Two muddy days in a row

At last, I made it out on my bike for two days in a row for the first time this year. Hooray! Even though they weren't the longest of rides, I found them both quite tough.

Saturday's cycle was a really short one (8 miles round trip to the next village from ours for a pint) and Sunday's was just a wee bit longer (22 miles round trip from Callander to Mhor 84 for a coffee and scone) but they both involved a fair bit of rain and mud. And pedalling though the mud - especially when it's uphill and especially when you're on a hybrid with not-so-serious-grip - makes for a fair old work-out! The pint/coffee/scone were essential for keeping the energy levels up...

I might not have cycled very far, but I do feel like I managed a fair bit of training. And, I did have a fair bit of fun in the mud along the way...

Ploughing through the mud for a pint

A longer outside cycle at last

An outside cycle at last

Parkrun walking

I love the whole concept of Parkrun. If you're not familiar with the initiative, it started in 2004 by a guy called Paul Sinton-Hewitt when he set up a regular 5k Saturday morning timed run in Bushy Park, London.  The run was open to anyone, it was free and organised by volunteers. The idea was such a good one that it soon spread, and one event became many all around the UK. Within a few years, Parkruns were being set up all over the world and now there are over two million registered global Parkrunners.

The events are still all set up and organised by volunteers, and still free. As long as you're registered on the Parkrun site and you've been given your own unique barcode, you can turn up at any Parkrun in the world on a Saturday morning and run. And, usually within an hour or so of your run, your 5k time is available either by text or by logging on to the Parkrun website.

There's a degree of friendly competitiveness between some of the runners, but these events are for anyone, at all levels of fitness. Some people take under 16 minutes to finish, some take over 40. It really doesn't matter. It's all about your own goals, your own challenge - and simply being out in a park in all weathers on a Saturday morning with a bunch of like-minded folk. And, it's all about feeling like you're part of the global Parkrun family - whether it's your first or fifty first run. We've been to a fair few parks on a Saturday morning over the course of the past few years, all over the UK, and we've always found the people to be friendly, welcoming and encouraging - whether we're in Scotland in a park close to home, or a wee bit further afield.

I'm not a registered Parkrunner because I don't run. I usually tag along just to be out in the fresh air, have a wee wander, watch the running fraternity in my family and give the runners a wee cheer on. But, these past few weeks I've been getting a bit more involved and I've been briskly walking while the runners run. I've been logging my distance and time on Strava and trying to push myself on to be a little bit faster each week (no, I'm not serious about stats, honest...!). Yesterday morning in Perth I even found myself pushing on with a little jog towards the end of my walk (I'm not really supposed to run but sometimes it's just too tempting!!) - and it's the first time in all the years of going along to the Parkruns that I've actually felt like a bit of a Parkrunner.

So, the next step in my training plan might just be to register for a barcode and actually join in with the Parkrunners on a Saturday morning! We'll see. First, I'll need to check that the volunteers wouldn't mind hanging on a bit longer for their well deserved coffee and cake at the end of the event while they wait for a newbie Parkrun walker to cross the finish line...

Spinning some not-so-serious stats

Well, that's January been and gone and I didn't sit on my saddle outdoors once. However, I did manage to do some other bits and bobs of training that should hopefully boost my effort to be fit enough to meet the Cycle Africa challenge in June:

• Spinning:  14 classes (approx 11 hours of sweaty burling to the beat)
• Other Classes: 2 Body Balance (hardly worth mentioning, but 2 hours is 2 hours!)
• Walking: 6 Park Walks plus various other short walks (approx 22 miles of wanderings)
• Morning Gym: 8 mornings (approx 2 hours - major fail - of creaking and cracking)
• Turbo Trainer: em, 15 minutes... (going red in the face for listing this one, but 15 minutes is better than no minutes...!!)

So, it's not exactly elite athlete stuff, but then, I'm not an elite athlete.

And I'm not too worried that I've not been outside on my bike once yet this year (the last time was a gloriously muddy cycle on Christmas Day with Alex and Ross) - I'm paying no heed to those members of the cycling fraternity who hold the view that you're not really a cyclist unless you're out in all weathers at all times.

