Time trial week- a favourite part of my training regime!
(now, where is that sarcasm symbol...)
We are told these trials are an important indicator of progress, I am sure this is true, however this truth doesn't increase my appreciation of them.
Following a week off due to illness where I really only got two quality sessions in I really wasn't looking forward to racing the clock. The preceding week included hitouts on Monday and then again on Sunday, and both were runs. (Admittedly, there were plenty of "runs" mid week but of a totally different ilk)
Actually, leading into this week I was unaware we had arrived again at timetrial week and had packed all of my swim gear in preparation for the regular Monday night swim. Midway through the day I checked the schedule to reconfirm the start time of the swim only to find the truth.
Bugger
Being a "low intermediate" level swimmer, it would be a day off for me.
As I am in the Long Course category time trials week mean a 1km swim, a 10km run, and a 20km cycle.
1km Swim
If you are not a swimmer, this might come as a bit of a surprise but, to go faster, you need to slow down. By that I mean, your stroke rate needs to be steady and efficient, you need to ensure that you get the most out of each stroke and keep pressure against the water for as long as possible as you hand and forearm are underwater. I have spent the last year or so trying to convince myself of this fact and then teach my body to follow the lesson. I think it is starting to work...
6 weeks ago at the last set of time trials I got through the swim in 20:48, anything over 20 minutes means you are not classed as an advanced swimmer and you swim in the evenings rather than early mornings. (Bonus!)
Heading into the swim this time around I focussed on trying to push each stroke to the full length of my arm and glide. In my lane were several swimmers completing the shorter 500m time trial, and one other doing the full 1km. I started toward the back of the group, based upon where my pace sat amongst my lane mates during the warm up. Starting 10 seconds apart, however, I found myself catching feet and passing people at the lane ends and somehow found myself at the front of the group.
The lessons must be taking affect.
10 laps in and there was a sprint to the finish for some of those who were finishing up and then there were only 2 of us left swimming, Paddy and myself.
I guess I had slowed as I felt my feet tapped and so I paused at the end of the lane to let Paddy through, however, on the return trip, I was again catching his feet. Instead of constantly switching positions we ended up just swiming side-by-side for the remainder of our trial.
Since I had seen the others finish their laps I had reset my lap count to tally up the last 5 returns to the head of the pool, and as I turned for the last length I stepped up the effort to finish with a sprint and stop the clock.
Flying down the lane and actually (finally) opening the gap I came in hard, hit the end of the pool and popped my head up to get the time, job done. Except, job wasn't done, there was another lap required!
Crap!!
Having to pull out another 100 after throwing all the eggs into that last basket was not easy but I squeezed out another 2 laps and finished with another 50m sprint to finally stop the clock.
Overall, it felt strong, I had caught and passed several swimmers, had vainly pushed myself to stay with Paddy as we swam the last few laps and had smashed out the finish sprint twice. This was going to be a good time!
20:37 - only 11seconds faster than last time...Oh well, at least I wont need to relinquish my morning sleep in.
10 km Run
After completing my 6 week run technique course with Tony Benson I felt that I owed it to Tony to do well. Tony and also the wife who allowed me to invest the extra $$ to do the course, let's be honest!
Our last time trial around Albert Park lake actually occured about 2 weeks into the technique course and I did mine after completing an evening session with Tony. We had done a couple of hard kilometers during the session with plenty of active recovery so it was a pretty solid warm-up and, even though my time trial a solo effort, I got a decent time of 52 minutes (with change).
As we set out for the trial, Coach Sarah made sure we knew the objective of the night. Today was about posting a solid time but not going out and smashing ourselves. Early in the build period we are looking for steady gains and trying to avoid injury. We were not targeting personal bests, especially considering the high wind speed on the back of the course.
Warm up done and full of nervous energy it was time to start. With my Garmin recording the time and distance I went into my steady 10km pace and kept the mantra repeating in my head - stay tall, hands up and relaxed. Ensuring my breathing remained easy, 3 paces per exhalation and at least 2 for the reverse I worked to maintain my effort and efficiency, checking the Garmin periodically to confirm I was travelling well.
Turning the corner at the top of the lake for the first time I got to experience the full extent of the wind - damn. The average pace took a hit but I just tried to maintain good technique and keep the effort solid.
At the half-way point I hit the lap button for a surprisingly good time and then focussed on trying to repeat it. The first thing that happened was that, the runners ahead of me that I had been pacing off seemed to be getting smaller. I initially put this down to them picking up their pace, looking for a negative split. Since I was still feeling OK and working off an even percieved effort I was happy enough for them to go. It wasn't until I went to reassure myself of these facts on the glowing screen on my wrist that I discovered full truth - crap.
