Cyclist’s, runner wannabe, training plan

Had breakfast and a coffee. Sat for a while to answer a few work emails. When I finished I was undecided between going back to bed and having a morning nap or going for an intervals session.

Went for the intervals session, but when I started to run I felt something wasn’t quite right on my left leg. My English vocabulary doesn’t allow me to describe without using questionable words so let’s leave it at me deciding to quit the intervals session and going for an easy run instead. 

I guess by the time I got to Kingston bridge the caffeine started to make its effect because I was feeling just fine. Without me thinking about it I started to run faster and faster. At a certain point I noticed I was running faster than usual because I stopped paying attention to the podcast I was listening to. So I stopped the podcast and kept the pace until Hampton Court bridge. Where I fell back to an easy pace and ran back home happy with myself.

And this, my friends, is how this cyclist’s, runner wannabe, training plan is executed. Pure improvisation.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/16381798817

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

Intervals + Kingston Bridge - Hampton Court loop

Yeah, those intervals didn’t really go as planned. 

Did two “long” ones and I thought I was rubbish. I look now at the numbers and I see I wasn’t that bad, but the seed was planted in my brain.

I died half way through the third one. That is when the swearing and self deprecating started. All in my head because I was so out of breath that I was unable to say a word.

Managed to complete the fourth one. I still thought it was terrible. The numbers tell me now it was a fine effort for a fourth one. In my brain I was starting to pile excuses. Lots of them. I was looking for a reason to quit.

Tried the fifth one anyway, but, again, I died half way through it. Oh my, I was in a bad mood. I had given up again. I was hating myself. What a loser! 

Without interruption, after the five “long” intervals, it was time for the “short” ones.

First one felt fine. I attributed it to being such a mentally weak runner and having had the extra recovering of having given up half way through the previous interval. 

Second one brought me to reality. I finished it. But it felt hard. 

I finished the third one too. It was very hard, but third ones are always very hard. 

I was hesitant on the fourth one. I was so terrified of not finishing it that I think I started a bit conservative. And, of course, that was exactly what I needed to finish it.

That was it. Whenever I have a set of five intervals I know I’ll finish it if I finish the fourth one. In fact I believe my fifth one was my fastest. 

I say “I believe” because the “short” intervals are only 250m long, Strava doesn’t allow for segments that short, and I don’t bother marking the segments on my watch. Who cares anyway?

All I cared about was that I was happy again. Yes, my performance felt a bit shit on the long intervals but I had finished the short ones. Add to it that I wasn’t feeling that tired, it was sunny and warm. I was so happy that the only reason I didn’t put my arms up in the air is because the park was full of dog walkers and I was pretty sure some of them were neighbours and suddenly I worried about what they would think of me. 

I felt so well that I decided to go for a Kingston Bridge - Hampton Court loop. 

That is 15 extra kilometres, but I figured that if I run easy it would be fine.

And it was fine.

So much so that as I was running by the river I was thinking that I was close to believing that 15km at 5:30min/km was a recovery run.

That belief didn’t hold. By the time I got to Hampton Court, 20km into the run, I started to feel tired, the silly optimism took a step back and I was just looking to end the run as dignifiedly as possible.

And I did.

I can’t claim that I attacked the hill, but going up Ditton hill I felt just fine. Kept the pace, heart rate went up, passed the hill without slowing down. What a way of finishing the run.

I was happy again. In love with myself again. Optimistic again.

Still fearing next intervals session though.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/16320102743/

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

Two laps to Richmond Park with Jim

This is great training, I believe.

If I were running alone I would have settled for a slower pace. Running with Jim needs me to push a bit harder. Nothing too crazy but still challenging enough to force me to focus on the running. 

More running, less chatting. Especially in the second lap. 

As said, great training. For me anyway, not sure if for Jim though.

The bad news was that by the end of the second lap I was feeling tired so I had to play the “All right!” trick.

You don’t know what the “All right!” trick is?

It is a good tool to avoid sprinting when you know you are not going to win. 

It goes like this. As the finish is approaching and you are getting to the moment to start sprinting for the line say outloud: All right!, exhale loudly and slow down every so slightly, like you were starting your cool down. 

90% of the time your running mate gets the sign that there won’t be a sprint for the line, sometimes not even realising there was going to be a sprint for the line in the first place, and you are saved from a sure defeat at the sprint. 

9% of the times the trick doesn’t work but that is because you were not loud enough when you said All right! Or when you exhaled. If you are not loud enough your running mate might not get the sign and go for the sprint. Not good for your winning record.

What about that 1%?

Well that 1% is for when you try that trick with someone like me.

For me, hearing “All right!” followed by an exhale is not a sign of truce. It is a sign to attack. I know it doesn’t speak too well of me but, hey, nobody is perfect. 

Now if you want to be like me, be warned that attacking when your running mate has played the “All right!” trick still has the risk of losing the spring.

When that happens you look like a proper loser. 

It happened to me once or twice (mostly in cycling). That’s why you don’t really want to be like me.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15634151332

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

 

The influence of Spanish lessons in cycling style

 Back on the bike after pretending (and failing) to be a runner for the last couple of weeks.

I shouldn’t have had that coffee in the morning. 

All I wanted for today was to sit at the back of the group and enjoy the ride. 

The morning coffee got me too excited and before I realised I was at the front, riding parallel to GC Denis. Sometimes I can’t believe how often I fail to follow a perfectly designed plan.

Somehow I still managed to get a decent first half of the ride. 

I was able to hold GC Denis’ wheel going up Effingham despite all the help I gave him in the form of very strong moral support and admiration for all the work he was doing at the front. 

