Ok I admit it, this post has been a long time coming, and for that I apologise, but here it is, finally, the account from the big day itself.
I made it to Friday not having drunk a single drop for 3 weeks, and 2 days prior to the big day came the biggest challenge yet - a work trip to Cowes, mainly involving hideous amounts of boozing. I stuck to my guns and enjoyed a relaxing day messing around in a speedboat, eating as much as possible and generally relaxing in the sun.
On Saturday the nerves began to kick in a bit and I must have checked and sorted my kit fifteen times that day, packing and unpacking, going back time and again. Having visited the course last week I tried to think about a strategy, where to conserve energy and where to try and nail it, but all I could really come up with was don't go too hard too early, on all three stages!
For the fourth night in a row I stuffed myself with as much pasta as I could force in, feeling uncomfortably full and bloated and also hugely lethargic - perhaps I should have gone out for a gentle run on Thursday after all. With the alarm on for 4.45 I slept sporadically but woke feeling surprisingly fresh.
The early morning drive over to Excel was surreal, a beautiful morning, nervous excitement, energy drink and a steadily growing sick feeling in the pit of my stomach all merging together at 5.30am to make me feel pretty uneasy. The centre was a mass of fit looking, sporty types running around in cool looking kit, wetsuits worn half off, £4,000 road bikes and then little old me, in my tracksuit and hoody wondering what the hell was going on. We registered in an aircraft hangar sized hall, queuing up in a line of impending doom as we waited to receive numbers and race tag. The transition was on another level completely, thousands of bikes racked up and the other end of the hall barely visible. I found myself a spot next to a cheery northern chap and got myself ready, spying Jenson Button just two rows away and looking pretty serious.
Having negotiated toilets that smelt worse than Glastonbury I headed over to the Swim start area along with four hundred others and donned my hat to become just another nutcase in rubber. The mood was excited, friendly and energising and helping others with wetsuits, chatting and getting involved in a jovial bit of Ogi Ogi Ogi settled my nerves tremendously. Anna got some great shots as I stood in the pen with all my other green hatted mates and then followed me outside to get some more as I grinned like a child in anticipation of the water.
Nothing really can prepare you for being in a group of 400 grown men swimming out across Victoria Dock at 7.30 in the morning with Canary Wharf behind you and nothing but blazing early morning sun in front of you. A couple of 'good lucks' and a few deep breaths and we were off. I had no idea where I was headed and was surrounded in the washing machine esque turmoil of water but got my head down and stuck in. The first few hundred metres were infuriating, people swimming across me, banging my legs and stopping in front of me but after a while I settled down and got into a reasonable rhythm. The half way point was upon me before too long and feeling good I carried on, looking up less and less often as the Excel centre to my right guided me home.
With the Swim over in 32 minutes I managed to get out of my wetsuit without too many issues and scoot into the Transition, jogging carefully along the painted concrete floor, paranoid that I would stack it, all the way to the top end of the hall to where Jessica was waiting. Talc in my socks worked a treat and although it was painfully slow I felt like T1 passed all too quickly. Suddenly I was out of the hall and into the bright morning once more, fumbling with an energy gel and settling into a good pace. Without pushing too hard I overtook a few quicker swimmers and got an added boost on seeing Mum and Dad walking along the route, shortly followed by Anna, Mike and Andy after the first turn.
Pushing along sweetly and getting out onto Embankment I began to get a nagging pain in my lower back which lingered on, getting slowly worse. At the 27km mark and turning point at Westminster I was relatively alone, passing the odd person and having the leaders of the next wave come flying past me on their carbon fibre clad speed machines. The pain was more annoying than anything else and meant I was constantly adjusting my position. The benefit of this however was I spent more than half of what I thought would be my favourite section really wanting to get off the bike and start running. As I came back in towards Excel I saw the guys again which gave me an added boost and helped me power through the last few roundabouts before spinning quickly in a low gear to ready myself for the run. This worked so well that I somehow spun the chain right off the cog and dropped dangerously close to the top tube before realising and standing up, saving my under-carriage from total destruction.
Slipping along the polished tarmac floor in my bike shoes was pretty hair raising and I'd almost made it back in to transition when I heard some useful advice from Bob, standing by the sidelines as he shouted 'don't fall over' - cheers Dad! T2 was much much better than the first and the elastic laces came into their own so much so that I was out and running before I could even think about it. The course ran under a covered walkway to the side of the dock before emerging into the open and taking on a cruel wooden bridge, steep and slippery. Once more the guys were in a perfect position and spurred me on right from the start.
My legs felt good and sticking to the strategy of going off gently I took on some water and tried not to push too hard. The route followed the edge of the dock and before long I passed the 3km mark and even though it felt like I was barely moving I'd averaged just over 4min/km. I tried to stick with this pace, excitedly realising that I was on for a 41 or so minute run. Going back into Excel to start the second loop gave me another burst but everything was starting to properly hurt by this point and on the loop back round the dock my body was suddenly feeling really quite painful. I pushed on through, trying to keep the pace steady and had become so transfixed on my km splits that I didn't even start to consider my overall time. Once the realisation began to set in that I could actually get near to 2hrs 30 I had another spurt and gritting my teeth picked up the pace. I hit the 9km mark and absolutely went for it, going as hard as I possibly could for the final 1000m. The crowds were fantastic and helped to block out the pain, as did I, running for too much of this last part with my eyes almost shut!
I came to the final turn and pushed up and over the wooden bridge for the last time, legs screaming and lungs burning,sprinting past 2 other guys with similar numbers to me and powering as fast as I could back into Excel and through the finish tunnel, to cross the line in 2hrs and 34minutes dead.
I was absolutely done for and was feeling pretty dizzy, but I'd finished and that was all that mattered. Later Anna showed me a great picture having just finished, hand clamped over mouth and eyes shut, looking like I was about to vom. It was an amazing feeling to finish and to have felt like I did so well, and although I felt I had given it everything I was already thinking about how to shave off those additional 4 minutes and post a sub 2:30 time next year. It was damn hard, but so much fun and yes I would definitely do it again next year.
20 Aug 2009
27 Jul 2009
Week twelve
This is my last full week of training (next week I will be doing all those things that proper athletes do like tapering, carbo-loading and mentally focusing) before the race and as such it has been a good one. Highgate is perfectly positioned on it's bloody great hill (hence the name) for a really decent bike loop and lets you make the most of an evening's session with it's punishing ups and downs to really blow out the legs. The plan asked this week to go the longest yet in my strongest discipline but having only several hours to spare of an evening I decided against taking this literally and pushing out a 100 miler on the bike. After all I have cycled 85 miles on my own in one day before from Milton Keynes to Leonard Stanley in the Cotswolds, surely that distance wasn't called for? Instead I pushed as hard as possible on the hills and generally kept the tempo as high as possibly where traffic allowed, scaring both an old lady and a mallard in the process.
