Song(s) Of The Week.

Ahh British weather. Don’t we just love it? And as for the jet stream, just how unfair is it to be stuck right in its path.  This week’s tunes(s) came about as a result of the jet stream. Driving home yesterday in the pissing down rain for a change I found the need for some escapism, something to transport me away to my happy place in my head.

That place has always been Ibiza, the White Isle. Four visits to the same island clearly say that I liked the place, the music, the beaches, the bars and the atmosphere. Cafe Del Mar, Space, Playa d’en Bossa, Pacha and El Divino to name a few great memories. So flicking through the IPod I game across Pacha Ibiza Classics, a 90 min DJ set. Press play.  

        

The last visit was in 2001 when 10 of us rented a villa and well and truly did it proper. Not much sleep. Drank a lot of water. Danced (badly in my case but thought I was ace) and returned home in need of a holiday. However, the tune that came on the Ipod that made me smile was Groovejet (If This Aint Love by Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bexter which was from the 2000 holiday. Just the four of us on that trip but great all the same. The tune was all the rage and Sophie Ellis-Bexter did a PA at Renaissance at Manumission which wasn’t all that really. But, that was the tune of the year. Manumission, supposedly the greatest club wasn’t really that great either but we ticked it off the list.

The best Club was El Divino in Ibiza Town. Much smaller than the aircraft hanger sized Manumission, with a far better crowd and beautiful location and terrace overlooking the harbour. Walking down there from the bars in Ibiza Town we passed the teeny tiny looking Miss Ellis-Bexter but she didn’t seem to recognise us from the other night. Playing it cool no doubt. Now I say that El Divino was the best club I went to but it was slightly tainted by the fact that the two baldies from Right Said Fred were also there that night. No PA. NO chance. Just there. We had a little laugh with them as we left at the end when they drove past in a car saying “want a lift guys” before laughing and speeding off. Just proved they were knobs.

Now, at the beginning I did refer to tune(s). This is because I went off on a little bit of a tangent because I heard a tune on the radio today that transported me back to some early clubbing days circa '90.

    

Oh, and then something else popped in there!!!

And then I had a right old flashback to '88. 

Ahh '88. Acid house and all that. Park Hall, smiley faces and flower shirts. Another time. 

FFAFG!

Sheesh, have I been FFAFG this week. Too much so to be able to write a race report about the Outlaw last Sunday. But I’ll get there. It might even do some good to sleep on it, several times, in order to gain a little perspective and convey a level headed appraisal of the day, my day, a long day, what a day! 
A day of four seasons. 
A day of calm. 
A day of doubt. 
A day of joy. 
A day of having to climb up stairs to the second floor of the guest house I was staying at. Sheesh!   

Song of the Week - Elbow - One Day Like This

It's been a while since I did a Friday song of the week. Don't know why I started them. Just a little fun. I'd often choose a tune that had been rattling around my head that I couldn't get out, or a new tune I'd heard that I liked. This one goes under the first heading.Then again, it goes under that heading most weeks. It resurfaced again last weekend when they did it at the Isle of Wight Festival. I didn't go, but they showed it on Sky Arts1. Shocking coverage to be honest. 


The lyrics are just great and I reckon and hope that it's in my head on Sunday.  


..well anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day
So throw those curtains wide, one day like this a year would see me right.    

Chill and Prep....Repeat

Am I ready? Just about. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Not yet. Will I be? YES!


7 months in the making and we're finally here, just a few days 'til the Outlaw Ironman Triathlon. Yes, I am putting the IM word in there. The WTC can do one! (But please don't tell them, I don't want to get in trouble!). But it is an Ironman, so let's not let a little copyright and trademark get between friends.


Training over the last month has hardly been textbook. Don Finks textbook to be precise. A calf injury at the beginning of week 26 has meant that I've only managed a 20 and 30 min run the last 14 days as I gave it complete rest in an attempt to at least recover in time for the race. Well, its mostly healed but still niggles a little. I find that shorter strides help out. Which is fortunate, as that's as good as the run's going to get after the bike! They do call it the Ironman shuffle for a reason. Fingers crossed it'll hold out to get me across the finish line and that I've held on to some of the endurance I'd built up. It was always going to be a run/walk scenario but there'll just have to be a little more walk in there now. It's all about forward motion and that finish chute.


