For those who still don't know my resolution is to complete an Ironman ditance triathlon in the next few years. Therefore this years resolution will be some stepping stone on the way to that. More about that latter. Instead I though I'd jot down what I had instore for myself for my holiday time off.
This week I'll hit the gym Tuesday and thursday as the works Christmas do is Monday and Friday is Christmas eve. I shall therefore be having a glass or two of christams cheer. On Wednesday I really need to finish my wrapping card writing and etc.
Obviously Xmas and boxing days shall be "rest days" but htis leaves the dual bank holiday the two days of leave I've got before new years day and then the proceeding bank holiday I have a lot o training time I could use. I thus plan to use the days to get out and run and cycle as much as possible. This will of course depend on the weather for the bike. I also want to swim more of the 60 length or more numbers to start building my endurance in that category too. I also want to train up for the next Wadenhoe by running the MTB up and down a track that runs up a railway foot bridge. The track is off road slippery and about the same height and gradient as the Wadenhoe hills. If not a bit steeper and higher. Thus by running myself and the bike up this trial over the interviening weeks I hope to file away the rough edges that are causing me so much hassle in the races. i.e gear changes on the hills. If I can get up the steeper hills in the higher gears without have to shift the big cogs I'll remove one potential cause. Not to mention the speed advantage.
We can but try.
I'v also been doing some analysis of the previous two races winners. Although the first place man in the 1st race was faster on the run then my fastest run he is slow on the bike section comapred to some of his rivials. The winner of the second race has a big advantage over everyone on the bike and hence his dominaton. I will need to be able to at least match this to stand clear. If I could do this and run like the wind and translate well. I could be in contention.
So Christmas is fun New years is going to be all business.
Monday, 20 December 2010
Wobbly legs and hailstones.
Workout stuff has been really boring thanks to the weather. Primarily for the past two weeks I've been at the gym of which other than the usual delights of turning myself into a water feature thanks to the enermous amount of sweat I seem to generate, the gym has put a spinning bike in the main gym area.
Yes finnally to do a bike workout no longer means I have to sit for thirty minutes either pedalling like a victorian on a penny farthing in the approved armchair position due to the "unisex" saddle fitted to the normal exercise bikes. For those who don't know what I mean, it is this. The exercise bikes have a comfortable seat designed for the female buttock making it rather uncomortable to use in the way it should be due to the width of the damned thing. Which means either you have to sit right back on it with the seat lower down so you don't wear holes into the inside of your thighs. Or you can sit right on the front edge of the seat and wait until you lose feeling in your vitals.
The spinning bike saddle on the other hand is the standard unisex option in that it works for both sexes and you can apodt a position very similar to that of a bike. Like the ones I want to be able to push faster. This is good. The bad news is that the spinning bike is not part of the electronic suite of modern exercise equipment harking back to the days when you had to monitor your own performance and demand your own effort levels. I still enjoy it far more and although I may still need to use the electronic one to see if my performance has improved I will be including this as my 15min "steady pace" exercise.
Second highlight was another good hoof in the pool of a 60 length workout after a rather bruttish session when nothing seemed to be going right on dry land.
When the weather broke for a split second raising temperture into the heady plus temperatures allowing me to use my expensive new road bike for what it was intended I planned to head up to Wanford via the back roads and possibly further. Thus I donned the road cycle lycra put together a light pack of esstentials and headed out. The roads although no longer icy where wet and rather misriable but I was quite happy and with seemingly bounds of energy reached Wansford. I then thought. Hmmm.... I think I could reach my sisters house near Bourne and back again before the sun goes down. I therefore headed out onto the A47 moving as fast as I could to clear the busy route before the noddy car drivers realised their overused single line expressway had been invaded and went via the charming vilages of Southorpe and Barnack towards Stamford. I have been through Stamford on a number of occasions in the summer and the sleepy little market town has one of the most annoying town centres to travel through. On the bike I was forced to cut up cars left right and centre as I dashed for the lights. I also had no real clue of the road I'd need as I'd never travelled through the centre towards Bourne. I knew there was a route as I'd seen it on the map but had to follow the car signs to the A15, which is the main road that runs through the middle of Bourne. The hills began and although I could stop for a breather at the many traffic light junctions I was unaware that I was heading into the leisurely slopes of Lincolnshire. Those of the true hills my mock me but I'm used to the almost complete flatness of Cambridgeshire. The route out of Stamford was very pictursque. I one point I thoiguht I'd even found a leak on the road side as I went up a hill thanks to the free flowing water coming down the road but it turned out to be just a car wash at the top in a converted petrol station forecourt. The hills became twister and the roads slushier. I discovered that my front derailier had actually become jammed and would rock the big cogs so I was stuck in the top gears as I tried to negotiate new and interesting inclines on a slippery surface. Hence no momentum as I didn't want to nail it into a corner and not come out the other side but with linited gears I was having to slog up the gradient.Into Bourne and over to my Sister's.
Who was out.
Although I think I did see my brother in law as he headed out of the village in his car we exchanged looks only realising too late who the other was.
No rest for the wicked although I did stop to try the door bell and phone my sibling to tell her I had been there. I headed back the way I had come. I didn't fancy venturing down the A47 again in the failing light as my lights and reflectiv coat would only provide the drivers on that road brief wonderment as they mowed me down so I decided to head back towards Peterborough after Stamford. The legs at Stamford started to register their distress. I was constantly having to switch postions to try and alter the muscle groups working but my thighs would start to kill in any postion. As I reached Marholm on the west side of peterborugh the sun sank under the horizon and the temp plummeted. I had some warmers kit in the pack and put on the gaunlet gloves and tried to walk off the thigh strain.
This didn't help alot other then restoring feeling to my fingers.
I now tried to go as fast as I could through the dark country roads to Nene Park and sanctury. My legs screaming at me. I didnt see a single car which was fortunate and plunged down the hill towards the river. I couldn't continue much further and as I was only a few miles from my parents as opposed to much further to my own home I headed to theirs for a cuppa and a lift back to Yaxley.
Everyone agreed I was mad.
The total trip when worked out on google came to roughly 64miles A good distance but I was naffed and compared to the ultimate target of a hundred odd miles or so was a bit of a cold shower realisation as to actually how hard the Ironman is.
The following weekend I had decided I needed outdoor running so went for a 13miler as per the run I'd done before the Great Eastern Run.
I was carrying the same pack as the bike run only with more spare clothes incase I had to stop. I'd also bought some gloves. Ronhill ones too. Rather slippery so no use for the bike or car but very nice on the run. I'd also included a baseball cap as I'd left my running wholly hat in the car after the last Wadenhoe. It was lucky I did for as I escaped Orton Goldhay on the way home it began to snow. Or at least that what I thought it was. Snow tends not to bounce. Yep it was hailing. Fortunately it wasn't very large ice crystals and between my headphone and baseball cap it kept the worse off so I was runnin home free. Thanks to the ice on the road and a detour to post a letter I hadn't done a memorable time.
Yes finnally to do a bike workout no longer means I have to sit for thirty minutes either pedalling like a victorian on a penny farthing in the approved armchair position due to the "unisex" saddle fitted to the normal exercise bikes. For those who don't know what I mean, it is this. The exercise bikes have a comfortable seat designed for the female buttock making it rather uncomortable to use in the way it should be due to the width of the damned thing. Which means either you have to sit right back on it with the seat lower down so you don't wear holes into the inside of your thighs. Or you can sit right on the front edge of the seat and wait until you lose feeling in your vitals.
The spinning bike saddle on the other hand is the standard unisex option in that it works for both sexes and you can apodt a position very similar to that of a bike. Like the ones I want to be able to push faster. This is good. The bad news is that the spinning bike is not part of the electronic suite of modern exercise equipment harking back to the days when you had to monitor your own performance and demand your own effort levels. I still enjoy it far more and although I may still need to use the electronic one to see if my performance has improved I will be including this as my 15min "steady pace" exercise.
Second highlight was another good hoof in the pool of a 60 length workout after a rather bruttish session when nothing seemed to be going right on dry land.
When the weather broke for a split second raising temperture into the heady plus temperatures allowing me to use my expensive new road bike for what it was intended I planned to head up to Wanford via the back roads and possibly further. Thus I donned the road cycle lycra put together a light pack of esstentials and headed out. The roads although no longer icy where wet and rather misriable but I was quite happy and with seemingly bounds of energy reached Wansford. I then thought. Hmmm.... I think I could reach my sisters house near Bourne and back again before the sun goes down. I therefore headed out onto the A47 moving as fast as I could to clear the busy route before the noddy car drivers realised their overused single line expressway had been invaded and went via the charming vilages of Southorpe and Barnack towards Stamford. I have been through Stamford on a number of occasions in the summer and the sleepy little market town has one of the most annoying town centres to travel through. On the bike I was forced to cut up cars left right and centre as I dashed for the lights. I also had no real clue of the road I'd need as I'd never travelled through the centre towards Bourne. I knew there was a route as I'd seen it on the map but had to follow the car signs to the A15, which is the main road that runs through the middle of Bourne. The hills began and although I could stop for a breather at the many traffic light junctions I was unaware that I was heading into the leisurely slopes of Lincolnshire. Those of the true hills my mock me but I'm used to the almost complete flatness of Cambridgeshire. The route out of Stamford was very pictursque. I one point I thoiguht I'd even found a leak on the road side as I went up a hill thanks to the free flowing water coming down the road but it turned out to be just a car wash at the top in a converted petrol station forecourt. The hills became twister and the roads slushier. I discovered that my front derailier had actually become jammed and would rock the big cogs so I was stuck in the top gears as I tried to negotiate new and interesting inclines on a slippery surface. Hence no momentum as I didn't want to nail it into a corner and not come out the other side but with linited gears I was having to slog up the gradient.Into Bourne and over to my Sister's.
Who was out.
Although I think I did see my brother in law as he headed out of the village in his car we exchanged looks only realising too late who the other was.
No rest for the wicked although I did stop to try the door bell and phone my sibling to tell her I had been there. I headed back the way I had come. I didn't fancy venturing down the A47 again in the failing light as my lights and reflectiv coat would only provide the drivers on that road brief wonderment as they mowed me down so I decided to head back towards Peterborough after Stamford. The legs at Stamford started to register their distress. I was constantly having to switch postions to try and alter the muscle groups working but my thighs would start to kill in any postion. As I reached Marholm on the west side of peterborugh the sun sank under the horizon and the temp plummeted. I had some warmers kit in the pack and put on the gaunlet gloves and tried to walk off the thigh strain.
This didn't help alot other then restoring feeling to my fingers.
I now tried to go as fast as I could through the dark country roads to Nene Park and sanctury. My legs screaming at me. I didnt see a single car which was fortunate and plunged down the hill towards the river. I couldn't continue much further and as I was only a few miles from my parents as opposed to much further to my own home I headed to theirs for a cuppa and a lift back to Yaxley.
Everyone agreed I was mad.
The total trip when worked out on google came to roughly 64miles A good distance but I was naffed and compared to the ultimate target of a hundred odd miles or so was a bit of a cold shower realisation as to actually how hard the Ironman is.
The following weekend I had decided I needed outdoor running so went for a 13miler as per the run I'd done before the Great Eastern Run.
I was carrying the same pack as the bike run only with more spare clothes incase I had to stop. I'd also bought some gloves. Ronhill ones too. Rather slippery so no use for the bike or car but very nice on the run. I'd also included a baseball cap as I'd left my running wholly hat in the car after the last Wadenhoe. It was lucky I did for as I escaped Orton Goldhay on the way home it began to snow. Or at least that what I thought it was. Snow tends not to bounce. Yep it was hailing. Fortunately it wasn't very large ice crystals and between my headphone and baseball cap it kept the worse off so I was runnin home free. Thanks to the ice on the road and a detour to post a letter I hadn't done a memorable time.
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Wadenhoe blues
Ok so I haven't posted for a while and my training program has suffered for it. With out the edge that it gives to justifing my days off its easier to say "I don't fell like it".
So whats been happening. The wadenhoe events are in full swing and I'm looking very competitive. The 1st event it was all a bit new. I got there and started setting up. On the first run I found the pace was fairly easy. A group of about 3 of us broke off and started outstripping the rest. The running course went round a field over a style and then down a set of downs before leaping a fence and then running alongside the river where it gets nice and muddy before finally heading up a hill and bck to the start line. By the style I was about tenth, by the fence I was up to third. My Father pointed out that those behind us had to wait a long time before getting over the style as everyone grouped up. Next race I'd go as fast as i could to make sure I made it over this style and stay in the runnning. 2nd place man was in a RAF tri suit and did a leap over the fence while the 1st place man climbed over it. This made up some serious time fro him so I had to follow suit. I kept with them to the start line then RAF man started slowing down on the second lap so I keyed up on the 1st place man and ran on his shoulder for the next lap. Transistion was a nighmare though. 1st place man didn't change shoes so was away as soon as he had his helmet on. My shoe change was poor and I'll have to practise this. Then to make matters worse, I hadn't got the bike course right and without anyone to follow I went all over the shop looking for the route. 1st place man got further away. RAF man was on the quad rather than the dualthon so was off to the kayak. The bike then started acting up. The gears kept jumping so I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. I made some poor laps trying to recover some steam. Then a man in a mountainbike team jersey went past. That was annoying and I resolved to catch him up.