On Wednesday I faced my fears and returned to Hampstead Ponds to get one final open water swim in before the big day. My best man Terry was on hand to join me on the swim and between us we clocked up a fair few laps of the pond. We weren't alone and before too long there were at least six other wet-suited tri swimmers plodding around and around in circles, we comfortably outnumbered the regulars wearing nothing but a speedo and a smile. We spent the whole time discussing the distance around the outside markers and having been quite well educated in the complexities of counting, numerical guesstimating and maths in general, Terry was pretty close. It turns out you can swim 360m in total around the outside, and given our cutting of one corner I completed just over 2,400m in total, admittedly stopping now and again.
On Friday evening I watched my artist friend Pip Greed (aka Phil Marsden) perform on the 4th Plinth at Trafalgar Square as part of the One & Other 100 days of live art exhibition. He was brilliant, holding the crowd beautifully by quickly drawing personalised sketches and then delivering them via paper aeroplane; he finished to raucous applause. After an early night (1 week now without booze) Jessica and I were on the road by 8am, on our way down to Excel to check out the venue. Jesus. The dock is big! The water is dark, God it's all so BIG! I rode the bike route, doing the first dual carriageway stage only once due to multiple lane merging and hot Limehouse Tunnel smoginess but couldn't keep much momentum going what with the the ridiculous amount of traffic already on the road. I noticed several others doing a similar thing and made sure I took note of the ups, the downs and the turns along the course. Although I knew the rough route in my head actually riding it will hopefully give me an edge on the day as I know exactly what to expect and where the smooth 'nail it' sections will be. Although I missed the final portion repeats my total mileage clocked 35 and on getting home I immediately changed into trainers and hit the pavements. I stuck it out for 30 minutes and was pleased that although feeling tired my legs knew they could cope.
I am now on 1 week and counting.......
On Wednesday I faced my fears and returned to Hampstead Ponds to get one final open water swim in before the big day. My best man Terry was on hand to join me on the swim and between us we clocked up a fair few laps of the pond. We weren't alone and before too long there were at least six other wet-suited tri swimmers plodding around and around in circles, we comfortably outnumbered the regulars wearing nothing but a speedo and a smile. We spent the whole time discussing the distance around the outside markers and having been quite well educated in the complexities of counting, numerical guesstimating and maths in general, Terry was pretty close. It turns out you can swim 360m in total around the outside, and given our cutting of one corner I completed just over 2,400m in total, admittedly stopping now and again.
On Friday evening I watched my artist friend Pip Greed (aka Phil Marsden) perform on the 4th Plinth at Trafalgar Square as part of the One & Other 100 days of live art exhibition. He was brilliant, holding the crowd beautifully by quickly drawing personalised sketches and then delivering them via paper aeroplane; he finished to raucous applause. After an early night (1 week now without booze) Jessica and I were on the road by 8am, on our way down to Excel to check out the venue. Jesus. The dock is big! The water is dark, God it's all so BIG! I rode the bike route, doing the first dual carriageway stage only once due to multiple lane merging and hot Limehouse Tunnel smoginess but couldn't keep much momentum going what with the the ridiculous amount of traffic already on the road. I noticed several others doing a similar thing and made sure I took note of the ups, the downs and the turns along the course. Although I knew the rough route in my head actually riding it will hopefully give me an edge on the day as I know exactly what to expect and where the smooth 'nail it' sections will be. Although I missed the final portion repeats my total mileage clocked 35 and on getting home I immediately changed into trainers and hit the pavements. I stuck it out for 30 minutes and was pleased that although feeling tired my legs knew they could cope.
I am now on 1 week and counting.......
21 Jul 2009
Week Eleven
Coming into the week still feeling a bit groggy and bunged up was worrying but I gave myself Monday evening off to fully recuperate and by Tuesday was itching to get going again. I restrained myself enough to get around the park several times at a gentle pace and immediately felt better for it. In a way I suppose the rest gave my body time to recover and re-discover the urge to be exercised multiple times a week but it also re-confirmed how much it also enjoys morning lie-ins!
I managed a really strong swim on Wednesday, forcing myself to breathe on alternate sides for the entire 1800m and even managed to overtake 'hairy beast man' in this manner. Whether he was impressed as he sculled gently on his back down the fast lane I don't know but I was certainly chuffed.
Commitment levels reached a new high on Thursday when I finished a meeting near Farringdon at 5pm and made the effort to cycle back up to Kings Cross, blast out a hard session in the gym and then head back down to Farringdon to say hello to several friends back from travelling. Although the all knowing plan didn't suggest it I went for a run/bike combo and absolutely ruined myself repeating this process, jumping from bike to runner and back again several times. Even more impressively I resisted any booze in the pub, much to my and everyone else's amazement. Those days of Thursday night binges are over! It's a surreal feeling when stone cold sober you meet up with people who have been drinking for several hours, it's also very loud.
I finished the week with a sprint in the pool and then a mixed run in the park on Sunday, with several longer sprints throughout to keep my on my toes. The race is now just two weeks away (the observant amongst you will notice that this is week 11 of 12 but I started a week early and so will have had 13 in total) and there is no pretending now, I'm crapping myself!
I managed a really strong swim on Wednesday, forcing myself to breathe on alternate sides for the entire 1800m and even managed to overtake 'hairy beast man' in this manner. Whether he was impressed as he sculled gently on his back down the fast lane I don't know but I was certainly chuffed.
Commitment levels reached a new high on Thursday when I finished a meeting near Farringdon at 5pm and made the effort to cycle back up to Kings Cross, blast out a hard session in the gym and then head back down to Farringdon to say hello to several friends back from travelling. Although the all knowing plan didn't suggest it I went for a run/bike combo and absolutely ruined myself repeating this process, jumping from bike to runner and back again several times. Even more impressively I resisted any booze in the pub, much to my and everyone else's amazement. Those days of Thursday night binges are over! It's a surreal feeling when stone cold sober you meet up with people who have been drinking for several hours, it's also very loud.
I finished the week with a sprint in the pool and then a mixed run in the park on Sunday, with several longer sprints throughout to keep my on my toes. The race is now just two weeks away (the observant amongst you will notice that this is week 11 of 12 but I started a week early and so will have had 13 in total) and there is no pretending now, I'm crapping myself!
