Magnesium supplementation update – I have now been taking Ultra Muscleze for over two weeks and I think I'm onto a winner. I have had minimal problems with cramp at all in that time, other than minor twinges when working for long periods at high intensity. Compared to the bad cramping I was getting this is a huge improvement. I am gaining fitness also, so maybe a little bit of credit should go to that. Still, I can definitely give Ultra Muscleze the "Ironman Cafe Seal of Awesomeness".
It has been a testing last few days, both physically and mentally, with the Saturday Morning Brick Session and the ongoing training since then. Yesterday I had one of the flattest Ironman training days I have had in a while. I felt tired when I woke for swimming and once in the pool I knew it was going to be a slog. I felt some residual fatigue from the 2km swim the night before and it didn't warm out. We did what I would usually find a pretty tame set of 12x100m on 1:30, I struggled from the get go and by the end was getting no rest, I felt like i was swimming in caramel sauce...mmm caramel sauce. It was hard on my body and probably harder on my ego. But, I have to look at it in the context of the big weekend I had and learn not to let individual sessions or sets overshadow the big picture. I am sure I am going to have a lot of sessions where it seems like I am going backwards or just don't have the energy to perform up to my expectations, but, who cares how fast I go for 12x100m eight months out from my goal Ironman...?
I had a couple of solid run sessions today, both including intervals building to max effort. On a positive note I felt pretty damn good this morning and not too bad this evening. I haven't felt any pain in the 'Old Rec Fem' in a few weeks and I'm continuing with regular physio appointments to improve my core strength and posture with a hope to keep future injuries at bay and to increase my performance.
I have been using hot/cold recovery lately and I feel that it is helping me to recover faster and train day in day out. I either do 3-5 sets in the shower of 30secs cold water and 1min hot water, or 3-4mins in a hot bath and 1min in a cold shower. The idea behind hot/cold recovery is that the repeated constriction and dilation of leg muscle tissues pumps wastes out of your legs and helps reduce inflammation and bleeding in the muscles. I am still unsure how much of a benefit it is. I feel it does help to a degree, it reduces the muscle pain I feel, which in turn probably helps me train harder. Whether it increases my performance or not, I'm not sure. One thing I am sure of is that I would like to find some sort of waterproof underwear, because, ice cold water is not welcome on some parts of my body no mater how therapeutic it is. I have considered cutting leg holes in a shower cap, but I would have to kick my own ass if I was getting around with a shower cap on for a nappy.
There has been some research into the benefits of hot/cold recovery, if your interested I have placed a link to a good article on the Peak Performance online website below.
Another Saturday Morning Brick Session under my belt and it was a tough one. It was similar to last weeks but I definitely felt fatigued off the bike this week. I think the cause was the overflow of egos one one hour 'spin' we did after the two hours of hill sprints. It turned into a smashfest, in which everyone was seeing if they could sneak up on the leader, and go flying past shouting “and he makes a break!” then everyone would chase the break down. I made an effort to force down a lot more nutrition today that I did last week. I think it helped with my energy levels, but it didn't seem to stop the quad cramps, which indicts that some magnesium supplements might help. By the way trying to swallow a Gatorade gel half way through a hill sprint set is not easy, particularly when you have people dry reaching next to you. I got it down in the end but it dint make the trip in one go, it decided to rest up in the back of my throat to see if it could make a come back at some point.
Right now I am feeling shattered, I felt good for a little while after finishing training but all of a sudden it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I probably could do with a sleep but Ironman Lanzarote 2007 is on currently and Ironman 70.3 Florida 2007 is on later so I am watching the updates for those. I will sleep like a baby tonight and tomorrow morning I have a cruisy two hours cycle on the hills and a 2km recovery swim tomorrow night.
I am currently facing a bit of a dilemma about my race schedule later in the year, I was planning to do Ironman Western Australia in December and Port of Tauranga Half Ironman in January, but I don't think I will be able to do both so close together. So I have some decisions to make and I may end up doing the Half and waiting till Ironman New Zealand in March or Ironman Port Macquarie in April. I need to consult with my coach some more before I decide so the countdown counter on the right hand side may change depending on what I decide.
Will keep you updated.
Had a good run this evening. I'm starting to get the hang of running in the dark. I have given up on running out towards the country on the road, it's just too dangerous. I don't particularly like running on the busier streets around where I live but its lighter and the footpath is reasonably flat most of the time. I am getting sick of trying see my watch using street-lights, or the light on my watch and I am hatching a plan for attaching a light to my running cap somehow. It will have to be done in such way that it is, comfortable, helpful with seeing where I'm going and seeing my watch and most importantly that I don't look like a git. Tough criteria I know but I have a few ideas in mind. I will keep you updated.
Tomorrow is my second Saturday Morning Brick Session, I'm looking forward to it and hope I can get my nutrition a little more on track and not suffer from leg cramps. I haven't managed to pick up the magnesium supplements I plan to start using due to financial difficulties, but hopefully I'll get it for next week.
I am running the Williamstown Half Marathon next weekend, which should be a good tester for me. I am a bit nervous, as I have not competed in anything since December last year and I am feeling the pressure of seeing results from my Ironman training over the last 3-4 months. I know that it is going to be part of my Ironman training and I won't be tapering or easing up my training for it, but I would still like to run a good time. We will see I guess...
Wow! I just got in from my first experience of the Saturday morning group brick session (bike/run). I t was a four hour session, which included some hill climb sprints, some longer hill climbs in TT position (on aerobars) and some longer hill climbs in TT position. This was follow by an hour ride, then we did a 10minute run, building to a strong pace followed by 40mins jogging. It was a step up in intensity for me and it seemed to be for a lot of the other people that were there training for Ironman too. As usual when we voiced how hard we were doing it, our coach who was taking part, told us how much longer and harder it was going to get in the future. I wonder whether that helps or not sometimes... I guess a realistic view of where we will go with our training is nice. The group atmosphere was great and I personally get so much out of doing these sort of trainings. When I'm by myself I can push to a degree, but because I am so extrinsic or externally motivated, having someone to catch or pass or keep up with does wonders for my training intensity. Of course on the down side, I find it hard to do easy when in a group. We numbered about 10-12 of us and we were spread in experience from multiple Ironman racers to one month into their Ironman training career and I think everyone enjoyed themselves and pushed their boundaries.
There is some schools of thought that say brick sessions are not necessary, and there have been a number of world class Ironman/triathlon competitors, who have not focused on this aspect of training. I personally feel that it is an important part of training for an Ironman or any triathlon. It is an opportunity to learn to run with that horrible jelly legs feeling off the bike, but more importantly it allows you to learn to run with the fatigue carried over from the ride. It puts you in the same physical state or as close to as you will be at the start of the Ironman run. This allows you to work at maintaining good running form with your cycling muscles fatigued.
I am glad that todays session is over and I think that now I have done one I will be able to be more specific in my feelings of dread leading up to Saturdays, as opposed to the fear of unknown I had this morning before setting out. But now, I'm going to put my feet up and relax.