That was when disaster hit. As I switched down on the big ring the chain got stuck between the frame and the outer gear. Looking at the jammed drive train it reminded me of when the same thing happed in the peak district and it took me serval minutes to carefully lever it out. I had no such time in the race so I grap a hold of it and pulled.
Hooray!
It had come free in one. I quick lookover and it looked fine. On I jumped and started up the hill again. As soon as I had to puch hard I felt the gear slip and then a sudden lack of opposition told me instantly what had happened.
The chain had broken!
I was disgusted. To do so well and be knocked out that way. 4th place man came by just as I through the bike down. "Chain" he asked. Yeah I said and waved him by. Then picked up my injured friend and hoofed it back up the hill with it over my shoulder.
I was gutted. The next day I got it into Bristows for a repair. The guys at Bristows thought it was a problem with the rear cassette as with a new chain it still had the jump that was killing it before. With a new one it was nice a smooth.
I didn't want to wreak its new perfect setup so it went in the garage and stayed there until the next race.
That day came on the 5th of December. Last ime I found the wait was almost perfect but the 2nd race seemed to come up on me by surprise. I took the bike on a quick warm up. I hadn't adjusted the seat and resolved to do so as soon as I got back. Disaster seemed to loom as the chain got stuck again as I dropped the big ring. It was not good. I had time and ran it back up the hill and started to get to work on it with my Father who'd come to watch. We managed to free it with an application of leverage on the pedals. The pre race briefing was called and I had to take off and then it was rush time to get everything in place bike shoes helemet then as I warmed up at the line I even realised I'd forgotten the paper number on my chest. I legged it back to the car to slap it on knowing the race would be called any second. I just got it on with help from my Father when the line up was called and sprinted it up to the front. The horn went and as per my plan I sprinted for the style.
I don't want to boast but as I went for it I heard a shout about half way to the style and couldn't hear anyone runnning with me. I kept going to just before the style. I thought the shout could have been aimed at me and the race was being restarted or something so I turned. The pack was lagging behind I had a good 50-70m lead already. I gathered myself and headed over the style. The cross country shoes paid off as I was able to take the gradients with far moe confidence then my competitors. I lept the fence again but made a poor landing. Still on my feet but needed a second to gather myself. Through the mud I thought I could feel the pack gaining so I gave it all I had up the hill and came back towards the start finish line. Looking at the pictures I was well in the lead only RAF man was still in touch and he was in the quad! Transition was still a nightmare trying to regain some breath while fighting to get my shoes on.
The 2nd place in the dualthlon caught up but I was still ahead. My glasses had steamed up so I couldn't see the course coupled with the effort I'd put in on the run and the iffyness of the gears I was slow on the bike and I knew it. I thought "Just get this lap out the way then go for broke". Thats when the chain broke again.
I was gutted annoyed and down right disgusted. I could have won it.
I trooped back and resigned my number.
The organiser laughingly said I could take the spare bike they had. Which on closer inspection was sporting slick road tryes. In the ice and slush I'd die. But it was a good idea...a backup bike....
So whats been happening. The wadenhoe events are in full swing and I'm looking very competitive. The 1st event it was all a bit new. I got there and started setting up. On the first run I found the pace was fairly easy. A group of about 3 of us broke off and started outstripping the rest. The running course went round a field over a style and then down a set of downs before leaping a fence and then running alongside the river where it gets nice and muddy before finally heading up a hill and bck to the start line. By the style I was about tenth, by the fence I was up to third. My Father pointed out that those behind us had to wait a long time before getting over the style as everyone grouped up. Next race I'd go as fast as i could to make sure I made it over this style and stay in the runnning. 2nd place man was in a RAF tri suit and did a leap over the fence while the 1st place man climbed over it. This made up some serious time fro him so I had to follow suit. I kept with them to the start line then RAF man started slowing down on the second lap so I keyed up on the 1st place man and ran on his shoulder for the next lap. Transistion was a nighmare though. 1st place man didn't change shoes so was away as soon as he had his helmet on. My shoe change was poor and I'll have to practise this. Then to make matters worse, I hadn't got the bike course right and without anyone to follow I went all over the shop looking for the route. 1st place man got further away. RAF man was on the quad rather than the dualthon so was off to the kayak. The bike then started acting up. The gears kept jumping so I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. I made some poor laps trying to recover some steam. Then a man in a mountainbike team jersey went past. That was annoying and I resolved to catch him up.
That was when disaster hit. As I switched down on the big ring the chain got stuck between the frame and the outer gear. Looking at the jammed drive train it reminded me of when the same thing happed in the peak district and it took me serval minutes to carefully lever it out. I had no such time in the race so I grap a hold of it and pulled.
Hooray!
It had come free in one. I quick lookover and it looked fine. On I jumped and started up the hill again. As soon as I had to puch hard I felt the gear slip and then a sudden lack of opposition told me instantly what had happened.
The chain had broken!
I was disgusted. To do so well and be knocked out that way. 4th place man came by just as I through the bike down. "Chain" he asked. Yeah I said and waved him by. Then picked up my injured friend and hoofed it back up the hill with it over my shoulder.
I was gutted. The next day I got it into Bristows for a repair. The guys at Bristows thought it was a problem with the rear cassette as with a new chain it still had the jump that was killing it before. With a new one it was nice a smooth.
I didn't want to wreak its new perfect setup so it went in the garage and stayed there until the next race.
That day came on the 5th of December. Last ime I found the wait was almost perfect but the 2nd race seemed to come up on me by surprise. I took the bike on a quick warm up. I hadn't adjusted the seat and resolved to do so as soon as I got back. Disaster seemed to loom as the chain got stuck again as I dropped the big ring. It was not good. I had time and ran it back up the hill and started to get to work on it with my Father who'd come to watch. We managed to free it with an application of leverage on the pedals. The pre race briefing was called and I had to take off and then it was rush time to get everything in place bike shoes helemet then as I warmed up at the line I even realised I'd forgotten the paper number on my chest. I legged it back to the car to slap it on knowing the race would be called any second. I just got it on with help from my Father when the line up was called and sprinted it up to the front. The horn went and as per my plan I sprinted for the style.
I don't want to boast but as I went for it I heard a shout about half way to the style and couldn't hear anyone runnning with me. I kept going to just before the style. I thought the shout could have been aimed at me and the race was being restarted or something so I turned. The pack was lagging behind I had a good 50-70m lead already. I gathered myself and headed over the style. The cross country shoes paid off as I was able to take the gradients with far moe confidence then my competitors. I lept the fence again but made a poor landing. Still on my feet but needed a second to gather myself. Through the mud I thought I could feel the pack gaining so I gave it all I had up the hill and came back towards the start finish line. Looking at the pictures I was well in the lead only RAF man was still in touch and he was in the quad! Transition was still a nightmare trying to regain some breath while fighting to get my shoes on.
The 2nd place in the dualthlon caught up but I was still ahead. My glasses had steamed up so I couldn't see the course coupled with the effort I'd put in on the run and the iffyness of the gears I was slow on the bike and I knew it. I thought "Just get this lap out the way then go for broke". Thats when the chain broke again.
I was gutted annoyed and down right disgusted. I could have won it.
I trooped back and resigned my number.
The organiser laughingly said I could take the spare bike they had. Which on closer inspection was sporting slick road tryes. In the ice and slush I'd die. But it was a good idea...a backup bike....
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Oh my aching hamstrings
Oh dear. I spoke too soon. My body was so calm was it? I hadn't stretched out properly and stressing my body resulted in. Limping. Monday was written off and in a brillant moment of timing I was hobbling towards the canteen as the occupational health advisor was coming past and quickly had to head off a concerned lecture about my working environment.
Tuesday I managed to go running in the morning and took the bike to work. No records set as I was suffering on the run and was just under 10mins slow. The cycle was slow too. It felt bad. Wednesday and Thursday were written off too although the aching stopped. I felt like I was letting myself down and wondered if it was because I'd lost my aim. I had no goal to motivate me so Thursday I hit the net and looked for my first triathlon event. I wanted something easy in my ability range and close by. There wasn't a whole lot of choice it being the end of season but there was a duathalon at Wadenhoe on the 7th of November. All cross country 2 miles running 6 miles bike 2 miles on foot again. The run also includes a mud run. Joy. The event organisers suggest that you wear cross country shoes with studs. I thought I'd just check out prices and found a pair of Nikes for £30. They looked good in the picture and following another bike ride on Friday I resolved to enter the event. The form was sent and the new boots turned up Saturday! One of the studs didn't fit properly and I thought about returning them but gave them and extra little push and in it went. Yay!
As I hadn't taken the MTB, which I would need for the event, for a proper ride in a while I thought I'd get out there and play in the mud. I tried to avoid paths and headed out back across the fields and forced the brain back into off road mode. "Fear not the pot hole" "heed not the mud coating bike, back and face" "Thy back wheel shalt step out at need" I'd intended it for to be a quick one to ferry meadows and back but I'd forgotten the off road route was a lot longer especially when you head to the fun places like Thorpe Wood and the Boardwalks to thrash it round. Fun was restored.
Sunday I had planned to hit the gym and stop off on the way to start breaking my new trainers in the a few sprints up and down the rowing mile. The new shoes where very grippy and I was impressed. Lighter and less harsh than a rugby boot I had been tempted to use instead. They've been sitting in the cupboard for a while. I felt I could get up some steam with them. As with all new shoes they started to rub and a blister formed after the fourth run. I called it quits and headed for the gym. Avoided the cardio work as I wasn't feeling like it with the blister and no protection on it and it would SNAFU training. I did all the normal weight work and warm up and then jumped in the pool for a quick 30 laps and returned home to wash the bike and clean the mud out of the new boots. With the bikes all oiled and my gym kit ready, it was time to get back into the swing of things.
Tuesday I managed to go running in the morning and took the bike to work. No records set as I was suffering on the run and was just under 10mins slow. The cycle was slow too. It felt bad. Wednesday and Thursday were written off too although the aching stopped. I felt like I was letting myself down and wondered if it was because I'd lost my aim. I had no goal to motivate me so Thursday I hit the net and looked for my first triathlon event. I wanted something easy in my ability range and close by. There wasn't a whole lot of choice it being the end of season but there was a duathalon at Wadenhoe on the 7th of November. All cross country 2 miles running 6 miles bike 2 miles on foot again. The run also includes a mud run. Joy. The event organisers suggest that you wear cross country shoes with studs. I thought I'd just check out prices and found a pair of Nikes for £30. They looked good in the picture and following another bike ride on Friday I resolved to enter the event. The form was sent and the new boots turned up Saturday! One of the studs didn't fit properly and I thought about returning them but gave them and extra little push and in it went. Yay!
As I hadn't taken the MTB, which I would need for the event, for a proper ride in a while I thought I'd get out there and play in the mud. I tried to avoid paths and headed out back across the fields and forced the brain back into off road mode. "Fear not the pot hole" "heed not the mud coating bike, back and face" "Thy back wheel shalt step out at need" I'd intended it for to be a quick one to ferry meadows and back but I'd forgotten the off road route was a lot longer especially when you head to the fun places like Thorpe Wood and the Boardwalks to thrash it round. Fun was restored.
Sunday I had planned to hit the gym and stop off on the way to start breaking my new trainers in the a few sprints up and down the rowing mile. The new shoes where very grippy and I was impressed. Lighter and less harsh than a rugby boot I had been tempted to use instead. They've been sitting in the cupboard for a while. I felt I could get up some steam with them. As with all new shoes they started to rub and a blister formed after the fourth run. I called it quits and headed for the gym. Avoided the cardio work as I wasn't feeling like it with the blister and no protection on it and it would SNAFU training. I did all the normal weight work and warm up and then jumped in the pool for a quick 30 laps and returned home to wash the bike and clean the mud out of the new boots. With the bikes all oiled and my gym kit ready, it was time to get back into the swing of things.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Beating The Beaver
First I want to explain the title of this section. One of my former work colleagues nickname is "The Beaver" which is a not so clever reference to his surname. He did the Peterborough half marathon last year in 1hour 37ish. I have completed the half marathon this year in gleaming good weather and a very happy time of 1:23:26! The bragging rights are mine!
