Two arms, two legs, two wheels ... but many goals

I've been holding off writing this post for a while but the time is right and I can now put down on paper (or rather electronically) what I've been thinking about for a couple of months now. (I'll get there in a bit - and no its not further procrastination).

Monday was my run day. As this is my supposed recovery week my programme provided for a short run (30 minutes). So a short run it was (not that there have been much longer runs recently, but you know that). Instead of taking it easy I did however decide to push myself (I deserved it, haven't been on the treadmill enough to deserve a really relaxed jog) and tried to force the pace and do the occasional faster 1 minute interval (I managed 2). After a 200m warmup I upped the pace and did 5k in 28:39 ... faster than I've gone in a while. I struggled a bit at the end but hopefully that'll improve. The eventual target (and not necessarily by race day though it would be nice) is to be running sub 25 minute 5ks on the treadmill ... race day will be another matter. I finished the 30 minutes and did a 5 minute cool down and some situps afterwards. I've completely neglected normal gym/weights workouts in favour of concentrating on the disciplines themselves (3 out of 4 - yes there are 4 disciplines in triathlon) so I'm going to have to do something about that.

Tuesday was my bike day, and my first foray out on the roads of my neighbourhood alone. It was a bit daunting but I was up at 5:50am changed by 6 and hopping (with a bit of a wobble) onto my bike at 6:05. The roads were fairly traffic free (which was the intention) and though my signalling is not yet up to satisfactory standards there have been slight improvements and the ride worked wonders for my confidence. It was a very easy (in terms of pace and for the most part effort) 40 minute ride (as per the programme) with a few hilly bits ... I'm still getting used to the gears and an actual uphill on a bike so it was a bit of a killer but anyways. The mission was 'recovery' and confidence and that mission was a success. Only 7.5 miles in total, which is woeful for a 40 minute ride but then again I wasn't really trying. I'm still becoming acquainted with my bike ... we'll hopefully become friends soon, and a lack of spills or falls was much more important than speed, that will come. I also made another appointment with Stewart for 2 weeks time. Another session with him should help build my confidence and 2 hours on a bike never did anyone any harm ... if that anyone actually stays on the bike for the whole two hours that is ... and no ... being hit by a car or bus while actually on the bike doesn't count here ok?!

Today was supposed to be a swim day though I've tweaked the programme a bit due to circumstances I'd rather not go into and too short a sleep as a result. I'm sorry but I fail to function on less than 5.5 hours sleep especially when a training session needs to be followed by a day at work being productive. So I took a rest day and will be in the pool tomorrow.

Coming to the meaty bit of the blog I've decided to set myself some goals for the race ... realistic ones which I hope will be exceeded anyhow ... so here goes:

GOALS for London Triathlon

1. Finish the race
2. Finish with a smile on my face having enjoyed it
3. Finish in under 1 hour 45 minutes
4. Finish the swim (750m) in under 20 minutes
5. Finish the bike leg (20km) in under 45 minutes
6. Finish the run leg (5km) in under 30 minutes
7. Not make a compelte t*t of myself in transition.

Whether or not I will do any shorter races in between now and 1st August will be decided at a later stage, I'm tempted but slightly hesitant.

You can see that my goals are not necessarily that ambitious, but for someone like me who's been unfit for the vast majority his life, finishing will be a challenge in itself. Once I've done that (and I can't even afford to think about it being an 'if' at this stage) we'll drum up the next challenges (one of which is already brewing in my head to be honest - OD London 2010). But one step at a time matey .... I've learnt how to walk ... no need to go sprinting for now, all in good time.