the shopping stuff

Instead of doing any physical exercise today I flexed my shopping muscles only. I bought myself a new bike.

This was rationalised under the following headings:

1) my existing bike is made of steel and weighs a ton
2) the saddle keeps sliding down
3) the gears slip on a regular basis
4) it's a mountain bike, there are no mountains in London

I am a type II, it's official.

lost day

Having had a great training day on Wednesday, yesterday and today have been total losses and I'm really not pleased about it. Disappointed actually.

Tomorrow will be all about the cycling and the swimming and the purchasing of runners that I can use to run in without doing irreperable damage to my already dodgy knees.

big day today

I had my biggest training day yet today by cycling just under my triathlon distance and swimming almost double.

Being honest I didn't set out to do that much leaving home this morning but it sorta happened. I'm now at home feeling physically good but with a bit of a sore neck. I will need to be very careful, just as well I don't have any training planned for tomorrow.

The funny thing throughout the cycling was watching my heart rate change. It's an odd sensation having a sensor strapped to your chest, I'd never done it before. Equally odd was looking at my watch to see numbers rise and fall as I stretched myself and then relaxed back again.

Best of all though was the fact that I stuffed my face with cake today but feel no guilt. The first tipple was due to a colleagues birthday and it would have been rude not to celebrate, the second was a charity collection that would have been poor form not to support. I had no choice you understand.

I don't think I would have been able to train so well without extra energy really !

the heart monitor beat

So I'm two weeks into training and I've succumbed to purchasing a heart rate monitor.

The reason I've bought it (and there will be a cycle gadget to come too) is to understand exactly what I am doing to my body and to guage how much progress and distance I'm making over the course of the sessions. That's the science bit.

The real reason I bought it is that I wanted to be part of the cool gang, it's all about gadgets and type II's at the end of the day, right ?

the big marathon wash out

Even though it rained on Sunday throngs of people turned up to support the London Marathon. I was one of the lucky ones and managed to get a nice spot on Embankment to watch the race from. Wonderful atmosphere and as always heroes all.

I mention this because with each passing runner I was reduced to a teary wreck.

[Don't worry, this happens everytime. It's like listening to an ambulance go by (yeah sometimes that's all it takes) it sets me off, just can't help it]

This year was no different in that my eyes would well up at the enormity of it all - conveniently hidden by the rain I have to admit - but the thought that this will be me in four months time was startling, sobering and terrifying.

No wonder there were tears.

the running for the bus test

Before I started this triathlon training lark I was just like everyone else when it came to running for the bus - sore, devoid of glamour and wishing there was an oxygen machine just inside the bus door for at least 10 minutes.

No more.

This morning I positively glided to the bus. I was a ballerina in jeans - who knew !

rest day debate

It's Saturday, the type of morning where I should be lazing in bed - as I have referred to the last few weekends here on this blog.

Today, just like them I am up early, this time for no good reason whatsoever other than I couldn't sleep. I've already done the reading thing, the dozing thing, the tossing, the turning and the 'for fuck sake why can't I get a lie in' screaming.

Now that I'm up and have had breakfast I'm thinking about the rest day versus active day idea. I know it's early into this 17 week adventure (week 2 just ending) so I need to be conscious of giving my body time to recover from the royal shock it's undergoing. That being said I've not run in two weeks (need to get proper shoes) and haven't been in the pool since mid week (have headcold so trying not to make it worse) which leaves me cycling (everyday to / from work ).

To rest or not to rest this is my question for today?

marathon round the corner

The London Marathon takes place this weekend. Recently the number of joggers / runners / movers and shakers passing my window has increased dramatically. I'm assuming there's a connection.

When I think of the baby triathlon I am doing and the effort required and compare it to what it takes to take on a marathon - to say nothing of the physical and mental pounding - I am quite simply amazed and in awe.

I wish them all well.

pedalling

I decided if I was ever going to get some mileage up on the bike clock I should start cycling to work so I had my first ride in this morning. It's a 2.5k distance (courtesy of my inner monica) and I managed it (including traffic and some walking around subways) in under 15 mins. I'm pretty chuffed with that given that it was probably closer to 10 mins cycling and that the majority of the people last year did the bike ride in 30-40 mins.

The fact that I was the slowest person on the road, looked like someone out of the Wizard of Oz and even mothers with children on their bikes passed me by is irrelevant, I am aglow, positively awash with optimism :)

I'm on my way to being an athlete !

knock on effects

It never occured to me that so soon after going down this road of triathlon exercise other people would begin to notice changes in my body [I find not thinking about it too much works well].

