Sculling is go!!!

Went sculling today for an hour with Sian in the double, adjusted feet a little too much so my balance was off at the start. Soon adjusted to the new feel, though I am still rushing my slide. Sian said she put more pressure through her strokes from feeling more comfortable so that was nice to know. Lower back still a little sore from yesterday, so I will have to do some more stretching and stuff.

Cracking blogging - I recommend a look!!

In one of my many task avoids and browsing adventures while getting into this whole blogging thing I found the following blog... The Ultimate Olympian... It is a fantastic concept, well put together and wittily written. A very engaging / inspiring read I definitely recommend a look. And his efforts are all in the aid of charity... follow the link!!!

Spot the difference...

Not that I was task avoiding, or even killing time, but I spent 40mins looking through the template code to make a couple of subtle changes to the colouring of the blog layout. See if you can spot the difference... some extra content to come ;o)

Training entry - at last!!

Well today the river Taff was too high for any real rowing fun, but we instead got to play on land. 20-30mins in the tank room, playing with stationary water, going through the warm-up... arms only square blading, body rock, quarter slide, half slide, three quarter slide, feather blading, full stroke.

We then did 10 mins in the ergo room, again going through the warm-up sets, and then maintaining 20 strokes/min with full slide. All the rowing went well, then we did some stretches with a guy whose name I didn't catch... some of them really pulled and left me feeling it more than the previous efforts. Something I have to work on there I think!!! The focus on core strength and stability should see me well for general fitness and more importantly shoulder stability (after the bike crash injury I suffered this summer).

Keep on moving - rowing evidence

Aside from the pub and club [see blogger links on the right side of the screen], I have taken up rowing and to prove it here is some evidence...
... it was like rowing with cricket bats, they are made of wood!









I did enjoy the fighter plane style colour scheme though. I pottered about the lower part of the river and left Sian on the bank having kittens. Since this, she has had me in a racing shell double scull... after wooden oars it was bliss!!

Mechanics of commuting

There are a couple of very handy things to have when you are commuting to work on a bicycle every day...
...one is a locker to hang all your spare clothes in ( I am lucky that I have a long locker to fit shoes at the bottom without getting hung up stuff dirty)...
...the second thing you need is a "Bumerang" - or in non-Ikea speak a coat hanger!!! (In the case of the natty one I bought, one that is short and clips trousers neatly)...


On the left work place base camp, on the right the mighty Bumerang (I am sure Ikea people just sit around pondering "what would sound really stupid translated to English?" when the name their products!!!).

Watermarks

Well, I don't know what kind of Winter we are in for, but it seems I will be the most aware perhaps I have ever been of the weather in my location. Particularly the rainfall, on and up the Taff. Today showed just how quickly the river can change... no there were no more strange goings on at the club [see previous post!].

View from the Llandaff Rowing Club car-park this morning at 10am...

View from the Llandaff Rowing Club car-park this morning at 3pm (note the tide mark)...

Crazy bonkers - literally!!!!

Went out for fireworks, which were absolutely fantastic, weeee bang oooohh!! Walked all the way there to crown my busy active day. We then headed for a fantastic meal and experienced blinding tiramisu!!! - a little bit of anti-training there I think (loads of lovely kcal's!!!!!).

Then we got the bus home and thought it might not take us the right way, got off early in case and walked 2miles home... ouch!!

We thought oh lets go see the river, figure out the chances for Sunday rowing... wandered down the hill bit tipsy, giggling about the river when, "Oh dear, what's that noise?" - I thought some bar pump thingy was about to go pop behind the clubhouse...

...until wait its a very rhythmic sound... rattle, rattle, rattle... "It's the shutter to the ergo room??".... pause, rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle, faster and faster.... "Hang on it's someone having a frantic shag against the shutter, couldn't be!?!?!"..... and yes we think it was a little bit of Llandaff lovin' up against the ergo room shuttered door... what a damned romantic couple they must be... oh or drunken I guess!!! Each to there own?!?!?!? hahahahaha

On the legs, II... this time its ergo'nal !!!

Okay, so that is something of a busy rowing day!! Today I rowed in the eight for an hour and a half (technical stuff), then an hour in the double with Sian (nice and easy, interrupted by technical issue half way through), and finally 30 minutes on the ergo in the upstairs gym...

