Glass man to Ironman

Well its been a while since I have been on here to update my progress, In my last entry I mentioned about the splitting up from my partner of 8 years, I never would of imaged how much stress this would of put on me and stop completely in my training tracks. Past 2 months I have been very sparadic in training with no set plan and just doing runs here, swimming when I can, and cycling errr....never! So with less than 9 months to go till Ironman UK ive had to really crack down and get a plan of action sorted and stick to it so I am in the best condition ever when I toe the line. Currently im going between two houses until the ex can move out, so this is having an impact as having to stay in the house to look after my son 3 nights of the week...So whats the best alternative to no training? training in-doors! its not the ideal situation but its better than nothing right? So looked on wiggle for torture device 1 ie Turbo Trainer, I already had one but it sounded like a plane taking off and

IRONMAN UK Yes I have signed up for my first IRONMAN!!! I was going to do the Outlaw Triathlon as it was closer and cheaper than an Official Ironman event, Outlaw = £250 Ironman = £375, but due to its popularity it sold out in 5 days flat! I didn't have the funds to hand to get booked in so missed the boat.I was gutted as I knew there was no way I was going to get the fee for the official Ironman, so I looked at the charity positions going and was tempted to sign up with SCOPE for £100 entrance fee and a commitment to raise £1k. During the registration for the place it then came to the golden question as to why I wanted to do the race for that charity, the obvious was the fact that I wanted the cheap entrance fee and probably could raise the money  but I felt like a fraud, so backed out and started thinking again as how I was to get in, luck would have it my dad agreed to go half with me after I told him how much I wanted to do the race and to raise some money for charity. So I am

I turned 32 on Sunday an decided to keep that day as a mile stone for my first half marathon attempt....turned out I overslept and missed my calling to get the run in before we went out for the day to celebrate my birthday...so I did it on the monday just before I went to work, as this would give me a faster time as I knew I had to get back in time ready for work!! So up at 4:50, quick gulp of water, out the door! took a gel with me for that 10k pick me up. All smiles, comfortable 4:40min/km pace until I got to 19km and just wanted to get it over and done with, boredom was starting to settle in, now this was my worse mistake...I went a little too hard and started to get the mother of all stiches!!! I tightened my core and pushed on, then the niggles in my lower leg started coming on, the wheels on this wagon was starting to come off! Heard the delightful 21km beep in my headphones and then slowed down....1h 40mins, quite chuffed with that to be honest as it was my first attempt but I n

After seeing physio about my dodgy leg, I have been doing alot more stretches as my right hip and hamstrings are quite tight, still getting a few niggles when going over 10k running but the next morning I dont have any pains or anything sore, Im not sure if that is a good sign or not? I dont mind as long as I can keep on running. Another thing I have decided to do was use one of my 3x runs a week to use one to run in my Vibram barefoot running shoes...now I know I keep switching between the support shoes and the minimal ones, each has there own downfall at present...the support shoe allows me to get away with a very relaxed running form, so I use these for my long and medium distant runs, the Vibrams I am just using very slowly to increase my distance in them because too much or switching to them completely always cripples me as I get too carried away and overuse those dormant muscles. So far Im having a 13k long run, 1k-2km Vibram Run and a 5/8/10k tempo run, increasing my long run

Soon as Dambuster finished I started my marathon training, just to get me in the frame of mind I could complete the marathon at the end of the Ironman, so picked a 16 week training schedule from FIRST which is training 3x a week, anymore and I knew I was asking for trouble with my legs... or so I thought. After 2 weeks it was time to start the Sunday long slow runs, no matter how hard I try I struggle to go slow like the advice is to use your heart beat as a guide so I just did what I thought was comfortable for me, this was 7:30/40min miles which I thought wasn't too bad and once I got into a rhythm I felt like I could go for hours! My target was 10miles which is the longest ive ever run, abit of a jump from 10k, got to 9.5miles and then the wheels started falling off the wagon...first my right ankle started giving me grief so had to slow right down and then some stiffness in my left calf above the achillies. Soon as I got in I hopped into an ice cold bath to cool my legs down and

