Fantasy versus Reality

So I've been ill most of the week and I had always planned Saturday to be the first session of the week as I should be OK by then. I'm still a little blocked up and coughing but it was a great day in that it was minus 3 and the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. Days like this rarely coincide with a weekend so something needed to be done.

I've just finished a great cycling book, "The Beautiful Machine" by Graeme Fife and it inspired me to literally get on my bike. I even wrote a review on Amazon...

My new 'racing' bike is due for delivery on Tuesday/Wednesday next week, so I thought I'd try a 20km ride on my mountain bike on the road. Then I can do a back to back test on the new bike and see how much better my investment makes me as a cyclist. I bought the Mountain Bike in Germany a few years ago and its hardly ever been used if I'm being honest. Its more of a Tiger tank than a racing bike as it weighs in at a rather chubby 14kg. Thats nearly twice as heavy as my new bike and the tires as you can see are more suited for Belgian mud than sleek Swiss tarmac. It does have 24 gears though....and I successfully adjusted the gear change this morning as the highest chainset at the front wasn't engaging. I didn't know how before and therefore its been like that for a few years , I had recently bought and read a bike maintainance book and it was easy enough to fix. I can hear Gavin and Brian laughing at my new found mechanical genius in being able to adjust a gear cable.

I knew the route to take and had actually ran it before when I was training for my half marathon in Sept last year. Its got quite a few hills on it and its a reasonably busy road through a few local villages.

I'm out and off, as you know I've just been training indoors on an exercise bike at the gym and a few people have been saying its nothing like riding a bike and I'm wasting my time. Now I'm no expert on cycling given I've only ever owned 3 bikes in my life(Raleigh Chico, BMX and Mountain bike above), however if 10-15 hours a week on an exercise bike is good enough for Chris Hoy then its OK for me.

First 4km were strange, you certainly get a much clearer image of how poorly the roads in Belgium are maintained...where does my 55% tax go. The traffic is also a little unsettling, however Belgian's appear to be quite tolerant of cycling given its a national sport. At 4.5km mark I have the big hedgehog hill to take on. Its every bit as painful on a bike as it is running. I think being on the bike makes you a little too aggressive as you expect to be going faster than you run, its not easy to achieve that going up a very steep hill.

At 10km I'm up the two worst hills now but the saddle is starting to change from a support to a torture device. Its a pretty aggressive racing type saddle and at this point I think its trying to actually become part of me via a process of osmosis. This process is unfortunately painful and very uncomfortable in a rather delicate area.

At 15km all the romance of the cycling books has been forgotten. I'm struggling with the bike, my neck, my back and my lungs are starting to bring up all my unwellness from the previous week. The heroic half idea I had of a 10km run after this cycle ride is tossed aside without a second of guilt. I just need to get home and lie down. I'm clearly out of my depth and the thought of doing 90km is actually totally unimaginaginable at this stage. I finish the 20k in 56 minutes and 26 seconds and am pretty whacked. Its about as tiring as a 20K run and the only positive thing is that it takes half the time.

Exercise wise it felt on a par with a fast 20k on the bike in the gym using the mountain program with some sprints thrown in. The timings are also similar. So I think I'm vindicated in my previous indoor training. In fact it may actually be a little easier on the real thing.

Now I know the new bike weighs half the mountain bike and the tyres will make a faster run easier. The problem is that the saddle will continue to try and split me down the middle and I still have another 70km to do on top of the 20km I just did. Then of course I need to get off the bike and run a half marathon....What the hell was I thinking...Too much reading not enough training....

I'm hoping the mixture of wrong bike, no training for 5 days and not fully recovered from my Man-Flu is the cause. I'm glad I did it though and after a shower I felt great.....honestly I did...

Dropping like flies

Spent most of last 2 days in bed, I can hardly get up the stairs never mind put on my trainers. Cough ,splutter, sniffle...yes its officially Man-Flu.....So no training for me till Saturday at least.

