Do all roads lead to Rome?

In short .... NO, they bloody well don't, they only lead directly into the wind.  Head out on the bike for a long training ride in a route that goes East, North, South and then West and the wind has the uncanny ability to blow directly into your face no matter what direction you are riding in.  I'm pretty certain that some laws of physics are being compromised here ...?

I headed out yesterday with Sarah, Paul, JP and Simon for a long training ride after swimming.  I knew that the guys were all in for the very long haul but I had decided to opt for a shorter session.  Since my last long ride bonk I have suffered a bit of a crisis of confidence and therefore needed to push myself hard but not to the point where I wrecked myself mentally.

When we reached Rye, Sarah and I decided to break off to do our own thing and headed off along the lanes into some very quaint, not to mention occassionally hilly, Kent countryside.  This made for a really enjoyable ride with good company - tainted slightly by the ever present omni-directional wind.  At least it upped the training load!  I am very happy to say that we covered 97.5km (almost as long as my last ride) and I felt fine, albeit somewhat weary.  This was the confidence boost that I needed and I now feel a lot happier again, so a real BIG thanks to Sarah for all her encouragement on the ride.

Also managed to work in a couple of good swim sessions over the weekend.  The Sunday morning session (before riding) I did a 1500m continual swim in 29:30 using a pull buoy.  Last year, the best time I could manage for the same was 37:30, so an eight minute improvement made me a very happy boy - especially as I was able to chat to Dean straight away afterwards - nice one Tex.

Also worked in a good 90 minute steady run with JP on Saturday - nice bit of conditioning work.

Congrats to Lorna and JP on the announcement of their baby on the way - due September.  Well done guys and good luck - it's guaranteed to be a lot of fun ....

Taking it easy for the next couple of days as the weekend represented a fair bit of training - now it's time to allow the body to adapt.  Blimey, that sounded a bit grown up and sensible :-)
Take care y'all.

Common sense will prevail .... eventually.

Quick update on the weekend's training.

Swam on Friday night with Jez - quick warm up followed by 2 * 1k, using pull-buoys and focussing on stroke technique.  Went well, technique remained good the whole set and I felt like I could have carried on - so a BIG smiley face for that bit.

Saturday morning - right calf muscle painful to the touch .... oh bugger!  Should have been feeling better but most definitely was not.  Gave running training a miss and certainly no long marathon training run - so a grumpy old man face for that bit.  Opted instead for a hill climb turbo session on the bike.  Worked hard with a steadily increasing intensity and felt on top of the world. On the face of things this sounds like a good idea, but ..., the better option would have been to have done nothing instead and rested ..., uh oh - I spy a problem here.

Sunday morning - another good swim session.  Dean very happy that I am now able to spot my technique when it goes a bit wishy washy and make corrections mid-swim.  Another good hour with both training drills and a 1k steady swim.  Back to another big smiley face again.

Talked to Paul after swimming and he was concerned about my calf muscle, but seemed even more concerned at my lack of judgement!  Should just ice and rest and let my body repair itself, not go home and jump on the turbo - decidedly unhappy face.

Suitably admonished, I went home, gentle stretches, ice and lots of rest.  Going to ensure I get loads of protein in my diet this week and will rest the legs until the pain has gone for a clear two days.  Then will get short easy runs in as a test.

Only 6 weeks until the Sussex Marathon, so need to get the body nailed back together again using a mixture of sensible training advice, chocolate milkshakes, good protein and any old rubbish I find lying around ... including the suspiciouly handy oxy-acetelene torch that always seems to be at the back of the barn, some old metal pipes, an old engine from a tractor, some bullets and a good selection of automatic assault rifles. 

Sorry about that, drifted off into the '80s there for a moment!

Busy week at work ahead, so the rest away from training will be quite difficult to deal with ... I know that might sound odd but the busier and more stressed I get at work, the more I need to train to deal with it.  However, common sense must prevail .... one day I'll get it right - one day!

Onwards goodly folks.

Core Blimey

The human body - a wonderful bit of kit, more effective, better adapted and generally more repairable than the most expensive and flashy carbon bike could ever hope to be.  Evolution has, over time, created a machine capable of so much as demonstrated in the amazing world of triathlon.

