Illness Recovery

Last thursday was the first training I had done for 3 weeks and brought 20 zero days of training to an end. The frustrations to someone who relies on repetition to achieve their goals was not really felt until I was starting to recover from  a variety of cold like symptoms. For at least 10 days the idea of any training was ridiculous, but once the rib rattling cough had subsided, the tonsils no longer felt like a flame grilled barbecue and the blocked ears no longer hurt the temptation to start back in was acute. Thankfully a combination of work, family and self reflection meant that I did not rush back into training.
Several things were learnt.

Being ill was a great way to reflect upon how busy I am when combining all the roles of work, family and training. As I recovered there was just more time in the day. Trying to sometimes fit in the training can lead to stress when the time conflicts arise and I cannot manage the session I had planned, not having to do this meant I was more relaxed. This was balanced by my desire to be fit and to achieve my personal goals and to not lose the fitness gains I had banked through november and december. Further the acceptance of a new role at work means that the time pressures are ging to be even greater and this fed into my general review of the trainning plans for the year.

As I started to focus on returning to training I had to reconsider my goals and objectives. Clearly an ultramarathon of 32 miles was not going to be a good reintro to my training. A knock on means that training for the Jurassic Coastal Challenge was also off. Plans to improve running through a super base are gone. Since it is the current mantra of the NHS I thought I should practice what I preach which is "More with Less". So the challenge for the year has changed. It is no longer about setting all time best performance but is about finding out if I can do as well with less time.

Back in the pool and the saddle things felt OK although generally a bit weak. Running was rubbish! To get where I want to be the focus on training will be to look at maximising every sesson done ( a common mantra) but reducing the total number of sessions/hours done.

So the first goal is to regain my fitness level of 3 weeks ago and then hope to start building. It should be fun!

50 runs in 50 days

On Xmas day I completed my 50th run of 50 minutes in 50 days (give or take). This saw me run just under 500kms in the same time period with a weekly average running time of 6hrs and 20 minutes. This is the most running I have sustained, the only other times I have run 6 hrs or more have been in the peak weeks of ironman training or in the build up to a marathon.

Then I got to thinking. 6 hrs a week is probably not much for a club runner, but I found it tough. I guess to train like a runner is every bit as hard as a triathlete and I am not sure I could cope without the variety. I was still cross training with a couple of swims a week and an average of 4-5 hrs of bike a week but that still equates to quite a doable weekly training volume of 12 hrs or so a week. Yet after a couple of weeks I was tired all the time. I found that whenever I did some sustained efforts whether running swimming or cycling the next few days of running were really tough. No big surprise but this did highlight the effects of intensity when doing constant training. Towards the last week I was focused mostly on just completing the task and found motivation to do anything else almost completely absent.

So the big question is whether this has done me any good? My cycling and swimming have been held back and with still more focus to come with running until the end of March I dont know. The next part is to work out how to train to run 3 marathons in 3 days while also building my bike volume. I have a few events planned bu worry that 12 weeks is not long enough to build the long distance endurance. We shall see.

The athlete's heart

As I lay in bed the other night I was more aware of my heart beat than normal. All athletes should at some point start learning to listen to their body as it talks to us in many ways. Muscle soreness tells us we have done a harder session or used muscles in ways we are not use to. Muscle pains warn us of impending, or if ignored announce, new injuries. Tiredness tells us we need rest and fever suggests we have some form of infective illness. Part of the monitoring process should include checking your resting pulse from time to time, ideally when you awake as this can warn you about whether your cold is more significant or whether your tiredness is perhaps starting to overreach your fitness.

What about if you are lying there and you become aware that your pulse is skipping beats or has become irregular? Should we be worried? What should we do? Well as I lay there I could feel a strong beat every third or fourth beat and then when I felt my pulse it was occasionally irregular. So I woke my wife up, she happens to be a doctor, and got her to check it and sure enough it was irregular. Half an hour later I had decided either I had some fatal heart arrhythmia or I had athlete's heart syndrome.

So what is "athlete's heart syndrome" (AHS) and what should you do about it? T

The most important distinction of AHS is that it is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning you have to exclude more significant causes of heart problems, and that it is essentially benign, meaning that it is not associated with ill health or indeed sudden death which is pretty reassuring.

So what are the symptoms of athlete's heart syndrome?

Often there are no symptoms but features would include a slow heart rate (the bradycardia of fitness which most endurance athletes are aware of) such as exhibited by TdF cyclist Miguel Indurain who had a resting heart rate of 29 (which is definitely pathological in a non athlete). Other features might include occasional ectopic heart beats, leading to a slightly irregular pulse, but otherwise there is little else.

