May 2008 Archives

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.

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.

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...)

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). 

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.