Blink and you'll miss it

This week I treated myself to a little pre-Christmas pressie.

My TV is about a hundred years old. It's not quite black and white, but it's not colour either - over time apparently the tube (whatever that is) has died and now the screen pushes out a picture which is a shade of green. Not good for the eyes. The mono sound system is not good for the ears either. I think the old 8-track which I had in my first car was of higher quality.

So, I have bought myself an all-singing, all-dancing, bells and whistles, lots-of-inches flat screen TV, together with surround sound home cinema system and hard disk recorder. Just in time for the usual Christmas repeats, although I suspect it will be dominated by the kids' Wii and XBox.

Over the weekend I tested it all out with the final of the X Factor. My daughter Emily and I sat down and treated ourselves to some Saturday night visual and audio entertainment from the eventual winner, Alexandra. Her opposition, Eoghan and JLS, were Ok but were simply no competition for Alex. Her rendition of If I Were A Boy, a duet with Beyonce, was absolutely outstanding and from then on it was a one-woman show (but enough of the crying, already). I know the X Factor has its critics, but I think it is great family entertainment for a Saturday evening. Beats Strictly Come Dancing anyday.

But the highlight of the weekend's viewing was the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. Favourites Rebecca Adlington, Lewis Hamilton and Chris Hoy came in 3rd, 2nd and 1st respectively, but I think I must have blinked because apparently there were split second moments of glory for Chrissie Wellington winning Hawaii and even Alistair Brownleee who was part of the audience.

Now, I know that triathlon is, and will most probably always be, a minority sport, but surely the world Ironman champion deserves more than a two second slot in what is a celebration of British sport. And, yes, I know that 2008 was a fantastic year for British sport (especially the Olympics), but if they keep on harping on about triathlon being 'the fastest growing sport in the UK' then why does is continually get overlooked?

But, then again, I think that is one of the reasons why I love the sport so much. It isn't the sport of the masses, and I like the lack of the football-hooligan mentality at races. It is a sport where you can participate with the best, and how many other sports can you say that for? So I suppose I shouldn't complain when it doesn't get much coverage, but it would be nice to give Queen Chrissie more than two seconds in front of the Great British audience at sports' equivalent of the Bafta's.

As the writers of BBC SPOTY suffered from a bit of triathlon laziness, so did my training suffer from my own lethargy. I did a couple of runs and a road bike ride with Jev (stopping half way for a soup and coffee, so it was hardly a hard ride). I have decided not to follow a strict plan yet until the New Year, so for the next couple of weeks I am not going to beat myself up if I take it easy. My ever increasing work schedule is also making it more difficult to fit in lots of training. So, it's 'do whatever I can' time again.

That said, I shall be starting a more structured running plan which I have found on the tri247 website (in conjunction with my plan from Mark K). I shall hopefully be getting out with Alex and Jev at some point this week too.

In the meantime, here's our greatest sportsman of 2008. Officially. Well deserved too, and very gracious in his acceptance. Like Chrissie, a true inspiration to us all.

Cheers.

C

Like Clockwork

Things seem to happen this time of the year, every year, like clockwork.

I am always skint over Christmas.

My training takes a back-seat whilst I get on with some work.

I get fed up with the constant darkness outside.

And, frustratingly, I always, ALWAYS catch the flu or some other similar incapacitating illness early December. That's what happened this week. I could feel it coming - an all-over aching body, general lethargy, etc., etc. after swimming Monday evening and then for the rest of the week I couldn't do any training. None at all. Which is a bit of a pain in the backside because this was the week of my FULL return. I had a run planned with Alex later in the week which I had to cancel. And of course a mountain bike session which had to go too. All very frustrating.

But none of that put me off the tri club's Christmas dinner at Wendover on Saturday night (pictures below). And a highly enjoyable evening it was too, although I have got to say that the members of the club are not big drinkers and so I had to ease off the drinking a bit in order not to appear like an out-and-out p&$shead. There were, however, a couple who did give me a good run for my money.

There was Anna (aka Mitten) who had run (or rather 'scrambled through' ) the Grim earlier that day and was downing her gin and tonics pretty damn quickly. Mitten also apparently reads this blog too, so "hi, Mitts".

Then there was Chris (aka Duff) who decided to order a round of drinks after most had gone and the restaurent was locking its doors. Now THAT'S the attitude, Duff - proud of ya, mate!

But the most memorable of all was Rob (aka Bananaman) who got the giggles after just a couple of pints (I get the impression he doesn't usually drink much). Rob organised the evening brilliantly so a big pat on the back for the mighty Bananaorganiserman.







