T minus 6 weeks
After feeling sorry for myself Tuesday with a niggly knee, things felt better on Wednesday where I stuck in an 8 mile tempo. I say stuck in, the wind battered me into submission and I couldn't be arsed to run very hard. Outcome was 8 miles @ 6:29/mm avge and then did a long warm down (mile and a half). Not a total disaster but would be nice if my pace actually came down the harder I trained rather than went in the opposite direction!
Thursday was off to the club TT. The ride there was headwind all the way and cycling in aero position on a TT bike at 14mph was just plain embarrassing. Really didn't fancy it and couldn't work out where the wind was going to help and where it wasn't (felt like everywhere). Warmed up crap and felt cold. Set off 3 from last and got into a decent pace to the hill to the silos. Pace dropped massively and working up the hill didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. Caught my minute man and smashed it to stop him holding the wheel ;)
At half way avge pace was 21.8 mph #snail. Turned towards Tetworth hill and put the hammer down. Pace wasn't on though and the hill was brutal. From the turn to Gamlingay though the wind started to be more helpful and a good push along with some good corners and the pace was back up. That's a polite way to say I smashed the arsehole out of it. Last turn into the wind and all of a sudden I realise a pb is on. Smash the hill at about 14mph and kill myself over the line wheezing like a 60 a day smoker whose just walked to the top of the Empire State building. 28.14 official result and missed a pb by a second. But hold on, noone goes faster and I win the TT !!! Here's the evidence !! No, it's not me smashing a couple of wind-eze after a curry, I only fucking won the thing !!! I reckon if Rich, Tom, Chris & Turner had team persuit-ed it they would have still been left behind !! Some great rides in a tough wind by Ade, Dan & Paul but my first race win - I havn't even won a bloody Parkrun so this bike training must finally be paying off!
Eased home with Paul & Simon and collapsed into a bath with a warm cuppa, face and ears wind burnt from that bastard wind.
Friday I was cattled. TT racing doesn't take as much out of you as a 5k but an 85 minute run (I say run, was more like a crawl) and a 70 minute bike (got ripped by the wind in the last 10 miles) and I was properly mangled. No food, straight out to watch Man of Steel (quality film, kneel before Zod etc. etc.) and then out to dinner with friends. I slept like a boss that night, asleep before my head hit the pillow and woke up like my head weighed 36 stone and was no-nails-ed to the pillow.
Saturday was fathers day. Uber cool bike rack, family pictures and frames for my office and Rapha team Sky jersey from the wife and kids. How lucky am I !! Great day spending time away from triathlon and with the family Preston. Love you guys.
Sunday was the Newmarket Hilly 100. Met Mark, Dan, Kye, Lee, Ian D, Greame, Rodger & AN Other for an absolute craic. Wouldn't say hilly, it was rolling at best but I beasted every hill either grinding up on the 53-11 out of the saddle crying like a bitch or smashing it as fast as I could (never off the 53 ring). Even got a KOM. Highlights of the day were - Lee bonking by 40 miles but still making it home, freddo frog/cadburys fudge/mars/snickers feed stops, Dan taking armfulls of each, Kye 'smashing' 10 miles on his own to the first feed station and then bonking, Kye not wanting to play hill climbing with me for the last 30 miles after I murdered him for calling me out on a hill, loads and loads of banter, Kye actually helping Lee out #teamKye, Ian D's bendy legs and 120+ cadence, getting round, no marshalls, everyone wanking over Rodgers bike, no need to pay, no chip timing, missing sign that sent every single rider on the 100 the wrong way and lots of pissing.
Great day and nice to do a 100 mile hill session and get some hilly gold rush going on #strava.
Promised Kye I would mention him doing me on a 53-11 climb. He murdered me on that one but in fairness that was the last hill he came out to play on and I had to wait at the top of every hill for him in the last 30 miles.
Seems like I'm actually starting to like hills, whodathunk it !!
Managed to smash the screen of my Garmin on the way home #fuckSake and trying to get it replaced as we speak. Downloaded my ride though (split into 2) -
Home, pizza, mong out then off to swimming. 1 hour, not much covered just working on technique. Getting better, may actually see one or 2 other bikes in transition by the time I get pulled out of the lake by greenpeace on 28th July!
Weekly totals -
Swim 2 hours, 3 miles
Bike 8hrs 21, 152 miles
Run 3 hours, 25 miles
x Train 1 hour
Total 14 hrs 47 mins training
Run a bit low so need to smash that next week and get 40+ in #gulp. Bike is killing it, I am all but there just need to get comfortable in TT saddle now but apart from that don't loose any fitness and swim I have lots to work on!
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