Long weekend

It is the start of my long weekend break from work. "work" being the term in common use for the place where income is generated. In fact there is still alot of work to do. Although today is a rest day I will manage a couple of hours walking to move some blood around in preparation the next two days. Saturday and Sunday will see some decent miles covered and some significant effort applied to the tarmac.

I feel positive and can see where each step throughout the week leads to improvements. I also understand the need for rest, both to adapt and in the shorter term recover of the following training days. I am watching my diet closely making sure not to feel cravings by appeasing them a little and having as wide a variety of food as I can. Intake is up, sugar is down, saturated fat is down. Plan going well.

Will a little test every so often be a bad thing? I am not sure? I reckon a max output session, so long as it is short can't be too bad. So long as you feel good about it afterwards. Feedback on this next post.

A new week will soon begin.

Well I am working a ngihtshift weekend again. I have had a day of rest and a night of work. Good luck meant I left my keys on the terminal. This meant I did not run home this morning, instead the car took me quickly to bed. I had an early (given the lack of time avaiable for sleep) meeting before work. I rested very well falling asleep quickly and rapidly ended up in the aforementioned and nightshift mode all at once. I have all the kit I need and the promise of not freezing conditions for the road home, not to mention a little more fuel in the tank.

Week two of the planned plan start Monday as usual with rest. An added treat is a massage, which I know will do good but at the same time I know will hurt in certain places. Practicing the quick drift to the "happy place" I am sure helps my mental training for BIG days as much as the physical benefits of the routine. So far so good, positive feelings are overwhelming this week and a feeling of lets get on with the tough stuff is there. I know that is good so I am being ofrever patient, no rush, solid consistent effort. There will be plenty of time and days when fast, hard, all out training will be needed, just not now, not so soon.

I have lately decided on and practiced a few technics I like for events. The one I like the most is to visualise myself in two parts. The body works away like a machine my inner mind is the control and monitoring location. I sit in my own head and monitor feelings, output, sweat, effort, system response and so forth. I make sure there temperatures are correct. I check that I have enough fuel available. I maintain flexibility and monitor for damage or fatigue correcting or adjusting as I go. I also concentrate on efficient use of energy making sure lazy options do not reduce performance or injure the machine.

Second is a good one I am saving for nicer days when there is more energy around. I move along head up happy on the inside at least absorbing energy from people, the Sun the Earth. My person is the focus of as much of the energy around that I can visualise, I imagine the flow of this around me and in me protecting assisting as I travel.

lets see what 10miles a 0530 feels like tomorrow morning, then revisit these thoughts.

New beginnings.

New beginnings, are what the year continues to be. I have started the training programme so eagerly awaited over the past few weeks. My running volume will increase as my cycling volume continues to grow. Massage is regularly booked for the next few months. Preparation of the bike is complete with a "few" new parts. Maintenance work has been done and everything positioned to within a fraction of a millimeter. Only one thing to do when the weather gets better, put my road cleats back on and remember what they feel like. I have double sided spds on at present so I don't need to change for spinning class, I look forward to getting out with the reassuringly solid feel of spd-sl underfoot.

I hope my training to run the Edinburgh Marathon and the cycling complement each other. Certainly the two seem to be working well at the moment. The stress shifting from muscle group to muscle group as each day brings a different exercise. Some swimming when I can or feel like it really helps so I will hit the pool every-so-often.

I feel top notch today after a gentle cycle. I hope this can continue as the effort increases. Cautious steps are the order of the day, don't over cook things early on rings in my mind. Time will pass quickly I know, but that is no excuse to damage myself. Take care, take time and take rest ring in my head when getting carried away feels like it might be a good idea.

Week 2 2010.

The year started with some good training time spent riding various bike and going to the gym as regularly as I have ever gone. Cycle for a couple of hours then weight training to ensure good power outputs. Then I finished my work "cycle" and it was time to recover only gentle exercise allowed. Plus we were away on a break in Devon so there was local beer to try and cream tea to have. Now that we have come back it is time to pick up the pace again.

So yesterday after a particularly lazy day in bed and around the house on went the outdoor training clothes. I togged up and went outside to find I still felt a chill, can't give in though start moving and it will get better. A mile later I was warm and making good time to the sports centre. I could feel the cob webs clear and the remains of cream tea and beer evaporate. A club run ontop of my run over made nine miles and a 10mile spin on a trainer said I climbed 6000 feet and covered the distance in 26mins. I even climbed for a minute at 600watts which was tough but felt good. I notice that recovery is rapid now heart rates return to lower levels more speedily than before. Sore bum now though as the indoor bikes have saddles that I struggle to believe anyoe can find comfortable. ouch!

Still after a few things to do this afternoon it will be turbo time again. Two hours should hit the spot and make things more efficent. ok off to see the world and put some walking miles in.

bike bits and time off.

I had a conversation with a man I work with last night while dodging the unusually cold weather this winter has brought with it. We were talking about what we like, and why we are all a little like addicts when it comes to doing it and/or buying things to do "it". He likes to make music in the most modern of ways using a pc and monitors. Not monitors as I understood you see, appearantly a monitor is like a speaker but does not smooth out the rough would be my new take on the subject. The point of this is we each had things we loved to do things we spent our money on but things that we each could not understand entirely enjoying in our own right. We did understand each others passion for what we did, in doing so forgave what intiially seemed to the other as an expense that was not justified.

So why is this nugget of truth important. Well it justifies to me my own need to spend a little bit of money on something that essentially was not broken did not need repaired and functioned pretty well. If indeed I required justification for spending money on myself, " at tmes I do". I bought a saddle. I had some sore bits around the soft stuff between my legs and hoped for a cure. I resaerched and checked eventually going with a brand I use for my shoes which are very comfortable. I tried the saddle for a few minutes and find it tio fit well with no soreness in the place I had it before. So I hope over time and testing this will continue.

Training is feeling good at the moment I am taking things steadily, which is a good feeling. Massage is planned and booked, in part at least. Programme scheduled, spares purchased and contingency made for days when the weather is bad or I forget to take equipmentform one house to the other.

20mm. This is important! Why? It is the difference in being comfortable and not being comfortable. This is the difference in stem length I chose to make things more easy to ride for long periods. It seems to be good (for a few minutes at least) having my bars back to where they used to live but a little closer. Time will tell (all things).

2010 so things seem closer already.

2010 is here already. Things, ie the Etape and other goals seem so much closer in January than they did a wee while ago in December. I had a great indoor ride with the spinners, although Tracy was not well she was with me as always. Power production was well above expectation and recovery surprised me alot. The following day base training for 90 perfect minutes.

I have only one grip my bum bones don't get on well with my saddle. I had thought this before but I am pretty sure of it now. I had a good sleep for 1800 to 0115 so feeling fresh woke up and bought a much more promising saddle. I look forward to testing it out soon.

Today is day two of the new year and I am in the mood for some more training so some weight lifting and 30 minutes of indoor riding look to be on the cards. I should sleep well after that. I am enjoying building these foundations over the winter time. I am also mindful of the increased load to come in what will be a few short weeks. Hope fully the foundations will be strong enough, hopefully I mean I will be strong enough. It all comes down to the effort/sustained/time equation again. I feel positvely charged, long may that continue.

Last thing on my mind. I long for the weather to get better so I can ride the hills, tempering my metal. I believe in training hard so the task is easier than I know I can handle. However I need also to be patient as big tasks are hard and can't be overcome all of a sudden. T reminds me of this which has made such a difference. A wise head helps when you are impulsive so I am lucky to have two on this job.

Happy New Year.