Cycling to Oxford [13 wks to Berlin, 5 wks to Alpe d'Huez]

Lots of riding this week, which consequently meant I didn't quite get the running or swimming in that I'd have liked, but you can't have it all. Since the triathlon is going to be largely about cycling, the ratios aren't too out of kilter. 10 hours of exercise over the past 7 days, which has to be my record, and nearly 4 of which were spent on a 100km cycle from home to Oxford.


I've never ridden for as long, or for so many miles, or in such heat (30 C) before, but it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Two of us did the route and made full use of swapping turns out in front and drafting behind, to save the legs as much as possible. It obviously worked as, even 3 hours in, we were still able to maintain a steady 22 mph on the flat, although our energy levels were beginning to fade fast. Come the finish, about 3.5 hours after we set off, it's fair to say we were both completely shattered and it was all we could do to muster enough energy to polish off some of the best tasting bitter shandies ever and a bowl of cheese, potatoes and pasta.

We might have got a little lost on the way...

It's worth noting that we'd done all this on mild hangovers and little sleep, having foolishly been out for several summer evening drinks the night before. All good mental training for contesting with the Alp!

Here's a summary of the week's exercise:

Week commencing Sunday 20th June

Total exercise: 9h 36m
Top speed: 39.8 mph
Distance covered: 188km

• 164km cycling (all training, including a 100km ride to Oxford)
  
• 22.5km running
• 1.8km swimming

14 weeks to Berlin, 6 weeks to Alpe d'Huez

Another fairly consistent week of training, managing to up the run mileage to about 20 miles, which feels about right for now based on my target time for Berlin of sub-3:45 (with a hopeful sub-3:30!).

Got up early on Sunday for swim around Heron Lake. I managed to complete 2 laps, about 2.3km, in 37 minutes, which worked out as a better average speed than my effort at Blenheim, over 3 times the distance. I clearly wasn't on form on the day of the triathlon, or went off too quickly and suffered from stitch.

Off for a long weekend away this weekend with friends, so it's going to be tough to fit in a normal training routine. That's the trick of training for a marathon though, overcoming these little hurdles along the way to balance a normal life with training is all part of the challenge!

Here's a summary of the week's exercise:

Week commencing Sunday 13th June

Total exercise: 5h 58m
Distance covered: 96km

• 75km cycling (35km training; 30km commuting)
  
• 30km running
• 3km swimming

Blenheim Triathlon, 15 weeks to Berlin, 7 weeks to Alpe d'Huez

I'm one week into a 16 week countdown to the Berlin Marathon, and 7 weeks away from taking part in the short course Alpe d'Huez triathlon.

Last week saw team 'Sports Casual' place 14th out of 244 in the Blenheim Palace Triathlon Team Relay, where I picked up the swim leg, Jules steamed round on his bike and Rich finished it off with a cracking run. Total time, 1h 17m. (Download the relay results)

Here's a summary of the week's exercise:

Week commencing Sunday 6th June

Total exercise: 7h 22m
Distance covered: 132km

• 104km cycling (73km training; 31km commuting)
  
• 23km running
• 1 hour of five-a-side football
• 600m swimming

Slightly cheating there on distance as I did my long cycle on Sunday last week and on Saturday this week, so I expect next week's distance to drop a little, although I hope to add in an extra mid-week session.