I had a plan and it all went a bit sideways when things started going. This week I've been dropping the intensity of my work outs and cutting others out all together in preparation for the run. Monday was fairly bog standard run in the morning followed by gym I was planning to swim a bit but the pool was crowded again and I wasn't in the mood to force my way around people so after ten lengths not going fast or practising my technique I got out. Tuesday was just the bike ride but as I pulled my shorts up in the pre morning gloom I heard the groaning of tortured metal followed by a BANG! Looking in the ensuite where the noise had come from I found nothing wrong but could hear the patter of water I stepped out onto the landing and demanded of my house mate "What the hell was that?" As the words came out of my mouth the ears reported that the sound of rushing water was coming from downstairs. I stalked down there as a grumpy "What was what?" drifted down from the 2nd floor. I gazed in horror at the sight of water gushing out of the main fuse board at the front of the house. A pipe had burst in the ceiling above below the ensuite. Swear words ensued. This got my house-mate up I launched myself towards the internal water stop tap. I took me a moment or two to find the damned thing and was just getting it off as my house mate launched herself at the heating and hot water controls. Given that the water was warm that was sensible to get that system off too. As the stop tap closed the water dribbled to a halt. Mopping and the loading of towels to the floor prevented me from leaving for an hour or so as the building site foreman was dragged across to inspect the damage his deranged plumber had caused with his discount installation.
I was at work in a sedate pace despite being a bit miffed.
Wednesday had sprints at the gym rather than an all up road run to save on energy and I was very happy with the results. On Monday I'd found all the bike seats occupied so had had 15mins on the trendmill at a higher pace. On Wednesday I ran the full 30mins at a faster sprint pace and even turned up the run pace for the last 5mins. I was very happy with that. I avoided the isometric bits on the pretext of keeping it light and stayed away from the cycle. The pool was fairly clear and I even got eyed up by a bikini clad lovely on the side of the pool as I slid into the water. Ok so she could have just been looking in my general direction by I like to think it counted.
All in all a good days training with 50 lengths into the account too.
Thursday was another record time on the bike to work and I left it at that. Friday was a wash as I'd gone in early to work and felt a bit battered.
Saturday was a planned downtime day with a bit of stretching or light stuff just to let the muscles know they would have to do something.
I found I was gleaming with energy and decided to grab the MTB down and service it and the road bike ahead of the week. Somehow a thorn had got into the tire and a slow puncture was there on the MTB. I wanted to quickly nip into tescos on it before I covered myself in oil. Oh well. The new tire irons I got with the road bike worked really well and it wasn't long before I was off again. The MTB felt so different too the road bike. Firm and planted and absorbing all the bumps with only a third of the pressure in the tyres. And SOOO slow accelerating but so in control and can turn on a sixpence or hovering waiting for cars to get through the gaps in Hampton. Over the short distance it was an excellent lesson in the differences between the two disciplines.
With the bikes tucked away it was time to tuck into some pre run nosh. I'd planned to have pasta with egg and some veggies but hadn't realised the cupboard was bare. Opps. Fish and chips with a big bowl full of rice as supper was the best I could manage. Fish = protein Chips =Starchy carbs Rice = Complex carbs. We won't mention the fat. Lots of water and off to bed.
The water thing got me up in the morning and I had my breakfast of cereal and a banana and some more water and was just finishing a sugary Dr Pepper to glucose me up before the start as my father turned up on the doorstep to drive me in. He and my mother very kindly droped me off close to the start as they tried to find a parking spot and took my bag with them. I'd plenty of time but needed the tiolet. The closest ones that I didn't have to pay for (no wallet) were in the queensgate carparks. Doh! Still it gave me a nive warm up as I jogged there. Back to the race refreashed and lighter I started to move forward. I wanted to get as close as I could this time to the front in the 1:30 - 1:45 section but there were just too many people there and I got stuck behind the 1:45 time board. Grr.
Still I just have to bounce forward when we got going. Fortunately the road is nice and wide and unlike the King's lynn 10k event the paths weren't marked off so I was able to free run down the side of the plodders and start getting into my peer group around about the 1 mile marker. I was overtaking people with ease all the way up to the 7 mile marker which shows I was in the wrong place. I was joined at that point by a fella keen to catch up with me and the group in front. I matched his pace and we started slowly dragging people in. An older gent went through and we both tried to hold onto him but he was getting away. A lost cause I went back to pace and fella stayed with me but as the race contnued even the experienced gent was pulled back in. I hit a water point and fella dropped off around the 10 mile marker. I had plenty of bounce per once left and the thought came through. 5K pace. I locked on to the group in front and picked up the pace arms on full pump. The runners in front started to fall by the wayside again. Whether this was because they were tied or I was going faster I'm not sure. Throughout the race I'd been spotting landmarks I knew and the mile markers but I didn't know the route I was travelling so was hesitant about using the full beans but as we took a right at the fengate overpass I knew we hadn't got far to go. I engaged what I like to call terminator pace. If you've ever seen terminator 2 where the T1000 runs after the car I like to think I look like that. Head down arms flashing up to eye level and all the way down and back. Legs just a blur. As I came onto the embankment the path turned to grass and there were crowds of people. The after burners went on and I locked on to a red T shirted running club assosiate. Burning along at full sprint I crossed the line pipping the man in red by a few feet. I bet he was miffed. I lobbed the time chip in the bin and checked the watch. 1:23:26. A damned good time. I knew for the first few miles I was running ahead on pace and thought I was only a minute or two ahead of my planned 1:31:00 time. As I hit the 5K pace I'd dared to hope of a sub 1:30 time but was delighted with the 1:23. I was a it taken aback by how calm my body was. Hardly out of breath and still had lots of energy to work with. Compared with the end of the mock triathlon distance I was fine. Does this mean I should have pushed harder at the half way marker and driven myself more. Curses probably should have but I wasn't sure I wouldn't have burn out further down. Have to stick it to inexperience at the distance and the route.
I had a plan and it all went a bit sideways when things started going. This week I've been dropping the intensity of my work outs and cutting others out all together in preparation for the run. Monday was fairly bog standard run in the morning followed by gym I was planning to swim a bit but the pool was crowded again and I wasn't in the mood to force my way around people so after ten lengths not going fast or practising my technique I got out. Tuesday was just the bike ride but as I pulled my shorts up in the pre morning gloom I heard the groaning of tortured metal followed by a BANG! Looking in the ensuite where the noise had come from I found nothing wrong but could hear the patter of water I stepped out onto the landing and demanded of my house mate "What the hell was that?" As the words came out of my mouth the ears reported that the sound of rushing water was coming from downstairs. I stalked down there as a grumpy "What was what?" drifted down from the 2nd floor. I gazed in horror at the sight of water gushing out of the main fuse board at the front of the house. A pipe had burst in the ceiling above below the ensuite. Swear words ensued. This got my house-mate up I launched myself towards the internal water stop tap. I took me a moment or two to find the damned thing and was just getting it off as my house mate launched herself at the heating and hot water controls. Given that the water was warm that was sensible to get that system off too. As the stop tap closed the water dribbled to a halt. Mopping and the loading of towels to the floor prevented me from leaving for an hour or so as the building site foreman was dragged across to inspect the damage his deranged plumber had caused with his discount installation.
I was at work in a sedate pace despite being a bit miffed.
Wednesday had sprints at the gym rather than an all up road run to save on energy and I was very happy with the results. On Monday I'd found all the bike seats occupied so had had 15mins on the trendmill at a higher pace. On Wednesday I ran the full 30mins at a faster sprint pace and even turned up the run pace for the last 5mins. I was very happy with that. I avoided the isometric bits on the pretext of keeping it light and stayed away from the cycle. The pool was fairly clear and I even got eyed up by a bikini clad lovely on the side of the pool as I slid into the water. Ok so she could have just been looking in my general direction by I like to think it counted.
All in all a good days training with 50 lengths into the account too.
Thursday was another record time on the bike to work and I left it at that. Friday was a wash as I'd gone in early to work and felt a bit battered.
Saturday was a planned downtime day with a bit of stretching or light stuff just to let the muscles know they would have to do something.
I found I was gleaming with energy and decided to grab the MTB down and service it and the road bike ahead of the week. Somehow a thorn had got into the tire and a slow puncture was there on the MTB. I wanted to quickly nip into tescos on it before I covered myself in oil. Oh well. The new tire irons I got with the road bike worked really well and it wasn't long before I was off again. The MTB felt so different too the road bike. Firm and planted and absorbing all the bumps with only a third of the pressure in the tyres. And SOOO slow accelerating but so in control and can turn on a sixpence or hovering waiting for cars to get through the gaps in Hampton. Over the short distance it was an excellent lesson in the differences between the two disciplines.
With the bikes tucked away it was time to tuck into some pre run nosh. I'd planned to have pasta with egg and some veggies but hadn't realised the cupboard was bare. Opps. Fish and chips with a big bowl full of rice as supper was the best I could manage. Fish = protein Chips =Starchy carbs Rice = Complex carbs. We won't mention the fat. Lots of water and off to bed.
The water thing got me up in the morning and I had my breakfast of cereal and a banana and some more water and was just finishing a sugary Dr Pepper to glucose me up before the start as my father turned up on the doorstep to drive me in. He and my mother very kindly droped me off close to the start as they tried to find a parking spot and took my bag with them. I'd plenty of time but needed the tiolet. The closest ones that I didn't have to pay for (no wallet) were in the queensgate carparks. Doh! Still it gave me a nive warm up as I jogged there. Back to the race refreashed and lighter I started to move forward. I wanted to get as close as I could this time to the front in the 1:30 - 1:45 section but there were just too many people there and I got stuck behind the 1:45 time board. Grr.
Still I just have to bounce forward when we got going. Fortunately the road is nice and wide and unlike the King's lynn 10k event the paths weren't marked off so I was able to free run down the side of the plodders and start getting into my peer group around about the 1 mile marker. I was overtaking people with ease all the way up to the 7 mile marker which shows I was in the wrong place. I was joined at that point by a fella keen to catch up with me and the group in front. I matched his pace and we started slowly dragging people in. An older gent went through and we both tried to hold onto him but he was getting away. A lost cause I went back to pace and fella stayed with me but as the race contnued even the experienced gent was pulled back in. I hit a water point and fella dropped off around the 10 mile marker. I had plenty of bounce per once left and the thought came through. 5K pace. I locked on to the group in front and picked up the pace arms on full pump. The runners in front started to fall by the wayside again. Whether this was because they were tied or I was going faster I'm not sure. Throughout the race I'd been spotting landmarks I knew and the mile markers but I didn't know the route I was travelling so was hesitant about using the full beans but as we took a right at the fengate overpass I knew we hadn't got far to go. I engaged what I like to call terminator pace. If you've ever seen terminator 2 where the T1000 runs after the car I like to think I look like that. Head down arms flashing up to eye level and all the way down and back. Legs just a blur. As I came onto the embankment the path turned to grass and there were crowds of people. The after burners went on and I locked on to a red T shirted running club assosiate. Burning along at full sprint I crossed the line pipping the man in red by a few feet. I bet he was miffed. I lobbed the time chip in the bin and checked the watch. 1:23:26. A damned good time. I knew for the first few miles I was running ahead on pace and thought I was only a minute or two ahead of my planned 1:31:00 time. As I hit the 5K pace I'd dared to hope of a sub 1:30 time but was delighted with the 1:23. I was a it taken aback by how calm my body was. Hardly out of breath and still had lots of energy to work with. Compared with the end of the mock triathlon distance I was fine. Does this mean I should have pushed harder at the half way marker and driven myself more. Curses probably should have but I wasn't sure I wouldn't have burn out further down. Have to stick it to inexperience at the distance and the route.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Go steady but keep going.
Yesterday I decided I should go for the triathlon distance just to see what it was like. From my previous go I knew I had to do 60 lengths of the pool, cycle to Huntingdon and back and then extend my normal run heading out of Yaxley north around the masterfoods plant past Orton Mere station and back through Goldhay rejoining my normal route at checkpoint four on the Haddon road. Have previously checked this out on work's measuring tool I knew that the run on that route was almost exactly 13.1 miles. The same as the half marathon I've been aiming at next weekend.
Starting with the swim I had a bit of a mishap in not starting the stopwatch until the third length. Whoops. I added two further lengths to make up for it on the time. I'm still not happy with my form in the water. I'm pulling strongly and I don't think my legs are getting tired at all from it but that is because I'm not really using them effetively as I'm coasting on my arm movements. I also found that as I got a little tired in the arms I'd start pulling them out of the water earlier and not at the rear of the sweep bringing them in line with the body. Still I went through the swim without really feeling that tired. Legs and arms were still stong. I hurried through the change but it still seemed to take forever. Just as I was about to leave I could feel the urge to pee but I thought no, I could hold on.
