July Update..

I was going to start this month’s update saying what a struggle this month has been and that I have not been focussed but that would actually be a lie – I’ve reached a point in my training where I have plateau’d mentally in my training – after the high of a successful Dartmoor outing (see previous update below) and then a very relaxing holiday I found that my training “seemed” to falter a bit….(well it did almost completely on holiday)…but looking back its not been too bad a month at all really!

Swim – 9.4 miles – 5.9 hours
Bike – 153 miles – 8.5 hours
Run - 46.4 miles - 11 hours

Total 209 miles – 25.4 hours

Now those figures don’t look great in comparison to previous months but if I factor in 10 days holiday and I’m not doing anything on the 31st (moving day) that’s not too bad for me!

In summary of the month – after my holiday, the thought of trudging out lots of miles on my own wasn’t appealing so I went back to pre-season training with a couple of rugby clubs taking advantage of the core and fitness sessions and generally getting some speed back in to my legs – this helped to reinvigorate me and get the blood flowing again! The sprinting however does my tight hamstrings no good and as the root cause of my knee problem, I have cut back on this but it was good to get me going again, I then had my second triathlon last weekend (I’ll come back to later) and have rounded off the month returning to my normal training!

Swim :-

This has been a great month for swimming, I go through periods of loads of swimming, then none – currently I am doing loads and really enjoying it! Its also been a month for personal bests – I smashed my mile pb – its now down 28 minutes 30 seconds, I smashed my 100 metres pb by 5 seconds this very morning – it stands at 1 minute 28 seconds and during the race I apparently did a 6.34 400 metres which is not bad (includes getting out the pool)!

I have started using training aids during my swimming and they are helping tremendously – this involves floats between my legs with my ankles tied together (to help body position) and hand paddles – these are really hard work and absolutely kill your shoulders!

Whilst swimming is the shortest part of Ironman, the easier I can make it the more energy I will have for later on!

Bike :-

Err…yeah less said the better on this one, I’ve put in a few good rides on the tri bike, but after June the rest was needed. As of August I’ll be back to my commuting ways and be racking up a few more miles….I’ll have to actually as got another event lined up……

Run :-
I’m reluctant to say too much here, as its been three months since I ran properly but…I think I’m getting there – this months total includes estimates rugby during training so don’t read too much in to that!

But….I did a couple of little runs on holiday, pain (well knee pain) free and since then I have done some gentle runs with stretching stops – I being pretty religious with my stretching and icing and whilst I’m not 100% injury free there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel!

This careful management allowed me to finish the race last weekend with 4.5 miles at 8 min/miles – not super fast but pretty good considering! Fingers crossed I can keep it going!

So the reason I though it was a struggle this month is because I am used to the training, I am used to feeling tired and hungry and I am used to drumming out the miles….however that’s no bad thing – the key now is how to up it to the next level – simple answer…work harder and for longer! Having moved house (Saturday), I am next the pool and next to a 10 mile flattish cycle route…so no excuses! I am really looking forward to August!

On the 23rd I have the ‘New Forest Rattler’ its another cycle sportive (similar to Dartmoor) only its flat and fast – my plan is too treat it as I would the ironman – on the tri bike, fully fuelled up and just bang it out on my own and see what happens….for 80 miles…4 hours would be nice but I think 4.20 is more realistic!

So the race last weekend…I’ve done a full in depth report here…

http://ironmantd2011.blogspot.com/2010/07/tidworth-sprint-tri.html

But to summarise, I loved the swim, I won my wave of 8 (you go off in groups of 8) and had the 12th overall fastest swim, I had a good bike – averaging 21mph over a hilly course for 20th overall fastest bike and then the run as mentioned – all together I came 26th and 4th in the 25-29 age group – not too bad I don’t think…..


So actually its been a good consolidation month, now its time to up the work and look forward to some more ‘pb’s’ in a few months!

Oh and to my list for next year…Kel and I got engaged…next year I have my finals, my 30th, Ironman and a wedding….should be fun

What I do take time to remind myself is how lucky I am to be doing this and have this experience, which I am beginning to believe is totally changing my life and how I live – recent events make me realise what an opportunity I have! I also remind myself why I chose to do this….if you haven’t please re-read my Just Giving page to remember what it’s all about! www.justgiving.com/timdonell

I’ll give you all a break from begging for donations this month (thanks always to those that have donated this month)…but if you have a penny or two in your pocket – stick it in a jar, it all adds up!


Remember also….

www.twitter.com/IronmanTD2011 - daily mutterings
http://ironmantd2011.blogspot.com/ - weekly mutterings