Monday, April 27, 2009

Winter has arrived.

Bring out the winter gear, dust off the booties and leg warmers and brace for the forthcoming cold weather.

This is the best time for me to train, well the time of year I like the most. To rug up and go for a long ride is fantastic. I constantly think during these times that no-one else is out there and that I am going to benefit greatly for persisting with it.

A good set of lights is a bonus and also good company, whether a good mate, or some great tunes on the Ipod, either way, happy days.

For someone my size, as much as I love the warm weather, the cold weather means that there is less chance of me overheating. So I look forward to many hours in the saddle and on the road punching out the k's. This is where the foundation is laid, you complete these sessions and your season will be better for it, and with the goals that I have set myself this year, these cold wintery sessions are a must for me.

For now...

X-Man

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Expanding your Network.

I write this post as this what I will be looking at doing over the forthcoming months;

Expanding my Network


Everyone has different commitments and schedules and over recent times I have found myself searching for training partners due to unavailability of my regular partners. Originally this was never going to be a problem as I felt that I had enough to cover any deficiency that may occur with training partners. However this is what I have recently been faced with:


2 training mates completing uni, so have exams etc,

1 training partner up working the fires at Yea since day one there (this is a BIG loss for me),

1 training partner becoming very busy with work and family commitments, and

1 training partner / myotherapist deciding to go to Africa for a holiday (lucky guy!).


This leaving me with really only 1 person who lives near by to train with and also with different work schedules, getting consistent sessions done has been quite hard. So, for this year I am going to travel to get quality sessions done to cover any shortfalls around home.


I have already started this and am finding success already, travelling to Komo's place to do the North Road Ride of a Thursday morning. As per my previous post, to get consistent training done, I am going to have to allow for travel time so that, a: I get out there and train and, b: I am able to get quality training done.

So, for many of you out there, be expecting regular calls to get out and train.

For now...

X-Man

Monday, April 20, 2009

Getting back into it

I write this post after enjoying the spoils of my sister getting married on the weekend and indulging in too many successive weekends enjoying life "way to much".

I have decided to extract a digit and get back into training sooner than originally planned. My original plan was start of June and to just maintain fitness at this time. However after recent functions, I am going to up my training drastically over the next week and moving forward I am going to "hit the ground running" so to speak. This will enable me to have a good level of fitness for when my program gets going full steam ahead again.

To date I have been running between 4 - 5 hours per week with 3 -4 hours of cycling per week, nothing compared to what I am used to. As from the weekend, I plan to up my running to a consistent 6 hours per week of slow easy miles to stay injury free and build a good base. My cycling is going to be increased to 12 - 15 hours per week to start the same process to get those k's into the legs.

I am already looking forward to June to officially commence my training again.

For now...

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Enjoy doing nothing!!

Thats what my coach has told me about Easter. Do Nothing!!!

I have ventured across to Adelaide to see my best mate, his wife and their soon to be baby...Yes his wife is pregnant, just to relax and do nothing.

Now for someone who has a reputation of not being able to sit still at the best of times, I thought that this would be quite difficult. I even decided not to pack any sort of training gear in case I felt guilty. For now I haven't felt that one, one day in.

With golf on the agenda for this afternoon and then enjoying the spoils of a few beverages afterwards, this should consume my mind and not think about training. My mind should be fresh by Tuesday when I return and be keen to get back into training again for the week.
So, for now, my feet are up and I have a sore head from a lack of sleep last night, gee, world tour guitar tour gives you a cracking work out.
For now...
X Man

Monday, April 6, 2009

There is light at the end of the Tunnel!!

One month on and I have found improvement in my running so far. My first crack at the tan 8km saw me finish in 32.40min (which was a good platform). I ventured back there on Saturday to see if any improvements had occured after one month.

Well, I mangaged to break the 4 min barrier not only for the first lap but for the entire race!! 31min 45 sec. WOOHOO!!

Ran through 4km in 15min 43sec, so didn't tire to much over the second lap.

Overall a good time for me and have not only physically, but mentally broken the 4min k mark with a hill each lap, which does not suit this deisel train!!

Last week I also ventured out with Princess, Komo and Monas for a crack at the North Road ride, first time for me also. Not much to report about it apart from....

Has me hooked, loved the ride, think it will help the legs speed throughout winter, so will be a regular on this ride also.

Have race a couple of crits without much success, but this is working into my plan for the road season, cannot reveil too much at this stage.

A big shout out goes to the competitors at yesterdays IRONMAN OZ race with from reports was a tough tough day at the office, a finish is something to congratulate. Well Done!!

For now...

X-Man