With the swim out of the way and a backpack containing the usual puncture repair kit, isotonic drink locks and the swim kit I set off for Huntingdon. One of the major drawback of the road bike is its fragility. I couldn't take any of the back paths for fear of damaging the lightweight wheels This left me go a rather long way round and I got confused as I headed into Goldhay. My plan was to follow the main road through Goldhay to Hampton then onto the A15 and the normal way down. I unfortunatley autopiloted towards the bridleway I take with the hardtail. I realised my mistake before I got there but it cost me time to get back on track.
With that out of the way the ride down was fairly routine. I had a headwind on the way down and kept the pace fairly easy with the promise of a nice fast return. The return was fast. With the wind behind me and the road now nice a dry I found myself hurtling along the downhill sections in top gear on the drop bars. I still can't keep this postion for too long but I'm finding I'm starting to hold it for a bit longer then when I first started. It helped that with less of a cross wind I was happier to stand up and let some of the tension in my legs and back out which gave me more time in the saddle when I needed to.
I tucked the bike away but found myself dying for that pee I hoped the cycle would knock out of me. Thre was nothing for it but to dive into the house and go. Afterwards I quickly downed the isotonic drink guilitly aware of how little water I'd taken onboard during the cycle. I only grabbed the water bottle once and it felt very wobbly and more then a little scary to do so. Still getting used to those thin tyres and faster cruising speeds. I also decided to take the time to make sure all the bits and bobs were where my housemate wouldn't see them as I could see a nagging coming on if they go in her way after she'd cleaned the kitchen. I also switched the lenses in my sunglasses for a more normal tint as the orange ones would look a bit weird.
Trainers on and off on the run we went. At this point I was at 3.02 hours in. I'd exited the pool itself at 00.32 but not left on the bike till 00.45 or so (not the greatest transistion in the world) with all the muking about finding the smoothest ride to the A15 I hadn't got to Hungtingdon until about 02.00 but I'd say the push back was very good although I didn't look at the watch until I started the run.
I had decided at the start to wear my cycling shorts with a pair of running shorts over the top. I needed the padding for the cycle but didin't want to show off my muscular buttocks too much and with the running shorts covering the full nappy looking padding I could run along nicely in them.
I went off at a fairly slow pace. I still felt strong but could feel the edge of tiredness creeping in, there was a slight pull in the back of my legs where a couple of ligaments were angry about the abuse and know I had a long way to go yet. I didn't really stretch my legs out all the way and conserved energy all the way down to the crossroads on Oundle Way. I was still feeling good but the muscles were reporting back a lack of power as I tried to climb the inclines. I got through Goldhay by focusing on the time I was running compared to my "normal" pace. I knew on a good day that I could keep 9 miles an hour up all day. If I was indeed running about this I should be able to do the half marathon in 1 hour 27 minutes. I knew I wasn't running that sort of pace now but if I could make it to checkpoint four with 20 -25 minutes to spare (or the stop watch showing 04:05-04:10). If it was a normal run I'd know how far off I was. This raised the knees a bit more and kept me going. I didn't manage that threshold being around 5 minutes late. I also found that with the long roads now in front of me I was starting to feel thirsty and energy was coming at a premium. I could't push at the normal rate I would have done with a morning run and just told myself to keep going and focused of the music blaring through the headphones. As I started on the A15 back to Yaxley I was definitely feeling worse for wear I was keeping the body upright with promises of apple and blackcurrent squash and a tin of peaches all to myself if I made it back without stopping. I wasn't looking forward to crossing the road as I felt if I stopped I'd be hard pushed to get the momentum back. Fortunately the road god was with me and cleared a path in the traffic for me to limp across the A15 and head down the main street towards home.
I was very glad to see it but there was no lightning finish and I got myself in through the door. The stop watch read 04:44. I'd lost a good 10mins on the return journey from cp4.
On the plus side when you look at that time you can see that I'd run the half marathon section in 01:42. One of my co-workers had done the G.E.A.R last year in 01:37 and the "Beaver" is not a slow man. Although he did state that without the blisters he got from his new trainners and the fact he didn't do a lot of trainng, he would have gone faster. I still think thats a good time and I'm confident that no matter what else happens next week I can at least complete the course. Afterall, if I can do it after 3 hours of exercise doing it full of energy and well hydrated should make it a walk in the park. Pace is the key. I need to keep to that 9mph or 6min40sec miles. Go too fast and I'll burn out before the finish get caught in the pack and go too slow and the "Beaver" will take the piss. I'll therefore try not make the same mistake I did at the king's Lynn 10k and sell myself short when we line up. I'll need to be as close as possible to the 1.30 starters mark as I can get. That way I'll be in with my peer group and I can look to them to keep the pace.
Given yesterday's hard work I've called a rest day to recover. Rain is predicted for Monday and the rest of the week fairly clear. I'll try to get out on the bike for most of the week and make sure I do the morning runs at the start of the week. With the main event happening Sunday I'll want a couple of rest days to build up the reserves. Therefore Friday will be a very calm gym day avoiding the cardio work and Saturday will just be some light in house stuff to keep me ready.
Thats the plan anyway.
Starting with the swim I had a bit of a mishap in not starting the stopwatch until the third length. Whoops. I added two further lengths to make up for it on the time. I'm still not happy with my form in the water. I'm pulling strongly and I don't think my legs are getting tired at all from it but that is because I'm not really using them effetively as I'm coasting on my arm movements. I also found that as I got a little tired in the arms I'd start pulling them out of the water earlier and not at the rear of the sweep bringing them in line with the body. Still I went through the swim without really feeling that tired. Legs and arms were still stong. I hurried through the change but it still seemed to take forever. Just as I was about to leave I could feel the urge to pee but I thought no, I could hold on.
With the swim out of the way and a backpack containing the usual puncture repair kit, isotonic drink locks and the swim kit I set off for Huntingdon. One of the major drawback of the road bike is its fragility. I couldn't take any of the back paths for fear of damaging the lightweight wheels This left me go a rather long way round and I got confused as I headed into Goldhay. My plan was to follow the main road through Goldhay to Hampton then onto the A15 and the normal way down. I unfortunatley autopiloted towards the bridleway I take with the hardtail. I realised my mistake before I got there but it cost me time to get back on track.
With that out of the way the ride down was fairly routine. I had a headwind on the way down and kept the pace fairly easy with the promise of a nice fast return. The return was fast. With the wind behind me and the road now nice a dry I found myself hurtling along the downhill sections in top gear on the drop bars. I still can't keep this postion for too long but I'm finding I'm starting to hold it for a bit longer then when I first started. It helped that with less of a cross wind I was happier to stand up and let some of the tension in my legs and back out which gave me more time in the saddle when I needed to.
I tucked the bike away but found myself dying for that pee I hoped the cycle would knock out of me. Thre was nothing for it but to dive into the house and go. Afterwards I quickly downed the isotonic drink guilitly aware of how little water I'd taken onboard during the cycle. I only grabbed the water bottle once and it felt very wobbly and more then a little scary to do so. Still getting used to those thin tyres and faster cruising speeds. I also decided to take the time to make sure all the bits and bobs were where my housemate wouldn't see them as I could see a nagging coming on if they go in her way after she'd cleaned the kitchen. I also switched the lenses in my sunglasses for a more normal tint as the orange ones would look a bit weird.
Trainers on and off on the run we went. At this point I was at 3.02 hours in. I'd exited the pool itself at 00.32 but not left on the bike till 00.45 or so (not the greatest transistion in the world) with all the muking about finding the smoothest ride to the A15 I hadn't got to Hungtingdon until about 02.00 but I'd say the push back was very good although I didn't look at the watch until I started the run.
I had decided at the start to wear my cycling shorts with a pair of running shorts over the top. I needed the padding for the cycle but didin't want to show off my muscular buttocks too much and with the running shorts covering the full nappy looking padding I could run along nicely in them.
I went off at a fairly slow pace. I still felt strong but could feel the edge of tiredness creeping in, there was a slight pull in the back of my legs where a couple of ligaments were angry about the abuse and know I had a long way to go yet. I didn't really stretch my legs out all the way and conserved energy all the way down to the crossroads on Oundle Way. I was still feeling good but the muscles were reporting back a lack of power as I tried to climb the inclines. I got through Goldhay by focusing on the time I was running compared to my "normal" pace. I knew on a good day that I could keep 9 miles an hour up all day. If I was indeed running about this I should be able to do the half marathon in 1 hour 27 minutes. I knew I wasn't running that sort of pace now but if I could make it to checkpoint four with 20 -25 minutes to spare (or the stop watch showing 04:05-04:10). If it was a normal run I'd know how far off I was. This raised the knees a bit more and kept me going. I didn't manage that threshold being around 5 minutes late. I also found that with the long roads now in front of me I was starting to feel thirsty and energy was coming at a premium. I could't push at the normal rate I would have done with a morning run and just told myself to keep going and focused of the music blaring through the headphones. As I started on the A15 back to Yaxley I was definitely feeling worse for wear I was keeping the body upright with promises of apple and blackcurrent squash and a tin of peaches all to myself if I made it back without stopping. I wasn't looking forward to crossing the road as I felt if I stopped I'd be hard pushed to get the momentum back. Fortunately the road god was with me and cleared a path in the traffic for me to limp across the A15 and head down the main street towards home.
I was very glad to see it but there was no lightning finish and I got myself in through the door. The stop watch read 04:44. I'd lost a good 10mins on the return journey from cp4.
On the plus side when you look at that time you can see that I'd run the half marathon section in 01:42. One of my co-workers had done the G.E.A.R last year in 01:37 and the "Beaver" is not a slow man. Although he did state that without the blisters he got from his new trainners and the fact he didn't do a lot of trainng, he would have gone faster. I still think thats a good time and I'm confident that no matter what else happens next week I can at least complete the course. Afterall, if I can do it after 3 hours of exercise doing it full of energy and well hydrated should make it a walk in the park. Pace is the key. I need to keep to that 9mph or 6min40sec miles. Go too fast and I'll burn out before the finish get caught in the pack and go too slow and the "Beaver" will take the piss. I'll therefore try not make the same mistake I did at the king's Lynn 10k and sell myself short when we line up. I'll need to be as close as possible to the 1.30 starters mark as I can get. That way I'll be in with my peer group and I can look to them to keep the pace.
Given yesterday's hard work I've called a rest day to recover. Rain is predicted for Monday and the rest of the week fairly clear. I'll try to get out on the bike for most of the week and make sure I do the morning runs at the start of the week. With the main event happening Sunday I'll want a couple of rest days to build up the reserves. Therefore Friday will be a very calm gym day avoiding the cardio work and Saturday will just be some light in house stuff to keep me ready.
Thats the plan anyway.
Friday, 1 October 2010
Lighter, faster and a bloody sight harder.
Right sorry for the delay in posts. I was out having fun.... ok I was really tired from training....ok so I was a little tired in the evening. So where was I? Oh yes a new bike was on the cards and I was going to see if I could keep up the training to justify it.
Training started off very well. For two days I managed to keep to profile running in the morning and either cycling to work or going to the gym and in either case swimming afterwards. I kept to the 50 length target and even got a new record run time of 52.44.
But I couldn't maintain the pace. I took wednesday off on purpose to recover. but thursday was a failure too. I did go to the gym but only managed the standard 30 and normal gym routine without the morning run. Friday was a simple cycle and nothing fancy.
On Saturday I decided to go to Terry Wrights in Market Deeping to see if there was any other type of bikes I could look at or see the trek/giant ones in the flesh. Over the course of the week I had decided to go for the Trek design out of the two as I preferred them. I was even starting to lean towards the next model up in the madonne which was carbon fibre. I wandered in avoiding the "normal" cyclists asking if the suspension would make the ride softer or for paniers. oh dear. and had a good stare at the racing bikes. I started looking at the comparative differences in the allen specialised range which were cheaper but then I saw the treks. There were all lined up but the 2.3 and 2.5 caught my eye. I scratched my chin as I looked for the difference and couldn't see much. It was mostly colour. I could see the ultegra chainset gleaming on the 2.5 mocking the 2.3's 105 chainset but its garish colours still looked wrong. I then noticed that the price tab had a sticker over it. "Sale!" it read. I flicked it over and in felt tip pen someone had knocked £300 off of the rrp price on both of the bikes. I was now in trouble. I'd only gone to look and now I was faced with a bargain. I managed to curb my enthusiasm for the bikes and grabbed a salesman.
"I'm just looking and wanted to get an idea of sizes and costs etc" I said. He dragged out a 58" to let me try. I wobbled around the car park and it felt ok although a little weird. I felt a little two stressed out on my back reaching down. "Try the 56" he said "This 2.5 Trek is a 56" I tried and I liked. Better seating. I was tempted very tempted. And then I thought, The prices are going up for next year's models. It won't matter if you save up you'll still have to pay and you'll lose all that training time.
