Swimming Even Faster

Discipline: Swimming
Distance: 1200m

Not been a good week for training - had a crampy quad and didn't get a lot done. Having serious doubts about this IM untill my leg is sorted. Maybe a Half IM this summer would be a more realistic target and then do the full next summer. We'll see :o)

Onto today's training - it was meant to be longer, but having only had one person in the lane when I arrived apart from me, it quickly filled out to ten within five minutes! Looks like everyone had the same idea of arriving at lunchtime.

Even so - I did manage to get in a 400m without too much disturbance (except for one length). Must confess I did have to do a few quite nasty overtakes though on the turns.

First - a 400 metres time trial, then a two hundred, and later a 100m as I'd felt I was going well!

400m - PB 8:28:14 :oD (PB by 21 seconds)

200m - PB 3:56:76 :oD (1.5 second PB)

100m - PB 1:45:26 :oD (PB by 4 seconds)

Must confess that the 100m time was a complete shock as I'd done a fair few of these but not tried a 400m TT for ages.

Sub Four Minute Mile - well - 200m!

Discipline: Swimming
Distance: 1600 metres
Time: 70 minutes

Not a continuous swim, I took fair few breaks, with a few drills in there. The bilateral breathing seems to be improving, and I think that my balance when I breathe on my right hand side is far better than it was. On the downside, the goggles are tending to gradually leak - grrrr! Maybe it's a problem that didn't crop up when I only took breaths on the other side!

Anyhow - after doing 24 lengths, I decided to go for an 400m time trial. It was going great for the first twelve (of sixteen) lengths, but then I seemed to run into a blue rinse traffic jam - and for some bizarre reason, none of it deliberate I'm sure, I seemed to just slow to a standstill. I even had to reverse paddle at one point, and go at a slow crawl behind them for half a length, weave like mad, and at one point stop completely! I finished the half mile in 8:54 (5 seconds outside a PB), but nearly 30 seconds of that must have been time wasted, so I reckon I was closer to 8:30

A bit later the pool cleared, so I had another crack at a 200m time trial - and felt really relaxed but like I was stroking well. The previous best was 4:09, but tonight I managed a PB by eleven seconds:

3:58.2 for 200m

my first time under four minutes :oD

I then did a few more easy lengths, before trying some stroke counting to see how my power had improved. My best ever was seventeen strokes, but tonight I managed sixteen at my first attempt and then fourteen strokes at my second - magic!! Must have another go at swim golf before long :oD

I'm Spinning In The Rain!!

Discipline: Cycling
Distance: 35 miles
Time: 2:29:54
Average Speed: 14.1 mph

I really did not want to do this session! My legs were still sore from running and possibly spinning, and the weather was dire - rainng and windy. Okay - I was making excuses, but safety was a consideration. So why the feck did I end up going out at about 4:15 when it was half way towards dark?

Anyway - I went out, wearing just my cycling top on my top half, and tights on my bottom half. I also had on my new super-feck-off gloves that were waterproof and wind proof. Shame I didn't think to bring my oversocks - my real socks were soaked within minutes!

The aim was to make this a real spinning ride - keeping the cadence up (and hopefully the heart rate down). Generally I think I managed this really well - the speed was down on normal, but then confitions were bad and some places where I'd normally welly it I held off. Plus I walked across a few really nasty junctions where I didn't fancy it!

The gloves started off keeping the rain out, although my front fingers did get cold quickly - maybe this was just because the blood wasn't getting to them! Waterproof-wise, I think some rain dribbled in down my arms, although some may have soaked through as well. Either way - the insides were sodden by the time I got home, so I was pretty miserable!

The route generally went well apart from that! In spite of my soreness, my legs turned over nicelu, and I managed to use the gears to avoid lactic build up nicely. The chain came off a couple of times, which was a worry - both times when changing down the gears. The second time was worrying - I was going up a steep hill and I had to un-clip quickly to avoid falling off as the pedals spun frantically but with no propulsion! I did cock up at one junction and unclipped one side and leant the other! I was dead chuffed that one driver wound down his wndow to ask if he was okay, and two other peeps stopped to check on me, one even stopping his car further down the road. He's "seen me limping", but of course that was the effect of the cleats!

