Story of my Life

Yesterday I decided to ride home from work and as always I made pretty much every mistake that you could make.

It started out as a crazy idea I had a little while ago. I use to ride to work all the time and got pretty good at it but change of work venue change of workplace plus my fitness levels are not what they were. Add into that my accident and I was very scared about my first commute home but knew I just had to get other all that stuff and just DO it.

So I court the train to work with my bike yesterday morning and then headed out at 3:30 for the expected ride home of about 29K and about 90 minute ride. There are to rules when commuting;

1)Carry as little as possible.
2)Dress in layers

Both rules seem easy enough to follow but you sort of forget these things as time passes. As always the first commute is not your best I took way to much stuff to work and then insisted on lugging it all home on my back rather than leaving it there for me to collect the next day. So I was overladen from the start which was not a good move. It makes it a lot harder to get out of the saddle (something I am not good at at the moment to begin with). So mistake one, second and probably the worst one considering the weather I we had yesterday. Dress in layers is something that should be employed by most people in there day to day lives it really can save you in all sorts of situations. I have learnt this many times over my life with travel, bush walking, running, cycling and triathlon. So you think it would of stuck but unfortunately it looks like I will need to learn this lesson all over again. I put on one pair of shorts and one shirt. Considering the weather I am lucky not to be ill right about now. I hand in my trip home sun, rain, clouds, heavy winds and then more sun. I did pack a spray jacket but for got this till I got home still it is hard to stop in the pouring rain to dress so will need to raid my bike clothes and see what I can come up with for future rides.

The First Leg

Anyway so I headed out from work unprepared and not in the best frame of mind as I have not ridden in heavy traffic for a very long time. I knew the first part of the trip along Henry Lawson Drive would be fine I have ridden it many times and for the most part there is a bike path I can follow so traffic would not be an issue. This really was the most enjoyable part of the trip. Its quite nice riding along the Georges river near the end there (if you look past all the rubbish that people dump). Even stopped and got a pic of Lady (my bike) on the waters edge always nice to get a photo op in. Plus was good just to have a little break. I felt strong through here and was looking to the next stage of the journey with only a little dread.

The Dreaded

Next was the M5 I knew it was basically flat and that the bumps that people call hills on here were not going to be an issue. What scared me was the thought of cars flying past me a 110k an hour and some of those people just cannot drive. I drive this road every day and am very aware of the idiots that are on it still I was determined to make it so of I went. DAMN it really is a long way yes its basically flat and yes three years ago it would have been a breeze unfortunately its not three years ago and I am not the rider I was three years ago. This was a huge slog and I was so glad when I got to the Brooks Road turn of as I new home was now 9k away.

Home Stretch

The last leg was from the Brooks Road turn of then into Ingleburn and then onto Minto and then home. I knew it was only 9k but that still didn't make it any easier. Really the bumps were becoming hills and on their way to mountains (I have ridden mountains before so I know the difference). Still this part wasn't as bad as I thought but must admit the closer I got to home the harder it got. Unfortunately I had gravely underestimated the distance so it ended up being 36.5k not the expected 29k. Plus I have been very proud to say that I have never in my life gotten of a bike to walk up a hill. This can no longer be said still I made it home so need to focus on the positive. If there is one it would be that I get to do it all again on Thursday (YEAH).

Special Mention

Ok I need to make a few firstly;

1)To the Honda CRV who stopped in the brake down lane on the M5 in the worst spot ever thank you. Thank you for making me get of my bike and hope the guard rail and then proceed to crawl through the bush to get past you as I was not going to pass you on the road side. Special thank you to the kid that hung out the window to laugh at me as I crawled past really made my day.
2)To the two cars who on two separate feed in lanes actually stopped and waved my past so I would be stuck there all day waiting for a break in traffic to get past.
3)To the guy that leaned out of his car window to yell at me “come'on don't let it beat ya” as I climbed the last hill of the ride. You got me up that hill buddy so thank you (actually that's what I head him say but in reality it's who knows still it did the trick :).