I was still conflicted I still wanted the Treks but which one. £1300 for the 2.5 was in the original budget but I could have the 2.3 for 300 less.
In the end prudence won out (what was left of it) and I grabbed the 2.3 but I had to get the accessories. New SPD shoes, new yellow jacket. New helmet. I went for a dual purpose lid I could use on the MTB too.
I'm very happy with it all. The only bad thing was that it came with some SPD pedals that only clip in one side. Makes for a right bugger trying to get off of the start line as you fumble about trying to get it into the clip. Will have to replace with some Shimano doubles for the comute.
I had to use it straight away and as soon as they sent me home with it I had it out and was playing up and down the street with my Father helping adjust the seat and the pedals. I was very happy when I gave it its first proper burn off of the line. It shot away like an angel and I was quickly running through the gears. It was fast. Very fast.
I couldn't wait to test it out on the commute compared to the MTB and despite the fact it was raining and was very dull I hoofed it down to Huntingdon. I was amazed. Without even trying because of the weather I had edged my old bestever time by quite some margin and I wasn't even tired. The next day was bright but not exactly drier so again I could give it the constant beans. It still flew and I beat the best again with 51.12. There was an accident on the A14 and Huntingdon was logged with irritrated drivers that I just zipped straight by. I had to slow down for them which was annoying. I really thing I could get the road time down to sub 50mins or maybe even sub 45. Like I said the pedals are annoying and almost got me killed as I tried to get away fast on the roundabout and couldn't get the power down and get out of the way as my feet were slipping off.
After that the weather has just been foul. Thursday was very clear but I had a meeting in Norwich and I don't think I could have justified taking the bike for that one. I have therefore been at the gym although I missed today. I've got a plan to do the mock up Triathlon I did last time only this time with the super trek bike I'd be able to do it right and fast.
Training started off very well. For two days I managed to keep to profile running in the morning and either cycling to work or going to the gym and in either case swimming afterwards. I kept to the 50 length target and even got a new record run time of 52.44.
But I couldn't maintain the pace. I took wednesday off on purpose to recover. but thursday was a failure too. I did go to the gym but only managed the standard 30 and normal gym routine without the morning run. Friday was a simple cycle and nothing fancy.
On Saturday I decided to go to Terry Wrights in Market Deeping to see if there was any other type of bikes I could look at or see the trek/giant ones in the flesh. Over the course of the week I had decided to go for the Trek design out of the two as I preferred them. I was even starting to lean towards the next model up in the madonne which was carbon fibre. I wandered in avoiding the "normal" cyclists asking if the suspension would make the ride softer or for paniers. oh dear. and had a good stare at the racing bikes. I started looking at the comparative differences in the allen specialised range which were cheaper but then I saw the treks. There were all lined up but the 2.3 and 2.5 caught my eye. I scratched my chin as I looked for the difference and couldn't see much. It was mostly colour. I could see the ultegra chainset gleaming on the 2.5 mocking the 2.3's 105 chainset but its garish colours still looked wrong. I then noticed that the price tab had a sticker over it. "Sale!" it read. I flicked it over and in felt tip pen someone had knocked £300 off of the rrp price on both of the bikes. I was now in trouble. I'd only gone to look and now I was faced with a bargain. I managed to curb my enthusiasm for the bikes and grabbed a salesman.
"I'm just looking and wanted to get an idea of sizes and costs etc" I said. He dragged out a 58" to let me try. I wobbled around the car park and it felt ok although a little weird. I felt a little two stressed out on my back reaching down. "Try the 56" he said "This 2.5 Trek is a 56" I tried and I liked. Better seating. I was tempted very tempted. And then I thought, The prices are going up for next year's models. It won't matter if you save up you'll still have to pay and you'll lose all that training time.
I was still conflicted I still wanted the Treks but which one. £1300 for the 2.5 was in the original budget but I could have the 2.3 for 300 less.
In the end prudence won out (what was left of it) and I grabbed the 2.3 but I had to get the accessories. New SPD shoes, new yellow jacket. New helmet. I went for a dual purpose lid I could use on the MTB too.
I'm very happy with it all. The only bad thing was that it came with some SPD pedals that only clip in one side. Makes for a right bugger trying to get off of the start line as you fumble about trying to get it into the clip. Will have to replace with some Shimano doubles for the comute.
I had to use it straight away and as soon as they sent me home with it I had it out and was playing up and down the street with my Father helping adjust the seat and the pedals. I was very happy when I gave it its first proper burn off of the line. It shot away like an angel and I was quickly running through the gears. It was fast. Very fast.
I couldn't wait to test it out on the commute compared to the MTB and despite the fact it was raining and was very dull I hoofed it down to Huntingdon. I was amazed. Without even trying because of the weather I had edged my old bestever time by quite some margin and I wasn't even tired. The next day was bright but not exactly drier so again I could give it the constant beans. It still flew and I beat the best again with 51.12. There was an accident on the A14 and Huntingdon was logged with irritrated drivers that I just zipped straight by. I had to slow down for them which was annoying. I really thing I could get the road time down to sub 50mins or maybe even sub 45. Like I said the pedals are annoying and almost got me killed as I tried to get away fast on the roundabout and couldn't get the power down and get out of the way as my feet were slipping off.
After that the weather has just been foul. Thursday was very clear but I had a meeting in Norwich and I don't think I could have justified taking the bike for that one. I have therefore been at the gym although I missed today. I've got a plan to do the mock up Triathlon I did last time only this time with the super trek bike I'd be able to do it right and fast.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
I want a new bike!
Ok its Sunday so I've got a bit of recounting to do as my last entry was Thursday. On Friday I decided to do the run on the treadmill at the gym again and see if I could up the cruising speed on the speed interval training. The answer was yes. I put the speed up to 8.9mph for the first 25mins and had enough energy at the end to actually increase the speed in the last 5 minutes by 0.1 every minute and hit the sprint button for the last minute in the 30. Road running as predicted is pushing my boundaries much better than the treadmill did. Just need to wake up early enough to do it!Rest of the gym sesion was fairly normal I got in a little earlier than normal so I was able to do a couple of extra machine work outs but the bike work out was a wash. The first machine I got in was defective at the higher levels and I found the pedals would 'slip' like they weren't connected to the load anymore. I oinly did the first 5mins on that before switching after letting the PTIs know. Decided not to over do the bike in favour of the strength exercises. I should really sign up for some of the spinning classes again. I did them a couple of years ago and they do break you out of your comfort zone. Its just a question of what I want to sacrifice to do them. If I go runnning in the morning and then don't do either the run or the cycle that should leave me with the hour the spinning class needs. Only proble is the classes are either at 18:00 or 19:00 so I'd have to get the rest of the session in on time before I go in and I know from experience that could be tough. Maybe once a week would be too bad even if I lose some of the strength work around it.
Right 50 length in the pool as happy as larry. Still not happy with my leg movement. The kicking should be a constant thing but its at a different rythem to the arm movement so I end up only kicking hard with my arm stoke on the glide and using my arms to drag me through the water more. This isn't efficent or fast and its something I need to work on a lot.
The new bike thing is also on my mind a lot over the last three days. A couple of my workmates are saying 'just get it' probably because they are sick of me talking about it. (its only been two days!) Looking at the price range v quality I want to spend about £1500. I could get that on the credit card and pay it back over time but I'm a bit worried about the interest repayments as it will cost me more in the long run and more importantly it removes my safety net of credit. We're still trying to sell the house and if I need to move out quickly I might need to spend a grand or two on house utensils and others. If I spend now I'd be down to a safety net of around £500 instead although I'd still have the overdraft. Going into that much debt that quickly is not a good idea.
To sop some of the "want", I went to Bristow's bike shop near my parents house and went in to ask for some friendly advice and to pick up some reflective arm bands and a new rear light. The winter nights are drawing in but I still want to ride to work for as long as I can.
Basically I was shown the differences between the MTBs and the roadies. She talked me out of getting a triathlon bike to start with. As A: they are very uncomfortable if you're not used to the sprint position and B: They are useless in traffic as you have the gears and brakes separate. They are built to go fast in competition. Thats it. As I want to take this bike to work and let the hardtail revert back to being my weekend bike I thought it best to get a standard road bike, and if I wanted, I could convert it with aero bars and the like.
The two bikes she recommended were the Trek 2 series and the Giant Defy bikes. These range from £800 to £1800 depending where you stick your pin. For me its between the Giant Defy Alliance or the Trek 2.3. The 2.3 is more expensive at £1300 but I think its a much better bike for that. I can save a hundred off that with the giant. looking on the net these are cheaper at other retailers. So there may be room to manoeuvre.
Right 50 length in the pool as happy as larry. Still not happy with my leg movement. The kicking should be a constant thing but its at a different rythem to the arm movement so I end up only kicking hard with my arm stoke on the glide and using my arms to drag me through the water more. This isn't efficent or fast and its something I need to work on a lot.
The new bike thing is also on my mind a lot over the last three days. A couple of my workmates are saying 'just get it' probably because they are sick of me talking about it. (its only been two days!) Looking at the price range v quality I want to spend about £1500. I could get that on the credit card and pay it back over time but I'm a bit worried about the interest repayments as it will cost me more in the long run and more importantly it removes my safety net of credit. We're still trying to sell the house and if I need to move out quickly I might need to spend a grand or two on house utensils and others. If I spend now I'd be down to a safety net of around £500 instead although I'd still have the overdraft. Going into that much debt that quickly is not a good idea.
To sop some of the "want", I went to Bristow's bike shop near my parents house and went in to ask for some friendly advice and to pick up some reflective arm bands and a new rear light. The winter nights are drawing in but I still want to ride to work for as long as I can.
Basically I was shown the differences between the MTBs and the roadies. She talked me out of getting a triathlon bike to start with. As A: they are very uncomfortable if you're not used to the sprint position and B: They are useless in traffic as you have the gears and brakes separate. They are built to go fast in competition. Thats it. As I want to take this bike to work and let the hardtail revert back to being my weekend bike I thought it best to get a standard road bike, and if I wanted, I could convert it with aero bars and the like.
The two bikes she recommended were the Trek 2 series and the Giant Defy bikes. These range from £800 to £1800 depending where you stick your pin. For me its between the Giant Defy Alliance or the Trek 2.3. The 2.3 is more expensive at £1300 but I think its a much better bike for that. I can save a hundred off that with the giant. looking on the net these are cheaper at other retailers. So there may be room to manoeuvre.
Thursday, 16 September 2010
A new mistress
As predicted my sister's friend called a 18:30 yesterday. Too late for me to go to the gym after and too early to get in a short session before picking the stuff up. Therefore I was determined to go the full hog today.
Started off with a good run normal sort of time of 55:31. Then on to work by bike. The wind was up. The weather report said 16mph cross winds but it felt like a head wind. I tried to get up the gears as much as possible and I think I managed to stay in 27th gear (out of 28) most of the way. Time wasn't bad considering the weather and as a little reward there was a lovely blonde putting her bike away in the shed. Shame I looked a wreak. It was truly a battle on the way home. The cross wind was much more on the headway side and I was a little puffed out when I finally reached the gym. Jumped in the pool though and it was like I'd never been on the bike. The new goggles worked very well. I hardly got any water in around my eyes. A good 50 lengths later and I was feeling dizzy. I definitely made sure I put my swimming trunks and goggles away.
But lovely blondes aside I found a very pretty picture. Its of a proper triathlon bike. In particular it is a Trek speed concept 7.5. It costs a mere £3000. Only two grand less than my car! It looks fast and pretty....and I want one! See the picture at the bottom of the blog
Started off with a good run normal sort of time of 55:31. Then on to work by bike. The wind was up. The weather report said 16mph cross winds but it felt like a head wind. I tried to get up the gears as much as possible and I think I managed to stay in 27th gear (out of 28) most of the way. Time wasn't bad considering the weather and as a little reward there was a lovely blonde putting her bike away in the shed. Shame I looked a wreak. It was truly a battle on the way home. The cross wind was much more on the headway side and I was a little puffed out when I finally reached the gym. Jumped in the pool though and it was like I'd never been on the bike. The new goggles worked very well. I hardly got any water in around my eyes. A good 50 lengths later and I was feeling dizzy. I definitely made sure I put my swimming trunks and goggles away.
But lovely blondes aside I found a very pretty picture. Its of a proper triathlon bike. In particular it is a Trek speed concept 7.5. It costs a mere £3000. Only two grand less than my car! It looks fast and pretty....and I want one! See the picture at the bottom of the blog
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
The case of the missing swimming shorts.
Ok I've had a bad day. I've not gone running this morning and I've not gone swimming this evening and I didn't cycle to work. I know I know. It was windy.
