be aiming to keep up the strong riding form I’ve been showing the past few days. My concerns about fitness have largely vanished. I may not be able to catch Steven (or Mark), but I’m riding harder than I’ve ridden before.

To prove the point a chart.

My power distributions from three periods of time over the past year of training. I’ve picked my first week out in Lanzarote back in 2009 (yellow), the first week of Epic Camp this year (green) and the past week (blue). The chart shows the percentage of time spent at different wattages. Simply put the more time I’m spending at higher wattages the fitter I am on the bike.

I produced this chart at about 1am this morning when I couldn’t sleep. Having held suspicions that I was stronger on the bike I wanted to test them out. I figured Lanzarote last year was a good comparison with Lanzarote this year as conditions were likely to be similar. Epic Camp was a block of hard work where I had the motivation of a large group and would say I was performing near my best.

From the chart it’s clear that my current training is seeing a lot more time spent at higher wattages than before. I think it needs to be noted that on Epic Camp I was riding for about 35 hours in the first week, whilst I’ve only ridden for 26 here. Last year I only spent 20 hours on the bike during the first week in Lanzarote. Whilst I could see some argument that the additional ten hours riding in New Zealand might have left me too tired to work so hard it’s not the case for the previous year here.

I’m seeing it as a really good sign that my cycling is improving. I’ve been working a lot harder here, maintaining both a higher power and a higher heart rate. The initial excessively high heart rates have vanished and I seem to be settling into my usual pattern. Holding what I consider to be race intensity (at least previously) is more manageable though not necessarily easier. I seem to have the motivation to keep pushing a little bit more.

The cost of this is a humungous dip in my TSB in fact I’ve surpassed Epic Camp New Zealand with a new all time low of -106.5! Despite this I still felt I could go out and ride today the running just seemed a more pleasant option! It may be a while before I see positive bike TSB again, hopefully somewhere around race day so I’d better get used to pushing through this.

A few more days of hard work will hopefully see both Mark and I in better fitness than ever. I’m also hoping that neither of us get broken in the process. It looked like a close call yesterday when Mark had some shoulder pain! He’s drugged up and looking forward to continue though so signs are good that he’ll pull through. Then I’ll be looking forward to seeing what he does in the Marsh Man in a couple of weeks time (no pressure!)

Whilst 2:15 of comfortably paced running was a bit of a step up it was coming down from those steep hills that really did my legs in. Throw in a couple of big rides at a solid pace round the island and I’m not too shocked by the pain in the quads. Apart from getting myself ready to race an Ironman I also want to use my time here to get back to a full training routine so there’s no rest today. I’m easing back and keeping the intensity way down, but there’s a run and a bike to be done.

Rather than prattle on about how it’s nice to be in the warm again or tot up the hours of training I’m managing I’ve a few thoughts on my return to fitness (again).

The good and bad of a high heart rate. After five weeks of leisurely training the biggest difference at the moment is the ease with which I can raise my heart rate. It really highlights the impact a large training volume has on me. Most of the year I find a lot of my training takes place around the 130bpm mark. More than that requires interval work or some decent hills. The last two weeks I’ve seen the 170s a few times and even the 180s (I’d forgotten I could go there).

The good is I’m able to make myself do harder work more easily. An overall lack of fatigue is giving me the room to push a little bit harder. My general riding is at a higher intensity than it has been and consistently so. It’s affirmative in a sense to see how I can ride at around my typical race pace for long periods of time.

On the other hand whilst I am riding close to that race pace I’m also doing so at a higher average heart rate than I’d normally expect. Whilst I can put this down in part to a lack of suppression from fatigue I also see it as a clear sign that my fitness isn’t there yet. My capacity to work is there, I can ride hard, but the cost to my metabolic and aerobic systems is higher than normal.

I need more time to build up the overall fitness that allows me to support this training load without such relatively high heart rates.

Nutrition and metabolism. Along similar lines I am much more carb reliant during training than I have been. I put this down to the higher work rate and the slightly lower levels of conditioning meaning my body is utilising a bit more carbs and a bit less fat than it typically has on my long rides.

Again there’s fitness adaptations to be made both improving fat utilisation and improving fitness such that the current level of work becomes a lower relative intensity. As the relative intensity drops I would expect to be able to produce the same absolute power for a greater proportion of fat than carbs.

Being aware of this I can sustain a stronger work load by carefully feeding in enough carb rich food on the bike to keep me going. As I’ve experienced in races the important thing is to keep the level just enough to sustain the workload. When the balance is right I can hold the intensity indefinitely (near enough for the purposes of riding). Taking too long a gap between food at the moment results in a more eratic ride with lulls in performance.

The other lesson learnt in my first few days here is I can’t drink fizzy drinks. I’ve known this enough to never touch coke during a race, but a large bottle of diet 7Up on my first ride here led to a very uncomfortable few hours! Fortunately there’s an alternative flat orange flavoured drink. It’s loaded with sugar though so has become a fluid carb source for me as well as a means of hydration.

I was going to write more on fat burning in general and the adaptations for endurance, but for now there’s a good article as part of the diet series over on The Science of Sport.

That’ll do for now. Having got my swim out the way first thing I’m relaxing this morning (in MacDonalds for the wifi access), but I’ll be out for a bike and a run this afternoon. I don’t want it too easy!

