Sweeties, Pies and Ginger

Really busy at the moment which is why I haven't been updating here. However, I bought an iMagic turbo trainer last week with all my Xmas money and loose change. I also had to get a better graphics card as it requires one with 128Mb to do all the virtual reality stuff. So I bought a new graphics card and then found out that my power supply was too much of a wimp to run it, so I had to order a new power supply.

All the bits had arrived by last night, so I got them all out when I, eventually, got home and then I put them all away again. A some point in the past, it's been a while, graphics cards got all powerful and now require being jacked into the main power unit of the PC (some even require a laptop like external source as well).

Not wanting to blow up my nice shiny new toys, as the power supply was muttering about a graphics card power plug, but it had two PCI-E and not a blue Molex connector in sight. After a quite call to the supplier it turns out I just plug in a spare hard disk connector and I'm away.

So I'm hoping to get the PC all setup this evening, dunno what it's going to do to my Debian install, so I've got Knoppix at the ready. If it all goes well, then I hope to get the iMagic up and running over the weekend.

I went to my first tri club swim session for over a month this morning and it wasn't too bad. I was the only one in the fast lane, which was a bit of a help in many ways as it meant I didn't have to try and keep up with faster swimmers. On the down side, it is a bit boring just ploughing up and down on your own though.

On the plus side, things were much easier today and I managed to hold 1:30 pace (one minute thirty seconds per hundred metres) for a set of 6 x 300m front crawl pull. Plus I managed to do the full set of 3.7Km with five minutes to spare on the clock.

I totally forgot to take my fins though, which I will have to remember on Saturday, as I had to replace a 400m kick set with various drills. Other than that, it looks like I'm making progress as it was a lot easier today; I'm sure it's just a case of time and effort and I'll faster in no time.

Went to see the doctor this evening to try and get a referral to see a specialist about my feet. I've been getting increasingly concerned that I'm doing myself damage when I go out running and cycling. It all stems from the video gait analysis I had done earlier in the year, which highlighted that I over pronate and thus my arch can collapse pulling stuff out of alignment and causing pain.

After the run on Tuesday I decided that I should maybe try and see a specialist and get advise on wearing orthics full time. I stopped getting knee pain when I got moulded insoles for both my ski and mountaineering boots and so I'm thinking I might not get any pain if I wear insoles permanently.

The main reason for going to see someone is that I haven't got a clue if I'm just being paranoid, or if I really have a problem. So now that the doctor referred my to the Sports Injury Clinic at Adenbrookes, we'll find out in due course.

Oh my word, my thighs are totally seizing up! They weren't that bad after the swim this morning, but after sitting on my arse at work all day they totally gone to pot. I could hardly walk down the stairs to leave they were so painful. Hope I haven't knackered them in any way.

Went back to the pool this morning for another session and was unsurprised at how much of a struggle it was. I managed to go a full hundred metres further than Monday and I managed to hold my pace for longer, but other than that it was still hard work.

Went for a short run today to make sure that my legs are up to it after having October off. I went round most of my usual circuit, but cut it a bit short, as I didn't want to push it too far. So in total I was only running for just twenty minutes, which was probably long enough.

Tuesday 1st November 2005

Today was the first day of winter training for next years Triathlon season. Basically I managed to drag my sorry arse to the swimming pool and found out just how much of my fitness I've lost by having a month off...

I only managed around 2.2Km, which is a smidgen over half of what I was knocking out a couple of months ago. My arms felt like lead for the majority of the session and I couldn't hold any sort of pace. I was quick surprised that I managed to go as far as I did.

I'm now planning to go swimming four times a week and running three times a week, I'll fit the bike in where and when I can. So that means swimming on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and running on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. This may change to running at lunch time at work and biking on Sunday mornings, we'll see how it goes.

It's the big race tomorrow, 1.5Km swim, 40Km bike and 10Km run. I'm cacking it at the moment as it's a big unknown for me; I knew I would be able to do a sprint, but I had trouble running 10Km a couple of weeks ago, so doing it after a swim and a bike should be interesting. I'm hoping for a time of around two and a half hours, but just getting to the finish in one piece will do me nicely.

Arse. It's looking like I'm going to miss the open water swimming session with the club this evening as I'm still at work. I'll have to go to the pool session tomorrow morning and try it there, as I really don't want to do my first open water swim without having tried swimming in a wetsuit first.

Popped into Ryd:on in Bedford this morning before work to pick up a wet suit for the race on Sunday. I tried on a couple, but a Quintana Roo Hydrofull was the best fit, so I took that. It's costing £25 to hire with the option of buying it for an extra £75, which I'm very tempted to do. I'm going to try and make the club's open water swimming session tonight to try it out.

After yesterdays dismal bike ride I decided that swift action was needed to get me back on track for the race on Sunday. So I went to the club's swimming session this morning and went for it. I now feel a lot better and more motivated, hopefully this will be enough to se me through until Sunday.

Went out on the bike this morning for a gentle ride as part of my taper for Sunday's race. It was just terrible, my legs felt all heavy and I just had not energy or motivation to get round the route I'd set. I'm seriously worried that I've ballsed up all the preparation for Sunday now...

I decided to try a route I've never been before, mainly to se what the distance was like for future reference. I started off my heading to Rampton and through on to Willingham, rather than going left or right like I have in the past, I went straight on into Over. You can cycle round Over in a loop, which I did and when I got back to Willingham, I was back on familiar territory.

