First Triathlon Completed!

I feel like I've just won my first triathlon (I came 31st out of 105)

It's a great feeling, I stuck by it had loads of help along the way but now I've completed my first triathlon

So i was fully prepared physically on Saturday night, i had tried to be really good with my food intake and making sure my body was getting everything it needed, i wasn't so prepared with actually getting there, on a second inspection of the race details we would need to be getting up at 3am on Sunday and leaving the house at 4am to get there for final chance registration at 6am-ish, so i was packed and ready Saturday night, let my dad know (who was going to come and see me) that the event was actually 2 hours away (and not the 30 mins i had first thought) that i didn't mind if he couldn't make it, then got an early night

Up early at 3 the next morning, we checked, double checked then went through everything again to make sure there wasn't anything we had forgotten one last time

We got to the venue a little earlier than expected, there didn't seem to be anyone on the roads at 4 in the morning on a Sunday, weird! Dani drove while i got some more sleep (Thanks Dani)

After getting everything i needed into the transition area i realised my first problem, to save time and baggage i wore my running shoes there, but then had to leave them in the transition area meaning i had to walk around bare foot till the race

Then my Dad and his wife Pam showed up, I really didn't expect it and it was a great boost just before the race

I took on board a shake 2 hrs before the race, thermo, quickspark, nrg tablets 30 mins before the race and had prepared a H30 / Niteworks / liftoff energy drink for my water bottle now attached to my bike

First the swim, it was very cold in the lake which was actually a huge positive for me as i overheat while racing so i knew that would be fine, there were legs in front of me, arms scraping my legs behind me, it was a mess of people all swimming together, like salmon upstream, i found the swim really easy, my pace was slowed by the person in front of me who i couldn't get round, but i think with the slower pace i didn't get tired at all

The transition was a flurry of runners looking for their bikes in the 600+ bike rack

Then off on the bike, after a couple of swigs of my H30 / Niteworks / Liftoff energy drink i dropped my water bottle, I panicked, do i go back for it or continue without any more fluid for the rest of the race... I continued, i couldn't bring myself to stop cycling, the cycle was long but on fairly flat roads, i overtook a few people which was another boost for me and about three quarters into the race i was getting tired i hadn't overtaken anyone in a while and was feeling a bit low, so i picked myself up and tried to think of something to do to raise my moral, so what should pop into my head at this very moment? that's right the theme tune to Gladiators "Do you feel the power of the Gladiators?" The song was in my head and then i found myself singing it out loud whilst cycling along, it really did help me, my spirit lifted, i started smiling and went hell for leather, overtaking a few more riders

The second transition was faster, without a wetsuit to get off i was out in under a minute

The run started very SLOW, my calves had started to cramp when i got off my bike (something the H30 / Niteworks drink would have prevented, Grrr) but i lifted my knees up and after a minute they were back to normal and i was on the run, i overtook a few racers here as well, more boosts for me to carry on, i also heard some of the racers encourage others on their way round

round the bend and over the finish line with a total time of:

1:02:09

Belated birthday post

Today is my birthday, okay so it was actually on Friday but I didn't have time to blog then so here it is:

Today is my birthday, I'm now old... 27 years old in fact, now I would be the first to say that i haven't done much in my 27 years, stopped world hunger, go to outer space or even done a volunteer litter picking in my local community, but in 2 days I can at least say that i will have completed my first triathlon (I know that i have the power of hindsight as i have now actually done it but bear with me here) so whats that got to do with world hunger, space flight or helping people... Good point! it hasn't but it does mean that i can say that i have now put my mind to something and planned it, booked it, told people about it and probably the most important actually done it (okay I'm getting myself confused here, am i writing in the past or the present or what? Erm... bear with me i guess)

(Back to the past now)

So I'm all excited about my birthday and my triathlon (remember we are back in the past now at a point where i haven't completed the triathlon yet)

For my birthday i got lots of triathlon and ironman stuff but most importantly for the immediate future is that i got a wetsuit for the triathlon on Sunday (the 4th, don't worry i know it's now Monday the 5th)

Later that day...

I went out in my wetsuit to the only open swimming pool available and went in my wetsuit, i was amazed at how buoyant it was, i no longer had to worry about swimming horizontally as the wetsuit took care of that bit, i found swimming not only easy but loads of fun, the problem was that the swimming pool was an indoor heated pool, with lots of people in it and in the wetsuit i was baking hot, but it gave me 2 new experiences, swimming in a wetsuit and taking off the wetsuit as quick as i could which will be useful in the triathlon transition

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday messages

Lots of love

Old Billy

Just as I thought

I think I'm doing really well at my swimming and I take Dani along and she tells me all the things i'm doing wrong, and I can't thank her enough for it, last night I started slow to show Dani how I was doing the 400 meters I'd done a couple of nights ago and she showed me exactly where I'd gone wrong

Then we had a race, and I won it (Dani you did know it was a race right, I remember it clearly, you had just set off and I whispered it into the water, it's a clear indication of the one and only race that we'll be in together, sorry it's one of those can never be repeated situations)

But it really showed me what I needed to be doing and where I was going worng, my body was along the top of the water I was kicking with my feet and I was swimming properly, now I just need to do this for 400 meters, easy!

It's only next Sunday and I skipped the gym this morning, my body needed to recover a little as i've kind of thrown it in at the deep end again and gone hell for leather with the training

Almost saw an alien

"Do you really like it, do you really like it
We're gymin' it, gymin' it, gymin' it
We're gymin' it like this"

Back down the gym this morning, but i didn't go swimming last night although the whole world was trying to make me, I decided to go to the cinema instead but it wasn't to be

Firstly, couldn't decide on either 'Cowboys and Aliens' or 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' went for Cowboys, then Dani said that she was going to take us out for dinner so we looked up vouchers for cheaper dining out and found 40% off Pizza Express, awesome! Then the printer wouldn't print the voucher, Grr, then it did, awesome, then on route to the cinema, we remembered that we forgot to take our vitamins to take with dinner, Grrr, then when we got to the cinema I forgot to get the 'Pay and Display' Ticket, Grr, ran back and paid for it, Grr, while Dani went to get the Cinema tickets, awesome, then my unlimited card couldn't be used for Deluxe showings (Hmmm, yeah we also used the phrase 'doesn't sound very unlimited does it' and got greeted with a confused look) So we had to pick another showing, the lady behind the desk didn't know what the other showings were and appeared to just make up a few times on the spot, Grrrr, went to another register and asked for the next non-deluxe showing, it was only 40 mins after the one we wanted to watch so we said we'd have that one then, awesome, then the unlimited card won't go through, Grrr, so they said that they would call head office for us to clear up the issue, awesome, then they came off the phone and said the direct debit hasn't been setup yet (Note: i have been using the card for over a year now on direct debit) Grrrrrr
Took my very limited 'unlimited' card from the 12 year old (looking) 'service guy' and went to blockbuster instead and rented 'Your Highness' and had a good night in

On the up side I'll be saving £15 each month by not paying for an unlimited card now

400 meters done!

