Long Weekend Recovery Fortnight

Too long in between posts methinks. If anyone ever reads this I don't want to piss them off by only posting once every few weeks.

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since my last post. The weather here has been pretty crappy and the days are quite short, dark at 5 PM and sun up at around 7.30 AM. Having to work makes getting in any training difficult on top of the winter weather.

I have been attempting to build a good base of fitness with some long rides, around 100kms, and runs, around 15kms; and have just bought a 20 session pass at an indoor swimming centre. I managed to get in 2.2kms in the pool today at lunchtime. The other child got sick after the long weekend which meant another long day at home. Sick kids are not happy kids and looking after them is a lot harder than going to work. A few trips into Adelaide for work has also eaten into any training as most of my training is done either in the morning or at lunchtime.

The stationary trainer has been used quite a bit for some 1 hour steady state HR sessions and also some high RPM interval sessions. The last one I did was this exercise and I could not believe how hammered I was at the end of it. I use an Elite brand Mag Resistance trainer on level 3 resistance. I much prefer being on the road but I really dont have too many options this time of the year, as I am not keen on riding to and from work in partial darkness. Country roads, cars at high speeds and unused to cyclists doesn't fill me with confidence.

The swim today was good, but the pool is a little warm for my liking. It was great to get some laps in. I concentrated a lot on my position in the water and trying to keep my elbows high, extended my arms, rotating my hips, head looking down etc. So much to think about! I think I will always be a MOP swimmer doing about 1.50 100s. I am using workouts from here and going for the weak (C) workout at the moment. Firstly as time restrictions make it difficult to complete the higher distances and my swim endurance needs some work and 2.3 kms is all I can do and still function for the rest of the day.

Running has been nice although a little chilly to begin with. I am even considering joining the world of base layer wearers. It was 5 celsius the other morning when I began my run and a balmy 7 an hour and a half later. Bits of me, not just my fingers, were pretty cold at the end of the run which has prompted my thoughts of tight shiny pants.

The most exciting thing though is that I will be getting a proper bike fit on Wednesday. Steve Nash at Corsa Cycles in Adelaide is renowned as a good fitter so I have taken the plunge and will get a professional time trial set up done. I feel a little funny taking my cheap, Tiagra bike into a fancy bike shop with beautiful Italian Dura-Ace and Campag Super Record bikes all over the floor and walls. Anyway I am paying good money for it so Steve will just have to grit his teeth and work with what I can afford. I am intrigued to see if it will make much difference to how I feel and perform on the bike and how wrong my own set up has been.

I will add more after the set up on Wednesday.