They may have sped up, but that didn't fully explain the rate at which they were dissapearing into the distance. With renewed urgency I stepped up my effort again, unwilling to give up the time gains I had already earned.
The wind greeted me again at the top of the lake but this time around, I was starting to pay the debt from lap one and was forced to concede a bit more of my pace. My reliance on the Garmin's display increased as I continued to refer to it over the remaining kilometers. Generally a quick check followed by a curse and another little increase in effort. The left turn off the top of the lake brought a welcome reprieve from the winds with the shift in direction and the shelter of the trees. What didn't drop though was the frequency in which I checked my pace. At least now the numbers were improving, as the km steadily approached the target of 10, the minutes per km were holding or reducing.
Coming past the boat houses I started to wind up for the finish and then hit that final corner hard. Rounding the bend with 100m (or so) to go I was sprinting and stopped thhe clock as I crossed the line.
48:47 - not only a PB, that is the first time I have ever gone under 50 minutes over 10km
Thanks Tony!
20 km Cycle
I don't generally do the bike time trials, and, this week continued that trend...
Instead of the ride, I made sure I got my long run in for the week.
Sunday, the family and I found ourselves at the OZ Comic Con, a day full of lining up, fighting for space, laughing at the mad fans in crazy outfits and buying comics that may or may not be read. When we reached the limits of our tolerance we took our leave of the madness and returned to reality for a bite to eat.
Back at the car I got changed, grabbed my gels and said goodbye to the family, as they rove home I headed out to make a similar journey on foot. The schedule for the week called for a 21km run, it is about 17km home from town. Instead of the direct route I added the extra distance rquired by heading to the bay first to then complete the concavity of the beach trail.
Cold temperature, some rain and constantly being herangued by zombies (courtesy of my "Zombies! Run" app) I settled in for the 2+ hours it would take.
Again, focussing of my form and trying to complete the distance in a solid time I noticed that I was actually on a really good pace. As I reached the end of the beach trail and turned off on the homeward stretch I found I was looking at another PB for the week. At 21.1km I recorded my fastest ever half marathon, 1:52:10, taking almost 3 minutes off last year's Run Melbourne.
When I arrived home I had covered roughly an extra 2km over last Sunday's long run but had finished in a time 2 minutes quicker!
If you're paying attention, you may have 2 questions:
(now, where is that sarcasm symbol...)
We are told these trials are an important indicator of progress, I am sure this is true, however this truth doesn't increase my appreciation of them.
Following a week off due to illness where I really only got two quality sessions in I really wasn't looking forward to racing the clock. The preceding week included hitouts on Monday and then again on Sunday, and both were runs. (Admittedly, there were plenty of "runs" mid week but of a totally different ilk)
Actually, leading into this week I was unaware we had arrived again at timetrial week and had packed all of my swim gear in preparation for the regular Monday night swim. Midway through the day I checked the schedule to reconfirm the start time of the swim only to find the truth.
Bugger
Being a "low intermediate" level swimmer, it would be a day off for me.
As I am in the Long Course category time trials week mean a 1km swim, a 10km run, and a 20km cycle.
1km Swim
If you are not a swimmer, this might come as a bit of a surprise but, to go faster, you need to slow down. By that I mean, your stroke rate needs to be steady and efficient, you need to ensure that you get the most out of each stroke and keep pressure against the water for as long as possible as you hand and forearm are underwater. I have spent the last year or so trying to convince myself of this fact and then teach my body to follow the lesson. I think it is starting to work...
6 weeks ago at the last set of time trials I got through the swim in 20:48, anything over 20 minutes means you are not classed as an advanced swimmer and you swim in the evenings rather than early mornings. (Bonus!)
Heading into the swim this time around I focussed on trying to push each stroke to the full length of my arm and glide. In my lane were several swimmers completing the shorter 500m time trial, and one other doing the full 1km. I started toward the back of the group, based upon where my pace sat amongst my lane mates during the warm up. Starting 10 seconds apart, however, I found myself catching feet and passing people at the lane ends and somehow found myself at the front of the group.
The lessons must be taking affect.
10 laps in and there was a sprint to the finish for some of those who were finishing up and then there were only 2 of us left swimming, Paddy and myself.
I guess I had slowed as I felt my feet tapped and so I paused at the end of the lane to let Paddy through, however, on the return trip, I was again catching his feet. Instead of constantly switching positions we ended up just swiming side-by-side for the remainder of our trial.
Since I had seen the others finish their laps I had reset my lap count to tally up the last 5 returns to the head of the pool, and as I turned for the last length I stepped up the effort to finish with a sprint and stop the clock.
Flying down the lane and actually (finally) opening the gap I came in hard, hit the end of the pool and popped my head up to get the time, job done. Except, job wasn't done, there was another lap required!
