Since the year is drawing to a close, I thought I'd do a quick wrap up of things that I learned or found useful over the course of the past year. Many things have changed, but it's all starting to settle back down now. So, for cycling, running and shooting, here we go.
#1 Shooting ability doesn't really seem to decline over time. OTOH, it also doesn't improve, so time not training is still time lost, but it's not counter productive as such.
#2 Running fitness comes and goes rather quickly. However, it is possible to shorten the come-back time through keeping a high training level when I do train. Keeping up cycling at the same time also keeps my base fitness high, so returning to running isn't so bad.
#3 Stretching is the most amazing thing in the world to do regularly. It keeps away injury, and, well, mostly that. This then allows for a high training load.
#4 I need to eat a lot of food when I do regular training. With around 200 km a week, I more or less couldn't get enough food into me to maintain weight. Diet will need to be addressed next year.
#5 I have a pretty measly power output. However, my low weight means I can climb reasonably well. I'd like to focus more on this. Also, my small size may be of some benefit in time trialling, though my power is quite low for that. This is also something I'd like to do a bit more of.
#6 Touring is a lot of fun. I've only done a short bit, but long distance is what I like. The easiest way to do that is with some luggage strapped on!
#7 Shooting is still my favourite sport. Even after a year of not really shooting, I still loved getting back into it. Making plans for next year has been a lot of fun recently.
#8 Proper kit and a good bike set up are incredibly important for long days in the saddle. Anything else leads to pain, which could end up costing a lot more money and time to sort out.
#9 Planning and goals are rather important. I had nothing to focus on for the year, due to work plans being all over the place, so I wasn't particularly driven to do anything. That's already changed for next year. Planning week by week and month by month should yield good results, especially as I've never done this properly before.
#10 Some things are more important than sport. It's a hard one to take, but sometimes it just doesn't quite work out. Really, it has to be pretty low on the priority list. Which leads us back to the planning. A session without a goal is wasted, as far as training is concerned. Making the most of what time you know you have is incredibly important.
So that's about it. Ten things I've learned this year. There may have been some more specific stuff, but I'm sure it's not that important :P It's been a rather relaxed year for me, certainly in terms of shooting. Next year, I hope will be rather different, now that I've found my feet somewhat. Hopefully this post will have some less basic lessons when I write it again in a year!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Party Time
I've been musing a lot lately about shooting in Germany. I have come across this place, which I already knew about, but wasn't aware that it was in the middle of the city!
So, after some brief looks, I have come to the following conlcusions;
Giggidy
Giggidy
Giggidy
Ouch.
75% giggidy is pretty good. The rifles appear to more or less be factory prices, which I can well live with. Also, since air rifles are unrestricted, I can walk in and take one home once I get back over there. Which will greatly bolster efforts. Ammo seems to be rather pricey, but I can probably source that from somewhere else.
Let's roll.
So, after some brief looks, I have come to the following conlcusions;
Giggidy
Giggidy
Giggidy
Ouch.
75% giggidy is pretty good. The rifles appear to more or less be factory prices, which I can well live with. Also, since air rifles are unrestricted, I can walk in and take one home once I get back over there. Which will greatly bolster efforts. Ammo seems to be rather pricey, but I can probably source that from somewhere else.
Let's roll.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Salzburg trip
I've been meaning to write this since I got back, but haven't really been bothered :D I've been working rather late these past few weeks so it's been home, food, vegitate, food, sleep. A little training, no writing, nothing :( OK, so there was a trip back to Ireland thrown in there, that was kinda fun :D
This trip was something that I'd been meaning to do all Summer, but just never got around to for several reasons, the main one being lack of a touring bag. It only arrived at the start of September and I've actually been somewhat booked out on my weekends since then. I was originally going to make it a three day trip; down Friday, cycle around the mountains Saturday and head back on the Sunday. With that in mind and most of my time off for the year taken, I decided to leave it til next year.
Of course, I got bored. I have terrible problems sticking to plans, as I'm sure you're all aware, so I said fcuk it on the Wednesday, booked the hostel on the Thursday, plotted the route on the Friday and spent the weekend cycling :)
I plotted two pretty easy routes. I was kinda half thinking of some proper climbs, but they all involved a trip length of 180 or so km, so that was out. I didn't fancy 11 hours or so on the bike on either day! Looking back, I'm damn glad I went with what I did 'cos it was tough enough as it was! A few of the hills on the way back were over 10% in sections, and when one is a few kilos heavier than normal, with a few more hanging off the back, this becomes something of an issue.
I'm feeling too lazy to post up photos here, but they're already on my facebook page here (public access). Some are rather nice, some are just my crap sense of humor :D This post was originally intended to be a lot longer, but it's been ages since I started it and I can't remember most of it...
Anyway, figures from the weekend, to distract from my lazyness;
Total Distance; 293 km
Time; 13 hrs, 10 mins
Average HR; 163 bpm
Max HR; 201 bpm
Average Speed; 22.3 km/hr
Max Speed; 64.7 km/hr (new record)
Average Cadence; 84 rpm
Height Gained; 2687 m *this is as measured by the Garmin, it may or may not be that accurate...
So, I've gotten my touring off to a good start. This is the base from which I will plan Operation M, starting next year. I will detail more of this in time to come :)
Later!
This trip was something that I'd been meaning to do all Summer, but just never got around to for several reasons, the main one being lack of a touring bag. It only arrived at the start of September and I've actually been somewhat booked out on my weekends since then. I was originally going to make it a three day trip; down Friday, cycle around the mountains Saturday and head back on the Sunday. With that in mind and most of my time off for the year taken, I decided to leave it til next year.
Of course, I got bored. I have terrible problems sticking to plans, as I'm sure you're all aware, so I said fcuk it on the Wednesday, booked the hostel on the Thursday, plotted the route on the Friday and spent the weekend cycling :)
I plotted two pretty easy routes. I was kinda half thinking of some proper climbs, but they all involved a trip length of 180 or so km, so that was out. I didn't fancy 11 hours or so on the bike on either day! Looking back, I'm damn glad I went with what I did 'cos it was tough enough as it was! A few of the hills on the way back were over 10% in sections, and when one is a few kilos heavier than normal, with a few more hanging off the back, this becomes something of an issue.
I'm feeling too lazy to post up photos here, but they're already on my facebook page here (public access). Some are rather nice, some are just my crap sense of humor :D This post was originally intended to be a lot longer, but it's been ages since I started it and I can't remember most of it...
Anyway, figures from the weekend, to distract from my lazyness;
Total Distance; 293 km
Time; 13 hrs, 10 mins
Average HR; 163 bpm
Max HR; 201 bpm
Average Speed; 22.3 km/hr
Max Speed; 64.7 km/hr (new record)
Average Cadence; 84 rpm
Height Gained; 2687 m *this is as measured by the Garmin, it may or may not be that accurate...
So, I've gotten my touring off to a good start. This is the base from which I will plan Operation M, starting next year. I will detail more of this in time to come :)
Later!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Back on the line
I have finally, after a year of arsing about, joined a rifle club over here. My German has improved to the point that I can get by on the range and a little bit in the more social settings, so it should be all good :)
Now, due to this, I have decided to be an idiot and sent in my Expression of Interest in three disciplines over two matches; air, prone and 3p in Munich, and prone and 3p in Belgrade for the European Championships. The enormity of the task has not bypassed me; I am well aware that I have to get back to previous levels and well surpass them in all disciplines. I think the most ground can be easily made up in air rifle (and also standing in 3p), but there's a lot of room for improvement in prone as well.
So, opportunities and challenges.
Challenge; I've been a lazy git and not trained properly in a year. This doesn't seem to have massively affected my scores, but it's a year of no training and hence no progression.
Opportunity; Air rifles require no license in Germany; I should be able to keep one in a locked case in my wardrobe (which would probably make it one of the more secure airguns in the country...). This allows almost daily dry firing at home, mainly in standing, but prone and kneeling should also be well doable. I need to check transportation issues, however.
Challenge; I need to up my pb by 10 points in prone, 35 in air rifle and a whopping 100 in 3p. Now, the latter is based on my one 3x40 match from a few years ago, so it may not be that bad any more.
Opportunity; I have a fair bit of wiggle room in prone. My scores were on the up before I started messing with stuff at the end of last year. I'm hoping I can pick up from there.
Air rifle has always been my weak point. For whatever reason, consistency was a big issue for me. This was, however, starting to recede towards the end of last year with some excellent training scores. The issue with non standard target heights should not exist here.
In the case of 3p, it could be very hit and miss. There's massive room for improvement in the standing, which should be helped along by air rifle. My kneeling is naturally pretty decent, so a little work there should up the scores a nice bit.
What do I need;
Regular training. I can do two days a week of air rifle with no issues, but the prone requires me to be at the range early. This is a problem as it's at least 90 mins from desk to range, and I normally have to work til 6 or so. Prone stops at 20.30, and it's hard to get a spot unless one is there early.
To get my head well into the game.
Kitwise; pants and boots, of which I currently have neither and it's wrecking my back. Maybe also frames (the old ones don't work with my facial geometry). Stand for air rifle and 3p.
I think I may also need rifles. Yes, plural. I'm not sure, but this is my reasoning; At the moment, I have exclusive use of an air rifle. It is, however, tiny. Too short, not high enough, not a long enough sightbase, not heavy enough. Having my own would solve these problems. Also see point above regarding licensing, or lack thereof. In the case of prone, the club has one old Supermatch. If I am serious about getting to some internationals in the next two years, my own is going to be more or less necessary, for consistency in training if nothing else. Something to mull over.
Physically, I'm in pretty decent shape. A bit porky at the moment from not getting out due to shit weather and actually being rather busy for the past while, but that's only two kilos that can easily be burned off. My endurance has increased a lot over the last year, so I suspect the length of an air rifle match or a 3x40 won't be much of a problem. I'm also stronger, which can only help. I need to work on some core fitness and strength, but that's small stuff for daily doing. When I get around to it. But that end of things is not an issue.
So, as it turns out, I've more or less put the introduction to my training plan up there. I need to work out some specific goals to lead up to a potential qualification match, or matches. And I mean potential. I have no intention of flying back to Ireland with a rifle or two and a kitbag unless I know I'm capable of hitting those scores, even if it's only on a good day.
All comments and suggestions are more than welcome. This is gonna be a hell of a task, and I have no idea how it's gonna go. It should be a decent base for the year after, but I'd like it to be more. As I am fond of saying, it should be interesting :)
Now, due to this, I have decided to be an idiot and sent in my Expression of Interest in three disciplines over two matches; air, prone and 3p in Munich, and prone and 3p in Belgrade for the European Championships. The enormity of the task has not bypassed me; I am well aware that I have to get back to previous levels and well surpass them in all disciplines. I think the most ground can be easily made up in air rifle (and also standing in 3p), but there's a lot of room for improvement in prone as well.
So, opportunities and challenges.
Challenge; I've been a lazy git and not trained properly in a year. This doesn't seem to have massively affected my scores, but it's a year of no training and hence no progression.
Opportunity; Air rifles require no license in Germany; I should be able to keep one in a locked case in my wardrobe (which would probably make it one of the more secure airguns in the country...). This allows almost daily dry firing at home, mainly in standing, but prone and kneeling should also be well doable. I need to check transportation issues, however.
Challenge; I need to up my pb by 10 points in prone, 35 in air rifle and a whopping 100 in 3p. Now, the latter is based on my one 3x40 match from a few years ago, so it may not be that bad any more.
Opportunity; I have a fair bit of wiggle room in prone. My scores were on the up before I started messing with stuff at the end of last year. I'm hoping I can pick up from there.
Air rifle has always been my weak point. For whatever reason, consistency was a big issue for me. This was, however, starting to recede towards the end of last year with some excellent training scores. The issue with non standard target heights should not exist here.
In the case of 3p, it could be very hit and miss. There's massive room for improvement in the standing, which should be helped along by air rifle. My kneeling is naturally pretty decent, so a little work there should up the scores a nice bit.
What do I need;
Regular training. I can do two days a week of air rifle with no issues, but the prone requires me to be at the range early. This is a problem as it's at least 90 mins from desk to range, and I normally have to work til 6 or so. Prone stops at 20.30, and it's hard to get a spot unless one is there early.
To get my head well into the game.
Kitwise; pants and boots, of which I currently have neither and it's wrecking my back. Maybe also frames (the old ones don't work with my facial geometry). Stand for air rifle and 3p.
I think I may also need rifles. Yes, plural. I'm not sure, but this is my reasoning; At the moment, I have exclusive use of an air rifle. It is, however, tiny. Too short, not high enough, not a long enough sightbase, not heavy enough. Having my own would solve these problems. Also see point above regarding licensing, or lack thereof. In the case of prone, the club has one old Supermatch. If I am serious about getting to some internationals in the next two years, my own is going to be more or less necessary, for consistency in training if nothing else. Something to mull over.
Physically, I'm in pretty decent shape. A bit porky at the moment from not getting out due to shit weather and actually being rather busy for the past while, but that's only two kilos that can easily be burned off. My endurance has increased a lot over the last year, so I suspect the length of an air rifle match or a 3x40 won't be much of a problem. I'm also stronger, which can only help. I need to work on some core fitness and strength, but that's small stuff for daily doing. When I get around to it. But that end of things is not an issue.
So, as it turns out, I've more or less put the introduction to my training plan up there. I need to work out some specific goals to lead up to a potential qualification match, or matches. And I mean potential. I have no intention of flying back to Ireland with a rifle or two and a kitbag unless I know I'm capable of hitting those scores, even if it's only on a good day.
All comments and suggestions are more than welcome. This is gonna be a hell of a task, and I have no idea how it's gonna go. It should be a decent base for the year after, but I'd like it to be more. As I am fond of saying, it should be interesting :)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Lights, camera...
*Note - this has been sitting unfinished for a while. Hence the out of dateness :(
I've just tipped up over the 3000 km mark today :) A slight detour (i.e. missing a turn) sent me on a 65 km jaunt across Munich.
Getting slightly lost in a forest on the outskirts gave me a pretty good chance to test my new front light, a Fenix TK11. Verdict; a pretty good light, certainly excellent for the money. It's plenty bright for the cycle paths and for road use. As a rough estimate, it gives off a bit more than a dimmed car headlight. For extended riding, something a bit more powerful would probably be nice, but I can't see myself doing the Race Around Ireland just yet :D
Including two batteries, the charger and two mounts, the full set up was about as cheap as I could get for a decent power light. It'll serve well, and maybe get upgraded to something brighter in a few years. Though that's big money there, well over €250, so a serious investment if I really need it... I've also added two smaller USB chargeable lights to the arsenal. I'm gonna put up some pics of the lights and what they can do once my camera decides to start working again. It's pretty impressive overall :D But I think the rear needs a good powerful one, there's a distinct lack of glow from there...