Back down the pool last night and I wasn't taking any prisoners this time 400 meters or bust

I didn't want to tackle the full 400 meters straight away so I started with 130 meters then another 130 meters then 2 more 130 meters, so by now I'd done more than I needed to but they were broken up into chucks with short breaks between them, why the strange 130 meters lengths? well the pool that I am swimming in is 33.3 meters long so each 4 lengths takes me to slightly under the 130 meters mark

After a quick trip to the loo I was back and ready to tackle the big one, I took it very slow at first and I just concentrated on each lap individually, not focusing on how many I had left just feeling great after each one I completed, I counted to 10 laps and knew that I could do another 2 easy so I carried on and didn't stop, I'm not sure exactly how many meters I swam in the end but it definitely over 400 meters, I still don't know how long it took me but at least I'm confident that I can actually do it now and what 400 meters straight feels like on the body

So I just need to combine that with a 20km cycle and finish it off with a 2.5km run and it's happy days

My recovery time is my most surprising aspect of all this training, I remember when I was going down the gym before and pushing myself I would be dead for the next few days, but now I'm going to the gym in the mornings and then going to work then going swimming later on, I'm doing 3 Herbalife shakes around workouts and training and I'm never feeling tired, I'm pushing myself harder and harder and I'm feeling stronger and can see my muscle growth getting bigger in such a short amount of time, My stamina is getting longer and longer, when I first started swimming I was struggling to do a length and last night they had to kick me out of the pool because I wouldn't stop swimming, everyone else had left 10 minutes before the end

Triathlon Kit

I've already got my trainers and socks, bike and helmet, tri-suit, goggles and nose clips

Things that I am looking at getting or will need are:

Wetsuit - Been looking at the Orca S3
Swimming Cap - Anything bright orange will do me
Drinks bottle holder for my bike
Sports Watch - Looking at the Timex Ironman T5F821
Triathlon Aero bars - Possibly with Aero drink holder as well
Quick release laces
Bike Shoes

I think that's about it, well possibly a Gold Medal as well but I guess i'll have to earn that one :)

Race Info Is Here

Argh the race info is here:

http://www.triferris.com/cotswold/raceinfo.html

This means it is a real race with real people now, before it was just something I was training for, something that I was working my way towards, now it's real and fully booked

I need to go and see the venue beforehand to get my bearings sorted for the race, getting nervous now a little

Went down the gym again this morning, more muscle training and abs workouts, was back down in the pool last night, my breathing in the water has definitely improved this last week, I was doing 100-130 meters non-stop last night and at the end of it I was breathing fine, so I'm feeling a bit better for that, i was swimming for the whole hour this time though, just with small breathers here and there

My goal for this Thursdays swim is to time myself doing a true 400 meter non-stop swim, it's roughly 16 lengths in the pool i'm training in at the moment

Ironman

Awesome film, loved the bit where they...
Okay I'm not talking about the film here people, we all know where this triathlon training is heading 'Ironman' now the question is do I work my way up the ladder and start on sprint triathlons then standard triathlons, then do a couple of half marathons?

No I didn't think so either, I want to do an Ironman so after the sprint triathlon I will begin my training for 'Ironman' I might allow myself 1 or 2 standard triathlons along the way, maybe a charity event or 2 but my eyes will be on the prize as they say

So what are the facts you ask, well Ironman UK 2012 is almost here, it's on Sunday 22nd July 2012 and it costs £375 to enter, I think thats all the info we need, oh right the distances, well a standard Ironman is:

Swim 2.4 Miles, Cycle 112 Miles, Run 26.2 Miles

I can't see a problem here to be honest and if i'm right the hardest part will be the .2 Mile run at the end so the rest by definition is easy right

Monday Mornings

So how did you start your Monday morning?

Well I went down the gym and done some more training for the triathlon

BORING!!!!

Okay so I flew a space shuttle around the world and saw 2 monkeys arguing over a peanut both in mid-fart, when I saw a flash of light as a giant bouncy castle exploded on the surface of Mars which insidently made a thousand stars implode simultaneously and leave behind exactly 15 versions of the very same puffin book that I read when I was at school

Does that sound more interesting?

---

Don't ask where that came from, Had a great weekend went to see my girlfriends uncle get married, didn't get to witness any fights though, sorry

I was caught off my training guard by some Pimms mixed with fruit and lemonade before I remembered about my healthy body and then stuck to water for the rest of the night, wasn't bored though, had a really good time, great company, food and location

I've not done any form of training since Thursday nights swim, I started to notice less and less people coming to the gym in the mornings, there used to be at least 10 people there, i'll put it down to Monday morning today

I'll need to start timing myself on the swimming soon so that I can judge how fast i can swim 400 meters

Why am I not an Iron Man yet?

Oh the struggles we face, I went back down to the pool last night, I got in a half hour earier so that I could get my £3.60's worth

I noticed that after about half hour in the pool I still wasn't up to Iron Man standard, is it just me that when they start to exercise/train they want the results to be as quick as the decision to start exercising/training, hey come on now I started a whole half hour ago why am I not Arnold Swarchenegger yet?

I made some real progress yesterday despite my moans, after making some changes to my breathing pattern and starting to actually kick with my legs when I swam, I was swimming pretty much non-stop for the whole hour and a half, I must have done well over 400 meters, I have to admit that I did get a bit disheartened though when 3 Iron Man triathletes got into the pool fully kitted in Iron Man class wetsuits, goggles and caps and wondered why I couldn't keep up with their pace, I think I overheard one of them say at the end that they had done over 2.2km already

It was the second day of training on my own due to Dani being ill, not that I have that much time to stop and talk during training but it's good to have someone with you to let you know where you're going wrong and provide motivation

I got up this morning ready for the gym but my body told me that a day of rest would be good for me, I was feeling a little tight and thought it would good to let me body recover a little before putting it through anything else

We've also got family over this weekend so training is going to have to fit around them as well, but I figured as long as I get up early enough, it won't get in the way too much

Last years Results

I've found the results for last years Cotswold super sprint Triathlon:

http://www.triferris.com/results/supersprint10.htm

So I'm aiming for a sub 1 hour finish time :)

Lost, Dazed and Bewildered

"...And I wonder...When I sing along with you...If everything could ever feel this real forever...If anything could ever be this good again..."

This is my new intro song when I walk into a room (It's Everlong by the Foo Fighters), much like the "dum-dum-dum  dum-de-dum  dum-de-dum" that Darth Vader has whenever he is close by

Anyway, last night I found myself walking the corridors of a strange building my body ached all over and I was staggering left to right and right to left, I looked the shattered remains of someone left in the desert and who had had to make their way to the nearest oasis, I had just completed an hour of nearly non-stop swimming, all I can say is "Damn that Will Smith"

If you haven't seen the inspirational video of Will Smith on YouTube you need to look it up, i'll see if i can post it on here soon, in the video he talks about work ethic and setting yourself goals and sticking to them no matter what (well thats what i got from the video and i know what you're going to say, didn't you know that already? well yes but he says it in an inspiring way, seriously look it up)

I'm not sure how long i swam for in distance but I definately done over 400 meters, it wasn't easy mind, at the end of every length i had to argue with myself to do "just one more length" following this strategy i managed to keep on going

---

Which brings us to this morning, it's strange i used to love lie-ins, the alarm would wake me up at 7:30 and i'd snooze it all the way till 8:00, don't ask me why i didn't just change the alarm to 8:00 in the first place, i guess i liked the feeling that i should get up earlier but "sleeping in" till eight made that extra sleep feel so much better

However when the alarm went off at 6:30 i knew it was time to get up and off down the gym for me, i managed to get a full hour in doing resistance training and then a 10 min power cycle set to almost the highest resistance level, it was hard work and my body told me to stop after a minute had gone by but i kept pushing on, i used the same strategy as i did in swimming the night before "just one more minute"

Had a shake before and after and it's almost time for my third of the day, feeling awake energized and raring to go

I'm back for more

Well my holiday was great, I tried to get some short distance runs in between the opening of the locks (I was on a canal boat for a week) the week started off well with shakes for breakfast and niteworks for my night-time drink but eventually the holiday spirit got the better of me and along came the fried breakfasts and ciders for my night-time drinks, D'oh!

