Missed Targets

I should be feeling better about my training after this week but I'm not. I was in the gym Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well as on the turbo trainer on Tuesday night. I also went to the gym on Saturday and Sunday which makes for nearly 10 hours of exercise.

However, whilst I made my goals for running and completed-sessions this month, I missed my cycling goals. It turns out I am a bit of a fair weather rider. Its partly because I haven't got all the correct winter gear like overshoes and a good jacket but partly because its no fun cycling in the wet and cold. I can stay on the bike all day when the weather is OK but add wind and/or cold and its miserable.

Running is OK in bad weather. You warm up quickly, you don't really need any specialist gear, your temperature stays constant and within minutes of getting home, you can strip off, chuck everything in the washing machine and jump in the bath. Cycling, on the other hand, is a pain. I'm hot up the climbs and cold on the descents. I feel like I'm carrying too much stuff and then you have a 30 minute job when you get back to clean the crud off your bike.

OK, its not quite as bad as all that but still, I can see myself swapping a ride for a run more than once over the winter. I wonder how this will affect my cycling ability come next February.

Bad Week

With a combination of procrastination, weather, excessive alcohol and family problems, it was been a very unproductive week. Nothing of note to report or record. One week left until the end of the month and I'm going to have to work very hard to come close to reaching my targets.

Charity

I have decided to do the Etape for charity. I haven't raised money for charity doing an event for a while and given the uniqueness and difficulty of the event, I figure it would be a good one to do. Also, friends have asked about sponsoring me so I set up a Just Giving page and chose Deafblind UK as the charity.

I'm not going to actively start fund raising until after Christmas but I hope to raise around £500.

Good week

Things went pretty well this week. I managed a 6 mile run on Monday, 21 miles on the turbo trainer on Wednesday and a 22 mile ride during the day on Friday. The turbo ride was 30 minutes steady and then .5 mile sprint and then 1 mile steady for an hour.

On Saturday I met up with Ed and headed off into the Surrey Hills for a long ride. We went with another friend of ours, Simon, who I met through running. He recently completed the UK Ironman so was in very good shape and showed it up the hills.

The weather was really good with cloud for the first hour and then broken cloud for the rest of the ride until the last our when it was cloudy again. Not too cold and no rain. We aimed to do a couple extra hills today with an extension of the normal route to include Leith Hill. It was a tough route with the added extra hill when we missed a turn on a down hill and had to go all the way back to the top.

We finished with figures of 88.22 miles in 6 hours of cycling. Not very quick but we weren't pushing it. It was Ed's turn to be a bit below par, he had another puncture and we got lost several times. My computer said we climbed 6743 feet and even if that's a little generous, its good. If we keep up this level of training we will be in good shape by next February.

Sunday was the Epsom 10. 10 miles from Epsom race course on a hilly course. I did it last year in 1:28:29 and was really pleased as it was part of my road to recovery. This time my aim was to beat last years time but I was feeling very sluggish and tired after Saturday's ride and decided just to plod round. The first 3 miles were really painful but I picked it up a bit in the middle section as I kept up with a group of runners. The end couldn't come soon enough but my time wasn't horrific. 1:31:57. I was 267th out of 340 finishers. No medal. I got the same pen as last year.

Week in Thailand

No cycling this week. I have been on holiday in Thailand with my wife (and no kids) for a week. I did manage to get to the gym most days and did around 25 miles running and lots of weights and stretching. Its also hard to eat rubbish food in Thailand with all the noodles and steamed veg so I'm feeling pretty good.

Monthly Stats - October

I have to say that it was a successful month. Doing much better than expected in both events was a real bonus. I did not reach my targets for running or cycling but the Epic and then the Marathon made the weeks after tough going. I also didn't have a weekend where I could have a good go at the 10 mile target so I'll role that over to next month.

October Goals:
Complete the Autumn Epic - PASS
Do a 4:30 marathon at Abingdon - PASS
Do over 80 miles running - FAIL
Do over 300 miles cycling - FAIL
Break the 10 miles in 30 minute target - FAIL (Did not attempt)

November Goals:
Do over 80 miles running
Do over 300 miles cycling
Complete 85% of my planned training sessions
Break the 10 miles in 30 minute target

No targets to big this month. The main aim is to get into a routine with my training as I'm starting a more structured plan. It will look something like this:

• Mon - Turbo Trainer easy
• Tue - Run
• Wed - Gym including core and weights
• Thu - Turbo Trainer easy
• Fri - Rest
• Sat - Long cycle
• Sun - Long Run

Obviously, it is flexible. I will often swap the long run and long cycle around and move the rest day if I have an event.