Friday, September 23, 2011

The beauty of running

A while ago the idea of me posting something titled 'the beauty of running' would have been a joke.  At best it would have had to make reference to the notion of me watching other people running.  And yet, here I sit having gone for a quick run this morning and having really enjoyed it.  Not, endured it, not felt it was ok, but I seriously had a good time.

Part of this is because I've lost weight and simply get off on the almost floating sensation I have now.

But this morning the biggest chunk of the fun I had was getting out really early in a place I've lived in before (Canberra) and seeing it in a whole new way.


View 2011-09-24 07:16 in a larger map

This was my run.  From the hotel, and around the bridges in center of Canberra.  Not a huge distance - 8km - and not fast - a tick over 10 kph - but far and fast enough.  But apart from the training benefit it was lovely to see the city this way.  And all it took was a pair of trainers, shorts and a t shirt (and Walkman).  Thats the beauty of this running thing, the lack of stuff needed to make it happen.  That total lack of pissing around required before and after.  For me its get up, throw on clothes, eat half a cereal bar, turn on gps, turn on music and run.  Thats it.  I'm thinking I can keep doing this!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

My first serious gear change - Tyres

As part of my fitness regime months ago I started riding to work. Then, when I started actually "training" I took my morning rides and turned them into what Joe Friel refers to as an anchor session - a core component of my training regime. This has been outrageously successful.

Until last week.

After months of very occasional problems last week I got three flat tyres in three days. Apart from forcing me to rely on mates to cover for gear shortages, making me late for work, and generally pissing me off this run of issues has me questioning my gear and my reliance on cycling. Suddenly the cornerstone of my entire training regime is uncertain.

So how bad had the problem become? Well without really noticing I discovered I had this nasty tangle of bike tyre entrails that had quietly accumulated in my garage over the past few months:


Discussing my problem it appears my tyre choice was appalling. The continental ultra race tyres that came with the bike rode nicely, had good grip and were quite quick but its appears they offered all the protection of a rice paper condom on Newcastle's seriously industrial debris strewn roads. Well the obvious choice was the continental gatorskin, after all I was generally happy with the conti's I had and it made sense to stick with what I sort of knew.

The problem was I couldnt find any in Newcastle. Usually I would just order them over the net (after all its so much cheaper) but I really wanted to do this before my next commute next week. Luckily all was not lost. A local shop (Drift Bikes) offered an alternative, the all-condition armadillo elite . And here they are:


Now the tyres are fitted but thats as far as I've got, I havent even tested them yet. I'll let you know how they go in a week or so.

Monday, September 19, 2011

One week, some disappointment, but triumph

So, one week into my 29 week program and already off plan. I had a simple task this week, just 9 hours training, in a preparation phase so nothing extreme. My plan wasn't difficult, my basic anchor workouts (riding to work and my lunch run/swim bricks) knock over 6.5 hours so a few gym sessions and even a little work on the weekend and I was done.

But I didnt make it to just nine hours - instead I only managed 7:39, what the?

So why the shortfall? First, my bike broke - nothing serious, just a little wheel problem but three days off line and I lost a few training options. Secondly what was supposed to be three hours of swimming because 90 minutes as I simply couldnt get in the pool as much as I wanted to (and my arms gave out as I started training for the first time in 20 years.). But probably worst of all, I had nothing for Saturday and had to take the day off.

But there was an upside. Friday.

Denied my ride, but getting home early I decided to go for a run. A few minutes done and a k and a bit behind me I felt good. So I hit my usual turn point but thought fuck it, I'm feelin good - lets press a little further. So I just kept running. Then I hit the beach and I love running along the beach, so I did. Then I had to come home and well I could run along the beach a bit more so why stop. Finally it was a quick run to home and well...actually then it stopped. I was spent, the joy was gone. But now it became the challenge. I would finish this, I would. So a little prep and off I pushed.

The last bit was a grind, but I made it. So that was that. In the end I ran my first ever 10k. I felt shattered, I hurt all over, I wanted to die. I was in love, this was great. But it cost me training on Saturday.

But you know what? it was worth it. That 10k has pushed my through a barrier. Today I ran (and swam) my work brick harder than ever, felt great and could have gone longer harder except I had to get back to the office. It hurt, and put me behind schedule, but that 10k has pushed me to a place I've never been before and a place I plan to push past.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Two milestones achieved

A big day today.

1. I finally managed to be classified as Overweight (ie a BMI of over 26.9 but under 30). That might not sound like an achievement but remember I came it overweight from obese (BMI over 30) so getting down to overweight is great. When I started this journey I weighed 128 kgs, at 192 cm this gave me a bmi of 34.7. Frankly, this was scary for me, I felt sick all the time and was seriously concerned I was heading for a heart attack. Now I'm 109.3 kg, for a BMI of 29.7.

I'm not at my goal weight yet, and even then this isnt really about weight. At some point I'm going to stop worrying about weight and start tracking fat content.

My next weight goal is to get under the tonne - that is 99kg. This would also give me a BMI of 26.8 so put me in the healthy range. Note, I know the BMI is a flawed metric not really suitable for tracking individual health but still its a commonly understood measure.

2. I also ran 10.3 km today. This is the longest run I have ever tried. I had to slow to a walk twice on the return leg, for about 50 meters each time, as I just couldnt keep it going. More than anything the small (but very steep) hills on my 'course' really sucked the life out of my legs.

But, one thing I learned from my first triathlon is that no course is flat and if I want to improve I must get used to hills.

The best news is, however, what I dont have to report. I have no foot, ankle, knee or back pain to report. That is fantastic! That said I'm interested to see how I pull up in the morning.

Monday, September 12, 2011

First triathlon completed - now I just want more!

Mt first triathlon is done and I loved it! I want to do it again but better. Still I'm glad I've got a few more weeks of training because as much as part of me just wants to go again the part of me that remembers how badly I dealt with some tiny hills, a gentle head wind and the odd little dip and rise on the run knows I need to train more.

What do I need to do:

1. I need to keep losing weight. On the morning of the tri I weighed 112 kgs. Not bad considering I was 128 when I started getting ready for this back in May but still too heavy. Next race is in four weeks and I want to be in the 108-109 range at least.

2. I need to work on my swimming. I was the first out of the water (in the very small field doing the short course) but I did bugger all training. I did very, very little training in the water before this event, I can make this a lot faster relatively easily.

3. I have to build more hills into my riding. I'm ok on the flat but being a fat bastard the hills really hurt and I need to work on this in training so that I dont go to pieces in the race.

4. I need to stretch my running distance.

Ok, so those are the lessons. But what were my results? Well remember, for my first ever triathlon I did a tiddler, a half sprint;a 250m swim, 10k ride, 2.5k run. And my times were 4:57 (swim), 25:28 (ride), 16:09 (run). I didnt achieve the tao of tri though - my form sucked, my transitions were the definition of sloppy and I had to fight my body on a couple of occasions. But still I'm starting.

My next race is 2 Oct. I'm planning to do another half sprint. My plan is to go a little better across the board. Depending on how that goes I could be attacking a full course sprint in November. Stay tuned for more.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Training makes me vain and selfish.

My wife pointed something out to me this morning.  Training for this triathlon has been great for me, I'm more toned than I've been in 15 years, lighter than I've been in 20 and generally pretty happy with myself.   Every trip to the closet is a reminder that my current clothes no longer fit and some of the old time classics in deep storage actually look ok again.  Unfortunately, this is getting pretty boring for the people I live with.

Right now I feel like I've made a new friend - myself - and I love hanging out with him.  But I need to be careful not to neglect my old friends and family.