Winter weather returns

It's been a cold week in Scotland.

I've lived here for 14 years. Usually, Spring comes early, and in March the flowers are up and the sun is stronger. This past week, however, has featured snow and strong winds.

I like snow, but I'm ready for Winter to be over.

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A reasonable training week:

Mon: swim 1400m
Tues: run 8 miles
Weds: swim 900m (busy day)
Thurs: run 1 mile, 2 x 800 with 400 recovery
Fri: swim 1650 m
Sat: bike 30 mins on turbo
Sun: 10K race, hopefully.

So, the biking is still a difficulty. I also didn't go too hard this week because I want to be fresh for the 10K race, and because I had a tough run the preceding Sunday.

While riding my bike on the turbo today I watched youtube clips about triathlon training. One woman talked about training 12-20 hours a week. I'm nowhere near this.

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After a busy week, today was slightly quiet. So, while my son was in the bath, I laid out my race clothes for tomorrow.

Rain changing to snow

It was cold this morning - near freezing - but I thought I'd get out on the bike for an hour or so. However, when I stepped outside to get something from the car, the first drops of rain started. I guess I'm still a fair-weather cyclist at the moment, so I retreated to the turbo in the conservatory, plugged in my computer, and cycled while watching videos of the grand canyon.

Outside, the rain changed to snow. When it hit our deck, it melted.

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This week, thusfar, has been good:

Mon: swim 1600m
Tues: run 5.4 miles
Weds: run 4 miles on track, swim 1400m after
Thurs: run - speedwork on track (8 x 400s, 2 x 1600s)
Fri: basketball 50 mins; swim 1300m
Sat: bike 45 mins on turbo
Sun: we'll see

So, 3 swims, 3 runs, and 1 bike. Clearly, I need more biking. In part the emphasis on running is because I have a 10k next weekend. I would dearly like to break 40 minutes at this distance - my best is 41:34 - but I don't think that this is realistic at the moment. I've got a good base, but I'm not quite there with the speed work.


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Update: I did 9 miles in the snow on Sunday. Part of this included an off-road hilly running, and my feet were soaked. I was beat afterwards.

How to become a triathlete

My goal is to do a half ironman 5 months from now.

I've never done a triathlon before. I'm a runner.

For the past few months, I've been trying to get to the pool at least once a week. My biking has been even more sporatic, and my longest ride thusfar - 19 miles - was last weekend.

I'm not sure how to become a triathlete. I don't have a specific training plan, and this might be part of my problem. As an aspiration, I envisioned 3 swims, bikes, and runs each week. But this hasn't happened yet.

This has been my week so far:

Mon: nothing - very busy with work
Tues: run: 7 miles
Weds: swim: 1300m
Thurs: swim: 1100m; run: 6 miles with some speedwork
Fri: nothing
Sat: bike: 45 mins on turbo; run: 6 miles, medium pace
Sun: we'll see

In part, the bias towards runing reflects my background, and upcoming events - a 10K later this month, and a half marathon next month. I've signed up for a sprint triathlon in 2 months.

What I need is a routine. My running is set, but I have yet to fit in the swims, and worse the rides, consistently.

My bike is 15 25 years old, but is functional. This is a picture of it a few weeks ago, on a sunny February day. The water in the distance is the Firth of Forth.

Update, Monday morning: I did 45 minutes on the bike/turbo on Sunday, while watching a lecture on the fall of the Roman Empire. So, that makes 3 runs, 2 bikes, and 2 swims for the week. Not perfect, but heading in the right direction.