SO WHY THE BLOODY HELL IS MY BODY SO RUBBISH!!!????  I am going to write a strongly worded letter to someone about this - my Doctor, my MP or maybe even The Times ...  Damn it all to Hades, the British spirit is supposed to overcome this sort of trivia isn't it?

At this point you could be forgiven for wondering what has sparked this little tirade of mine?  Well, since you ask, I'll tell you.  I decided to have another bash at Tom's Core Strength class on Wednesday before running as this is a good way to stretch prior to running training and also, as the name on the tin states, helps to build core strength.  This is something that I know is SO important to our sport and, I also know, is something that I need to make a few improvements in.  I was just shocked to find out that I am so unbelievable weak and feeble in the core area that I am amazed that I can actually stand upright unaided.  I am not exagerating, it really was a pathetic site to behold.

To add insult to considerable injury my leg muscles, the whole bloody lot of them, led in revolt by my mutinous calf muscles (total bastards), have turned into granite.  This may sound impressive stuff - nice rock hard muscles, good definition, paints a nice picture of a well toned athlete ...  However, what it translates to in reality is my with legs so damn stiff I am finding it difficult to walk properly, let alone run.  I am trying to ride into work nice and easily, but even that is proving difficult.

So - to fix things.  Going swimming tonight as this should, I hope, free things up a bit.  I'm going to give the running a miss this weekend, substituting easy turbo work instead - again to try and free things up.  All of which is to be substituted with lots of stretching.  I have booked an appointment with Janine in a couple of weeks, but want to try and undo at least some of the damage so as not to end up with a repeat performance of my last visit where I was reduced to a whimpering wreck!  It is truly tragic isn't it?

Now, the suspicious minded amongst you will be thinking that I have been neglecting my stretching!  In a way I wish this were true, as then I would have a blindingly obvious answer to why this problem has raised it's considerably ugly head.  But ..., that is not the case.  I have been particularly careful about stretching, so am looking for another culprit.  And I think I know what it is .... dehydration (yes, that sneaky little bugger).

I am a shameless coffee addict, drinking gallons of the stuff at work all day.  It is the life blood that keeps me going at work and I have been consuming it at the detriment of drinking water!

So once again - as much I stamp, shout and throw my teddies firmly from the pram, I am left with the inevitable conclusion that my problems are down to my own stupidity.  Consistency in an ever changing world can be a comforting thing - but this degree of self-damaging consistency is just absolute proof that I am a dumb ass.

Sir's lesson for the day - "If in doubt, stretch it out".  Stop sniggering at the back or I'll be forced to hand out detentions.  Now, where's my cane ....?

The Long Good Saturday

There's a movie sequel somewhere in that title but my Saturday probably lacked audience appeal.

I'm well into marathon training at the moment and the long Saturday run has become a staple part of my weekends.  Went out with Tim and Tamsin on, what was originally planned as an easy 'longish' run, probably involving laps.  This was due to Tim shaking off the last of the lurgy and both myself and Tamsin not feeling 100%.

Well, as they say, all the best laid plans etc etc - we ended up running off towards Hastings, turned up Harley Shute, turned left down to Queensway and then 'enjoyed' the long long drag up to the top.  To be honest, I've never found Queensway difficult, just bloody boring, so it was good to have peeps to keep me company.  Our run took us into and out of the other side of Battle and off along to the Catsfield turn.  Into Catsfield, down and then up into Ninfield and back towards Bexhill.

All the time, we were concentrating on how we felt from a hydration and nutrition point and kept ourselves topped up.  The result of which saw us pass the traditional 17mile point without having to get past the dreaded wall.

I left Tim and Tamsin in Bexhill with Tamsin having just clocked up a new record distance of 20 miles.  Kudos to her, as that was a big psychological barrier well and truly broken.

Time I got home I had run 21.3 miles, all on an average h/r of 130.  This made me a VERY happy boy as this is the longest I've run since the Beachy Head Marathon and is also the lowest consistent h/r.  I ended the run feeling very strong, covering the last mile and  a bit in under 8 minutes.  I felt more than able to carry on and, this is the really good bit, felt absolutely fine the following day, albeit a bit weary.

Swim session on Sunday felt good and I have been riding to work since and still feel really strong.  I can't stress enough how beneficial I've found this base h/r conditioning.  It takes a lot of getting used to the fact that you have to run a lot slower than you normally would, but stick with it and it pays mega dividends.

