A quick recap from IRONMAN SEASON 4 PART 3….. No swimming again as the pools are still closed, the running went from 2 mile runs up to a 20 mile week and generally felt ok but the knee still is not 100% pain-free. The bike is continuing to progress, building power and strength whilst extending out some longer endurance rides.

The biggest improvement was seen on the strength and stretching side. I guess it is easier to make those big improvements when you are starting at a low bar but it is all good progress. The core strength is really coming on as is the flexibility.

The aim for this next four-week block was to hold the weekly run distance around 20 miles and continue to build a small base whilst the knee is still recovering. I am hoping to push the longer runs up to 13 miles just to give the legs a reminder that they need to run long. I am a little concerned that we are now 4 months out from Ironman UK and I am starting this block with the longest run in the past 6 months being just 7 miles.

Getting fit enough to run 26.2 miles is different to getting ready to race the 26.2 miles so I may have to fall back to getting the body ready to complete the 26.2 mile run in July and August. Using that fitness as the building blocks to racing the Chicago and New York City marathons a little harder at the end of the autumn training block. Take that longer-term view and focus on recovering from the knee injury during this block.

Week Thirteen – 8 – 14 March

This weeks run training was very much a mixed bag. The highlights show an 18 mile week with the longer run of 9.5 miles @ an ave pace of 7:15/mi. Slight drop in mileage compared to week 12 but the longer run increasing from 7 to 9 miles.

Behind those figures is a different story. I run 4 easy miles on Monday, a recovery run after the 7 mile longer run at the end of week 12. After that 4 mile run my knee was aching more than usual so I decided to push Wednesday’s run back to Friday and dropped Friday’s 4 mile easy run.

Tues, Wed and Thur were spent on the bike but worrying about the knee. Is it ever going to get better? should I stop running? should I stop training altogether? should I quit?

Friday it felt ok so I tried the run. A 6 mile progressive tempo: – 2 miles @ 8:30/mi, 2 miles @ 7:50/mi and 2 miles @ 7:00/mi. The knee was ok, not perfect but certainly no worse than the previous weeks. I figured that the longer run and easy run on consecutive days could have caused the aching on Tuesday. The new plan is to drop back to 3 runs a week and leave 1 or 2 days between runs.

On the bike was more of the same, although it has warmed up slightly so I took the Monday and Tuesday rides outdoors, the first time riding outdoors since three rides in November. It felt good to be out of the garage and on the roads.

The rest of the week was just a couple of sessions and a 2 hour endurance ride on Sunday. Another easier week on the bike.

• Swim – 0 yrds, 0hr 0min
• Bike – 160.08 Miles, 7hr 5min
• Run – 18.51 Miles, 2hr 21min
• Strength & Stretching – 5hr 10min

Week Fourteen – 15 – 21 March

Three runs this week as explained above. Starting with a 3 mile easy run on Monday, a tempo run on Wednesday and 11 mile long run on Sunday. All with a two day rest from running in between.

The tempo run came out at 7.7 miles with warm-up, cool down and strides adding to the 4 x 1 mile reps which started at 7:40/mi and increased the pace by 10sec each rep.

The 11 mile longer run I did over a hilly route, the thinking being, this will help to activate the quads and build some strength over the hills ready for Bolton in July. I was planning to run around 7:45/mi pace and finished off with 7:41/mi and felt comfortable with the hills not adding any more pain to the knee.

Big week on the bike. After two easier weeks, this week was back to business starting off with a 90min easy ride with the return of the Ramp test on Tuesday, (more on this in a minute) followed by a 60 minute hard turbo. Wednesday I dropped back into the Zwift Hunters Challenge workouts and picked the mini mega session. It looked like a beast on paper and didn’t disappoint. With a 5 min block at 400w and two 20 min blocks at 100% FTP, it certainly pushed the legs and mental aspects but it got done and felt good afterwards, not so good during.

Thursday, Saturday and Sunday were just easy rides, clocking the time in the saddle with a 2hr 30min endurance ride on Friday.

This week we got a mail from Ironman which pretty much read that Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire will not be going ahead on 13th June without saying as much. My thinking is they will push it back past the proposed date for the full relaxation of COVID restrictions on 21st June. As ironman UK is on the 4th July, my guess would be Staffs gets moved to the 18th or 25th July, we will wait and see. I really don’t want to have to defer another race to 2022 having already deferred all of these summer triathlons from 2019 to 2020 to 2021 and now some starting to move to 2022. Having the same races for a 4th year is not something I plan to do. I may well just ditch them all if that happens and go back to just running marathons.