I must say a public hat tip(Chapeau) to Philippe in the office who is also signed up for Switzerland.He managed to put in a 50k Mountain bike ride and 18k run on Sunday.....I've got some catching up to do I think. You have to keep an eye on the quiet ones.

Slow Slow , Quick, Quick, Slow

Eventually dragged from bed at 10am as Alison has the Highland Pipes CD blaring, the "Coming Home" adverts are having an effect with Scots in Belgium. I'm not sleeping late but actually reading a book of the fascinating account of the Belgian WWII resistance fighters. Who it seems had as many problems dealing with the weather as they did fighting the Nazi war machine..

Breakfast and papers delivered by the Team Kennedy Manager, it'll be my turn next week then. I eat my fill and settle down reading Sunday Torygraph, I'm an avid reader of the paper as my maxim has always been , "get to know your enemy". I'm of course equally concerned about the views of the likes of Colonel Jameson-Smythe from Surrey and his ilk in relation to current world events(Johnny Foreigner/latest Labour Government faux pas/ bloody rebellious Scots/Bloody work-shy Northerners etc etc)...its takes about 15 minutes to finish it and my blood pressure is usually a good deal higher at the end. Its probably a form of exercise.

I have a couple of medical issues.....Firstly, I have acquired a head cold, nothing serious just a runny nose and a sore throat. Secondly I managed to pick up a splinter(skelf) in my foot from the wooden floor in the house. I merely mentioned the facts to the Team Kennedy manager and was greeted with her usual bedside manner of "Man-Flu" and "how can you get a skelf on that floor" all delivered with the usual upturned eyebrow and sceptical tone.

I stutter that I'm not looking to avoid my run, it's just that I'm not feeling at my best..........

I sulk off and get my gear together; I also put on a pair of ski long-johns so save my legs from the possibility of another week of corned beef legs. It’s sunny but cold so I stick on a Nike compression training top and a normal running top over it, stupidly both short sleeved.

I'm in the mood for a run and have been since last week. I start off at a good pace 4:10minutes per km on my watch. The run is fine and I'm feeling great, if a little cold round the arms and head. Yes I'd forgotten my hat too. Biggest problem is my MP3 player keeps switching itself off and re-initialising, which would not be a huge problem except that it goes back to the start again, so after 4km I've managed to listen to Mama Mia by Abba 5 times....

At the 4km mark I turn and head up a long, steady and steep hill, it is about 1.3km long and rises about 200feet over its length. I'm starting to get a little windy and of course your mind wanders. Mama Mia plays in the background again.... I'm then wondering if Phil Oakey of Human league used Abba as the template for his group........

Anyway, I'm looking for a fast 10km time and then an easy run in. I'm doing great because at the 7km mark its 32 minutes. The last km I do know is uphill towards the Butte du Lion ,so I hammer the pace a bit on the remaining flat and downhill sections. It’s much harder to race fast when you are on your own and just training but I can get a reasonable pace up but I know it’s always possible to go faster. In this case my legs are lying to my brain and I can do nothing about it. I drag myself up the last km of ankle breaking Belgian pave and finish 10km in 49:23. That was a good pace for a training run for me. I turn the corner and head south down the N5 towards Charleroi, the wind is now right in my face. I pass another guy running in the opposite direction. I've got a tee shirt on; he had tracksuit bottoms and a big thick fleece on with hood up. I laugh to myself and wonder if his Duffle Coat is at the cleaners.

The wind is a killer all the way back, I'm running directly south and it’s taking my breath away. It’s also bloody cold. I eventually turn the last corner on the way back, now east towards Lasne. I'm at 14km so just 2km or so to go and as ever it starts to feel free and easy. I finish 16.49km in 1hr:24, average speed of 5:04 minutes per km according to my watch/distance/HR monitor thing, I'm pleased.

Once in and showered its time for a feed, I'm starving. I've read that you need to be careful what you eat after a training session. I therefore have 2 pork pies with HP sauce, 2 packets of Quavers, handful of fruit pastilles and two pints of lime cordial and sparkling water....you are what you eat as they say...