It was quite a nice route apart fom the rain - I visited my old work place in Weybridge (still called Benchmark House curiously, seeing as how Benchmark left there about 1992!!). It was fairly flat on the whole. I think another time I'd have gone right towards Leatherhead rather than turning left back up to Ewell - see the attached map. I could easily have gone further if I hadn't been so cold and miserable, even with my iffy legs! [note: next day the leg is tight!!] . Gmap makes the route come up shorter than my bike computer - not sure if that's just that I haven't followed the roads exactly or if Gmap comes up a bit short as it doesn't allow for hills? If the latter thaen that makes all my rides/runs longer :oD

Nutrition-wise, things were pretty good - I didn't get anything like the slightly spangly feelings - perhaps because I was spinning more so not using so much glycogen - I didn't think I'd had a lot more gel/energy drink.

I Wet My Pants :o(

Well - today was the big day - I was going for a trial day at the ultra-swanky David Lloyd's Health, Fitness and Racquets Centre in nearby Cheam. My feeling when I first visited was "nice facilities, feels a bit corporate and impersonal". Still - I'd booked in for yoga and hopefully spinning, so here goes nothing!

Yoga started at 8am, and I arrived about 7:45, explained who I was to the peeps on the desk, and went off in search of the changing rooms. I went the long way round, and only found the quick route as I was leaving!

Anyway - the class was small and friendly, with abotu a dozen peeps in it, and an instructor who I knew from Fit Stop. Must admit my body wasn't used to yoga, and I quickly found a few aches and niggles. I think I really do need to work on stretching - not sure if it's the cause of a lot of my left leg problems or a side-effect of them, but either way it needs tackling. If the stretching doesn't sort it then maybe I need some physio.

After that I had hoped to do a spining class, and went downstairs to see if I could get into it. Computer say...ye-es, and I was in. To be honest I was almost hoping it had said no, because Croc had waxed lyrical about how much spinning hurt, and Pixel had said it was "evil". Well - I was going to find out for myself, but had 30 minutes to kill, so I walked round the gym, trying to get a feel for it. The staff pics and qualifications were on the wall - they all seemed well trained, REP level 3 etc (which is good). I had to laugh at "Clare Jelly" (snigger!).

Right - time for spinning - I headed for the bit with the bikes, which did seem rather closely packed together. Anyway - I adjusted the saddle and stuff, and the instructor arrived. Wibble! He was nice and friendly (didn't ask if anyone had any injuries, which surprised me) and then we got straight into a warm-up track - rather odd, as we did it on the bikes, while pedalling. Not sure how I felt about that - was the stability okay or would this not be good for the lower back? This was somethign that seemed to persist throughout the tracks - lots of stretching hands out and down, and rolling from side to side - again - a loss of stability? Maybe I've been reading too much road bike technique, but I thought that this was bad?

The next track involved getting out of the saddle, and more leaning to one side - I guess thi sis to make sure each leg works to the full. Must confess that I found this very hard, and my quads were screaming. They had been sore beforehand from the run (a bit). As the later "out of the saddle" tracks came, I got a bit more used to the technique, and putting it in an higher gear helped.

Inbetween these tracks were the spinning ones. I guess I was doing about 120 rpm on the pedals (cadence), some people were going nuts, but I really didn't see the point in doing 180! The spinning definitely helped the legs relax :o)

Early on I hated the class, but I got to really enjoy it. The instructor was great and encouraging, without letting you slack off. Just what I like in an instructor.

Then down to the pool - I think the indoor one was longer, and it seemed like 25m, both to look at and from the stroke count. I did 50m in 49.13 second, which is a good time. It doesn't have as much natural light, but it was a cloudy day, which is perhaps why the pool looked a little less "transparent". There were only a few people in the lanes, which was great. I did about twelve lengths, then went outside to try the outdoor pool. It was cold walking to it, and a tad chilly once I got in. The visibility was fantastic - but again I think related to natural light.

