Fortnightly Review - Weeks 9 & 10
I started off solidly, knowing that I was getting my hip injections on the Wednesday, and would likely lose some sessions, so I put in a couple of fairly heavy days early on. Or at least I planned to. The broken rib I got on my last Asda shift meant I was unable to swim, and struggled with weights, core, yoga, and was in mild pain even when running and whenever I went hard on the turbo.
I managed to adapt to put in some aquajogging after my surgery and do a lot of easy time on the turbo and a couple of easy road bike rides instead.
I did go to Glasgow and took part in the Aquathlon. But it was a case of taking part more than racing. My swim was over a minute down on where it should be, even against a non-race time trial from a month ago. I got out of the water 44th. My transition was another 20 seconds lost. My run was good though, I was through the GPS 5k in under 20 minutes despite a couple of measurable lumps on the course and I managed to run my way up to 16th place overall.
And then I did another Parkrun this weekend, but the wind on the beach was like running into a wall as soon as I lost touch with the leading pack. My km splits were: 3:58 (mostly on the pack), 4:30 (not on the pack), 4:11 (exposed but half of the wind each way), 3:45 (coasting but wind assisted), 3:44 (coasting more but wind assisted and downhill). That breakdown is bad enough in itself, but the 4:30 section was done at a HR of 175, while my race average was 145. With Moray 10k in 2 weeks time I fancy my legs are in sub-40 shape as long as my rib is further healed.
While my swimming and support sessions have been limited by the cracked rib, I have taken that opportunity to just spend a huge chunk of time on the bike. I sat and pedalled the turbo for an hour at a time through multiple Paris-Nice highlights shows, and I had my summer road bike outside twice as well.
The missed swim and mountain bike miles, core, weights, and yoga have just brought my cumulative totals down into the gap between my annual target and my stretch target.
So far the hip has been amazing. It is the first time I have been pain-free for over 11 years.
I also finally opened my wallet and got a 29er mountain bike. I picked up a second-hand 2019 Whyte S-120 CRS. It is carbon fibre, full suspension, with a manufacturer-fitted dropper post, XT everything, ... . I still need pedals for it, and I bent my pedal spanner while failing to remove the sets from both my older bikes.
I also paid for all three races in Bilbao, even though I can't possibly race them all on the current timetable. Next week I need to pay for Romania and the week after that is my road tax. Then I need to start booking flights and hotels for both those trips, and possibly for a third trip if World Aquathlon date and venue ever get announced, and next month my phone contract is up, and I need to get my cousin a wedding present that is equivalent to what I gave all my other cousins, and I really need to seriously look at replacing my car this year, ...
The Asda job wasn't doing me any physical, or mental, good any more so I needed to give it up, but the list of expenses coming my way over summer is going to start challenging my savings and even the small amount of money I miss out on from giving it up is starting to look important already. I have applied for a few jobs recently, in case I can make a shift to something that pays better, but the only ones that have interviewed me have been offering less than I am already on.
Actuals, (Target) -
Swim 1.9 miles / 2,850 m. (5.6 miles).
Bike 107.7 miles. (77.0 miles). MTB 0.0 miles. (19.3 miles)
Run 44.7 miles. (40.6 miles).
0 short core, 0 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 22 mins of yoga.
S 30.4, (28.0), [30.8],
B 454.4, (372.7), [410.0], MTB 96.4, (93.2), [102.5],
Weights - 11, (9), [10]
Yoga - 19, (10), [23].
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