Haggis tonight and Alison is making Dumpling... I can't wait

Time for a Quickie ?

Can we go swimming daddy ?

Why what a good idea, some fun with Wallis and give me a chance to lift some of the guilt of only doing a solitary kilometre last night...why yes of course lets go.

Now a training session with a 10 year old(must say nearly 11 in case she reads this) is never going to be full on. Its a busy session fixing goggles, mandatory duckings, swimming tips, show me how do you do those underwater turns, can I use your nose clip daddy?, watch me diving under these hoops and how long can you hold your breath for ? All great fun and better than the usual monotony of just swimming up and down the pool.

I managed 100 lengths at 17m so 1700m or just over a mile in old money plus we had fun into the bargain. We were in for 50 minutes and left as cold was beginning to get into the wee bones.

Thinking about a run tomorrow but as its not my turn for the papers and croissants.....then a wee long lie might be on the cards.

Burns night tomorrow and its his 250th birthday, unusual longevity for a Scot. Its a chance for some Haggis, Neaps and Tatties....its all over STV at the moment with Eddie Reader singing Caledonia and reciting Burns...lots of lumps in the throat and things getting in the eyes at home...must be the weather we're missing.

So yes we do miss home sometimes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENq8CLKEnJo

The bike...the bike

Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain -- at least in a poor country like Russia -- and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect.

Trotsky, Leon
1879-1940 Russian Revolutionary


The deal is done, invoice paid. As predicted the original race budget was ignored. I've bought a 54cm Carbon bike. It weighs in at a feather-light 7.1kg, without pedals...a bike without pedals, what is that all about. I now need to pick up the clicky tap like cycling shoes and a set of pedals. It should arrive late next week...all the way from Germany.




It looks slightly different from the Eddie Merckx time trial bike that is on display at his very own Metro station in Bruxelles. I wonder if Chris Hoy will get an underground station named after him in Glasgow...

Can I not pay someone else to do the training

Up at 4:45am on Thursday for flight to Munich and home around 9pm...Really hard to get up this morning and I'm glad its Friday. however the Triathlon Devil doesn't allow more than 2 days with no exercise. This means tonight I needed a session. Left work around 17:30 and just could not be less inclined to go to the gym, torrential rain, turning to sleet, dark already, bad drivers and 0 Degree Celsius. Got home , packed my swimming and gym gear. Smiling through gritted teeth.

I didn't have a plan before I left, however on journey to the gym I decide on a fast swim and and fast bike ride just to get it over with. Short speedy training does add to fitness(remember the art of lying to yourself)..... 1km swim in 22mins the pool all to myself, 10km bike ride 20 mins, can I really cycle 10 times faster than I can swim....

I was told today that the average swim time for the 2km in last years Rapperswill Triathlon was 38 minutes...a long long way for me to go then....

Time stands still

Hit the gym at opening time, well actually 10 minutes later as I forgot my wallet and had to go back home and get it to get my card to get into the gym.

This meant by the time I got in that my favorite 2 bikes were being used as a couple of props to chat on by two ladies . I'm sure they must just go to the gym , do nothing and then go home and say hey "I've just been at the gym for an hour" but in reality they only exercised their tongues the whole time.

Legs still very stiff and sore from Sunday's run, did 10 minutes on stepping machine to sort out my calfs. After that and 100 bench situps(plenty of rests in there and yes that is my diaphram I can feel aching) the ladies decide to move their chatting to another part of the gym. No need to clean the bike ladies you've not spun the wheels never mind broke sweat.

Anyway to quote the late great Tom Simpson, "Get me back on the bike"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson


Program was 55 minutes, mountains program level 7...what distance can I do. I fantasize its the Ventoux I'm tackling...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux


10K in and its going well...legs are good, breathing fine. I average 82RPM and I need to up the pace a bit as I'm coasting, so I push to 90RPM...first few minutes are hard but I soon settle into the rhythm..another 5k drops off and I'm getting hot but not bothered. Not sure what all the fuss is about.....