But now that I'm back I've kick started my training off again, an almost hour long swimming session last night and an almost hour long gym session this morning before work, I now get to see 2 x 6:30's in my day

I've hit the shakes again after my workouts, I asked my team of experts for some shake tips (Thanks BIG team) and I'm feeling energized and ready for the triathlon again

I probably should have done my stats before and after my holiday to see what happened to my body while resting but I didn't (Note to Self: do this on your next holiday)

I weighed myself at the gym and I'm showing as 70 kg so I've probably lost some muscle so I'll need to build this back up again

Well it's good to be back and i'll keep you updated as the date gets ever nearer, argh!!

Heritage Motor Museum

...More like once a week

Ok so again I’ve not been blogging and I’m soon to be going on holiday where I’m probably going to be blogging even less

So last you heard i was picking myself up after a slump of no fitness, well i'm back on track and feeling the push towards TRIATHLON

Went swimming twice yesterday, once in the Newport pool and then again later at the wolverton pool both are 33 1/3 meters long but Wolverton is outside, Brrr!!!

I must have done another 200 meters worth of swimming before we realised what I’ve been doing wrong and why I am finding swimming any distance a struggle while others around me are completing 400+ meters with ease, I mean it's not like I’m unfit or I’m carrying too much extra weight, it was down to floatation and swimming horizontally

Now I know what you are going to say (why aren’t you blogging anymore? No not that the other thing… Oh how the hell were you swimming then if not horizontally? Yeah that one) well I think I was swimming diagonally, my legs where deep in the water not doing very much and when trying to turn my head to breath I would always take in lots of water, then I would cough, splutter, hold my breath as best I could, panic and eventually stop half way across and breathe again and then hold my breath and quickly panic swim to the other side and wonder why I was finding it so damn hard all the time

But with my new way of swimming I’m finding that I could easily swim about 100 meters or more (Note: because of time in the pool I didn’t have time to swim 100 meters or more horizontally as we figured out my diagonal swimming problem about 2 minutes before having to get out, D’oh!)

Been keeping up with some strength training in the gym as well, so now I’m all excited again about my triathlon but I’m about to have a week on a relaxing barge holiday, I’m planning on going for some runs as well to keep exercising

Till next time

Swimming times for training

23/07-02/09
Tuesday - 21:30-22:30 - adults (lanes)
Wednesday - 21:00-22:00 - adults
Friday - 20:00-21:00 - lanes

Where have all the blogs gone?

It's okay you've not missed anything, I must confess i haven't blogged in a while due to lack of training, therefore lack of anything to write about

So what's been happening? Well we've made plum jam (nothing to do with training) we've made plum vodka (again where is the training?) we've also been out picking plums to put into the jam and vodka, been sorting out the garden, it's all setup for vegetable harvesting now and I've done a bit of sitting on the sofa eating snacks

(oh my god you must have been ill or something, what was it? are you okay?) well no I haven't been sick, I've been lazy again, with the time rapidly reducing before my next duathlon and also my triathlon, you would have thought that i would be spending time sorting out my training

My excuse? well I'm human like the rest of you and I've just felt like sitting on my arse for a bit to be honest, training is hard work, you have to believe in yourself, you have to try hard and you have to want to be better than you were before

I was a bit crushed with my previous race position and i know that not training isn't going to help my next race but that's what i went with

I felt a bit pulled in a few directions, I'm busy at work, I'm started a part-time job, I've got to do strength training and learn to swim outdoors as well, i know that I'm just making excuses but its the truth of the matter

Okay where do i go from here, I've got 2 options give up or carry on


...


...


...


Okay I'll carry on, what have i got to lose? Dani has said that she would like to start going to the gym in the mornings to start the day off well, so I'll start there, i then need to start swimming again so i need to find somewhere to train again and buy a bulk load and then i need to start a heavy strength training regime

lets get back on that horse and start a fresh, I'll get my new stats up soon so we can see where we are starting from again and step to it

I'll get the swimming times ready so i know when i can train

I'll get a new personal best on the runs and bike ready for Silverstone

Watch this space people

Rainy Weekend, Challenges and Meetings

What a rainy weekend!

But for me it was a very long weekend, not that I had much extra time just that it seemed longer than usual

Friday night saw me and Dani (Dani has been picking holes in my grammar on my blog so 'Dani and I' just for her, probably still isn't right) going round fellow Herbalife friend’s house for a few drinks, not being a big drinker and having the excuse of being 'In Training' (both of which are true) I drove us there and back again, had a very good night while having my toes bitten by a little kitten (Don't worry there's no personal cutesy names here it was in fact a small few week old cat biting at my feet) After probably staying past our welcome (Seriously people we don't know when to leave, kick us out when you've had enough of us) we went home

Saturday was the beginning of our challenge weekend, Dani and I (Me and Dani for the rest of us) thought we could see how many days of only Herbalife food we could eat (now for the uninitiated Herbalife is a company that we are both associated with, they make low calorie yet uber high nutrition food, so that you can eat it say for breakfast and lunch and you'll lose weight as your consuming less calories without sacrificing your nutrition) so I got up early as I personally (sitting on my backside) need to consume roughly 1800 calories for the day (Do you remenber the page on my Stats? It's Here, the Basal Metabolic Rate is the stat i'm talking about), now this is easy when you take the average diet, but with Herbalife only foods it can be a bit of a challenge, I was eating all day and got up to roughly 1600, I had 4 different chocolate bars, 2 soups, 2 or 3 shakes and still was able to trim 200 calories from my diet on Saturday, Dani done 1200 which is about right for her
Saturday was also Harry Potter catch up day, we only had enough time to get through the first 2 as we were out and about for some of it looking for a George Foreman for healthy grilling, Couldn't find one though

Sunday we went to a meeting with more Herbalife friends, it was a great day out and got to meet up with some readers of this blog, hello people, feel free to say hi in the comments section below

Photos

Stats

When checking my body stats before the race:

Body fat was down to 13.9%
Visceral fat was down to level 2
Metabolic age was down to 16

My race results and times:

Position 93rd out of 108
Shirt number 49
First run: 00:13:41
First Transition: 00:00:49
Bike: 00:33:17
Second Transition: 0:00:37
Second run: 0:17:01
Final Time: 01:05:25

Full race results: http://www.votwo.co.uk/results.htm

Look for: USN Silverstone Duathlon Race 3. July

Well done to the winner Phil Holland with a final time of: 00:44:22

Duathlon Completed!

Well I did it!

I’m quite happy with my times just not very impressed with my position, Out of 108 I came in at 93
It was a lot tougher than just doing the runs but I feel again that I have learnt a lot from doing it by myself this time

So I got to the venue all ready to go, I had my Niteworks made and my Quickspark to hand, the problem was that I didn’t have any way of securing my drinks bottle with H30 in it to my bike, so I knew that this was going to be fairly exhausting on my body

The first run went well I felt that I had a good pace, I didn’t just shoot off like I did last time, I was still getting overtaken by people and again I find it to be the most demoralising feeling to see people just running past you when you are trying your hardest to keep up, but I guess that will just come with race experience

Onto the bike next and I felt quite good about my transition time, I managed to take a couple of gulps of H30 before setting off, because my legs were shaking trying to get them into the pedals was a bit of a challenge but once they were in I was off round the main Silverstone track, while remaining focused at all times I did let the child in me come out when passing the grand prix finish line by pretending to win, putting my hands in the air and cheering (I done this on every lap, there were 5 laps)

I found the second transition much harder, I could feel my legs cramping up and I knew if I stopping moving my legs they were going to go and I wouldn’t be able to complete the second run, so keeping my legs flopping about while putting my bike back and gulping down some more H30, I started the second run

This was the worst feeling, my legs were cramping up and I had to try and just run it off, I started pretty much jogging slowly trying to stretch out my muscles, I got into a fairly comfortable pace half way round and eventually completed the course

I would like to thank my support team again, this time it was Pops, Pam and Dani, these people took time out of their evenings, to stand and wait for me, watching proper athletes, thank you so much for coming, I appreciate your time, I hope you didn’t get too bored

And lastly where were you Brian? Get back on the bike and get your running shoes ready and I’ll see you on the 2nd August

15km Cycle

It’s now Tuesday, where does the time go, Went out for a cycle last night for a bit of endurance training to get ready for this Thursday, I Worked out on MapMyRun.com that I done about 15km on the bike, I was pedalling hard but I had no competition this time to push me

I’ve now registered online for Silverstone race so there’s no backing out now, I’m quite confident in my ability to complete it, I’m just worried about my times now, I’m hoping that the element of competition will help me go faster (but with a good pace as well so I don’t push it too hard)

Should I be this excited already? I’ve still got 2 days to go, I still need to get a bike helmet yet

Dani the race starts at 7 so I was thinking of getting there for 6 then warming up properly

Training Cont...

