Sssssssssshhhh! You know who is about ...

No, not He Who Must Not Be Named but the P*ncture Fairy; she paid me a visit on our ride out this evening. As usual with such visits, it happened on a tiny country lane in the pitch black. Fortunately I was riding with someone who was well prepared, and wearing a head torch, otherwise it would have been a right pain in the butt. It didn't spoil a great ride out though and if you've never ridden downhill on an unlit country lane with no idea which way the road is going then I can thoroughly recommend it! Adrenaline? I should say so! (Perhaps not for you though Sags?). We covered a little over 60km in 2 hrs 10 mins, with the last 10 or so km done at a very rapid rate and, once again, I jumped off the last roundabout, half a mile from the finish. And once again, I was caught but this time Ed did not sit up as he went past and there was no chance of me getting back.

I'm feeling brilliant as I sit here with a good ride under my belt and compression tights on. I have 6 hrs 45 mins in the training log that includes 5 hrs 45 mins and 105 miles of cycling (ave 18.2mph) - and it's only wednesday! What's more impressive is that my body seems to be adapting to the cycling quite quickly - I struggled last Wednesday to cover 30 miles at a slower pace than we did today and I felt strong enough towards the end to take the front and push on at over 40kmh, and even when I weakened and Ed took the front and ramped it up a little further (!) I was able to catch his wheel (he pulled a gap but I got back on - just!). I'll see how the legs are in the morning but at the moment I'm feeling really good.

Train smart fellow bloggers.

New Beginnings...

Rome wasn't built in a day etc etc. This single sport stuff is so much easier than having to balance 3 different disciplines.

This morning I was up nice and early for my weight watcher's class; yes, I'm still doing the early morning gentle run. I was a bit over-dressed but it was nice once I was out and I managed some 36 minutes. This evening it was back on the turbo for 3 x 20 minutes at 250 (Tacx) watts. I bailed out of this session after 5 minutes of the 3rd interval last week but sailed through it this week with just a bit of saddle discomfort. Total turbo time was 86 minutes; next week this session will increase to 260 (Tacx) watts.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, it will be back out on the road with the Chairman of RAF Cycling. I believe he has planned something a little longer this week; last week was 30 miles so I suspect something around 40 miles may be on the cards. Hopefully the wind will have died down and there should be another 5 minutes or so of daylight; it will be lovely when we can ride out late into the evenings. My Litespeed is looking like a right dog's dinner at the moment; with all the riding and travelling there just doesn't seem to have been time to clean it. Talking of my Litespeed, I know that I'm a proper roadie now because I've taken my tribars off!

Train smart fellow bloggers, whatever your sport.

Do You Want to be a Triathlete or a Cyclist?

I asked a friend for some coaching advice and this was the first line of his response, and it got me thinking. It's well known that my 2009 plans revolve totally around a fast bike leg at Quelle Challenge Barcelona in October, and that I have already stopped swimming, but what do I want to do afterwards? What will I be doing in 2010?

There are a couple of things I would like to have done in triathlon - race in GB kit, complete the Alpe D'Huez Tri - but that's about it and if I'm totally honest not doing these would not diminish my life significantly. In fact, not at all. But cycling, both sportives and time trialling, appeal to me. When we were out riding yesterday we had a wind assisted downhill stretch that went on for a couple of miles with some fast corners (not the lean the bike over and pray type corners I hasten to add!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even getting my butt kicked by Sags on the Sawtry TT course until I cried "Stop!" was strangely enjoyable.

So the answer was, unsurprisingly, "A Cyclist". And my training over the weeks and months ahead will reflect this decision. Am I lost to triathlon and RAF Tri? No, I don't think so, as long as the Sprint Series continues, I enjoy the friendly atmosphere and there is now even more reason to go out and absolutely cane the bike leg. The difference now, of course, will be that I'll be putting 10 minutes down for my swim time and be back in the changing rooms before the fast boys get started. I might even be tempted out to the IS races as a guest - I still have a decent wetsuit so it needs to get wet occasionally. And if anyone is putting together an IM relay team in 2010 then I would be more than interested in cycling for them. Have I enjoyed triathlon? Absolutely. From where I was 7 years ago to today has been absolutely fantastic, and no-one can ever take away the fact that I have completed an Ironman race, and I have the tattoo to prove it.

At least I can carry on being called "Turbo Man".

Moving on to cheerier things, I was inspired by Tinman today. No, seriously, I was. I was reading his blog and in particular the picture of him on his bike. His position looked excellent and it got me thinking (again - twice in one day - ouch!). When I first met Mike many years ago at Lossiemouth we were both new to the sport and stumbling around the Half Ironman course at Aberfeldy, quite literally in Mike's case, where he threw up in some old lady's garden and she took pity on him and took him inside and gave him a cup of tea. To see how far he has progressed as an athlete, his enthusiasm for the sport and that he gives something back as a race referee and organiser for RAF Tri is really impressive. Anyway, I'm rambling, Mike's picture inspired me to try some new things out on my turbo bike this evening, to see if I could improve my position. Having a number of different length stems lieing around when you choose to do something like this really helps, plus 2 sets of tribars etc etc. Anyway, bottom line is, I tried something new and, from my perspective, it seems better. And all thanks to a picture of Tinman on his bike. Thanks Mike.