I've just tipped up over the 3000 km mark today :) A slight detour (i.e. missing a turn) sent me on a 65 km jaunt across Munich.
Getting slightly lost in a forest on the outskirts gave me a pretty good chance to test my new front light, a Fenix TK11. Verdict; a pretty good light, certainly excellent for the money. It's plenty bright for the cycle paths and for road use. As a rough estimate, it gives off a bit more than a dimmed car headlight. For extended riding, something a bit more powerful would probably be nice, but I can't see myself doing the Race Around Ireland just yet :D
Including two batteries, the charger and two mounts, the full set up was about as cheap as I could get for a decent power light. It'll serve well, and maybe get upgraded to something brighter in a few years. Though that's big money there, well over €250, so a serious investment if I really need it... I've also added two smaller USB chargeable lights to the arsenal. I'm gonna put up some pics of the lights and what they can do once my camera decides to start working again. It's pretty impressive overall :D But I think the rear needs a good powerful one, there's a distinct lack of glow from there...
Distance = Speed*Time
Looking back through my history from over the Summer I'm noticing something interesting. My current top speed is just over 60 km/hr, which I hit about a month ago. It's not terribly fast, but it's half decent. Last night I went training on my fixie. It was the first time in a while, but the road bike needed some tweaking before being let out. The top speed was 49.3 km/hr. This was done on the flat, in a relatively low gear, and sustained for a few seconds. On a fixie. My descending needs to improve greatly :D
On a similar line, I'm currently north of 3300 km for the yearly distance so far, with a few longer spins planned. I should hit the 4000 km mark with a few weekend spins before it gets too nasty to cycle. I think 5000 is out of the question, but that's not terrible given that I started in March and spent a lot of time finding my legs. Time to start on distance targets for next year, I think :) 10,000 sounds like a nice round number... If I'm living in Munich and commuting out to Garching next year I should top 5000 km in just commuting. Add to that my plans for audax and it's looking pretty decent :)
Numbers from my road bike (I have the Garmin on that, so everything gets recorded);
Total distance (so far) - 820 km (2400 on the fixie makes up most of my distance!)
Total time - 38 hours
Average speed - 21.6 km/hr
Max speed - 60.2 km/hr
Av heart rate - 160 bpm
Max heart rate - 201 bpm
Longest day - 141 km in 6 hours 20 mins
Not a bad first year so far. Next year will be better :)
On a similar line, I'm currently north of 3300 km for the yearly distance so far, with a few longer spins planned. I should hit the 4000 km mark with a few weekend spins before it gets too nasty to cycle. I think 5000 is out of the question, but that's not terrible given that I started in March and spent a lot of time finding my legs. Time to start on distance targets for next year, I think :) 10,000 sounds like a nice round number... If I'm living in Munich and commuting out to Garching next year I should top 5000 km in just commuting. Add to that my plans for audax and it's looking pretty decent :)
Numbers from my road bike (I have the Garmin on that, so everything gets recorded);
Total distance (so far) - 820 km (2400 on the fixie makes up most of my distance!)
Total time - 38 hours
Average speed - 21.6 km/hr
Max speed - 60.2 km/hr
Av heart rate - 160 bpm
Max heart rate - 201 bpm
Longest day - 141 km in 6 hours 20 mins
Not a bad first year so far. Next year will be better :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Some musing..
..for a change. Typically I've dealt with results here and maybe some vague planning, but never much in the way of thinking about it. However, that's about to change.
I am currently in the situation that I actually know where I'm going to be for the next three years. While this sounds somewhat restricting, for me it is in fact rather liberating. t means that I can plan for longer term things, such as touring, training, holidays, etc. So, the question that I'm currently pondering is what to do with limited time resources to maximise what I can see on my bikes. I'll hopefully deal with shooting in a separate post, so those of you not interesting in cycling can look away now :D
Given my location in the middle of Europe, there are many options available to me. In general, the choices that appeal to me are:
touring; multi-day and long distance. Probably reasonably light, and should allow me to see a lot of different things;
Racing; this would be a lot of fun. However, it requires being a member of a club and learning a lot of etiquette, techniques and generally speaking in German, which isn't the best at the moment...
Audax; similar to touring, but long continuous distances, probably again with some light kit, but without having to think of a tent, sleeping bag etc.
Right now, the most appealing is the audax. Touring requires a large time investment for the same distance, though would be a lot easier to do. Audax, while challenging in terms of being on the bike for 22 hours in a given day, would be much more rewarding in terms of distance covered and where I could go. There are some places that are quite close, such as Salzberg (130 km), which are easy to get to. There are also some slightly further away places, such as Prague (350 km) and then there are some quite far away places such as Berlin (630 km). This is something that I think I would quite enjoy as it would allow me to leave after work on a Thursday or something and arrive at a city sometime on the Friday to enjoy it that night and the Saturday and then take a leisurely train home on the Sunday.
Right now, Salzberg should be pretty easy to do. I think nothing of heading out on a Sunday morning for a 120 km spin at a decent pace, with climbing involved, so if my only concern was getting there, I'd have no issues. When I introduce time constraints, and the possibility of cycling back the next day, it becomes a different story, but should still be quite doable.
The last issue which arises is what kind of training to do over the Winter. Each of the above situations will require slightly different approaches, apparently, so I'll have to start deciding now on what to do. Unfortunately, I know nothing. This shall have to be rectified. I also need to learn how to stick to a plan, so we'll see how that goes. This is all dependent on work not leaving me home after dark and half asleep, of course. Hrm.
I am currently in the situation that I actually know where I'm going to be for the next three years. While this sounds somewhat restricting, for me it is in fact rather liberating. t means that I can plan for longer term things, such as touring, training, holidays, etc. So, the question that I'm currently pondering is what to do with limited time resources to maximise what I can see on my bikes. I'll hopefully deal with shooting in a separate post, so those of you not interesting in cycling can look away now :D
Given my location in the middle of Europe, there are many options available to me. In general, the choices that appeal to me are:
touring; multi-day and long distance. Probably reasonably light, and should allow me to see a lot of different things;
Racing; this would be a lot of fun. However, it requires being a member of a club and learning a lot of etiquette, techniques and generally speaking in German, which isn't the best at the moment...
Audax; similar to touring, but long continuous distances, probably again with some light kit, but without having to think of a tent, sleeping bag etc.
Right now, the most appealing is the audax. Touring requires a large time investment for the same distance, though would be a lot easier to do. Audax, while challenging in terms of being on the bike for 22 hours in a given day, would be much more rewarding in terms of distance covered and where I could go. There are some places that are quite close, such as Salzberg (130 km), which are easy to get to. There are also some slightly further away places, such as Prague (350 km) and then there are some quite far away places such as Berlin (630 km). This is something that I think I would quite enjoy as it would allow me to leave after work on a Thursday or something and arrive at a city sometime on the Friday to enjoy it that night and the Saturday and then take a leisurely train home on the Sunday.
Right now, Salzberg should be pretty easy to do. I think nothing of heading out on a Sunday morning for a 120 km spin at a decent pace, with climbing involved, so if my only concern was getting there, I'd have no issues. When I introduce time constraints, and the possibility of cycling back the next day, it becomes a different story, but should still be quite doable.
The last issue which arises is what kind of training to do over the Winter. Each of the above situations will require slightly different approaches, apparently, so I'll have to start deciding now on what to do. Unfortunately, I know nothing. This shall have to be rectified. I also need to learn how to stick to a plan, so we'll see how that goes. This is all dependent on work not leaving me home after dark and half asleep, of course. Hrm.
Fame and fortune!
Well, neither, really. Though DURC did get a nice showing on the new Trinity TV site
The Sports Round-Up Episode 1 from Jessica Pitcher on Vimeo.
There are a few scenes in at the start, then our 10 minute segment starts at about 13.30 or so. I think it looks pretty good. The range looks about as nice as it ever has, which is impressive. This is certainly something that DURC could do with pursuing over the year as matches tend to be a bit more interesting to film than a quick training session.
And no, my name has not been changed to Mike Madigan. Some day Trinity media will get my name right. Maybe. It could help if I was still in said college, of course :P
The Sports Round-Up Episode 1 from Jessica Pitcher on Vimeo.
There are a few scenes in at the start, then our 10 minute segment starts at about 13.30 or so. I think it looks pretty good. The range looks about as nice as it ever has, which is impressive. This is certainly something that DURC could do with pursuing over the year as matches tend to be a bit more interesting to film than a quick training session.
And no, my name has not been changed to Mike Madigan. Some day Trinity media will get my name right. Maybe. It could help if I was still in said college, of course :P
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Long Sunday spin
I'm just back from my first spin out with a group. Well, I say group, but there were three of us. Still, first time going for a spin with people!
The plan was to meet up in town and then head down south towards Bad Tolz and loop back up for a spin, from town, of about 100 km or so. I'd have another 30 added onto that for my return trip to Garching, so it was going to be a long day :D
We started off properly at about 10.15 or so, and made the way south. Glorious weather all the way, for a Sunday in October! Lots of sunshine, not so much wind, not too warm :) It's mostly a really nice flat road surface, dedicated to running and cycling for a good distance, and then giving way to some very...interesting climbs :D The worst was a 12% drag upwards, right after a 12% descent. That involved some very rapid gear changing :D
After going a little off course with a 'diversion' around road works, which required going basically off road through a forest, we started to pick up the pace a little bit on the way back up. I left the lads off in Munich and started to make my way slowly back to Garching, where, upon drinking a half liter of cola and eating a snickers and a twix, it occurred to me that I haven't really done much in the way of distance cycling in quite some time. I'm quite glad that I didn't decide to do any long trips over the last while; I'd have seriously suffered on them! Still though, I made it back in one piece. I just need to work on getting the distance into the legs, which I should hopefully get round to over the winter.
That's about it on the cycling front, I've been trying to get back into things after my holiday, but it's a bit slow going. I'm slightly worried about the running, as it's been two weeks since I've gone out now. We shall have to see :P
The plan was to meet up in town and then head down south towards Bad Tolz and loop back up for a spin, from town, of about 100 km or so. I'd have another 30 added onto that for my return trip to Garching, so it was going to be a long day :D
We started off properly at about 10.15 or so, and made the way south. Glorious weather all the way, for a Sunday in October! Lots of sunshine, not so much wind, not too warm :) It's mostly a really nice flat road surface, dedicated to running and cycling for a good distance, and then giving way to some very...interesting climbs :D The worst was a 12% drag upwards, right after a 12% descent. That involved some very rapid gear changing :D
After going a little off course with a 'diversion' around road works, which required going basically off road through a forest, we started to pick up the pace a little bit on the way back up. I left the lads off in Munich and started to make my way slowly back to Garching, where, upon drinking a half liter of cola and eating a snickers and a twix, it occurred to me that I haven't really done much in the way of distance cycling in quite some time. I'm quite glad that I didn't decide to do any long trips over the last while; I'd have seriously suffered on them! Still though, I made it back in one piece. I just need to work on getting the distance into the legs, which I should hopefully get round to over the winter.
That's about it on the cycling front, I've been trying to get back into things after my holiday, but it's a bit slow going. I'm slightly worried about the running, as it's been two weeks since I've gone out now. We shall have to see :P
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Recent matches :)
It's been quite some time since I've been in any sort of competitive situation. Around nine months, in fact, going back to the Rathdrum Turkey shoot of last year...
Last weekend I was back in Ireland on holidays and, as The Lady would have it, there were two matches on; a 3x20 on the Saturday and a PR60 on Sunday. I decided to do both, along with Aisling and Dave from DURC and the DFST.
Since I hadn't really shot in some time, I was looking forward to getting a few rounds off in practice in the DURC range sometime during the previous week. Unfortunately, due to trinitytv interviews and a shortage of ammo, that didn't end up happening so I went into the matches with about 10 mins of a set up in each position. Some small changes were made during prep and the matches themselves, but nothing major.
Saturday's match started well with the DURC squad arriving at the time the match was due to take place. Fortunately, this works out for us since we were 75% of the detail that day :D I was most wary of the prone match, as this has always been my best discipline and I wasn't sure how I would perform having not shot in three months, and not shot with a decent set up in three times that! It ended up going rather wellish in the end; I didn't embarrass myself and nor did I set any range records. I finished two points down on the leader in that section.
The standing didn't go well at all. I couldn't settle, didn't like the balance of the rifle and was just generally unstable and useless. So nothing much has changed in 9 months then! Much attention will have to be paid to this position in my (eventual) future training.
Kneeling ended up being alright. I had serious vision problems with the target blurring, seeing things swim about and not having the best hold. It closely resembled my air rifle sight picture, so I was pretty comfortable in that regard. Wound up with a 90 and a 93, which also resembles my air rifle scores :D Provisionally, I'm top of the kneeling match, but there are two more people to shooting this weekend, so that will almost certainly change.
I think I ended up on 520 something or other, which isn't great, but not the worst for something that I've never really focussed on in the past. I was second on the day, but that'll probably drop to 4th when the final results are posted.
The prone on Sunday was a slightly different matter. Because it's a full 60 shot match with no enforced breaks, it works to one's advantage to have a nice comfortable position and stay on the ground for the full thing. I did not have a nice comfortable position, so I was up every 20 shots or so :D It started off better than I did on the previous day, but kinda waned a bit after that. I mostly put it down to not having enough rounds down the barrel in the past year to last the time. What is somewhat odd is that the final score equaled my Rathdrum pb! I don't know if that says more about how I trained last year, or about how I haven't lost anything in the 9 months I've not shot...
One new thing I did try was using a yellow filter in my rearsight. I've had the iris for a few years now and never really played with it that much. I figured I had nothing to lose this weekend with it, so I went for it. The result was that my eyes didn't tire so much throughout the match. I suspect that Saturday's shooting might have been better for it. A nice lesson to learn :)
The end result after a poor final on my part was a 3rd place overall, staying (somehow) the same as going in. Aisling, in typical DURC form, won the final with a 102.5, jumping two places in the process. We have a very long and proud history of winning finals and jumping places in DURC. It's probably from the hazing training :D
So that's it. No pics; cameras seem to have died out at matches, and my one is currently awaiting surgery to make the lens move again. If not, it'll be replaced pretty sharpish. Bis spaeter!