With less than a week now till my first full Duathlon at Silverstone, I've been getting ready for the challenge, last night I ran 4.1 km in 20 Min's then when I got back I got straight onto my bike and cycled for 9km again in just over 20 Min's, not recording breaking times I know but hey I've got to start somewhere, half way through the cycle there was another guy on a white mountain bike, I overtook him early on but then I could hear him gaining behind me, I was really pushing it on a light road bike so I know he wasn't just cycling behind he must have been pushing it as well to keep up, the racing element really made me push with everything I had, he carried on behind until he almost overtook, a quick change in gears and I gained speed and was ahead again, I couldn't let him pass me on a mountain bike, eventually though my route meant I had to turn off as he continued on forward
I went out in my Triathlon suit, it's a strange feeling, you kinda feel a bit exposed but it really helps with the run and when I got on my bike the saddle wasn't as hard to sit on due to the slight padding in the bum of the suit

I been thinking about the training I have been doing and think that it is more exercise than actual Triathlon training, I've got less than 2 months before the Cotwolds Triathlon and this week I haven't swam once, I've got the number of my local Triathlon club, I've just got to pull my finger out and give them a ring

It's weird I've got a full-time 9-5 job, I'm starting a part-time job around it, I'm trying to keep fit and train for competitions and although sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed by the changes I've made, it still feels good to do it, especially as I've come from working 9-5 then watching T.V. from half 5 till bed it a big change for me

Tiger Shiplap Apex

The Tiger Shiplap Apex wooden shed is one of Tiger Sheds more prominent and popular products. Its classic design makes it one of the most popular garden buildings in the UK.

Welcome back to shed week here at blog.bsknowles.com, okay that's enough of the shed stuff

Went to Circuit training last night with Dani, active lifestyle seems to be eating up our evenings a bit and we don't appear to be getting what we need from the classes anymore, when in the class we are exhausted and couldn't do much more at the time, our recovery is quick and we are finding that we could even go to the gym afterwards, i like the structure of the classes as you're not just aimlessly going to the gym and working to your "limit" i put limit in quotations as i find that when i go to the gym I’ll work as hard as i feel i want to on the day, in a class however you're always trying to keep to their timings and you work till they say stop

I'm thinking I’m going to need someone to give me a gym program to stick to instead of thinking i know best

Oh yeah before I go I found the Tom and Jerry tune I was talking about, I didn’t need to listen to Radio 3 could have just gone to YouTube:

National Shed Week

Are you serious! You saw a link for National Shed Week and you clicked on it???

I only found out while listening to BBC Radio 3, I think it’s taken over classical FM, yes I know I’m sad I listen to radio 3, but have you heard what’s on radio 1 these days, I can’t keep up, I think I’ve only started listening to it in a rare hope that I might hear a tune/song/score/bit of music from a Tom and Jerry cartoon, it’s the child in me trying to get out, I also find it stops me from speeding in my car and allows me time for my thoughts

Anyway with that out of the way, I’m started trying to eat little and often to keep myself at a steady energy level, so far it appears to be working, I realised the other day that I think I’m now eating more than I ever was before yet getting slimmer/fitter, it’s crazy sometimes how the body works, I’m now having a shake in the mornings (with my vitamins) a small snack mid-morning, then lunch (a bit smaller than I used to have + Vits) mid-afternoon snack then dinner (again a bit smaller than I was + Vits)
It has also been brought to my attention that there is a MK marathon next year sometime, I’m not sure if I’ll be at that level by then but I might start training for that obviously after training for my Triathlon is finished due to fitness level required and endurance training required

Should be off to either Fitball or Circuit training tonight, the last training I done was last Fridays swim I think, unless you count carrying Dani on my back to the meal on Saturday, I think I will

Friends, Free Food, Ferraris and Fighters

Well what a weekend I’ve had, I’m currently wearing a ‘going out’ shirt at work due to not having enough time to actually do any clothes washing yet

Had to get an early night on Friday to get up early on Saturday for a meeting the other side of London, I mentioned before that I was reading a book by a guy called Luigi Gratton, well he was at the meeting doing a presentation on eating healthy and nutrition, it was great, he had only a few hours in the country before going off to somewhere in Europe, he is a really friendly guy, I got to get his autograph and a photo with him and Dani (I’ll post it in a sec) Also got a photo of Dani in a Ferrari but that’s later

Then a whole group of us went out to dinner, Dani had qualified for a meal with a few of her group in Herbalife, I heard that it was free food so I got Dani to smuggle me in, it was also great, we talked, we laughed, some homeless guy selling roses tried to pull one of the partners, seriously Dani you picked the worst time to go to the loo, spaceships landed and we all went on a magic carpet ride okay so the last 2 didn’t happen but the homeless guy thing did

When we got back from the meal Dani wanted to sit in David’s Ferrari (He paid for the meal, he is also Dani’s sponsor in the biz, keep up) For some reason he left the keys in the car and Dani started revving the engine, it sounds just like you’d expect it would but better

The journey back took us through the heart of London (that’s right, on a Saturday night of all nights) we got to see all the sights at 1 in the morning and at a very slooooow pace, I think we got back in at about half 2 in the morning

---

So Sunday then, we got up late due to the half 2 thing, got ready and then off to see the Foo Fighters at the bowl in MK, it was packed to the brim (65,000 people) The support act were Jimmy Eat World and Biffy Clyro, both great, then Foo Fighters came on and they were awesome, their encore included a jam session with our old friend Seasick Steve (Vocals and lead Guitar) John Paul Jones (From Led Zeppelin on Guitar) and Dave Grohl (On Drums) mental, just mental

The Foos ended their encore (and in my opinion best show ever) with Everlong, with fireworks in the sky as well

Got back to the house at about 1 in the morning ready for Monday morning at work

Swimming and Biking

Went swimming this morning with my new nose clip thingy-ma-jig and new speedos goggles, the goggles are a vast improvement over my last pair, technology in the swimming goggles field has obviously undergone a mass overhaul since they found out that Billy Knowles is swimming now, they don’t fog up as quickly, I was able to get at least 6 lengths before I noticed they needed a bit of a clean

Swimming must be one of those things like maths, if you don’t do it often enough you forget things but when you start doing it again it comes back to you pretty quick, I haven’t swam since Monday morning as I missed the Wednesday early bird session, it took me a couple of lengths to get back into it and get used to my nose clip, I can now start to see at what point I was breathing water in through my nose as the clip tightens around my nose whenever I try to breath in though it

I’m finding that really focusing on how I am swimming helps with my technique, I’ve never really understood focus before, I guess because I haven’t needed to, but looking forward and squinting isn’t focusing its just squinting, I’ve found that really clearing my mind and concentrating on nothing else but my swim gave me the lengths that I was after, it’s a difficult thing to explain
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I was on my bike last night bombing around the streets, I must have looked like I was 10 again on my first bike, all wobbly getting used to pedals with cages and handlebars that go downwards, embarrassingly the only thing I couldn’t get working was the computer on it, anyone know a decent IT tech? As I came round the corner I saw Dani trying to call me as she’d seen some thug looking guy on a bike just like mine speeding off on it, she thought I’d been beaten up round the corner and this guy had stolen my bike, ah bless, I’m not actually 10 years old Dani (I just paid the guy my lunch money and he was happy, I got to keep the bike, lol), I reluctantly let Dani have a go, off she went round the corner (I was waiting for the crash but nothing happened) I’m really pleased with it

It won't happen to me

You always say "It'll never happen to me" you do, I'm saying it right now

Just had an email from my bank saying, Just to confirm you have changed your securecode on your credit card successfully, "I bloody haven't" i said to myself

Just called up the bank someone is in John Lewis (of all places) spending my money already, people if you get an email from your bank like this CALL THEM!!!