Ergo breakdown... 30mins, 6797m, aver 25 s/m, 2m 12s per 500m. All the way through trying to use good technique, though that turned out to be a bit patchy!!

Really, really am going to have to come up with a plan for all this activity ;o) Off to the Cardiff City Council fireworks tonight... walking into town... oh, my poor, poor legs, heheheheh!!!!

On the legs!!

Had first ever session in an eight (six blokes and two ladies, the two ladies and two of us were all 'new' novices; plus Mary the 'uber' coach)... it went very well... it nervy at the start and it seems that I was not using my legs properly... having rectified that I now know how I should because they hurt like hell now!!!

Seems Mary and Helen may have 'plans' for the four of us that were together... we will see, I am not really bothered either way... will just give it a go.

I will have to organise my training properly, want to get to the gym a couple of times a week, and fit in a couple of real good runs!!... might take a little juggling... will have to put my thinking cap on?!?!?

Top ten cycling to work tips...

1) Keep your bike in good working order.
2) Adjust your bike to suit your body, uncomfortable high or even low seat heights, for example, can be a killer.
3) Spend a good amount of brain power on calculating the best / safest route.
4) Ensure you wear reflective clothing.
5) Make sure your lights work / are charged. Note you are not allowed by law to afix a flashing light to your bike, but can wear one apon your bag / clothing.
6) Plan your working week so that you have a change of work clothes in work that you can used through the week (I tend to have trousers and shoes in my locker and take a change of shirt every couple of days in my rucksack).
7) Kit your office / locker with a coat-hanger... ikea do a good range (I know I bought one).
8) Invest in an odometer, it gives you speed and distance, etc. Makes journeys much more fun, you can always try to beat your time home... weirdly I never try it on the way to work!?!?!
9) Be careful where you lock your bike up, choose somewhere well lit, busy, etc. Removing anything that you think might get pinched... though you never can tell what someone might want!?!?!
10) Take account of weather conditions in how you ride, especially slopes, and sharp bends... I might post the evidence of what happens if you don't... found this one out the hard way.

This is why I use my bike !!!!!

The picture shows the reason that I now very much prefer to ride my bike to work... a windy, cold, wet, dull train platform, waiting for 25 minutes for a train that I have no idea whether was late or on time. It is a crazy system that has no hope of attracting clients, when the train appeared it was crammed full of wet sweaty people looking utterly pissed off!! I would have taken a picture of them but they won't have liked it, plus I could hardly get my hand above my waist... we were playing extreme sardines!!!

You never get any of this nonsense on a bike, and near enough everyone I see on my way to work (even on a wet day) look happy, or at least not mightily pissed off with life. Peddle on!!!

To the bar end...

I have installed bar ends on my bike, which along with adjustment have made the 5mile round trip to and from work a pleasure :o) Whilst I didn't shop for the cheapest or smartest bar ends (I bought them from Bikehut (Halfords) for 25GBP), they are simply great. The difference in stability, and hand comfort was fab... I am now happy that I should be able to commute through the winter, especially if I can sort out my derailleur to run a little more smoothly... long live the bike the car is dead ;o)

Never believe the scales

Well despite the training (running) that I have or haven't been doing, people have been consistently been telling me that I have been losing weight. My scales tell me that I am the same weight as I have been for months.

I can only infer that I have toned up, not losing anything, but reshaping whats there... so never believe the scales, a bit of toning goes a long way ;o)

[I have been reliably informed by an expert in the field of engineering that I should amend the description of my apparent slimness whilst still heavy to..... I am getting DENSER... heheheh!!! Thank you Sian :o) ].

Maintenence

Well, I had a pretty poor weekend of exercise... very, very good everything else (captains dinner at Llandaff rowing club, an obvious highlight).

Did a little bike maintenance, basically cleaned it a bit (still gotta finish the job around the gears), adjusted the saddle and put on Sian's light fitting (rechargeable unit - nice and bright (safer) front light).

The one bit of 'exercise' involved 20mins in the tank rowing and 20mins on an ergo - rowing machine.

