Training Log Archive: AC

Morning spin out to Versailles and back through Vaucresson and Sevres. Nice warm morning for it but still wearing tights and double top and booties - so not that warm! Good ride with little traffic. Felt okay and kept up a good pace. Saw a fox in a bit of forest I went through.

Slow morning so took advantage and headed out for a run, further testing the calf. Glorious morning - Paris in springtime at its best. Leaves on the trees, birds signing .... shame about the incessant traffic, but was able to escape some of the traffic noise in the Bois. Good run, calf okay, but feeling a bit weak (but this is probably psychosomatic). Feeling out of shape compared to where I was a couple of weeks ago, but am sure it will come back relatively fast.

Easy lunchtime jog, testing out the calf a little more. Took it pretty easy but still seemed to be moving at a decent clip according to the Garmin. Calf felt okay - no twinges, but not very strong. Finished up with some stretching and strengthening exercises on the calves. Nice 20 degree day for a run.

After a week of resting the calf (and stretching and massaging said calf), coupled with a 4 day work trip to Berlin, it was great to get out for a decent ride on a lovely sunny morning. Had a strong tailwind on the way out past Versailles, which meant the inevitable struggle into a decent wind on the way home. Survived okay though and had a good ride. Calf feeling pretty good, but not good enough to be able to do the Ile-de-France Middle Distance O Champs tomorrow, nor the originally planned 10 km road race. So will be spectating and supporting Lisa in her 6km race and Freya in her 2km race instead. Will follow up with a mountain bike ride in the afternoon.

Stunning spring day - sunny, 18 deg, still. Perfect for dusting off (literally) the mountain bike and heading up to Parc de St Cloud. With just on 100 days to go until the Engadin Bike Giro, I need to get in some quality training on both the road bike and mtb. the sunny weather was great for riding but also meant that all of Paris was out for their Sunday afternoon promenade. But it wasn't too bad and gave me a chance to rest a little at critical times. Pushed hard on the hills and could feel the legs burning. Very good ride.

Damn. Buggar. Bum. In Berlin for work and decided to go for an easy pre-breakfast jog. Felt okay for the first couple of km. Stopped to read the map and when I started to run again I felt my left calf go pop and suddenly very sore and painful. No doubt about it - definitely a pulled calf muscle. Hobbled back to the hotel cursing and muttering. A real shame and this is going to take some weeks to heal. Will probably have to miss the Nationale O race this weekend, which I had been setting myself for.

C • bugger bugger bugger 3

Easy jog with Freya in Provins. Calf felt okay at this pace and beautiful morning for a short jog around this lovely town.

Woke up on my birthday (always a good way to start one's birthday!) quite early and, given the girls were sound asleep, decided to head out for an early-ish morning ride. Glorious morning - feeling like spring is almost here. Sunny, still, not too cold (6 deg but felt like more), buds on the trees, birds singing. Nice ride out past Versailles, not too strenuous. Good start to the day.

Nice morning for a pre-work run. Feeling pretty good and settled into a nice pace early on, which is unusual for me in the morning. Left calf started tightening up after 2km and very tight afterwards. Need to give it a bit of rest and stretching before next week's Nationale race. Solid run.

Easy morning run. Knees feeling quite sore, esp the left one. The weekend may have been too much for them. The rest of me felt great though!

Tough terrain run in Fontainebleau. Very cold (6 deg) and the forest was very damp after heavy rain the day before. Fortunately, it is a very sandy forest so it had mostly drained away. But it did make for very heavy going through the vegetation, which is mostly heather, moss and ferns. This makes for difficult running, especially up hills as your feet sink in to the moss quite a way and the heather and ferns mean you have to lift your feet even higher. Very good training, but very tiring. Great for running down the hills though!

Plotted out a course across a couple of maps, taking in as much of the nice terrain as possible, mixed up with a bit of junk, and picking out a few big hills to climb. There is one small section of the forest that has been burnt out - this is the first time I have seen anything like this in Europe, whereas it is a reasonably common occurrence in Australia. After about 45 mins, the heavens opened and a steady rain fell, gradually increasing in intensity. I was getting colder and more tired and stumbling - couldn't fel my feet for the last 20 minutes of the run. So was relieved to turn for the car, taking in one last big hill climb before a nice run down through the burnt part and across a lovely flat open forest. A good run overall. Not very fast pace and stopped a few times to check that I was at the right control site. And had to walk the last part of a couple of the long hills - my legs just gave out! Left knee a bit sore afterwards and will need to keep an eye on it in the next week.

Almost managed to beat the rain this morning, but got caught in a light rain / heavy drizzle for the last half hour. Roads were damp for the first part of the ride, but not too bad. Focused very much on staying upright and achieved that quite well! Didn't push too hard as still just getting back into the cycling. Enjoyable ride, esp as didn't stay out in the rain for any longer than needed to get home!

Legs feeling pretty stiff and sore after yesterday. Weather still foul. A largely free calendar. So decided to head over to the pool for a swim, the first in quite some time. Going early avoids the crowds, and the punters were streaming in as I left. Shoulders and arms felt pretty lousy during this swim, but gradually got into it. Floundered through a km of mixed freestyle and breaststroke. Only three in my lane so not too crowded at all. Good to be back in the pool and this will be a nice complement to the running.