Monday's performance was much better though. Armed with my new notes on swimming technique I tried it out and found myself coasting along quite happily. The 11 and 1 arm position dis seem to work and it felt better with more of the stoke going forward. The pool was a little crowded though and after the double lane had about six extra people in all doing breast stoke I decided to get out. I missed the morning run but made up for it by running on the tread mill. This gave me the opportunity to see how the road running was effecting my performance. It seemed to be having a good effect. My speed interval training that the PTI setup was a cruise and sprint affair. With the sprint I didn't notice a lot of change but the cruise seemed sluggish and too slow to be challenging. I'd obviosly improved since I was last on it. Hooray. I did the normal thing on the rest of the gym work and cycle machine.
Weird thing was that i lost my goggles and swim shorts. I thought I had them in my hand but when I came to put everything in the bag I could't find them anywhere and searched the locker room with no joy. They've either been half inched or hopefully been picked up by mistake and then handed in. I've had to get some replacement shorts and goggles though in case they haven't been found and I even got a swimming cap although I doubt I'll ever wear it until I enter a proper race. Tried it on in the office and the damn thing hurts like the blazes. Might have to wear it to break it in a bit!
Will try and get out tommorrow morning as I'm picking up some stuff from one of my sisters friends who has some furniture she doesn't want anymore. This may make me late to the gym or miss it entirely!
Monday's performance was much better though. Armed with my new notes on swimming technique I tried it out and found myself coasting along quite happily. The 11 and 1 arm position dis seem to work and it felt better with more of the stoke going forward. The pool was a little crowded though and after the double lane had about six extra people in all doing breast stoke I decided to get out. I missed the morning run but made up for it by running on the tread mill. This gave me the opportunity to see how the road running was effecting my performance. It seemed to be having a good effect. My speed interval training that the PTI setup was a cruise and sprint affair. With the sprint I didn't notice a lot of change but the cruise seemed sluggish and too slow to be challenging. I'd obviosly improved since I was last on it. Hooray. I did the normal thing on the rest of the gym work and cycle machine.
Weird thing was that i lost my goggles and swim shorts. I thought I had them in my hand but when I came to put everything in the bag I could't find them anywhere and searched the locker room with no joy. They've either been half inched or hopefully been picked up by mistake and then handed in. I've had to get some replacement shorts and goggles though in case they haven't been found and I even got a swimming cap although I doubt I'll ever wear it until I enter a proper race. Tried it on in the office and the damn thing hurts like the blazes. Might have to wear it to break it in a bit!
Will try and get out tommorrow morning as I'm picking up some stuff from one of my sisters friends who has some furniture she doesn't want anymore. This may make me late to the gym or miss it entirely!
Monday, 13 September 2010
Swimming technique
Grabed this off of the internet
1. Hand entry - If your head is at 12 o'clock, your hands should enter the pool at 1 and 11. This helps prevent "cross over" which basically makes you swim like a snake back and forth through the water. You lose a lot of energy constantly trying to keep going straight. This also prevents over-rotation of the shoulder and hips which can also bleed power from your stroke.
Ok I don't do this
2. Hand glide position - This is where you start your pull. You want to make sure you hand reaches to the pool wall and glides for a moment at head depth before you start your pull. This lets you get every last bit of forward momentum before starting your pull and lets you get some "glide time" for a second or two on each stroke - that way you are fresh when you get out of the water.
Hooray I do do this...when I remember.
3. Kick - You want your kick to be efficient and you need to conserve energy here for the upcoming bike and run. Your legs should be straight behind your body with no bend at the hip - not stiff, but also not too loose. Your kick should start at your hips. I like to pretend that I am wearing flippers while kicking.
I try and do this but I think my legs tend to sink when I get a bit tired.
4. Level in water - You want your head, shoulders, hips and legs to be in line and at the same level under the water. Watch to make sure your hips and legs don't sink below the level of your arms, head and torso.
As above
5. Hand exiting the water - Make sure your hands exit the water at the bottom of the hip - not at waist. This will give you an extra boost at the end of your stroke and again get the most forward momentum off of each stroke. I notice that students start pulling their hand out early when they start to get tired.
Yes I do this too. Good old Marine PTIs look like they knocked some good habits into me.
1. Hand entry - If your head is at 12 o'clock, your hands should enter the pool at 1 and 11. This helps prevent "cross over" which basically makes you swim like a snake back and forth through the water. You lose a lot of energy constantly trying to keep going straight. This also prevents over-rotation of the shoulder and hips which can also bleed power from your stroke.
Ok I don't do this
2. Hand glide position - This is where you start your pull. You want to make sure you hand reaches to the pool wall and glides for a moment at head depth before you start your pull. This lets you get every last bit of forward momentum before starting your pull and lets you get some "glide time" for a second or two on each stroke - that way you are fresh when you get out of the water.
Hooray I do do this...when I remember.
3. Kick - You want your kick to be efficient and you need to conserve energy here for the upcoming bike and run. Your legs should be straight behind your body with no bend at the hip - not stiff, but also not too loose. Your kick should start at your hips. I like to pretend that I am wearing flippers while kicking.
I try and do this but I think my legs tend to sink when I get a bit tired.
4. Level in water - You want your head, shoulders, hips and legs to be in line and at the same level under the water. Watch to make sure your hips and legs don't sink below the level of your arms, head and torso.
As above
5. Hand exiting the water - Make sure your hands exit the water at the bottom of the hip - not at waist. This will give you an extra boost at the end of your stroke and again get the most forward momentum off of each stroke. I notice that students start pulling their hand out early when they start to get tired.
Yes I do this too. Good old Marine PTIs look like they knocked some good habits into me.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
a note on distances
Nicked this from the British triathlon website:
Race Distances
Distances of individual events may vary from race to race, but there are some standard triathlon distances, quoted in terms of swim/bike/run:
Super sprint - 400m/10km/2.5km
Sprint distance - 750m/20km/5km
Standard distance - 1500m/40km/10km
Middle distance - 2.5km/80km/20k
Ironman distance - 3.8km/180km/42km
Super sprint - 400m/10km/2.5km
Sprint distance - 750m/20km/5km
Standard distance - 1500m/40km/10km
Middle distance - 2.5km/80km/20k
Ironman distance - 3.8km/180km/42km
Today I managed 1000m/51.2km/12.55km in 03:38:07 I imagine about 10mins of this is transition time as I wasn't being quick. even then according to a race calculator which you enter you pace into the relevant sections and the distances you do I should have done this course in 03:02:00. Boo!
Overtaken!
Right its been a busy old week and I've been coming home rather tired. That is why therefore I have not been publishing my posts very well. I have to admit other than Monday it has been a real chore to get up in the morning to go for the run. I thought it wouldn't be that hard as my alarm goes off at 05:30 anyway I just like to take a minute or two to reorientate myself to the waking world before I get up. Unfortunately that means being out of the door at 05:30 for the run and have everything ready to go to work,on or off of the bike, sat in the bag waiting for me at the end of it. The energy demands for this are very high and I'm wondering if I've started off too high. I can run and cycle just about but then going swimming blows me out for the next day's run/gym/swim with a knock on effect down the week unless I take a break. I found out on Tuesday that the body didn't want to go running in the morning and refushed to get up in time to even take the bike. In the end I wrote the day off. According to my rules I now have to go for a punishment run. I've decided to make it a bit of a triathlon punishment run and do all three disaplines one after the other in the correct order. To that end I will cruise on the bike to the gym. Swim 40 lengths (1km) change quick and leap on the cycle. I'll head down towards Huntingdon and turn straight around and come back. This should be in the order of 32miles straight. I'll then come home ditch the padded shorts and go out on the run. Not sure how far yet will have to see how I'm coping. If I can I'd like to extend the run to close to the half marathon distance by heading down into P'boro and taking the railway route from Ma&Pas. If not I'll try and do the standard hoof.
So that compensates for tuesday. Wednesday I was able to get up and ran 55.01. Two minutes slower then Monday even with the break. I wasn't happy but could see the reason. The gym session went well and 30 laps in the pool to finish the day. Thrursday was a bit of a disaster. First I was unable to get up on time. Again. and although this time I got out on the bike about half way in to work I was over-bloody-taken by a lycra clad road biking geek. Cheeky git even had the cheek to say "Good Morning" as he passed. Git. I was infurated and even applying power to the pedals I was only able to keep him just about in sight until the turn at Alconbury-on-the-hill and hen he was gone.
I couldn't believe that I had been smoked that way. It had to be the bike, right? I went straight onto the net once I got to work and googled for road bike vs MTB and sure enough someone had asked the question. The answer was complicated but basically, yes road bikes are faster on roads then a modded MTB or hybrid mostly thanks to the thinner tyres and better cycle position. All stressed the fact that you can go faster thanks to these things but only if you are capable of using them effectively and they only gave slight advantages. The post I like the most did point out the gearing difference. A road top cog can give a 13% edge over the top MTB cog if you can crank the pedal. If you're not maxing out the top gear on the MTB you can't push the road bike any faster because there's an equvalent gear on its range that you'd be stuck in. Personally I think there is an advantage in the road bike. I think some of it is training. I live in a groove enforced by my gear range. I never ride hard in the highest gear I can because I know I've got to get to work or where ever I'm going to. Having more gears and a harder range would challenge my comfort zone and result in faster movement and better times.
No chance of getting a new super dooper roadie any time soon so I'll just have to challenge myself to start using that high gear and get out of the comfort zone.
Rolled in rolled out of work and couldn't go straight to the gym for the planned swim as I'd left the swimming trunks in the gym bag. opps! Rocked home instead and repaid the debt on the run. 56.46 later wasn't bad considering I'd gone straight from the bike to the run.
Friday I missed my run. Again. but did go to the gym and was able to do a very respectable 40 lengths plus 6 sprint lengths giving it everything I'd got. I was quite pleased with this but It did highlight the difference in speed I was using to get the distance.
So that compensates for tuesday. Wednesday I was able to get up and ran 55.01. Two minutes slower then Monday even with the break. I wasn't happy but could see the reason. The gym session went well and 30 laps in the pool to finish the day. Thrursday was a bit of a disaster. First I was unable to get up on time. Again. and although this time I got out on the bike about half way in to work I was over-bloody-taken by a lycra clad road biking geek. Cheeky git even had the cheek to say "Good Morning" as he passed. Git. I was infurated and even applying power to the pedals I was only able to keep him just about in sight until the turn at Alconbury-on-the-hill and hen he was gone.
I couldn't believe that I had been smoked that way. It had to be the bike, right? I went straight onto the net once I got to work and googled for road bike vs MTB and sure enough someone had asked the question. The answer was complicated but basically, yes road bikes are faster on roads then a modded MTB or hybrid mostly thanks to the thinner tyres and better cycle position. All stressed the fact that you can go faster thanks to these things but only if you are capable of using them effectively and they only gave slight advantages. The post I like the most did point out the gearing difference. A road top cog can give a 13% edge over the top MTB cog if you can crank the pedal. If you're not maxing out the top gear on the MTB you can't push the road bike any faster because there's an equvalent gear on its range that you'd be stuck in. Personally I think there is an advantage in the road bike. I think some of it is training. I live in a groove enforced by my gear range. I never ride hard in the highest gear I can because I know I've got to get to work or where ever I'm going to. Having more gears and a harder range would challenge my comfort zone and result in faster movement and better times.
No chance of getting a new super dooper roadie any time soon so I'll just have to challenge myself to start using that high gear and get out of the comfort zone.
Rolled in rolled out of work and couldn't go straight to the gym for the planned swim as I'd left the swimming trunks in the gym bag. opps! Rocked home instead and repaid the debt on the run. 56.46 later wasn't bad considering I'd gone straight from the bike to the run.
Friday I missed my run. Again. but did go to the gym and was able to do a very respectable 40 lengths plus 6 sprint lengths giving it everything I'd got. I was quite pleased with this but It did highlight the difference in speed I was using to get the distance.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Number 2597
Another day another lap.time. 53.13. A new record for that route. Not that surprised as I've had a day or two off. Also managed to get the full 30 lengths in in one go after the work out which was very not bad. I decided to get a couple of new tops for running the half marathon as most of my sports t shirts are looking a bit worse for wear. Still a bit of retail therapy for a good lap time is nice. Have to be careful with them though. They were expensive for t shirts. The welcome pack for the half marathon came through today and I am number 2597. weird they have given menace timing chip which goes on a very uncomfortable looking strap around my ankle. Something to do with the chip.being registered on a plate as we cross the starting and finishing line.
Well with that fun day out of the way I have a lovely. day filled.with rain for tomorrow. I'm only happy when it rains!
Well with that fun day out of the way I have a lovely. day filled.with rain for tomorrow. I'm only happy when it rains!
