Wednesday 20 November 2013

A slow start to the week

Last week ended with a decent Club ride and just under 3 hours in the saddle. I joined some of the most experienced (and fastest!) riders in the Club for a loop down to Brighton and back to check out the new Velo Cafe, which I featured in my last post:


I rode up to Southwater (about 10km from my house) to the agreed start point to meet with Nick, Andy and Mark D. We then headed for the scenic Edburton - Fulking route via Partridge Green and Henfield and onwards over Devils Dyke to Brighton (one of my regular commuting routes, albeit longer and faster!) We enjoyed the coffee stop - the place was busy and it took a while for our coffees to arrive but they were worth the wait. We then took the coast road home via Shoreham airport, Lancing college, Botolphs, Steyning and back home, again another very familiar route. The party split up after Lancing college with Andy and Nick taking the lead and powering ahead, the rather unfit Mark D (actually one of the most accomplished racers at the Club - sub 10 hour Ironman) preferring an easier pace and me in the middle, anxious to get home so I did not miss my son's gymnastic competition. Despite riding a well known route I enjoyed being out with the boys and challenging myself in trying to ride at a higher average speed than I am normally used too. My use of the wonderful Garmin 910XT was poor as I left it on during the coffee stop and then turned it off when I started riding again, useless! (Note to self - turn on 'auto stop' feature). I reckon we rode about 85 km so not a bad ride to bank in Strava.

It has been a slow start to this week. After taking a day's rest on Monday, I went for a relatively easy 10km run on Tuesday. This morning I had a 5am start and an early business meeting but was determined to get in my longer Wednesday Club swim. Unfortunately I was flagging when I returned home from work and opted out of the swim session. I am writing this blog in bed (only 9pm) and intend to get a good 8 hours sleep in. The running gear is however out for the morning, let's hope for some better weather.

I only have a 30 min window of opportunity tomorrow so may try a few 1km repeats on the Preston Park track. I now have a skeleton training plan for my 'A' race - Challenge Vichy - next year, which I need to study and populate with some specific sessions. Thanks to Coach Mike P for his support. I will share my training plan over my coming blog posts.

P.S. Fortunately I got home on Sunday in time to see my son compete in his first freestyle gymnastics tournament and was delighted and indeed very proud when he won a gold medal in his age group - well done Alex x

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