Nice work @FatPom
Advantage you on the SDW training front
8 Likes
Cheers mate. I can’t even think that far ahead right now. (which is probably why I keep DNFing 
). I can report that the Winchester end of the SDW is ‘not very firm’!
2 Likes
The parkrun for me then managed a 16K hike/jog to the cafe and back, slow pace but probably about 65% running.
Was surprised how dry the track was, especially as the country lanes were fairly waterlogged in places. It does drain very well though, if I’d listened in my Geology CSE I could probably explain why 
8 Likes
8.8km run first thing.
38:11. 112m elevation.
Looked down afterwards to see some blood on my top. No idea where it’s come from, possibly a small bite.
Didn’t even hurt when I showered. 
11 Likes
Yesterday was my first outdoor ride since early November. I have a thing about not riding outside if it’s been 3° or less overnight and not above 5° when I want to go out. Had a couple of offs before on icy roads/cycle lanes.
Anyway, 15 miles done, fairly easy speed. Nothing spectacular but looking to build consistency back in this year.
11 Likes
Did you look for any puncture holes in the neck 
4 Likes
Another 30min Zwift. 2km run afterwards today.
8 Likes
Day 2 of the rowing challenge - another 5k done
5 Likes
I won’t bore you with the hyrox details.
Plus
Running 4:50 kms as easy as I’ve ever done ( in the last few years)
Minus
Pulled / strained my back ( hopefully not too bad) pushing a dolly heavy sled a hood bit over comp weight.
Bit of Shiite start to the year to be honest !
8 Likes
East bike this morning before hard run session this lunchtime. Didn’t want to make it too hard since I haven’t actually done any hard running in ages and want my legs to work for the rest of the week.
On my 5th (of 10) 2 min interval with treadmill set at 16kph and it cut out on me. Belt stopped dead.
Just about caught myself in time but this is now the second time this has happened to me and why I’ve been avoiding the treadmill in ages.
So I’m a bit annoyed. It will have to go - I just can’t trust it and it’s awful running not knowing if you may have to stop yourself at any point. It’s never been a good treadmill and actually was given to me so I didn’t pay anything for it but still annoying that I need to shell out for a new one.
10 Likes
First run of 2024 - 8.5 miler 
Hadn’t run for a week, but to my surprise I felt really good - despite a couple of successive nights drinking a bottle of plonk in to the early hours.
Feel ready to ease back into marathon training programme. I’ve lost a month but will see how I get on.
Must be the KFC… avoided the carby burgers 
15 Likes
Gym first thing.
3k row.
2 sets each of donkey kicks, banded clamshells, banded bridges, sumo squats with a kettlebell, calf raises and sit ups.
Will do a 30 minute spin class at lunch!
8 Likes
2023 – Annual Review
Overall
I managed to rack up over 304 hours of Swim/Bike/Run training, my biggest year since 2008! 
But 2023 ended up being one of those years where life got in the way of an even better year.
Jan. to Jul.23 – Average just under 33 hrs a month and my training was really going well. 
Aug. to Nov.23 – Average just over 12 hrs a month. 
- Funeral in New York at the start of August took both a physical and mental toll.
- August was also a gap between contracts that resulted in a LOT of back breaking DIY.
- September was start of new contract with 4 trips to Birmingham racking up 24 hours of travel!
- This also resulted in me catching Covid for the first time in late September.
- That wrote off most of October and I was still recovering through November.
Dec.23 – Just over 23 hours, which was encouraging given how busy work/Christmas was. 
Swim – 75.5km
A long way to go, but this was my biggest year (/step in the right direction) since 2012.
Graphs
By month
Positive – By July, I was finally on track for my first 100km year in a very long time.
Negative – Unless I can get to the pool more often, I’ll never make any real progress.
At least I can blame my poor December on the fact the club’s pool was closed for repairs.
By Year
Positive - 2023 was almost twice my 2021 & 2022 annual totals combined.
Negative – 2023 is still only around a third of my 2008 & 2009 annual totals.