After that - into the spa (cue the fart gags - not from me incidentally - oh no I'd never do that, would I readers?). It was like getting into a bath! I then went between steam room (lovely and hot - much better than fit Stop) and sauna (not as hot, and I didn't see anywhere to pour water either). Then back into the pool for another couple of lengths - it was lovely to feel the cool water after the heat of the steam room. Altogether I swam 400m (assuming a 25m pool).

Finally - a rest on the sun loungers, chilling otu - I could so easily have fallen asleep! Then get changed, and into the bar for a coffee. It wasn't as pricey as I expected - coffee was £1.40 and a pint of lager (which I didn't have) was £2.40. Slight downside was a fair volume of sprogs.

So - overall a great place. It's bigger than Fit Stop and inevitably felt less personal. The gym had the machines more closely packed, but that seems the standard. I'm not sure I'm keen on the ongoing noise level either. Not a major factor, but that can niggle me. The people all seemed nice, and I'm sure I'd get to know people there. Probably quite a few Fit Stop peeps too - they've got to go somewhere!

Okay - so what next - I guess I'd like to do a trial visit at Cannons!

Still not sure about what to do - the pool at Lloyd's is great, and the opening times for it too. Then again - there's a pool at the Rainbow for £30 a month less - just with marginally less classes and shorter opening times. Perhaps join the Rainbow for now and then Lloyd's later. Not having a lane full of people like yesterday at the Rainbow would be nice, although I'm not sure how typical today was. If it's like that all the time then it would be really good. Are these few small things worth an extra £30 a month though?

One minor downer to end the day - my pants had got soaked with sweat during spinning, and unfortunately I hadn't got a dry pair to change into. I had a spare shirt etc, but instead of climbing into lovely fresh clothes after my relaxing experience, I had to put on soggy ones - ewwwww!

A Real Milestone (or ten of 'em)

Discipline: Running
Distance: 10.4 miles(ish)
Time: 1:32
Av mins/mile: 8:51

Well, I decided to go for the ten mile run at last - done two eight milers relatively okay, and would have done this last week but for the lurgy. The cough had been hanging over me for days, but Monday's swim was reassuring.

I decided to do a local route rather than go to Kingston. I took the scooter out to Ewell, and set out from there, doing the railway bridge first so that I didn't have that to contend with after ten weary miles!!

The first mile was awful - I seemed to keep coughing up gunk from my lungs, and several times had to stop to spit out lots of much and heave a bit (lovely!). Still - after a mile or so that cleared, and I actually felt prett good. I hadn't realised just how slopey (hilly's too strong a word) the first bit was. Still - I got down to Horton Park, after crossing the road several times to find pavement (annoying!) and was on a roll.

The legs felt pretty good by this point, and I turned right down towards the crossroads. Right turn there, and still feeling good. The legs still felt good past Chessington World of Adventures, although the left knee was playing up a bit, so I crossed over and the different camber helped a bit. This is when the run got boring! I turned right onto the Kingston bypass (zzzz!). My left hammy was really quite tight, and I felt it as I stopped to stretch. The quads hadn't been nearly as bad as on the previous run. My left lower back was a bit tight too.

Anyhow, I reached Tolworth, turned right, and headed back down towards Ewell. I reckon the distance may have been further than 10.4 miles, as I was tiring, and was probably a few minutes down on where I should have been for 8 miles and yet felt like I was running well. Most of the distance I felt considerably better than 8:50 miles. I'll measure it on the bike at some point :oD

The final few yards back into Ewell were downhill, so felt good.

very pleased to have broken through the double figure mileage mark again - FLM might just be salvageable now! The main aim is of course IMDE, but an okay performance at London would be good. Might help build mental toughness though if I have a sh1t time!

Got in and David Lloyd have rung to offer me a free pass for the weekend. WOuld love to take advantage of that - just don't want to poop meself too much with a forty mile plus bike ride coming up Sunday. I sooo want to try a spinning class though!

