Fortnightly Review - Weeks 37 & 38

This has been a ridiculous rollercoaster of a fortnight. 

I won a race. Not just my age-group, a whole race. And apparently broke the course record by over a minute in the process. A cross triathlon race at that, so my mountain bike work is definitely paying off. 

And then the next weekend I won another race. Not just my age-group, a whole race, again! With an Open water swim in mid-September that was actually lovely and warm, and a tough off-road run that I still managed to get round in under 7min/mile. 

Basketball is back to being stable and I have already got back to about the level I was playing at before Covid. Having had some good tips from some of the other players I have also got some changes to work on to improve my defensive positioning and my shooting consistency.

I have done a load of bike miles, with a lot of them outdoors on the mountain bike. Including doing my longest ride of the year, on a mountain bike, with friends, in beautiful scenery, on new tracks, from Ballater to Loch Muick and back. 

But in between those highs have been some appalling lows. 

My pec injury kept me completely out of the water apart from two short races where I was willing to risk it. That may have been overly cautious given that I didn't feel it at all during either race, but it still felt safer and I am happy enough that I made the right decision. But that means I have now swum less than a mile in the last 4 weeks.   

At basketball, one of the other players landed badly and ruptured his patella tendon, requiring an ambulance to collect him from the court and then major knee surgery to repair it. After rehab and physio he may walk again this year.

And that should be bad enough news for one update, but was rapidly superseded the following week by news that a triathlon friend of mine had died. In her early 50's, and ultra-fit (literally Ultra fit having run all the West Highland Way Ultra races in the last few years) her sudden death was a huge shock that I still don't think I have dealt with. I can only imagine how hard it is for her husband and three daughters. 

Actuals, (Target) - 

Swim 0.7 miles / 1,150 m. (6.3 miles).
Bike 87.5 miles. (79.2 miles). MTB 50.1 miles. (19.8 miles)
Run 30.4 miles. (29.7 miles).

0 short core, 0 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga. 

Cumulative Actual, (Cumulative Target), [Cumulative Stretch] -
S 51.7, (79.1), [83.0],
B 1,474.4, (1,418.0), [1,489.0],  MTB 381.3, (354.5), [372.3],

R 1034.5, (751.5), [789.0].

Core         - 23, (38), [48]
Weights    - 23, (38), [48]

Stretching - 38, (38), [48]
Yoga         - 35, (38), [52]. 

Fast run sessions - 19, (>38) 

Junk swim sessions  - 15, (<17).

Fortnightly Review - Weeks 35 & 36

Somehow I managed to tear my pec while swimming in the Dee. No idea how, but I did it within the first 100m, and had committed to taking some beginners down the river so had to finish the other 2,000m. That has then plagued the rest of this fortnight. I haven't swum since, and also missed some bike sessions, and replaced the rest with the turbo to try and let it heal.

I did manage two 5k running races. The first was a memorial race for one of my former team-mates. It was a tough, hilly course, but I still managed to get in 8th in a field of 99 and while the time wasn't great (21:27) the course accounted for a lot of that. Then the following weekend I did a Parkrun. I was hoping to get something in the 19:30 range given that I am still way overweight and carrying the injured pec, maybe closer to 20:00 given that I didn't taper or prepare properly for it. I started well but then settled in to slightly too slow a pace. I still came in 19th out of a field of over 300, but only in 20:17 which was a bit disappointing. 

I have done the whole 1,000 miles that I planned to run this year. And yet I have still fallen (just) behind the number of miles I did last year. 

Actuals, (Target) - 

Swim 2.5 miles / 4,100 m. (6.3 miles).
Bike 60.7 miles. (79.2 miles). MTB 5.1 miles. (19.8 miles)
Run 35.3 miles. (29.7 miles).

0 short core, 0 short light weights and 2 stretching / rollering session. 0 mins of yoga. 

Cumulative Actual, (Cumulative Target), [Cumulative Stretch] -
S 51.7, (59.3), [62.3],
B 1,386.9, (1,338.9), [1,405.8],  MTB 331.2, (334.73), [351.5],

R 1004.2, (751.5), [789.0].

Core         - 23, (36), [45]
Weights    - 23, (36), [45]

Stretching - 38, (36), [45]
Yoga         - 35, (36), [50]. 

Fast run sessions - 17, (>36) 

Junk swim sessions  - 15, (<15).