TRAINING UPDATE: Countdown to Blenheim Palace Triathlon

My first triathlon is 14 weeks away. Wahh! Where has the time gone from when I entered back in August!? If I look back at my training, I oddly feel like I have progressed a lot but at the same time feel like I am flagging a bit behind schedule.

Truth is, I can't really gage how well I am doing because I have never done a triathlon before. My problem at the moment is that I am looking at each discipline and criticising myself, especially for running. A lot of my fellow club members are all half or marathon training so are clocking up lots of miles whilst little me over here is popping in a couple of short runs each week. It almost feels inferior but at the end of the day, I don't need to be out doing 10 mile training runs at this time. The run of my Sprint distance is 5.8K and I know I can cover this with ease. What I need to do is cover this with ease off the back of a 13 mile bike ride.

So this is where the introduction to brick sessions comes in. To this date, I have attempted mini versions after work on a Tuesday evening - cycling home 4.5 miles and then going straight into a three mile run. It doesn't seem a lot but starting off this small is really important. If I can nail this, I can slowly add on the miles and build up to Sprint distance standard (or near enough). My first brick session was interesting. I battled through rush hour traffic to get home and then I lobbed my bike in the hallway, quickly stripped down to my running gear and heading straight back outside. For the first 200m, my legs felt like jelly as they didn't have a clue what was going on. The first half of the route I take is also all uphill so they really didn't like the situation I was putting them through. However, by the final mile, it was a nice downhill slope, my legs had awakened and pace was on top form!

I felt fantastic when I walked through the door with this time in the bag. Not bad for a first timer and I must say, I slept soundly that night so it must have exhausted my body. The couple of sessions that followed this have been just as successful and slowly my body is learning to cope with back to back multi sport challenges.

To top off the success of my running, I have also been very fortunate to bag a course PB at my local parkrun. I attended not even expecting a new and improved time (at that point my PB was 23.30). I had also spent the night previous to this guzzling gin punch and dining on Indian tapas at Dishoom so my body sure didn't feel on top form. Yet, out of nowhere, I pulled off what is probably my best ever 5K run. Taking on the deadly steep incline of the two lap course, I still managed to hold an average pace of 7.13 per mile and crossed the finish line in a gobsmacking 22.26. 

(Above: Dinner at Dishoom. Below: new 5K time for Finsbury parkrun)

The realisation of this fancy new time didn't hit me at first - my initial thought was that my Garmin must had lost signal at some point. I really couldn't believe I had done it. When the results from the race came through later that day (confirming my time), I was also chuffed to see I placed 3rd lady. I must say I did feel slightly smug and the celebratory Nandos for lunch that day was totally deserved.

As I have been so busy with work lately and travelling to lots of different parts of the country, finding time to fit in speed and hill sessions has been tricky so to bag myself this parkrun time, I really have to thank these mini brick sessions. They have really built up my strength and stamina and when I run, my body does feel stronger and firmer.

Along with my brick sessions, I have also incorporated daily sit-ups and crunches into the mix. I took on the 30 Day Abs Challenge throughout February and whilst I must admit I can't psychically see a huge difference, I can feel it. My core engages with the rest of my body so much better now and I have especially noticed this benefit when cycling uphill or running at quicker paces. I plan to continue with the sit-ups, switching to doing them every other day. Now I know I can bosh out 50 sets, it is a workout that barely takes up any time. I tend to do mine whilst my dinner is cooking in the oven!

So, what's next for me in the final weeks of training? Well, if you read my latest Operation Bridal Bod post (see here), you will notice my rather attractive wetsuit has arrived. This can only mean one thing - time for open water practise! The days are getting lighter and the air is a tad milder so it will soon be an appropriate time to don the suit and get used to swimming in a lake. I have definitely nailed the front crawl technique in the pool, now I need to hold it up in open water without the security of sides to push off every 30m. I hope to carry out a few sessions in my local lido first before moving onto the Serpentine. I'll also be cycling to this location so can attempt a brick session of swim then cycle which will be extremely beneficial!

Along with this next phase in my swimming, I am also taking on my first duathlon in April which I have purposely positioned as intense brick training in the lead up to the big race. This is approaching really fast so I need to stay focussed on my current brick sessions in order to complete the run-bike-run course. Inside, I am hoping to pull it out of the bag come race day - luckily I have never done a duathlon before so whatever time I get will be a huge achievement for me.

