wot a come down

since the third training camp in monaco i've been struck with sickness, i had to leave work today and can't train for some time! This picture of pablo cheered me up tho.

A very sad & disappointed not so ironlady (Fiona)

Wow my shoulders ache

I decided to go for a swim in the Sailfish wetsuit last night. I took Peter's advice and pull the arms and legs well up to give my shoulders some room.

I did 2.5km in an open water, 50m pool. I couldn't believe how hard it was on my shoulders. I think I may have to go more often.

It is really cold in England at the moment and raining so it was really odd to be swimming around in the pool after the glorious weather in Monaco. Both of the lifeguards were wearing about 3 coats, hats, and had their umbrellas up

I have no excuse for uploading this picture, it just made me smile.

send me those pictures!

I thought the training was hard in Monaco but since I got back I have written about 5,000 words on the camp, the athletes and the trainers for all the different countries so look out for that coverage!

I thought I would post a picture to capture everyone's excitement of the finish line at the Nice Ironman last wekend. It's either that or the champange! If you have lots of pictures please burn them onto a disc and send them to me. I would be delighted to post them online for all to see.

Good luck with the training.

I'm off for an outdoor swim in the Sailfish wetsuit tonight after my youngest son's district sports day. I think the water may be a little colder than Monaco.

A quick trip into history

Despite all of my training I have also managed to get in some reading. After enjoying Lance Armstrong's Every second counts I decided to delve into British cycling history by reading a book about Tom Simpson, the legendary British cyclist who died on Mount Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France. What a great tale and a great book.
Needless to say I have renwewed passion for the bike and a great retro Peugeot jersey to go with my leather Brooks saddle.

How many speeds do you have

I am constantly intruiged by my instructions on Sport-Control.

I have three speeds: Slow, not quite so slow and dying.
This week I had this in my prgramme:
Run (80')10 mins warm up - 3200m Zone2, 30 s rest - 1600m Zone3, 30 s rest - 200m Zone4, 60 s rest - 200m Zone2, 30 s rest 200m Zone4, 60 s rest - 200m Zone2, 30 s rest - 400m Zone1 - 10 mins cool down Mini speedwork is introduced. Best done on a treadmill or track.

I will try my best

Ooooooppppss

Last week I took my bike in for some bigger sprockets on the rear cassette much to the dismay of the guy in the shop. ' But you already have a Compact', he said. 'I know,' I said, ' but my trainers said get a 27 on the back and a compact on the front. He said ' where are you going again?'

When I called into Pearsons Cycles to pick up the bike he had a big smile on his face. ' I got you a 28,' . His brother chipped in saying: ' Now you have got a 34 on the front and a28 on the back. If that's not enough, give up.'

I also had to take my everyday bike in because I am trying out new saddles. I couldn't get the saddle level, I explained, so wanted to try another one. I'm not surprised they said you have got your seat post in back-to-front! DOH - how embarrassing.

Resting is hard work

Despite having to attend the British Contact Lens Association meeting in Manchester last weekend it was a weekend of no training for me.

I read Lance Armstrong's book ' Every second counts' on the way there so I was all fired up when I returned on Monday.When I returned home I saw that Mario had put some stretching and strength session into Sport-Control for me.
Having got into the habit of 4hour Sunday rides I thought this would be easy. No way
Wow, it's hard, I haven't ached so much since Feuteventura!