Ironguide Journal WK-1

Well I literally have swum my way through week one of training. My knee dictated no riding and after explaining my symptoms and sending pictures and video clips of me on George to Coach Vinnie apparently there is nothing wrong with the setup up but a red flag was definitely raising its ugly head. I stated that running didn’t really hinder me and so he emailed back “I shall let you do Borneo...” Eeek, didn’t realise that was in danger! Well if you read the report you know it went ok – let’s see how the running goes for WK-2.
With no riding I followed the swim and run plan to a “T”. Admittedly my arms on Thursday and Friday were beginning to throb from the sheer volume of K’s in the pool. Not much by some peoples standards but 12.5k’s is the most I have ever done five days straight (and this was the “ease Emma into swimming week”). The good news is I coped, didn’t slack and finished feeling positive and for the first time ever I actually enjoyed my Wednesday night swim session at Bukit Jalil thanks to Kimmie’s wetsuit that kept me warm as toast. It’s the perfect recovery suit if you think about it – Wednesday morning is a fast & furious ride followed by brick run. By the evening I am, as expected a little tired. The suit keeps me warm, prevents the cramps and helps me float so my body position is good in the water so I can concentrate on the stroke. The full length of the suit on my arms also offers up a great strength workout – very tired arms – but it just means I will get stronger right?
The weekend came round and I didn’t feel knackered and once I get back on George (hopefully by Wednesday) I will be doing about the same number of hours per week as I was banging out pre-plan days. So what’s the difference you may ask?
No more guessing games. I am not going to argue with a tried and tested product (well not this early on anyway) and it seems all very doable and sensible. More sleep, more time for recovery and no more counting!
Yes that’s right – I have stopped counting the K’s on the bike and the run. Ok so I will always have some sort of idea as to what I do but distance is no longer going to be the determining factor as to how long I go.
I actually thought I would have an issue with this and my guess is I bet many of you guys would too, especially those with a love for gadgets, calories and VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME. So, I have rather surprised myself at how easily I have accepted the time over distance theory. Perhaps it is because I am still new at this game and easily swayed into another way of training and thinking. My take on any new theory is you have nothing to lose. Give it a go, doesn’t work – stop, works – carry on, it really is that simple – but you have to be honest with what you are doing and DON’T CHEAT! My body will let me know if I am going faster one week and slower during the same session the following week – I don’t need a Garmin to tell me that.
So to sum up, no real downs in WK-1, I feel happy and positive, the knee is getting better (well post marathon it was – opps), and there is just 18weeks to GO.
Thanks to Coach Vinnie of Ironguides who has already been bombarded with an assault of emails regarding what to do and not to do from yours truly.
And thanks to TBB and teamTBB for giving me this amazing opportunity to train properly with expert guidance. I am doing my best to try my best to be the best that I can be.
Cheers Guys, Emma.