Something else which seems to work like clockwork is the Great British Weather. Or should I say the 'Cr$p British Weather'? It did its usual trick of putting paid to some weekend plans. My football team's game was cancelled because of the icy pitch (just as well, really, as we were down to 8 players - a combination of Scout trips and illness), and also the Luton Marathon (of which I wasn't participating anyway) fell victim, indirectly, of the cold snap - a car had span on the ice and blocked part of the course and so the race had to be cancelled at the 11th hour. Very frustrating for the competitors (of which Musty and Russell (club colleagues) and Jev were a few), but I suspect also a big fat pain in the ar$e for the organisers too.

So there you have it. A rather uneventful week and, thus, a rather uneventful blog. I am feeling 100% better now though and so I will be back with a vengeance in the morning. Or maybe not - it's very cold and icy out there you know!

Cheers.

C

If at first you don't succeed...

My mate Jev hosts the occasional film night on his home cinema system. Not any ordinary home cinema system, oh no. Jev doesn’t do things by half. This is a fully-fledged, self-contained, velvet curtains, 1000 inch, 1,000,000-watt sound system home cinema.

The Old Thatch Cinema society (that’s what we’re called) meets up every so often Chez O’Neill and the first film we watched was American Gangster, a film by Ridley Scott starring Denzel Washington. A highly entertaining film which scored highly amongst us in the post-film vote.

Last Friday we were treated to Withnail & I, a 1987 film by Bruce Robinson starring Richard E Grant and Paul McGann. Jev introduced the film as one which you either love or hate, but to be honest I was neither. It was entertaining, but I think as a non-film buff I missed some of the subtleties of the film. It was good, but I won’t be rushing out to see it again (sorry Jev).

We watched City of God a couple of months ago. This film, by Fernando Meirelles (the same guy responsilble for the recent movie ‘Blindness’) is at Number 18 in IMDB’s list of greatest films of all time, and is about two boys growing up in a violent neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro who take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer. I think I must have had too many pre-film beers that night because, again, I didn’t rate it that highly. It is a fast moving, subtitled film which you need to work hard at keeping track with and, frankly, I just think I wasn’t up to it the night we watched it.

However, I acquired the DVD of the film last Friday from one of the other guys, Dave Jones, and treated myself to a second viewing over the weekend. At well over 2 hours long, I had to watch it in 2 halves but, boy oh boy, what a masterpiece! I was completely ‘up for it’ and so was able to keep with the story and I am so glad I did. This is an absolutely incredible film and I can’t believe that I will ever see anything better. Prior to this, my current favourite was ‘Babel’ – a film by Alejandro González Iñárritu and in similar gritty style – but City of God has surpassed that. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do so. But don’t go expecting any religious hymns or prayers, because you’ll be disappointed.

It just goes to show, in the film world at least, if at first you don’t succeed, try again.

I need to try again at my training schedule at the moment because I still can’t seem to get back into things as much as I should have. I have skipped swimming and cycling for a couple of weeks and done just a few runs. I am happy with how my running is coming along, but I need to HTFU and get out on my bike in the wind and rain.

There is a phrase which Jev uses – ‘ironmen are born in winter’ – and I think I need to adapt this a little to ‘world-sprint wannabees don’t wimp out of training just because it’s a bit wet and cold’. I do have an excuse though and that’s that work has been very busy this week, so I am not going to beat myself up about it too much.

This week we have my tri club’s Monday night social night (meets every first Monday of the month after swim training), and on the agenda for discussion is the new kit design (see previous blog). I think the ‘get rid of sharky’ brigade will have a difficult job of succeeding, and so it looks like a new design is on the horizon. Let's hope less 'Shark's Tale' and more 'Jaws' please guys, the latter surely being worthy of The Old Thatch Cinema Society. More news about this next week, no doubt.

Cheers

C

He did it. He only went and did it.

Isn't it funny how a person's state of mind can affect his whole sense of well-being? A positive experience can have profound effects on subsequent events in his life. It could be a compliment, a word of encouragement, or even something as little as someone remembering his name. Whatever it is, it propels one into a positive state of well-being and everything in life thereafter seems less onerous and more manageable. Less stress, more success. That's how it works with me, anyway.

The same with training. After a great training session I want more. Yet, if I miss a couple of days I feel lethargic and more inclined to go to the pub and sit at the bar all evening. In simple terms, no training = can't be bothered to train. Lots of training = want to train more.

