It's Friday, coming to the end of training week one. It's been mixed.
Monday
Plan - Gym session, strength training
Actual - Went to London for meeting, drank beer afterwards
Tuesday
Plan - 1:30 Zone 2
Actual - 1:00 Zone 2, on the Turbo, watching BBC Breakfast. Joe Bonamassa gig, Subway footlong for tea.
Wednesday
Plan - 1oK run
Actual - 11K run. Ow. Hurty. Was stumbling around the house afterwards, and had to wear my Skins recovery leg things.
Thursday
Plan - 1:30 Zone 2
Actual - 1:00 Zone 2 on the Turbo, cider and black, snakebite and black, Corona x 3, Bud x 1, tequila x 1. Work Christmas party that was.
Friday
Plan - Gym strength session, 1:30 singlespeed ride
Actual - Hangover, coffee, diet coke, spicy sausage pasta, 1:15 very muddy singlespeed ride/trudge.
I think that the actuals are more fun than the plan.
I need a better plan.
Friday, 4 December 2009
Friday, 27 November 2009
I've got a new phone...
And unfortunately, it's not a SonyEricsson with built in access to Blogger. So I'm currently having fun trying to set it up. If a picture a a laptop appears in the near future, I've succeeded.
Anyway, the new training plan starts on Monday, so I've been downloading some films to entertain me through hours in the garage - the weather isn't particularly condusive to long road rides at the moment. I need to move to California.
Anyway, the new training plan starts on Monday, so I've been downloading some films to entertain me through hours in the garage - the weather isn't particularly condusive to long road rides at the moment. I need to move to California.
Friday, 20 November 2009
It's been a while
I've not really posted anything for a while. The main reason behind this is that I've not really done anything interesting, especially on the exercise front. See, the thing is, I came to the start of November with a training plan, and two days into it I quit. Deleted it.
"Two days! That's pathetic!" I hear you cry (quietly, from a long way away). On the surface yes, but I had a damn good reason. I just wasn't excited by it.
In the Chris Hoy book (or maybe the Bradley Wiggins one), Chris(Bradley) said that training plans had to be exciting. If they weren't exciting you might trudge through them, but you would be looking for excuses. My plan for next year looked very similar to what I did for this year, and I needed a change, or a break.
So, onto Training Peaks I went and removed all the workouts that I'd carefully constructed. Sigh of relief. No getting up at 0615 to ride 42km to work, then ride 42km back. No 4 hour zone 2 rides on a Saturday. No tempo rides on a Sunday.
Instead I've been following the Bart Simpson inspired "Do What You Feel" plan. I've been doing some strength work in the gym. Going for runs, just because I feel like it. Night-trail-running with a torch, avoiding the werewolves. Watching Buffy from the comfort of the turbo trainer. "Core and More" classes. Hell, tonight I even went for a bike ride. Radical.
I think I'm starting to get some inspiration back. I hope so. New training plan starts in December...
"Two days! That's pathetic!" I hear you cry (quietly, from a long way away). On the surface yes, but I had a damn good reason. I just wasn't excited by it.
In the Chris Hoy book (or maybe the Bradley Wiggins one), Chris(Bradley) said that training plans had to be exciting. If they weren't exciting you might trudge through them, but you would be looking for excuses. My plan for next year looked very similar to what I did for this year, and I needed a change, or a break.
So, onto Training Peaks I went and removed all the workouts that I'd carefully constructed. Sigh of relief. No getting up at 0615 to ride 42km to work, then ride 42km back. No 4 hour zone 2 rides on a Saturday. No tempo rides on a Sunday.
Instead I've been following the Bart Simpson inspired "Do What You Feel" plan. I've been doing some strength work in the gym. Going for runs, just because I feel like it. Night-trail-running with a torch, avoiding the werewolves. Watching Buffy from the comfort of the turbo trainer. "Core and More" classes. Hell, tonight I even went for a bike ride. Radical.
I think I'm starting to get some inspiration back. I hope so. New training plan starts in December...
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Last night
Last night was the realisation of a dream held, ooo, about a week. Jon and I had vaguely discussed trying to do a road century (as all the roadies call 100 mile rides) a month through the winter. This was shortly after we'd completed the Wessex 100, in early September, when the days were long and the sun shone.
