What A Difference A Bike Makes

Christmas is over and now it's New Year's Eve again. What a year it has been with so many challenges and plans for the future. The biggest change this year has got to be my decision to complete a Half Ironman in June of next year though. And up until a few days ago I was beginning to think it wasn't going to be possible. My ankles were aching, I'd missed a few training sessions and the beer was flowing a little too easily. That was all put behind me though when I finally managed to purchase a new bike. Being from Halfords, I wasn't going to get my hopes up too high but after the one ride on it I can now definitely see myself completing this challenge. 

This bike is so much quicker than my trusty hybrid and I don't have to put in as much effort. Infact there were a couple of moments when I was flying downhill that I was positively scared I was going to come off it. Shoving it into top gear, pegging it downhill after there had been plenty of rain in the week before it and heading into a blind corner probably didn't help but it's still good to see that the possibility of speed is there.

Next though will be the swimming. I need to get into the pool far more but the opportunities just aren't arriving due to the cost. I'm hoping that in the next month that'll all be sorted out.

Anyway, it's Rosy's birthday today so must ensure that everything is ready for her.

The Beginning of an Iron Journey

And so it begins... after reading much of Don Fink's book, Be Iron Fit, I have started my journey but nothing really goes to plan does it.

My first session was swimming which was actually pretty good, apart from my elbow hurting a bit after which meant I didn't complete the second swim session in the week. After that was a couple of runs and a brick session. All of these training sessions have been at a nice easy pace and a low heart rate, so it hasn't exactly been strenuous, but while getting the bike out tonight it had yet another flat on the back tyre. Needless to say, I didn't change it in the rain with rumblings of thunder in the background but managed to get the exercise bike into the house and do the time indoors while watching "The Almighty Johnsons".

So, everything is still on track at the moment I just need to fix the wheel and get back on it tomorrow in order to wear my outdoor kit.

Half Ironman Triathlon coming up

After much deliberation I have taken my first step towards becoming a possible ironman. I've thought about it, written notes about it, talked about it and even dreamt about it, but now I'm going to do something about it. On the 2nd June 2013 Dengie Events will be holding a half ironman triathlon in Fambridge, near Chelmsford. It involves a 1.3 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike ride and finished off with a 13 mile run. I've completed marathons and half marathons before, have cycled London to Paris in three days but now I've set my sights on this challenge as a stepping stone towards the Bolton full Ironman distance event in 2014 (2.4mile swim, 112mile bike, 26.2mile run).

Admittedly, I haven't actually paid for the event yet but I have just bought a new pair of trainers, after a running analysis, and actively made enquiries to join a triathlon club. As soon as my membership to Born2Tri has gone through, and I've been paid again, I'll sign up and be well on my way to being an official M-Dot owner.... hopefully maybe all things going well.

Wish me luck.

A Christmas Run and not much else

So my training hasn't quite been going according to plan then. Mind you, when has it ever? But i'm still feeling confident about the whole London Marathon thing. I've had quite a few coughs and colds recently and used them as a bit of an excuse not to run to be honest, although i'm paranoid that if I do train while ill that i'll just have the cold for longer.

I still managed to go out for a run though, in aid of the Farleigh Hospice and dressed as Santa. It was quite a surreal morning really. All around there were people dressed up as Father Christmas and wherever you looked you could see still more arriving from all corners of Central Park in Chelmsford.

Having not run in a couple of weeks I was slightly nervous but the fact that it was freezing just made me more determined to finish in a quick time. Having arrived early I also managed to get to the front of the running line and as soon as the race started I kept up with the front runners for all of about twenty seconds. After that I just couldn't keep up with the 10mph pace that they had all set off at. Seeing that the course was only 2.3 miles I did manage to keep going all the way through the course, ended with a time of 23 minutes and then headed straight out to meet Siân and Rosy in order to watch Arthur Christmas.

All in all a good day, tomorrow morning I should really weigh myself and then get back into some sort of training regime again.