First thing to relearn

I MUST relearn how to do a track stand, yes I know the hours I put into it last time and yes understand that it sucks that I lost the skill but when riding long distance with clip in shoes its a must on a bike. I must of spent a good 15 minutes on the ride home waiting for a break in the traffic when I really shouldn't have. There were plenty of opportunities to go but just couldn't as I knew my take of speed is just not what it should be.

Take aways

One thing I took away from the ride was just home much confidence I have lost in my riding ability and also my ability to read traffic. This is a serious issue if I am going to keep this up. When riding in traffic you need confidence in yourself and your abilities but also you need confidence to read what's going on around you. I use to ride in some very very heavy traffic and it never bothered me as I was just use to it. Being one with your bike and your surroundings may sound stupid but is vital if you are going to spend any length of time in heavy traffic.

Sum up

Anyway time to sum it all up, first I'm glad I got this one out of the way. The next will be much easier and things will improve from there. So yes there will be another commute on Thursday and hopefully all will be well. Already I can tell that I am much better prepared so here's hoping it all works out.

Total Ride Time: 2:02:146
Total Distance: 36.5
Average Speed: 17.8
Kilometres YTD: 245.6 (I know what your thinking that's just a normal weeks ride distance for me but seriously I'll pick it up and will try to get over 5000K before the end of the year)!!

So ya

Well the gym is a no go, they just want to much money so have decided to train from home. By the time I buy a exercise bike and a few other things still want add up to half of what the gym wanted for just one year so works out better in the long run. Plus also sort of half injuryed myself at work on friday night so want be able to train to hard for a little while so only went for a short walk today but hopefully I'll be back to normal in a short while.

JC

"....we came in?"

Well went down to join the gym today and WOW it's so cool has an awesome cycle class room and boxing class facilities, so can't wait to start back at training again. Has been way to long since I have done any serious training so really looking forward to it. Unfortunately I wont have my first class until Friday morning as I have to wait for the new month to join no point paying for a whole month for 3 days so A little delay but one I can live with.

JC

Not Another Post

Wow well I have been inspired to blog again after all this time, my old blog was a journal of my training and since I am starting back up at the gym I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it to try and keep my motivation up.

So many things have changed in my life in the last two years I don't even know where to begin. So I wont this blog will have to post updates as I go.

Anyway will post again soon.

The Weekend

Well I made it and here for another post which is a little exciting. I managed to drag myself out the door on Sunday morning as well and went for my 5k run, the first one on my 6 week program leading up to C2S. Was very nice to get the first run out of the way but really was a little worried at how slow I was but hopefully things will improve quickly. 5k in 36:10 not my slowest time but nowhere near my best anyway I new I would be slow and I new it was going to be hard but at least I was out there. It really was a very cold morning so was actually a little happy that I got out the door at all. Other than that I rode to work today which was the first time since I got this really bad cold so was happy to just be out there this was my second trip to work on the new commuter bike and there’s still a few things I would like to change. So will probably look into that on the weekend. Other than that I have a 3k run tonight after my ride home so hopefully I’ll make that one as well.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Run YTD: 14K (was out last time) Bike YTD: 1726K

It's About Time

Well it's been a year since I have posted so better catch everyone up on what's been going on, which is a lot. The biggest thing that has happened to me since I last posted would be the birth of my son “Thomas Jacob Clark”. I’ll post pictures soon. He’s now 5 months old and has completely taking over our lives but we love him all the same. My running has basically been no issue for well over a year, as I have been riding to and from work every day which doesn’t leave much time for running. However some friends have once again roped me into the C2S this year so with 6 weeks to go I’m starting my training (yeah I know) but here’s hoping I can pull it off. Also I have the Gong ride in November that will be another big completion with me and my mates (last man over the line has his legs shaved) so that will not be me I can guarantee it. So since my life will once again filled with training I thought it would be a good idea to log all the details on here. Unfortunately I have been sick the last 2 weeks so nothing really to blog about at the moment but I’ll post my totals so far for the year.

