After my race on Sunday I had a lovely relaxed afternoon to recover. But come Monday it was back to training again. I planned to have a recovery ride at a nice easy pace on the bike. I set off in lovely blue skies and this time my wheel was the correct way around. I went out light and stuck to my plan. But after 20km of riding my eagerness won over. I turned and headed further from home and cranked the pace a bit. A small hill and 10km later I finally made a turn to return home. Now it was flat all the way. However the skies decided to open 10km from home. A lovely rainy trip home... Ah well I had 45km under my belt, not bad for a 'recovery' ride. I do need to work a lot to get my pace back up, but at least I have my excessively keen streak back. It'll help a lot when I have to ride 100 miles.
On Tuesday (aka day 8) I went back to the local leisure centre to get some more swimming in. This time I came armed with goggles and a heart rate monitor, it's time to get serious. I had a much more productive session than my first. Finally I braved lane swimming and found it's not all that different (apart from when you forget to spot and narrowly avoid swimming face first into someone's backside). I managed to crank out a 150m piece (new PB distance) before hitting some exercises. I decided to finish the sessions with one more 150m swim but my eagerness took over. Hence I know now I can swim 200m. Onwards and upwards I say. (On the ride home I stopped of at Sainsburys to pick up some stuff for my mum leading me to invent a rather odd new take on a triathlon)
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| Future Olympic Sport? |
Also on Tuesday my Mind sports kit arrived. I'm gonna have to start wearing it for my events. I have to say it's all really good quality, especially the cycling jersey which has a secret zip pocket inside one of its pockets. I'm very pleased with what Mind gave me (I requested extra kit for all my extra events and they sent me it for free). Thanks Mind. Inspired by this I entered my first cycling event for training. I'll be riding the Evans Ride-it West London Sportive in January. (See separate post)
On Wednesday I decided it was time to take things a bit more gently having not had a rest day yet. So I went for a slightly more relaxed run with my dog Barney. He certainly loved it, though it might take a few more years of training (and some evolution) before I can keep up with him. Anyway, it was a very nice to make a change of scenery and run cross-country. I'll try to get some photos this year, but the lakes just opposite my house are beautiful and a great place to run. 40 minutes of running later and I couldn't tell who was more tired, me or the dog...
On Thursday I was planning on going cycling since I was planning on visiting my girlfriend in Cambridge from the weekend and was unlikely to be able to get out on the bike for a while. I got up and really didn't feel like going for a ride, but I forced myself to get ready and head out. Just before I left home to go for a steady simple 20km cycle I finally found my motivation. I ran back inside, grabbed some energy gels and set off with the plan to go cycling to Richmond Park. It's a lovely park and well known by cyclists (it was even used in the Olympic Road Race in 2012), but it is 20km away. So I went for a long ride and braved some very fast and busy roads. I only managed to fit in one lap of the park but I did see some deer and get amazing views of London. 56km later I was back home (I then had to rush to get to London to meet a friend to go to a gig: Wolf Alice for those who want to know, go check them out, they are awesome). This park is also home to the London Duathlon which takes place next September (funds permitting you might want to watch this space)
Come Friday it was back to the pool with me. This session was a bit more structured than my last two. I went out with the aim to repeat my 200m feat and maybe even push on to 250m (a third of my eventual goal). I ended up managing to go 300m in one go with front crawl alone and another 350m piece with a couple of lengths of backstroke in the middle (practising in case I should need a breather in the race). I'm finally starting to notice ways I can really improve my technique and getting more confident. Maybe I'll even come to like swimming eventually. I may also have entered another event today (see the next post)
At the weekend I took my first rest day. I travelled up to Cambridge on the Saturday using my energy to drag a bag around in place of training. It was great to see my girlfriend again. Less great was getting ill. As a result I spent Sunday as a rest day as well, feeling truly sorry for myself.
On to week 3
Jon
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| Great kit! I LOVE the shade of blue!! |
On Wednesday I decided it was time to take things a bit more gently having not had a rest day yet. So I went for a slightly more relaxed run with my dog Barney. He certainly loved it, though it might take a few more years of training (and some evolution) before I can keep up with him. Anyway, it was a very nice to make a change of scenery and run cross-country. I'll try to get some photos this year, but the lakes just opposite my house are beautiful and a great place to run. 40 minutes of running later and I couldn't tell who was more tired, me or the dog...
On Thursday I was planning on going cycling since I was planning on visiting my girlfriend in Cambridge from the weekend and was unlikely to be able to get out on the bike for a while. I got up and really didn't feel like going for a ride, but I forced myself to get ready and head out. Just before I left home to go for a steady simple 20km cycle I finally found my motivation. I ran back inside, grabbed some energy gels and set off with the plan to go cycling to Richmond Park. It's a lovely park and well known by cyclists (it was even used in the Olympic Road Race in 2012), but it is 20km away. So I went for a long ride and braved some very fast and busy roads. I only managed to fit in one lap of the park but I did see some deer and get amazing views of London. 56km later I was back home (I then had to rush to get to London to meet a friend to go to a gig: Wolf Alice for those who want to know, go check them out, they are awesome). This park is also home to the London Duathlon which takes place next September (funds permitting you might want to watch this space)
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| Look closely and you'll see a deer |
At the weekend I took my first rest day. I travelled up to Cambridge on the Saturday using my energy to drag a bag around in place of training. It was great to see my girlfriend again. Less great was getting ill. As a result I spent Sunday as a rest day as well, feeling truly sorry for myself.
On to week 3
Jon
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