5:30 start, need to be done and dusted by the time everyone else wakes up.
Which is a good thing. If I knew how hard it would be it would have filled me with dread the rest of the day!
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Iām having a good training week so far. A bit of swim, a bit of run, need to get a couple of turbo sessions in as Iām not facing the outside this weekend!
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42min 7km snowy jog.
Having not slipped on any ice at all, I ran into a post and fell over whilst gawping at the trees and snow 
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A week away in hotels with late nights so limited to treadmill use. No bike and feel knackered, this was supposed to be a key week so will have to revise the plans.
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I dont know exactly why but when I was freezing my tits off on the bike (actually Iām saying that for effect, I was a proper boy scout and prepared, it wasnāt too bad) I thought Iād @ you to ask if youāve got into a rythmn of training yet.
I think the thought appeared because I was going to start my training for 2025 when you said you were going to and we both seemed to have things get in the way.
Iāve got two good weeks in now, so hopefully I am starting to build some good habits and I continue to get a few good blocks in.
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I was planning a short ski tour this morning up a local hill. Got up early but then my mate cried off last minute due to a marital disagreement and revocation of his pass. After some procrastination I decided to hike up anyway but wasnāt feeling the ski bug. So I waded and post holed my way to the summit of Benaquallie (494m). Took far longer than normal. Iām putting this under āTrainingā as it was a hard wade up the hill and Iām tired now!
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Looks like the Red October coming up for air!
Well done.
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A cold 2 hours on the bike. Good session, and it wasnāt too bad in the end.
It was going to be 20, 16 and 12 minute tempo intervals but was feeling good and to keep warm I added another 12 and 20 minute interval to ensure I kept warm. Did not want to do the original last 30 minutes at easy endurance as I would have cooled down too much.
Jersey, arm warmers, long sleeve jersey, Gore overshoes, and thin running tights over bib-shorts and full finger gloves, it was ideal. Even put a fan on not pointing directly at me rep two onwards, and took the long sleeve jersey off, I put it back on for the final 12 and 20 minute rep.
TE120/80 - 20ā, 16ā, 12ā, 12ā, 20ā ~85%
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I wouldnāt say Iām in the rhythm of it just yet but this week Iāve just about ticked off everything I wanted to get done.
Had to jump off the turbo earlier as one of my offspring was throwing a shit fit over absolutely nothingā¦ just got an hour in now, Jonās mix, I like that workout.
Two hour turbo tomorrow and Iām done for the week, maybe a bonus jog if Iām feeling super keen.
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In a simialr vein Iāve done 19,000 steps today. But at no point in the day have I walked more than 100m at any one time.
Approximately half of these steps were whilst carrying some form of weight from a few pillows to a sit on top kayak!
My arms and hands and back are in bits. But 6 van loads completed! And my tetris skills are very high at tye mo!
Desperate for the glass of wine now.
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10/1 6k easy run with zl
11/1 am 6k easy run with zl
11/1 pm 30 min turbo MyWhoosh Easy Money
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Gym first thing, sodding freezing.
10 minutes on the rowing machine, lots of work on glutes and calves.
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excitement
How many falls??
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0 today.
Just a 180Ā° spin 
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20 km on the usual route across Chat Moss with the dog (Mrs T has gone to Prague for the weekend for some warmer weather with her mates)
A lot of ice and snow still so took it quite conservatively (most amount of running on snow since California June 2022 
)
It was quite tiring keeping upright but managed it - felt a bit like
Highlight of the morning was a close encounter with a buzzard that was perched on one of these telegraph poles - hands too cold to reach for the phone and fire off a photo
Enjoying the benefits of a consistent 6 weeks or so of training
9 hrs this week - missed a day due to work/weather/general apathy
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This week:
5 swims / 7100m /2 hours, may get a 6th in this evening or maybe not.
5 bikes (4 of which were commutes) / 120km / 4 hours
3 runs / 27km / 2 hours
(thereās a race hidden in there somewhere)
3 games of squash, got annhilated each time.
rest of the week sleeping, eating or driving a desk
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12 !
Nice !!
Hours this week
Good start to the first full week of the year after a New Years disaster ā¦ ish
7 hours static bike
A bit of running up to 12 kph
One long plod v easy p/ b swim.
Few press ups.
All easy apart from one flat out hour bike ( which was probably a bit daft to be honest )
Stick at it
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2024 Review
Here is my over-due, and over-long, look back on 2024, starting with the short(er) versionā¦
Swim ā Total 55.6 km / 24 sessions / Avg. 2.3 km
Club pool closed from mid-March to late-September, with no suitable alternative. 
In context, 2024 was just a quarter of my 2009 peak of a 221 km annual swim total.
Bike ā Total 7,128 km / 248 sessions / Avg. 28.7 km
All on my exercise bike in the Summer House, not a single km outdoors. 
Still, the convenience factor meant 2024 was my highest annual total by a long way. 
