ris' 2012 review

[ris]

i did this last year in the blog and found it useful - looking back over a whole 12months. last year i had a whole bunch of numbers from sports tracks, and this years are at the bottom.

the key stuff i can see from endo is that my bike and run mileages are actually pretty concurrent with last year (give or take the odd 0.3perc or something). i clearly have consistency to burn, and as has been pointed out before the commute makes this work for me particularly over a short distance event. bottom line is that my ave pace for swim, bike and run are probably the same as in 2011, though. they might have been fractionally higher had i not stacked the bike in early dec.

strava has actually made a bit of a difference to my cycling approach, and for a while over the summer i was hooning about chasing koms with a local chap who subsequently turned out to be the 2011 bbar time trialist. the fact that he has nabbed most of them back doesn't detract from my own hard work on those segments, though, and i'm aware that i was actually doing something different with my rides which is probably a benefit in itself.

from the year of racing i can't stop running my mind over the henley swim, but that is as much because it was a beautiful day in a year that seemed short of them. swash half was good, too, and i learned a lot about myself that day (mainly my idiot run pacing strategy). the relays were also good for me, despite a pretty poor swim i think i turned up and raced well, with the bike leg being a tidy little improvement on last year.

one thing that isn't in the endo/sports tracks log, but i know from swim training, is that my pace in the pool has improved a bit. earlier in the year i swam a 1.9k in 31:30, 3.8 in 61:20 (neg split) and my 1.5km is 23:20 or something. compared to last year there are some improvements and i am glad as i really enjoy my time in the water. the other really pleasing 'event' was the company london to bath ride, which i managed 115miles on pretty much no specific training and felt pretty good the whole way.

as for next year - i'm still slightly obsessed with improving my running and i'd like to hope that the mileage increase that i managed in october can be more like the regular trend for 2013. the aim is for one or two speedier sessions a week (one interval, maybe a tempo too), and the long run to be approx 2h most weekends. in theory i am going to complete 26.2mi but i doubt i'll be running them and having seen what having a half-mara pb did to my mind at the swash i'm inclined to steer clear of marathon training ahead of sweden. i've been referring a bit to jack daniels for pacing and some rough guidance for training plans, which i may start using more.

cycling - more strava, more turbo. i say it every year! being stuck in over christmas with the shoulder put me on the turbo with some sufferfests and i am hoping to make them a semi-regular thing. once a week would be great, but i'll believe it when i see it. i may try and get out for some longer rides in the spring/summer, although i'm fairly confident i'll be alright for 112mi without going mad on the long bike sessions.

most important for me, though, is to get back from the ac injury in the best possible way and this is likely to mean taking time and not returning to my previous training volume anytime soon. i have been told to run and cycle again, but my recovery will need time so i need to make sure i am stretching and resting rather than trying to fill up non-swimming hours with more bike/run. longer term i can look at the goals for the bike/run and being back swimming, short term i need to be conservative with my training and heal well.

2012 (2011 in brackets)

bike
distance 5110mi (5266mi)
time 295h (304h)
ave pace 3:28min/mi (3:28)
mph 17.3mph (17.3)

run
distance 659 (678)
time 84:30 (84:28)
ave pace 7:29min/mi (8:18)
ave speed 7.8mph (8)

swim
distance 391k y (370k y)
time 133h (127h)
pace 1:24 (1:23) - not sure what these mean as is in min/mi but appear to be confused.

[TRIumphant]

Consistent indeed, and good to look back, and then forward

[KidStardust]

Interesting review ris. your entusiasm continues to make that Henley swim seem enticing.

[Sir Jibbenstein]

Interesting stats their Nick, will be good to see how your recovery from injury shapes your training this year, and if it changes the consistency in the previous 2 years to make you even faster and stronger.