Now ..., all I need to do is to be able to carry this sort of strength over to my biking which has really slipped since last year.  Am I concerned?  To be honest, yes I am a bit.  I know that there is plenty of time still, but you can't keep saying that or there soon won't be.  But this something that I will really focus on after the marathon.  Until then, plenty of riding to work and get in some turbo time.  I'll also chuck in as many long rides as I can too.

Until next we meet - keep up the good wossnames and remember, if anyone at work asks you what exactly it is that you do there is a stock answer that NEVER fails - "Stuff Sir, and damn well!"  This will always elicit the reply of "Oh good ...., carry on that man".

Enjoy

Sort of a weekend

I will openly admit, and without shame or fear of retribution, that I skipped the Friday night swim session in favour of a curry and a couple of large Cobras.  Do I care? Not a jot ...

So with a crashing feeling of guilt I got up Saturday, met Tamsin at the gym and then went and ran just over 16 miles with her as part of our marathon training.  The wind blew mercilessly all the way back from Hastings, but I put that down to plain old Karma as I had sinned so badly the night before.  Goes to prove that you just can't hide from a vindictive Universe!

The run went well, although I spent all of the Hastings part completely lost.  Thankfully, Tamsin had a good idea of where we were or I would still be out there somewhere ....., much like my mind normally is.

Went to my parents for dinner and got the usual 'you need feeding up treatment'  which is pretty bloody marvellous actually.  Came away stuffed and thought that I wouldn't be able to get out of bed for swimming.

Thankfully, when the morning rolled around, I was more than up for it and had another good swim set.  Confidence is a tricky bugger to grow but myself and Dean seem to be getting there with my swimming.  Slowly slowly catchy monkey ..., or should that be dolphin?

Then spent the next 6 hours locked away at home writing a statistics technical report for work ... yes, my life is just that interesting.  Give me some numbers and a good statistical theory and I could bore diamonds back into being coal.  Ask me about hypothesis testing, p-values and the null and alternative hypothesis and see for yourself ...

Sorted out my jammed rear disc brake on my mountain bike today - removed the whole bloody lot.  Fantastic solution this as I can now ride my bike to work again.  One small, and hopefully insignificant, drawback is that I now only have a front brake!  Let us hope Jack Frost and his evil band of cold weather bastards are not coming back, or I will end up enjoying the front skid fandango.

Not sure what this week will bring as I do not feel 100% for some unknown reason.  Feels like a cold type bug is lurking again.  I shall keep my head below the parapets and skirt around this malady. 

Until further on goodly folk ...

Tough week

The title of today's entry - Tough week - gives the distinct impression that I've been hard at it.  Banging out the lengths in the pool, cranking out the miles on the turbo and pounding the pavements, but ...

Work life came storming in at something bordering light speed this week.  Important visitors from our global HQ have monopolised my time big stylee.  I ended up wound like an overly tightened spring, which is why I ended up coming to running club on Wednesday.  I decided to give Tom's new core and stretch class a bash - resulting in the conclusion that I obviously need to do WAY more.  Mind you, the stretching definitely helped me in running club straight after which resulted in me completely abandoning my low rate base running.  In short I needed to cane the arse off of the pavements and really blow out the stress - 'cos it ain't healthy to let that shite float around inside you!  So a big thanks to Emma Faulkner and Marc Speed for keeping me honest on the run and for making sure that I upped the ante on each rep.

So, I woke up thursday morning with very lumpy legs - conclusion ..., speedy running hurts me but long slow super mileage just makes me smile.  Surprisingly, after the long Sunday cycling bonk, I got up feeling tired but with absolutely no tightness in the legs, weird or what?

Hoping to get in a nice long run tomorrow and a swim session on Sunday, but that will be all for this weekend as I have ended up with a load of work to bring home ... BOOOOO.  Ah well, it's not all the time and it does go with the territory, so I'll just have to man up and get it done.  This is, after all, half the battle with Iron distance training - you have to balance the training with your home life and with work commitments, some of which blur together.  Almost glad the weather is forecast for being so bad this weekend - means I won't feel like I'm missing out too much. Bloody selfish attitude that - I can't help thinking!

So, until my next musings, your wise, grumpy old life guide and friend asks that y'all take care and remember, every single day, to pick up a piece of fruit and laugh at it, and never EVER turn your back on a bowl of cornflakes .... vicious buggers them.