A new milestone

So tomorrow w'll finally have the benchmark, I wrote about. In the morning we go to swim the 1,9 km at the swimming pool. The target is to swim under the hour, that shouldn't be a problem because 1,5 km went in 41 minutes a few weeks ago. The riding at the bike will be in the afternoon and let's hope that we'll be home before the dark, I guess some 3,5 hour will go to that. For the half marathon I am not worried, that isn't a problem.  I didn't do any preparation because it is more for fun.It is anew milestone, never before I have swom more then 1,5 km and never before I have be praticing 3 different endurance sports on one day !

Also fun will be the swimming course, which starts next Sunday, I hope that I learn it quickly, so I can swim a lot in the spring to get some kind of routine.

Our bicycle project has now moved to the autumn of next year. So Ventoux has to wait for a while :)
A nice quote over the mount Ventoux: "The Ventoux is a god of Evil, to which sacrifices must be made. It never forgives weakness and extracts an unfair tribute of suffering."

To be honest, I think also about combining the climb of the Mont Ventoux with another mountain( Alpe d'huez? Col du Madeleine? Glandon?
I have no idea which mountains are in the same area as the Mont Ventoux, we'll find out :)

A good weekend!

This weekend we went to Vierumäki to spend some time in the sportsacademy. It was a sportive weekend. I have been swimming for 3 days in a row ( inside of course, 3 x 500 ,) and I've been boxing for 2 x 1,5 hour and there was also time for running. My legs feel good after the marathon, I am happy about that. Last thursday I was riding 50 km on my bike, so all kind off activities are going on. Lets hope I am not forcing anything. The most important thing is to staty fit untill the benchmark of 29 october, because at that time I should be rested and really to do the distances (1,9 swim, 90 riding, 21 running) wihtout driving myself to the limit.

The Man announced last week, that he is not going to make it to the Mont Ventoux in april, so we have to transfer this to next year autumn. It is not so bad idea, now we can train the whole spring and summer (!!) and we'll be in good sharp to ride upon the Mont Ventoux in september.

I found this site http://wattbike.com/fi/ and this is very interesting. If there is a place in Helsinki while I can try this thing, it will be very nice. I am not sure if the bike can simulate some climbing or something, but it seems like a good and professional alternative for bicycling in the winter. I heard that it makes a lot of noise, so buying one is not an option( also not because it cost a lot of money)

To remember!

Because I am still a newby in the world of bicycles, I looked into the parts of Shimano and trying to understand the hierarchy of the parts. Finally I found a nice table:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-797814.html

ROAD BIKE PARTS.
LEVEL 1 (entry level) 
SIS. 
SORA. 
SIS is not found on many road bikes now. However Sora is extremely popular. Many general commuting and entry level road bikes will be Sora equipped. Sora has STI levers and a very reliable gear and braking system, without being too pricey. Sora is a 8 speed group set and will come on bicyles ranged between $700-$1200.
LEVEL 2 
Tiagra. 
Tiagra is the first road group set that is 9 speed. Tiagra is used a lot by road cyclists that want the reliablity and smoothness of 9 speed without the price tag.
LEVEL 3 
105. 
This is a very commonly used component set a lot of top road bikes and training bikes will be equipped with 105 as it is exceptionally smooth in its changes and a very durable and reliable group set. 105 is also a 9 speed group set and its body predominantly made of alloy, thus making it very light. People who want good stuff that will last this is it.
LEVEL 4 
ULTEGRA. 
Once again used a lot for top end racing. Not often used for training bikes, however it is durable enough to do so. Very smooth and very light on its actions. This means changes with little effort.
LEVEL 5 
DURA ACE. 
The top of the line. Fairly expensive for the general rider.Dura Ace has been converted into a 10 speed system, with massive changes to the levers and crank sets, both so much smoother and lighter to use.

Nice to know!! 
The marathon went just ok, nothing to be proud off. I like to set some targets when I am running to measure my improvement.  Yesterday I started to look what to do next year and I am really looking into the olympic distance of the triathlon. It will be held next my house and early in the season: http://www.triforfun.fi/

Tomorrow a marathon...

So finally I'll run a full marathon tomorrow ( after 2 half marathons in the last month). The first marathon in 5 years, let's see how this goes. At this moment I've some pain in my right hamstring, but the pain should be away tomorrow (?). In a way I don't like to run a full marathon: It take two weeks to prepare( you have to taper and rest a lot, you have to be carefull not to caught a flue( quite a challenge while travelling in the metro two a day.. ;)) and after the marathon you have to rest for a week or so. So It disturbs the training for three weeks, that's quite a lot. It stresses a bit , but ok let's not complain!  End scenario's for tomorrow:

• Endtime > 4.00 , I'll be dissappointed, and a lot! How is this possibel anyway??
• Endtime 3.50 - 4.00 Mmhh, It was a experience but I'm not happy at all
• Endtime 3.40 - 3.50 Ok, it's fine.
• Endtime 3.35 - 3.40 Good run!
• Endtime 3.32 - 3.35 Very good run!
• Endtime < 3.32 perfect run!!!!!

Anyway..... the trip to the Mont Ventoux will be moved to autumn of 2014. It seems that The Man can get his leg in condition and will be not able to train on the bike anymore in this year. No problem of course, The Mont Ventoux will be existing for a long time and better to go there with some kilometers in your legs than in a bad condition. 

In November my swimmcourse will start and in december I'll think which sportsevents I'll attend in 2014. Maybe more cyclingraces and even some triathlon( basic distance).  I liked this sportsyear a lot because the combination of bicycling, running, boxing and swimming suits me and my legs well! 

Fingers crossed for tomorrow!! I'll be back