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Ah. The gymnasium
Finally for the first time since this new urge to train has hit me I've gone to the gym to do my old work program. Minus the running of course. For those of you who don't know my gym routine is as follows. I start with a series of stretches mostly on the legs and a few on the upper arms. I then go for 42 push-ups with the hands in line with the shoulders elbows going in tight to the body. I then flip over and do 120 sit-ups with my feet braced under a handy bit of boxing the gym have placed next to the mats. The sit-ups are done with the hands either side of my head. I then change styles of sit-up going for a twist as I begin each sit-up so at the top of the sit I'm facing to either my left or right placing more strain of that sides muscle groups. with 40 of these out the way I flip over again and do 20 squat thrusts and then flip back to do some 40 more sit-ups this time without my feet braced and with my arms straight out in front skimming over my arched legs. Back onto my front and into the press up position for 30 more. Its then down the stairs to fill up the water bottle and hopefully jump onto the pull-up bar. Currently only able to do 8 of these but hoping to get better. Usually I'd then start up a tread mill and get into sprint intervals 2mins cruising at 8.8mph and then 1min at 10.9mph and keep going until the timer hits 30minutes but not today. I'd like to do the odd one of these just to see if my level is staying the same or better or....worse. Usually next its onto the weight machines but I went onto the cycle machine and did 15minutes on a random hardness program set to a max of level 18 out of 20 and fought to do 5 miles which I usually achieve by the 14th minute. As I hadn't run during this session I found this quite easy to do given that fact I thought I'd tack on an extra 15mins on a manual set level of 16 and pushed for the 5 mile marker again. This out of the way I went back on track with the weight machines and went through chest presses (60kg at 3x 15rep cycles) bicep curls (52.5kg at 3x 15rep) and chest-flies (70kg 3x 15 reps) Usually this is when I'd switch back to the bike but as I'd done this I jumped on one of the leg extension ones that work the quads and did 80kg 3x 15reps. I was feeling a bit drained by this point and still had the swim to go so I missed out some of the other exercises and went for the isometric stuff back on the mats holding myself in the plank position and doing a weird leg extension thing that works my core muscles that the gym PTI showed me. I find one of the problems with the gym is that I try to do too much and haven't got the time. I'm currently in there for about hours. Not all of this time is spent exercising. Some is spent getting changed and I have rest intervals of about 1 minute or so between reps or exercise types to cool down a little. There's plenty in there that I'd like to do if I've got the time like the rowing machine, reverse flies and a whole bunch of stuff on the free weights, assuming you can ever get near them. That is one of my pet hates about the gym. There seems to be a class of gym goer who only do free weights and form little groups that rotate through the position doing a massive amount of upper body stuff. The result is the limited number of positions at peak times get dominated by these blokes and no one else gets a look in. Its not like I've got the time to do any meaningful work out on those weights but it would be nice to know I could if the fancy took me.
All that out of the way and it was back to the swimming pool. I found it much harder to swim having murdered my upper body a bit and instead of the constant swimming I was able to do the last couple of times I found I was back down to doing patterns of 6 lengths or less. I managed to get the full 30 lengths done but it wasn't quick or very pretty.
I've now managed to do my first days proper training according to the plan. Right time for the weekend and a nice little break.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
an early-ish start.
Just a quick note to say I got up this morning and ran a 55.14. Which is better than the other day and full distance. See... I can do it.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.5.2
A comfortable mattress and blood loss = Trouble running
I've missed a few days so I'll rewind time to Tuesday night and the end of the last entry.
With my new mattress installed I was looking forward to hitting the sack but writing the blog and eating late ment I was getting under the covers at about 23:00 and I was still too awake to fall straight to sleep despite my tired limbs. God knows when I drifted off but it was past midnight. Needless to say that when the alarm went off at 05:30 I was not in the mood to get out from under my warm fluffy duvet. When I finally did lure myself out of bed I was running low on time before I had to go to work. I slipped on my battered trainers and decided to go for a quick run around Yaxley. 19 odd minutes later I was back with enough time in hand to wash and brush up before work. Phew.
What I'd forgotten when I started this new regime was that my next blood donation appointment was coming up and with my mini run out of the way I needed to suck down some fluids before the vampires took hold at lunch time. So great was my need to get out of the house that I had forgotten the blood donation form and had to go cap in hand to the nurse and ask for a new one. Fortunately my work mate who I was donating with had made the same error only with less excuse so I didn't feel too bad. The usual procedure was followed and eventually a large needle was jabbed into my arm. Blood rushed out of my system and filled the plastic bag beneath me. I was kept amused by the antics of what I believe to be a doctor who'd been dragged out of the hospital to help with the occasion. As he pottered about smiling in a bemused sort of way nurses would keep coming up to him with bits of paper work and point to missing entries or incomplete statements. This is largely how I could tell he was most likely a doctor. I was quite lucky and filled my pint of redness and before long was sitting with a cup of tea and a packet of bourbons unlike my workmate who seemed to be having trouble getting the stuff out of himself. I told him that he was always a miserable bleeder and he replied "they take enough from me at work. I don't want to lose too much. as a naturally happy bleeder I went back to the office and soon started to feel the after effects of tiredness and poor concentration. Or maybe that was just the effect of DZ report day. Anyway I wasn't feeling top notch so I decided to knock it on the head for the day stock up on food on the way home and fill myself with complex carbohydrates.
Thursday morning arrived and I was still feeling tired from the day before. No running was going to happen that morning although I was determined to ride to work. Almost 40 minutes late I set off loaded down with my new towel, a nice light weight travel one, and my lunch which I'd pre prepared the night before (Chicken rice and eggs with some red pepper mixed in.). But in my haste I forgot both my bike locks, fortunately I kept the weaker D-lock at work, and to set my stop watch going. No accurate timing for the morning trip. Doh! When I got it going I recorded a time of about 54 minutes and I think that I missed only the first 5 minutes or so but if so it was a rather slow time of 59 for my first recorded outing. Oh well we can but improve. The return journey was hampered by a nasty headwind and I was quite knackered when I arrived at the gym for my swim session. As I started to get into the pool's lap side I realised there was two slow Muppet swimmers splashing up and down. Great I'd be tripping over them every single lap. I then spotted that the "general" swimming area was almost completely free apart from one woman swimming laps. I could do a few over there and once wingus and dingus got out I could shift over. No problem. 10 laps later some kids arrived and started having fun. Darn them. but W & D had disappeared so I got to finish my remaining 20 in the normal manner. It didn't feel too bad today and I felt I could do more but I didn't want to over do it as I had to make it home. I decided to go the direct route home through Orton Goldhay and Hampton. Managed to escape with only one chav child trying to shout "Oi are you a racer or something with that stuff on your bike" I was gone before he could actually engage his brain and shook my head slightly. Probably only ten years old and still no decernable signs of intelligence. Right running and the gym tomorrow or its a punishment run at the weekend.
With my new mattress installed I was looking forward to hitting the sack but writing the blog and eating late ment I was getting under the covers at about 23:00 and I was still too awake to fall straight to sleep despite my tired limbs. God knows when I drifted off but it was past midnight. Needless to say that when the alarm went off at 05:30 I was not in the mood to get out from under my warm fluffy duvet. When I finally did lure myself out of bed I was running low on time before I had to go to work. I slipped on my battered trainers and decided to go for a quick run around Yaxley. 19 odd minutes later I was back with enough time in hand to wash and brush up before work. Phew.
What I'd forgotten when I started this new regime was that my next blood donation appointment was coming up and with my mini run out of the way I needed to suck down some fluids before the vampires took hold at lunch time. So great was my need to get out of the house that I had forgotten the blood donation form and had to go cap in hand to the nurse and ask for a new one. Fortunately my work mate who I was donating with had made the same error only with less excuse so I didn't feel too bad. The usual procedure was followed and eventually a large needle was jabbed into my arm. Blood rushed out of my system and filled the plastic bag beneath me. I was kept amused by the antics of what I believe to be a doctor who'd been dragged out of the hospital to help with the occasion. As he pottered about smiling in a bemused sort of way nurses would keep coming up to him with bits of paper work and point to missing entries or incomplete statements. This is largely how I could tell he was most likely a doctor. I was quite lucky and filled my pint of redness and before long was sitting with a cup of tea and a packet of bourbons unlike my workmate who seemed to be having trouble getting the stuff out of himself. I told him that he was always a miserable bleeder and he replied "they take enough from me at work. I don't want to lose too much. as a naturally happy bleeder I went back to the office and soon started to feel the after effects of tiredness and poor concentration. Or maybe that was just the effect of DZ report day. Anyway I wasn't feeling top notch so I decided to knock it on the head for the day stock up on food on the way home and fill myself with complex carbohydrates.
Thursday morning arrived and I was still feeling tired from the day before. No running was going to happen that morning although I was determined to ride to work. Almost 40 minutes late I set off loaded down with my new towel, a nice light weight travel one, and my lunch which I'd pre prepared the night before (Chicken rice and eggs with some red pepper mixed in.). But in my haste I forgot both my bike locks, fortunately I kept the weaker D-lock at work, and to set my stop watch going. No accurate timing for the morning trip. Doh! When I got it going I recorded a time of about 54 minutes and I think that I missed only the first 5 minutes or so but if so it was a rather slow time of 59 for my first recorded outing. Oh well we can but improve. The return journey was hampered by a nasty headwind and I was quite knackered when I arrived at the gym for my swim session. As I started to get into the pool's lap side I realised there was two slow Muppet swimmers splashing up and down. Great I'd be tripping over them every single lap. I then spotted that the "general" swimming area was almost completely free apart from one woman swimming laps. I could do a few over there and once wingus and dingus got out I could shift over. No problem. 10 laps later some kids arrived and started having fun. Darn them. but W & D had disappeared so I got to finish my remaining 20 in the normal manner. It didn't feel too bad today and I felt I could do more but I didn't want to over do it as I had to make it home. I decided to go the direct route home through Orton Goldhay and Hampton. Managed to escape with only one chav child trying to shout "Oi are you a racer or something with that stuff on your bike" I was gone before he could actually engage his brain and shook my head slightly. Probably only ten years old and still no decernable signs of intelligence. Right running and the gym tomorrow or its a punishment run at the weekend.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
The mattress push up
As expected yesterday's trip to my parents did involve alcohol and large amounts of food. After a quick constitutional walk I found my eye lids drooping. Needless to say I didn't make it to the gym.
Today has been another day off work. Hooray. I pity I spent most of the day waiting around for a mattress to arrive and spending large amounts of money on bedding. Still getting the old bed up stairs to the study can certainly be counted as exercise and sort of made up for the fact I was a bit dehydrated this morning to go for a run. Building the bed my manager gave me was also interesting as was re-stringing the washing line and doing all my ironing. And then came the horror. My MP3 player's arm band broke as I tried to wash it. NOOO! No music when exercising. No music at the gym. Where they play either KISS FM or MTV adverts and all. I don't think so. So it was off on my bike to town to spend more cash. It was a good ride though. I needed the arm band before I'd go running and a quick 4 mile hop into town wouldn't take too long. I started out at the large tescoes which is on route in the hopes they would stock one but they came up wanting. I guess they can't stock everything even in the largest Tescoes in the UK. With that little detour out of the way I had no choice but to brave the last day of the school holidays and enter the town centre full of adolecents and they're perambulating parental cash machines.
Right music has been restored and back home for a quick drink small mess about then out on the run. The reason I've gone on this long and twisted tale is to try and justify my running time. An appalling 57:12. I'd like to blame the traffic at the two set of lights but I pretty much got through scot free. Must have been hauling the mattress up the stairs or the 30mins spent pulling washing line through the poles who knows but it wasn't a good run.
I'd decided I was going to the gym to get the swim under way and had the choice of how to get there. By bike of course. We're not in this for the look of the thing don't ca know. So once back at the house it was another quick drink and on with the SPDs. Lights attached and thirty minutes later I was in the pool. The run might not have gone well but the swim did. It was pretty much clear in there. Just two other bods doing breast stroke in the training lane. I managed to do 16 lengths straight and followed up with a further 14 to make the grand total of 30 lengths making 750m. Or the swim distance in he sprint triathlon.
Riding home in the dark was nice but the wind was behind me and the battery was still going strong in my armbanded MP3.
Made it back and started cooking well it was 20:45 I'd picked up a sugary drink from the CO-OP on the way back so I recovered something as the chicken Kievs hissed away. I also cooked up some pasta bake to take with me tommorrow. I'll have to start thinking about food more now as all this exercise is going to need fuelling. Protein and complex carbohydrates. Or chicken and pasta as its better known.