I guess my attitude is that if you sit on a saddle and pedal you're a cyclist - whether you do it sometimes or all the time, in nice weather or all weathers, to win races or to fetch the paper.

And, as you can see from my 'stats', my record-keeping pretty much matches my attitude to training: I seriously want to do it, but I don't want to take it too seriously.

Having said that, I've stuck my 'training calendar' up on the fridge and I'm gravitating towards the highlighter pens...watch this space for a much more colourful - and maybe even a wee bit more serious - February fitness file!

Having a spin-tastic time

So, I've become a bit of a Spin Freak over the past couple of weeks. Since the beginning of January I've been to 11 spin classes. I said in a previous post that I much prefer cycling outside, but I'm actually getting just as big a buzz from being indoors; spinning and sweating in the semi-dark beside 39 other folk burling their legs and swiping their brows in time to the loud and catchy beat beside me!

It's a different kind of not-so-serious time in the saddle, but it's great fun - and great cross-training - all the same.

Other training over the past couple of weeks has consisted of a couple of 'Park Walks', some Morning Gymnastics (as predicted previously, definitely not every morning!!) one very short session on the turbo trainer and a couple of body balance classes.

I'm pleased to be nearly at the end of January and still as keen to train - the new year burst of motivation is hanging on in there! And, with this mild weather we've been having of late, I might even venture outside on my bike very soon!

Though, it might be hard to find the time to fit that in while I'm having such a spin-tastic time...!

Morning Gymnastics in a cooler climate

I've mentioned in previous posts a place called Club La Santa. It's a holiday come sports resort in Lanzarote and our family fell in love with both the resort and the island when we first went there in 2006. I can't relate to the 'Lanza-grotty' reputation that this beautiful little island seems to hold for some. La Santa sits on the north coast and its surrounding volcanic landscape, crashing waves, sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, hills, sunsets, sunrises, little villages, local people, sea-food and, of course, the plethora of sports in the resort itself are just some of the many reasons why we love it.

One of the staples of La Santa Sport is 'Morning Gymnastics'. The name's a wee bit misleading as it's really just a dynamic stretch routine, and you definitely don't have to be an inspiring Olga Korbut to take part!  Every day, guests at La Santa gather by the pool at 8am and follow the same 15 minute routine set to the exact same music that they've been using for the past 30 odd years!

Now, some may think it a bit sad, but sometimes I do Morning Gym at home. I only had to download the music (from an old video of the routine I found on Youtube) as I know the moves off by heart. Over the years, I've gone through phases of doing it in our living room religiously every morning to not doing it at all.

But, now that I'm training for Tanzania, I intend doing Morning Gym every morning. OK, that won't happen. Now that I'm training for Tanzania I intend doing Morning Gym as often as possible. It's a great way to stretch everything out and a great way to start the day. Especially when another member of the Milne clan joins in, as sometimes happens!

Some days, like today, it might be the only training that I do. But something's better than nothing - even if that means playing to the same tune every single morning...

Kicking off by balancing and spinning

Along with all the hunners of other folk who start off the new year with great intentions, I took out a 'special deal' on a short-term membership with our local sports centre. I'm still on holiday from work so, to make sure I get my money's worth before the novelty wears off, I went along to two classes this morning.

The last time I was at a 'Body Balance' class was only a few weeks ago - under the heat of the sun, with the waves crashing in the background - in our beloved Club La Santa sports resort in Lanzarote. Today's class was just a tad different - under the glare of the strip lights with the air conditioning buzzing in the background - but I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. I'm not supposed to do any high impact exercise, so I have to settle for the more placid stretchy sort of class. However, I did still work up a good sweat this morning - even though no burpees, turnsteps or jumping-jacks were involved!

