So the end of week 3.....
I can't believe how quick the time is going. Perry is obviously working me too hard I don't what day of the week it is : )
It has been a hard week. We spent the week focusing a lot on race pace efforts due to the fact that my first key race is only 3 weeks away! Better start training harder ; )
As usual the training week started on Saturday, following a good rest day loading up on frozen yoghurt! The other TDC athletes will tell you I'm obsessed, haha...
It was a 5 hour ride, back out on the Ironman route. This time, I was going solo. I think the scooter needed a recovery day! LOL.
Perry likes to add 'mental toughness' to some of my longer training sessions as it builds character and inevitably makes you a better athlete. Thankfully the conditions were favourable, and the heat I experienced on that 'epic' ride had subsided. The wind was still a nagging irritation though!! It was another great ride and i felt strong. I even found myself riding amongst other triathletes competing in a local triathlon which started at Club La Santa. After the ride, it was just a short run and swim to finish off the day.
Sunday was a key session, and my target for the session was to run for 2 hours 45 mins, which is my target time for the marathon split in an Ironman race. This session was certainly a test of my 'mental toughness' and character. My body felt tired and flat probably due to the accumulative volume and intensity over the past few weeks. This happens from time to time when training for Ironman as its not normal for the body to train in excess of 30 hours a week. I did prevail, and I did meet my targets, but my body was shattered. I was feeling a lot more fatigued than I usual do after a long session. A short recovery swim followed later that day which made me feel better, flushing the body of some of the lactate.
Monday and Tuesday were easy active recovery days as my body was in need of a rest after some really hard key sessions. The volume was kept relatively high (3-4 hours a day), as it would actually have had an adverse effect on my body if I did any less.
Wednesday was the next key session, and with another very promising TDC athlete in the camp (Kim Morrison), Perry decided to give us a mini triathlon to sink our teeth into. It was to be a 750m swim, 23k bike and 4k run. The friendly banter flowed between us all but it wasn't long before there was silence, tension was building as the triathlon approached. Even though it was not a competitive race, it brought about all the familiar feelings of competing at a Long Distance or Olympic triathlon event. It was also a great opportunity to run through our game plans and transitions for key races coming up in the next couple months. Kim is a very strong swimmer, and it showed as she pulled away from me. I tried sticking with her as long as I could, using drafting techniques we had worked on earlier in the week. Both bike and run sections were tough, and tested us both, but as we finished, we could be very happy with the way we performed. Later we reflected on the session, discussing what went well, and what we could improve on.
The hard work wasn't over and we undoubtedly had the hardest key run session of the week Thursday AM. Kim's was specific to her race distance (Olympic). My session focused on race pace efforts (5x4k intervals), to achieve my target race time (01:18), for the half marathon split of a 70.3 Ironman race. I had to pace myself consistently. As usual I started off to fast, but it felt "comfortably hard" ; ) The easy couple of active recovery days earlier in the week certainly paid off as I surpassed what I set out to achieve in the session, hitting well below my target times for each interval, and pushing as hard as a sub 14 minute 4k split. It certainly capped a great finish to another week here in Lanza.
I feel in great shape, and with a lot of hard work still to come in the fourth and final week, I feel ready to race IM Austria 70.3 and come away having achieved my desired result.
Kim, who has already qualified to compete for GB in her age group at the World Duathlon Champs later this year, has had a very productive week. I can see the improvements she has made since spending time training with her under Perry. She is developing into a very strong, young athlete and wish her all the best of luck this season. "Get out there a smash it"
TDC athletes Jamie Whitcombe-Jones and Pete Longworth, along with fellow athletes, Kieran, Jules and Angela have joined the Team Dillon training camp this week. I'm looking forward to training with them and finding out what their goals and aspirations are for the current season and beyond.
I can't believe how quick the time is going. Perry is obviously working me too hard I don't what day of the week it is : )
It has been a hard week. We spent the week focusing a lot on race pace efforts due to the fact that my first key race is only 3 weeks away! Better start training harder ; )
As usual the training week started on Saturday, following a good rest day loading up on frozen yoghurt! The other TDC athletes will tell you I'm obsessed, haha...
It was a 5 hour ride, back out on the Ironman route. This time, I was going solo. I think the scooter needed a recovery day! LOL.
Perry likes to add 'mental toughness' to some of my longer training sessions as it builds character and inevitably makes you a better athlete. Thankfully the conditions were favourable, and the heat I experienced on that 'epic' ride had subsided. The wind was still a nagging irritation though!! It was another great ride and i felt strong. I even found myself riding amongst other triathletes competing in a local triathlon which started at Club La Santa. After the ride, it was just a short run and swim to finish off the day.
Sunday was a key session, and my target for the session was to run for 2 hours 45 mins, which is my target time for the marathon split in an Ironman race. This session was certainly a test of my 'mental toughness' and character. My body felt tired and flat probably due to the accumulative volume and intensity over the past few weeks. This happens from time to time when training for Ironman as its not normal for the body to train in excess of 30 hours a week. I did prevail, and I did meet my targets, but my body was shattered. I was feeling a lot more fatigued than I usual do after a long session. A short recovery swim followed later that day which made me feel better, flushing the body of some of the lactate.
Monday and Tuesday were easy active recovery days as my body was in need of a rest after some really hard key sessions. The volume was kept relatively high (3-4 hours a day), as it would actually have had an adverse effect on my body if I did any less.
Wednesday was the next key session, and with another very promising TDC athlete in the camp (Kim Morrison), Perry decided to give us a mini triathlon to sink our teeth into. It was to be a 750m swim, 23k bike and 4k run. The friendly banter flowed between us all but it wasn't long before there was silence, tension was building as the triathlon approached. Even though it was not a competitive race, it brought about all the familiar feelings of competing at a Long Distance or Olympic triathlon event. It was also a great opportunity to run through our game plans and transitions for key races coming up in the next couple months. Kim is a very strong swimmer, and it showed as she pulled away from me. I tried sticking with her as long as I could, using drafting techniques we had worked on earlier in the week. Both bike and run sections were tough, and tested us both, but as we finished, we could be very happy with the way we performed. Later we reflected on the session, discussing what went well, and what we could improve on.
The hard work wasn't over and we undoubtedly had the hardest key run session of the week Thursday AM. Kim's was specific to her race distance (Olympic). My session focused on race pace efforts (5x4k intervals), to achieve my target race time (01:18), for the half marathon split of a 70.3 Ironman race. I had to pace myself consistently. As usual I started off to fast, but it felt "comfortably hard" ; ) The easy couple of active recovery days earlier in the week certainly paid off as I surpassed what I set out to achieve in the session, hitting well below my target times for each interval, and pushing as hard as a sub 14 minute 4k split. It certainly capped a great finish to another week here in Lanza.
I feel in great shape, and with a lot of hard work still to come in the fourth and final week, I feel ready to race IM Austria 70.3 and come away having achieved my desired result.
Kim, who has already qualified to compete for GB in her age group at the World Duathlon Champs later this year, has had a very productive week. I can see the improvements she has made since spending time training with her under Perry. She is developing into a very strong, young athlete and wish her all the best of luck this season. "Get out there a smash it"
TDC athletes Jamie Whitcombe-Jones and Pete Longworth, along with fellow athletes, Kieran, Jules and Angela have joined the Team Dillon training camp this week. I'm looking forward to training with them and finding out what their goals and aspirations are for the current season and beyond.
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