Fundraising Cake Sale - Pieathlon for Triathlon!

Yippee the fun part of training - baking and eating cakes all in aid of fundraising! So we had a fab turn out at the office fundraising cake sale, special thanks to Libby, Cathy and Paul who contributed with their culinary skills :)

I managed to sell cakes on Thursday and Friday making £105.60p! Amazing really considering it's a 'health' charity! :)

From adventures of a very amateur athlete

From adventures of a very amateur athlete

From adventures of a very amateur athlete

Training wise (bar eating the cakes) it has been a fairly good week - cycled the Outer Circle at Regents Park last Tuesday 4 loops of 5k, there and back, so a good 25k ride. Gym sessions for strength training on Tuesday with a 5k on treadmill, rubbish failed run in the rain on Wednesday (manged 5k - badly), an energetic Spin Class on Thursday, Swimming on Saturday morning followed by a tiring hill/trail run with Graeme.
Started a new week with an early gym session 25mins Xtrainer and 5k run - stretches and weights - despite the rediculous weather - heat this time hitting 32c , I also managed a quick bike round Hampstead - up Swains Lane (I admit stopping half way up! Must get better at gears!) and through Spaniards Lane. Easy enough but VERY HOT and sweaty when I arrived home....
Onwards and upwards, 4 weeks to go - have some podcasts to get through discussing mental attitudes and positivity during the race which I'm hoping will stand me in good stead.

swimming in the rain

After waking up at 6am on Saturday, I was feeling ready for a bike ride but the inner tube I had replaced had gone down overnight and didn't dare risk another embarrassing walk back with the bike. So in order to redeem my wasted attempts I went for a punishing 10k run through the heath. It was almost perfect that early - none of the usual 'on-trend-runners' with their inappropriate fashion wear and dj headphones! Took in some hills and varied the pace. As I was feeling energetic I followed it with 1.2k swim in the lido - good but still feeling outta shape and slow in the pool. I was feeling on top form at 9am sat with a coffee when it was all done! However, the rest of weekend was spent enjoying food and booze, so kinda back to where I was before come Monday morning! ah the perils of modern living!

Rain is becoming more than just a tiresome inconvenience, so instead of a bike ride had to brave the lido this evening. Strangely everyone else had the same idea :)
It's Wimbledon week so rain looks set to continue...grrrr hurry up summer come back soon. I need to get back out on the bike and make the most of the light evenings.

week in review

It would be fair to say its been an odd week. Bike arrived on Tuesday and spent most of the evening putting handlebars, wheels and seats on. I did surprise myself with an ability to grasp the basic mechanics of it all, thanks to YouTube managed to reattach the oily chain and work out the way it was meant to go on (the Internet basically can tell you EVERYTHING!)

I'm impressed with the bike, nice smooth ride too, brakes well (a must)- gear changes seem to baffle me but will get the hang of it. The fact that it actually fits me and is Women's Specific Design makes a huge difference - i could actually describe the seat as 'comfortable' not sure for how long (30miles later could be a very different story!)

Had a meander round the park and round the block, funny and humiliating, made me feel like a child learning to ride. Basically I am...

So this week in review: Pros: Have bike
Cons: Weather has been rainy so only managed one ride on Friday night.

Monday started off well thanks to G keeping me company with brick training (nothing to do with housebuilding) 5k running loop of parliament hill followed by a freezing dip in the Lido - hence only managed 12 laps (720mtrs)

Tuesday enforced rest waiting for bike to arrive.

Wednesday slight redemption with body pump weights class for 60mins, then 45mins spin class and a gentle 10minute 2k treadmill run.

Thursday a good lunchtime saw 2 loops of regents park outer circle - beating my previous PB with a 52minute 9.3K - nice so smiled all afternoon at work- then ruined it with 4 pints after work and cheese on toast at midnight...oh well, no matter how I try some thing's never change!

Friday - post work break in the rain so took the 'baby' out for a virgin spin in the local area. The Heath cycle routes are a total waste of time - one is too short, the other is gravel so only suitable for bikes with suspension! GRRR! Had to make do with the actual roads to West Hill and then up Millfield lane through Fitzroy Park - big hill! (I admit I stopped once first try - the gears fault honestly!) - back down and up again for practice, then up Millfield Lane and out at Highgate village, I resisted the temptation of heading up a big B Road...and had a pootle round and down Highgate West Hill - wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Complete with white knuckles as a van pulled right beside me! Brake control was all I used all the way to Swains Lane - where I went into residential streets - lovely undulating roads and hardly any traffic. Phew! I'd like to think it was around 5miles in an hour and 20mins. Had to text my nearest and dearest when I returned just to let them know I survived :)

Saturday - early morning wetsuit swim - lido temp had dropped from all the rain to a cool 15c. Only managed 14 lengths, felt tired.

Sunday - to make up for the unscheduled rest day on Tuesday and mitigating circumstances of rain, I ventured to the gym for a long session. 25mins xTrainer, 30minute 22K Bike, and 5k run in 29min.

Two PB's in one week - knackered and proud are the only words I have now. Looking forward to roast chicken and a good nights rest as reward.

wetsuit swimming...

Saturday was a whole new experience of wetsuit swimming. Very weird at first when you enter the water, but does have a level of buoyancy that helps with speed. Needed to practice crawl and breathing as feeling way to reliant in the old faithful breaststroke technique. But overall need to make an effort with at least 2 early morning swimming sessions per week.
Mornings mainly due to the fact that easier to do length's, no kiddies, and the other 'triathletes' swim then, looking all serious like automated seals speeding through the pool....intimidating yet hopefully will incite the competitive streak to help me not feel so much of an impostor!

Not a bad week over all on the countdown, all things considered. Thursday's run in Regents Park was good, despite not remembering the Gamin to track heart rate and kms. But managed 2 loops, so a 9k in 58Min's and despite the warm weather didn't feel any pain next day. (apart from the post-exercise headache that evening---not good)

So week 1 of 8 has seen me achieve a total of 19K running, 12k cycling and 1k swimming, + 2 cardio classes all in 5 hours and 35 minutes. A beautiful example of time management :)

Evan's cycles in Chalk Farm must named and shamed for selling me a helmet yesterday, with security tags attached....now have to go all the way back to the shop to get them to remove them!

Training plan

Yippeee.... 8 week countdown is here.
Schedule this week started on Sunday with a good 8k run with G - Darlo's finest scenery - Blackwell to the River Tees, lovely route and all the dogwalkers and fellow runners all said 'ello' as we passed. Ah the friendly northern charm!
Monday - a day of pure rest - catching up on sleep :)
Tuesday - Gym session with 25mins Xtrainer and 12k static bike followed by the joys of Ed's bootcamp class.... no pain, no gain....circuit killer. Im gritting my teeth all the way through. Although the saving grace is the 80s tunes!
Wednesday - Gym again, 20mins treadmill fast running, 25mins Xtrainer and my favorite Spin Class :) Sweaty!
So still to come this week:
Thursday - Regents Park outdoor run with some work runners...aiming for 8-9K
Friday - Early swim avec wetsuit which DOES make me look like a superhero (wishful thinking but yes, it really is that clingy!)
Saturday - depending on alcohol consumption - a good run / swim would be ideal
Sunday - stretches - long walk... maybe :)

BIG NEWS! Im awaiting my road bike to be delivered...so whenever that turns up, schedule out the window and speeding round the park instead!