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

Bicycle?

Okay so after work i went to my local bike shop and got a bog standard bike pump and chain oil

I've pumped the tires back up and to my surprise they were just flat and not punctured in anyway, I've oiled the chain but for some reason (most likely rust) the gears don't appear to function properly, they seem to keep setting themselves back when i change them

Needs a good clean up anyways so I'll have to get on with that

I'm really not sure about it's capabilities as a triathlon bike but i did have a cycle around my street, felt like i was a teenager again, although I'm sure it looked like i had just stolen some kids bike as the seat wasn't at my level, i had trouble keeping it in a straight line and was tearing around the road on it

I've seen a nice hybrid bike that i like though that isn't too expensive and would be good for my triathlon and general day to day stuff, it's the Giant Escape 4 (Link) i can get it for about £250 online

This just in

Just got back after an unaided run, by unaided i mean firstly i couldn't find my water bottle so i couldn't take a drink with me and Dani wasn't there to spot me as she was working so i was all alone

I did manage to get the GPS watch partially working so i now have some beginning stats, i'm not sure where i ran though as i went around in circles at one point so i won't be able to map this run

I ran 2.9 km it took me 17:07 min's and my average speed was 10 k/h

I could really notice the lack of my isotonic drink, my chest got tight about half way through and i was struggling near the end

I felt much better and more controlled on Monday's run

I still warmed up and cooled down before and after but it just wasn't the same

My new bicycle and other stories

I picked up my bike yesterday, it's not really suited to a leg in a triathlon as its a full suspension bike with rusty gears and flat tyres, but beggars can't be choosers and i did get it for free (good ol' freecycle.org)

I started looking at Marin bikes and their road bikes are around £1000 for a new one so this one will have to do for now

I fell at my first hurdle last night as i skipped training to go to the cinema instead (watched Blitz)

I've planned to go tonight instead to make up for it

I think I'm quite confident now in completing the super sprint level of the triathlon but i need to get some swimming practise in quick

I like to ride my bicycle

I'm picking up my bicycle today from a freecycler

Tracked and logged

Ok i've just tracked my run for Friday and Monday on mapmyrun.com

On Friday i ran 3.5km and on Monday i ran 4.4km both are well over the 2.5km i need for the super sprint, i understand that'll be doing the run after a 400m swim and a 5km cycle but i'm more confident in my ability now

Who knows what could be next... Ironman?

Mappings

Signed up for a few accounts today to track progress and let others know what i'm up to

On Twitter.com i'm bskblog

On Mapmyrun.com i'm bsknowles

I'll be updating these when i can with results from my runs as well

Distance

I walked part of the distance yesterday that i ran on Monday but this time with my (brothers) GPS watch, it turns out that i'm probably already running the 2.5k required

I've planned to run again tonight, the same distance, to improve my cv and endurance, this time with the GPS watch to track distance and pace, the only problem i can see is that Wednesday is cinema night

I need to start swimming soon so i've looked into our local pool to find out when the lanes swimming is, swimming is my weakest side to the whole triathlon, i never really swam lengths before, i normally just done widths and depths in the pool, I remember saying in school that i couldn't swim to get out of lessons, but even then i never really put much effort in

I asked Dani to look on freecycle for a bike for me and i need to call the lady back today in regards to picking it up if it's right for me

The replacements

Just a meal replacement bar for lunch but taking on more water today which is good
Legs aren't stiff either today

The early bird needs lunch earlier

I had to get up early today to help a long distance client
So having my lunch at 6 this morning means I'm now ready for my lunch
Thinking about those protein bars I have at home
Note to self: bring protein and meal replacement bars with me next time
Grabbed a water while on site, yay me
Back to work now

Improvements

So i went for another run last night, still not sure of the distance, this time however i made sure that i warmed up by spending 10 minutes on our cross-trainer and then done my stretches with Dani
This time round i made sure that i regulated my breathing much better and didn't get a stitch, i also took on board an isotonic drink all the way round to help with hydration and i found this helped while going round and when i got back as i found i was quicker to recover

I did get a bit of a pain in the backs of my legs, but after doing my final stretches this seems much better now

After my run i had a half a shake with protein powder to repair

I've now got my brothers GPS watch so that i can track my distance and see how much more i need to do

Time for lunch

Got back to work, so i can now at least have a meal replacement bar and glass of water, not ideal but better than nothing

The big brown box day

My isotonic and effervescent drinks arrived today by special delivery, all set for another run tonight

Morning started with a healthy shake and vitamins, i'm trying to take on more water but i'm finding it difficult due to my work, sometimes i need to go to visit other companies to fix issues and am too polite to ask for a drink of water so i just get on with my work and get out of there, i'll have to overcome this and change that

