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


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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

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

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

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