Where the problem comes is when you have either an ECG (electronic tracing of your heart rhythm, or an echocardiogram of you heart- an ultrasound scan of your heart which can look at how your heart functions).

What should you do if you have an irregular heart beat or other "unusual symptoms"?

1. See your doctor and get some tests

Firstly you should see you doctor and explain your symptoms: they should arrange some blood tests and a ECG. The blood tests are to exclude biochemical abnormalities such as a low a plasma potassium level, and other things that can cause problems such as an overactive thyroid which can cause arrythmias. They should also enquire about risks factors for arrythmias such as excess caffeine, alcohol, recreational drugs and fatigue all of which can induce abnormal heart rhythms. If you have had arrythmias then you should also have a 24 hr ECG and an echocardiogram.

2. The ECG, 24hr ECG and Echocardiogram

The ECG should be able to identify if you have a pathological heart rhythm, but here it gets difficult. Just like Miguel's heart rate being too slow for the untrained, fit people may have findings on their ECG that would be abnormal in an untrained person. So there is a grey area, and what if you only get the arrhythmia occasionally? If there is still concern then you can have a 24 hr ECG which essentially means having your heart monitored for 24 hrs and an echocardiogram to assess your heart function. The 24 hr ECG should identify if you have a significant risk of heart arrythmias but again should be interpreted with caution since some arrythmias are normal in the fit hea

rt!

3. What is a fit heart, why does it cause problems interpreting tests and who should I see?

As we train (say more than an hour a day) our heart gets fitter, which means amongst other things the muscle of our heart gets bigger. This occurs especially in the bit that does the most work, the left ventricle or LV for short. When the heart muscle gets bigger it becomes more efficient at pumping blood and is one of the reasons why at rest our heart rate becomes slower, as with each heart beat we can pump more blood around our body. Enlargement of our LV can be pathological and his is one of the key causes of sudden death and is therefore a cause for concern when it is seen on an ECHO study of you heart. It is very unlikely that an athlete who has been training for more than a year at a high level will have a pathological cause of LV enlargement. Where concern arises there are some subtle differences in the pattern of the echo changes between the fit heart and the abnormal heart, and perhaps the ultimate test is to detrain for a period of 1-3 months in which case if it is an athletic heart the LV enlargement should reverse. Where this does not occur it may be pathological (the condition is called HOCM) and would need further tests.

4. Should I be worried?

Sudden death in training athletes is very rare. Pathological findings are most common in those with less than a year of athletic training under their belt. In the older mid life crisis athlete (typically late thirties early forties with a history of little previous exercise and general poor lifestyle e.g. smoker etc) it is usually due to coronary artery disease resulting in a "heart attack". If you are this person and get chest discomfort on exercise you need to get a check up. In the younger athlete new to regular training
it is nearly always HOCM or occasionally a pathological heart rhythm. A family history may exist in which case you should have a screening test but unfortunately in some the first they know of it can be too late.

Happily for me my heart studies were completely normal, for an athletes heart, so I can continue training.

Belligerence

bel·lig·er·ence   /bəˈlɪdʒərəns/ [buh-lij-er-uhns]


noun

1. a warlike or aggressively hostile nature, condition, or attitude.

2. an act of carrying on war; warfare.
 
So I started running everyday on Nov 1st. The goal is to run everyday for an average run of 50 minutes and to try and get to 50 days (Xmas more or less). The rationale behind it is that it will make me a better runner by building the resilience and strength to then carry me through a more challenging programme of some form of ultra training in the build up to the Jurassic coastal challenge.
 
Now I am a strong believer in repetition and have had read about and spoken with several who have done this sort of thing in the past. When you think of what Eddie Izzard achieved in running 43 marathons in 51 days this should be a doodle for a multi ironman finisher right! Well firstly I had been recovering from a slight calf niggle, then there was a significant event which curtailed running for a day so 2 days lost in the first week. Not good and even with the unplanned rests I was finding the backing up of day to day runs pretty tough. Alongside this was a slightly reduced training schedule but still 3 bike sessions and 2 swims a week. I started "Zombie" running. This is how I would describe the running when you are tired and really feel like anything other than running but know you are committed to trying to reach your goal. Shoes slapping the pavement (no barefoot runner me!) listening to podcasts of IM talk and Radio 4 I get the run done.
 
The problem is days where I only have a single slot to get some training done (such as Thursday when I usually ride) and so the running takes primacy. Long days of work mean that recently I have had to run at 0530 which is really tough- my body does not like it and takes ages to wake up and start functioning. Stiff joints suggest I am ageing and at some point you start to really question the why! A few days in New York was a good break in the routine and a new arena to run in. Jet lag meant I was awake good and early and found myself running round central park with an amazingly large number of fellow runners, who I had to race obviously.
 