My preparation for the weekend starts today. I've taken today and tomorrow off work so that I can relax and get all my kit together bit by bit without rushing around. Whilst also watching the athletics, Wimbledon and the football. Just perfect for me! The floor of my living room is very quickly becoming an obstacle course as I add elements to it. I'm taking the kitchen sink! Will I/won't I need it? Pack it. 

Then tomorrow there's a few more things to get from the bike shop. A little more nutrition, a couple of spare inner tubes. It'll all come together by the end of tomorrow and then I'll be heading up to Nottingham early Saturday morning to soak up the atmosphere and register, potter around before heading to the hotel. Whether I'll get an early night is debatable once the nerves kick in but I'll try. I'm going to bed earlier and getting up earlier the next couple of days in order to try and trick my body. That 3am alarm isn't going to be too pretty!    


Right then, let's get some of this kit sorted. I hope to bump into a few of you over the weekend. I'll be in Walden Triathlon kit so please say hello. Best of luck to all of you. I hope everyone finishes and is proud.

Start Your Engines!

A while back I posted a blog called Itchy Feet and a Big Belly. Well the belly isn’t there but again I’m getting the itchy feet. Having not raced since last Septembers Vitruvian I’m starting to think it’s time to line up against like minded people and beast myself over whatever distance it might be on the day. Whilst I’m enjoying the training for Outlaw, It is the racing that we really get the buzz off isn’t it. And I’m noticing that a few of you out there are starting to get in some races, be it sportives, 10k’s or half marathons and it’s giving me the urge to get back out there. The fact that I haven’t raced at all in 6 months is actually pretty shameful and it’s only when writing this that I realise it. I did have all great intentions to do some cross country and mountain biking but I just didn’t get round to doing them. Terenzo Bozzone is a huge fan of using races as training and he might well be on to something. Note to self, training through the winter is vital but have some fun and race too!

Coffee, Cake and the Michelin Man

A couple of weeks since my last blog and I’m please to say that training is going just fine. The mileage keeps increasing and, get this, I’m still enjoying it! Got to be half the battle isn’t it? A few niggles here, a few niggles there but all in all holding together. I’m sure, at least I hope, that I’m no different to any other fitness bunnies out there in having to manage the old body. Or young body for that matter. At the moment I’m managing a slight niggle on my right ankle which is a new injury for me but the wheat bag I’ve recently befriended keeps doing its job and the ping of the microwave has become a familiar sound.

On the subject of microwaves and food, after ramping up the calorie intake at the beginning of the year, I’ve now backed off slightly as I was finding that I was putting on a little chub. It’s a fine balance between fuelling the system enough without getting heavier which will only slow me down. Now I’m reasonably slim but I know that losing a little will certainly help out, especially on the bike. So this week I cut out some of the extra and have found that my energy levels haven’t been compromised.

Last weekend was my birthday and a trip to the motherland gave me a refreshing change to the training routes for both bike and run. I couldn’t not train could I?! “Training is not an option” as I was told when I started the Ironman journey and that mantra has stuck. The bike training was particularly fun after I went off piste with the route and found myself on back country roads I hadn’t ventured down before. I always kind of knew where I was going as the crow flies but is still made for a good day out.

And so to this weekend and how cold?! It’s great to see that it hasn’t deterred many of you from getting out there and logging the miles. Yesterday I ventured out into a -6 wind chill to knock out my bike ride dressed as the Michelin Man in numerous layers. 2 sets of gloves on but my fingers still went pretty numb after a while. One of the great traditions with cyclists is the cafe stop, regardless of the weather and I found a lovely one in Finchingfield, Essex where I quickly devoured coffee and cake whilst my fingers and toes came back to life. It’s on a fairly regular route of mine and so I’m going to make it a regular haunt of mine. Today’s run was sacked as a result of the snow. I could’ve braved it out and a good few of you did but I decided to get in an extra session on the turbo. No bad thing with my cycling ability! And what better TV to watch whilst doing it than highlights of the Tour Down Under followed by the Tour of Qatar stage 1 finale. Best motivation there could be apart from a DVD of the Ironman World Champs which I’m still to get.