Crap!!
Having to pull out another 100 after throwing all the eggs into that last basket was not easy but I squeezed out another 2 laps and finished with another 50m sprint to finally stop the clock.
Overall, it felt strong, I had caught and passed several swimmers, had vainly pushed myself to stay with Paddy as we swam the last few laps and had smashed out the finish sprint twice. This was going to be a good time!
20:37 - only 11seconds faster than last time...Oh well, at least I wont need to relinquish my morning sleep in.
10 km Run
After completing my 6 week run technique course with Tony Benson I felt that I owed it to Tony to do well. Tony and also the wife who allowed me to invest the extra $$ to do the course, let's be honest!
Our last time trial around Albert Park lake actually occured about 2 weeks into the technique course and I did mine after completing an evening session with Tony. We had done a couple of hard kilometers during the session with plenty of active recovery so it was a pretty solid warm-up and, even though my time trial a solo effort, I got a decent time of 52 minutes (with change).
As we set out for the trial, Coach Sarah made sure we knew the objective of the night. Today was about posting a solid time but not going out and smashing ourselves. Early in the build period we are looking for steady gains and trying to avoid injury. We were not targeting personal bests, especially considering the high wind speed on the back of the course.
Warm up done and full of nervous energy it was time to start. With my Garmin recording the time and distance I went into my steady 10km pace and kept the mantra repeating in my head - stay tall, hands up and relaxed. Ensuring my breathing remained easy, 3 paces per exhalation and at least 2 for the reverse I worked to maintain my effort and efficiency, checking the Garmin periodically to confirm I was travelling well.
Turning the corner at the top of the lake for the first time I got to experience the full extent of the wind - damn. The average pace took a hit but I just tried to maintain good technique and keep the effort solid.
At the half-way point I hit the lap button for a surprisingly good time and then focussed on trying to repeat it. The first thing that happened was that, the runners ahead of me that I had been pacing off seemed to be getting smaller. I initially put this down to them picking up their pace, looking for a negative split. Since I was still feeling OK and working off an even percieved effort I was happy enough for them to go. It wasn't until I went to reassure myself of these facts on the glowing screen on my wrist that I discovered full truth - crap.
They may have sped up, but that didn't fully explain the rate at which they were dissapearing into the distance. With renewed urgency I stepped up my effort again, unwilling to give up the time gains I had already earned.
The wind greeted me again at the top of the lake but this time around, I was starting to pay the debt from lap one and was forced to concede a bit more of my pace. My reliance on the Garmin's display increased as I continued to refer to it over the remaining kilometers. Generally a quick check followed by a curse and another little increase in effort. The left turn off the top of the lake brought a welcome reprieve from the winds with the shift in direction and the shelter of the trees. What didn't drop though was the frequency in which I checked my pace. At least now the numbers were improving, as the km steadily approached the target of 10, the minutes per km were holding or reducing.
Coming past the boat houses I started to wind up for the finish and then hit that final corner hard. Rounding the bend with 100m (or so) to go I was sprinting and stopped thhe clock as I crossed the line.
48:47 - not only a PB, that is the first time I have ever gone under 50 minutes over 10km
Thanks Tony!
20 km Cycle
I don't generally do the bike time trials, and, this week continued that trend...
Instead of the ride, I made sure I got my long run in for the week.
Sunday, the family and I found ourselves at the OZ Comic Con, a day full of lining up, fighting for space, laughing at the mad fans in crazy outfits and buying comics that may or may not be read. When we reached the limits of our tolerance we took our leave of the madness and returned to reality for a bite to eat.
Back at the car I got changed, grabbed my gels and said goodbye to the family, as they rove home I headed out to make a similar journey on foot. The schedule for the week called for a 21km run, it is about 17km home from town. Instead of the direct route I added the extra distance rquired by heading to the bay first to then complete the concavity of the beach trail.
Cold temperature, some rain and constantly being herangued by zombies (courtesy of my "Zombies! Run" app) I settled in for the 2+ hours it would take.
Again, focussing of my form and trying to complete the distance in a solid time I noticed that I was actually on a really good pace. As I reached the end of the beach trail and turned off on the homeward stretch I found I was looking at another PB for the week. At 21.1km I recorded my fastest ever half marathon, 1:52:10, taking almost 3 minutes off last year's Run Melbourne.
When I arrived home I had covered roughly an extra 2km over last Sunday's long run but had finished in a time 2 minutes quicker!
If you're paying attention, you may have 2 questions:
- Aren't you missing a PB in your count?
- Didn't you promise blood?
An unusual trifecta, but I'll take it!
Oh, and there is also this photo that shows the stats of my run home,
plus what I endured to achieve them...
plus what I endured to achieve them...
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