Week 51 Training Log

Week 51. Started off on Monday morning with a spring in my step. This was it, the real work starts here, and it was a lovely day. Originally a pool swim was scheduled but as it was such a nice day I decided to head to the beach. 9,am it’s quiet at the beach, just a couple of dog walkers. So it’s no wonder that you get some funny looks when you walk down the beach in a wet suit and straight into the sea. I started steady and from the right hand side of Broad Haven and headed out away from sure for about 5 minutes. I lined myself up between two points, one behind me and one in front to aim at and set off towards Little Haven. The sea wasn’t as clear as it has been recently but we haven’t had the best of weather lately. I got out beyond the left hand point of Broad Haven and was soon in Little Haven waters, this is where the drama started. When you’re swimming in the sea, it’s easy to let your mind wonder and start scaring yourself. Every little thing you see out of the corner of your eye manifests it’s self into something that could potentially eat you. This seemed to be happening a lot today, I was quite twitchy and a little worried about my surroundings. Perhaps it was all a bit too quiet. Then I flinched, I’m sure I saw a jelly fish. I know I know, it’s just a jelly fish, but when you’re already twitchy, it doesn’t help. I watched my arm pull and noticed that I was creating an air bubble that was rising to the surface. Perhaps it was that which I saw. I watched the arm pull a little longer and reassured my self that’s all it was. Less than a minute later I felt something nudge my leg, not hard but just enough to feel it. OMG the mind started going ape. Sharks nudge before they strike, don’t they? Maybe a seal playing, in which case I wish it would sod off and play somewhere else, I was getting scared and at least 4 minutes from any kind of land. I don’t care how good you are at swimming, you aint going to out swim anything that wants to eat you, or for that matter, play with you, or play with you before it eats you. My heart was racing but I was conscious that I had to at least head for the nearest land but I also had to get back. If I headed for Little Haven beach I probably wouldn’t be brave enough to get back in the sea to swim back to Broad Haven, which would mean a barefooted walk in a wetsuit around the road. Almost at the same time that all this was flooding through my mind I took a stroke with my left arm and placed my left hand on something. ##@@#@’’+==#. !! That was it. I shot bolt upright with panic and immediately I could see that I was surrounded by jelly fish. I had to get out of there quick. I tuned back to Broad Haven and swam away as fast as I could. This whole thing must have looked hilarious from the houses on top of the headland. I imagined that they could see the jelly fish before I got there and were just waiting for me to swim into them. Yeah, very funny. I soon burnt out and had to slow down but by then I was well clear. Gonna have to get my head into shape again before I go in the sea again.

I went home and rested for a while before heading out on a two hour run. This was tough, still feeling the fatigue from previous sessions. I’m breaking in some new trainers as well so that may have had some thing to do with it. Tuesday and it was back in the gym for a weights session then rested for the rest of the day. Wednesday and I was off on the bike in the rain for a 4 hour ride. My objective was to perform a negative split. (Complete the second half of the ride faster than the first.) The course was 64 miles so after 32 I checked the time. 2hrs 2 min. All I had to do was get back i9n 2hrs or less. I started off well, then I got to the hills. I eventually returned home in a second leg time of 2 hrs 3 min. Not quite there but I was spent. At least it was consistent. A busy day on Thursday with lots to do, so an early start was needed. In the gym for 6.15am, not my local gym I must add, but one a few miles away. More strength work on my poor legs. They had already stated that they had had enough this week, but my general rul is, as long as I’m sleeping, then I keep going, unless I’ve slowed down to an almost stop. Home then for some breakfast, porridge with almonds and raisins with golden syrup, mmmmm. Take the kids to school then out on the bike in the rain for some hill work for an hour. Stick it in a big gear and grind up the hill several times. After an easy ride home on some shaky legs, a quick dry off then down to the pool to give my upper body a pasting, it only seems fair after the legs have had so much grief lately. An hour of pull with the hand paddles. My shoulders and triceps were aching something terrible after this session. That was it for the day. I headed home after a shower and had some lunch followed by a sneaky half hour snooze. After a hearty meal of two helpings of my mother in laws Lancashire Hot Pot and I think three helpings of Swiss apple pie a good nights sleep was called for. A chance to recharge the batteries for Friday. This consisted of a fast ride for 1:45 hrs followed by a brick run of 30 mins. It was designed to be a kind of race simulation of next weekends Olympic triathlon in Broad Haven, yes swimming in Broad Haven again. That will be it for this week, I’ll give myself the weekend to recover before we start all over again next week.