Week 6. Don't know...

Training for an Ironman event is relentless. No time to rest, no time to sit. Just a case of get on with it.

My training this week started well. I met up with my blind buddy Roger and we went for a tandem cycle together. Last time I had cycled with Roger was back in January. We had a great 3 or so hours on the bike and the usual cafe stop to fuel up.

After my cycle ride with Roger, I took my IM bike 'Kay O' to have a check over. I figured with about 6 weeks to go to my event, now was a good time to get bike checked over. Must swap the tyres over to my special race ones...

This was the day that I also ran in my new kicks. I purchased a pair of Brooks Ghost 8 shoes. Previously had Ghost 7's which were pretty awesome. Not convinced I like my new shoes. I ran about 10k and my toe's blistered for the like the first time ever. Have never had issues with running in new shoes before. My run took me to meet my daughters at nursery where I got a lift back home with the Mrs. Once home, I ordered a pair of anti-blister socks.

Tuesday saw me run to work commute style. After work, I went to Ragley Lake for an OW swim. Managed 4 laps of the lake. Some say a lap is 750m others say 650m. If we take a lap as 650m, I swam 2,600m in a time much quicker than any of my pool based swims (still slow). Am not sure if I really do swim better in a wet suit or whether my maths is just pants. My buddy Mr Mitchum says it's all about technique and suggests 'bubble, bubble, breath'. I'm mot sure what he means but it sounds like champers and rest is the way to go?!

Wednesday was my 2 bottles of champagne and rest day.

A cycle commute took me to work and back on Thursday. Great weather to be cycling in - all sunny. Had ideas of running in the evening but that didn't happen.

Collected my IM bike on Friday. All good except the rear wheel had 'rough bearings'. The rear wheel will have to remain rough - I don't think it's anything serious to worry about. My anti-blister socks arrived in the post and I figured I'd try them out with a 10k run. I also applied Vaseline to my feet first. These socks were double layered, using a 'twin technology'. A 10k run would be a suitable test I thought. After my run, I inspected my feet and all was fine - no blisters and no major discomfort. Now, was this down to the socks or the Vaseline, or both?! Having collected my IM bike, I naturally wanted to test it but the weather forecast was horrid - heavy rain was predicted. Decided to take my winter bike out instead. Cycled for a bout 5 hours in all covering some of the Snowdrop Express route and stopping at Whitlenge Tea Rooms for food. So much for the rain - there was none. Instead of getting wet, I got sun burnt.

Saturday was mostly spent with my family. Lunar and Melody now have their own rooms and this was quite exciting. On the training front, I ran about 15k and this time used my same new socks minus the Vaseline. My big toe didn't blister but one of my toes looked nasty with a build up of dry skin (no major discomfort). I know these new shoes (Brooks Ghost 8) might be 'breaking in', but they're not quite as comfy as I had hoped and I'm thinking maybe I should run in my older (Nike Lunarglide 6) shoes (during race) but they have ran nearly 700k already. Hmm, decisions...

Early start Sunday with an open water swim at Ragley Lake. Folk report the full lake lap is 750m (not 650m like I was told earlier in the week). Distance didn't really matter as only the smaller lake laps were to be swam today. These smaller laps were 400m and I swam 7 laps (2,800m) in a time of 1 hour and 13 mins which is great for me. That would mean I'd have another hour to swim 1,000m more come race day (providing my maths is correct). My plans to add a run to the end of this day were thwarted. However, I have now fitted new tyres to my IM bike that I hope to test tomorrow (review to follow).

At the end of this week, I don't feel too bad. My race is like only 5 weeks away and I have trained quite hard if I'm honest. Spent about 2.5 hours in the water (would have been happier with 3), cycled nearly 11 hours (but did not touch my IM bike) and ran for about 5 hours (would have been happier with 6) this week. So, I trained hard but had planned to train harder. Tested new shoes and socks and remain a bit miffed with these products. Hope my tyres fare better tomorrow. My diet has been largely 'eat-as-much-rubbish-as-you-like' but I'm convinced I've lost weight. Hold on one, I'll go weigh myself ... I weighed in at 83.5kg. Hmm, that means I have only lost like 2kg since the start of the year (but have been over 90kg in the past). With 5 weeks to go, maybe I should eat less rubbish and eat more good stuff. Oh, I don't know....