Fall down 6 times, get up 7

I know what I said, no easy outs and plenty of structure.

Thing is, the man with the plan has decided to have a little fun and its seemingly at my expense.

As the saying goes though, if you fall six times, you must get up seven.

The tight chest I mentioned in my last post was diagnosed as a chest infection.  A course of antibiotics later and I am starting on the road to recovery-ville.  That is until the follow up cold made itself known anyway, gained fitness was lost, then gained and lost again and before I can say pissoffcoldyouareboringmeknow three weeks as passed with only a few miles of running under my belt.

I got out for a ride last weekend and actually felt pretty good.  Reading my Wentwood 50 partners tweets about new bikes and reucing waistlines did little for either my confidence or mood however and a piss poor 9 miles in the saddle is unlikely to have Al worried about keeping up.  More likely that he'll be packing the emergency oxygen tent and ensuring he has the number of the local air ambulance in his phone just in case I get a relapse.

This week I have managed a few runs, including a session of hill reps and a long run yesterday which saw me ticking off just over 10 miles in an hour and 20 minutes.  Something has to be working because that is quicker than I was managing a few weeks out from the last half marathon I ran.

So, I may not be completely doomed to failure for my quicker time for Wentwood,  I just need a few good weeks of training without succumbing to the next bug that is doing the rounds, wall to wall sunshine and for everone else to get the date wrong.

;)

30%

That's what I felt my lung function has been since the weekend. The cold I've had since Christmas has finally caught up with me.  Despite my best effort to ignore it and crack on, the chesty cough, previously an annoyance has finally showed its strength.

Last week I ran 10 miles, 10 miles through snow and strong wind, it appealed to my love of tough conditions and I ran happily, even though I was tired I felt reasonably strong throughout, getting home my legs were tired but after a few minutes I felt refreshed.. definitely a good sign.

Saturday I ran again, even though my schedule advised a rest day and my arms ached enough following my swim Friday night to keep me awake.  Considering I managed a 10 miler only a few days previous I really struggled, 2 miles in I was reduced to walking for a minute or so at a time.  We had a hugely busy weekend, with several birthday parties requiring drives in between, during a brief respite on saturday I snuck off to bed and immediately dropped into a dreamless sleep.

Sunday was a struggle and my cough seemed to be getting worse, with monday came my planned 30 minute run;

Getting up took willpower but I'm determined this year to avoid excuses and easy get outs, through the door and I tried to get into my normal rhythm without success, by the time I had covered 1/4 mile I was questioning my 'no easy outs' policy, another 1/4 mil and I was stopped, bent over and struggling for breath, realising the futility of my situation I headed home, within minutes of getting through the front door I was in bed and asleep.  When Kate's alarm went off I failed to surface.  Deciding I just needed to rest I stayed home, I slept huge amounts with little improvement and settled for a second day at home.  When walking to the kitchen from the lounge left me out of breath I decided that maybe I needed a second opinion. 

The doc has diagnosed a chest infection which explains the breathlessness and general lethargy.   A course of antibiotics will hopefully have me back on the road before long.

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!

Week One

As is always the way, as soon as I make a plan and commit it to virtual paper something comes along to kick sand in my face.  In this case it was the cold which I managed to hold off throughout the Christmas period.

Multiple cold and flu capsules and enough Vitamin C to shock a fair sized elephant appears to have worked so far.

With a return to the day job, poor sleep and the aforementioned cold, training has been lacking this week.  I did get out for a 3.5 mile run Friday but my legs and body grumped enough afterwards to make me question whether the run was not 5 times that amount.  A rest of sorts over the last two days (if two days looking after dash whilst Kate is at work can be considered any form of rest) should see me right for a restart tomorrow.

