3wks to Triathlon

With only 3wks to go for my first triathlon at www.velocity-events.co.uk i really up'd the training this week and took full advantage of a few days off work. I carried out some pretty consistent 400mtr swims around the 8min 30sec mark and some consistent 5km run times. I decided to go out yesterday and complete the full triathlon in training to see how it felt, cardio wise my body was fine but i got my fueling wrong and felt slightly fatigued at the end. So a good lesson learnt on that one. I felt great today and have recovered with no problems so i know i can push harder on the day to be a little bit more competitive.

Friday night freediving at the pool went well, i haven't done any statics since my last competition in March so thought I'd just go through the motions and completed a very easy 4mins hold. Nothing great in terms of the time but happy with the result after being away from statics for so long.

Basildon Sub-Aqua Club

On Friday I'll be giving Basildon Sub-Aqua Club a lecture on freediving. The club give me valuable pool time every week and are a great (inquisitive) bunch so they asked me to tell them what all this "holding your breath lark" is all about? I'll be talking to them about the basics of freediving from the Mechanics of Breathing / Dive Reflex / Disciplines / Relaxation / Equalising & Safety. Its a great chance for me to share my passion for the sport and hopefully add some fun & interest to the club.

The triathlon training has been going well, Ive been noticing some pain during the cycle rides and after going into Evan Cycles this week, i got some great advice on how to set up my bike better and also great advice on what gearing to be using for the majority of the ride. I found that my saddle was too far back causing me to over stretch and i have been using the higher gears too much and putting pressure on my knees. I've set the bike up now and will give it a test in the week. I've managed to shave more time of my run now but haven't done too much in the pool so I'll hit that next week a couple of times,

TRIATHLON

Seeing as the Salt Free Triple Depth Comp is cancelled I've decided to put some energy into doing my first triathlon http://www.velocity-events.co.uk/ they say life begins at 40!! I've been working hard on my cycling and running (without injury until last week) and thought I'd leave the swimming part out of my training as I'm very comfy in the water. After trying to swim freestyle for the first time a couple of weeks ago i found out i made a huge mistake and actually cant swim for toffee! After a few coaching sessions from Tim, i got the technique better and completed the swim in 10min 04secs. An ankle injury as stopped my cycle & running training for the time being but the swimming is going well. Today i completed the swim in 9min 45sec so making some progress. I'm thinking i can make some time up during the cycle leg which will hopefully cover up my poor swim times over 400mtrs. My first 5k run was in 24min 57sec (slow i know!) and my bike times are not really relevant as i have 4 massive hills to climb which are not on the actual course, this means that my training is great interval training (train hard and race easy)

I'm hoping the ankle is getting stronger and i can get started on getting my 5k run times down and then string all three together a few times before the big day (31st July 2011) Its a sprint triathlon so I'm confident i can complete it, it just depends on how hard i want it to be...