New Theme Tune

As I said the other day, I am going to not only cycle a 400 mile cycle in august but a week later I will be running in a half marathon. That means an insane training schedule as I have to admit at being one of the worlds worst runners. When I was 16 I used to run an 11 minute mile, but that was it, I wouldnt be able to go any further. To be able to complete the half marathon I not only need to complete each mile in 8 minutes or less.

Now, taking 3 minutes a mile off your time is hard enough, adding another 12 miles to your total is even harder. Mix that with trying to build mass and stamina for a 400 mile cycle and you have a totally insane ambition.

Its these insane ambitions that get me through life so I've selected myself a new theme tune:

How am I going to manage the training?

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1	Week	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
2	Week 1
3	cycle training		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 30 miles	Cycle 50 miles
4		rest	run for 20 mins	rest	Fartlek: 4x6 mins quick pace with 3 mins slow jog/walk between each	rest	20 mins easy run	rest
5	Week 2
6	cycle training			Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 50 miles
7		30 mins slow run	rest	15 mins quick run	rest	Fartlek: 4x6 mins quick pace with 2 mins slow jog/walk between each	rest	20 mins medium pace run
8	Week 3
9	cycle training		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles		cycle 40 miles	cycle 50 miles
10		rest	30 mins medium pace	rest	4x200m hill runs (medium gradient hill), walk/jog back, runs to be done fast	rest	30 mins easy run	rest
11	Week 4
12	cycle training			cycle 15 miles		cycle 15 miles	Cycle 50 miles
13		40 mins easy run	rest	6x5 mins quick pace efforts with 3 mins jog between each	rest	30 mins easy run	rest	rest
14	Week 5
15	cycle training	Cycle 15 miles		cycle 15 miles			cycle 30 miles	Cycle 50 miles
16		45 mins easy run	rest	30 mins easy run	rest	30 mins easy run	rest	45 mins easy run
17	Week 6
18	cycle training		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles			Cycle 50 miles
19		rest	6x5 mins quick pace runs with 2 mins jog between each	rest	45 mins medium pace run	rest	4x200m hill runs, walk/jog back, fast paced runs	30 mins easy run
20	Week 7
21	cycle training		cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles		cycle 50 miles
22		rest	50 mins easy run	rest	20 mins fast run	rest	4x200m hill runs, walk back, fast paced runs	rest
23	Week 8
24	cycle training	Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles		Cycle 15 miles
25		40 mins quick run	rest	50 mins easy run	rest	45 mins medium paced run	rest	60 mins easy run
26	Week 9
27	cycle training
28		rest	4x6 mins medium paced runs, 3 mins jog between each	rest	cycle 60 miles	cycle 60 miles	cycle 60 miles	cycle 60 miles
29	Week 10
30	cycle 60 miles	cycle 60 miles	fall down drunk	fall down drunk		fly home from berlin	100 mins easy run	rest
31	Week 11
32		rest	rest	30 mins easy run	rest	30 mins easy run	rest	half marathon
33

from deepest darkest Peru...

Sometimes even the most positive of us has deep dark thoughts that do nothing for our demeanour, social life or work life. It's a fact of life that at some point you will get stressed beyond your abilities to easily shrug it off. This week has been one of those weeks for me.

I've been in a pretty foul mood all week. Culminating last night in an inability to even concentrate on lifting weights, something which I normally find helps clear my mind. I almost dropped a 120Kg stack of weights when in the middle of straightening up for a leg press I just gave up.

After that it was downhill for the night, I could press less and less weight, even things which I normally find easy were a struggle. Although, looking at the state of my hands you'd think I did more last night than I do normally...

No-one. Absolutely no-one can go through life without venting occasionally, always being switched on and always giving 100%. Occasionally you have to give a little. I struggle to allow that to happen. I very rarely take my full quota of annual leave at work - in fact, in the 6yrs since I have graduated, I've always carried at least 7 of my 20 days over. One year I carried 14 days.

Relaxation and venting are not in my nature yet I have to make them part of me. The blog has helped somewhat.

A good nights sleep seemed to help put things in perspective but more than that was a couple of good friends (you know who you are) letting me vent with them. I guess the next few days and the upcoming weekend will tell if I have truly de-stressed.

If not, theres always kickboxing!

A great chinese man once wrote...

No it's not a dirty limerick...hear me out because I don't often spout philosophical ideology...

A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore, the stiff and unbending is the
disciple of death.

The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus and army without flexibility never wins a battle
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and the strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.

Attributed to Lao Tsu

This saying has stayed with me for a long time, since the first time I read it in the early/mid 90's. Thanks to a friend who got me into this sort of stuff. I don't mean for one second that if you are stiff and inflexible then you will go around murdering people. Nor do I mean that this is aimed purely at your physical nature.

Instead take it as an approach to life that life is constantly evolving and as such your attitude, outlook and thoughts must also change towards the forces pushing or pulling on you. The way you train, the way you eat and even the way you interact with friends and family will have to evolve at some point or other or you will risk losing what you have striven to achieve.

Normal service shall resume shortly.
Feel free to leave a comment!