So there we are, all up to date. And into week 10 we go of the training plan. Those weeks have gone quick! Anything else? Oh, I also worked Monday to Friday but that just gets in the way of the training doesn't it!

The Bigger The Better

Writers block. Is this what it is? Some might say that I have it on a regular basis. But I try. 


This has been another very solid training week and I've followed the plan pretty well. I'm only doing 1 swim session a week at the moment which I'm fine with. My plan is to up that to 2 around March time and then get the open water training going in April when Histon Water, north of Cambridge, opens for the season. The running and biking is going well and I'm hitting the numbers that I need to. In fact I'm slightly ahead on the running front by a week. The main session I'm yet to get in is the brick. Now I know you'll think that this is a bad one to miss but I'm definitely going to get it up and running by the end of February. 


Highlights of the week are Mondays swim (2.7 miles) and today's run (10 miles). Both cracking sessions due to their length. I'm always happiest when I get in the bigger distances in. Speed just doesn't interest me and never has done since I started triathlons about 6 years ago. Articles, blogs and websites to do with big distances were always of far more interest. The likes of Macca, Crowie, Lieto and Wellington always a bigger draw than the ITU circuit. Anyway, what's all that drafting business about! Challenges taken on by Ben Fogle and James Cracknell, Ranulph Fiennes, Mike Stroud, Dean Karnazes, Mark Beaumont, Alastair Humphreys, Mark Kalch and Bruce Duncan involving huge distances and adventure grip the imagination and make me want to take on take on bigger things. Hence the Outlaw Ironman this year.


A new addition to my training this week has been a wheat bag. Simple little thing I know but it has certainly eased a couple of aches and pains in these old legs of mine.


And so on to week 8 of the training plan.


Oh, I also worked Monday to Friday too but that just gets in the way of the fun training doesn't it!     

Cookies and cream.....and jam!

Solid training under the belt this week. But as a few of my old teachers used to say, could do better. I followed the plan pretty much to the letter apart from 2 sessions which I haven't yet built into my week. The second swim and the brick session. If I did the sessions as they are set out in Don Finks book it all flows well but with Monday night being the clubs swim training it kind of throws things out, so I need to juggle things around, mainly to get the brick done. This is going to mean a morning run before work which I'm not a fan of. I know some people like running early but my body just doesn't play ball. I've tried eating something as soon as I get up, not eating, just having a black coffee, everything. I just always seem to have a bad run. But needs must in order to get the training done so we'll give it a go this week.


It was good to get back into the swimming this week with Walden Tri (http://www.waldentri.co.uk/). Not the biggest set but some good drills to keep us all thinking about technique. After all, a bad one will be the main problem in swimming through that imaginary hole in front of us. Only bad thing about training was being asked to return my trophy for 'outstanding swim' at last years club awards. Boo! Might be in with a chance of getting it again this year though for my swim at last years Vitruvian when I won my age group 40-44. I'm discounting the chap who actually swam faster as he failed to finish! Rules are rules eh?


The biking and running went pretty well this week. Tuesdays was particularly good with an average HR of 139. A first for me given the pace. Unfortunately, the other 2 runs didn't quite match up but were still decent enough. Thursday was the 6th day on the bounce of training and it showed a little during the day. Had a right grump on me in the morning, feeling tired etc. But food in the system at lunch turned it around. I've told my work chums that it might happen a few more times as the training ramps up. They've been warned! I also introduced them to my compression calf guards too which I was wearing under my work trousers. The ladies had a good old laugh at me for that! 


