By that I mean goals for the year. Cycling, running, and, most importantly, shooting should all come along nicely this year, now that I'm settled a little bit in Germany. With that in mind, it's time to work out what I want to hit at some point in the year.
Piecing it all together in one giant calendar is actually kinda fun. I was originally thinking of splitting it all apart, having one calendar each for shooting, cycling and running, but I think this is better. Also, it should help me to not schedule things on top of each other.
After a pitiful year of shooting, it's time to make this priority one again. Unfortunately, there aren't a huge number of goals in late summer/early autumn time that I can aim for. The European smallbore championships are on at a really nice time, but they require qualification. I need a 587 in prone, or 1135 in 3p to make it there. Now, both of these are eminently doable, given good quality training. at 1033 in my last 3x40 match 2.5 years ago, I think this is where I could make up some good ground. Standing alone has the potential to raise about 15 points a string, if I get a decent set up. So that's 1100, with the balance to be made up with prone and kneeling. Doable, but not easy. The prone, OTOH, could either be reasonably handy, or incredibly difficult.
I've done some playing around with a pretend prone position at home, trying different right arm positions, and I think I've found something decent. It should allow good shoulder pressure as well as tucking the rifle in close to me. This will all be greatly facilitated by having the air rifle at home for training. Imitating my prone set up on that will allow training to be done at any time at home, which will be totally cool :)
For running, I'm going to attempt a marathon. I said I'd do it last year, and I just failed. I have two options later in the year, which is what I want. There's the Munich Marathon, on the 9th of October, and the Dublin City Marathon, on the 31st of October. There's nothing much in the way of shooting or cycling around these times, so that works out rather well. I'll probably enter one or the other pretty soon, so I have the time set in stone and I can update my calendar around that.
In the case of cycling, I have Operation M to worry about. This is a one- or two-week tour, planning to take in at least one epic climb. At the moment I'm leaning towards a one week tour, starting in central France in July. From there, head south and then loop into Switzerland, taking in the Col d'Isaren along the way. This is a 33 km monster of a climb, which will require much training. To the Alps!
I have a lot of plans for the summer, so I'm going to be looking for some things to round off the year towards the end. I've already said that I would like to do some time trialling, so I may have a look at that once the tour is over; change the road bike set up to a more aerodynamic position, with tri bars. Or I may be bold and look at building something up from scratch, depending on how serious I want to go with it. Ideally, I'd want to look at racing for that kind of investment.
Those are the rough plans for 2011. I'll be updating as I go, with only a few things that are set in stone. As I said, shooting is taking priority from now on, which means time and money. It may come to pass that nothing really comes of this year, but it should give me an excellent base for the following year in any case :)
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Things what I has learned this year
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!
#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!
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....
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...
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...
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
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?
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
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?
Monday, December 28, 2009
(Not) Running On Thin Ice
Well, there go the Christmas plans, along with the feeling in my hands, after scraping a half-inch thick layer of ice from the driveway :(
Today was my last chance to get out for a run over Christmas. It just didn't happen with the ice, getting out of the estate would possibly have been the end of me, or, at the very least, a bone or two. For reference, the reflection and glare in the pic is just from the ice; no lens glare came into that one, it was taken as seen.
Also, because I couldn't get out yesterday with the same ice, I missed the Aldi bargains on merino base layers, meaning I'll have to fork out more monies for them at some point. Damn weather.
I also learned today that the UCC student gym was ruined in the floods, which pushes the city running plans back a while. I'll eventually run out of excuses I'm sure...
Monday, December 21, 2009
Mental Training
I've discovered how useful a tool mental training can be over the past while. Since the rifles have been handed back, and, in at least one case, redistributed, this is the only way I can get anything done. I mean, I don't want to get rusty before Germany, like.
