Monthly Totals

My Totals for the past 28 Days :-

SWIM  - 24,000 m      10 hrs
BIKE    - 430 miles      23 hrs
RUN     - 69 miles        10 hrs

RACING - Duathlon  2.2m Run/ 25m bike / 4.4m       1:50 hr

Warm Weather Welcome

Temperatures have started to increase in the UK, sun is shining but still rain loomes every now and then.  The past few weeks haver entailed an average of 7-9 hrs training mainly bike sessions.  However my running pace is becoming comfortable and relaxed, working on running under the body, upright, not overstriding, mid-fore foot striking and a rythmic cadence of 90-95/min.

Yesterdays run was 13.8 miles, the time does not really matter, it is more about looking at my Heart Rate and which was an average of 144bpm  I finished fresh and was even able to run the last 2 miles at an increased pace.  The majority of my run was 7-8 min/mile pace,  looking at maintaining this for another 13 miles.  Possible !!!  It is all about the initial pace from off the bike, find your feet slow and steady,  maintain a relaxed style and comfortable for the first 10miles.  Then the next 10miles will require concentration to maintain good body position, foot strike, relaxed upper body, nutrition and bring it home.

EPiC Week ended on a HIGH

For the past week Sun 21 - Sun 28 March I decided to increase my amount of training hours,  seeing that I had a few days off work but still had to work night shifts.

Sunday 21st   Bike   1:50 hr 33.32 miles  18.2mph

Tues    23rd   Swim       1 hr  2000 meters

Wed    24th    Bike   3:30 hr 65.55 miles  18.7mph
                       Run        51min 6.2  miles  9:38/mile

Thurs   25th   Swim        1hr   2500meters
                       BikeTT 1:02hr  23.06miles 22.2mph
                       Run      1:56 hr  13.6 miles 8:32/mile

Fri        26th   SwimTT 23:22min  1500 meters
                       Bike    1:24hr 25.59 miles 19.5 mph

Sat       27th   Bike    4:07 hr 70.41 miles 17.1 mph

Sun      28th   Run/Bike/Run  2.25/25/4.5

POS Name              Run1         Bike              Run2        Total

1 Simon Brierley 00:13:57      01:06:54     00:29:24     01:50:15        6:12/mile  22.42mph  6:32/mile
2 Mark Nowell      00:15:59       01:07:09      00:34:12      01:57:20
3 Dave Maslen      00:14:24       01:11:44      00:32:05       01:58:13
4 Chris Clarke       00:14:24       01:11:46      00:32:41      01:58:51
5 Matt Spillman      00:15:52      01:10:12      00:34:10      02:00:14
6 Graham Coulter    00:15:30     01:13:25      00:32:43      02:01:38
7 Radek Bohm       00:14:38      01:19:02      00:28:59      02:02:39
8 Nigel Hodge       00:14:37       01:20:59      00:31:52      02:07:28
9 Mark Philo         00:16:38       01:16:39      00:34:34      02:07:51
10 Lynn Emmett    00:15:00       01:21:30      00:32:50      02:09:20
11 Roland Shaw    00:16:33       01:18:45      00:34:34      02:09:52
12 Roger Slee       00:16:38       01:16:40      00:37:26       02:10:44
13 Ian Chatten       00:18:25      01:22:21      00:36:56       02:17:42
14 Glyn Thomas     00:17:11      01:24:35     00:41:56       02:23:42
15 George LWilliams 00:16:28   01:29:52     00:39:19       02:25:39

TOTALS 
SWIM         6000 m                                     3   hrs
BIKE          242.93 miles  (391km)              13  hrs
RUN            25.67 miles  (41.3km)             3.5  hrs
                                                                   19.5 hrs        

EPiC Camp

Well next week I was supposed to be travelling to Seychelles to launch the Seychelles Triathlon Federation, however due to delay in the launch I have found myself with a week off work.  So I have arranged to do a solid week of training, otherwise known as an EPiC week.  A week of training that trains the body and the brain to make it through, doing more than a normal weeks training.  To help me get through this I have invited some fellow Triathletes  to accompany me on some of the sessions.  Some can make it some can't, the likes of Rob Lines who is in his Taper weeks to Ironman Oz    http://www.roblines.blogspot.com/   check out his build up 2 weeks to go.

Drop me an email to say if you would like to jon me on some of the sessions  ironmansimon@yahoo.co.uk

or Join the Facebook Group

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=372350049548

Wednesday 24th

0900 - 1000 UEA SWIM
1030 - 1400 UEA SportsPark BIKE Long bike (4hrs) Run 60min off bike

Thursday 25th
1000 - 11:30 Whittlingham Lake BIKE TT 25 mile
1130 - 1400 Whittlingham Lake RUN Long Run (2:30hr)
2000 - 2100 Riverside SWIM, EAST SWIMMING CLUB

Friday 26th
0900 - 1000 UEA Sports Park SWIM TT 3000m
1100 - 1300 Whittlingham Lake DuathlonRUN/BIKE/RUN

Saturday 27th
0800 - 0900 UEA SWIM, EAST SWIMMING CLUB
0930 - 1430 UEA BIKE Long Bike (5hrs)

Wymondham 20 miler

Well it was a good start to the 20mile run today, 10 mile at 65min, but then at 15 miles my niggle from the begining of the week came and haunted me.  Left outside calf really sharp and sore, could not run for too long so was resorted to walk/run/walk/run and so on.  Will now have to recover and not run for the rest of the week will have chance to swim and bike but will have to see and get leg sorted, need to keep moving and will try and sort runnig out by next week.