Week Ten
Oh dear, oh dear. I have man flu. The combination of a heavy week's training last week and a long day of cycling to Brighton, swimming in the sea and not re-hydrating properly after a few beers combined with lots of talk of 'swines' has taken me down. Stupidly I went for a long run on Monday evening when I had been feeling below par all day and pushed myself far too hard. By Tuesday lunch time I was really starting to suffer and had to spend most of Wednesday and Thursday in bed. Training was out of the question so I made the most of the downtime and slept as much as I possibly could - difficult when you spend Saturday night in a tent in Dorset, but it has given my legs and body a much needed rest. Hopefully next week the training can resume.
6 Jul 2009
Week Nine
Week nine has has been enlightening and enourmously satisfying. On Tuesday evening I joined forty or so other serious looking 'tri-be's' in Hampstead Lido for a swimming session organised by the Serpentine club. I had been put onto the session by a colleague and it was with some trepidation that I headed up after work on Tuesday evening complete with wetsuit and a growing sense of terror. I rolled up on my trusty commuter bike in jeans and shirt to be greeted by possibly THE most arrogant and self procrastinating Antipodean I have ever met. It turned out that swimming was his strongest discipline and he regulalry left the water in 7th or 8th place only to drop several over the course of the run and bike to finish 10th overall, horrible for him I'm sure.
Admittedly as more and more carbon fibre began to arrive so too did a number of green looking newbies such as myself and I began to relax somewhat. There was no way I was backing out so I got stuck in and started chatting with a few of the regulars. It soon turned out that superman couldn't have been further from the norm and everyone else I spoke to was supremely friendly, approachable and happy to share their experiences. Having received a free swimming hat we struggled into our wetsuits in the blistering heat and slipped into the beautifully cool water a mere sixty metres from the deep end. We were told to align ourselves depending on 'speed' but a bit unsure as to the standard (and characteristically under pitching myself) I stuck to the slower end.
We warmed up with 10 lengths which in itself scared the beejesus out of me but once I settled down they slipped by quickly enough and after a few sprint lengths we set off for the main session of six sets of five lengths or 1800m. We ploughed up and down until before long began to pass each other mid length as everyone settled into their own rhythm. At first this was horribly unnerving as green heads and flailing arms appeared out of nowhere but I soon got used to it and despite a few near misses and head on collisions I finished my set unscathed only to be told that along with a couple of others I had finished too early for my end of the pool and must continue. Obligingly I ploughed on for another 6 lengths until we were stopped (with several down my end not even having completed the desiganted number) and although pretty tired I was chuffed I had done so well. We continued with a few sighting exercises before finishing on start practice which was ridiculouusly good fun as we were told to just go for it and kick like crazy. I started relatively near the front and gave it the beans and managed to avoid being swum over. Result.
The final distance tallied something like 3,300m over an hour and a hlaf and barely able to lift my arms to wriggle out of my wetsuit I struggled slowly home with water pouring from my rucsac and down the back of my jeans. It was a bizzarely satisfying feeling. I was utterly destroyed and felt great for it and will be back next week for sure.
The rest of the week saw me running at lunchtime on the hottest day of the year so far, a really silly idea, another pool swim and then a cycle to Brighton with friends. Although we took it relatively easy I made sure I was the first up Ditchlin Beacon (on my old mountain bike and not Jessica I might add) and that I pushed myself on every hill. On arriving in Brighton we stripped off and cooled down with a quick dip in a sea that lay as still as a mill pond. As the others headed out to dry off I went for a 'quick swim' deciding that the open water practice was too good an opportunity to miss out on. I struck out to the edge of the swimming area with relative ease and although most was done with eyes clamped shut (no goggles) I was able to practice sighting my target bouy and arrived there unscathed. The return swim however was slightly more eventful as I began to feel the effects of the tide pulling me sideways towards the pier and panickingly slightly swallowed a load of salty water mmmmmm. I changed course to run parallel to the shore and was soon able to stand up in the shallows wishing that I hadn't gone out quite so quickly and glad to be back with pebbles under my feet.
Admittedly as more and more carbon fibre began to arrive so too did a number of green looking newbies such as myself and I began to relax somewhat. There was no way I was backing out so I got stuck in and started chatting with a few of the regulars. It soon turned out that superman couldn't have been further from the norm and everyone else I spoke to was supremely friendly, approachable and happy to share their experiences. Having received a free swimming hat we struggled into our wetsuits in the blistering heat and slipped into the beautifully cool water a mere sixty metres from the deep end. We were told to align ourselves depending on 'speed' but a bit unsure as to the standard (and characteristically under pitching myself) I stuck to the slower end.
We warmed up with 10 lengths which in itself scared the beejesus out of me but once I settled down they slipped by quickly enough and after a few sprint lengths we set off for the main session of six sets of five lengths or 1800m. We ploughed up and down until before long began to pass each other mid length as everyone settled into their own rhythm. At first this was horribly unnerving as green heads and flailing arms appeared out of nowhere but I soon got used to it and despite a few near misses and head on collisions I finished my set unscathed only to be told that along with a couple of others I had finished too early for my end of the pool and must continue. Obligingly I ploughed on for another 6 lengths until we were stopped (with several down my end not even having completed the desiganted number) and although pretty tired I was chuffed I had done so well. We continued with a few sighting exercises before finishing on start practice which was ridiculouusly good fun as we were told to just go for it and kick like crazy. I started relatively near the front and gave it the beans and managed to avoid being swum over. Result.
The final distance tallied something like 3,300m over an hour and a hlaf and barely able to lift my arms to wriggle out of my wetsuit I struggled slowly home with water pouring from my rucsac and down the back of my jeans. It was a bizzarely satisfying feeling. I was utterly destroyed and felt great for it and will be back next week for sure.
The rest of the week saw me running at lunchtime on the hottest day of the year so far, a really silly idea, another pool swim and then a cycle to Brighton with friends. Although we took it relatively easy I made sure I was the first up Ditchlin Beacon (on my old mountain bike and not Jessica I might add) and that I pushed myself on every hill. On arriving in Brighton we stripped off and cooled down with a quick dip in a sea that lay as still as a mill pond. As the others headed out to dry off I went for a 'quick swim' deciding that the open water practice was too good an opportunity to miss out on. I struck out to the edge of the swimming area with relative ease and although most was done with eyes clamped shut (no goggles) I was able to practice sighting my target bouy and arrived there unscathed. The return swim however was slightly more eventful as I began to feel the effects of the tide pulling me sideways towards the pier and panickingly slightly swallowed a load of salty water mmmmmm. I changed course to run parallel to the shore and was soon able to stand up in the shallows wishing that I hadn't gone out quite so quickly and glad to be back with pebbles under my feet.
