Blimey, just noticed that my last post was on back on 10th November - doesn't time fly when you are in lockdown, you can't ride events, and even getting in the water proving rather difficult ! 

2021 was due to be a year of two Ironmans - Lanzarote & then the Outlaw. The 30 week plan for Lanzarote started in November, and to be fair, good progress was being made up until week 10, when national Covid lockdown put a stop to swimming, and then during week 17 of the plan, the event itself was postponed until 5 July, which was too close to Outlaw and to be honest, did not convince me that it would go ahead, so I diverted my energy towards Outlaw and made the decision to defer Lanzarote until 2023.

So where am I now... 

I had to jump back from week 17 to week 8 and cover that ground again... it worked out well, as we are still waiting for the lake, and then pools to open again in the UK.

This means that as at today we are just starting week 12 of the plan, with the lake opening at the end of week 14, and the pools open again at the start of week 16, so plenty of time.

In training news, cycling has gone to plan over the winter, and a recent CP20 gave some comfort, albeit, we don't know how that will yet translate out onto the road.  Running has been steady and at the required volume and intensity, but I am aware that my stride is shortening and I've taken steps to incorporate drills into my Tuesday runs.... then we get too...

... Swimming !  Since the end of December, I've been using indoor resistance bands at least twice a week to keep my swimming muscles ticking over - will it do the trick - who knows ? - I'll find out in a couple of weeks time when I'm back in the lake ..

... now to buy some chilly swim socks.