Today has been another day off work. Hooray. I pity I spent most of the day waiting around for a mattress to arrive and spending large amounts of money on bedding. Still getting the old bed up stairs to the study can certainly be counted as exercise and sort of made up for the fact I was a bit dehydrated this morning to go for a run. Building the bed my manager gave me was also interesting as was re-stringing the washing line and doing all my ironing. And then came the horror. My MP3 player's arm band broke as I tried to wash it. NOOO! No music when exercising. No music at the gym. Where they play either KISS FM or MTV adverts and all. I don't think so. So it was off on my bike to town to spend more cash. It was a good ride though. I needed the arm band before I'd go running and a quick 4 mile hop into town wouldn't take too long. I started out at the large tescoes which is on route in the hopes they would stock one but they came up wanting. I guess they can't stock everything even in the largest Tescoes in the UK. With that little detour out of the way I had no choice but to brave the last day of the school holidays and enter the town centre full of adolecents and they're perambulating parental cash machines.
Right music has been restored and back home for a quick drink small mess about then out on the run. The reason I've gone on this long and twisted tale is to try and justify my running time. An appalling 57:12. I'd like to blame the traffic at the two set of lights but I pretty much got through scot free. Must have been hauling the mattress up the stairs or the 30mins spent pulling washing line through the poles who knows but it wasn't a good run.
I'd decided I was going to the gym to get the swim under way and had the choice of how to get there. By bike of course. We're not in this for the look of the thing don't ca know. So once back at the house it was another quick drink and on with the SPDs. Lights attached and thirty minutes later I was in the pool. The run might not have gone well but the swim did. It was pretty much clear in there. Just two other bods doing breast stroke in the training lane. I managed to do 16 lengths straight and followed up with a further 14 to make the grand total of 30 lengths making 750m. Or the swim distance in he sprint triathlon.
Riding home in the dark was nice but the wind was behind me and the battery was still going strong in my armbanded MP3.
Made it back and started cooking well it was 20:45 I'd picked up a sugary drink from the CO-OP on the way back so I recovered something as the chicken Kievs hissed away. I also cooked up some pasta bake to take with me tommorrow. I'll have to start thinking about food more now as all this exercise is going to need fuelling. Protein and complex carbohydrates. Or chicken and pasta as its better known.
Monday, 30 August 2010
Back ache and Bread crumbs
Right another run in the bag and a new personal best of 53.51. I missed the fist cp last time and guessed it at 5 mins but was actually under 3! not bad and I was on a high after that so kept pushing. I think I lost a bit of time on the return leg. Day dreaming a bit too much and then my back started to cramp up on me. I think this is because of the bed I'm using at the moment is a bit too soft for me and is causing me grief. I'm getting nice new mattress tomorrow and my boss has very kindly given me his old bedstead so I'm really hoping that will help.
But I can't take all the credit for this. Oh no. When I set off this morning I had blood in my eye. My housemate had come down this morning and imperialistly told me that I had left the kitchen in a mess last night. I looked around the kitchen. There was some clean washing up on the draining board and a small splatter of breadcrumbs on the side. "I spent hours cleaning this up on Saturday and now it looks a mess." I was told. This coming from a woman who the previous evening had decided to do her own washing up and after pouring out the dirty water hadn't bothered to clean up the huge amount of waste that had ended up in the sink. Which I cleaned up for her! A few breadcrumbs versus 2 day old soggy meat and pasta. Well alright "Jack" you want the kitchen sparkling you got it.... grr. Ok threats of domestic violence aside it did help with the run time.
And it wasn't just blood in my eye I ended up with. One of my toenails seems to have dug in a cut my middle toe. No serious damage but the first of many new scars no doubt.
Now it being a Monday should mean that I go to the gym this evening and start getting back into the swim of things but it is also a bank holiday and the parents have invite my sister and I over for lunch. Which could mean alcohol and heavy food. So might not be the best start to my new gym line up.....
But I can't take all the credit for this. Oh no. When I set off this morning I had blood in my eye. My housemate had come down this morning and imperialistly told me that I had left the kitchen in a mess last night. I looked around the kitchen. There was some clean washing up on the draining board and a small splatter of breadcrumbs on the side. "I spent hours cleaning this up on Saturday and now it looks a mess." I was told. This coming from a woman who the previous evening had decided to do her own washing up and after pouring out the dirty water hadn't bothered to clean up the huge amount of waste that had ended up in the sink. Which I cleaned up for her! A few breadcrumbs versus 2 day old soggy meat and pasta. Well alright "Jack" you want the kitchen sparkling you got it.... grr. Ok threats of domestic violence aside it did help with the run time.
And it wasn't just blood in my eye I ended up with. One of my toenails seems to have dug in a cut my middle toe. No serious damage but the first of many new scars no doubt.
Now it being a Monday should mean that I go to the gym this evening and start getting back into the swim of things but it is also a bank holiday and the parents have invite my sister and I over for lunch. Which could mean alcohol and heavy food. So might not be the best start to my new gym line up.....
Sunday, 29 August 2010
And they're out of the gate.....
Right so thats the first run of what I think will be my morning standard. I left the house and headed west towards Peterborough through the back roads of Yaxley turning right before the Co-op at around 5mins (I missed the cp) down through the fields but turned left back onto the footpaths. This brought me out on the traffic lights on the north side of the A15 as it goes through Yaxley. It was then towards the Hampton traffic lights crossing the road at 14mins to head over the bird reserve and fields to get to the farmsteads at the Haddon road (30mins) I then started to head home turning towards the priemer inn. As I was coming up the hill I could see three cyclists heading towards me. tucked into the right and got ready to leap onto the verge but they swung out to avoid me, when I was greeted. "Hello, mate". It was only the bloody fireman from sawtry I'd had a bit of a conversation with the other week on the way to work. Small world eh? But I had no time to spend time discussing the weather so with a gruff good morning and a wave I headed back to the A15 and through Yaxley. The turn into Yxley will be about 45mins and I arrived home at 54.12.
Now those of you who know me will know what the next stage is.Yes thats right. Spreadsheet.
Now those of you who know me will know what the next stage is.Yes thats right. Spreadsheet.
Sunday the 29th of August 2010 - A New Dawn
Well here it is. The first Blog I've ever done. To anyone reading this I will do my best to keep it entertaining but I wanted to do this to keep a record of how I'm doing with my training. I've been running distance since I was about 16 and have trashed a pair of trainer every year since.
Now at 28 and fast approaching 29 I thought I should start taking it all a bit more seriously. What made me take it seriously you ask. It was a T-shirt. The slogan said something like
"You ran 26.2miles? Ah thats cute. Tri athelete 140.2".
and I thought. That is a T-shirt that has to be earned. Now I'm fairly fit already I can run a 5k without really thinking about it and I cycle to work which is about 16 miles from my house on the back of my mountain bike. I've had a gym membership for about 3 years now and have a little 3 hour routine that I hit up 3 times a week. But 140.2 is a unimaginable challenge especially as I've not done a lot of swimming training since I was in school. The gym does have a pool which I use as a cool down doing a little medley of strokes but never for more than about 30 minutes or so and a recent experiment shows how much I'm lacking in that department. I managed about 6 lengths front crawl before I had to stop. Thats what? 150m. If I want to wear that T-shirt I'll have to put in 155 lengths to cover the same as a 3.86km swim!
So thats going to be a challenge. The cycling could also be fun. At the moment and for the foreseeable future I'm going to have to train on my mountain bike. Its a good one. A giant Xtc 2.5 hard back with some road tyres on when not on the mud. Like I say its a good bike but I'm always being overtaken by the lycra clad road bikers thanks to higher gear ratios and a bit more training probably. Taking it into a proper race would be interesting.
But hey. Thats a problem for the future. And I can always save for that super road bike as I go. So what I need to do is train in my three disciplines.
Running I think is my best event afterall. Its what I do. I don't think a marathon is on the cards just yet. Most of my running is in the 6-10mile range at the moment. I have therefore in line with a new program of achievable goals I've entered into Peterborough's half marathon in a months time. This might not seem like a lot given the total goal but its a start. looking at my training requirements this means I'm going to have to do a bit more road running than I've done in recent months. Most of my runs take place on the tread mill at the gym and I know its no where near as tough to do that sort of thing than out in the real world. I'm therefore instigating the MorningRunningProgram. This is exactly as it sounds. I will try to go running each and every morning. I know doing too much will actually weaken me. Having read an article in FHM when Daniel Craig was interviewed. He said that his trainner killed him during the week and he was allowed the weekend off to recover. This sounds nice. I'll put a proviso in this. I'll have the weekend off...if I don't stop during the week. If I have a day off due to weakness (Its too cold/wet/early) I'll do a long run at the weekend to make up for it.
What is the morning course going to be? I've always done about a 45min course and need to get back into that habit. That should give me enough time in the morning to go out and run around before work. Easy.
Ok that a start on the running. What about the cycling and swimming. Cycling is pretty simple. I just keep cycling to work twice a week when I don't go to the gym for my routine (Tuesday/Thursdays). I might also do the gyms spinning class. Not the same thing as on the road cycling but might push me a bit more than the usual beat the clock cycling I've been doing. I'll need to look into that. I still want to keep up my upper body workouts which should help in the swimming department too so I don't want too much overlap or I'll never get anything done.
Swimming is more tricky. With cycling and running I've not got a lot of time. Obviously the gym is the place to do it. If I remove the treadmill running from my gym sessions I could do a thirty minute swim at the end of the session aiming to do between 20 and 30 lengths. I'd like to do a little everyday though. So maybe I could do the 30 min swim everyday during the week. Cycling straight to the gym from work would be interesting. Usually the pool is rammed until about 8ish. Hmm lets give it a go if it doesn't work out we'll have to look at something else.
Now at 28 and fast approaching 29 I thought I should start taking it all a bit more seriously. What made me take it seriously you ask. It was a T-shirt. The slogan said something like
"You ran 26.2miles? Ah thats cute. Tri athelete 140.2".
and I thought. That is a T-shirt that has to be earned. Now I'm fairly fit already I can run a 5k without really thinking about it and I cycle to work which is about 16 miles from my house on the back of my mountain bike. I've had a gym membership for about 3 years now and have a little 3 hour routine that I hit up 3 times a week. But 140.2 is a unimaginable challenge especially as I've not done a lot of swimming training since I was in school. The gym does have a pool which I use as a cool down doing a little medley of strokes but never for more than about 30 minutes or so and a recent experiment shows how much I'm lacking in that department. I managed about 6 lengths front crawl before I had to stop. Thats what? 150m. If I want to wear that T-shirt I'll have to put in 155 lengths to cover the same as a 3.86km swim!
So thats going to be a challenge. The cycling could also be fun. At the moment and for the foreseeable future I'm going to have to train on my mountain bike. Its a good one. A giant Xtc 2.5 hard back with some road tyres on when not on the mud. Like I say its a good bike but I'm always being overtaken by the lycra clad road bikers thanks to higher gear ratios and a bit more training probably. Taking it into a proper race would be interesting.
But hey. Thats a problem for the future. And I can always save for that super road bike as I go. So what I need to do is train in my three disciplines.
Running I think is my best event afterall. Its what I do. I don't think a marathon is on the cards just yet. Most of my running is in the 6-10mile range at the moment. I have therefore in line with a new program of achievable goals I've entered into Peterborough's half marathon in a months time. This might not seem like a lot given the total goal but its a start. looking at my training requirements this means I'm going to have to do a bit more road running than I've done in recent months. Most of my runs take place on the tread mill at the gym and I know its no where near as tough to do that sort of thing than out in the real world. I'm therefore instigating the MorningRunningProgram. This is exactly as it sounds. I will try to go running each and every morning. I know doing too much will actually weaken me. Having read an article in FHM when Daniel Craig was interviewed. He said that his trainner killed him during the week and he was allowed the weekend off to recover. This sounds nice. I'll put a proviso in this. I'll have the weekend off...if I don't stop during the week. If I have a day off due to weakness (Its too cold/wet/early) I'll do a long run at the weekend to make up for it.
What is the morning course going to be? I've always done about a 45min course and need to get back into that habit. That should give me enough time in the morning to go out and run around before work. Easy.
Ok that a start on the running. What about the cycling and swimming. Cycling is pretty simple. I just keep cycling to work twice a week when I don't go to the gym for my routine (Tuesday/Thursdays). I might also do the gyms spinning class. Not the same thing as on the road cycling but might push me a bit more than the usual beat the clock cycling I've been doing. I'll need to look into that. I still want to keep up my upper body workouts which should help in the swimming department too so I don't want too much overlap or I'll never get anything done.
Swimming is more tricky. With cycling and running I've not got a lot of time. Obviously the gym is the place to do it. If I remove the treadmill running from my gym sessions I could do a thirty minute swim at the end of the session aiming to do between 20 and 30 lengths. I'd like to do a little everyday though. So maybe I could do the 30 min swim everyday during the week. Cycling straight to the gym from work would be interesting. Usually the pool is rammed until about 8ish. Hmm lets give it a go if it doesn't work out we'll have to look at something else.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)