1 Jul 2009
Week Eight
After last weekend's race I was hit by a wave of tiredness which lasted pretty much until Wednesday and put me in a uncharacteristically grumpy mood. I chugged my way through a swim and hour long run and then came unstuck about 40 mins into a pretty gentle cycle. Admittedly the route was very hilly but I was crawling along at a snails pace and enjoying not feeling quite so grumpy. However mid-hill my legs just gave up and turned instantly to jelly. It felt like I was running on a bouncy castle covered in custard with lead weights strapped to my thighs. Not a pleasant experience. I made it home in a cold sweat and slumped on the sofa, consumed a recovery shake as quickly as possible and followed that with just about everything I could get my hands on. I guess the lesson here is that rest is just as important as sustained effort.
I took Thursday off and then swam for 45mins on Friday morning and kept it smooth and steady. Friday saw me turn the ripe old age of 28 and so to celebrate I lunched on pie, chips and gravy, followed shortly by a huge slab of victoria sponge. Brilliant. I definitely over indulged at Belgo's later that night but stuck to beer and felt I had earnt it considering my strong result at Cirencester last weekend. Feeling hungover and with many wedding chores/family obligations the weekend was a no go for training.
All in all a pretty poor week training wise but it has shown that listening to your body is more important than anything and that there is a noticeable difference between just not being arsed and genuinely needing a rest. It's also shown that my protein recovery drink is bloody amazing, within minutes I feel better. Is that physcological or a genuine outcome? I also feel that the plan I'm following rather unfairly assumes that a sprint distance tri mid way through will be no more strenuous than a extended training session! Ok so I sound like I'm whinging but it is designed to allow OD competitors complete the distance within 12 weeks, not a plan for super fit atheletes looking to romp home on their first attempt!
I took Thursday off and then swam for 45mins on Friday morning and kept it smooth and steady. Friday saw me turn the ripe old age of 28 and so to celebrate I lunched on pie, chips and gravy, followed shortly by a huge slab of victoria sponge. Brilliant. I definitely over indulged at Belgo's later that night but stuck to beer and felt I had earnt it considering my strong result at Cirencester last weekend. Feeling hungover and with many wedding chores/family obligations the weekend was a no go for training.
All in all a pretty poor week training wise but it has shown that listening to your body is more important than anything and that there is a noticeable difference between just not being arsed and genuinely needing a rest. It's also shown that my protein recovery drink is bloody amazing, within minutes I feel better. Is that physcological or a genuine outcome? I also feel that the plan I'm following rather unfairly assumes that a sprint distance tri mid way through will be no more strenuous than a extended training session! Ok so I sound like I'm whinging but it is designed to allow OD competitors complete the distance within 12 weeks, not a plan for super fit atheletes looking to romp home on their first attempt!
22 Jun 2009
Week Seven - TRIATHLON (well a sprint one)
Sprint Triathlon DONE. On Sunday morning at about 8.50am I found myself packed into my wetsuit with a skintight swimming cap glued to my head by the side of a lake thinking that the swim looked a whole lot longer than the designated 750m. I find it amusing that I did this Sprint distance tri (750m/20km/5km) as training and didn't just enter like a normal person would, as the challenge that it is. Anyway, having gone a little crazy in the week and bought myself a wetsuit, some imaginatively named 'bodyglide' and several tubs of high quality energy drink and protein recovery shake I was really feeling the part. That feeling rapidly disappeared the moment I arrived at the transition and realised I had no idea what I was doing. Luckily my girlfriend was on hand to remind me to apply afore mentioned bodyglide, remember my goggles and attach my timimg chip; not a good start. I squeezed into my wetsuit and rushed to the briefing along with 140 other nervous looking competitors only to be kept waiting for almost 30mins in the early morning sun for the Olympic distance (or as they were unfairly referred to 'Standard') athletes to finish their swim.
Nerves were running riot in my stomach and it was all I could do to focus on the swim ahead. I made my way to the back of the pack thinking that it would shoot away from me and I'd be left with an invitingly clear, open patch of water to myself. Things did not go to plan and I spent the first leg to the nearest buoy struggling to find any space at all in a crowded melee of less than fast swimmers. Upon turning the first buoy I was able to settle into a better rhythm which I maintained for the rest of the swim. I started to feel a bit sick towards the end but apart from that I emerged in a respectable 14:22, which I was extremely happy with.
Struggling across sharp gravel trying to get out of a tight wetsuit is never going to be graceful but I gave it my best shot and was quite honestly just happy that I didn't fall over and look like a complete amateur. 02.11 was all it took to transform me into a cyclist and I was soon cruising along at a good lick taking on energy drink and a surprisingly tasty tropical flavoured gel. Conditions were pretty much perfect and without pushing too hard I kept up a good pace. If anything I felt I held back, constantly worrying that I would ruin myself for the run. I finished all too quickly and prepared for the run by spinning my legs furiously in a high gear as suggested by a friend in the know (thanks Dan). 37 mins on the bike were seemingly negated by this technique and after a miserly 01:11 second transition (aided by talc in the running socks - don't ask) I was off and running.
My legs felt a bit shaky for the first km or so but I stuck to the plan of starting slowly and building up and began to pass several others. Annoyingly I had no idea who was running in my category so it was hard to judge effort but I felt strong given that this transition was the one I feared the most. A bit of confusion with the run route laps and no watch meant I struggled to work out how much further I had to go. As such I found myself heading towards the finish several hundred metres away with plenty left in the tank. I crossed the line in 1 hr 17 mins and was absolutely chuffed.
I came 49th out of a 140 strong field and careful analysis of the finishers in front of me showed that if I had upped the pace by several minutes on the bike I would have achieved an almost 10 place higher finish. I was slightly annoyed with myself given that I felt I was holding back on the bike but a day later am happy with the finish given that this was a training exercise and in August I will have to go double the distance.
So now I have tried and tested my gear, I know which energy gel/drink to take and how much, and I know that I can give it the beans on the bike and get through the run. Now all I need to do is focus on a swim twice the length. I started my plan a week early just in case I had any major problems so I'm going back a week and will continue to stick to it as religiously as possible.
One final point to note is that the winner of the Olympic distance race completed his swim in 16mins, twice the distance in just 2mins longer than it took me to do half. Ouch.
Nerves were running riot in my stomach and it was all I could do to focus on the swim ahead. I made my way to the back of the pack thinking that it would shoot away from me and I'd be left with an invitingly clear, open patch of water to myself. Things did not go to plan and I spent the first leg to the nearest buoy struggling to find any space at all in a crowded melee of less than fast swimmers. Upon turning the first buoy I was able to settle into a better rhythm which I maintained for the rest of the swim. I started to feel a bit sick towards the end but apart from that I emerged in a respectable 14:22, which I was extremely happy with.