I haven't yet set aside any specific times or plans for it, but that's owing a lot to the whole moving thing. However, at various points during the day it just strikes me that I'm not balanced correctly, that my leg muscles are tensing to keep me upright. This can happen anywhere: standing around the house; at a bus stop; and so on. I have even started to notice it while walking. Changing my centre of gravity to be over between my feet relaxes my back totally, something I wasn't even aware of tensing before.
The relaxing is a very simple thing too; I close my eyes and feel whether I'm pulling myself in one direction or another. In most cases I'm falling forwards, and in almost all these cases it's because my head isn't sitting upright; it's tilted forwards, or slumped down. Simply righting my head makes a lot of difference. This all starts to feed into my mental training again. Some balance work, which is then followed by shifting into a standing position, followed by relaxation.
The second part of this is the shot routine. I have usually done this on a bus or train. Closing my eyes while I sit there I try to imagine myself in the situation, mostly in UCDRC as it's where I do most competitions. I run through the entire shot routine from charging to checking the shot, paying particular attention to the final sight picture and shot release and making sure I'm relaxed all over. The next step is to do this standing up and see how it goes.
I'll move on a little more with doing this for prone and kneeling as well. I mean, I have to keep myself in shape. Speaking of which, I've brought my running kit all the way from Dublin to Cork and now to Roscommon, so I've never had a better incentive to do some than now. I've also got some new kit coming in the post this week, which will leave me with no excuse, funny looks be damned :D
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Who Needs the Alps?
My first proper time spent in UCC was over the past two days. It's a lovely college and the writing course that I was at proved to be excellent: well taught; interesting content; and demonstrating the use of use : and ;.
What I had noticed before was the amount of hills around the city. However, walking around these isn't so bad, you only really notice them on a bike. And boy are they noticeable. Cycling along, nice and easy (well, giving it loads to prove to the drivers beside you that cycling is clearly a superior form of transportation), then bam, you're at the bottom of a cliff.
Now I know that I'm not the best cyclist, indeed, far from it. I also know that I'm not the best hill climber for my performance bracket. However, the severity of the climbs inside the city (!!) are something else. I wasn't used to that kind of thing at all in Dublin.
However, it does lend itself to some interesting speculation on training. Getting myself on a nice fixie, such as the Felt Dispatch which I have my eye on, would really push me to build a lot of fitness in this area.
This will of course not be happening until I get back from Germany. Word on the street is that I'll be leaving before two weeks in January are up, and gone for a good eight or nine months. That said, some alpine training, in an area like Schloss Ringberg below, wouldn't go amiss :D
Unfortunately, I'll probably be taking the Christmas and a lot of time in January off due to either having my bike in Cork, or, much more drastically, having given my rifles back to the club :( One of the really annoying things about this is that there are InterShoot qualifications going on as well. Based on how things were going up until last week I may actually have had some sort of a chance to at least get within spitting distance of the 573 required, which would be the main thing.
So, the plan has not been forgotten, merely delayed. Keep reading for more concrete plans, though I wouldn't expect them to materialise for some time yet. I'll keep having a look around for some decent training plans online and see what I can find. I'll share too, don't worry!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
More training...
OK, so I said I wasn't going to train until next week. I didn't lie as such, just fell through on it.
Running this morning was the first time I've gone in a week. I'm very poorly disciplined at the moment for physical training, but I'm mostly blaming that on not having anything warm to run or cycle in and my bike does need a new bottom bracket...
Going for a run was not fun. At all. Wind is horrendous. I was in bits after the first 500m, never mind the other 3.5km that I scraped though. It was one of the toughest things I've done so far. Now, it might also be due to not getting enough exercise at the moment, but it was still pretty rough. Stupid wind...
Then, Dave said he'd open the range if I wanted to train with him, and I was covering for Aisling later on... So I went and did a bit. Not as nice as the day before, but I think if I hadn't played with my sight when switching from practice to shooting a 10 group then it would have been a hell of a lot nicer and without those nasty 9.9s slightly out. Again, roll on Sunday :)
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