End of Tour Report

As I enter my last week here I think I should complete my own End of Tour Report. Without doubt, the summary would be "Could have done better" but there are mitigating circumstances. Based on the knowledge of those who had been here and my previous OOA tours, I reckoned this would be a great opportunity for some winter fitness and it certainly started off on the right foot. I decided to spend the first 8 - 10 weeks doing general conditioning and strength work rather than specific swim, bike, run stuff and I really enjoyed the change of emphasis and was logging some impressive (for me!) training hours per week. However, just before Christmas my workload changed significantly and for a few weeks training was very much on the back burner, so to speak. A week of doing nothing on R&R and I've tried picking it up again but found it reall hard. An average of 9 hours a week is not great but there you go; Que Sera Sera.

I brought my turbo trainer out with me but to be honest I needn't have bothered. The facilities here are really first class and I've done most of my cycling on a spin bike in an aero tuck using a HRM to assess effort, or out-and-about on a very heavy MTB. I'm certainly looking forward to getting back and riding my Litespeed again. I'm also looking forward to stripping down my Dolan TT bike and adding the latest bike bling bits - ceramic bearing bottom bracket, ceramic bearing jockey wheels for the new Ultegra SL rear mech and new 82mm deep front wheel. I've been banned from spending any more money on cycling related stuff by the CinC so I may take a hacksaw to the handlebars and aero bars for a bit of modification there as well! I do, though, have my eye on a new saddle for the sub 5 hour 180km TT effort later in the year. I'm really looking forward to that. 5 hours of averaging 36kmh - on a flat road on a windless day I know I can do that for 1 hour; I know I can do that for 2 hours; I'm pretty sure I can do that for 3 hours; I might be able to do that for 4 hours; but 5 hours??? There's only one way to find out and I will be putting the bike miles in over the next few months. I'm hoping there will be a decent bike commute from my new house to work when I get to Gosport, a minimum of 10 miles each way would be an excellent way of racking up 100 miles a week, even before adding in 2 turbo sessions, a midweek TT and a long, steady weekend ride.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone when I get back to Dear Old Blighty.

Actually, it was better than I expected ...

In my lost post I was a bit despondent because I did not think my week's training had been that great. However, I managed a good session after posting that comment and the net result was that I managed a tad under 10 hours of training, so it wasn't at all bad really. Since starting my training diary on 3 Nov I have averaged a little over 9 hours per week, including my week of R&R that recorded a BIG FAT ZERO of training hours. Not massive compared to many, but that represents a 20% increase on my 2008 average and I didn't do too bad on that. The aim now is to maintain that with quality rather than quantity, and there is definitely a need to get out on the road and get some long distance rides in when I get down to Gosport.

Overall, I haven't managed as much training here as I had hoped, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. And therein lies my main problem - the cookies were far too nice and I am far too weak!

An Ordinary Week

This has been a difficult week; I've had 3 really good sessions but it has been particularly busy at work meaning that I have averaged just an hour a day. In the great scheme of things I suppose I should just accept it as a "recovery" week and move on. Can't really do anything else. I am packing up the turbo today and will try and get it air-freighted home so that it will be ready and waiting for my 2 weeks POL. Yes, nearly tourex time - replacement arrives a week tomorrow and my flight home is booked for 6 Feb.

I have no idea what the scales are going to tell me when I get back, although I suspect it will be along the lines of "No coach parties"! Yes, am still struggling with the weight. I am, though, determined to be at the IS duathlon and hopefully I can sort my waistline out before then.

Gym Bike Challenge

After a long day at the office we were about to head home when my Chief Clerk challenged me to a duel on the gym bikes - how far can you go in 40 minutes (I wanted to make it a nice round hour but we had a social event to go to and there wasn't enough time). We all know that gym bikes don't actually replicate the position of any normal bike, but seem to be based on the geometry of my sister's Raleigh Shopper from 1975 (similar to the above), and have the widest saddles that were clearly designed for maximum DIScomfort, but a challenge is a challenge and we duly headed off for the gym.

Gym bikes are also odd in that it doesn't matter what level you have it on it is the cadence you spin that determines how far the machine records you have travelled. This was therefore all about the highest cadence you could maintain for 40 minutes. The rules were set - Level 12 on the Random programme, and go as hard and as fast as you can. And then we were off. On the road I will maintain a cadence of between 90 and 95 rpm, but this was going to be a completely different exercise. Quickly settling in to a cadence of around 118 through the early, easy levels, I watched my heart rate steadily rise until it was at about 90% of max, and we were still only 5 minutes into the challenge! After about 7 minutes it dawned on me that this was going to hurt - a lot!

The minutes ticked by and pools of sweat were now gathering on the floor; a couple of sneaky looks across at my colleague and I was pleased to see that I was ahead. After 20 minutes the gap was at about 0.2 of a mile, so not enough to relax. It seems that at about the 23 minute stage, my opponent went through a bit of a bad patch and by 25 minutes the gap had stretched to 0.6 of a mile. My HR was now round 95-96% of max and it was hurting. At 32 mins the Gym Bike showed it had a sense of humour and the Random programme threw it's BIG challenge at me - 3 solid bars of resistance. HR was now at 99% of max - 178bpm! I was melting at this point but another sneaky glance at my rival gave me the confidence that I had him beat and I pushed hard all the way to the finish.

