Outdoor Pursuits in Aberystwyth

Surfing in Wales, Borth

Surfing in Wales, Borth

Considering the amount of time I used to spend windsurfing, surfing, mountain-biking and other such Outdoor Pursuits I have been fairly lacking in such activities lately. Other things seem to have taken over and there just aren’t enough hours in the day and days in the week to fit it all in. Triathlon training certainly takes up a lot of my ‘leisure time’. With 3 sports to train for, plus visits to the gym and some stretching and foam rolling it can easily take up 12 hours a week. Once I got into racing and training properly that there just wasn’t time for windsurfing and surfing. Not to mention the fact that the risk of injury for such things put me off a little as I didn’t want to ruin all of the training just before a race thanks to a traumatic injury from a MTB crash or a failed Forward Loop.

Working from home as a freelance website designer did help matters of course as I can fit such things in whenever I want, but as well as work and leisure activities I also have plenty of household chores to do, the garden to look after, bees to keep and plenty of other family things to do as well. The fact that I’ve always worked from home means that I do most of the cleaning, cooking, laundry etc, and even though I now work three days a week at the University that still seems to be the case. It’s good to have some guaranteed income from a ‘proper job’ but these ‘proper job’ things take up a lot of time!

Me Jumping

Me Jumping

Lately though there just doesn’t seem to have been much of a routine. There have been so many other things going on that no two weeks are ever the same. Meetings, interviews, weekends away, parents evenings, cross-country championships, lab testing, honey shows, coaching course and all sorts of other things disrupt any sort of routine and mean that I haven’t been doing much triathlon training lately. It is the off season, but I think I’ve taken the ‘off’ part of that a little too literally. This does mean that I’ve had a little bit more opportunity for other outdoor pursuits. I’ve been mountain biking a few times, surfing a couple of times and we’ve started going kayaking with the Aber Kayakers too. The latter was mainly for Morgan and he loves it, but actually getting him out of the house to go in the first placed can be quite a task. I still haven’t been windsurfing much though so may have to rectify that soon.

There doesn’t seem to be any sign of a ‘normal routine’ developing for a few weeks yet either but I do need to start some proper training again soon. I think I’ll include a Mountain Bike session once a week into my routine though and at least try to get out surfing or windsurfing now and then. We live in a perfect place for such outdoor pursuits so it would be a shame not to do them a little more. Maybe a bit more trail running too rather than just ‘training’ as its lovely out on the trails over winter.

If only I had an extra day or two each week!

1 Response

  1. Avatar forComment Author mum says:

    You forgot to mention the oldies visiting!

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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