I decide to up to 95RPM...again a little early discomfort but it goes by the time I hit 18K...I am just watching the distance ticking off now, racing to get to 20k mark and then check how long it took me.

I up the RPM above 100, its all getting a litle noisy and a little ragged...just 2K to go, my head tells my legs I'll stop at 20K regardless of the time....so they keep going...My head is of course lying to my legs.

I get to 20K and still have 9 minutes left, I keep going and try to think of nice things and thrive on the fact I'm in single figures time wise now...you can actually block a fair bit of discomfort out but you need to get your mind to work and think of other stuff...if you don't manage it then the time drags on and on. I manage to rattle off 3.4 KM in 9 minutes and I'm done. I get off the bike and my legs are a bit shaky..my breathing returns to normal in about 2 minutes.

The last 5K was messy and noisy but I was just happy to be able to just keep going and push myself....I achieved my furthest distance yet at 23.4KM

It was of course less fun that it all sounded...legs are a bit sore tonight, tomorrow will be interesting...time for a paracetamol or two.

Pre Race Warm up - Spring Half Marathon

I've signed up for the Alloa half marathon in Scotland with Stuart and Chico(you're both now named and will be shamed if you don't do it)... The website says its quite a flat course and so a personal best is definately possible....ooh they really love to tease you these athletic types. They of course use the runners abbreviation of PB.....they are worse than IT guys for jargon.

I'll be looking to get round without injury in under 1hr:45. Its on 22nd March so just 60 days away. My only concern is what will it be like running in my Duffle Coat given usual weather conditions at that time of year in Central Scotland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffel_coat

I just looked up that link on Wikipedia and amazingly one of the guys from Franz Ferdinand is pictured 'cooly' wearing a Duffle coat. When exactly did that happen? I had a Duffle Coat in 2nd year at high school and I can safely say that it wasn't at that time considered a high fashion icon. In fact at that time being caught in possession of a Duffle Coat on the way to school was more likely to see you being relieved of your dinner money and at best left with a dead leg and more likely a kick in the gonads into the bargain.






http://www.alloahalfmarathon.co.uk/ is the link for the half marathon if you fancy it. :O) Duffle coats on the other hand are available from most second hand clothing shops. I can say that from bitter personal experience that you buy one at your peril.

My legs are very very painful today after yesterdays run and I've been hobbling round the office and putting on a brave but determined face...tommorrow I suspect will be worse but I've mentally pencilled in a session on the bike after work or in the unlikely scenario that I can get up early enough I'll do the 7am spinning session at the gym...I'm not in any way looking forward to either option. I need to do something though as I'm booked for Munich on Thursday this week so thats a day blocked out with no training, so tomorrow is a must train day.

The Rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain

Unfortunately it’s Sunday morning and its chucking it down with rain. Its typical Belgian weather as the clouds are almost touching the roof. It’s my turn for the papers and croissants this week. I fantasized about doing it on my mountain bike on Saturday as I fell asleep reading a cycling book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Blood-Secret-Life-France/dp/0224080229/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232299437&sr=8-1


In reality I'm last out of bed on Sunday around 9:30 and I drive to the shop and the farm to get the papers and the breakfast....

I have breakfast and settle down with the papers in front of the now lit fire...Its now raining with violence outside. I'm flicking between the channels on SKY watching war stuff on the history channel, dozing off and listening to Radio Scotland....a great Sunday is in the making.

The team manager appears....thankfully she reminds me of my goal and that I did nothing on Saturday. I reluctantly head upstairs. As ever I take ages to find all my stuff, my Heart Rate Monitor, my watch, my distance meter. I can't find my special running socks. I impose chaos on the house and I have all hands looking... The sock monster has obviously eaten them as I end up using a pair not specifically for running.....Its time to hit the road. I've got a swift 10km in my mind.