Anyway, I got into work this morning to be greeted by the whoo hoo'ing of a colleague who got it into her head I was a lean mean athletic machine. I (apparently) had both lost weight and toned up in all the right places.

While not wanting to seem unappreciative to possibly the (second) best way of starting a new day, week etc I was amazed that (a) she would take the time to check (b) register and (c) comment on such a thing.

[As before, I find not thinking about it too much works well]

It was one of those weird moments where the conversation in your head proves more interesting that the one going on around you. I was (internally) caught between the 'yeah I've lost weight do da do da' angels and the rather devilish chorus of 'she's insane if she thinks that yeah yeah yeah'.

As for me, well I'm just along for the ride.

the technical bits

I decided it would be interesting to put a calendar together to record all the training I've done. The idea being I could capture the effort going in so on those low days when I think it's all too much for me I have some tangibles to point to. I also thought it would be good to link it here to this blog.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to get what I've put together onto the blog.

I remember quiet time, fondly.

relief

swimming : check

cycling : check

hydration : check

smile : check

whoo hoo

will power

If last night it was all about guilt, this morning it's all about action.

I am writing this merely to show my intent and renewed enthusiasm. I am off now to cycle, swim and will no doubt return to boast relief.

the day that ran away

I had great plans for today, I believed from the start I would go cycling and to the pool. I woke up at 8.30 - with energy (rare occurance) - and decided there and then swimming was the perfect way to start the day.

Ten minutes after getting up my brother arrives. I should point out it is not usual for my brother to arrive on a Saturday morning c. 9am. He was in lazy waking up humour and wanted to take the early morning opportunity to have a catch up with his big sis. I love my brother, he is a wonderful guy and I'm always happy when I see him. By the time he shuffled off my swimming window had been elegantly depleted.

I was instead heading off to meet a friend for a pre-arranged trip. The part of my brain that had signed me up for triathlon noted the missed opportunity, in a way that says it will come back to haunt me at a point in time in the future but for now nothing would be said.

We went off and did our thing. I came home many many hours later but only had about 2 hours before my next fun engagement - dinner date with the biggest turkey this side of ... well wherever floats your particular boat.

Instead of going swimming during that time however I had other things I needed to do. What they are is irrelevant, the point is they didn't involve chlorine, water, bike saddles or anything remotely involving heart rates or movement.

Feeling trouble rustle.

It's now many hours later and I am awash with guilt. I've had a lovely evening with friends, eating (well and lots), drinking (wonderfully as and when) and generally ingesting all around me. I don't want to turn into one of those people who talks or thinks incessantly about "their" thing (i.e. right now for me, my absence of training ). Equally I know I've committed to doing something and so I will see it through but so far this blog has proved to be the most consistent thing about it.

Guilt guilt, make me a blanket.

the housework work out

I had great intentions today of have a bike ride and perhaps a swim. Neither were going to be in the guise of training but I was still planning on happily ticking them off the training schedule I've hacked together for myself.

That was the plan.

Then I put my glasses on and realised that where I live was fast in danger of looking like a pig sty so I needed to do that instead.

Not such a nice plan anymore.

Now I am mid way through the house stuff and realise it's giving me more of a work out than any cycle or swim could. Are there house keeping triathlons? It sounds almost German but I imagine people with their ironing boards and pile of shirts, with dusters waiting nearby for the second phase.

Week 1 is almost over, only sixteen to go.

I may quite possibly lose it completely but at least I'll have a clean home to show for it.

social health warning

Something very odd is going on with my body and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I've had a decent week on the training front, was very good the other night when I went to the pub, didn't have any alcohol even went swimming afterwards so I could enjoy a guilt free two nights out on the trot.

In theory all good.

Night one was last night and while it was good fun, my body was inexplicably on alert to the alcohol. It didn't taste as good and I had to put serious thought and effort into keeping up. I don't mean that in a peer pressure kinda way, it was more a mind over body thing.

This morning I woke up (feeling fine) but instinctively groaning that I had to do the more alcohol thing again tonight.

Triathlons, actually just fitness in general, should come with a social health warning.

triathlon types II

I've been thinking about this whole triathlon type business 'cos it confuses me. Having spent much of the last week ogling over gear I'm struggling to understand how they can afford it all.

How is it rational that I'm considering heart monitors and wetsuits and cadence calculators as essential tri gear where a week ago cadence was a music term, heart monitors meant hospital and not such nice stuff and wetsuits, well, they were for diving right? How do the tri types do it? I mean do they give everything else up, is there a secret warehouse somewhere that you only get told about once you've completed your first triathlon? I'm confused.