Come late October, when the days were much less long (but the sun still shone), we hadn't taken the idea much further. Cue a comparison of diaries and a realisation that the only was we could fit one in would be to do it one evening after work. So, we set the date and prayed for dry weather.
Dry weather came - no excuses.
All Tuesday there was a sense of anticipation - an "are we really going to do this" thought hung in the air. And again, nothing got in the way.
Gulp.
17:23 we set off. It was dark.
Imagine a pool of light on a country road, extending 15 metres ahead, with a softer glow outside of that. Imagine a sky mottled with cloud, a gibbous moon (not quite sure what that is, to be honest). You can't see your bike computer, you have little perception of time, speed or distance. Sometimes, the pool of light has another bike in it, with a flashing red light.
Imagine this for three hours. Please continue reading when you have done this.
OK, three hours later. You are a bit tired, a bit cold, and a bit full of sugar. You stop, piss, pick up more sugar.
Start imagining for three hours again, but three minutes in, imagine just missing a badger that dashes across the road.
Back again?
That is the best description of a six hour 100 mile night time road ride that I can come up with.
It's sensory deprivation: you exist in a bubble of light moving at 17 mph. You eat, drink, dodge badgers. Time passes, but you are not really aware of it. Then you stop.
Then you drink milkshake, then you eat hotdogs, then you drink beer.
Come late October, when the days were much less long (but the sun still shone), we hadn't taken the idea much further. Cue a comparison of diaries and a realisation that the only was we could fit one in would be to do it one evening after work. So, we set the date and prayed for dry weather.
Dry weather came - no excuses.
All Tuesday there was a sense of anticipation - an "are we really going to do this" thought hung in the air. And again, nothing got in the way.
Gulp.
17:23 we set off. It was dark.
Imagine a pool of light on a country road, extending 15 metres ahead, with a softer glow outside of that. Imagine a sky mottled with cloud, a gibbous moon (not quite sure what that is, to be honest). You can't see your bike computer, you have little perception of time, speed or distance. Sometimes, the pool of light has another bike in it, with a flashing red light.
Imagine this for three hours. Please continue reading when you have done this.
OK, three hours later. You are a bit tired, a bit cold, and a bit full of sugar. You stop, piss, pick up more sugar.
Start imagining for three hours again, but three minutes in, imagine just missing a badger that dashes across the road.
Back again?
That is the best description of a six hour 100 mile night time road ride that I can come up with.
It's sensory deprivation: you exist in a bubble of light moving at 17 mph. You eat, drink, dodge badgers. Time passes, but you are not really aware of it. Then you stop.
Then you drink milkshake, then you eat hotdogs, then you drink beer.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Friday, 16 October 2009
Why do I fear things that are generally good?
Organised a work Friday ride this week, for the first time in a few weeks. I only had a couple of people come along - one regular and one newbie. For some reason I spent most of the day slightly worried about it, concerned that I wouldn't enjoy it.
Anyway - you can guess the rest. We had a great ride, newbie enjoyed himself, very good pint of West Berks Brewery Good Old Boy, crisps, nuts and a spin back home.
It always seems to turn out like this. MUST REMEMBER FOR NEXT TIME!
Anyway - you can guess the rest. We had a great ride, newbie enjoyed himself, very good pint of West Berks Brewery Good Old Boy, crisps, nuts and a spin back home.
It always seems to turn out like this. MUST REMEMBER FOR NEXT TIME!
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Frickin' Cold
That's what it was this morning, for the first long commute of the new training plan. 2.7C is not a temperature I really needed to inspire me out at 6:30am. Going in I wore (in order of putting on):
Why can't I live somewhere hot, and have a job where I can work in sweaty bike clothes?
- Udderly Smooth chamois cream
- Shorts
- Woolie Boolie socks
- Overtights (is that the proper name?)
- Garmin HRM strap
- Merino base layer
- Gore Phantom soft shell (one of the best bike things I own)
- MP3 player (does this count?)
- Shoes
- Overshoes
- Strange hat thing that goes under the helmet and keeps your ears warm
- Hemlet
- Clear glasses
- Merino glove liners
- Windproof outer gloves
Why can't I live somewhere hot, and have a job where I can work in sweaty bike clothes?
Saturday, 10 October 2009
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