I'm about 1km out and it turns to hailstones...at least they just bounce off. I laugh into myself as I wonder what the people in the passing cars are thinking. The front of my legs are bright red, I foresee corned beef legs are on the menu upon my return.

At the 5km mark there is a big hill, I call it the hedgehog and it’s just as painful to tackle. It’s about 300m long and steepens drastically towards the end and worst of all it’s at the half way mark of my normal run..I'm eventually up it and my heart rate is at 190...very high as normally in training I'm around 150 to 160. I'm totally out of it at the top as I have tried to keep my pace at my normal 5:30 per km. Doing it uphill at that pace is like sprinting. I'm totally wiped out. However I don't stop, although I definately slow down on the flat section after the hill as my watch is saying a 6:30m per km pace, this is slow. It takes about 5 minutes to get back to normal. I'm pleased with this as it shows I can recover whilst keeping going.

I decide to go the long way back as the weather has improved and I'm getting that strange high I sometimes get when I'm running. It’s a mix of the velvet glove sensation in your head and that flush you get from the first glass of wine. It'll probably be illegal in a few years.

I'm at 12km and my left ankle is starting to feel a little delicate. I've been having problems with it since I started running last year and on any run of more than 10km it usual makes itself known. I decide to start to head for home, my MP3 blaring in my ears. The pain eases off a bit on a downhill section and I take a slightly longer route and finish with a hill. 16km in 1hr 23.... Mostly in the rain...My running capacity has held up well to the festive season.

Any suggestions for music on my MP3 whilst running are gratefully received.

The Man from Atlantis

Friday night at 6pm and I've had a bad day at work so its time to hit the pool and get back to normal. On the way home I've purchased new goggles, a nose clip and a new swimming cap. My Retail Therapy has a total cost of €28. I now at least look the part. I've been reading a few fitness books at the moment and one of the methods offered up was doing one training session a week with no carbohydrate intake beforehand...so its in the back of my mind. I'm in desperate need of a haircut as Alison had said I was starting to look like Rick Astley during his 80's heyday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Astley) so rather than lunch on Friday I got a haircut...When I hit the pool I am fuelled up only on tea,chocolate and sports drinks, a rather interesting mix..I'm looking to do 3km, the furthest yet and under the banner of train hard race easy I'm looking to go further than the race itself.....

The pool is quite busy for a Friday. I've never worn a swimming cap before and feel like a bit of a tube. I get in and start my laps. The first km I try using a technique on the downstroke which resembles holding a barrel in front of your chest. Its supposed to be the technique to use. I know my normal km time is between 22 and 24 minutes depending on frequency of kids bombing me at the pool. I stop after 70 lengths(1km),my watch says 26 and a half minutes...Its hardly David Wilkie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wilkie_(swimmer)).

I resort to my normal stroke for the second km and this is also usually an easier leg for me. The pool is quiet now but there is a women at the other side of the pool with a long green foam flotation aid and a woman in a tracksuit is dancing and exercising at the side of the pool in time(very appoximately) with blaring house music. At first I'm not really sure what is happening, it really looks bad, a bit like a bad dance at a wedding but in a swimming pool. I'm OK on the downswim as I always breathe to the right so don't see this woman however on the upswim she is there and its making me laugh underwater. I wonder if she gets self conscious about this and if she is worried about the popularity of what she is doing. Given there is only one women of pensioner age participating.