Luckily the account has now been closed

I'm not sure how they got my details i'm on Xbox not Playstation, lol, but seriously i haven't used the card in months

Goldcoast 2011 Photos

I told you before that I won (Joint 1st then) a cycling challenge at the Goldcoast festival, here's the pic:

And here's me and Dani with Seasick Steve:

Bike Comparison

To see the stem problem clearer, first one is mine, second is a Giant picture

New Bike

Picked up my new bike today, had to have my seat pushed forward and my nose up against the windscreen to fit it in my car but the awkward 20 minute ride home was well worth it in the end

The entire box was much lighter than i was expecting, I started dragging it to my car then just picked it up in the end, if the box was smaller I could have easily just used one hand comfortably, that’s not to say I have arms like Schwarzenegger (From 'Pumping Iron' not ‘Around the World in 80 Days’) just that the box was that light

Here it is boxed up (Thank you Dani for the product placement there, I did want to put Golden Grahams in the picture)

 

 

Here it is naked

 

The keen eyed viewer will notice that it doesn’t yet have the pedals or seat attached, £600 and not an Allen key in sight, I bought a £3 nose clip for swimming the other day and even that came with a handy carry case (that arrived on Billy 2nd Christmas, which was yesterday, the bike was opened on Billy 2nd Boxing Day, today) I’ll need to dust of the tool kit in the garage to finish the bike build

Also Dani noticed that the writing on the stem (check out my bike knowledge, it’s the part that holds the handlebars for those that are not so well informed) was upside down, so I’m not sure if this needs to be re-fitted or whether that’s the way it needs to be

No bike today

After screwing me around today and eventually lying to me Shitty Link won't be delivering my bike today, it's strange that you have to pick things up from couriers, i thought that there job was to deliver things, it must be my over expectations

Ah well, I get to pick it up 8am tomorrow

Chopper in the sky

Just seen a police car go by, theres a chopper in the sky and now 2 policemen are running past my work

Something going on...

Tri Suit Arrived!!

Here is me in my new tri suit, yeah i know i know we should have spent the money fixing that hole in the wall

It felt weird putting it on for the first time, i've never wore anything like it, it's really comfortable though when it's on

Stats

These are not so regular readings but here are my beginning stats with my new stats

04/04/2011 (taken for a laugh)
Weight = 166.2 lbs
Body Fat % = 19.3
Hydration % = 56.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1796 Cal
Metabolic Age = 29
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 4

28/06/2001
Weight = 157 lbs
Body Fat % = 14.5
Hydration % = 60.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1781 Cal
Metabolic Age = 17
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 3

Training cancels swim

Mondays Gym session went well as well, i did some more muscle strength training like the chiropractor said, heavy weights with low reps of 6-8

I've thought of many excuses as to not to get up early and go swimming so i thought i would get up early and write my blog to show that i have got up early but due to a circuit training at the gym last night I'm not sure my swimming arms will be up to much, I'll need to look into swimming a bit later today if i can

I'd never done circuit training sessions before and you really feel great afterwards, okay you feel like it would be easier to curl up in a ball in the corner and not speak to anyone in a while, but once the ache goes you really feel that you've had a good workout

I've got confirmation that my new bike will be delivered today and my tri-suit as well should also be here today, it's like my own mini Christmas, you know without all the going to church and praying... do people still do this?

Happy bike and tri-suit xmas to me, i hope you all get your new bikes today as well

New Speedos and Haircut

That's right i got me some Speedos, photos are below...












Why what were you thinking?

Also does anyone know a half decent (that's right not even a fully decent) hairdresser? i only went in for a trim and i feel as though I've been scalped, i knew there was a reason that i don't like my hair being cut and it's because unless you go for the full wash, cut and color (not that i have) i appear to get the useless grunts that seem to have passed hairdressing school on a technicality that they do possible know how to do it they just can't be ar$ed anymore, and by the way hairdresser lady that 50p tip from the tenner i gave you was to go towards training and also to get mr the hell out of there as quickly as i could

All that aside i'm off down t'gym

How was your weekend?

Only 68 days to go, Argh! (And by argh i don't mean in a pirate "argh" i mean in a panic Argh!!!)

Swimming again this morning and yet more excuses as to why I’m not at my best yet, this time it's those nose clip thingy-ma-jigs, I’ve got much better from when i first started and I’m actually breathing now while doing lengths but for some reason I’m still coughing and spluttering when i get to the end of each length, I believe it's because I’m trying to breathe through my nose as i go along, not consciously of course

So I need to look into getting some of them

I did mean to go to the gym this weekend as well but with the weather being so nice me and Dani walked for about 6-7 hours over Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday we walked to Willen lake to see about the possibility of me being able to swim in the lake there to get some open water practise but unfortunately the lake isn’t open for this kind of activity, they did say that they were looking to open this up next year, so something to keep in mind for Dani who will be doing the Swimming leg of an Olympic length Triathlon next year

We did get to walk the route I planned for my Silverstone training and we found out that on Sunday they would be doing the Dragon boat racing on the lake

So on Sunday we walked back down there to watch the races, for some reason every time we walked the red ways around Milton Keynes but every time we managed to walk a different red way route, I would put up the distance travelled but I couldn’t even re-trace it on mapmyrun.com… so I haven’t but we did get to see Rehan, Mark and their little girl Daisy as well which was another bonus for the weekend

This week then, I want to get as much swimming in as I can before my bike gets here because when that turns up I won’t be off it it.

Apart from my car (which I got on finance) it’s been my biggest purchase, oh yeah the house but that doesn’t count, and the boiler last year, that doesn’t count either, holiday to Costa Rica?