Lane Closure

Discipline: Swimming
Distance: 1600m (1 mile)
Time: 60 minutes

I'd decided to do this to help my legs recover after the run yesterday, and I must admit unless you go mad with your legs it is a nice way to keep exercising when your legs are a bit sore. Hopefully it helps loosen the muscles too.

Started off the session well, but gradually more people got into the lane. The trouble is a lot of them were slow people - not just your average breast-stroker but ones who just seem to let their legs dangles almost vertically and just make vague circles with their arms. Even giving them about two thirds of a length start, I found myself having to back pedal before I got to the end of the lane.

At first I could just overtake them - that is one advantage of the wide swim lane at the Rainbow pool, but the numbers built up so there were ten people, and often there was multiple overtaking and it all got a bit too much! I was going to do 2000m - that was the plan, but the last sixteen lengths or so up to the mile were so annoying that I gave up in disgust at that point!

One woman seemed to be having phenomenal difficulty understanding the direction arrows, and kept swimming against the direction, which was an added complication, in spite of being warned several times by the lifeguards. How complicated can it be??

I did manage to get in one good four lengths and did:

1:49:38 :oD

Gym Gym Sugar!

Discipline: Hunting for a new Gym
Time: Several hours

Okay - I have a problem - me usual gym, Fit Stop in Sutton has shut down completely out of the blue. I'm spending about £30 a month at the local pool (Fit Stop didn't have a pool). The pool has a gym for £35 a month - so it seems ideal - just two problems - the classes are a bit limited (not much body pump, no spinning as far as I could see).

So I went to see another one - David Lloyd - very professional, a bit too corporate for my tastes, but wow - great facilities - two 25m pools, great classes, fantastic equipment :oD Just it costs £72 a month, and I wouldn't be using it that much until after the Ironman (apart from swimming). In which case maybe the local pool is better for half the price - only slight downside is that it closes early on weekends, so if I fancy a recovery swim after a long bike ride, I often can't have one :o(

HThis morning I saw the Cannons in Cheam - again very professional, had a more homely feel to it. Good classes, 20m pool, slightly shorter opening hours but better than the local pool. Still - £60 a month!

Oh bum - decisions decisions! £60 a month and then not using the classes seems a lot - it's tempting to go for the local pool gym until after IMDE, the only thing against that is the shorter opening hours :o( Still - on the whole it's done me until now.

I'll sleep on it!

Swim Swim Sugar!

Discipline: Swimming
Distance: 1000m
Time: 45 minutes


Decided to try a swim to see how well I'd recovered. The answer, to be fair, was "pretty well". I guess that swimming is not the most aerobically challenging thing, unless you're wellying it for 100m, but all the same - this was a nice gentle start back.

I did a few bilateral breathing drills, some pull buoy stuff, and some stroke counting.

I finished with a timed 50 metres, and managed 49.3, which isn't bad considering my breathing wasn't at its best :o)

Work and Play

Hmmm - decided to go into work in spite of the fact I felt like sh1te, as there was a parents' evening on. I spent the whole day sniffling and stuff, and went out on the break to get some lemsip. Well - thhey were Boots own brand in the end - basically the same thing but less than half the price!

Parents' evening was uneventful, and I began to see why a student struggled with maths.

Me: He scored 53 per cent in the mock exam

Mum: 53?

Me: That's right

Mum: So what's that out of?

Me: It's out of 100 (duhhhhhhh!)

Anyway, that was that done, and in spite of feeling lurgified, I had a ticket to see Imogen Heap at a nearby venue called Scala, so I headed over there. It was bliddy amazing! Very difficult to describe the sound - a bit Tori Amos, a bit Bjork, and lots of slightly Peter Gabriel type bits oas well, plus some gorgeous vocal harmonies. All done by one woman and a laptop or two. Fabulous :o)

No training - and not any for the next few days either - feeling absolutely carp!

'Snot Fair!

Boooooooo!!

I was planning a great bike ride/turbo sesh tonight - something like two hours/25-30 miles. Trouble was on the way home I started sniffing and sneezing a lot, and really had bad sinuses by the time I got home, and was still sneezing like mad. This has happened before - I've no idea what causes it, but it affects my balance and makes me feel lousy. Can't believe it's a cold every time! Allergic rhinitis or something?