I manage the next km in 23minutes. I decide to go for the third as in reality I'm still feeling OK. I start the lengths and this time rather than just turning normally I try using tumble turns to see if it improves my time. After about 10 lengths I'm getting cramps in one foot. I'm easing it using the push off from each end as I don't want to stop. It now starts in the other foot..I need to stop and try to stretch it off. It goes away, I do another 3 or so lengths but I'm now getting cramp in my calf...Time to call it a day. I stopped around the 170 length mark, about 2.8km. I don't know if its the tumble turns, the added distance or the fact I hadn't eaten. I hope I don't get it in the lake as there won't be anywhere to push my leg against. :O)

A bike, a bike my kingdom for a bike

As you know I'm still looking for the right bike. I've been getting good input from Gavin and Brian on this but as yet I haven't got my credit card out and more importantly I haven't agreed the budget with the the Team Kennedy manager. I'm still thinking second hand but I'm also still looking at these Italian bikes I mentioned in the first post that I've seen advertised in Belgium. I decide to go to the shop and see them in the flesh...Its a place up near the airport so just 30km. I put in the address to the GPS and away we go. I get there and it turns out to be a normal house, obviously a home business that advertises on the internet...so no chance of any hands on on a wet Saturday afternoon. I'll phone the guy next week to see if he can arrange a viewing....Its a strange setup but then living abroad brings this type of experience regularly.

Retribution

I was on last flight home on Wednesday evening, so I got home around 11:30pm. I had managed to smuggle in a large consignment of British goodies past the ever vigilant Belgian Douane including Tea bags,Walnut Whips, Peppermint Aero's, Minstrals, Ripples, Fruit and Nut, Wholenut and Galaxy chocolate. As you can see since I have(almost) given up drinking I have managed to pick up a new vice. Tea and chocolate treats.

I went to the gym before work on Thursday morning, I really really wasn't in the mood and it took a great deal of personal effort to get my head off the pillow and then into the shower. Even after a shower the thought of getting into my training gear made me want to just go back to bed. However I had a couple of conf calls early in the morning and if I didn't do it before 8am then an evening session was the only alternative.....Switzerland felt a long long way away.

I get to the gym and its pretty busy even this early, obviously post new year guilt trips help to keep the bikes and treadmills of the world busy in January. The pool is way too busy to swim so I decide to do a big session on the bike as I’d been reading bike magazines on the plane and have an exaggerated vision of my abilities..

I choose the mountains option, like a hero I dial in a 20km target at level 7 of 12....remembering I'm not Fausto Coppi ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fausto_Coppi ) ...I'm mentally targeting an hour for the 20km. This is much slower than I expect to do on a real bike on the road, well that’s my hope anyway. In reality the gym work is just to try and get my biking muscles up to a reasonable level before I actually get on a bike for real.

I get into it and as ever the first 3-4 km are hard, I find indoor training very difficult as I always find its too hot and stuffy. I also struggle with exercise early in the morning. Even last year when I was regularly doing 10-20km outdoor training runs I could not easily complete a 5km run indoors in the gym on the treadmill.

I'm at 14km and well into my rhythm, its going great, the punishment of missing 3 days training is being taken with a wry smile and I’m thinking I’ve just got 25% left to go. I'm really feeling good, pleased with myself and in no real pain, although I'm certainly red in the face and I know my heart is beating...lol.

The cardio equipment of the gym is all upstairs on the mezzanine floor, you can see all the people coming and going. Its a great place to people watch and watch the TV's hanging from the ceiling. In come a group of about 20 students, I'm sure I've seen them before and I think they are part of a school sports group. Two young girls take up machines either side of me. There is plenty of other free equipment, maybe they want to see my suffering up close. One takes a bike the same as mine and one this strange machine that you sit on and pedal but in a Sinclair C5(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5) way rather than in the fashion of a regular bike. They mess about for ages moving/organising their stuff , changing the bikes and just general faffing about. As you can see my level of patience with other people is not good in the morning.