Run YTD: 12K (yes that is correct)
Bike YTD: 1690K (Yes that is correct ;)

Okay program starts on the weekend so will post up the results on Monday.

100th Post

Wow 100 posts didn’t think I had it in me but there you go I have done it feels like an achievement in itself.

Did a 42K ride this morning had a little bit of the freak out on Sunday night cause I realised that Tri season is here again and my first Tri is now only 11.5 weeks away so yes will once again need to step up to two training sessions a day but hopefully everything will work itself out. Went up the M2 with Pebbles this morning was a nice ride but our lights went out at about 5:50 and we still had about 20 minutes of darkness so was a little scary there for a bit but we survived. All in all it was 42K in 1:46:54 so quite a bit faster than what I was 6 months ago and since I haven’t been on a bike for a while I was quite happy with that effort.


1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 8
Week: 8
Month: 55
Year to Date: 296
Life to Date: 681

Hot air for a cool breeze?

Did my long run yesterday in the streets around my house because of the Bay run being on didn’t want to face the crowds that would have been at the bay. On the plus side I did do the planned 60 minutes on some pretty serious hills so that is going to help come C2S time. Which I realised this morning is now less than two weeks away so really not as prepared as I would like to be but still I know I’ll be in for at least a twenty minute PB if I just run the whole way at my slowest pace so far. So it’s going to be a good day either way.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 8
Week: 8
Month: 55
Year to Date: 296
Life to Date: 681

Cold comfort for change?

Sundays run was the first really hard run I have had in a while but mostly I think I can put it down to my shoes. Its time for a new pair and I have been a little cheap of late and have been trying to hold out till after the C2S but I can no longer wait that long so its of to the shops for me on the weekend. Other than the sore feet on Sunday it was a nice run I managed 12K before I had to pull out but I decided to run in the afternoon so it was a very nice time of the day but it was a little crowded at the bay but I managed to survive still have trouble maintaining an even pace my splits are all over the place but hopefully that will just come with time.

Ran to work this morning was a nice and easy 5K decided to take it easy cause I’m going to attempt to run home from work tomorrow so wasn’t trying to break any PB’s but ended up doing it anyway 5K in 36:10 which is my slowest 5K ever not sure if I should be proud of that but I am hopefully I’m finally learning that every time I run doesn’t need to be fastest than the last. I can just slow down and take it easy when I need too.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 5
Week: 12
Month: 41
Year to Date: 282
Life to Date: 667

And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

Have been a little of this week after my long run on Sunday always happens when I fail to do a recovery jog on the Monday always throws me out. Funny how not running actually makes me worse of than running. So headed out last night for a nice and quick run down to Weight watches normally takes me around 20 minutes or so but last night went a little to hard (think I was trying to punish myself for missing the recovery jog on Monday so ended up walking the last 1K so only ended up doing 2.15K in 15 minutes (I did the 150 meters that I missed on Sunday to even out my numbers).

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 2.15
Week: 19
Month: 19
Year to Date: 260
Life to Date: 645

How I wish, how I wish you were here.

Wow will ran longer and further than I ever have before and damn am I tired.

Headed out to the bay yesterday morning and arrived at just on 5:20, I had realised half way there that I had left my breakfast at home back decided to forget about it and just focus on the run. Was planning on making my first attempt at a 2 hour run and was meeting a friend who would join me for the second lap and hopefully carry me across the last 15 minutes. Headed out at a nice easy pace for me 7:30min/k and was going strong and even averaging 7:10min/k I added in the canal in the first loop as my friend only wanted to do 7K unfortunately at the 5K marker near all that loose gravel I did not see a small rock on the path and ended up flat on my face with gravel imbedded in my hands and a perfect key shaped bruise on my right hip (had my card key in my pocket). Luckily no one was around so just got up dusted myself off and keep running made it back to the start and meet up with CR Pebbles and we headed of for the second lap. Now Pebbles is a little faster than me so I got a little scared when I saw our first K time was 6:30 but decided to just stick as close as I could and see what happens. So I managed to hold on and we averaged under 7min/k for the rest of the run and ended up doing my fastest loop of the bay ever so was pretty happy about that. All in all ended up doing 16.85K in 2:00:04 (unfortunately I didn’t look at the distance until it was to late otherwise I would of finished of the last 150 meters to hit the 17K marker. Splits follow

