Definitive Differences

Wednesday (inside), Friday, Sunday training is going to work really well. However, I've just finished my second outdoor ride of the week and both were considerably different - Friday's 25 miler was very wet with no wind, today's 15 was very windy with no rain. I hated them both. 

I've also noticed some big differences between cycling and running aside from the well documented 'they use different muscles'.

1. Cycling is 100% uphill. There's no such thing as a flat in Cornwall as the whole county has been built on a V or ^ foundation. This means there are downhills but, as Ella Eyre noted, gravity gravity, oooooooh, gravity and even on a bike you can conquer a twenty mile downhill section in four minutes...just in time for the next twenty mile uphill section.

2. Cycles take maintenance. I never once had to check the pressures on my shoes or lubricate my chain, if you know what I mean. Shoe up, bugger off. That's running. Also there's a lot to turn off when returning - I left my lights on after my ride on Friday and, being a very cheap set, they're now good for nothing.

3. Riding takes longer. A 100 mile bike ride is equivalent to a 26 mile run, so a ratio of around 4:1 in London Marathon organiser standards. However, while a six mile run takes me around an hour a 24 mile ride is just over two. I have to put this down to being at the start of my training but I need to get an awful lot faster to make the running/riding ratio stack up. A 15mph average will get me around the course within the eight and a half hour limit so that's my initial aim, though this is still just under an hour and a half for a 24 mile ride.

4. I cannot ride empty. When partaking in a marathon I would have four breakfast biscuits, go to the toilet seventeen times and then run. I'd take on a few gels towards the end but I wouldn't eat much at all until after the race when I would binge on everything in sight. I was knackered after my ride on Friday and put a lot of it down to hunger, meaning I also have to eat before a ride which takes up even more time.

There are plenty of similarities, such as the need for layers in the cold months. I had one pair of socks on in the wet and my feet were numb by the time I got home. Today I put two pairs on because I figured they don't take up much room in the washing machine and hey presto! Warm feet. I'm more than a little looking forward to riding in the Summer, however if I wait until then I will have no stamina so I'm not too concerned with the shorter rides for now.

Incidentally, is this the world's shortest cycle path?

2018

This is it, now. This is the gig. I don't mind admitting I've been a bit slack over December - very slack, in actual fact - however this was a planned inconsistency that was achieved through complex planning and training from previous adventures.

There are many athletes out there who can happily compete in their sports over and over again, a state of mind I have become familiar with when running. I love to plan a distance, nip out and achieve it, get back and know that I've got those miles in the bag. When training for a specific event though I can find very long runs stagnate and I end up resenting my chosen sport for a period of time until the actual event arrives. I found it with the London Marathon, vowing never to do another marathon again as the training needed to do such a distance is so time consuming and gruelling. After a few adjustments to my training plan I then managed to do two marathons within seven months of each other.

The adjustments were things I'd never considered possible during training - relaxing, allowing myself to fail and reducing training to fit in with my life. Rather than doing four 20 mile runs before tapering I did four half marathons and it did the same job as long as I did some faster short runs as well. Applying this logic to my current situation I'll be using the indoor bike to try and increase my speed which should allow me to ride sensibly and get used to being out on the roads, perhaps making 60 or 70 miles my end goal before RideLondon rather than creeping up to 90 miles. It all seems a bit wishy washy at the moment but consistent riding on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays is a concrete plan and the only thing that really matters when training is consistency. I'll also be running on Tuesdays because I can't bring myself to give it up, even for six months.

Today is the first day of this concrete training plan. This is it, now.

Taking the Wrong Route

I should've known. I've been here before, I should have recognised it.

When I started running I had a mixture of advice, both good and bad, ranging from getting the correct shoes to avoid injury to eating cake before I go out because I'd need the carbs. I was also advised on beautiful routes to take, most of which involved ridiculously steep hills along coastal paths that added nothing to my road running training. I know many, many people who take those paths and enjoy running them but I am not one as I like to remove my brain and run like a zombie for hours on end.

The same can be said for cycling; although I need to be a bit more switched on as there's traffic to avoid and the speeds can contribute to nasty accidents I still need as many long, steady routes as I can find. I have a good idea of which routes will be most beneficial in my training however I was struggling to get motivated to go out this afternoon and Mrs L suggested a nostalgic route that used to serve her well back in the day.