Line in the sand

I guess that's the decision I have made about 2012, initial plans for multiple events and an ultra long ride have failed to materialise, in fact the only thing which has been successful is the quality of excuses for not doing the stuff I wanted to.  Whilst training and competing have been lacklustre to say the least other areas of my life have been incredibly successful; a new job (which has changed our lives completely),  Dash will have a little brother come April and to complete the trio we moved house.  Looking at the list I'm pretty happy.  Despite feeling less fit than I have for a long time I have still managed a few decent runs lately.  My trip to America during early December saw me fulfill an ambition by running around Central Park - that run turned out to be just shy of 14 miles.. I was chuffed with that, I didn't even ache, I just need to build on it to achieve my 2013 plans.

So, 2013 then.

It's going to be a big year.

MTB plans are fairly simple..
1) Complete the Wentwood 50k in a time which is significantly better than 2012's which ended up being close to 5hrs..so, around 3.5 then.
2) Learn to jump.. Simple in theory but something which is holding me back in my riding, I really think that jumping will speed me up, even if only psychologically.

Other Stuff.
1) Ride 2013 miles, I've seen a fair few people do this sort of thing and fancy a go!
2) Complete a 70.3 Triathlon.. that's a half Iron Man to you and me

So will it be easy? No, probably not, especially the jumping! And doubly so with a second baby due April but I'm determined to give it a go, I hope you will be along for the ride.

Teko Merino Minicrew sock review

Jeez.. you're probably thinking, have you got that little going on that you have to write a review on socks.. SOCKS!!?

Thing is, I think socks are an often overlooked part of any wannabe sportsmans kit list.

Without our feet being in good condition biking and running can be painful and even impossible.

I seem to suffer with blisters, especially at the front of the arch.  In my quest to solve this problem I've thrown many a different pair onto various shop counters and handed over good money only to be left hobbling after a run or two.  The list of discarded solutions is long and contains many of the 'swear bys' seen on internet running forums.

A couple of years back I was recommended a pair of Teko minicrews by a salesman whilst buying a new pair of trainers.. hesitant, I would have left them on the peg if he had not offered a discount, so assured was he they would be ideal.

Putting them on I noticed how they had been made to hug tightly around the arch (my problem area). The pressure was comforting and soon unnoticeable.  Subsequent runs were done with no problem, even during hot weather and double figure mileage runs my feet remained comfortable and blister free.

My originals are now wafer thin on the heel but resolutely protect my feet; even during a soaking wet puddle filled six miler this morning my feet were fine.

I know have four pairs and wear them both during running and biking.  I won't even consider looking for alternatives as long as they remain on the virtual shelves of internet shops.

Being Merino means they don't smell (brilliant for socks!) so several wears are possible between washes, something useful for training whilst away from home.

Sizing wise I use Mediums which although snug for my Size 9 (UK) feet and technically a size down from what I should be in feel comfortable and planted once on.

They typcially retail for about £9.00 excl. postage and to mind are well worth every penny !

My Tuppence Worth

Take a look at any photo of me from the last seven years and you will see one constant, a little yellow band on my right wrist.

The Livestrong foundation and its distinctive band immediately appealed, Lance Armstrongs cancer awareness charity formed off the back of his own plight struck a chord, my mom had breast cancer 10 years ago and the struggle he outlined in his book left me reading late into the night.

Since then I have defended Armstrong from friends and faceless biking forum members who accused him of being a drugs cheat.  I could not, or maybe would not accept that this cycling god who went from Triathlon champion to young world champion to 'Cancer Survivor' and later a multi Tour de France winner would resort to drugs, especially, as he went through the poisonous treatment of Chemotherapy.

I wanted to believe that things like that happened, those clinging to life by the thinnest of threads can overcome the odds and become winners.

I even handed Mum my copy of Armstrongs book during her own course of Chemotherapy hoping to give her a degree of hope in her own darkness.

The overwhelming amount of evidence presented over the last couple of months, along with Armstrongs decision not to contest the case any longer has finally answered one of the biggest questions to dominate professional cycling for the past 15 years.

I can't be arsed to get into the detail of USDA reports and the UCI, who I generally have a rather low opinion of, but one this is for sure, the yellow band is currently residing in a landfill somewhere.. in it's place is this;

Bikepure.org please take a look