Run ā Total 715 km / 130 sessions / Avg. 5.5 km
Ignoring the closed pool, this was the area with the most planned sessions missed.
I like to run first thing in the morning, but poor sleep often prevented me getting up in time.
Despite this, 2024 turned out to be my third biggest annual total (Max = 850km in 2008).
Time ā Total 355h 21 m / 402 sessions / Avg. 53 mins
Clearly, my year can be summarised as āLittle & Oftenā.
Unfortunately, Iāve lost a lot of training detail from my TT1.0 days (peak years 2005-09).
However, Iām now pretty sure this was my biggest training year ever time wise.
Weight
From the āWeigh inā thread to provide some context here (Height = 5ā 7.5ā / 1.71m).
01/01/19 ā 14st 8.6lbs / 92.8kg - Personal Worst
01/01/25 - 11st 12.8lbs / 75.7kg
Despite gaining some weight at the end of 2024, Iām still my lightest weight in 10+ years.
"Weight_Chartā
Overall
At some points in 2024, I got frustrated with life/work getting in the way of planned training.
But I am slowly getting better at accepting I have to fit what training I can do around life/work.
Iāll turn 60 next month () & Iām definitely in better shape now than when I turned 50!
Cheers, Paul. 
PS
Excuse the poor quality of the āphone photos of a computer screenā graphs.
"Swim_Detailsā
Swim
The 2024 by month graph clearly shows the big gap when my clubās pool was closed.
But there were still a couple of (slight) positives to take away from the year.
As the 2 x 13km months in 2024 made my Top 10 Monthly Totals since 2014!
Although that is largely because Iāve been in a swimming wilderness since 2012 (see below).
Note - The slight āblipā in June in the graph above represents my 2024 swimming highlight.
As it was a lovely, but short, early morning swim in a hotelās outdoor pool.
Iāve been trying (and failing ) to get back in regular swimming for over 10 years now.
As this āBy Yearā graph shows my initial return to club swimming, after decades away.
Which peaked with a 148km swim total for the six months from Jan. to Jun. 2009.
(Training for āA Day In The Lakesā, just before the builders arrived to extend our house.)
Now, I havenāt been able to cover 148km in a whole year for the last 14 years.
However, I did see some light at the end of the tunnel in 2023, my best year since 2012.
Which makes 2024 particularly frustrating as I didnāt get a chance to build on that progress.
Fingers crossed that 2025 will be the year when Iām finally back swimming on a regular basis.
"Bike_Detailsā
Bike
Donāt get me wrong, I know this is not the same as ārealā cycling, but it is great for ātrainingā.
Here are my monthly totals:
Looking back, I now realise my peak months include morning & evening bike sessions.
This also coincided with a quiet period for work, so I had more āspareā hours to play with.
Either way, rather than lament the fact I couldnāt maintain these early months.
I now accept that as work gets busier, I simply canāt do as much exercise as before.
Also, I have to be happy with my biggest year on record, by a long way.
āPaging @FatPomā āPaging @FatPomā 
"Run_Detailsā
Run
My unofficial target for 2024 was to run as far in a month as @FatPom does in 24 hours.
After June, I really thought I was going to finally step up above the 100km mark (per month).
But, life/work got in the way and I just couldnāt string a regular stretch of runs together.
Back in TT1.0 days, I remember my peak running training reaching a 2hr/21km run before work.
These days, I need to adjust my targets to a more achievable (for me) target of regular 10kms.
As ālittle and oftenā certainly turned 2024 into my best year in 16 years!
"Other_Detailsā
Diet
I made some good steps forward this year and am regularly making my own bread now.
But stress at work always leads me down the unholy trinity of beers, crisps & chocolate. 
This is something I find very frustrating, but will try (again) to do better at managing this.
Weights
I spent almost 19 hours lifting weights in 2024, which is not included in my training time above.
Whilst this isnāt much, it is more than last year & I am very cautious of my fragile shoulders.
So, if in doubt, I will stop, take a break and rebuild the weights slowly again.
With a bit of luck, I will be able to do this more consistently in 2025,
Itās All Relative
Generally, my biggest self-inflicted problem is comparing my training today with my TT1.0 days.
Where my largest individual sessions were much longer than anything Iāve done in recent years.
(4 km+ swims / 100km bikes / 21km runs)
Total ā 2006 to 2008 - 3 years
Swim ā 588km / Bike ā 11,210km / Run ā 2,340km / Time ā N/A
Because, what I should always be doing is comparing today with 10 years later.
Total ā 2016 to 2018 - 3 years
Swim ā 25km / Bike ā 1,363km / Run - 162km / Time ā 112hrs
At which point, the highlights of 2024 have a much better context.
Total ā 2024 - Top 3 Monthly Totals for each area
Swim ā 33km / Bike ā 2,720km / Run ā 258km / Time ā 117hrs
As not only did I do more in three months, than three years, I was (relatively) faster too.
Which is a positive note to end this review of 2024 and carry on with 2025.
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