As I have mentioned before on the 02/03/2011 rest is important. I had done a few days of hard training with medium millage at a high tempo. I had mixed this with several different types of exercise such as running, swimming and gym work.
I woke up this morning and my body was saying no so I listened and had a day off. I spent the day just chilling out with Suzanne and we went for lunch. A good day boosted with some good news on the possible job front!
Tomorrow back to the grind again and out on the bike.
When I started my training back in January I was an uncomfortable 14 stones and 13 pounds. I could barely manage 13 to 14 mph and long distances were hard work. Now however, I am consistently pushing 25 to 50 mile rides averaging at speeds between 14 and 16mph with the distance not causing any major fitness questions.
I went out today for a good ride along the coast and with the weather being a bit cooler than it has been and the ground being wet it was slightly harder. never the less I went for it again. The wind was slightly stronger and the watr on the roads made it heavier on the legs. I headed off to South Shields and along the sea front to Seaburn and Roker then in land to Downhill in Sunderland. After the climb a nice sloping decent into Boldon and then on towards Follingsby lane in Gateshead. From here past the golf course at Heworth through Pelaw and back home.
28.36miles 1hr 46 mins average speed of 15.9mph.
Later I headed off to the sauna for a chill out and a swim where I managed to do 1 mile changing my stroke between breast stroke and front crawl to make it a more active recovery and again later out again for a 2 mile jog.
I could feel my body was tiring and a few aches had started!! My appetite increased massively later in the day which is something I have noticed since diversifying my training. May be rest is needed tomorrow!
Absolutely loving my training now and feeling all the better for it. I am getting consistant milage under my belt.
today I opted for the exact same route as I had yesterday with the thought of keeping the tempo high and the pressure on my legs till they were burning. Again I had an excellent ride pushing out the 23.76miles in 1hr 22 mins average speed 16.4mph.
Later I was off to the gym again for a good session to maintain my active recovery. Still felt good afterwards.
With my training in full swing and almost 3 months on I have tried to keep the interest going. It would be so easy to get tired and bored of the same repetative training methods. So lately I have thrown in more variety.
It is important to me that I keep my motivation high and not get stuck in a rut!! Today I have cycled a total of 23.76 miles in 1 hour and 22 minutes an average speed of 16.4mph. A good pace for me on a nice fairly level route. Later I went to the gym for an hour and followed this with a 40 minute run. A fairly successful day of training I reckon.
Today the weather was beautiful and spring was well and truely in the air. I headed off at around 11 am and was amazed by the amount of people who were out and about. Joggers, dog walkers, people doing work in thier gardens and of course fellow cyclists.
I decided to do the same route I do most Sundays as it has a great mixture of hills and flat. The ride was slow to start with and then the pace picked up as I got into it. First Wrekenton in Gateshead where you can see the next peak at Penshaw and again from there the next Downhill in Sunderland.
I kept the pace steady so I could feel my legs burning the whole way and felt good when I finished.
28.83mph 1hour 51mins average 15.5mph.
Later out again for a 5.5 mile run.
Today was a hard day. I didn't train but we had arranged to go to a place in Scotland just of Loch Lomond called Tarbet. My mam and dad had spent some time together here a few years back and dad had told mam he would bring her ashes here.
So a few of us went along with dad to give him our support. We planted a small rose bush scattered her ashes beneath a tree, which was in view of the loch and its amazingly beautiful mountains. We now all have a special place to go when we want time to remember her.
Needless to say Tarbet is a place I will be visiting whilst on my ride.....
Well today brought some lovely spring weather like most of the week and I headed out early so I could enjoy the rest of the weather through the day. I left home at about 7am and headed along the South Shields Coast line towards Roker. The sun was still fairly low in the sky and was creating a bright reflection off the sea.
Now I was averaging a speed of about 17mph at this point and was swiftly over taken by a man on a road bike who must of been going over 20mph he had the cheek to take both hands off his handle bars when he passed me!!
I carried on to Roker and then over the Wear into Sunderland. I was feeling pretty good and kept my pace high so I could feel my legs burning as I pushed. When I got through Sunderland City Center I headed on towards Seaham and passed Seaham Hall along the B1404 over to Rainton and Houghton Le Spring. Then through Great Lumley and past the Lumley Castle hotel into Chester le Street. When I got into Seaham and all the way through Chester le Street a mist had fallen and the temperature had dropped quite a bit.
I carried on into Birtley over to Kibblesworth in Gateshead and then through Team Valley where the weather had brightened again and it had warmed up.
Then on again to Lobly Hill and over to Whickam and then along the river route home.
It was an excellent ride with a good mix of hills and flat. Later a 2 mile run as the gym was closed.
53.76miles, 3 hrs 22 mins and average speed 15.8mph.
With not having my bike to train on I had to motivate myself to do something different. I decided to do some core work abs and lower back and opted for a sauna and a swim.
I managed to swim half a mile and then when I was finished I had a call from RIDE cycles who were finished.
I went up to Scotswood road to collect my bike and took it for a spin home nice and smooth. There were a few parts which needed to be replaced and then a general service. i was also given some good advise regarding the tyres I should use for my charity ride, which I think I will be following.
Later I went for a run for a couple of miles a nice piece of diverse training spread across the whole day. This has meant I haven't really felt too tired or strained and hopefully I will benefit from this.
Tomorrow I will take a longer ride to test the bike further.
Today I set off with the mind set to take it steady. the weather was a bit warmer but there was a stiff head wind to contend with. I travelled the river route to Blaydon after going through the pedestrian tunnel and along the Quayside at Newcastle. The total distance was 23.76 miles and I completed it in 1 hour 33 mins.
A problem with my bike has started so I reckon it will be going in for a service and a check up tomorrow.
Again later I visited the gym for an hour.
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