Last weekend I was back in Ireland on holidays and, as The Lady would have it, there were two matches on; a 3x20 on the Saturday and a PR60 on Sunday. I decided to do both, along with Aisling and Dave from DURC and the DFST.
Since I hadn't really shot in some time, I was looking forward to getting a few rounds off in practice in the DURC range sometime during the previous week. Unfortunately, due to trinitytv interviews and a shortage of ammo, that didn't end up happening so I went into the matches with about 10 mins of a set up in each position. Some small changes were made during prep and the matches themselves, but nothing major.
Saturday's match started well with the DURC squad arriving at the time the match was due to take place. Fortunately, this works out for us since we were 75% of the detail that day :D I was most wary of the prone match, as this has always been my best discipline and I wasn't sure how I would perform having not shot in three months, and not shot with a decent set up in three times that! It ended up going rather wellish in the end; I didn't embarrass myself and nor did I set any range records. I finished two points down on the leader in that section.
The standing didn't go well at all. I couldn't settle, didn't like the balance of the rifle and was just generally unstable and useless. So nothing much has changed in 9 months then! Much attention will have to be paid to this position in my (eventual) future training.
Kneeling ended up being alright. I had serious vision problems with the target blurring, seeing things swim about and not having the best hold. It closely resembled my air rifle sight picture, so I was pretty comfortable in that regard. Wound up with a 90 and a 93, which also resembles my air rifle scores :D Provisionally, I'm top of the kneeling match, but there are two more people to shooting this weekend, so that will almost certainly change.
I think I ended up on 520 something or other, which isn't great, but not the worst for something that I've never really focussed on in the past. I was second on the day, but that'll probably drop to 4th when the final results are posted.
The prone on Sunday was a slightly different matter. Because it's a full 60 shot match with no enforced breaks, it works to one's advantage to have a nice comfortable position and stay on the ground for the full thing. I did not have a nice comfortable position, so I was up every 20 shots or so :D It started off better than I did on the previous day, but kinda waned a bit after that. I mostly put it down to not having enough rounds down the barrel in the past year to last the time. What is somewhat odd is that the final score equaled my Rathdrum pb! I don't know if that says more about how I trained last year, or about how I haven't lost anything in the 9 months I've not shot...
One new thing I did try was using a yellow filter in my rearsight. I've had the iris for a few years now and never really played with it that much. I figured I had nothing to lose this weekend with it, so I went for it. The result was that my eyes didn't tire so much throughout the match. I suspect that Saturday's shooting might have been better for it. A nice lesson to learn :)
The end result after a poor final on my part was a 3rd place overall, staying (somehow) the same as going in. Aisling, in typical DURC form, won the final with a 102.5, jumping two places in the process. We have a very long and proud history of winning finals and jumping places in DURC. It's probably from the hazing training :D
So that's it. No pics; cameras seem to have died out at matches, and my one is currently awaiting surgery to make the lens move again. If not, it'll be replaced pretty sharpish. Bis spaeter!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Checking in
Things have been going quite well over the past few weeks :) Yes, I have stopped my cycling to and from the city, but that has opened up much more of an opportunity to actually do some more structured stuff, such as my weekly TT attempts, which are currently going quite well. I'm possibly holding back a bit too much on these, but I'll leave it for another while to start pushing harder earlier.
One huge knock on effect that I've noticed since my commute is that I'm much more able to recover form a given level of exertion, both when I've finished, and also during a session. This is most noticeable in running. Formerly, I struggled through 7 km and was quite out of breath after it, no matter how slowly I tried to take it. Now, however, I can actually slow down a little bit and my heart rate will correspondingly slow, which I find a fantastic aid to my efforts :D
As such, I'm much more motivated to get out and do some running at the moment. I've been going at least twice a week, which is good going for me, and I've even had to invest in a second pair of shorts! I also completed my longest run yet at the weekend; a paltry 11.5 km, but that's well over the 8.5 that it previously was, set the week before... I reckon at this stage that I would be able for my half marathon goal (to finish, at least) by the end of September, and I might actually have a good time in one, were I to actually run one, by the end of October. Which fits in nicely with The Plan.
I feel like I've cheated on this, however. I mean, I didn't run for months this year, and now I'm actually able to run distances, albeit quite slowly. I'm running 10 km at a lower pace than a lot of people run marathons, which is somewhat disheartening. However, this is where that training thing comes in, so hopefully that'll pick up again.
I mentioned last time (I think) that I've found a new rifle club that looks excellent. If I didn't, well, I have now! I went out to them last night, as it was meant to be their first night back after the Summer break, but they appeared to be still closed :( So, either the calendar was wrong, or they left early and went to the pub. Based on my previous experiences of rifle clubs, either are totally possible. So, back out when I'm back from Ireland and we'll get cracking. Too late for Cardiff, unfortunately, but there's always the British Nationals next Spring, as well as some longer term goals for smallbore.
Also, as you may have guessed from above/heard I'm back around Ireland next week, so if I haven't already been talking to you about it, pint at the weekend? It is a competition weekend with a 3x20 and a prone match, but what the hell :P Later!
One huge knock on effect that I've noticed since my commute is that I'm much more able to recover form a given level of exertion, both when I've finished, and also during a session. This is most noticeable in running. Formerly, I struggled through 7 km and was quite out of breath after it, no matter how slowly I tried to take it. Now, however, I can actually slow down a little bit and my heart rate will correspondingly slow, which I find a fantastic aid to my efforts :D
As such, I'm much more motivated to get out and do some running at the moment. I've been going at least twice a week, which is good going for me, and I've even had to invest in a second pair of shorts! I also completed my longest run yet at the weekend; a paltry 11.5 km, but that's well over the 8.5 that it previously was, set the week before... I reckon at this stage that I would be able for my half marathon goal (to finish, at least) by the end of September, and I might actually have a good time in one, were I to actually run one, by the end of October. Which fits in nicely with The Plan.
I feel like I've cheated on this, however. I mean, I didn't run for months this year, and now I'm actually able to run distances, albeit quite slowly. I'm running 10 km at a lower pace than a lot of people run marathons, which is somewhat disheartening. However, this is where that training thing comes in, so hopefully that'll pick up again.
I mentioned last time (I think) that I've found a new rifle club that looks excellent. If I didn't, well, I have now! I went out to them last night, as it was meant to be their first night back after the Summer break, but they appeared to be still closed :( So, either the calendar was wrong, or they left early and went to the pub. Based on my previous experiences of rifle clubs, either are totally possible. So, back out when I'm back from Ireland and we'll get cracking. Too late for Cardiff, unfortunately, but there's always the British Nationals next Spring, as well as some longer term goals for smallbore.
Also, as you may have guessed from above/heard I'm back around Ireland next week, so if I haven't already been talking to you about it, pint at the weekend? It is a competition weekend with a 3x20 and a prone match, but what the hell :P Later!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Quick update
The last while has been pretty solid for me. I've not been doing any long distance stuff, but that's not terribly important at the moment. I've gotten a lot of work done on shorter, higher intensity things from my commute :) There's a really nice run of flat road out from the city that's normally pretty empty of cyclists, so I can really give it a bit of a go. I've started building up my speed to top out around the 38-40 mark just before I hit my final set of lights just outside Garching. I've also managed to time this right on a few occasions to roll through these, which was very nice. Normally not, though, it's just a bit too much effort.
Unfortunately, my nice long commute is finished as of today :( So no more enforced 38 km per day any more. It was fun, if a lot frustrating at times! This has, however, opened up more doors for training :)
A knock on effect of my prolonged efforts on the fixie seems to be that my running and heart rate recovery has improved greatly over the last while. Which is odd, seeing as how I only went for a run last weekend and then another one this weekend. I have no idea how long it's been other than that. A few months, I think... Anyway, not to dwell on the past, those runs went quite well, I have to say. I've managed to run the full circuit, looping around to the forest and then back in the long way. It's only 8 km or so, but the longest I've ever actually run, I would think, certainly for a continuous time. I've mapped out a 10 km course as well which I'm going to give a go at this weekend, as well as another mid week session. Now, I know, TWO whole running sessions in a week is a lot, but I'll try to go easy :P
Finally, although my commute has fallen (by a staggering 33 km/day) a new opportunity rises from the ashes; I now have the time to think about rifle training again. My German has also improved to the point that if people speak slowly and clearly that I can understand most of what they're saying, which is good! I've contacted a club not that far from here that have excellent facilities for air and smallbore (3p included). They're home to some national and world champion shooters, so I'm going to take my chances with them for the time being. Most of Germany seems to be on holidays at the moment, but they're back in September. So, I'll either get in a session before I head back to Ireland for a week, or start fresh after that :)
We're finally ready to roll. Fortunately, this will all not be wasted by my heading back to Ireland. I suspect that most of you reading this already know that I'm here full time from now on. Basically, the foundations that I've laid should stand me in good stead. Where are those EOIs again....
Unfortunately, my nice long commute is finished as of today :( So no more enforced 38 km per day any more. It was fun, if a lot frustrating at times! This has, however, opened up more doors for training :)
A knock on effect of my prolonged efforts on the fixie seems to be that my running and heart rate recovery has improved greatly over the last while. Which is odd, seeing as how I only went for a run last weekend and then another one this weekend. I have no idea how long it's been other than that. A few months, I think... Anyway, not to dwell on the past, those runs went quite well, I have to say. I've managed to run the full circuit, looping around to the forest and then back in the long way. It's only 8 km or so, but the longest I've ever actually run, I would think, certainly for a continuous time. I've mapped out a 10 km course as well which I'm going to give a go at this weekend, as well as another mid week session. Now, I know, TWO whole running sessions in a week is a lot, but I'll try to go easy :P
Finally, although my commute has fallen (by a staggering 33 km/day) a new opportunity rises from the ashes; I now have the time to think about rifle training again. My German has also improved to the point that if people speak slowly and clearly that I can understand most of what they're saying, which is good! I've contacted a club not that far from here that have excellent facilities for air and smallbore (3p included). They're home to some national and world champion shooters, so I'm going to take my chances with them for the time being. Most of Germany seems to be on holidays at the moment, but they're back in September. So, I'll either get in a session before I head back to Ireland for a week, or start fresh after that :)
We're finally ready to roll. Fortunately, this will all not be wasted by my heading back to Ireland. I suspect that most of you reading this already know that I'm here full time from now on. Basically, the foundations that I've laid should stand me in good stead. Where are those EOIs again....
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Cycling update
I know I should have running in there, but I haven't had the time or motivation for any over the last while. My cycling week has increased a fair bit, not leaving me with much energy for high intensity stuff over the weekend.
As I was saying a while back, I'm doing a German course in Munich at the moment, which I'm cycling in and out to, giving me a daily total of around 35 km on the fixie, 4 days a week for roughly 150 or so there. The average speed is quite low, on account of having to travel through the city itself and being hampered by other cyclists/traffic lights. On the way back out though, I've been starting to push a bit harder. I know that once I clear the city, going at around 33 km/hr or so should get me back to Garching without having to stop at any lights. I've not quite gotten the full ~8km run, but hopefully soon :)
On a related note, it's getting dark in the evenings. Very dark. My front torch just isn't cutting it, so I'm gonna need to start looking at something a bit beefier. Given the nature of my commute and that it takes in open road, something to see with, rather than just be seen, will be required, which will probably mean spending money :( If I move into Munich at any point though, this will be money well spent and used!
I also got out for a niceish spin on Sunday. 75 km, with a nice bit of speed built up at the end. Mostly kept the last 15 km or so in the mid to high 30s, which is pretty good going (for me), especially after a substantial, eh, warm up :P I think this regular fixie thing is starting to pay off, especially in terms of my pedalling technique and working well at higher cadences.
I've been reading a bit on ultra-light touring and coming up with some ideas for using as a light touring bag. My in-sy should be (finally) on the way, so that'll serve well as a starting bag. Packing light and keeping the weight down will be top of my list. It shouldn't be too hard given that I won't be carrying a tent or medical supplies for my shorter trips to Austria and the like. I am planning ahead to next Summer, though, and thinking of some fast touring through different parts of Europe and possibly some camping, if I can work something out that will allow me to use the road bike. It's not certain, but given my light weight, anything up to 15 kg of extra bulk should be well tolerable, if I can attach it correctly. We shall see. That's a nice bit into the future :)
As I was saying a while back, I'm doing a German course in Munich at the moment, which I'm cycling in and out to, giving me a daily total of around 35 km on the fixie, 4 days a week for roughly 150 or so there. The average speed is quite low, on account of having to travel through the city itself and being hampered by other cyclists/traffic lights. On the way back out though, I've been starting to push a bit harder. I know that once I clear the city, going at around 33 km/hr or so should get me back to Garching without having to stop at any lights. I've not quite gotten the full ~8km run, but hopefully soon :)
On a related note, it's getting dark in the evenings. Very dark. My front torch just isn't cutting it, so I'm gonna need to start looking at something a bit beefier. Given the nature of my commute and that it takes in open road, something to see with, rather than just be seen, will be required, which will probably mean spending money :( If I move into Munich at any point though, this will be money well spent and used!
I also got out for a niceish spin on Sunday. 75 km, with a nice bit of speed built up at the end. Mostly kept the last 15 km or so in the mid to high 30s, which is pretty good going (for me), especially after a substantial, eh, warm up :P I think this regular fixie thing is starting to pay off, especially in terms of my pedalling technique and working well at higher cadences.
I've been reading a bit on ultra-light touring and coming up with some ideas for using as a light touring bag. My in-sy should be (finally) on the way, so that'll serve well as a starting bag. Packing light and keeping the weight down will be top of my list. It shouldn't be too hard given that I won't be carrying a tent or medical supplies for my shorter trips to Austria and the like. I am planning ahead to next Summer, though, and thinking of some fast touring through different parts of Europe and possibly some camping, if I can work something out that will allow me to use the road bike. It's not certain, but given my light weight, anything up to 15 kg of extra bulk should be well tolerable, if I can attach it correctly. We shall see. That's a nice bit into the future :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
World Cup, Munich
I've a few different topics to post up over the next while, relating to various things, but this deserves to be first I think!
Over the past while, shooting has very much taken a backseat. However, after the weekend at the WC, this has all changed. I've remembered my original purpose behind cycling, and how much I love shooting. To this end, an email has been sent to the office of the director of sport of the BSSB (in possibly my best German yet!), so hopefully that'll yield some nice dividends.
Anyway, onto the weekend itself. I don't think anything I can write here will do justice to what you see at this match. There is everyone and everything you have read, watched and wanted there. All the manufacturers, all the names we are so familiar with from Warren Potent, to Rajmond Debevech, to any other Olympic and World champion you care to mention who can still see down the sights, turning up. Seeing it all there gives a grand sense of occasion to the whole thing.