As race reports go this should be quick – it’s straight forward when the entire race was dictated by one issue. The swim was the only part of the day where it wasn’t a problem. I placed myself on the right hand side as planned, the idea being to give me a chance to escape the crowds if needed. Still having a brief warm up meant I couldn’t get as far forward as I wanted and was a little bit more involved with others than I hoped. Not my best swim, but certainly not my worst and I think the general consensus was it was slow/long. I stuck to keeping myself relaxed and picking up pace as the swim went on and more clear water was available.

Transition is massive here. Once you’ve run up the beach you have another 500m to do before you’re out on the bike! Times were never going to be too fast there. At that point I felt pretty good, I thought it might work out all right. Once I was sat on my bike it became clear things wouldn’t be so easy. To be honest at first I thought I’d be able to cope.

I started by letting my heart rate settle down before trying to pick up pace. Heading out of Puerto del Carmen is easy going so there’s no pressure to over work yourself. With my heart rate in the 130s I put a little more effort in. Then I discovered how uncomfortable the aero-position was. Not just the contact on the saddle, but a feeling of pressure on the inside of my thigh. The swelling pushed against muscles or tendons used during the pedal cycle.

The trip down to El Golfo gave plenty of time to find out what did and didn’t work on the bike. I reminded myself I didn’t want to be going too hard too soon anyway so it was fine that people were passing me. A little experimentation established the most comfortable position was hands on the hoods and carefully seated on just my left buttock! Anything else caused some discomfort. Even then every so often I’d need to pedal out the saddle to relieve pressure.

It was somewhere up Timanfaya when I felt too many people were passing now. The pace had been reasonably good till then, but mostly helped by the prevailing wind. The first notable climb of the day confirmed what would be the most significant issue. I couldn’t climb seated for any period of time. The extra forces going through the pedal pulled me into the saddle which was far from desirable.

So the pattern was set for the rest of the bike. I’d spend a lot of time sitting up, hands on the hoods. When the road went up I’d be mostly out of the saddle. At regular intervals on the flats I’d also be out the saddle just for a little relief. Every so often I’d try the aerobars or drops only to be reminded why that was a bad idea.

By Soo I pretty much realised I was well out of the race for Hawaii. By Teguise I was debating pulling out! The thought of DNFing a race went against my principles! So I kept pushing on to Haria, then Mirador del Rio and by then might as well ride home. From this point on the race had become a long training day. Hawaii was gone and it was clear that another sub-10 was too. Having averaged a low heart rate of 132 I did wonder if I could have a strong run off this.

I returned to transition in 6:18. I expected the ride here to be longer than other races, that was more like training pace over the past few weeks. I thought the low aerobic intensity might lead to a good run, it wasn’t going to mean the 2:40 I’d need for sub-10! I started running and the saddle sore really began to hurt! Unbelievable, running was more painful than riding. I got through the first kilometre in a good pace and dived into the toilets for a bit of clothing adjustment. This did the trick and the run became relatively pain free. Looked like I still might complete this race.

The first two laps went by at a tolerable pace. I choose to walk aid stations to be on the safe side. Despite this my stomach wasn’t entirely happy and I was a little dehydrated. The discomfort on the bike had distracted me from my nutrition and I’d not kept on top of it. You can’t really catch up on these things once you’re behind either.

Out on the third lap was when I ground to a halt. My legs were completely gone, nothing left in them at all. I guess despite the low aerobic intensity all the time riding out the saddle had fatigued them. I don’t tend to get out of the seat much normally so it was a real change in riding style. I walked for a good 15 minutes contemplating how long the last 15km would take!

It wasn’t an attractive prospect! I figured about an hour per 5km section. I knew I was going to be out there for a long time, but 3 more hours? Fortunately Ben caught up with me around this point and encouraged me to jog with him. The last lap and a half was done at a slow pace the aim simply to get to the finish. We ran aid station to aid station, walking each to take on fluids.

End result is I crossed the line somewhere around the 11:53 mark. Way off my goals, way off my usual performance! I was worn out, sore and felt terrible. I couldn’t face eating much and spent about 30 minutes in the change tent staring into space! I caught up with Tom and Helen in transition. Tom had a solid race, not quite as fast as he wanted, but a great effort. Helen had been going well till the last 5km and unfortunately lost a lot of time and places then.

I was lucky enough to score a lift back to my hotel which was much appreciated as it looked like a long journey home. Especially as I developed hiccups when I did try eating! After cleaning up I was back at the finish line to watch the last finishers with Steven and Jo. Having found how tough 12 hours is I have no idea how you keep yourself going for 17! More food brought on a whole new set of hiccups which accompanied me on the long walk home.

And now I feel a little tired, maybe a little stiff, but mostly fine. I said my race became a training day and just like one my recovery has been quick. I’ve watched people out riding their bikes with jealousy as mine looks like an instrument of torture right now. A new saddle is on it’s way to at least eliminate that as a cause. A trip to the doc is a certainty too given the size of this thing! I secretly hope he’ll confirm it’s the worst saddle sore ever so I’ll feel less like I wimped out. But so long as I can get myself back into training quickly enough to build up well for Roth and Ironman UK I’ll be happy.