Sometimes a race is a good day out – regardless of where you finish.
Belle, in ‘The Intimate Adventures Of A London Call Girl‘
Cycle
Disappointment. Inspiration. Optimist. Or Plain Crazy?
Earlier today went swimming only the 2nd time this month. Suffered.
Even managed to get a cramp finishing just 40 lengths.
Haven’t run in 16 days. Hate myself.
Disappointed in myself.
There was just one big target for this year – to finish a standard (Olympic) distance triathlon. After working hard for 5.5 months towards it, I’d completely slacked in last month to go completely off course, laying all that work to waste1.
My main pre-triathlon target was the Thames swim from Hampton Court palace to Kingston bridge. The event happened a week ago. I didn’t even go close.
The Tri I had planned to do is on 8th September, the Diamond triathlon, at Dorney rowing lake. After the swim today, I came to grips with reality, and accepted defeat.
Between the cramp and giving up on the triathlon target, the day had turned gloomy.
After sulking a few hours, I chanced upon Alan’s race report from his first Ironman. He’s an Outlaw!
I’m inspired again. So inspired that I can’t sleep thanks to the adrenaline rush.
And I’m planning again.
Thinking of adding an early season open water swim event to the usual Tour of Flanders, and the planned Brighton marathon. Then planning to target a tri in May or June, instead of leaving it for later in the season. And if all goes well, training rest of the year for an ironman in 2015.
How does it sound – optimist, or just crazy?
Continue reading “Disappointment. Inspiration. Optimist. Or Plain Crazy?”
Bling We Approve!
Image shared by @LadyVelo, on Twitter. Design, I guess, by @alexmonroejewellery
Imagine…
Clapham Jn – 8 Aug 2011
I live on a small street off the high street (St. John’s Rd) in Clapham Junction.
Yesterday, on the way back from my evening ride in Richmond Park, I was surprised to see the roads were strangely empty in Wandsworth. I was hoping the trouble hadn’t started there. Realised it was even worse – rioters and looters on our high street and around my street.
Wasn’t even sure if I could stop outside my own door given the street was full of hoods. Didn’t want to be robbed of the new bike, it’s barely 2 weeks old!
Did get off and get inside the house safely. Probably they didn’t want to mess with a brown-skinned, sweaty fella with bulging eyes :) [crass racist mention]
[Made public on Oct 4, 2011 17:58]
20/365: Important Stuff
Topic of the day is: What’s the most important thing you’ve been putting off? Why haven’t you done it yet? What do you need to make it happen?
Good topic, can keep it short and sweet.
Anyway, here is a short list of things I’ve been putting off:
- Get the cycle’s back wheel repaired. Been putting it off just because I’m embarassed of going again to Evans and reminding them of the issue. The issue: They trued my buckled rear wheel and it was bad within 5 days. I went back and they promised to true it for free but when I went back to collect the bike an entirely different set of employees charged me for it. I was too embarrassed to ask. Anyway, after some goading from Rags, I did ask them for a free repair next time. And after much reluctance, they agreed to it. I got it back a few days later. But thanks to snow couldn’t use it and when I could, noticed something wrong – the front wheel inner tube had been changed, from schraeder to presta! I gave them the bike to true rear wheel and they changed the front wheel. Anyway, after much shouting on twitter, their SM team contacted me and got the branch manager to contact me. That was more than a fortnight back. Now when I go, I shall have to explain all this again. And the tediousness of it all is making me postpone it everyday.
- Apply, formally, to TD, EC, CS, Inq and TC. After much thinking, I decided these are the firms I really want to work with – each of them is in one of my two key interest areas and they’re either small or innovative, just the kind to keep me challenged as well as happy. Why haven’t I applied so far? Procrastination. And the fear of rejection. In fact, I did informally approach the chief of one of them on twitter other day. He was polite. And curt. Scared me even more.
- Visit relatives. They haven’t been always good to me, but then which relatives ever are? And they were never so bad towards me that I won’t visit them despite being in the country for over 6 months. This is downright insulting on my part, and I’m ashamed of my behaviour. Why haven’t I visited? Because of the fear of two questions – what do you do and why are you not married. I don’t think I can answer these questions to their satisfaction yet. I’m satisfied with the answers to those questions, but they will never get those. So, I hide.
So, there. Three fat points and I’m done with the obligatory post of day. Shall soon be writing another one though – on my experience of installing Ubuntu on my old laptop, and my first impressions of this new OS.
Cheers!