This was supposed to be a cut back week, but what with that, parents' evening, and being out at a gig tomorrow night, the week is falling apart a bit! I need a rest day before Saturday's big bike ride too.

Get Busy with the Physi-o!

Yeee-haww!!

Got home to find two letters - one from Brunel saying that although they'd rejected me, this was basically because they'd offered all their places before getting my application - which was nice to hear.

The second was from St George's (my top choice) asking me to come for an interview on March 15th :oD Okay - it's a long way off, but I think I could probably do with doing some study. Vrap did me a great reference, but I'm slightly worried after she sang my praises that they might expect me to remember everything I remembered when I did the Anatomy and Physiology exam a couple of years ago. Time to do some revision! It'll be useful if I need to take bio this summer anyway - talking of which, I'd better get the entry in for that!

I *Do* Run Run Run, I Do Run Run!

Discipline: Running
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:06:16
Av mins/mile: 8:17

The original plan was to do this run, then have a swim in the afternoon, but I faffed about a bit too long in the morning, and didn't start the run until about 11am. The start of the run is a bit dreary, with fairly dull roads, but then you cross Hampton Court Bridge, and run along the river (Thames) for a few miles. It's absolutely gorgeous and I'd forgotten just how pleasureable that bit of the run can be.

The course is near as damn it flat, with only slight downhills and inclines, but even on these my quads really complained. I guess the last few days have included quite a lot - over two hours swimming and a twenty mile bike ride, but I've got to start getting used to that. My legs didn't have the spring they used to, but then that's something I've noticed on a lot of runs - and something to watch as it needs sorting.

I stopped several times for pee-stops (too much tea beforehand!) and to stretch my quads, but was pleasantly pleased to cross Kingston Bridge and be into the last mile and a half. It's much easier running that bit of the route before ten - going down the road past Woollies I really had to fight my way through, and actually stop on a couple of occasions!

I found the finish was closer than I thought, and even toyed with doing another couple of miles as I'd finish with my legs tired but still not feeling dead as a couple of dodos, but decided against it - my first eight mile run for months is only a few days ago - no point going mad. I'll push up to ten this week, after a day without any cycling :o)

I could still have swum, but I was sleepy, and fell asleep after lunch for 90 minutes, by which time the swim would have been ridiculously short. If only the pool stayed open until 5pm, but no big deal - this has been a good week for training!

Weekly Summary

Here it is - my summary for the week. Thanks to WildWill for his table format that I "borrowed", although I will tweak it.

Sun	PM	03:55	Bike	56 miles on the bike - half way to Ironman distance! All the way to a sore arse!!
Mon	AM	00:45	Swim	A steady kilometre swim, partly to loosen me up after the 56 mile bike ride and partly to get some training in
Tues	_	00:00	Rest	-
Weds	AM	01:10	Run	8.25 miles - my longest for ages :o)
Thur	_	00:00	Rest	-
Fri	AM	01:10	Swim	Long Slow Distance Swim - 1920m
Sat	AM	01:05	Swim	Meant to be gym for upper body weights, but the gym has been closed down :o(. 1750m
_	PM	01:19	Bike	20 miler there and back to the bike shop to get my bike fitting done and to spend way too much money!!

Totals


SWIM = 02:55
BIKE = 05:05
RUN = 01:10

TOTAL = 09:19

A slight drop back for me this week, and I'm going to switch to starting my weeks on Saturday. That gives me the big training block at the start of the week, and means if I do a long ride Saturday instead of Sunday then it still falls into the same week.

And They Say Wiggle Can Damage Your Credit Card!!

Discipline: Cycling
Distance: 19.7 miles
Time: 1:19

Okay - it wasn't a serious ride - some of it was spent in the bike shop where Lindi's boyfriend Bike Ponce works, getting fitted to make sure my position was okay and everything. Still - it was about nine or ten miles each way, with not too much extra done on the turbo. Some of the roads out that way are bliddy appalling!