I finished off by going through Longstanton down the back road to Oakington and then back into Cotenham. I don't think I'll be going through Oakington any more as I go against the flow of traffic coming through the traffic calming measures. This puts me directly in conflict with idiotic car drives early in the morning at pinch points that I have the right of way at. I just can't be arsed with the agro any more.

18.18 Miles

I managed to get out for a couple of runs while up in Scotland over the weekend. I knew that if I did nothing it would impact on my performance for this weekends Bedford Classic and since the nearest swimming pool was a bit far away and I couldn't take my bike with me, running was really the only option. I managed to get out twice, once on Saturday morning and again yesterday morning and both runs were really good.

On Saturday I ran to the next village along the coast via a back road and then back to Dalgety Bay via the main road. Once back in the Bay I noticed that I hadn't been running for long enough, so I looped through the industrial estate to add a bit of extra time on.

Saturday

Yesterday I ran round Dalgety Bay twice; this is really easy as the main road around the town is a big loop. I though it was around three miles, but my time would indicate that I was either going slowly, or it's a bit longer than that. The best bit though, is that unlike Cottenham, Dalgety Bay isn't flat, so I got to run on some up and down hill section, which was very nice.

Monday

All in all it was a good bit of preparation for this coming Sunday, I would have preferred to get a couple of swim sessions in as well, but it wasn't to be. Now it's taper time before the big race on Sunday.

I was forty minutes late for work this morning as I went too far on the bike, after starting a bit later than I thought I had. I was originally going to do the usual twenty mile circuit as my thighs are still sore from the two runs on Saturday. Once out on the bike however, I ended up starting the twenty five mile circuit and then just carrying on to Chatteris rather than turning off at Witcham Toll for Haddenham.

It felt pretty good for the majority of the ride, but as you can see from my heart rate, there was a general dip in the middle of the ride which is interesting. The sudden drop near one hour thirty five minutes is me stopping for a quick piss stop. Other than that it's pretty constant, which on the whole looks good, but I know the different levels of effort I had to put in on each leg, so heart rate alone doesn't tell the story.

It looks like I'll have to get some sort of power measurement hub or cranks or something and marry that with the heart rate data to really find out where I can improve. One thing that does seem to have improved me is using High5 Energy Source eXtreme, but by Jove you've got to use it sparingly...

I think I had a bit too much this morning as I was still buzzing this afternoon at work; it's really strong stuff. I think I'll have to train with it a few time to find out how much I can take with out it making me feel shit; caffeine hangovers aren't very nice.

Since Karen, Finlay and I are off to Scotland on Thursday I've got one more big bike on Wednesday and then it's off the bike for a week. When we get back I'll need to take it easy as the Bedford Classic will only be six days away. I'm quite looking forward to it, but also quite nervous about it at the same time.

34.23 Miles

I decided that I needed to get out for another run this week as I haven't been out since the brick session on Monday. As I was going to the Tri Club's Saturday swim session I figured that it was easily runnable as it's just in the next village. So armed with water bottle and a couple of gels and after necking half a litre of Energy Source eXtreme I set off.

It took just over half an hour to get there and it didn't feel too bad, not sure I would have managed to turn around and run straight back though. Then it was into the pool for a speed session, although I only managed 3Km, rather than the 3.5Km I should have done; I put it down to the really hot curry I had for dinner last night.

After the swim I got all the running gear back on and headed off home. I could certainly feel the legs, although the tightness in both calves passed after about a kilometer or so. My right hamstring got very tight and I was a bit worried that I was going to have to pull up, in the end it was fine and I got home with no real problems. I also managed to get home over a minute faster, which I'm well pleased about.

It was a great a session and one I think I'll try and repeat on a regular basis. I now just need to do a couple of 10Km efforts and I'll be happy with my run for Bedford in a couple of weeks time.

To The Pool

From The Pool

Oh my god that Energy Source eXtreme stuff is stacked! I went for a ride this morning and didn't think I was going that fast and I averaged 19.5mph. When I got back to the house I was totally buzzing, even my wife noticed.

I also found a 25 mile circuit, which I will be using in the future to monitor progress. Basically instead of heading for Hadenham when you get to Wilburton, you go North to the Ely/Chatteris road and go one junction along before heading back into Haddenham; then you carry on as normal.

I was well pleased at the end of the ride as I didn't think I'd been going that fast, I must have just been keeping a really good pace. I also didn't suffer from the glut of lorries buzzing my elbow that happened on Wednesday (I forgot to blog about it), so it was a must less stressful ride.

25.22 Miles

Got home this evening to find that my High5 order had come, so I've now got enough drinks to last for ages. I've got some of their new Energy Source Xtreme stuff; the ingredients read like powdered Red Bull, so it should be interesting.

Went to the pool this morning for the Tri Club session, it had been a week since my last swim and I certainly noticed it. Over all though I was quite impressed with my speed though, I think I clocked a couple of one minute fifteens for one hundred meters, which would be ace f I read the clock right.

Went out on the bike this morning for a quick thrash round my usual circuit. When I got to Willingham, instead of heading for Rampton I carried on into Longstanton and then took the back road to Oakington. This only added about three and a half miles to the trip and I was still short of the magical 25 mile circuit that I'm trying to find.

I wore the heart rate monitor and it was interesting to see how my heart rate fluctuated throughout the ride. I didn't go particularly hard due to Monday's brick session, so my average speed was some where in the mid seventeens. I accidentally reset the bike computer so I'm not totally sure how far I went.

23.19 Miles

I wore my heart rate monitor last night at the works karting outing and also through the night when I slept. I’m going to have to read the manual about what function the watch has as it’s a bit baffling. Although it’s very easy to record all your heart rate data with the recorder, which is quite good.