Struggling across sharp gravel trying to get out of a tight wetsuit is never going to be graceful but I gave it my best shot and was quite honestly just happy that I didn't fall over and look like a complete amateur. 02.11 was all it took to transform me into a cyclist and I was soon cruising along at a good lick taking on energy drink and a surprisingly tasty tropical flavoured gel. Conditions were pretty much perfect and without pushing too hard I kept up a good pace. If anything I felt I held back, constantly worrying that I would ruin myself for the run. I finished all too quickly and prepared for the run by spinning my legs furiously in a high gear as suggested by a friend in the know (thanks Dan). 37 mins on the bike were seemingly negated by this technique and after a miserly 01:11 second transition (aided by talc in the running socks - don't ask) I was off and running.
My legs felt a bit shaky for the first km or so but I stuck to the plan of starting slowly and building up and began to pass several others. Annoyingly I had no idea who was running in my category so it was hard to judge effort but I felt strong given that this transition was the one I feared the most. A bit of confusion with the run route laps and no watch meant I struggled to work out how much further I had to go. As such I found myself heading towards the finish several hundred metres away with plenty left in the tank. I crossed the line in 1 hr 17 mins and was absolutely chuffed.
I came 49th out of a 140 strong field and careful analysis of the finishers in front of me showed that if I had upped the pace by several minutes on the bike I would have achieved an almost 10 place higher finish. I was slightly annoyed with myself given that I felt I was holding back on the bike but a day later am happy with the finish given that this was a training exercise and in August I will have to go double the distance.
So now I have tried and tested my gear, I know which energy gel/drink to take and how much, and I know that I can give it the beans on the bike and get through the run. Now all I need to do is focus on a swim twice the length. I started my plan a week early just in case I had any major problems so I'm going back a week and will continue to stick to it as religiously as possible.
One final point to note is that the winner of the Olympic distance race completed his swim in 16mins, twice the distance in just 2mins longer than it took me to do half. Ouch.
13 Jun 2009
Week Six
As I write this I have just realised that the end of week six is a horribly significant point to pass. I'm half way there, time wise that is, fitness wise, who knows? I certainly feel fitter and can definitley swim more comfortably than when I first started but the bike and run feel pretty much the same. I am now starting to get a little concerned about the run, so far all I have been asked to do is 'easy endurance run' by the all seeing, all ruling 12 week plan. Should I be doing some speed work, short sprints, fartleks etc? I had to run 10 mins further than last week's run but as I missed that I settled on an extended run home from work clocking up 65 mins in total and feeling great for it. Should I feel great, I really don't know.
Swimming got excting this week when for the first time I was required to swim a 750m set flat out. I managed to complete 30 lengths in just under 15 mins which I am very happy with and taking into consideration our friend the large hairy man stopping mid length to do his standard back-sculling, I feel this is even better. One thing that worried me slightly was the almost constant arm pain so I am definitely heading down to Tooting Bec Lido to get used to swimming for longer periods of time in one go.
Mid week was the cycle/run combo and in classic style I went off plan having decided that 50 mins on the bike without headphones would be purgatory. Instead I opted for 20km as fast as possible (32 mins) followed straight away by 5km on the runner (22 mins) which hurt, a lot. Having said that next weekend I am doing a sprint tri in preparation (a week early but who's perfect?) and it was at least satisfying to know that I could complete the distance in I think a pretty reasonable time.
Today has been spent shopping for wedding rings, Ikea Kitchens and Homebase paints as training for this triathlon malarky just isn't time consuming enough but I am planning to head out on Jessica tomorrow for at least a few hours. Finally, and quite possibly most importantly of all I have succumbed to what I believe triatheletes refer to as tri-kit-obsessive-disorder. I bought my own wetsuit. What a Sucker.
Swimming got excting this week when for the first time I was required to swim a 750m set flat out. I managed to complete 30 lengths in just under 15 mins which I am very happy with and taking into consideration our friend the large hairy man stopping mid length to do his standard back-sculling, I feel this is even better. One thing that worried me slightly was the almost constant arm pain so I am definitely heading down to Tooting Bec Lido to get used to swimming for longer periods of time in one go.
Mid week was the cycle/run combo and in classic style I went off plan having decided that 50 mins on the bike without headphones would be purgatory. Instead I opted for 20km as fast as possible (32 mins) followed straight away by 5km on the runner (22 mins) which hurt, a lot. Having said that next weekend I am doing a sprint tri in preparation (a week early but who's perfect?) and it was at least satisfying to know that I could complete the distance in I think a pretty reasonable time.
Today has been spent shopping for wedding rings, Ikea Kitchens and Homebase paints as training for this triathlon malarky just isn't time consuming enough but I am planning to head out on Jessica tomorrow for at least a few hours. Finally, and quite possibly most importantly of all I have succumbed to what I believe triatheletes refer to as tri-kit-obsessive-disorder. I bought my own wetsuit. What a Sucker.
Weak Five
Oh dear. Week five has NOT been a good week for training. I can make excuses but really I should just stop drinking. It wasn't like the week didn't get off to a great start, a beautiful Monday morning complete with run into work along the canal, excellent.
Unfortunately from there it was very much downhill and I have only just started to get back on top of things. Tuesday night was a black tie awards do which quite frankly was rubbish. The comedian had no humour and made no effort whatsoever to engage with the audience, the awards themselves started very late and we hardly won anything. To cap it off some idiot bumped into me on my way outside and emptied a whole glass of red wine all over my shirt.
An unnecessary hangover on Wednesday meant that there was little chance of training and then having agreed to meet the boys on Wednesday eve a few more beers prevented anything that evening or the next morning! Feeling irritable, tired and groggy I forced myself out on the bike on Thursday night and loved every minute. Flew up towards Barnet on Jessica and as ever she went like a dream. The route, apart from being an out and back, is actually a corker as there are plenty of hills, not too many interruptions and and even some open space. I even managed to power up Muswell Hill on the big ring - bloody hell that hurt though!
These training diaries usually go on about appropriate food to fuel such training so I thought it was about time I mentioned mine, highly sophisticated as it is. For pre-exercise energy and getting me through hungry points in the day (every hour or so) I like to polish off a cinnamon bagel with peanut butter. Along with that I eat as much fruit as possible, as much free cake as I can lay my hands on and then as big an evening meal I can. For breakfast I have found, regardless of exercise, that nothing really fills me up so am currently on Oat-So-Simple with honey which pains me every single morning.
I made it to the pool on Friday morning and although only 30mins still managed 1200m which felt very good, so was happy with that. To finish a week of poor training I had an excellent day at the cricket on Saturday watching the West Indies tear Australia apart. The atmosphere was fantastic, our picnic was epic and yes, the beers slipped down a bit too well. Next thing I knew I was showing off dance moves on the decking at a mates' bbq; it was only 8.30pm.