Anyway - the fittig went well! I did need some adjustments to the saddle position, and Stuart suggested some longer cranks as I have powerful thighs (wonder if he used that line on Lindi? ;o).

The current saddle was basically a bit carp, and he brought out a brand spanking new Fizik Arione saddle, which I'd been dribbling over on Wiggle. "Ah well", thought I, "if a serious bike ponce thinks I should have one, then it would be rude not to spend the money, wouldn't it?". So I did. It's a lot harder, and a completely different shape, which means I can sit further back in the saddle. I did have a bit of a sore bum after the jurney home - I hope that it isn't the new saddle causing that. It did apparently make me stable in the saddle - as the cushioned ones allow you to rock - which presumably loses power and I would imagined pouts more stress on the lower back. All interesting stuff.

Stuart also suggested some new handlebars as the Shimano kit doesn't blend nicely into the bars, which emans I could be putting a lot of weight on a small area of my hand. This is something that has been bugging me on a lot of my rides, and definitely something I'll be considering doing at a later stage. Just got to work out whether to get a racing bike as well now - the kit in that shop was seriously pornographic!!

Stuart gave the bike a once over, and noticed that my chain was pretty bolloxed! I must have done about 500 miles on it, so I was a bit disappointed, but it turns out I haven't been maintaining it well - Stuart explained how to keep it in better nick, and then replaced my manky old chain with a bright shiny new one, and cleaned the cogs and stuff in the process. This time I'm going to take good care of it - it's a lot cheaper than the potential new chain and new cogs etc. (The theory is that the dirt on the chain can work into a paste and grind the cogs etc). The chain was also quite stretched, which can also do damaged, but I'm not sure why it had stretched.

Plenty more kit left to buy then! Today I spent over £150 - on the saddle, cleaning kit, new chain, and of course for Stuart's time. Slightly worrying how it all mounted up so quickly, but it is something that I'm sure will pay dividends over time. Well worth doing :o)

Can I Swim Nekkid?

Discipline: Swim
Distance: 1750m
Time: 65 minutes

The gym being closed necessitated a rapid change of plan - it was either do a stretch session on my own (perhaps to my Antonia Kidmann yoga vid), or go swimming. I opted for the latter, and dashed over to the local pool. I paid my money, went into the changing room, stripped off, and quickly realised that I hadn't got my trunks! So it was back home to fetch them and then over to the pool again. All of which put me dangerously close to being short of time before heading tot he bike shop!


The first few hundred metres, my arms felt tired - I guess as a result of the Friday session. Keeping goig for 65 minutes (I wanted to get up to 8 hours training) was going to be tough, but actually this eased off after a bit. I think my technique suffered - my one time trial over 50 metres came out at 51.3, which is very slow for me, but I think I had honed the technique a bit more by the end. I also worked on right sided breathing. The lane was getting crowded though, and the right side is the side towards the middle of the lane, so I took a few mouthfuls of water doing that!

STill - I got up to 1750 metres (I added on a few extra lengths as the Friday sesh had been just short of 2km, and I had time to spare at the end), and then picked up a leaflet about the gym at that leisure centre. It always looks good, and seems very reasonably priced, especially as I then won't have to pay to swim either. Then again, some of the classes are a bit lacking - there's only one Body Pump f'rinstance. I may have a look for another gym that has a pool as well, but a lot of gym pools are a bit on the short side :o(

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Discipline: Gym
Particularly: Yoga
Time: Zero
Because: They've Shut the feckin' Gym Down >:o][

Argh! My gym has been shut as of the end of January - no notice given at all as far as I'm aware, I just turned up today to see the notice stuck to the door. I'd paid membership in advance up until Feb next year in a special deal, so that's about £140 down the tubes at the moment - I'll be writing to ask for it back, but I don't hold out that much hope given that they apparently gave the staff no notice that the place was closing.

Grrrrrrrr!

Decided to swim instead - not sure if it's best as I plan a swim tomorrow and had one yesterday!

