BikeTrainer

I was up just after 4am this morning to see the Aussies hold on with 10 men for a draw with Ghana. It was a good game and put me in a good mood to go down to the basement to suffer for two hours on the bike trainer ... but then I saw the advert for the next programme.

A re-run of the Cameroon V Denmark game. I didn't know the score so I thought maybe I'd ditch (postpone maybe?) the ride and enjoy the football ... and then I had an idea. Bring the bike trainer into the living room. It was only 6am so I'd be finished before Jo and the kids got up. I could be packed up and out before anyone knew anything about it.

Within 5 minutes I was all set up and watching the game. The time definitely went faster. Before I knew it, it was half time and I was nearly at the hour mark. Then the master plan fell apart. I had laid down layers of old curtains, blankets, carpet tiles on the floor to absorb the noise and vibration (and to protect the rimu floors) but Jo still woke up. She said it wasn't loud but it must have carried a bit. I was rumbled.

She just thought I was mad. She sat in the same room and caught up with the 'internet world'. What I didn't realise was that she had taken a picture and posted it to Facebook.

Revenge WILL be sweet! :)

3 Weeks of Consistency ....

... well sort of. It's probably been my most consistent couple of weeks of training EVER!

I've missed sessions and shuffled a few around World Cup games but I've averaged 6 hours a week. I know that's not huge hours but I'm a long way off 'proper' training for the Half Ironman so it feels good to have the motivation to train when there isn't much on the horizon.

However, I have decided to put some 'events' (a long run or an extra long bike) every 4 weeks to make mini-cycles of 2 weeks of build, a week with a big 'event' and then a sort of rest week ... and repeat. My theory is that this will keep me motivated and keep the consistency up.

One thing that's always buggered my consistency is my calf. It has been pretty good lately but it definitely threatened on my long run this week. About 30 mins in I could feel the sharp, needle in the back of the calf and tightening effect. I stopped running immediately, pulled up my compression sock (co-incidence it had fallen down?) and walked for a minute or two. When I started jogging it felt OK and I didn't feel anything for the rest of the 90 min run. I've run once since and there was no problem. Praying that was it! ... I don' want to stop running.

I'm really enjoying the running but I have definitely slowed down. I am doing the 4:1 run:walk and I'm sure that this is keeping the calf problems at bay but it is slowing my overall pace. I'm not too bothered though. I'd rather be out there running 6:30/k pace than sitting at home injured. The 4:1 plan stays but I might take it to 5:1 soon with the hope of getting it to maybe 9:1 for the race.

I'm doing most of my bikes on the windtrainer. It has definitely helped me get a bit stronger. My Tuesday night intervals are getting 'stronger' and I'm able to sustain the bigger gears for a little longer. Definitely better than when I nearly puked at the end of my intervals a few weeks back. That wasn't a good start.

My biking has also included an attempt at mountain biking. I have never been so scared in my life. A colleague (who I previously would have considered a friend!) at work convinced me to try it. I thought it would be like the running trails around the Redwoods with the odd tree root and some ups and downs. I couldn't have imagined the drops and narrow paths we ended up on.

It was the SummerHill routes at the top of Reid Rd and I really wasn't prepared (physically or mentally) for it. I just felt out of control all the time. Maybe that's what you're supposed to feel but even going down the smallest hill it felt like I was gonna crash.

The only actual crash I had was with a gate that I opened which violently came back at me with a vengeance. I also scraped my leg on the pedal as I shuffled up yet another hill that I came to a standstill on. Sometimes it was lack of fitness and sometimes it was lack of technique. I didn't have a clue where my weight should be and I rode up most hills trying to stop my front wheel coming back over my head. I might give it one more go (there was a hill that I walked down that I wish I had attempted) but I don't think 'hard core' (we didn't even go on the hard bits!) mountain biking is for me.

There's been one thing missing from my training and that's swimming (I'd also like some movement on the weight loss front but ....) . My plan is to get back in the pool in July. That'll give me over five months to get a bit of swim fitness so that I can get my 40(ish) minute 2k swim and have enough energy to bike and run.

In my quest to drop a few pounds I am planning on blogging more. My danger time is between dinner and when I go out training. My plan is to resist the snacking by using the blog as more of a daily diary and spending time typing rather than standing in front of the fridge/cupboard convincing myself that I need to get some calories in for the swim (unlikely), bike or run. I'm at a healthy weight (just under 24 BMI) but I know I will be faster (definitely in the hills) if I can drop 10 pounds. I'd settle for 5 which would get me to 185. That was the weight I had my fastest Half Marathon at so it'd be good to get there again.

I had a great windtrainer session this morning but I'm going to leave that story till after dinner tonight. That should stop me attacking the chocolate brownies that Laura has in the oven at the moment. They are smelling GOOD!