Hmmm…

So it’s my most expensive bike purchase to date

New Bike Stats

For all those stats junkies (Just me? Okay)

Products (From Ashcycles.com)
------------------------------------------------------
1 x Giant Defy 3 2011 - 15% Worth of Free Goods (2011) = £590.00
Frame Size Road 53cm
1 x Giant P-R3 Road Tyre 700 x 25C (2011) = £17.69
F / R Front
1 x Giant P-R3 Road Tyre 700 x 25C (2011) = £17.69
F / R Rear
3 x Giant INNERTUBE 700X23-25C 27X1-1-1/8 PV (2009) = £14.97
1 x Giant Tyre Patch Kit (2010) = £2.99
1 x Giant Axact 13W Computer (2010) = £29.49
Colour White
Sub-Total: £672.83
Shipping: £0.00
Discount Code: giant15 : -£88.50
Total: £584.33
---

Giant Defy 3

Frame
Size: 53.5cm
Colors: White / Black / Silver
Frame: AluxX SL aluminium, Fluid FormedTM
Fork: Advanced-Grade, Alloy OverDrive Steerer
Shock: N / A

Components
Handlebar: Giant Alloy
Stem: Giant Sport
Seatpost: Giant Sport
Saddle: Giant Defy
Pedals: Wellgo Caged w/ Clips

Drivetrain
Shifters: Shimano 2300 24 speed
Front Derailleur: Shimano 2200
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 2300
Brakes: Tektro TK-R 350
Brake Levers: Shimano 2300
Cassette: SRAM PG 850 12-26
Chain: KMC Z7
Crankset: FSA Tempo 30/42/52
Bottom Bracket: RPM Cartridge

Wheels
Rims: Giant CR51 DW aluminium
Hubs: Formula
Spokes: Stainless Steel
Tires: Vittoria Zaffiro 700x25mm

I've bought the best triathlon bike in the world

As the title says I have actually bought the best triathlon bike in the world, there isn't another bike on the market like it, it's totally unique, only 1 made, it's the (wait for it) Giant Defy 3 2011

Whoa! I know what you're thinking that is NOT the best triathlon bike in the world, it's not even a triathlon bike at all it's a road bike

However this my friend is where you are wrong and I'll tell you why...

It is going to be MY bike

It's going to be the bike that i ride on to compete in the Silverstone Duathlons

It's going to be the bike i use for the Cotswold Triathlon in Sept

Like i said it's totally unique, I'm not going to be riding any other bike, only this one (until i upgrade it of course) we're going to have great days together and we're going to have bad days together but this will be my bike that sees me through it all and one day it will be worth quillions, trust me

---

On another note i went swimming again today, but this time without Dani, don't panic it's all cool, she's gone off to do her Supporting Artist work (Extras to you and me) I think i done about 20 lengths, trying my hardest to keeping doing at least 2 lengths at a time and then having to stop for a short breather

I didn't feel that i done that well, although i was swimming more my technique was a little off and i had some trouble getting my legs and arms working together again, i think next time i will start with the float again as i found that really helped get coordinated

Photos

This is me running the first run

Hydrate (after the run)

Then it's time to shake up

Aparently if you come in at exactly 55th place you get a brand new showroom Porsche

Morning Swim and Ideas

I'm feeling more confident after my morning swim, i used a float, whoa before you say "Erm thats cheating Billy" i used a float (wait for it) so that i wasn't using my legs so that i could concentrate on getting my arm and breathing technique right, also my legs were still a bit stiff from the running yesterday, but after a few minutes in the pool, started using my lower legs for a bit of extra power, i feel that i've got much smoother movement now in my arms and i started doing 2 lengths (Yes! i finally get my 50m badge, can anyone sew this onto my pants for me?)

I think i done about 12-14 lengths in total but mostly stop start at the ends, Dani had to show me up by doing 600m when i got out of the pool, but she done it breast stroke and i've decided that doesn't count if only to make myself feel better (nope sorry Dani it has to be done front crawl, wipe that score off the board and put Billy's 50m back up)

I've just looked at the next Silverstne Duathlon it's Race 3 and it's on 14th July and then Race 4 is on 2nd August, just keeping myself open for these dates, i would need a bike however

Mistakes made, Lessons Learnt

No matter how many times i told myself before the race to pace myself as soon as i heard the alarm to start running i started running, trying to keep up with the Jones' soon took it's toll on me as i then dropped back through the pack, although my first run was quicker i felt more unprepared and my pace was all over the shop
The second thing i would remind myself would be to stretch my lungs as well, while doing the jogs before the race really open up the lungs to get them stretched and ready for a hard 11 Mins to come, okay okay 16 Mins, it was my breathing to caused me to find the second lap of the first run so hard

Posistioning of supporters, i seem to power though to the end when i see the supporters, i guess it was trying to show that i am actually trying my hardest, i think if i can mark out where to stand a supporter near the end so that i can really give it my all at the end of the run

Don't stop! apart from my breathing my legs were fine after the first run, it was when i stopped, just for a minute or two that my legs got tight, it was only after lots of stretching and keeping warm that they began to feel better for the second run

Stats

Here are the race results for last nights Duathlon

I've put the first 3 then Team BB then the last 3 to get an overall picture

Congratulations to Phil Holland, Charlie Palmer and Ian Turner

For a complete list of results go here: http://www.votwo.co.uk/results.htm

With Thanks

Thank you to all my supporters today, Dani, Pops, My teammate Brian and his wife Sue (sorry if your name isn't Sue I'm terrible at remembering names)

You guys really helped me through it

Just got back in

As the heading says I've just got back in from taking part in my first Duathlon, it was a 2 mile run, 10-12 mile cycle and another 2 mile run, i done the runs while my teammate Brian done the cycle, we were Team BB

I have learnt a lot...

It was round the Silverstone track so i got there early to take a look around, Me and Dani went and sat in the Porsche's they have there

It got to near closing time for the registration and i didn't even know who my teammate was at this point as my dad had only asked me the night before

After meeting with my dad and Brian i got ready to race, I'd taken on board a shake at about 5 and the race started at 7, then 20 Min's before the start i had a Niteworks and drank my H30 isotonic drink

It was race time

I got in line with the other competitors, around the middle i thought would be best and when the alarm sounded we were off, nearly everything i had trained for went out of the window as everyone seemed to take off from the start line, i tried to keep up but the pace was too fast for me and i dropped back through the pack, by half way round my first lap my breathing was out and that slowed me down dramatically, by the end of my second lap of my first run i tried to push really hard through my breathing and took a few places back

Then my 1st transition, it went well up until the point i realised i was running toward the wrong person, oops, during Brian's cycle i continued to stretch and take deep breaths, then i got ready for the 2nd transition, much quicker i thought

My second run felt a lot faster i had a better pace, i felt more focused and round the last corner i used up everything and powered everything i had to cross the finishing line running

Ending with a Team BB total time of 01:06:25

Duathlon Confirmed!

Ok so the possible early race day has been confirmed

It's only the Silverstone Duathlon... Argh

Ok so after looking at last years results the winners were doing times of 11 mins for 2 miles, so 2 miles is 3.2 km and i've got to try for 11 mins on that

Must remember to stretch beforehand

Possible early race day

Ok so i went to the chiropractor yesterday, i was a bit nervous as i've never even had a massage before and it felt a bit weird knowing that some guy was going to be rubbing oil into my back

But the appointment went well, he said that there wasn't anything really wrong with me which was good and he showed me a few exercises to basically take care of myself at home and wouldn't need to come back, which was all good

He gave me a lot of information to take in but said that if i got stuck i could email him for some training tips, he also suggested that instead of doing endurance work on the resistance machines i should focus more of muscle strength and then when i'm running, cycling and swimming that should be all the endurance work i need, he gave me a tip on cycling as well that when training i should do short bursts of fast pace then continue at normal pace during the rest of the time, i can't remember the type of training he called it though

I've now got a possible race day today over at Silverstone tonight, My dad called me yesterday saying that they needed someone to run a 2 mile run and then cool down while someone does a 10 mile bike stretch and then i'll need to do another 2 mile run, it still need to be confirmed yet but it's another competition that i can compete in which can only help for the 4th of September

It does mean that my weekly plan that i only blogged yesterday might now be wrong but nevermind

Planning my week ahead

With only a 70 something days remaining i've decided to write out this weeks plan of my training

Everyday
Get up for 0630
Have a healthly breakfast shake
Drink at least 2 litres of water while sitting at my desk
Take my vitamins 3 times a day with food
Get to bed for 2200

Monday
See Chiroprator after work
Go for a walk

Tuesday
Go to Fitball class after work

Wedesday
Go Swimming in the morning
See if i can join the 5k run at Sweatshop
If not
Go for a 2.5k run at the gym later
Then try a 20k cycle after the run

Thursday
Go for a 2.5k run at the gym
Then work on the fitball ready for Tuesday

Friday
Go Swimming in the morning

Weekend
Pre-filled up with family stuffs
Try and get to the gym or just go on a 5k run

Weekend weekend!

