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Training Diary
Blue : Scheduled Distance
Red : Training Distance
| Winding Down | 20/07/2003 |
| Four days of commuting this week to try and rack up the extra few miles before the big day. Nothing too strenous was attempted, just enough to ensure all the new equipment was working correctly and comfortable. The final trip was a leisurely ride out on Sunday to Richmond Park with Janice. The new clip in shoes are great and the S1 helmet really is worth every penny on a hot, sunny day. The final training distances have come out reasonably respectable. I have clocked up nearly 350 miles of weekend rides, with the total distance four times what I shall have to do next week - over 1200 miles! It would have been good to stick to the schedule, but I was only about 400 miles off. The places I have slacked off is with the long weekend runs that I should have been doing recently, but the busy summer weekends have prevented me from getting the distance in. Dedicating a whole day to cycling after working all week leaves you with too little time to fit everything else in before it all starts again on Monday morning, ohh well. It would have been good to have the total time in the saddle at the 100 hour mark, but I guess I was just going too quickly! The average speed for all the training is 12.8mph, which isn't bad considering the range of riding which I have been doing. Hopefully the fact that quite a bit of it has been off road will stand me in good sted when it comes to the greater distances on the smoother tarmac. I guess we shall just have to see when Wednesday comes around. | |
| Boring Commute and Puncture | 13/07/2003 |
| It was the all too familiar early morning train into London once again, so this was yet another partial week. Infact, with yet another trip home this weekend, I am guaranteed not to ever do a full week before the ride. This is a bit of a disappointment, but I am sure there will be plenty of chance to do five days after the ride is over. I varied the route home this week, going via Embankment one night. The long uninterrupted roads along the river are great for a continuous ride home, but are far too busy to consider going that way all the time. I also had to borrow Janice's bike due to slow puncture obtained mid week. The plus point of another visit to Doncaster was a real ride on the road bike and I ensured enough time was set aside for a reasonable trip. I caught up another cyclist on the back lanes heading out to Humberside, so I followed him round his usual route and had a good chat. It wasn't the longest weekend ride I have done, but I felt extremely confortable with the distance and was still fresh by the time I returned home. Given a few more weeks before the trip I would maybe have considered participating on the road bike. However, I have now bought most of my kit with the view to using my XC bike so I will stick with that. | |
| Wedding Fever | 06/07/2003 |
| The Monday morning train journey back to London prevents this week from being full quota. After the usual week of work and cycling, we were back in Doncaster at the weekend to attend a wedding on the Saturday. I was too hung over and had far too many things to do on the Sunday to fit a weekend ride in. I really wanted a long run out on the road bike, but time wasn't on my side. I had to scrap some old cars to get them out the back garden, set up a refurbished computer and visit lots of potential reception venues with Janice! I had almost decided to participate on my XC bike anyhow, since it is all set up for road riding and I have a good collection of spares. Looks like the decision has been made for me now anyway! | |
| Funeral | 29/06/2003 |
| Long days at work and the resulting late nights meant no cycling for the first half of the week. Unfortunately I had to return home mid week for a funeral so that reduced the chances of training even more. The only cycling I managed to fit in was an extremely short ride to the letting agents to take the rent before I left. I did get a bit of time when in Doncaster for a ride on a second hand road bike which I purchased to replace my dad's ageing machine. The rubber band tyres and high gears certainly do make things easier for road work, but I think the bike is slightly too small for me. I will be returning next weekend when I will be able to do a longer ride and make a better judgement of which bike to use. | |
| Glorious Oxfordshire Trip | 22/06/2003 |
| Commuting to work seems second nature now and I don't feel like it is really providing me with any real benefits like it used to. I am sure it is keeping my fitness level up, but I doubt if it is adding to it. To rectify this I arranged a weekend ride with a work colleague. This was a glorious trip along the Grand Union canal, out into Buckinghamshire and touching on Oxfordshire. Although the canal was flat earlier in the ride, we skirted the fringe of the Chiltern Hills and there were a couple of big climbs. The ride meant I was just shy of 100 miles total for the week, but put me over 1000 miles of training overall. The swimming pool and barbeque at the destination were greatly appreciated, but meant it was a late one by the time we finally loaded the bikes onto the car to return to London. | |
| Queens Tennis | 15/06/2003 |
| Once again I came close to the full five days commuting this week, but failed by missing the first day. I wasn't feeling extremely energetic on Monday morning after the long ride at the weekend. However, the guilt ensured I made the effort every day after that. Due to being busy at work, these were early morning starts. They meant I could leave earlier than normal and appreciate the weather coming through the parks in the early afternoon. Another reason for leaving early was Queens Club tennis tournament this week, which we attended on both Thursday and Friday. We got to see some excellent tennis up close and then the semi-finals were watched from the roof at the weekend. Partying too much with visitors on the Saturday and the resultant hangover on the Sunday ensured I didn't get a weekend run on the bike. | |
