Blog 2
I had an operation on my nose at the end of February and as a result I was under doctor’s orders to rest, not to exert myself and stay out of the pool for 4 -5 weeks and ! I did miss the swimming and sprinting, which is a good thing I suppose.
Starting back I took it easy at first, both on track and in the pool; I only had one session before jetting off to Spain for a week in the sun in April. I made full use of the hotel pools though doing at least a 1000m in the cold pool before warming down in the hot indoor pool!
Back to swim coaching which went well but it’s surprising how much stamina you lose! You can get it back quick though and that I’ve been doing. I’ve started going to a different local pool now for my midweek swim as it has an adult only session plus it’s a 33 m pool instead of the usual 25 m length. A week later got two more improvements in my technique to work on and I was increasing my stamina. Had a go at a length of butterfly, never mind, but to Louise’s (coach) credit she came up to me, explained what is required and got someone to demonstrate straight away: that’s what I like about Tri Team Wigan! In later sessions I tried to concentrate on the new wider arm technique to get more pull from each stroke and it was a lot harder, which means I’ve got a lot to work on! I decided I will go back to working out in the home gym midweek and work on stamina and strength with the upper body machines.
At the track Aimee (Backhouse) was running with us, just to show us how slow we are! I didn’t push to my limit but my times were relatively good.
For cycling I planned out a new 40km cycle route that included some hills but I got a puncture half way through so I wasn’t pleased! The trouble is I can’t fit the bike in the boot and I had to carry it in the front seat with me…what a laugh that was! Another route I did was also about 43km; this time straight from work in Haydock, St. Helens, through Billinge and through the ups and downs of Appley Bridge and Roby Mill. The last hill was tough because it is a steady 1km plus steep climb in the lowest three gears and seems to never end! It’s as close as I’m gonna get to the steep passes at the Great Lakeland Challenge (GLC) on Friday 16th May.
Started doing brick sessions now, mainly 43km ride followed immediately by a 5km run; this is so I can get used to keeping up the momentum in my legs and get them used to using both sets of muscle groups. This is when getting the cadence is vital!
