Road Test - Hed Ardennes Wheels

I went out on my trusty Litespeed today for the first time since ... goodness knows when, but I guess it was sometime before I raced in Barcelona last October. The bike has changed a bit since then and now wears a pair of very smart looking Hed Ardennes wheels (with the stickers removed). These are pretty light for an alloy clincher (from memory about 1350g for the pair) and suit the black and white colour scheme of my bike perfectly (even if I do say so myself!). Before I start, let me explain what am I comparing this set up with. Recently I have been riding my Planet X Pro Carbon with Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels; a not too shabby set up for a winter training bike. So how does the Litespeed/Hed set up compare with the Planet X/Mavic? Well, it's a bit like chalk and cheese, or night and day, or a Rolls Royce to a Nissan Micra (I'll stop there; I think you get the picture). The Hed wheels are just so comfortable. The C2 rim, that is significantly wider than a standard rim, allows the tyre to sit in an arch shape rather than the more normal lightbulb shape and Hed says this brings many advantages, including aero and comfort. It is also possible to run the tyres at a much lower pressure and from reading several reviews it seems that 95psi is about optimum. As for today's ride, it was a short and sharp 24km (or thereabouts, I haven't got round to putting a magnet on my new wheels so the computer doesn't yet work) with Chairman Ed (Ed will be going to Mallorca next week; don't worry Neill, I put in a good word for you! :-) ). It was a bit windy on the seafront but we cracked on at a reasonable pace; no surprise to learn that I was working a tad harder than Ed! The Litespeed is, IMHO, a very good bike and I'm looking forward to riding it a lot in the months ahead, including its second IM distance race when I complete The Outlaw in July. And the wheels are pretty special as well! Train smart folks.

Have a guess what I've been doing?

Yet more CrossFit! To be honest, this is now forming the bulk of my training regime (mainly because I really enjoy it) and even cycling has been taking a back seat. Today has been a really enjoyable day of training. At lunchtime I went to the pool with my swim buddy and did a 10-length warm-up, then a main set of 10 x (1 length sprint, 1 length easy off 2 minutes), 10-length warm down. The sprints and the challenge of counting and keeping an eye on the time kept me suitably stimulated and interested, that was a very good thing. And this evening it was back to the CrossFit gym for today's WOD (Workout of the Day) as follows: 75 Squats 50 Pull-ups (I'm on the blue, ie thinnest, band now) 20 Tricep dips (I can't yet manage the proper Ring Dips) 50 Squats 35 Pull-ups 15 Tricep dips 25 Squats 20 Pull-ups 10 Tricep dips My arms are now sore and tired and will probably ache a lot more tomorrow. I'm hoping it is dry tomorrow as I want to take my Litespeed out for a shakedown run before this weekend's sportive. Yes, that's right, I didn't get out on the bike this weekend. I just had far too much to do 'Chez Turbo Man'. C'est la vie. Anyway, on my new 'Turbo Man's Happiness Scale' I'm doing quite well. I don't want to rate myself too highly just yet in case I get to feel even better. So let's say I'm a 7 out of 10 at the moment. Train smart folks.

Out again on the bike

The sun was shining again today so I headed out on the bike once more; the third time in three days! This time, though, there were 2 significant differences to the last 2 days. 1, I had a ride buddy, and 2, it was extremely windy on the seafront.

We started out with the wind behind us, me once again selecting a single gear for the whole ride and spinning like a dervish whilst my ride buddy used the optimal gear. However, as we turned to come home my gear seemed to be the optimal one and we were closely matched, but then as we turned into wind it became a bit of a grind. No, let's be honest, a real grind! This was supposed to have been an easy session with the hard session tonight on the turbo, but it was apparent that this was actually quite a hard session so I have decided to relax this evening.

Not sure what to do tomorow; the bike will once again be in the car if the weather is nice but I will also have my swimming kit with me. The weather will make the decision for me.

Train smart folks. And be Happy!

CrossFit

After my lovely bike ride yesterday I was back at the CrossFit gym last night. Last night was typical of what goes on at CrossFit; after a suitable warm-up the session was:

70 Burpees - from standing, crouch, half a squat thrust into the press-up position, press-up, 2nd half of squat thrust then drive up, jump and stretch arms in air to full extension.
60 Sit-ups - full range of movement.
50 Kettlebell swings - only 16kg for me.
40 Pull-ups - I'm still assisted but I'm up to the blue band now (or is it purple?).
30 Handstand push-ups - no way can I do a set of handstand push-ups so it's the 24" box for me (effectively raised leg press-ups but bringing the hands as close to the box as possible, making the upper body as vertical as possible).