Are you training for your first triathlon? What training are you doing to prepare for race day?

Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: 5K PB Progress

For my regular readers, you will be aware that just before Christmas I set myself a 5K PB challenge, which you can read about here. My plan was to start focussing on this over the festive period (with the luxury of having some time off work to plan specific training sessions that were also triathlon friendly) however that all went to pot when I fell really ill for my whole break. Sucks I know.

Despite this setback, I've been doing some work either side of Christmas to kick start this journey. In the last week of training with my running club before we all set off out of London for the holidays, a few of us opted for a 400m relay in pairs with each person running 12 laps to reach just under 5K. I love doing stuff like this as I'm my most strongest over super short, speedy sessions. After finding out the athletics track was closed, we decided to map out a route for the session at Primrose Hill. The lap was a little undulating so all the more challenging. When we were paired up, we set off with me going first in my team. I noticed on my Garmin that the lap was in fact around 500m, so we decided to drop the quantity down to 10.

I found this session harder than expected. First off, it was freezing and secondly, the lap was rather bumpy and uneven making it even harder to keep a fast pace. Still though, the plan was to push hard and thats what I kept doing. It was nice to have the recovery breaks when my partner, Alice, was out in the field on her turn and overall I felt like I was doing a good pace. I suffered a slight technical glitch after lap eight when I forgot to pause my Garmin an despite this happening I still managed to finish the whole session under 20 minutes!

Looking at my splits, if I take off the 20 seconds (roughly) that I left my watch running on my rest after lap eight, I actually managed to keep a sub seven minute pace for each mile, which I was super pleased with. This is my ideal 5K pace if I want to go under 21 minutes and, at this time, I am still finding it quite hard to get my head (and my energy levels) around this. 

As I mentioned above, shortly after this speedy session, I fell ill with an awful cold which then developed into a nasty chesty cough and one that lingered for almost a month. I took a whole week off training as I could barely walk from the sofa to the kitchen without wheezing and I was worrying all my hard work would be wasted from this break. In the second week, I managed to jog 5K (and I mean jog, borderline crawl) a couple of days and I did get the hump thinking about how I was going to get my strength and speed back. 

That said though, it returned much easily than expected. By the first week of January, I kicked off the New Year with a five mile run and finished with an average pace of 8.17. Not bad considering the cough was still lingering (the coughing fit I had when I finished this run wasn't pleasant but who cares, I managed to run!)

By the weekend, I plucked up the courage to attend my local parkrun after a fellow running pal persuaded me to join her. We both were guilty of not going for a long time (the last time I graced this particular course was 18 months previous) and despite strong gale force winds, we braved the undulating/hilly 5K at Finsbury Park. I personally find this parkrun ghastly. I hate the inconspicious hill that looks, yeah steep but rather short when in fact it is beastly and tortuous on the quads. To make it even worse, you also have to head up it twice. Add in the horredous stormy winds and you have yourself quite a challenge when your almost two years out of parkrun shape. 

I finished in 24.30, a minute slower than my PB on this course. Secretly I was rather pleased as I was expecting far worse but it has made me see I have a lot of work to do if I want to achieve my dream sub 21. I most definitely won't be getting it at this parkrun but I do have another course in mind to target this time.

Finally, my latest 5K focussed drills were a couple of days ago on the track. Myself and a few fellow club runners boshed out a fartlek style session of 10x 200m, jogging 200m in-between each set. It was harder than it sounds as when you run each set, you practically sprint. By having no static rest periods, it was tough to keep going but I'm glad I did it. This again set me an average pace of 6.22 so I am able to get more and more familiar with the type of pace I need to hold for my 5K target. 

Overall, I'm still a long way off and whilst the horrid cough has pushed me back ever so slightly, I cannot use it as an excuse. I'm glad I have started up this training focus again and I'm hoping for a few more parkruns and HIIT sessions to get my legs more and more comfortable with speed. 

Lipstick Runner.