I took the very important sprint at Holmbury St. Mary attacking from the front, deploying an explosion of power that no one was able to match and that allowed me to celebrate with arms in the air such a great win.

Finally I did a decent job leading the pack in the last climb before Seale. Richard L. took the Seale sprint proving that learning Spanish also gets you into Spanish riding style. 

I say finally because that was it. Got to Seale, got a coffee and scone and realised I was tired. Dead. Finito. Kaputt. 

I sat towards the back of the group the whole way back. I struggled quite a bit. On a few occasions I was tempted to drop and let the group go. The pace was nothing crazy, just too much for me. 

By the time we got to Cobham I told everyone I was not going to sprint. I was destroyed.

But I changed my mind. 

It is not that my word can’t be trusted when it comes to sprinting, it is just that the approach to Esher was slow enough for me to believe I could take the sprint. 

That’s not my fault. 

What else could I have done if I found myself at the back of the group with a clear view on who was ready to sprint.

…flesh is weak.

So, from that privileged position I made my calculations and decided Jack, Nigel and Richard L. were the ones to look out to. I also decided to wait as long as possible and attack from behind, passing everyone and taking the (second) win.

Richard L. screwed everything though.

Once again, he showed the influence of his Spanish lessons and he went a bit too early.

A bit too early for me.

That was the moment when I realised that going at the back of the group was not that great. It turns out you have to close a bigger gap. Not ideal. 

I didn’t win. That’s probably all you want to know about the sprint.

But I’ll tell you that Richard L. took it. 

I am very, very, very happy. I mean, very, very happy. That the second most Spanish rider of the group won the final sprint.

Now you know. If you want to be a sprinter, start taking Spanish lessons.

 The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15579819367/

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

Trail run with The Pope and JFW

They were chatting all the way while I struggled at the back

Very disappointed with my performance in this run. 

I was expecting more of myself. I was expecting myself to be fine with the pace, to hold myself behind JFW and The Pope for the whole run, and, still, feel fine at the end. After all, the plan was to run “slowly” in the hills for “only” three hours.

Whenever you cross a river prepare yourself to climb. I learnt it works also for running

As soon as we started to run I knew I was up for a hard day. The Pope and JFW were running at the front, chatting casually and the effort I had to do to sustain their pace felt harder than it should have. I had to walk up the climbs four or five times, including the steps up Box Hill.

I used to think I was great going up the steps... until today

By the time the question of what to run next was asked, two hours and a half into the run, I begged to go straight to the car. I had been running slower and slower for a while and even if nothing felt particularly painful I was tired and really looking forward to stopping running. 

The further we run the further back I was

I thanked JFW and The Pope for taking me to the car, for slowing their pace to keep me in the run and apologised to them for my lack of performance. As I said above, I was expecting more of myself today.

Now, if I want to look at it from a positive angle, all I have to do is to remind myself that this has been my longest in kilometres, longest in time, and with more climbing trail run so far, that I have run it with two riders way stronger than me, and that I’m not feeling that bad after the mandatory siesta.

I’ll go with the positive view.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15567834683

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González 

Eaten alive by JFW

Jim left me well cooked yesterday (https://www.strava.com/activities/15475420410).

Well cooked but alive.

I stuffed myself during the day. I wasn’t conscious of it yesterday but today I realised that’s what I was doing. Stuffing myself like a turkey. 

(I might be getting my metaphor wrong as I believe you normally stuff the dish and then cook it, and I’m going I was first cooked and then stuffed but bare with me in this one. It is not the first time I get my metaphors wrong)

I don’t know if stuffed turkey is a dish JFW likes but he surely ate me, alive, today.

Look at the profile of the route. That’s a revenge profile. A profile that says I’m going to hit your legs in the first climb. I’ll go to your throat in the second one (I was coughing so heavily at the top that I had to make efforts to not throw up. Didn’t want to ruin JFW’s fest). I’ll eat you alive after the third one.

It was easy for him. The third climb was so steep I needed to use my hands to hold at branches to not fall. I was defenseless.

From that moment he just had the best time. Devouring every piece of me and my soul one kilometer at the time. 

I knew I had one more hour of suffering. 

That was because I listened and took note when he said we were going to run two hours. 

But he was making the route as we were going. I sensed this was going to last a bit longer.

Especially when he asked how we were doing in time and I told him we had been running for 1 hour 40 minutes. 

He changed direction immediately and suggested we had 40 more minutes to run.

It was a whole hour. 

Enough time for him to finish his digestion. 

Ps. I find it funny how it turns out I had my best 400m time of the season in this run. 1m 14s, one more proof that I’m a sprinter.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15487629357/

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González

Half a marathon before breakfast with Jim

 

That is for Jim of course. I made sure I had a proper breakfast before heading to the Roehampton Café.

I know all too well that if I don’t have a proper breakfast there is no way I can survive a run like this. I’d be bonking massively, probably before finishing the first lap.

Not Jim. He was solid. Keeping the pace there. Not too fast, but not easy either. Not killing me, but not giving room for me to aim for a sprint finish. Challenging enough to make me happy with my performance at the end but relaxed enough so we had great moments of chat (none of them running uphill in case you were wondering). 

The promised coffee and almond croissant at the end was very welcome. 

The brunch (third breakfast for me) later with the family was fantastic.

In the early afternoon I sat on my sofa, closed my eyes, and one hour later tried to convince everyone in the family I didn’t sleep a one hour siesta. 

No one believed me.

The run in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15475420410

Take care of yourself

Javier Arias González