Wednesday 20 January 2010

Whoa!!! Slow down cowboy!!

Hectic, busy and all over the place is the description of my life recently. Missus is ready to drop any second and she is hoping to get induced on the 8th Feb instead of the 14th so should be able to attend Middleton Cycling Club's annual dinner in the 7th unless she pops earlier. Work have been great and I get to chose my hours basically to fit around all the hospital appointments and ante-natal stuff. I might sound a' little' selfish but I 'need' my 'me' time and have been hammering the training recently. My sleep is getting disturbed due to evening sessions and early morning starts and I can feel that my recovery is very slow. Just a quick update what I have been doing the past week or so.

Wed 20th Jan: Got up VERY late to catch up on a lot of lost sleep and did another taster session at the velodrome. I have now upped the bike size from a 20.5" to 21" and feel way more comfortable. I am getting used to the gearing and actually enjoy using the bikes they supply now, round the bends I stand up and give it some welly. Instructor today was Nicola and she was superb, first time I have seen her. She offered lots of advice and tips without any prompting and even managed to get my train together so I could obtain my blue slip..... AT LAST!!! It was quite difficult as there were some newbies ( who had done it before!) who would drift in, look to join the train and then move all over the show, not follow the wheel in front then drift off again. Although my rejoining the train wasn't perfect, as she said I drop in very late and a little far back, my safety was second to none which is what they mainly look for. There were times I couldn't make the maneuvers and was praised for holding my line and also for always looking over my shoulder before I made any movement. I managed to book in for a taster improver session on the 31st Jan 5-6pm but I am doing a 2 hr session 1-3pm beforehand so might be a little tired.
















I think the wife needs some photography lessons, focussing on her handbag... typical.






Did 2 spinning sessions tonight and was feeling the pain, head down, I just somehow pedalled on hard. I did 1 and 3/4 hrs worth then a quick half hour in the pool. Also found time to go to Cheshire Oaks outlet mall. There is a cracking shop called ' Brands Fusion' which sell heavily discounted swimming gear. They do buy one get one half price on costumes which are already half price. I got 2 pairs of trunks for £2 each, not rubbish but Speedo endurance. A pair for £4 and some James Bond style ones for £8. Also picked up 3 swimming caps ( 1 thermal, 2 x aero) for reservoir swimming £1 a piece and some goggles £10. Shame they didn't do any wet suits. The obligatory trip to Thorntons and NANDOs followed! Jam packed day or what!








Tuesday 19th Jan: Just a cycle to work day and tried out the Muvi camera which is ace. Only problem so far is that it sounds like I have a geiger counter strapped to my head with a piece of Uranium stuck in my arse and the only thing apart from that you can hear is the wind. I must be going too fast :) Absolutely shattered so didn't go the the tri club swimming.

Monday 18th Jan: Cycled to work, very enjoyable. I purchased a 25mm rear tyre and a 20mm front and the ride is fantastic. Not too sure if it's the wind slowing me down but I figured a larger rear tyre might improve my times. The new cycle computer is playing up a bit. The cadence sensor has stopped working..no idea and the speedo only works if the magnet is really close to the receiver. I have noticed my cadence is actually quite high which totally shocked me. On the straights I average about 95, up hill or down hill it drops considerably but on average cadence is around 82.
Went to the gym at Rochdale Leisure centre before spinning with the tri club. The rowing machine was beckoning me over so tried to beat my previous time. I had to put a lot more effort than last time to get the same speeds as I am not recovering fully but still beat the time by 1 second!! 19mins and 28 seconds for 5000m. Spinning was as good as ever especially now that the music was changed. Some dance music from the 90's/early00's that's my era.

