Monthly round-up...

Ironman update – Month 6!

Six months have passed since I decided to start on this challenge and whilst it’s gone quickly I am well aware there is a long way left to go! Thankfully things have returned to normal this month with some good miles on the bike and some running!

June totals: -

Swim – 0.8 mile, 20 minutes
Bike – 472.2 miles – 28.7 Hours
Run – 25.4 miles – 6.1 Hours

Total 498.4 miles and 35.2 hours

Swim - As you can see I have done very little swimming – in fact that was just one lap of the lake but it was quick and felt good! I don’t really have an excuse for the lack of swimming, but with the hot weather a stuffy pool is not remotely appealing and with the cycling to work – too many early mornings requires far too much organisation for me! I struggle with evening swimming as I end up feeling very sick – once that’s sorted I should be okay! Anyway I’ll take June for what it was and get back in the pool in July! I know I am a good swimmer in terms of technique so the fitness gained elsewhere should, hopefully, see better performances anyway!

Bike – You can probably guess that I have been focussing on my cycling! This was due mostly to the Dartmoor Classic on the 27th June plus the fact that I had my new tri bike! The tri bike is road bike but with altered geometry and very aerodynamic to increase speed – it’s not good on hills though! I got it through the Cycle To Work scheme, so it was cheap and I have to ride to work!

My ride to work is 23 miles each way and therefore can be quite a long day, but it’s a good feeling and easy way to get some quality training in – my best time so far is 1 hour and 13 minutes! I did it a few times in June and will get plenty more in during the nice weather – its mostly quiet roads so is reasonably safe!

This all built up to the Dartmoor Classic on Sunday 27th – I did this last year and nearly passed out a few times so was unsure about this year as to how I would fair – its 106 miles of hills in Dartmoor, with about 10-11,000 feet of climbing….plus the 28 degree heat!!

For a full detailed report please go to http://ironmantd2011.blogspot.com/2010/06/dartmoor-classic.html

But to summarise, it went brilliantly, I felt strong and fast for the majority of it and my recovery was excellent – I was out running on Monday night! Biggest plus was how I got the nutrition spot on! We completed it in 7 hours 51 minutes!

Run – Well it’s been three months since I have run pain free but I am almost back to normal, I’ve been doing a few very slow run/walks including lots of stretching! My planned 3 weeks rest lasted 2 ½ weeks before I went and ran a mile – the pain came straight back! I went to see the magic hands of Richard Gulliver (osteopath and hero) and basically its very tight hamstrings, quads and IT band which all focus on the knee and have inflamed the different attachment points – lots of ice and stretching and care and I’ll be back to normal! I managed a 10k last week of run/stretching with no pain so I am on the mend!

Where does this leave me now? Well I have lost just under two kilos since May and am on the verge of dropping below 96kgs – I checked a record I kept in July 2009 and since then have lost 14.5kgs (32lbs) and reduced my body fat by 2.5%...no wonder the cycling felt easier!

I have a sprint triathlon on the 25th July so am looking forward to that, it’s a 400m swim, 13 mile cycle and 4.5 mile run – the only part I’m worried about is the run but I am hoping I’ll be back up to speed by then – the plan will be to go crazy in the swim and cycle and then just worry about the run as it happens! It’s not a race for me, just another training session!

I received a very nice running top from the guys at SeeSaw, which is great and reduces the constant stream of washing I have to do! The guys at Edukaid are also doing there own 10k locally in October so I will be looking forward to that!

I was asked a question recently here http://www.formspring.me/IronmanTD2011 about what would make the biggest difference to my training – answer is drivers attitudes to cyclists – its one thing that makes me think twice about going out training! Strange how people seem to take a different attitude when surrounded by a ton of metal! The other thing is being able to afford the nutrition training products – thankfully someone gave me some contacts and I approached the guys at MuleBar – www.mulebar.com , another local company who make the best energy bars – they are helping me out in a big way and I can’t thank them enough – go and check them out!!!

Main goals for July are just to continue where I have left off – I am on holiday for a week but am taking my trainers to hopefully get some running in and then its back to training hard! I’ve enjoyed the gains I’ve made through June so really want to build on that!

Some more great donations have come in – with one year to go I would really appreciate the continued support so please donate if you can! If you can’t then please don’t worry but forward this to someone you think may be able to!!

www.justgiving.com/timdonell - SeeSaw
www.justgiving.com.timdonell1 – EduKaid

I have my constant stream of internet based areas -

On Facebook - www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=313626134776

Remember you can check up on twitter to see how I am doing daily - www.twitter.com/IronmanTD2011

I also have started a more comprehensive blog as twitter couldn’t cope with my ramblings :- http://ironmantd2011.blogspot.com/

Thanks everyone!!
Tim