• Swim – 0 yrds, 0hr 0min
• Bike – 285 Miles, 12hr 39min
• Run – 21.7 Miles, 2hr 53min
• Strength & Stretching – 5hr 40min

Week Fifteen – 22 – 28 March

This week everything went to shit. I was planning a big week on the bike as I was on annual leave for the next 3 weeks.

After the 4 mile easy run on Monday, I noticed that my calf was aching and felt a little tight, not wanting to risk further aggravating the calf I decided to skip the Monday bike session and took Tuesday as a rest day.

When I woke up on Wednesday I noticed that the calf had come out in bruises and around the heal. It looks very similar to how the opposite calf looked in May 2019 after I tore the muscle during Ironman 70.3 Mallorca.

This time around, I didn’t feel it tear, I don’t even know when or how or what caused this but my guess is that it is a slight strain of the calf. That slight tear of the muscle is probably the cause of the bleeding which caused the bruising on the calf and then pooled around the heal.

Needless to say, I removed all run and bike training from the remainder of this week and next week. I will make a call next week to see whether I can pick up the bike training from 5th April and see what we think about running. From past experience, I could swim and bike ok with the grade 2 calf strain in 2019 but the running needed a 6 week break.

With no swimming, biking or running I did what every injured athlete does and started to do more of the strength and stretching training. 2 x 20 minute core strength and 30 minutes of upper body strength training Monday – Saturday with Sunday a complete day of rest.

• Swim – 0 yrds, 0hr 0min
• Bike – 0 Miles, 0hr 0min
• Run – 4 Miles, 34min
• Strength & Stretching – 7hr 55min

Week Sixteen – 29 March – 4 April

Pretty much a repeat of last week in that the vast majority of the week was strength and stretching, however, the calf improved massively, still some bruising but pain-free again now. I went out on the bike for an easy ride to Holmes Chapel and back, all felt good, giving me the confidence that I can at least ride the bike pain-free again.

Tuesday we got the mail to say that Ironman 70.3 Staffordshire was postponed to the 18th July, just as I thought. I am in two minds about whether to accept the new date or move to 2022. I really don’t want to put it off again. I need to make a decision on whether to keep training for a full distance triathlon on the 4th July or change focus to the 70.3 on 18th July. Having the extra 2 weeks to get ready for a half distance race feels a lot more achievable than trying to get the run training for a 26.2 mile run leg.

Wednesday, I got some much needed positive news in that I now have my place back on the GB Age Group team for the Middle Distance European Championships on 27th June in Austria. I was originally on the 2020 team which was cancelled, then as British Triathlon take your age at year-end, I was moved up to the 40-45 age group for 2021 and my time didn’t make the top 20 in that age group. It appears someone must have pulled out now so I have been bumped up into the team.

I am not sure whether to register for 2021, a number of factors affecting that decision. Primarily, we are not currently allowed to travel overseas although some announcement is due to be made on the 12th April, I am pretty certain travel restrictions will not be lifted before July but we will see. Then secondly, there is the fact I have not run 13.1 miles in the past 6 months, although, I feel I could get fit enough for that if the knee allows me.

I went to the physio on Friday, more of a check-up on the knee than the calf. The general outcome was that the knee is making good progress even after adding the run training back in. Still not out of the woods yet but getting there. There is some scar tissue at the back of the knee which she tried to work out with massaging and an ultrasound, the SI joint on the left side was sticking which will have been pulling the left hamstring tight and affecting the quad, she loosened the SI joint which should have a positive impact on the knee and my walking and running form.

I also had acupuncture on the left quad around the knee to increase blood flow to the knee area, again, should have a good impact on the knee.

Back again in 3 weeks for more work but signed off to continue with the 18-20 mile weekly run mileage just no hills or fast running.

I finished up the week with two more outdoor rides and back out on the road for a 4 mile easy run. A positive end to the week at long last but a long way off being fit enough for a full distance triathlon.

• Swim – 0 yrds, 0hr 0min
• Bike – 88.75 Miles, 4hr 30min
• Run – 4 Miles, 35min
• Strength & Stretching – 7hr 5min

The journey continues on my IRONMAN – SEASON 4 PART 5 post.