Follow this with a cool down, some stretching and foam roller as appropriate.

I'm certainly feeling it this morning! :-)

Rising like a Phoenix!

My motivation and enthusiasm!

The sun is shining, the temperature is up to a very pleasant level, and I'm just back from an easy 50 minute cycle along the coast by The Solent. The gentle breeze was blowing the salty air from the sea and along the front they were cutting the grass, adding that lovely freshly mown smell that really reminds me of Spring.

It seems that it doesn't take much for me to go from moribund to enthusiastic; a simple, short bike ride in the sun and the change is marked.

And there's more CrossFit tonight (or Cross Dressing as Sags referred to it recently!).

Feel the Love!

More CrossFit and not much else

It's been 6 days since I blogged and in that time I've managed a couple of swim sessions, some gym bike work and plenty of CrossFit. I'm really not enjoying the swimming, and although I can plough up and down at a reasonable pace I am not motivated at all to go to the pool. My swim buddy is unwell at the moment so hopefully next week I will have someone to drag me over there. Lets hope so. Spring appears to be just about here so hopefully the warmer weather will bring with it renewed enthusiasm for cycling, and I've still yet to try my updated Litespeed in anger; it's now less than 2 weeks to the Meon Valley Riser and I think I might be in for a world of pain on that ride, but at least it will show where I'm at bike-wise.

As for the CrossFit, I had a bit of 'realisation' moment last week when we were told what the workout was and selected our kettlebells. We were told to take our normal one and a slightly lighter one for when we became tired later in the workout. I was 'surprised' (yes, let's call it 'surprised'!) to find that the mere slip of a young lady next to me had the same weights as me! It reminded me of Neill's 'Squats' poster of a few days ago.

Train smart folks.

New Interests, New Direction

I've really been caught by the CrossFit bug and I'm now wondering how I'm going to maintain my enthusiasm for swimming between now and July. There's also the issue of the long bike ride at the weekends that was sacrificed last weekend for another trip to the CrossFit gym. I'm not too worried about the running as there seems to be sufficient running for my needs (and I never planned on doing any long runs in my build up to The Outlaw anyway).

I'm pretty sure that once the weather warms up my motivation for cycling will return (I hope so, I have the 86 mile East Meon Riser in just over 2 weeks!) but I have lost the momentum for swimming, which is a real shame. I think!

Today I completed an easy 40 minute bike and some core work at lunchtime and its back to the CrossFit gym tonight. :-)

More CrossFit

I was back at the CrossFit gym this morning for another session. It started with a bunch of squats, followed by 7 x (10 x med ball squats, 10 x pull ups), and to finish with a 6 min tabata session of kettlebell raises and press-ups. Very hard work. I am, though, thoroughly enjoying it. Whether it benefits me come 24 Jul I have no idea (although I suspect that it will).

Today's CrossFit Session

Very simple.

Run 1 mile
100 sit ups
100 dorsal raise
Run 1 mile

Now we all now that I'm not a runner, or at least by triathlon standards I'm not a runner, but out there in the 'real' world I'm not too shabby. I completed the first run in 6:33, it took 5:22 to complete the 100 sit ups and 100 dorsal raise (the time being taken ensuring the dorsal raise were completed slowly and with good technique, rather than the average gym monkey who bangs them out without any regard for form or potential for injury) and then 6:41 to complete the second run. I was particularly pleased with that second run.

I followed that up with 20 minutes of stretch and flex, so a good morning's work.

Tomorrow I hope to do another CrossFit session in the morning and then sit on the turbo in the afternoon watching the England v Scotland rugby. I do feel that its all coming together now and I'm really enjoying my training; maybe not as much cycling as I would like but then I'm in this for pleasure, so I'm sure I can live with that.

All the best

The Sun Is Shining In The Sky ...

and I have my bike in the car! Guess what I will be doing at lunchtime?

