Cycling Week Two...

So after cycling to work Monday and Tuesday of last week, my legs enjoyed the rest for the remainder of the week.

I cycled again on Monday this week. The journey home was the hardest leg so far. There was a hot wind blowing straight into my face virtually all the way home. So not only was I working against the resistance - I was also constantly thirsty.

Tuesday we had something on at Lian's school so I didn't cycle, but I did today. That days rest yesterday must have helped my legs to recover because I improved my time by a couple of minutes and I'm starting to feel like I can push the pace a bit more.

So now I'm kicking myself that I didn't start cycling to work much earlier, because I really enjoy it now.

Hopefully I can get back into it straight after the Christmas break and start to see some big improvement in strength and fitness.

An Annual Report...?

I didn't intend this to become an annual update, but apart from a few runs and related blog entries in January - it was September 2007 since I was keeping a regular update.

I don't know how easy it will be to get some momentum back with this, or even if blogging is still popular these days. Is Facebook the new blog, I ask???

So, since January... what has happened?

Well Robert Thomas Parkes was born on 14th March, so he's 8 months old now. He's starting to crawl (more of a drag really), but the big milestone we're waiting for is him sleeping through the night!

I bought a rowing machine around that time too. The intention was to make a form of exercise available which was even more convenient than running. However, shortly after buying that we started a bathroom renovation which used the 'rowing area' as a storage space. So that put a block on rowing, and even after the bathroom was finished in about August, it took a while to start to get back into that.

So another idea came up... cycling to work!

I've had my road bike for 20 years and my mountain bike for 12 years - neither of which have been used much since leaving the UK in 1995 (the mountain bike was bought in Hong Kong, but rarely used there).

The obvious journey to work is via a very busy road (Victoria Road). So even though the journey is only about 15km, that had put me off the idea for so long. But having spoken to a few work colleagues who cycle around Sydney - they pointed out the cycle routes that criss-cross the city.

So I figured out a route, got my mountain bike serviced and fitted with new inner tubes and slick, Kevlar lined tyres (and new peddles since one peddle got lost in transit from Singapore) and was ready to go.

But the wife took a bit of convincing, then it was rainy on and off for a few weeks. So I just managed to start yesterday.

And what a success. Despite my lack of bike fitness, it is still a quicker journey from bed to office than the train. Bike takes 1:15 -which includes 10 mins getting up and ready, 45 mins cycling and 20 minutes showering & changing at work. Whereas the train takes 1:30!!

I cycled in today too. But I think I'll have to get into it slowly as I could feel that my legs were a bit more tired today. So perhaps start with a couple of days a week, a couple of days rest, a couple of days rowing and I'm sure that I'll get the strength and fitness back fairly quickly.

I think I'll stick to the mountain bike, because the route is a bit uneven and skinny tires may be a bit of a challenge. But it would be interesting to see how much quicker the road bike would be!

I'll see how the mood takes me to keep updating here...

7.??km (Approx) Easy...

I think my Imaginary Friend had trouble getting out of bed this morning. It logged my start point but then didn't record the next 2km or so.

I wonder whether it was the dense cloud cover? A good excuse to upgrade to the latest Forerunner. Actually I just saw they are about to release the 405. A GPS training device that looks like a watch (rather than a brick)!

So anyway, I guess it was just over 7km in 40:49.

I felt really good today. Perhaps the cooler temperature.

Little by little, I'm getting back on track.

6.20km Easy...

I had a late start at work this morning, so a good chance to get a run in today.

Another of my old routes. Flatter than the route I've taken in the few runs since New Year (i.e. not so down hill!) and I pushed the distance out to a whopping 6km too!!!

So 6.20km in 38:27 at 6:12/km.

Slowly, slowly!

5.58km Easy...

A bit of a battle to get out of bed this morning to go for a run. Proves that there's a fair way to go before the habit has re-formed.

It was still 20 deg C despite a hint of cooling rain. Nice to have a dip in the pool when I'd finished.

5.31km Easy...

I had intended to run yesterday as well as today, but I just felt too tired when I woke up. I could feel the run on Tuesday in my legs too - which was quite a good feeling!

Anyway, nothing special today - 5.31km in 31:12 at 5:52/km pace.

So far so good.

5.38km Easy...

Did anybody miss me?

It was 2nd September when I last had a run! So let's see how this New Year Resolution goes...

So far, so good - with an Easy 5.38km in 32:59 at 6:07/km pace.

Even at 7:45am it was 22 deg C, so the earlier starts when I start back to work next week should be a bit cooler.

I won't even attempt to note what's been happening since September!