Training 2014: By the numbers

2014 was a year of change, fun and a whole lot less training. The change in job and not preparing for an ironman made a huge difference.

            

Total Time:                      380 hrs 45 mins  (-18% over 2013)

Total Mileage:                  5674 miles         (-9.3% over 2013)

Ave/week:                         7 hrs 28 mins            111 miles

Swim:                             17 hrs  51 mins         31.46 miles

Bike:                             282 hrs  57 mins     5017.81 miles

Run:                               78 hrs  33 mins        624.80 miles

2014 Training Hours by %

I raced a whole lot more, buoyed by 'cross and road racing: 34 times - 5 tri's/du's, 1 running race and 28 cycling/cyclocross races, which included 7 overall wins (5 cross wins, 2 triathlon wins), 4 podiums and the Sportif Series win.

Overall you can see that the bike dominated the training this year. Running and swimming took a back step, especially swimming with the entire Fall seeing me not swim at all.  I still seem to be able to perform well on relatively low run mileage which is good, just as long as there aren't any long-distance triathlons involved where the lack of distance would be obvious.

So the focus for the 2015 season is going to be tackled in the next posting.....

Dec 28th - Jan 3rd: Training Ramblings.....A New Year!

The week started with a final run in the UK, well actually two runs! The morning run was just an easy shake out before we flew home on Sunday, but the afternoon run was a bit more serious. My niece has her first School cross country championship in mid January so all over the Christmas holiday she has been trying to run more.  On Christmas Day we did an even paced 2k run and then on the Saturday in the afternoon we did some fartleks (while Grandad and Genevieve, younger niece, tried the same). We ended up doing 1.25miles, which was right on for her race. I gave her a warning that just because I wasn't going to be around that she could slack off training!

So with the flight home on Sunday the rest of the week was all about getting back into work and fitting in some training where I could.  Good thing that New Year's Day was bang in the middle of the week so that enabled a good long day on the bike. After two weeks off the bike it wasn't a pretty sight but the Parvilla/ABRT New Year's Day group was behaving so I could hang for the most part. It's amazing how two weeks off the bike has such an impact.  The endurance was there, what with all the running I did, but the power was lacking to say the least.

A little video on my first ride in 16 days!

I didn't manage to get into the pool and I also made a decision to have an easy run week after a solid 14 days run focus.  As such, most of the week was cycling volume but had a solid week to start the year. I missed riding so it was good to be back in the saddle!

In the next few weeks I'll summarize the 2013 training in a some detail and review what went well and not so well.


Total: 125 Miles / 8 hours 08 minutes

Swim: 0 yards / ~0 miles / 0 hours 0 minutes

Bike: 116 miles / 6 hours 42 minutes

Run: 9 miles /1 hours 03 minutes
Strength: 0  hours 23mins

The week that was: Nov 26th - Dec 2nd

Summary

Until the end of December it will really be about being consistent in all three sports to be base build for more specific training in January. This meant a solid swim week, reduced run mileage and a couple of rides. The swim really bit it this past season and it is all about routine for that. If I don't swim I get out of the routine and find it real hard to get it back. As most people find, time spent swimming often leads to diminishing returns....it takes a lot to gain a little. I just want to get the ease of swimming back again, it may not lead to faster times but will lead to reduced effort. All in all the week was nice and steady, as it should be this time of year.

Sat Nov 26th: Steady run after work, a little bit of tempo with warm-up and cool-down. Run - 6.24miles

Sun Nov 27th: Wow, what a day for riding! Great weather so headed to Sandy Point State Park through Annapolis and back. Finally getting my legs back on the bike and actually felt ok on this ride. Easy and steady miles. Bike - 60miles

Mon Nov 28th: Into the pool at lunch for some endurance yardage. Ascending pyramid. Felt better today in the water, much more comfortable. Swim - 3000yds (SC)

Tues Nov 29th: Morning run to Quiet Waters. Just a steady run as I never feel like hammering early morning. Run 8.8miles Evening ride in the computrainer studio for an hour at average 70% of threshold.

Weds Nov 30th: Another lunchtime swim, this is the routine I need to get into. Taking a break from the office is always a good thing. Worked on 100 and 200 speed. Swim - 3000yds (SC) Also did some gym dynamic strength work later in the day.

Thurs Dec 1st: Treadmill time. Ascending pace hills....nothing too taxing with the marathon in 9 days. The treadmill is great for workouts like these when you want to hit the grade and pace and don't have to go looking for the right hill. Run - 5.23miles

Fri Dec 2nd: Three swims in a week, probably the first time for about 6months! Drills and kicks today so worked the legs hard. Ran within an hour or so of swimming and took a nice steady hour. Sometimes you just need to kick back and run to enjoy it rather than focusing on time/effort/pace. Also ran some new roads which is always good. Run - 8.8miles

Total Run Mileage - 29.07miles

Total Run Time - 3hrs 20mins

Total Time - 11hrs 15mins