I made my way along a couple of familiar roads to get my mileage up, finding them to be congested as it was time for the schools to empty. I then decided to go along the sedate, traffic free route that I knew would be slightly more inclined and prepared to ride up it. What I came across was the filthiest, wettest, cow-pattiest road I've ever come across. When running this is not such an issue as shoes don't tend to spray the collection up and over the user, however it turns out a bike is a very efficient muck spreader. It should have clicked when I was told to 'go towards the dump and turn left'. The smell from both was out of this world.

I will now stick to what I know and leave the cows alone. Sorry cows.

The Training has Begun

Yesterday I officially started my RideLondon cycle training. I am nervous and excited, like that time I signed up to a marathon and thought 'now what?' I did 25 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes, averaging 11.67 mph, way below what I'm hoping for next year. I promise not to post all of my stats, mind.

I've also just arrived back with this little beauty - 

It's occurred to me that I may struggle with timings for training as I currently have time available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays but don't want to do nothing for four days and then cram it all into the weekend. I'm therefore combining family time and cycling on Wednesdays, leaving actual cycling to Fridays and Sundays - starting with shorter distances as 25 miles seems too much for early training. What can I say, I'm keen, but I know the risk of injury is high from overtraining. Been there, done that. Now it's time to stick to the plan.

No More Running for the Rest of my Life

I'm amazed at the cynicism of some people. I've just come off a pretty rigid ten week training plan that involved a lot of healthy eating, very little drinking and absolutely zero pizza or pasties yet when I mentioned that I would be taking this weekend off completely before switching to cycling next week I received a few knowing looks, more than a few titters and one person almost flat out suggesting I was giving up.

Although I have to put a lot into cycling I do have eight months to prepare and have to ensure I don't get bored of it so thought I'd have a week to myself to recover. This means I can celebrate a friend's birthday guilt-free and actually live a little before putting myself through yet another ordeal.

I promise you all though, I will be back. Oh yes. Back I will be.

Here's me looking knackered after my Autumn half marathon events.

I Own a Bike

I changed my training plan. This is a drastic thing to do but I thought that if I could manage a 13 mile run last Sunday then I'd be able to manage one next Sunday, the date of the Robin Hood half marathon, and that would allow me a long bike ride today...so that's what I did.

Falmouth Cycles organise a group ride every Sunday (details on their Facebook page) and, after Steve and Dom sorted me out with suitable wheels, I had a quick go last Friday to make sure I still knew how to ride a bike. That done, I signed up to the ride and decided to add an extra few miles on too. Hey, what's a few miles when you've got wheels doing all the work?

Unfortunately my lack of bike experience for the year saw me dragging my new pony up the inclines of Cornwall on what was meant to be a 32 mile or so ride. I had to throw in the towel after around 25 as I could see how badly I was holding the group up and, despite excellent encouragement from Mat French, I nipped back to the shop for a bit of a rest. I still had to cycle back, a distance of 11 miles if I took the normal route or 14 if I wanted to make up the mileage to 50, and figured this would have me back in one piece.

I managed to record my awful stats, the ride home being a particularly steady affair. This isn't a great picture as it's more of an 11, 25, 14 mile ride with breaks in between but 50 miles on the same day feels like something of an accomplishment...just need to get the ol' speed up to scratch now.

Back to the Future Past of Running in the Present

A quick update as I may be a bit quiet for the coming weeks. I've signed up to a couple of half marathons in September and October, the Robin Hood Half (with Virtual Runner, so I can complete it in a dressing gown and slippers with a cup of tea while running 13.1 miles around an area I know) and Exeter's Great West Run, a superbly organised event that I've done before. My training takes me to October 15th, the date of the second run, after which I will switch to cycling and build a foundation for RideLondon next year.

I don't need to raise  funds but should anyone wish to donate the link is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lyvitlondonclassics .

If you're into training plans, and hey! ...only you know why, I've just come off an eight mile run, the next two Sundays are 10 milers followed by the virtual half, than a training half, then a ten and finally Great West Run. I'll be doing intermediate two mile runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and five mile runs on a Friday. 

Next time I post I'll own a BIKE!