Which leads to the point of this which is managing the fatigue. With the constant stress of a daily running each additional session is reflected in the following days run. The hardest days are those after a long bike session, or when you push a bit hard (such as beating the American joggers in Central Park) the day before.At 35-40 miles a week this is almost as much running a week as I ever do but somehow feels harder than when I have longer runs but with days off. I am now running against myself, the belligerence to complete the task fights with my more cerebral voice that says there are probably better ways to get the same training effect, but now I don't care. I will be the runner that does the task, I will run at any time day or night to get the job done and I will be tired!

Hard work

Went for a gentle 4 hr ride today. It was hard work. As someone who feels I should be able to ride for 4 hrs without much fuss it came as a surprise as I started to find in the last hour that I had become one paced (slow) and tired. I recognised that I had done some reasonable training in the week and some fatigue had developed: I know I have not done many long rides in the last 6 weeks with one thing and another: and yet still I expected to be able to ride better than I did.

This self image reminds me that it is hard work that enables me to be the person I imagine. It is not some divine innate genetic makeup, it is not anymore the youth, and it is not a consequence of opportunity to train. This hard work AKA training is achieved by doing the sessions in spite of myself. Trying not to lie in on a Thursday morning because it sounds like it is raining outside and the ride will be wet and cold and dark! Not expecting myself to be able to just swim faster because I should do by now, I have had enough practice, but to remember it is the consecutive sessions that make me faster, not the single session.

Running is where I believe I have most to gain in my drive to become a more complete Ironman. With my goal to qualify for Kona next year I felt that I really need a strong focus to put down some big base running numbers. I attribute this years IM mara PB to a number of things including a greater amount of running!! I dont think this game is rocket science. With this in mind I plan to take on the Jurassic Coastal Challenge which is 3 hilly marathons in 3 days running along the coastline of my youth between Poole And Weymouth and beyond. The challenge will be to try and complete this within myself so to speak.. probably a big ask but without this strategy I might well blow a large hole in any IM training planned through April and May.

The plan is to try some everyday running (just as soon as my calf injury clears up). I plan to try and string together a minimum 6 runs a week through November and December. 30 mins will be enough to qualify as a run but an overall average to exceed 40 minutes a day (which at 4 hrs a week is close to what I can sustain based on previous years). The idea is to build in straightforward resilience to injury (although this could be a good way into injury!) so it looks like my alarm clock is going to be a bit earlier and I think i could do with a new headlamp.

We will see how strong my appetite for this hard work is, I still plan to ride and swim so will need to be conservative in my efforts across the week. I hope that by the end of December I will be running strong and ready then to move into some more extensive run training to get me ready for a 3 day ultradistance endurance challenge.

Detraining, weight gains, life gains

6 months of focussed training towards my season goals and I had reached a point where I needed rest. My year is split in two. I allow six months where Ironman takes shall we say a higher precedence in my scheduling and then six months where I push it further back and focus on the rest of my life. Summer holidays are my time to focus on my family and as a consequence training is allowed to be completely random and non focussed. This meant I ran about 3 times a week across the month of August in a variety of scenic and invariably hilly locations, such as the bay in Brittany pictured above. Cycling was almost largely limited to slow pootling about at the pace of a fit 9 year old and swimming was mostly surfing and bodyboarding.

At the end of IMUK I weighed 76kg. This increased to 78 kg when I rehydrated. By the end of August after some serious quality  barbecues supplemented by red wine I had boosted my weight to 83.6 kg. Healthwise this is probably my ideal weight. I know when I train the weight will move again but feel that below 80 kg I become susceptible to colds and general illness. The month off was clearly necessary to put my body back together after a punishing schedule of races and working but the payback when I went round Regents Park with the Rouleurs was to be spat out the back afer 4 laps of tempo riding and swimming felt more like controlled drowning.

Experience however is a wonderful thing. With the return of school and work schedules comes the more regular training slots and sessions with London Fields Tri. I know that slowly the muscles will get acclimatised again and the specific fitness will recover. That said I am in no rush to do anything other than keep ticking over. I have started back doing weights to build a bit of muscle mass as a buffer against age and injury, and after much decision have decided this autumn I will mostly be doing cyclcross (of which more later!).

Next years goal is simple. I plan to try and qualify for Kona.