I had some very positive experiences this week and it has made me a very happy man. A very happy man indeed. More specifically, a very happy dad. A very proud dad.

Adam got his 11+ results this week, and I am so proud to tell you that he did it. He only went and passed. From that, he has instantly springboarded into a more confident boy (not that he was ever lacking of it!). He has proof now how clever he is. It's written on paper and nobody can take that away from him. He and I have both been floating on air ever since. Now we have the problem of having to choose his preferred school - Aylesbury Grammar School for Boys, or the Henry Floyd Grammar School. Both are highly commended schools, so it's not a bad problem to have.



This positivety positively (how did I manage that?) overflowed into my training. I did lots and lots of it, and consequently I wanted to do more, so I did. Specifically, lots of runs, and a thoroughly enjoyable MTB ride to boot. No swimming, but there's plenty of time to catch up on that. I have caught up with my running plan from Mark K at last, and am ready to attack next week's sessions with renewed vigour.

But the highlight of the week's training was my MTB session at Brickhill Woods with Alex, particularly our 'friendly' race around the perimiter of the southern part of the woods. MTB'ing takes on a completely new meaning when you're racing and I am at last at a sufficient speed and confidence to put the pedal down and get upto some speed. And, wow wee, it was fun. Tearing along single tracks, branches either side, with the only sounds being the thundering of your beating heart and the rustle of leaves under tyre, it was fun, fun, fun all the way. And of course made all the sweeter by getting to the finish line ahead of my nemesis!

Here's what I did the entire week:

Monday – run - tempo run
Tuesday – run - at 180 strides per minute
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – run - hard interval session
Friday - rest
Saturday – bike - MTB ride at Brickhill Woods with Alex
Sunday – rest

Next week I shall be concentrating once again on my running. I have also set up the turbo trainer, and shall be off down to the gym for some spin sessions. Hopefully a swim here and there. And maybe another MTB with Alex and others. Race conditions of course!

It's been a great week, and long may this feeling of positivety last throughout the winter.

Bye for now

C

The Winds of Change

There has been a debate raging within my tri club about changing, or not, the club kit and design. This was fuelled by an after-swim-in-the-pub-conversation between members started by Anne-Marie a few weeks ago.

There are some who are against changing and some who are for - I stated my case early to say that I am in the latter school of thought. I think the current design is too cartoony (see picture of me stripping off at 2008's Vitruvian aside) and doesn't portray the club as a serious club. Some members, regretably, just don't like change, which is a shame because surely that's what makes our society so rich and diverse. But, then again, I suppose we do live in a democracy so everyone is entitled to express their own point of view.

This Sunday, on a windy football pitch in Edlesborough, my (and Adam's) team (EB Lions Under 11's) managed their first point of the season in what was a thrilling bottom-of-the-table clash against Dunstable Colts. 1 - 0 up at half time, we found ourselves 2 - 1 down until the dying seconds when we equalised.

The look of joy on my players' (and their parents') faces when the ball went flying in was priceless - it was their FA Cup Final and testament to their tremendous hard work at training in recent weeks. Now we've got our first point under our belt things are gonna change - I can feel it in my water - and the boys' new found confidence is going to take them flying high for the rest of the season. Things have changed for them, and most certainly for the better.



I haven't really put my heart and soul into training for the last couple of weeks. I had told myself that I would ease back into things gently, but all this half-heartedness isn't really doing me any good. OK, I am enjoying the mountain biking immensely, but I think this is simply a tactic to delay getting back into serious training.

I need to get back onto the open roads, onto the turbo trainer, into spin classes, if I am going to make head-roads (no pun intended!) into my bike times next year. And I need to do it quick because December and January are notoriously very, very busy months work-wise and training usually gets put back on the back-burner. Running too - I have a great plan set out for me by Mark K, but last week I did only one of the 5 planned sessions. It's simply not good enough, and things HAVE TO change. Things WILL change.

Here's what I did this last week:

Monday – swim - club swim - intervals and pyramids and run - interval pace run
Tuesday – rest
Wednesday – bike – night-time MTB ride at Ashridge with members of my tri club
Thursday – rest
Friday - rest
Saturday – run – easy, slow run at 9:20 m/mile
Sunday – bike - another thoroughly enjoyable MTB ride at Ashridge with A-M - it got dark quite quickly and our bike lights were totally inadequate so we retired to the pub after a couple of hours

I've done a quick mind-map of what I plan to do following my new-found vigour, but am having trouble uploading it - hopefully I will find a way of doing it during the week.