This graph really shows the scale of the drop off in my swimming volume:
- 2005 to 2012 (8 years) = 1,392km – Average = 174km per year
- 2013 to 2023 (10 years) = 287km – Average = 28km per year
Bike/Turbo/Exercise Bike – 5,276 km
After a bit of a push in December, I managed to sneak past my previous highest annual total.
(Thankfully, I spotted how close I was in time to do something about it.)
After 18 years of loyal service on the road and turbo, I finally retired my 2005 Trek.
In its place, I got a second-hand Planet X, my first carbon bike & only my second road bike.
I also switched from using a turbo to using an exercise bike.
Graphs
By month
Positive – 2023 included 7 of my top 10 monthly bike totals since 2015 (lost my early training stats).
Negative – Frustrating not to be able to continue my great start to the year all the way to the end.
By Year
Positive – My biggest year on the bike ever.
Negative – Could have been even bigger.
Run – 554 km
My running always suffers the most when ‘stuff’ gets in the way, as I prefer early morning runs.
Although I didn’t improve on last year (646km), this still ranks as my 5th highest total ever.
Graphs
By month
Positive – 2023 included 3 of my top 10 monthly running totals since 2015.
Negative – Still need to add (relative) speed and distance to my running.
By Year
Positive – Solid base over the last few years compared to some poor efforts between 2010-2018.
Negative – Biggest disappointment is that I didn’t continue the progression of recent years.
Other
I have to confess this was another year where I never got back into regular stretching.
29/12/23 - A full hour of Thai deep tissue massage was a (very) painful reminder of this fact.
I must also do better in core work (non-existent) and weight training (patchy at best).
2024
Despite the many set-backs in 2023, I know I still have a solid platform to build on.
Linked to the 2023 Weigh In thread, I also know losing more excess weight will help.
Just need to get rid of the hacking cough I picked up.
Cheers, Paul. 
16 Likes
Sat with a stiff back ( stupid sled!) and added up the hours for 2023.
580 total
So 11 per week ish average
Lots of swim bike and run, but maybe not as much as some of you % wise.
This is strongest I’ve been at 70 ish kgs for many years, Pure fitness and run speed not so much unfortunatly. ( old age I guess )
Only one multi sport race ( I knew I’d win, as I was the only entrant ) real world bike and run speed were decent ish so happy.
Pull ups and press ups are in a really good place, swim sprint has finally disappeared forever I’m guessing, I really do have one swim speed now, which is quite weird.
A very strange year 2023, we’re training/ gym helped me through some difficult times .
No real pics that you haven’t seen so this is my cat during me adding up the hours !
.
15 Likes
3km jog. No pre-Zwift.
6 Likes
6km very easy but felt hard! Was meant to be 8-10km but right from the off my legs felt very heavy and my left rear quad was pretty tight.
I think it’s a combo of Monday’s effort and at athletics last night the coach posted a new set. 8 x 100s at between 20-22 secs on 90secs rest. Due to a lack of helpers, the only way to do it was for me to run with them and keep pace and time the rest, rinse and repeat.
Which all sounds easy but we had 3 groups, so for me it was 24 x 100s and I wasn’t even aware I’d be running last night, so I had my trackie daks and coat on. 
8 Likes
Back from 2 weeks in Bali which involved 2 sessions per day most of the time. Gym class and then a run or hour or so on the bike. Including a boxing day half marathon which was absolutely brutal in the heat and humidity with 400m elevation and in awful shoes!
I don’t think I’ve sweated so much in 2 weeks in my entire life. I’m sure I was constantly under hydrated! And eating the required amounts in the heat is a struggle, but also just getting the quantities was hard!
Back to normal service now till the end of the month.
Total active hours for 2023 was 655 for me.
10 Likes
In a sign of how diabolical my running has gotten with injuries and everything else, today I managed my first sub 25-min 5k in 8 months and threw up in my driveway 
Fortunately it’s raining.
19 Likes
A wet 4km 22min easy jog 
13 Likes