It seemed that I did not disgrace myself on the ergo as it seems I may be invited to row in an eight this weekend coming!! Mary the 'uber' novice coach suggested that some of our techniques weren't as bad as she had suspected and that she would be happy to include some of us in an eights session. I am both pleased and worried at the same time... pleased that someone else likes my rowing (I have had very good feedback already - thank you Sian ;o) ), but at the same time a little worried at the increased expectation. I will endeavour to relax and enjoy it!!

The worst part of the weekend was no run :o( again, bad Andrew, but I did take the dog for a good hour long walk on Saturday. Though worse still I didn't have the chance to row all weekend, and more especially didn't get out in the double with Sian... which I absolutely loved doing the weekend before.

Another week, another time zone... clocks changing has lead to a couple of good sleep nights but will lead to rides home in the pitch black, d'oh!!

Biking blitz

Ah, the bike, the simple elegant alternative to standing on a train platform for an hour on a Monday morning waiting for a hot, sweaty, crowded train... this morning reminded me why it is that the bicycle is the most flexible and straight-forward to get me to work in a good mood, and with all of the other benefits (cost, time, exercise).

I am going to try and ride throughout the winter, an incentive being a spanking new bike as a treat for my birthday if I manage this feat... albeit the worst of the weather may be yet to come in February!! hahaha

Filled out my rowing club application form last night, will cost a couple of hundred quid, but like the bike it is a massive investment in my future fitness :o) More about rowing to come I'm sure... hoping to run tomorrow, or Wednesday for sure!!

Contemplation

I am beginning to contemplate the name of my blog... I might have to call it simply a training blog, as I can see my exercise time dividing between running and rowing. I had a very good session on the water today in the double scull with Sian (my lovely fiancee), I really, really enjoyed it and was taken by the smooth feel of a relaxed row. It felt quite like a zoned out run, there were times when my far from perfect technique felt grooved and sweet. I'd like to build on that through the coming weeks.

I will not stop setting running targets, and trying to better myself in that area. I guess what I am now centred on is simply developing my enjoyment of fitness as far as I can. Probably the original driver for change in the first place :o)

All is good, and I am going to try to develop a routine / plan that will fit into my working / resting week nicely and propel me forward with all my targets and goals.... watch this space (and maybe the blog title, hehehe!!).

Tooled up!!

Aside from the new map measuring program [for the URL see last post] I have also gotten my little mitts on an mp3 player for training / cycling to work... I am not sure of the make otherwise I would share the info (it is 128MB). I reckon I can get 1hr 20mins of music, or 6+ hrs of podcasts... I am not sure which will be more useful in the long run. I may well hold a list of music on the computer and a bunch of podcasts and load up different batches for different purposes. Will work out my motivational music set list and let you know what ends up on it. iTunes [apple] will no doubt be the base station for building the lists, it has a 'new' podcast functionality.

Found a pic of the player on the web...

Have to get myself tooled up because the Abersytwyth run entry forms arrived at my in box, I didn't put my entry in for London due to marriage plans coinciding - despite the chances being slim of getting in Murphy's Law suggests it would be the one time I would get in because of the clash... Decided not to play chicken with the Law ;o)

Return to trainer - route planning software found

After my brief flirtation with the sport of rowing, and hrm, sculling I have to start running again... if only to break in the new trainers that took ages to arrive [still rowing, but have devised cunning training plan, more later].

The big news with running is the arrival of a computer package that will calculate run distances from map image files (as long as you know the scale of the map), it looks absolutely fabulous. Sian found it and has bought it, you get five maps free on download.... oops, the name of the new package is..... AccuRoute V2 - from http://homepages.tesco.net/~criticalpath/accuroute/
Highly recommend it!!

The training plan for the winter is simply this.... rowing (sculling) twice a week, and running twice a week - long run and double sculling on the weekend, shorter run and single sculling in the week. Aside from the 'training' I will endeavour to cycle to work all through the winter... I would 'do' gym work but I am still 'under' the physio and will wait and see (they have recommended that I go to a shoulder class every wednesday morning, maybe starting this week.

Will let you know how I get on of course ;o)

On a break !!!

It seems that I have found myself on a running break, between work, rowing, and other things I haven't been running. I missed the Cardiff full and half marathon, through lack of training and my shoulder injury (from falling off my bike months ago).

There will be a new plan... and new goals to come ;o)