One thing I will say right now is that I am damn glad that I went to this before I even entertained the possibility of going as a competitor. There is nothing in Ireland or England to compare to this, and I've been to a few rather large matches in England. There's just a totally different scale of event here. Add to that Dave having a very casual chat with Potent about the state of his dislocated shoulder and you have a somewhat bizzare experience.
Before I go any further, I want to say well done to the Irish team that went over; Gary in prone, Ray in air rifle, and Peter in free pistol and air pistol. You were landed with a huge task and acquitted yourselves very well. Next year is the medal year :) Fair dues also to the team leader Liam, and coach Robb Stubbs for also going. Fair play especially to Dave who came over off his own back to support the team. Both him and myself will be hoping to go back sooner rather than later as competitors.
I won't talk about the shooting, there are reports online from the lads themselves about how they did. The only pics I managed to get are from the smallbore match on the Sunday. My camera decided to start beeping quite loudly when I tried to take some photos in the airgun range on Saturday :(
This pic was taken during Gary's match, not that you can tell. I have neither the camera nor the knowldge (OK, mostly the latter) to take a good shooting pic with the huge contrast required. Look at the range, though; beautifully lit, regulation flags, netting, mown lawns. Baffles for 3p, and to keep the light out of shooters' faces as much as possible. It's a range designed for high scores, which were, I must say, astonishing. Normally in Munich, one could expect a 597 with maybe some inner ten countback to make the final. Not so this time. 598 and 599 only. Even the threshold for the qualifier was 591, which is well up there. Unfortunately, this means it'll be slightly harder to get through to the match next year for us Irische, but I'm sure at least some of us will manage it.
So yeah, fantastic weekend all around. Great shooting, great fun. Also, getting to talk to Heinrich Bleiker about his oh so nice barrelled actions was pretty cool. They are so tempting, but just outside what can be tolerated, investment-wise. For the moment. Since everything was there, I could get a good comparison of each brand, what they felt like, what the action was like, the balance, etc. I'll stick up another post on my thoughts about each, I think :)
Over the past while, shooting has very much taken a backseat. However, after the weekend at the WC, this has all changed. I've remembered my original purpose behind cycling, and how much I love shooting. To this end, an email has been sent to the office of the director of sport of the BSSB (in possibly my best German yet!), so hopefully that'll yield some nice dividends.
Anyway, onto the weekend itself. I don't think anything I can write here will do justice to what you see at this match. There is everyone and everything you have read, watched and wanted there. All the manufacturers, all the names we are so familiar with from Warren Potent, to Rajmond Debevech, to any other Olympic and World champion you care to mention who can still see down the sights, turning up. Seeing it all there gives a grand sense of occasion to the whole thing.
One thing I will say right now is that I am damn glad that I went to this before I even entertained the possibility of going as a competitor. There is nothing in Ireland or England to compare to this, and I've been to a few rather large matches in England. There's just a totally different scale of event here. Add to that Dave having a very casual chat with Potent about the state of his dislocated shoulder and you have a somewhat bizzare experience.
Before I go any further, I want to say well done to the Irish team that went over; Gary in prone, Ray in air rifle, and Peter in free pistol and air pistol. You were landed with a huge task and acquitted yourselves very well. Next year is the medal year :) Fair dues also to the team leader Liam, and coach Robb Stubbs for also going. Fair play especially to Dave who came over off his own back to support the team. Both him and myself will be hoping to go back sooner rather than later as competitors.
I won't talk about the shooting, there are reports online from the lads themselves about how they did. The only pics I managed to get are from the smallbore match on the Sunday. My camera decided to start beeping quite loudly when I tried to take some photos in the airgun range on Saturday :(
So yeah, fantastic weekend all around. Great shooting, great fun. Also, getting to talk to Heinrich Bleiker about his oh so nice barrelled actions was pretty cool. They are so tempting, but just outside what can be tolerated, investment-wise. For the moment. Since everything was there, I could get a good comparison of each brand, what they felt like, what the action was like, the balance, etc. I'll stick up another post on my thoughts about each, I think :)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Update
So it's been another long while since a post. To be honest, not much out of the ordinary has happened, no epic climbs or long distances.
What has happened is my German course has started. What this means (aside from the fact that I might actually learn some more of the language) is that I have a 17 km each way commute four days a week, which I'm doing on the fixie. It's been getting pretty much all of the kilometers I've been cycling lately since I was hit at the start of the month. Not cos the new bike is broken or anything, more just circumstances. I trust that Munich is a low crime city, but maybe not low enough to leave a full carbon fiber bike outside for a few hours...
So, I basically have a commuting week of around 160 km, which is nice. I've only actually hit that once, for a few reasons, but it should bounce up again from next week. Max distance in the last month was 225 in a week, the week we had out betriebausflug in work, which meant a few of us did 65 km (with me on the fixie) around some lakes and the river Isar. It was a fabulous day to be out on the bike, with some nice small climbs in (which I somehow managed on the fixie, much to everybody's incredulity).
On a somewhat different note, this weekend sees the target shooting world cup come to Munich :) I've got a weekend ticket to watch the matches and any finals that are on, which should be good. Not to mention that the GB and Irish teams have arranged to meet up :) Should be a good weekend!
What has happened is my German course has started. What this means (aside from the fact that I might actually learn some more of the language) is that I have a 17 km each way commute four days a week, which I'm doing on the fixie. It's been getting pretty much all of the kilometers I've been cycling lately since I was hit at the start of the month. Not cos the new bike is broken or anything, more just circumstances. I trust that Munich is a low crime city, but maybe not low enough to leave a full carbon fiber bike outside for a few hours...
So, I basically have a commuting week of around 160 km, which is nice. I've only actually hit that once, for a few reasons, but it should bounce up again from next week. Max distance in the last month was 225 in a week, the week we had out betriebausflug in work, which meant a few of us did 65 km (with me on the fixie) around some lakes and the river Isar. It was a fabulous day to be out on the bike, with some nice small climbs in (which I somehow managed on the fixie, much to everybody's incredulity).
On a somewhat different note, this weekend sees the target shooting world cup come to Munich :) I've got a weekend ticket to watch the matches and any finals that are on, which should be good. Not to mention that the GB and Irish teams have arranged to meet up :) Should be a good weekend!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Long day.
Warning; Incredibly long post with no pics!
I had a nice day out planned; lovely flat 110 km to fully recover from last weekend. However, it was not to be. About one kilometer from the flat, I came up behind a car, which then stopped in the middle of the road. Thinking this odd, I moved up around it (on the inside). Suddenly, a nice strong engine rev told me I was going down. I went down. Now, normally, this would be totally my fault, having moved around. However, there were no indicators flashing, before or afterwards (yes, I checked, instincts and all that), and the fact that I was almost clear of the car means I was well visible, had he checked.
The conversation afterwards was somewhat interesting;
Driver; You were going too fast.
Me; No, I wasn't. (10 km/hr)
I didn't see your indicators.
Driver; ...
*motions to wife to check side of car*
Me; is it ok? (somewhat incredulously)
Driver; It is ok. *stares at me*
*Gets back into car and drives off*
It was really weird. I mean, he just kept looking at me. I dunno if he was expecting an apology or what, but he certainly wasn't getting it. I was a hell of a lot more concerned about any damage to me and the bike. Very odd experience.
As it turns out, most things were ok. I have a few scrapes, a bit of road rash, but nothing huge. The bike was a little worse off; wheel a few mm out of true, rear derailleur took a bit of a knock, getting me worried about needing a new one. An hour's work learning how to true a wheel and that problem was solved, and some time reindexing the RD had that sorted. It's possibly a little out of alignment, but it shifts fine for the moment. I'll get a tool to adjust it properly at some point.
So, what have we learned;
Don't assume a motorist won't turn, despite lack of indicators.
Don't pass up the inside when they're stopped, they're liable to do anything. Also, it leaves you somewhat exposed and also leaves a lot of the blame, or at least potential for it, on you.
The first one is something that I've never encountered before. To me, if you don't have the indicators on, you're not turning, and that's what I would assume applies across the board. So, after seeing the situation of a motorist stopped in the middle of the road, with no oncoming traffic, no signals, I did what seemed most natural and moved up on the side with the most space. Unfortunately, this was the side he was turning. Could easily have been the other side, just got unlucky today.
On the second, I probably should have stopped behind him. That said, one doesn't have to think too hard for reasons that somebody would arbitrarily stop in the middle of the road. I don't know enough about the ROTR in Ireland, never mind Germany, to know if I would have been held at fault in this situation. Yes, I moved around from the back, but it's not like I was invisible. He had no indicators on and almost certainly didn't bother to check for anybody coming from behind.
The main thing that P***ed me off about the whole thing was the accusation that it was my fault for going too fast. Which is utter crap. GPS data shows that I was, at most, doing about 12 km/hr on that street, a lot less when I was behind him. I was well alongside the car before he started to turn; there was nothing I could have done at any speed.
Anyway, excitement aside, it turned out to be a not too bad day all in all. I did around 40 km on the fixie, heading into Munich to find where my German course is on for the next two months and taking a nice scenic route back out along the river and through the English Gardens. Also, I now know how to true wheels, which is one of the few things that I didn't know how to do. I think the only thing that I haven't done/been shown how to do is replacing a headset, but there's a specific tool for that, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue. Maintaining one's own bike is a lot of fun!
Finally, adding up my total distances so far this year, I've recorded just over 1600 km so far. Which isn't exactly impressive, but should ramp up pretty fast over the next few months. I should have about 6000 done by the end of the year, all going well. I'm already over the euro/km limit for my bikes, so the next goal is adding in all the other crap that comes with them and reducing the costs then :) Next year will see my price/km travelled come down nicely.
So yeah, that's about it. Hopefully the commute to Munich will go well for the week. And that I'll be able to handle the 34 odd km four days a week, on top of normal work and a long weekend spin!
I had a nice day out planned; lovely flat 110 km to fully recover from last weekend. However, it was not to be. About one kilometer from the flat, I came up behind a car, which then stopped in the middle of the road. Thinking this odd, I moved up around it (on the inside). Suddenly, a nice strong engine rev told me I was going down. I went down. Now, normally, this would be totally my fault, having moved around. However, there were no indicators flashing, before or afterwards (yes, I checked, instincts and all that), and the fact that I was almost clear of the car means I was well visible, had he checked.
The conversation afterwards was somewhat interesting;
Driver; You were going too fast.
Me; No, I wasn't. (10 km/hr)
I didn't see your indicators.
Driver; ...
*motions to wife to check side of car*
Me; is it ok? (somewhat incredulously)
Driver; It is ok. *stares at me*
*Gets back into car and drives off*
It was really weird. I mean, he just kept looking at me. I dunno if he was expecting an apology or what, but he certainly wasn't getting it. I was a hell of a lot more concerned about any damage to me and the bike. Very odd experience.
As it turns out, most things were ok. I have a few scrapes, a bit of road rash, but nothing huge. The bike was a little worse off; wheel a few mm out of true, rear derailleur took a bit of a knock, getting me worried about needing a new one. An hour's work learning how to true a wheel and that problem was solved, and some time reindexing the RD had that sorted. It's possibly a little out of alignment, but it shifts fine for the moment. I'll get a tool to adjust it properly at some point.
So, what have we learned;
Don't assume a motorist won't turn, despite lack of indicators.
Don't pass up the inside when they're stopped, they're liable to do anything. Also, it leaves you somewhat exposed and also leaves a lot of the blame, or at least potential for it, on you.
The first one is something that I've never encountered before. To me, if you don't have the indicators on, you're not turning, and that's what I would assume applies across the board. So, after seeing the situation of a motorist stopped in the middle of the road, with no oncoming traffic, no signals, I did what seemed most natural and moved up on the side with the most space. Unfortunately, this was the side he was turning. Could easily have been the other side, just got unlucky today.
On the second, I probably should have stopped behind him. That said, one doesn't have to think too hard for reasons that somebody would arbitrarily stop in the middle of the road. I don't know enough about the ROTR in Ireland, never mind Germany, to know if I would have been held at fault in this situation. Yes, I moved around from the back, but it's not like I was invisible. He had no indicators on and almost certainly didn't bother to check for anybody coming from behind.
The main thing that P***ed me off about the whole thing was the accusation that it was my fault for going too fast. Which is utter crap. GPS data shows that I was, at most, doing about 12 km/hr on that street, a lot less when I was behind him. I was well alongside the car before he started to turn; there was nothing I could have done at any speed.
Anyway, excitement aside, it turned out to be a not too bad day all in all. I did around 40 km on the fixie, heading into Munich to find where my German course is on for the next two months and taking a nice scenic route back out along the river and through the English Gardens. Also, I now know how to true wheels, which is one of the few things that I didn't know how to do. I think the only thing that I haven't done/been shown how to do is replacing a headset, but there's a specific tool for that, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue. Maintaining one's own bike is a lot of fun!
Finally, adding up my total distances so far this year, I've recorded just over 1600 km so far. Which isn't exactly impressive, but should ramp up pretty fast over the next few months. I should have about 6000 done by the end of the year, all going well. I'm already over the euro/km limit for my bikes, so the next goal is adding in all the other crap that comes with them and reducing the costs then :) Next year will see my price/km travelled come down nicely.
So yeah, that's about it. Hopefully the commute to Munich will go well for the week. And that I'll be able to handle the 34 odd km four days a week, on top of normal work and a long weekend spin!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Welsh Airgun Open
The call for entries to this match has been put out. As usual, it's set in the beautiful city of Cardiff, which I've gotten to know reasonably well over the years :D Historically, it's been one of the (few) abroad (rather than international) matches that DURC has sent a team to. It really gives great experience to any shooter who goes over, be they a novice or senior shooter.
To this end, I am throwing down the gauntlet to myself; try to get to this match. If I can at least get a range to train in sorted within a month, then I'm going for it. Three months of training should be plenty to get me back into the swing of it. Hell, I've shot some of my best matches on much less prep after a break! OK, air rifle may be a bit different, but I have the basic skills, it's just getting some WD40 on them to loosen myself up a little. Or not, as the case is...
This was in my plan to do this year anyway, though the specific goals will have to be rearranged somewhat, I suspect. I won't know my current status until into August, so that's something of an issue, but, as usual, the aim is an MQS, or 570ish. More realistically, and based on how I was doing the last time I took air rifle seriously, maybe 550-560 with good training.
Let's roll.
