Forwards & backwards

Its been a little while since I blogged, mostly because of Christmas and the fact that I haven't done anything of any note! I had a gentle paddle on Christmas Eve and then ran 12 miles over to my parents on Christmas day - I knew this was always going to be difficult and I still wasn't recovered from my cough/cold - so I walked the two steep hills - not sure this helped as my sore hip and knee just got worse as I walked - anyway I wass pleased to do it and then didn't feel too guilty about resting till the New Year! Since then its just been lots of food and even more alcohol, until New Years day when I am back on the wagon! But I'll bore you with that once I've looked back at 2010...cue misty-type music...

So during 2010 I...

Swam 94 miles in 60 hours
Cycled 1670 miles in 105 hours
Ran 693 miles in 117 hours
Cross-trained 101 miles in 19 hours

A total of 2558 miles in 301 hours - not bad considering I am new to all of this...I am going to do a little award ceremony to break down the year...

Best Moment: -

There has been many but I think my 14 mile training run from Salisbury to the coffee shop in the forest, just one of those days were it all clicked and I was coasting along...felt like I could have carried on forever!

Worst Moment: -

Everytime I was ill...which was a lot

Best Race :-

probably the first triathlon I did - I got a massive buzz from it!

Worst Race :-

The southbourne 10k - nothing wrong with it but didn't push hard enough

Best bit of kit: -

Garmin...everytime, I literally feel lost without it

Worst bit of kit: -

My knees...shame I can't get new ones

Thats about it in summary - I am pretty proud of it but appreciate that it will be nothing compared to the next six months! I've learnt a lot about my body and how it works, about what to eat and when to rest....I don't do anything with that knowledge but I have learnt it!

2011 and beyond...

So what happens now..................more training, I put on some weight over Christmas and need to buck up my ideas - I have drawn up a pretty brutal schedule for the next months from 10 hours per week up to 19 hours per week and already got some good training in over the last few days - I need this countdown to really kick me in to gear! The race is all entered for the 26th June so all focus on that in terms of training! Its all about the bike for me at the moment with lots of road and turbo miles - this will all help get me in to racing snake shape!

My rough schedule looks something like this

Monday - cycle to work or turbo (weather dependant) 2.5 hours
Tuesday - Swim in the am, run in the pm - 1.5-2 hours
Wednesday -  cycle to work or turbo (weather dependant) 2.5 hours

Thursday - swim in the am (optional) and run in the pm - 1.5-2 hours
Friday - swim in the am - 1 hour
Saturday - Long bike 3-4 hours
Sunday - Long run - 2 hours+
This will obviously flucuate but this is the general plan anyway!

What with this, wedding planning, work etc I will be plenty busy! I have also adjusted my diet to help shift the weight - nothing silly just more healthy, fruit, green tea etc etc! I am also copying an idea from Breandan's Blog and restricting myself to 12 pints (or glasses of wine) in 6 months, that way if I get desperate I can grab a beer!

Thats about where it is right now, after the race its recovery, wedding and honeymoon which will lead me right back into the Christmas next year! One thing I do know is that this is it for me in terms of triathlon, after the big race I will sell the tri bike and cancel my BTF licence! I shall return to rugby and play for a little while longer before I am too old...you just can't beat a team sport! However I will keep running, swimming and cycling anyway, just because I like it and it keeps me fit, I will also try and enter a different challenge every year - something pretty tough - I like the idea of the River Dart 10k swim so thats something to bear in mind - but first and foremost I am putting every last thing in to the Forestman in  172 days, 13 hours and 14 minutes.....