Burns supper

Last nights Burns supper was very long but something must have stuck as I started my own verse while on the road to Muirkirk; "tae a pothole".  What a b**l buster that road is.  Anyway, I went out with a real cyclist so my average speed improved as he dragged me along the road.  It's good to work with athlete's better than yourself as it increases your own performance if you can cope with the mental demons telling you how slow you are!  The bike will be my main focus this year based on my requirement to be better on the hills for UK 70.3 in June and my sportive in September.

Weekend challenge

Busy weekend lined up with a Burns super tonight, a big bash on Saturday and a concert on Sunday night.  I also will be attending two football matches and horse riding with the kids.  On top of this I have a bike session on Saturday afternoon and a bike/run session on Sunday.  This isn't a normal weekend but I am determined to enjoy all aspects of the weekend but not to overdose on the liquid carbs as it severly affects performance!

Mixing pleasure with training!

In short, it doesn't!  Too many liquid carbs last night watching Birmingham City make it through to the Carling Cup final.  Sometimes business and pleasure interupt the training schedule and this weekend also throws up a few challanges in that direction however you still need to have a life outside training. 

Multi-tasking

Today I am off to Birmingham so before I leave at 8.30am I had to multi-task, something women are meant to be better at - I might check that out with Andy Gray ex-Sky Sports presenter!  Anyway, this involved a 5.30am start so I could complete some client work, then a 10km run, back for a shower, breakfast, write the blog and now to drop the kids off at school.  That to me is a result and I still have the majority of the day to conduct business.  Multi-tasking can be done by everyone it just takes a desire to make it happen.  Have a good day!

What doesn't kill you...

...makes you stronger so the phrase goes.  Hard pool session today with 500m warm up, then 3 x 300m, 3 x 200m, 3 x 100m with 1 minute breaks in between followed by 200m warm down.  I try not to think about the total distance or what is left to do when my lungs are crying out for air, I just concentrate on the segment I am working on.  There is no point worrying "will I make the last part" when you aren't there yet.  That's just uses negative energy and you need to channel that to the present moment.  It's the same in life and make sure you enjoy it!

Back on the bike

I've been putting it off with weak excuses like, cycling in 6 inches of snow is dangerous so when I looked out this morning and the temperature was ok I couldn't put it off any longer.  I took my bike off the turbo trainer and headed for the hills.  It was great to be out in the fresh air and plenty of cyclists nodding as you pass or offering words of encouragement as it was obvious I was working hard (for that read puffing and panting!).  So I've set some benchmarks for my bike training and it's now up to me to get out there and get the fitness back.  Some strength work will be required  for the events I have entered are all hilly in preparation for Lanza next year.  Last night I found the race I wanted for September, Bealach Mor which has some severe climbs so again that will keep me focued on the area of triathlon that will make the biggest difference to my time.  As you can see I am sticking with my motto "want it, plan it, work it, do it".  Now I need to go and clean all the dirt off the bike!

Mind set

Today was a rest day for me as I watched my sons football team come back from 1 down in a cup match to draw in the end.  Standing at the sidelines allows you to observe the players and their different attitudes.  Some turn up and are fully committed whereas others seem to have left their commitment behind.  Confidence ebs and flows but the one thing that remains consistent is those that want it the most usually succeed.  So tomorrow I am back on the bike and this cup tie has reminded me of the importance of knowing why I'm doing it and why I need to remain focused with short-term goals which build to the long-term goals.  Bring it on.