To this end, I am throwing down the gauntlet to myself; try to get to this match. If I can at least get a range to train in sorted within a month, then I'm going for it. Three months of training should be plenty to get me back into the swing of it. Hell, I've shot some of my best matches on much less prep after a break! OK, air rifle may be a bit different, but I have the basic skills, it's just getting some WD40 on them to loosen myself up a little. Or not, as the case is...
This was in my plan to do this year anyway, though the specific goals will have to be rearranged somewhat, I suspect. I won't know my current status until into August, so that's something of an issue, but, as usual, the aim is an MQS, or 570ish. More realistically, and based on how I was doing the last time I took air rifle seriously, maybe 550-560 with good training.
Let's roll.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Test TT
I decided that I'd do a test time trial today, just for the laugh. I have a good set of aero bars that I've only used once, in the rain, so I decided to give them a whirl.
Set out with the intention of keeping the heart rate at about 160 bpm, or thereabouts, high enough to get a decent effort out of the ride, but low enough to get me through and not collapse after. This end of things more or less went to plan, lots of bouncing between 160 and 180, which is to be expected for the heat of the day, and the fact that I'm not used to constant power outputs.
What I was surprised at was my ability to hold speed. I mean, the aero-bars make a huge difference! My position isn't great cos my shoulders started to hurt after about 30 mins. Not a bad hurting, but the kind you get from leaning on a desk poorly for a while. Overall, I completed the first 16 km in 28 mins 40 or so, which seems to be an alright time. I was held up at a traffic light for a min or so, which kinda ruined things, but other than that it was pretty nice sailing. No downhills to help me out, either.
So, now I have a base time. Maybe weekly comparisons to track progress for this kind of distance would be good. A 1 hr effort is possibly a bit much for the moment, though it really would show a lot. And I could have a good idea of how I perform at threshold power. This calculator puts me at around 190 Watts for the effort, though it does assume a good aero position, which I most likely don't have... Unfortunately, that's one metric I'm a while away from justifying, so guestimates will have to suffice. Once I get a bit more consistent with the perceived efforts, I can start looking at a 40 km TT :) Then come the deep section wheels, pointy hat... :P
Set out with the intention of keeping the heart rate at about 160 bpm, or thereabouts, high enough to get a decent effort out of the ride, but low enough to get me through and not collapse after. This end of things more or less went to plan, lots of bouncing between 160 and 180, which is to be expected for the heat of the day, and the fact that I'm not used to constant power outputs.
What I was surprised at was my ability to hold speed. I mean, the aero-bars make a huge difference! My position isn't great cos my shoulders started to hurt after about 30 mins. Not a bad hurting, but the kind you get from leaning on a desk poorly for a while. Overall, I completed the first 16 km in 28 mins 40 or so, which seems to be an alright time. I was held up at a traffic light for a min or so, which kinda ruined things, but other than that it was pretty nice sailing. No downhills to help me out, either.
So, now I have a base time. Maybe weekly comparisons to track progress for this kind of distance would be good. A 1 hr effort is possibly a bit much for the moment, though it really would show a lot. And I could have a good idea of how I perform at threshold power. This calculator puts me at around 190 Watts for the effort, though it does assume a good aero position, which I most likely don't have... Unfortunately, that's one metric I'm a while away from justifying, so guestimates will have to suffice. Once I get a bit more consistent with the perceived efforts, I can start looking at a 40 km TT :) Then come the deep section wheels, pointy hat... :P
Sunday, June 27, 2010
New distance pb :)
140 km today! In two parts; one, looping around some of the mountains and back for 125 km (plus a bit at the start to get onto my plotted course), and then 15 to get home from Munich itself. Town was, eh, busy, shall we say.
So, got out the door around 10ish, aiming to do this route. Took a train south for about 1.5 hours, trying to get as close as possible to the mountains. Rolling out, everything was going well, nice pace, hammering away well. Not noticing any inclines I was on til I couldn't turn the pedals any more and had to drop down to the small ring :D
The first 45 km passed well. The countryside around Munich is gorgeous, very quiet, lots of rolling terrain. Cows with cowbells. Very few cars for the most part, which is also nice. There was nothing particularly challenging about the cycle, mostly just a long steady drag up. Apart from a few sharper sections.
The last climb I did was pretty short, but also fairly steep. I've always wanted to do a hairpinned climb, they just look so cool and there's so much up crammed into a really short space. I was so wrong. It's so tough, rounding corners and seeing another three rows of up... Nah, who am I kidding. It was fantastic. The sense of satisfaction when you see that crest, knowing there's a 5% down gradient on the other side. Feeling the burn in your legs as they want to cramp up and leave, telling them to shut up. Must get to some longer climbs, once the legs forgive me for today.
The descents were fantastic, hairpins galore. Drivers were normally pretty courteous on these, allowing me to use the full lane to get around. If I had been stuck to the side of the road, things would have been a lot more difficult.
All was going well for the first 90 km. I covered these, which was most of the climbing, in under 3.5 hours. Then, I met the man with the hammer. He has a big hammer, and is not afraid to use it. Repeatedly. The legs let me know they had enough and were calling it day. Still 35 more km to go until the train station to get home... Oh well, more shut up legs, stick it into the small ring, and crawl. Took me almost two hours to cover that last 35 km. I dunno how many times I stopped. Twice to stretch out cramps, once to get some anti-bonk juice, also known as cola-orange mix and some jelly babies. The sugar really pulled me through the last few km.
Once I got to the train station, I hopped on a train back to Munich. Slept for a while, then off in the city center. Maybe not the best idea for the day that was in it :D The place was packed, so I decided to cycle the 15 km back home. The atmosphere in town was amazing, Germany really celebrates when they win! Crowds for miles. Weaving through them on the bike was fun :D
Miraculously, the rest on the train seemed to do the trick, the 15 km home passed without incident. Also, I have discovered the greatest recovery food; steak sandwich, chips and milk. Nom. Now, to find the best place to break this record...
So, got out the door around 10ish, aiming to do this route. Took a train south for about 1.5 hours, trying to get as close as possible to the mountains. Rolling out, everything was going well, nice pace, hammering away well. Not noticing any inclines I was on til I couldn't turn the pedals any more and had to drop down to the small ring :D
The first 45 km passed well. The countryside around Munich is gorgeous, very quiet, lots of rolling terrain. Cows with cowbells. Very few cars for the most part, which is also nice. There was nothing particularly challenging about the cycle, mostly just a long steady drag up. Apart from a few sharper sections.
The last climb I did was pretty short, but also fairly steep. I've always wanted to do a hairpinned climb, they just look so cool and there's so much up crammed into a really short space. I was so wrong. It's so tough, rounding corners and seeing another three rows of up... Nah, who am I kidding. It was fantastic. The sense of satisfaction when you see that crest, knowing there's a 5% down gradient on the other side. Feeling the burn in your legs as they want to cramp up and leave, telling them to shut up. Must get to some longer climbs, once the legs forgive me for today.
The descents were fantastic, hairpins galore. Drivers were normally pretty courteous on these, allowing me to use the full lane to get around. If I had been stuck to the side of the road, things would have been a lot more difficult.
All was going well for the first 90 km. I covered these, which was most of the climbing, in under 3.5 hours. Then, I met the man with the hammer. He has a big hammer, and is not afraid to use it. Repeatedly. The legs let me know they had enough and were calling it day. Still 35 more km to go until the train station to get home... Oh well, more shut up legs, stick it into the small ring, and crawl. Took me almost two hours to cover that last 35 km. I dunno how many times I stopped. Twice to stretch out cramps, once to get some anti-bonk juice, also known as cola-orange mix and some jelly babies. The sugar really pulled me through the last few km.
Once I got to the train station, I hopped on a train back to Munich. Slept for a while, then off in the city center. Maybe not the best idea for the day that was in it :D The place was packed, so I decided to cycle the 15 km back home. The atmosphere in town was amazing, Germany really celebrates when they win! Crowds for miles. Weaving through them on the bike was fun :D
Miraculously, the rest on the train seemed to do the trick, the 15 km home passed without incident. Also, I have discovered the greatest recovery food; steak sandwich, chips and milk. Nom. Now, to find the best place to break this record...
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I take it back
I take it all back. The Planet-X is fabulous. Accelerating, rolling, stopping, all fantastic. What also strikes me is that the frame fits quite well. The seat tube is a little on the short side (there's a LOT of seatpost showing) but the top tube is spot on, which is what counts.
I've started to get used to gears again. There have been a few times that I feel the chain skip off the cassette when I'm spinning too slowly in too low a gear, but I should get the swing of it soon enough. Being able to control how much effort you expend is very cool. I will confess to abusing the freewheel a little bit, but I'll stop that from now on since there's no reason for it, other than novelty factor.
I've taken it for two proper spins at this point. One yesterday to just give it a normal go and see what happened, and a recovery spin today. Both spins were really nice. It rolls so smoothly, despite nastyish cycle paths and roads in spots. Acceleration is nice, thanks to having gears. The brakes, though weight-weenie brakes actually have a pretty good stopping power. Certainly much better than the Tektro brake/lever combination on my fixie.
It rocks. Totally. End of :D
Now that I have that finally sorted, it's time to get back into shooting again. It's been too long, and I'm starting to miss it now. For some reason, I've never doubted my ability to come back. Probably cos I've had about 3 of them so far, certainly in air rifle :P I had 3 months (minimum!) off last year for my exams, so 6 shouldn't be too much hastle. The skills are all still there, they'll just be a little rusty. Certainly my general and core fitness, stability, strength and flexibility have all increased due to cycling and running. May need some balance work, though, those particular skills haven't been used in some time... Will inform when I make contact :)
I've started to get used to gears again. There have been a few times that I feel the chain skip off the cassette when I'm spinning too slowly in too low a gear, but I should get the swing of it soon enough. Being able to control how much effort you expend is very cool. I will confess to abusing the freewheel a little bit, but I'll stop that from now on since there's no reason for it, other than novelty factor.
I've taken it for two proper spins at this point. One yesterday to just give it a normal go and see what happened, and a recovery spin today. Both spins were really nice. It rolls so smoothly, despite nastyish cycle paths and roads in spots. Acceleration is nice, thanks to having gears. The brakes, though weight-weenie brakes actually have a pretty good stopping power. Certainly much better than the Tektro brake/lever combination on my fixie.
It rocks. Totally. End of :D
Now that I have that finally sorted, it's time to get back into shooting again. It's been too long, and I'm starting to miss it now. For some reason, I've never doubted my ability to come back. Probably cos I've had about 3 of them so far, certainly in air rifle :P I had 3 months (minimum!) off last year for my exams, so 6 shouldn't be too much hastle. The skills are all still there, they'll just be a little rusty. Certainly my general and core fitness, stability, strength and flexibility have all increased due to cycling and running. May need some balance work, though, those particular skills haven't been used in some time... Will inform when I make contact :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
And so, it ends...
Nothing serious, like, I'm just talking about the lengthy saga of actually getting a road bike!
I decided to get one about a year ago, but, due to financial constraints and there never being any bikes in my size in any shop in Dublin, I held off. Finally, I placed my order about two months ago or so. However, when it arrived last week, there was a small issue;
However, this was easily solved by the addition of this to the equation.
Finally, we have a wheel sitting nicely in its dropout and a new mech hanger to attach :)
Giving us something that looks like this.
And a little more aero-barred up.
I have little intention of using the aero-bars that much for the next while, I just wanted to try them out. I got them for longer distance stuff so I'd have some more hand positions and something to collapse onto when I get particularly tired :D They'l also come in useful if I do any time trials or triathlons, both of which I intend to do at some point. Cos, you know, I can't get enough punishment from doing 3p...
On the road it's... strange. Very strange, in fact. I've gotten very used to my fixed gear with 175 mm cranks. Now, I have about 15 usable gears, and 172.5 mm cranks. And yes, those 2.5 mm actually make a lot of difference. It just feels like I'm not putting out the same torque with each turn, which is correct. And changing gears doesn't quite compensate either. It'll certainly take some getting used to. Forgetting the initial shock of having a freewheel and not actually having to compensate for this when starting off, it's a damn nice bike. It rolls really well, and I can really tell the weight difference between that and the fixie (it's about 2.5 kg lighter, with pedals, cages and computer). The first time I took it out, I didn't feel like I was going that fast, but with the same feeling the second time, I was doing my usual 30+ kmph speed, into a horrible headwind, in driving rain.
On that second time I did one of my usual 20 km loops slightly slower than the fixie, but the fixie ride was done pushing for a time, in good conditions. Given the same incentive, I reckon I should be well able to blow it out of the water. I'm looking into finding a nice 16 km stretch of road that I can use for some prolonged higher intensity stuff (16 km being 10 miles, which is a standard time trial distance).
More pics of both bikes and of the room they now have (well, for a week) can be found here.
Didn't get out for a long spin on it this week, due to being knackered and fed up of getting soaked, but should get out a fair bit during this week. There's a large conference on that most people form work are gone to, so it'll be a nice quiet week for a change!
I decided to get one about a year ago, but, due to financial constraints and there never being any bikes in my size in any shop in Dublin, I held off. Finally, I placed my order about two months ago or so. However, when it arrived last week, there was a small issue;
I have little intention of using the aero-bars that much for the next while, I just wanted to try them out. I got them for longer distance stuff so I'd have some more hand positions and something to collapse onto when I get particularly tired :D They'l also come in useful if I do any time trials or triathlons, both of which I intend to do at some point. Cos, you know, I can't get enough punishment from doing 3p...
On the road it's... strange. Very strange, in fact. I've gotten very used to my fixed gear with 175 mm cranks. Now, I have about 15 usable gears, and 172.5 mm cranks. And yes, those 2.5 mm actually make a lot of difference. It just feels like I'm not putting out the same torque with each turn, which is correct. And changing gears doesn't quite compensate either. It'll certainly take some getting used to. Forgetting the initial shock of having a freewheel and not actually having to compensate for this when starting off, it's a damn nice bike. It rolls really well, and I can really tell the weight difference between that and the fixie (it's about 2.5 kg lighter, with pedals, cages and computer). The first time I took it out, I didn't feel like I was going that fast, but with the same feeling the second time, I was doing my usual 30+ kmph speed, into a horrible headwind, in driving rain.
On that second time I did one of my usual 20 km loops slightly slower than the fixie, but the fixie ride was done pushing for a time, in good conditions. Given the same incentive, I reckon I should be well able to blow it out of the water. I'm looking into finding a nice 16 km stretch of road that I can use for some prolonged higher intensity stuff (16 km being 10 miles, which is a standard time trial distance).
