Day #88, Week #13: Swim + New Running Shoes

I PURCHASED a pair of Asics Gel-Noosa Tri 10 running shoes from my local Forum sports store today. 

I have never been a fan of the lairy Asics designs, which has prevented me from owning a pair before now. I much prefer the slick styles of Nike and Adidas, but looking slick ain't no good when you feel that blister coming on half way into your run. 

These Asics running shoes caught my eye as I was trying on the usual suspects, and I was immediately impressed with how comfortable they felt compared to the Nike and Adidas shoes I was initially drawn to. A quick surf of the reviews and it seemed that I had stumbled on to a good choice for triathlon because they are ideally suited to be worn without socks. They come complete with elastic laces too for fast transitions.

Day #17, Week #3: My Fastest Mile

Torrevieja Greenway on Nike+

RUN MY fastest mile this morning at 8:44 as part of a speed session performing 400 metre x 200 metre intervals. Included some recovery in that time, so still room for improvement, Rescheduling running after a rest day seems the best way forward for speed work. View run on Nike+

Purchased a pair of Aqua Sphere Vista swim googles with clear lenses for indoor pool training sessions.

Day #64, Week #10: Rest Day

RECOVERY DAY following yesterdays triple BRICK session. 

After checking out reviews on the best swim googles on the market I decided to purchase a pair of Agua Sphere Kayenne swim googles at my local Forum sports store, Finally, could these be the one that don't leak?

Day #62, Week #9: Swim Day

VERY DISAPPOINTED with the new Speedo Rift Biofuse swim mask, it leaked water straight away. The strap slips because the clips on the side are poor, which makes the strap difficult to tighten. I may have to tie a knot, or perhaps try a tie wrap to hold the strap with sufficient tension. Eventually, after faffing around for several minutes, I got the mask to stop leaking and was able to do some training.

Day #61, Week #9: BRICK Day

A SORTA BRICK day, swim in the morning then run in the evening.

Maybe it's the shape of my head but my trouble with swim googles may finally be solved with a new pair of Speedo Rift Biofuse, which is more of a mask than a goggle. My Zoggs Predador Flex were OK, however they let in water occasionally and I managed to loose them anyway. When I couldn't find another pair at Ciclos Boyer Elche I purchased the Zoggs Phantom Elite as a replacement and they let in water. I also bought a pair of Speedo Aquapure IQfit, they let in water and fog up. So with a bit a research, I decided to try a mask style goggle. These sure feel good, will test tomorrow.

For an evening run I wanted to test my endurance with a long run and I achieved my farthest so far, maintaining a steady pace throughout. I ran 10 km at an average pace of 6:02 min/km. That's a speed I am happy with for now and hopefully I'll get it under 6 minutes on race day, Needed a good stretch session to finish. View run on Nike+

Day #47, Week #7: Rest Day

REST DAY Friday and a chance for my body to fully recover from the trials of the last few days.

An early evening visit to Bikemania and I came away with a pair of Mavic Tri Race shoes, new clip pedals, a Wilier Cento 1SR jersey, and Wilier water bottle.

First group bike ride training session this weekend with Andy and Dave around Pilar de Horadada. Unfortunately Wally, our fourth team member, is in the UK. Should be fun!

Day #36, Week #6: BRICK Day

BRICK TRAINING this morning, a 29+ km bike ride followed by a 5+ km run (without transition). Pace ave. for the run was good at 6:16/km. Aiming to get consistently below 6:00/km for race day and I'll be a happy camper. View run on Nike+

New gear purchased from Bikemania... Mavic HR bike gloves  >>>

>>> looking out for a full finger pair too.

Day #32, Week #5: Run Day

PREP FOR race day, purchased an Orca 226 race suit, race belt, speed laces and Oakley M2 frame sunglasses from Circlos Boyer in Elche.

Fartlek training along the Torrevieja Greenway this morning. 500 metres x 250 metres recovery x 8 times based on this track tip from Mark Allen.

Day #20, Week #3: BRICK Day

INTRODUCING WILLIE my new amigo, a Wilier Triestina Montegerappa from Italy. For our inaugural training session we hit the Torrevieja Greenway, rode north up to the AP7 motorway, to the Lo Crispin archway, then back.

Followed the bike ride with an easy pace 5 km run from Playa del Acequion to the end of Torrevieja pier and back. View run on Nike+

Day #19, Week #3: Rest Day

A WOULD be Rest Day but my scheduled strength training shoulder routine carried over from yesterday evening to this morning because it was very windy on the balcony last night. To warm up I did a 1.6 km brisk walk with Elaine as part of her Nike+ 5k beginners plan. 

Then we "just happened" to walk home past Bikemania.... a few hours later, and I am a proud owner of a new white and red Italian Wilier Triestina Montegrappa road bike (pictured above with Freddy from Bikemania).

Not wanting to feel left out, Elaine then brought a B'Twin Rockrider at our local Decathlon sports store, and I got another unscheduled workout... a 9 km bike ride home.

Tomorrows workouts: BRICK (bike-run), strength training/arms

Day #5, Week #1: Rest Day

MY MUSCLES are little sore from the 6 workouts over the last 3 days, so today's rest day is most welcome. Just an early morning 1 mile walk around Playa del Acequion with Bailey to stretch the legs,

Currently I don't possess any cycling gear, so a trip to the local Decathlon sports store at La Zenia Boulevard was in order to buy a pair of B'Twin cycle shorts for tomorrows BRICK training, Wednesday's workout on the Olympus stationary bike was a tad uncomfortable on the butt. Price 19.95 euros.

Tomorrows workout, BRICK (bike-run), strength training/arms

Day #2, Week #1: Swim Day

COULD I pass as an ageing Olympic athlete or do I look about as cool as a bucket of penguins shit? Gauged on my swim stroke this morning, probably the latter.

It's Swim Day Tuesday and the chance to test drive my new Orca OpenWater wetsuit. I was up with the fishes and in the sea at first light. We're having the hottest March on the Costa Blanca since 1930, so the mornings at the marina are glorious and to be taken advantage of. The sea temperature is 15°C / 59°F.

This is the first time I have ever put on a wetsuit, which is a bit of a workout in itself, so I can`t make comparisons to other makes. The fitting feels very good, I was not cold in the sea, and flexibility is excellent. The high visibility orange design gives me extra confidence for safety. Basically, it does everything that I expected it too. I would highly recommended this wetsuit for beginners, especially if you are swimming a lot in open water near moorings. Price 139.00 euros from Boyers Circlos, Alicante.

07:30 workout: 200 metre swim - first swim completed performing 4 x 50 metre intervals. Outward with front crawl, then recovered back to the starting point with breast stroke. Verdict; My front crawl stroke is gonna need a lot of work.

19:30 workout: completed strength training back routine plus some ab work on my home gym equipment.

Tomorrow's workouts: Bike 10k, strength training/chest