Bonk and Honk

So it was the Hilly 12 yesterday, a quirky time trial that takes in a climb over Boxhill and tot Hill at the back with a few fast and bumpy descents. Neither Simon or Stuart were able to do this so I knew I was in with a chance of a club win and I was sent off as the scratch rider in the handicap as a result. I used it as a training session by spinning over to the start for 50 minutes or so. The day before had been Little Wheezy's eighth birthday so I had spent all day on Saturday eating rubbish and I tried to compensate by having a bowl of cereal and some High5 energy drink as I made my way over. Despite the poor preparation I felt good and confident of a fast ride. From the start it's a fast, narrow and bumpy descent down Lodgebottom Road which has a high grin factor and I enjoyed overtaking a load of cyclists as I barrelled down the hill. It was a double left turn to begin the climb up the zig zag of Boxhill and straight away I didn't feel right, not having the power in my legs that I had felt the week before when training with Simon. I got into a rhythm, again overtaking quite a few people up the climb, although no one in the tt. I always hate the bit from the cafe at the top with its false flat before the descent down Headley so I worked hard across there knowing the descent was only a couple of minutes away, as my legs started to feel more and more weak. The descent was fast and fun and I hoped it would allow me to recover for the final climb up Mill Way. I had ridden it just 45 minutes before, spinning up easily but this was completely different. I was now well and truly into bonk territory with my legs completely spent and I felt truly awful over the last mile. Another unique part of this event is that the very end climb called Tot Hill is timed independently to find the club hill climb champion. As I hit the bottom I gave it everything I had but that was not very much to be honest. I wobbled over the line and felt my stomach begin to revolt and I ended up dumping my bike in the middle of the road while I puked into the bushes. I can confirm that High5 tastes EXACTlY the same coming back up as it does going down. The upshot of all this? Well, I won the Hilly 12 (beaten by most of the Kingston Wheelers but they're a different breed) and won the Phoenix hill climb by 2 seconds. And I've learnt that scotch eggs, mini Cornish pasties and pickled onions should never be used for race prep fuelling.

Feeling good.

I was meant to head out on a 3 hour ride on Sunday but I just felt absolutely wiped out with too many late nights catching up with me and with the rain teeming down I decided to take another day off. I was so glad I did as Coach Cox had scheduled in an optional long ride on the Bank Holiday Monday instead, so with an early start to meet Simon and James, a clubmate of his, I got an early night and felt a lot better for it. We did our lumpy 3 hour ride with the only deviation seeing us heading out to Newlands Corner to do that climb which I have not done in a while. We 3-upped down the main road before heading left and up to Newlands. This was the first time in over two years that I was able to stick with Simon and go past him on a hill which is indicative ( I hope) of how my fitness and ME has improved over the last couple of months. I was really pleased with how I was going and I felt even better on the ascent of Coombe Bottom with it's nasty last 30 metres. Boxhill was even better. I was not pushing it particularly but just kept a really solid cadence and big-ringed it up the hill, passing dozens of other riders as I went, with Simon glued to my back wheel. It felt really, really good. At the top James had to leave us so Simon and I did a recce of the Hilly 12 time trial which I'll be riding next week. Can't wait.

Hilly 12

I needed last week's rest week. I was pooped. During the week I commuted on the bike every day but took it very easy. The long route home from work that I had enjoyed so much when training for the Forestman seemed particularly difficult and I weaved and wheezed my way up Boxhill before descending back home. My long run was cut back to 67 minutes and most of it was laborious, my muscles and joints not enjoying being forced to run so early on a Saturday morning.

On Sunday I did my last time trial of the season. It was an unusual one in that it involved hills rather than the usual blast up and down a dual carriageway. The roads were quite greasy so the first couple of miles that involved a descent down to the bottom of Boxhill were a bit tentative and throw in game birds in the middle of the road and D of E walkers with their heads buried in maps and not where they were going it made for a couple of heart stopping moments. As I climbed Boxhill I got into a pretty good rhythm and started to reel in the 4 competitors ahead of me and by the time I had gone over the top there was only one other rider in front of me on the road. I followed her down the next descent, not wanting to overtake on such a tricky bit of road before pushing on up the last climb. At the top at the finish the usual dry heaves came up (muesli taste; nice) before a slow few hundred metres back to the car park. Being a new course to me it was always going to be a pb, but it was a bit gutting being beaten into second place by 1 second. Next year.

In other news....
Ad and I are trying to get a boat sorted and we have not had much luck, having an offer on a decent looking boat accepted and then turned down. Grrrr.... Ad's Bonkers busy at work at the moment so we have not been out in the last couple of weeks but I had a really nice paddle with Dad on Sunday night, his first paddle in a K2. I always said I would never get back into a Discovery; I was lying. ;-) It was a bit windy but we took it steady and had no major wobbles. All good.