Day #33, Week #5: Recovery Day with Intermittent fasting

REST DAY with a 24 hour intermittent fast. Carbo loading followed by no calorie intake, just water for the day. Tomorrow morning perform a HIIT session before re-fueling. Adios body fat!

Day #32, Week #5: Strength Training

PERFORMED MY total body workout #3 this morning. Six exercises, 2 for legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms, plus an abs circuit.

Day #31, Week #5: Swim Endurance Goal Achieved + Evening Bike Ride

MY GOAL of swimming 1500 metres non-stop achieved this morning well ahead of the September 9th target date. Next, a timed 750 metre swim.

Day #30, Week #5: Speed Work

Day #29, Week #5: Recovery Day

BATTERED AND bruised from yesterday's 100k bike ride, today's rest day is most welcome.

Day #28, Week #4: Checking out the cycle route alongside the RM1

The blue cycle path to the right runs the length of the RM1

THERE IS a blue tarmac cycle path that runs the length of the RM1 in Murcia from Los Ramos south east to San Javier, it's about 30 km. I picked it up south of Los Ramos from the Pedrera Reservoir via the CV-949. It's very hilly for the first half then flattens out somewhat. The path is not well maintained with shrubs growing through cracks in the tarmac and sporadic patches of mud, so you need to place close attention to the path ahead. I lost the bike under me at one point due to gravel on one of the road crossings. On the plus side, the hills provide a good fitness test and there is no traffic to deal with.

Day #27, Week #4: 3k Morning Swim + Strength Training

Day #26, Week #4: Tempo Run

PACE WORK this morning along the Torrevieja Greenway, not as fast as I had hoped for at an average of 5:50 km/hr but a good pace for me nevertheless. View run on Nike+

Day #25, Week #4: Strength Training + Extra Swim

A RETURN to strength training this morning. with a total body workout and abs circuit. Good to get the weights out again. Nothing too heavy yet. Good form with high reps to start.

Day #24, Week #4: 40k Bike Ride

TEMPO RIDE using the Cadence Trainer app set at 90 rpm.

Day #23, Week #4: Run + Swim

Open water skills south of Playa Naufragos

Day #22, Week #4: Recovery Day

REST DAY with intermittent fasting. Weight 70.9 kg, Body Fat 11.7%.

Day #21, Week #3: Swim + Ride

Training log for week #3: swimming 2h 20m, cycling 4h 40m, running 2h 49m. Total training time 9h 49m.

Day #20, Week #3: Longest Run

An old trail route revisited

AN OLD trail route revisited this morning for an HIIT session. 8 laps incorporating stair climbs around the Cabo Roig cliffs on the Orihuela Costa. I didn't intend it to be a long run but decided to follow the intervals with a recovery jog.

Day #19, Week #3: Extra Swim

MORNING SWIM @ 1500 metres using paddles and fins. Eager to see how exchanging the pull buoy for fins effected my performance. No hay problemo!

Day #18, Week #3: A moment of clarity (my swim stroke)

FUNNY HOW things click all of a sudden. I discovered this morning why I can get exhausted when performing front crawl .... I am kicking too hard. Using the pull buoy and paddles I forced my legs completely out of the stroke and swam 1500 metres with relative ease. I could have swam even further. I was hardly out of of breath after the distance and my heart rate felt fairly relaxed. A moment of clarity perhaps? Next, do it again without the pull buoy.

After some breakfast, out on the bike for a 50 km tempo ride.

Day #17, Week #3: My Fastest Mile

Torrevieja Greenway on Nike+

RUN MY fastest mile this morning at 8:44 as part of a speed session performing 400 metre x 200 metre intervals. Included some recovery in that time, so still room for improvement, Rescheduling running after a rest day seems the best way forward for speed work. View run on Nike+

Purchased a pair of Aqua Sphere Vista swim googles with clear lenses for indoor pool training sessions.

Day #16, Week #3: Intermittent Fasting

I HAVE had a body fat target in my head since I started this journey last August. Back then I was the wrong side of 20%. Currently I am around 12.5% and my target is 9%. I hope to achieve my goal by race day on October 4th.

Even with all the triathlon training I perform, that last bit of stubborn belly fat is the hardest to loose. To bump it up I incorporate intermittent fasting for quicker results. Fat loss guru Shaun Hadsell explains 3 options, I use the 24-hour fast on some recovery days >>>

Day #15, Week #3: Base Training revised plan

TWO WEEKS into base training and a re-think is needed on recovery. I need to introduce more recovery time in order to help my muscles recover after training. Currently I don't feel my body is allowing me to train hard enough on the speed work, so I'm rescheduling a 9 day cycle routine: train two days, recover one day. The cycle will include endurance, speed and progression training sessions on alternate days, plus a strength training session.

