Ouch

So, after the session planning my training programme I thought I’d do an hours cardio session in the gym.  Five minutes into a gentle warm up jog on the treadmill and I go and strain a calf muscle.  Quite painful to walk now.  Will have to rest it until new year.  Bugger!

Mileage plan for training

Met with Ryan at the gym today to discuss a training plan for LEJOG.  He suggested increasing the mileage as follows:

So approx 120 miles per week in Jan with the 4th week being a recovery week before upping the weekly mileage each month until I’m doing 200 miles per week in April.  I’ll aim to include increasingly long rides and perhaps for one week in March do 3 consecutive daily rides of around 70 miles.

I’ll be using the gym to build some cardiovascular fitness as well as taking advantage of it during recovery weeks.

Also got some exercises to do to strengthen my trapezius muscles to minimise neck pain/stiffness on longer rides (I mentioned I suffer from this).

All very useful stuff.

Training update

A combination of too much work and bouts of illness over the last month or two have put paid to any serious start to the training but I can sense things are starting to improve.  Over the last couple of weeks I’ve managed to get in the odd commute (40 mile round trip) as well as getting back in to the gym for some cardio workouts.  I’ve even made an appointment with Ryan at the gym (who’s a keen cyclist himself) to prepare a suitable training programme.   So, the motivation is there and this can only be a good thing as the weather starts to get a lot colder.  Met Office are even predicting some sleet and snow this week!

Aim this week is 1-2 long commutes, at least 3 sessions in the gym and a mountain bike thrash round Clumber Park trails.

Not much cycling going on

A combination of work and illness has meant hardly any miles over the last couple of weeks. Work is hectic for another month but I'm feeling much better so at least I can try and get a few rides in whilst the weather isn't too bad.

Training update

Number of miles on bike last week: 0
Number of coughs and sneezes: LOADS

Desperate to feel better and get on the bike again.

Good to see

A full bike rack outside work. Mine not there today. Blame this cold making me feel crap.

Test

Test

Just testing out a post to the blog from my mobile phone. Ignore.

Starting to get some miles in

157 miles over the last 7 days. Longest ride only 41 miles but that'll do. Very busy week ahead so might be difficult to find the time to do as much this week.

The good news is that Ade is definitely committed to the E2E ride now.

The commute

At just over 41 miles (round trip) with a few hills thrown in to boot my commute is going to be good training.

Training?

Many have told me that, assuming you're a relatively match fit cyclist, no training is necessary for LEJOG. OK you'll suffer a bit on the first hilly days out of Cornwall and Devon but you'll get fit along the way. Thats a tempting school of thought (especially for a instinctively lazy scroat like me) but I reckon it's tosh. Maybe OK if you're aiming for a relatively low daily mileage - but to do 100+ miles per day for just over a week? Nah. Even though I'm a regular cyclist I'm going to have to be prepared.

So, here's the basic plan:

• Aim for at least 150 miles per week. I can do this mainly through upping the commuting miles. I live 20 miles from work and do cycle to and from work when I can but this has dropped off this year.
• Get in longer rides wherever possible. Perhaps ride the odd 200k Audax. Ride to and from my Dad's (about 100 mile round trip).
• Go to the gym regularly.
• Get a bit trimmer. I'm 13.5 stone and 5' 11". Could do with losing 20lb!!! Everyone says that the key to making the cycling more enjoyable on a LEJOG is to not carry too much weight on the bike. I guess that includes the engine too!
• Blog the training and encourage humiliating comments if I'm not doing what I should be doing.

I'll, er, start tomorrow.

Land's End to John O'Groats

It's something that thousands of cyclists (probably, I don't know, thats a guess) do every year. It's certainly an ambition that many, many cyclists aspire too and that includes me. It's been on my cycling 'to do' list for years and other, shorter, cycling tours have only whetted my appetite further. Well now I'm committing to it. On 30th April 2010 I will be setting off from Land's End to travel the length of the British mainland over 9 days. Thats over 100 miles per day which, to me at least, is undoubtedly a challenge.

The ride is also aimed at raising money for St. Luke's Hospice in Sheffield so please support them and spur me on by donating what you can by visiting our JustGiving site. Click HERE to go there.

I've worked in the field of cancer and education the whole of my professional career and currently work as a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University where we have close links with St Luke's. I have colleagues who work for them and have had friends who have benefited from their services. It really is a great organisation to support and I'm proud to be able to do that.

Did you know?

St Luke’s annual running costs are now nearly £7 million and only about a third comes from government funding. This means the Hospice needs to raise over £4 million each year through donations, legacies and special fund raising events. Total running costs for the Hospice are £758 an hour 24 hours a day 365 days a year.