IRONMAN UK 2011

Short report 10:15;19 12th 40-44AG

I will start this by saying how much I enjoyed the UK Ironman race and how much I rate the course which was a big surprise to me! My previous experience of TRIUK the old organisers was abysmal. Their approach to everything seemed wrong and their finished product was often poor. That said there is a lot the new race organisers need to improve on but the swim bike and run courses were all great. Most credit must go to the people of Bolton who really seemed to take the race to their hearts as the support out on the run course was fantastic and their encouragement seemed so genuine. I think the race should stay in Bolton but they need to work on the athlete experience pre and post race.

So to race day. I was feeling a bit rough still with the tail end of a viral infection and was wondering how it was going to go. I got out into the lake early as I was worried about there being a crowd at the start line. I need not have been, there was plenty of room and compared to the start of the HIMUK it was positively gentile. The water was nice and warm, and off we went. I took the first 200m a lot easier than at Austria, which was possible as there was much less crowding. At the first turn at about 700m I found the feet of someone who could swim straight and just a bit faster than me. Perfect, I then drafted him for the next lap. He pulled me past several groups although I finally lost his feet at a turn and could not get back. No worries I felt strong and cruised the last 800m in without a clue what time I had done.

SWIM 56;41 (so it the swim distance was short!!!) 15th AG 91 overall

Out onto the bike. As per plan I started quite steadily. This still saw me flying past any number of good swimmers (that is anyone faster then me in the water). To begin with it was all reasonably flat, although road surfaces were poor so I rode the white line with some effect. The route takes you north up towards the 34 mile circuit that you repeat 3 times to make the bulk of the course. Soon I started going up, past a feed station a quick decent and thanks to WIGANERS guide to the route new I must be about to start the sheep house lane climb. It was not so bad and easily done first time round in the saddle with a 39x26 gear. The next part of the loop was downhillish and flatish. This saw me catch up with Jo 4th female before I pushed hard on another flattish section which saw me catch the third female pro. I was then surprised by a lot more steady rises where I soon lost the 3rd pro. None were really too hilly but nothing was too flat either. This and quite a lot of twists and turns made for hard work on the bike. Still as I finished the first lap and repeated the climb of sheep house lane I was feeling strong. Unlike Austria there were no big bunches and I spent most of the time riding on my own.

The second lap followed the same pattern as the first: fast on the flat section after sheep hill and then surprised, you would think I would learn, at the long drag in the second half. I was however hot and conscious that my nutrition was not as good as it could be and I had backache. This is usually because I have not spent enough time in the saddle or my blood sugar is low. The truth is I think I was going a bit too hard so my HR was too high and hence my gut was not tolerating the food as well as I would hope. The third time up sheep hill I was out of the saddle and no longer had a choice over my cadence. I was not able to push quite so hard on the next flat section and was caught by a line of 3 others. I kept with them but started to feel tired, my legs were dull and would not respond to my commands for more power without a large amount of effort. At the end of the third lap I had 112 miles on the clock and expected a quick arrival at T2. Sadly for me there were still a few more miles which hurt more then they should. Finally of the bike, a quick change and I was out onto the run.

BIKE 5:40;57 (114 miles?) 6th AG 48th overall

Another quick change and Iwas out on the run. I had driven this bit in a car the day before and new the first 3 miles were essentially downhill. My legs felt dreadful. At Austria I had run the first mile in under 7 minutes and then settled into a 7.45 min miles for the next 16 miles or so. This time the first mile was only just under 8 mins and that was downhill. Usually it takes me 3 or so miles before I know how the IM marathon is going to be. This is because that is how long roughly it takes to forget I have just cycled 112 miles and focus on how far exactly I have to run! 3 miles in and I still felt rubbish. Every 2-3 minutes I would here the flop flop of trainers as another good runner (anyone faster than me!) slowly gained and then passed me. I had been passed by over ten in the first 5 miles.

Well ironman is not meant to be easy. So I knuckled down, banished the demons and put my race face on. The run route into Bolton town centre was great. The crowd support was huge and the run was hilly. Did I mention that? After a run from T2 down to Bolton town centre we then did 3 x 6 mile loops (only they were a bit shorter than that). Half the loop was positively up hill and half was down hill. My uphill miles took about 40 secs longer than my downhill ones!!

Great support from some trilondoners Lotte and Andy in particular helped me through some of the darker patches. Using all the tricks to keep the mind focused on short term goals, positive thinking and the desire to just get the thing done I was soon running down the hill for the last time. My maths had me a bit suspicious for the finish time since I reckoned to be running just under 9 min/mile but the finish seemed to come at least 15 mins early! My run had let me down.

RUN 3:32;51 12th AG 71 overall

TOTAL 10:15;19
I needed to run 10 mins quicker to get a slot for Kona. Coulda woulda shoulda.

There is always next time.