The Change Catalyst

Base 2 Phase (First week of four)

Theme of the week is bike. Base 2 Phase weeks have a theme of the week. One of the sports is focused on and the number of sessions increased for that discipline.

Monday; 80 mins bike ride. Steady RPE=4 with sprints up to RPE=9 on uphills (about three in my 5km loop). 35km.

Tuesday; 60mins bike, Steady RPE=4-5 with 40 mins on aerobars. Seat needs adjustment. 30km.

Wednesday; Very gentle run and stretch. 30 mins. RPE=2. Bike tempo work. 10 mins warm up at RPE=3/4. 50 mins at RPE=5/6 mostly in aerobars with some out-of-saddle sprints. 10 mins cool down. 70-75mins. 35 km. Mild day, no wind apart from a gentle head wind.

Thursday; 90 min bike session all in aero-bars. RPE=4/5 with RPE=5/6 when into wind. Colder, headwinds for long stretches. Tested nutrition on empty stomach. Gel every 15km. 70 mins in big chain with warm up / cool down in small ring. 45km.

Friday; Rest day

Saturday; Long bike. Total distance around 120km. Main block with bike club. 80km. Average speed 33kmh. Extremely cold windchill on the feet! Sunny, good visibility, some wind. 20km warm up and 20 km cool down -including a couple of ferry trips to cross the Huang Pu river. RPE = 5/6 at time RPE=7/8. Enjoyed the coffee after the main block!

Sunday; Long run. 15km. Not too cold. Running on tired legs. Slow to get started. Steady once warmed up. 80 mins.

Total: 7 sessions.

Triathlon Training Lingo

*RPE means Rate of Perceived Exertion and relates to the intensity of each session. I have stopped using a heart rate monitor [although I used one for a couple of years] because I want to exercise more by ‘how it feels’. RPE = 10 is full-out effort, while RPE = 1 is just enough intensity for the session to be called exercise. Endurance sports requires a good base of low intensity effort and over time building up intense efforts with longer sessions.

A brick session is a bike ride followed immediately by a run. It’s purpose is to simulate the conditions of a duathlon or triathlon race where the bike transitions into the run without stopping. It trains your leg muscles to run while tired.

Upcoming races - signed up.

5km swim in Lake Taupo, New Zealand on 14 January 2012

Half Ironman at Lake Wanaka, New Zealand on 21 January 2012 [race bib:1197, total 284 competitors]

3.3km Ocean swim in Wellington, New Zealand on 29 January 2012

Half Ironman in Singapore on 18 March 2012

Full Ironman in Busselton, West Australia on 9 Dec 2012

Results

Half Marathon in Changhsu, China on 27 November 2011: 1hr 56mins for 22km course. Personal Best time.