Friday - Pool Session

Discipline: Swim
Distance: Not sure (64 lengths)
Time: 70 mins (some breaks)

Big free period time at work (sadly from next week this gets kyboshed by an annoying timetable change), and off to the local leisure centre. On the advice of a colleague, I went at a time when "the schools won't be there". On arrival I found a crocodile of pairs of primary school kids holding hands in their neatly matching uniforms - obviously a posh school, and the also had matching swimming trunks (school uniform extends that far - scary!!). Fortunately they were ina separate "lane", so didn't get in the way.

One of the problems with the pool is that I have no idea how long it is. The times and stroke counts suggest that it's significantly longer than 25m. I'd say 33.3m at least. I decided to swim for time rather than count lengths, although I did count lengths too! I had quite a few gaps for breath, did some drills, and hesitated to let other people go, and clocked up 64 lengths in 70 minutes, but probably averaged 35-40 seconds per length. I did plan to ask how long the pool was at the desk when I got out, but they were very busy and I got fed up waiting.

Anyway - even at 25m a length (which it isn't) then that's a mile. At 30m a length, it's marginally short of 2km, and at 33.3m per length, it's over 2km.A decent swim whatever the case :oD The only offputting thing was the overseas couple who couldn't seem to grasp the idea that stopping in the middle of the swimming lane and "petting" (in pool poster terminology) was not strictly allowable!

This is well worth a look - scroll down to the "Shark Eyes" post on February 13th (2004).

Late Breaking News!

The official news is that the pool is 30m long - so that makes the swim 1920m. I'm annoyed now that I didn't do another 3 lengths to make it up to 2km, but I guess with a few wiggles and zig zags to avoid the petting couple, it probably comes to that!

Eight Miles - Didn't See Eminem!

Discipline: Run
Distance: 8.2 miles
Time: 1:09:54
Av speed: 8:31 mins/mile

Up before 5am to do an early morning run. Partly because I'm going over to M's tonight, and partly because I didn't really want to leave a full half week between the long bike and the long run. The only real problem that stopped me running yesterday evening was a sore left quad/hip flexor, and although it wasn't completely better this morning, I decided to go for it. Here's the route.

After being up for a few moments, weighing myself (still not down at 101.1kgs - grrrr!), I felt quite energised, and stuck my kit on. I headed out of the door at around 5:15am. What a great time to run! The roads were quiet, all the houses were hushed, and it really made me feel at one with nature. Just a shame there wasn't any sunlight!

The trek along Mulgrave Road felt comfortable, and I reached the end in 7:33, feeling that I'd done that at a relaxed pace. I turned up Sandy Lane, and then down West Drive, again feeling easy, and with no twinge from the knee. It's been a lot better of late. Main problem has been the tight quads/ITBs/hip flexors. I reached my two mile turnaround point (from my four mile route) in 15:56, about 25 seconds slower than if I'm going full out on a four mile run, so not bad considering I had as far to go again before turning back. The climb up the hill didn't leave me as breathless - I think my lungs are getting fitter too :oD

All downhill then to Ewell bypass, and then across into Ewell Village. All was going well, maybe a slight tiredness in the quads. The hill over the railway was tough, but it was soon over with, and I headed into the final stage along Longmead Road. There's a big chunk of grass at the side of the road here, and I finished strongly, going slightly beyond my planned turnaround point. I stopped for sa stretch and then headed back.

This time the climb over the bridge felt toughter, and my quads were tiring. The climb up from Ewell Village to the bypass was tough, and then a long climb up Howell Hill. I took it piece by piece, which worked as a mental strategy, but my hip flexors were sore, and my pace slowed. After that the bulk of the route was flat or downhill, and was easier. My quads tightened a fair bit though, and although I finished at a fair sprint (rather than a limp), I was glad to get home. Still - that's two miles further than I've done for ages, and apart from the left quad problems, my legs feel very good. I'm hoping it won't stiffen up too much. I did also get a soreness on the inside of the right ankle, which I've had before - is it possible the two are related?

So - not a bad pace at all, and more distance than I've done for a while. I'm not sure quite what the next few days will hold, but I'm up to nearly six hours training since Sunday already, so this is going to be my biggest week yet unless I really slack off!

Nothing to do with training, but I love this cartoon!!