First 'Strength' Session

Today was a bit of an 'improv' session as I realised last night that this was supposed to be Week 1 of my Strength Block. It seems that starting CrossFit has affected my ability to read my training plan! Hey ho! So today I hit the gym bike with a plan for a 'strength' session, not sure if that's the right word but it was low(ish) cadence and high resistance. It was a bit hit-and-miss because as this was the first session I wasn't sure what level it should be done at, and as I was on the gym bike I couldn't set a power figure. Anyway, I managed 4 x 4 mins with 1 min RI and once I had established the level to use my HR was above 90% of max towards the end of the 4 mins. I couldn't remember what cadence Neill had recommended so used 70rpm; I was somewhat surprised when I re-read Neill's advice to see it should be 35-40rpm! My legs are in bits now, probably not helped by the fact that the CrossFit session on Tuesday was 100m sprints (running not cycling!). I'm certainly looking forward to my rest day tomorrow.

I Went Swimming Again Today

CrossFit last night.
Swimming again at lunchtime today. I managed 2 lengths more today than I managed on Monday. Now there's progress for you! I made it a little more interesting by mixing up the sets - different number of lengths, different pace etc. A little bit more interesting but still not very exciting.
Domestic issues to address this evening so not sure whether I will get any bike time in; we shall see.

I Suppose I had To ...

I went and got wet today. No, not out cycling but that swimming malarkey. I really don't think my aching shoulders, neck and back fully appreciated it but at least I went and did it. A total of 1400m in 30 minutes or so (yes, I had a couple of breaks in there as well). ANd here's a questio0n for all you keen swimmers out there: what on earth do you do/think about whilst swimming to stop yourself from just sinking to the bottom of the pool, dead from the sheer boredom of it? So no, I didn't really enjoy it.

Today's Ride ...

... was cancelled! This CrossFit malarkey is working muscles I haven't worked in many, many years, and yesterdays session focussed on arms, shoulders and upper back and this morning they ached. A lot. So much so, in fact, that I was having difficulty turning my head around, so I decided that it would be somewhat dangerous to go out on the road and not be able to look behind me. I was aching in other places as well, so thought that a lot of 'moving around slowly' was required, so washed and polished the car, and put new tyres and inner tubes on Mrs T's electric commuter. If I'm going to continue with CrossFit (and I'm pretty sure I will) I need to reconsider my training programme as training the day after CrossFit is proving unlikely, due to sore/aching muscles. I'm sure after a couple of weeks things will improve and the day after CrossFit will be an active recovery day, but I will take it one day at a time and see how it goes. The Outlaw? Que sera sera.

Talking of Mrs T's electric commuter, have you ever tried changing the rear tyre on a very heavy bike with a disc brake and an electric hub motor? It's a chuffin' pain in the ass!

Train smart folks.

More CrossFit

I was back at the CrossFit gym again this morning for another excellent session. It started with 5 sets of 3 reps of shoulder press. It took me a couple of sets to find my weight and I was certainly struggling on the last set. It was then into the WOD; today it was a 12 minute circuit of 4 burpees, 8 overhead squats (squats holding a weighted bar above you head), and then 12 kettlebell raises (not sure if thats what they are actually called), the idea being to get through as many sets as possible in 12 minutes. After the shoulder presses this was a really hard session and I was breathing very hard at the end. When I got home I had a lovely soak in the bath that made it all worthwhile.

The weather here is chuffin' cold at the moment; I'm hoping it will be a bit warmer tomorrow as I want to get out on my bike for a couple of hours.

Train smart folks.

CrossFit

My eldest lad (aged 17) has been attending CrossFit sessions for the last few weeks and has been massively enthusiastic about it. So much so that last night I took the plunge and went with him. After a verbal induction I was then given practical demonstrations of the various exercises. It was then into a group warm up before the WOD (that's 'Workout of the Day' apparently). Last night's session was upper body which is something triathletes and cyclists are probably pretty rubbish at; I know I am! A variety of pull-ups, burpees with press-up and jump and an 800m run. Repeat. Then repeat again. It's a very high intensity workout and I completed my version (the one with amended exercises because I'm not strong enough to do the 'full-on' version!) in approx 22 mins and by heck do I feel it today. However, I really enjoyed it and plan on doing this 2 or 3 times per week. This fits in very nicely with the primal blueprint and means most of my other sessions can be done 'very easy'. I will need to be careful when it comes to my strength phase that I don't overdo it but I'm sure I can accommodate both with a bit of thought.

I see the Phase 1 redundancy fields have been announced. After looking at the financial aspects I was seriously considering it, but my rank and branch are not included so I will have to see what Phase 2 brings.

Train smart folks.