EDIT: Here it is:-



Bit of a mess, isn't it? It's at its initial stages at the moment so I will be expanding it over the coming week or two with a view to mapping out my entire season. With a little bit of flexibility mixed in there too, of course - the odd mountain bike here and there won't do any harm, I'm sure.

And those pesky kids get me on the runaround each week at training - that's enough exercise for one day, that's for sure!

I Have A Dream

30 years ago my brother, Graeme, and I sat down with our parents and watched ‘Roots’ – an American TV miniseries about slavery in 18th century America based on Alex Haley's work 'Roots: The Saga of an American Family'.

'Roots' was a ground-breaking event in American TV history, receiving 37 Emmy Award-nominations. It went on to win 9 Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award. It still stands as the 3rd highest rated US programme ever. The series had a profound effect on me and shaped my attitude towards black culture forever.

I have been treating my own children to the same series recently, and we have been avidly following the exploits of Kunta Kinte, Chicken George and others. Ironically, my daughter, Emily, has been studying American slavery in history lessons recently and so she has been particularly captivated with what we have been watching.

45 years ago, Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.

‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.’

How poignant that Barack Obama was elected president of the USA this week. No doubt this will see the start of the dream fulfilled and is quite rightly a monumental event in American, if not World, history.

This week, Lewis Hamilton - a Brit of mixed race – became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion. Like Obama, Hamilton has overcome racial difficulties to be the best in the world at what he does. No doubt he will win BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and quite rightly so (notwithstanding Queen Chrissie's fantastic achievements this year).

As far as training is concerned, I have been getting back into things this week. This is what I did:

Monday – swim - club swim - intervals
Tuesday – rest
Wednesday – run – economy run – slower than 10k pace
Thursday – bike – easy-ish 22 miles with Jev – single gear
Friday – run – tempo run at 10K pace
Saturday – bike – thoroughly enjoyable MTB ride at Ashridge going at over 1000 revs p/m, followed by run – stride rate run at 180 strides p/m
Sunday – rest

Next week I shall be mind-mapping my training and racing plans for 2009. I have a dream for the forthcoming season and, with some planning and hard work, I am hoping it too will be fulfilled.

Until next week, have a good one.

C

Back to the future

Question: What do I share with David Schwimmer (‘Friends’ actor), Nelly (American rap artist - aside) and Danny Cipriani (English international rugby player)? No, I didn’t go to acting school to learn offensive rap songs and play the odd game of rugby at lunchtimes. What we all share is our birthday this week on 2nd November.

Yes, on this day 41 years ago I popped into the world. 41 years! That’s a long, long time - a time even before Bill Gates took over the world. I certainly don’t feel 41, although what I’m meant to feel like at that age heaven knows. You’re as old as you feel, as the saying goes, and I don’t feel at all bad really.

What are 40-somethings meant to do with their spare time? I suppose many seek the comfort of their living room, a TV and a 4-pack of beers each evening, but I, thankfully, am not from that school of thought. This year I took up a few new interests which I suppose should be the reserve of the much younger 20-something oiks. There’s skiing. Then there’s mountain biking. And of course I have continued my love of and participation in triathlon.

Supposedly the chosen sport for the young and uber-fit, triathlon isn’t necessarily a sport just for kids. I heard recently that a person reaches his highest aerobic fitness levels in his 30’s and 40’s (not too sure about the aforementioned couch-potatoes of course), although whether or not this statement is true, I don’t know.

Also, grumpy old men of my age do tend to be more financially stable than those younger whipper-snappers and what better stuff to spend all that disposable income on than the go-faster stripes and carbon kit which gives one a few seconds head-start on a triathlon race track, and this is what I did last year with the purchase of a completely new tri-specific wardrobe. But of course that’s the same for many of my counterparts and this does mean, therefore, that my age group is a very tough one. Take a walk around a transition area for the 40-45 age group and you will see some spectacular bling on display. Cervellos abound, you just take a gulp and hope that they puncture or something. But it does make you push yourself to your limits week after week after week. No time to sit on your laurels. This makes the whole thing all very exciting.

This week I did another mountain bike session, this time with Alex around Brickhill Woods, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I did a swim too, but again very little else. That’s all about to change now that I am at the end of my post-season recovery month and am busy writing my training plan for next season. No more swiping the snooze button and rolling over for an extra few minutes sleep.



Stay with me for the next few months and see how I get on. If you see me slacking, please PLEASE give me a kick up my 41 year old backside and a ‘rap’ around the knuckles – Nelly-stylie!!