I love training and racing for Ironman but my last few race performances were poor, I did not progress but worse I felt a fatigue that seemed to permeate every cell in my body when I raced. Interestingly though, this fatigue was not something I sensed that much in training, it just seemed to show up on race day! My conclusion was my mind and perhaps my body needed some extended time off. Well not complete time off but unstructured no pressure training with more rest injected to help me regain some 'freshness'.
I have now had around 5 months without any racing, so what have I been up to? Well lots of DIY and preparations for my Wife and I's first baby. My Wife half joked about how much I got done in such a short space of time, I think she started to see what an Ironman's energy could achieve if put to good use! I'd best be careful there!I am now pleased to announce that I am now a Dad to Betsy Rose Williams who was born on December 21st. Ironman training will now enter a new chapter and I will share how I progress with my training alongside my new commitments as a Dad.
With regards to my off season I have spent some time planning my 2014 race schedule which at present is as follows…..
2014 Planned race schedule
- Watford half marathon - 2nd February (C race - approached as a tough training session)
- Brighton half marathon - 16th February (C race - approached as a tough training session)
- 1-2 3.8km swim races - dates to be confirmed (C race - approached as a tough training session)
- Bedford middle distance triathlon - 25th May (B race)
- Ironman Austria - 29th June (A race)
- Budapest 70.3 Ironman - 23rd August (B race)
- Ironman World Championships in Hawaii - 11th October (A race)
I plan to start my structured training plan for Ironman Austria on the 13th January which will give me 24 weeks to get in to peak race shape.
In addition to planning my season I have spent some time reflecting, researching and testing a few new things out that I believe will help me make some gains in my training and racing for 2014. Here is what I have been looking into and testing or more like playing around with…...
Swimming
In my time off I decided to focus some attention on my swim stroke as opposed to swim fitness. I reviewed some material from swim smooth and realised I was not that sure what my swim type was, I gave it some real consideration after reading through all characteristics of each type and after some reflection I came to the conclusion I was a kicktastic (I say 'was' purposefully). Without sharing my conclusion I asked my training partner Ollie (@quichie123) who happens to be a swim coach what swim type he thought I was, he also thought I was a kicktastic. In short a kicktastic over uses their legs, as such they can get more out of breath as the legs demand a lot of oxygen. To rectify this I have started to work on slowing my legs down. Since focusing on this it has exposed the fact my arms are not as endurant as they need to be and that my core/hips sink a touch. Coupled with this I identified I have a pacing problem and that when I swim repetitions of sets like 400m I set off too quick and complete the first few hundreds too fast and then slow down towards the end. So in summary I have found a number of issues to address for improvement. Below are the issues I have identified with some corrective strategies I have begun working on.
Poor arm stroke
Issue: Arms not endurant enough
Solutions: Paddle work and pull buoy work. Been increasing the volume of paddle and pull buoy work each week.
Issue: Catch not efficient enough, elbow drops significantly when fatigue sets in
Solutions: Visulisations - view effective strokes such as Jono Van Hazel on youtube, slow stroke practice in front of mirror, resistance band warm ups, swimming with fists/palm paddles to encourage high elbow.
Issue: Sinking hips
Solutions: Focus on core work - Quadruped opposite arm leg raises, lower abdominal marching, side plank variations and glute bridge variations are staples 4x per week. I also do swim drills in warm up that focus on hip position. Shamefully core work is something I have neglected in the last few years. I used to be very diligent with it, I guess I got complacent, since reintroducing it I have found it has also influenced my running which I mention below.
Issue: Poor pacing
Solutions: Use Finis wetronome to pace timed efforts in pool. This has been brilliant and coupled with the other factors has supported me achieve some significant results with regards to me holding solid paces with greatly reduced heart rate and RPE for 1000m efforts. I am now much more aerobic for a given pace and have tested this with my trusty polar RXC5 which can take heart rate in water. What I found was that when I got my pacing right I could average 143bpm with a +/- 5bpm variation for a 1000m effort at 1.32m/100m pace vs poor pacing where my heart rate averaged 151bpm with a +/- 12bpm variation!Swimming is progressing nicely and it has been great to focus on the technique and efficiency without the feeling I should be putting in big volumes. I really feel I have moved through the 4 stages of learning: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence with some stroke modifications which has helped me change my swim stroke permanently laying a better foundation for doing the volume.