It’s now totally obvious to me that I am going to have to get the Speed and Distance GPS unit to go with what I’ve got. I will totally take my training to another level to be able to going all that kind of data together, especially for running during the winter.

Karting: first session

Karting: second session

Sleep

I bought a brand new heart rate monitor and data recorder on EBay last week and saved myself quite a lot of money. It arrived in the post this morning and since I had to go home at lunch, I picked it up and brought it back to the office. We’re going karting this evening after work, so I’m planning on wearing during my stints it to try it out.

Instead of going to the pool this morning I decided to do a brick session (bike then run) to see how I’m getting on with the training for the Bedford Classic at the end of the month. I decided to try and do the whole bike leg on the big ring to really give my legs a work out and to try and force the pace a bit of the first five miles when I’m normally just spinning along warming up.

The bike leg was the usual loop from Cottenham, Wilburton, Haddenham, Earith, Willingham, Rampton and back to Cottenham. I stayed on the cow horns until Haddenham, partly to warm up and not blow the legs too early, once most of the way through Haddenham I went onto the tri bars and stayed on them until Willingham.

It was quite hard between Haddenham and Erith as there was the usual head wind to content with, but I stayed on the big ring, which I’m very pleased with. Once I turned from Erith to Willingham I was able to go up a few gears and I fairly zipped along, I even kept the gears high going thought Willingham and onto Rampton as it felt really good.

In no time I was back into Cottenham and a quick change into my running shoes. After the long run I did last Tuesday, I decided to take the bum bag with me as it had 500ml of isotonic drink in it. The run went well, it was a bit strange at first due to the bike, but this is good as I’ve not really experienced the jelly legs you get during the transition from bike to run.

On the back leg of the run, I could fell that both my calves were suffering a bit, especially the outside of my left calf. So I didn’t go quite as far on the run as I would have, but I was still out for twenty five minutes or so. Not sure how far I went as I’ve not taken a bit of string to the map yet.

When I got back from the run I looked at the bike computer and was pleased to see I’d managed to get round the bike leg in under an hour. Earlier in the year it was taking me an extra five to eight minutes to get round, so there’s been improvement there. I was gutted to we I averaged 19.8 miles an hour, only 0.2 away from the magical 20 miles an hour average speed that I know I should be doing at the very least.

The Triathlon Club's swimming session was cancelled this morning as the National Relays were on or something and everyone was away at that. Instead I decided to go for a bike ride that would encompass one of the local time trial courses. For the last few weeks I've been wanting to cycle out towards Six Mile Bottom and the further East as there are more rolling hills out that way.

In the end I decided to go to Bottisham and ride either the E2/25b course or the E3/10 course. I wasn't sure how far it was going to be to get to the courses, so I decided to make my mind up when I got there. In the end I plumped for the E3/10 course I was a bit late in starting and a bit slow in getting there as I was taking it really easy to conserve energy for the main effort.

Once onto the course I got down on the tri bars and got into the big ring and tried to give it some welly. Oh my god, I was absolutely crap! I don't think it helped that I was in not very much clothing and it was overcast and a bit windy, the predicted sun hadn't made an appearance. I'm not sure what time or speed I did over the course as the bike computer can't do laps (I might have to find one that does), but it certainly wouldn't have been near thirty minutes.

The course is surprisingly hard as there is quite a bit of up and down on it, although there is also quite a lot of flat for making up time as well. Once getting back to my starting point I cycled home for a total trip of thirty five miles and one totally trashed pair of legs.

I'm glad I went and did it as it will prove to be a useful training tool to gauge progress over the winter when I go and do it again. It's also not too far away to get there and back, around twenty five miles, so the E2/25b course is also feasible with out having to drive over to it.

I think the thing I learnt the most from doing this session was that I need to increase the intensity when I'm out ion the bike. It's no go just going and doing forty miles at an average speed of 17 miles an hour, I need to get my legs used to going flat out for as long as they can. I might try and incorporate the E2/25b into a training session in the next couple of weeks, we'll see how it goes.

I've been right lax with logging what's been going on with my Triathlon training etc over the last month. I successfully completed the third and final Bedford Sprint Series race at the end of last month and bettered my times for each of the tree sections to come home under one hour twenty which was my goal. I've since joined Cambridge Triathlon Club and the British Triathlon Association, which means I've got a club to train with and I'm covered by insurance etc come race day.

Getting a bit ahead of myself I couldn't find a suitable sprint distance race for either July or August, so I entered the Bedford Classic, which is a standard distance race (1.5Km swim, 40Km bike and 10Kmn run). I've got till the 28th of August to train for it.

I'm trying to do more running as I had video gait analysis done at a local sports shop and bought myself a new pair of running shoes. They seem to have done the trick so far as I've been out running about five times since I got them and my calf has held up, even when I tried to go faster the other morning.

To enable me to improve my running a nd also the biking better I've decided that I need a heart rate monitor and found a suitable one for sale on EBay. Shame I got outbid in the last few seconds as it was going for twenty quid less than you can buy it in the shops, even though it was brand new. I'll probably end up just buying one on line as I'm useless at EBay and I want one now!

I picked my rear wheel up from the LBS over lunch and was glad to find out that they'd managed to reset the tyre properly with the inner tube actually inside the tyre. I also bought a new set of tyre irons and some of that Seal 'n' Flate stuff that I used during the last Triathlon. I'm now slightly more hopeful that if I get a puncture on Sunday I'll be able to fix it and carry on.

