Hey y’all
Welcome back to the blog! This week has seen a couple of interesting events take place but I have to say that I have slacked on the exercise front.
It was noticeably colder this week on the commute into work so I went out and invested in some leg warmers for the cycle in. Some may be thinking why hasn’t he gone the full hog and invested in some tights for the trip. Well after speaking with my cycling mentor and good friend Mr Gordon at Evans Cycles it was thought that as my weight loss will continue over the next 12 months I will drop another couple of waist sizes and the tights would become obsolete, which would be a waste of money as I was looking at paying between £70 - £110 for a pair. So we decided that the leg warmers where a better option and a lot cheaper. I went for a Specialized pair Specialized Leg Warmers and I have to say I am very happy with them. They are warm and they don’t slip down my legs whilst I am riding! Awesome.
My eczema has had a massive flare up this week not sure why. I have even had to crack out the steroids. I think it may be down to the change in temperature and the little one being ill but not sure. Very frustrating after having a really good week and a half. The steroids are clearing it up but I wish the damn thing would settle down again as its hard to move my hands and complete tasks like opening a jar or high fiving swimmers.
On the exercise front I managed to get a Wattbike session and two gym sessions in but not anything else due to general tiredness, little one being ill and a knee pain, which is perturbing me a little. I was riding home on Thursday evening when I first experienced it. It is the Vastus Medialis (Quadricep muscle) at the knee end where the pain is and it’s a sharp pain, which is constant whilst pedalling. It did go off after about 5 minutes but was very uncomfortable. I have the weekend off this week so am hoping that a little rest and relaxation will give it chance to heal and be ok for next week. Possibly wishful thinking but I will keep you updated.
A really positive Saturday this weekend. I had the privilege of going to the Speedo Swimming meet at Stockport Grand Central with Swim Trafford. It’s the first real meet of the season and was very competitive as the swimmers/coaches wanted to see where their swimmers where at after the off season. I went along so that I could see some of the swimmers in action and get a read on their psychological responses to the competiton. I also wanted to see how we could improve the routines of the swimmers pre and post race. Again I also wanted to look at the nutrition side of things to see when and what the swimmers were doing in between races and their pre and post race routines. James Stannard and myself arrived at about 07:30 there where already a lot of swimmers there and we met up with the morning swimmers Heather, Sam, Olivia and Georgia. James’s emphasis was on carrying out what they had achieved in training and looking at the process of the meet rather then trying to swim PB’s. As this was the first meet we weren’t expecting any superb performances. However Sam reached the final of the 100m fly and both Heather and Georgia swam PB’s. Olivia had been unwell for most of the week and swam a little slower then normal. A really pleasing effort by all of swimmers though. The afternoon saw Nile and Zoe join us and both swam really well although not achieving PB’s they where both close and this early in the season it is encouraging. Chloe has swum well the evening before and attained a PB and also a mention for Ex Swim Trafford athlete Lucy Grainge who also swam well and was welcomed into our team area on poolside. Good luck to the swimmers on Sunday! I am hoping that the meet will provide good fuel for their training sessions over the next month until they compete again. All are well capable and with James’ help and encouragement I am sure we will see some national qualifying times achieved. I also have a lot to offer I think and have come away from the meet with some ideas and recommendations to speak to James about.
Thanks for reading and I will post again soon (is that a threat or a promise you may ask).
"Being your best is not so much about overcoming the barriers other people place in front of you as it is about overcoming the barriers we place in front of ourselves. It has nothing to do with how many times you win or lose. It has no relation to where you finish in a race or whether you break world records. But it does have everything to do with having the vision to dream, the courage to recover from adversity and the determination never to be shifted from your goals."
Kieren Perkins (Australian Swimming Legend)
Last winter I bought a pair of winter cycling tights from Sports. I only just managed to fit into the largest pair. They were only £12.99 I think. That single pair lasted my the whole winter. However I did sometimes wear a pair of thermal leggings underneath.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely no need to spend £70+ on items of cycling clothing.
This winter I've only bought a single pair of bib tights from Lidl. Again, around £12.99 but I've not needed them yet. It's been cold but still OK for shorts. The only times I wish I'd worn something warmer was twice in October but it was too late as I was already on my way to work.