New Job New Challenges

I'm thoroughly enjoying my new job but as is usually the case when trying to get to grips with something new I'm struggling to find time for training. The main problem is that my accommodation is a 30 minute bus ride from the office and dinner starts at 1830. So by the time I've got back to my room, it's dinner time, and by the time dinner has settled to allow me to train it's gone 2100 and I feel ready for bed. On the positive side I march into the new house on 2 July that is approx 200m from the office, so I will get an hour a day back that should allow me to start training again.

10km Run

Well I completed the Scampton 10km road race today, and I'm fairly chuffed with my time of 47:20. OK, it's not going to set the world alight but bear in mind that I haven't ran more than 5km since 2008, most of my training this year has been in the CrossFit gym, and I'm at least half a stone heavier than I would like to be. So yes, happy with that. I paced the run evenly, with a small increase in speed over the last km; happy that I was able to do that. Quads and buttocks are a little sore now, but it's a start.

Cycling Shoes and Scampton Road Race

Well I found my cycling shoes. Why on earth would I expect to find them in the shoe cupboard? I was asked this week if I would start the Scampton Road Race, but said "Start it? No, I'll enter it". I don't know why but I thought it would be a nice easy 5km event, I really should check these things before agreeing to them. And then the organiser mentioned there was a hill involved; it's Lincolnshire for goodness sake! So I have now committed myself to a 10km event next week, having not run that distance since 2008. Anyone else doing this race? If so, expect to see me crawling round at the end!

Curiouser, and curiouser

I've packed up most of my personal kit from the old house and moved it to my new, temporary home, but somehow I appear to have 'lost' all 3 pairs of cycling shoes. I've obviously put them together in a bag but can I find them? Can I heck! I now have my cycling mojo, a bike, a drawer full of gorgeous Shutt VR cycling kit and NO BLOODY SHOES!

Week 2

Jubilee Weekend. No exercise but lots of eating and drinking - hurrah! I have loaded my Litespeed into the car so I will have a bike with me from now on. The plan is to do a 1.5 mile run + 10 mins of pull-ups, press-ups and squats every morning, and a 30-60 minute ride every night (assuming nice weather, I'm a fair weather cyclist now!) plus a CrossFit WOD. We shall see.

Week 1

Thoroughly enjoyed Week 1 in my new job. I'm going to be busy and will need to learn a bunch of new skills in a very short space of time, but I'm looking forward to that. I managed to get a few CrossFit sessions in although I had to do them on my own. This weekend is Jubilee weekend and I have nothing planned. I will, though, take a bike back with me and plan to get out and ride next week. Nothing definite so we shall see what happens. I managed to squeeze my fitness test in to my busy schedule today. 10.1 on the MSFT (light blue), 47 press ups (light blue, but just one off dark blue!) and 53 sit ups (dark blue). I know I can do more on the MSFT but the dark blue level is 12.1 for me and at the moment I know I cannot do 2 more levels. Yes, I am 48. I need to lose half a stone and get some running miles in my legs. Interestingly, having completed the maximal MSFT test the PTI suggested I take the sub-maximal Rockport Walk test, as this may help identify specific areas to work on. It can't harm me so I may well give this a go.

Goodbye Gosport, Hello Lincoln

So now, the end is near ... My time in Gosport has come to an end and I have said farewell to my colleagues and after a little over 3 years I am packing my bags and tomorrow will head north to Lincoln to start my new job at Scampton on Monday. A few tough decisions to make; which bike should I take? I have chosen the Litespeed because it's my favourite, although I will probably add one per week as I travel back each weekend. Yes, there are currently no houses available so I will be a weekend commuter for a few weeks. Hopefully something will come available in July and we will be in our new house by August. There's no CrossFit gym in Lincoln so I will need to find a new training regime, and I will undoubtedly get out on the bike again, if only for an hour or so each evening.

New Beginnings

I've neglected my blog for several months now, but hopefully I will restart this again in the very near future. I'm in my last week of work in Gosport and start a new job in Lincolnshire on 28 May; hopefully I will get to meet a number of you again soon and I will do my best to attend the RAF Tri race at Cranwell. All the best.

Almost complete ...

The flat-bar commuter is almost complete. Mudguards are fitted, new brake blocks fitted and brakes adjusted, new chain fitted (although may need a couple of links removing), a bell with integral compass - a gift from my daughter - has also been fitted to ensure I know which direction I'm heading (as distinctly different from actually knowing where I'm going!), rear light fitted, need to rob the front light off the PX and fit that, gears need adjusting, need to fit a new rear inner tube. And that's about it.

Pictures soon. I bet you can't wait!

Not so much 'new', as resurrected!

As mentioned a little while ago, I was going to transform my Planet X Superlight Pro Carbon bike into a fast commuter. But after last weekend's ride I have had a change of heart; the Planet X is now going to stay as a winter/training bike and I have dusted off my old Scott frameset to be my 'new' commuter. The Scott was the bike that I used when I first started triathlon, and is now almost 10 years old, although it has had very little use over the last few years.