More pics of both bikes and of the room they now have (well, for a week) can be found here.
Didn't get out for a long spin on it this week, due to being knackered and fed up of getting soaked, but should get out a fair bit during this week. There's a large conference on that most people form work are gone to, so it'll be a nice quiet week for a change!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Interim Update
OK, so the bike arrived, but with some in transit damage :( Nothing that a file and a new part that Planet X are very nicely supplying won't fix, but it's keeping me off the road for the moment.
Also, I received my first heart rate monitor today! It cost 20 euro or so, which is pretty decent. I'm gonna be testing it out tomorrow evening, hopefully, after my talk (eep!) so I'll see what I can start to do with a HRM then :) More next week, probably once I get the new bike up and rolling.
Also, I received my first heart rate monitor today! It cost 20 euro or so, which is pretty decent. I'm gonna be testing it out tomorrow evening, hopefully, after my talk (eep!) so I'll see what I can start to do with a HRM then :) More next week, probably once I get the new bike up and rolling.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
News
Official word has been received; the new bike is on it's way :) It should be here next week, barring any unusual delays. A nice treat for when I get my talk over and done with. Time for some bling-tastic browsing :P
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Weekly summary
So, summary for the past week;
Starting last Monday (yes, ignore the time between my last post and then. I don't think much happened anyway), it's been a busy week with many things. Work has been a bit mental as of late, with long enough days going on, along with some weekend work which is slowing down some of the training hours but it's for the best in the long run :D I've been a bit relaxed as regards the running lately, but getting out for one or two sessions and I'm going fine in those, so I'm not going to push it too much.
For the cycling, I've covered around 200 km in the last 7 days. Starting on Monday, 90 km into Munich, back out, then looping around to Dachau and hammering it home. OK, so I use hammering a bit loosely. I hammered for a while and then crawled the last 5 km home :D Easy enough spin on Wednesday for 20 km towards Munich and then back along a forest path. This bit was so much fun. It was about 10 km along it, right beside the river, which was very cool. My shoes, shorts, and bike got ruined cos of all the crap everywhere, but still! I was only doing about 30 km/hr on it, but it felt so fast, probably due to the rapidly changing surroundings. It's helped to make my mind up on doing some MTBing or cyclocross later on in the year. Probably the former so I can use it for snowy/icy commutes from Munich to Garching next Winter/Spring.
Friday evening I had planned an easy enough cycle on a new road, but once I got onto it, I found that I was holding above 30 km/hr with no hastle and getting up to 35 with just a little bit of effort. So that turned into a 23 km TT, more or less. There were a few spots to stop, roundabouts and towns. It was a lot of fun, though, and something I'm planning on doing more regularly. Average speed of 29 km/hr, which is my highest average speed for a spin. It would be a lot higher if it weren't for the stopping (requiring slowing down first and accelerating after). My legs were in bits after it, keeping above 30 on the last few kms required getting out of the saddle, hammering it and then letting the speed slow down again.
Which brings me to today. I had planned on upping my 90 km spin to above 100 this weekend, but it ended up not happening. I went into work to get a bit of a start on the two weeks ahead. I have a presentation to make on my work of the past five months on the 11th June, so that's taking priority for the moment. I did get out this evening, though, with a rough plan for something between 40 and 70 km. I ended up doing just the 40, my legs were on the edge of giving out after 15! Once I got home, I figured I probably could have done to full distance, but it's probably best that I give myself some recovery time. There's a four day weekend this weekend so one of those days will be dedicated to a long spin. Hopefully I might get my new bike by then as well, which would be very nice :)
I've ordered my bag for my planned light tours later on in the year. It's an in-sy rucksack which has a saddle attachment bar, so that should work well with the road bike. Since it's got a 16 L capacity, I reckon I'd be alright without a handlebar bag (I'm only planning on 3-4 days of a trip each time) so aerobars are starting to tickle my fancy instead. They should take at least a bit of the sting out of a 220 km trip. So they're now on the list. Yes, there is a list. Yes, it is long. Shhh....
However, I feel alright about spending a little more these days since my mate just bought a new shiny Anschutz selected barrel, with stock, sights and, I think, a Gemini buttplate. I'm so allowed to slap on 53 quid worth of aerobars onto the bike! And a GPS with European maps. And possibly buy new shoes and pedals as my current ones are feeling a bit tight after long spins.... Again, shh....
Anyway, that's about it. More during the week, if I'm awake enough to post!
Starting last Monday (yes, ignore the time between my last post and then. I don't think much happened anyway), it's been a busy week with many things. Work has been a bit mental as of late, with long enough days going on, along with some weekend work which is slowing down some of the training hours but it's for the best in the long run :D I've been a bit relaxed as regards the running lately, but getting out for one or two sessions and I'm going fine in those, so I'm not going to push it too much.
For the cycling, I've covered around 200 km in the last 7 days. Starting on Monday, 90 km into Munich, back out, then looping around to Dachau and hammering it home. OK, so I use hammering a bit loosely. I hammered for a while and then crawled the last 5 km home :D Easy enough spin on Wednesday for 20 km towards Munich and then back along a forest path. This bit was so much fun. It was about 10 km along it, right beside the river, which was very cool. My shoes, shorts, and bike got ruined cos of all the crap everywhere, but still! I was only doing about 30 km/hr on it, but it felt so fast, probably due to the rapidly changing surroundings. It's helped to make my mind up on doing some MTBing or cyclocross later on in the year. Probably the former so I can use it for snowy/icy commutes from Munich to Garching next Winter/Spring.
Friday evening I had planned an easy enough cycle on a new road, but once I got onto it, I found that I was holding above 30 km/hr with no hastle and getting up to 35 with just a little bit of effort. So that turned into a 23 km TT, more or less. There were a few spots to stop, roundabouts and towns. It was a lot of fun, though, and something I'm planning on doing more regularly. Average speed of 29 km/hr, which is my highest average speed for a spin. It would be a lot higher if it weren't for the stopping (requiring slowing down first and accelerating after). My legs were in bits after it, keeping above 30 on the last few kms required getting out of the saddle, hammering it and then letting the speed slow down again.
Which brings me to today. I had planned on upping my 90 km spin to above 100 this weekend, but it ended up not happening. I went into work to get a bit of a start on the two weeks ahead. I have a presentation to make on my work of the past five months on the 11th June, so that's taking priority for the moment. I did get out this evening, though, with a rough plan for something between 40 and 70 km. I ended up doing just the 40, my legs were on the edge of giving out after 15! Once I got home, I figured I probably could have done to full distance, but it's probably best that I give myself some recovery time. There's a four day weekend this weekend so one of those days will be dedicated to a long spin. Hopefully I might get my new bike by then as well, which would be very nice :)
I've ordered my bag for my planned light tours later on in the year. It's an in-sy rucksack which has a saddle attachment bar, so that should work well with the road bike. Since it's got a 16 L capacity, I reckon I'd be alright without a handlebar bag (I'm only planning on 3-4 days of a trip each time) so aerobars are starting to tickle my fancy instead. They should take at least a bit of the sting out of a 220 km trip. So they're now on the list. Yes, there is a list. Yes, it is long. Shhh....
However, I feel alright about spending a little more these days since my mate just bought a new shiny Anschutz selected barrel, with stock, sights and, I think, a Gemini buttplate. I'm so allowed to slap on 53 quid worth of aerobars onto the bike! And a GPS with European maps. And possibly buy new shoes and pedals as my current ones are feeling a bit tight after long spins.... Again, shh....
Anyway, that's about it. More during the week, if I'm awake enough to post!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Update - at last!!
Yeah... So I've been kinda bad with this, as well as the actual training lately... Lots has happened, I swearz! It's just that work, cycling too much on an empty stomach one evening, parents coming over, work, sickness, going home, and sickness again have all conspired against me.
I'm (sorta) still getting the distances in. Two 50 km cycles lately, both inside a week of each other, followed by a few shorter ones between 20 and 40 km to keep me going. Running occasionally sees a reprise. What's odd is that it's not getting any harder, despite leaving it ages in between runs. If I can actually sort out some discipline, then I might actually start to get better again!
Unfortunately, due to the above mentioned reasons, the shooting has suffered greatly. When I only have one evening a week to play with, and it's a Friday, the day everything in the universe happens on (unless the planet has been bulldozed the previous morning), it's gonna be inevitable that I miss some days. Like, three in a row. But anyway, I'm gonna try to get into the Old Munich range, which is pretty close and has kick ass facilities. Go with a fresh start, etc.
Finally, I was bold. I ordered my road bike last week. It should hopefully arrive next week some time. Which will be amazing. I was unfortunately constrained in my colour choices, but I'll bling it up over time :) Once I get that, heading south to some hills will most certainly be in order! Also, mudguards are amazing. I never knew how annoying muddy pants from a short commute could be until this year.
Really finally, I've enrolled in a German speaking course in Munich this Summer, which I'll be cycling in and out to in the evenings This will add about 15 km or so onto my daily commute, so I'll be looking at about 35 km a day, four days a week for the eight weeks of the course, which will push my weekly kilometerage up nicely. Add in a long weekend spin and I'm looking at over 200 km a week, which isn't half bad at all.
I'm (sorta) still getting the distances in. Two 50 km cycles lately, both inside a week of each other, followed by a few shorter ones between 20 and 40 km to keep me going. Running occasionally sees a reprise. What's odd is that it's not getting any harder, despite leaving it ages in between runs. If I can actually sort out some discipline, then I might actually start to get better again!
Unfortunately, due to the above mentioned reasons, the shooting has suffered greatly. When I only have one evening a week to play with, and it's a Friday, the day everything in the universe happens on (unless the planet has been bulldozed the previous morning), it's gonna be inevitable that I miss some days. Like, three in a row. But anyway, I'm gonna try to get into the Old Munich range, which is pretty close and has kick ass facilities. Go with a fresh start, etc.
Finally, I was bold. I ordered my road bike last week. It should hopefully arrive next week some time. Which will be amazing. I was unfortunately constrained in my colour choices, but I'll bling it up over time :) Once I get that, heading south to some hills will most certainly be in order! Also, mudguards are amazing. I never knew how annoying muddy pants from a short commute could be until this year.
Really finally, I've enrolled in a German speaking course in Munich this Summer, which I'll be cycling in and out to in the evenings This will add about 15 km or so onto my daily commute, so I'll be looking at about 35 km a day, four days a week for the eight weeks of the course, which will push my weekly kilometerage up nicely. Add in a long weekend spin and I'm looking at over 200 km a week, which isn't half bad at all.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Weekly summary (last week)
I've let this slide a little bit for the last week cos I haven't quite had the time to update, what with working a bit later and, you know, actually training a bit :D
So, for the week ending last Sunday. This was a pretty good week, actually, lots of training done, and a nice increase in kilometerage also. Overall for the cycling was 93 km in 4 hours, which is getting back to what I was used to back in the day. I know that makes me sound about 4 times my age, but whatever. There was some running done as well, but I can't remember how much. We'll go with two sessions of 5km...
Something that has been added to the weekly summaries; the target shooting is back :) I went down to the club on the Friday evening to see what the story was and how things worked. I wasn't so much given an introduction, as asked if I had shot before, to which I answered yes. The response to this was to hand me a rifle, some pellets and a target strip... An hour, and some horrendous shooting later, I finished up and was asked to come back the following Friday :)
A quick bit on the actual shooting; I don't think it's gotten much worse, but there were a few confounding factors. Firstly, no kit. I didn't bring any of mine cos I didn't think I'd be shooting. Also, there were no raiser blocks on the rifle (an old FWB 600, which, oddly enough, had a safety catch) and the cheekpiece was bottomed out, and pushed over to the right (i.e. away from me). Anybody who has seen my old rifle set up in DURC will know how much of an issue these things are for me, what with my freakishly long neck and high cheekbones :D These things can, of course, all be changed, but I didn't want to spend the first half hour poking at the rifle with a screwdriver.
However, it wasn't all bad. The hold wasn't the worst, despite not getting my cheek actually onto the cheekpiece, and there was some reasonable grouping. Next week when I go back to air rifle I'll make some changes which will hopefully help a bit. I may go jacketless again, just until I settle back into it and get comfortable with the new rifle. Adding the rest of the kit at that point should solidify things nicely :)
I'll hopefully have more up again soon. This week had some decent cycling and running, as well as some prone shooting. At 50m. Oh yes :)
So, for the week ending last Sunday. This was a pretty good week, actually, lots of training done, and a nice increase in kilometerage also. Overall for the cycling was 93 km in 4 hours, which is getting back to what I was used to back in the day. I know that makes me sound about 4 times my age, but whatever. There was some running done as well, but I can't remember how much. We'll go with two sessions of 5km...
Something that has been added to the weekly summaries; the target shooting is back :) I went down to the club on the Friday evening to see what the story was and how things worked. I wasn't so much given an introduction, as asked if I had shot before, to which I answered yes. The response to this was to hand me a rifle, some pellets and a target strip... An hour, and some horrendous shooting later, I finished up and was asked to come back the following Friday :)
A quick bit on the actual shooting; I don't think it's gotten much worse, but there were a few confounding factors. Firstly, no kit. I didn't bring any of mine cos I didn't think I'd be shooting. Also, there were no raiser blocks on the rifle (an old FWB 600, which, oddly enough, had a safety catch) and the cheekpiece was bottomed out, and pushed over to the right (i.e. away from me). Anybody who has seen my old rifle set up in DURC will know how much of an issue these things are for me, what with my freakishly long neck and high cheekbones :D These things can, of course, all be changed, but I didn't want to spend the first half hour poking at the rifle with a screwdriver.
However, it wasn't all bad. The hold wasn't the worst, despite not getting my cheek actually onto the cheekpiece, and there was some reasonable grouping. Next week when I go back to air rifle I'll make some changes which will hopefully help a bit. I may go jacketless again, just until I settle back into it and get comfortable with the new rifle. Adding the rest of the kit at that point should solidify things nicely :)
I'll hopefully have more up again soon. This week had some decent cycling and running, as well as some prone shooting. At 50m. Oh yes :)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Weekly summary
This week was better. I'm starting to head in the right direction, at least. I got out for something every day I was here, apart from Friday.
So, may as well crack into the numbers;
Distances;
Saddle; 45 km
Commute; 19 km
Run; 12 km
Times;
Saddle; 1 hr, 45 mins
Commute; 1 hr
Run; 1 hr 5 mins
Monday; Ireland
Tuesday; Travelling
Wednesday; Commute
Run, 5 km, 20 mins
Thursday; Commute
Saddle, 20 km, 45 mins
Friday; Commute
Saturday; Run, 7km, 45 mins.
