Biggest bike ride to date.

So I'm out on my own today, I sort of have an idea of a different route I'm going to do. It will take in Bramley and then go out onto the A33 and then over towards Rotherwick and back to Basingstoke.

I suit up in my new bike shorts and top. The shorts are padded so make it a much more pleasant ride for my derrière.

The first 10k are straight forward and have me reaching the A33. This is the bit I wasn't looking forward to. The weather is nice but the 33 is a busy road and nobody obeys the 50mph speed limit. I know I only have to be on there for about 5 mins max so I put loads of effort to speed down it. I quickly make my right turn and find myself on a long climb up towards Rotherwick. The extra strain on the bike puts a bit of pressure on my ankle.. Must be careful I think, only a week to go.. :-S

So I'm about 20k into my cycle by now and I feel good.. I'm approaching the point to head back to Basingstoke and I decide to go on a bit further.. I know where I am and I cross the A30 and head towards Mapledurwell.. I crack on and see I'm reaching the 30k mark.. Nice.. Not got a clue about my time and I really don't care. I just want to start getting used to cycling for over an hour with maximum effort put in..

I finish my cycle and record a time of 1 hour 21 and a total distance of 33.6k which is just over 20 miles.. Not record fast but I do manage to beat my previous 20k pb by 20 seconds..

All arms no legs

So in order to rest my foot I will continue to swim but not use my legs.. The way to achieve this is by putting a float between your legs and then just using yours arms to pull you along. The first time I did this I only managed about 5-10 lengths as it puts a massive strain on your arms and shoulders.

So I have about two weeks to go before the triathlon at Blenheim and I decide I will just swim this week. No cycling, well maybe a little but at the end of the week.

I go swimming on Tuesday and Thursday and set off with my float. On Tuesday I manage 74 lengths and only 70 on Thursday. My arms were pretty sore by Friday but this is improving my technique no end as my upper body is getting stronger.

Big bike ride planned for tomorrow

My Trial Triathlon

So I have decided before the big day I need to see what it's like to do all three events. I have planned to go to the Reading lake and take it all on. The only problem is I have a double Birthday BBQ to host for me and Jakson. So I need to get up super early and back home before 10am in order to help Marie get the party ready..

The lake opens at 07:30am and I plan to get there for 07:00 and be ready to swim in the lake at 07:30. I have to get up at 5, shower and do my usual leg stretches. I then go downstairs and eat a double portion or porridge. Not easy to do that! I then boil up two eggs and go up and put on my tri suit. My ankle doesn't feel great so I take 800mg of Ibuprofen and slaver some Ibuleve Max strength on my achilles.
I'm getting nervous now and struggle to eat the two eggs and toast.. I keep sipping water and leave for the lake.

I have filled up my 750ml bottle with this special concoction, its meant to replenish lost salts but tastes very salty! I have also bought a few of these energy gel  packets and I tape them to my handlebars.. All set.

So I arrive at the lake nice and early and set my bike up. A few people are already there. I put on my wetsuit and swim cap and pay for my swim. The lake is a lovely warm 19 degrees. Some old boy is there and not even wearing a wet suit. I set my watch and jump in the lake. I push off, I feel a little sluggish. Probably all that early morning food, I tried to eat a few hours before.

I take the lake swim in and enjoy the warm water, I use the old guy as a pacer and soon realise how fast he is. As I approach the end I kick my legs hard trying to get the blood into my legs to avoid jelly legs when I get out. I get out of the lake at 15 mins, not my best but not bad. I run to my bike in a matter of seconds and pull off my wetsuit. I use the tip of holding my hat and goggles in one hand and pulling the sleeve of the wetsuit over them to keep them in place. My wetsuit comes off easy and I put on my trainers, helmet, gloves and glasses. I quickly run the bike out and jump on. It's a beautiful day and the weather is warming up so I want to get this done quickly. I have already mapped a 10k bike ride out from the lake and then I plan to turn round and come back. The ride is pretty easy and only takes in a few hills. I turn at 10k with a time of 21 mins. Well on course for a 45 min completion. I cycle back and decide to try the energy gel. It tastes absolutely disgusting. I try the special concoction and that too tastes like saltwater. Luckily I bought a powerade bottle with me which is nice.
I finish the bike in 48 mins, not great but that can be improved on. I jump off and put on my achilles strap. Note to self, put that on after the swim as I have to take my trainer off to put it on.

I run out on a pre planned route, I have mapped 2.5k to run to the M4 bridge. As I get to the bridge my achilles starts to hurt. Each step burns but I know I have to complete. I get to 4k and each stride kills, all I can think about is the sharp pain in my ankle. The last kilometre was agony and I have to pinch my nail into my thumb to take my mind off the pain. I complete in a really fast time of 23 mins. Not convinced that was 5k but the route map says it is so I wont argue.

All in all I complete the whole thing in 1 hour 30 mins which includes transitions. A very good time but the transitions were super quick and wont be that easy at Blenheim.

Broken goggles and planning the test Triathlon

So up in the pool tonight and I did a very good 750m in 13 mins (must get a proper swim watch). I then did my sets and as I was nearing the end I went to put my goggles back on and they snapped. Not happy. They cost £25! Got in to work and had to order another pair as I am up the lake Saturday to do a test triathlon.

