Thursday 31 July 2008

Emily turns 6

Teresa and I can't believethat it was six years ago our lives were turned upside down and back to front by a little bundle called Emily Charlotte. and yes she does look evil in the photo. But rest assured 99.9% of the time shes not.

I need to get a 6year old one on here. Party is on Saturday we're hoping for good weather so they can all go outside, but the whole of New Zealand has been covered in a huge storm and the signs are not good. On top of that the council are beautifying our road and you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs - road dug up+torrential rain+eight little girls in pink= nightmare.

I found this today which dented my faith in the police a bit more.

And an article about it here

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - seperate your needs from your wants.

Monday 28 July 2008

Weekly training 21July-27July and seven laws of swimming

These come in the fistglove packet:

The seven laws of swimmming

  1. The mind leads the body

  2. Seek the path of least resistance

  3. Find the path of most resistance

  4. To become effortless requires great effort

  5. Extend

  6. Swim with an empty hand

  7. Never give up








Weekly Training
Swim3 sessions with fist gloves. Up to 125's making me concentrate on stroke. Adding shorter faster stuff now 50m to normal session still in fistgloves 3700
Bike 2x60min McCormack style intervals I've dropped down gears to concentrate on increasing my cadence to above 90 1x32.5min strength on trainer. I had to drop my heartrate targets because if I put in the effort required to raise it I would have worked too hard. This is a mistake I have made in the past, doggedly following what the hr monitor says and disregard how I feel. When I raced at low 2hr mark for olympic distance in the mid 90's I never had a heart monitor it was all done on feel and gradually I am getting back to working solely on feel. Tweaking my position using my Look ergo stem. 37.33miles
Run2x3mile 1x4miles10miles









Weekly core Training
Swim cords2 sessions Building specific strength - 30 on each arm twice with the cords even tighter
Back2 sessions
Abs2 sessions 7 different exercises based on crunches and leg lifts
Weights2 sessions with dumbbells
Push ups2 sessions - some moving side to side and Hindu push ups
Stretching6 sessions

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping.

Saturday 26 July 2008

New shirt with logo and note on bike training

I wanted to stay smart but be less formal than a shirt and tie and I splashed out on a new pair of jeans my other 2 pairs are falling apart.





Training note: I have been having a great time tinkering with my new Look ergo stem. I have it really short. I have always had a long stem 13cms and before I got the profile forward seat post I used to ride on the very tip of my saddle. In my efforts to use brain over brawn or speed for less effort I have moved my seat back. My old specialized has short top tube and high at the front (Dan Empfield@ slowtwitch advises long and low but a new bike is not an option) and with my bull horn handlebars it had become very unstable and I couldn't stand out of the saddle thereby losing precious time around corners etc and my knees where hitting the back of the stem where it attachs to the forks (this never used to happen with my old fashioned stem and conventional seat post)I have lowered my front end (head and shoulders) and flattened my back. I am happy with it, there is a little fine tuning to do but not until I have completed Sundays turbo session.

Sunday will be a true test , an hour spinning 90+ cadence in a small gear. If the setup is wrong it will show up here because on previous setups I had to push bigger gears at lower cadence to keep weight off my skinny arse and family jewels.

Obviously the true test of position is racing and how fast I cycle and run off the bike.



Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping.

Monday 21 July 2008

Weekly training 15July-20July and Al Gore does it again.

Al Gore posted on no-impactman - this guy should be American president.



Also on no-impactman - made me smile.





This made me sad.













Weekly Training
Swim3 sessions with fist gloves. Up to 100's making me concentrate on stroke. 3600
Bike 2x60min McCormack style intervals I've dropped down gears to concentrate on increasing my cadence to above 90 again remembering stuff when i used to race well. 1x30min strength on trainer. Been working on my position using my Look ergo stem. 36.45miles
Run3x3mile 9miles









Weekly core Training
Swim cords2 sessions Building specific strength - 30 on each arm twice with the cords even tighter
Back2 sessions
Abs2 sessions 7 different exercises based on crunches and leg lifts
Weights2 sessions with dumbbells
Push ups2 sessions - some moving side to side and Hindu push ups
Stretching6 sessions

Monday 14 July 2008

Weekly training 7July-13July and another big decision

We have taken the plunge and signed up for a home ventilation system. What they do is take heat that builds up in the roof space during the day and circulates through the house. It is the first step to improve the heating in our old character(wooden house). We had been planning to wait until the end of next year when the mortgage was paid off but it just got to us that in winter the bedrooms and hallway are really cold and damp. Another decider is the conditions in the hose are not healthy. This is a common situation in New Zealand as houses were built for hot conditions and very little was done about cold conditions. Our house when we bought it had no insulation, an old wood burner fire and a very old hot water cylinder. We have changed all this . We want to improve the cold part of the house during the colder winter but there in point trying to heat it at present and that is were the home ventilation system comes in, it will dry (get rid of condensation) and warm it a little and it should then make it easier to heat. We haven't decided on heating yet, we need the most cost effective we are going to look at heat pumps, econo-heaters and see which gives most value. We don't want to heat the house to make it hot because that would cost too much, we just want to make it more comfortable. We decided to go for a DVS model a choice made on price amd 2 warranties(one guarantees performance)

I am also buying a couple of shirts with my business logo on and I trademarked my business name.