Cycling
Since the alpine challenge I have cycled regularly on my turbo and mountain bike but have only done a small handful of sessions over 90mins. Most sessions have been to test position tweaks none of which have worked for me except another saddle change to the new specialized sitero saddle pictured below. Two years ago I switched form a regular tri saddle to one with a perineal cut out to relieve pressure I was experiencing in that area. The change helped and was a positive move although this year I have been experiencing some tightness in my left adductors which tracks further down into my foot, I believe it to be part of the deep front line (myofascial train). What I think has been happening is my saddle is a touch to thin, as such my pelvic bones have not been fully supported consequently one hip has been ever so slightly sliding of the saddle creating some asymmetrical shifting. Switching to the sitero so far has felt brilliant it seems to give my pelvis solid support, there is even less pressure and my left knee is tracking better and the tightness in my left leg has almost completely gone. I look forward to putting some longer rides on this saddle to see if this change stands some further tests.
The only other piece of cycling testing I have been doing is some sets on the watt bike to test my aerobic endurance. To do this I ride at a given power (175 watts) that puts me in heart rate zone 2 for 90mins. At the end of the workout I calculate my decoupling ratio (can read more on decoupling on training peaks via the link) which essentially shows the % change in my first half average heart rate to second half. If aerobically fit enough for that power output the theory is the % change in heart rate should be no more than 5%. Given the little cycling I have been doing at present this is not something I am achieving but it has given me a great benchmark to improve on. With my local David Lloyd club (Hatfield) now having Watt bikes I plan to get some quality session on this and use power more in my cycling.Run
Running is my ironman weakness and is something I am very keen to crack. It is the discipline I have been most focused on in the off season. I have worked on changing what has developed into a quad dominant running style. To do this I have worked on my conditioning. Like swimming I have been working on my core strength, something that has got weak through neglection over the last couple of years. The core routine I have for swimming also doubles up as my run core work. To compliment this I have been doing a significant amount of myo-fascial and mobility work on my hips in an attempt to open up the hips. I believe I am getting some real success with this and the data from my stride sensor tells me my stride length is improving. This is not because I am over striding but rather because my hip is opening out into extension better. Better hip extension coupled with better foot placement under the hip and more engaged hamstrings for an increased 'pull' in the stride are all taking load out the quads and making me more efficient. What has amazed me with this is the amount of work I have had to do to get my hips open - it has been significant, they really were very 'glued' up. When my cycling load increases this is something I am really going to have to be disciplined about to ensure I do not glue back up.
Lastly I have tried some new trainers Pearl Izumi N1's. Not much to say except they are the business. They are a very light weight neutral running shoe with 1mm of drop. Since my very first run in them I have got on with them incredibly well. A smooth ride with more cushioning than my Mizuno's. My Mizuno's were a great shoe too except I now believe they are better suited for me for half marathon distances, they did not offer me enough cushioning for an ironman marathon, I am confident the Pearl Izumi's will excel here. The only issue is the UK colours are to bright for me! My very nice cousin that lives in the States has managed to source me some red/black ones that match my race kit - yes I know I am a tart!
So only a few weeks to go and I will be starting the 24 week training plan that will prep me for Austria. I will be starting with an 8 week base phase where I will be building up the volume of my swim bike and running to further improve my aerobic endurance. With the technique work and tweaks I have made in prep for this I am excited to see what results I can achieve. I certainly feel the long break has 'freshened' me up, I am chomping at the bit! Between now and when I start my training plant the only thing left on my to do list is to get a lab test at the Sport science centre in Hertfordshire Uni to get more insight into my aerobic and lactate threshold for both cycling and running, this will help me make some final adjustments to my training session paces and test set efforts. I will get two further retests throughout the 24 weeks to see my progress. I'll keep you updated, until then I wish you all the best with your health and fitness for 2014……..