Sunday; Saddle, 25 km, 1 hr
OK, so, the story with the running on Saturday... I was going well enough, keeping my normal slow crap pace, when my right knee cramped up. I'm not sure if it was a tendon or ligament, but something cramped and wouldn't straighten out for love nor stretching. I probably spent a good 15 mins of that run trying to stretch it out and eventually got bored and just ran home slowly on it.
I was unsure of whether or not it would turn out to be bad news, but said I'd give the bike a go today. Fortunately, the movement seems to have loosened it up, which is good. I went north again, towards my favourite 12% sprint uphill. Decided to cut my losses once I got to the top (one go this time, I'm happy :) ) and turned around for home.
On the way down, I topped out at 48.6 km/hr, which, by my rough calculations and crude assumption of a wheel diameter of 700mm, gives a max cadence of around 140 rpm. Which I find kinda impressive. Now, I was gripping the handlebars to pull myself back down, cos I have terrible technique so I bounce up and down, but still! I think I can do about 100 comfortably (35 km/hr), which isn't too bad. That'd be my normal tipping along pace, which bodes well for further training.
I was wondering during the week why my weight has been so reluctant to drop that much (currently at 62, which is a bit over my target (59/60). However, a quick thought to what I was doing last Summer helps; each week I was doing at least 150 km, including 100 km of commuting. The numbers are starting to come back up, but it won't be till I get my bike with gears that I extend the distances. I'm quite conscious of overtraining on the fixie; knee damage is not where I want to be.
Finally, a piece of news; I got in contact with a rifle club in the town over from here, and I'm heading out there this Friday to have a look at the facilities and see if they like me.. Whoever gets assigned to showing me around will have the misfortune of experiencing my oh-so-wonderful German. Which will be interesting :P I'm looking forward to it. I've been out of it for far too long at this point. Comebacks always have worked well for me, though...
So, may as well crack into the numbers;
Distances;
Saddle; 45 km
Commute; 19 km
Run; 12 km
Times;
Saddle; 1 hr, 45 mins
Commute; 1 hr
Run; 1 hr 5 mins
Monday; Ireland
Tuesday; Travelling
Wednesday; Commute
Run, 5 km, 20 mins
Thursday; Commute
Saddle, 20 km, 45 mins
Friday; Commute
Saturday; Run, 7km, 45 mins.
Sunday; Saddle, 25 km, 1 hr
OK, so, the story with the running on Saturday... I was going well enough, keeping my normal slow crap pace, when my right knee cramped up. I'm not sure if it was a tendon or ligament, but something cramped and wouldn't straighten out for love nor stretching. I probably spent a good 15 mins of that run trying to stretch it out and eventually got bored and just ran home slowly on it.
I was unsure of whether or not it would turn out to be bad news, but said I'd give the bike a go today. Fortunately, the movement seems to have loosened it up, which is good. I went north again, towards my favourite 12% sprint uphill. Decided to cut my losses once I got to the top (one go this time, I'm happy :) ) and turned around for home.
On the way down, I topped out at 48.6 km/hr, which, by my rough calculations and crude assumption of a wheel diameter of 700mm, gives a max cadence of around 140 rpm. Which I find kinda impressive. Now, I was gripping the handlebars to pull myself back down, cos I have terrible technique so I bounce up and down, but still! I think I can do about 100 comfortably (35 km/hr), which isn't too bad. That'd be my normal tipping along pace, which bodes well for further training.
I was wondering during the week why my weight has been so reluctant to drop that much (currently at 62, which is a bit over my target (59/60). However, a quick thought to what I was doing last Summer helps; each week I was doing at least 150 km, including 100 km of commuting. The numbers are starting to come back up, but it won't be till I get my bike with gears that I extend the distances. I'm quite conscious of overtraining on the fixie; knee damage is not where I want to be.
Finally, a piece of news; I got in contact with a rifle club in the town over from here, and I'm heading out there this Friday to have a look at the facilities and see if they like me.. Whoever gets assigned to showing me around will have the misfortune of experiencing my oh-so-wonderful German. Which will be interesting :P I'm looking forward to it. I've been out of it for far too long at this point. Comebacks always have worked well for me, though...
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows
OK, I lied. Just sunshine. But it is pretty nice. Got out yesterday in just a short-sleeve jersey. I got my new merino arm-warmers as well, and decided to try them out; that was a stupid idea :D
Anyway, not to dwell, just said I'd post up that things are actually going well this week with sessions being completed, even in the shortness of the week. I had a bit of a hammerfest home last night while being drafted by another cyclist. Trying to pull away really kept me going :P Settling in behind him for the final stroll home was nice, though, and very welcome!
More from the week on Sunday, with some accurate numbers this time!
Anyway, not to dwell, just said I'd post up that things are actually going well this week with sessions being completed, even in the shortness of the week. I had a bit of a hammerfest home last night while being drafted by another cyclist. Trying to pull away really kept me going :P Settling in behind him for the final stroll home was nice, though, and very welcome!
More from the week on Sunday, with some accurate numbers this time!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Weekly Summary
Yeah, this week kinda sucked so far as getting anything done was concerned :D Last weekend knackered me out, so I wasn't on form for most of this week; a combination of stiff legs and being generally tired didn't help. Also, I gave a little more focus to work this week, which ate into the daylight available. And no, the lights still haven't arrived. Great deal or not, I know one shop I won't be going back to for some time...
Unfortunately, I didn't get in any running this week. The legs just weren't up to it. This means that I'm going to have a tough time getting going on it again next week. That said, the time off could be good for me, and it's not like I've just been sitting around. Total saddle time for the week was two hours, distance 40 km.
The week culminated in a 15 km cycle on Friday morning, which turned into a hammerfest once I got outside Garching. It was basically a straight run through Ismanning and back. Almost totally flat, just one lump over a bridge and that was about it. On the way back, I kept the speed above 30 km/hr, topping out at around 38. I haven't gotten the rhythm quite right in a while to get a faster pace than this. As a test, I tried really going for it on a one km stretch when I was close to home. Kept it above 35 all the way through it, which I was happy with. Now it's just doing a few of these together for an hour...
Next week shall be better. Next week is always better :D
Unfortunately, I didn't get in any running this week. The legs just weren't up to it. This means that I'm going to have a tough time getting going on it again next week. That said, the time off could be good for me, and it's not like I've just been sitting around. Total saddle time for the week was two hours, distance 40 km.
The week culminated in a 15 km cycle on Friday morning, which turned into a hammerfest once I got outside Garching. It was basically a straight run through Ismanning and back. Almost totally flat, just one lump over a bridge and that was about it. On the way back, I kept the speed above 30 km/hr, topping out at around 38. I haven't gotten the rhythm quite right in a while to get a faster pace than this. As a test, I tried really going for it on a one km stretch when I was close to home. Kept it above 35 all the way through it, which I was happy with. Now it's just doing a few of these together for an hour...
Next week shall be better. Next week is always better :D
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Weekly summary
Right, round two of this.
The week overall hasn't been great. Kilometerage has been down quite a bit, as has overall time. Running especially has suffered this week, I've not been able to get out due to being tired and generally lacking the fitness for it. One short interval session on Tuesday and a 6km run that I suffered through on Thursday were all I could do.
For cycling, things were a little better. I had to cut short a session on Wednesday due to it being dark and STILL not having lights. Todays was pretty decent, though. Around 30 km, all on the fixie. I got in some slight climbs as well, such as this one;
Fortunately, this one wasn't too long, though pulling up it on the fixie was quite difficult. It was made more so by the fact that I decided to cycle down it on the other side and then back up again... Funnily enough, the speed limit wasn't an issue.
So, overall stats;
Times
Saddle; two and a half hours
Commute; hour and a half
Run; one hour
Distances
Saddle; 40ish km (should really have written it down before I reset the computer)
Commute; 30ish (again, should have checked)
Run; 10km ( :( )
These are really approximate, I need to start writing stuff down...
Finally, as has been promised for some time, pics of the new bike, as taken today.
Also from today, an indication of how far into the middle of nowhere one can get, while still being within 10km of a town...
That's about it for now, I think. I'll hopefully have some more stuff during the week, though I'm heading home for a few days over Easter, so the volume will be much reduced. I'll hopefully still get out for a decent spin and run, but I don't have that many days. My legs are a bit tight at the moment from today, but hopefully recovery won't take too long... Bis nachher!
The week overall hasn't been great. Kilometerage has been down quite a bit, as has overall time. Running especially has suffered this week, I've not been able to get out due to being tired and generally lacking the fitness for it. One short interval session on Tuesday and a 6km run that I suffered through on Thursday were all I could do.
For cycling, things were a little better. I had to cut short a session on Wednesday due to it being dark and STILL not having lights. Todays was pretty decent, though. Around 30 km, all on the fixie. I got in some slight climbs as well, such as this one;
Fortunately, this one wasn't too long, though pulling up it on the fixie was quite difficult. It was made more so by the fact that I decided to cycle down it on the other side and then back up again... Funnily enough, the speed limit wasn't an issue.
So, overall stats;
Times
Saddle; two and a half hours
Commute; hour and a half
Run; one hour
Distances
Saddle; 40ish km (should really have written it down before I reset the computer)
Commute; 30ish (again, should have checked)
Run; 10km ( :( )
These are really approximate, I need to start writing stuff down...
Finally, as has been promised for some time, pics of the new bike, as taken today.
Also from today, an indication of how far into the middle of nowhere one can get, while still being within 10km of a town...
That's about it for now, I think. I'll hopefully have some more stuff during the week, though I'm heading home for a few days over Easter, so the volume will be much reduced. I'll hopefully still get out for a decent spin and run, but I don't have that many days. My legs are a bit tight at the moment from today, but hopefully recovery won't take too long... Bis nachher!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Weekly summary
Since my training has more or less kicked off, I won't be blogging every single session. That would just get boring and tedious for all of us. Instead, there will be highlights, kit reviews and weekly summaries, probably on a Sunday.
So, to get going; this weeks training started on Thursday evening; hence the low numbers. Most of the times and distances are fairly approximate, but should give a good idea of how things are going.
Times:
Saddle: two hours
Commute (bike)*: one hour
Run: one hour
Distances:
Saddle: 50 km
Commute: 20 km
Run: 14 km
*Commute times and distances are in addition to the 'saddle' numbers, just not focussed in any way and tipping along at a fairly handy pace.
To add to this, I spent yesterday and today in the saddle with the fixed cog on. It's a very different experience compared with freewheel bikes. When you try to coast you get a not so subtle reminder that this is a no-no by the pedals forcing your feet around. Thank ceiling cat for clipless pedals! Lots of fun, though, especially when in a proper sprint. Doing almost 50 km/hr on the flat with the wind behind me and knowing that I really have to keep pedalling or risk snotting myself horribly is terrifying at the time, but fantastic to look back at. I'm sold on the fixie :)
The new road bike is still in the works, but is gonna wait another few weeks 'til I get up enough kms to justify it and also to get the legs back into the swing of things.
Outlook for the coming week; try to get some more distance in on the bike and feet, push on for intervals in both. Also, I'll be making contact with a rifle club so we'll see what comes of that. I hope my time management has improved since the last time I tried to do more than one thing at a time...
So, to get going; this weeks training started on Thursday evening; hence the low numbers. Most of the times and distances are fairly approximate, but should give a good idea of how things are going.
Times:
Saddle: two hours
Commute (bike)*: one hour
Run: one hour
Distances:
Saddle: 50 km
Commute: 20 km
Run: 14 km
*Commute times and distances are in addition to the 'saddle' numbers, just not focussed in any way and tipping along at a fairly handy pace.
To add to this, I spent yesterday and today in the saddle with the fixed cog on. It's a very different experience compared with freewheel bikes. When you try to coast you get a not so subtle reminder that this is a no-no by the pedals forcing your feet around. Thank ceiling cat for clipless pedals! Lots of fun, though, especially when in a proper sprint. Doing almost 50 km/hr on the flat with the wind behind me and knowing that I really have to keep pedalling or risk snotting myself horribly is terrifying at the time, but fantastic to look back at. I'm sold on the fixie :)
The new road bike is still in the works, but is gonna wait another few weeks 'til I get up enough kms to justify it and also to get the legs back into the swing of things.
Outlook for the coming week; try to get some more distance in on the bike and feet, push on for intervals in both. Also, I'll be making contact with a rifle club so we'll see what comes of that. I hope my time management has improved since the last time I tried to do more than one thing at a time...
Friday, March 19, 2010
And we're rolling :)
Following on from the lovely weather that we had yesterday, today was another sunny day. Cycling home from work in a t-shirt after spending Tuesday trying to keep the snow out of my eyes was a strange feeling :P
I was gonna leave it 'til Sunday to go for a proper spin on the bike, but I wound up taking advantage of the sun and went out this evening instead. This being Germany, and cyclists not being treated as second class road users, there's a cycle path all the way into Munich. I went for a nice 18 km spin in and back, averaging around 30 km/hr, I think. I can't remember what the computer said, but that average is ruined a little by the fact that I got a puncture 500 m from the door on the way back :(
While I had the wheel out for replacing the tube, I flipped it over to the fixed cog, which I might give a short go tomorrow. It'll certainly be an experience... Speaking of which, I stuck the SPDs on today. I have to say, after initially not knowing how to clip in or out properly, I quickly got used to them and I really enjoy the feeling of being secured to the pedals. Makes sprinting a lot nicer! Pics soon, when I get fresh batteries for the camera.
I was gonna leave it 'til Sunday to go for a proper spin on the bike, but I wound up taking advantage of the sun and went out this evening instead. This being Germany, and cyclists not being treated as second class road users, there's a cycle path all the way into Munich. I went for a nice 18 km spin in and back, averaging around 30 km/hr, I think. I can't remember what the computer said, but that average is ruined a little by the fact that I got a puncture 500 m from the door on the way back :(
While I had the wheel out for replacing the tube, I flipped it over to the fixed cog, which I might give a short go tomorrow. It'll certainly be an experience... Speaking of which, I stuck the SPDs on today. I have to say, after initially not knowing how to clip in or out properly, I quickly got used to them and I really enjoy the feeling of being secured to the pedals. Makes sprinting a lot nicer! Pics soon, when I get fresh batteries for the camera.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Let the sun shine
Ok, so this is gonna seem a little strange. I know I've been complaining a lot about the snow for the last while, right up to Tuesday. There was a pretty bad snow-storm on Monday, I think, which passed. And now it's all gone. The sun is shining.
