Where have I been the last two week?! I was travelling within the UK for work, which raised the usual issue of how to get training in whilst on the move. When I was in London I hired a Boris bike (Barclays hire cycle, to use the official title) – it weighs a ton and has three gears, but was fun to have a bike at my disposal and I spent an evening cycling around London at speed. In hotel bedrooms, I did body weight resistance exercises in the mornings (push up sets, planks, etc). At friends’ houses, I made use of their training kit… One of my friends has recently installed gymnastic rings in his living room – it provided a surprisingly good workout combining upper body strength and core stability.
I’ve also let the cat out of the bag about my plans for an Ironman next year. Training has started, in a roundabout way – I’ve selected events this year that will give me more experience and confidence for next year. My logic was that I need to do at least one marathon this year, and to train for that I should aim for one half marathon, and to train for that maybe a 10k race wouldn’t hurt, and to train for that I need to get myself out running! I’m enjoying swimming – provided I do it a couple of times a week I find it relaxing as I get into a good rhythm.
I’ve just set up my turbo trainer so I’m not constantly watching the weather in vain before cycling, I’m watching movies! Sure it’s not the same as being outdoors, but I’m a weak cyclist at the moment and I’d rather watch an action movie and peddle hard rather than being outdoors and getting overtaken by someone on the way to the shops! Give it a few weeks of turbo training though, and I’m sure my power will improve. I remember a few years ago when cycling was my life, I was a strong ride. Once I was cycling on my noisy old boneshaker of a road bike to a running meet, and I saw a guy ahead of me heading in the same direction. I had a backpack with change of clothes and water bottle in it, so I was huffing and puffing to catch up with him. Once I caught up with his back wheel he heard me, turned round and looked peeved. He pedalled harder still and I just managed to keep up till I reached my destination. It was only once I’d stopped at the roadside and spotted other cyclists with aero bars and race numbers that I realised I’d been drafting behind someone competing in a time trial!
My next race is in three weeks: a short road race in Liverpool, the Mersey Tunnel 10k. It’s an interesting one in that you spend most of the run in a tunnel under the Mersey, with a long descent then a slightly shorter but steeper ascent back out of the tunnel. I’ve also been asked by another person to be their personal trainer, which will keep me busy in the short-term whilst I tailor a training and nutrition plan based around their goals.
Keep running!
GeekintheHills
Geek in the Hills 
Good luck, Mersey tunnel 10k sounds like fun!