As the end drew close I was hoping I could reach 17 recorded miles and put in a big effort over the last minute, but in the end just failed at 16.99 miles in 40 minutes, for a gym bike average speed of 25.485mph and a winning margin of 0.8 of a mile.

So fellow bloggers, how about a gym bike challenge? Level 12 on the Random programme, and see how far you can go. It's just a bit of (painful) fun and relies on your own honesty and integrity to self-police and abide by the very simple rules. At least you can't draft (take note Coach Roy!). So, how far can YOU go?

Back on the Straight and Narrow

I'm glad to say that I have stepped off the slippery slope and am now back on the path heading towards weight loss Nirvana. I have managed to cut out ALL of the cookies and ice cream and any other temptation that may cross my path. I have got back in to the training regime and am even doing early morning runs to kick start the metabolism. Unfortunately I don't have any scales here so I can't actually count progress so there will be no "Graph of Porkdom", you will just have to wait until I return to Dear Old Blighty at the beginning of Feb for the Grand Weigh-In. I must thank Sags for putting me forward for The Biggest Loser; made me feel REALLY GOOD! :-)

All things being equal I should be on the plane home 3 weeks today - woo hoo!!!

Supersize Me! Addendum

Guess what my first major event was following my shocking weigh-in? A 3 hour bike ride? Hill efforts? 90 min run with the dog?

No. Not even close. How about a major indian takeaway washed down with a couple of ciders and finished off with some Toblerone. I feel like a fraudster, and a fat one at that. I feel like one of those fat people you see on documentaries saying that being fat is not their fault, that the diet will start tomorrow etc etc.

Well it will. As soon as I step onto that plane back to Qatar I will enter the Hurt Box, and will not step out of it until I step off the plane back at Brize in 3.5 weeks time.

As an aside, I saw Sags today - he is looking very lean and fit. I felt ashamed.

What was the name of the guy in The Da Vinci Code, the guy who kept beating himself? Perhaps I need some of his dedication and determination.

Speak soon folks.

Supersize Me!

Oh dear! I did my 2009 weigh-in this morning and the results were not good. I know I've been hitting the ice-cream and cookies whilst in Qatar but the results were really shocking. When I got home Mrs Turbo Man mentioned that I looked like I had put on a few pounds. I have been training but clearly the calories in-calories out equation has been well out of balance.

To get a perspective, I raced IM in 2006 at 11st 4lbs. I managed to get down to 11st 6lbs towards the end of the 2008 season. At the weigh-in this morning I was ...

12 stone 5 pounds.

Let's say that again to ensure it has sunk in. 12 stone 5 pounds. YOU FAT B@ST@RD! Time to wake up and smell the coffee Big Boy. Time to ditch the cookies and ice cream and get lean and mean. Time to steal some of Sags mojo and hurt yourself, deny yourself all those things that make you feel good but in reality are hurting you. Time to stop eating and start training. Time to think about how hard it will be to ride up hills carrying all that extra lard. Time to think about the bike leg at Barcelona and how difficult it will be to look into the eyes of my team mates when they meet their targets and I don't. Time to stop waffling and just HTFU!

So they we go; my name is Turbo Man and I am a Fat Git. The question is, how much of that can I lose in the 3.5 weeks I have left in Qatar?

Shall we have a sweepstake? I reckon 11st 8lbs or lower by the time I get back - do you have faith in me?

Bargain Hunting

I like a bargain, and you have to keep your eyes and ears open for one appearing. This morning I met a man in a layby and handed over a small bundle of cash for my latest acquisition - a Planet X 82mm front wheel complete with brand new Continental tubular, valve extenders and tub tape. The wheel is 2 seasons old but you wouldn't know from looking at it; it is immaculate, runs straight as a dye and the bearings are silky smooth.

I'm on the lookout for some uberlight tribars (eg the Easton Attack TT bars in a size medium) at a bargain price to complete the Prince of Darkness 2009 version. Am looking forward to piecing it all together in the coming weeks and seeing how it goes.

Sags invited me out for a training ride this weekend and I'm afraid I wimped out - it is waaaaaaaay too cold. I can't believe I used to train in this weather. Oh, that's right, I didn't; that's why I was always overweight at the duathlon in April!

Train smart folks! :-)

Home for Some well Deserved R&R

Am home for the next 5 days for some well-earned R&R. Am spending this morning catching up with e-mails, drinking coffee and eating Toblerone for breakfast. I may take the dog for a run in the park but other than that am not planning any training - time to recharge the batteries both mental and physical. I plan a good 3 weeks training when I get back to Qatar and then it will be time for RTU - time seems to have really flown by.

2009 looks like being a year of change for me, so am not planning any events at the moment other than Barcelona in October. I hope to do the IS and RAF Champs events but I shall have to see how things are when I start my new job.

Train smart folks. Time for another piece of Toblerone...