Sorry I've been quiet for a while (Emma)! I've so much to tell you all: Blenheim triathlon hell, triathlon heaven at my first Olympic distance in Windsor, and how my running recruits got on (hint: they did well), and much, much more.
But I have no time! I'm busy packing - or at least thinking about packing - to head off to Paris by bicycle. That's right, myself and 14 other fools will be cycling the roughly 350 miles from Eynsham to Paris starting on Friday. We're aiming to arrive in Gay Paris on Monday, and with Le Tour in full swing by then we're hoping for a good welcome as we roll into town in our Eynsham Road Runners cycling jerseys!
But I witter.. I must go now, but wanted to say à bientôt before I went. I will be trying to do some blogging or photo logging whilst I'm away, so you might hear more from me. At the very least I will do something with my Facebook profile. And I'm possibly going to be using Bliin to track my progress (on my brand new Nokia phone - that I won at the Windsor triathlon! But that's another story, which I don't have time for!), so you may or may not be able to see my current location on the trip by checking out my bliin.com homepage, and/or on the image below.
But I have no time! I'm busy packing - or at least thinking about packing - to head off to Paris by bicycle. That's right, myself and 14 other fools will be cycling the roughly 350 miles from Eynsham to Paris starting on Friday. We're aiming to arrive in Gay Paris on Monday, and with Le Tour in full swing by then we're hoping for a good welcome as we roll into town in our Eynsham Road Runners cycling jerseys!
But I witter.. I must go now, but wanted to say à bientôt before I went. I will be trying to do some blogging or photo logging whilst I'm away, so you might hear more from me. At the very least I will do something with my Facebook profile. And I'm possibly going to be using Bliin to track my progress (on my brand new Nokia phone - that I won at the Windsor triathlon! But that's another story, which I don't have time for!), so you may or may not be able to see my current location on the trip by checking out my bliin.com homepage, and/or on the image below.
This is a big weekend for my three runners, and also for me. Rosie, Katie and Roger are running the Race for Life and Run for Moore in Oxford South Parks (Katie at Silverstone racetrack), and I've got the Blenheim Triathlon. 
It's their first running event, and I'm sure they're all a bit nervous - I'm nervous for them! But I know they'll all do really well - I'm expecting Roger to do a sub-30 minute 5k (maybe even 25 minutes?), and Rosie and Katie won't be too far behind.
Blenheim is one of my races from last year so I have something to compare against. I'm definitely much stronger this year and should be able improve on my rather pitiful 34 minute "run". Overall I think I can shave 20 minutes off last year's time. With Sophie and parents in attendance, and a new Oxford Tri club tri-suit to show off, I am hoping to perform well.
Good luck to all us!
It's their first running event, and I'm sure they're all a bit nervous - I'm nervous for them! But I know they'll all do really well - I'm expecting Roger to do a sub-30 minute 5k (maybe even 25 minutes?), and Rosie and Katie won't be too far behind.
Blenheim is one of my races from last year so I have something to compare against. I'm definitely much stronger this year and should be able improve on my rather pitiful 34 minute "run". Overall I think I can shave 20 minutes off last year's time. With Sophie and parents in attendance, and a new Oxford Tri club tri-suit to show off, I am hoping to perform well.
Good luck to all us!
14th - 22nd June 2008 is National Bike Week. During the week, people will be encouraged to ditch the car or that pesky walking and get on a bike - possibly for the first time since childhood. This year organisers are promoting family-oriented cycling and there are literally thousands of great events to get families cycling together and enjoying the Great British Countryside (let's hope for good weather in the Great British "Summer"), and so there are rides for all ages and abilities.
If you want to know more, or want to take part, check out the website and find an event near you. Go on, get on your bike.
If you want to know more, or want to take part, check out the website and find an event near you. Go on, get on your bike.
I have many half-baked theories on what motivates me and might motivate other people. Here are some of my recent ones:
1. Train with others
This is something that everyone who's ever trained in a group knows - training with others works you harder than training on your own. Obviously, this assumes you're all of a similar level, and all training as opposed to just out for a gentle bike ride to the pub... On your own, it's easy to back off, tell yourself you've done enough, or get lost in the moment and forget you're meant to be training (my mind wanders terribly when I'm swimming, for instance).
