Day #71, Week #11: My Birthday Sprint // swim 1000m-bike 20k-run 5k

FOLLOWING THREE days of rest I felt refreshed for a birthday sprint triathlon. PB on the swim and run.

Day #73, Race Week: Tapering

A SUPER SPRINT triple training session this morning, swim 300m - bike 10k - run 1.6k with full transition practice. Time: 44:00 minutes.

Day #70, Week #10: BRICK Day

ONE WEEK to go to race day Swim-bike-run along the route of the course at Pilar de Horadada this morning.

I used two buoys for sighting as I swam about 750 metres off Playa de las Higuericas. Sea was calm.

Biked 3 laps of the 10 km route between the beach and the town via the bridge over the N332. View route on Strava

Ran 5 km along the boardwalk alongside the beach. View run on Nike+

Day #63, Week #9: BRICK Day

TheTorrevieja Greenway is based on the old Albatera-Torrevieja railway line

TWO WEEKS to race day and time to peak my training for one more week before tapering. Today a triple BRICK training session with a 750 metre swim, 45 km bike ride, and 5 km run.

Performed the full 750 metre swim straight off in the marina with the pull buoy and paddles, sighting between two buoys.

Then biked just under 45 km, and included a 20 km time trial along the RSK Kanaltempo segment of the service road alongside the canal between Pau 8 and San Miguel de las Salinas (4 lengths @ 5 km each). Best segment 10:08 with an average speed 28 km/h. Using the Cadence Trainer app from the Apple Store set at 90 rpm.

Finally, off up the Torrevieja Greenway for a 5 km run. My pace was slower than my previous 10 km run at an ave 6:40. Legs were heavy after the long bike ride. View run on Nike+

I'm satisfied with today's session and my progress.

Day #48, Week #7: BRICK Day

THEY SAY the best way to train for a sport is to replicate the training like the actual event.

That was the aim of today's session which covered the distances of a sprint triathlon but without the "race time" transitions. First up was an open water swim, then on to the bike for a 20 km ride, followed by a 5 km run.

For the swim I used the paddles and fins, drilled for 350 metres, followed that by 700 metres performing mostly front crawl with some balanced kicking on the sides, followed that by 350 metres front crawl straight off. Next time out it's time to loose the fins, but I will stick with the paddles for now as they really help work the shoulder muscles.

Then on to the bike to test trial my sparkly new Mavic Tri Race shoes, and headed off up the Torrevieja Greenway to the Quesada roundabout and back. I can certainly feel more available power in my legs using proper cycling shoes. Increased ave. speed to 25.7 km/hr. Very happy with yesterdays purchase.

Back to the apartment for a change of gear then off running to the end of Torrevieja pier and back. Well pleased that I managed to maintain a 6:00 min/km pace for a sub 30 5k. View run on Nike+

Great session, a 1000+ calorie burn and progressing in the right direction.

Day #41, Week #6: BRICK Day

OVER HALF way through the programme and into the building phase of tri-training with a first time triple effort this morning, an open water swim followed by a 40 km bike ride followed by a 1.5 km run (without transitions). No unexpected problems occurred. The Orca race suit performed brilliantly.