Ironman Triathlon is going to....

.....make me cry, make me smile, make me sing, help find me, break me, make me strong........ I could go on. At the moment one things for sure it is taking up a very large chunk of my time, physically and also mentally. I'm still finding time to get some balance (just) between me, my girls and doing everyday stuff, but I think it's the mental side that's taking over. How am I going, how fast will I go at Lanzarote, can I still hit my target times, will I run ok, how long should I taper for etc etc. Nought room for much else in my little head at the moment....

Being a teacher and having nice long holidays provide a great opportunity for large blocks of training, I am glad this Easter Holiday is only 2 weeks long, I'd be broken if it was 3!!

After Sunday's 100 mile effort I rested on Monday in anticipation of Tuesday's session. Myself Tom and Helen did this session last year, and it was a cracker, so gluttons for punishment we returned for more of the same. The A168 is parallel to the A1 it's a nice straight, slightly undulating (probably no where to free wheel) 7.5 mile section between a couple of roundabouts. There is a great little lane to run up and down afterwards and you keep passing the parked cars so water, extra food etc can be easily to hand. 7 laps (106 miles) and a 10 mile run was the plan. Tom and I planned to do 10 mile intervals on the front, with the back man holding a minimum triathlon drafting distance, effectively it was a solo effort. I was quite apprehensive about this session, it's bloody hard, the road becomes relentless in the latter laps, there's no free-wheeling, and last year we nailed it, so the goal posts were set high. As it turned out it absolutely has to be my session of the week and probably my best training session for a while. Banging out 23mph the early pace was set. I had a concentration wobble at 35 miles then boooom I was on fire. At 65 miles I did my turn on the front and then stayed there. Motivated to drop Tom, (but not ruin any chance of running) I wanted to be a little more aggressive on the up's and downs, and controlled on the flats. I went through 100 miles in 4:21:45 and finished strongly in 4:41:45. I was pleased last year, this year I went 7 minutes quicker, even paced every lap and had a slightly lower heart rate, 157bpm (approx 78% max HR) All that was left was the simple matter of 10 miles running. It's great motivation to run 1/2 mile reps out and back, see Tom every few minutes and give and receive a few words of encouragement. I ran 1:25:50 averaging 8.25min/mile, feeling comfortable. What a session, solid throughout and still going strong at the end.

Next up was a very hilly 73 mile ride in the Dales with Tom on Thursday, nice, and a short T1 run.

Friday I wanted to do all 3 disciplines, nice a steady though. 1 hour bike spinning, 2 x 1k swim session and a 5 mile run.

We all headed north, for a few days with Elieen and Bernie (Sarah's Mam and Dad) Recharging my batteries kind of happened, at least regarding day to day duties with my little girls, and I also managed to get a couple of sessions in. A fabulous run along the coastal path from South Shields to Sunderland. Longest training run EVER 18.7 miles. Again felt really comfortable and questioned whether Tom had spiked my pasta with EPO!

Sunday I rode from Corbridge to Stanhope, a lovely hilly route in the North Pennines. Well it would have been lovely if I could have seen something? The lovely day materialised a few hours later, but during my ride the mist and fog made for a cold one. However I managed 50 miles and completed another big week and thus a big fortnight.

I am feeling a bit sponge like at the moment (hence the photo), soaking up all training I throw at myself. That is a great feeling and one I am liking. However, it's now time to back off a little, lose the extra add in sessions, make sure I recover properly from tough sessions, and make sure every session is really Ironman specific.

My 2 week Easter training block looks like this;

Swim x2 1hr

Bike x9 29hrs

Run x4 7hrs

Weights x3 3hrs

Grand Total = 40hrs

Big up to Tom and Helen, I don't get to train with you guys as much as I'd like, but when we do hook up we always have great sessions, and more importantly lots of fun hanging out.

With all this fabulous training the best bits in the week are still as a result of my girls and family. Evie is developing a really cheeky look and manner, and Ellie is just great fun. I caught her at Ra Ra and Pom Poms (Grandma and Grandpa) in front of the bedroom mirror practising some keen dance movers, (she must get them from her Daddy) Magic moments.

Hope you have some magic moments in your week...