I needed flat handlebars, gear shifters and brake levers and Planet X duly provided a lovely set of On-One blue bars and Shimano levers. I've put the bike together over the last couple of evenings, and I'm quite pleased with progress. It has 105 chainset (53-39), front and rear mechs, Ultegra brakes, Shimano 16-spoke wheels, carbon seatpost and Body Geometry saddle. I reckon it should be a reasonably swift commuter!

I'm waiting on a final delivery from Wiggle for a chain, new brake blocks and cassette, and then super-fast commuting shall commence. Unless its raining! It doesn't have mudguards so will be a fair weather commuter only. I may splash out on mudguards in due course but its not a priority at the moment.

Train smart folks!

First Bike Ride in a Very Long Time

This morning I was up bright and early, took the dog for his early morning walk along the coast, had a hearty breakfast of eggs & bacon accompanied by a glass of water and a strong coffee, and then got changed for something I haven't done for many months; a long bike ride. OK, it was planned to be 2.5 hours that I know isn't very long for some of you, but I haven't ridden a bike for more than 2.5 miles since April (I think) so this was, for me, quite a big deal. I was quite pleased that the weather was OK, as I had arranged to meet a ride buddy and so there was no pulling out.

I had prepared all my kit last night, so wasn't scrabbling around looking for stuff, and at 0730 I headed out the door. I was riding the Planet X on what was supposed to be it's last ride before becoming a flat-barred commuter, but I think there's a change of plan coming there! I was late meeting my ride buddy, partly because of the wind but mainly because I no longer have 'bike legs', and it took me longer to get to the meeting point than it did last year. Anyway, we headed out and rode fairly easily, a few efforts on the hills but overall a fairly gentle and steady effort. We had to cut a few km off towards the end because I was tight for time, and after dropping my ride buddy off at his house I headed home, but my lower back was aching which suggests that I need to become more familiar with my bike. I think we did about 65-70 km this morning, in 2 hours 45 minutes; nothing spectacular but it's a major step forward for me.

When I got home, I went upstairs, got changed into my gym kit and headed straight out to the CrossFit gym. If I hadn't promised my son that we were going I certainly wouldn't have bothered, I was knackered! The session was: 100 pull-ups, 100 press-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats. Sounds easy, but it was quite painful, and I wasn't exactly overflowing with energy! But I did it (although I did cheat on the pull-ups!).

My legs are very tired this evening and I've tried to ease the pain with fresh scones, clotted cream and raspberry jam.

Train smart folks. Unlike me.

SAD

SAD, as in Seasonal Affective Disorder, rather than sad, not being a happy bunny. The dark mornings and evenings seem to have dragged the enthusiasm for fitness training out of me. But never fear, I have a plan!

I've started cycling to and from work, it's not far and I'm especially enjoying the ride home. I'm using Mrs TM's non-electric powered commuter bike so it's not ideal, but it's good fun. I reckon this is saving me a gallon of petrol a week so I've decided to use the money saved to change my PX from a drop bar race bike to a flat bar commuter speed demon. The parts have been ordered and should be here early next week. The PX will then be converted and hardcore commuting will commence, along with lunchtime bike rides. The rides will be short but fresh air and a slow build up of miles in the legs is the aim. The CrossFit will help build strength and endurance.

Pictures to follow when the conversion is complete. Feeling positive.

Getting Started Again!

It's been 3 weeks since my course finished and I have spent this time easing myself back into a CrossFit regime. After 8 weeks of very little activity plus the 7 weeks or so before that with my knee injury it has come as no surprise that my body has not accepted getting back into a training regime lightly. I have had sore shoulders, arms and legs for several days now and have become very well reacquainted with our old friend 'DOMS'.

But its great to be getting back into it, and I will add the cycling back in slowly over the next few weeks.

Train smart folks.

Marco Simoncelli

I was watching the MotoGP and saw this 'live'. Extremely shocking and hard to believe that one of the most exciting young riders to arrive in MotoGP in recent years has been taken from us before reaching the heights that he was undoubtedly capable of. He was just 24 years old.

RIP Marco Simoncelli.

A clean sheet of paper ...

I've now finished my course and am looking forward to getting back to a reasonably healthy lifestyle. I managed to put on 12 pounds in just 8 weeks so have some work to do just to get back to where I was 2 months ago. I have given myself a 10-week plan starting this week to ease myself back into it gently and hopefully by Christmas I will be back at the lower end of the 11 stone scale rather than the upper end that I am now. I plan a nice mix of CrossFit, gym bike/turbo training, the odd road ride and plenty of core, stretch and flex as well as some healthy eating.

I've been in touch with my Desk Officer and we are currently discussing where I will be moving to in 2012. There are some good jobs on the table but no doubt there will be plenty of interest in them because of that. More news as and when I know it!

We had some sad news earlier this week; one of our chickens died. We didn't know the cause of death so couldn't eat it. The other 2 chickens are still laying one egg each per day but with 5 of us currently in the house (it's half term) I may actually have to buy some eggs this week!