Saturday 16th - The Dambuster Triathlon at Rutland Waters. Due to all the recent shitty weather in the UK several triathlon events around the country had been canceled or turned into duathlons, as such the lake temperature was down to 12*, Rumors on the forums had started Friday night that the swim portion was now down to 1k due to the temp, I didn't mind this as swimming aint my favorite part. Woke up at 3:15am, the night before I did a list and double checked everything to make sure I wouldn't forget any of it, this ment going to bed at 10:30pm and only getting 5hrs sleep! I kept breakfast down to a bowl of cereal and a banana, I was thinking if this was enough but i don't work well on a half/full-ish stomach even if I did have 3hrs to go before the race, so woofed it down, packed up and drove the 1h 15mins to Rutland. Apon turning up at what I though was the venue, I just saw a deserted car park and a few banners about, my heart sank thinking they had canceled the wh

Past 2 weeks I have been suffering with stomach pains, wind and...well the sh*ts every now and again so training had come to a halt while I regained my strength back and my appetite to start eating again, the main culprit I think was my little lad, kids are germ factories and once they get a sickness bug....you know your definitely going to get it! So yeah took my hit and got back into my training, still not done any brick training so to speak off so best do a few sessions before Dambuster. As the weather has been lovely for the past 2 weeks it would of been a shame not to enjoy it in the lakes, so I got my wet suit on and headed down to time how long it would take me to do 1500m....I managed to do it in 42-45mins, which in most peoples eyes is quite crap, but for love nor money I cant do open water sighting! there is no fancy line down the middle to guide you, just the bottom of the lake....until it goes misty. Every time I tried to sight my breathing would go to pot, I loose my rhy

As the more I train the more little niggles start coming out to haunt and worry me that I wont be able to get through this, so being cautious is the name of the game for me, trying not to over do it if I can. So the list of injuries/niggles I have at the moment that are starting to be of concern are:- 1)Right Ankle - Still getting a niggle on the inside of my right foot after running, but now it don't kick in until I go past the 6-7k mark running, suspected PTT but to skint to afford physio to diagnose. Next day after a run I feel OK, not tried to run with a days rest in between just yet, but think I will start after the Dambuster as the 16 week marathon plan I have fits in nicely with the Mablethorpe marathon I hope to run, this ups my running to 3x a week, 1 long run, 1 tempo and a speed session. This "injury" or imbalance somewhere on my body is also having a knock on effect in my swimming, the coach pointed out during the swimming analysis that my right foot is ju

With about 7-8 weeks left now until the Dambuster I thought I would give an update on my training...if you can call it that! Unfortunately for me due to working and having a family its hard to stick to a routine so my training is very playing by ear so to speak, the only constant training I would say out the three I'm doing is the swimming due to never being in open water and the fear of getting in the middle of the lake and being out of breath/energy/drowning is constantly playing on my mind, so full focus on that to be able to do 1500m, currently at the moment I can do 900m broken up into small sets with a few breathers in between, then have a rest and prob do another 400m just taking it easy. Some days it will be like wow! I can keep going! other days I have felt like giving up...I go to fast, I struggle, my form goes downhill and I just want to get out the pool. I have started taking gels 20-30mins prior to going in, which I think has helped abit, or maybe its just a placebo? A

Last week I got my first taste of what my wetsuit was like, and I was totally amazed at how buoyant and easy it was to swim in it, totally felt like a cheat! Happy with my wetsuit I have decided just to shed a few lbs just to make sure its a snug fit. Now...yesterday I got a taste of the real thing, I headed down to our local lakes where one of the tri club coaches gave us an intro to open water... now this really was an eye opener!!! Temp of the lake was sitting around 10 degrees and it was raining! But we all headed in an did some basic sighting and drafting skills, I have to admit that swimming in a straight line ain't easy, so need to work on the sighting bit. After 25mins we got out and my hands an feet were dead! Hopefully ill go back for some more sessions before dambuster. Now I thought I would be able to strengthen my feet with the vibrams and vivo neos but I've had to hang them up for now, its too tempting to run long distances in them, I got up to 2/3 miles before I

After suffering long enough i decided to get my stroke looked at and see where im going wrong, an after viewing myself on cam i can see why! I really look like im struggling...so now the coach is going to give me some pointers and where i should be working on, i would upload the video but due to other people in shot underwater i cant without their permission, i was due to do it in an empty pool but thanks to Lincolnshire county council blocking the road of for repairs i was 30mins late to the pool, but im just glad i got it done :-). Also i now own a wetsuit! See the pic below, feels a tad tight so going to loose a few lbs an see if that helps, if not ill have to get another.