| Long Hot Day | 08/06/2003 |
| An uneventful week ended with a really great long ride to Winsor on Saturday morning. It was an early one with a 9am start from Hammersmith bridge. I met up with follow trainees at Richmond station, from which we all set out along the Thames Path. We followed the river out past Hampton Court, Kingston and eventually Staines. We stopped for a couple of pub breaks in the sun along the way and arrived in Windsor just gone 3pm. After a quick pub meal we turned around and retraced our steps. I had to leave the pack at the final break to ensure I returned to London with time to get to a birthday barbeque. It was good to get a bit of distance under my belt, and I felt tired by the end of it, but plesantly so. When I got home at 7pm I was certainly ready for a bath to soak my legs and help reduce the sunburn. I must definately make the effort to do more trips like this, even if it isn't for the purposes of training. | |
| Exercise Bike | 01/06/2003 |
| The commuting distance is down this week due to arriving at work straight off a train on Tuesday morning. I also had no time for a trip out this weekend. However, I managed to squeeze in eleven kilometers on the exercise bike just to keep the legs ticking over. | |
| Redirection and Discomfort | 25/05/2003 |
| The commute to work was problematic this week due to many road closures. The police keep moving barriers and blocking my normal route past Buckingham Palace and Westminster. I think it was something to do with preparation for Trooping of the Colour, but who knows! I went home for the bank holiday weekend and borrowed my dad's bike for a ride. However, I didn't go as far as I would have like since the bike is extremely old and worn out. This resulted in my cumulative milage slipping behind the training schedule for first time. Hopefully I will be able to get it back above the schedule with some long weekend rides in the future. | |
| Resting | 18/05/2003 |
| No excuses really, the miles just seem to be dropping down rather than going up. Maybe I have been training too long :) I could always justify it as belated rest weeks which were scheduled for weeks 9 and 10. As you can see from the graphs, it is only recently that I have slipped behind. However, my cumulative milage is still slightly ahead of the schedule. Next week I will put a lot of effort in and ensure my weekly milage stays above 100. Only nine weeks to go, and in four weeks time I will really have to do some distance work. | |
| Weekend Ride Missed | 11/05/2003 |
| I still can't believe that I have yet to manage a full five day commute. It has been several weeks of cycling now, but something always comes up to prevent me from cycling every day. A long ride was planned for the weekend, but unfortunately had to be postponed due to an emergency trip up to Doncaster. | |
| Back to the Grindstone | 04/05/2003 |
| Unfortuntely I haven't anything spectacular to reveal this week. It has been the standard old commute to work, followed by a short ride with Janice at the weekend. We went for a trip down the river, but it was cut short due to the good weather and a barbeque to attend. | |
| Long Rides | 27/04/2003 |
| More cycling in Wales, and some long rides in Doncaster mean this week's distance is mostly made of of weekend cycling. Not quite as impressive as last week, but it certainly helps to ensure I can cope with singular rides or reasonable distance. | |
| 100 Mile Week | 20/04/2003 |
| After such a poor effort last week, I managed to put in the best week so far and top the 100 mile barrier. This was achieved through a lot of commuting, mainly cycling to and from a train station and between various houses in Doncaster. A single 40 mile trip on the Sunday is also worth noting. | |
| Lazy Boy | 13/04/2003 |
| Unfortunately, not a single mile was ridden this week. I bought myself a new computer, which kept me busy and prevented any puncture fixing. Must do better next week! | |
| New Forest | 06/04/2003 |
| A boring week was finished off with a brilliant weekend away in the New Forest. A full days cycling, stopping at a few pubs on the way, in the real outdoors was great fun. Janice and Graham cycled along at their own pace, whilst I was left to play about out in front. Several punctures later, it was time to return to the gloom of London. | |
| Another Four Days | 30/03/2003 |
| No weekend trip this week, just another four days commuting. I always manage to find an excuse to miss one day of cycling during the week, but there is time yet. | |
| Weekend Trip | 23/03/2003 |
| Getting my bike fixed meant I could finish off the week of communiting in style. It also meant Janice got her bike back and we were able to go for a ride at the weekend. It was a reasonably leisurely trip down the river, round Kew Gardens and back. | |
| Bike Returned | 21/03/2003 |
| I finally got my bike fixed by Action Bikes, so the rear brake is now working and the training can start in earnest. I was astonished that it took them over six weeks to complete the service and fix the weepy leaver, luckily the three week holiday inbetween made it a bit more bearable. Also, it was strange that I could source parts from Wiggle quicker, cheaper and easier than them, the bike shop! In the end, the whole leaver and resevoir was replaced at a greater cost than just replacing the upper seals. However, I now have one good looking, metal 2003 Magura Louise brake which is guaranteed not to fail again - provided I don't mess with it and nobody else puts DOT5 fluid in the system! | |
| Shaving Off The Minutes | 16/03/2003 |
| I have managed to get the four days of commuting down to a reasonable time. I don't want to push it too hard due to the dangers of London roads, and every extra mile an hour adds to the risk. | |
| Still Using the Tank | 09/03/2003 |
| Another four days commuting were done on Janice's bike, slightly quicker than last week. | |
| First Week Back | 02/03/2003 |
| On return from Australia, my bike still hadn't been fixed so I borrowed Janice's for the commute to work. The first day was missed due to a trip on the tube, but I cycled the rest of the week. | |