5 Jun 2009
Week Four
Week four it appears was supposed to be a gentle week, taking it a bit easier with all sessions cut down in time and distance. Nah, what's the point in that! Both pool sessions felt good this week although I did get a shock on Monday morning when I arrived slightly early to find the 'triathlon club' just finishing up. That quickly put to bed the idea of possibly joining them, not only do they meet at 6.30am, they are all absolute gun-houses.
Mid week I was back in the gym trying a run-bike combo, this time doing sets of 8mins on each and jumping straight from bike to runner without stopping. It is still a horribly unnerving experience but still also weirdly enjoyable. I think I should have heeded the advice of the plan because come Friday I was starting to struggle and after a morning shopping in the heat of Saturday I was pretty much spent.
The week itself has been fairly uneventful with nothing much going on so Saturday night was a welcome break to that at a very smart engagement party in Pimlico, on a roof terrace with free champagne - oh how the other half live. We spent Sunday lying in the park which entailed the usual process of dropping off, dribbling and then waking with a start totally confused and with no idea where you are. Come on we've all done it. I am feeling pretty tired though so am a bit concerned that perhaps I should have eased off this week like instructed.
Mid week I was back in the gym trying a run-bike combo, this time doing sets of 8mins on each and jumping straight from bike to runner without stopping. It is still a horribly unnerving experience but still also weirdly enjoyable. I think I should have heeded the advice of the plan because come Friday I was starting to struggle and after a morning shopping in the heat of Saturday I was pretty much spent.
The week itself has been fairly uneventful with nothing much going on so Saturday night was a welcome break to that at a very smart engagement party in Pimlico, on a roof terrace with free champagne - oh how the other half live. We spent Sunday lying in the park which entailed the usual process of dropping off, dribbling and then waking with a start totally confused and with no idea where you are. Come on we've all done it. I am feeling pretty tired though so am a bit concerned that perhaps I should have eased off this week like instructed.
22 May 2009
Week Three
It's been over a week now since I last 'posted' and can you believe it someone has actually noticed and pulled me up for this; my first fan! The wedding was amazing, a lovely setting, great food and good company, what more could you ask for? There was a slight downer on the way home when we realised that we had lost our train tickets and were forced by National Express to pay £107 each to get back to London. Don't get me started, a strongly worded letter is already on its way. Back to the training though and unbelievably I managed to get to the gym in our hotel on Saturday morning despite several obstacles, namely the bike running out of batteries (yes really), the running machine being made out sponge and a mild hangover.
Back in the real world and on Monday morning I had my first proper 'really can't be arsed' moment and am ashamed to say that I skipped the morning swim. Guilt and frustration were compounded when I realised I'd left my bike lock at home meaning no after work swim, doh! There are some days that I think are sent to test you and Monday was one of those days, everything seemed against me and for no particular reason I was in a foul mood. Then again in the grand scheme of things it could be a whole lot worse so I laced up my trainers and went for an easy run clocking up 65 mins; i-pod ran out of battery after 20mins aaarrrggghhh.
Swimming this week was enjoyable on both days and am beginning to feel slightly more fish like if that's possible. According to those in the know once you have cracked the fabled art of a perfect swim technique you don't move through the water as such it moves around you. Yeah right. Every time I try to focus on an individual part like the 'catch' or the 'in sweep' I find myself forgetting every other part and suddenly floundering mid length. Also if i'm honest I don't really know what those parts of the stroke actually refer to so I've decided not to get too worried and just try to keep everything as constant as possible, and just swim. Oh and you'll be happy to hear that I'm now pretty bloody good at counting my lengths. Small steps.
Another brick session mid week from cycle to run and bizarrely I absolutely loved it, what a weirdo! Thursday afternoon/evening was our work sales conference and after talks from the heads of department our surprise guest rocked up and it was none other than Bear Grylls! What an absolute hero. He was incredible and told the frankly epic story of his Everest summit at the age of just 23 where four out of the six of the group died. He's also just been made Chief Scout and has done so much in such a short space of time. He was very humble and passionate and had everyone captivated for an entire hour, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. We were shipped down to London Bridge for the evening do and treated to a great bash with Colin Murray as the compare. He too was great, didn't take himself too seriously and sung a hilarious song that he'd written about advertising on his mini guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ymSPOzS_0
Friday is the scheduled day off and so far I've been pretty good at sticking to that, today was no exception! Again this weekend i'm going to be away so training will not be possible. I'm off to Wales with Dad and pals to a secluded lake which we have hired out for a weekend of fly fishing. I did think about asking if I could take my wetsuit and have a little open water swim but apparently that isn't the done thing on a fly fishing trip.
Back in the real world and on Monday morning I had my first proper 'really can't be arsed' moment and am ashamed to say that I skipped the morning swim. Guilt and frustration were compounded when I realised I'd left my bike lock at home meaning no after work swim, doh! There are some days that I think are sent to test you and Monday was one of those days, everything seemed against me and for no particular reason I was in a foul mood. Then again in the grand scheme of things it could be a whole lot worse so I laced up my trainers and went for an easy run clocking up 65 mins; i-pod ran out of battery after 20mins aaarrrggghhh.
Swimming this week was enjoyable on both days and am beginning to feel slightly more fish like if that's possible. According to those in the know once you have cracked the fabled art of a perfect swim technique you don't move through the water as such it moves around you. Yeah right. Every time I try to focus on an individual part like the 'catch' or the 'in sweep' I find myself forgetting every other part and suddenly floundering mid length. Also if i'm honest I don't really know what those parts of the stroke actually refer to so I've decided not to get too worried and just try to keep everything as constant as possible, and just swim. Oh and you'll be happy to hear that I'm now pretty bloody good at counting my lengths. Small steps.
Another brick session mid week from cycle to run and bizarrely I absolutely loved it, what a weirdo! Thursday afternoon/evening was our work sales conference and after talks from the heads of department our surprise guest rocked up and it was none other than Bear Grylls! What an absolute hero. He was incredible and told the frankly epic story of his Everest summit at the age of just 23 where four out of the six of the group died. He's also just been made Chief Scout and has done so much in such a short space of time. He was very humble and passionate and had everyone captivated for an entire hour, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. We were shipped down to London Bridge for the evening do and treated to a great bash with Colin Murray as the compare. He too was great, didn't take himself too seriously and sung a hilarious song that he'd written about advertising on his mini guitar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ymSPOzS_0
Friday is the scheduled day off and so far I've been pretty good at sticking to that, today was no exception! Again this weekend i'm going to be away so training will not be possible. I'm off to Wales with Dad and pals to a secluded lake which we have hired out for a weekend of fly fishing. I did think about asking if I could take my wetsuit and have a little open water swim but apparently that isn't the done thing on a fly fishing trip.