I bought a pair if the above tyres a couple of weeks ago and last night I though that I'd better fit them and have a ride on them before the Bedford Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. The front tyre went on with a bit of huffing and puffing, although I ended up having to use the tyre irons to get it that last bit over the rim.

The rear tyre was another matter though, it took forty five minutes to get the damn tyre onto the rim and in the process I trapped most of the inner tube under the tyre bead. The tyre was so tight once it was on that I couldn't get my tyre levers under the tyre to try and rescue the inner tube. I'm going to drop it off at the LBS over lunch in the hope that they can sort it out for me.

I went for a run this morning before work as I've not been able to mange a run at any other time of day. I got up, did some stretching and then ran ten times round the farmer's field. It felt good to get out for a run, although I just need to do it slightly more often than I have been.

The pool was hotching this morning. By the time I got in, there were seven of us in the lane, although this dropped to six and then five quite quickly. Four members of Cambridge Tri club were pilling up and down the pool like a run-a-way train; I was just trying to either catch them up, or stop myself being caught. Sometimes it's nice not being the fastest person in the pool as you don't have to keep trying to overtake people.

I decided to cycle into work this morning as I've not done any cycling since the Triathlon last month. I took a set of clothes and my bike lock into work yesterday, so that I didn't have to carry anything on the bike with me this morning. I did a short circuit of 13 miles or so as I was a bit late in leaving. It was quite good to get out and I'm going to try and make it a regular thing.

Sunday morning saw my up bright and early and on my way to Bedford for my first triathlon. As I indicated in my post just before I left, I was really bricking it as I didn't know what to expect. Even with all the problems that befell me, I had a great morning and really enjoyed myself.

So I got to Robinson Pool in Bedford around quarter past six, so I was there in plenty of time. I registered just after half past and got the bike out of the car and into a good spot in the transition area. It was right after this that things started to go a bit pear shaped.

I went back to the car and opened the boot to get the rest of my kit out. I pinned my race numbers onto my cycling top and then shut the boot. Shame the car keys were in the boot along with all my water bottles and drink mixtures.

I quickly went and asked a marshal where I could get a couple of water bottles from and he suggested Ryd:on. So I went up and asked, they didn't have any. Although they could get a couple from their shop for me before my expected start time, excellent.

So I got changed and stored my stuff in a locker and went and picked up the water bottles, which were also filled with SiS sports drink. I'd really like to thank the folks at Ryd:on as they totally saved my life, as I wouldn't have been able to complete the race with out some fluid on the bike leg.

The Robinson pool in Bedford is one of those old style 33.3 metre pools with high sides and narrow lanes and I didn't like the look of it at all. After a brief warm up in the diving pool, it was the only bit you could swim in once everything had got underway, I joined to queue to wait my turn to start.

I was getting nervous at this point and my stomach was turning over as I just didn't know what to expect, or how I'd get on. My turn came soon enough and off I went into the unknown trying to chase down the swimmer in front.

I thought I was going quite slowly due to the style of pool, however, I passed about four or five people before the end of the swim and even had to do half a length of breast stroke as I couldn't get passed someone and I couldn't do front crawl slow enough to stay behind them.

I got to the end of the swim thinking I'd done okay, grabbed my glasses from the desk and ran out into the transition area. My first mistake was putting on my windproof top before my cycling top, it wouldn't go over my wet back and I lost too much time putting it on, I don't think I'll wear it next time.

I'd driven the first few corners of the bike course when I arrived, just so I knew where to go and I'm glad I did. Just knowing the first few corners meant that I could concentrate on getting my legs working rather than having to wonder where I was going.

I felt terrible on the bike and I just couldn't get my legs to work properly, I think I need to practice the swim to bike leg at the local outdoor pool. I was getting passed by all and sundry and it got worse when I came to the first downward slope as I couldn't get the big ring to engage and was spinning out.

About five miles in you join the A6, which is a short section of dual carriage way that goes down to two lanes after a short distance. Someone had just passed my and I heard this pop and a load hissing noise and realised that I'd got a puncture. So I stopped and used the “seal and flate” stuff I'd bought just for this eventuality.

The foam started to go in okay, but it didn't empty the can and didn't pump the tyre up fully. So I started and again and really didn't like the feeling I was getting from the front wheel, so I decided to stop again and use my pump to inflate the tyre a bit more.

It's been so long since I got a puncture that I'd forgotten how to use the pump and ended up letting more air out. I decided I was loosing too much time so I got back on the bike and started off again. I eventually came to a right hand corner and couldn't get round it due to the front tyre being too flat, with the big decent still to come I decided to change the inner tube.

A quick change later left my right at the back of the bike field and I just soldiered on as best I could. The marshal's were great, giving me load s of encouragement as I went past and I eventually made it back to transition.

While on the bike I'd been really pissed to get the puncture and my failure to just change the inner tube first time round. By the end of it I was laughing at the absurdity of my anger, after all my intention was to come along and do the triathlon to see if I could do one, not to do it in a blistering time. Next time out will be different as I'll know the course and will be able to give it a bit more.

I took my time in the transition area, I'd sort of given up and just wanted to get through the run in one piece. So off I went and it didn't look like there were many people left and those that were were all on their second or last lap.

Every time I came back round to transition I think they thought I was finishing and when I kept going straight on they didn't quite know what I was up to. It was quite hard at first as my calf's were sore, but they eased off and I just kept going at a sensible pace until I got to the finish.

I managed to overtake someone just before starting the last half lap so when I got the the finish I wasn't the last person on the course, but only by about 10 metres or so. I was glad to see the finish as I don't think I could have run much further and I was just glad to have finished my first triathlon.

