JFDI #2

If I keep going like this I'm going to be in trouble.

Training has been a bit hit and miss again this week. Some good intervals in the turbo on Thursday and Friday, followed by a fun weekend away in Oxford. Good to see Matt & Niki and the boys again, and good to relax with a beer or two, but not good from a training point of view.

The main down side is that there was no long ride again this weekend. My good intentions of another turbo session when I got home on Sunday soon faded and we tried to get an early night. Monday was a gray day and I just couldn't summon the enthusiasm for training. A slightly randon 30 minutes on the turbo, followed by a couple of hours battling with the internal cable routing on my TT bike handlebars instead.

Tuesday Night 10 round #10 this week was an interesting night. The new base bar on the time trial bike had moved the position of the aero bars - just a little closer together. I'm not exactly Martin Johnson, but I think I've got quite wide shoulders and chest. The new position was a bit uncomfortable, and also made steering a bit difficult.

Wind was really blustery, from the side. No real help in either direction, but did bouncy me sideways a couple  of times. Once, at about 9.5 miles, the quickest part of the course for me, I lurched onto the wrong side of the road. It scared the **** out of me, but no harm done.

Per formance was good. Didn't feel smooth, and was fighting the bike a bit, but came out on top. time : 25:11 just 1 sec of my PB from a couple of weeks ago. Quite a few people struggled, and many were significantly slower - so a net gain then !?!

The rest of the week again lacked motivation and energy. No more training at all. This weekend is also filling up. Saturday we will be off to see my brother-in-law to discus house stuff and the evening is the MIRA 65th celebration party. Sunday is the HCRC 25 mile TT championship.  Weather is looking wet and windy. Don't think quick times are on the cards.

So, again, no long ride this weekend.
31 days to go.
Just want it to be over now.

Another of the many blogs

It is not just me that is geeky enough to have a blog of their thoughts on this Etape stuff. Recently found Mr. Patterson Goes to Languedoc . A very nice read from someone experiencing much the same as me:

http://gerrypatt.wordpress.com/

Good Luck Gerry, see you at the top !

Training Continues - 56 Days to go

Training has been a bit better over the last couple of weeks. Not perfect, and never quite as much as I hope, but getting back on track. The chaos of bank holidays and royal weddings didn't help.

Weekend rides are now pushing up to 50miles. A club run with Kelvin, Ralph, Joules and Marc gave about 35miles, then pushed on to Mum's in Leicester to make a 50 mile morning. The new bike shakedown totalled 35ish, but it was cold and wet, and the crank fell off. This weekend's outings of 55 (very windy) and then 45 with the club were more like it. The "Club Run" was a bit quicker than I really wanted, and a couple of miles pushing 30mph killed me off (then I got stuch behind a van in Mallory, so seeing a chance to escape, I let them go while I peeled off and trundled home), disapointed not to be able to keep up in the later stages, but it was a really good workout. Legs ached in the moring !

Add in a couple of Turbo sessions during the week, and it is looking OK.

Could do with a going a bit further this month. With only about 8 weeks to go I've got to put some work in. The calendar is looking busy though.

The Profile

Up... down.... and up...

    how hard can it be ??