Sunday 17th Jan: Was really tempted to take my bike as the tri club usually have a pootle after the swim but even after a rest day I felt terrible and exhausted, still not a lot of sleep. I just swam and shouldn't have turned up as I struggled but completed the session. At the end I stuck around to nosey at the bikes on display and wished I was going with them :(

Saturday 16th Jan: Cycled to work

Friday 15th Jan: Footie day, indoor too so it was all go go go. No time to stop and rest just constant running. I have grown up on indoor 5 a side as I used to play regularly at Rochdale indoor cricket and football centre ( 2 min walk from my house, at the time) and know the game inside out. That place brings back lots of memories, played footie in a league ( which we won one year), then 10 pin bowling, then up in the bar to watch a local band with a pint or two and some food. Bliss. Friday nights have never been the same since. Shame the place closed down as lots of houses now occupy the gaping space left. Stick me on an 11 a side pitch though and I look like a startled bunny rabbit. Any way we were 7 -1 up with a twelve year old kid playing for us and the team playing wonderful football but we couldn't keep up the frantic pace that we had set, tired and lost 8-7. The fittest one there was myself but started to get cramp the last 5 or so minutes so couldn't have any impact on 'last goal wins' time.

Thursday 14th Jan: Velodrome day again! only 8 of us so unable to get blue slip as they were unwilling to help me. The guy said best time to try was on a Tuesday evening.... Booked up til March!!! I made full use of the time anyway and chased down any breaks, keeping up on the outside, lots of sprints and really annoying the others. I mean when a train/chain formed, which I usually joined last from the rear as I sprint to catch them up, the guys on the front go faster and faster then he'd drop off and the next one would go faster and faster so on my turn I 'took it easy' to benefit all of us. The others decided to overtake me and only half a lap later I retook my place and blasted ahead as they were too tired to carry on. Same happened on the final 5 laps. People like to sprint ahead and it ends up as a race. So I bided my time, I didn't even draft, just sat half/quarter lap back making sure they were within striking distance. One by one, each took the lead and died. Easy pickings in the end.
Circuit training was a killer but took it relatively easy as I had swimming afterwards.
Swimming with the tri club was next and didn't think I'd have the energy to keep up with the fast guys. It turned out to be a great workout and not sure where my speed and endurance came from. Very impressed with my progress.

Wednesday 13th Jan: Quick 30 min warmup in the gym and then 2 spinning sessions for an hour and 3/4. Joined by Rchdale tri club's resident nutter Dave S as we powered our way through it. The last session was particularly' rewarding' as we did intervals for a change and this trainer doesn't usually do them.

Tuesday 12th Jan: Surprised I can remember this far back. I know I swam as normal with the tri club and Im positive I did something else but can't remember what.

Plans for the days ahead: Taking Fri and Sat as rest days ( just cycle to work which I treat as 2 x 7 mile time trials so not sure if I can call a rest day) but going to swim and bike on Sunday. Hopefully will get the time to go the Velodrome for the Cycle jumble which is on the Sunday to see if I can pick up any more bargains. I have decided not to weigh myself, at least not the the time being as I have new targets now and weight loss isn't one of them anymore. I'm sure I will lose anyway but more importantly I need the energy to keep up the rigorous scheldule I have given myself. So I stuff my face every day. I've had 15 doughnuts in the last 3 days and not regretted a single bite. yum yum. Those 3 boxes ( now 2 ) of Thorntons choccies will need gobbling up too. Can't resist a bargain

4 comments:

  1. OK Dear
    Your comment is very fantastic in this topic. This topic depends on the cycling and crawling. And You want to go to hospital............
    Need To Sell My House Fast

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, it does sound like you're doing loads. Loads on the track too.

    Congratulations on a blue slip!

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  3. Thx guys, I think the only reason Im doing loads on the track is that I've put my name down for the cycle chat do at velodrome end of Jan and I have a fear of being the slowest!!!!

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  4. Well done on getting that far with the track riding! Nicola is a great coach, I've had her a few times, though I normally get Russ or John.

    Just wish I could afford to get down there more than I currently do cos I wanna get accredited too.

    ReplyDelete