14 May 2009
Training Week Two
So week two has arrived, after last week's slightly mis-judged hangover and a good few days of training I am more determined than ever to keep it going. This is all very well and good in theory but in reality it's a different story (hence the Thursday evening post).
So things started pretty well with a fuzzy head on Monday morning as I 'bashed out' twelve lots of 100m. You'll be pleased to hear that my counting has come on heaps this week and not only was I able to keep track of the lengths but I even managed to count strokes during every other set as instructed! To keep this number constant was my aim and without trying too hard if I'm honest I seem to have cracked a fairly steady pace ie. 22 or 23 strokes. Some ballistic Ironman hero is probably reading this and shuddering at the thought of so many strokes per length - FYI it is only a 25m pool.
As I haven't been swimming regularly for too long pool etiquette for me is still a little unclear so I tend to be as unobtrusive as possible, stick to the outside of the lane and get out of the way when necessary. I must admit though it seems to me that lane swimmers take themselves very seriously and take on an almost church like manner of austerity. Half way through our homage to the fast lane however the morning congregation were riotously disturbed by a loud and uncouth visitor. Swaggering towards the side came a large man in his early fifties complete with decent sized belly, grey hair and a pair of classic 1972 speedos. He swung his arms ferociously about his head, squatted up and down on the spot a few times and then with absolutely no warning whatsoever launched himself into the lane sending gallons of water into a tidal wave and narrowly missing an incoming swimmer. Now about 5 foot from the wall and with swimmers rapidly approaching he dunked his head and then reared up in a Pamela Anderson esque Baywatch slow motion style, flicking his head from side to side. Belly flopping from a standing position he hammered down the lane paying no regard to anyone or anything and causing quite a stir with all of the parishioners. I was glad this happened during my 30 sec rest between reps as there's no instruction in the plan to prepare you for such events. Added to that I was laughing so hard I nearly wet myself.
After such an eventful swim my run the next day was positively routine, a gorgeous evening and a good new extended route home from work but nothing really to write home about. Having previously worried about the cycling leg (no pun intended) I went for it the next morning and excitingly was required to try my first cycle/run combination. I think they call it brick training, or is it block? I'm not really sure, but I certainly felt every single step of it, in a weird and unnerving but also quite satisfying way, worrying that at any minute my legs would just give out and leave my teeth embedded in the running machine's guard rail. I really felt this one and it took quite a while to start feeling human again. Luckily work got in the way and lunch was on me before I knew it.
Then horror of horrors, that night we heard a huge smash and pikey kids had surrounded our driveway and were stealing our bikes from the side way having smashed their way through the gate. Luckily Jessica was tucked away in a cupboard indoors bathing in a light synthetic oil based glaze but our commuter bikes, along with several others from the other flats in the building are there. We could see them doing it and phoned the police only to be told that they were in the middle of a shift change so couldn't get to us right away. It's horrible and they are ballsy and just don't care and before we know it they have left with two bikes, fortunately only one is ours and not worth much, but it's a horrible feeling and very very frustrating. Maybe we should have gone down to confront them but after 3 days training on the trot I didn't exactly feel like superman and it would be too much of a risk with so many of them.
We got to bed late after dealing with the police and as I had community work the next day (not community service I might add) was unable to drag myself to the pool even earlier than normal. Instead I took my frustration and lack of swim out on patch of wasteland and half a tonne of top soil, all in the aid of giving something back to the local community and by the end of the morning we had created a beautiful new flower bed that I think the great Tit himself would be proud of. Digging, raking and the shovelling of soil it turns out is a pretty fantastic full body workout and I think to be honest should be part of every aspiring triathlete's plan. It'd need a better name though, perhaps something along the lines of a 'directional resistance and core stability' session. I think it has legs.
So now comes the bad part, tomorrow I am off to a wedding up north and not only will I miss cycling on Saturday but also a session in my weakest sport on Sunday, although I'm not as good at drinking as I once was, so maybe that will count? There's literally nothing I can do, apart from take my trainers and go running before the wedding, I'll let you know how it goes....
So things started pretty well with a fuzzy head on Monday morning as I 'bashed out' twelve lots of 100m. You'll be pleased to hear that my counting has come on heaps this week and not only was I able to keep track of the lengths but I even managed to count strokes during every other set as instructed! To keep this number constant was my aim and without trying too hard if I'm honest I seem to have cracked a fairly steady pace ie. 22 or 23 strokes. Some ballistic Ironman hero is probably reading this and shuddering at the thought of so many strokes per length - FYI it is only a 25m pool.
As I haven't been swimming regularly for too long pool etiquette for me is still a little unclear so I tend to be as unobtrusive as possible, stick to the outside of the lane and get out of the way when necessary. I must admit though it seems to me that lane swimmers take themselves very seriously and take on an almost church like manner of austerity. Half way through our homage to the fast lane however the morning congregation were riotously disturbed by a loud and uncouth visitor. Swaggering towards the side came a large man in his early fifties complete with decent sized belly, grey hair and a pair of classic 1972 speedos. He swung his arms ferociously about his head, squatted up and down on the spot a few times and then with absolutely no warning whatsoever launched himself into the lane sending gallons of water into a tidal wave and narrowly missing an incoming swimmer. Now about 5 foot from the wall and with swimmers rapidly approaching he dunked his head and then reared up in a Pamela Anderson esque Baywatch slow motion style, flicking his head from side to side. Belly flopping from a standing position he hammered down the lane paying no regard to anyone or anything and causing quite a stir with all of the parishioners. I was glad this happened during my 30 sec rest between reps as there's no instruction in the plan to prepare you for such events. Added to that I was laughing so hard I nearly wet myself.
After such an eventful swim my run the next day was positively routine, a gorgeous evening and a good new extended route home from work but nothing really to write home about. Having previously worried about the cycling leg (no pun intended) I went for it the next morning and excitingly was required to try my first cycle/run combination. I think they call it brick training, or is it block? I'm not really sure, but I certainly felt every single step of it, in a weird and unnerving but also quite satisfying way, worrying that at any minute my legs would just give out and leave my teeth embedded in the running machine's guard rail. I really felt this one and it took quite a while to start feeling human again. Luckily work got in the way and lunch was on me before I knew it.
Then horror of horrors, that night we heard a huge smash and pikey kids had surrounded our driveway and were stealing our bikes from the side way having smashed their way through the gate. Luckily Jessica was tucked away in a cupboard indoors bathing in a light synthetic oil based glaze but our commuter bikes, along with several others from the other flats in the building are there. We could see them doing it and phoned the police only to be told that they were in the middle of a shift change so couldn't get to us right away. It's horrible and they are ballsy and just don't care and before we know it they have left with two bikes, fortunately only one is ours and not worth much, but it's a horrible feeling and very very frustrating. Maybe we should have gone down to confront them but after 3 days training on the trot I didn't exactly feel like superman and it would be too much of a risk with so many of them.