Had a great weekend, didn't manage to get much training though

Went to the Gold Coast Festival in North Devon and saw the likes of Ben Howard, Ed Sheeran and Seasick Steve (my Photo with Seasick coming soon...) It was a great weekend

I did manage to get some competive cycling down though, about 3 mins worth overall, i tested my skill against the best that north devon had to offer... well the ones that weren't competing in the real sporting events such as the swimming for god-knows how long in the sea or surfing all day or beach volleyball but all the others that had come to listen to some awesome music and feast on the delights of Mexican or Hotdogs or 300 Medley bars, out of these people i came level first with the faster biker... on a virtual cycle route in the back of a VW van (Again photos will follow when i get time)

 - - 00:01:04 - -

Yay, my first victory. Now i have the taste for it i'm psyched up for the triathlon now, i even got a prize for my meager vistory, an orange tri shirt with my name on the back, it wasn't the prize that the virtual cycle uys were handing out, Dani bought it for me for nearly dying after the cycle

Tuesday Wednesday, Fitball Walk

Went to fitball again on Tuesday, there was another trainer this time and if last time was a walk in the park (which it wasn't) this was a mountain hike

I knew the moment we walked in and there were groaning noises from the regulars

It went well though, this class was more about stamina rather than balance and she worked us hard

Forgot to take an isotonic drink with us though which we could have done with

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Wednesday we were supposed to go swimming again but got up too late so after dinner me and Dani went on a long walk, i haven't mapped it out yet on mapmyrun but i think we went quite far

Thanks to my trainers and socks i didn't get any blisters though which i am quite happy about

I did manage to drink over 2 litres of water yesterday as well, i normally struggle with my water intake

I'm a real athlete now

I can now call myself a real athlete now as I've had to stop my swimming this morning due to... You've guessed it an injury
My achey achey arms have now got to the stage of just one arm not being able to move much, it must be after the workout on Friday as i haven't done anything after that

I'm contacting a Chiropractor at the moment to see if they can look at it for me

---

Went swimming after work anyway as my arm ache had calmed down by this point, feeling it again now though

I'm getting frustrated with my swimming technique as i don't appear to be picking it up quick enough, i was the same when i started rollerblading, i know this sounds like me reminiscing on my childhood but it isn't i only learnt to Rollerblade about 8 months ago when i got Rollerblades for my 26th birthday, i also got snowboarding lessons for the same birthday but i haven't attempted that yet either, it's on my to do list

Anyway getting back to my swimming, i appear to be going forwards and backwards at the same time, picking up on moving my arms right and then completely forgetting to breath so i then come up for air and then forget to move my arms right

I'm still doing 1 length at a time and somehow I'm supposed to do 400m by September and then I've got to cycle and run as well afterwards

My achey achey arms

On Friday i thought I'd push myself a little

I'd watched a video on YouTube of Will Smith quotes and he says that he pushes himself everyday to do his best and when he sets his mind on a goal he will achieve that goal no matter what

So i was down the gym and going on the running machine i noticed that my stomach muscles couldn't continue much after the 1km mark so i stopped running to ensure that i didn't get injured, feeling slightly let down by my abs i got on the resistance machine (the one where you push your arms up above your head whilst sitting down)

I had the machine on the 5kg setting (the lowest one) and began to do 100 reps, once I'd finished those i thought that i could do another set, i got to about 20 before my arms asked me to stop, when i got to 50 my arms asked again, by 80 they were screaming at my me but i got to my goal of 100 again (yeah thanks Will)

After my arms were loosened up i thought I'd better get my legs moving again with engaging my abs too much so i went on the sit back cycle machine, it's like the normal cycle machine but you sit back in the chair and let your legs do all the work

For my triathlon i need to do a 20km cycle route so i set myself the goal of getting to 20km just to see if i could and then to see how long this was going to take me

When i got to 5km i thought i should probably stop but that damn Will Smith video echoed in my ears and i just couldn't stop at 5 km i had to go all the way to 20km, it was thought going but i did it and i felt so happy that i did, i got a real sense of achievement form it, setting a goal, struggling with the goal then finishing the goal

It took my 35 Min's to do the full 20km but afterwards and even now my legs are fine with it, it's just my arms that are a little stiff this morning (it's always the day after the day after a workout for some reason)

On Saturday i rested my body and ate healthily to help recover, this morning i was going to go to the gym for a swim but the way my arms are I'm leaving it till tomorrows early morning session

Here's the Will Smith video: http://youtu.be/pfWGoLj1JCM

Where have you gone?

OK I'm still here, you can relax now
I should have gone swimming this morning but by going to bed at about one this morning i took the executive decision to sleep more instead of lose sleep for more training

I know I've got a long way to go to be able to swim the 400m comfortably with enough energy to then cycle 20km and then run 2.5km but as I'm doing this around a full time job as well i figured that i didn't want my training to cause problems with my job, being tired from training or not fully concentrating

Anyway that's my excuses out of the way, i got my first family recognition yesterday, i was round my pops' and he noticed that i was already looking slimmer, now he can be very sarcastic sometimes but I'm sure he was being genuine this time, now i haven't noticed a considerable difference myself  in regards to weight loss but hey if it shows then i must be doing something right, cheers pops

I'm going to get to the gym later for either some swimming, running or secret fitball training before the next lesson

My 1st Retweet

I asked @220triathlon to retweet my news of booking my 1st Triathlon and they did, thank you @220triathlon much appreciated

Also i've update my blog so that it should now work on Mobiles, it's the same address blog.bsknowles.com

Morning swim and results from fitball

Got up bright and early this morning, had to drag Dani out of bed but got us both to the gym on time for a morning swim

It's been a few days since my last swim so i really tried to get the technique right

Had problems with my breathing again but I'm finding that I'm recovering quicker and am able to start almost doing 2 lengths at a time before having a short breather

I found near the end of my swim that i wasn't keeping my head down and that was causing me to bring my head up instead of to the side for air, I'll need to work on this, I'm also starting to inhale water as I'm swimming so might need to get a nose clamp thingy

had a shake and Niteworks before and another shake (with protein) and vitamins afterwards and my recovery is getting much better

A good way to start the day i feel much more awake by the time I'm getting to work and ready to start the day

Oh yeah, after the fitball exercises yesterday and I'm guessing the training overall I'm finding that sitting with the correct posture is feeling more comfortable and 'Right' than sitting slouched at my desk, i guess it's because of working my lower back and core has made my body want to sit correctly, weird! I wasn't even going for a posture change but it's like a natural development of working out :)

My 1st fitball class

Attended a fitball class at my gym today
They are really good at building core strength and stability

I
was
useless!

OK let me re-phrase, I felt useless, I was wobbling all over the ball and at one point the ball bounced across the room, still i had fun and learn about muscles that i didn't even know that i had

The instructor was good with clear beginners like myself, showing us how to perfect each movement and showed us how to progress to the more advanced workouts

I did mean to get to the gym earlier to go for a run to burn some calories but it turns out that the class was more than enough

I still took a shake and a Niteworks, then afterwards i had another shake with vitamins and protein powder to help rebuild my muscles

I'll let you know tomorrow if I've got any aches as I'm getting up early for a swim to get ready for my 400m leg of my triathlon

Big News

Ok i'm booked in!

