All packed and ready to go. Even got my teeth fixed ! Well … had a filling this afternoon, the crown is still cracked but the dentist says it’ll be OK for the trip.
Last nights swim session was a real confidence booster. Did some pyramids alternating 80% effort and cruising. In the middle were 2 x 100m. On the 3 times I did them at 80% I hit them all on 1:13 or 1:14 and on the 3 times I did them cruising I hit them on 1:21 or 1:22. This is massively encouraging for a couple of reasons
- I’ve not hit sub 1:15 for 100s for years now
- The cruising ones felt like I could go all night at that pace
It also illustrated how important pacing can be on the swim, the amount of extra effort need to get the faster times was huge. The difference at the end of them was taking the rest without any heavy breathing verse gasping for breath.
This morning on the bike I felt strong and then at lunchtime I did my first MAF (maximum aerobic function) test. My target was 146 bmp. The course I did was bang on a mile but had a reasonable steep uphill at the start and then flat / long very gradual downhill. Jo was right that it would be difficult to maintain a steady HR. I spiked into the high 150s on each lap. Anyway…. my times were:
- mile 1 – 7:20
- mile 2 – 7:22
- mile 3 – 7:23
- mile 4 – 7:30
- mile 5 – 7:31
Pretty happy with that. Off the back of that I think I’ll try and set off on the marathon hitting 7:30 min / miles. Well… thats the idea now I’ve still got a couple of weeks to mull it over.
Next entry should be from Kona !
Steven Lords Website 