Endurance Seminar, Tuesday 31st January, Hayya Lakes Club, Dubai, 6pm onwards

Aerofit scan

"I was first introduced to the concept of AeroFit Scans through Up and Running sports Clinic.  I had been training for the world championships in Beijing and was intrigued firstly what my fitness levels were and whether this could be improved upon.  When you have spent the last year training extremely hard and coming from a sports science back ground I was naturally interested in whether any changes could be made.

We concentrated on the running aspect of the test which is my favourite and one of my strongest disciplines in the sport of triathlon.  The scan showed I need to start training at a lot lower heart rate and focus of 12 weeks on my base levels.  This was aiming for a heart rate of 134 bpm for 90 to 120 mins 2 times a week.  My first reaction was "you have to be kidding, that's far too slow!". Although the main focus was on heart rate we worked out I would be running at around a 6 min pace per 1 km.  I had nothing to lose by sticking to the recommendations as I was about to have a forced rest due to a shoulder operation.  I started the run training while continuing with my usual bike and swim training. After a couple of weeks I had a break due to a shoulder operation and then resumed building up my running 6 weeks later.  I started to introduce one interval running set two weeks before my retest as my shoulder was getting stronger and this linked in well with my next race.

Although I was very strict about keeping to my heart rate I was anxious about the results.  The scan showed what I had hoped for........and even more than the aeroscan had foreseen.  My base fitness level had improved by  33%!  All those slow runs had improved my body's ability to burn fat rather than the easier to burn carbohydrates.  This helps my ability with maintaining my speed for longer distances as well as increasing my maximum threshold.  All this with easier training sessions.  I would definitely recommend to anyone at any level to take part in this scan.  I will now bring in more intervals along with 2 longer runs always focusing on my heart rate.  I can't wait to see how my running improves over the next 12 weeks for my next scan.  I have learnt I can achieve better results with less effort....surely everyone has been looking for this miracle!"

I tested my fitness this weekend at the Dubai Marathon.  i only ran the first 21km in preparation for Sri Lanka's Half Ironman in 3 weeks.  I ran a 1 hour 27 min 40 seconds half marathon at average 4:10 pace.  this was exactly what the test and training had predicted. 

I now have 3 weeks to get even faster.....

Happy New Year

Its January already and so much has happened since my last blog. I had an operation to have the screws and bolts removed from my collar bone after my bike crash September 2010. Getting back into training since has been slow but now thankfully my energy and motivation have picked up.

My next race and goal is my very first Half Ironman this February in Sri Lanka! Brave after such a break post operation some would say! I consider it a challenge.