7:21
7:21
7:17
6:54
7:00
7:33
7:22
7:02
8:12(Effects of the fall I think)
6:30(Joined my friend here)
6:35
6:49
6:50
7:00
7:02
7:24
5:43(last 850m)


1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
7K PB: 48:20
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 16.85
Week: 16.85
Month: 16.85
Year to Date: 257.85
Life to Date: 642.85

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,

Well am once again guilty of being a bad blogger but hopefully I can pick things up again. Have no idea what I have missed but there isn’t really that much to catch up on since I have been a bad runner of late as well hopefully things will improve once the weather gets a little warmer.

Had my long run on Sunday had 2 hours on the program but ended up only doing 1 hour as I ran out of time. Went to the bay and ended up doing 8K in 60 minutes was a great morning with only a little bit of rain but was actually warmer at 5am than it was at 8:30 the same day. I was the first car at the bay so was a little excited when I realised I must of the been the first person out of bed for the run but that quickly went away.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 8
Week: 8
Month: 66
Year to Date: 233
Life to Date: 618

Running over the same old ground.

Well I covered my 600th Kilometre last night in 6:34 and it felt great to be out there in the dark running along the streets near my house. Was really surprised with how well I was running coming of a 14K long run on Sunday (my longest in about 3 months). Ended up doing 7K in 49:53 which is really close to my PB Felt really strong in the legs last night which is strange for me normally feel all over the shop. I have hills on Thursday and hopefully I’ll be able to get out in the morning and have a good run but will probably end up going in the afternoon as it’s just a little to cold at the moment to run in the mornings.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 7
Week: 24
Month: 48
Year to Date: 215
Life to Date: 600

What have we found? The same old fears.

Well I had a great run on Sunday managed 1:45 minutes on Sunday afternoon and at just over 14K was very happy with myself have been slowing trying to increase my Sunday long run and this Sunday coming is my first attempt a running straight for 2 hours so hopefully everything will go well. It turned out well in the end on Sunday because I had skipped my 7K run the day before as I just couldn’t face the rain and I had decided to do both my 7K and the 5K that was planned for the Sunday together but ended up going for longer anyway. Really enjoyed being out there with the Sunday out had been a little while since I had seen it so enjoyed it while I could. Hopefully the rest of the week goes well and so to for the weekend. Only 3 weeks left to the next 5K challenge and am really looking forward to go faster than ever before. Also ended up doing a 3K recovery run on Monday morning just around my parents house but was a little funny even though I lived there for 24 years I got a little lost around the streets as it’s been a while since I have walked those streets but managed to get home without to much trouble.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 3
Week: 14
Month: 41
Year to Date: 208
Life to Date: 593

Wish you were here.

Well June is becoming my favourite month of the year, have already covered more ground in 5 days than I did in the whole month of May but I think I just need to let that go and put it behind me okay moving on.

Tuesday: failed to get up in time for a run so had to head out last night for a nice and easy 5K. Was very enjoyable being out there after dark gives me a great feeling that I can’t explain only problem is everyone seems to be cooking at that time so am always starving by the time I get home.

