Kevin's Training Diary 2025

I have skipped writing a post for Weeks 51/52 as I basically limped to the end of the year on my calf injury and haven't done any biking and minimal swimming.  Here are my end of year numbers are mapped against the targets I set  this time last year. I still have some sort of low-level illness that I am still struggling to get a diagnosis on, (the General Medicine department at the hospital have discharged me and basically given up trying to find what it is, and the only test they still are considering is sending me for a sleep study) and my available time to train is being impacted by coaching, work, and general life.  On the targets though, a frustrating number of the volume targets were going to be green up until I tore my calf and had to take three weeks off in December. Anyway,...   Green - Did make it.  Red - Didn't make it. Orange - Needs explaining.   Targets by numbers Represent GBR age-group at multiple international events.   – Did 6. Q...

My year continues to dribble to an end as my calf strain basically wiped out this fortnight.  I have managed to get in the pool still, and even done a bit of aqua-jogging but basically I missed out on ~50 run miles and ~55 bike miles, both of which look like they are going to be decisive in missing my annual targets.  2.5 more miles in the pool will at least take me past last year's total and I should be able to get that this week. On the bike I am already past last year and past my mountain biking target for the year. And I am still 52 run miles short of last year's total, but with 17 days to go and only 10 work days in that, I can still possiby get past that if my calf injury allows me to get some consistent running. Same goes for all 4 of weights, core, stretching and yoga. All better than last year but worse than targets. So I am possibly going to come up short on all but one of my volume targets (mtb miles) but still having had a better year than 2024.  Actuals, (T a...

Another dissappointing fortnight. Partly will power, partly weather. I have accidentally stumbled to some green numbers, due to my s-curved trainnig plan dropping off cycling miles  towards the end of the year. The snow cost me a couple of days as even the mountain bike couldn't handle it. Then it iced over and that cost me a couple of run days. I am struggling a bit with getting up in the mornings for early sessions. Where I absolutely have to do them to get to the office I am fine, but any day I can excuse my way out of it, I have stayed in bed instead.  Trying to get my house in to a state that we can sell it and look at a move, and looking at new places, is also taking up chunks of time and effort that are nibbling away at my availability and my energy. The students are officially away on holiday from tomorrow so that frees me up from coaching commitments for the next 6 weeks. The trade off there is that while I get some time back I lose some structure. Actuals, (T arget) ...

I could blame my calf strain, or the degradation in my hip, for this terrible fortnight, but it would be a ridiculous lie. It has instead been a total failure of will-power. The weather has turned and I just have struggled to go out and do any of the sessions I had planned.  I have still beeen commuting, and going to the pool. But I am just rolling the bike and paddling around in the water rather than training properly.  I had two 'races' this week. I did the second in the Shadow Series of night hill runs, but I started easily until I was sure my calf was okay, and then one of the athletes I coach was stood at the side of the track and I stopped to check on him and lost a few minutes. (Turns out he had just dropped his airpod in the mud). Then I took a tempo run round the rest of the course.  Saturday we went out to Aboyne to do the Parkrun. I had a surprisingly good run given my calf and the missed training. I am going to write off this fortnight against the end of seaso...

I was on course for another solid block and a decent 5k until I strained my calf at Parkrun.  It seems to be fairly minor but I have missed a couple of days on the back of it.  Basketball League season starts this coming week. I am going to miss our first game but we are scheduled for 3 more this month. That will mean a little bit of adapting my normal sessions but will see what happens as I try to fit in those games.  Actuals, (T arget) -  Swim 6.4  miles / 10,300  m. (6.3 miles). Bike 71.8 miles. (84.0 miles).   MTB 24.5  miles. (25.8 miles). Run 51.0  miles. (38.7  miles).   0 short core,   2   short light weights   and  1  stretching / rollering session. 10   mins of yoga.   Cumulative Actual, (Cumulative Target), [Cumulative Stretch] - S 96.4 , (107.9 ),   [116.0] , B 1,711.1, (1,705.0) ,   [1,793.1] ,     MTB 642.1, (511.5),  [537.0 ], R 925.9, (924.9),   [971.0]...

I had a stupid mountain bike crash on the first weekend, and between that and fitting a couple little races in to the next week I did less than I had hoped.  First of the SunlitShadow race series was Tuesday night. I started well but quickly ran into issue around the fatigue from the heavy block of training I have done recently. Then as soon as I tripped over a root my hip tightened up and I had to back off the pace from there.  Last multi-sport race of the year was this weekend. I went to Dundee for their Aquathlon. I don't feel like I raced particularly well, as I am pretty heavily bruised from the bike crash. The times say I was a single second slower than last year.  Actuals, (T arget) -  Swim 5.9  miles / 9,550  m. (6.3 miles). Bike 78.2 miles. (84.0 miles).   MTB 30.1  miles. (25.8 miles). Run 58.7  miles. (38.7  miles).   2 short core,  1   short light weights   and  1  stretching / rollering session....