I went to PHD Health in Millers Road to get my metabolism tested and to establish a baseline. As I get older, there are a lot of factors that influence my training and, more importantly, my nutrition. My baseline metabolism, fat metabolism, etc. play an important role in how I feel, how I train and consequently, how I perform in races.

I had hoped to understand my resting metabolic rate, body composition and VO2max. I didn’t get a chance to do the VO2max test or my muscle strength, fast vs. slow twitch muscle recruitment, etc. But it was still an important learning experience.

Among the most important things I learned were:
1. My Resting Metabolic rate is low. So, I have slower than average metabolism (this might explain why I tend to put on weight really quickly if I am not training or if I have a week off). I’m about 13% below average for my age a, gender, height, etc. And this is for the whole population, so I’m certainly significantly lower compared to athletes.
2. My metabolism is mostly a result of carbohydrates (87.2%) and only minimally using fats (12.8%). So, I need to work on endurance (burning fat) by working on both aerobic sessions and changing my diet.
3. I have lower than average bone density – this is partly because I have very low Vit D (which I am taking supplements for, but need to watch). I was also recommended to incorporate weight training and resistance exercises to prevent further bone density loss.
4. Body fat % is high – this could be because of my diet (lots of carbs), not enough strength training, and genetic factors (South Indians are usually very prone to putting on high % of fat).

All this means that (as I had suspected), I am working off a distinctly disadvantageous position. So, I need to focus on a well-structured diet, monitoring Vit D & Calcium levels, building bone density through resistance & weight training, and redressing the body fat percentages.

Another poor training week. Generally busy week-long work days, lack of sleep, wife out of town on a work trip, etc. I was hoping to have a good, solid weekend of training, but had to work late on Saturday as well (so missed the swim). Finally, I felt like the tank was well and truly empty by the time I got to the Saturday trainer ride and Sunday run. It wasn’t easy pushing at all. So, I ended up with just doing the bare minimum and aborting both sessions. It was also the week of my birthday, so I ended up eating out quite a bit.

I’ve had 2 poor weeks back-to-back at the start of this run-focused block. I really need to pick it up and build some momentum.

Onward!

Planned to be the end of ‘off-season’ and the start of a 12-week run block. Didn’t quite turn out that way. Had a few very long work days on Thursday and Saturday, and as a result, didn’t get a chance to complete the week as planned. I’m sure some residual fatigue (physical and mental) from the 5k swim on Saturday played a part as well.

Taper/end of the off-season. Just two short swims, and ending the week with a 5k swimathon in open water in Goa.

The open water swim was interesting. No big waves, but a strong current towards the shore. And since the course was 1.25km straight out (perpendicular to the beach) and back, the way out was REALLY slow. Took over 40 mins each time on the way out, and about half the time coming back. Also, the sighting was a problem – there were only 2 buoys – one at 650m, and one at the 1.25km turnaround point. Both of these were not very visible from afar. So, I swam a total of about 5.5km even with frequent sighting. All in all, a good experience. It’s nice to have the confidence that I can swim for 2 hours in the sea… which makes my typical 1.9km HIM swim seem short by comparison.

The training for the swimathon (swims were the only part of my TP calendar that I followed in the last 3 weeks) gives me additional belief.

Now, a fresh season starts. A 12-week run-focussed block starting Monday.

Partial training after a 2-week break. The focus has been solely on swimming frequently and intensely in preparation for the Swimathon. Made sure I hit all four planned swim sessions (even if one or two of them were shorter than planned). Thanks to some work and other errands, I didn’t get much sleep this week, so skipped most of my other sessions on the bike and run.

Feeling good as far as the swim is concerned. The timing doesn’t show it, but I feel strong at the end of a 1500m or 2000m block, and am able to up the intensity just a little bit. I wasn’t able to do this a few months ago, so this is encouraging. A LOT more of this is required, of course.

Rest & recovery weeks 1 & 2 post-Colombo 70.3.

Took it really easy these two weeks. No upcoming races, and the first real break since September 2018. So, this felt good. I did feel a bit sluggish at the end of this 2-week period. I wasn’t too keen to get back to full training but did feel a loss of fitness creeping in. That said, it felt good to wake up later, have more time for the family and to have some weekend activities planned.

Race week in Colombo!

Had a great time racing with the coach and the rest of the Koa Sports team racing there – April, Jason, Chris, and Terry. Learned an incredible amount from them, and also had a ball training with them (OWS with April, a recce ride the day before, etc.).

The race went about as smoothly as I could’ve expected. It was a hot day, and my run suffered. But the bike was as good as I’d planned (33kmph+). The swim was also solid (<2000m in all, which meant I sighted well) at 41.30. A 5:30 finish was my target and I just about hit the target. So quite happy overall.

The week leading up to the race was good – and this is a first. My final taper week involved practice swims (open water and pool), a couple of rides, and no illnesses. This was a big reason for the performance, I’m sure.

After the last 6 months of training for Goa and Colombo, I’m taking a small “off-season” break. I’m going to focus on swimming so that I have some fitness for the Swimathon in March. But otherwise, it’s time to pause and take it easy for a month before I get back into the next solid training block.

Now, on to bigger and better things.

A good lead-in to race week taper. Not as heavy a load planned as last week, but hit most of the targets except Tuesday (Tuesday was a late night at work – past midnight, so slept in on Wednesday). The weekend block was good and finished with an outdoor ride after swapping cassettes on my wheels.

The keys to this taper week are:

1. Do all the sessions as planned. Don’t lose momentum.
2. Pack the bike safely (and preferably in advance – not waiting till Thursday morning)
3. Make sure the swim sessions, in particular, are done as planned. “Water-feel” is very important for me.

On to the next week.

Another rough week with illness. Didn’t feel too good early in the week – I suspect some kind of sinus infection (headaches and pain behind the cheekbone) all week. Felt low energy. On doc’s advice, I skipped all swims this week, but managed to do all the other sessions – even if not at my best. Also threw in a short ROTB at the end.

I am not happy with the lead-in to Colombo, but I need to make the most of it and try to taper well, with a good frequency of sessions. I’m hoping that the banked fitness from the last few months will help me get a PB. Post-Colombo, I have to work on a good strategy to make a marked improvement.

Two things I need to work on with my coach are:
1. How not to fall sick everytime I build some training momentum. Over the last 8-10 months, when I get to 650+ TSS weeks for a couple of weeks, I tend to fall sick.
2. The run-specific block late in 2018 helped a lot. 5:00 is the new normal for me, and it used to be 5:30. I want to do a similar reset for my bike (36kmph instead of 27-30) and swim (1:45 instead of 2:00 /100m in the pool).

Week Colombo –  1 coming up. Focus on the swim to make up for last week, and build confidence.

A reasonable week until Saturday afternoon. Then, I fell sick (as did everyone else in the household). I had planned to go join a bunch of other folks on a bike-run ITT. That didn’t happen… and I ended up feeling quite tired through all of Sunday and much of Monday. That and a missed swim midweek turned a 750+ TSS week into a 530 TSS week.

The coming week is the biggest before Colombo, so I need to make it count.