TRAINING UPDATE: Targeting a sub 21 minute 5K

Throughout my journey to completing my first ever triathlon, I have decided to set mini targets along the way. One of them being a shiny new 5K PB. I haven't dabbled in this distance for over a year now and I think I have ran 5K about three times this year, one of which was a parkrun. 

The distance itself is actually great for all sorts of abilities. Whether you are new to running and making it you first target, or using it as essential strength building time during marathon training, everyone really should be boshing out a few 5K every now and then.

In the last four years I have been a runner, I have rarely chosen to complete the distance. Mainly because I always saw it as 'too short' and not relevant to my training but really, it can make a nice change to pounding the pavements for miles and miles. I am also a stronger competitor over shorter distances so why I have never seeked regular 5K PB has left me a little clueless. Still though, with a 5K in my triathlon, there really is no excuse now to set up some training sessions to improve my speed over the 3.1 miles.

Why 5K?

What's brilliant about 5K I guess is parkrun. One of the greatest events to be funded by the UK government, it's is a free 5K race for anyone to take part in. Taking place around the country at 9am every Saturday, thousands and thousands of Brits descend on their local parkrun to take part. The timed run is something many people I know dedicate their Saturday morning too and I really must pluck up the courage to squidge one or two into my training regime.

My current 5K PB is 21.58, which I achieved almost a year ago (above is where I achieved this at Newbury parkrun). If I was to go out now and run 5K, I'd be lucky to go under 24 minutes. Not good. So what time do I target? I feel like I could play it safe and aim for sub 22 minutes again but then part of me is thinking it's time to push myself and so why not try and aim for sub 21. I guess I am being an eager beaver but it would train me to work at 110%, which in turn will be very beneficial to me come further triathlon training.

Looking deeper into my reasons for this target, in all honesty I also am in desperate need of speed, endurance and most definitely a decent core, so fitting in some 5K tailored sessions will help tick these boxes. You could even say I am starting my New Year's resolution early!

The strategy 

How will I achieve this? Well I guess I am already halfway there in terms of tailored training with Thursdays spent at the athletics track enduring numerous sessions to get the body working at VO2 max and so I will definitely continue with this part of my normal training as it already helps with my speed. I will then make sure I balance our these intensive workouts with consistent running, aiming to do 3-6 miles for each run I do. I will try and do this twice a week, along with the cycling and swimming I already do as part of my triathlon training. Phew! 

The idea overall is for my track and running sessions to gel together, meaning that interval training will generate speed and muscle whilst consistent running will build endurance and efficiency.

More importantly, I need to fit 5K events into my diary and for this, I will most definitely turn to parkrun. By fitting these in, I will (hopefully) notice increased speed as my times get faster and faster with the aim to end up with that sub 21 minutes (20.59 here I come!). I did back in August take part in a parkrun and crossed the line in 23.09 so I am hoping I can land back around this sort of time and work my way up from there. Still though, hope is no guarantee so whatever time I do, I must accept it, be patient and build on it.

Key 5K training tips

For anyone who, like me, are also hunting down a 5K PB, here are some key training tips to remember when working towards smashing this distance...

1. Integrate speed work into your training. Opt for sessions that involve short bursts of hard running with small rest breaks. Pyramid sessions are great for this:

2. Hit those hills! This is rich coming from me, the Queen of hill dodging. I will however put my hands up and surrender to undulating courses and steep climbs. Hill training will really help to strengthen your core, not to mention your endurance. Head to a local park where you know a decent hill lies and again aim to do intervals running up and down the hill, followed by short sprints across flat ground. 

3. Master your stride. 5K is fast and requires lots of speed training so perfecting your stride will help to avoid injures and niggles. Lengthening your stride will also assist you in securing that all important PB. Short hill reps will help you achieve this.

4. Plank it. Like I have said throughout this post, a solid core makes such a difference when racing. To speed up the process of toughening it up, mix up your training with static workouts, such as planks. I have recently discovered walking planks to where you lean down on your elbows and push up so your arms are straight. It burns so bad but is totally worth it in the long run!

All of the above I will most definitely be adopting into my training regime (even the hills!). After all, I have a long journey to take to reach that sub 21 minutes, with the aim to hit this milestone by my birthday in April 2015. 

What PBs does everyone else have on the agenda? Are you aiming for a 5K personal record too?

Lipstick Runner.