I'm going to be competing in this triathlon:

http://www.triferris.com/cotswold/index.html

It's the same one as i mentioned before, this site just had a little more detail about the race

Possible 1st Event

Ok i'm trying to find a super sprint or similar alternative that's not too far away from Milton Keynes
I've found this one:

Cotswold Sprint Triathlon - 04/09/2011
Novice
Swim 400 m | Bike 20 km | Run 2.5 km

Pick an event and train

Ok so the question keeps coming up when i say i'm training for a triathlon

"Oh yeah, which one?"

The response is the same

"Erm, well, yeah i'm not sure yet i'm just training"

So today i've been on the british triathlon website (http://www.britishtriathlon.org) and run a search for all future super sprint triathlons, here is the results:

http://www.britishtriathlon.org/events

So all i've got to do now is pick one

I'll be back soon :-)

Stats and more

Back from gym
Okay before i get into my workout i've been getting some stats of my body from Dani's Tanita scales:

04/04/2011 (taken for a laugh)
Weight = 166.2 lbs
Body Fat % = 19.3
Hydration % = 56.1
Muscle Mass = 127.4 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1796 Cal
Metabolic Age = 29
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 4

06/09/2011
Weight = 157.6 lbs
Body Fat % = 15
Hydration % = 59.6
Muscle Mass = 127.2 lbs
Physique rating = 5
Basal Metabolic Rate = 1780 Cal
Metabolic Age = 18
Bone Mass = 6.6 lbs
Visceral Fat Reading = 3

Okay beforehand i had a Niteworks and a fruit juice shake

Workout:

Walk 5 Min's
Run 15 Min's
Walk 5 Min's (3.3Km Total)
Back resistance machine (1 set of 100 reps)

Then I asked an instructor to some us some exercises for the back and abs on the exercise balls

He suggested we use a 65cm ball instead of a 55cm, then showed us a few different things we could do and you could really feel them working, due to having to keep balance as well as do the movement it works more muscles, he said that working the core would also automatically help with whatever other sports we were doing

He also said that he is running a fit ball session tomorrow for an hour so we might go along to that as well

afterwards i had a Soy milk shake with multivitamins and fibre and herb tablets

i feel exercised but no aches, yay

Lazy days

No excuses, just didn't do much on the weekend
Went for a short walk but it was with an ice cream in hand so but going out of the house i was probably worse off

Was going to go swimming again this morning but a late night last night stopped that

I've been reading the 220 Triathlon magazine and started following them on twitter (@220triathlon)

There seems to be quite a good comradery with all the triathletes and some quite inspiring stories of older people giving up smoking and drinking to get fit and healthy again

I also started reading a new book by Luigi Gratton called 'Keep It Simple' (i can't seem to find it on amazon to give you a link but here's the ISBN no. 978-0980171105)

It's a really clear book on understanding what our bodies need in regards to nutritional value of foods and calories that are empty and ones that are nutrient full, it puts the book into 7 stepped chapters

I'm only on page 30 odd but i'll let you know how it goes

Gym and Swim

OK went back down to the gym last night
Took on board a Niteworks and shake beforehand again

Workout

10 Min's Walk
10 Min's Run (3km including walk)
4 x 100 (5kg each) arm and back toning on a resistance machine
20 Min's Cycle machine (over 5km but didn't log how much in the end)

Took a shake and vitamins for afterwards

My recovery time is improving and I'm finding a better breathing pace for my running as well, i now breath in for four steps and out for 4 steps, before i was doing in for 2 and out for 2

---

Found myself wanting something healthly for a supper snack, so went to the supermarket and get various tinned sardines in tomato and bbq sauces, had the bbq one on toast, very nice, and good for you, i don't think that i'd even had sardines before that

---

Went for a swim this morning as well, no aches or pains from yesterdays gym session and i took my goggles

With my goggles i could really start to concentrate on my breathing and arm technique

We did get asked to leave the fast lane though as i was swimming a bit slow and kept getting ion the way of this other guy, Sorry, saw him in the changing rooms later and found out that he's also training for a triathlon and will be going to do the Emberton triathlon this Sunday, just looked it up here: http://www.big-cow.com and this must be the triathlon he's doing:

Date: 05-Jun-2011
Location: Emberton Country Park
First Sprint of the Series
750m Swim ; 20km Bike ; 5km Run

I think this is a sprint triathlon, actually i've just looked it up and it is, so sorry for getting in your way


Note to self: look into getting a nose blocker for swimming

Gym and Hangover

Went to the gym pretty much straight after work yesterday
Took on board a shake and vitamins before as well as a Niteworks (Nitric Oxide supplement)

Workout:
5 min walk
15 min run (almost 3km including walk)
10 min cycle (almost 6km)
1km on rowing machine
5 min walk

also walked to and from the gym, 10 Min's there and 15 Min's back

After the gym i took on board another shake, then off to the cinema for Hangover 2

after waiting 2 and a half hours due to a combination of half term off for kids and Hangover 2 being Full up till 9:50

Had some cooked chicken and whole bunch of blueberries

Felt fine with my workout no aches or pains well only from laughing too hard at the Hangover 2

All smoke no cigar

So i really did intend to go swimming this morning, I'd got my toothbrush packed and my goggles, i guess something must have happened at half 6 this morning when the alarm went off and my whole body said "Nah, no thanks, I'd like some more sleep please"

It seemed to really convince me as i didn't go in the end :(

But i feel better for the extra sleep so might go to the gym later to make up for it, the gym lady set a kind of challenge on the climbing wall machine that most people find it difficult to do more than 30 seconds on the first go so i'm going for it, it can't be that bad can it, it's supposed to work your whole body

Off T' Gym

Been working out the prices of things and figured that to keep going swimming every morning world cost £39 for 10 sessions, whereas a Gym membership would only cost 20 something with swimming pool included

I worked out as long as i keep swimming running and cycling the gym would be the best option in the long run (see what i did there?)

So spent an hour going through all the gym equipment and what they can offer with the membership, it's pretty good there, it was weird as i was at the same gym 5 years ago just doing simple workouts to try and keep fit

They've got all these cardio machines and loads of resistance machines

We're going swimming again tomorrow morning

Note to self: take goggles this time

Like a erm... Rabbit to carrots?

OK so i went back to the swimming pool this morning for the early shift, i was surprised at how many people were there

I'm not sure how many lengths i did in the end as i would do 1 length and then rest and discuss what i was doing wrong (and right) with Dani, trying to get my technique right

I am getting the hang of the arm movement needed but I'm struggling with the breathing while swimming aspect

I forgot my goggles which didn't help and I'm now suffering with my sight a little bit, but lesson learned now

I was getting tired near the end but my recovery time was quite good

Learning to swim again

OK so I was working again yesterday so no luck on the training side of things, but I think I made up for it today, I went to my local pool at learnt to swim, well I re-learnt how to swim, I could doggy paddle just fine but I'm not sure that would have seen me through my triathlon
Dani is an awesome swimmer and was teaching me the basic arm movements and breathing skills, I felt like complete idiot waving my arms around whilst standing still in the water but after a few widths (I told you i was re-learning) I started getting the hang of it
Planning on going swimming again (wait its past 12 now so my yesterday from before is now invalid and I now mean I was working Sunday as well as Saturday) today now I guess, going to the early swimming sessions, I better get some sleep
Oh yeah before I forget I cleared down my bike as well, need to take it to my local bike shop to sort the gears out

All work no play

No training today as I'm working all day

No rest for the wicked and all that

Might see if i can fit some cross-trainer in later on

Happy Anniversary!

Okay so it's only one week since i started running, but I'm much further along now, i feel like i could go for another run tonight without any trouble

I'm working all weekend though so I'm not sure when I'll find the time on Saturday or Sunday, could go again on Monday as it's a bank holiday

Task List: Fix up bike / Go for a swim to get my base level / Keeping on running