Immediately after having my body balanced, Alex joined me for a 'Velocity Light' spin class. Now, I've only every been to one spin class before and I didn't really like it. I couldn't hear the instructor, I couldn't get to grips with the gear lever and I couldn't keep up with the rest of the class! But, I shouldn't have let one unfortunate experience colour my opinion and I'm glad that I gave spin another go today! I loved the class - a good teacher, loud music but a louder microphone, and a much better grasp of how to get the most out of the spin bike. For me, it doesn't come close to cycling outside, but I'm very much a fair weather cyclist and classes like this should add a wee bit of variety to the monotony of sitting on my turbo trainer at home watching the telly!

So, there we go, the training's kick-started. I guess I should really think about doing the same with a nutrition plan...but there are still a fair few Christmas sweeties in the cupboard to be demolished...yup, one step at a time me-thinks. Don't want to be taking things too seriously after all...

Looking back and ahead

I used to post fairly regularly, but it's only once in a while now that the notion takes me. So, this might turn out to be my first and last blog post for a while!

Since I last wrote, I've started working part-time with Breast Cancer Care which (ironically) meant I had to pull out of the Women V Cancer Cycle Africa challenge in October. Consequently, I kind of lost my cycling mojo a wee bit and haven't clocked up very many miles. However, the few miles that I have clocked up were bagged in some really lovely places and I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them.

Action for Charity, who organise the Women V Cancer challenges, let me defer my place and I'm now very much looking forward to cycling in Tanzania in June - with the glorious added benefit of learning from the experiences of all of my friends who were there when I should've been there last October! The consensus seems to be that the ride was very much tougher than expected. So, I'm aiming to be as fit as possible before I travel to Africa. I'd like to be well prepared for the heat, the distance, the off-road tracks, the lack of sleep, the big hills and anything else that Tanzania decides to throw at me!

I think I'll try to keep a record of my training exploits here during the course of the next 6 months. Like all best laid plans I might not stick to it and, even if I do, it might not make the most interesting read! I'm not going to get too hung up on the prettiness of the prose! It's more about simply sharing my experiences and thoughts as I go along. My bletherings might be of interest to nobody, but it might give me more of an incentive to keep my training up! That's what I'm hoping.

Having a quick look back at last year, I didn't cycle all that often, but when I did I was usually somewhere lovely and usually having a blast. Alex and I decided to make the very most of our 50th birthday year - no big parties but, plenty of lovely get-togethers and adventures with family and friends, a couple of special holidays, some great weekends away and some fantastic rides in fantastic places.

Last year threw us some not-so-great stuff too, but there usually does tend to be some brutal to go with the brilliant. That's just life, and I guess it's what makes celebrating life all the more essential! And, that's something that I do take pretty seriously!

We started our #HavingFunAtFifty last February (I know, I know...succumbing to the hashtag...) when Alex turned 50 and we intend dragging it out for as long as we possibly can!

I thought I'd jot down my favourite 2015 rides (some short, some tough, some at home, some abroad - but all a whole lot of fun):

March
Grand Canyon South Rim - 9.4 and 12.3 miles
Ventura Pacific Coast - 15.2 miles
Monteray - 11.4 miles
Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito - 18 miles

April
Kippen - 7.6 miles
Bridge of Allan - 25 miles
Kippen - 7.6 miles

May
Glasgow/Bowling canal path - 27.3 miles
Tay Forest/Aberfeldy - 32 miles
Kinbuck - 7.6 miles
Women V Cancer Ride the Night, London - 62.2 miles

June
Birnam/Dunkeld trails - 13.1 miles
Kippen - 8.6 miles
Strathyre/Killin - 32.8 miles
North Third - 14 miles
Round Arran - 59.5 miles

July
Barra - 8.8 and 24 miles
Marlow - 28.2 miles

August
Loch Katrine - 26 miles
Bridge of Allan - 23.5 miles
Coll - 16 miles
Tiree - 14 & 23 miles

December
Lanzarote - 21.4, 27.1, 13.7 & 21.6 miles
Christmas Day at home - 8 miles

Some of my ultra running friends probably ran more miles in a month than I cycled in a year! I definitely need to up the mileage! But, in doing so, I'll be making sure that the pleasure's not taken out of my cycling as I don't ever want it to become a chore.

So, the training kick-starts tomorrow. Come on 2016, let's be having you!