Digging Deep.

Since competing in my last event i wanted to give myself plenty of time to train hard again before racing again. I have now had a couple of weeks of strong productive training and feel ready for my first sprint triathlon this Sunday

One of the biggest challenges in training in the past week was a 181km bike ride. I was invited with my friend and his dad on this iron man distance cycle as they are both training for outlaw. The ride took 6 hours 40, the longest i have ever ridden previously was 80km and the longest event i have done was 4 hours. It was physically and mentally tough. The first 80km was relatively easy, a good pace was set and the conversation flowing. However at around the 100km mark we came to a flat 10km or so section and began to really push the pace, all down on the Tri bars and going for it. After this i began to really hurt, my lower back and neck ached, and i was certain i had eaten the wrong foods/gels as i felt hungry but sick. This is something i plan to work on. However I pushed onto the end heavily encouraged by the other guys and it felt great to finish. A solid ride and a great challenge. 

After that my previous week of training looked like this:

Sunday : 10km recovery run
Monday : 1 hour open water swim
Tuesday: 35km ride and gentle run
Wednesday : 6km run, 15km on indoor spin bike, 5km treadmill run
Thursday : Lunch swim session. 4x100m 2x500m 4x100m(fast) 35km evening ride.
Friday: Brick session. 34km ride (Race pace) followed by 5km race pace run.

As you can see the training isn't easy or gentle. I have begun doing much more stretching and feel i can now push harder on rides and runs. I have also had a couple of sports massages from a good friend and i would highly recommend this to anyone training hard. It is amazing how much it can loosen you up and prepare you.

From now until Sunday i will rest and stretch. I can't wait to race again and i hope i can push hard and get a strong result.

Will report back after the race. 

Photo 1 (hitting averages)
Photo 2 (Open water swimming with monifieth tri club)
Photo 3 (Set up for Brick session)