But if there are others around you will be able to challenge each other. One of you lifts off but the other will keep pushing, if your buddy sprints up the hill you have to follow them. And these little races make all the difference in turning a mediocre session into one that will have you vomiting at the end.
1. Train with others
This is something that everyone who's ever trained in a group knows - training with others works you harder than training on your own. Obviously, this assumes you're all of a similar level, and all training as opposed to just out for a gentle bike ride to the pub... On your own, it's easy to back off, tell yourself you've done enough, or get lost in the moment and forget you're meant to be training (my mind wanders terribly when I'm swimming, for instance).
But if there are others around you will be able to challenge each other. One of you lifts off but the other will keep pushing, if your buddy sprints up the hill you have to follow them. And these little races make all the difference in turning a mediocre session into one that will have you vomiting at the end.
Continue reading More thoughts on motivation.
I'm very happy with my PB at the Charndon 5k last night. 22:39 is pretty good for me - especially since I was expecting to do a 24 minuter. The race was mostly flat - a few bumps - and was very busy (maybe 200 people in total?). The weather was perfect for running and I really enjoyed it on the whole. A few cooling pints of IPA afterwards topped it off nicely!
Anyway, nuff said. Map of the route here (it was 5k honestly, despite my poor measuring...)
Anyway, nuff said. Map of the route here (it was 5k honestly, despite my poor measuring...)
As anyone who knows me, or reads my Facebook profile would know I'm not normally a religious man. But tonight I felt unusual forces were at play...
Although I've been doing more running this year, I'm not really pushing the distances. I tend to do short, easy, 2 mile runs at lunchtime with work colleagues, and my gym runs are normally brick sessions combining a 40k cycle with a run. These are normally only 5k runs at best because I'm hot, knackered and bored by this time. Windsor is now only 4 weeks away so I'm getting nervous about the 10k run at the end and I just know I need to do some more and longer runs.
It was a lovely sunny evening today and so I decided to go for a run. Heading down to Cutteslowe Park's measured mile, my plan was to complete 10k (just over 6 laps).
Although I've been doing more running this year, I'm not really pushing the distances. I tend to do short, easy, 2 mile runs at lunchtime with work colleagues, and my gym runs are normally brick sessions combining a 40k cycle with a run. These are normally only 5k runs at best because I'm hot, knackered and bored by this time. Windsor is now only 4 weeks away so I'm getting nervous about the 10k run at the end and I just know I need to do some more and longer runs.
It was a lovely sunny evening today and so I decided to go for a run. Heading down to Cutteslowe Park's measured mile, my plan was to complete 10k (just over 6 laps).
Continue reading Another mile... just one more mile.
I often wonder how I'm going to fit in all of the training that I want to do. A few runs each week is easy, as are a couple of hundred kilometres on the bike. And a few thousand metres swimming is a doddle to do before or after work. But all three? In just seven days (or 8 in a leap year)? How does a humble, work-a-day triathlete like me fit it all in? Oh to be a mere runner.
Continue reading Busy day, but at least it was wet.
Bert woke me at 7am this morning with the usual 'flap,flap, flap' on the letterbox which tells me that he and Ernie are still waiting for their breakfast. Normally this is a bit of a rude awakening, but with only a half bottle of wine last night, I felt surprisingly chipper, and the clear, bright blue sky made me feel good about the day. I decided to do something useful.
Sophie had helpfully reminded me yesterday that I need to work some more on my swim if I'm going to survive Windsor, and as I brewed my cup of tea I realised I only have 8 weeks before my first swim (at Blenheim), and only 9 weeks before Windsor! I had found my something useful.
Sophie had helpfully reminded me yesterday that I need to work some more on my swim if I'm going to survive Windsor, and as I brewed my cup of tea I realised I only have 8 weeks before my first swim (at Blenheim), and only 9 weeks before Windsor! I had found my something useful.
Continue reading Swim kicks and pool etiquette.
Windsor triathlon on June 15th is an Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km ride), which is longer than the sprints I've done before, so I'm a bit nervous. I've also been told it's quite hilly but I'm ignoring that for now! It's important to me that I know I can complete the distance, even if it's slowly, and doing a couple of 'trial' sprint triathlons before my first one in Newbury a couple of years ago was definitely a confidence booster.
