Busy day, but at least it was wet
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.
The answer is: I don't. Unsurprisingly I struggle to get to the gym every day. Work and other comittments sometimes mean I have to work late, and sometimes I'm just too damn tired to go to the gym. Swimming in the morning is good once it's finished, but it's a hard thing to motivate myself to do. And cycling is fun when the sun is shining (as is making hay, apparently), but in the UK that means that I get to have fun cycling about 4 times each year (5 in a leap year). So in reality, my 20 hours of week training is only 10. Or sometimes 7. No wonder I'm not elite (yet...)
But at least at the weekend I get a chance to have a training blow-out and do what I want. Last weekend it was 2 hours at the gym on Saturday, then a 12 mile ride on Sunday and a 72 mile bike ride. Plenty for one weekend. This weekend it's going to be a bit easier, with a cycle to and a swim in the lake today, a short run at the gym and a 40-50miler tomorrow with Dave. I have also mowed the lawn, which (considering the length of the grass) probably counts for a half Ironman in energy expenditure terms.
The lake at Cassington opened today. For me this marks the official start of the triathlon season, and a chance to get the wetsuit out of mothballs. It's been a warm few days, and the water was still, clear and very warm (with two swim caps on!). Having lost a few kilos over the last few months (thanks Sophie), I even managed to avoid the 'fat-bloke-in-a-wetsuit' look that I carried off quite nicely last season.
It was hard work getting going - the first 200 metres or so had me panicking a bit, but once I got warmed up I managed to maintain a pretty good pace - about 11 minutes for 500 metres. But I have a lot of work to do if I want to get a sub-35 minute time at Windsor (1500m), since there I'll be put off by several hundred other arms and legs kicking and pulling me around.
And although I'm improving my sighting and trying to keep evenly balanced I still can't swim in a straight line!
But at least at the weekend I get a chance to have a training blow-out and do what I want. Last weekend it was 2 hours at the gym on Saturday, then a 12 mile ride on Sunday and a 72 mile bike ride. Plenty for one weekend. This weekend it's going to be a bit easier, with a cycle to and a swim in the lake today, a short run at the gym and a 40-50miler tomorrow with Dave. I have also mowed the lawn, which (considering the length of the grass) probably counts for a half Ironman in energy expenditure terms.
The lake at Cassington opened today. For me this marks the official start of the triathlon season, and a chance to get the wetsuit out of mothballs. It's been a warm few days, and the water was still, clear and very warm (with two swim caps on!). Having lost a few kilos over the last few months (thanks Sophie), I even managed to avoid the 'fat-bloke-in-a-wetsuit' look that I carried off quite nicely last season.
It was hard work getting going - the first 200 metres or so had me panicking a bit, but once I got warmed up I managed to maintain a pretty good pace - about 11 minutes for 500 metres. But I have a lot of work to do if I want to get a sub-35 minute time at Windsor (1500m), since there I'll be put off by several hundred other arms and legs kicking and pulling me around.
And although I'm improving my sighting and trying to keep evenly balanced I still can't swim in a straight line!
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