They start their exercise and continue their conversation without missing a beat. Its a little distracting as they are effectively talking right across me and I really need all the concentration I can muster to finish my 20km. Then it hits me right at the back of my throat, that heady teenage musk mix of cheap perfume and spearmint chewing gum. Now much as I enjoy the flashback to my own youth, its definitely putting me off my stride and burning my throat and nose. Who the hell wears perfume to the gym and who can exercise, chew gum and keep a conversation going all at the same time....I turn up my MP3 player to block out the constant French bavardez….I know I’m pushing my limits on the bike as my previous max is 12km on a real bike and 10km in the gym. I’ve got 5km to go and I feel like throwing in the towel as I’m effectively being gassed in public. I put my head down and grip the front bars, I need to finish this and get out. I go for a 1km sprint at the 17km mark and raise my cadence to above 100rpm. Its extremely hard going but now I’ve started I need to finish the 1km….I can hardly hear the music for the heart beat noise and the noise of my breathing in my ears. I’ve done 17.75km, its only 250m to go but I think I might faint…my cadence drops a bit to the low 90’s. I push a bit harder and get it into 3 figures again but its very erratic from 98 to 105…however the last part of the km ticks off and the 18km mark appears I immediately drop back to 80rpm. It feels like I’m standing still its so much easier. I still feel like I might black out and fall off the bike.My 1km sprint is all too much for the teenage fan club they bugger off elsewhere and leave me to my remaining 2km nightmare. I’ll remember to use that technique again to get some peace ,quiet and fresh air. I finish the 2km in a dizzy daze and get off the bike. I need to hold onto the bike as my knees buckle a bit and my thighs feel about twice the normal size, the sensation of the blood trying to squeeze out at the bottom of my cycling shorts is far from comfortable. I finished the 20km in 55 minutes and am pretty pleased with myself.

Part Deux

So I was in Sunderland for 3 days last week, I took my running kit with me but it never left my bag from Monday till Wednesday. I was almost there on Tuesday evening but we never returned to the hotel till 8pm then dinner with Rob and Neil seemed a much more attractive opportunity. So yet again I managed to carry my kit halfway across Europe without it seeing the light of day. I even indulged in a glass of red wine....there will need to be repercussions.

Cheers
Cammy

The Triathlon Times part 1.....

Jan 12th 2009

As most of you probably know as I’ve already bored many of you to death with the fact, I have registered and paid a princely sum(always a good motivator) to take part in the Rapperswill, Switzerland Triathlon on 7th June 2009.

It’s a 2 km swim followed by a 90km bike ride and then a 22km run. Which is actually difficult to even say in a single breath.

This was originally the idea of one of the guys in the office as his brother did it last year in 6 and a half hours. At first I dismissed it, as any sensible person would. I started a fitness campaign in May 2008, this culminated with me completing the Glasgow Half marathon in September last year(1hr 49min). This was in reality the first real physical activity outside of the odd game of footballand annual ski holidays for me in 20 years. However once the race was over and due to a mix of weather, injury and general lazyness I was having real motivational issues with any fitness activity other than watching TV. So after some thought and reading a few books on the subjectI just thought I’d give Triathlon a go….

I therefore thought I’d start sending out a regular update on my progress, positive or negative. This will ensure that there is limited opportunity for me to quietly shelve the idea of completing the triathlon as failure in full public view of my nearest and dearest I’ve always found to be strangely motivational.

On the training side I’ve been running pretty regularly(weekly) since Sept and have done a few swimming sessions since December to get me up to the 2km mark(118 lengths of the pool) in one go.

The running was already OK and easy to get into and the swimming has if I’m being honest and if you exclude my continuous chlorine odour actually been easier than I thought it would be. The 2km I can now do in 45 minutes. I tried a spinning session at the gym 3 weeks back but found it extremely hard work and more worryingly there were pensioners in the class who were coping better than me. I sneaked out 1 hour into the 1.5 hour session on the excuse I had to pick up Wallis…..

In an effort to get used to transitioning between the elements I did 2 gym based mini triathlons on Wed and Friday evenings last week with 2km swim then 10km bike ride then 5km run. Both sessions were very hard and the first was especially uncomfortable. The transition from bike to running is a painful experience on the lower legs for the first 2-3km. I can now imagine based on that snippet that you all will be trying to sign up for this as well.