Need to give the bike a quick clean and service prior and I'm refraining from running all this week to give my achilles the best chance to recover. I miss running so much and keep seeing people out running and wish it was me.. :-(

Will update on Sunday about my test Tri.. Aiming to finish in a good time. 1.40 would be nice.

A new PB on the swim

So I went up the lake tonight and I wanted to try and go around it twice. That is 1500 metres or 60 lengths in the pool. I know I can easily swim that but being in the lake changes everything as previously mentioned.

As I got there I noticed there were a lot more people.. Its getting close to Triathlon starting so lots of noobs like me trying on their wetsuits for the first time. Quite amusing watching them trying to squeeze into them. A few of them in my opinion had under sized themselves and struggled to get their frame into the suit. That should be interesting for them when they have to take it off during the transition.

So I get in the lake, the temperature is 15 degrees. A little bit warmer although it takes my breath away again. I decide this time to get my body used to the temperature so I dipped my head and shoulders under the water for a few mins. I looked at the clock (17:35) and pushed off. It was quite windy and overcast which made it less pleasurable.

I got round the first buoy in no time and swam on, my direction was awful again. I kept looking up at the far buoy and was way off course. I need to work on that. I got round the first lap and looked over at the clock. It had taken me 15 mins, not as good as last week. I pushed on and by now my body was well used to the water. As I got round the back of the lake I noticed my swim hat was riding up my head. I decided this week to put it over my swim goggles. I carried on but was very conscious it was riding up more and more. I decided to sort it and quickly trod water and pulled the hat down. I swam off and decided for the last bit I would go full on. I had another swimmer coming up near me so I used him to gauge my speed.

I got to the end in no time and was chuffed to see I had done two laps in 30 mins. I am really happy with that time. I'm not doing that distance this year but if I plan to go for the Olympic triathlon I would be well setup with a 30 min exit time from the lake.

I think I have now decided swimming is my game. I wish it was running or cycling but like my father I am more made for swimming.  I am upping my swimming more now just to give my achilles a rest. I'm looking at a 10k swim for next year. Takes about 3 hours apparently, should be a challenge.

Running again, sort of..

So I'm back into running again. I have managed to get used to the pain. I'm convinced I have several issues with my leg but none of them are critical. Achilles tendonitis and tibialis posterior.
I have a nightly routine of icing my leg and I have bought Extra Strength Ibuleve which is helping loads. The heel orthotics have also helped my heel pain.. I also do lots of stretches and certain exercises to aid in strengthening my calves.

Over the last week I have ran three times (every other day), I have been coupling this with half decent static bike rides (10 miles).
I am keeping the runs at 3k and so far there not too bad. I still feel the pain in my ankle/shin area but at least I'm getting used to running again. The last 1k is quite painful but I get home and ice the ankle/shin and the next day it feels OK..

Swimming in the lake

So on Thursday I'm going to swim in the lake, I want to get in the pool the day before so I can get my strength up for a long swim. With the house renovations on the only way I can get a swim is to get in the pool for 06.30. This proves very hard as I finished decorating late on Tuesday night but with determination I get out of bed at 05:45 and manage to be in the pool for half six. I have a great swim in the pool and manage to do 74 lengths (1850m).

On Thursday I get myself all ready. I make sure I have some good carb foods before I go and Marie and the boys come along with me. I feel a bit nervous as the weather is pretty grim but the website tells me the water is 14 degrees. Sounds cold.

When I arrive it's very busy, and the lake looks cold. I decide to go and register and sign the waiver form. I have to buy a swim hat and the swim costs me £5. I can swim as many times round the lake as I want..

Getting in the wetsuit wasn't too bad and as I walked out Darran arrived. I walked down to the lake and checked it out. There were four large floating buoys which marked out a 750m course. After speaking with the lady at the side she told me about the safety side and said the water was lovely.

I jumped in and instantly got that out of breath feeling. Darran was wearing neoprene gloves and socks which help loads. He pushed off so I followed.. I really struggled for about 50 metres as the cold was making my breathing shallow. I swallowed some water and really had a bad time.. I soon got used to the cold and managed to get a good stroke going. Darran was by my side. The next obstacle was "direction". I'm used to seeing a nice blue line four feet down. Not the case in the murky dark lake water. I was swimming for about 3 mins and realised I had gone well off course. In fact this was the case for the whole 750m swim.
When I finished I got out and had recorded a time of 14 mins. Very happy with that considering my start. Darran was about 4 mins behin me. It's not his best event but he more than makes up for it on the bike..


After a quick chat with Darran I decided I would go again. I was ready for the cold this time and pushed off. On this swim the cold hit my head. It was really bad. I was considering stopping but I pushed on and again after a few mins I got used to it.. I was thinking in my head what the hell am I doing... A year ago I would of been drinking beers or playing computer games in my spare time..

I finished the last 750m in about 19 mins. Again not too bad and this time I got the hang of navigation. 6-8 strokes and then look up and adjust your direction if need be. I really enjoyed my first go in the lake. It was cold but it's only 3 weeks into the start of the season. I will try and get up there every couple of weeks and am aiming to do all three events as soon as I'm up to running 5k again.