Review

At the run in to 2013 I wrote a post about my goals for the year   In this I had sat down and identified several things which I wanted to achieve during 2013.  I guess they were set to be challenging, a target for the year which is achieved in 2 months is never going to stretch or motivate when the clouds gather and rain is more likely than wall to wall sunshine.
I guess now that we are approaching mid-year it's wise to revisit.

Goal One - Ride Wentwood in  decent Time
hashtag fail.. Crap preparation, crap fitness, crap time, crap crap crap

Goal Two - Ride 2013 milesOk, so at the start of the year this required me to ride 39 miles a week, every week to achieve.  Not a massive distance for roadies, who probably knock out 500 miles a month.  For a slack mountain biker however, this is not the case.  At present I have ridden a grand total of <fanfare> 358 Miles, more a wet fart than a high energy fireworks display I think you would agree.  I do feel confident however, I've started ramping up the mileage and hopefully, with the persistent illness which dogged the start of the year behind me I will start catching up during the next six months.

Goal Three - Learn To Jump
Yeah, still trying, still crap.

Goal Four - Complete a Half IronmanThis is something I still really want to do.  When I discussed it originally with Kate she was quick to reign in my enthusiasm and inject a dose of reality.  We've got a new baby and new babies are renowned for their ability to deliver sleep deprivation with ease.  Training for something as challenging as an 1800m swim, 90k bike and 21k run on minimal shut eye is going to create problems (and is possibly the reason I was struck down by so many bugs during the new year).  I'm still incorporating Running, Swimming and Cycling into my weekly plans however.  I've completed several half marathon distance runs in training already this year and can happily swim sub 30 minute miles whenever I make it to the local pool.  In all honesty though I think that discretion is the better part of valour.  I'm swapping out the half ironman for 2013 and in it's place will sit an imperial century on a bike, possibly by completing this  Still a challenge to someone not used to riding that sort of distance, but something slightly more achievable.  I'm viewing 2013 as a base year however, and will hope that the completion of a half ironman next year will become infinitely more enjoyable with a far increased level of fitness than I can really hope to gain in the time I have remaining before my target event.

Small Steps

My post at the start of this year laid out my plans, I have to be honest that whilst I am good at making plans, my ability to dot I's and cross T's can leave a little  a little to be desired, hence the name of this blog I guess.

The first step is always the most difficult, that doesn't just go for a training plan I know but I generally find that once started I am able to sustain an effort.

Since deciding what I want 2013 to look like from sporting perspective I have felt a pretty high level of motivation to get started.

I know that inspiration can come from strange quarters but reading sports biographies seems to do it for me these days, given the triathlon slant this year has taken I've added a fair few tri books to my Kindle reading list and have had a massive motivational mainline.

The one thing that we can't create more of is time, this means that I have to make use of the standard 24hrs we  get in a day, as before, my preference is early morning training, I seem to have more energy and a higher willingness to get out and push myself before most people hit their snooze button.

During the last few weeks I've been doing at least 3 runs a week, running is my weak point but I'm starting to get the pace back, I've even managed a 10 miler in under 90 minutes, a level I attained only after several months of pre half marathon training in previous years.

I was in Manchester a couple of weeks back, the hotel had a pool so I decided to start my swim training.  A mile on two consecutive days was a hell of an introduction, but I was pleased with my speed through the water..both miles ticked off in just under 30 minutes, not bad for a starting point.  Since then I've been swimming in the local pool and again knocked off miles in each session.

Cycling is another matter, time weather and opportunity have conspired against me so far.  Distance for the year is disappointing.   A road ride and an off road trip through hub deep snow pretty much sums it up.  The off road ride was fantastic,  hard work though and each of the 20 miles were haard fought for.

Overall though, I'm pleased, I think the year has started well, now, I just need to keep it up.. and keep this blog up to date too!