Oh wow! This is good to know. I switched it one additional setting to the right to see how that goes.
Yeah, I’m going to have to ignore the run suggestions if they keep giving me recovery runs every Sunday (long run day).
Random question that I’m reminded of by this thread: One cross training device to rule them all - skierg vs rower?
Have any of you used a SkiErg as a cross-training tool for swimming, specifically? I don’t have any space left for a rower or a swim erg, but I might be able to fit in a SkiErg, and the movement and muscle involvement seems at first glance like it’d be complementary to swimming, but I’m curious if any of you have first hand experience with it.
I don’t think so. General fitness always helps, but there’s no substitute for swimming. And there’s no value in tiring yourself on other activities if you’re not fresh for the swim session.
I lift a bit but it’s easy to knacker the shoulders the days before a swim.
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Has anyone try this tape before? Seems interesting and a good alternative to traditional bar tape…
Almost April review time but I’ve not mentioned March.
March was my worse training month this season but still decent enough. Started the 1st week of March with my first cold of the year.
I really lost the will to swim after going backwards a bit in the first two weeks, got back on track towards the end of the month.
Bike → threshold didn’t move at all but have a bigger base to build on which was the main objective. 2 - 3 hour power has improved.
Run → was going really great. 10km all time PB at age 51, 4:09 per km or 6:43 per mile I think if I remember the paces correctly.
Picked up a calf injury on a 18km run March 31st, the first run injury in 3 years, thats a long stint, so although annoying I shouldnt complain. Think the issue was it had been so long that I started push the pace more and more often.
Jan - 72 hrs
Feb - 62 hrs
Mar - 58 hrs
Apr - xx hrs 
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On that note, I’m gonna be on the road later this week, so let’s do our roll call. We have our first few races of the year this month (Ironman Lanzarote for @Benwgoodfellow, Outlaw Half Nottingham for @Wayne_Smith, Ironman 70.3 Victoria for @ashfordneil, and I’m racing Ironman 70.3 St. George on Saturday). How’s training going, everyone?
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Roll call! @ashman07 @Billabong @bretzky @DanF @Lee_Badrock @mrtopher1980 @Owenbrown @pstalley @windyyet
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Hi all, So I raced Challenge Gran Canaria Middle this month (20th April). Pretty happy with how it went, Finished 11th Overall.
Seemed to be a pretty well-rounded performance at least with the 15th-fastest swim, 16th-fastest bike, 10th-fastest run.
The biggest positive of the day was the swim. Which is where most of my focus has been this winter. I came out of the water 1min 20s from the front, which is the smallest margin I have had since racing pro (past best was 2min 35s). Was even just on the back of the front group till the halfway Aussie exit. Where I lost contact annoyingly.
Bike was pretty average or even a bit disappointing. It is normally my strongest discipline. NP power was the same as I was doing last year in 70.3’s but from recent TT numbers & training sessions thought it would be higher.
Run was pretty solid. The course is a little short (maybe 400m) but then the course and terrain are not well suited to running fast (5 out/back laps with some gravel) So think actual run times are probably pretty honest. Run split on paper was a PR. But then the watch pace was not. It’s a little hard to judge but against other racers, it was my strongest discipline.
As you say, next up the Ironman Lanzorate full. Looking forward to it. But a little worried about winds being a smaller build. Also interested to see who is on the start list.
Have raced 5 fulls now and only ran well once. So my track record is not greater. But from training think this distance should suit me better.
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Well done 
Hard to fault the bike when followed by a strong run! And congrats on the swim improvement - those are the hardest gains in your field to make.
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Had a pretty good month. My left knee (partially torn LCL) is finally 100%.
Swim - Getting in 3 swims per week. Had a total of just over 20k yds @ 6.5 hours.
Bike - I didn’t miss one bike workout this month! Ended up with 18 hours on the bike.
Run - 48 miles with just under 8 hours of running.
Strength - still getting in my once a week maintenance strength workouts (not letting these slip this year).
This year I’m viewing the strength, stretch, and recovery as the most important part of my training. At 45, I’ve been plagued with injuries over the years and figure it’s not going to get easier going forward. I’ve really been watching my nutrition, managed to drop about 5 lbs since the beginning of the year.