Skipped lunch due to work commitments as well, not good, i'm starting to understand why not everyone is running to work everyday and going for triathlons in there spare time, i'll have to discover the secret of how others do this around a normal busy work day

Beginning tasks: Need to keep more hydrated and keep my body topped up with vitamins throughout the day

I've asked my brother if he can spare his GPS heart rate monitor watch so that i can track my distances, he has agreed i've just got to find some time to go and pick it up, it's (currently) too far to run to his house and back so i'll have to use horsepower

To the shops

Only training today was to the shops and that was just a small jog

Should get my special isotonic drinks tomorrow to see if they help with endurance and performance

I've been discussing the pro and cons of either joining my local triathlon club or joining the local gym or both

Training with other like-minded individuals could help, might get some tips and tricks to triathlons

Not today thank you

No training for me today as I'm going for a day at the races
On my feet all day and I really started to feel the aches in my legs from my run
I can't work out if it was just the run or the adjusted leveling on my feet from my new shoes making me run properly that is causing the aches, but its a good ache, like I've actually put some effort in
Go team!

All I need now is a utility belt

Went to my local Sweatshop and explained that i was going to start training for a triathlon, the lady behind the desk asked me to take off my shoes and socks to see how i ran

Apparently I've got caved in arches and i run with an over-pronation so she suggested i buy one of a selection of three trainers, after trying each of them on i went for the Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7 as they felt the best for my feet, she then mentioned running socks to stop them moving about while i run and also to help clear the sweat away from my feet

see I'm learning stuff already

I got back from the city center to put my shoes straight on and got Dani to rollerblade while i ran along side her, she helped me with my stretches before, warming up and after and it really helped

I found that my legs could go for much longer than my breath and had to heal a stitch fairly early on, but i feel well on my way now

Up until now

Okay before i get too carried away with triathlon training, let me explain my background I've never been that concerned about what i ate, i used to have a bowl of about 4-6 weetabix in the morning covered in sugar (it was about 2 spoons full and I'm not talking about teaspoons here, i used to apply it in half spoons at a time so that it didn't look like i was putting much on and then I'd mix it in to the weetabix and milk sludge)

Then I'd cycle to work and sit down all morning and have about 2 coffees

I'd then have lunch, i was quite good to keep it varied for my balanced diet it would be either KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Chinese or fish and chips, these were not the kids meals i was having, in fact the burger king meal i had was nicknamed the 'Super fat b@st@rd meal' it was their biggest burger meal super sized

Then I'd sit down all afternoon at work and probably have another 2-3 coffee, because i was drinking instant coffee i had to have milk and 2 sugars (teaspoons this time) to make it taste nice

I would then cycle home and have a big dinner

I never drank water because i didn't like the taste of water (it was probably because it didn't have any sugar in it) so i would always have strong concentrated cordial drinks

Now on the weekends and after work i was lazy, i couldn't be bothered to do much at all (and i guess i couldn't be bothered to understand why either)

Now this was all fine and dandy while i was cycling to and from work as i didn't quite feel all of the negative effects of eating like this, every day (okay i was lazy but i just figured i was one of those lazy people you hear so much about)

But the time came that i needed a car and because this is how i ate i found it difficult to stop eating like this, i got my podge belly to joke status and my laziness continued, i was never what i would call fat as such but i was unhealthy in what i ate and what i did

Level up

Ok so I've discovered so far that there are a few different levels of triathlon, I'm going for the super sprint one first which I think is 400m swim, 5km cycle and 2.5km run, a nice ease into it I think

Info gathering

I think i've just seen my first challenge:

Just looked on the london triathlon website and the next one is in 71 days

http://www.thelondontriathlon.com/

Can you train from nothing to full london triathlon in 71 days?

More info gathering is needed me thinks

My first post

Hi

This is my first post of my first and only blog, in this blog i am goinng to write about my own personal experiences and ideas, i have had many ideas and most of them haven't panned out that the way that i first hoped, one time i wanted to learn Japanese, it lasted about a day, okay 10 minutes of a day but anyway i have recently thought about maybe starting training for a triathlon

Why a triathlon i hear you ask, well i asked myself the very same question, my current lifestyle consists of sitting at my desk at work and then coming home and sitting on my sofa so i wanted a change and wanted to do something a bit more active, i've never really been into sports, any of them, but i did used to cycle, to work, because i couldn't drive at that point and there wasn't a bus, you get the idea

So why a triathlon? Well i thought i can run, i can swim and i can cycle so why not go for it, it's only a longer distance in all three isn't it? Well thats what i'm going to find out

I'm going to first start running and i'll go from there