Friday 23 January 2009

Week 1 of 24

Well it has been a good start to my training and happy with it, structured, goal worthy and targets were all met. Day off today,Friday, got bike session on saturday and swim session on sunday before work at 9am on sunday.

I have recently moved to Norwich city Fire Station and joined White Watch there, there are a few guys on the watch who are serious fitness gurus. One does cyclo x and the other does triathlons (2nd season for them), and a few Footy boys.

Nice to have a day off and spend it with Joel.

No races this month, February 2nd 10mile run Reedham and 22nd feb Bury 20 mile run.

Saturday 17 January 2009

Lactate Testing

On Thursday last week I had Blood Lactate Testing done at the UEA (University of East Anglia) by David Cosford.

I will be using the results in my training for heart rate calculations.

What is Lactate Testing ? http://www.scribd.com/doc/10922239/Lactate-Test-UEA

Lactate measurement is used by sport scientists, coaches and athletes to accurately determine Heart Rate training zones, recovery and much more. Lactate is a metabolic product that can be measured by taking a drop of blood at a finger tip the same way diabetics monitor their blood sugar level. The blood lactate level increases with exercise intensity and shows clearly the transition from aerobic to anaerobic activity. Since the measurement is completely individual it gives a precise method for testing and monitoring training intensity and recovery.
Lactate measurement is far more precise than the outdated and inaccurate method of using percentages of maximum heart rate to set training zones. Because heart rate is an individual response, heart rate training zones need to be determined by measurement of physiological variables not set by mathematical formulas. Lactate measurement differs from, and is complimentary to VO2 Max testing. VO2 Max is a great tool for identifying anaerobic threshold and calculating training zones. The training zones are then used to determine training intensity from recovery to max effort intervals.
Lactate Threshold testing measures the accumulation of lactate acid in the blood stream. With the proper protocols you can measure both the aerobic and anaerobic conditioning of an athlete. Because lactate is produced by the anaerobic system and used by the aerobic system it is the only marker available for measuring each system. The amount of energy an athlete can produce per unit of time depends on the development of both systems which is why they have to be balanced. (Essentially this means training the anaerobic system to a level that is appropriate for the athlete's aerobic capacity.) Basically, Lactate Testing is the best tool to determine steady state race pace.

Thursday 1 January 2009

New Year 2009

Not a very good December, unfortunately I have been sick for the 2nd time now, also my family has been down with it. January 1st now and hoping it will clear by the end of the week. 19th of January is approaching fast D'day for training day.

Still awaiting news for a vehicle sponsor and also a swimming pool sponsor for training facilities. Also will be joining up with some new sponsors in the New Year from companies in Norwich area.

Most important thing is to sort out last minute adjustments on Training programme, also I have had very useful tips and advice from Russell Clarke (multi Ironman racer "experienced") So I will be putting nutrition into my training sessions.

Next Races :- 14th Jan RAF Barnham X-Country
1st Feb Reedham 10mile run
22nd Feb Bury 20 mile run

December 1st- 31st
Running 1:52 hr 11.9 miles 136bpm H/R
Cycling 2 hr Turbo sessions

November 1st-30th
Running 5:42hr 42.9 miles 148bpm H/R
Cycling 6:27hr 102.9 miles 135bpm H/R

October 1st-31st
Running 4:20hr 32.3 miles 146bpm H/R
Cycling 4:11hr 70.6 miles 140bpm H/R