We got to bed late after dealing with the police and as I had community work the next day (not community service I might add) was unable to drag myself to the pool even earlier than normal. Instead I took my frustration and lack of swim out on patch of wasteland and half a tonne of top soil, all in the aid of giving something back to the local community and by the end of the morning we had created a beautiful new flower bed that I think the great Tit himself would be proud of. Digging, raking and the shovelling of soil it turns out is a pretty fantastic full body workout and I think to be honest should be part of every aspiring triathlete's plan. It'd need a better name though, perhaps something along the lines of a 'directional resistance and core stability' session. I think it has legs.
So now comes the bad part, tomorrow I am off to a wedding up north and not only will I miss cycling on Saturday but also a session in my weakest sport on Sunday, although I'm not as good at drinking as I once was, so maybe that will count? There's literally nothing I can do, apart from take my trainers and go running before the wedding, I'll let you know how it goes....
11 May 2009
Training week One
So week one started with a telling moment when like a fateful messenger from the sky e-bay delivered my second hand tri top with the seller's 'close fitting' description being worryingly spot on, perhaps I've made a mistake here....
Having signed up for the London Triathlon back in January I have so far been trying to put any serious training out of my mind, concentrating instead of doing bits and pieces here and there where it suits me, and as is almost unavoidable, favouring my strongest discipline. However those days of self flattering training are now over and it's down to the serious following of a rigorous three month plan.
As a bit of background to this blog I have always been a keen biker, predominantly mountain but more recently on the road as well. Back in October I bought Jessica (Trek 1.9) and can honestly say that it is the best thing I have ever bought, ever. Similarly I have always been a regular runner, enjoying the stress busting side of it as opposed to being super-competitive. Swimming is by far my weakest discipline and although I was once pretty decent, more than ten years ago mind, I have found that unlike falling off a bike it is actually quite easy to forget.
I have started my training 1 week early to give myself a few days lee-way should anything go badly wrong like swallowing too much chlorine, crashing my bike or more likely slipping over embarassingly at work and injuring something. I am also very aware from reading numerous other triathlon and running blogs along with having a full time job and getting married in early September that in the real world six days and fifteen hours a week training for a sustained period of time is nigh on impossible so it is with an open mind that I'm taking this on, and am quite happy being realistic ie. sacking off that extra Sunday workout. I thought if I kept track of my progress it may provide that extra stimulus.
Coming into week one I had just returned from three days walking in the Cotswolds and having clocked up 65 miles over 3 days my body was shall we say fairly sore and rather embarassingly I gave day one a miss. Not a the start I envisaged. Next up was a run and being a beautfiul evening Highgate woods provided the perfect backdrop for an easy cruise to some of my favourite tunes, followed the next evening by 55 mins on the bike in the gym where I sweated my body weight in liquid whilst watching two Andy Murray's in the making thrash it out on the tennis court next door. Things were going well and on day three I surprised even myself by making it to the pool just after 8am. I did my 'required' 6 x 200m with 40 second rest between sets but struggled to 'note difference between time versus effort'. Counting the lengths, trying to remember how to swim, breathing correctly and trying to stay out of the way of the resident 'nutter' ploughing up and down the middle of my lane sort of put this second on my priority list but I suppose could be summed up by "arms killed about half way through and was soon knackered".
So three days back to back isn't bad for week one and I was allowed a rest apparently, which I duly took and enjoyed a Friday night in front of the tv and Have I Got News For You. I guess on Saturday I made a classic rookie error by scrapping the 60-90 mins smooth cycling and bashing out a 54 mile round trip because it was such a lovely day. Mental note to self though, avoid South Mimms roundabout where m25, A1 and my tiny hidden back road all meet in a four lane anti spd-pedal hellish nightmare. Continuing in the rookie ways I went out that night for just a few beers, and Mojitos and got home at 3am. No No No. No training Sunday.
More to follow.....
Having signed up for the London Triathlon back in January I have so far been trying to put any serious training out of my mind, concentrating instead of doing bits and pieces here and there where it suits me, and as is almost unavoidable, favouring my strongest discipline. However those days of self flattering training are now over and it's down to the serious following of a rigorous three month plan.
As a bit of background to this blog I have always been a keen biker, predominantly mountain but more recently on the road as well. Back in October I bought Jessica (Trek 1.9) and can honestly say that it is the best thing I have ever bought, ever. Similarly I have always been a regular runner, enjoying the stress busting side of it as opposed to being super-competitive. Swimming is by far my weakest discipline and although I was once pretty decent, more than ten years ago mind, I have found that unlike falling off a bike it is actually quite easy to forget.
I have started my training 1 week early to give myself a few days lee-way should anything go badly wrong like swallowing too much chlorine, crashing my bike or more likely slipping over embarassingly at work and injuring something. I am also very aware from reading numerous other triathlon and running blogs along with having a full time job and getting married in early September that in the real world six days and fifteen hours a week training for a sustained period of time is nigh on impossible so it is with an open mind that I'm taking this on, and am quite happy being realistic ie. sacking off that extra Sunday workout. I thought if I kept track of my progress it may provide that extra stimulus.
Coming into week one I had just returned from three days walking in the Cotswolds and having clocked up 65 miles over 3 days my body was shall we say fairly sore and rather embarassingly I gave day one a miss. Not a the start I envisaged. Next up was a run and being a beautfiul evening Highgate woods provided the perfect backdrop for an easy cruise to some of my favourite tunes, followed the next evening by 55 mins on the bike in the gym where I sweated my body weight in liquid whilst watching two Andy Murray's in the making thrash it out on the tennis court next door. Things were going well and on day three I surprised even myself by making it to the pool just after 8am. I did my 'required' 6 x 200m with 40 second rest between sets but struggled to 'note difference between time versus effort'. Counting the lengths, trying to remember how to swim, breathing correctly and trying to stay out of the way of the resident 'nutter' ploughing up and down the middle of my lane sort of put this second on my priority list but I suppose could be summed up by "arms killed about half way through and was soon knackered".
So three days back to back isn't bad for week one and I was allowed a rest apparently, which I duly took and enjoyed a Friday night in front of the tv and Have I Got News For You. I guess on Saturday I made a classic rookie error by scrapping the 60-90 mins smooth cycling and bashing out a 54 mile round trip because it was such a lovely day. Mental note to self though, avoid South Mimms roundabout where m25, A1 and my tiny hidden back road all meet in a four lane anti spd-pedal hellish nightmare. Continuing in the rookie ways I went out that night for just a few beers, and Mojitos and got home at 3am. No No No. No training Sunday.
More to follow.....
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