BCTTT Forum

Phys has been problematic at best over the last few weeks. I'm out on rotation (again) and it's the middle of the southwest monsoon season. The swells have been pretty with each of the ships I've been on pitching and rolling like a bastard! I've logged what I've managed on Endomondo. I took advantage of the treadmill while the sea state was tolerable over the first few days but it got it got unworkable before long.

Hopefully the next ship will be nice and stable or I'm not going to be able to do any real prep for Wasdale!

Cancelled my entry to Horseman finally. Gutted I haven't been able to do anywhere near enough training to even contemplate doing this. I was really looking forward to cracking it. Next year I've decided I'm going to do an iron distance race so I'll have to smash myself through the phys between now and then.

3,2,1 and you're back… Took me long enough

I seem to have fallen off the wagon a bit when it comes to keeping tabs on the training log as of late. Truth be told I needed all available motivation to get me out of the door ready for Wasdale and since then I've just got out of the habit. Well, hopefully I've turned a corner and this isn't just a statistical aberration.

I seem to have had a spate of ships without any sort of gym onboard lately so I've resorted to the gymnastic rings and skipping rope. These have been great at keeping some semblance of fitness going over the last couple of months. I even set myself the challenge of achieving a muscle up on the rings by the end of this rotation (basically the initial move gymnasts do to get up on the rings). Somehow I managed this after only two weeks which had me buzzing

Seriously missing my bike though, and by the time I get back to the UK the temperature will have seriously dropped. I'll have to grab my winter bike from Oop North if I get the chance.

Fuming with work trying to shaft me lately, straight after offering me a promotion. Don't really want to get into it but while I've been sat in a hotel between transits the last couple of days I've been smashing the weights to get some benefit out of the work induced aggression. Every silver lining has a cloud and all that

Good to see you back Mat. Now HTFU and get out there riding like a badass (Rule #9).

Finally off ship in the last few days and back on dry land again. Discovered a working treadmill (hurrah) and made full use of it on the last ship. The only downside was it maxed out at 12km/h. Still, it was better than nothing and I ran on it most days. I can already feel the amount of fitness I've lost with not being able to do much in the way of CV over the last few weeks and I'm horrified by it. At least it means things can't get much worse over Christmas though

As soon as I arrived home life and all the sh** that goes with it has gotten in the way in a pretty horrendous manner. Let's just say that I haven't really been wanting to leave the other half alone lately and leave it at that. With those limitations all I've been able to do is take the dog for his daily walk. Even that has been problematic with him getting attacked the day after I landed

At some point I will be taking a few helpings of Rule #9 and Rule #5 to sort myself out. And I've got to smash two half marathons this month if I'm to stay in contention when it comes to AndyB's challenge. It's all to play for

Dragged my arse out for the first ride since Wasdale today. Good job I gave the bike a deep clean and got the essential maintenance done before I went on ship. It purred like a kitten and even though it lashed it down pretty much the whole time I loved every minute. Rule #9 has definitely been satisfied today. It was just a short leg stretcher up to Whipsnade Zoo over Bison Hill to the roundabout on the other side and back. I'm looking forward to getting out on the bike again while I'm back. I didn't realise just how much I miss it when I'm away. Now I just need to regain the motivation when it comes to running.

Distance: 29.18km
Avg Moving Speed: 24.3km/h
Elevation Gain: (Measly) 292m
Time: 1h13
Avg/Max HR: 157/188
Calories: 1054

Managed to get myself out on the bike again yesterday. No rain this time round which made it all the more enjoyable. I went for a sedate pace as I'm just getting my bike fitness back. Things are so much simpler on the bike or when I put my trainers on. If only it was always so simple.

Distance: 55.40 km
Time: 2:17:04
Elevation Gain: 596 m
Calories: 1,918 C
Avg Moving Speed: 24.4 km/h
Max Speed: 70.4 km
Avg HR: 160 bpm
Max HR: 185 bpm

First time doing a ride with a cafe stop in the middle today. I discovered the Bikebus cafe a few months back when I bonked massively on a long ride. Saved my bacon doesn't even come close. They do a delicious cappuccino and panini for under a fiver. Just what you need on a cold Winter's day. Because I took my time with the cafe stop the ride's been split into two. I'm not looking to get round at any speed through the Winter months, just get some miles back into my legs. It's been a windy few days so if nothing else there's some free training benefit to be had from it.

Bikebus 1
Distance: 37.82 km
Time: 1:28:55
Avg Speed: 25.5 km/h
Elevation Gain: 255 m
Calories: 1,365 C
Avg HR: 156 bpm
Max HR: 189 bpm

Bikebus 2
Distance: 29.26 km
Time: 1:12:52
Avg Speed: 24.1 km/h
Elevation Gain: 75 m
Calories: 1,124 C
Avg HR: 167 bpm
Max HR: 189 bpm

The cafe stop is the only point of riding your bike in Winter.

Dragged myself out on another ride today with the obligatory cafe stop. You're right Kevy, it's all about the cake.

Distance: 32.72 km
Time: 1:17:13
Avg Speed: 25.4 km/h
Elevation Gain: 304 m
Calories: 1,101 C
Avg HR: 160 bpm
Max HR: 183 bpm

Distance: 34.91 km
Time: 1:33:55
Avg Speed: 22.3 km/h
Elevation Gain: 404 m
Calories: 1,322 C
Avg HR: 168 bpm
Max HR: 187 bpm