Training (or lack thereof) update

Well another week of no training again. Hate being stuck in London. Again I went with the best of intentions but with the week I had found motivation for training difficult.


Monday - left home at 05:00 got to the hotel at 19:30.
Tuesday - left the hotel at 08:00 got back at 19:45
Wednesday - left the hotel at 06:00 got back at 20:15
Thursday - left the hotel at 06:00 got back at 19:45 (and I was meant to be going swimming)
Friday - left the hotel at 06:10 and got home at 20:15.


Is it any wonder I was to tired to train?


I have had confirmation from Virgin that I am competing in the London Triathlon, which is good. What isn't is the fact that as of today (Sunday 4th March) it is only 203 days away (29 weeks)


On Saturday I went to Triangle in Leeds for a looks and just to have a chat with the owner. After explaining I was finding it difficult to get my trainers into the toe clips that came fitted to my bike. He suggested I may have more luck with SPD type pedals. I know he was only doing this to make money but he honestly was a gent and a font of knowledge but then again if you have trained two of the best triathletes in the world in Jonathan (@jonny_brownlee)  and Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) you should know your stuff.


So on leaving Triangle I was now the owner of some SPD pedals. The pedals are by a company called Exustar (never heard of them but they work)

The shoes are made by Northwave. The model are Evolution 2001. Who cares if they are 11 years old, they only cost £70 instead of £120 and they're comfy. They have vents so that when I have completed my swim any excess water should have drained away within a couple of km's. This is essential so that the shoes don't rub.

The stiff sole should help me immensely with power transfer to my pedals. After a few teething problems with getting the release pressure sorted on my Turbotrainer I decided to have a quick blast into town. More teething problems ensued (loose saddle and too little pressure required to free my feet) so some more maintenance required on my return. I felt really good after I'd completed this maintenance.

Then disaster occurred. I went to the pub and ended up with too little sleep (thanks to the cat and the wife not turning her alarm off). This meant I really couldn't be bothered to get out of bed at 06:30 to go swimming. The hangover didn't help with motivation either. When I finally got up, I realised I must have really annoyed someone as it was raining cats and dogs. 

But the need to train won out over my lack of wanting to get wet. So at 3 degrees and with the heavens being open I set off on my bike. I quickly realised the error in my ways when my hands felt like they were going to drop off due to the driving rain after under a mile. I persevered and went into Doncaster and back. I was feeling really good and could have carried on but the pain in my hands was getting unbearable so I had to call it a day. Average pace of 11 mph and the traffic lights really weren't helping. Max speed of 20mph. Another lesson learnt today, gloves when biking in the rain are a necessity.

Needless to say some gloves have been bought now. Hope they work and keep my hand dry otherwise I'll have to buy another pair as I really felt like I could've continued with my bike ride.

Please remember you can sponsor me using Justgiving.

Thanks for reading.

Michael

Share this post