Weekly Training
Swim3 sessions with fist gloves. Up to 100's and 75's making me concentrate on stroke. One glove ripped so I swam with clenched fists and ordered some more. I'm also going to try swimming holding tennis balls3600
Bike 1x50min, 1x60min McCormack style intervals I've dropped down gears to concentrate on increasing my cadence to above 90 again remembering stuff when i used to race well. 1x25min strength on trainer 33.49miles
Run1x2mile,2x3mile I remembered that I always used to feel slow and heavy in winter but when it came to race season I would be fine 8miles









Weekly core Training
Swim cords2 sessions Building specific strength - 30 on each arm twice with the cord tighter
Back2 sessions
Abs2 sessions 7 different exercises based on crunches and leg lifts
Weights2 sessions with dumbbells
Push ups2 sessions - some moving side to side and Hindu push ups
Stretching6 sessions

Saturday 12 July 2008

New computer mouse

I've just had to retire my computer mouse despite my valiant attempts to soldier on with the old and with Teresa promising to bring an old one from school, I went and purchased one from my usual shop (I have a slight difference of opinion with them at present).

My mouse was slowing me down and causing my artritis to flare up in my right hand, normally only a really big week of work does that, but with all the excessive side scraping to get it to work inflamed my hand.

They no longer do ball ones , so I got a cheap opticalone. I cannot believe the difference a cheetah against a snail, a couch potato compared to a sprinter. I cannot believe how much mouse technology has moved on, my mouse is accurate to 1000dpi (dots per inch) gaming mice are accurate to 4000dpi and they are laser mice and during my reading I discovered that gaming mice have weights that can change the balance of the mouse this made me think of the swords used by knights in time past who selecteda sword on its weight and balance. Except the difference is knights charged around doing things, having a life getting exercise making a difference, gamers just play games and let life slip them by, a bit sad really.

I wonder what sort of mouse technology will be available when I next buy a mouse in 5 or so years time.

Sunday 6 July 2008

Weekly training 30June-6July

Feeling tired and fed up this weekend the children have been tiring me out especially Cameron with his constant questions. Saturday I didn't stop doing jobs around the house, Teresa went to bed in the afternoon because the school term has just finished and all the exhaustion from all the hard work she puts in and all I can think is I want her to leave teaching. I am very disillusioned about teaching and schools in general. On top of this I am reading the 'Four Hour work week' by Tim Ferriss which is building on my frustration and making me disatisfied. Don't get me wrong my life is generally great but I want more, I want everything, I don't want to waste my life working I never have. This book is all about lifestyle design and it is what I've always wanted to do do turn one of my ideas into reality and fund a lifestyle not by working in a business (even if it is my own) but as Ferriss says automate it by outsourcing. As all self help books say you have to take MASSIVE ACTION and at this point pressure to do so is building.
In a way I have always taken action in my life the latest to say I'm not relief teaching anymore, my actions are getting bigger. I have been a bit tense about the drop in income though. Right enough of that I did a little training.






Weekly Training
Swim3 sessions with fist gloves. 75's making me concentrate on stroke3600metres
Bike 1x50min, 1x40min McCormack style intervals I've dropped down gears to concentrate on increasing my cadence to above 90 again remembering stuff when i used to race well. 1x20min strength on trainer 26.7miles
Run1x2mile, 1x2mile,1x3mile 7miles









Weekly core Training
Swim cords2 sessions Building specific strength - 30 on each arm twice with the cord tighter
Back2 sessions
Abs2 sessions 7 different exercises based on crunches and leg lifts
Weights2 sessions with dumbbells
Push ups2 sessions - some moving side to side and Hindu push ups
Stretching6 sessions

Wednesday 2 July 2008

This was on No-impactman

The planet's most important number stars in a two-minute cartoon.

May Boeve of 350.org, the organization that is trying to let the entire planet's population know that atmospheric carbon dioxide needs to be stabilized at no more than 350 parts per million (ppm).


350.org

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop unneccesary shopping- seperate your needs from your wants

Weekly training 23-29 June and a big decision

The big decision is that I've decided to stop doing relief teaching. I'm fed up at getting mostly early morning emergency calls and the extra stress it causes for the family getting ready in the morning isn't worth it. I may still take Teresa's class on her release days because I can plan for these in advance. The second reason it was getting harder and harder to go into school at short notice and get my website work done and this was highlighted recently making me sick, it reminded me why I left full time teaching in the first place. Plus I get fed up of not being able to be myself around boring, stuck up teachers who never joke with their classes or kick a ball. I've always felt that there was an over emphasis on literacy and maths to the detriment of all else. I feel sorry for the child is artistic or sporty or into computers because in my experience they get stuck with teachers who only do reading and writing and because the child gets bored and is then labelled as trouble. (This actually happened when I left my last class - and a poor boy got targetted as a trouble maker - I warned the school it would happen) The problem was there wasn't any teachers who had those shared interests - I was it the sole male teacher.

Anyway I've taken the plunge working fulltime in the business without the backup of the teaching. The biggest change is although there might be a drop in income for a time I feel more relaxed, and I am becoming more businesslike no more doing stuff for free, not the really small stuff and no more free websites or hugely discounted work.







Weekly Training
Swim3 sessions with fist gloves. Doing mostly 75's making me concentrate on stroke , I got complacent doing 50's3600metres
Bike 1x30min, 1x40min McCormack style intervals 1x15min strength on trainer 21.55miles
Run1x1mile, 1x2mile,1x3mile 6miles









Weekly core Training
Swim cords2 sessions Building specific strength - 20 on each arm and then 15
Back0 sessions
Abs2 sessions 7 different exercises based on crunches and leg lifts
Weights1 sessions with dumbbells
Push ups2 sessions - some moving side to side
Stretching5 sessions