There must be a heaven for the expensive but rarely worn article of clothing. I imagine St. Peter presiding over Disney-esque queues directing people with a quiet "tri suits on the left, wedding dresses to the right" voice. Either that or we're back to the aliens again.

virtuous me

I had my first real test of triathlon will power today. I'd left the house this morning with my swim suit in my bag determined to use it come time to go home (aka the pool) time. However instead of purposefully heading to the pool I was diverted to the pub.

Being under the spell of aliens - 'cos there can be no other reason behind current weird behaviour - I chose to have a non alcoholic beverage. Not alone was my friend astonished but so was the guy behind the bar (yes indeed, we're talking about being that kind of regular).

[In my defence, the deal I made with myself was that if I went swimming tonight I could go to the two drinks sessions I've got lined up for tomorrow & Thursday night. Every cloud and all that]

So, I had my bottle of pop, bid farewell to the place of fun and frolics and headed off to the pool. Having spent 30 mins in the water playing with breathing and goggles I decided I had earned a nice jacuzzi and pleasantly wandered off home. I am currently oozing self righteousness, even over the virtualness of this blog it wouldn't surprise me if you could smell it.

The bad news was I weighed myself. Not liking that bit so much. Oh well.

underway

The rain stopped. I got dressed. Turned on the iPod. Before I knew what I was doing I was out there. Running. Then walking. Then running again. Did my thirty minutes. Phew.

Calf muscles can certainly feel the activity and my hips definitely feel the pounding on tarmac but other than that I'm ok.

If there's a God out there, let me wake up tomorrow without hearing "timmmberrrr".

Off for a well earned bath.

triathlon types I

The rain has started to come down (oops) so the biking bit is out. Instead I get to think myself fit.

Had an interesting few hours though. Bought a book on basic triathlon stuff that said there are mainly two types of triathletes

1) the mad kind
2) the kind that like the gear and go shopping mad

Flicked through two other triathlon books in the shop while hiding from rain, both said same thing re triathlon types - except one had the view that all you really needed was a bike (cheap as chips will do nicely) a swimming costume (not so for London but hey) and running shoes that fit and support you.

As a possible type 2 I'm not sure how I feel about that.

the waking up

Turns out Bobby Ewing wasn't in my shower this morning - not sure if I'm slightly disappointed or overwhelmingly relieved about that.

Back in my world, swinging my legs out of bed I discovered that during the night they'd been supplanted by tree trunks - the type that drives loggers in Canada to yell 'timberrrr' into the air as warning.

Everything hurts, mixtures of pleasure and pain.

Lying back in bed sometime later I found myself wondering whether to jog, to ride or to swim - the combinations are endless you see. Given I jogged and "swam" yesterday I'm leaning towards the bike ride.

Waves of 'I can do this' and overwhelming fear are still see sawing in my head but I tell myself baby steps and a leisurely cycle might be just the tonic.

whose idea was this?

Alarm clock went off this morning, not such an odd thing except that it's early on a Saturday and I'm (willingly) getting up to do the first day of triathlon training.

"Triathlon training" - two words that struck the fear of God into me. I've no one to blame, I did it willingly, no drugs, no guns, no threat of world end. Willingly. I even paid money !

Getting out of the shower I talked myself into thinking that it would all be ok, I could do it, the worst bit (alarm clock on Sat am) was over. I agreed a slice of toast and cup of tea would set me up nicely and everything else would just take care of itself.

Not so much.

Fast forward a few hours later and I feel like I've been punched in the stomach by the online entry form monster. I've run more in 30 mins than every bus I've ever run for my entire life and this was not part of the "novice introduction day" I'd signed up for. Comfort is not what I am feeling here. I'm looking around at the other 'triathletes' wondering if, like me, they were asking themselves how they ended up in south London running laps / being kicked in the pool with / by me.

[OK, that may not have been exactly what they were asking themselves but I was certainly asking how I ended up with them]

To not bore, suffice to say Day 1 was excruciating. I am in fear of waking up. The things I thought I could do (i.e. swim, breathe, dress myself) turned out to be mere teases. I go to bed now (a) making sure the alarm clock is off (b) praying that Bobby Ewing will come out of my shower and this will have all been a very hilarous ha ha dream (c) hoping the bones and muscles already seizing up realise it's in their best interests to play nice (d) thinking who I know with drug connections.

Day 2 comes tomorrow. I may be able to broach the wet suit drama by then.