So I've been working up to the full distance over the past few weeks, in the hope that I can do a couple of trial Olympic distance bike/runs before the event, and I'm almost there. I've increased my run distances significantly since September last year, and can now run about 12km before I completely fall apart. But I've really neglected my cycling and swimming. Swimming will have to wait for now, as today I did a brick session (bike and run), which this time I did as a 40km bike ride and a 5km run. The run was a bit slower than I hoped (27m), but after a 40km ride I can forgive myself. Brick sessions are great practice for the day because they teach your body how to cope with the bike/run transition, which I think is far and away the hardest part of the triathlon. So I'm pleased I completed the whole lot in about 1.5 hours, and probably could have run a bit further ifI hadn't gotten bored.
Next time:full bike and run distance, then the lake at Cassington opens up in a few weeks so I can get back into the swimming practice!
So I've been working up to the full distance over the past few weeks, in the hope that I can do a couple of trial Olympic distance bike/runs before the event, and I'm almost there. I've increased my run distances significantly since September last year, and can now run about 12km before I completely fall apart. But I've really neglected my cycling and swimming. Swimming will have to wait for now, as today I did a brick session (bike and run), which this time I did as a 40km bike ride and a 5km run. The run was a bit slower than I hoped (27m), but after a 40km ride I can forgive myself. Brick sessions are great practice for the day because they teach your body how to cope with the bike/run transition, which I think is far and away the hardest part of the triathlon. So I'm pleased I completed the whole lot in about 1.5 hours, and probably could have run a bit further ifI hadn't gotten bored.
Next time:full bike and run distance, then the lake at Cassington opens up in a few weeks so I can get back into the swimming practice!
Today I ran my first cross-country since I was an 11 year old, and boy was it an eye opener! No shortcuts, no fag-smoking bullies, no running in your underwear, and no hot tea and buns at the end (I didn't get these at school either but I was hoping for them today. In the end Lesley and Marie had to go off to get some teas for everyone).
Organised by Woodstock Harrier's running club, the event was held at Clanfield in Oxfordshire around a few farmer's fields. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perverse point of view), the weather had been 'rather inclement' over the past few days, and all night last night, so the ground was very wet and muddy. I bought myself some new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 since they're designed for trail running and are more grippy than my normal running shoes.
It was a relay-style race, and I was in a mixed team of 4 from Eynsham Road Runners (I'm finally an official member), with Jane, Linda and Anthony. I was out first and so didn't really know what to expect. The ground at the start was pretty muddy and claggy, so I was expecting it to be hard going, but I wasn't expecting 6-inch deep water around most of the course! The rain held off for most of the way, but the wind really kicked in at the end and that was a real killer.
It was good fun though, overall. As ever, it's always fun once you've finished. I was happy with my 27:30 for the 3 mile course (it was meant to be 5k but they apparently cut it short because of the weather - no idea what they cut out though as they obviously didn't avoid any 'wet bits'). I'll definitely do more cross country (as Graham pointed out, I have 6 or so months to come up with an excuse before the season really takes off again!), but maybe next time I'll wear warmer clothes.
Organised by Woodstock Harrier's running club, the event was held at Clanfield in Oxfordshire around a few farmer's fields. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perverse point of view), the weather had been 'rather inclement' over the past few days, and all night last night, so the ground was very wet and muddy. I bought myself some new Mizuno Wave Ascend 3 since they're designed for trail running and are more grippy than my normal running shoes.
It was a relay-style race, and I was in a mixed team of 4 from Eynsham Road Runners (I'm finally an official member), with Jane, Linda and Anthony. I was out first and so didn't really know what to expect. The ground at the start was pretty muddy and claggy, so I was expecting it to be hard going, but I wasn't expecting 6-inch deep water around most of the course! The rain held off for most of the way, but the wind really kicked in at the end and that was a real killer.
It was good fun though, overall. As ever, it's always fun once you've finished. I was happy with my 27:30 for the 3 mile course (it was meant to be 5k but they apparently cut it short because of the weather - no idea what they cut out though as they obviously didn't avoid any 'wet bits'). I'll definitely do more cross country (as Graham pointed out, I have 6 or so months to come up with an excuse before the season really takes off again!), but maybe next time I'll wear warmer clothes.