I went running in shorts and a t-shirt this evening. What part of that just seems wrong to you? I was getting some very odd looks from passers-by in their big Winter coats and hats, but it was a nice pleasant mild evening. The tshirt I had on was actually a little heavy for it, I think.
Also, at an average pace of 13 km/hr, I managed to outrun some cars stuck on the motorway on the way home. I'm used to that kind of thing on a bike, but doing it on foot is very strange :P
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Snow biking
No, it's not another new sport, but something rather challenging at the same time. Since I got my bike, there's been an incredibly heavy snowfall to complement the already thick layers of compacted snow and ice in places.
Unfortunately, cycling it is proving to be a little difficult. A combination of factors ranging from me not being used to the new position, to the skinny tyres over powdery snow have combined to leave me face down in a pile of snow on more than one occasion. Cycling along, nice and slow, feel a bit of a skid on the back, slow down a little more, feel a lot of a skid, then WHAM; tangled in bike and eating snow. Not cool.
Hopefully I'll get a little better with the controls over the next while, but I'm also hoping that there won't be much of an option and this damn precipitation will back off. Then I can really put the Kona through its paces. Brief stints on the road, however, have been fabulous. The bike really accelerates when I put the foot down. Out of the saddle is fantastic, the hybrid just doesn't compare at all.
On flipping the stem over so it rises up, it seems that the sizing is pretty spot on. When I get around to ordering my road bike (with gears) I'll know exactly what size to get :) I think I'll wait for the snow to clear for that, though. Whatever chance I have of getting about on 28 mm tyres, 23 mm will just have me on the floor instantly.
A mountain bike is what I need. Yes. For the snow. That's it. I guess it'll just have to go on the wishlist. And while I'm at it, I'll find some nice trails as well. When I have it and all... It'd be a shame to let it go to waste.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Arrival of the fixie
It finally arrived! After a month of waiting my singlespeed/fixie finally arrived :) This is my first actual road bike, and I have to say I'm very impressed.
I got a rather confused call around half 10 from the warehouse in work asking if I'd ordered a bike. When I got down there, they were incredibly nice, and more than a little curious, so they let me build it up in the workspace down there. I was initially quite surprised at the size of the box; I had convinced myself that it wound't be that big and I'd just be able to carry it back to the office and then home. I was very very wrong.
It came with the front wheel off and the handlebars bubble wrapped and taped to the downtube. I put these on and that was about it, really. Good to go. Apart from the lack of pedals. Despite taking some time to actually send it, Evans Cycles are incredibly good with what you get. I received a little folder thing with information books, a (very useful for building!) multi-tool and a pedal wrench. I did order other stuff with the bike, so I assume they're coming then, whenever that package arrives... Luckily, there was a bike shop open in town that I got some cheap plastic deals while I wait for some better ones to arrive (I've got spds on the way anyway, which I preemptively bought for the road bike). I was, however, almost shouted out of the shop for putting cheap plastic pedals on such a nice bike... The dude calmed down when I told him I just needed these for a few days :D
Once I got home, I couldn't wait to take it for a spin. I spent a few mins getting the saddle height and setback roughly set and then hopped on. First impressions;
1. Incredibly responsive. When I put the hammer down, it can really move, also making a really cool whistle-like sound when going really fast.
2. Very different to a hybrid bike. This is mostly in terms of position, which will take some getting used to I suspect. However, all three main positions: on the hoods; in the drops; and what I call on the drops (hands away from the brake levers, but on the lowest part of the bars) are quite comfortable, though I have a bit of a reach for the hoods. I suspect I will have to get a slightly shorter stem, but I'll wait for another while first.
3. Great handling. I didn't try any sharp turns, but it felt very stable at all times, including going over and through ice and snow, something the rental bike I was using failed miserably at. Even going over these patches at speed was no problem at all.
In general, I'm well happy with it. Light, responsive and pretty damn nice in general. The perfect commuting/training bike. Though most people seem to think it cost well over a thousand to look at. Which is good, meaning it's a nice bike, but bad in that it makes people want to steal it. I may get a better lock for it :D Also, I will try it on the fixed cog and see what it's like. Stay tuned for pics when I get some nice pedals for it. As I was emphatically told, plastic pedals are no way to grace the cranks of a bike like this!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Running
I'm shocked that I'm saying it, but... I think my running is actually getting better. My runs don't tire me out so much any more. Which means that my initial plan for a half marathon some time in September/October could be stretched out to a full, with the intention of finishing inside four hours.
It looks somewhat like I might actually finish some 10 km runs in the next few weeks. That's just a frightening thought for somebody who could just make it through 5 before Christmas. Now I can actually focus a little on which way my feet are awkwardly splaying and swinging about the place and try to reign in the more extreme gyrations. It reminds me of something like the Larmor radius. Only a little less circular.
Three runs a week, increasing the individual run distance by one km a week and I should be good for some intervals soon. That will be the fun part. That's if cycling doesn't take over :D I'm enjoying running again, though, so it probably won't.
On a sort of related note, I'm considering buying some sort of training aid thingamijob to make training a little easier. I'm not sure how much of an effect it would have, apart from quantifying what I'm doing. Like, most of the Garmin GPS units rely on Google Maps to plot the data after you run/cycle, which I can mostly do myself. I can see the advantage when one goes for longer runs, but I've mapped out 50 km cycles by hand, it's not that big a deal.
The main advantage, I guess, would be heart rate data, showing different work out zones, which is meant to make training more efficient and focussed. On the other hand, one of the attractions of running is that it's so simple. I'm not training for anything huge, I don't really need a large amount of data to get me to the level I want...
It'll probably depend on whether I have more money than sense at some given time of weakness. There's always a 705 with European mapping for touring on the bike. That option is looking more and more tempting, to be honest, as it would be seriously useful. More so since I'm thinking of doing a few weekend trips around Europe this Summer. Anybody want to start a 'GPS for Mike' fund?
No?
Anybody?
Monday, March 1, 2010
New Bike
I'm (hopefully) getting paid at long last :) So, the new bike is being ordered this week, all gong well.
One question, however, remains, and it is of the utmost importance.
It's a different frameset to that one (this, actually), but that link compares all the colours really well. I'm leaning towards the pink at the moment, something nice and flashy, but different at the same time. Anybody who owns one loves it, but a lot of people are a little put off by it.
Answers on a postcard, or preferably by email ;)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Getting back there :)
OK, so getting back to anything approximating fitness hasn't been easy. At all. Between moving, ice, moving country, cold cramps in my legs and a nasty head cold, it's been a good ten odd weeks since I've done any real training.
This week has seen my running get back to my old standard. Now, it was shockingly bad then, but at least it's back to where it was and I'm not panting after 2 km. In fact, I think I've gotten a little faster :) The main thing now is to get the endurance in there. Ideally, it'll be adding one kilometer to each run a few times a week, and that should see me build up gradually.
Still waiting for that fixie to arrive, though. Once that happens we'll really be ready to roll :)
*edit, checked the weight there, which is coming in at around 65 kg :( So, 5 kg to lose first, then we can really roll. Shouldn't take too long once I get the road bike. The (hopefully) impending fixie will also go a long way into getting me some much needed exercise. The pink, women's geometry bike with a basket and non-adjustable seat-post one that I have now isn't doing my knees any favours...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Long time, no chat
It has indeed been a while, probably longer than I've left it before. There are good reasons though. Yeah.
I've been getting some running in the last few weeks, getting out two or three times a week, which is good. I have a rough progress plan made out, which will hopefully build up a kilometer or so a week and start throwing in some interval sessions as well. It's been hard enough going, though, what with the snow, the ice, the not being arsed getting out of bed in the morning (I really don't do before 8 in the morning). You know how it is.
I got bored of walking to work, and the rental bikes we ordered over here weren't forthcoming, so when I got my first payment last month I was a little bold and ordered this for commuting and some other fitness stuff. I ended up getting an amazing deal on it, almost 50% off the RRP due to a bit of a stock mix-up with another bike I ordered, so happy days :) It hasn't arrived yet, but it should within the next week or so. Of course, the day after I ordered it, the rental bikes came... Not that I'm annoyed, since my one has a saddle that's a few inches too low and can't be changed, due to using an archaic half inch bolt. Also, the front brake pads are just the plastic at this stage, which isn't so much fun over compacted snow :0
Again, once the new bike arrives, I shall be getting myself oh so quickly to a range. It's been two months since I've shot at this stage, this is getting ridiculous! I don't think I took this much time off for my exams... Of course, if scores jump like they did the last time, I'll be well happy :D
Saturday, January 30, 2010
My everything hurts!
I decided, upon being bored the other day, and having a lot of tensed muscles these days, to look up some arm stretches. Which I then did. And all was well.
Then I got it into my head that I could also look up some core strength building exercises. How hard could they be? I mean, surely I have a decent enough core, I've been doing a lot of running and cycling (OK, fine, not recently, but I've a cough and don't have a bike, alright!) and I've never felt I have a poor core. But some toning of it would be good.
Twenty minutes later I'm lying on my floor, not able to do any more. Core is crap, needs work. Whatevs. Stretch, go to sleep, happy days.
Wake up the next day, stomach and sides are in bits. Sitting up now feels like doing fifty stomach crunches at once. I'm feeling muscles in my sides that I didn't really know were there... This will be a much more interesting year than I thought.
So this has been added to the list of things to do. I'm told it'll improve your balance, and generally help you out. I assume this is after the the aches subside.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Where we stand
Right, so the training plan is up and coming at the moment. I've been working on it for the past three days and generated five pages of ramblings. It covers the four stages that seem to be an essential part of a training plan and inserts what I should do, and plan to do in each section.
Included in this I've come up with a list of goals, which has my current standing in each of my disciplines/sports and what to do about getting to the goal standard. So here we go.
Prone
Current: ~ 580(576-582) at 50m
Need: 582 by June (World Uni. Champs)
Want: ~587 by June (Olympic MQS)
This equates, roughly, to a 7 point increase in 6 or so months, which is doable, but difficult.
Areas to focus on: butt of rifle: length; and place in shoulder; eyesight: may need new frames (left the old ones in Ireland in any case...); otherwise need to be more careful when aiming; match planning; taking breaks every 20 shots or so, mainly to check the sling on my upper arm.
Air Rifle
Current: ~545 (542-546)
Need: I'm not sure as data is hard to come by, but I'm going to go with an MQS of 570
This is a totally different kettle of fish, being a 25 point increase, which will not be easy. However, I feel that the points are there, I just need to be careful in how I go about putting that through paper. If I hit this, I'll be very happy with myself. My air rifle has, historically, seen a lot of setbacks, notably a severe sprain two years ago that kept me off the line for three months and ruined a lot of hard work prior to that. The unfocused off-time also generated a lot of bad habits that dragged me back for a year. At least I've tried to keep my head in the game this time round.
Areas to focus on: zero point; balance; relaxation: shoulders; arms; neck; head position; cheekpiece; faster rhythm.
Cycling
Current: I have little idea, as it's been a while since I was on a bike. The few short commuting spins before Christmas felt good, though, so I have hope that my level here hasn't fallen off too much.
Want: 200-300 km sportive at approximately 30 km/hr average by September.
If I follow a solid 12 week plan I should get the kilometerage up to around 165 by simply increasing an endurance spin by 10% each week, which would be good. Now, that's most likely not going to work out, but the goal is there.
Also, my speed is going to have to improve, and I think I have some interval suggestions somewhere that could work well.
Also, I'd like to compete in a cyclocross race, but only if I get reasonably good at both cycling and running. And lose whatever sanity I have left.
Running
Current: Atrocious. Nuff said.
Want: Half marathon (20 km) at two hour pace (10 km/hr) by September.
The plan for this is to run a set distance three or four times per week, working in intervals as well. By increasing the distance by one km a week (which shouldn't be too bad, right?) that should bring me up to what I want, when I want it.
I do have some interval sessions here for this, which will help a lot.
So there you have it, my wildly outlandish targets for the next six to nine months. There are some competition goals for rifle later in the season, in keeping with a full training plan; the ones here are preliminary and will serve to test the validity of my longer term plan.
There's about a one in a million chance that I'll actually hit any of these goals, but, hey, one in a million chances crop up nine times out of ten, right?
Friday, January 22, 2010
It's been a while...
I know, I know, it's been far too long, but hey, moving country is a bit demanding, alright! Alright.
On the bright side, I'm close to getting paid, and hence to getting my bike :) Also, I have found a club within about 5km of here. If for some reason I don't join that, I'll just have to choose one of the other hundred odd clubs around Munich...
Stay tuned for updates on training plans. I've been given some guidelines, which are excellent. I'll throw up my take on it, along with my plans when I get them sorted (read, when I actually get a bike and join a club :P). There will be some long posts in the near future.
I have started back with the running, but let's not talk about that for the moment. Suffice to say that I have a good 2 kg of tummy to lose before any real work will get done :-/ Christmas is so yummy, yet so punishing...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Irrational Proposals
Looks like I might have to hold off on that jacket review...
I won't go into it in detail, but essentially, an ISSF committee are considering banning all composite materials from shooting clothing, among other pointless things, such as removing the padded bits on shooting pants and also the shooting boots.
Why? Well, that's a very good question. I'll get back to you on that one...
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Years Resolutions
It appears to be around the time of year to declare those New Years resolutions that everybody will try, and subsequently fail, to complete. Me, I'm gonna make them nice and broad and simple.
First, buy a road bike. This one has been on the list for over six months at this stage and it's about time that I followed through on it. No more of this, "I need to save money" crap. I have a paying job, there are no excuses! I have a pretty good idea of what I'm gonna get; the Planet-X Ultegra build, possibly in white, though there will be much washing of it... It seems to be the best value bike around at the moment, and there have been many excellent testimonials for it on Boards.ie, so who am I to contradict them!
Second, develop training plans for shooting. All three disciplines. Sort out my current level, decide on matches to go to, that I'll have a good three to four months minimum to train for a qualification, and plan it. Sort out a range in Germany, most likely buy a rifle or two, and train.
Third, try to up the fitness. The long term goal is an IRONMAN, so we'll have to see how some shorter term stuff goes. It's not something that I'll be focussing on at all; just there in the back of my mind. Fitness for target shooting is more important.
I'm looking forwards to this year. It's going to be a tough year: in my personal life, due to moving to Germany for nine months; in my academic career, as it's starting off; and also in my sporting life as this is going to be a sort of springboard from which everything is going to stem. It will be challenging, but also exciting. There are a lot of opportunities coming up right now, and I intend to make the most of them. I'll let you know how it goes :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)