Medium long ride (it is actually my longest ride of the week) around Centennial was a sharp contrast to last week. The HERT North Shore squad (consisting of just Luke H and myself this morning) were thrown in with a fast pace line including some competitive young triathletes and a couple of other solid cyclists.

For a 45min period, we were zipping around the park averaging around 40kph, taking 30sec pulls on the front. Luke took quite a few turns on the front before pulling off. In the final two laps there were only 3 of us left, indicating that the team TT pace may have been a bit too quick. In the draft zone HR was 140-155BPM, then on the front would creep to 160-175BPM. It was a fast but sustainable pace- good workout. Legs were a little tired, however the cold seems to be on the mend.

Enjoyed the swim squad in the evening. Mark wasn't there tonight but coach Chris Hanrahan was there to crack the whip. Found the restricted breathing difficult in the first working set, and had to cheat a little to get through a few of the reps. The final two sets were more successful, and I gradually moved up the pecking order in my lane as I was catching the swimmers in front. The 100m efforts with fins on were coming in around 1:20-1:25. Chris says my stroke is all over the place, which is great! It means I have alot of improvement in me. Fingers crossed.

TRAINING:

AM: 2h 20min cycle (80.3km). Avg HR 152BPM. Avg Spd. 34.2kph (7/10)

PM: Swim Squad (2.5km) (8/10)
> 6 x 150m (breathing every 3 strokes for 50, 5 strokes for 50 then 7 strokes for 50)
> 8 x 100m (with fins, 50m butterfly kick, 50m freestyle)
> 8 x 100m (with fins on the 1:40)