New Bike Routes

The morning started off lovely at just gone 7am with a nice coating of sun lotion as it just looked too good outside not to put something like that on. After all, the last colour I'd want to be tomorrow is red.

I'd decided to take a different route today that would take me over to Dedham. It seemed quite far on the map and fairly straightforward to get to, I just hoped that it wouldn't be too quick a ride or that I'd get lost again. That should have been the least of my worries though as the heavens absolutely opened when I eventually arrived at the furthest point of my route from home.

The rain was actually quite cooling, which was just as well as with it being a new route I had to stop to check the route a few times which in turn made me forget about refueling every 20 minutes. Obviously I wasn't quite as on the ball with it as I thought I was, because by the time I hit the 35 mile mark my legs were pretty tired.

The main thing though, is that I've now got another bike route I can use and won't get as bored during these longer rides.

Only 42 days to go till the race now. Wish me luck.

Work:Home:Triathlon

People often talk about getting the work:home life balance correct but for some time now I've thought it is actually a three object juggling act as I think the 'home' section needs to also have a balance between  family and personal.

It is without doubt that there needs to be a focus on family life but what about yourself as an individual? I believe that more time needs to be given to the 'family' but time definitely needs to be given to the 'self' in order to grow as a person, to understand the importance of 'family' and to focus on your own goals across your entire life.

Getting the balance right is always going to be tricky and everyone is going to be different as for some 'work' IS their life while others can be very selfish and just focus on themselves.

For me, the 'self' is triathlon and during training runs, rides and swims I get a certain amount of clarity in my life. It actually gives me a chance to think about my life in terms of my goals and where I want to be. These goals are not just selfish ones though, it gives me a chance to think about the children in my class, the other adults I work with, the house Siân and I have just bought and, of course, my family.

I know I need to balance these three areas in order to have a good life but it will always be the 'triathlon' that will fall by the wayside as the other two are just too important. This has happened fairly recently, I had three weeks of no training because work pressure was piling up and there were tasks I needed to complete. At least these three weeks occurred now and not just before the main event (the Monster Middle)  but next year I must plan better, I must preempt this busy time at work and plan to spread it out, plan to get ahead of the game.

General update

So, due to a spider bite in June of 2014 I had to pull out of the half ironman triathlon last year. It was a major shame but it meant that I had 3 weeks off training due to the pain and then another 6 weeks off due to it causing soft tissue damage as well. To say I was gutted would be an under statement but at least I managed to defer it with only losing 25% of the entry fee.

Now I'm in the build phase of the same event again and this time it's 2015. A new year and a new start.

As long as I survive this one, I'm still hoping to do a full ironman before I'm 40. Wish me luck.

They say... - Day 9 of 233 - RUN

Unfortunately I didn't go for a run in Paris but still managed one today after a few hours sleep in my own bed. It wasn't particularly that long, or even fast, but it was nice to get out along the usual route round the back of Halstead. 

It starts off my running mileage for the year and where it was fairly slow it reminded me of something "they say" about training. They say..... your ideal running pace is one where you can keep a conversation without getting out of breath. I wonder what other sayings there are out there that can help you train?

Stair Climbing - Day 6 of 233 - Paris

I know that I said I would be have a few rest days but being in Paris has turned out to include a bit of training anyway.

Today is our first day here in the French capital and, although we have only been sightseeing, I believe I may have done a little training. Namely climbing up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. The queue for the lift was way too long so we decided to take the stairs instead which turned out to be a bit of a quad burner, if that is the right muscle group and term to be used. I must have jogged up about a hundred or so steps before I could really feel it and that is with the occasional walk due to catching up with others. Either way,I kinda liked it.

I ended up packing some running kit anyway and hopefully I'll get the chance to head out tomorrow at some stage.

Day 4 of 233 - BIKE

Once again I woke up before my alarm today but this time I had planned to complete an extra swim session this morning. After deciding that this wasn't going to happen and that I actually wanted a couple more hours in bed I turned it off and didn't wake up until 8:30am, I love the school holidays sometimes.

Anyway, after getting the train tickets for Rosy's birthday surprise (we're heading to Paris on the EuroStar to visit DisneyLand, the Eiffel Tower and lots of good food) there was just enough time for my planned bike ride. I decided that it would be better to use my Claud Butler hybrid, which I decided to call Kate, as it is still wet outside and I'm sure somebody once told me it's good to train on on that while race on the roadie. Unfortunately though, I left the ride a little too late and had to cut it slightly shorter due to lack of sunlight. It was still worth going out and it was nice to get the legs spinning again while trying to keep the heartrate within zone 2 (131-149BPM).

End results
Distance - 8.05 miles
Time - 43:33.87
Avg HR - 149
Avg pace - 5:25

It's not totally bad but it's also not where I really want to be at the moment. 

1 week completed, only 33 more to go!

Only a few days ago I decided in my wisdom to enter myself into the Ely "Monster Middle" half Iron distance triathlon. It's a 1.9km swim  followed by an 83km bike ride and then a half marathon to top it all off. Strangely, it's something that I've been wanting to do for some time. Actually scratch that, what I really want to do is a full Ironman but considering my current fitness levels it's probably wise to leave that until 2015.

Anyway, I've taken this as my first week of training and I have 33 left until MM-Day on the 17th August 2014. I haven't been for a proper run in almost 3 months, my last semi decent ride was probably much further than that away and I haven't completed a decent swim since I was taking swimming lessons as a lad so as you can see I have my work cut out for me.

To help me in this feat I have dusted off Don Fink's "Be Iron Fit" and am formulating a 30 week training plan. I now have just 3 weeks to get to a semi-reasonable level of fitness and get used to some early morning training sessions. I may have gone out a little hard this week and am aching just a little but it's that kind of ache that'll get me stronger in order to beat this Monster Middle of a triathlon.

This week's training
Run - 4 miles - 11min/miles
Bike - 10 miles - 4:45min/miles
Swim - 0.5 miles - 30 mins