According to the official time sheet I completed the course in 1 hour 32 minutes and 54 seconds. I aim had been to break one and a half hours by the end of the series, so I was gutted not to have broken that barrier at the first attempt.

My bike computer reckoned that I did the bike leg in fifty minutes, so if that's true, I would easily have been inside one hour twenty, which is going to be my aim for the next couple of races that I do.

After getting all my stuff together I managed to borrow a marshal's mobile and phoned home to get the details of the recovery people. They were great and turned up in about twenty minutes, it took about another fifteen to recover the keys from the car, I could go home.

After a quick stop at Ryd:on to pay for the water bottle and to thank them I headed home. While in the car I could certainly feel that I'd been out exercising as my legs had that familiar burning sensation that follows a stiff bike ride or run. I also had that post exercise relaxing feeling and a smile on my face th whole way home.

The next race at Bedford is on the 26th June and I can't wait to get back out there and try it again. I've just got to find a way to get out running and biking before then.

It's twenty past five in the morning and I'm fully packed and ready to go off and do my first triathlon, I'm also bricking it severely... I've not trained enough over the last few weeks, I've not had enough sleep over the last few nights and I haven't a clue what to expect. This should be interesting...

I managed to go swimming today, which means I've been twice this week. The pool was empty on Monday and I had the fast lane all to myself. It was another story this morning, with five people, including myself, in the lane at one point.

I'm not too far off speed wise where I was before the birth of Finlay, although I've lost a bit of fitness and thus am finding it slightly harder going. I'm more worried about the fact that I haven't been on the bike or out for a run for over three weeks. I really need to get out this weekend, but we'll have to wait and see if I get the time.

I've just phoned the people organising the Bedford Sprint Series to let them know I'm pulling out of Sundays race. It's a shame as I've really been looking forward to doing my first triathlon, but it's unrealistic if I'm going to be a Dad in the next 36 hours...

Got out today for a cycle and run, which went really well considering the wind. As I knew the wind was supposed to be a northerly, but in fact was more of a north westerly, I decided to do my usual circuit back to front. This would, I thought, have me going into the wind for the least amount of time.

The ride itself was pretty uneventful and the wind wasn't too harsh, although I was glad to finally turn eastwards and have it on my back. I made good time even though I still couldn't get the front derailier to engage the big ring.

When I got back to the house I quickly stripped off all my cycling gear and chucked on some running shorts and my trainers and ran round the farmers field eight times. Jeff reckoned that a lap of the field was about a quarter of a mile, although I'm not so sure.

I didn't want to push myself any further just in case I knakered one of my calf muscles again, as the first in the Bedford sprint series is only a fortnight away. Over all though, it was a good session and I was quite please that I managed it, I'm just hoping that I can get out again during the week to get some more miles in the legs.

I ordered a few triathlon items from Sigma Sport on Wednesday night, as I though it was really about time I bought a pair of tri shorts. The magazines are always saying that you should try things out before you race, so I though it was only sensible to get a few supplies in and try them before the 24th.

I got a phone call yesterday from a chap at Sigma Sport, he was most apologetic, but they'd run out of the tri shorts I'd ordered and he was just wanting to know if I would accept another pair. I said yes and he said he'd send the order out.

So imagine my surprise to come home from work to find my order had been delivered. I wasn't expecting it until after the weekend, so I was presently surprised. Great service from Sigma Sport, I'll be buying stuff from them again.

I got out on the bike today for a two stage ride. The first half was out to Elsworth for the East Anglian Rocketry Society launch and the second half was back again. I took slightly different routes to try and get some miles in, so the way out was ten miles longer.

Unfortunately there was a southerly wind blowing, which meant that four fifths of the route there was into the wind and it absolutely killed me. I don't think I've been so glad to get to a location on the bike before. I was quite worried that I would have trouble getting back as the ride out had taken a lot out of me.

It wasn't as bad as I had feared, although it could have been a lot better. For some reason I couldn't get the chain on to the big gear, so I was spinning out when the wind was on my back; which was a bit on the frustrating side.

Over all it was a good afternoons riding and I covered quite a distance. I'm hoping to get out again on Tuesday, but we'll have to see how the legs feel.

After the weekends exertions I was keen to capitalise so after a great session in the pool this morning I decided to go for a run at lunchtime.
I was going to do the same run as I did on Tuesday lunch, which was over the A14 and round Milton Country Park and then back to the office.

I was feeling really good, the legs were feeling really good and I was going at a nice pace. then about a quarter of the way round the park disaster struck. I got this really bad pain in my right calf, sort of a cross between a tearing sensation and someone stabbing it with pins. Needless to say, I stopped running and walked back to the office.

I don't know how bad the damage is yet as I'm still limping rather badly around the office as even small movements are quite painful. I'll get some deep heat on it when I get home and hope that the damage isn't too bad.

I was browsing the latest issue of 220 magazine this evening, trying to console myself that I made the right decision not to go out for a run; my thighs and hamstrings are still a bit sore from Tuesdays run. I was checking out the calendar at the back of the magazine to see when the second and third Bedford Sprint races are and noticed that they listed a different length of cycle ride.

I'm pretty sure that I thought 35km was a bit long for a sprint and as two of the three entries in the calender were for 25km I guessed that there must have been a mis-print. So I quickly checked the official website and there was a miss print, so the bike leg is 25km, not 35km. So that's difference of six and a quarter miles and will probably make a hell of difference for me.