Joined up with New Race

http://www.streetlifecycles.co.uk/streetliferacing/ 

With the new season approaching very fast I have been invted to join up with a Streetlife Race Team which is run mainly through Streetlife Bike shop in Norwich.  However the riders are linked and supported by Norwich City College, For Goodness Shake "Food for Sport", Specialised and Extreme Sports Therapy Unit.

Streetlife Race Team supports a select number of riders who specialise in biking sports (Road, cyclo X, MTB, Time Trialing, Triathlon etc)  Not only will they be able to support me with tehnical advise, but also through the efforts of other teams members training together, I will advance my training an racing to better my performances over the coming season.

New Home, New Training Routes

Well it has "only" taken us 3 months to finally move house, we are now in the Northern suburbs of Norwich and settled but still a few full boxes in the garage.  Training has been on hold quite a bit, through sickness, stress and also due to weather, aswell as my bikes being stored in the garage behind everything else.

My order has gone in for a Powertap rear wheel, which I am renting and will be used in my training.  When people ride a bike they tend to get into an irregular rythym, fast slow fast slow.  With trianing with a Powermeter you get to measure the amount of power being produced by each pedal stroke, once the cyclist has found out their optimal power output they can then train to maintain that over certain periods of time and distance.  Also utilising Heart rate the cyclist can compare power output and amount of effort the body is going through by comparing HR to Power output.

Here are a few run sessions I have done this week......

Run TT
3 miles
6:38 min/mile
19:56 min
http://api.motionxlive.com/motionx-remote/api/gps/host/8e48678e-9516-4e53-8b2a-c9fdf56c7356

 Run City-Home

6.2 miles

8:14 min/mile

51:08 min

http://api.motionxlive.com/motionx-remote/api/gps/host/f580dd1f-238b-4e2c-a85b-5261c1e35d36

2 Days of Gym work

Have been off once again for most of the Christmas and New Year period with no training, had flue for 2 weeks and now back and reasonably well.  The weather has hindered me and I have not been that committed to go running on roads or trail running so done 2 gym sessions.

Session 1.  20min row (5km) and 20min run (5km) Treadmill- cooldown and stretch with core work
Session 2.  10km treadmill run (50 min) - cooldown and stretch for 20min

24th January is the Tri-Anglia Duathlon training session, other than that it will be back into training.  Still in the process of moving house and once this has happened will be changing from Wymondham Gym/Pool back to the UEA Sportspark.

Salts or No Salts

There are those who swear by salt tablets, and there are those who swear against them. There are those who swear by 'sports drinks' for the salt and other 'electrolytes' in them, and there are those who sneer at them. There are those who believe in the recent fad for drinking huge volumes of water, and there are those who never do it and think it is dangerous (which it is).


Water makes up around 60% of the total body weight, and major reductions impares normal body performance

Sweat contains the following electroyltes - Sodium, Chloride, Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium - technically these are all salts

Many ... sports drinks contain the above electrolyte to a similar concentration as normal sweat - however the sodium concentration is often HIGHER than the sodium concentration in blood. Sodium (in salt as we know it) absorbs water, and is discharged through the body. Therfore excessive levels of sodium found in sports drinks actually blocks the absorbtion of water in the body.

These electrolytes are best managed by eating a healthy balanced diet,

The Australian Sports Commission and Australian Institute of Sport advise that it is not possible to drink too much water [WRONG] as the body will dispose of what is not necessary. HOWEVER, if a person slips into shock from dehydration water CAN be fatal [true] (follow normal shock proceedures - sipping, moisten lips etc)

I recommend to athletes to begin hydration well before training - 2-3 hours. For high performance I recommend begining hydration before going to bed the night before, drinking plenty of water before sleep and then a further 2 litres on waking. Sure this causes heavy peeing but the body is fully hydrated then for a full days training. I follow similar guidelines before my own training.

The causes of cramps are multi-factorial:- cramps occur in conjunction with heat, cold, dehydration, low blood sodium and/or potassium (& probably other eloctrolytes), fatigue, low blood sugar, high intensity (anaerobic) weight training, low intensity (aerobic) training, etc.

Sometimes cramps occur for no apparent reason (like the cramps I get in the arch of my foot in the middle of the night).

There is great individual variation in cramping - both between individuals experiencing the same conditions, and over time by an individual experiencing the same conditions.

There is no 1 solution to cramping, and many professional athletes continue to suffer cramping despite the assistance of Sports Doctors, Exercise Physiologists, Dieticians and Trainers.

The application of salt (in tablets or drinks) may help some individuals who have a low dietary salt intake, sometimes. However, if the cause of the cramp is not due to low electrolyte levels, electrolytes would probably not assist.

3 weeks into training

Well what a beautiful morning to start to, tri anglia 10 km run. I'm running to heart rate so 135-146 need to warm up and cool down. See how it goes hold back early days.