22/12/15

The Final Stretch

Some weeks feel easy - training, work and sleep all seem to co-exist quite happily. This week was not one of those weeks. It was the final week of work and there were a lot of loose ends to tie up, and after several weeks of training punctuated with some awesome racing I was feeling the “training blues” a little. Morning sessions were a real struggle, I had some fair old battles with Steve Peters Chimp (I’m currently working my way through his mind management, Chimp Paradox book). I even started congratulating myself on beating my mental chimp into submission!

Luckily my week did brighten up, the end of the working week came clearer, the Christmas cheers got louder, the promise of a relaxation on the diet beckoned and I also had a bike lactate test to hopefully reinvigorate my training! As with most tests I had a mild bit of apprehension, nobody likes to know they’ve gone backwards…

Now since the last time I had a test there seems to have been a few additions, all which help give you a much more rounded view of where your training is at. Most noticeable of which was the haematocrit (or haemocrit) level test. Always good to know my bloods are helping out as much as they can, with my haemocrit reading being 50%! Apparently from what I’ve heard if I rocked upto the tour de France with those levels I’d need a certificate to say that my levels are normally like this, winner!!

So already on a high I jumped on the bike for a ramp test. This consisted of 3 mins at a set wattage on the Wattbike (which makes the test so much easier), mini break for a blood sample then up another 30 watts. This carried on until we got a range of results which covered my threshold wattage and a huge spike in my blood lactate.

Hats off to Jono, from just the info I gave him during the warm up and the readings on the wattbike the levels he picked were spot on, he really does know what he’s doing. The up shot of all this was since the last test I had done I had managed to increase my threshold wattage by 25 watts!! That’s over a 10% rise!!

My week then finished up with some down time in Somerset. Never been here before in my life, but can honestly say I enjoyed every minute. Squeezed in a cheeky long run on Saturday which was really good, long runs are one of my favourite sessions but this was made even more enjoyable by the stunning scenery. If youre lacking any motivation to get out and run get yourself somewhere different, we have the peaks on our doorstep, a host of lakes and country parks nearby. It’s a sure win for keeping you motivated.

Finally to top it all off my (not so little anymore) brother was back home after 3 months away. Anybody who knows me knows how well we get on so its been ace having him back around, and also meant we could finally get the Christmas shopping done. Does 4 hours of the Trafford centre class as a Strava session?

Hope you all have a brilliant Christmas and an even better New Year!!