Train smart folks, and enjoy the winter break.

I'm a Physical Mess

On the positive side, the knee issues seem to be completely behind me. No issues whatsoever for several weeks now.

But my right calf is in pieces and I managed to rub my 'buttocks' raw doing last weeks CrossFit session (3 x 75 sit ups seemed to act upon my delicate skin like 400 grade sandpaper!). Added to this, I have had 3 days in France on a MASSIVE carbo high that has left my digestive system in complete overload (or should that be breakdown?). I fasted on Friday that helped and have been very good over the weekend so hopefully I am back on track now; I just need to ease back in to the exercise regime and eat better, hard when I am living in a mess that is most definitely non-primal.

Only 2 weeks of the course to go and then I can start riding my bike again.

Well done to Frank for a sub 18 min km run. For everyone else, rest well, recover properly and look forward.

All the best.

2 Weeks of Progress

2 weeks since my last blog post and for the first of these weeks I was making very good progress. I managed a gentle 6km run in a little over 30 minutes without any immediate issues. The knee was a bit stiff the following day but not painful. Earlier this week I decided to do the same run again on Monday of this week (Week 2) but to run it slightly harder. For 5km I felt great and was running much better than the previous week, but in sight of the finish my right calf suddenly went very tight. I hadn't twisted or turned anything and wasn't sprinting, but it just went. I finished the run (yes, I know, I should have stopped) and by the end the calf was very sore. The following day was, fortunately, a rest day. Work commitments prevented any more phys until today, and I headed off to the CrossFit gym for the planned session. It promised to be a tough one:
200m run
20 pull-ups
400m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups
800m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 75 sit-ups
1 mile run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 7 sit-ups, 100 squats
800m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 75 sit-ups
400m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups
200m run
This was an absolutely nails session, but the calf let me down as early as the first 400m run. Maybe I should have stopped but found that the Ironman Shuffle style of running allowed me to plod on without too much difficulty. It wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty but it got me to the end. I can't remember the exact time but I think it was a little over 55 minutes to complete. Very disappointed about the calf so will lay off the running for a while. On the positive side, I had no adverse reaction whatsoever from my knee - I'll take a positive from anywhere!

Looking ahead, we're off on Tuesday for a 3 day visit to France to visit some of the WW1 and WW2 battlefield sites and memorials; should be very interesting.

All the best.

Another Week of Progress

3 weeks ago, when I started my 8 week course at Shrivenham, I set myself the target of running a mile before the end of the course. After a couple of weeks of good progress I decided that this week I would see whether my knee was up to running. So on Monday I went out and did 25 minutes of gentle jogging, with no ill effects. I backed this up on Thursday with a 6km run in a little over 30 minutes and whilst I had no ill effects at the time the knee was very stiff on Friday morning. Today I was back at the CrossFit gym for a session of 4 minutes of squats tabata (!) followed by a one mile run. Coach Michelle thought I should use the rings to assist with my squats, taking a bit of weight off the knee whilst maintaining proper form; it was a good call as my squat form was (I am told) much improved. After the squats I started the run very easy, waiting for the legs to loosen up after the squats, and fell to last place in the group of 4. After a quarter of a mile or so I felt good and relaxed into my running and worked my way to the front of the group. I could hear one of the runners just behind me (my eldest lad, a mere 30 years younger than me!). About a quarter of a mile from the end there is a sharp left turn before an uphill run to the finish, and I worked hard up the hill and was surprised as I made the last turn to see I had opened out a gap of some 30 seconds or so. My one mile time was 7:17, so still some way off the 6 minutes I was recording before the injury, but proof that I am returning to fitness.

We followed this up with an 8 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 4 handstand push-ups, 8 kettlebell swings and 12 sit-ups. All in all a very enjoyable session.

Train smart folks.

Still Improving

Another good test today, the 'Fran' WOD at the CrossFit gym. Fran is:

21 thrusters
21 pull-ups

15 thrusters
15 pull-ups

9 thrusters
9 pull-ups

I used a 15kg bar with no additional weight, and am still on the thin purple band for the pull-ups. No issues with my knee and my form was apparently quite good.

Very happy with progress.

Proof of Progress

Rehabilitation progress that is. Today I was back at the CrossFit gym and managed:

37.5kg shoulder press
60kg back squat (I did cheat a little on this one by not doing a full, deep squat, but squatted down until I touched the top of an 18" box)
100kg deadlift

I managed all this without any aches or pains from my knee and so feel even more confident that I am now well on the road to recovery. I had set myself a target of running 1 mile before I finish my course at Shrivenham on 14 October but I now reckon I will do this within the next 2 weeks. I just need to make sure the progress of steady and don't try to do too much too soon.

Almost forgot, I took my youngest son to see The Mighty Seagulls on Saturday at the superb Amex Stadium as they beat Peterborough to go top of The Championship. Happy days!