Found my legs!

Another beautiful day but I delayed going out till the heat built up.  I went for a 23 mile time trial on the bike involving hills.  It felt great and I was happy with my average speed which was only marginally slower than yesterday without the pace makers.  But today was a brick session i.e. as soon as you get off the bike you go out for a run.  It was only 3.5 miles but I did it at pace and felt good when I had finished.  So the base fitness is there I just have to build on the bike but not ignore the run, or the swim for that matter!

Tough day

Today I went out with a couple of my mates who are real cyclists.  They always encourage me but when it gets to any kind of incline, never mind a hill, I get dropped.  Within 4 miles my hear rate was at 173 which is at the max and I was struggling with their pace.  However I wasn't out there for a jolly so I dug in.  3 hours later I returned home and reviewed the data which showed a good average speed which I was pleased with but mentally it's tough being left behind constantly and knowing I have to improve in this area or the Bealach Mor in September will be a nightmare.
Had some pasta and tuna to build back the 2,600 calories I had burned off and fell asleep watching Wimbledon.  I'd better get used to this level of training because it will continue till Ironman Lanzarote in May next year where "normal limits don't apply".  If you want something bad enough you've got to work for it.

Close encounter

Determined to start cycling during the week, I left the house in a beautiful sunny day at 5.45am.  It may have been sunny but within 5 minutes I wished my ears were covered and I should have had proper gloves to cover my fingers - it was a lot colder than it looked.
I was enjoying the "b" roads with no traffic but then had a close encounter which could have had me in hospital!  A white van squeezed past me but his pal in a 4x4 with a trailer actually scrapped my hand as it went past and I opted for the knee high grass verge rather than going under his wheels - it was that close.  Fortunately I didn't hit anything under the grass or I could have bounced back into the path of the trailer - a very scary moment.  Did the driver stop to see how I was - did he ****!
I did smile however later at a road sign that was warning of a hole in the road however it said "Pot Holing" - I was expecting someone climbing out of the hole as I went past.
Today has set me up for some hilly and tough cycling over the weekend but it has also reminded me, as if I needed it, that "b" roads can be as dangerous as other roads especially if 4x4's with trailers are been driven by idiots.

Back to training

In the pool with the Ironman / soon to be Ironman crowd.  They have less than 2 weeks to go before Ironman Switzerland and are tapering so the swim wasn't too tough, but tough enough!  It was good to be back in the pool even though I don't have a swimming event till May next year but I have a lot of technical improvements to make over the summer.
I also just learned that where I train will be closing in October / November in order for preparations to start for the Commonwealth games so we'll need to find a new pool which can cater for our numbers and that won't be easy.  The weather forecast is good for the next few days so I'm going to start more regular bike training.  I have just found out about a "vertical mile" section of road which will be about 7 miles away from my house so that will become my regular route in preparation for the Bealach Mor in September.

Time for reflection

I attended the funeral of a friend's Father yesterday and as always funerals make me reflect on life.  What always strikes me is the interesting things people have done that you didn't know about.  However the question it raised on my mind was "what picture" would I choose to have on the Order of Service?  What would that say about me at a particular time in my life?  You may think I'm being a bit morbid and not my normal self today but actually this is what Mission Ironman is all about.
It's about making the most of your life, enjoying the NOW rather than putting the enjoyment off till some stage in the future that you may never reach.  It's about your family and friends and appreciating that everyone has a story, a history and we should listen to them more.  It's just a shame that we are all so busy caught up in life that we don't appreciate what is staring us in the face.
Normal service will be resumed tomorrow as I get back to training and continue on the Mission Ironman journey.  have a good one!

Heat wave

Down south for a couple of days and went out running at 6.45am, my first run since UK 70.3 .  Legs felt great but what's with the heat down here?  Sweat was pouring off me and it was early morning.  I had been reading up on heat training with Lanza in mind but wasn't expecting to find these temperatures in the UK.  So in the winter I'll be training indoors on a turbo trainer with the heating on or running outdoors with multiple layers on.  Should boost the sales of shower gel and deodorant!

Blow out

Two blow outs this weekend.  The first was when I was out with my son who is starting to cycle to get his fitness back after his ankle operation.  We were almost home when he got blocked in by a car which forced him over a pot hole which resulted in 2 punctured tires.  He was lucky that he didn't come off the bike so he's had his first introduction to the dangers that cars pose and also he'll be learning later how to change an inner tube!
The second blow out was a social affair and as I am not fully back training I had a few more glasses of wine than normal.  It seemed ok at the time but when you're popping neurofen at 6.30am and drinking water it's a sign that perhaps the wine has a different effect on me know.  I certainly won't be repeating it any time soon and normal training will resume on Wednesday.