I have never before challenged my employer to shake themselves up and find me work. While it hasn't got me anywhere yet, it will. There's stuff in the planning and I feel good about myself because two different sets of people want to hire me. Meanwhile, what can be more perfect for a triathlete than a well-paid job where I can sit and do next to nothing all day? The boy needs help but that's my only necessary task.
This morning I rode to work on the race bike. I did one-footed riding which, combined with the newly fitted tri bars gets me used to the bike position and improves my pedalling efficiency. It's an easy work out but an effective one. Amusingly, for someone who's already late for work, it also makes me slower.
Riding on the tri bars highlighted the fact that they are skew since I adjusted them after my last ride. They're fixed now after a casual lunch break.
I feel like it's all ready to go. I do need to check it as it made my hips hurt after the Sherwood forest ride.
On Sunday night when we returned from Bassett I set about reading an old season planning diary. Not that old... Just 2years old from the year when I bought "the cyclist's training bible" and tried road racing. The break down of effort for the one discipline was useful and I definitely ended that season a stronger rider than I started it.
It has occurred to me that (now I've got my gear heart rate monitor out) I should apply this same tool to the decidedly more complex sport of triathlon. I could probably go out and buy the "triathlete's training bible" but I could somewhat guess the end for less money and at least come up with a plan that's a good-enough shade of better than nothing.
While hours of sitting about on the sofa planning numbers is not going to help me improve physically, it can contribute towards making me mentally more convinced in my training plan. Whether that is, "is it going to work?" or "am I going to follow it?", only time can tell but the two questions are probably less exclusive than I think. The author himself indicates that a bad plan is more effective than no plan. I'm not sure that includes one which can't physically be followed. One thing is for sure, there's not really a plan now. What exists is a series of targets - all written at Christmas when I was feeling quite good. They can not all be delivered every week, I have to pick them carefully.
So the swim plan will be separated into two sessions per week except for test weeks which are hard. The bike plan will get broken down by time, spinning effort and hillyness and the run will get broken down into distance increments followed by speed increases I feel I can manage.
Key is my tendency to over-training and if I can manage that by planning... I should see results - particularly if I manage tonight's over-enthusiasm by planning instead of getting home and dragging myself out for a run. Oh, y'know that sounds so tempting.
Otherwise I have to try to avoid getting distracted by things off the tri radar. Getting as much of the house finished before the tri season really gets going them getting it on the market so I don't have to think about it. Aside from housey chores I need to distract my non training hours with the glorious pursuit of reading tri magazines or checking out what my team mates are up to as they usually inspire me to try harder. This is an un-disguised excuse for reading facebook a lot. Doing laundry of course counts as tri training.
But back to the positives. I am up to 5.5km on the new feet. I've fulfilled all of my health resolutions - feet, jaw, other tests all clear.
Now I'm just wanting the sun to come out and for the gym and the pool to empty of all of last christmas's new years resolutions. I tell you what, they're a well resolved lot around here .
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