I really don't get it, give me a bike or some road to run on and ill do it no probs (when I'm not injured running wise ;-) )....drop me in a pool and 8 laps later im dead and need a rest! Ive tried to slow my stroke down (don't work I sink), I try kicking hard (keeps my legs up, but dead after 2 laps), tried breathing on one side only (no difference)....keeping my head down and my feet breaking the water...but no, I just cant do it.. and have to revert to breast stroke, which at the moment is killing my right hamstring. I think I'm going to have to get my stroke analysed at my tri club and see where I'm wasting all my energy, whats slowing me down and getting me worn out so quick, time is not on my side and I need to be able to do that 1500m pool swim or I'm going to be crapping my pants come Dambuster in June! Or it could be just a case I'm on leave from work and just eating crap most days, not getting the right fuel to power these work outs? who knows?

After starting back in my vibrams I wanted to try an go into minimal shoes full time an really strengthen my legs, so got a pair of VIVO barefoot NEOs for casual wear an for running, so far I'm really impressed an love all the toe space to spread my toes, also its quicker to put these on an hit the roads, vibrams do take abit of messing around with putting the toe socks on ect, only downside I can think of that they remind me of school plimsoles when I was at primary shoe...prob why we never got injured running around as kids :-). The past few sessions in the pool has really opened my eyes, swimming once a week is never enough so with the help of my folks they have bought me a years swimming membership at my local pool, so aiming to go 3x a week if I can. As for cycling, I have re-adjusted my handle bars to the lowest setting, but still need some tweeks, almost managed 30k in under an hour, if it was a straight course I recon I could do it :-).

After getting my running up again only to start getting twinges after 8km, so stopped running. It's so frustrating knowing I have done 10k 2x a week at one point an now I can't! To be honest I have had running injuries ever since I got gaited for these overpronation trainers with heels as thick as a loaf of bread! So I have ditched them and got back to my vibrams to run in..barefoot running shoes, no cushion heels, arch support, just your foot and 3mm of errr padding... gloves for your feet I suppose :-). Now the downside to these is that my running millage is down to 1mile, Yup 1 mile! Because after that 1 mile your calf muscles are screaming...this is because you have taken away all the padding, shock absorbing casing of the trainer an relying on your own suspension...your calf muscles. So far I have done 2 miles this week with 4 days recovery in-between as boy I have serious DOMS. last time I used my vibrams I got up to 4 miles but stupidly did some fast runs on hills....bad

Well I have started back on the training, first few runs of 5k was great, really enjoying it and getting a new PB for it, decided to push the boat and do a 8k on my lunch break, after hitting 6-7k mark I felt a twinge on the underside of my right foot and the left side of ankle so have given the running a rest for the week and will try going up the km slowly, last thing I want to do is give myself a case of plantar fasciitis. I always get injuries from my right knee downwards and guess i should really go back to the physio or go for a biomechanical imbalance test to see whats causing these injuries, but its the £££, so going to crack on with the core strength exercises some more and work on the hip exercises again as I have stopped doing them since moving, fingers crossed it will improve but if not I have no choice but to seen professional advice, also I think it might be time for some new trainers....more £££!! Swimming is coming on fine, really getting a feel for the water now, j

Well as new years resolutions go, mine fell at the first hurdle....the aim to be better with time and eat healthy ended on the first day back to work...overslept and had to grab some junk food to keep me going through out the day as had no time to prepare anything...oh well. So my training is starting back up again anyhow, first swimming session back last week ripped me apart, so out of shape for 2 months no swimming, but soon got back into the swing of things. Running...did a 5km last week just to get the DOMS over and done with so I can get back to regular running and then up the millage. Cycling...soon as I get our shed base down and order one I'm going to do long bike rides to build up to 40km, currently I'm doing 20k a day going to work at back, but would like to use my tri bike and get used to it more if i could...maybe when its abit warmer? Right best do some stretches as off for a nice 5km run, under my foot is twinging abit so might just take it steady :-)