The swim section is in Lake Zurich and I’ve been warned its not like swimming in the local pool as there is a mass start/underwater fight with 300+ swimmers and obviously its in open water in a deep lake in the alps, so it will be ‘refreshing’. Luckily I managed to get some open water swimming simulation on the Wednesday last week as its school half day and the wee lads in the pool were bombing me while I did my laps , right up until I complained to their mother. I could not actually complain in French to the mother concerned as my French is rubbish but I just gave the lads a Paddington hard stare which seemed to have the right effect on their mother. It was either that or she was warning them to get away from the creepy man with the goggles on. Just wait till they see me once I have bought a wet suit and a swimming cap. I’ll have the pool to myself in no time.

As a little diversion and as it’s the second highest aerobic exercise after cycling I tried cross country ski-ing in the Ardennes on Sunday 11th Jan but only managed 6km as it was a lot harder technique wise than it looks and definitely a lot less fun than it looks on TV, if that is actually possible. That fitness avenue has now been closed and I won’t be doing that again.

I’m in Sunderland this week for work and will get some running in but will keep it to just 10km runs as my left ankle is still sore from last year although I do now have the contact details of a good foot doctor, I just need to get round to making an appointment. On the positive side my big toe nail has now nearly grown fully back from the Glasgow half marathon. I do however seem to be getting a lot of lower back and hip pain as a hangover from ski-ing at New Year. Who said keeping fit was good for you……..

Time wise I’ve now got just under 5 months of training now till the start ….in reality and in blissful ignorance I think I have the swimming and the running sorted as I know I can do the distances individually. I just need to get my head and legs round a 90km bike ride then once I have resolved that part I then have the pleasant task of trying to do it all consecutively(its probably much easier to type that than actually do it).

I’m targeting finishing around 6 hours and am basing my training on that time with targets of 1 hour swim(2km)/transition, 3 hour cycle(90km)/transition and 2 hour run(22km)/Oxygen Tent recovery. I completed the Half marathon in September in 1hr 49 and so I may be being a little ambitious on that leg. However I’m hoping overall I’ll be fitter so I will be able to keep it to just an additional 11 minutes.

The furthest I’ve ever been on a bike in my life in one go is 12km and that was in December last year on my way to work on my mountain bike as a trial run. I’ve been reading books on cycling to try and get my head round it but to be honest I might just go for the amphetamines and EPO route as is popular with the cycling pros. The other worrying aspect is that of the 3 books I’ve read all 3 had chapters on testicular injuries and infections/ulcers/boils where the sun doesn’t shine. Incidently but not unconnected the most successful Scottish(and British) road cyclist of all time is Robert Millar, who is now in retirement in Dorset living his life as a woman having had the big operation. So there is obviously some element of danger in the whole cycling scene. I have in a totally unconnected transaction purchased a fetching set of bib and braces cycling trousers with rather bulky undercarriage padding. Regardless of this brave talk on the cycling front I need to wait until the weather improves and we get lighter nights. So till then I’ll be stuck at the gym on the bike to nowhere, watching French TV. In the meantime I’m undertaking the serious task of searching the racing bikes for sale sections and especially worryingly am having to continuously up my original €250 budget every time I see something nice I like. It would appear that in cycling circles when you own something for a year or two and use it you just need to shave 10% off the price when you want to sell it….have these guys not heard of the credit crunch

For the technically minded(blokes only I suspect). The first choice bike currently is this http://www.carrarocicli.it/index.htm?id_prod=6 an absolute bargain at €685… L

And second is this one which I really love the look of (I mean it actually looks fast when its sitting still) http://www.carrarocicli.it/index.htm?id_prod=4 but is double the price at €1400 and at only 1.5kg lighter, its hardly a bargain. Did I already say it looks fast.

They also have a titanium one which I could talk about all day long and unbelievably looks even better but at nearly €5k it is the price of a new Toyota Prius………. http://www.carrarocicli.it/index.htm?id_prod=2…its also incidentally literally as much as I paid for my first flat when I was 18. This alone shows relative inflation in terms of house prices and my age.

Cheers

Cammy