4 Days of Paris-Roubaix

It'd the jewel in the eye of the classic season some might say; a true test on the cobble sectors and catches the imagination of velo types and cycling enthusiasts each year across Belgium, France and even in little bars and lounge rooms in Australia.

I had heard of the event, caught highlights on Sports shows of the carnage and contest that is the Paris-Roubaix; my new found life of bikes, running tracks and swimming pools has certainly drawn me to watching the best of these sports - I have always been of the coaching/ playing philosophy of mimic the best to be the best.

253km in a single day across 27 of the nastiest looking cobble sectors is certainly something to behold; not including the now infamous "Train Gate"

This great one day race has taken me 4 Days to see the final kilometers!! 4 Days of viewing from the late hours of Sunday of the race to the little 20min spurts; this is the life of sports viewing father.

And perfectly sums up the challenge I have with finding hours and time to train and a good level to stay competitive with those single guys out there knocking around the Age Group Comps.

It's all about finding the hours for me at the moment, and trying to different time and days to see what works; my training plan is a revolving and evolving beast at times with the weather and Z-Girls Mood making the choice for me. At the moment the mid-week night run is really working and gives me plenty of time after my PT Group to clock up 30-45mins

The real sacrifice has been strength work; my kettle bells and medicine balls just stare back at me whenever I reach for the bike in the garage; but finding time for KM's has taken over from strength work along with this extra session sometimes gets put on the shelf for that all important Family Time.

Like most 'real life athletes' it's not just time with the kids but also the wife that needs to be factored in; when the house slow does from the pooping machine and she lays her head down for a good 4-5hrs the temptation is jump on the weights or lace up the shoes; but time as a couple is rare at the moment and even if it's just watching another episode of that crappy TV show she always seems to have on, that never seems to end and talking about our day makes a huge difference.

And sadly the kettle bells are the victims of my time management strategy.

APRIL's Plan - The building phase

Well it took a little longer than expected - kids can do that to your life, life can do that to your blog ...

My plan for April - I had to do some soul searching regarding my involvement with Rugby, and that facts are I'm semi-retired to be wheeled out for testimonials and games when the 2nd XV are short on old men. It's a natural non-fanfare retirement, not being carried for the field just winning a Premiership and thinking that was a job well done!

So with no real requirement for Rugby it does free up funds $$$$ and time on weekends for training.

I must stay focused on each event in a natural progression without getting too far ahead in my thinking, its the cliche of "one game/ event at a time" but it wouldn't be a cliche if it wasn't in some part true. There is no point IM70 training now for an event in Feb 2016.

July 10km Pram Push at Run Melbourne is in the cross hairs - and IM70 training will offically begin Jul/Aug, we also have to begin to build strength for 16 week Half Mara event in Oct - that training won't start till June and will work well with the warm-up Dualathlon events as testers.

So its building the foundation time; NO POOL WORK - just fitness base at the moment aiming more for weekly KM Goals that times, but also making sure I have a hard ride/run each week to test and push myself into the red.

Diet needs to get back on track - and that is coming along a lot better that last 2 weeks. Cutting down on booze but still enjoying the odd tipple, no more that 2 drinks at any time keeps that in check.

More focus needs to be on recovery, stretching and foam rolling which I can be slack on. Thinking of booking myself in for a massage once a month to help with this.

General Plan (always flexible with Z-Girl)

• Mon-Fri - riding bike to work each day, sometimes with extra KMs gives me 90km per week
• Wed Night - mid week run either an easy 3-5km or Banksia St Hill Session to build strength
• Sat - Parkrun, this is hard run for the week must be under 25mins
• Sun - Group Ride with a Sprint race means I'm pushing myself on the bike. 

On Average 100km + Bike and 10km Running, add in 1-2 sessions of strength/ core and of course plenty of rest and recovery.

You can't build a house on sand (pretty sure this from the bible somewhere in the back, I remember a little from Sunday School)

Full Moon Running

It wasn't that long ago, in fact I can almost pin point it. Away win with the rugby club after playing Northern RFC back at the club house and cracking a few beers before thinking that wasn't enough and heading to the infamous Diamond Creek Tavern aka The Snake Pit to put away a few more.

Arriving home at an ungodly hour and then spending the rest of Sunday nursing a bruised body from the game and an equally bruised head from the beer....

Now it's 9:15pm on a Wednesday night and I'm slapping the pavement, without an iPod on a cool Melbourne evening as the seasons transfer from Summer to Autumn to Winter all in the space of about 3 days. No iPod means I tend to think more about things rather than operating on automatic mode.

With the full moon overhead, the left over of a blood moon eclipse from the weekend just gone it lights up the tree lined streets as I clock in a relatively relaxed mid-week session - this run is generally a top up run somewhere between 3-5km sometimes its hills, sometimes I just try to run for 30mins straight just to keep my cardio in the right spot.

It's all about the fitness base at the moment, as discussed with my IM70 partner Ivan, just building a base and staying focused on each event as they come. 10km in July means no really hard training till MAY/JUNE. Just sticking to 100+Km on the bike and 8-10km on the legs each week - coupled with 1-2 sessions with the kettlebells keeps me in check.

Staring at that moon is amazing how in 4 weeks that chemical change in my mind has really struck me; I'm a DAD! And I have a responsibility to this little defenseless human that sleeps, poops and eats but without me it can't survive. So now on my Friday nights I enjoy the comfort of my couch with my amazing wife and a few fleeting moments with the Z-Girl before her bedtime.

I don't really drink - maybe a mid-strength beer while watching the rugby or a glass of wine with dinner; my training requires late night events or early morning rises so I can spend as much of my time with her.

I used to go to full moon parties, now I do full moon running ..... and I think I enjoy it more.