While perusing 220, I could help but be distracted by the Dolan Pallottola and the Isaac Joule how I wish I could afford something like that. However, it would be a tad embarrassing when passed by kid on mountain bike though...

Also in 220, I noticed that there were a couple of heart rate monitors advertised for under £50, which seems pretty good value. I'll have to investigate further and see if it's worth buying one as a starting point.

As it was Easter weekend and thus I had two extra days (Good Friday and Easter Monday), I decided that it was time to step up the training. I started off with a 19 mile bike ride on Friday, followed by the same 19 mile bike ride and a brick run on the Sunday.

Stupidly I didn't write down the statistics from the first bike ride, but I've got the ones from the second. It turns out that the circuit I do round a few of the local villages corresponds nicely, it's only a mile and a bit shorter, than the 35km leg of the Bedford Sprint Series bike legs.

The brick run was quite interesting as I've not got a clue how far I went or how long it took; I really need to get a digital watch or a cheap heart rate monitor. The first couple of hundred metres were bizarre, my thighs obviously though I was still cycling, but the rest of my body knew I was upright.

I think I need to do quite a few more brick runs over the next few weekends to get used to the feeling. Hopefully next weekend I'll cycle to Elsworth via some of the villages, have a rest at the EARS rocket launch and cycle back.

The thing that got me the most about the two rides was that I used to do this circuit in under an hour, so with an average speed of over 19mph. I knew I was taking it easy so not to injure myself, but I think I'm going to have to speed up a little.

I was working late almost every night last week, which resulted in me getting to the swimming pool later and later. This obviously isn't good for the training, but then neither is not doing any running or cycling. It all came to ahead this morning when I just failed to get out of bed at all, so I didn't even make it to the swimming pool.

I took my running stuff to work with the aim of doing a easy run over lunch. However, I've still got too much work to get through, so I didn't get the chance to get out. Depending on when I finish tonight I might go for a run when I get home, we'll just have to wait and see.

So the push to get fit for my first Triathlon is under way as I've finally got my arse in gear and gone out for a run. I've been meaning to go running during Tuesday and Thursday lunch times for a while, but just never got round to it. This morning while looking for my crusty trainers to use while unblocking the drains I came across my running shoes, so I just got all my kit out and put it in my rucksac.

Milton Country Park isn't too far from where I work on Cowley Road, so I ran from the office over the A14 and round the park before heading back to the office. I was going to go round the whole park but I got confused and too a wrong turn and thus only ran round half the park. It was probably just as well as my right calf was screaming at me to stop by the time I got back to the bridge over the A14.

I'm now back at my desk after a quick stretch and shower and my legs feel like they've been assaulted with baseball bats. My right calf is absolutely killing me; obviously my attempts at stretching were pathetic. I've learned a few things from doing the run:

• get a pair of light weight gloves for when you start off
• get a headband to stop the sweat getting in your eyes
• get a top that wicks better than the skiing thing I'm using at the moment
• get a pair of proper running shoes with insoles

Until I manage to get myself to Profeet in London I might try chopping up the insoles in my hiking boots to see if they will improve the position of my feet and thus not knacker my knees and calf so much.

All in all it was good to get out; it would have been nice if it wasn't drizzling. I now just need to keep it up and do a cycle at the weekend followed by swimming and running during the week. The final thing to do is decide which six triathlons I'm going to attempt.

I went swimming this morning before work, it's the first time I've been in nearly two months, I wasn't expecting a lot. The pool wasn't too busy, I only had to intimidate a couple of idiots fanny around in the fast lane for a couple of lengths before they got the hint and buggered off to the slower lanes. It really annoys me people who get in the fast lane and then proceed to swim slower than the people in the slow lane, but enough of the rant.

I was totally knackered after warning up for only 250 metres; I've really lost most of my fitness over the Christmas break. In all I only managed 1650 metre as they called time four minutes early for some reason, which I and a couple of others were a bit miffed at. So it wasn't really the best of starts, but at least it was a start.

So now I just need to get regular again with trips on Wednesday and Friday, although I'm away next Monday, so we'll just have to hope we're into the swing of it enough by then.

On another note the first Triathlon in the Bedford Sprint Series is on the same day as our first baby is due. Now I know that you may a well ignore the due date as the baby is unlikely to make an appearance on that specific day, but it's a bit close to when the baby should make an appearance, which is a bit worrying. So I'm going to try and train like I'm still doing it and then hope that I can take part closer to the time...

I didn't go swimming this morning as I was totally knackered when I woke up. Also, as I was getting out of bed I had a massive twinge in my left shoulder (the one I went to see a physio about), so I decided to give it a miss.

Swimming was interesting this morning as the pool was missing about six to eight inches of water. Evidently someone had been cleaning the filters over night and had forgotten to switch something back on and as a result the pool had lost a load of water. So it was good practice for swimming in open water where there is a good deal of chop.

After a six week absence due to the wedding, honeymoon and being ill, I finally made it back into the swimming pool this week. I was hoping to have joined the Triathlon club on Thursday, but since I'm going to Scotland tonight I would have missed the session tomorrow morning. So I've decided to try and join next week and used the three early morning sessions at Impington pool to get myself back into the swing of things.

I was late getting to the pool on Monday so I only managed to swim 2.5Km which was okay for my first day back. I managed to go a bit further this morning and on Wednesday when I covered 3.05km. So it means I've covered 8.6Km this week which is a good start. Hopefully if I can drag myself out of my bed consistently at seven o'clock then I can managed at least 3Km per session, hopefully more as I get a bit of fitness back.