Did my first race, a local sprint distance. Managed to get 2nd in my age group (out of 8) and 18th out of 98 overall. I’m feeling REALLY good right now. Just need to keep this old body healthy until the end of October for my first full IM!
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A very good month of training. I started the month off with a pool swim Sprint a really cold and windy race. Second in my age group, 47th of 349.
Then i increased my training volume, after three weeks of 15+ hour training weeks I only had a little fatige on the last day of the block, however, I did do a hard 3 hour bike and a 1:10 ROTB to test nutrition on the run the day before.
Swim 42,378
Bike 499.00 my slight case of OCD is killing me, had to skip yesterday’s bike, my wife broke her foot yesterday morning and we did not get home from the ER until 7:00 PM
Run 82.20
Strength 4:30:00
Total 57 hours
This week is a recovery week, weather permitting I will be racing Kinetic Multisports Olympic May 11. Then another block of 15-16+ hours getting ready for Eagleman.
In response to the Training Volume post, for my hard or long workouts I try to time them so that I am getting 24 hours or more of recovery time before the next workout.
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Can you please add me to the roll call?
Definitely doing the Clash Daytona 70.3 on December 8. “A” race.
Considering doing the IM Florida 140.6 on November 2…just ‘cause.’ Been 7 years since my last full.
Thanks!
P.S. Feel free to talk me into the 140.6 people
Think I’m doing all right, had a very quiet week last week though.
FTP still creeping up and my focus is transitioning to running.
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I’m a little apprehensive about doing St. George on Saturday with basically no heat training to speak of. Looks like it’s going to be 88°F there on race day, and it’s currently 31°F here and it looks like this:
This should be fun! Training looks good otherwise, managed to get a good block of swimming in the past month so I feel better than I did last year. Knee feels solid too, and I’ve hit all my cycling and running workouts as well. We’ll see how this goes, but I’m feeling good overall.
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Trust the training, you’ll be fine.
Lose the ear muffs and thermal underwear perhaps… 
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Two 70.3s on the books this year. Chattanooga (May 19) and Wilmington (Oct. 19). Looking forward to racing a 3 year break. Also, looking for a good cycling/running sock. What are some of y’alls favorites for racing?
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Thanks, added you to the roll call.
I’m partial to these ones from Darn Tough for both the bike and the run, they’re cool and comfortable and I like the lifetime warranty (if they get damaged you can simply mail them back and they’ll send you a coupon for a new pair).
Thanks @giventotri. The achilles issue that I mentioned last month persisted through April. I finally went to the physio a few weeks ago and the good news is that rather than it being an achilles tendon issue, it’s just a muscle weakness of my soleus so I’ve been given some strength exercises to do and they seem to be working - I ran 14km at the weekend with no after effects. However, the two month issue has set my running back a bit. I need to be careful in the 2.5 months I have left before my A race so I’m not planning on running more than about 2hrs max in training. I expect the run is going to be a slog on the day, but if I can at least make it to the start line injury free I’ll be happy.
Aside from my running issues, cycling and swimming are in a good place. During a week off cycling and running when my achilles flared up I swim 12kms, which really seemed a be a breakthrough for me. Now I just need to increase the length of my swims, but I’m happy with my pace and endurance.
Cycling is feeling really good. I had a big week where I did 3 very tough rides in 3 days in Cornwall (south west UK, full of 15-20% ramps) and was happy with my power and feel better for it.
Highest volume week I’ve done so far is 15 hrs but starting from next week I will really start to increase my training volume for the final 2.5 months and start doing more race-specific bricks, so hopefully the body holds up. My hope at the start of this was to do sub-11hrs. I’m worried that my running issues have scuppered that, but I’ll give it my best.
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I’m a big fan of toe socks, there’s a few brands out there. Solved my blister problems.
On the bike training, I like merino or sockless.
Well, I did the thing, but it was my worst result to date in a 70.3. I’ll write a race report when I’m recovered, but the short of it is that I had a repeat of the digestive issues I had at Ironman Coeur d’Alene last year, so I made it to the run pretty under-fueled and that, plus the heat, was a double whammy and I ended up walking a decent chunk of the second lap of the run. When I get home I’m going to look into getting a sports dietitian to help me figure out what the hell is wrong with my stomach.
All that said, I did manage to finish and 
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