Weekly Consolidation: 10/13 weeks

Monday:

AM: Brick (Cycle - 5x5min interval, Run - 2.3km)

PM: Swim - 1 hr

Tuesday: Run - 5x800m
Wednesday:

AM: Run - 4km easy

PM: Cycle - 2x20min
Thursday: Run - 14km run
Friday: Swim - 1hr

Saturday:

AM: Brick (Cycle - 40k TT, Run - 5.3km)

PM: Run - 8km easy

Sunday: Cycle - 77km group ride

Biggest training week this year! Total of 12h, although the workouts weren't exactly the best. The Mercury also got a nice service, and hopefully will remain clean and quiet until after the race.

The main highlight was the 40k Time Trial on Saturday, which I completed in 1:05, which meant an average of 36.8kmh. I did not have any expectations at all, and just went into it hoping to hold 36kmh and above. I think I gave it almost everything I had. Considering the fact that this was done on a loop without stops, and OSIM bike course is really technical, I'll be really surprised if I can beat this timing. I would be happy with anything <1:10 come race day.

The track workout on Tuesday felt harder than it should be. I came within the same timings as the previous time I did 800m intervals, but felt much more laboured and had to push much harder than before. This didn't really help my confidence much, but it was probably because of the fatigue from the hard efforts.

The long run also did not go as well as I had hoped. Without a running partner this week, trying to hold the same pace became impossible. Halfway through the run it also poured, which was probably the first time I got totally drenched (from rain, not sweat) during a run.

The 2 brick runs went pretty decently. Pace was quick (4:37 for the 5k run) although I find that off the bike even though my cadence is high, my stride length is pretty short. Hopefully a few more brick sessions will help with that, and I can get into 4:30 pace quickly enough.

Swimming has been, surprisingly, going well! Somehow I feel that I have better hip rotation now, and comparing the times I'm doing in my pool with those in April, there certainly is improvement! This is a real shocker because the number of hours I spend in the pool every month can be counted with my hands.

With 3 weeks to go to race day, and 1 week of taper, that leaves me with 2 weeks of workouts left. I need to plan my quality workouts properly and space them out evenly. These will probably include one brick session of ~50km ride and 10km run, a 1.5km swim time trial, and a couple of longer track sessions.

Can't wait for race day to come!