Marc Jenkins had a nightmare Triathlon at the Olympic games when someone crashed into his rear wheel and broke it. He was then faced with the decission to quit or run over 1.5Km to the next service station for a new wheel. To his credit, he decided on the new wheel and due to the length of time it took him to run with his bike on his shoulder it finished in last place. If they gave out gold medals for guts and deterrmination he'd have won a gold.

• BBC News article

Went out for a meal last night with work, so I ended up leaving the car at work and getting Karen to pick me up once the meal had finished. This meant that I had to cycle in this morning as Karen normally goes to the gym, so I wouldn’t be able to catch a lift. I’ve also started going back to the swimming pool this week before work and didn’t want to miss out on a swim. So I decided to cycle to the swimming pool, have my swim and then cycle onto work.

The cycle to the swimming pool was a complete nightmare as it was windy as hell. I was totally knackered by the time I got to the pool and sweating buckets as it had been really hard work. Because I’d woken up a bit late I didn’t get to the pool with enough time to do anything other than a two hundred metre warm up followed by a straight fifteen hundred metre swim and finally a hundred metres of breaststroke warm down. As it turned out this was perfect as doing a full hour’s session would probably have totally wiped my out for the cycle to work.

Changing from the swim to eh cycle was interesting as well as I couldn’t get my shorts or top on very easily as my body was still quite damp, even after towelling it off. I think I’ll have to get one of these suit type things as I really don’t fancy having to fiddle around with my cycling top etc when I leave the pool.

I found the cycle to work a bit of a chore, it had started raining and that coupled with the strong wind made for a pretty unpleasant ride. I also found that my calf were on the verge of cramping when I really tried to put the power down, so I had to be very careful not to end up in agony. In the end I made it to work in not too bad shape and I think I’ve learned quite a bit for this bike-swim-bike effort.

I went out for a quick cycle with one of my neighbours yesterday as he’d just purchased a set of tri-bars and wanted to try them out. I’d also just modified my saddle height and position and wanted to see how I’d get on as well. We headed out of the village towards Histon and Impington and turned left to head towards Milton and the A10.

I still can’t get the chain to engage with the big chain ring at the front so had to go all the way on the little chain ring. Because of this I found myself spinning out of control on occasions as I wanted to go faster but couldn’t turn my legs any faster than 130 rpm. Once we hit the A10 we turned left and headed in to Landbeach and started on the way back home.

Once out of Landbeach we turned left again on to the Cottenham road and got caught in a ferocious headwind. The Landbeach to Cottenham road is either really, really nice or really, really nasty as there is either no wind or a howling gale. I was down on the tri-bars in second gear and finding it hard to get any sort of consistency going. Jeff was finding his tri-bars were too high and thus he couldn’t get low enough out of the wind and was really struggling.

All too soon we made it back home and were both quite pleased with the performance we’d put in considering the wind. I noticed that Jeff’s handle bars were raised on three spacers, so he quickly set about adjusting it so he could get them lower. I dashed into the house and did a quick change before running round the farmer’s field eight times for an estimated two mile run.

I’ve definitely injured my left shoulder, of that I’m now certain. Ever since I started swimming last year my shoulders have started to let me know they exist, especially if I’ve gone quite hard in the pool. However, I’ve had problems with both shoulders in the past; I’ve injured both sets of rotor cuff muscles, one for sleeping funny, the other from whiplash in a car crash. I don’t think I’ll go swimming again this week to try and avoid doing any more damage; I think I’ll also try and find a physiotherapist and see if there is an imbalance in the muscles as this is a recurring injury.

My new swimming kit that I ordered from Mailsports arrived this morning. The trunks I was using were starting to fall apart; all the elastane had rotted and they had gone all baggy. So I decided to order another pair as they were soon going to be un-wearable; they've also changed the colour and I quite like the red stitching. I also ordered a new pair of goggles as mine are past it, they fog up after about 25 metre and you can't see a thing.

I doubt this new kit will make me go any faster, but you never know. I managed 2700 metres in the pool yesterday morning before heading to work, but because I was feeling ropey on Monday and it's Easter Friday tomorrow, that's the only pool time I'll have this week. I really need to get the finger out and get there earlier as I'd like to raise the distance I'm doing to over 7500 metres a week.

One of my neighbours has mentioned a triathlon in Bedford that he's thinking of doing and he asked if I'd be up for it. Since we were down the pub and I'd had a few I said yes. Turns out it's a sprint/super sprint distance triathlon (400m swim, 20Km bike, 5km run); I've got no qualms about the distances of each involved, just how I'm going to get off the bike and start running. So we'll see what happens as this triathlon is part of a series; it might be more beneficial to do some cycling and running and do a triathlon later in the year.

For some reason I decided to do a hundred meters of butterfly at the pool this morning. I'd forgotten what a knackering stroke this is and I was really struggling at the end. The first 25m was great; the second 25m was still pretty good as I was still breathing every other stroke. The third and fourth 25's were a nightmare with the breathing down to each stroke as I barely managed to lift me head out of the water.

Other than that I've just been plodding along with the swimming the last few weeks. I've still not joined the Triathlon club or done any running or cycling and really need to pull my finger out a bit. I'm glad I'm still doing the swimming though as it's getting me a good base to work from. If I want to do a Triathlon though, I'm going to have to do some proper structured training.

I went swimming this morning as I though I'd better try and get back into a routine as quickly as possible. I know I ate far too many potato croquettes while up in Scotland, so this was the prefect opportunity to start burning them off. I thought the pool would be quiet and in a way it was, however the fast lane was mobbed.