Train smart folks.

Making Progress...

... slowly. One small step at a time. This week's small step was to increase the bike mileage and a total of 295km was ridden, with a little over 190km of those being on the road. Pace wasn't important (good job too!) it was simply a case of getting time in the saddle and miles in the legs. Despite it being early March, this is only Week 2 of my 2009 training programme so there is plenty of time for speedwork later in the year.

Today's session was a steady ride with Sags, although there were a few long tempo efforts thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately for me the tempo efforts were at Sags super-fit level (and don't let him persuade you he is in anything other than fine shape!) which meant that I was working very hard and my lack of endurance work caught up with me as we attempted to ride the Sawtry 10-mile TT course at a decent pace (which we started just over 2 hours into the ride). Despite drafting the whole way I called "time" at the halfway point and had to return home at a somewhat reduced pace with jelly legs. A total ride time for me was 3 hours 17 minutes for 91.3km. Great training for this time of year.

And if Sags posts any "dodgy" pictures on his blog then be reassured they are a photoshopped set-up!

The diet was a bit of a disaster this week; training more really ups the appetite and I was the same weight this week as last; not good. I clearly need to give up puddings - whilst living in the Mess has many advantages, 3-course dinners every night with stodgy puddings (no matter how nice they are - Baileys and banana bread and butter pudding anyone?) is not agreeing with my waistine despite in excess of 11 hours training this week. I promise to be more disciplined in future. The evidence will be at next week's weigh-in - target next week is a nice round 12 stone.

Train smart folks.

"My Name is Earl"

One of the funniest programmes on TV, in my humble opinion, but also entirely appropriate for me at the moment. Do good things and good things will happen to you, and (my interpretation) all things happen for the best.

And so it is that due to work commitments I will not be able to make either the Inter Services duathlon or the Inter Services triathlon. "So where's the Quid Pro Quo?" I here you ask. Well thank you for your question and it is quite straightforward. I am now only doing 3 triathlons this year, and these will be the 3 RAF Sprint Series races, so I only have to swim 400 metres, 3 times, and I only have to run 5km, 3 times. Everything else will now be cycling orientated, which is very good news for my Barcelona team mates. And there is more good news (although I may have already mentioned this), in that I now share an office with the Chairman of RAF Cycling and, most unusually for me, we were out on the road and did 30 miles this evening, in the dark, something I would never have done on my own. Yes, I spent a lot of the time hanging on to his back wheel but I didn't disgrace myself and had enough left to attempt a sprint finish off the last roundabout (I was caught quite quickly!). Also, there is the Inter Services Sportive on 7 June (see the RAF Cycling website for details) with distances of 77 and 126 miles that I have pencilled into my calendar (126 miles naturally, although I strongly suspect that I will not be that fit by then so it will end up being a total sufferfest!) but it will be a good indicator of how I am shaping up for Barcelona.

Anyway, it's only Wednesday and I've already racked up 85 miles of cycling this week so I'm starting as I mean to go on.

So, this year I will be mostly cycling and do you know what? I'm really looking forward to it.

This is More Like it!

It's Tuesday evening and the weather down here on the Gosport Peninsula is absolutely horrendous. Cold, wet and windy and certainly not the weather for being out cycling, so it was a good job my programme had "Level 3 turbo" on it tonight. It's been a really good start to the week as well. After a good day on Sunday I usually have an easy day on Monday and gave myself the morning off and had an extra half hour in bed. But in the evening I was out on the road and got just over an hour of cycling done, before bad light and poor road conditions led me back to the Mess, where I got on the turbo for another hour of steady riding. This morning I was up at 0600 for 35 mins of easy running and this evening the cycling racked up another 90 mins. So, 2 days down and 4 hours in the training diary. Things are looking up.

On the downside, I can no longer make the IS duathlon as I have to go away on a course. C'est la vie, although it's fair to say I never bother the scorers unduly at these events!

Tran smart folks.

A Great Day of Training

... following the "Night Before"! We were invited out to dinner last night and had a great night and ate and drank far too much. Nevermind, my penance was this morning. I had arranged to meet Sags at 0800 but was out just after 0730 and got in a few kms before meetings Sags. We then rode for an hour or so before Sags headed off to join the St Ives Cycling Club ride and I headed home having managed a 1 hr 35 min ride. But no, not for the previously suggested hot shower and bacon butties, but for a swift coffee, change and then out for a run with my faithful running partner, Bandit. In truth, we had to go and collect the car we had left at our friend's house last night, but it was a good excuse for a 40 minute run.

Aren't phones with cameras great!

Anyway, and more importantly, today's endeavours took me to a little over 7 hours of training for the week. This was week 1 of my 2009 training plan so I'm quite happy with that. I will aim for a little more in week 2 and progress from there.

Train smart folks.