Some racing

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was riding my bike, a lot. Like most people, merely coping with the heat became all-consuming and trying to complete a hard turbo session in a shed that was only just shy of 40 degrees was a complete non-starter. So, I rode my bike, on the roads.

How quickly the roads filled up again. Myopic Audi drivers, white van men with no patience and even less spacial awareness, but in the heat the roads were the only place where I could get an hour on the bike. I could literally feel the ftp that I had gained over the last few months, seeping out of my skin pores as I trundled round in Zones 2 and 3. There were however, some good things.

I went out with Simon and Suzie at the end of July to ride the Wheelers' Amesbury Audax 300km route. It was a very long and hot day, with us trundling back home at around midnight. It's not a particularly hilly ride but the hills that are on it coincided with the hottest part of the day and this meant that we drastically slowed during the afternoon, having to get more liquid on board and taking more frequent rest breaks. I really enjoyed it and was  able to use my audax rides from the previous few years to keep comfortable but Suzie and Simon found it tough going, just trying to keep food and drink down. It's really not pleasant when your stomach simply doesn't want to play ball.

From long distance, to short. Last Wednesday I rode my first proper 10 mile time trial in 2 years, with full on TT bongo set-up and kit. A slightly embarrassing episode in the car park when my skin suit zip broke; thankfully I had my club top to wear over the top, which avoided any mankini moments. I had forgotten just how hard a 10 mile time trial is. I gave it everything, but I wilted in the heat quite spectaculalry, and with a lack of TrainerRoad intervals in the preceding weeks I just didn't have the ability to process the lactic acid build-up. My final time was 23:35, so by no means a disaster, but I thought that I would be a lot closer, or even break my course best of 22:47. I've got another go in 10 days' time, but I can only see me going slower. I've put on weight and dropped in power, but it was good to finally pin a number on.

Final 10 of the year

You would think that being a teacher and on holiday that I would have a lot of time for training, but it just never seems to work out that way with something continually cropping up and my days often having no real structure like normal. Usually my commute ride home via Boxhill is a solid 60 to 90 minute session that I can tick off but finding that time during a holiday day seems difficult. That said, it's about spending a lot of decent time with my children so if I am more lax with my training at this time then I cannot say that I mind. I suppose on top of that my latest injury to my achilles has stopped me running completely and that's always the discipline that is most easy for the time crunched triathlete to train in. No faffing about with kit or getting to a pool; just stick on your pumps and get out the door and 40 minutes later you're done.

Saturday afternoon was the last 10 of the year where I was hoping to maybe duck under 24 minutes but with a strong 25-30mph gusting southerly it was never going to happen. Again, a major mojo dip as I spun over to the start. I don't know what it is but I just don't get up for it when I am warming up. It's not until I have a number on my back that I seem to mentally switch and get my race face on. Anyway, 25:00 which in the conditions I was pleased with, even though I was beaten by Russ, my two-up partner by 1 measly second.  

Coach Cox had been prescribing me one swim session per week but I have been going back to Kingfisher Tri to get a second swim in per week. With no running happening at the moment and my Achilles injury being unlikely to let me to for the foreseeable future it seems that I need to be burning the calories elsewhere. All my swimming equipment has decided to give up the ghost so a mammoth wiggle order has been put in for a winter of pool work.

So my racing schedule for the next month or so is my last three time trials of the season; two 25s and the hilly 12.

In the words of Nenah Cherry.....

7 seconds away.

It was another evening 10 last night and once again, as I set out on the ride over to the start on the other side of Dorking, my heart was not really in it. A strong evening wind was going to make slow times likely, but just like last time as I pedalled over the temperature dropped slightly and so did the strength of the wind And my mojo picked up. There's nothing quite like pining a number on your back to make you increase your work rate. I was hoping to take a few more seconds off my current pb set 2 weeks ago and I set out harder than last time, intending to commit much earlier to a faster pace. At the turn around I was working hard but still felt in control except for the copious amounts of snot and mucus pouring out of my head. I had a few guys to chase in front and used them to focus on, over the last couple of miles.

It turns out it must have been a pretty fast night as I recorded a time of of 24:07, a pb of over 40 seconds!kaboooom. It seems that the hard work I have been putting in on the bike over the last 3 months is really starting to pay off and a sub 24 time is now well within my reach, although there is only 1 club 10 left to do it. I might have to enter a few more and try to find a faster course.

A fly in the ointment has been I have pulled my lower right calf. An easy 45 minute run on Tuesday became a 15 minute achy shuffle and a  15 minute walk. No major damage done but once again I have neglected my strength, core and stretching work and this is the result. Hopefully I can do a very gentle run tomorrow and another swim tonight. Onwards.

Another pb

Another Kingston Phoenix 10 mile tt last night and my third tt pb within a month. I guess that I must be doing something right. 24:49,  so still quite a way from the sub 24 that I want, but I am getting there. The G10/42 course is quite rolling with a couple of the climbs at the end being the points where I have blown-up badly. Last night I felt a lot stronger on the climbs and I was able to maintain the tt position rather than having to get out of the saddle. I did have a problem early-on when I dropped the chain onto the small chainring and couldn't shift back and I had to brake for a car on the last roundabout, so there still might be some free time to take off yet. A pb's always a good thing, whatever.

By chance, a guest rider from another club turned up on an Argon 18 E-80 so I was able to look at it close-up and he even let me have a short spin on it. It was lush. I want one. I want one now.

A personal worst performance

I did my first 10 mile time trial of the season last night. It was a slow night, on a slow course ridden by a slow rider. 28:28mins. 10 mile tt's are about going out hard and hanging on but unfortunately I was only able to hang on for 4 miles before the metaphorical wheels spectacularly fell off.  The next 15 minutes was a hypoxic blur of burning legs, snot and constantly changing gears. Not pretty, not pretty at all. Simon beat me by almost 2 minutes and won on the night; a sign of how far he has come and how far I have regressed.

The good news is that I can only get better.