Day 1: am run (endurance) / pm swim (mechanics)

Day 2: am bike (speed) / pm strength training

Day 3: recover

Day 4: am run (speed) / pm swim (endurance)

Day 5: am bike (progression) / pm strength training

Day 6; recover

Day 7: am run (progression)/ pm swim (open water skills)

Day 8: am bike (endurance) / pm strength training

Day 9: recover
repeat

Day #14, Week #2: 100k ride

El Mirador de la Palmera at Daya Vieja

GOOD OPEN water swim session this morning. I used the pull buoy and paddles with the aim of taking the legs out of the workout, partly to avoid the recent muscle twinge in my right hip. I noticed how my breathing was much improved and my heart rate was lower. This makes me think that I am kicking my legs too hard during my normal stroke, which would explain why I needed to stop every 50 metres to catch my breath during my previous swim session in the pool.

After breakfast., out on the bike for a 100k endurance ride, my longest to date. Took in some sites at Playa Lisa in Santa Pola and the spiraling lookout tower in Daya Vieja.

Day #13, Week #2: Forced rest day

A LITTLE twinge this morning in my right hip and calf muscle from the last pool session. I was hoping yesterdays run might shake it off but it is still nagging. I have swapped rest days around to aid recovery.

Day #12, Week #2: Progression Run

Starting run from the beach gym at Playa Naufragos
... and good place to warm up

PROGRESSION RUN this morning, start slow, finish fast, distance 6 km. View run on Nike+ 

Day #11, Week #2: Bike + Swim Day

THIS MORNING bike intervals along the Torrevieja tri route using the Strava segment Carrera La Purísima - Ida for the interval. Performed six intervals. New PR @ 2:36.

Evening swim at the CDM Orihuela Costa pool in Playa Flamenca. 16 x 50 metre laps (800m) plus drills with the centre snorkel and pull buoy.

Day #10, Week #2: Run Intervals

RUN INTERVALS this morning, 400 metre hard run x 200 metre recovery x 8 times.

Day #9, Week #2: Does lowing body fat effect athlete performance?

The Omron Body Fat Monitor is widely considered one of the best gizmos
available on the market for measuring body fat percentage

MY TRAINING week starts with a 24 hour intermittent fast on Mondays, then the following morning performing a mix of HIIT, an ab workout and steady state cardio while still in fasted state for optimum fat loss.

A study by exercise professor and coach Dr. Todd Miller demonstrates "specific anaerobic performance tests performed (see research paper), increases in external loading as low as 2% of body weight results in significant decreases in performance."  

Mark Perry of BuiltLean.com asks "what happens if you are a triathlete, or competitive runner with 20% body fat and a good 10-20 lb of fat to lose? Well you are essentially carrying the equivalent of a 10-20 lb dumbbell with you at all times, which is going to have a massive impact on your athletic performance." Click here to read the full article.

Followed sprints with an open water swim drilling on mechanics. Performed 4 x 350 metre laps.

Evening tempo ride with Cadence Trainer app @ 90.

The goal is lower my body fat percentage to under 10% by race day on Oct 4th. Currently I am 13%. Less body fat should make me a more lean mean triathlete machine.

Day #8, Week #2: Rest Day

Entering training stats is exhausting

Day #7, Week #1: The Long Ride

Overlooking the Pedrera Reservoir north of Torremendo

MY LONGEST bike ride to date @ 75k via Torrevieja-Vista Bella-Torremendo-Pilar de Horadada-San Miguel de las Salinas-Torrevieja. Beautiful scenery around the Pedrera Reservoir near Torremendo.

That's week #1 training over with no injury issues. I have been steadily increasing the volume on each discipline with no ill effects. Rest now and watch the Tour de France on TV.

Day #6, Week #1: Swim-Run Saturday

Torrevieja Marina, where I perform the majority of my swimming

UP AND down the stretch of water in the photo for 6 laps (about 2100 metres). Open water skills this morning, mostly working on sighting and incorporating it in to my stroke. Included 2 laps just kicking. Used the centre snorkel, paddles and fins.

A change of gear then out for a 6k run.

Day #5, Week #1: Beach Workout with Bailey

My 8 month old chocolate lab, Bailey

A 5 KM tempo run with Cadence Trainer app @ 90 rpm, time 30:05, followed by some leg exercises and an ab workout.

This is the first time I have used the app for running and I can feel the benefit for improving speed and pace. The run felt faster than the actual time, but a fair start. I'm performing tempo runs one a week for the 6 week base phase, along with intervals, sprints and a long run.

Day #4, Week #1: Torre Tri Route Revisted / Evening Swim

The 25 metre pool at the CDM Orihuela Costa Sports Centre

EARLY MORNING tempo bike ride along the route of the recent Torrevieja triathlon working on a steady cadence at 90 rpm. 

In the evening, off to the pool on the bike in Playa Flamenca for a 750 metre swim plus some drills.

Day #3, Week #1: Intervals along the Torrevieja Greenway

The Torrevieja Greenway is ideal for a flat running route

INTERVAL RUNNING, aka Fartlek or Speed Play, along the Torrevieja Greenway this morning. Legs are sore from yesterdays run sprints and bike intervals but must push on and work through it for the gains. I will be performing a lot of this type of training over the next 6 weeks (base phase) to help improve speed in my running pace.

I performed 400 metre runs, with 200 metre recoveries, a Mark Allen best workout tip.