Go Hard

Christmas is just a strange time of year. For some time I could take it or leave it. Having my own kids has rekindled excitement in the season. Because the celebration goes over Christmas day and Boxing day I now take that as two definite days without training. Instead of exercising I fill those two days with the all sorts that comes with the silly season. The obvious was food, drink, presents and family. The not so regular was working night shift. Definitely one of the busiest nights of the year. It is a time of extremes. The most common extreme was the amount of alcohol consumed and all the joys that brings in it's various forms. After a partially successful focus on trying to catch up on sleep I have since put in a handful of good training sets. Now I just need to keep lining them up.

Up early to get my long run in before work. It took a while to wake up. Enough time that I could measure it in kilometers. Moving out of sleep seemed to coincide with the sun eventually generating a bit of warmth. The kilometers passed by relatively easy. The first few probably because my brain hadn't gained function yet. The latter k's were filled with assorted wildlife. Kookaburras, kangaroos and a blue tongue lizard. The trails can be good.

Run. ride and swim long and steady. Keep strong. Do a bit of faster stuff. Recover and absorb the training, without long gaps in between. Be consistent. The more I learn about training, the more it comes back to this. It's simple. Now I have a lot less free time, the luxury of analysing everything down to the metre, second and heart beat is no longer there. The good news, is I am not missing going over every detail of training. The better news is I don't think it will make much difference. It just comes back to getting in a good amount of appropriate work. On paper the routine may look boring, but I am enjoying the basics. The enjoyment of training has certainly risen to the surface again.

Periodisation of training is usually touted as necessary for successful racing. Most of the time I agree. However, there are times when the traditional models of base-specific-peak and the many variations can't be applied. This is where I am at. Historically I have always planned out a periodised program. The meso- macro- and micro- cycles have always been mapped out. The lead up to the Police games in a few months provides me a different challenge. If the rest of my life was fitted into training (instead of fitting training into life) the the plan would be 6-10 day peak/taper, 6x8 day cycles of specific training preceded by just my basic training leading in. Life has other plans. Plans which I am also looking forward to. Amongst other things those plans include the silly season plus a holiday in the middle of when I would normally be doing the big training leading into a race. This means a modified approach to the training cycle. Mainly by necessity, but also by my curiosity in th...

I have been relatively happy about my swim times of late. While my endurance is substantially lacking, I have been able to pull out a few repeats that are reminiscent of years gone by. When I would have considered my swimming good. Unfortunately I have been deceived. In truth I am slower than I thought. Just about all my swimming is now in short course pools. Therein lies the problem. In the past I was always swimming in nice 50m length pools. For me, there is such a difference in times between the short and long course. Much more than I ever would have given credit to. I always thought there would be a few seconds per 100m (like 2-4), but I am talking 5-10 when at around threshold speed and even 10-15 seconds at a steady, endurance pace. Maybe I can be happy that my flip turns are relatively efficient. Unfortunately that won't help much in an open water swim.

The goal of consistency wasn't achieved over the weekend. Instead three days were replaced by a combination of heat, rain, driving, alcohol, food, locusts, kids, river boat and some thinking time. A good balance with some good solid sessions on either side.

A fair bit of thought has gone into my racing schedule for the next year. 2011 presents a large number of tempting options. I've had to be careful not to get carried away and try to race everything. My life and probably recovery ability just won't allow it. I still want to race a half ironman or two very well in the 2011/12 season. With that in mind, plus the desire to get the best out of myself in the lead up races, I have chosen a race schedule different to what I first thought I would. Originally I thought I would compete in one or two half ironman races at the start of 2011. I considered the Gatorade Long Course in February, plus got very close to entering the Triman in Torquay in April. In the end I decided I wouldn't be able to commit properly to either of these races. Plus getting into that sort of distance this early wouldn't be best for my development. I even contemplated the Marysville to Melbourne multisport, but taking up kayaking wasn't going to be a v...