Wednesday: Managed to drag myself out of bed this morning with just a little help from a friend. Was a fantastic run this morning was some cold and dark when I left but it was a surreal experience because for the first 30 minutes or so I didn’t see another person at all. I normally see someone either going to work or maybe some times another runner but for some reason the world was empty. Also I miscounted the splits from buddy so I ended up running up and down my street for ages trying to get him to click over to 7K but after the second lap I looked down and I had already covered 7.5K. I realised later that I had countered the 4K twice so I was only 1K behind not to bad.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 7.5
Week: 17
Month: 24
Year to Date: 191
Life to Date: 576

Back in the Action

Well June has gotten of to a better start as I have run the last 3 days so after tomorrows run I actually would off already covered more ground than I did in the whole month of May. So things are hopefully looking up also I ran 2K in 11:39 on Saturday which is the first time I have ever gone under 12 minutes for 2K so very happy with that. For Sundays run I decided to run through the bush near my parents house which was a really nice run and a bit of a challenge as it’s got some rough bush down there so I ended up doing 10min/K for a bit there as I had to walk some of the downhills as it was just to dangerous to run it.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 4.5
Week: 4.5
Month: 11.5
Year to Date: 178.5
Life to Date: 563.5

June

Okay I am hoping to restart my training in full again this month only managed 4 runs in the month of May, so just going to put that out of my mind and focus on the future.

Ran to work this morning from Concord (wife’s work) was a nice easy 4K although I couldn’t find my camelpak last night so just ran with a normal backpack and not a good option was just too heavy but managed to survive. Going for a ride tomorrow for the first time in who knows how long can’t even remember and then I have my long run on Sunday so hopefully I’m back on track in running and in blogging.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 4
Week: 3
Month: 4
Year to Date: 171
Life to Date: 556

Breathing

Have been having a little trouble with my breathing of late so decided last night that it would be the focus of my run so I stuck Buddy in my pocket for the whole run. I have a tendency to look at the pace, time and distance every minute or so instead of just running. So I just set the goal of 7K in 56 minutes which should be very easy for me and just headed out the door. For the whole run I just focused on keeping my pace steady and my breathing nice and even I sometimes hold my breath if I’m trying to pick my pace up which is not a good idea. Felt really good in the legs last night and added to that the focus on the breathing which really helped a lot was a very enjoyable run. Pulled up at the end and I had done 7K in 50 minutes which is not a bad time for me. Going to have a crack at my 1K PB tonight so hopefully I can shave a few seconds of my old PB.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 7
Week: 7
Month: 7
Year to Date: 153
Life to Date: 538

5K PB

Well I was one of the few that turned up to the 5K challenge on Saturday morning the rain must of kept the rest away but it was still a great morning for a run. The light rain was a little blessing because I don’t do well in the heat plus was feeling strong from Thursday nights run so everything was set for a good run. I was the first to head up but didn’t mind being the Hair. Ended up with a PB which was a little surprising as I really struggled over the line and only really managed to shuffle the last 200 meters or so but luckily I had done enough for a 29:15 which was a good feeling. Then jogged the short way home for a change of scenery so ended up doing 9K all up which wasn’t too bad.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:15
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 4
Week: 0
Month: 33
Year to Date: 146
Life to Date: 531

On my way to a PB

Wednesday
Did my 5K run from Tuesday in the afternoon as I was scared of the rain on Tuesday and elected not to venture out in it. Felt good to be out on Wednesday afternoon finished the 5K in a nice and tidy 34 minutes.

Thursday
I had 7K on the program and I wanted to take it easy as I have the 5K race on Saturday so I decided to run 8 min/k but I forgot when I got home that I had any training so sat down for dinner and then to watch TV finally remembered about 7pm that I was suppose to go for a run. So upstairs to get changed then out the door finally about 7:30 did 7K in 50 minutes so a little quicker than I wanted to but couldn’t really run it any slower felt really good out there the best I have in a long time. So hopefully it’s a good sign looking for a good time tomorrow hopefully I can pull something special out of the hat.

1K PB: 4.28
4K PB: 23:47
5K PB: 29:55
10K PB: 70:39

Last Run: 7
Week: 18
Month: 24
Year to Date: 137
Life to Date: 522