Yesterdays long bike was a testing one. Nothing to do with distance, but because it was bloody freezing. I started off in zone 2 but because it was easy my body temp just went down and down until I figured that upping the pace was a necessity to warm me up. It's surprising how much the senses go when cold which is not best when steering a bike. 


The food intake is also going well too. Have increased it a fair bit since the beginning of the year. Quite amusing really when everyone else is on a diet. Maybe everyone should just get a pair of trainers on and do a few laps around the block instead of watching crap TV. Just a thought. I got myself some new protein powder to supplement the food. Cookies and cream flavour. Not a fan! But I've found that a few spoons of jam in there takes away that tang that made me gurn after each mouthful.


So all in all a good week. And on to the next.


Oh, I also worked Monday to Friday but that just gets in the way of training doesn't it!?
          

Flicking the bird!

First week back at work after the silly season marked a welcome return to some structure in the weekly training.  Whilst I haven’t swum this week, I have managed to bank the hours in the training plan for the bike and run. And enjoyed it too! Which is half the battle. Judging by some of the tweets out there from you guys, you also seem to be enjoying your training too. Let’s see if we’re still so buoyant come page 89 of Don Finks book! We may well be getting a little tetchy by that stage.

I started the week thinking that I’d stay off the grog for the month, have a real health kick, something which I once did but come Friday evening that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Didn’t go bonkers but a few glasses of vino aren’t going to harm the training. And a saint I am not. Hope I keep to the other New Years’ resolutions I set myself.       

The training alternated from bike to run and then Friday was my day off. There were a few challenging runs with the wind blowing force 10 but I’m loath to sign up to a gym and do it on a treadmill. Are you a man or a mouse! And the turbo set up at home has become my friend after a few years of hating each other with a passion.

Saturday was long bike time. Now, at this time of year I normally take the MTB out, even on the roads. Lock out the front shocks and with nobbly tyres it’s a fair workout. Wet, greasy roads are not a friend of mine since a wipe out 2 years ago when black ice resulted in me breaking not one elbow, but two. Difficult to do I know but I managed it. Did you know they only give you one sling and you get to choose which one! Anyway, I’m a tad tentative on the road bike in the winter since. However, I was feeling good for it yesterday and so dusted it down. Very please I did too. I think it might have to become the norm this year. Also, it’s been a while since I flicked the bird at a driver but had the greatest pleasure when one started beeping me and gesturing when he went past, pointing towards the cycle lane, clearly saying that I should be in it and not on his treasured road. Highway Code 63 sunshine!

Finished the week off with a nice easy 7 mile run this morning. Zone 2 and just ticking over. I much prefer the long runs like these to interval training Z3 –Z4. Never been a fan.

My Garmin Forerunner 405cx arrived too on Friday and set up was pretty easy. Well, after I’d initially set myself up as a 50 year old lady from Venezuela that is. The two sessions this weekend have been done using it and I’m sure will benefit the training. So, a good 70 miles in the bank this week. 

Now For Some Proper Training

Well the first 2 weeks of the Ironman training plan didn't exactly go great due to illness and the festive season starting. And to be honest, the second two weren't exactly text book either. I reckon I did about 70% of what I was meant to do each week. I'm pointing the finger of blame squarely at the Outlaw organisers! Changing the date of the race from the end of July to the beginning, whilst I'm sure there was a very good reason, meant that the beginning of the Don Fink 30 week training plan had to be done over the silly season. Now I have some willpower but I'm sure that even Don would have a few problems following it 100%! I don't think I've done too bad though.


Now for some proper training without the distractions. And some good motivation. It's good that I've followed a few other Outlaw competitors on Twitter and I'm sure we can egg each other on keeping tabs on one anothers training. Not that we're competitive of course! I thought I'd keep a log of my training a bit more from now on too so I've ordered myself a Garmin 405 to log the miles and times so I can hopefully see improvement over time. So watch out for some Training Peaks links. Please don't laugh at them though!


So here's to the next 26 weeks of training. Oh, and a Happy New Year to everyone. 


"Swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, run 26.2 miles...brag for the rest of your life".