The Start of a Long Run

Here we are, mid November, i've completed the London to Paris bike ride, i've completed my first triathlon and now I have a Marathon to train for. The other two events were easy in comparison to this new event I have infront of me. 26.2 miles is a long way and having completed the distance twice in the past I know how hard it is going to be. The difference now though is that I am over 10 years older than when I last completed the distance so now it is going to be even harder. Foolishly, because I was lazy, I didn't really train when I completed them before and then I was able to finish in just over 5 hours. Now I have a target, my aim is to complete the course in about 4 hours, 4 and a half hours max. But how am I going to do it? I know i'm meant to do it by lots of training, but i'm not quite sure how i'm going to get the motivation to do it. Here's hoping.

No Blog = No Jog!

Well, after that last blog, detailing just what I was going to do the following week, I actually did a big fat zero. And the reason........ just plain lazy I guess. That, or I had just been doing too much previously and needed a nice lie in each day.

So here I am, 10pm on a Sunday night sitting in the lounge typing away having just completed an hour run on the treadmill in the garage. I am feeling better for it but why does my left knee always hurt towards the hour mark? I remember this happening back in the day when I was training for a marathon, so it's not a new thing, just a big pain thing. Just wish I knew some way to make it stop. 

Talking of the days gone by and marathon training, i'm definately feeling that results of these last 12 years. If  I had only kept up the training after those marathons then this would have been much easier. If I had kept up the training after those marathons then i'm pretty sure I would have a lot more marathons under my belt and this would be far easier. But then again, if I had kept up the training after those marathons then maybe my knee would be completely worn out and i'd be using a cane. I still find it hard to believe I ran those marathons and the last one with no training. My, how things have changed.

Anyway, only 30 days to go now till the 13 miler and at the moment the most I have run recently is 6 miles on a treadmill! If I can do that again on Tuesday and Thursday then I really hope that next Sunday I can do 90 minutes. At least that'll be the next step on my little quest.

A Little Older, A Little Wiser - Maybe!

Having just climbed off the exercise bike I mention before, for the third time this week, I am feeling strangely positive and am still not too sure why. Maybe it's because I managed to go on for longer today, maybe it's because I also went for a run outside in the week and completed 2.5miles fairly easily or maybe it's because I also had Friday off work and went to an ICT exhibition in London, met up with some friends, had a few beers, a pizza and a delicious foot long Italian BMT! Whatever the reason, I am thankful because, at just just 46 days away, the Silverstone Half Marathon is coming up and then I have the London to Paris Bike ride at the end of July.

I only managed two early morning sessions on the exercise bike this week, Monday and Wednesday, simply because on all the other days I couldn't face getting up! I almost didn't do it today but had to get up anyway to go to the toilet and somehow my mindset changed. I need to find a way to change this mindset and that goes back to last weeks thoughts, of having proper rest days, and mixing up the running/cycling.

So, new regime for next week.....

Monday        - 0530 Cycling   - 30 mins

Tuesday       - 1900 Running  - 30 mins

Wednesday - 1900 Running  - 30 mins

Thursday      - Rest

Friday           - 0530 Cycling   - 30 mins

Saturday       - 0530 Cycling

Sunday         - 1900 Running  - 30 mins

My thinking is that I really need to start pounding those roads and get used to running again yet I also need to break up the running with some cycling and I need to be able to spend some time with the family without falling alseep. I'll just start off small with 30 minutes each and then increase them from there, hope it goes well.

On a slightly different note, this last week it looks like i've lost 3 pounds. For some time i've been keeping a record via the Wii Fit, but this concentration on exercise never usually lasts that long, normally only about 3 weeks, max. Interestingly the pattern is always the same, I start exercising at the beginning of the school year in September so the weight drops. I'll then stop, so the weight goes back up, and start again around January time so the weight drops to roughly the level in September. I'll then stop exercising again until the following September where the cycle begins all over again. This year though it has to be different, mainly because of this Half Marathon and Paris bike ride thing, but also because this has got to be the year of the Dragon and not of the belly.

Fingers crossed for this week now.