As it turned out there were three members of Cambridge Triathlon Club doing a spot of training in the fast lane and only a few other people in the other two lanes. Knowing that the pool can get busy very quickly I decided to go in the fast lane just in case.

I managed to only be overtaken three times during my 1000m warm up, which was odd as it's normally, me doing the overtaking. After doing a further 500m of just front crawl pull, I decided to cut my losses and head for the medium lane.

I managed to do a further 300m front crawl kick followed by 200m of front crawl catch up before the other occupant of the lane got out. Meanwhile the three triathletes were hammering up and down their lane like swimming was going out of fashion.

I managed to sneak in a 400m swim down before the session ended, so I wasn't too disappointed in what I'd managed to do considering I hadn't been swimming for over a week. However, I really need to get a program together now that the New Year is upon us; I've probably got enough base fitness to start pushing things out a bit.

I had a quick chat with one of the triathletes and he mentioned that the other chap was one of the best in the Cambridge Club and that swimming was his worst discipline. If that's his worst, then I hate to think what his best is, he was seriously rapid...

I went for a run this morning, as I didn't really want to cycle to work and I felt that I needed to keep up with some exercise. I left the house at around 07:30 and decided that I would run for between thirty and forty-five minutes, in essence I'd see how it went.

I decided to run a loop out of the village and then back in, as I felt that would probably be around the right distance, even though I didn't have the foggiest how far it really was. It wasn't as far as I'd expected thought and I ended up back in the village after only twenty-five minutes or so.

I thought I should stay out a bit longer as I still felt okay; the thighs were burning a bit and I was sweating, but I didn't fell totalled. So I decided to do a quick loop through the village and then head back, it would take me in a big circle back to the house.

After another five minutes, around the time I would have got back to the house, I started to hit the wall. I was beginning to curse myself for running the extra distance as I started to get a stitch in my lower left abdomen and my thigh were on fire. I really should have done more stretching before leaving the house...

I finally made it back home and didn't feel too bad as I walk the last twenty or so metres back up the lane to the house. Feeling fine after the run wasn't an issue, them main issue would be how I felt in the evening after sitting around all day.

I can honestly say my thighs are knackered! If I move around they're not too bad, but if I sit still for long periods and then get up they scream in agony. Going up and down the stairs is a nightmare, I hope they're a bit better tomorrow morning.

I'll certainly have to make running part of my training if I'm to do a Triathlon, so I suppose I'll have to get my legs used to it.

So I got to try out my new swimming shorts this morning and I’m quite impressed. I was a bit baffled by some of the marketing speak, but I can sort of see what they mean, although I’m not sure that just by wearing these swimming shorts I’ll - "improve total force and power production by an average of 12 percent".

I felt that I had a better session today as I sort of followed a plan I found on the British Triathlon Association website. I started off with a 600m warm up, followed by 4 x 25m sprints. I then did four sets of pyramids, 25m, 50m, 75m, 50m, 25m with twenty second and thirty second breaks between lengths. After that I felt that my legs needed a bit of work so I just managed to complete a 100m of front crawl kick. I finished off with a 400m cool down before getting out to come to work. that made for a total of 2100 metres, which I think is pretty good for someone just starting out again.

I’m currently feeling like I’ve had a good work out, which is really good. If I can keep this up three times a week, I’ll be as fit as a fiddle in no time. Now I just need to figure out how to integrate cycling and running in to the schedule as well.

Got to pool this morning a bit on the late side to do a full session; I need to iron my shirts for work the night before. It didn't matter though as they weren't letting anyone in as the showers had gone haywire and were leaking water everywhere. Now I know showers are supposed to spray water, but I don't think they're supposed to do it from the supply piping. So I didn't get to swim today which was a bit of a disappointment, as I don't get to try out my new swimming shorts.

So I actually managed to make it to the swimming pool this morning; I must admit to being a tad on the worried side. I needn't have worried though as there wasn't that many people there and I ended up having the fast lane to myself.

I didn't really have a clue what I was going to do, as I've read that just churning out the lengths isn't enough. Although I think in my state of fitness it's a very good start! I did a 200m warm up, followed by two pyramid sets of 25m, 50m 75m, 100, 75m, 50m, 25m with rests in between. That was getting a bit on the hard side as I was allowing 30 seconds per length and I was struggling a bit, so I stepped down to two sets of 25m, 50m, 75m, 50m, 25m, which was a bit easier, and easier to stick to 30 seconds per length.

After a bit of a warm down it was time to get out and get ready for work. I felt totally shattered, so my base fitness must be totally shot. In total I did 1,650 meters, which I don't think was too bad for someone who hasn't been swimming in ages.

I've decided to start swimming in the mornings before going to work. This is all down to the fact that I've decided to do a triathlon, which involves a swim, a cycle and a run. It's one of the goals I've set myself from participating in the ProActive study into preventing Type 2 Diabetes. There is a local pool open in the mornings before work, so my aim is to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I can worry about cycling and running at a later date.

However, Karen has stated that my current swimming trunks are indecent and look terrible. I'm hoping to start swimming tomorrow and I'll have to ware a pair of swimming shorts that I take on holiday, they're not very streamline and can imagine that they'll slow me down a bit. So a quick check on the Internet revealed that I couldn't afford a pair of Speedo Fast Skin Hydroshort's (I don't think I'm Olympic standard just yet...). Since I wanted a pair of shorts rather than a pair of trunks I ended up going for a pair of Maru EXS Short's. Now I just have to loose the belly, otherwise they'll look a bit daft...